theomnivorescientist's reviews
371 reviews

The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes by Donald D. Hoffman

adventurous challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.75

What you see is not real. That is all this book says. In a scary, intimidating, and logical manner. Hammering away the same concept every few pages because it will take some time to sink in. What we see is not objective reality but only images meant for us to survive and procreate due to natural selection. Donald Hoffman lays it down from quantum physics to human vision often in inscrutable concepts. One of the toughest books I have read to date. If u see a tomato on the table, look away from it, is the tomato still there on the table? Like I said. Scary and intimidating. Spacetime is doomed and we, as a species interact in an interface suitable for our evolutionary needs. We do not possess the understanding to understand what actually is real and what isn't. 

Frankissstein by Jeanette Winterson

4.5

The best Frankenstein themed modern novel I have read in 2019. Timely and important. Identity, sexuality, brain and cognitive sciences. You name it and it is there. Is love real? Or cyberlove and sexbots have a chance to create a niche of selfless 'love'? How much 'human' can our future robots be allowed to be? Who wants to die when you can upload your consciousness on the cloud? Is being human merely the memories in our neurons or do we need ageing and frail bodies for the full 'human experience'? Every page will tingle you with novel peculiarities and questions. Ah, the questions. Mary Shelley would be so proud today. 

Introducing Particle Physics: A Graphic Guide by Oliver Pugh, Tom Whyntie

5.0

An easy and engaging read through the basics of particle physics ( cloud chambers and atomic theory ) to the history of the Large Hadron Collider. Especially interesting is the part where the visuals describe parity and quarks. 

The Delicate Dependency: A Novel of the Vampire Life by Michael Talbot

adventurous challenging dark informative inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

A doctor in Victorian London working on the cause of influenza in his home laboratory encounters vampires who have abducted his prodigal daughter. The story catapults from here to the rescuing of the child and we enter vivid psychoanalysis of the vampire mind. Here the vampiric life is shown to be the hidden proprietors of technological and scientific advances. For a horror novel, this book has quite the lavishness of a rich historical fiction. Michael Talbot is famous for his theory of the Holographic Universe and I was quite surprised with this fictional experiment of his. The work of a true polymath. 

Sin Eater by Megan Campisi

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I rarely give five stars to a debut book but this work by Campisi was one of those rare good books which when finished make me really sad. Sin eaters were real back in the old days when these eaters would preside over funerals and eat tiny pieces of cake or a meal laid down by the deceased in order to 'eat' his sins before his journey to the afterlife or absolving his soul of all sins. Particularly popular in the Welsh culture and documented during early Victorian Age ( yes, they invented the culture of the funeral business ) but version of sin-eating prevail in ancient cultures too. In this book, it is a fictional tale of a girl in the Elizabethan age who is forced to become a sin-eater and suffers ostracization from society because of her profession. The one absolute rule of the sin-eater is that she cannot speak to anyone as it is forbidden. But when murders happen and the royal court members are involved, the protagonist has to solve them without talking to anyone to save her own life. The socio-political layout of the story is similar to the reign of Elizabeth herself as the characters in her court have been used as inspiration here. The book portrays the hardships of the working class folk of the late middle ages, especially the discrimination and hardships of women, immigrants, and the outcasts of the society. For a debut novel, this is an impressive undertaking. The book doesn't rush itself but doesn't slack either. The best part is the list of food items along with the sins they represent listed at the beginning of the story. 

The Boy from the Woods by Harlan Coben

2.0

Not his best but not his worst either. Maybe it is a grave situation globally when Harlan Coben starts infusing politics in his domestic crime thrillers. The current politics of America has been relentlessly seeping in major works of several authors. A boy emerged from the woods having lived his childhood in the wild fending for himself. His life in the woods taught him skills which become crucially helpful when teenagers in present-day go missing, one of a highly politically driven family. Secrets and old wounds freshen up in this breezy read. Not impressive for a Harlan Coben work. 

The Familiars by Stacey Halls

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

4.0

The Familiars is a gothic tale rooted in the real events of the Pendle Hill Witch trials of the 17th century. The story revolves around a noblewoman Fleetwood Shuttleworth who is helped by a poor girl called Alice Grey during her pregnancy after a series of miscarriages. But things take a dire turn when Alice is accused of witchcraft. The characters are historically true and the story tries to answer some burning questions about the basis of witch trials. Was it focused on flushing out subservient poor class, religious fanaticism, or just plain woman-hunting? Richly detailed and atmospheric, one of the best feminist takes on the subject. 

Fatal Lies by Frank Tallis

adventurous challenging funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

5.0

Frank Tallis, a clinical psychologist and now a full-time author famous for his Liebermann crime novels. Fatal Lies is the third novel in this series set in 1900s Vienna at the brink of great scientific and industrial breakthrough surrounding the adventures of Vienna police inspector Oskar Reinhardt and psychiatrist Max Liebermann who also happens to be the student of yes, Sigmund Freud. This particular volume leads the duo crime solvers on a journey through a military boarding school for Viennese boys and investigates the murder of a teenage boy. Tallis infuses his medical knowledge about psychoanalysis throughout the book as I am sure is the underlying skeleton of the series. Solving crimes through observation of human behaviour. A bit like Conan Doyle but Tallis creates a Vienna like no other. The rise of Freudian practices, the Austro-Hungarian political landscape, the coffee houses and Viennese bakeries, opera and of course waltz and classical music. I made copious notes. There are chapters dedicated to the analysis of certain pieces. Next thing you know I was playing Fur Elise on a piano app on my laptop. More than the crime and the solution itself, this series needs to be cherished for its historical accuracy and a love for neuroscience. One single caution: please keep a gap between two Liebermann novels. They are dense and need a palate cleanser in between. 

The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths

adventurous challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

4.0

The Stranger Diaries is a story about a story. A high school teacher is writing a biography of a fictional author named R.M. Holland who is famous for writing a horror story called The Stranger. She researches this fictional Holland's life and the tragedies of his Victorian life in Sussex. Holland's home is now the modern school where Clare Cassidy, the English teacher works. There is a legend that Holland's wife fell down the stairs and her ghost flits about the school building till today. Meanwhile, Clare gets embroiled in a string of murders that happen in the school's English department. On the hunt for the killer, we meet the very charming DS Harbindar Kaur. DS Kaur's character arc is very entertaining as I can identify with her Punjabi culture and her thoughts and observations about her British life. A good mystery with a dash of gothic horror and plenty of English countryside vibes. 

The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman

dark emotional reflective

3.5

A classics literary gothic by Carol Goodman. A Latin student returns to her alma mater as a Latin teacher in a prestigious girl boarding school in upstate New York. The school holds various mysteries often accompanying female friendships, jealousies, and identities in the backdrop of the cold, icy lake surrounded by forests. The book was a bit long for me since the string of murders is pretty transparent when you pay attention to the details. But if you love language, ancient history, and cold atmospheric backdrops this one is for summer nights.