He Took Me Kidney, Then Broke My Heart by Dave Spikey

He Took Me Kidney, Then Broke My Heart by Dave Spikey (2009)
Read: Sometime in 2009 most likely

Ah we do love Dave Spikey. Obviously starting with Phoenix Nights and then we saw him in stand up and had a brilliant night (he was supported by the tiger-face one from Phoenix Nights too whcih was cool!) at the Corn Exchange. In fact from what we've seen of Peter Kay live DVDs because he is in such huge venues it doesn't seem as good at all as Dave Spikey.
The book is based on bizarre news stories and Spikey provides commentry. This is an idea we loved and laughed so hard at when we saw him in London. In book form it starts to translate, but it's not wuite as good as live. The headlines mainly have it, sometimes a few lines from the stories themselves are classic, but for about half of them it feels like clutching at straws or that he is working too hard to press home the gag - not needed.
Not as good as the stand up, but still a great book and I'd love to see him live again.

Payback by Margaret Atwood

Payback by Margaret Atwood (2008)
Read: October 2009

Interesting premise - especially in the current climate. Not just exploring finance, but non-monetory forms of "oweing".
Scroodge analogy works and is interesting at first, but an extended metaphore bores the point home.

By Any Means by Charley Boorman

By Any Means by Charley Boorman
Read: September-October 2009

We'd enjoyed this series on TV, as well as Charley's previous Race to Dakar and Long Way Round/Down, so thought we'd get the book over the summer for a good summer read.

It was a good summer read and covered the story in a little more detail than the TV programmes did. Fortunatly the book didn't make as big a deal about the "different forms of transport" used which seemed quite dubious at times in the show. The book focused more on the different countries and cultural expereinces Charley had but again had Russ and Mungo featured which we both enjoyed - adding a bit more than just Charley-fest to the show/book.

We've now started watching By Any Means 2 where Charley travels North through Australia and then around the Pacific Rim to Japan (I think that's where he will end up). This does rememdy the "we're going to count every single vehical we get in, no matter how similar it was to the last one" problem, and grounds the show more in the area of using culturally/geographically interesting/unique forms of transport, which I am pleased about. On the other hand though it seems Russ is producing from a distance, and the camera focuses solely on Charley. One of the aspects that I liked about this book and the original series was the interaction between Charley and the others, so we'll just have to see how this pans out.

OK gone on enough about the next series, back to the original By Any Means - good book again by Charley, in the same vein as before so if you liked the others this one will be a good read.

Knowledge of Angels by Jill Paton Walsh

Knowledge of Angels by Jill Paton Walsh
Read: September 2009

This book was kindly left with us by a visitor last year and we both took a long time in getting round to reading it. Scotty raed it first about 6 months ago and I finally picked it up when we were heading to Dahab for a holiday. I think I read it within a week. It was one of those "can't put down" books but with real substance and a meaty topic, so although you want to keep reading you, you are already mourning the fact that you will finish it soon.

Knowledge of Angels is set in a ficticious time on a ficticious island when a traveller and a child raised by wolves appear. The Church doesn't know what to do with these two non-believers and somehow an experiment takes place to see if knowledge of god is alraedy within us, or does it have to be taught.

A really interesting read, as I said, and one I in fact used in my Theory of Knowledge class in discussions of "how do we know?"

Mapping America

Mapping America by
Read: August-September 2009

Full author details on their way - have lent this book to someone and can't find details online!

This book was about how America was graually mapped and settlers and explorers moved Westwards. It divided its focus between the cultural aspects of the process of settlement and the mechanics of mapping the new land.
The process of apping took place in a very systematical way - simly East to West, no matter what the terrain! While the process of surveying the land and mapping it was taking place, there were advances in getting a single unit of measurement recognised, and this aided the project.
Culturally the book also considers the change in attitudes towards land and land ownership. It is interesting to see this documented in America and then comparisons drawn to the rest of the world at the time.
Whilst the book allows you to see the American Dream building, it does not dwell overly on desire to own land and the consequences this had for indigenous people and inpact on society today.
An interesting book that goes into the detail of the process of mapping and development of a single measurement unit.

Friends Like These by Danny Wallace

Friends Like These by Danny Wallace, 2008
Read: August 2009

We bought this book when it came out last year as we have read and enjoyed all of Danny's other books. Scott read it last summer, but we left it in the UK so I only had a chance to read it when getting back there this summer.

Like his other books, Danny writes in a really relaxed style that is enjoyable to read. I can really see the "boy projects" he embarks on and how they are fun, but possibly frustrating for others! I felt that sometimes in this book Danny played up the "I'm not ready to grow up yet" card, but there was a nice sentiment around the idea of finding old friends that you'd lost touch with.

It was really funny, because in the middle of reading this I had an appointment at the doctors near MVR and bumped into a friend from Primary school that I hadn't seen in a good 5 years. What made it more random was that although I knew his parents, and my parents, still lived in the same area, the surgery was one that neither family went to when we knew each other. It turns out that he has been living abroad for the past year and is doing a second year abroad too - small world!!

The Olivetti Chronicles by John Peel

The Olivetti Chronicles by John Peel, 2008
Read: June and September 2009

Fabia gave us a copy of this book for Christmas 2008 - thanks to J&N for bringing it over! Scott read it first in Jan-Feb-March (it's a big book!) but it took me a little longer to start on it you'll see! It's a collection of articles that John Peel wrote over three decades for various magazines from the music press to Radio Times. The articles aren't organised chronologically, as I'd expected, but instead are alphabetical. His widow, Sheila, explains that the family chose this order, as it meant you got a surprise and something new as you read it.
As the articles are all only a few pages, it is a great book to dip in and out of - very suitable for toilet reading - and so it wasn't a problem that I read this in Cairo, either side of our summer break in England. I'm not a toilet-book kind of person really, so would try and read this for longer periods of the time on the couch instead. I found myself needing to take a little break between each article to make sure my head was clear for the sudden change in direction and time that each new page brings.
John Peel has an amazing written style, that manages to be as personable as his radio presenting. You always feel that he is talking directly to you and you feel that you not only know him, but you know his family, and that he knows you and yours. I must admit that some of the musical references went over my head, not being as familiar with the broad range of music that he was - is anyone??!! The glory of his writing is that he talks about the mundane, but then also talks about the amazing - such as backstage at festivals - and brings out the mundane.
This was a really nice book to read this summer alongside his autobiography, Margrave of the Marshes. I'm not sure the best order to read the two in - maybe do it as I did and read his autobiography in the middle of this one! Having read his autobiography, and have him talk about all aspects of his life, it was great to read all he had written at the time about his life, the mundane and the slightly less mundane.