Reading - February 2016

Legends of Tone: Gibson (Guitarist special, 2015)

Guitarist (March 2016 / Issue 404)

Guitar & Bass (March 2016 / Vol. 27 No. 06)

Guitar porn blow-out at the beginning of Feb! It's interesting to note the differences between Guitarist house style and Guitar & Bass; the latter is a lot more technical and geeky. There's a whole article dedicated to the very technical ins and outs of an old 50s Fender amp, for example. It's nice to have the coverage but I can't really justify having both magazines. I'll need to decide soon ...

The Week (6 February 2016 / Issue 1059)

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding (1996)

This is twenty years old! Still, other than a few references that date it (trouble programming a video recorder, shopping at Cullens), it's pretty timeless, not least due to being based on Pride & Prejudice. It's funny, yes, and if the humour is a bit obvious sometimes it's probably worth remembering that it wasn't obvious until Helen Fielding made it so.

The Chandler's Ford Story by Barbara J. Hillier & Gerald Ponting (2005)

This was a lovely present for my birthday. It's a brief but interesting look into the origins of the small town where I now live. Since it only really goes back about 150 years, there's not that much to tell, but it's fascinating to see pictures of familiar sights in unfamiliar surroundings. There's a photo taken at the top of our road in 1930, just after the houses were all built (it literally was all fields before) and while the houses are clearly the same (particularly the post office), the gardens, the road and the cars are so different. Niche but nice.

The Week (13 February 2016 / Issue 1060)

Going To Sea In A Sieve by Danny Baker (2012)

A memoir from someone who was on the frontline of music journalism in the early 80s. Oh wait - except he wasn't. Yes, he was there, but his interest has always been more personal and eclectic and the NME was clearly just something he did for a while, rather than being "dedicated to the cause". And he's probably all the better for it, frankly (don't get me started about some of the other losers who wrote for NME). He's very full of himself but always entertaining.

The Perfect Neighbour by Nora Roberts (2000)

A sweet romance. Crying out to be made into a movie.

Ten Little N***s by Agatha Christie (1939)

You can't buy this book any more - or at least, not under this title. It's now called And Then There Were None and I believe all the other references to the unacceptable word in the title have been changed to "Indian". However, this is the copy I have and this is what I read, borrowed from the school library, when I was about 13. Different times, eh? A timepiece and very dated, but still a cleverly plotted whodunnit.

The Week (20 February 2016 / Issue 1061)

Country Of The Blind by Christopher Brookmyre (1997)

I wonder why Brookmyre doesn't write this kind of thing any more? Or why it hasn't been filmed? Fantastic stuff.

The Mighty Quinns: Brody by Kate Hoffman ()

The Mighty Quinns: Teague by Kate Hoffman ()

The Mighty Quinns: Cal by Kate Hoffman ()

Notionally three separate books, although clearly written at the same time, occupying the same fictional space and time, and cross-referencing each other. Brody, Teague and Cal are three brothers who live and work on an Australian cattle station, who all meet the women of their dreams in the same week. Modern romance with a higher than usual emphasis on sex; nice to see the women being (almost) as assertive as the men.

The Week (27 February 2016 / Issue 1062)

The Secrets Of House Music Production by Marc Adamo (2013)

This is a great starter reference to modern music production in general, not just dance music. A great companion piece to The Producer's Manual by the same publisher. There are loads of interesting walk-throughs of applied techniques, a load of audio examples that can be downloaded, and a whole bunch of cool samples - samples being Sample Magic's main product, of course. My only slight complaint about the book is the format: the A4 landscape format makes it difficult to hold on my lap!