BOOK OF THE MONTH - vote for March's choice here

[HelenMumsnet]

Hello.

March's Book of the Month selection of Geek-lit greatness is ready and waiting for your vote.

This month, there are some real mind-blowers to choose from.

The poll is now open and will close at midnight on Sunday 28 February

We'll get together with TillyBookclub to discuss the winner on Tuesday 30 March, from 8pm to 9.30pm.

And for those new to Bookclub, here is how it works.

Great choice books

Fantastic choice indeed
I can't make up my mind
(will return when feeling more decisive)

Oh good choices.

And I've actually read two of them already.

Have voted

Hi,

Feeling very proud here as I have read all of the book proposed ;-) Bit of a geek-lit it appears.

I think if you are new to this sort of book then Freakonomics is the best place to start, I don't know anyone who has read this and is not still quoting it years later. Anyone interested in baby names will get a big kick out of it !

Outliers is a super book, there is a particularly good sections on kids and date of birth when starting school which struck a cord with me. That said I still think The Tipping Point was Malcolm Gladwells best book and is THE defining book of this genre.

Have to say did not enjoy Undercover Economist at all, and while I thought Bad Science had a fantastic subject matter, I found the actual text difficult and a bit techinical, which probably explains why I am a light weight when it comes to this sort of stuff.

They are all great book that you would really enjoy- love this selection.

B x

Fear not, non-fiction phobes - all four of these books are super readable

Freakonomics and Undercover Economist are quite similar, but Freakonomics is much better- Undercover Economist is just a "popular economics" bandwagon surfer.

Bad Science is exceptionally well written and a must read for all those constantly irritated by most people's inability to differentiate between correlation and cause and effect (see also Freakonomics for that).

Outliers- have read it and cant remember much about it except the bit about when you're born affecting whether you become a professional sportsman.

Fantastic - there's only one of these that I've not already read, and I can definitely recommend the three I have! (Undercover Economist is the odd one out for me - sounds interesting though, I must search it out.)

My vote would be for Bad Science - I found it a great read about a very important subject that our society doesn't tend to treat well. Freakonomics is very interesting but doesn't have one overwhelming theme; Outliers likewise has lots of great food for thought and does have an overarching theme, but is slightly repetitive.

.

Morning! Voting has now closed and the winner - by a quite a long way - is Bad Science by Ben Goldacre.

So, grab a copy and get stuck in!

TillyBookClub will be along with a special new March Book Club thread very soon...

Oh PLEASE say that Goldacre will come on to discuss. That one will be worth a whole bottle of wine and a large container of popcorn...

He is speaking at the Oxford Literary Festival later this month if anyone is interested and lives near enough : details here

that Ben Goldacre is very delish interesting

that would be a great web chat

Ooh yes, please bring on Ben Goldacre. His book was one of the best I read when on holiday (the only time I ever get to read!).

I also like Risk: the Politics and Science of Fear by Dan Gardner which is another fascinating book.

I've contacted the publisher, now waiting to hear if Ben can join us...will keep you posted on the discussion night thread...

Just finished reading this book. Is this book club like live chat. i.e Wait for a thread and just join in ?

Hi babieseverywhere, here is the discussion thread - see you next Tuesday 30 March, between 8 - 9.30 pm. It works just like a normal thread, pitch in at any time. Hopefully we'll have the author logged on as well, in which case you throw your question out there and he'll ping back an answer. Hope you can make it...