Our verdict on Our Brains, Our Selves: A mix of praise and misgivings

The New Scientist Book Club has various issues with Masud Husain's prize-winning popular science book about neurology The New Scientist Book Club stepped away from science fiction for our October read, turning to the winner of the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize instead, serendipitously announced just in time for us to start on our next literary adventure. Six books had been up for the award, from Daniel Levitin's to Sadiah Qureshi's . Judges picked Masud Husain's and they praised it effusively, calling it "a beautiful exploration of how problems in the brain can cause people to lose their sense of self", and citing how these medical histories are "skilfully interwoven with Husain's personal story of moving to the UK as an immigrant in the 1960s, where he found himself grappling with his own sense of belonging". Sandra Knapp, chair of the judging panel for the 2025 Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize, explains why neurologist Masud Husain's collection of case studies is such an enlightening, compassionate book The first thing to say is: our book club members are much tougher judges than those on the panel for the Royal Society prize! While I think we were excited to get to grips with this book, and to venture into the world of non-fiction for a change, there were many issues that were raised and picked over by our readers. Let's tackle the positives first.