Books I'm Currently Reading (March 2010 Edition)

It's been a few months since I last provided a reading list, so it's time to correct that oversight right now.

I've recently finished a couple of books, so let's start with them:

Mindscan by Robert J. Sawyer - Vicki recommended this one to me, and it was a very entertaining read. I had one sort of overarching issue with the way Sawyer put the concept together but otherwise enjoyed it. For those who haven't read it: it's set in a near future Toronto at a time when a company has perfected the ability to both scan the entirety of your brain (so as to recreate its thought processes outside of your body) and produce artificial bodies that can then house those mindscans. The lead protagonist lined up to have his brain scanned and that copy put into a new body because he had been diagnosed with a terminal disease. So far, so good. But somehow he had expected to be "transferred" into that new and improved shell when in fact it was clear from the outset that it would be a copy of him that went there, and that the original mind would still be stuck back in the failing human body. His disappointment and confusion (which much of the rest of the story hinges on) didn't make any sense to me and seemed ill thought-out on the part of author Sawyer. But otherwise, it's a good page-turner.

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins - This deserves a bigger and better treatment than I can do justice to here, but I can at least skim the surface. Dawkins does a fantastic job of laying out the reasons why there is almost certainly no God and addressing the usual objections that are raised to that stance. He proves that we don't really take our morality from holy books - thank goodness! - and makes a compelling case for something I've always believed: that children should choose their belief system, rather than having one forced upon them. I'm a living example of this, as my mother was a fairly devout Christian but allowed me to decide for myself (I chose atheism, obviously). Dawkins also dives into much of the pain and suffering that organized religions have visited upon humanity, going back thousands of years in some cases. He ends the book on a high note, showcasing the many ways Science and the pursuit of understanding and knowledge (rather than superstition and ignorance) can be truly inspirational. This is one of the most gripping non-fiction books I've ever read.

Now for the ones I'm still in the middle of:

What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell - This is a collection of New Yorker articles by Gladwell, which somewhat weakens its overall impact, I think. For one thing, some may already be familiar to you (I've encountered one like that so far); for another, there's not really much in the way of updating done, even for columns written nearly a decade ago. I'd enjoy it more if each article were followed with a page or three of Gladwell's thoughts on the topic since writing the original. But it's still a very interesting book, full of typical Malcolm moments during which his unique perspective completely catches you off-guard.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon - This is an alternate history novel in which most of the post Second World War Jews were shunted to Alaska (rather than Israel). The story takes place in the latter half of the 20th century, just as the Jews are about to be rousted again (this time because of anti-Semitic feelings in the U.S.). It's a tough book to get through if you're largely ignorant of Jewish words, beliefs and history (as I am) but Chabon's mastery of the language and characters make it worthwhile. I'm about 1/3 of the way in and am already hooked by the seemingly innocuous murder investigation that two of the title characters are engaged in.