by Jennifer Cox
In which intrepid journalist and travel reporter Jennifer resolves to travel the world searching for her soul mate, who, she believes, must be Out There Somewhere. With assistance from her many and varied friends, with a constant eye on the next destination (and at least half an eye on the book deal, surely), she jumps from date to date, documenting all with a lively wit and a light touch.
It reads like a kind of female version of Are You Dave Gorman?, a madcap dash around the world and the weird and wonderful people in it. That's no bad thing; Gorman's book is immense fun, and I very much enjoyed this too. It's like a real life chick-lit novel, and as is absolutely necessary for such a book, it does have a happy ending - I don't think I'd be giving away too much if I told you that she does meet her soul mate.
It's a nice, easy read and I recommend it. However, if you feel short of time, you could read the Observer article instead.
14/12/2010
01/12/2010
"The Ghost"
by Robert Harris
The film of this book was generally well reviewed and so for some reason I decided to read the book first. I've read a couple of Harris's books before (Fatherland and Enigma, if memory serves, although I've got a feeling I didn't finish the latter) and while I can't say I'm a huge fan, the premise seemed strong enough to make it worth a go.
Just in case you don't know, the book is written by an unnamed ghost writer who is employed to write the autobiography of a recently resigned UK Prime Minister who is currently being accused of war crimes relating to the Gulf War. The ex-Prime Minister is a highly personable man with a high-profile, controversial wife. But something's not quite as it seems, and the previous ghost writer has died under mysterious circumstances ...
No prizes for guessing that it's supposed to be about the Blairs and so it's difficult to read it without having that in the background. Maybe that's intentional; Harris is obviously Making A Point and wants it to be clear who he is Making A Point about.
<spoiler>
But, as a thriller, it's not really very thrilling. Really, all Harris wants to do is accuse Blair of being a CIA puppet. Although - shocking twist alert - really he's just a puppet of his conniving wife, who is a CIA secret agent! Yawn.
</spoiler>
So, not subtle at all. It would have wasted less of my time if he'd just written a short pamphlet on his accusations. But then I guess he would have had to defend himself in court, whereas this way he can hide behind the "fiction".
Anyway, I didn't enjoy this, as you can probably tell, and in fact I didn't finish it properly at all. I got most of the way through, mainly because it was the only book I had with me in a hotel, but I flicked through the last 40 pages to see how it ended.
The film of this book was generally well reviewed and so for some reason I decided to read the book first. I've read a couple of Harris's books before (Fatherland and Enigma, if memory serves, although I've got a feeling I didn't finish the latter) and while I can't say I'm a huge fan, the premise seemed strong enough to make it worth a go.
Just in case you don't know, the book is written by an unnamed ghost writer who is employed to write the autobiography of a recently resigned UK Prime Minister who is currently being accused of war crimes relating to the Gulf War. The ex-Prime Minister is a highly personable man with a high-profile, controversial wife. But something's not quite as it seems, and the previous ghost writer has died under mysterious circumstances ...
No prizes for guessing that it's supposed to be about the Blairs and so it's difficult to read it without having that in the background. Maybe that's intentional; Harris is obviously Making A Point and wants it to be clear who he is Making A Point about.
<spoiler>
But, as a thriller, it's not really very thrilling. Really, all Harris wants to do is accuse Blair of being a CIA puppet. Although - shocking twist alert - really he's just a puppet of his conniving wife, who is a CIA secret agent! Yawn.
</spoiler>
So, not subtle at all. It would have wasted less of my time if he'd just written a short pamphlet on his accusations. But then I guess he would have had to defend himself in court, whereas this way he can hide behind the "fiction".
Anyway, I didn't enjoy this, as you can probably tell, and in fact I didn't finish it properly at all. I got most of the way through, mainly because it was the only book I had with me in a hotel, but I flicked through the last 40 pages to see how it ended.
26/11/2010
"Mr. Darcy's Diary"
by Maya Slater
Pride and Prejudice is one of my favourite novels. I read it when I was about 18, as the first in my (short-lived) undertaking to learn more of the classics (and well before, I might add, the popularisation via that serialisation). I bought an old hardback, large print edition that was being removed from library stock. Although helpfully cheap, it had what I considered at the time to be unnecessarily large, overly girly full page illustrations and as a result I was very embarrassed to be seen reading it in public. Needless to say, I still have the book and love the illustrations now (although sadly I can't find any online). I still read it at least once a year, I guess.
Obviously there's now a minor industry in P&P spin-offs, including any number of novels. I've tried a few of them but mostly they are very poor. However, I saw someone reading this book on a train and it piqued my interest, and last week I finally found it in the library.
The book is, of course, the same central story, but told from the perspective of the hero rather than the heroine. (There's some half-hearted pretence about this being a *real* diary found in a bureau and that therefore the whole story is not fiction after all.) Fitzwilliam Darcy doesn't actually appear that much in Jane Austen's novel, being mostly absent doing something mysterious about managing his estates or some such. This book ties together many of the questions that crop up around his behaviour, such as why he returns to Pemberley early. It also gives many interesting details of his life in London, which I enjoyed (though I can't say how historically accurate they are).
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Searching around The Republic Of Pemberley, I found that there are in fact many versions of Darcy's diary, and I have to say I'm tempted to try another.
Pride and Prejudice is one of my favourite novels. I read it when I was about 18, as the first in my (short-lived) undertaking to learn more of the classics (and well before, I might add, the popularisation via that serialisation). I bought an old hardback, large print edition that was being removed from library stock. Although helpfully cheap, it had what I considered at the time to be unnecessarily large, overly girly full page illustrations and as a result I was very embarrassed to be seen reading it in public. Needless to say, I still have the book and love the illustrations now (although sadly I can't find any online). I still read it at least once a year, I guess.
Obviously there's now a minor industry in P&P spin-offs, including any number of novels. I've tried a few of them but mostly they are very poor. However, I saw someone reading this book on a train and it piqued my interest, and last week I finally found it in the library.
The book is, of course, the same central story, but told from the perspective of the hero rather than the heroine. (There's some half-hearted pretence about this being a *real* diary found in a bureau and that therefore the whole story is not fiction after all.) Fitzwilliam Darcy doesn't actually appear that much in Jane Austen's novel, being mostly absent doing something mysterious about managing his estates or some such. This book ties together many of the questions that crop up around his behaviour, such as why he returns to Pemberley early. It also gives many interesting details of his life in London, which I enjoyed (though I can't say how historically accurate they are).
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Searching around The Republic Of Pemberley, I found that there are in fact many versions of Darcy's diary, and I have to say I'm tempted to try another.
17/11/2010
"Night Of The Living Dad"
by Sam Delaney
I didn't mean to restrict myself to reading books with puns for titles, it just worked out like that. I found this in the library while I was supervising K & Z in the kids' section. There's a few shelves of books for adults - 1001 Baby Names You Must Use Before You Die, How To Realise Your Child's Inner Beethoven, that sort of thing - and this memoir was in there. I think it would more properly belong in "Biography" but actually it fits into that odd category of books that Danny Wallace and Dave Gorman have made their own: comedic but not comedy, travelling but not travelogue, biographical but not biography. It even has a quote from Danny Wallace on the front.
Sam Delaney - who, it turns out, is current editor of Heat magazine, not that I knew this until I started writing this review - writes about his experience of fatherhood, from the initial twinkle in his eye to about a year after the birth. The style is highly reminiscent of Danny Wallace (no wonder there's that quote on the front) but lacks the appealing naivety that makes books such as Yes Man or Friends Like These so enjoyable. Instead it has a more world-weary cynicism, which, while occasionally funny, I found rather repetitious towards the end of the book. That's not to say there isn't a whole host of immediately recognisable situations in the book though; maybe I just found it too close to home!
Overall, an interesting diversion but not a book I'd read again or particularly recommend to others.
I didn't mean to restrict myself to reading books with puns for titles, it just worked out like that. I found this in the library while I was supervising K & Z in the kids' section. There's a few shelves of books for adults - 1001 Baby Names You Must Use Before You Die, How To Realise Your Child's Inner Beethoven, that sort of thing - and this memoir was in there. I think it would more properly belong in "Biography" but actually it fits into that odd category of books that Danny Wallace and Dave Gorman have made their own: comedic but not comedy, travelling but not travelogue, biographical but not biography. It even has a quote from Danny Wallace on the front.
Sam Delaney - who, it turns out, is current editor of Heat magazine, not that I knew this until I started writing this review - writes about his experience of fatherhood, from the initial twinkle in his eye to about a year after the birth. The style is highly reminiscent of Danny Wallace (no wonder there's that quote on the front) but lacks the appealing naivety that makes books such as Yes Man or Friends Like These so enjoyable. Instead it has a more world-weary cynicism, which, while occasionally funny, I found rather repetitious towards the end of the book. That's not to say there isn't a whole host of immediately recognisable situations in the book though; maybe I just found it too close to home!
Overall, an interesting diversion but not a book I'd read again or particularly recommend to others.
08/11/2010
"Pandaemonium"
by Christopher Brookmyre
Second in my coincidental trilogy of punning titles is this satire of religion and its place in society. Being Brookmyre, it's also a very dark comedy thriller that takes numerous side-swipes at other attitudes along the way.
The action centres on a school trip away in an activity centre in (of course) Scotland, which just happens to be on land above a highly secret military installation where unprecedented experiments are taking place. Inevitably, the two come together in a very unexpected way - I won't reveal how, since you might want to read the book.
Like most of Brookmyre's novels, there is plenty of action, comedic moments and quite a few deaths. Unlike most other of his novels, however, it doesn't have an unambiguous happy ending. Most of his books are, for all the attitude and black comedy, pure "Hollywood", to use William Goldman's definition of a Hollywood film as one in which the good guys win and the bad guys lose. Pandaemonium is not Hollywood. The body count is substantially higher than his other books and it's not all bad guys either. At the end, the establishment prevails.
One of the things I like most about his stories are that they are pure escapism - partly because of the Hollywood nature of the plots - and although this is darker it is just as entertaining. This is the second time I've read it and I enjoyed it both times.
Second in my coincidental trilogy of punning titles is this satire of religion and its place in society. Being Brookmyre, it's also a very dark comedy thriller that takes numerous side-swipes at other attitudes along the way.
The action centres on a school trip away in an activity centre in (of course) Scotland, which just happens to be on land above a highly secret military installation where unprecedented experiments are taking place. Inevitably, the two come together in a very unexpected way - I won't reveal how, since you might want to read the book.
Like most of Brookmyre's novels, there is plenty of action, comedic moments and quite a few deaths. Unlike most other of his novels, however, it doesn't have an unambiguous happy ending. Most of his books are, for all the attitude and black comedy, pure "Hollywood", to use William Goldman's definition of a Hollywood film as one in which the good guys win and the bad guys lose. Pandaemonium is not Hollywood. The body count is substantially higher than his other books and it's not all bad guys either. At the end, the establishment prevails.
One of the things I like most about his stories are that they are pure escapism - partly because of the Hollywood nature of the plots - and although this is darker it is just as entertaining. This is the second time I've read it and I enjoyed it both times.
04/11/2010
"Adventures On The High Teas"
by Stuart Maconie
In which "the UK’s best-selling travel writer of non-TV tie-in books" (really, more than Bryson?) ambles around the middle of England looking for, well, middle England.
I have a lot of time for Stuart Maconie and greatly enjoy his radio shows, primarily with Mark Radcliffe - and not just because Radcliffe is such a superb broadcaster that he makes everyone else sound good too - but also some of his solo stuff. He knows his music back-to-front and is very amusing, often ready with a quip or a gentle joke.
However, while his wit makes for good radio, I think that extended to book length it results in a slight lack of substance. I've read all three of his books now (the other two being Cider With Roadies and Pies And Prejudice - all hail the pun!) and they are all similar in style; vignettes and anecdotes connected by a theme, which makes them quite good for dipping into if you have a spare half an hour, but a little disjointed if you want to read for longer. They are good for brief pre-sleep bedtime reading, though I don't want to imply that the writing is sleep-inducing!
The reviewer's comparisons with Bill Bryson are well made - if a trifle lazy, since both write amusing travel, easy-to-read travel books - but while I could happily re-read most of Bryson's books, I'm not sure I'd bother with this one. Having said that, I did enjoy it and laughed out loud on more than one occasion.
And I should also give credit where it's due - reading it has inspired me to start writing again. I haven't done a book review for a while!
In which "the UK’s best-selling travel writer of non-TV tie-in books" (really, more than Bryson?) ambles around the middle of England looking for, well, middle England.
I have a lot of time for Stuart Maconie and greatly enjoy his radio shows, primarily with Mark Radcliffe - and not just because Radcliffe is such a superb broadcaster that he makes everyone else sound good too - but also some of his solo stuff. He knows his music back-to-front and is very amusing, often ready with a quip or a gentle joke.
However, while his wit makes for good radio, I think that extended to book length it results in a slight lack of substance. I've read all three of his books now (the other two being Cider With Roadies and Pies And Prejudice - all hail the pun!) and they are all similar in style; vignettes and anecdotes connected by a theme, which makes them quite good for dipping into if you have a spare half an hour, but a little disjointed if you want to read for longer. They are good for brief pre-sleep bedtime reading, though I don't want to imply that the writing is sleep-inducing!
The reviewer's comparisons with Bill Bryson are well made - if a trifle lazy, since both write amusing travel, easy-to-read travel books - but while I could happily re-read most of Bryson's books, I'm not sure I'd bother with this one. Having said that, I did enjoy it and laughed out loud on more than one occasion.
And I should also give credit where it's due - reading it has inspired me to start writing again. I haven't done a book review for a while!
04/10/2010
14. The Smashing Pumpkins : Stand Inside Your Love
(single, 2000)
This is as straightforward a love song as you could expect to find anywhere. "Who wouldn't be the one you love," sings Billy Corgan, who has called it the only "true" love song he has ever written. For what it's worth - or even inasmuch as it's even important - it does sound like he means it.
For some, Corgan's whining vocals are an acquired taste, and the whining guitars and whole rock ambience will put them off. It's a taste I acquired a long time ago during repeated plays of Siamese Dream (1993). I found some of the subsequent material a little underwhelming, but this was a real return to the "classic" Pumpkins sound: quiet verse, huge chorus, soaring, shrieking guitars - all the good stuff. I particularly like the way the lead guitar sounds on the verge of feedback all the time, with an infinite sustain effect making it more like a synthesised instrument than a guitar. (With my guitar geek hat on, I'm guessing the effect is achieved with an E-Bow or a Fernandez Sustainer. Or possibly just a really, really loud amp.)
Back to the complete Best Tracks of the Noughties
This is as straightforward a love song as you could expect to find anywhere. "Who wouldn't be the one you love," sings Billy Corgan, who has called it the only "true" love song he has ever written. For what it's worth - or even inasmuch as it's even important - it does sound like he means it.
For some, Corgan's whining vocals are an acquired taste, and the whining guitars and whole rock ambience will put them off. It's a taste I acquired a long time ago during repeated plays of Siamese Dream (1993). I found some of the subsequent material a little underwhelming, but this was a real return to the "classic" Pumpkins sound: quiet verse, huge chorus, soaring, shrieking guitars - all the good stuff. I particularly like the way the lead guitar sounds on the verge of feedback all the time, with an infinite sustain effect making it more like a synthesised instrument than a guitar. (With my guitar geek hat on, I'm guessing the effect is achieved with an E-Bow or a Fernandez Sustainer. Or possibly just a really, really loud amp.)
Back to the complete Best Tracks of the Noughties
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