Book 88 -Lauren Slater "Opening Skinner's Box"

-Lauren Slater "Opening Skinner's Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century" (Bloomsbury)




This book is about ten controversial and revolutionary psychological experiments of the twentieth century. You'll probably recognize some of them, such as Stanley Milgram's obedience research, but others will be brand new.

In fact, it was fascinating to see how two experiments could appear to completely contradict each other yet still be valid. My only criticism of the book was that sometimes the author got too wrapped up in her own experience with the experiments and didn't elaborate on them as much as she could, but overall it's a fun way to learn about some really interesting experiments without getting bogged down in the technical side of things.

Book 89 - Michael Williams "On The Slow Train"

Michael Williams "On The Slow Train: : Twelve Great British Railway Journeys" (Arrow)





In case you think this a mere tome for train spotters, and reject the idea that it might be worth reading, just cast your eye over the literary figures who contribute views and quotes to Michael Williams splendid, highly descriptive, narrative … John Betjeman, of course, the most beloved Poet Laureate, Paul Theroux, Miles Kington, Thomas Hardy … and one chapter alone tempts readers, the fabled Wessex line that rambles through Thomas Hardy country. From Casterbridge via Tess of the D’ Urbervilles!

Cadbury Castle, Camelot of King Arthur, Hardy’s Kings Arms with the Henchard wife, sold off by her husband, peering through the window – all on Brunel’s old line converted from the Robert Stephenson original - rolling through the heartland of Wessex pass Glastonbury Tor, the legendary home of the Holy Grail ... there are eleven other thrilling rides and chapters to this great read.

Amazingly, even though several of Williams trips are on original steam trains – owned now by Heritage Great Britain rather than private rail-moguls or England’s own ”Robber Barons” - all these evocative descriptions of trips take place in the last ten years. Despite the bumbled de-nationalization of the entire British Rail Network … or that the survived the Beeching years … trains services to rural halts and highlands can still be found.

Book 90 - John Green "An Abundance of Katherines"

John Green "An Abundance of Katherines" (Penguin Books)





When his girlfriend - the 19th Katherine he has dated - breaks up with him, child prodigy Colin is devastated. To help him out, his best friend Hassan takes him on a road trip, where they find themselves in Gutshot, Tennessee, to see the supposed grave of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and meet the lovely Lindsey Lee Wells - who is going out with another Colin and is most definitely not a Katherine. While they stay, Colin decides to plot out a theorem that will explain why his 19 relationships have ended, and whether future relationships will succeed.

If the gist of the plot of the book was hard for me to describe, how much harder to try to summarize my thoughts on it? Well, I struggled with it, as it took me over three weeks to complete it. That's not to say it wasn't a fun read. Colin and Hassan are pretty funny, there are footnotes and lots of random facts that Colin (child prodigy, remember) knows, and I felt pretty smart when I also knew his "not interesting" (Hassan's helpful hints for Colin, who's hopeless in social situations) facts. I didn't always connect with the story, probably because so many elements were so incredibly over-the-top. But it was fun reading and, similarly to The Fault in Our Stars dealt with real people just trying to matter in the real world (that's the only similarity I could come up with, which says a lot for the author, I think). For the mathematically inclined, there's an appendix which explains the theorem Colin comes up with.