Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet

Daniel Tammet is the man who can recite pi to more than 25,000 places.  You may have heard of him on the news or in your science or math classes.  He is an autistic savant who also has Aspergers syndrome.  Since this book is written by him, it is a picture of how his mind works and his life day to day.

At the Book Club meeting, we shared bangers and mash with salad, plenty of wine and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and bundtlings (mini bundt cakes) for dessert.

It was another intellectual evening with the ladies as we discussed the rise of autism numbers and the suspected causes.  We wondered whether we are on the cusp of changing to a race of humans that are less emotional and use more of our temporal lobes or if we are poisoning ourselves and our children with our highly processed diet of dyes and preservatives.  We discussed if it is a global change or if as time goes on our race with split into two: one highly developed, highly educated, less connected to family and one another and one less developed, less educated but highly connected through relationships and family.  We have no answers obviously but it was a rousing discussion.

We also talked about mothers and their role in children's lives how women are perceived now versus in the 50's or the 80's.  We discussed the unspoken competition between mothers and whether or not that can ever be overcome.  I always love the discussions at Book Club, whether they directly pertain to the book or not.