I remember reading articles online about Elizabeth Holmes a few years ago. I didn't know much about her or her company, Theranos, but I took what was I remember reading articles online about Elizabeth Holmes a few years ago. I didn't know much about her or her company, Theranos, but I took what was told me at face value - that this young Stanford drop-out-turned-Silicon-Valley-darling was on the cusp of revolutionizing blood testing (and therefore the entire health industry) for the betterment of humanity, succeeding where the smartest minds had failed, allowing diseases to be quickly and easily diagnosed and thus improving lifespans across the globe. Writing it like that now it seems obvious it was too good to be true. And it was!
Bad Blood is a compelling, darkly fascinating, and exhaustively researched account of the Theranos con by Wall Street Journal journalist John Carreyrou, who initially broke the story. It lays bear the horrendous misdeeds of the company which include the bullying they subjected their employees to, their aggressive litigation of any whistleblowers, their flat-out lying to investors, and, perhaps worst of all, sending blood tests they knew to be false out to patients, causing unneccessary distress and (as this is in the U.S - god bless the NHS by the way) extra costs for re-testing.
It's also a cautionary tale for anyone in senior management. If you don't allow employees to speak their mind, if you surround yourself only with 'yes' people, if you start to believe your own hype, if you treat your employees as expendable - this could be where you end up. ...more
I was expecting I'd enjoy this book but I ended up really disliking it. It starts off well with a few funny anecdotes but after a while I realised a lI was expecting I'd enjoy this book but I ended up really disliking it. It starts off well with a few funny anecdotes but after a while I realised a lot of them are at the expense of the patient themselves. Yes I am the fun police, and I know humour is a way of coping, but there's something about the thought of a group of doctors chuckling about the time a dementia patient sexually assaulted another patient - and then a group of readers reading that and also chuckling - which doesn't sit well with me.
Also we can all agree that doctors deserve absolutely every penny they get and are entitled to far more than they're being paid currently. But there's nothing like someone pre-financial crash describing themselves as poor while also having just bought an apartment and a trip to the Mauritius which just aaaargh really gets under my skin.
I couldn't finish the book in the end. I was about half way through and fading fast, only to come across an vignette about the doctor being called in to deliver a new-born 'mid-wank', which ends with him completing the procedure "still erect". It was genuinely the most horrifying sentence I have ever read.
So yeah, 2 stars but mostly because (even though the book isn't really political itself) its popularity in the UK has contributed to conversations about how hard junior doctors work and how valuable their contributions are to the NHS....more
"Some questions will ruin you if you are denied the answer long enough.�
A team of four women - a biologist, a psychologist, a surveyor and an anthropo"Some questions will ruin you if you are denied the answer long enough.�
A team of four women - a biologist, a psychologist, a surveyor and an anthropologist - mount the 12th expedition to Area X, a strange and ill-defined place, crossing into its border through means unknown to even them. And then sh*t gets f*cked up really fast.
This was such a cleverly-made little book. The tension is palpable and, like little matryoshka dolls, each mystery gives way to another mystery. The biologist (who's the protagonist) also grapples with all of these questions too and there's a strange sense of camaraderie between her and the reader as you both try and work out what the hell is going on. And the writing is great , painting a really vivid picture of this seemingly-pristine natural landscape that isn't all it seems.
The force behind Area X is genuinely terrifying and uncanny. It reminds me of the Lovecraftian horror tropes, where the evil is so menacing because even its very form is so beyond human conception that there's no point even trying to figure out what it is, let alone figuring out how to survive it.
This book is really different to the film version (also excellent and deeply unsettling), so I'd recommend getting stuck into both!...more
I see this book getting a hard time in a few Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ reviews, but I genuinely really enjoyed it. Or, 'enjoyed' probably isn't the right word to descI see this book getting a hard time in a few Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ reviews, but I genuinely really enjoyed it. Or, 'enjoyed' probably isn't the right word to describe spending time in a world populated by some seriously miserable people, but I'm genuinely glad I read it. Rooney has done a great job at crafting the main protagonist, who feels like she's about to properly self-destruct at any point, and there's a pacy tension from that which helped me speed through the book. The relationships in are really fantastically portrayed too, with weird and unsettling power dynamics....more
An expansive history of a hugely influential institution which has lasted for eons, going up to the 2000s. Reading it is like watching history on fastAn expansive history of a hugely influential institution which has lasted for eons, going up to the 2000s. Reading it is like watching history on fast-forward - imagine Popes getting elected and dying on a single page, Emperors and Kings flitting in and out (and dying off screen), territories passing from one power to another to another in a single chapter. Occasionally it slows down and focuses on specific time periods, and there's even a whole chapter devoted to the legend of Pope Jean, a female Pope (who almost definitely didn't exist) and, as the story goes, gave birth during a ceremonial procession. But this pace can be a little exhausting, and I'd rather the book had concentrated on a handful of Popes across history and examined them in a little more detail. It could also have been a little more critical (the whole endemic child abuse scandal is only mentioned in a single sentence, for example)....more
“All families had started off in some mysterious way: to repopulate the earth, or by accident, or by force, or out of boredom; and it's all a mystery “All families had started off in some mysterious way: to repopulate the earth, or by accident, or by force, or out of boredom; and it's all a mystery what each will become.�
Honestly I'm not sure what I've just read. I was reading the book (my Kindle told me I was on 75%) and then suddenly I wasn't and it just ended. So abruptly that it made me realized I'd been misreading it the whole time - that there was something I missed. Looking back on it now, there are multiple interpretations of what I thought (at the time) was a relatively straight-forward odyssey of a girl crossing from Mexico to the U.S.A. to find her brother. But did she find him? Was it actually Mexico/U.S.A? Is she even here? I haven't read a book with so many layers for such a long time, and to pack it into only 100+ pages is quite a feat! One day, when I have a bit more time on my hands to concentrate and focus, I'll go back and reread this....more
“Telling stories is important, especially if you are a woman. When women share their stories, loudly and clearly and honestly, things begin to change “Telling stories is important, especially if you are a woman. When women share their stories, loudly and clearly and honestly, things begin to change � for the better. This is my story.�
Watching A Star is Born, for all its faults (although I still loved it tbh), got me thinking about the effects fame must have on a person. I'd never really stopped to think about it before - that celebrities are made into characters which we can have intensely strong reactions to (either positive or negative) and which we're really comfortable in airing vocally. Imagine if we had the same reactions to work colleagues, acquaintances or family members? We wouldn't dream of it. We scrutinize famous people's every action but in so doing they become less than human, they're fair game, they're characters in a story we're all complicit in writing. This stayed with me as I finally sat down to watch Gaga's Netflix documentary last week. Sure there are moments she seems a bit pretentious and fully aware of the cameras, but several times I was like "fuck, this is an actual person with fears and hopes and insecurities I've had all these assumptions and ill-informed opinions about". Why do we expect a celebrity to be perfect in every way?
So this was all fresh in my mind when I started reading My Thoughts Exactly. It ended up being the exact opposite of what you'd expect a celebrity autobiography to be. I've dipped my toe in this genre a few times but have found almost every one to be a cringey exercise in self-mythologizing/deification (Keith Richard's autobiography being one of them). This is not that AT ALL. Everything is laid bear with searing honesty and an intense level of self-scrutiny. Nothing seems to be off-limits - her substance abuse, eating issues, dysfunctional relationships, her stalker and losing her first child under horrific circumstances are all here. She never makes any attempt to glamorize anything or to feed the celeb gossip machine.
So to summarise, I enjoyed this a lot. It's gripping, hard to read in parts but somehow manages to be a page-turner all the same. Maybe 'enjoy' isn't the right word to use when describing reading about some awful things happening to someone, but I'm glad I read it. It takes immense bravery to share a life so personally and openly, and Lily should be commended for this. Hopefully this can help other people in the public eye become more themselves....more
I was sold on the nice cover and reading someone describe the book as a "gay Bridget Jones" - I didn't know until that point that I've always wanted aI was sold on the nice cover and reading someone describe the book as a "gay Bridget Jones" - I didn't know until that point that I've always wanted a gay Bridget Jones, but of course I have! Who wouldn't?
This was a nice, light, easy read and that's fine! But it left me feeling a little dissatisfied - the characters were just a little too two-dimensional for my liking, Romeo's rise to online fame a little too easy, the ending just a little bit dissatisfying....more
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction."
This powerful quote from Ronald Reagan adorns the jacket and is referenced a few time"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction."
This powerful quote from Ronald Reagan adorns the jacket and is referenced a few times in the book itself. In this scary extended thesis, Brian Klaas outlines the many ways in which Trump has begun to chip away at the foundation stones of freedom and democracy.
Sure it sounds a bit outlandish on the face of it, but Klaas never for a minute equates Trump with full-blown genocidal dictators around the globe. Instead he outlines how those autocrats came to power and how they consolidate it, and shows how Trump's record on the campaign trail and in the White House belies his own authoritarian tendencies. From nepotism to a total intolerance for critique or dissent, from threatening jail/inciting violence against his political opponents to a refusal to decry far-right supremacist groups, from the politicization of apolitical organisations such as NASA and the Congressional Budget Office to stoking existing tensions and divisions in America, his record so far is atrocious and deeply harmful.
Klaas is an expert on autocracy and dictatorships, and writes the most impassioned rallying cries to the protection of democracy I've ever read. Democracy after all is something to be cherished, a privilege by lottery of birth most of us benefit from but millions around the world do not. But it's never been more imperilled. So, everyone, go vote!
P.S. I also really recommend Klaas's Despot's Accomplice for a look at autocratic regimes around the world and how the West often intentionally/unintentionally contributes to their survival....more
As a total newcomer, I picked this up thinking it was the first in Hobb's series set in this world. It took me about 50 pages to realise I was mistakeAs a total newcomer, I picked this up thinking it was the first in Hobb's series set in this world. It took me about 50 pages to realise I was mistaken, but actually it didn't matter - Hobb sketches just enough of the background story I missed to help me understand.
Sci-fi or fantasy can so often lose sight of the humaness of the world it's created, always to its detriment, but Hobb never does - her world is alive with people going about their everyday business, with realistic thoughts, desires and motivations. It made it all the more easier to get lost in.
Overall, I'd give this 3.5. There were a few things I found grating - the main character's propensity for brooding self-flagellation and Shun (who, in this book at least, is a two-dimensional stereotype of "spoilt rich young woman", almost offensively so) being my two biggest bones of contention. But I didn't mind the rather slow pace of it. As Withywoods is restored, it reminded me of the base-upgrading missions in games like Assassin's Creed which I LIVE FOR. And the slowness made the intense final act even more dramatic!...more
"I still think that one of the pleasantest of all emotions is to know that I, I with my brain and my hands, have nourished my beloved few, that I have"I still think that one of the pleasantest of all emotions is to know that I, I with my brain and my hands, have nourished my beloved few, that I have concocted a stew or a story, a rarity or a plain dish, to sustain them truly against the hungers of the world."
Food writing was an entire genre of the craft that, until reading Ruby Tandoh's excellent Eat Up! this year, I had totally overlooked. So I'm trying to make up for lost time! I started with reading Elizabeth David's An Omelette and a Glass of Wine which tbh I found a bit stuffy and dull.
The Gastronomical Me is totally different from that. Really it's M.F.K. Fisher's autobiography, just with food as one of its central focuses - and I know if I was writing mine, I'd do the same. One of the most wonderful things about food is that years later you can eat a certain meal or taste a certain flavour, and BAM just like that you're transported to a significant moment in your life. You really get a sense of that here as Fisher uses food to paint vignettes of formative moments in her life - the ride back as a child with her father and crates of apricots, her austere Victorian grandmother making strawberry jam, that last poignant meals she shared with her husband in a pre-war Europe tearing itself apart....more
Ah, I've missed Saga! Beautiful art, compelling story lines and the BEST supporting characters - in particular, Ghüs the walrus-herding seal in yellowAh, I've missed Saga! Beautiful art, compelling story lines and the BEST supporting characters - in particular, Ghüs the walrus-herding seal in yellow dungarees *_*...more
“Living everyday in the presence of those who refuse to acknowledge your humanity takes great courage�
Opening in 1919 and ending in 1989, Pachinko tel“Living everyday in the presence of those who refuse to acknowledge your humanity takes great courage�
Opening in 1919 and ending in 1989, Pachinko tells the story of a Korean family as they move from Japanese-occupied Korea to post-war Japan and try, in various forms and over several generations, to make a home for themselves.
It's a history lesson in part, giving voice to a group of people - Japanese Koreans - which Japanese society have often treated as second-class citizens. And like the best historical fiction, it balances deftly between being an interesting history lesson and a gripping work of fiction peopled with characters you care about and can relate to....more
"A tree can be only as strong as the forest that surrounds it.�
Imagine Planet Earth but for trees and in book form. This is basically The Hidden Life "A tree can be only as strong as the forest that surrounds it.�
Imagine Planet Earth but for trees and in book form. This is basically The Hidden Life of Trees, and it was honestly ADORABLE. We often see trees as static objects, living in some abstract sense but basically a resource for us to use. But this book does a terrific job at bringing to life the strange complexity of trees and the forest ecosystem they exist in, describing the patterns of life and interconnection which - even though we can't see them - are happening all the same in forest soil, tree canopies, or under their bark.
This book has genuinely changed the way I think about trees and turned me into the most irritating compendium of tree-related facts which I've been annoying my boyfriend, friends, family and colleagues with ever picking it up. I was going to list a few of my fave facts but actually I'll let you discover them for yourself. You're welcome.
(Also the irony wasn't lost on me that I was basically reading how amazing and alive trees are on the remains of pulped tree-flesh. I'M SORRY, TREES)...more
I never thought I'd give an Atwood book two stars, but here we are. What a funny ol' world!
This series should have ended at the second book. The firstI never thought I'd give an Atwood book two stars, but here we are. What a funny ol' world!
This series should have ended at the second book. The first one, with its narrow focus, does a fantastic job at introducing us to the world of big corps, genetically-engineered animals, and then zipping forward to a strange and bewildering post-apocalyptic future after some unknown event has just happened. Then along comes the second, broadening out the scope just a little to introduce us to the whacky eco-doomsday-cult the God's Gardeners and adding a bit more colour.
But then the third totally does away with the discipline of the other two and the focus is utterly obliterated. It tries to take in far too much, explain far too much, and tie-up far too many loose-ends. And it ends up doing all of those things really poorly, leaving characterization to fester in a pleebland back-alley. Plus it decides to concentrate Zeb, easily the most boring and annoying protagonist of the entire series. ...more
If I'd have come to this without having first read Sapiens, I'd have loved this book. But I found there not enough difference between the two - I thouIf I'd have come to this without having first read Sapiens, I'd have loved this book. But I found there not enough difference between the two - I thought Harari covers moreorless the same ground as the previous book, and there wasn't enough focus on the futurey bits, at least not until halfway through. A little disappointing!...more
“I feel no nostalgia for our childhood: it was full of violence.�
Set in a poor, dusty district of 1950s Naples, this book charts the complicated child“I feel no nostalgia for our childhood: it was full of violence.�
Set in a poor, dusty district of 1950s Naples, this book charts the complicated childhood friendship of Elena (the narrator) and Lila. The characterization, sense of place, and moments of profoundly beautiful writing made this such a pleasure to read. I'll definitely move on to the rest of the series!
[Sorry for short, unimaginative review - currently exhausted and under-caffeinated]...more
Super interesting history of the Templars and how they emerged out of the Christian crusader states to be one of the military, economic powerhouses ofSuper interesting history of the Templars and how they emerged out of the Christian crusader states to be one of the military, economic powerhouses of Europe and the Middle East. And then also their swift, brutal demise at the hands of Philip IV of France (who sounds like the absolute worst, btw). But it's not just a history of the order - it also charts the history of the invasion and occupation of the Middle East by the Christian West, and the subsequent clash of mighty cultures and figures from both sides....more
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