#wider reading

[nor-the-worlds-law]

Law Wider Reading

I think that wider reading can really help students to understand what it would be like to study their desired subject. That’s why I will be compiling a list of law related books and summarising/giving my opinions on them in separate links. 

Books I’ve read:

Books I need to read:

Eve Was Shamed - Helena Kennedy

The Rule of Law - Tom Bingham

What About Law - Graham Virgo, Janet O'Sullivan, Catherine Barnard

Letters to a Law Student - Nicholas McBride

Is Eating People Wrong? - Allan Hutchinson

About Law: An Introduction - Tony Honoré

Legal Method - Ian McLeod

The Bramble Bush: On Our Law and Its Study - Karl N. Llewellyn

Using a Law Library: A Student’s Guide to Legal Research Skills - Peter Clinch

[brewingstudy]

doing some wider reading for chemistry and making some notes along the way to make it easier when I come back to review it later on

1/100 days of productivity

[studying-pterosaur]

22/1/18 - I did too much chemistry today, my brain hurts, also I read an interesting article about robots in agriculture (also it slightly snowed!)

[askacambridgestudent]

Hi! Any advice on applying for NatSci? I’m not sure how much reading or prep for the test I should be doing or what to expect from the interview. Thanks :)

So I don’t feel like I can give too many tips about prep for the test, as I’m pretty sure we’ve got a couple of NatSci helpful experts hanging around who might be able to give advice from experience. But in general, look through the spec and do the practice papers that are available, but don’t stress about it too much. For reading, there’s no need to do masses, as it’s best to discuss books on your PS rather than just name dropping, so limit the ones you mention to a couple, and maybe an article or two? Obviously if you read more than this, that’s excellent, but think through which you mention specifically. The interview will probably include problems to solve - there might be some maths, and then questions that start from your A Level knowledge and then go further. Sometimes they’ll ask A Level type questions but then might probe your understanding further, rather than just knowledge of content. It might be a good idea to watch this video, which demonstrates a Chemistry interview - obviously topics will vary depending on subject, but it should give you an idea.

[igotadhd]

Only 89 minutes today, but an hour of that was reading Plato and J.S. Mill. And it is only the 3rd day of my 4 months off uni.

I’m restarting my 100 days of productivity because I’ve never been able to stick to it before, 3rd time is the charm right?

Can any philosophy or religious studies peeps please share with me any reading they think would be useful for my degree.

{Day 1 of 100 days of productivity}

[incessantlystudying]

Wider Reading ||

The following books are a mixture of texts focusing on science, psychology, and English. I am personally going to be reading some of the books from each of the sections for my own wider reading outside of the classroom. Once I have read any of the books I will do a detailed review of it and whether I recommend it or not. 

Science // focusing on Pharmacy and Medicine: 

• The Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins || The reader will come away with a clear understanding of kin selection, evolutionary stable strategies, and evolutionary theories of animal behavior. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Selfish-Gene-Anniversary-Landmark-Science/dp/0198788606/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_img_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=KQNSGNESYN68HTENJ8HX

• Bad Science - Ben Goldacre ||  In this eye-opening book he takes on the MMR hoax and misleading cosmetics ads, acupuncture and homeopathy, vitamins and mankind’s vexed relationship with all manner of ‘toxins’. https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Bad-Science-Ben-Goldacre/000728487X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1497205432&sr=1-1&keywords=bad+science

• Advice to a Young Scientist - P.B. Medawar || To those interested in a life in science, Sir Peter Medawar, Nobel laureate, deflates the myths of invincibility, superiority, and genius instead, he demonstrates it is common sense and an inquiring mind that are essential to the scientist's calling. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Advice-Young-Scientist-Foundation-Science/dp/0465000924/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1497205613&sr=1-1&keywords=advice+to+a+young+scientist

• The Checklist Manifesto - Atul Gawande || In this book Gawande explains how checklists can improve care and save lives, as well as benefit many other areas of society, including investing and restaurants. It includes examples of how he’s seen it work and it’s also reader-friendly if you aren’t prepared for lots of medical jargon. https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Checklist-Manifesto-How-Things-Right-Atul-Gawande/1846683149/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1497205812&sr=1-1&keywords=the+checklist+manifesto

Psychology // do have some scientific background: 

• The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat - Oliver Sacks || Oliver Sacks recounts the stories of patients lost in the bizarre, apparently inescapable world of neurological disorders. These are case studies of people who have lost their memories and with them the greater part of their pasts; who are no longer able to recognize people or common objects; whose limbs have become alien; who are afflicted and yet are gifted with uncanny artistic or mathematical talents. https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Man-Who-Mistook-His-Wife/0330523627/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1497207099&sr=1-1&keywords=the+man+who+mistook+his+wife+for+a+hat 

• Nature via Nurture - Matt Ridley || Armed with the extraordinary new discoveries about our genes, Ridley turns his attention to the nature versus nurture debate to bring the first popular account of the roots of human behaviour. https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Nature-Nurture-Genes-experience-makes-Ridley-Paperback/B011T7GLQO/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1497207393&sr=1-3&keywords=nature+via+nurture

• The Language Instict - Steven Pinker || The world's expert on language and mind lucidly explains everything you always wanted to know about language: how it works, how children learn it, how it changes, how the brain computes it, and how it evolved. With deft use of examples of humor and wordplay. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Language-Instinct-How-Mind-Creates/dp/014198077X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1497207494&sr=1-1&keywords=the+language+instinct

English // some of these books just seem interesting to me: 

• Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë || Jane's journey from a troubled childhood to independence - and her turbulent love affair with the enigmatic Mr Rochester - electrified Victorian readers with its narrative power. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1847493734/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

• Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen || The pride of high-ranking Mr Darcy and the prejudice of middle-class Elizabeth Bennet conduct an absorbing dance through the rigid social hierarchies of early-nineteenth-century England, with the passion of the two unlikely lovers growing as their union seems ever more improbable. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1847493696/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

• Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë || The tale of Heathcliff and Cathy's ungovernable love and suffering, and the havoc that their passion wreaks on the families of the Earnshaws and the Lintons. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1847493211/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

• Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen ||  The story of two Dashwood sisters who embody the conflict between the oppressive nature of 'civilised' society and the human desire for romantic passion. However, there is far more to this story of two daughters made homeless by the death of their father. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1847494846/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1 

(in class we are also reading The Lovely Bones, A Streetcar Named Desire and The Great Gatsby)

If you have bought any of these books and have posted about them on tumblr, please don’t hesitate to tag me in them, it would be highly appreciated. And if you have any more recommendations that I can add to this list, do leave them in the comments section. Like I have said before, if you do want reviews of the books that I will buy, do let me know!! 

- mariah x

[brewingstudy]

back on the reading but this time it's bio-chem (and yet I don't take biology??? a mystery to be solved)

2/100 days of productivity

[askacambridgestudent]

Would it be better to write in great detail about only one area of your subject that interests you in your PS, or to write about a few areas that interest you but in lesser detail? I'm worried about the character count, and I feel like if I talk about more than one or two areas it'll look superficial bc of the lack of detail

Hmm I think it’s up to you really, I would personally have a bit more breadth, but then again I didn’t really discuss anything as such on my personal statement, rather just listed things I’d read and why they interested me. Don’t worry too much about it looking superficial though, as the admissions tutors understand that 4000 characters is not a lot and the interview is the place to get some depth. However, if you are really passionate about a particular thing, write mostly about that, but probably drop in a couple of other bits just to show you’ve done more than one bit of wider research.