'I was born on 31 January 1979 - a Wednesday. I know it was a Wednesday,
because the date is blue in my mind and Wednesdays are always blue, like the
number nine or the sound of loud voices arguing.' Like the character Hoffman
portrayed, he can perform extraordinary maths in his head, sees numbers as
shapes, colours, textures and motions, and can learn to speak a language
fluently from scratch in three days. He also has a compulsive need for order
and routine. He eats exactly 45 grams of porridge for breakfast and cannot
leave the house without counting the number of items of clothing he's
wearing. If he gets stressed or unhappy he closes his eyes and counts. But
in some ways Daniel is not all like the Rain Man. He is virtually unique
amongst people who have severe autistic disorders in being capable of living
a fully-functioning, independent life. It is this incredible self-awareness
and ability to communicate what it feels like to live in a totally
extraordinary way that makes BORN ON A BLUE DAY so powerful.

I saw Daniel on a TV chat show and was so struck by his ability and his story that I went out and bought his book the very next day (it then got stuck on MT TBR and forgotten, but now it's time has come).
The book is written in a very level tone, lacking any real emotion or pretty turn of phrase, but this is really unexpected if you know how the autistic brain works.
Daniel manages to give a very clear insight into how his brain works, explaining quite complex mathematical problems without becoming too technical or boring the reader in any way.

I'm now offering this up on a ring, but as it is a hardback book, it will be restricted to UK readers only.
Please journal the book when it arrives, so that we know it is safe, and again when you have finished so that we can all see what you think of the book. Try to read the book within one month of recieving it, but if you get snowed under, please just let me know so that I don't hassel you.

Players so far
IoJima
Flanners
lyzzybee
LindyB28
Chelseagirl
yesterdaysgirl
CaterinaAnna
loopy1
celticseahorse

Received today, thank you.

Interesting, something like a child's writing. "I did this because; I felt that because" -- a litany of events. And then you remember that's the point: to see life as he sees life. For me, the real insights were few ("Aha! That's why our niece does that"!), but telling, generally in his interactions with others: turning off the television without a by-your-leave because he wants to talk to his parents; walking away in the midst of a conversation because he can't track it.
Thank you for sending this on a ring.
Off to Flanners, next

Received today, thank you - great timing, just finished my last ring!

I read this in under twenty four hours, but the site wouldn't let me in to journal!

A thoroughly absorbing read - I am mildly synaesthetic myself (as I think most people are). I certainly have always seen days of the weeks as colours for instance and I also experience music as very complex shapes, forms and sequences in a way I find impossible to articulate. I'm always interested in accounts of other people's synaesthesia and its link with creativity, and to have such an insight into the life of someone on the autistic spectrum is breath-taking. I was particulalry struck by the stories he wrote as a child; I regularly conduct workshops with 7-11 year olds and one of the points I make is that a story with no person in it, is not a story. Daniel has proved me wrong!

I really liked the explanations about certain figures of speech and idiomatic phrases having literally no meaning for him; I thought that was an extraordinary achievement for him to be able to articulate this problem in communication for people with autism and Aspergers.

I would very much have liked a clinical history alongside the memoir; it would have enriched my enjoyment to have known at what point he was (wrongly) diagnosed as autistic, what support his parents received, when they made the decision to give him as mainstream an upbringing as possible. I appreciate that this was outside Daniel's own experience so wouldn't have been part of his story, but a brief introduction or appendix would have sufficed. Still, a minor quibble. I was so impressed by how he continually pushed beyond his comfort zone - going to Lithuania for a year with VSO would be a challenging experience for many teenagers, without any other issues - and have nothing but admiration for Daniel's fearless quest to realise his own potential.

Off to LindyB28 once I know which address she is currently using.

This has now been sent, apologies for the delay.

Received in the post today on behalf of LindyB. Now, I'm not seeing Linda till next week, and I'm on the ring for this... so I was hoping it would be OK for me to sneakily read it over the weekend then pass to Linda? Will anyone mind? You know my reading speed - and in the unlikely event that I'm not going to have it finished by the time I see Linda anyway, I'll pass it on regardless.

Hm. I finished this the other day but I've been wondering what to put down.

While I recognise his achievements and as another reader did, congratulate him on pushing himself to the limits, I found the language that was used to express Daniel's words in the book seemed a bit over-simple and almost patronising. Don't get me wrong - lots of ASD people do have very simplistic thought processes and explanations of them. But I don't believe they would write a book in that way, having an understanding of the registers to use with speaking and more formal writing. I thought it seemed to pander to the "Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" reader and I would have preferred to see some sections of direct thought like this and then some more formality and maturity in the writing. I am pretty sure he could write in this way, with reference to Temple Grandin, Sean Barron, Donna thingummy etc.

So, that was an annoyance to an extent - and then I have a block on Maths so I didn't engage with those parts. I found it a fairly interesting read with some parts to recognise and celebrate, but I prefer the work of the other writers mentioned and, indeed, fictionalisations like "Speed of Dark", which really put across the Aspie mind very powerfully.

And no disrespect to the author - I have a feeling this was in the editing.

Thanks for the chance to read it, Matt is not interested now so I am going to pass it on to Linda when I see her tomorrow.

RELEASE NOTES:

Hopefully passing this to LindyB28 when I see her tomorrow. After which I will come in here masquerading as Linda and catch the book again! We will post it on between us...

Passed to me by LyzzyBee (who is now typing up this review)

This was a quick interesting read but I don't think it offered any insight into Aspergers Syndrome or Autistic Spectrum Disorders in general that isn't already available. For example, Mark Haddon's "Curious Incident" seems to distil the experience of living as a non-neurotypical teenager more sucessfully bu condensing the differences of perspective into novel form. Here, the narrative was rather sparse and naive but it did relate a story of the potential for success even when an individual has suffered from isolation and misunderstanding in childhood.

LyzzyBee is now contacting chelseagirl for her address to send on to.

RELEASE NOTES:

Posted to Chelseagirl today.

Arrived a couple of days ago, sorry for the delay in journalling. I have a great interest in autism as I have a son with ADD and mild autism and a father who is almost definitely Apsergers - and I'm fast coming to terms with the idea that my husband could be the same! Will get on to this asap. Thanks :)

Sorry for the delay in reading this, I started it and then it accidentally disappeared down the side of the sofa and only turned up last week ... ooops ....

Anyway, I really enjoyed this, the simplistic writing style didn't annoy me at all because I understand that this is how Daniel Tammett thinks. It's really interesting to find out how well he has adapted to life in a "neurotypical" world and what comes across really strongly in the book is that he's done that through the amazing support he received from his family. They seem to have had a tough life but have always accepted Daniel for what he is and helped him make the most of his skills and talents and limitations.

Daniels' descriptions of how he "sees" numbers are fascinating and I was often astounded by his ability to relate complex mathematical problems that had me scratching my head at the first sentence. Daniel's achievements are amazing and it's also wonderful that he has found a partner who loves him and friends who accept him so easily.

A great book from a remarkable man - I hope the Brainman programme is repeated at some point in the future so I can see more of Daniel.

I'll send this to yesterdaysgirl as soon as I have an address.

Oops, just realised that I was logged in as the Unconvention ..... it's actually me that has the book. Sorry about that!

Received this from Alison yesterday. Thank you!

Received this yesterday, thank you Alison!

So sorry for keeping this book so long, I am ready to pass it on now, and will PM CaterinaAnna accordingly.

I spoke to CaterinaAnna today at the Cardiff meet, and rather than posting, we agreed I'd take it along next month.