Breaking the profanity barrier in a natural science romp – and revelling in a bookshop’s intellectual maze Ten Million Aliens by Simon Barnes is an entertainingly erudite romp through the weird and whacky wonderfulness of the animal kingdom – thought-provoking but not too nerdy. Ideal for bedtime reads of a few chapters guaranteed to make the mind switch channels from the day’s mental endeavours. Somehow...

Science fiction delivers intriguing new ways to describe what we mere mortals are up to – and a different perspective on intriguing conceptual fundamentals I warily admit to having a wobbly weakness for good sci-fi, fully aware that such a foible can risk getting me branded as an intellectual lightweight fleeing from reality. This prompts a scramble to emphasise that only certain selected...