Our book club has been a success and we have explored a number of interesting books. Jim Crace’s Quarantine was a beautifully crafted novel, conjuring up the Judaean desert,introducing, in Musa, one of the most frighteningly believable literary villains, and creating an enigmatic Jesus, who might be holy or mad. But it would be good too to try and tackle some of the meatier philosophical or scientific books that come out for poular consumption. Here are some that spring to mind- Michael Brooks’s Free Radicals: the Secret Anarchy of Science,Bryan Appleyard’s : The Brain is wider than the sky, or Steven Pinker’s The Better Angel’s of our nature. All writers who skilfully communicate complex ideas and questions in a manner that don’t require a degree in rocket science, but can really get anyone thinking. Anyone interested for next year?