Category: Other

2013 has been a disappointing year for fiction, but there are a few gems out there.

Here are my favourite books of the year so far:

The best 2013 release I’ve read is My Notorious Life by Kate Manning. It is an atmospheric book set in 19th century New York. It deals with the controversial subject of abortion in a sensitive and thought-provoking way and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys intelligent story-telling.

The Son by Michel Rostain isn’t an easy read as it is about a man who loses his teenage son to meningitis. The realistic nature of the text makes this book heart-breaking in places, but it is also full of hope. I’ve never read another book that makes me understand the emotions of another human so completely and so this more than makes up for the pain induced by reading it.

Magda by Meike Ziervogel gives a short, but powerful insight into the reason Magda Goebbels chose to murder her own children. It isn’t a happy read, but I love books that pack an emotional punch in this way.

The First Book of Calamity Leek by Paula Lichtarowicz is the most original book I’ve read this year. It is set in a large house where a group of girls are imprisoned. It isn’t perfect, but I loved the mystery and the way the girls built up their own language/society. Recommended to anyone looking for something a bit different. .

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The only 2013 release I’ve awarded 5 stars to is Far From the Tree by Andrew Solomon. This non-fiction book will make you look at disability, parenting and society in a whole new light. The world would be a better place if everyone read it.

Have you read any of these books?

Which 2013 releases have you most enjoyed?

In June I always start to compile a list of my favourite books of the year so far, but this time I’m struggling to come up with enough to make a list worth-while. So far I haven’t rated a single 2013 fiction release with 5 stars and the 4.5 star books are few and far between. There are lots of entertaining reads, but nothing seems to be pushing the boundaries. I haven’t read anything that has the potential to become a classic and I’ll remember very few a decade from now.

At this time of year I’m normally buried under a pile of books that might make the Booker longlist, but apart from All That Is by James Salter (which doesn’t really appeal to me anyway) the candidates are thin on the ground.  Where are all the outstanding books?

Things were better last year….

2012 was a fantastic year for fiction and by the half-way point I’d read a wonderful range of outstanding books. The good thing is that many of these are now being released in paperback, so you can now experience these amazing books more easily/cheaply than last year.

I especially recommend these four:

I don’t have enough books to justify a full list, but tomorrow I’ll celebrate the books that have managed to capture my attention this year.

Have you noticed a similar downturn in the quality of new releases this year?

In a break from the books I thought you might be interested to hear about my experiences with genetic testing….

I have always been interested in genetic testing, watching with jealousy as TV personalities had them done for various one-off programmes. I had no idea that it was possible for members of the public to get their genetic profile until I saw a post on Alex from Leed’s blog. I began researching the company and it quickly became obvious that it was something I wanted to do. I managed to persuade my husband to get the test too, so that I’d know his health risks and we’d have a vague idea of what we might pass onto our children.

23 and Me are based in the US, but it was surprisingly quick and easy to buy the test kits ($99 each) and post saliva samples back ($80 for DHL courier for two test kits).  After about six weeks we received our results. Luckily there were no big surprises and it was nice to discover so much information about how our genes are likely to affect us.

The Results

The results are divided into five sections:

• Health Risk
• Drug Response
• Inherited Conditions
• Traits
• Ancestry 

The first four sections give reports on over 240 health conditions and traits as well as testing for over 40 inherited conditions. The results are listed in tables, with every item linking to an explanation of the scientific research behind each result. To give you an idea, here is the top of my ‘Health Risk’ table, showing my relative risk of developing each condition.

What was interesting was how unsurprising these results were. I suffered from Restless Legs Syndrome during pregnancy and the 4 other conditions in the top 5 have all occurred somewhere in my family before. Many people seem to be worried about learning unpleasant information, but if you are familiar with your family history then chances are that you’ll know most of the details already. I’d also rather be prepared and know which diseases I should keep an eye out for.

For me the most interesting section was the traits. At 5’11” I wasn’t surprised to discover that I have the ‘tall gene’, but it was interesting to know that I am unlikely to lose weight from a Mediterranean diet and have the muscle twitch of ‘an elite athlete!’ I love the fact that 23andMe update your results as new scientific discoveries are made as each time I log on there appears to be new information.

The final section is the ancestry one. Unfortunately mine was very boring. I’m 98.7% European, with the remaining 1.3% ‘unassigned’. If you’re of mixed race then this section will provide you with far more interest, but I’m afraid knowing I’m mainly British wasn’t that exciting!

My friends and family have all been interested in the results and many have ordered test kits for themselves. If you are interested in registering with 23andMe please use this link, as I receive $10 for each person who does so (apart from the test I have had no direct contact from 23 and Me and was planning to tell you about their service before they launched their referral scheme this week).

Genetic testing is almost unheard of in the UK, but is far more common in the US where there are debates around how much should be revealed to medical insurance companies. I am pleased to be one of the early adopters of this test and look forward to comparing my results with others.

Have you had a genetic test?

Are you interested in getting one?