Tuesday 24 January 2012

The Home - Bill Bryson


I really do enjoy Bill Bryson books, but strangely not the travel ones so much. I tend to go for the factual ones, like The history of nearly everything or Mothertongue.

Even when explaining something really difficult like quantum physics or language construction his writing style is engaging and understandable - even if I don't retain much of the information I have at least understood it at the time I'm reading it.

So, I was looking forward to this explanation of the everyday things we find in our homes.

Bryson is famous for the fact that he's an American very happily living in the UK, and he used his old rectory home in Norfolk as the basic outline for this book. Each of the rooms in the building were used to explore the elements of our homes, things such as electricity, gas, toilets, or even bricks, chimneys or stairs.

Fascinating facts about mundane items that we take for granted, and the people who invented, designed or utilised them, are discussed.  If I were to have any criticism about this book it would be that great chunks of it are about America (when I'm sure British examples could be found), but that's unfair, as I said at the beginning Bryson is American!

Bought in Waterstones.
22nd January - 23rd February 2012

Sunday 22 January 2012

The Death of Grass - John Christopher

First off I should point out that this book was originally published in 1956 - lots of things have changed, but so many things haven't!

The story tells of two brothers, one becomes a farmer of a valley farm in Cumbria, the other an architect in London.  When a worldwide virus destroys all variants of grass, and people start starving to death due to food shortages, London (and other cities) obviously becomes a dangerous place to be, especially when the plans of the government become known.

So a group of two families set off from London aiming for the Cumbrian valley, and hopefully safety, picking up others along the way across country.

I envisaged this book to be bleak and chilling (as described on the cover), but perhaps due to the state of the world now, or the fact that I've read The Road by Cormac McCarthy, I found this to be rather sedate and less brutal than I expected.

I guess above all, it's very English - stiff upper lip and do the right thing - especially think of the women and children.  It seems that the author thought that civilisation would fail first in the cities (probably right), but it's in the northern counties and towns which he shows personal brutality and survival instincts.

Like The Road, I read this book in two days!  If anything it's a bit of an extended short story, and very easy to read with no difficult or in depth plots - just the story about the main characters and their trip across the country.

I understand a terrible film was made of it - perhaps a remake is due, but it would need to be low budget and English made for it work - and it would need to be set in the 1950s (this is so not a Hollywood blockbuster).

Since I seem to be drawn to dystopian/post-apocalyptic books I was bound to like this one - I'll be looking out for his other books.

21st - 22nd January 2011

Thursday 12 January 2012

One of our Thursdays is missing - Jasper Fforde

I can't tell you how much I enjoy these books!  There are few authors who I keep a close eye on to see when they publish a new book - Jasper Fforde is one.

The Thursday Next series, of which this is the latest, are brilliant.  Set in the BookWorld, with a cast of characters form not just the Thursday Next books themselves (including a Dodo), but also characters from many other well known books.

In this one the BookWorld has undergone a remake, and is now a collection of landmasses on the inside of a sphere - so everything can be seen from a single point......hard to explain.   Thursday has gone missing, just before she was supposed to attend peace talks, and it's up to the written Thursday to try and figure out what's been happening, and where Thursday might be - that might sound confusing, especially since at one point there are lots of Thursdays, but it is easy to follow really (except when the characters themselves get confused!).

I love the characters, the descriptions of the BookWorld (there is a wonderful map in this book), and they way everything works.  The books are full of literary in jokes (many more probably pass me by!), and interesting comments.

The design  of the BookWorld is pure genius, and even the RealWorld in Swindon (where the real Thursday lives) sounds interesting (unlike the real Swindon!).

Anyone wanting to read this really should start with the first in the series, The Eyre Affair - a treat really does await anyone who is discovering Fforde's books for the first time......I hope I don't have to wait long for the next Next in the series!

Oh, and my favourite joke of the moment comes from this book.......

How many Sigmund Freud's does it take to change a lightbulb?

I don't know, how many Sigmund Freud's does it take to change a lightbulb?

Penis!........No, no, Father!

5th - 12th January 2012

Tuesday 3 January 2012

Delirium - Lauren Oliver

What of love were a disease? If on your 18th birthday you underwent a procedure that took away the disease and then you were matched with another 'cured' for life. 

Would life be easier? Probably, but not as enjoyable - I truly believe that in order to appreciate the highs, the lows have to be there too. This book tells the story of Lena, a 17 year old who is months away from the 'procedure', her last summer of freedom before she is 'cured' and matched. I'm sure that this book is aimed at teenagers (the sleeve notes mention Twilight), but I've always liked dystopian novels (think Handmaids Tale or 1984), so that's why I picked it up. 

The story is engaging, and characters interesting and likeable. The writing is easy and non-taxing, but even then I got so involved with the story I found myself skim reading as I wanted to know what was going to happen next! Also, for the first time ever I actually found a passage that I thought was so beautiful I typed it out and posted it to my blog. 

I'm sure if the author wrote something for adults it would be stunningly written. Looking online, I understand this is the first of a trilogy (what a surprise, isn't everything a trilogy these days?!), and the next one is already on my wish list, and I'll probably be recommending it to a few friends. 

Bought on Green Metropolis
Mid December 2011 - 3rd January 2011