She Has Her Mother's Laugh by Carl Zimmer

I didn't read every page because some of the genetics is not new to me. However, in general, this is the best general public presentation of genetics I have ever seen. The writing is excellent, the science is state of the art, and some of the more recent findings on mosaics and CRISPR are amazing and artfully presented. I strongly recommend this book.

Stuff Matters by Mark Miedownik

A fact-filled, fascinating book about everyday man-made materials that have drastically altered our lives. Ten different materials, each so well presented it is hard to pick a favorite. Steel (headlining a discussion of metals), paper, concrete, glass, plastic, porcelain, grapheme and diamond. There was something I didn't know in every paragraph.

The Emergence of Everything: How the World Became Complex by Harold J. Morowitz

From the Big Bang to the emergence of spirituality, 28 steps of directed evolution directed by "God" and an emergent principle operating through a kind of quasi-Darwinian mechanism. Interesting and well written and concise to a fault. Very speculative and brave for a biologist of repute. Much better than I expected.

The Power of Small: Why Little Things Make All the Difference by Linda Kaplan Thayer and Robin Koval

By the advertising geniuses that brought us the AFLAC duck. Really a collection of stories about how small things we do can reap big dividends. Not profound or novel, but the stories are quite good.

The Quantum Spy by David Ignatius

Though this is a work of fiction, I am almost sure that the themes and even the activities depicted are taking place at this time. The promise and the dangers of quantum computing represent the "Manhattan Project" of this generation. The story is engaging though typical of the genre.

Death and Judgment by Donna Leon

(read aloud)

Brunetti loves Venice; he in a sense is Venice. But the corruption, the bureaucracy, the slow decay, all trouble him. This episode deals with trafficking and is disturbing and raw. Brunetti, usually calm, is so upset by these criminals that he reveals both anger and sorrow. We saw of the video of this book, which was quite different but disturbing as well. I look forward to more Donna Leon.

Boundless by Bryan Bishop

A trip around the world to see if following Jesus can be done within the culture of other religions. For example, can one follow Jesus and remain a Muslim? As far as Islam is a culture and lifestyle and perhaps in some cases, propositionally relatively lax in some areas of observance and perhaps open to Jesus as being mentioned favorably in the Koran, one can remain in the Muslim culture yet follow Jesus as the ground of truth and righteousness and devotion and salvation.

Other examples in other cultures are given, and a chapter about the legitimacy also of "western" culture as a valid culture of Jesus-following (with also attendant syncretistic danger) is well done. Mostly the book raises questions and doesn't give firm answers. The key is to follow Jesus, where he leads and the Holy Spirit sheds light.

The Divine Invasion by Philip K. Dick

A fairly transparent sci-fi retelling of the incarnation with a futuristic amalgam of ancient sources, myth, and multiverse elements. Parts are fascinating and disarming, others beyond the comprehension of this reader. A book that could be re-read and enjoyed again. Underneath the cleverness a God beyond description lurks.

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

(read aloud)

This is a fascinating, complex book, consisting of an account by a publisher of mysteries about the murder of an author of a mystery novel. The novel is almost completely contained in the text, and there are complicated parallels between the mystery novel, the mystery author's mysterious murder, and the mystery publisher's mysterious involvement in it all. Add a bunch of puzzles and anagrams and you have a recipe for days of pleasant intrigue. The writing is delightful and the changes of voice in the various parts quite remarkable. Will give Horowitz another look.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

This reading about someone playing a video game. So why did I read the whole book? I don't know.

Update: We watched the movie and it was actually enjoyable. The visual modality helped to understand what was happening.

Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O'Neil

Somewhat disappointing. Very good on the injustices of data science applied to groups of people, with unintended (?) consequences. Then mostly political. Can't math use feedback to address these injustices algorithmically?

Lost Connection by Johann Hari

A book about the cause of depression. He contends that, because the DSM has a "grief exception," they have admitted that life circumstance can cause symptoms matching depression. He makes a good case that depression can be caused by life circumstances, that depression, anxiety, and grief may be manifestations of one process, and that modern life is driving an increase in depression. He states that SSRI research was duplicitous and misleading.

His main point is that depression is caused by disconnection, and he writes about disconnection from meaningful work, loneliness, sharing contacts and values, intrinsic values vs. extrinsic values, materialism and separation from nature, junk values analogous to junk food, and envy.

Depression is caused by biological, psychological, and social factors. He gives examples of healing communities. The last part of the book was less interesting to me, dealing with meditation, hallucinogenic mushrooms, and social activism.

Identical by Scott Turow

An interesting murder mystery involving identical twins and uncertain paternity and Greek-American culture. Do identical twins have the same DNA and the same fingerprints? Now the answer is no.

*Spoiler alert*
The story, it turns out, is loosely based on the myth of the Gemini, one immortal and one mortal, who, when one was dying, asked to share mortality and each spent half the time in Hades and half on Mount Olympus.

Empire of Lies by Andrew Klavan

This book is x-rated as far as I am concerned, but it has an interesting plot and the protagonist is a devoted Christian, which would seem to me to be unusual in a book of this genre.

Strangers on a Bridge by James Donovan

(read aloud)

This is the book on which the Tom Hanks movie Bridge of Spies is based. The book and the movie are quite in agreement. Donovan is an excellent writer and it is a very good story. Donovan is really a remarkable person, and while he is not self-promoting, his position, prominence, and ability are on every page.

Suspicion and Faith by Merold Westphal

Suggested by my pastor when I asked about Nietzsche. The premise is that the atheistic philosophers Freud, Marx, and Nietzsche, while criticizing Christianity, make some observations we would do well to listen to. If we can hold back from trying to refute their basic philosophy, which Westphal feels is possible, we can listen and learn.

The hermeneutics of suspicion, "the attempt to expose self-deception, in hiding our actual motives from ourselves," and not to notice "how much our behavior and our beliefs are shaped by values we disown." It is not skepticism, which deals with evidence of propositions believed, but suspicion as to the duplicity of persons.

Freud views religion as false and as a delusion and a way to seek consolation, life being too hard for us. Dreams are wish-fulfillment.

To Marx, religion is the opiate of the people, anesthetizing them so that they can ignore the plight of the oppressed.

Nietzsche sees religion as a will to power, a way to make one big and others small.

Westphal goes deeply into the writings of each one and shows how on the mark much of this criticism is.

Especially interesting are the later chapters where he shows Jesus making the same case against the Pharisees and us. A very good book.

Surprised by Scripture by N. T. Wright

Again Wright influences me and to some extent wins me over to his views. He wants to extirpate my latent epicureanism, which I was unaware of having. He defines epicureanism and shows how it was a part of the Enlightenment and the American founders. His case for this seems sound and despite his latent anti-americanism explains a lot. The book deals with application of scripture.

He deals with:
1) the historicity of Adam
2) science, scientism, and the resurrection
3) the ordination of women
4) eschatology and ecology
5) the problem of evil
6) idolatry
7) the Gospel in the public square
8) engaging the culture
9) art

These all are worth referring to. A very good book, almost as good as Surprised by Hope, which is high praise. A different book, however.

The Great Good Thing by Andrew Klavan

About a secular Jew who finds Christ or is found by Christ. Very well written, honest and introspective. Full of grace and insight.