"The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger

I read this book many months ago, but its one of the few books I have read twice, so it deserves to be shared. The other that comes to mind is "Life of Pi". I got reminded of the book recently as Tracy, an intern from NUS, told me she was reading the same book and loving every page of it. Anyway, the book's protagonist is Henry DeTamble, who has a genetic disorder that causes him to involuntarily time-travel. Or to put it in more scientific terms, he has Chrono-Displacement.

When the 28-year old Henry meets his 20-year old wife-t0-be Clare Abshire for the first time in 1991, this is the also same time that he starts appearing during Clare's childhood. As you can imagine, this makes for quite interesting reading, not to mention having to ignore the normal space-time continuum that normal people like us are subject to. (Its sort of like "Back to the Future", but in a heterosexual romantic context.) This is why Clare can look him in the eyes and say that she's known him all her life. Henry is unable to control when he leaves, where he goes, or how long he will be gone. The places he goes to are rooted in his subconscious, and he often travels to places he has visited or will eventually visit. There is some degree of determinism involved, but often things that happened are triggered by events in the past. Henry cannot take anything with him when he time-travels. Having to find food, clothing and shelter means that he has no choice but to learn survival skills like lock-picking and fighting, among others while he waits to go back to where/when he came from.

This is a funny and at the same time poignant book. You can imagine the emotional toll Henry's condition exacts on him and his wife. For example, he keeps going back to when his mother died during a gruesome highway accident. And after marrying Clare, they tried without success to have a child for a long time. Each time she conceives, it ends in a miscarriage because of Henry's condition. But a past version of Henry travels to the future and makes love to her and she becomes pregnant and manages to carry the child to term. And before the child is born, Henry goes to the future and meets her when she is ten and learns about some terrible truths. All in all, I rate this book a 9 out of 10, as its beautifully written without being saccharinely sweet. You'll feel so much for the characters that you experience Henry and Clare's anguish of having to deal with such a condition, lament the impossibility of a normal life for the loving and lovable couple and curse the fates for being so unfair to them.

"The Undercover Economist" by Tim Harford

Ever since I read "Freakonomics" 2 years ago, I've been wanting to read "the Undercover Economist. Partly, it was an attempt to see if I can still remember anything from 3 years of reading the dismal science in university. But mostly, I wanted to see if it can provide insights into my work and life. Apparently, reading things outside of your usual genre and doing things outside of your normal routine jolt your mind in ways that create new neuron connections in your brain. Anyway, I finally bought this using Gary's kinokuniya discount card one Sunday. But I digress.

This book, while not as wacky as "Freakonomics", is still a hoot to read. It covers everything from why the expensive coffee you buy on the way to work doesn't make coffee farmers rich to how globalisation is not as evil as some people would have you think. From the first chapter, I was hooked because while Harford doesn't say anything new about economics, his analysis makes for compelling reading. For example, he starts with the story of the lone coffee bar in Waterloo Station in the UK. The fact that it can charge S$4.5 for a cup of cappuccino is because nobody else has a kiosk next door charging S$4. The reason why there is nobody next door is because the manager in charge of leasing retail space has concluded that rather than have many coffee bars in the station, he will have only one. This means that he can pretty much dictate the terms of the lease since being the lone bar allows the operator to charge a premium. But get this; what Harford has illustrated is that scarcity is power. Of course, anyone who has some modicum knowledge of economics knows that, but how many people actually look at their immediate environment and conclude that it's at work. By the way, coffee farmers are not rich because they have no scarcity power. Coffee can be grown practically everywhere, unlike oil which occurs only in certain parts of the world. This explains why when top coffee producers attempted to set up a cartel (like OPEC - ha!) to control two-thirds of the world production, it failed and shut down. Whenever the cartel succeeded in raising coffee prices, new countries jumped on the bandwagon and started producing coffee.

I especially like the chapter about globalisation entitled "Beers, Chips and Globalisation". Here, he reminds us of the familiar term "comparative advantage", which basically says that countries (like individuals) should do what they do best. When a devloped country comes under supposed attack from a developing one in that the latter can offer cheaper labour; what is actually happening is that certain industries feel the pressure. And this pressure is really telling the country that its better doing more of the other industries than those which are feeling pressured because it has comparative advantage in the aforesaid industries. There is no risk of developed countries losing everything to developing ones for imports need to be paid for by exports, i.e., the former will always be good at something that it can sell to the world to buy imports. And the evil that globalisation could bring upon the world is more myth than fact. For example, there was concern that companies in rich countries will set up shop in poorer ones and produce with scant regard for the environment. But this is not supported by empirical evidence. Take China for example, pollution level has actually gone down since the 1980s when it opened its doors to the world. Historically, countries have imposed more stringent laws to regulate pollution as they develop. But I think my elucidation is a tad wanting, so you're better off reading Harford for yourself. Obviously, my comparative advantage does NOT lie in explaining economics in easy-to-understand terms.

PS: I rate this book 7 out of 10 for an interesting read that gets you thinking that economics may actually matter in the real world ; )

"Equal Rites" by Terry Pratchett

Equal Rites is the 4th -- or 5th?? -- Pratchett book I read of the Discworld Series. It is a slimmer than usual volume, but with the characteristic satirical humour by Pratchett.

In brief, the story is about this dying wizard who has travelled far and wide to pass his magic to a child who is the 8th son of a father who is also the 8th son among his siblings. Complications ensue when, in typical male fashion of assuming whatever the wizard says is true, the father brings said future wizard to the dying wizard, gets the rites of passing the magic done, before discovering that the baby is actually a girl. As Esk (short for Eskarina) grows up, it becomes increasingly difficult to deny the gift she was given at birth. She journeys to the Unseen University and eventually becomes the first female wizard admitted into its hallowed halls.

I can't really put a finger as to why I didn't enjoy the book. Perhaps it was the state of mind I was in (speed reading in a subterranean clinic while waiting your turn before finishing the book sprawled on the couch, all the while feeling miserable has a way of doing that), or maybe the story line just wasn't as catchy as the previous TP Discworld books. Certainly there was humour; but the exploits of Esk just didn't have the same punch as TP's usual subversive retelling of events.

I read the back cover introduction expecting TP to explore the feminist theme in an innovative way, but the actual telling fell short: Esk eventually gains admission into the university by passing herself off as a servant and by some stroke of luck she saved a neophyte wizard from the bad guys. The Archchancellor of the University relents, and history is made.

Quite predictable, and therefore disappointing.

Geek rating: 2 out of 5

The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas

I rather enjoy relating how I picked up some of my books. It could be a teasing hook written on the back cover, a compelling idea, an admired author, an eye-catching design...or in this case, black pages.
Yah, isn't it cool? The pages of the book are stained black at the edges. My girlfriend took a look at The End of Mr Y after I paid up and asked me,"You bought it cos the pages are black right?"

Was it so obvious?

As frivolous as the reason I purchased it may be, The End of Mr Y is no walk in the park. It is a compelling read, as much as I feel that author is trying to fuck with my mind at times.
(what was I to use -'brain fornication'?)

The story goes like this: Ariel Manto is doing her PhD in Thought Experiments, and is particularly enamoured by the works of this eccentric Victorian scientist Thomas Lumas. His last novel, The End of Mr Y, is extremely rare and Ariel is over the moon when she comes across a copy of it. As she delves into the story, Ariel discovers a recipe for a special formula that allows people to enter the Troposphere - a metaphysical dimension made up of the individual's thoughts and lets the person enter the thoughts of others. Love, sex and adventure follows, all the ingredients needed for an exciting and enjoyable ride.

The cranium copulation bit comes when Ariel and her friends discuss quantum physics and philosophy. Some of the ideas from people like Heidegger, Samuel Butler and Edgar Allan Poe had me scratching my head at times and wishing I had Google at my side.

Quote? I was hard pressed to find one that wasn't too cheem and nothing really struck me...so, not this time.

All that said, The End of Mr Y is a worthy read, especially if you like an adventure with a dose of scientific and philosophical musings.
7 out of 10 kusari-gama.