Bad Science - Dr. Ben Goldacre

Bad Science is a non-fictional book that exposes how the media, journalists, nutritionists, pharmaceutical corporations and homeopaths (I've read so much about them it makes me sigh to hear their name), have been abusing science and statistics to get to the minds of people. This book targets all the charlatans and bullshitters of the marketing world that manipulate and exploit the name of science. 

The book looks at the 'bad science' behind nutritionists, looking at their 'evidence-based' facts and questionable internet credentials. Goldacre has all the evidence and scientific truths to defend his perfectly fair investigation of the variety of people that fall under his research quadrat. A perfect example is trying to find the 'study' that a certain nutritionist found that backs up how pomegranates can actually protect you from aging - this is not the case, there is no such study that justifies this lie about pomegranates. 

The book questions the so-called facts and double-checks evidence; Goldacre has no remorse to expose the truth as it is or whom it may offend and polishes it off with esoteric humour. It reveals how the media encourages and spreads the misuse of science; and reveals the truths, half-truths and the very beneficial lies as are used in the medical, nutritional and marketing worlds. 

A truly interesting, fun and informative book to read; I highly recommend Bad Science as a must-read book. Dr. Ben Goldacre sends a clear message with this book: equip yourself with the knowledge to tell the difference between the regrettably abundant 'bad science' and the verifiable 'true science'.

"Cat On a Hot Tin Roof" by Tennessee Williams

The 'Cat On a Hot Tin Roof' is a classic play by Tennessee Williams. It is his fifth play to reach the screen and it speaks of Daddy Pollitt, a wealthy owner of Mississippi plantations, who is alcoholic and  unaware of the fact that he is dying of cancer. His hopeless wife tries to stop him from drinking but unsuccessfully. 

A significant theme in this play is the manliness and homosexuality. This is represented in the title. Brick is considered the "Cat", a broken man, and Cat concerns itself with the elaboration of shattered manliness. Bricks fell in love with an individual named Skipper but this love is unable to be discussed neither satisfied. 

I recommend this book to anybody who enjoys emotional yet interesting genres. 

"The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams

"The Glass Menagerie" is a four-character memory play by Tennessee Williams. 

The play is introduced by the narrator as well as protagonist, Tom, as a memory play based on his recollection of his sister Laura and of his mother Amanda. First published in 1945, the Glass Menagerie represents the drama amongst this particular family and the tragedy they keep up with. Amanda, the mother of Tom, is an aged Southern belle who was abandoned by her husband long ago. Her daughter Laura is one of her major worries due to her tremendous insecurity when it comes to the outside world. Amanda is obsessed with finding her daughter a gentlemen caller due to her drop out of high school and subsequent secretarial course which seems to be leading her nowhere. Tom is the man who works and supports the family but often gets carried away with boredom. Once bored, Tom either goes to the cinema or stands on the balcony smoking cigarettes. 

Personally, I feel this family, especially Amanda, live in a dream world, locked up in a little bubble. They are completely unaware of anything which happens amongst them and do not feel any need to find out. 

"Tender is the Night" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Tender is the night, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, takes place in the French Riviera in the 1920s. It is a sad story about a wealthy and content couple, Nicole and Dick Diver. They create various admirers, upon them a young lady named Rosemary Hoyt. She falls deeply in love with Dick, this being where the perfection of the couple begins to fall apart. 

This particular novel excited many genres such as modernism, surrealism, horror/gothic fiction and romance. This classic was a literary movement of Modernism which gained a large reacting audience to World War I. The horror of war was only scoped by the imaginations of the people who had experienced it. However in Tender is the Night, the idea of literal landscape and the narrative structure itself are shattered. Romance is also a major genre due to the fact that the characters love each other to the extreme. 

"May Day" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

During the october break, the book which grasped by attention is "May Day". This novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, first published in 1920, speaks during the political May Day riots in Ohio in 1919. The story takes place in New York and the reader is introduced to three individual stories which coincide which each other; the story of the newspaper offices, the story of Sterrett and the story of Key and Rose. Many of these characters are in complicated dilemmas such as Sterrett which becomes bankrupt or Edith who "typifies the idealistic modern woman who seeks perfection and is repelled by anything less". 

I enjoyed reading this book. I love Fitzgerald's style of writing and the unique way in which he presents each and every character.