Brian's Book Log 2014

[frankie]

Yo Brian! Whatcha up to, where are you? I haven't seen you around in ages! Don't be a stranger, aye? I still have a few books for you...

 

Edit: I've almost sent them to you these past few months but I don't know if you still live in the same address...?

Edited August 21, 2014 by frankie

[Brian.]

I'm still about and I intend to be about on here more (I know I've said that before). My address is still the same. You'll have to jog my memory of the books I was going to send to you, I need to make sure I still have them as I have given a lot away recently.

[Brian.]

Taking a quick look back at my Goodreads account, I never finished Airframe for some reason, no idea why. I won't do proper reviews about the books I've read as I can't recall too much about them but I'll post up a few thoughts.

 

Run - Dean Karnazes

I read this while I was still running a lot and considering the insane idea of running 50km ultra marathon. The book was a light and easy read even if it omits a lot of much better ultra runners out there. I picked up quite a bad injury so my running had to take a back seat and the ultra marathon will have to wait until next year at the earliest. I also got rejected for the London marathon again.

 

Eat and Run - Scott Jurek

Scott Jurek is a runner that really interests me as he is a vegan and won many races while being fueled by a plant based diet. His achievements are pretty amazing but the book did get a little preachy at times. None the less this was another light and easy read.

 

Bounce - Matthew Syed

I have been a fan of Matthew Syed's articles for a long time now and this book is just as good. In it he covers the notion of natural talent and looks into what makes a virtuoso. He argues that it is not talent but years of dedicated and directed practice that is required. This is a very good book which I enjoyed greatly.

 

An Epic Swindle - Brian Reade

This book covers the period of time where Liverpool Football Club was owned by Hicks & Gillett. Being a Liverpool supporter I assumed that I would know the story well but there were many things that I was unaware of. I never realised just how close the club came to being closed and how much of an effect fan protest groups had.

 

The Dirtiest Race in History - Richard Moore

The 1988 Seoul Olympic 100m final will forever be associated with Ben Johnson but the true story behind the race is much murkier. All but one of the finalist has since been connected to drug use in some way. This was a good book and it raises a lot of questions about USOC.

 

How I Lived on Just a Pound a Day - Kath Kelly

I found this on a shelf in my local library and thought it had to be some kind of wind up. It wasn't the best book in the world but it kept me relatively entertained for a while. I have to admit that living on a pound a day anywhere in the UK is a crazy achievement even if there are some caveats to the title.

 

Monkey House Blues - Dominic Stevenson

I can't recall anything about this book but I gave it 3/5 on goodreads.

 

The True Story of Acid House - Luke Bainbridge

I was born to late of experience the birth of acid house in the UK but I do recall the outcry from the government etc at the time. I liked the music and was a part of the rave scene for many years in the mid to late 90's. This is a really good history of the acid house scene and brought back quite a few memories of my nights out in warehouses dancing all night.

 

Amsterdam - Russell Shorto

This is a non-fiction book about the history of the city of Amsterdam and how it came to be. It was an ok read but I would liked it to have included a little more of the more recent history of the city. Nonetheless I did learn somethings from the book and it prompted me to re-visit the city and check out some of the historical sites that are not immediately obvious to tourists.

 

Sniper in Helmand - Jamie Cartwright

A pretty standard run of the mill account of a British Army sniper in Afghanistan. One thing that this book does cover which is a little outside the norm is the author detailing his experience with PTSD.

 

The Nowhere Men - Michael Calvin

I have previously really enjoyed books that have won the 'Times Sports Book of the Year' award so I decided to give this a go. I thought that it was ok but didn't meet the level of previous winners. It is about the world of football scouts and how they are being replaced by data analysts. I didn't particularly get on with this book and it was a bit of an effort to finish.

 

Occupy - Noam Chomsky

A very small book which is a collection of interviews about the Occupy movement. It is interesting enough and raises a lot of good political points but I am not sure that it needed to be turned into a book. I have read on the net that it started life as a political pamphlet and perhaps it should have stayed that way.

 

Change - Richard Gerver

A book about change and how we should see things differently than we actually do. I tend to enjoy books like this even if I don't agree with the approach taken by the author. I didn't particularly enjoy this however, and I felt as though the author spent a lot time telling me how great he was.

[bobblybear]

Hey there, welcome back! Haven't seen you around in while.

[Brian.]

Thanks bobblybear, I allowed my self to get completely snowed under with my degree. It still as manic but I've decided that I have to read and post more because I miss it too much.

[bobblybear]

^ I know what you mean. I'm studying at the moment, and as exam time comes, I can't do anything but study or think/stress about studying.

[Devi]

Hey Brian, nice to see you back!

[Athena]

Good to see you again, Brian !

[Brian.]

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez




Synopsis
An acknowledged masterpiece, this is the story of seven generations of the Buendia family and of Macondo, the town they have built. Though little more than a settlement surrounded by mountains, Macondo has its wars and disasters, even its wonders and miracles. A microcosm of Columbian life, its secrets lie hidden, encoded in a book and only Aureliano Buendia can fathom its mysteries and reveal its shrouded destiny. Blending political reality with magic realism, fantasy with comic invention, "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is one of the most daringly original works of the twentieth century.
(taken from Goodreads)


My Thoughts

I've had this book on my book shelves for as long as I can remember as its one of those book that always pops up in conversations about the best books. I have to confess, anything that is considered as literature and more than 300 pages tends to scare me a bit but slowly I am getting over this. Just before I went on a short break to Barcelona I decided I needed something new to read, and instead of taking my Kindle I opted for a tree book, and this found its way into my hands.

 

I don't really know where to start with the book as my head is still swimming a bit after finishing it. It is crammed full of magic realism and the story switches a lot between fantasy and reality. I found the book fairly enjoyable but I needed quiet to read it, I certainly couldn't concentrate enough to read it in noisy environments. It helped a lot that I read the majority of it while I was on holiday as I found it a little heavy going in places.

 

Even though I have marked it as 3/5 it lies between 3 and 4 for me. I found that fact that the same names as used for many characters across the generations hard to follow at times and I had to keep checked back to the family tree at the front of the book.

 

3/5 (I liked it).

[Athena]

Great review, I'm glad you enjoyed it though the thing with the names would confuse me too.

[Brian.]

The Rachel Papers by Martin Amis



Synopsis
In his uproarious first novel Martin Amis, author of the bestselling London Fields, gave us one of the most noxiously believable -- and curiously touching -- adolescents ever to sniffle and lust his way through the pages of contemporary fiction. On the brink of twenty, Charles High-way preps desultorily for Oxford, cheerfully loathes his father, and meticulously plots the seduction of a girl named Rachel -- a girl who sorely tests the mettle of his cynicism when he finds himself falling in love with her.
(taken from Goodreads)


My Thoughts

I was given this book as a freebie by a cashier at Waterstones a few years ago as I had bought quite a few books (I feel a return trip happening soon). It was part of a promotion. Those who purchased Lionel Asbo got it for free and it is marked up as not for resale. I didn't buy Lionel Asbo but it was chucked into my bag with a cheeky wink. I had previous read Money which I enjoyed and so I grabbed this off the bookcase the other night.

 

The book focuses around Charles Highway and his attempts at seducing a girl called Rachel who is older than him. He is quite a snotty nosed character but endearing in a really odd way. I wouldn't say he is pleasant at all but there is a certain charm about him. 'The Rachel Papers' are a collection of reports he compiles along the way on his successes and failures in his seduction. It turns out that he has a similar dossier on all of his potential and successful conquests.

 

At about 220 pages this isn't a long book and I could easily have read it in a day had I been so inclined. I found myself laughing out loud at a few parts but I must warn potential readers that the language is very vulgar at points. This didn't bother me and I found the language actually fitted the character perfectly, unlike similar attempts by authors such as Bret Easton Ellis.

 

 

4/5 (I really liked it).

[Alexi]

I didn't get on with Money, and abandoned ready for another go at some other point down the line, but this sounds really intriguing. Like you, I don't mind vulgar language if it fits with the character - it only becomes an irritant when it feels unnecessary and needless.

[Brian.]

Goldfinger by Ian Fleming



Synopsis
Auric Goldfinger, the most phenomenal criminal Bond has ever faced, is an evil genius who likes his cash in gold bars and his women dressed only in gold paint. After smuggling tons of gold out of Britain into secret vaults in Switzerland, this powerful villain is planning the biggest and most daring heist in history—robbing all the gold in Fort Knox. That is, unless Secret Agent 007 can foil his plan.

In one of Ian Fleming's most popular adventures, James Bond tracks this most dangerous foe across two continents and takes on two of the most memorable villains ever created—a human weapon named Oddjob and a luscious female crime boss named Pussy Galore.
(taken from Goodreads)


My Thoughts

I am slowly making my way through the Ian Fleming Bond books and this was the next one up (number 7). I am working through them slowly because so far I have enjoyed all of the them and I don't want the end to come too soon. Goldfinger is one of my favourite Bond movies and I think is widely regarded as one of the best ones despite the some times far fetched story line. As is usual, the movie story line deviates from the book and in one particular case I think that the approach taken by the movie is better.

 

I find that reading one of the Bond books is like slipping into an old comfortable jumper on a cold day. Everything feels familiar and I know that I can rely on the book to deliver. The characters are well formed, probably in no small part due to the movies, and the exchanges between the characters are very well written. Due to the time period in which the books were written there is a sexist element and very superior British attitude at times but the same can be said of the movies. I never have an issue with these things as long as they are in context and appropriate for the time.

 

I really enjoyed the book and my only minor grumble is down to the ebook version which I read. I suspect that some OCR software had been used because there were some typos which looked very much like OCR errors.

 

4/5 (I really liked it).

[Athena]

I'm glad you liked the book . Great review! I saw the film recently for the first time. It's a shame about the errors in the ebook file, that's annoying.

[Brian.]

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick



Synopsis
A final, apocalyptic, world war has killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending the majority of mankind off-planet. Those who remain, venerate all remaining examples of life, and owning an animal of your own is both a symbol of status and a necessity. For those who can't afford an authentic animal, companies build incredibly realistic simulacrae: horses, birds, cats, sheep . . . even humans.
(taken from Goodreads)


My Thoughts

Every time I go to my local library this book tempts me from the small but well stocked Sci-Fi section. I actually own this as an ebook but for some reason borrowed it last week as a paperback, in part because I really like the cover. I really like the movie (Blade Runner) so I had high hopes for the book and I was a little surprised at it's size (200 pages) as I expected it to be longer.

 

The first thing that really jumped out at me while reading the book is that it is very atmospheric. I don't know if this is entirely because of the book itself or some of it has carried over in my mind from the movie. I could imagine the world in which the story is set with ease and completely understood all the technology involved along the way. I wouldn't say that too many of the characters are really developed a whole lot apart from Deckard and perhaps Isidore.

 

I am not a big Sci-Fi reader but it is a genre that always seems to sit well with me when I do. Off the top of my head, I think this is the second Philip K. Dick that I have read and it has only served to encourage me to read more of his work and more Sci-Fi in general.

 

4/5 (I really liked it).

[Alexi]

I've only read the first Bond (Casino Royale) as I am waiting to read them in order and the library doesn't ever seem to have the second book when I go in! Glad to see the rest of the series lives up to the first. 

[Athena]

Great review of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?! I also really liked it (rating it the same as you did). I remember being confused about one thing in the book, but I don't remember what it was so . But I liked it otherwise, I would agree with you on the atmospheric-ness (and I saw the movie after reading the book). I'm glad you enjoyed the book .

[Brian.]

Introducing Lenin & the Russian Revolution by Richard Appignanesi & Oscar Zarate



Synopsis
Lenin is the key to understanding the Russian Revolution. His dream as the creation of the world's first Socialist state. It was a short-lived dream that became a nightmare when Stalin rose to absolute power in 1929.
(taken from Goodreads)


My Thoughts

I picked this up at my local library after browsing the politics and history sections trying to find something stimulating. This book is a little different to what I would usually read as it is an illustrated comic book. I decided what the heck and went for it anyway.

 

I learned some things from this book that I didn't know but I found the timeline haphazard. New people were introduced and then not revisited until much later and some of the more important ones such as Stalin were not covered in any detail at all. The book was ok but I felt that it could have been much better. Perhaps it is just me and the book didn't suit my reading preferences. I did like the approach though and it is probably something that would appeal to a younger reader interested in the subject matter.

 

2/5 (It was ok).

[Brian.]

I am planning a bit of a book buying trip next week and I just realised that I hadn't posted about my charity shop purchases the other week.

 

Brick Lane - Monica Ali

Miami Blues - Charles Willeford

Candide - Voltare

Icebound - Dean Koontz

Empire of the Sun - J.G. Ballard

Homage to Catalonia - George Orwell

Hilter's Henchmen - Guido Knopp

Backwards to Britain - Jules Verne

The Kon-Tiki Expedition - Thor Heyerdahl

The Bhagavad Gita

 

The Kon-Tiki Expedition is a Folio Society hardback which if I'm honest, I only bought because it looks fantastic. Its quite a collection of genres but I am looking forward to starting some of them soon.

[Athena]

I hope you enjoy your newly bought books !

[Brian.]

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami



Synopsis
'A narrative particle accelerator that zooms between Wild Turkey Whiskey and Bob Dylan, unicorn skulls and voracious librarians, John Coltrane and Lord Jim. Science fiction, detective story and post-modern manifesto all rolled into one rip-roaring novel, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is the tour de force that expanded Haruki Murakami's international following. Tracking one man's descent into the Kafkaesque underworld of contemporary Tokyo, Murakami unites East and West, tragedy and farce, compassion and detachment, slang and philosophy.'
(taken from Goodreads)

My Thoughts

I have really enjoyed the Murakami books I have read so far and it felt like the right time to delve into another one. I've had this on my TBR for a few years now and I'm still a little intimidated by the length of IQ84. At about 400 pages I felt that this would be the ideal mixture in terms of length and content.

 

As I tend to avoid reviews prior to reading a book I was surprised that the chapters alternate between two different stories. At first I found this quite disconcerting and I kept putting it down for a few days at a time. After a while though, I settled into this rhythm and as the book went on I felt like it really worked.

Another thing that stood out was the lack of names for the characters. Everyone is known as 'The Gatekeeper', 'The Librarian' etc and we never find out the name of the main protagonist. I have come across this in the past with other books and it does leave a little distance between me and the characters. In some cases this would be a problem but I always really like the underlying sense of despair in Murakami's work and I feel that these things work well together.

The actual stories are well told and I really enjoyed both of them. Once I got into the book I kept having to pick the book up and see what was going to happen next. I also really liked the ending, I was concerned the book would go one way and it didn't, I'll leave it there so I don't spoil anything.

 

This would be a 5 if it wasn't for the fact that it took me a while to get into.

 

4/5 (I really liked it).

[Athena]

This book is on my wishlist, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Great review !

[Brian.]

This book is on my wishlist, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Great review !

 

Have you read any of his other books?

[Athena]

Have you read any of his other books?

Not yet . I have two on my TBR: Kafka on the Shore and 1Q84. I'm debating if I should read 1984 before I read the latter.

[Brian.]

Although I haven't read either of the Murakami yet I would definitely read 1984 sooner rather than later as it's one of my favourite books. I started with Norwegian Wood, a book I didn't expect to particularly like but I ended up falling in love with. After that I read a lot of his smaller books, both fiction and non-fiction and really enjoyed all of them so I don't think you can go wrong no matter where you start.