The Story of Breakfast Cereals...Its story involves a uniquely American mix of eccentric health reformers, fringe religion and commercial canniness.

I do like Mike Parker‘s sense of humour...

Just finished reading this & then found the BBC radio 4 podcast of the author being interviewed on “The Life Scientific”. Dr O‘Sullivan is a neurologist who specialises in the diagnosis of epilepsy and frequently meets people with psychosomatic epilepsy and other psychosomatic disorders. She tells their stories with such kindness & empathy but she‘s also fascinated by the power of the mind to separate the conscious & the unconscious. Fascinating.

I have to be honest and say I picked up this book because it looked so beautiful. Who says you shouldn‘t judge a book by its cover? 😉 I have then been enthralled by it. In it the author discusses the history, chemistry, societal effect, toxicity, manufacture, and individual examples of the use of over 70 colours divided into groups of whites, yellows, oranges, reds and so on. It sounds dry but she writes with such contagious interest - I loved it

“Persons who drink chocolate regularly are conspicuous for unfailing health and immunity from the host of minor ailments which mar the enjoyment of life; they are also less inclined to lose weight; these are two advantages which anyone can verify...” What about chocolate buttons?

“Two council workmen come in ...They dispense swift, terse, unrepeatable judgements on Theresa May, global warming and Ken Bruce‘s PopMaster. I ask them if they have heard of the Jarrow march. They tell me they know the song, and after some debate and rehearsal, proceed to sing me a challenging, atonal version of ‘Fog on the Tyne‘ by Lindisfarne.”

I‘ve just realised that this wonderful little app can save my relationship; my OH doesn‘t have to put up with me reading bits out of this book that are making me laugh out loud: ‘A fascinating pursuit,‘ they go on, ‘is the search for missing junction numbers, such as junction 3 of the M1 motorway.‘ Indeed. How many times have we all wondered where the fuck that got to? ...And to think there are people who need alcohol or sex to have fun. 😂🤣😜

At a time when the world can seem increasingly stressful and unstable, Hans Rosling extends a calming hand onto your shoulder and shows you why the world is actually a much better place for everyone in it than it‘s ever been. Yes there are threats (no small thanks to some of the divisive politicians out there) but it continues to improve in spite of them. I simply cannot recommend this book highly enough - and it‘s a very quick read too!

I love #maps but I know very little about geopolitics and this book has come highly recommended so is near the top of my TBR list...

My favourite coffee ☕️ (Illy dark roast) in my favourite, if slightly world worn, mug and my number 1 #desertislandbook #coffeecoffeecoffee 😊😊😊

“... in our own unconscious we cannot perceive our own death and do believe in our own immortality...”
This isn‘t an everyday read but it happens to be the book I was reading when I came across Litsy for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I have been meaning to read it for over 20 years and, although it has aged (it was first published in 1970), it still has a lot to tell us.
By coincidence I was at a book reading...