Brian.

I Am The Secret Footballer by Anonymous Synopsis Who is the Secret Footballer? His identity, jealously guarded by just one person at The Guardian, is the subject of many feverish blog posts and forums. Whoever he is -- and whoever he plays for -- he is always honest, always fearless and always opinionated. The Secret Footballer reveals everything you need to know about the beautiful (and not so beautiful) game, from racism to relegation and from team talks to the slow decline of the goalkeeper. (Taken from Goodreads) My Thoughts I picked this up using the kindle store during a quiet moment at work. I have been trying to vary what I am reading a bit more and also trying to read some more non-fiction at the moment. For some reason my fiction mojo is on the slide and I can't put my finger on why. I have read a few of the articles written by TSF (The Secret Footballer) and I always been impressed by the content and approach to opening the game up to the public. There are a few things revealed in the book about football which I had no idea about despite being an avid fan for most of my life. One in particular that stood out was the revelation that as long as footballer doesn't ask for a transfer, if he is sold, he is due the remainder of the wages in his contract. This is often negotiated into a lower but still a tidy settlement figure. This means that player who moves a lot but not at their request like Robbie Keane has made huge amounts of money despite never being a mega star. There are still somethings which sit really uneasily with me however. The behavior of modern footballers leaves a lot of to desired and although he isn't as bad as some TSF still seems to revel in telling his tales. While I understand the way he thinks of fans, as a fan its not a sentiment I like. It is very important that these things are included in the book though as it is a true account of being a modern footballer. The section on depression in the book however is worth reading it on its own. It clear that it is still something that TSF isn't hugely comfortable talking about. It also goes to show that it is still something that can be hidden very well, only the club doctor spotted the illness. I have read many 5 star reviews for this book but I don't think that this is a great book. It's a decent read with some interesting insights but could have been better. It is well written though and some credit must be due to TSF for having the bravery to tackle these issues albeit anonymously. 3/5 (I liked it).

Found a tumblr collection of bookshelf pics, spent ages looking at it already. http://shareyourshelf.tumblr.com/

Underground by Haruki Murakami Synopsis From Haruki Murakami, internationally acclaimed author of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Norwegian Wood, a work of literary journalism that is as fascinating as it is necessary, as provocative as it is profound. In March of 1995, agents of a Japanese religious cult attacked the Tokyo subway system with sarin, a gas twenty-six times as deadly as cyanide. Attempting to discover why, Murakami conducted hundreds of interviews with the people involved, from the survivors to the perpetrators to the relatives of those who died, and Underground is their story in their own voices. Concerned with the fundamental issues that led to the attack as well as these personal accounts, Underground is a document of what happened in Tokyo as well as a warning of what could happen anywhere. (Taken from Goodreads) My Thoughts Another book review and another Murakami book, the 4th of the year for me. I decided to make a slight change and read another one of his non-fiction titles. I had enjoyed his book on running and I've always had an interest in crime and cults so this book looked like it couldn't fail. This is really two books in one, the first part is a collection of interviews and thoughts from the victims of the attack with a summary of Murakami's thoughts at the end. The second part is a collection of interviews with people who were in the Aum religious group. Murakami states from the outset that he wanted to write this book as he saw the way some of the victims were treated by society as double victimisation and wanted to tell their story without the media sensationalism that the press favour. At first the victim interviews are very interesting and gives an insight into Japanese society that a lot of the other books would probably miss. It makes you feel great sympathy for those affected and have huge amount of admiration for those station staff who ultimately died trying to help others. A lot of the tales have a similar twist to them in that fate conspired to make them catch that particular train and not another. A few things instantly stand out though. There stories are all very similar, telling the tale of people starting work early, working until late and feeling very under appreciated by the whole process. Another quirk is that many of them admit to getting in the same door of the same carriage every day, something I found pretty peculiar. Ultimately though, this becomes repetitive pretty quickly and I found myself hoping that the rest of the book wasn't just a collection of the same type of interviews all the way through. Fortunately there is an interval of sorts where Murakami puts his thoughts on the whole affair to paper. He has some interesting thoughts but there is nothing here that stands out from what I would expect. The final part of the book is for me, the most interesting part of it and I found to be a bit of a saviour. It is a collection of interviews with people who had been in Aum and many of who are still part of the group. None of these people were involved in the attack and tell a tale of what it was like in the group. Most of the tales start with a feeling of alienation and looking for something more in life which ultimately leads to them joining Aum. One of the things that really stood out for me is that pretty much everyone was highly educated and not the type of person I would expect to join a cult. Despite the repetitive nature of the first section of the book I found this to be an interesting read. It covers some aspects of Japanese culture that others would have omitted but also lacks some of the facts that others would have included. 3/5 (I liked it).

This is something that I think a lot of people miss when it comes to Keith Richards. Although he is often portrayed as a wild party animal only, he musical knowledge is really something to behold. He was one of the early bunch of British musicians with a real passion for American blues which was so important in shaping the sound that many British bands have been influenced by. He is also always keen to learn from other musicians, so much so that he rarely writes alone or plays alone.

I think its definitely worth reading them in order, there are certain things that happen early on in the series which really set the back story of things that are mentioned in later books.

Too many books, not enough time, arghhh. Anyone able to stop time so I can catch up on my reading?

I found Anne Frank's house is a very unusual historic place to visit as its small size really add an atmosphere to it that I've not experienced anywhere else. Most historic sites are large and have big historic events tied to them. Although in the grand scale of thing her story is a very small part of the war you can see how much it means to people by the sheer number of visitors it gets every day.

I've got 8 as well. I imagine many of us have bought the same book twice without knowing at the time.

Thanks. I have just picked up Sputnik Sweetheart from my local library so it looks like I'm going on a bit of a Murakami binge at the moment

The title is a bit off the wall but it is a novel and not in fact about Ukrainian tractor history. The title comes from the fact that one of the characters happens to be writing a book about it but it barely features in the book.

After Dark by Haruki Murakami Synopsis A short, sleek novel of encounters set in Tokyo during the witching hours between midnight and dawn, and every bit as gripping as Haruki Murakami’s masterworks The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore. At its center are two sisters—Eri, a fashion model slumbering her way into oblivion, and Mari, a young student soon led from solitary reading at an anonymous Denny’s toward people whose lives are radically alien to her own: a jazz trombonist who claims they’ve met before, a burly female “love hotel” manager and her maid staff, and a Chinese prostitute savagely brutalized by a businessman. These “night people” are haunted by secrets and needs that draw them together more powerfully than the differing circumstances that might keep them apart, and it soon becomes clear that Eri’s slumber—mysteriously tied to the businessman plagued by the mark of his crime—will either restore or annihilate her. (Taken from Goodreads) My Thoughts I picked this up from my local library after reserving it. To be honest it couldn't really have come at a better time because my mojo was fading a bit. I had started Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr but for some reason it I just wasn't feeling it so I decided to return it for another day. It would seem that Murakami just does it for some people and not others. I definitely sit in the 'does it' camp. I saw a review where the reviewer said that Murakami makes connection in his brain that no other author does and I think that sums up how I feel about his work pretty well. Like his other books that I have read, his characters make me feel for them on a emotional level that few others do. His writing creates a very visual and magical world in my head. I find it quite difficult to put into words how this feels to me but I suspect that some people will know what I mean. The story happens at night, a time when most people are in bed and as a consequence night time has its own feel and energy. Murakami portrays this very well, its a time when things go on that remain unseen to most and also when the oddest of people are drawn together in equally unusual ways. As important as the things which are described in minute detail are the things that go unexplained. For example, the whole situation with Mari and the way it is handled is very unusual and yet it works really well. The only reason why I didn't give this a 5 is that I wanted it to last a little longer. At 201 pages it is a pretty short book, I feel that another 50 pages would have allowed some of the story to be tidied up into a more complete ending. The mystery of it all is part of its charm though I suppose. I have already reserved 2 more Murakami books and I cant wait to get stuck into them. 4/5 (I really liked it).

I started Last Exit to Brooklyn but for some reason I just wasn't feeling it so I returned it to the library. I picked up After Dark by Haruki Murakami which I had reserved so hopefully that will re-ignite my reading as my mojo has been pretty low this past week.

Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming Synopsis "Her hair was black and fell to her shoulders. She had high cheekbones and a sensual mouth, and wore a dress of white silk. Her eyes were blue, alight and disdainful, but, as they gazed into his with a touch of humour, Bond realized that they contained a message. Solitaire watched his eyes on her and nonchalantly drew her forearms together so that the valley between her breasts deepened. The message was unmistakable." Beautiful, fortune-telling Solitaire is the prisoner (and tool) of Mr Big—master of fear, artist in crime and Voodoo Baron of Death. James Bond has no time for superstition—he knows that this criminal heavy hitter is also a top SMERSH operative and a real threat. More than that, after tracking him through the jazz joints of Harlem, to the everglades and on to the Caribbean, 007 has realized that Big is one of the most dangerous men that he has ever faced. And no-one, not even the mysterious Solitaire, can be sure how their battle of wills is going to end… (Taken from Goodreads) My Thoughts Having read Casino Royale earlier this year I decided it was time for book number 2 in the Bond series. Fortunately I managed to pick up a copy for cheap from a charity shop along with the next 3 in the series. The first thing that really jumped out was the fact that Fleming uses a hell of a lot of racial slurs in this book. I was prepared for some but not as much as there ended up being in the book. I had decided before hand to let it be what it was but to be honest I found it a little difficult. That aside, the story is a great one even though it is not quite up to the level reached by Casino Royale. There is a lot of detail wound into the story and there is a vulnerability about Bond which is simply ignored in the movies. The Bond in the movies is one who makes women weak at the knees and is so very smooth and suave. He is also far more injury prone than the movie, he regularly gets a pasting and is hurting a lot. There is also a fair chuck of nakedness. I enjoyed this book but it wasn't quite up to Casino Royale. 3/5 (I liked it).

Fiction or non-fiction? Fiction, I would recommend 'Fatherland' by Robert Harris. Non-fiction, I would recommend 'Stasiland' by Anna Funder

Making fines disappear sounds like a great perk to have.

The Diamond Guitar was a great short story and I also really liked the ending to A Christmas Memory. I found the short stories to be a bit Hemingway-esque in their feel.

The players are still penalised by the ref but I don't think they are set a minimum number of kicks they have to achieve during a round. I know they have changed the scoring system and also made the ring smaller since the last olympics. This change in the scoring system is why they decided not to pick Aaron Cook (they claim) despite the fact he is the world number 1 at his weight category.

Rudisha did something that athletes rarely do and said before hand that he was going all out to break his own world record. He did this in a really humble way, it wasnt brash or cocky just an assured confident statement.

Jade Jones - get in there. Incredible performance to win GOLD, so so happy she won.

It might just be me but I can't help but feel that the 'nightshift' line up of Lineker, Denise Lewis and Colin Jackson are the worst pundits/presenters they have had. Johnson is superb as was Ian Thorpe even when asked about sports other than swimming. The cycling coverage has been superb and getting Ed Leigh to do the more 'edgy' sports like BMX has been a great move. They should have stuck either Jake Humpries, Gabby Logan or Clare Balding in the studio in the place of Lineker.

Snap, I have just finished it as well, great minds

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote Synopsis Holly Golightly, glittering socialite traveller, generally upwards, sometimes sideways and once in a while down. She's up all night drinking cocktails and breaking hearts. She's a shoplifter, a delight, a drifter, a tease. She hasn't got a past.She doesn't want to belong to anything or anyone. Not to 'Rusty' Trawler, the blue-chinned, cuff-shooting millionaire man about women about town. Not to Salvatore 'Sally' Tomato, the Mafia sugar-daddy doing life in Sing Sing. Not to a starving writer. Not even to her one-eyed rag-bag pirate of a cat. One day Holly might find somewhere she belongs. Until then she's travelling. (Taken from Amazon) My Thoughts I've been looking for a copy of this for a while to read but none of my local shops had one. I could have and maybe should have got it via Amazon but I prefer to use shops where possible. While wandering through my library I spotted it on the shelf and was annoyed that I hadn't thought of reserving it earlier. This book appears in the '1001' books list and I was also aware that a very successful movie was made. I haven't seen the movie but of course have seen the images of Audrey Hepburn as Holly. Initially I was surprised at how short the story is, I expected it to be a few hundred pages and I suspect that because of this, the edition I read had a few short stories also added in. I found Holly to be an odd character, I didn't like her but I also liked her at the same time. The fact that she basically lived off other people is something that initially grated with me but her flighty nature and innocent charm won me over. As the story develops and we find where she came from it also helped cement her charm. The story had a few twists along the way and although I found it ok it never really sucked me in. The characters make it work rather than the plot. I am a bit of a sucker for post war New York, I really love books based in this era and this one has its own type of charm. At no point was I ever completely won over by the book but I did enjoy it none the less. 3/5 (I liked it).

I do wish Gary Lineker would stop interrupting people giving their technical input. He did it last night when Dave Brailsford was getting into his stride discussing their approach to training and he has just done it when Michael Johnson was explaining something about tonight's 200m final.

BMX was in the last olympics, not sure when i became a permanent addition though.

The sailing is at Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour. Although I dont think they could be described as 'friends' VP & AM dont seem to have any bad blood between each other. Both of the, have pushed the other to be as good as they are. As kuch as I wanted to see VP win it was nice to see AM get some redemption for all the suffering she has been through. At the end it did look as though VP's overriding emotion is relief to be done with competative cycling. Without doubt she is massively emotional and has had a real hard time dealing with the mental aspect of sport. Part fo me wonders if she only carried onto London 2012 because she felt obliged to rather than actually really wanting to do it.