Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K.Rowling (Audio Book)

Even better the second time round. HBP has eclipsed The Prisoner of Azkaban as my favourite book in the series.

Now I just have to distract myself with something else so I don't wander morosely through HP forums for the next two years waiting for the grand finale to come out.

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Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell Volume I - Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke

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Virtual Light - William Gibson (Audio Book)

Rydell got his bag of cornflakes out of the cupboard and carefully unrolled it. About enough for a bowl. He opened the fridge and took out a plastic, snap-top, liter container with a strip of masking-tape across the side. He'd written MILK EXPERIMENT on the masking-tape with a heavy marker.

'What's that?' Hernandez asked.

'Milk.'

'Why's it say "experiment"?'

'So nobody'll drink it.

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Wildcards III : Jokers Wild - Edited by George R R Martin

Written by Edward Bryant, Leanne C. Harper, George R. R. Martin, John J. Miller, Lewis Shiner, Walton Simons, Melinda M. Snodgrass.

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Guns, Germs and Steel - Jared Diamond (Abridged Audio Book)

Systematically and thoroughly makes the argument for the overriding impact of environment factors on the rate of technological development of the variety of human cultures in the last 13,000 years. This book clearly and eloquently debunks the common, subconsciously or consciously, held misconception that the pre-eminence of western culture in technology and innovation is a result of some genetic superiority.

The book summarises by presenting four major environmental factors for different rates of technological development in post Pleostine mankind:

1. Density and variety of naturally occurring fauna and flora.

2. Ease of intra continental diffusion of ideas and technology. Significance of Eurasia's east west axis vs America and Africa?s north south axis.

3. Ease of inter continental diffusion of ideas and technology.

4. Size and potential population differences between the continents.

These four factors having a crucial impact on the tendency for human groups to adopt food producing societies (as opposed to hunter gatherer societies) and subsequently gain the benefits of a sedentary existence, increased population potential, potential for non-food producing specialists (like scribes, bureaucrats, professional soldiers, etc).

Because of the auto-catalytic nature of technology in human society these environmental factors have been compounded over the last 13,000 years to the point were we can see such a difference in the wealth of technology developed on each of the major continents.

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