Fortunately I saw a post on Facebook a couple of days before our council libraries closed down. My daughter & I made a quick trip to the library and stocked up on books that are probably going to be borrowed for a very long time. I know I can read eBooks but I don’t tend to read them. I still much prefer a physical book. With the libraries shut, it may also mean that I finish a few books that I’ve bought and haven’t read. We’ll see!
Anyhow here’s a list of the books I did finish reading in March:
Hello World: How to be Human in the Age of the Machine by Hannah Fry
Hannah Fry discusses data & algorithms and how information that is collected about us is being used for good and bad. Several chapters cover different topics such as shopping, transport, healthcare, finance & security.
She shared many fascinating & scary stories like how a store was able to determine which women were pregnant by certain purchases they made and then send them catalogues with baby products. One father became angry because his teenage daughter received these catalogues, he then found out she was pregnant! Or the person who was wrongly convicted because of a bad security camera photo and the way that data was being used.
Fry says of her book, “It’s about humans. It’s about who we are, where we’re going, what’s important to us — and how that is changing with technology.”
Technology has brought about a lot of good but we do need to be careful about how far we go and how information is collected and used.
On the Edge by Theresa Santy
Kristen is running from her past and is experiencing haunting dreams. She turns to therapy, alcohol, & pills. She meets Ethan, a bronze-eyed Jesus freak but she struggles to open her heart to him or his faith. Kristen keeps running and time and time again she finds herself standing at the shore of the Pacific Ocean, fighting the urge to submerge herself beneath the water forever.
It was a real page turner and there were a number of characters that you weren’t quite sure what they were hiding.
The Moment She Left by Susan Lewis
Kesterly-on-Sea is full of secrets. Andee is an ex-detective who is helping a father track down his student daughter, who disappeared without a trace. Meanwhile, a popular resident of the town has discovered that she is terminally ill but doesn’t want to burden her family & friends with the news. Their journey helps them uncover a secret, that affects many.
Another page turner, as I wanted to know what had happened and what was going to happen. Another book, Home Truths by Susan Lewis, also has some of the characters as this book, but was set a few years later.
A Promise Between Friends by Carol Rivers
Set in 1953 and the next couple of years; 19-year-old Ruby and her friend Kath move to a flat in the East End of London to escape an abusive family for one and the unhappy memory of her brother’s suicide, for the other.
They both find work. Then Ruby meets the charming Nick and despite the warnings that he is trouble, Ruby thinks she’s getting into a glamorous life. But it will come at a high cost.
Did you make it to the library before they were closed in your area? What have you been reading lately?
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