The Greatest Show On Earth - Richard Dawkins

Richard Dawkins has a style of writing that really really appeals.  He is able to describe complex ideas in a understandable, witty, precise way and in this book he is on top form.  He presents step by step all the evidence for evolution.  If you are reading this book chances are you already broadly believe in evolutionary theories but this explains and clarifies all the bits you didn't quite get.  I always love his asides and digressions which teach me all sorts of interesting facts.  Being Richard Dawkins he can't resist poking and teasing people who don't agree with him but he is fairly restrained in most of this book.

I started this book thinking I was fairly unlikely to make it all the way through but once I got started I didn't look back.  Excellent book which made me feel smart for reading.

9/10

A Universal History Of Iniquity - Jorge Luis Borges

This collection of short stories was the first Borges had published.  The stories are all about crimes and apparently most are based on true stories.  Reading the preface to the second edition it would seem that the author himself did not really like this book for the reason that he was retelling other peoples stories and not creating his own.  Similarly most critics seem to treat it as a prelude to his later 'better' works.  But I really really enjoyed this book, his style of telling the story with out too much 'local flavour' some how made the tales seem all the more real.  As to if Borges' work really did get beter after this I will let you know as I am working my way through all the Fictions : )

8/10

Dress Your Family In Corduroy And Denim - David Sedaris

I read this book mostly because I liked the title.  I had hoped that it would present a lifestyle manifesto based upon wearing corduroy and denim.  I was mistaken.  It is actually a collection of pieces written for various magazines and newspapers over the years.  Any one of these would be entertaining on its own but a whole book of them with no real connection to one another is a bit wearing.  Most of the pieces are about his relationship with his family and most of the best ones are about his childhood.  Pretty much all the characters have gotten more irritating as they have gotten older.

Really there is nothing wrong as such with this book, it is in fact pretty funny in places, but really I got fed up with it after fifty pages and was pretty glad to finish it.

3/10

Adult Book - Malcolm Knox

This is a very entertaining story about family life as viewed through the lens of pornography and test cricket.  Sometimes funny, always melancholy and sometimes depressing.  Full of moments which ring true even if your not interested in cricket or pornography.

The main problem with this book is that maybe it is slightly too long, it could have said all the same things in less time and not really lost anything.  But on the other hand it is sometimes the longer versions of the game which never really quite resolve themselves which are ultimately the more satisfying.

8.5/10