The point of these quick takes posts is to catch up on my “To Write About” stack—emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness. This time we’re looking at some recent Non-Fiction Audiobooks.
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The Data Detective: Ten Easy Rules to Make Sense of Statisticsby Tim Harford |
(the official blurb)
On the one hand, Hartford’s aim is to dispel the myth that “to really lie, you use statistics.” But part of what he ends up saying is that they are pretty handy tools for (at least) misleading people. So I’m not sure the book’s as successful as it could’ve been.
But what Hartford really does is show how to interpret statistics, to look behind the headlines and look at what the studies (or whatever) were looking into, what were they asking? And then to take the results reported in the news (or wherever) to use them to better understand things.
It’s basically a guide to teach yourself critical thinking skills—something we could all use more of. I really enjoyed it, and probably need to read/listen to it a few more times to really internalize it.
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All Creatures Great and Smallby James Herriot, Christopher Timothy (Narrator) |
(the official blurb)
I read this series back in junior high—I remember liking them, I remember eventually getting to the point that I wondered if mother cows/sheep/horses always had problems delivering, and…well, that’s about it really.
I didn’t remember how much drinking there was, or the interpersonal stuff between Herriot and the vet he worked for, or the silliness of some of the other interactions he had with people. Which is a shame—because that was just so much fun.
There were some really moving parts, too—I probably skimmed over them in my youth, but I enjoyed dwelling on them now.
This was a sweet book, and it’s easy to see why people have been reading this series for years—and will probably continue to do so. I’m coming back for more as soon as I can.
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The Miracle Pillby Peter Walker |
(the official blurb)
So, basically, here’s the thing the book is pushing: moving more improves our health. Little things like walking and riding bikes—and sitting less—will do wonders to help our health in ways we can’t imagine. Essentially, he argues that if we could take an expensive pill that would have the same impact, we all would. So why not do the free, natural thing?
Walker addresses several different ways that sedentary life can have an adverse impact on health and the ways that movement (walking, cycling, etc.) can reverse that. He talks about the small changes (that hopefully lead to larger changes) that can make dramatic improvements. Walker experiments on himself to illustrate some points, which is always fun.
It gets a little old and repetitive from time to time. But it’s good to review this stuff and a quick and entertaining listen. Give it a shot.
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