Micro review 18 (Non Fiction November)

 

Space: The Human Story by Tim Peake (Cornerstone)

Regular readers, and people who know me IRL are aware that I am something of a space nerd, and that I love meeting astronauts and reading about them. Since Peake's flight into space he has written and spoken a lot about his experiences and I was slightly nervous that this was going to be another remix of what he's already said.

I was soooooooooooooo very wrong - this book is fascinating history of human spaceflight and even though I've read quite few (!) books on this topic there were lots of new to me anecdotes and he presents a new take on a lot of the history. 

He has a very wry sense of humour and makes some very pertinent points about the future of space travel, and even when talking about his space flight/training has new stories to tell.

If I am being picky I'd have liked to know more about the European Space Agency history and selection process, and n the Chinese crewed space programme doesn't event get a but these are minor points. My other disappointment was to do with the bibliography - I was poised, pen ready, to add new books to my wish list but out of the 44 books mentioned I'd only not read 9!

Reading this tied in nicely with the new series of For All Mankind - the AppleTV and also as a fitting tribute to the two Apollo era astronauts who sadly died recently.

Micro Review 42

 

Still Life by Sarah Winman (Fourth Estate)

This book has been on my radar for quite some time, the pre-publicity led to me adding it to my wishlist a long while ago. Then it was published and *everybody* was raving about it, so in my perverse way I assumed it was overhyped and not something I needed to read instantly.

More fool me - sometimes the hype is right, and when I finally sat down to read this I lost myself in the story for the three afternoons it took me to read.

This is a book that sprawls several decades, including World War Two, and several locations - you'd never think that the slums of the East End could work so well as a setting when compared to Florence but Winman makes this work.

The fortunes of war resonate through the book, and it was nice to see the Italian theatre, rather than Normandy & France, take centre stage. The post war Florence setting opens up other historical events to the plot and I don't think I've read about them before.

In many ways this is a whimsical fairy tale where luck, coincidence and acceptance win through but it is told with such care that it all feels perfectly realistic. It became a world I really wanted to escape into, with a longing to actually meet some of the characters in real life, and yes I did need tissues on a couple of occasions. 

I'm really pleased that I didn't put reading this one off any longer, and it being so good has lead me to read two more books that have been heavily promoted - sadly the curse of the hype returned and both of them made me think 'emperor's new clothes.' The good news is that I've not read any of Winman's other books so I can cleanse my palate with them!

World Book Night 2021: Book Eleven

 

Ask A Footballer by James Milner (Quercus)

Own copy (eBook)

I'll confess I nearly put this book off until last from the 2021 WBN list. I had no idea who James Milner was, and I've only watched one football match from start to finish in my entire life. I expected to skim this read and then struggle to write a review.

How wrong I was, and it was a needed lesson about not judging books before you've read them!

It didn't matter that I had no clue who Milner was, or what the rules of football are - in this book Milner answers questions that fans have asked him about life as a footballer and he (for the most part) answers them fully and honestly.

We get to see life on and off the pitch, as well as how fast sport science has changed the thinking on being a top level athlete. From chips and parties post match in 2002 through to tailored menus, superfood smoothies and early bedtimes in 2019 every aspect life seems to have changed

There were questions I glossed over, I don't know anything about football so the techincal questions on matches, positions and results I'll confess to skim reading but the rest was fascinating and really opened my mind to see past the 'celebrity' players to the hard graft that they put in. 

Don't get me wrong I do still think that they are overpaid and over represented in the media but Milner, through this book, and Rashford, through his charity campaigning, have made me think in a more rounded and less biased way about some aspects of the Premier League.

Busy life

I'm not sure why I open every post on my own blog with an apology for not writing more - after all it is my own blog and my progress isn't monitored by anyone!

I am still reading for various projects that I can't talk about and I am also reading a lot of books that aren't published until later in the year so hopefully I'll remember to come back and talk about them nearer to publication, although to be honest I really wouldn't hold you breath over that!

In addition to the reading projects I am also currently trying to tie up the loose ends of my current job *and* learn my new one.  This all feels overwhelming at times and means much of my reading has become turning to old favourites, and generally children's books at that as they are nice and familiar but in some cases I had forgotten how good they were - this week's rediscovery was The Secret Garden.

A book that did come along at just the right moment recently was Sarah Baxter's Literary Places.

I'd not heard of the book but the publisher contacted me through NetGalley to let me know it was available for review and I am so glad that the email didn't end up in my junk folder.

This book is a guide to the locations in many books and talks a little bit about the book/author and then the location.  It isn't particularly deep or even in depth but the chapters are wonderfully short and moreover beautifully illustrated and it felt a little like having a holiday just reading through it, which is funny as right now I can't leave the country as my passport is away being renewed.

To be honest I would have liked more written detail about each book/place as it just didn't go into enough depth for me to fall in love with books that were new to me, but I spent ages gazing at the pictures and it reminded me just how special an illustrated book could be however old you are!

It seems funny to be reviewing and praising a book that initially didn't seem like it was for me, but I have found myself returning to the proof just to look at the art work, and at a busy time in life it was great to find just the right book.

Many thanks to Quarto for alerting me to this book, and as ever I was under no obligation to read and review it.

Talking Books Three: Sequels again

Finding Black Beauty by Lou Kuenzler

After the success of Holly Webb's Return to the Secret Garden I ventured back in to the work of reworkings/sequels to classic children's books.

Black Beauty is one the books that my dad recommended to me as a child, in fact I do still have his childhood copy on my shelves, and so to discover that there was a modern reworking available was exciting and nerve wracking!

Once more I am pleased to say that, for the most part this book, I really enjoyed this book.  Rather than being a sequel or prequel (something that the Pullein-Thompson family have already done*) this book took one small, but pivotal, character from the original and imagined a story around this.

Most of the story was believable, even the cross dressing, and Kuenzler's love for the original shone through and I found myself believing her version of the action totally.  My misgivings came in the London section when I thought the plot became a little obvious and unnecessary - although it had been signposted since the beginning. My quibbles might just be because I am an adult reading a book for children and so can spot this in writing more easily.

My main query about all of these modern day reworkings and sequels is hard to articulate - they seem to be so much easier to read than the originals. I know I read the source books as a child and these as an adult but they do somehow seem easier. I can't tell why though as I can't actually spot any clear examples of 'dumbing down' and in some ways these new books cover topics more adult and more explicitly than the originals.

It was good to be pleasantly surprised by this book and I think that the balance in good/poor reworkings has now equalled out so I will continue trying them with hope.

*I am 90% certain that I read this as child (I probably chose the book because of how thick the book was) and that it wasn't a book I reread unlike Black Beauty itself.

Theatre 2015: Review Twenty-Three

Mack and Mabel, Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester. August 2015.

Regular blog readers will remember that a couple of years ago we went to see Barnum in the temporary tent theatre at Chichester with Mr Norfolkbookworm's aunt.  The renovations to the main theatre have now been finished and Mack and Mabel caught the same aunt's eye and so we made a return trip.

Way back in the early spring when I booked this trip I had mixed experiences with the staff at the theatre.  We needed seats that had little or no steps to gain access to them and the staff couldn't have been more helpful in recommending where to sit.  However when booking opened it became a nightmare trying to book on-line, on behalf of someone else and I ended up sitting on hold for a very long time before getting the seats we needed.  It was thus with mixed feelings we went to see this show.

Once more I knew nothing about the show, and the reviews I'd read were not entirely positive but again I trusted our companion's choice.

On the whole I really enjoyed the show, I thought the mixing of acting and footage from the actual films was done brilliantly, and the choreography was fantastic.  I enjoyed all of the actors and thought that their singing, especially the main draw - Michael Ball, was top notch.  Mabel didn't convince me quite as much but then as part of the plot line is that she is only a comic actress and not that great at anything else I chose to see this as a casting/directing decision.

The first act whizzed by and was highly enjoyable, custard pies and all. The second act felt a little padded to me. There was a great tap number but I'm not convinced that it was needed. The ending was a little like a punch in the stomach and very well done, what could have been horribly sentimental wasn't and did leave me with a slight lump in the throat. I do wonder if this would have been better as an edited, shorter, one act musical?

I didn't come out humming any of the tunes, and after the ending not particularly uplifted but I do have the urge to find and watch movies from the 1920s and before such as the Keystone Cops as the use of them on stage was great.

After my mixed experiences with the staff before our trip I'm pleased to report that they were all fantastic during our visit, helpful, friendly and knowledgeable.

I was left feeling a little perturbed by some of the audience/Michael Ball fans however.  There is so much in the press currently about the 'bad behaviour' of Cumberbatch fans at Hamlet (which seems to all be rumour and nothing concrete) yet there were some in the CFT who could have been accused of the same behaviour and yet we hear nothing of that in the press. Oh well I shall report back as my next trip is to see the afore mentioned Hamlet...

Travelling vicariously

Without Reservations by Alice Steinbach

Since coming back from holiday I've been reading quite a lot of travel writing, perhaps in a hope of prolonging the feeling of being on holiday, the books have been of all types and my list of places to both visit and avoid are growing ever longer.

One of the best I've read was The Yosemite by John Muir, this was written in 1912 and is a collection of thought made by Muir after years spend visiting Yosemite National Park.  I'd tried his books before but found them very hard going, however on returning to this one after visiting the area was a delight as I could now really 'see' what he was writing about. If you aren't familiar with the geography/wildlife however I do wonder if you'll enjoy it as much.  It is worth trying just for his descriptions of avalanches and thunderstorms.

Other books I've read have been the autobiographies of National Park Rangers in various areas of the USA.  These are insightful and funny and as someone who has worked in various customer service jobs for years there is a lot to relate to.  The knowledge, advice and friendliness of all of the NPS employees we've met have really added to our experiences of the American wilds and it does make me sad to read how overstretched, under protected and vulnerable they often are.

The last book in the genre I've read broke my book butterfly problem and I have no idea who suggested it to me or why I had it on reserve from the library.

Without Reservations is the story of Alice Steinbach's 9 months spent in Europe in 1993.  She takes a sabbatical from her job (and life) in Baltimore and apart from knowing where she'll be living in Europe she crosses the Atlantic with no plans.  This could so easily have become mawkish - like I found the inexplicable popular Eat, Pray, Love - but was delightful and I sat up until gone midnight as I had to keep reading.
Alice is a friendly person and even when feeling lonely and shy in new cities manages to meet people and turn them into friends where ever she goes which no doubt adds to her experience but her willingness to try anything makes her journey a joy to read.

Cities that I know well revealed new secrets to me through the writing and again yet more destinations have been added to my list of places to visit.  However Alice's experiences in Rome were so different to mine that I wanted to encourage her to go again and give a magical place a second chance.

This book was a pleasant surprise and just what I needed to kick start my reading again.

It is a truth that I need to acknowledge...

Longbourn by Jo Baker

Here comes a big confession from a bookworm who has worked in the book trade for fifteen years - I've never read (or watched and adaptation of) Pride and Prejudice.

I feel better for saying that out loud.

However while we were away I did read and thoroughly enjoy Baker's retelling of the story from the servants point of view - if the Bennett sisters think that they have a hard life that is nothing at all compared to the 4 people who keep the house running.

Having not read the source book I can't comment on how accurate to the story it is, or how well this book sits with it but as a stand alone book I found it compelling*.  There were enough little twists in a fairly predictable plot that made the story a great escapist read. The servants came alive in the writing and Baker painted some wonderful images for me, while I was reading the book I did feel I had travelled in time.

Who knows I may now read the original...and that is something that even Colin Firth in a wet shirt hadn't inspired me to do!

the copy of Longbourn that I read was an electronic proof from Net Galley

*I've just read a long awaited final book in a series and was very disappointed in it - mainly because you had to have (recently) read the other books in the series to understand any of the plot. Prequels and sequels are all very well but they have to work as stand alone books for new readers.

Hats Off!

The President's Hat by Antoine Laurain

My friend and colleague Jon (who blogs here) recommended this book to me recently and when it became eBook of the day shortly after I decided that I really should read it.

A few years ago I read a few other Gallic Press books and enjoyed them so I was looking forward to starting this one and a long train journey gave me the chance to read it all in one go.

It was a delight from page one - it is a strange, whimsical tale about how one simple black felt hat can change the lives of all who come into contact with it, even if they don't come by it strictly legally...

I don't know how to talk about the book without spoiling it for you but this book has jumped to the top of my favourite reads of 2013 and I think everyone should read it.  And then when you've finished it go and find another Gallic Press book - The Suicide Shop - which is equally bizarre but equally enjoyable!

Exhibition Oddity

David Bowie is... Victoria and Albert Museum, London. July 2013

While Mr Norfolkbookworm and I were enjoying the Pompeii exhibition earlier in the summer Rebecca was queueing at the V&A museum securing us tickets to this summer's other sell out exhibition.

I wasn't at all sure about this trip at all. Apart from Under Pressure, Space Oddity and Ashes to Ashes I wasn't sure that I knew any Bowie songs and I'd not been that inspired to look any more up in advance of our visit.  I didn't own up to this while we were waiting for the museum to open however as there were probably a couple of hundred people desperate for tickets - as soon as the doors open they took off at a run for the ticket desk and I feared for the safety of the statues in the corridor!

I was in for a nice surprise as I found I enjoyed the exhibition more than I thought I would.  Bowie is an interesting character and there is a lot more to him and his music than the flamboyant stage persona.  On entering the area everyone gets an audio guide, but this isn't giving a dry talk about the exhibits but is in fact loaded with sound clips and music that start playing as you walk around.

Bits of the exhibition (probably the bits that Rebecca liked the most!) left me cold but sitting in a cool space listening to Bowie's music through a good sound system while watching concert footage was brilliant - people were dancing or toe tapping but as everyone had headphones on it was like being at a silent rave.

A real experience and I will be looking for more Bowie music to add to my iPod before we go away.