Author: simon

Google Glass – A blind perspective

simon Life Comment

Over the past few weeks, I have been playing around with Google Glass. It has been a wonderful experience, and I incredibly hopeful for the future opportunitIes that Glass can offer. As soon as I placed Glass on my face, I was reminded of the sensation of wearing glasses. The weight is similar to wearing a pair of prescription glasses. I quickly snapped a photo and was amazed with the simplicity of the hands free use.

Outdoors with Glass I had my first experience of navigation. I was able to issue a voice command and have the directions read aloud through the bone conduction ear piece. It was a nice hands off experience of navigating, while it is visually obvious I am wearing Glass, I felt this usage made me blend into the crowd. I didn’t have to remove a phone from my pocket and clumsily type a location or issue a voice command, I could seamlessly walk down the street and issue commands. This is powerful for the visually impaired. As using a phone with a guide dog or cane is impossible. Gestures often require two hands, so I need to drop the dogs harness, stand still and begin the process of multiple taps and gestures to find the app and input the location. With Glass however, I have hands free operation, I can control Glass while continuing my walk down the street.

After being quite pleased with using Glass to navigate from the Satchi to South Kensington, it was my next use of Glass that was the real, wow moment. My wife and I, had decided to take our eldest son to the Natural History museum. When out and about it usually falls to my wife to take photos, this time however, I had decided to take all the photos using Glass. I was able to follow my son around and not only snap photos of the exhibits, but my son as well. This may sound quite mundane, but for me, this was literally the first time in my life I had been able to easily and seamlessly accomplish this. I could then share the photos with my son and continue the experience. A new piece of technology that creates new ways for me to interact and experience moments with my children is priceless. It was a trulyamazing experience.

For me, the most exciting part is the possible opportunities Glass may afford. Essentially Glass can see and I cannot. I imagine a future where Glass can read a menu to me in a restaurant. A simple glance at the menu and glass recognises the text and begins to read aloud. Or perhaps, opening a book and have it read aloud, reading a book – that is something I have not been able to do in a long time. Object recognition, the ability to identify objects in a specific scene, or recognise my friends and acquaintances, and speak their names in my ear. Essentially, Glass would allow me to more readily operate in social environments, fill in the gaps created by my lack of vision.

While some of these ideas may be a little way off in the future, I remain optimistic. When touch screen phones first arrived the visually impaired could not interact. The doomsayers had predicted we would be left behind in this technological advancement, unable to see the screen how would we operate it? A few years later with the introduction of VoiceOver in the iPhone 3GS saw a revolution. For the first time the visually impaired could interact not only with the phone, but with hundreds of apps and information sources, it was an enormous leap forward thanks to a single feature.

As I sit here, on the first revision of Glass, I am already able to interact with it. While I may not be able to see the screen, voice input and audio feedback enable me to interact. Something that was not possible with the first touch screen smartphones. With Google’s commitment to accessibility, seen across their entire product lines, I am confident as the development of Glass continues the levels of possible interaction by the visually impaired will only increase.

As it stands now, Glass has already enabled me to experience life events in a new and exhilarating way, something I am very thankful for.

Visually Impaired runner? Want to learn to be a running guide? Come join us!

simon Uncategorized 6 Comments

Recently Braddan and I began a guide running project – guiderunning.UK. The simple goal is to raise awareness, point people towards guide running information and training and ultimately to connect as many visually impaired runners with guides as possible.

To promote the launch of guiderunning.uk we want to recruit a team of visually impaired runners and guides to compete in a 24-hour relay race. Don’t panic – this is definitely a sociable experience and not an all-out endurance competition. Pace and experience are certainly not an issue.

The race takes place in London over a 6-mile multi terrain route. It is not incredibly demanding. Trails are well maintained and relatively flat. More information about the even can be found at Spitfire Scramble

In true Spitfire spirit, guiderunning.uk needs YOU! – Just leave a comment below or contact me if you are interested.

Guide Runners

We are looking for a series of guide runners to aid our visually impaired runners around the course. There is no requirement to have guided before, the only requirement is to be able to run at least 6 miles, be available on the 30-31st of August and be able to make your own way to London.

The aim is to demonstrate how easy and accessible becoming a guide runner can be. We offer basic instructions on proficient guiding and will also be holding a training event 1-2 weeks before the main race.

The training opportunity will take place in London and will include basic q and a as well as running practice with a visually team mate, so will be a great opportunity to see just how easy it is to guide! Location and date to be confirmed.

Visually Impaired Runners

We are seeking visually impaired runners to join our team for Spitfire Scramble. The only requirement is to be able to run 6 miles twice within a 24 hour period. There is no requirement for a particular pace, we will pair you with a guide that is capable of running at your own pace, be it 6 minute miles or 16 minute miles. The most important thing to remember is there is no pressure!

We are aware that night time running can be a little tricky, so Braddan and I have agreed to run the entire night section. However, if any visually impaired runners would like to run through the night section they are more than welcome.

The terrain is multi-terrain, but nothing that is too difficult for a visually impaired runner. Guides will also be able to tether, if that is how you wish to run.

Camping

We will have a main campsite in the VIP section, this is where the visually impaired runners will be based. Showers are available and guide dogs are welcome. We will supply additional details closer to the date once we confirm numbers.

Access

The event is close to the underground with the event HQ a short bus, taxi or 15 minute walk from (Hornchurch Station), so there are great public transport links in and out of the event for any guides or runners that want to join us but prefer their creature comforts!

Airport navigation systems

simon Life Comment

Last year I was invited into the technology innovation centre of a major airline. I was presented with a key issue for the airline and asked for input. I came up with a number of ideas which focussed around iterative technology changes or what I believed to be breakthrough technologies that could deliver innovative solutions.

My suggestions for iterative changes revolved around the customer experience of media while on the plane. I had suggested that this experience could be extended to the lounge area, through simple changes, be that loaning devices to passengers or delivered through a mobile app. This was an easy solution to implement and something that would grow the customer experience.

The major idea I delivered focussed on the terminal. Airport terminals are vastly large spaces which can often be difficult to navigate. I suggested that a mobile app that aided with this problem would be of great benefit. Not only could it navigate customers through the terminal but also direct them to points of interest such as shops, restaurants, facilities and the required gate. The added nenefit of this would be navigation for the visually impaired, which supported my general message on accessibility. Develop a product that delivers value to the sighted while at the same time adding value to the none sighted.

The airline seemed incredibly keen and began a barrage of questions on this idea, mainly revolving around if the technology existed. The technology did indeed exist – the iBeacon. I detailed exactly how it could be implemented with current technology and the benefits it would deliver.

In passing I also mentioned how my recent experiences with a competitor airline, Virgin were exceptional. I felt Virgin seemed to really grasp the customer experience. So when I found this story a couple of days ago I was not surprised that Virgin had indeed dlivered the idea I had suggested to a competitor. It is great to see the technology being put to use in the terminal, I only hope it can offer some assistance to the visually impaired in this implementation.

Faceless

simon Life Comment

A couple of years ago I lost the ability to see faces on a daily basis. This happened so gradually I hardly noticed it was happening at all. For with people I have known a long time, I would fill in what they look like. So it was more apparent when I met someone new.

I found whenever I met someone knew I was creating a mental picture of what they looked like. But what was I basing this picture on? As how can I imagine what a stranger, I have never seen looks like?

These questions were brought to the forefront when I was working with a fellow student at university. I had worked with them on and off for over 2 years, so I knew their voice well. I could easily pick it out from a crowd of voices. Due to the familiarity of the voice I had begun to assign a mental representation. But rather than specific features it was just a feeling. While working with her one day I turned round and I got a brief flash of her face. For that brief moment all the conditions required for me to see were fulfilled to perfection. This is such a rare occurrence that to this day I have only seen my eldest sons face a handful of times and yet to see my youngest.

I mentioned to her that I just saw her face and she looked nothing like I had imagined. I was quickly met with the retort, “so what did you think I looked like?”. I found I couldn’t describe any specific facial features, just a general form that her voice had created in my mind. Since then I have not been able to see her face again and the rest of the people I meet remain faceless. I just get a sense of people like objects moving around me, with no sense of a persons appearance.

The best way I can describe the faceless appearance of people is a scene from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Where Jim Carrey’s character is trying to see the face of a woman in his mind, but despite moving around continuously the woman remains faceless. No matter how much I will it so, I cannot choose to see someones face. It is only in those ephemeral moments that I have the briefest of flashes of features.

Outside

simon running Comment

After borrowing a GoPro camera from a friend and a suitable harness from another, I headed out today to film my classic running route. I was filming the route to add some additional content to an interview I gave a few weeks ago. It was an interesting run as it saw the return to running outside.

Since the birth of my second son I haven’t ran outside, this is mainly due to time constraints. In order to run outside my wife has to drop me off. With another child in the house this was proving difficult, so I had decided to conduct most of my running indoors. The result being a little over 7 months since I ran my traditional route. So there was a nagging question in my mind, could I still run the route? Had it changed? How many things would I run into? – The answers, yes, yes and none.

In order to demonstrate the first time I stepped out onto the dual carriageway I began my run at the closed road. This seemed incredibly apt, for a return to running outdoors. I would begin at the very same spot it did a few years ago. The closed road is simple, you just have to keep one foot on the line and run. It is far easier to only keep your outside foot on the line, this is because if you run central to the lines its difficult to read both feet on opposite lines. Often you can become confused and drift far more than you do with one line to follow. So I quickly breezed up and down the road and returned to the dual carriageway.

I stood on the edge of the curb, paused, then stepped down onto the line and followed the much trodden path. With yellow lines the majority of the distance, it was again easy to follow. My running of the line changes slightly for this section however. As the road is cambered heavily it is easier and safer to run the inside of the line, unlike the usual outside of the lines. It is very easy to follow and much safer as it means you are tighter into the curb, therefore further away from the cars!

The tricky bit arrives when the road meets the path, a quick transition to the path means I have to identify the camber and move towards the curb. This particular section can be tricky as the cambers are not amazingly obvious and there are a few posts. This is the bit I always found hard as both sides of the path are littered with obstacles, traffic lights, junction boxes and fences. The next section involves a slight incline and then some of the more interesting obstacles. If I follow a white line perfectly, I miss about 5 road signs. Go slightly wrong and I hit about 5 road signs. It seemed a little tricky to identify the line underfoot, mainly because its been a while! Luckily I found it and avoided all the signs. Once again its relatively simple – hug the curb for around half a mile. A sharp turn to the left results in a nice straight 0.7 mile section.

The straights can often be where it goes wrong, as there is a tendency to drift. Thankfully this section is flanked by grass on one side and bushes/trees on the other. Well at least there used to be trees! They seem to have disappeared! So in future I must be careful to stick to the grass side and avoid the dreaded drift! I made it back to the car with no bumps or bruises, so an incredibly successful return.

It was great to be back outside, I had forgotten how different it feels to be alone and outside. It takes a great deal of confidence just to keep moving forward. The mindset that there are no obstacles, nothing has changed since last time is difficult to maintain. But perhaps that difficult arrises from it being a while since it was common place. With more practice will come the confidence that running alone is easy. It will only take a couple of weeks!

Hardmoors Osmotherly Half Trail Race Report

simon running 2 Comments

When I first entertained the thought of running at the ultra distance, I told myself I would only ever run on the road. There is one problem with this however, as not many ultras are run on the road – they are predominantly trail-based events. I avoided the idea of running on trails for as long as I could. But the longer you dream of ultras the idea of running trails comes to the forefront. I decided to bite the bullet and enter a trail race, the SDW50 – a 50 mile run across the South Downs Way.

So I could get used to running trails I decided to enter a half trail marathon – the Osmotherly half trail marathon. After speaking to the race director he assured me the trail could be easily run by a blind runner. Encouraged by this, I linked up with a guide runner from down south and we had arranged to run this race together. I have never run a true trail event, and Braddan had never acted as a guide runner, so this was going to be a true challenge for both of us.

Stood on the start line we were looking forward to the race ahead. We had decided to start right at the back, so we could get used to the guiding without hindering other runners. The race started off on a relatively easy road section, with the only issue being a little ice here and there. We quickly entered the true trail sections and we were instantly hit by the difficulty of the terrain. It was a deeply rutted split track, meaning there were 2 dipped tracks with a raised section in between. Neither track was wide enough for 2 runners, which meant I had to drop in behind. This gave Braddan the difficult job of shouting out possible obstacles I may encounter. We were quickly brought down to a walk for 2 reasons; i) I suck at hills, and ii) the terrain was becoming difficult to describe simply. It didn’t take long, however, until the terrain levelled out and we returned to Braddon giving short instructions of what to expect.

Running through deep puddles and even deeper mud puddles we were beginning to have fun. While the terrain was difficult it remained entertaining and we laughed and joked as we ran along. With pieces of the track narrowing I had to attempt to be as precise as possible while trailing Braddan. This proved too difficult a little way down the trail and my left foot slipped and I began to fall. With cat like balance and dexterity I remained upright, and triumphant in my gymnastic-level balance we plodded on. We arrived at a truly difficult section – a section I remember being warned of.

As a blind runner, in my mind’s eye it felt like we were descending down a trail version of a pyramid. I remain convinced an excavation of the trail would reveal a lost egyptian temple. This section was incredibly difficult and I noted to Braddan that my leg was beginning to hurt, my cat like balance from earlier had come at the price of a little twinge. We plodded on and even managed to get into a little flow of running. The trail weaved in and out of woods, fields and a little road. After a particularly tricky downhill section in the woods we found ourselves in a field. Braddan says it was a field – I believe it was an ice rink. The “mud” as Braddan called it was like sheet ice. I constantly slipped and slid around the rink and we finally reached the bottom. At the bottom Braddan gave me a choice – run through a river or take the bridge. This seemed like a no brainer. Let’s take the bridge!

With my first step onto the bridge I nearly fell, saved only by Braddan managing to give me an arm before I fell. We quickly decided running through the river was the better choice. We continued running and made reasonable progress until another uphill section through the woods. As we went through a gate we found another pyramid. This time we would have to ascend it – walking up a pyramid is just as hard as coming down one! After a while we made it to the top, only to discover it was the start of a big climb. The hill was far too difficult for a novice trail runner and a novice guide, so we decided to walk. Around this point all the quick runners began to pass us by. Somehow we had been reasonably close to everyone as the turnaround point was around 1 mile away. We believed everyone must have gotten lost and that is why we had made such a reasonable time. After a lot of plodding and becoming the last 2 runners in the race we reached the turnaround point. So now we had to do a lot of it again!

Running down the hill we got into a really good flow, we had shortened the guiding communication down and we were running/walking smoothly across the top of the hills. We were quickly brought down to earth by the descent and Braddan fell over. Now I saw he fell over – I might of pushed him a little, I assumed he had cat balance! Arriving atop the pyramid, we now had to descend it – this is where it all fell apart. My twinge had now turned into outright pain. I was struggling to put any weight on my leg and from this point we had another 5-6 miles. Determined, I wanted to move on.

Our speed had reduced to a crawl, I was struggling to bend my left leg. I was beginning to hoddle when a marshall arrived, “are you injured?” Me? No, of course not! However, this lie couldn’t be held up for long, as the marshall said they would come along with us to the finish line. It only took a couple of hundred metres before I had to admit to being in quite substantial pain. I had assured her I wanted to continue and she seemed happy to let me push as far as I wanted to. While attempting to numb the pain with a little fast walking we had become lost, as it appeared had a whole bunch of other runners. After realising our mistake we doubled back – a little disheartening to discover you have gone the wrong way when injured, but this was made a little easier by the fact that so had everyone else!

Arriving back at the ice rink was my first real challenge. I was unable to bend my leg while ascending or descending and the rink was on a slope. So only able to bend my right leg I hobbled to the top. Arriving at the top of the rink there was a nice undulating section through the woods. A great chance to push the walking pace and numb my leg. This proved a great idea and we began to make decent time. I was quickly brought back down to my one legged shuffle when we arrived at a series of steps. Unable to manage the pain effectively I had to continually rest. However, this simply made the problem worse, for every time I stopped the pain would just increase when I started again. I told Braddan and the marshall not to let me stop again, no matter how much I complained about the pain. After 4 steps I said we have to stop it’s too painful. Sticking to their guns they didn’t allow me to stop, and I made it to the top after a few minutes.

This gave me a further opportunity to numb my leg – with an undulating surface I could pick up the pace and stop my leg from hurting. Worried I wouldn’t make the cut off I began asking the time constantly. The marshall assured me I would be allowed to finish even if I missed the cut off. I put on a brave face as I entered the checkpoint and made it through – I grabbed a handful of Jelly Babies with the idea I would reward myself every so often to keep me going. It was a slightly different route to the finish and this involved an enormous climb. I could only return to my one legged shuffle, and so it was taking me a long time to ascend this short section. The pain was now obvious on my face as other runners began to comment. I say my face, but it may have been the fact I was shouting out in pain. A very kind runner stopped and offered me his hiking poles to help with the ascent. I gratefully accepted them and continued my shuffle. By this time the pain was at the point of unmanageable, but I still had a few miles to go. I had already told myself I would finish, I just now had to continue to push. Reaching the top I rewarded myself with a Jelly Baby. The route continued to undulate and I had brief moments where I could numb my leg intersected with deep mud holes that brought the pain back. I continued to motivate myself with a Jelly Baby here and there.

After a short while another runner passed by and asked if I wanted some pain relief. I replied with “give me everything you have!”. Thankfully he was a nurse so gave me the appropriate dosage rather than me popping numerous tablets. I swallowed the pills with a Jelly Baby chaser and continued on. The route continued to be difficult for me with me stumbling over rocks and becoming stuck in the muddied track. I kept asking if we were close, I was assured we were, so I plodded on. We arrived at a field which the marshall proclaimed – “Oh, I forgot about this bit!”. Perhaps we weren’t that close after all. Leaving the muddy field I ate another Jelly Baby, but I was now getting low, I had to ration from this point on. I could feel the surface underfoot beginning to harden, I knew we couldn’t be too far from the village and the finish.

After a short while we turned a corner onto a road. This meant the finish was close by, I ate my penultimate Jelly Baby and decided to keep my last one for crossing the finish. Dodging a few cars and weaving in and out of the road and pavement we arrived at the finish line. I limped over the line, ate my final Jelly Baby and picked up my medal. It was only then I realised just how slow I had been moving, for the last few miles I had been averaging just over 1mph. My straight legged shuffle had been a long fought out slog to the finish. I was happy just to get to the end and importantly learnt some valuable lessons along the way.

The margin of error running the road can be measured in metres, the margin of error in the trail is measured in centimetres. One misaligned foot fall had caused me to stumble down a gradient and hampered my ability to compete. It taught me that if I am to conquer trail running as a blind runner I really need to tighten up how I run the trail. I think the only way I can achieve this is with a dedicated trail guide runner. That would give us an opportunity to develop a guiding relationship where the communication can be distilled to a couple of words and we both know exactly what that means in terms of me avoiding obstacles, While I spend the next week or so healing I am going to take the opportunity to realign my trail goals for the next year, with the aim to develop my ability on such terrain before entering the ultra trail distance.

I would like to say a massive thank you to Braddan for guiding me along the way and Kerry (the marshall) for letting me finish despite the limp. I would also like to thank the anonymous runners that stopped to help with equipment and pain relief.

Like The Wind Magazine

simon Uncategorized Comment

I consider myself an emotional runner. As it is my emotional state that appears to dictate how far I can run. Whether it is riding the crest of a high, where running seems as simple as breathing, or the depths where another step seems a daunting task. It is perhaps those depths that offer the most interesting moments of running. The opportunity to overcome and push despite being emotionally and physically depleted. While in those depths I motivate myself by allowing my mind to wander. I recall stories of other runners that in the past have inspired and motivated me. It is those stories that pull me from the depths and allow me to continue.

So when I was asked to contribute to a new running magazine “Like The Wind” with a focus on runner’s stories, I jumped at the chance to contribute. I wrote a short piece that told the story of my initial steps into running solo. After submitting the article, I was asked if I had any photos of myself running. I rarely retain photos of myself, as I don’t particularly have a need for photos. Instead it was suggested that an illustrator could take my piece and use it as the basis for a drawing. I thought this a great idea as it would allow them to add their own take on my story.

I was also invited down to the magazine launch, with the idea of me giving a little talk surrounding my running future. Again I jumped at the chance, with my IAB talk on the horizon I felt I needed a little more practice on stage. I had decided to take it seriously and for the first time write a script to memorise. After a few botched attempts I decided I would go for the usual approach – just wing it. I feel the talk went well and I managed to quickly reel through a few of the things I intend to do over the coming year.

The real surprise was my piece had become the cover of the magazine. The illustration stood proud as the cover with me being featured a few pages in. The magazine itself has a wonderful feel and smell (I am told it also looks beautiful!). It features a whole host of essays from inspiring runners as well as poems and photo essays. It stands as a beautiful and unique collection of running inspiration and will be something I will be proud to show my son when older.

The magazine is available for purchse through the Like Like The Wind store. I will also be doing a little giveaway of an issue next week. So stay tuned on twitter if you would like to win a copy!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Navigating the unknown

simon Life 3 Comments

During my heavy revision period, the tram I take to university was undergoing some maintenance. This meant I could no longer use my normal tram stop, instead relying on the replacement bus service to take me to the next stop.

This worked great until one evening when I was travelling alone. I realised I had no idea how to get from the tram to the replacement bus service. I thought Ascot might just go with the flow and guide me to the bus stop. Nope! – instead he went with the flow that took me to a road. I thought to myself – if someone can point me in the right direction to Meadowhall, I can figure it out from there!. I asked around and a kind lady offered to guide the way, so me and Ascot followed along. The kind lady dropped us off at Debenhams and was on her way. Now the challenge was getting from here to the train station, I had never walked this route before.

The easy solution would have been to ask around, I am sure someone would of helped me. But instead I thought I could figure it out. I told Ascot to walk straight ahead and listened out for any cues. I heard a woman in high heels walk by me hurriedly. In my mind walking with such conviction meant only 1 of 2 things, she worked here or she was leaving the store. I took a gamble and began to follow her footsteps. It appeared to be paying off as ahead of me I could hear far more chatter and human traffic, a sure fire tell that it was the exit. Leaving the store I could feel the surface change and the acoustic change, now how do I get to the train station?

I knew I was on the bottom floor and the train station was on the first floor, so I just needed to find some stairs. I walked straight ahead until I could smell Yo Sushi!. I remembered that Yo Sushi! Was the only restaurant near the stairs, so that was quite easy. It also gave me the vital piece of information I needed. Where in Meadowhall I was. So now in my head I quickly plotted out the route and barked the instructions to Ascot, a few minutes later we arrived at the train station.

It was a great reminder of the power of combining the guidance of Ascot with the environmental cues to navigate unfamiliar environments. I also thank the kind lady and the lady with loud high heels!

Passing an exam

simon Life, Uncategorized Comment

Last semester I took the brave decision to add Visual Perception as one of my modules. The line between brave and stupid is often quite blurry. I thought the module would offer me a great insight into how the visual system works and it really did. But it meant some very special preparation in order to pass the exam.

The majority of the concepts were described diagrammatically on the course, something which meant I would have to take a slightly different angle to learning in order to achieve a greater understanding of visual perception as well as pass the exam. I had to try and visualise the concepts that were being described something that became quite challenging when you have never seen them represented in the real world. For example the visual illusions – I was fortunate enough to have seen some of these illusions while I had sight. But for others the concept of a visual illusion without actually being able to perceive it is quite odd.

This led to the lecturer helping to describe certain concepts in order for me to contemplate what was going on. A nice example is colour constancy – where you perceive a colour to be the same regardless of the light source. This to me sounded strange, as I had never been aware of colour constancy while I could still perceive colour.

Overall it resulted in an incredibly elaborate revision process which took around 28 days. That isn’t 28 days of an hour here and there. Thats 28 days of relentless revision. Amongst attempting to conceptualise visual illusions I had to memorise algebraic representations of colour opponency, template matching complexity and a whole host of others. Then there were the diagrams and graphs. To obtain the highest mark in the exam you were required to draw diagrams. Now I can probably draw a stick man as well as the next guy but drawing something like this….

Slant_on_cirlce

Not a chance. So I had to have the diagram described to me. Memorise it, then be able to relay it to a scribe during the exam for them to recreate it. I memorised around 15-20 diagrams. Admittedly everyone else taking the exam also had to memorise the diagrams, but perhaps not memorise and then verbally practice the best way to articulate it in exam conditions for someone to recreate it.

While the module proved a challenge overall it was interesting to practice a few things which the sighted may not have. For one, not only was the exam a test of how well I could memorise visual concepts I had never seen, it also tested my ability to succinctly communicate under a time constraint.

My 2013 top 3 books

simon Life 2 Comments

During 2013 I began to read at in increased rate. This was mainly due to the Kindle iOS app allowing VoiceOver. So for the first time since losing my vision I could read again. The only problem being not all books are available on Kindle yet so I often become annoyed that there are still a whole host of books I am unable to read. If I have a special interest in the book however, then I spend time converting it to make a digital copy.

My reading is shaped by my current interests, running, psychology and business. In order to expand my reading list I thought I would post my favourite reads of 2013 in the hope others would share theirs.

Priceless

Priceless is a fantastic insight into the psychology of pricing. As I read throughout the book I was amazed at just how many of the psychological tricks I have fallen prey too. The books covers everything from the psychology of mobile phone contracts to the size of a box of cereal. It really is a fascinating read on behavioural decision theory.

Kindle – Priceless on Amazon UK

Paperback – Priceless on Amazon UK

Just A Little Run Around the World

This is easily my favourite read of 2013. After meeting the author and having the opportunity to have a few words with her I immediately went home to buy her book. It is an emotional tale of an epic 5 year run around the world. Rosie undertook this amazing challenge at the age of 57 after losing her husband. Instead of the usual statistics based stories of running it tells an emotional tale of the hardships and magical moments that she experiences along the way. You really don’t have to be into running to enjoy this story. Its just a great tale of an individuals determination to achieve a dream. Whenever I am struggling during a run I call upon the little stories from the book inspire me to continue. If you want to be inspired read this book!

Kindle – Just A Little Run Around The World on Amazon UK

Paperback – Just A Little Run Around The World on AMazon UK

How To Talk To Anyone – 92 Tips and Tricks For Big Success in Relationships

The title of this book made me groan a little. I thought it was going to be full of silly ways to improve your conversational skills or stupid props. Now there are a couple of tips that do recommend a silly prop, I personally would never do this as a conversation starter. I do however have a guide dog, that is a pretty large prop that goes everywhere with me and is a conversation starter, so perhaps I do use a prop?

The reason I wanted to read this book was to improve my conversation skills. Being blind can often make initial conversations with strangers difficult. While I do maintain very good eye contact something that is always commented on, starting conversations can often be difficult. Mainly because I lack a number of the social cues that are taken for granted by many people. for example body language. So the idea of me reading this book was to make it easier for others to communicate with me.

I have to say the tips and tricks really do work. There are a number of people I see all the time but never strike up conversation with, the sandwich man and the people in Starbucks. After using a few of the conversation tricks in this book I managed to maintain quite good conversation with the sandwich man and the Starbucks employees. Individuals who I would normally only share the briefest of pleasantries. So for me it really did improve my everyday conversation skills. It has also hopefully made it far easier for others to communicate with me.

Kindle – How To Talk TO Anyone on Amazon UK

Paperback – How To Talk To Anyone on Amazon UK