SChant's NF reads for 2017

NF books read so far in 2017:
Science: Storm in a Teacup Czerski, Helen
The science of the everyday related back to big scientific principles. Very good.
Feminism, Law: Eve Was Framed Kennedy, Helena
Women and English law in the nineties. Still seems relevant today.
History of science: Jurassic Mary Pierce, Patricia
Mary Anning, the first paleontologist. Good
History of science: The Glass Universe Sobel, Dava
Women in the early years of Harvard astronomy. Good
Science: Introducing Geology Park, Graham
As it says in the title. Very good.
History of science: The Age of Wonder Holmes, Richard
Science and the Royal Society in lat 18th and early 19th centuries. Does justice to Caroline Herschel's contributions. Good
History of science, politics: Stalin and the Scientists Ings, Simon
A salutary lesson in what happens when ideology overrules fact in the scientific world. Good
Science: Robotics, a very short introduction Winfield, Alan
Read it before going to the Robotics exhibition at the Science Museum and it gave me a greater appreciation of the accomplishments on display. Very Good.

Science: The Hidden reality Greene, Brian
Various theories of parallel universes, with a focus on string theory. Even with the straightforward style I found the concepts difficult to understand.

Spaceflight, photography: Hello, is this planet Earth?. Tim Peake's excellent photographs from the ISS
Science, physics: Reality is not what it seems. Explanation of current thinking about quantum gravity. Spent a bit too long on ancient Greeks/Romans, and Dante for me.

Biography: I Am Spock by Leonard Nimoy. Entertaining memoir with some nice Star Trek anecdotes.

History, Women in Science: Hidden Figures. I enjoyed the bits about the women's working lives but didn't care for the folksey style and anecdotes about their domestic lives

Science: Complexity: A Guided Tour by Melanie Mitchell - a look at the science that seeks to explain how large-scale, organized behaviour can emerge from simple interactions among collections of individuals.

Science, psychology: Drunk Tank Pink by Adam Alter. A slight pop-psychology book that didn't really tell me anything new.

History: The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century by Ian Mortimer. A history book that doesn't focus on kings and battles, but on daily life for ordinary folk.

Politics, History: October: the Story of the Russian Revolution by China Miéville. A whirlwind tour of the events leading up to and including the October revolution in lively prose with the occasional China-ism to make one smile.

> 1 She certainly sells seashells by the seashore! Thanks for these lists, Jurassic Mary has jumped atop my ridiculous TBR pile.

History of science, feminism: Pandora's Breeches Fara, Patricia. Women in science during The Enlightenment era. Not quite what I expected, a bit too much about the men in that era, but I've learned a few new names!

Sport, Cricket: Out of the Ashes Albone, Tim. The heartwarming and uplifting story of the Afghan Cricket Team.

History, Politics: Long Road from Jarrow by Stuart Maconie.Didn't take to it at first, but it won me over by its warmth and genuine interest in working-class life and concerns ( though still a bit too much football and food!)

Politics: The Town That Was Murdered by Ellen Wilkinson, a first-hand account to the poverty and desperation that led to the Jarrow Crusade.

Computing, technology: The Blind Giant. Nick Harkaway's take on digital culture

Physics: Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli. A snapshot of some of the great modern theories in physics - his enthusiasm and love of the field shine through.

Science, dinosaurs: Dinosaurs of China - catalogue of exhibition.

Science, Art: Blaschka (HD Version): Crystal Creatures of the Sea - beautiful photographs of some of the fabulous Blaschka sea-creatures.

Science, feminism: Testosterone Rex, winner of the 2017 Royal Society books award. Thought-provoking and humerous look at the way the hormone testosterone has been used to "prove" sex inequality, in much the way that relative brain size was used in the Victorian era. Very interesting.

>19 SChant: Sounds very interesting.

Science, Art: Sea Creatures in Glass. Fabulous plates of some of the Blaschka sea creatures owned by the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Science, feminism: Inferior: how science got women wrong. A similar theme to Testosterone Rex, though more reportage and interviews than reviews of the scientific literature from an expert's POV.

Science, microbiology: I contain Multitudes by Ed Yong. One of the Royal Society Book Prize shortlist for 2017. I never knew microbes could be so fascinating!

Linguistics: How to Talk Like a Local by Susie Dent. Collection of dialect and slang works from all over the UK. Not comprehensive and only mildly interesting.

Science, geology: The Geology of Britain by Peter Toghill.

Science, geology: Northumberland Coast Rocks! - a delightful series of geology walks from Holy Island down to Alnmouth.

Science, genetics, paleontology: Tamed: Ten Species that Changed Our World by Alice Roberts, about the domestication of certain animals and plants by humans.

Technology, transhumanism: To Be a Machine by Mark O'Connell. Another one of the Royal Society shortlist for 2017.

Geology: Coastal Landcsapes of South Australia by Robert P Bourman

Politics, feminism: Your Silence Will Not Protect You - essays and poems by Audre Lorde.
She's polemical not analytical - pouring out emotion rather than precise critique. In that respect the essays are of their time, but the issues she talks about are still relevant today. I prefer the more analytical approach - I like to know how things work so I can see how best to disassemble and rebuild, but that doesn't mean that anger has no place in the analysis.