Book Review Blog

Book Review: Oh The Thinks You Can Think by Dr Seuss

2010-07-04T05:38:00.002+01:00

Those readers might think that this is a children's book and can only be appreciated by the very young or those with children think again! I read "Oh The Thinks You Can Think" for the first time just a few weeks ago and enjoyed it immensely.

Those who know Dr Seuss will know what to expect, word play, made-up creatures with silly names, amusing rhyming text and surreal illustrations. Those who don't know Dr Seuss will find a world that the imaginative can immerse themselves in; obviously children have the most fertile imaginations, but anyone who has a philosophical mind and/or enjoys childish silliness will appreciate this book.

Oh The Thinks You Can Think has no plot, it has no central character and it is about nothing other than thinking about anything you can imagine; essentially it is a book that encourages children and parents to use their imaginations together, but it also tempts older readers to free their minds of preconceived ideas and imagine like they haven't imagined since childhood.

The writing and wordplay by Dr Seuss are wonderful features and I particularly like the silly creatures, "Snuvs wearing gloves", "Guffs" and "Befts that go left" all brought to life with delightful pictures. Oh The Thinks You Can Think is a wonderful book that is only hampered by the fact that it is probably too short; instead of just relying on the text parents need to encourage thought, interaction and conversation to get the most out of this book with their kids.

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Oh The Thinks You Can Think is highly recommended to those parents of small children who want to read simple, but imaginative, well-illustrated books together and talk about them together. I would also recommend this title to Dr Seuss fans who have never come across this book before and to those free-thinking readers who like a trip back to childhood.

Score: 9/10

Book Review: Life on Air by David Attenborough

2010-06-08T06:22:00.007+01:00

Life on Air is Sir David Attenborough's autobiography covering his life from his first days at the BBC and focussing upon his work in making wildlife documentaries but also dealing with his time in the senior administration of the BBC.

As one would expect from Sir David Attenborough, this is an extremely skillfully written book using language that draws the reader in as though they become part of each anecdote. Of course, with such a long career in pioneering wildlife documentaries, there is no lack of interesting, inciteful and often, amusing anecdotes to read. In fact the reader gets to the end and feels that there are far more interesting and amusinng stories to tell.

Whilst the chapters surrounding David's time creating wildlife documetaries is probably the most anticipated reading by his fans, the parts of the book dealing with his time in the highest echelons of the BBC are also very good reading and slightly surprising even to those most familar with David Attenborough's work.

Naturally, with so much travel behind him and such a distinguished career, there are many revealing photographs to accompany the text; if only there had been more room for more photos! Perhaps in another book to come?

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This is one of the most interesting and enjoyable books I have ever read and it is to be highly recommended to fans of Sir David and anyone who has enjoyed many of his wildlife documentaries with the BBC over the years.

Oh yes, my copy has a dedication to me from Sir David Attenborough in the front cover. Thanks mum!

Score: 10/10

Books to be Reviewed: Against The Flow by Tom Fort

2010-05-25T14:35:00.002+01:00

Thanks to Natalie Higgins for sending me a copy of Against the Flow by Tom Fort for reviewing. This is a travel book about one man's travels and angling adventures around Eastern Europe on two trips, one just after the collapse of Communism and one more recent.

"Twenty years ago, Tom Fort drove his little red car onto the ferry at Felixstowe, bound for all points east. Eastern Europe was still a faraway place, just emerging from its half-century of waking nightmare, blinking, injured, full of fears but importantly full of hope too. Things were different then. Czechoslovakia was still Czechoslovakia, Russia was the USSR and the Warsaw Pact had not formally dissolved. But what did exist then, as they do now, were the rivers: the nations' lifeblood. It was along and by these rivers that Fort travelled around Eastern Europe meeting its people and immersing himself in its culture. Since that trip though, much has changed and in more recent years around one million Poles have settled in Britain. Fort's local paper has a Polish edition, his supermarket has a full range of Polish bread, sausage and beer and an influx of Polish businesses opened in his town centre. And it's not just the Poles, his gym has a Lithuanian trainer and the woman who cuts his hair is from Hungary. As a tide of people began to leave Eastern Europe and settle in the UK, Tom Fort started to wonder about what they were leaving behind and whether the friends he had made all those years ago remained. And so he decided to make the journey again."

A review will soon appear here. For those that want to purchase a copy now, orders can be placed here: Against the Flow.

Books to be Reviewed: The Missing by Jane Casey

2010-05-14T07:00:00.008+01:00

Thanks to Caroline Newbury for sending me a copy of The Missing by Jane Casey for reviewing, this is her first novel and deals with the investigation of a missing child.

"Jenny Shepherd is twelve years old and missing...Her teacher, Sarah Finch, knows better than most that the chances of finding her alive are diminishing with every day she is gone. As a little girl her older brother had gone out to play one day and never returned. The strain of never knowing what has happened to Charlie had ripped Sarah's family apart. Now in her early twenties, she is back living at home, trapped with a mother who drinks too much and keeps her brother's bedroom as a shrine to his memory. Then, horrifically, it is Sarah who finds Jenny's body, beaten and abandoned in the woods near her home. As she's drawn into the police investigation and the heart of a media storm, Sarah's presence arouses suspicion too. But it not just the police who are watching her... "

A review will soon appear here. For those that want to purchase a copy now, orders can be placed here: The Missing.

Book Review: The Seven Gifts That Came To Earth by John Mellor

2010-05-09T05:31:00.009+01:00

The Seven Gifts That Came To Earth is a set of seven allegorical stories linked by the story of a boy being tutored by an angel for the purpose of delivering seven gifts that have been bestowed upon earth.

This highly unusual tale delivers seven thought-provoking stories, laced with a large collection of some of the most bizarre and memorable characters that have ever appeared in a book. However, the linking narrative of the boy and angel make this far more than a collection of short stories and provide a clearer picture as to the meaning of each tale.

One of the wonders of this book is the strange set of characters and peculiar events set in an unusual juxtaposition; a medieval queen hosting a rock concert, a space-exploring bee and a philosopher that talks to a stone are all central to their own tales. At times, these quite incredible characters and events begin to strike the reader as insanity on the part of the author. However, if insanity it is, this is the type that gives birth to great achievements and in examining so many themes such as society, religion and environment, this book can be considered a great achievement by its author.

The Seven Gifts That Came To Earth is not a normal book with a normal story; it must be approached with an open mind and no preconceived ideas of how books should be written. If readers are looking for something original and thought-provoking, this is nearly perfect - my only disappointment with the book was that it was over too quickly.

The Seven Gifts Website

I would recommend The Seven Gifts That Came To Earth to a wide variety of open-minded and adventurous readers. Fans of the absurd and philosophy would particularly enjoy it and students of religion and the environment will find some useful themes here too.

Score: 9.5/10

Book Review: When the Sax Man Plays: Part 1 - Making It by Yvonne Marrs

2010-04-22T10:10:00.009+01:00

When the Sax Man Plays is a story about a young music tutor who finds himself forced to put together a band in order to compete in a talent contest. He puts together a group of unlikely characters and they find out that they can perform surprisingly well.

The strength of this book is its readability, written in a flowing style with always enough hint of what is to come to ensure the reader quickly progresses through the book, there is a constant temptation to take a quick peek at the last page to see what will happen.

The characters here are very distinct too and quite likeable, enough to want to read more about them in Part 2, however, for readers who enjoy richly developed characters this book falls a little short as what we discover about them is conveyed in rather too brief a fashion. Similarly, although the plot is engaging it is only the bare bones that are relayed to the reader and certain incidents are described in a slightly hackneyed style.

Even taking into account its faults, When The Sax Man Plays has a certain appeal that is difficult to put one's finger on; maybe it is a certain raw talent from this first-time author which mirrors the fresh, unsophisticated style of her character's music.

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I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy an easy read with a good story. I would also encourage readers who like something a little different from the best-seller style to try this book and support the author so that Part 2 materialises.

Score: 7/10

Books to be Reviewed: The Seven Gifts That Came To Earth by John Mellor

2010-04-06T06:48:00.005+01:00

Thanks to John Mellor for sending me a copy of his book, The Seven Gifts That Came To Earth, for reviewing. This is a story of a boy, charged by an Angel, to deliver seven gifts to earth, but first he must discover what they are.

"Seven precious gifts are bestowed on the Earth but not revealed. A young boy is charged with finding them."

"The singer emerged and his music raged across the land, a wild, swirling cloud of chords, laying waste like locusts to all that was soulless before it."

"I come not to bring peace, he said."

A review will soon follow here, until then readers can order a copy on John's website; The Seven Gifts.

Book Review: The Castle in the Forest by Norman Mailer

2010-04-06T05:42:00.006+01:00

The Castle in the Forest is a semi-fictional history of Adolf Hitler's family and upbringing, narrated by a minor devil who had the responsibility of influencing events to bring out the worst in the young Adolf to mould him into an instrument of evil.

The premise of the story is intriguing and the early chapters draw the reader into a fascinating, but sordid history of the Hitler family with a literary, but readable style which, together with the innate fascination of the subject, turn this into something of a page-turner quite early on. However, at some, hard-to-pinpoint, stage the tale loses its way, as if the author lost his train of thought.

At two points the fanciful fiction of how Adolf Hitler became evil digresses to the point of irrelevance; once when the narrator rambles on about his role in Russia and for a second time where over 100 pages are devoted to Adolf's father's bee-keeping activities which draw the reader to create parallels with concentration camps but is then told that this is far to simple and explanation - why then make such a point of it?

These failing aside, Norman Mailer succeeds in weaving a picture of a child inherently evil, an evil nurtured by devils and his father's behaviour, with acts of coprophelia, sexual deviance, carelessness and domination to give the reader what they expect. What the reader does not expect, though, is such a weak ending whereby the story is wrapped up in a hurry, just at the point where Hitler is about to exhibit the results of his upbringing; a very unsatisfying conclusion that seemed to result from the author losing interest in the tale.

Whilst The Castle in the Forest is a very readable book and contains some interesting ideas, ultimately it is a real disappointment. Those interested in Adolf Hitler will certainly find something of interest here and anyone who enjoys thought-provoking stories will find some interesting ideas on the nature of evil, but those who wish to read a well-rounded tale will need to look elsewhere.

Score: 6/10

Book Review: The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston & Mario Spezi

2010-03-19T12:18:00.006Z

The Monster of Florence is the true story of Italy's most infamous serial killer; a killer who murdered fourteen young lovers and has never been caught due to a combination of lack of evidence and police incompetence.

This story, told by two reporters who covered the case and became involved in the investigation, has all the characters that could be dreamt up by a best-selling author; corrupt policemen, a mysterious killer, false suspects, interfering polititians and the mafia, however, in this case they are all real.

The author's background as journalsists allow them to avoid the chronological style of a scholar or police investigator and the result is an extremely well-told story using a set of facts that are fascinating on their own. The quality of the author's style is such that at times the reader forgets that it is a work of non-fiction rather than a novel and is absorbed into the tale. Personally, I could not put this book down.

This is a well-written account of a fasciniating serial killer and the authors skillfully reveal that the investigation itself is a story of its own; a story of a completely bungled investigationoy and the book is of interest on both accounts for students of crime and readers who enjoy strange plot twists

I highly recommend the Monster of Florence to all readers, particularly those who enjoy crime stories, either finctional or non-fictional; this will be one of the most memorable tales you have read.

Score: 10/10

Book Review: The Book With No Name by Anonymous

2010-02-15T07:12:00.006Z

The Book With No Name is a dark story about a town where mysterious murders occur regularly but are infrequently solved by the police. A tale of dastardly characters, extreme violence and a compelling mystery which will excite some readers and alienate others.

This tale is full of cliched characters, hackneyed themes and obviously steals from many other books and movies but somehow manages to combine thse into an extremely enthralling book. The Book With No Name begins with a massacre and provides a litany of similar violence throughout but builds an intriguing mystery from the start which makes the reader turn the pages fiercely.

One of the strengths of The Book With No Name is the huge number of very memorable and over-the-top characters that either come from or would fit straight into a movie; Rodeo Rex, Elvis, The Bourbon Kid, El Santino, Sanchez The Barman, Jefe The Bountyhunter and many others are among some of the most colourful, amusing and, amazingly, likeable characters of any book I have ever read.

Although some of the dialogue is fairly cliched and the themes quite unoriginal, the author manages to weave a compelling plot, one which revolves around a magical jewel, a book which once read results in death and mysterious monks.

The Book With No Name is a literary smorgasbord of memorable characters, violence, swearing, plot themes and even the obligatory vampires, but one of the most enjoyable and memorable books I have read in a long time.

I would recommend The Book With No Name to readers who enjoy riotous and action-packed stories full of interesting and exaggerated characters. Don't expect a literary masterpiece but do expect a lot of fun.

Score: 9/10

Books to be Reviewed: When the Sax Man Plays: Part 1 Making It by Yvonne Marrs

2010-02-15T06:43:00.005Z

Thanks to Yvonne Marrs for sending me a copy of her book, When the Sax Man Plays, for reviewing. This is her debut novel and it follows the life of a young musician trying to make a name for himself.

"Jason Bottelli is a young and extraordinarily gifted saxophonist who takes up a post as Head of Music at London's Impervious College. By night he plays at a jazz club; by day he teaches and wows the students with his talent. It seems he can do nothing wrong.

But Jason comes up against a difficult challenge when he is commanded to mentor a band to win the Annual talent Contest, for his very capable protegees have been dissuaded from entering. Jason finds that he has his work cut out for him in more ways than one: with only four weeks to the qualifying rounds he has to put a band together, choose material and rehearse."

A review will soon appear here, but until then copies can be ordered here: When the Sax Man Plays: Part 1 - Making It.

Book Review: Mercury Falls by Robert Kroese

2010-01-02T13:02:00.007Z

Mercury Falls is a comic novel about the approach of the Apocalypse and how preparations for it by the managements of heaven and hell become compromised by over-complicated beaurocracy and underhand deals.

This amusing story tells how a reporter, an indolent angel and a nerd end up having pivotal roles in the approaching Apocalypse, a world-ending deal that has been forged by heaven and hell after many thousands of years of legal wrangling. The writing here is extremely imaginitive, with angels and demons resembling employees of large corporatations and heaven and hell appearing like competing companies. Whilst the author creates humour from turning the divine into the banal and poking fun alternately at creationism and modern science, at times the humour is rather esoteric and this may prevent this novel from appealing to a wide range of readers.

Whilst the story of Mercury Falls is quite compelling, with an amusing and recurring parody of people's obsession with a very well-known series of children's books featuring an adolescent wizard, at times it becomes quite complicated and begins to resemble the beaurocracy it draws its humour from. However, a fine ending draws the reader in and made me laugh right up the conclusion where the main characters make a deal with the devil and come out on top.

This novel is very well-written, with a wonderful vocabulary and is clearly written by a mind that sees deeply into all sorts of situations and creates a book as surreal as a painting by Dali.

This is a very clever bookwith a good story and a lot of humour. However, it is way off the main stream and requires a similar imagination to the one that the author uses in order to appreciate it. I would recommend this book to readers who like the surreal, anything anti-establishment and irreverent. I would not recommend this book to religious fundamentalists who would probably take great offence to the almost certain delight of the author.

Score: 8.5/10

Book Review: Tricks of The Mind by Derren Brown

2009-11-30T14:53:00.006Z

Tricks of The Mind is an insight into the sleight of hand, distractive, memory and psychological techniques used by the British mentalist showman, Derren Brown. Whilst this book examines the way in which people's perceptions and beliefs can be manipulated for magical effect, it is not a manual on how to perform such tricks as predictions, disappearances and feats of memory.

In Tricks of The Mind, Derren Brown very skillfully and often humourously examines psychology, illusion and how people can be made to believe things that are not real in a way that hints at how these techniques are used in his shows.

As a showman of the highest order, Derren Brown does reveal a trick or two early on to lure in his audience, often leading them on to quite philosophical points, but also sometimes ranting in a manner that makes the reader feel like they are sitting next to the author in a bar, discussing the application of manipulative techniques over a beer. As well as showmanship and illusion, Derren discusses religion and the way in which mediums use similar techniques as his to fool vulnerable people.

This is a truly fantastic book, engaging at every level, discussing complicated philosphies, techniques and beliefs in an amusing, informative and interactive way using a memorable vocabulary. The chapter on memory techniques is particularly enthralling and I was able to achieve remarkable feats of memory soon after reading the book, indeed I can still remember a list of 20 items given in the book, three months after reading it.

I would recommend this book to a wide variety of thoughtful readers, anyone interested in the way the mind works, philosphy, magic, showmanship, religion, indeed anyone who enjoys challenging ideas and, of course, anyone who wants to improve their memory or get a small insight into how Derren performs his remarkable "tricks".

Score: 10/10

Books to be Reviewed: Mercury Falls by Robert Kroese

2009-11-02T08:57:00.003Z

Thanks to Robert Kroese for sending me a copy of his book, Mercury Falls, for reviewing. This is a comic novel about the adventures of a rogue angel at the brink of the apocalypse.

"Years of covering the antics of End Times cults for The Banner, a religious news magazine, have left Christine Temetri not only jaded but seriously questioning her career choice. That is, until she meets Mercury, an anti-establishment angel who's frittering his time away whipping up batches of Rice Krispy Treats and perfecting his ping-pong backhand instead of doing his job: helping to orchestrate Armageddon. With the end near and angels and demons debating the finer political points of the Apocalypse, Christine and Mercury accidentally foil an attempt to assassinate one Karl Grissom, a thirty-seven-year-old film school dropout about to make his big break as the Antichrist. Now, to save the world, she must negotiate the byzantine bureaucracies of Heaven and Hell and convince the apathetic Mercury to take a stand, all the while putting up with the obnoxious mouth-breathing Antichrist."

A review will soon appear here, until then readers can order a copy here - Mercury Falls.

Book Review: Thoughts, Life of a Suicide by Dillan Kane

2009-11-01T06:54:00.007Z

This book is a self-published attempt to look at understanding suicide and how those that are left behind deal with the issue. The author is the brother of someone who committed suicide at a young age and someone who has worked in the mental health system with those who have suicidal tendencies.

Whilst this book is written from the heart, I found that the author focusses on his own feelings too much and does not really provide an insight into how suicidal people feel or what makes them feel that way. Disappointingly, the story of the author's brother is not really explored properly and I feel that if it had, a more interesting and meaningful book would have been the result.

However, I found that the first chapter of Thoughts was quite moving when the author reflects on the last days of his father's life. This may have been because it made me think of a similar situation with my own father. With this in mind those who know suicidal people may enjoy this book, they may find a connection.

Unfortunately, though, the book does not grab the reader, jumping between themes and repeating itself again and again. No doubt writing it provided therapy for the author but the reader is left wanting some deeper insight.

Apart from repetitive themes and nonsense about mediums by far the biggest problem this book has is its lack of editing. There is almost not a single page that is not littered with spelling errors and basic grammatical mistakes, on one page I found 12 such errors! Whilst no one is perfect, this level of bad English is inexcusable and I found it really irritating and it made understanding some sections difficult and detracted from what is a heartfelt message.

Although I found this book unappealing it is possible that others, who have experience of knowing people who have attempted suicide or successfully committed suicide, will find something to connect with here and may find it comforting. I would certainly not recommend it to anyone else.

Score: 2/10

Squidoo Page on Dr Seuss's Top 5 Books

2009-10-18T09:12:00.005+01:00

I have loved Dr Seuss's books since I was a kid, my favourites being Green Eggs and Ham and The Sneetches. I still read these books as an adult.

Recently I made a page on squidoo.com about what I think are the best 5 Dr Seuss books out there. There is a bit of information about Dr Seuss himself there too and some links to other Dr Seuss books.

Please take a look: The Best 5 Books By Dr Seuss.

Book Review: French Revolutions by Tim Moore

2009-09-30T11:49:00.003+01:00

French Revolutions is the true and humourous tale of one man's attempt to cycle around France following the route of the 2000 Tour De France. Whilst this attempt is largely successful, the author does resort to cheating on a number of occasions, something he justifies by outlining the history (tradition?) of cheating in the real Tour. The take is interspersed with such factual anecdotes about the Tour De France which gives it another dimension.

This is a well-written and interesting story which takes the reader through the French countryside and the effort it takes to complete the Tour even at a slow pace, imparting something of the author's emotional journey as he becomes a more accomplished cyclist.

Whilst the details of French Revolutions are interesting the humour falls short of anything but mildly amusing, although it is sufficient to add an element to the book. However, I found myself turning the pages wanting to know the progress of Tim Moore as he, bit by bit, improves as a cyclist and manages ever-increasing feats of bicycling endurance.

This is a very enjoyable book but I didn't really understand why the author resorted to cutting out parts of the route - if he wanted to cycle the route of the Tour De France why didn't he do just that rather than truncate the journey? For me, this slightly detracted from the tale.

For readers who enjoy travel literature this is a good choice with an engaging story, amusing anecdotes and fun facts about the Tour De France. I recommend this book to a wide range of readers.

Score: 9/10

Books to be Reviewed: Thoughts - Life of a Suicide by Dillan Kane

2009-09-18T22:11:00.007+01:00

Thanks to Greg Shelangoski for sending me a copy of Thoughts: Life of a Suicide by Dillan Kane for reviewing. This book aims to provoke thoughts on what makes people commit suicide and what happens afterwards in an attempt to prevent further suicides; the book is authored by the brother of a suicide and is self-published through Author House.

"My brother committed suicide in 1999 at the age of 16. Like any suicide it didn't seem to need to have to happen,but it did. This is my attempt to try to understand the impulses of suicide and heal from the aftermath. It is also my attempt to define what death is and what it means to me,interwined with what life means. "

A review will soon appear here but until then readers can order a copy from Amazon: Thoughts: Life of a Suicide.

Book Review: The Case of The Missing Books by Ian Sansom

2009-09-15T21:03:00.005+01:00

The Case of the Missing Library Books is the first in a series of comedic novels featuring the librarian Israel Armstrong who becomes an unlikely detective. Israel arrives, from London, in small and obsure Irish town where outsiders are made to feel as such. he quickly finds that he has been downgraded to mobile librarian and that he must locate all 14000 missing books.

This is an interesting yarn which draws heavily on Israel's discomfort and inability to fit in with the locals for sources of humour but there is a lot of situational amusement to be derived from this book too. Cultural stereotypes are used a lot in this story but they are not flogged and largely occur because of Israel's lack of social skills and preconceived ideas.

Israel is an unconventional hero both because of his physical limitations and unwillingness to engage the situation, and this is refreshing in a literary world of so many cliched lead characters. Unfortunately, many of the large number of characters that are introduced are intriguingly interesting but not expanded upon; one gets the impresion that the author is saving many of them for subsequent novels.

This book is also appealing due to the way that Israel gradually becomes part of the community and that turns out to be central to solving the mystery of the missing books.

I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone as its easy-to-read style, amusing style and interesting story will engage almost any level and age of reader.

Score: 8.5/10

The Guv'nor by Lenny Mclean & Peter Gerrard

2009-09-09T20:05:00.007+01:00

The Guv'nor is the nickname and biography of Lenny McLean and catalogues his violent progress in the east end of London from abused child to petty thief, hard man, minder, bare-knuckle boxer to actor.

Although this is a biography it has the feel of an autobiography due to its first person narrative and use of colloquial English, giving it a really authentic feel and making it as if The Guv'nor is telling his story directly to the reader and makes for unusual and interesting reading. Indeed the litany of misdeeds and violence which are described in Lenny McLean's life would sound ridiculous if told in any other way.

Whilst this is the story of a man who earned his living through violence or the threats of violence this book in no way glorifies it and the reader very quickly becomes aware of a code of honour which is religiously adhered to among these characters of the underworld; the author does exceedingly well to introduce the reader to other aspects of the Guv'nor's personality.

As well as giving an insight into the lives of such characters, this book gives the reader a glimpse of the British judicial system and reveals that it is far from perfect, indeed the final chapters of this story describe how McLean spends one year in prison before even receiving a trial.

Whilst this is a surprisingly interesting and captivating read much of the book has the same theme and rythym, recalling bare-knuckle boxing matches, fights and other violent interludes and toward the last third of the book this becomes a little repetitive. However, the ending is engaging enough to wrest the book away from becoming dull and I think most readers will be left feeling like the Guv'nor is someone they could have got on with.

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy biographies and tales of misadventure, particularly those of gandland violence in London in the 60s to the 90s. This is a surprisingly interesting story and I think many readers would enjoy it.

Score: 7.5/10

Book Review: Hit List by Lawrence Block

2009-06-08T11:40:00.004+01:00

Hit List by Lawrence Block is a story of a professional hitman, John Keller, for whom things begin to go wrong. Whereas most of his jobs have run smoothly, a few begin to take a strange twist whereby people loosely connected to Keller die and he begins to get jumpy. After a few close incidents he realises that someone is out to get him and he is eventually forced to take out a hit on the hitman who is trying to hit him.

Whilst the premise of this story is interesting and has the possibility for some rather dark humour, it is woefully padded out with a large amount of barely relevant incidents such as Keller doing jury duty and an unacceptable amount of banal sarcastic dialogue.

Despite the many bad points of this novel, the character of Keller is an interesting one and he is developed quite considerably and the plot, although short, does make the reader want to find out what happens. Unfortunately, the twist is so obvious that I could see it coming way before the end and as such the ending was a complete washout.

This book is okay to pass the time with and with an interesting plot idea and lead character, it isn't a complete waste of time, but don't go out of the way to buy it.

Score: 4.5/10

Book Review: The Religion by Tim Willocks

2009-05-10T06:09:00.010+01:00

The Religion, set on the island of Malta in 1565, follows the exploits of Mathias Tannhauser, an adventurer and mercenary who embarks on a mission to locate a Maltese Noblewoman's estranged son. This quest is set amongst the great seige of Malta, which pitched the Knight's Hospitaller against the Turkish Empire, one of the last great crusader battles.

The Religion is extremely well research and equally well-written and whilst large parts of the book are devoted to battle scenes, the prose does not adopt a descriptive or hackneyed style; in fact the descriptions are brutal, gory, poetic and written in a gripping style.

It should be said that this novel does not beautify or glorify war, it does quite the opposite in fact in a sometimes stomach-turning and balanced fashion.

Equally, the plot of The Religion is enthralling and the author has created some really interesting characters, and pits a flawed hero against an extremely dark and sly foe; Ludovico Ludovici of the Inquisition. Quite frankly, the combination of interesting characters, gripping plot and incredible action made this book hard to put down and is written with such literary mastery that it feels like a future classic.

The Religion is highly recommended to all book lovers and Willocks shows himself to be a very fine author here.

Score: 10/10

Book Review: The Man eaters of Tsavo by J. M. Patterson

2009-04-30T06:59:00.004+01:00

The Man Eaters of Tsavo is the classic, true, story of how an English engineer tracked and killed two man eating lions that had been preying upon the workers attempting to construct a railway in Kenya.

Whilst the story of the man eaters is quite an amazing one, the author does not seem to have the gift of being a storyteller, and the facts, which would have made for a rivetting tale had they been relayed in style, are simply retold in a brief, descriptive fashion.

Indeed, so briefly is the story told that in fact the tale of the man eaters is over before the reader has got halfway through the book. The remainder of this book goes on to recount hunting anecdotes from the author's stay in Africa and simply retells how large numbers of animals were shot. Even taking into consideration the different attitudes of the times, this bloodlust becomes rather hard to take and, quite frankly, rather boring reading.

Unfortunately, although the potential for this to be an exciting tale is high, the delivery of the story is poor and the follow up is quite dull. However, the first part of the book is worth reading for the details of the audacious predators raiding well-protected camps on a nightly basis.

I would only recommend this to those who have an interest in Africa or colonialism.

Score: 6/10

Books to be Reviewed: The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston & Mario Spezi

2009-01-26T06:32:00.004Z

Thanks again to Julia Pidduck for sending me a copy of The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi for reviewing. This book documents the true story of Italy's very own "Jack The Ripper"; a serial killer who has gone unpunished despite over 20 years of police work.

"Douglas Preston fulfilled a lifelong dream when he moved with his family to a villa in Florence. Upon meeting celebrated journalist Mario Spezi, Preston was stunned to learn that the olive grove next to his home had been the scene of a horrific double murder committed by one of the most infamous figures in Italian history. A serial killer who ritually murdered fourteen young lovers, he has never been caught. He is known as the Monster of Florence.

Fascinated by the tale, Preston began to work with Spezi on the case. Here is the true story of their search to uncover and confront the man they believe is the Monster. In an ironic twist of fate that echoes the dark traditions of the city’s bloody history, Preston and Spezi themselves became targets of a bizarre police investigation."

I have recently finished this excellent book and will review it soon. Those who are interested can purchase a copy from Amazon.com: The Monster of Florence.

Book Review: Birdwatchingwatching by Alex Horne

2009-01-19T06:20:00.005Z

Birdwatchingwatching documents the year-long foray into birdwatching by Alex Horne, an investigation into a hobby that his father has long had and that Alex has never understood. In an attempt to understand his father's passion Alex challenges him to a "Big Year", a year in which the person who sees the most species is declared the winner.

Over the course of a year Alex's growing enthusiasm for birds is obvious and the way in which he delves into all the mysterious aspects of birdwatching is very amusing indeed. The style of this book is one of a naive newby to the hobby of birdwatching, almost birdwatching through the eyes of a child, making great reading for anyone who loves birds, from those with just a casual interest to the hard core "twitcher". Indeed, in the course of a year Alex participates in all aspects of birdwatching, attempting to literally become a "robin-stroker" in his back yard and twitching (unsuccessfully) the UK's first Long-billed Murrelet as well as using a birdwatching guide in Africa to boost his yearly total.

The style that birdwatchingwatching is written in belies the fact that the author is a comedian and there are a lot of very amusing insights into the psyche of birdwatchers and comparisons with Alex's first love - football.

This is an excellent read for anyone who has even a passing interest in birds or for anyone who knows a birdwatcher. A highly entertaining book that I couldn't put down and it was with great dismay that I finished it so quickly - this has very quickly become one of my favourite books ever and I can't wait to read it again.

Score: 10/10

Book Review: Married Lovers by Jackie Collins

2009-01-12T08:25:00.004Z

Cameron Paradise escapes a violent marriage, but not a cliched name, and heads to Los Angeles where she finds a job in an exclusive fitness club and rubs shoulders with rich, powerful and attractive people. Falling for a rich, married movie mogul there ensues lust, sex and adultery leading to murder.

As with all of Jackie Collins's books one should not expect the literary style of the classics but she makes up for this with a high level of readability, and Married Lovers turns out to be something of a page-turner, perhaps not of plot-driven enthusiasm but for pages packed with smut. In fact it is well known that this author prides herself in giving her readers huge mounds of sex with knobs on, and whilst the story is rather predictable and not particualrly memorable, she certainly provides well for her fan base.

Whilst the plot and literary style is perhaps the weakness of this book, the characters are more of a strength with sexy, egotistical and powerful characters pouring out of the pages; something one would expect from a sex-driven novel.

Miss Collins latest bonkbuster is most certainly not the usual genre of book that I would read, however, it is fast-paced and readable and fans of this style of book should enjoy this latest offering although they may not remember it for long . It can`t be denied that Jackie Collins's books are always in the bestseller charts, but not really my cup of tea; more of a glass of wine, sat on a sun lounger, on a beach, somewhere hot.

Not exactly Booker Prize material but as "light relief" this novel may tickle the right parts.

Score: 6/10

Book Review: The Man Who Would be King and Other Stories by Rudyard Kipling

2009-01-03T14:01:00.009Z

The Man Who Would be King is a short tale of two rogues who decide to head into a legendary country, "Kafiristan" and seduce the indigenous population into accepting them as Kings. The story is very well told and conjures up a vivid picture of the hostility of the lands entered by "Peachy" Carnehan and Daniel Dravot and the characters they meet along the way.

The Man Who Would be King contains some intriguing references to the Masonic order, and indeed it is the local people's familiarity with the rituals of this sect that give the two main characters a foot in their palacial door, but which also ultimately seals their dreadful fate. This is an excellent short story which was made into a superb movie starring Michael Caine and Sean Connery.

Unfortunately, the "other stories" don't really compare very well with the title story of this book, in fact the reader would be excused for wondering why The Man Who Would be King was not developed into a much longer novel, surely it was not to create space for these often banal "other stories"?

Many of these other stories focus upon the lives of British subjects in Victorian India, and particularly upon the abundance of affairs and their sad outcomes. However, the similarity in tone and dullness of their meaning make them rather dreadful reading and one would be recommended to leave this book alone after reading the title story.

I would highly recommend The Man Who Would be King to readers but I would equally recommend not bothering with the boring "other stories".

Score: 8/10 for The Man Who Would be King, 5/10 for the book overall.

Books to be Reviewed: Birdwatchingwatching by Alex Horne

2009-01-03T12:23:00.005Z

Thank you to Julia Pidduck for sending me a copy of the strangely titled Birdwatchingwatching by Alex Horne for reviewing. This is the story of Alex's year-long foray into birdwatching and "big year" competition with his father; a lifelong birder. As a birdwatcher myself, this book is of great interest and will be reviewed very soon.

"Alex Horne’s dad has always been a birdwatcher. Alex wasn’t so sure. But, determined to get to know his father better, Alex challenged him to a competitive Big Year: from January 1st to December 31st 2006, they would each attempt to see as many species of bird as possible, governed by the basic rules of birdwatching, plus a couple of their own: the birds had to be wild, free and alive; they had to actually see the birds; and they could travel anywhere in the world to do it. The one who saw the most birds over the course of 365 days would be declared the winner."

Currently I am part the way through this book and can't put it down and think it will appeal to birdwatchers, birders, ornithologists and robin-strokers alike.

A review will soon appear here but until then readers can pre-order a copy from Alex's website: Birdwatchingwatching and benefit from a 30% discount.

Book Review: My Booky Wook by Russell Brand

2008-12-01T13:01:00.006Z

My Booky Wook is Russell Brand's autobiography, although, as with all autobiographies by young people, it is only the story so far. Written in Brand's characteristic Dickensian style of speech, this book focuses heavily on his teenage years and early twenties; times of personal self-destruction through drug use and "sex-addiction".

My Booky Wook relies largely upon the telling of quite outrageously bawdy anecdotes, outlining Russell Brand's litany of careless and thoughtless escapades as he persued a course of self-destruction. If these anecdotes were not told in such a bizarre and self-deprecating style they would be offensive, indeed to many they will remain so, but I found many of them made me laugh out loud.

Generally, people find Russell Brand either very funny or very offensive, but this funny and frank book helps those belonging to both schools of thought to understand his character and the conclusion can surely only be that he is a man suffering from some form of mild mental illness.

Although this is a very amusing book, like many other humourous publications, the humour wanes as one nears the end and becomes rather more philosophical. Many readers may appreciate this but I was enjoying the ridiculous tales so much that I was disappointed when the humour became watered down.

For fans of Russell Brand this is a must read and will make you laugh out loud, but at the same time those who do not like him will understand a lot more about him after reading this and perhaps come to despise him less. Highly recommended.

Score: 9/10

Books to be Reviewed: Married Lovers by Jackie Collins

2008-11-28T12:16:00.009Z

Thank you to Hayden Allen-Vercoe for sending me a copy of Married Lovers by Jackie Collins. Married Lovers is Jackie Collins's 25th "raunchy"novel.

"Cameron Paradise, a stunningly beautiful twenty-four-year-old personal trainer, flees her abusive boyfriend in Australia and ends up in L.A. Cameron soon gets a job at a private fitness club where she encounters the city's most important players. She has plans to open her own studio, and while every man she meets comes on to her, she is focused on working hard and saving money to achieve her goal. Until she meets Ryan Richards, that is. An extremely successful independent movie producer, he's married to overly privileged Mandy Richards, the daughter of Hamilton J. Heckerling, a Hollywood power-player son-of-a-bitch mogul. Ryan has never cheated on his demanding Hollywood Princess wife, but when he meets Cameron, all bets are off.

Only internationally bestselling author Jackie Collins knows what happens when lust and desire collide with marriage and power. And the results lead to murder. "

A review of Married Lovers will appear here soon and in the meantime those who are fans of Jackie Collins can buy Married Lovers from Amazon.com.

Book Review: Tracks by Mike Gordon

2008-11-22T11:34:00.006Z

Tracks is a techno-thriller focussing on medical implants which allow the monitoring of patients health but also provide the means for a disturbing level of survellance; this is the first novel by Mike Gordon.

Tracks scores very highly from the beginning with an exciting introduction whereby a patient receives a phone call in the early hours informing him that he is about to have a heart attack; this beginning also introduces the reader to the problems surrounding this sort of monitoring. Whilst the plot is by no means easy to predict and contains a number of complexities, it is also laid out in a understandable and readable way. Where many similar novels get tangled up in lots of techno-jargon, the author here very skilfully avoids this and makes the reader concentrate on the plot rather than trying to impress with techno-speak.

The main character, Peter Miller, is an interesting one and a slightly unusual hero, being something of a geek with some problems engaging with other people. This, and other characters are well-formed enough to add another element to Tracks, but character development is not the primary goal of this novel - largely it is plot-driven and in this it succeeds in gripping the reader from page one until the end.

This novel is a fine effort from a first-time author and as a self-published book, it is remarkably good. Possibly the highest compliment I can pay Tracks and Mike Gordon is that the novel was one that I looked forward to picking up and continuing to read rather than one that was a chore to get to the end of.

Tracks is highly recommended to those who enjoy well thought out plots filled with controversial ideas. I would urge book lovers to buy this novel and support a self-publishing, new author in hope that he writes a second novel.

Score: 7.5/10

Book Review: Iznogoud; The Caliph's Vacation by Godcinny & Tabary

2008-10-26T14:21:00.007Z

Iznogoud; The Caliph's Vacation is a collection of short, animated stories which follow the attempts of the evil Iznogoud to depose the Caliph of Baghdad by taking him on a series of potentially fatal vacations and days out.

The stories and dialogue are written by Goscinny who is most famous for the Asterix series and the illustrations are excellent, provided by Tabary. Each of the stories revolves around the evil Grand Vizier trying to kill the Caliph in various, typically comic-strip style, vacation strategies, each of which goes totally wrong and end up leaving Iznogoud in various states of disarray including being turned into a louse, turned into a shell and stranded in a desert.

These stories are quite amusing and there are a number of good puns and visual jokes in each one, but it is the characteristics of the Caliph and Iznogoud that amuse me most and after being out of print for many years, I was very pleased to see this book recently republished, having lost my copy at least 20 years ago.

This book is recommended for any fans of Asterix and similar cartoon books, and makes surprisingly amusing reading for children and adults alike.

Score: 8/10

Books to be Reviewed: Tracks by Mike Gordon

2008-10-18T21:21:00.009+01:00

Many thanks to David Gordon for sending me a copy of Tracks by Mike Gordon for reviewing; Tracks is a self-published book and is Mike Gordon's first novel.

"The future of the surveillance society… In Boston, Global HealthCare Corporation is hoping to recover its fortunes with a new micro-chip technology which can eradicate disease - until Peter Miller, the brilliant but troubled architect of the program, quits his job and goes to work at a psychiatric hospital in London, helping develop a system to track dangerous patients. When a deadly threat to the US emerges, a covert Federal agency becomes involved, and Miller is caught up in a web of lies, love, insanity and murder - and finds he's opened the door to a frightening future."

Currently I am about halfway through the book and I have to say that I like it - the story is gripping, there are some interesting characters and it is well-written: a review will appear here when I have finished the book.

Anyone wishing to support a new, self-publishing author can buy Tracks from the book's website: Tracks by Mike Gordon.

Get Your Book Reviewed

2008-10-11T15:37:00.003+01:00

Authors, publishers, distributors or anyone else connected to the publishing industry are now welcome to contact me in order to have books reviewed on this website.

Regardless of genre, I am happy to write a constructive and honest review of any book that I am sent.

Those who would like to send me a book to be reviewed should contact me on this e-mail address nickupton@thaibirding.com to let me know which book they would like me to review and to get my mailing address.

Any book I receive will get a blog post about the book when I recieve it and a review after I have read it.

Please specify any links to websites desired in the blog post when contacting me.

For $25 I will also create a Squidoo.com page reviewing your book, linking to your website and Amazon & Ebay links to your book where appropriate.

Your book will then also be placed on a Squidoo page that I currently have which lists books that I have reviewed after receiving a copy from the author/publisher/promoter.

Thank you

Nick

Book Review: The Great Gatzby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

2008-09-27T04:05:00.005+01:00

The Great Gatsby is widely recognised as one the of the finest pieces of American literature. It is a narrative about high-living people in the "Roaring Twenties" and in particular the tale of a rich man obsessed with another man's wife: Jay Gatsby.

The way this novel is written is similar to "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad in that it is one man's narrative about another man, one who is mysterious and draws others towards him. Gatsby and all the other characters are rather wasteful, idle people who continually gather for meaningless parties and other social meetings, none of whom, it turns out, are real friends.

The author does a good job of portraying this meaningless decadence and one-dimensional personalities of the age but this is perhaps the downfall of the book; creating unlikeable and one-dimensional characters to highlight disapproval for this type of person unltimately creates an unlikeable and one-dimensional story.

Whilst the language used here is of the times and both eloquent and politically incorrect by today's standards, the author matches the attitude of the characters with his writing style - skilfull indeed but when these people are rather languid and uninteresting this is not a great storytelling style to adopt in my opinion.

However, it is true that the messages in this tale are quite clear (money cannot buy everything, substance over appearances, don't live in the past) and as such this is more than just a story of the calamaties resulting from self-centred attitudes and there is an interesting, if rather brief, ending.

The Great Gatsby is a novel which has meaning and nice language but the style is rather dull in my opinion. It is recommended as an example of American literature, but the reader may find, like me, that this genre leaves them distinctly under-impressed. More the Rather-average Gatsby than Great.

Score: 6/10

Book Review: 1000 by Gavin Robertson

2008-09-26T07:45:00.004+01:00

1000 is the story of how a couple of corrupt members of a corrupt system find their lives unravelling. Between them Simon Northcott and Buddy Martial have a brilliant scheme which hacks into the Foreign Exchange markets and extracts money in seconds. Unfortunately there scheme does not go undetected and they find themselves in a tough situation.

The premise behind this novel is reasonably interesting but the mechanics of it is so complicated that the author does not even attempt to explain properly what it involves, leaving the reader rather poorly informed as to what is really going on. Likewise, the structure of the novel is such that it takes four or five chapters before one is really aware of what these men do, and the beginning of the book is largely devoted to reconstrucing a rather hackneyed back story for the main characters.

At times the book picks up pace and threatens to be a bona fide thriller, but the writing style is so undeveloped one feels that the book was written by a teenager. The dialogue is utterly unoriginal and quite boring at times and like so many pulp-fiction thrillers, there is a litany of undeveloped, incidental characters that it is difficult to feel anything for.

Worst of all is the name "1000" that is given to one of the characters, Kay Nocta, supposedly a brilliant and beautiful mathematician. An utterly contrived and ridiculous name for a character and book.

Despite its failings I found myself turning the pages towards the end despite having to force myself through large parts of the book. Having reached the ending, it was quite uninspiring and totally predictable.

I picked up this book in the bargain section of a second-hand bookshop; something which says a lot about its quality. Those who feel like a little light reading may find this readable but don't expect much in the way of style or characters.

Score: 3/10

Book Review: The Story of Zahra by Hanan Al-Shaykh

2008-09-23T07:30:00.008+01:00

The Story of Zahra is a novel about the life of a young woman dealing with her madness in war-torn Lebanon. She is sent to visit a relative in Africa as a rest cure but after elctro-shock therapy she is worse than ever and returns to Beirut in the peak of the fighting.

Some interesting themes are touched upon in this book particularly how people deal with living in a war zone but the central theme of mental illness is rather poorly dealt with in my opinion. The subplot of madness seems to have been created to excuse the writer's inability to write in anything other than a disjointed style and many of the portrayals of madness appeared very cliched to me. In the Story of Zahra, none of the other characters are developed to any degree and this makes it bewildering as to why Zahra reacts to them in the way she does and what exactly fuels her mental state.

Whilst at times Zahra's story begins to become interesting these intervals do not last long before irrelevant flashbacks are recounted in rambling style. Unfortunately, rather than eliciting a sympathy for the plight of a young Arabic woman, the author contrives to create a quite unlikeably character whose hysteria becomes irritating and her demise that finishes the story is as welcome as it is predictable.

Those readers that like plot-driven novels will find nothing here to interest them although those who appreciate a deeper look at characters may find something to interest them - although they may find they dislike the character they discover.

Score: 4/10

Book Review: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday

2008-08-21T02:49:00.005+01:00

Salmon fishing in the Yemen is an original story of the attempt to introduce fly fishing for salmon into the wadis of southern Yemen, which has catastrophic consequences. This story revolves around a British fisheries scientist and his efforts to find a way of succeeding with the visionary project of a Yemeni Sheikh, and also on how members of the British government hijack the scheme for a vote-winning photo opportunity.

This book is written in a very unusual style, being a collection of documents; diaries, police reports, memoirs, letters and e-mails which at first feel rather awkward, but as the book progresses, the reader becomes comfortable with what is a rather original style which makes a fairly average book into something that stands out from others. This construction of the novel means that many of the documents are very personal to the characters, and this means that the characters become quite developed, although the ending perhaps leaves one wanting a little more from some of the main protagonists.

Although this is essentially popular fiction, the author attempts to parody the "spin" culture practiced by government, and achieves some amusing moments in this attempt. The difference in spirituality between Yemeni culture and British culture is also dealt with, and this is highlighted in the changes of personality that the British scientist goes through; this is highlighted in his changing attitude to his loveless marriage.

Overall this is a very readable book, original and with a story that is interesting enough to capture readers and leave them wanting more; in fact it is true that the ending is rather flat after a sensational conclusion to the salmon project.

I would recommend this book to a wide range of readers, particularly those who are disdainful of the culture of "spin" employed by recent governments.

Score: 8/10

Book Review: Overtaken by Alexei Sayle

2008-06-26T08:56:00.005+01:00

Overtaken is a tale of the events that happen to Kelvin immediately before, during and after a road accident that kills his entire group of friends. Fighting with emptiness and depression he decides to create a "memorial" to them in the most unusual fashion - a story that contains a strange twist at the end which although wasn't completely unexpected, was only anticipated in the few pages preceding the end.

With a few moments of humour, this is not the comedy novel one might expect from an author who is a well-known comedian but instead an unusually calculating story of revenge which does not work out quite in the way the reader or the main character expects, and a few things about Kelvin's personality and ways of thinking are fairly thought-provoking.

A number of themes are dealt with in this book, the main one being revenge but also how people grieve differently, how some forms of help are not always appropriate and that it can sometimes be wise to heed warnings about new girlfriends despite how lovely they seem at first.

Overtaken is a very reader-friendly book and one is consumed with an interest to discover exactly how revenge will be obtained, turning this into something of a page-turner.

This is a really engrossing story with some moments to laugh at but a story that is both enthralling and surprising. Recommended for readers who like their characters to develop and to those who like a good story with an unusual twist.

Score: 9/10

Book Review: The Eventful History of the Mutiny and the Piratical Seizure of HMS Bounty by Sir John Barrow

2008-06-13T03:25:00.005+01:00

This is probably the most complete and balanced account of the well-known true story of The Bounty. Compiled from accounts from mutineers, William Bligh and transcripts of the Courts Martial this tale is told from a number of viewpoints and as such gives the reader a clear picture of the confusion at the time and the poorly thought out seizure of the ship, as well as telling of the horrors that the seamen loyal to Bligh and those mutineers who were captured had to endure on the voyage home.

The chapters recounting the voyage of the Bounty, its time at Otaheite and the casting adrift of Bligh and his loyal followers is gripping and the privations endured are incredible. The story of how a number of mutineers were captured, their ship wrecked and the consequent voyage to Kupang is equally amazing and rather less well known.

Whilst this is a good start to the book, the telling of the Courts Martial become rather bogged down in letters between one particular mutineer and his sister, which become increasingly irritating due to their lack of conciseness and long drawn out sentences. In fact it would seem that these pages are reproduced to pad out an otherwise fairly short book; their ommission would have improved the overall reading experience considerably.

Despite this intermission, the story gets back on track to tell the fascinating tale of the mutineers who reached Pitcairn Island.

This book is recommended to those who like tales of adventure and adversity and to those interested in stories of the sea. It may be of limited interest to the general reader due to its reportive style and stagnation towards the third quarter of the book.

Score: 6.5/10

Book Review: Borat - Touristic Guidings to Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan by Sacha Baron Cohen

2008-06-12T14:58:00.007+01:00

This is in fact two books in one, with the second part being entitled: Touristic Guidings to Minor Nation of U.S and A. Both are spoof travel guides introduced by the comedy character, Kazakhstani reporter Borat Sagdiyev. For those that know this character the book holds few surprises, playing on the cultural preconceptions of westerners towards Eastern Europe and the perceived cultural naivete of Borat.

Those who are fans of Borat will find a lot of amusement in this book which contains visual and verbal humour, although they may be disappointed to find a number of jokes being recycled. However, those who are easily offended by racial, religious or sexual jokes will despise this publication; one thing that most will probably agree upon is that in this book Baron Cohen has taken this character just about as far as he can.

Despite a few issues though, there are a number of things to make one laugh, particularly the section on Kazakhstani culture which expands on a number of points brushed upon in the Borat movie and the overall amateurish production of the book solidifies the concept of a backward culture.

This is recommended to Borat fans, although they may not find it as funny as they expect, but it is to be well avoided by anyone who is not a fan or is easily offended.

Score: 7/10

Book Review: The End of Nature by Bill McKibben

2008-06-12T10:36:00.005+01:00

The End of Nature is a book about environmental issues, largely revolving around global warming and climate change. Here the author tries to explain why man has now changed every corner of the earth through his negligence in altering the climate and in the first few chapters he makes some interesting philosphical points that the reader may agree with or not; the point about how man has created a new type of nature in creating a climate which has been altered is thought provoking.

This new, updated version contains an interesting introduction by the author where he comments on how many of the predictions of climatologists have now come true and how we now live in the age of global warming - it is no longer something that could happen but something that is happening now. However, after the introduction and first few chapters the author rather labours his point, which is actually a fairly simple and easy-to-understand one. As one approaches the middle of this book, the reader begins to wonder if it is going anywhere other than around in circles and constant referalls to American explorers doesn't make it any easier to get into for those outside of North America.

It took me three attempts to get through The End of Nature, and rather surprisingly, the final chapters contain some interesting information on the politics of climate change, but after so much padding and rehashing of the same argument these final chapters come as a relief rather than a strong ending to the point being made.

I would recommend that students of conservation dip into the first 3 or 4 chapters of End of Nature but anybody else should read one of the many other far more interesting books on the subject.

Score: 4/10

Book Review: Pipits & Wagtails of Europe, Asia & North America by Per Alstrom, Krister Mild & Bill Zetterstrom

2008-05-07T04:52:00.004+01:00

"Pipits & Wagtails" is a bird field guide/reference book on this often difficult to identify group of species. Whilst it contains a huge amount of information it is just about small enough to be regularly taken out into the field in a small rucksack. This publication consists of four main sections; a short introduction covering general aspects of identification, sexing and ageing; 30 colour plates; a hugely detailed set of species accounts; a photographic section. All four sections of the book are extremely useful to ornithologists in the identification of these birds and the photographic section certainly illustrates, very well, how similar many of the species and subspecies covered here are.

The species accounts here are intensely detailed, covering taxonomic status, wing formulas, calls, regional plumage variations amongst other details, making this book suitable for the serious ornithologist and not for those with a casual interest in birdwatching.

Although this book is superbly researched and information is dissipated in a very readable style, this is not a book to read cover to cover, but rather one to dip into as a reference book when one has a query about a particular species. Unfortunatley there are a few minor irritations for the user of this book, particularly that one has to constantly flick between the plates, species accounts at photographic section when reading about a species and the fact that the Yellow Wagtail subspecies are not illustrated in winter plumage. These minor problems aside, this is a superb book for ornithologists throughout Europe, North America and Asia.

Whilst this is an excellent publication for serious birdwatchers and ornithologists, the material within is far too detailed to be of interest to casual bird enthusiasts.

Score: 9/10

Book Review: Why Do Moths Drink Elephant Tears? by Matt Walker

2008-05-04T07:43:00.011+01:00

This collection of weird, interesting and often disgusting facts about the animal world is well put together and would appeal to wide range of readers. Many other books on the market follow a similar formula, but what makes this rather more interesting is that all the facts are properly referenced and are fairly up-to-date, so whilst it is hardly cutting edge science, there is at least a scientific core to this book.

This is not a novel and so it is particularly suitable for readers looking for something to pick up and put down - ideal for a gift for a wide range of people. Most of the facts in this book are quite amazing and it is easy to learn a lot from it; indeed, with its referenced material this would have made a useful book when I was studying for my degree in consevation.

Obviously with its slightly tired formula this book is not going to win any literary prizes but it is a better publication than most in this genre.

I would recommend this book to those buying gifts for readers and as light reading material in between more challenging books.

Score: 8/10

Book Review: Salt by Jeremy Page

2008-05-04T07:43:00.006+01:00

Salt is a rather strange title for a strange novel. Set on the saltmarshes of Norfolk and the fens of Lincolnshire this is a wistful and wandering recollection of a boy's story, starting from the meeting of his grandparents and describing the litany of miseries of his childhood. It is rather difficult to say what this novel is about as it is certainly not plot-driven, but it seems to attempt to deal with the slight madness that living in such isolated places can bring upon people and as such is quite depressing. Quite overdescriptive and reliant on "wordbites" to set the tone of the Norfolk landscape, I would imagine that most of this book would be lost on anyone not familiar with the location.

Through much of the book the author attempts to paint a landscape using words and this is to the detriment of the story. This is a shame as at times the reader suddenly discovers a fairly interesting story, with some unusual characters, but every time it seems like something profound will come, the author gets wrapped up in painting his picture of words -"terns call, wind blows, I see the samphire tremble", which becomes quite boring and repetitive.

Rather than dealing with madness or landscapes this novel, to me, was more about neglect - neglect of children, neglect of women, neglect of oneself and finally, by the author, neglect of any ending worthy of the reader's efforts; throughout the book there was just enough intrigue for it to have been saved by an excellent ending, but once again the author lapses into a dreamlike prose which finishes nowhere.

Salt is a book I acquired from my mother as she lost interest in it, and this tells you a lot about its quality. Readers who are in love with the Norfolk landscape and like wordiness may love this book equally, but for those who don't know the area or like a good story, this is a book to avoid.

Score: 3/10

Book Review: The Devil Rides Out by Dennis Wheatley

2008-04-27T05:13:00.006+01:00

Having seen the rather laughable film version of this classic black magic thriller, I read this book expecting to find a rather dated and unexciting story - I was quite wrong.

The Devil Rides Out is a dark and gripping novel in which The Duke De Richleau and accomplices attempt to rescue their friend who has fallen under the influence of a powerful black magic sect lead by Mocata - a wondefully stereotypical name for a villian. The story takes the reader around England in chase of the practicers of black magic, with a car chase, an encounter with the Angel of Death, summoned in a pentacle and a sacrifice in the presence of Satan himself.

With a superbly rich text, this novel is as gripping as any I have read, which I found all the more surprising and enjoyable for being a sceptic to begin with, and having finished this story I quickly went on to read other novels by the same author.

The only down side this book may have for some readers is a few rather politically incorrect moments, however this reflects the attitude of the times and will hardly be noticed by readers other than those most hard-core of the politically correct following.

I would recommend The Devil Rides Out to any reader who likes well-wriiten stories, those who enjoy fast-paced, gripping thrillers and of course to any reader who is a fan of the black magic genre. Surprisingly good.

Score: 9.5/10

Book Review: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

2008-04-25T06:53:00.006+01:00

The Count of Monte Cristo is a classic tale of wrongful imprisonment, escape and retribution. Edmond Dantes is thrown into prison (the notorious Chateaux D'If) on spurious charges of treason and left to rot. After years of solitude he makes contact with another prisoner and eventually escapes and vows to use his freedom for revenge after discovering a hoard of treasure. After restyling himself as the Count of Monte Cristo he sets his plans into action.

The first part of this book is a gripping and harrowing tale of imprisonment in inhuman conditions, coupled with brutal treatment and near starvation and madness. How Edmond makes contact with another prisoner who teaches him in a multitude of disciplines, learns of a hidden treasure and escapes makes for compulsive reading and this ection of the novel on its own would have made a complete book; and perhaps a better one than the result.

After discovering the treasure the Count of Monte Cristo becomes a somewhat sluggish story, dragging on for chapters upon chapters where a dozen or so would have sufficed. This novel was orignially a serialisation and this is evident as the reader slogs through a massive book which introduces so many characters, it at times becomes confusing.

After slowly reading through a huge amount of very slow action and dialogue and meeting new characters all the way through the book, the reader could be forgiven for forgetting which book they had started and the manner in which the revenge is executed is hugely disappointing. Largely, The Count's revenge is in the form of embarrassing his former persecutors and robbing them of their good standing in society, something that in today's society seems quite irrelevant and hardly a proper revenge for the suffering the main character endured.

Despite a superb start, The Count of Monte Cristo becomes a very slow and dull book and I found getting to the final page was similar to seeing the finish line of a marathon. Although many people class this as their favourite novel I would suggest that this is a rare occasion where the movie is better than the book.

Score: 5/10

Book Review: The Sneetches by Dr Suess

2008-04-21T07:29:00.006+01:00

The Sneetches is not one of Dr Suess's most well-known books, but deserves to be recognised as one of his best such is the quality of the message, the illustrations and the rhyming text.

There are two kinds of Sneetches - the "Star belly Sneetches" and the Sneetches without "stars upon thars". Sneetch society operates such that those with stars on their bellies are the elite who attend frankfurter roast parties on the beach whilst those without stars are the outcasts - a sort of apartheid system, racism based upon the smallest of differences. This system prevails until a travelling salesman, Sylvester McMonkey McBean arrives on the beach with his star-on machine and convinces the starless Sneetches that for $5 they will get a star and become part of the elite. Later the same salesman convinces the original star-belly Sneetches that stars are out of fashion and for $10 they can take a turn in his star-off machine. So long as the Sneetches have money chaotic scenes of these wierd creatures going in and out of Sylvester McMonkey McBean's machines ensues. It's hilarious.

In such a way warnings about elitism/racism and marketing are delivered and it makes a wonderful story that adults can really enjoy when reading to their children - and this will be a book that the children will enjoy again and again; this 35 year-old child still enjoys it today!

The Sneetches is a wonderful story with amusing rhymes and very funny pictures and will be enjoyed by any reader, particularly those with children. In addition this book contains 3 other amusing stories: "The Zax", "Too Many Daves" and "What was I Scared of?".

Score: 10/10

Book Review: The Three Hostages by John Buchan

2008-04-18T06:30:00.006+01:00

The Three Hostages is another instalment in the adventures of Richard Hannay, the hero of Buchan’s most famous novel, "The Thirty-nine Steps" and it employs a similarly fast pace. Sir Richard Hannay reluctantly comes out of retirement to help find three hostages held by a gang of international villains intent on financial and political gain. The story revolves around the mental battle between Hannay and the story’s villain, Dominick Medina – a charismatic and deceiving Member of Parliament.

The Three Hostages is a fast-paced, plot-driven novel of adventure and intrigue, but one with some interesting and mysterious characters. The style of writing and the structure of this story, with cliff-hanger endings to chapters and moving from The Cotswolds to London to the Highlands of Scotland via Norway make it seem at times that it was written in order to make a movie from it, but unlike many similar, modern novels, the author uses a written style that does not patronise the reader nor becomes repetitive.

The Three Hostages was one of those books that made me keep turning the pages, however, similarly to many such books, I found the ending slightly disappointing, but only in how quickly it was dealt with and not in terms of the events. Whilst there is something of a detective novel hidden amongst the adventure and mind games, I found the riddle surrounding the identity of the final hostage rather predictable whilst it seemed to remain a mystery to the main character right until the end. These small issues aside, this is a well-written yarn that quickly enthrals the reader.

Those that enjoyed the "Thirty-nine Steps" and similar fast-paced, plot-driven novels will enjoy this book but some people may find some of the language used rather politically incorrect, although it reflects the attitudes of the time.

Score: 8.5/10

Book Review: Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

2008-04-18T06:30:00.004+01:00

Ethan Frome is a novelette about the tragic events that shaped the life of a farmer and miller from Massachusetts – a man trapped in a loveless marriage with a wife who is domineering, scheming and a hypochondriac but in love with his wife’s cousin, Mattie Silver. At first this may seem a less than exciting pretext for a story, but the way in which the author gradually and sparingly fleshes out the characters keeps the reader interested. Additionally the contrast between Ethan’s dour and ugly wife and the tenderness of Mattie makes the reader form a real compassion for poor Ethan and hope for a happy ending.

Whilst the mood of this story is largely one of unrequited love, there is a point at which it seems that there may be a favourable ending, but when Ethan’s wife returns from an overnight visit to a highly-rated doctor she transforms from an inconvenience to a truly despicable villain. Towards the end, the pace of this short story speeds up and one becomes wrapped up in this pace and eager to find out what is to become of Ethan and Mattie – but this becomes one of the most truly tragic of novels.

Ethan Frome is a well-written story which uses a nice blend of narrative and colloquial speech with interesting characters and a suitable pace. Many authors would have been tempted to stretch this novelette into a longer book, but that would have spoiled a tale which is well-suited to the shorter format and provides a surprisingly enjoyable read.

Unfortunately, there is not much joy in Ethan Frome, which is a shame as Ethan and Mattie are such likeable characters, but the manner of the ending is what shapes the tale and the telling of this story is very well contrived.

Ethan Frome is a very good short read and whilst it is not a joyous tale it is surprisingly gripping. Readers who have enjoyed novels such as Adam Bede and Silas Marner should take a look at this similar but much more accessible book.

Score: 9/10

Book Review: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

2008-04-11T05:23:00.006+01:00

The Jungle is the story of Jurgis and his family who are attempting to make their fortune in the stockyards of early 20th century Chicago. Jurgis is a Lithuanian immigrant who quickly learns that although wages are "high" in America, so are the expenses and is if this were not enough to contend with there is an army of conmen, corrupt officials and greedy employers ready to cheat the family out of their hard-earned wages.

The early parts of this book describe the deplorable conditions in which food is manufactured and workers are worn down and eventually cast aside and the story quickly becomes one of hardship and misery with very few moments of happiness. However, I found that the characters, particularly Jurgis, are ones that I could care about and each downturn of fortune that they suffer made me feel for them and people like them around the world who still work in such conditions.

One fault of the book is that everything that could go wrong for the family does go wrong; family members gradually die off, Jurgis ends up in prison, homeless, injured, adopts the life of a tramp etc. and this stretches the credibility of the plot. Towards the end The Jungle becomes something of a propoganda piece for socialism and loses its way - finishing with a disappointing and idealistic rant. Whilst the story does an excellent job of highlighting the follies of ultra-capitalism the author seems to portray socialism in a rather niaive way.

These faults aside, The Jungle is a great story of woe about a character that most working men can relate to and I found myself turning the pages hoping to find that poor Jurgis would finally get a break.

The Jungle is a thought-provoking story about interesting characters but is not likely to make the reader feel good about the world; possibly the most depressing novel I have ever read but compelling all the same.

Score: 8.5/10

Book Review: Five Weeks in a Balloon by Jules Verne

2008-03-17T10:53:00.005Z

Five Weeks in a Balloon was Jules Verne's first novel, yet not one of his most famous. The story follows two friends and their man servant as they attempt to cross Africa, from east to west, in a hydrogen balloon. The structure of the story is somewhat formulaic and the characters quite recogniseable from other Verne novels (many see this as a prototype for "Around the World in 80 days"), but it is a successful and exciting formula which is employed, meaning that the adventurers move from crisis to crisis as they traverse the dark continent.

Dr Fergusson, the leader of the expedition, is a rather unflappable character who maintains that nothing can go wrong, although of course the novel consists of a string of events that are a consequence of things going wrong, and all three friends behave in that unimpressed, "stiff upper lip" attitude that was typical of English gentlemen of the period. Much of the text deals with scientific references and intricate description of scientific instruments and geographic features so typical of Jules Verne, who successfully turns fiction into something that could pass for fact.

Similarly to other Verne novels, events are dealt with in the briefest of fashions, so that those who like in-depth insights into the plot and characters would be disappointed, but those who like a good old-fashioned adventure story will be quite happy.

It is also interesting to note that although "Five Weeks in a Balloon" is not one of Verne's most famous stories, it has a fame of sorts as it seems to have crept into many film adaptations of "Around the World in 80 Days" which include a balloon trip, which of course does not exist in the novel.

I found this a more enjoyable story, with more likeable characters than "Around the World in 80 Days" and many other of Verne's novels, and although it is just a page turner with very little depth, it is a nice light read.

Score: 7.5/10

Book Review: How to Fossilise Your Hamster by Mick O'Hare

2008-03-14T10:46:00.005Z

Although this may sound like a handbook for scientific young men of limited social skills, "How to Fossilise Your Hamster" is in fact one of those books that is full of unusual facts that are put together to amaze and disgust the reader.

Although this book follows the typical formula of this stocking-filler genre, it is in fact a rather good example of this type of book, following the theme of unusual and tangible scientific facts. Many of the scientific explanations related in this book are designed to accompany phenomena that can be initiated and observed in the home, and as such it does a good job of bringing science to non-scientists. Interesting points in this book include why bubbles form in beer as it is poured, why one shouldn't eat Mentos and drink Coke together and, of course, how to fossilise a hamster.

Whilst those who are looking forward to settling down in bed, or in front of a fire with an enthralling story won't wish to choose this book, it is certainly a useful gift for many types of people and an excellent book for those who only want to read short snippets in between doing other things: this would be an excellent choice of book for travellers, with many interesting conversation points within its pages.

I enjoyed reading the scientific strangeness in this book and would recommend it as a good example of this genre. However, those looking for a serious scientific text or a ripping yarn should stay away.

Score: 7/10

Book Review: Around The World in 80 Days by Jules Verne

2008-03-12T11:09:00.003Z

The story of Phileas Fogg and Passepartout can hardly be new to anybody these days, so often has it been turned into movies, television series and cartoons, however, I thought it worth reading the original just to see how accurate all the movies are.

This is a surprisingly short book which reflects the attitude of Mr Fogg in traveling around the world; he is more interested in the feat than the places he visits, and it also reflects the tone of the book which is very descriptive in its style. The constant chronology of travel connections is broken up by a series of problems, all of which are brushed aside remarkably easily and with a minimum of words on the author's part.

The saving grace of this story is Passepartout, who is an emotional and reactive individual and his interactions with Mr Fix, a detective who is stalking the travelers, make for some interesting reading. However, at times it feels like reading a travel schedule less than a novel with this book.

The way in which the characters behave reflects the society of the time and it was irritating to me that even though Passepartout effected the Indian Princess's rescue, it is Phileas Fogg as the gentle man who she becomes infatuated with.

Probably the best thing about Around the World in 80 days is the beautiful vocabulary and grammar used by the author and the sense of adventure it projects although the author never really injects much passion into this adventure.

I would recommend this book to readers who have enjoyed other Jules Verne novels and those who liked King Solomon's Mines by H.Rider Haggard.

Score: 7/10

Book Review: The Book of Dave by Will Self

2008-03-12T10:35:00.005Z

The book of Dave is based around the premise that the written ramblings of a London taxi driver have been misinterpreted by a future, antediluvian English society, creating a culture of racism, sexism and of split families. This parody of religious beliefs interested me immensely but I found upon reading it, that this novel did not live up to my expectations.

Written with two parallel storylines, following both the London cabbie (Dave) and the future society, I found that it took a very long time for them to come anywhere near together. Perhaps this writer was too clever for me but I found that having to wait until very close to the end to understand every triviality was annoying.

Much of the storyline following the characters in the future (characters that I found indistinuishable from one another) is written in an irritating dialect which is in fact a form of cockney written phonetically and this just smacked of unoriginality - just a copy of Anthony Burgess's jargon in "A Clockwork Orange" although it was much easier to understand than that.

The Book of Dave is not all bad though, at its best it satirises the blind faith of religious groups and the breakdown of the family unit in many parts of the UK, but for me it took too long to make any of these points.

This book is certainly not for a mass audience and the more subversive reader will appreciate it more than others, although I feel it fails to live up to its full potential.

Score: 6/10

Book Review: Saving Fish From Drowning by Amy Tan

2008-03-05T04:02:00.006Z

A novel based upon a story received from the spirits by a medium is an unusual book indeed, but Amy Tan has done an excellent job in turning this into an enjoyable, amusing and thought-provoking story. In Saving Fish From Drowning the reader follows a group of 12 American tourists on their cultural tour of China and Burma, a tour which is doomed to disaster before it has even begun.

The story is narrated by the group's recently deceased tour organiser, who watches over the tour as a spirit and along the way makes amusing observations, gossipy asides and irritated remarks about her friends' constant ability to say the wrong thing, make impetuous decisions and generally approach the foreign cultures they encounter with an ignorant and patronising attitude.

What makes this book so enjoyable is that there are so many aspects to it - the author herself describes her work as a mixture of genres: murder mystery, romance, picaresque, comic novel, magical realsim, fable, myth, police detective and political farce. It is perhaps the ironic, comic and farcical aspects of the book that I most enjoyed and the way that the media and the Burmmese government react to and manipulate events was particularly amusing.

Some may say that this book takes a simplistic and ill-informed view of Asian cultures, but that would be missing the point that this was the effect the author was attempting to create. However, one criticism that I would make is that there are too many characters, some of which were quite indistinguishable from each other - on the other hand some of the characters were very enjoyable and with a little more time devoted to them, they could have been even more memorable.

This is an enjoyable, amusing and engrossing story which satirises tourism, cultural expectations and the regime in Burma - an easy and frivolous read. Those expecting deep insight into the situation in Burma will be highly disappointed but those looking for a well-written novel with an interesting story will be delighted.

Score: 8.5/10

My Christmas Books

2007-12-29T17:35:00.000Z

Although I get Scrooge-like tendencies around Christmas these days I still look forward to the new books that I receive as Christmas gifts. This year I received a number of books and look forward to reading them soon.

The books I got this Christmas:

1. Asterix and Obelix All at Sea
2. Pipits and Wagtails
3. How to Fossilise Your Hamster
4. Why Do Moths Drink Elephants' Tears?
5. Why Is Yawning Contagious?
6.Do Ants Have Arseholes?
7. Borat: Touristic Guidings to Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan/Minor Nation of U.S. and A.

Book Review: The Mystic Masseur by V.S. Naipaul

2007-12-29T11:33:00.000Z

This is the story of Ganesh, the son of an Indian immigrant to Trinidad and a character with a strong disinclination to work. The story follows Ganesh's rise to fame which has been stumbled upon due to fate providing a steadying hand which counteracts many of Ganesh's questionable life decisions.

The characters are the highlight of this book with the plot taking a back stage, although the reader will quickly become enthralled as to how Ganesh has become a well-known figure in Trinidad. As well as the lazy but loveable Ganesh are a host of similarly amusing characters; Leela with the bizarre habit of punctuating every word, the excitable Ramlogan and the sage-like Aunt Belcher are the stars along with ganesh but a whole procession of weirdos pop up in this book which ends with ganesh's political career.

There is something about the style of writing in this book that makes the reader believe in the reality of the characters and the tale of Ganesh's fame seems like something that could happen to almost anyone. This was Naipaul's first novel and remains one of his most famous: deservedly so.

The Mystic Masseur is recommended to readers who like quirky tales and to those who wish to progress from popular fiction onto something more complex without taxing the brain too much. This is an amusing story with some interesting characters and it is not too long, something which many similar novels are guilty of.

Score: 8/10

Book Review: London Fields by Martin Amis

2007-12-19T18:58:00.000Z

London Fields is a dark, bleak novel, strangely laced with a black humour chiefly provided by the vividly portrayed and memorable characters. The plot, if there is a plot at all, is that Nicola Six has somehow foreseen her imminent and violent death and by playing the wife beating Keith Talent off against the married and polite Guy Clinch she keeps the reader wondering who her killer may be.

This book is not really about the plot though and much more about the characters. Keith Talent is one of the most memorable characters I have ever come across in a novel, both loveable and detestable at the same time and a devotee of the relion known as darts! Keith's philosphical rants, based around darts, are quite comical as well as depressing and form the backbone of the story, whilst the boudoir of Nicola Six acts as a focal point to which the two male characters are constantly drawn. Nicola becomes both the ultimate male fantasy and at the same time the ultimate male nemesis, appealing both to male and female readers alike.

Unfortunately London Fields is far too long and at times it can be difficult to maintain interest due to the meandering style and dubious plot, however, the excellent characters make up for this at least to some degree.

London Fields is recommended to readers interested in well developed characters but for those that are after a fast paced plot this is certainly one to leave alone. An interesting novel and one that is worth reading even if the reader comes to the conclusion that it isn't for them.

Score: 7/10

Book Review: Wild Food by Roger Phillips

2007-12-10T23:09:00.000Z

My mother bought me this book when I was about 12 years old and I immediately set about trying as many of the suggestions for wild food it contains as I could get away with. This is somewhere between an identification book and a cookery manual and as such perhaps doesn't really do either properly, but for its superb photos and bizarre suggestions it is a great book, firmly rooted in the realm of the vegetarian so avoiding the squirrel stew or baked eel that so upset many people.

This book will make countryside lovers look at the species around them in a new perspective and even if readers do not try any of the recipes, just the knowledge that they are possible will be of interest. The suggestions for food vary between delicious and ridiculous, but are mostly fairly simple and easily tried, although some degree of caution is needed with the fungi section.

Amongst the best suggestions here are blackberry water ice and garlic butter made from Jack-by-the-hedge, whilst amongst the worst are chestnut soup (a really good way to ruin good chestnuts) and nettle beer which carries an alcoholic kick along with a sting!

This book is highly recommended to countryside lovers in the United Kingdom but those searching for hard-core survival recipes would do better to look elsewhere.

Score: 7.5/10

Book Review: Five Hundred Mile Walkies

2007-12-04T22:27:00.000Z

Five Hundred Mile Walkies is the true and highly humourous Tale of a man and a borrowed dog walking the south west peninsula path through Devon and Cornwall in order to impress a girl that the author met at a party. Such a mundane premise may sound like it has little to offer, but Wallington has a real knack of finding the farcical side of every situation and developing it into an hilarious aside. Added to that, the author combines a rather literary style with the common touch and the result is a very readable story but not one that is dumbed down.

Wallington himself compares his tale to that of Jerome K. Jerome in "Three men and a Boat", and his style is highly reminiscent of this famous book. More importantly, it compares very favourably to "Three Men and a Boat", but, similarly to that and many other humourous books, much of the fun and laughter occurs in the early part of the tale and towards the end it appears as if the author gets rather tired of writing.

The addition of the dog, Boogie, is one that may divide readers, however. Boogie's flatulence provides a running joke throughout the book and for some this may be a constant source of amusement, although for others such a cheap and repetative joke becomes a little stale.

These downfalls aside Five Hundred Mile Walkies is a very funny book and for some reason I was particularly amused by the excursion through Westward Ho! - the only place in Britain that has an exclaimation mark in its name.

I recommend this story to lovers of humour and travel literature, and it serves well as a light read between more challenging material whilst maintaining a semi-literary style.

Score: 8.5/10

Book Review: Tintin in The Congo by Herge

2007-12-03T14:08:00.000Z

I am not a great fan of the Tintin series but bought this book, like many other readers, because of the controversy that surrounds it. There is a short introduction preceeding the story which explains, and attempts to apologise for, the less than flattering way in which native Africans are portrayed and the fact that Tintin goes around shooting at anything that moves. In reality the racial stereotypes are so ridiculous that surely they could cause little offense in today's world, and Tintin's attitude towards them simply comes across as foolish. Perhaps more disturbing is Tintin's attitude to wildlife, but again, in a more informed world his behaviour just strikes the reader as idiotic which does little to make the reader warm towards the character in this story.

Tintin in the Congo is quite lacking in story, with no real purpose from beginning to end, although a few little episodes are thrown in but not expanded fully and for me this book is not at all interesting. The only saving grace of Tintin in the Congo are the bright, colourful illustrations which will appeal to many people, particularly children. However, once again, I am not really a fan of Herge's drawings and together with the moribund dialogue and lack of story I don't rate this book very highly.

This book is for Tintin fans only and is of interest only because of its long-time ban: now Tintin fans can complete their collection. For others, I don't suggest reading this as your first Tintin story as it is poor in terms of plot and dialogue, and if you are easily offended then this is certainly a book to avoid.

Score: 4/10

Book Review: George's Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl

2007-11-29T19:25:00.001Z

George is a small boy who is left to look after his gorgon of a grandmother whilst his parents are away. Whilst other grandmothers are kind and buy gifts for their grandchildren, this one is despotically evil and twisted, whose face is described as a "dog's bottom". George decides that his grandmother requires a supplement to her normal array of medicines and decides to concoct his own brew, fuelled by a list of ingredients that is quite incredible. The results from taking this medicine are just hilarious and will delight adults and children alike.

This is one of Dahl's most irreverent and mischievous novels and children will shriek in delight at some of the vocabulary Dahl uses to describe the grandmother. The writing style is typical Roald Dahl with a superb range of deliciously rude description and a series of events that are simply incredible but wonderful. Add to this the quite sinister but funny illustrations by Quentin Blake and you have a book that is made for parents to read to their kids.

This is most certainly one of Dahl's best and most memorable books and the only complaint I have about it is that it is too short.

I highly recommend this delightful tale to all readers, no matter how old they are and any parents who do not buy it to read to their children should be charged with neglect.

Score: 10/10

Book Review: Guinness World Records 2008

2007-11-28T15:50:00.000Z

The newest edition of the Guinness book of records boasts a reflective cover and glow in the dark features which make it stand out both in the shops and at home. The layout of this book has improved somewhat since my last edition way back in the early 1990s, with attractive designs and excellent pictures punctuating the text which outline an enormous number of unusual and interesting facts. Many of the tried and tested categories return in this edition including sports records, animal world and entertainment although my personal favourite, words and literature, is missing. How are people now supposed to learn about Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapiki-maungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu in New Zealand or the Mohawk for "The praising of the evil of the liking of the finding of the house is right"? I think the book is sadly lacking something without such records.

However, the inclusion of how to submit a record and how records are verified and measured is an excellent addition and the interviews with celebrity record setters are interesting. Some of the multiple page spreads are very nice - attractive and informative along with the glow-in-the-dark features. Also interesting are a number of modern categories including internet records and robotics although there is a lot of emphasis on celebrity culture which hints at dumbing down of the Guinness Records brand.

Overall, this book has improved a lot since its early days, particularly in its presentation, although it does appear to have been simplified for the masses, although others would call this, "modernising".

This book is recommended as a Christmas gift as its lists of bizaree and interesting facts would be a very nice way of bringing the family together after a huge lunch. The Guiness World Records 2008 appeals to the nerd in us all and may even inspire some to rise to new heights of nerdiness.

Score: 9/10

Book Review: Giraffe by J. M. Ledgard

2007-11-27T22:49:00.000Z

In this novel a herd of giraffes are captured in Africa and shipped to a zoo in Czechoslovakia in 1975. After settling in well a contagious disease is discovered to have accompanied the giraffes and a saddening ending is the result. Seemingly this is a book about the secrecy, laziness and inefficiency of a communist state, but in reality it is a book about nothing at all. The problem with "Giraffe" is that nothing happens and the characters do almost nothing and do not interact with anyone until the final few chapters. The author, instead, fills the book with 200 plus pages of dreamlike waffle and irrelevent observations, over -reliant on metaphor and simply boring: I found it very difficult to maintain an interest in large portions of the book, although this didn't prevent me from following the story as there is no story.

A first person narrative is used throughout and the usage of fistfulls of short sentences all beginning with "I" make for a very uninteresting style. Pages and pages of narrative such as " I see a man. I pass the man. I am reminded of an old friend. I miss my friend". etc. drove me to boredom and I found myself longing for the end from about page 80 - I don't know where I managed to gain the stamina to finish this book from. In addition to the dull narrative, the characters are all very similar with almost identical non-personalities and identical viewpoints on the world around them - all wander around in a dreamlike stupor making irrelevent metaphorical observations.

The ending is the only point at which this novel comes alive, although it is one of the most grotesque endings of senseless violence that I have ever read. This senselessness is obviously the message the author intended to get across but ridiculous references to the holocaust and Christ spoil any message that is delivered. Whilst the ending does at least allow characters to interact and something finally happens, scenes are very repetitively described and reported from three points of view which might be interesting if the events themself weren't so distasteful.

A very boring book with no plot whatsoever.

I would not recommend this novel to anyone and would suggest that anyone who loves graceful giraffes will find it quite horrible. Those with a connection with Czechoslovakia may find something to reminisce about but to those who have not, the large number of Czech place names will just confuse. If you like reams of reflective description of things that characters notice as they pass through their dream world then you may enjoy "Giraffe" but for those that require a plot of some sort in a novel this is just tedious.

Score: 2.5/10

Book Review: Collins Bird Guide by Lars Svensson and Peter J. Grant

2007-11-26T11:39:00.001Z

In a highly competitive field, Collins Bird Guide stands out as a leader not only because of its visual impact but because of the quality of the contents, concise but informative, detailed but not over-analytic. Beautifully illustrated plates show all the species of Europe in detail and the text does an excellent job of outlining habitat preferences, calls and behaviour in a way that assists identification. Range maps are also included for all regularly occurring species to add to the holistic approach to identifying birds taken in this book: this is a book for birdwatchers by birdwatchers.

Certain groups of species are dealt with particularly well in this book; gulls, shorebirds and raptors are particularly well illustrated in a variety of poses, plumage types and ages. In addition to this, there are nice identification tips for certain sections such as the ageing of gulls and identification of divers in flight. For those advanced birdwatchers, many species of vagrants and occasional migrants are also included with a list of accidental and introduced species at the back.

With this level of detail it may seem that Collins Bird Guide is a book for experts only, and whilst it is the choice of most regular birdwatchers it is also the best choice for beginners because of the superb layout and illustrations as well as the selectivity of the text. That this book is endorsed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds says much about its quality for experts and beginners alike.

There are a few problems with this book however, including some minor inaccuracies in some range maps, which may confuse beginners, and the fact that gull classification has advanced since publication. Despite these small problems, Bird Guide's subtitle, "The Most Complete Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe" is almost certainly true.

This book is highly recommended for beginner and advanced birdwatchers in Britain and Europe, either in its small, field guide, size or in its large, reference book, size.

Score: 9.5/10

My wonderful dictionary

2007-11-25T21:31:00.001Z

Quite often I come across words in the books I read that I don't know (or have shamefully forgotten), particularly in works that would be classed as modern or classic literature. Fortunately, I have never had to search for a good dictionary as a friend left a very battered copy of "The Concise Oxford Dictionary" in my flat when I lived alone in Bangkok.

I acquired this dictionary in 1999 or early 2000 and it has been a loyal servant ever since - only once did I come across a word that I couldn't find in it and the dictionary perhaps became most useful when I read Tom Jones by Henry Fielding which uses an unusually wide vocabulary. Some of my favourite words and terms that came from Tom Jones and that I found in my bashed up old dictionary are niminy-piminy, rodomontade, ipse dixit and zeugma.

This old dictionary continues to serve me well and is always beside me when I read: it will most certainly be coming with me when I move in a few months.

Don't get a new dictionary, get an old one!

Book Review: Animal Farm by George Orwell

2007-11-24T22:10:00.000Z

Animal Farm is the allegorical tale of how a group of mistreated animals successfully revolt against the human occupants of a farm and set up their own state where "all animals are equal". However, it does not take long before a new hierachy is established and the pigs take over the daily running of the farm, quickly becoming corrupted by luxuries such as television, beds and alcohol.

This is a wonderful satire of communist Russia and all the better for its prophetic plot; a plot which is engrossing but surprisingly simply told even though it deals with fairly complex political issues. The characters are equally as memorable as the plot, with only the hardest reader failing to be moved by the demise of Boxer, the hard working horse who tries his hardest to increase productivity. Similarly, the dictatorial Napoleon becomes a loathsome character backed by his secret police of the guard dogs and his "minister" of propoganda.

Unhappily, the point that this novel makes is all too relevant today as it was on publication and the inequality that results and the arrogance of the pigs is not limited to communist states. For me, the best scene is when the working animals stage a protest over who gets the milk and apples which is quelled when the pigs order the guard dogs to drag the television into the barn. This symbolism is reflected across most of the world where mobile phones and other gadgets keep people from thinking about the things that really matter.

This is quite simply one of the best books I have ever read and surprisingly easy to read - simple enough for it to be a bedtime story for children aged as young as 7 or 8. Brilliant.

I would recommend this to all readers and with a book of this quality and accessibility it should be far more widely studied in schools. If you have not yet read this book do so; if have read it before, read it again - one read good, two reads better!

Score: 10/10

Rereading Books

2007-11-23T11:30:00.000Z

Rereading books is something that often divides book lovers with some that regularly reread and others that vow never to go back to a book. Personally, I sometimes reread books that I really enjoyed particularly humourous books and novels with a high level of allegory or a philosophical message in order to get a better understanding of it or just to remind myself of what it was saying. I rarely, if ever, reread novels that are plot-driven unless it was exceptionally good and enough time has passed for me to forget much of the story.

Books that I have reread include:

All the Asterix Books (many times)
Candide by Voltaire (3 times)
The Life of Pi by Yan Martel(twice)
Gridlock by Ben Elton (twice)
1984 by George Orwell (twice)
Animal Farm by George Orwell (twice)
Earth in the Balance by Al Gore (twice)
Mr Vertigo by Paul Auster (twice)
My Uncle Oswald by Roald Dahl (twice)
Charlie and the Chocolate factory by Roald Dahl (twice)
The Judgement by Chart Korpjitti (twice)
Dead Famous by Ben Elton (twice)
Making History by Stephen Fry (twice)
500 Mile Walkies by Mark Wallington (three times)
Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome (twice)

There are probably some others that I cannot remember. Most of the above books have proved just as good if not better second time around, but a few have proved less enjoyable, particularly the humourous novels which often aren't as funny second time around.

Please leave your favourite reread books in the comments section.

Book Review: Asterix and the Laurel Wreath by Goscinny and Uderzo

2007-11-23T10:45:00.001Z

From start to finish this book is full of fantastic illustrations, clever humour and adventure. An hilarious start to the story sees the Gaulish chief, Vitalstatistix, making a drunken bet with his brother-in-law that he can serve a stew garnished with Caesar's laurel wreath. In order to lay their hands upon the wreath, Asterix and Obelix enter themselves into slavery, being sold in the boutique slave emporium "The House of Typhus", but they find themselves with little opportunity to get close to Caesar himself.

There are some fantastic illustrations of Rome in this book and some of the crowd scenes have some brilliant little jokes hidden away in them, but it is the relationship between the Gauls and their new owners that brings most of the laughs. A superb cure for hangovers involving peppercorns, an unplucked chicken and carbolic soap has an amazing effect and creates an amusing jealousy from the family's old slave, Goldendelicious.

Full of puns, the Gauls end up in a Roman courtroom drama parody where the defendents are required to convince the jury to convict them so that they are thrown to the lions in the coleseum where they plan to rob Julius Caesar of his laurels. Unfortunately for the Gauls and the lions, Caesar is not present and Asterix and Obelix refuse to go to the lions which then eat each other.

This is a graphic novel at its best, in terms of the artwork, the story and the jokes, and this is a book that one can go back to again and again finding something new or forgotten to amuse the reader.

Highly recommended to Asterix fans and to those who have never read any of the series. For fans of graphic novels this is most certainly one to have in the collection and because of the quality of the story and drawings this will delight both children and adults. This is one of the best Asterix books.

Score: 10/10

Book Review: A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian by Marina Lewycka

2007-11-20T11:54:00.000Z

A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian is the book within a book that Nikolai, the 84 year-old Ukranian-born widower writes as a therapy to the stress to which he is subjected by his new, 36 year-old wife in their marriage of convenience. Only two years previously bereaved of his wife, Nikolai marries the full-bosomed Valentina in what he sees as an heroic act, but her interest is only in a British passport and Nikolai's money.

This somewhat cliched premise is punctuated by flashbacks to life in Ukraine during World War Two and Stalin's Soviet Union and also by excerpts from the history of tractors. Unfortunately the writing style rather stutters along with lots of short paragraphs seperated by long periods of time and the flashbacks at first seem to have little, if any, relevance with the excerpts from the tractor manuscript feeling like even more unwelcome intruders than Valentina herself becomes. However, as the story progresses one begins to feel for the nearly senile Nikolai and Valentina becomes a villian of Cruella De Ville proportions; by the end even the flashbacks and tractor story are revealed to have some relevance, if somewhat tenuous. In fact the flashbacks to life in Ukraine do little to illuminate the somewhat two dimensional characters and their inclusion to justify a fairly trite message at the end makes them feel like they were added to flesh out a story that could have been told in half the time.

Having said that, after labouring my way through the first half of the book, I began to enjoy the story of how the family unites to rid Nikolai of his unwanted wife and the crisis brings together his two daughters who have been feuding since the death of their mother. The story becomes almost farcical towards the end but I didn't find myself laughing at this, just thinking how stupid the situation was and I could not find the humour in this book that many reviewers have talked about, but I did find this a fairly interesting, if sad, portrayal of old age - whether that was intended by the author or not I am not sure, and it is possibly just a by-product.

Whilst I did find something to enjoy in this book, mainly the plot, the author takes too long to get the reader into the story and the first half is quite boring. Many of the characters are just annoying, particularly the sisters, and I found it difficult to know if the author was poking fun at middle class ignorance or if the whole book was just a rant by a Daily Mail columnist.

Worth a look for dealing with a fairly interesting topic and its portrayal of an elderly and confused man trying to cope with the consequences of a late-life crisis. However, prepare to stuggle through the first half of the book and to be irritated by the breaks in the story created by almost irrelevant flashbacks. Not bad but nowhere near as good as many reviews suggest.

Score: 6/10

Book Review: Deception Point by Dan Brown

2007-11-18T22:06:00.001Z

This, Dan Brown's third novel, is a story of political conspiracy presented in the form of a techno thriller. Deception Point sees the beleagured American president running for re-election against an oponent intent on slashing the NASA budget. If the President can confirm the existence of an alien life form he can guarantee re-election by announcing a flood of money for NASA; caught in the middle of this is the heroine - Rachel Sexton.

The problem is that despite numerous assassination attempts and death-defying rescues, one finds it hard to care about her or any of the other feebly portrayed characters here. So much of this novel is hackneyed and cliched that one is put in mind of a really bad action movie and the author adheres to a very formulaic structure with cliffhangers every few chapters and flimsy characters that have appeared in a hundred pulp fiction novels in the past. Another very poor facet of Deception Point is the writing style which lacks any originality or flair and uses an impoverished vocabulary that is embellished by an over-reliance on scientific jargon.

There is something about this tale that keeps the reader turning the pages, whether it is genuinely captivating or whether the reader just clings on to the hope of something credible and interesting happening must be left to the individual but the ending becomes a ludicrous series of events bolstered by submarines, fighter jets and a "twist" that can be predicted by about chapter 5.

The first few chapters of this book gave me quite high expectations, based as it is upon a real-life "discovery" of alien life, but I rapidly lost interest in the story which became more and more cliched as I progressed. By the end I had decided that this was one of the worst five books I had ever read and I vowed never to read anything by Dan Brown again: a vow which I have not yet broken.

Astonishingly poor, with dreadful characters, a formulaic plot, a banal style and one of the most predicatble endings ever. If you are a fan of Dan Brown or similar books which consist entirely of scenes cut and pasted from similar pulp fiction then I dare say you might find something in this book to entertain, but for anyone else avoid this rubbish at all costs.

Score: 1/10

Book Review: Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer

2007-11-16T23:45:00.000Z

This is one of the most extraordinary stories one will ever read. Already a famous downhill skier and mountaineer, Harrer was interned by the British in India at the onset of World War 2. Even without Harrer's adventures in Tibet, the story of his repeated attempts at escape would be amazing and finally he manages to flee the British, with his companion, by heading over the Himalayas into Tibet. At this time no foreigners were allowed into Tibet and the two wandered around the Tibetan hinterlands for years, being harassed by brigands and unfriendly nomads before eventually entering Lhasa in secret. If this wasn't enough to make a superb story, Harrer proceeds to become tutor to the young Dalai Lama and the reader is treated to an insight into the relationship between the two.

The series of events that make up this story are incredible and the author describes many aspects of the Tibetan landscape and culture with superb clarity. Some have accused Harrer of making up some of the events in this epic, and it is likely that sometimes the truth is at least stretched, but somehow that does not matter - this is just a great story. Similarly, the amazing tale makes up for anything lacking in Harrer's literary style which is largely descriptive and not very emotive at all.

This is simply an account of an epic adventure into a previously undescribed country with the added intrigue of Harrer's relationship with the Dalai Lama and the tragedy of the Chinese invasion and annexation of Tibet.

This book is highly recommended to any reader who loves stories of adventure and unbelievable hardship described in detail. Readers after a story with flambouyant and poetic descriptions will perhaps be disappointed, however, I would urge everyone to read this epic adventure just for the facts alone.

Score: 9.5/10

Book Review: The Organ Grinders by Bill Fitzhugh

2007-11-15T13:30:00.000Z

This comic novel tackles the subject of organ transplanting and genetic modification of organisms along with a splash of environmentalism in the same style as many other satiristm authors. This, however, is a little different in that it not only has an interesting and surprising plot but it is truly thought provoking in highlighting some valid moral dilemmas that originate from modern science.

The organ grinders is a story about a super-rich businessman, Landiss, who uses his wealth to stretch biotechnology to its limits in order to reverse a disabling illness that has afflicted him. He achieves some amazing results but not without going to shocking lengths to do so. The hero of this novel is an environmental activist that stumbles upon Landiss' project and determines to stop it. Environmental terrorism comes into play in this novel and this creates a black humour mocking the moral high ground taken by both parties in their efforts to achieve their goals.

This is a funny and intelligent story and I really enjoyed reading it. Fitzhugh's style is both witty and serious and here he has created a very readable novel with some laugh-out-loud moments. I was delighted to find, amongst the humour and enjoyable plot, some interesting quotes and references which I was able to follow up and include in my degree assignments.

I recommend this to readers looking for something light-hearted and easy-to-read but not formulaic pulp fiction as well as those after something thought provoking but not hard going. Funny and intelligent: a bizarre story!

Score: 8/10

10 Dickens Novels available for 1p each

2007-11-14T22:45:00.000Z

I have read a couple of Charles Dickens most famous novels and thouroughly enjoyed them. On Amazon.com many of his most famous stories are available for just 1p per book, not a bad deal to read one of the world's greatest ever authors.

Here are the ten:

1. Great Expectations
2. A Christmas Carol
3. David Copperfield
4. Oliver Twist
5. A Tale of Two Cities
6. Bleak House
7. The Old Curiosity Shop
8. Nicholas Nickleby
9. The Pickwick Papers
10. Martin Chuzzlewit

Don't forget though that one must pay the postage and packing on any orders made!

Win Rattlesnake Mesa: Stories From a Native American Childhood by EdNah New Rider Weber

2007-11-13T22:18:00.000Z

The monthly book giveaway at Lee & Low Books website has three copies of Rattlesnake Mesa: Stories From a Native American Childhood by EdNah New Rider Weber available. Just visit their website and fill in a few details and wait to see if you are the lucky recipient of the book. Previous winners of the competition are barred from entering so someone different is guaranted to win every month.

For those not lucky enough to win a free copy, the book can be purchased on Amazon.com: Rattlesnake Mesa: Stories from a Native American Childhood.

Book Review: The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts by Louis de Bernieres

2007-11-13T13:03:00.000Z

Louis de Bernieres has created a quite unusual novel here which is essentially about the battle between a corrupt military and the increasing opposition from simple villagers and forest dwellers. There is, however, much more in this book than that with a multitude of characters who must deal with such upheavals as kidnap, death of loved ones and violence. In fact one of the weaknesses of this book is the fact that it deals with so many themes and characters that none of them are properly explored and the simple plot becomes lost amongst them.

Having said this, I did laugh out loud a number of times at the author's sardonic humour and he does an excellent job of giving the reader a satirical look at the machinations of the military regime. One character that is well developed is the army captain who accidentally becomes a torturer, rapist, kidnapper and murderer in his attempt to complete his job efficiently - a real insight into how people become part of an oppressive regime.

Towards the end of this story all sorts of weird things begin to happen, a plague of magical cats being the most notable, and the reader will either delight in this or despise it. The author does though, bring all his characters together at the end when all who oppose the military flee to the forest in order to escape repercussions for their defiance of the army.

This is an interesting book with some great ideas and good humour although at times I was on the verge of putting it down, particularly throughout the slow beginning. I would recommend this book to readers who like a degree of insight and philosophical themes in their reading but for those just after a riveting story this is not the book to read.

Score: 7/10

Book Review: Perfect Hostage by Justin Wintle

2007-11-12T16:56:00.000Z

Aung San Suu Kyi has come to represent the honourable struggle for democracy against dictatorship not only in her native Burma, but throughout the world. Even though she remains under house arrest, she continues to be the figurehead of resistance against the military regime in Burma. This book appears to be the story of her life, but is actually much more than a simple biography but at the same time it is not even as much as that.

The face of Aung San Suu Kyi is slightly disengeniously used to market a book which would more accurately be titled "The History of the Burmese Freedom Movement", but is none the less interesting for it. The reader is taken through the history of Burmese leadership from the pre-colonial kings, through British and Japanese occupation to the present ruling junta of generals. Aung San Suu Kyi's importance as a figurehead to the Burmese democracy movement is explained by highlighting the part her father played in the independence of the country and the author outlines the most important events in her life without ever going into much depth into her character.

Those hoping to gain an insight into Suu Kyi's personality and learn more about her life away from the democracy campaigning will be disappointed as this is a biography written by someone who has studied the life of Aung San Suu Kyi rather than someone who has had access to his subject. The author shouldn't be castigated too much for this as, of course, it is virtually impossible for anyone to have access to her. Instead of the details of Suu Kyi's life, the reader is treated to a detailed and, at times, upsetting account of how the ruling junta has dealt with students, actors, ex-soldiers and every other type of political opponent with dramatic accounts of some key moments when she led face-offs with her military oppressors.

Whilst this is a comprehensive account of the facts and events that have led to the current situation, the author would have done well to deal with the roles that other governments around the world have had in keeping the military junta in power whilst paying lip service to being against it.

This book is thouroughly recommended to readers who have a little knowledge about Aung San Suu Kyi and the situation in Burma and wish to learn more but for those who expect a deep insight into her personal life I suspect this book will be a disappointment.

Score: 7.5/10

Book Review: Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer

2007-11-11T20:57:00.000Z

I first read this story as a teenager on the recommendation of a friend and really enjoyed it; I read it again as an adult and it was just as fun but I found it less than perfect. This is the tale of how four strangers band together to trick a swindler out of the exact some of money that he extorted out of them. The entertainment of this book is in the ingenious, but fairly implausible, ways in which the four manage to regain their lost money and although the reader never learns anything much about any of the characters and the style of writing is not particularly intricate, the sheer audacity of these schemes is enough to make up for this.

Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less can most certainly be classified as pulp fiction but, in my opinion, it is one of the best in this often diabolical category. The plot is certainly only loosely linked, lurching tenuously from one confidence trick to the next, but the elaborate nature of these tricks and the intense desire for revenge that the four characters possess are the strengths that counter any weaknesses in this novel.

An easily read story which works nicely as a light read in between more challenging material, this is an enjoyable and memorable story, just don't expect anything more than mindless entertainment.

I would recommend this book to people who are looking to read something quick and not too challenging and it is certainly suitable for teenagers as well as adults. If you are looking for a novel with interesting and developed characters, this is not for you and it could certainly never claim to be literary in style - just good fun.

Score: 6.5/10

Book Review: Congo by Michael Crighton

2007-11-09T14:41:00.001Z

This is the story of archaeologists being stalked by a previously undiscovered species of gorilla whilst researching ancient ruins in the rainforest of the Congo. The plot is dull and padded out with even duller dialogue which is over reliant on techno speak and jargon along with one-dimensional characters straight out of the pulp fiction writers' guidebook. So hackneyed is the plot that one has a feeling of deja-vu when reading Congo, but surely the reader wouldn't be so foolish as to read this rubbish twice? Indeed not, but with such a limited vocabulary and formulaic approach to writing it feels like Crighton threw a load of similar books into a blender and published the resultant pulp.

The style of writing in Congo is weak and it feels as if a teenage student had a large part to play in its authorship. So poor is the storyline here that by the time one has reached the end it is not apparent how ludicrous this ending is, having got used to the lack of realism and originality throughout the novel. The constant waffle about Bas-reliefs bored the pants of off me well before the ending and as for the gorillas......just stupid!

Having enjoyed the movie of Jurrasic Park I had hoped for something good in Congo but was severley disappointed, even annoyed that a writer could make so much money out of such dross.

Do not waste your time or money on this book, it is an insult to literature. The worst book I have ever read in my life bar one. However, I suppose this might be a useful read for aspiring authors to see what not to do when attempting to create an interesting and enjoyable story.

Score: 0/10

Book Review: The Last King of Scotland by Giles Foden

2007-11-08T10:32:00.000Z

Set in Uganda, the rather tenuous link to Scotland refers to one of Idi Amin's most bizarre self-bestowed titles, due to his defiance of the British Government. This novel, Foden's first, sees a Scottish doctor, Nicholas Garrigan, caught up in the events that ravaged Uganda from the beginning to the end of Amin's reign, eventually becoming personally involved with the dictator himself.

The story begins slowly, with Amin's seizure of power simpy a background to Garrigan's life as a village doctor, but as conflict becomes more a part of his life, his life becomes linked to Amin's and eventually lies subject to the ruler's whim. Garrigan finds himself strangely drawn to Idi Amin, despite random acts of brutality and the systematic destruction of Uganda that occurs and readers are treated to a superb portrayal of Amin's schizophrenic character.

Whilst this is a very well written novel, much of the excitement is due to the drama of the real events that the main character becomes involved in. I had only a vague knowledge of these events and found the book hard to put down, but others, more familiar with the conflict in Uganda and the israeli raid on Entebbe might find The Last King of Scotland a little like reading old news bulletins. Foden undoubtably creates an exciting, and at times amusing and even grotesque, novel, perhaps this is largely due to the time and place it is set within? Indeed, that Foden's consequent novels have not lived up to this one suggests that this is true.

This book is highly recommended as an historical novel, with an excellent character portrayal of one of the world's most brutal and bizarre dictators. The Last King of Scotland is a highly enjoyable book but readers should be prepared to encounter a plot which relies heavily upon real-life events.

Score: 8.5/10

Book Review: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

2007-11-06T21:33:00.000Z

The Da Vinci Code is a story of a quest for the Holy Grail, but unlike most similar stories it is set in modern times, beginning in Paris and finishing in Scotland. The story involves a relentless chase and an intricate web of conspiracies stretching back to the time of Jesus. Much has been made of these conspiracies and much of the interest in this book surrounds the nature of how some aspects of the life of Jesus have been "hushed up" by the church. Furthermore, in this story a christian sect dispatch an assasin to kill the keepers of this potentially damaging secret.

Dan Brown has certainly written a high-paced story which is essentially a treasure hunt as the main characters go from location to location to decode a series of clues and it is possible that this novel was written with a movie in mind: it certainly feels like this to the reader. Whilst the Da Vinci Code is something of a page turner, I found that mostly I was disappointed with what I found out and the style of the book reminded me of something a teenager might write and indeed many have criticised this novel as poorly written.

A number of the secrets and codes to be broken are interesting, but are all too easily cracked and the way the French police continue their pursuit into Britain is ridiculous. The characters in this story accept a whole host of fairly implausible coincidents as fact and become believers of a conspiracy theory without question all to easily, something which has, unfortunately, spread to a large number of readers - it is important to remember that this is a work of fiction.

Although on a first read the Da Vinci Code is an enjoyable novel the ending is hopelessly disappointing and changed my whole view of the book. Any attraction this tale has is in the discovery of what happens next and I believe that reading it for a second time would reveal to most readers that it is weakly written and formulaic.

I would recommend the Da Vinci Code as an easy read between other more meaningful books, but don't expect anything other than a simple storytelling style and be prepared to be extremely disappointed with a pathetic ending. Most importantly, do not take everything that one reads in this book as fact.

Score: 5/10

Book Review: Animal Behaviour (7th edition) by John Alcock

2007-11-06T12:37:00.001Z

This superb book takes an evolutionary approach to explain a wide variety of intriguing animal behaviour, making frequent use of interesting and well illustrated case studies in order to clarify complex points. This is essentially a text book but is so well presented in short, digestable sections of information, along with a large amount of pictures, that it is an interesting and engrossing read for anyone with even just a passing interest in this subject.

Such is the depth of coverage of topics such as feeding behaviour, reproductive behaviour and social interaction that this book is essential reading for students of ecology, environment, biology and a whole host of other related subjects and the final chapter upon human behaviour is a fascinating insight into all facets of human life that lends a controversial aspect to this publication.

Visually this is an excellent attempt to bring hard science to a wide audience and interesting photographs, illustrations and graphs are used effectively to dispense information and are superbly positioned to create a welcoming feel to the book, where many other similar text books can appear intimidating.

I would recommend this book to readers interested in any aspect of wildlife and in terms of conservation of animal species, this contains all the information required to understand the courses of action that are often selected in the field.

Score: 10/10

Book Review: Tom Jones by Henry Fielding

2007-11-02T14:29:00.000Z

This is the long and intricate life story of the foundling, Tom Jones, from his birth to the finding of his fortune. This story has something of an episodic feel to it, being a series of many amusing incidents where Tom makes the aquaintance of a large number of memorable and humourous characters such as the Reverend Thwackum and Squire Western. Tom Jones is one of the pinnacles of English literature and a rarity in that it is as enjoyable as it is long with a superbly worked story that brings all the many storylines together at the end.

Critisized for its "lowness" when published, Tom Jones is a quite promiscuous character, something which is used to define Tom's class, and the novel goes on to mock the judgemental upper classes' view of such people. Whilst a book of social commentary, Tom Jones is also a highly comic story, which remains funny to this day.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of this novel, for me, is the luxurious use of the English language with a comic turn of phrase and a catalogue of superb words to add to ones vocabulary: rodomontade, supernumary, ipse dixit and so many more wonderful terms. For those that enjoy classic literature this is a must read for its humour, characters, plot and style - truly a masterpiece and one of my favourite books.

I highly recommend this book to lovers of the English language and humourous stories. With a superbly intricate plot and social commentary this novel can be enjoyed at many levels and in terms of the cost per word, this must be one of the cheapest stories available!

Score: 10/10

Book Reviews: Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome

2007-11-01T14:20:00.000Z

Three Men in a Boat is the classic story of three friends and a dog taking a boat/camping trip along the River Thames from Kingston to Oxford, and is a masterpiece of understated humour. The three Victorian gentlemen are not well equiped to deal with the lack of luxury sleeping on a covered rowing boat delivers and most of the humour is derived from the ridiculous mishaps that occur.

The style used by the author is very understated and "Three Men in a Boat" is a masterclass of how to go off on a comic tangent and enhance the story instead of detracting from it. I particularly enjoyed the tangents when the author believed himself to have every ailment in the medical dictionary bar one and the farcical description of his uncle putting up a picture. The beginning of this book is full of comic moments as the friends prepare for the trip and get used to their new routine on the boat, but the humour fades a little as the book goes on.

This is classic literature at its most readable and enjoyable but most of the highlights are in the first half of the book, with the second half taking on a rather descriptive style. Whilst enjoying this story immensely I found it a little overrated because it feels a little less than complete, even though it has a number of laugh out loud moments.

I would recommend this story to all readers from the age of about 10 upwards and of particular interest to those who like humourous novels. For readers considering tackling something from the classic literature genre, this would be a perfect book to start with because of its easy-to-read style and funny incidents.

Score: 8/10

Book Review: So Shall We Reap by Colin Tudge

2007-10-31T14:05:00.000Z

Food continues to become cheaper and accessible through supermarkets, but is it getting better, and is the current supply sustainable? In "So Shall We Reap" Colin Tudge deals with such questions by linking gastronomy, the hunter gatherer and the rural economy to oil production, health, animal welfare and cut-throat business practices. In this book the reader learns about the global food industry and how it has changed throughout the last century and how these changes have resulted in the call for Genetically Modified Organisms by parties set to benefit economically by their introduction.

Although written by a scientist, who is able to rely on countless disciplines for his arguments, this book is an enjoyable and informative read, linking from one topic to another with great skill in something of a revelationary style. This book is the story of how modern agriculture is nowhere near as "efficient" as many politicians would have us believe, burdened as it is by its link to the availability of cheap oil, pollution, the demise of the rural economy and the uneven distribution of wealth.

For anyone interested in cuisine, social equality, conservation or agriculture this book is an essential read and one can only feel that if those involved in agricultural policy making had an awareness of how all these issues fit together as acute as the author's then humanity might not be languishing as it is. This book is logically argued and the author does well to counter arguments against his philosphy before they are raised. Some points, however, are a little repetatively argued but, as the adage says, if a point is worth making once.........

I would suggest that to students of agriculture, ecology, conservation, politics and social affairs this book is essential reading and readers with an enquiring mind will find it surpringly interesting. The themes covered here affect everybody and as such it will be enjoyed by any reader who enjoys intelligently argued writing.

Score: 9.5/10

Book Review: Barcelona Plates by Alexi Sayle

2007-10-29T22:14:00.000Z

A collection of 14 short stories by the anarchic Alexi Sayle might seem like a strange combination, considering the general blandness of this genre. This collection, however, whilst varying greatly in quality, cannot be said to be bland with some quite provocative mini plots and taboo subjects dealt with. Indeed, the opening story may offend some readers as much as it delights others and one story about a cannibal is like an Edgar Allen Poe story for the modern world. Unfortunately, not all the stories in this collection are of the highest quality with a few seemingly pointless tales, punctuated with irreverant views or bad language to spice them up. Indeed a few of these "stories" could not really be said to be stories at all, simply observational rants.

These shortcomings aside, Barcelona Plates is at times an enjoyable read and fans of black humour will find something to chuckle about in a number of the stories - I particularly liked the idea of how employees for Disneyland were enslaved and the title story is a sick "up yours" to all the Diana conspiracy theorists of the world.

As collections of short stories go, this is one of the better ones I have read, indeed, one of the few I have bothered to get to the end of. Alexi Sayle, whilst struggling to find a point in a couple of these stories, has most certainly breathed life into the largely moribund genre of short stories.

I would strongly recommend that anyone interested in the Princess Diana story read the Barcelona Plates title story, along with those who find her story as boring as I do - Sayle has written an excellent alternative explaination for her death. For thos readers looking for something they can pick up and put down with long breaks in between, this collection of short stories is a useful book.

Score: 6.5/10

Book Review: Making History by Stephen Fry

2007-10-29T17:29:00.000Z

Making History is the story of an alternative reality brought about by the prevention of the birth of Hitler - a very interesting and thought provoking premise. The way in which this alternative reality is brought about is bizarre and makes for an interesting story involving a time portal created by a machine invented by a professor with a guilt complex over the holocaust.

Although the opening few pages are less than gripping, it is worth persevering with the story as Fry quickly creates a humourous yet engrossing story. The story set in the present is punctuated with chapters telling the story of German comrades during and after the First World War and the rise of a despotic leader in the troubled country it had become.

Fry's style of writing is amusing, occasionally developing into a rant, and an intricate story develops although his occasional lapses into film script disrupted the flow of the novel and I found them quite irritating and, in one case, drawn out. This is a shame as otherwise Making History is an original and interesting story with a flow to it that makes the reader keep turning the pages and there is an interesting turn to the ending which is gradually hinted at from the very beginning, although that is only apparent upon reaching the end.

making History is a good book and I would recommend it to those who enjoy interesting stories and to those who like a thought-provoking theme to their books. I enjoyed this novel immensely when I first read it, although I wasn't quite as impressed upon a second reading - still, it was good enough to make me read it twice!

Score: 7/10

Book Review: Asterix and the Falling Sky by Albert Uderzo

2007-10-25T11:20:00.000+01:00

Asterix and the Falling Sky is the 33rd book in the Asterix series and this time the Gauls must deal with alien invaders as well as the Romans. Whilst, as a lifelong fan of Asterix, it was nice to see a new adventure involving Asterix, Obelix and friends this story is rather poor by the standards set in the past. Whilst the illustrations have developed over the years, the storylines have become rather tired and as this one does not leave the Gaulish village, the opportunity to meet interesting characters is limited if not non-existent.

There are none of the puns in character names, beyond the regulars, that make the Asterix series so amusing and the visitng aliens are totally uncharismatic. In this book the Romans and the Pirates are confined to bit parts - token appearances really - and the story does not go beyond two warring alien tribes bringing their battle to the Armorican village whilst the Gauls are confined to being onlookers most of the time.

Unfortunately it appears that Albert Uderzo has finally run out of ideas, and although the quality of the illustrations is superb, the story is feeble. Kids will like the colours and Asterix fans will be happy to get their hands on a new book, but I am afraid they will be very disappointed.

Asterix fans will want to buy this issue to complete their collections but if you are a newcomer to the series then I suggest trying one of the older books.

Read about all the Asterix books here: The 33 Asterix Adventures by Goscinny & Uderzo.

Score: 4/10

Book Review: Lost Horizon by James Hilton

2007-10-25T10:26:00.000+01:00

Most people will have heard the phrases "Lost Horizon" and "Shangri-La" without perhaps knowing where they came from: well, this is the book that invented both terms. Four westerners find themselves on a highjacked airplane, flying over the Himalayas which consequently crash lands amongst snow-capped mountains somewhere in Tibet. They are taken to the mysterious and inaccessible lamasery of Shagri-La where they are greeted with a peaceful hospitality. It seems that the four "guests" have found a paradise away from the harsh reality of life in the outside world. However, it soon becomes apparent that they are prisoners more than guests and there are difficult choices to be made.

Lost Horizon is the story of utopia, long-life, peace and complete hapiness and the choices man makes when faced with these. This book is beautifully written, using a slow, peaceful style which is in keeping with the picture it attempts to paint and has become a modern classic. The author also demonstrates the differences in eastern and western attitudes in the clashes between the serene lama, Chang, and the impetuous Mallinson. As the characters learn more about Shangri-La they are more and more astonished at what they find and this air of mystery compels the reader to find out more.

This story is a wonderful tale of a mysterious world which leaves many aspects of Shangri-La shrouded in mystery, and in a way this is one of the beauties of this book - it leaves the reader wanting more. It is obviously a book about choices but it is also a nice story which makes an enjoyable and easy read. Some of the characters are not developed as well as the reader may wish and although I was entranced by the idea of this isolated world I felt the ending something of a disappointment which feels like it was written in a hurry. However, it may have been the intention of the author to create an ending like this to make the reader think about the choice they may have made.

I found this novel an excellent quick read and would recommend it to all readers from about the age of eleven upwards. Although the ending is perhaps a little weak, the story is very enjoyable and the characters are quite mysterious - it may also make the reader think a little about their own life.

Score: 8.5/10

Book Review: Magic Seeds by V. S. Naipaul

2007-10-24T12:27:00.000+01:00

Magic Seeds is the story of Willie Chandran, a former writer who left England for Africa. Willie turns up in Berlin where he is persuaded by his siter to go to India and become a revolutionary. After many years in the jungle he is arrested, spends time in prison and is unexpectedly released to return to England which he finds has changed for the worse.

I found the first half of this novel quite interesting and a pertinent observation upon the real nature of revolutionaries and what they represent. However, I was very disappointed in the second half of the book where the themes of how someone returning to a country after many years finds life difficult are not explored in an enlightening way.

After reading Magic Seeds I found out that it was the sequel to "Half a Life" which tells the first half of Willie's story, and perhaps Magic Seeds would have made more sense had I read part one. In this way, I found that this book was not a novel of its own, but just the second part of a story. There were a number of things I couldn't really understand, probably explained in "Half a Life" such as why Willie's sister wanted him to become a revolutionary and why he was so easily convinced - quite frankly he came across as semi-retarded in the making of this decision.

However, the part of the book which deals with Willie's return to England I found quite poor. The author fails to give the reader an insight into Willie's mind and I would imagine that any conclusions one can draw can only be made in comparison to Willie's time in England in "Half a Life". Instead, the focus is upon a friend's seedy affair with a younger woman which serves to reinforce the message that people should not be so easily swayed when making choices. Unfortunately the message becomes the author's priority over the story and the book just fizzles out into nothing.

I would only recommend this book to those who read and enjoyed "Half a Life" which is, it seems, in fact the first part of the same story. I found this book began interestingly and died halfway through and wondered if the reviews I had read were even about the same book. If the prequel was named "Half a Life" then perhaps "Magic Seeds" should be called Half a Story. A very disappointing novel by a winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Score: 4/10

Book Review: Animal - The Definitive Visual Guide edited by David Burnie

2007-10-23T12:42:00.001+01:00

"Animal" is a beautiful book of remarkable visual impact that illustrates and describes the amazing range of creatures that comprise the animal kingdom. The format and extensive number of fantastic photographs suggest that this is essentially a coffee table book; if it is indeed a coffee table book it is arguably the best one ever published.

An excellent 80 page introduction deals with all the major habitats of the world outlining the particular challenges that living in these places presents. The introduction alos has excellent pages on evolution, environmental issues, life cycles, animal behaviour, classification and behaviour. The main body of the book is arranged into sections for mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates and the beginning of each section contains interesting information about each group. It is probably the mammals section which makes this book most worth its cost, with an incredible array of species photographed along with range maps and information, and many of the most popular species, such as tiger and elephant, have fantastic double page spreads.

The only possible criticisms I have of this book are that it has split species which are still being debated by many scientists and that it has perhaps tried to do too much in one book. Such is the quality of information here that it may have been better to have made a book for each group of animals so that each book could expand further upon their subjects. These criticisms aside, this is a wonderful gift for older children and adults who love animals and love to browse through beautiful books.

I would thouroughly recommend "Animal" to all those interested in wildlife and particularly to those who are interested in expanding their knowledge of the amazing range of creatures that exist.

Score: 9.5/10

Book Reviews: A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

2007-10-22T13:35:00.000+01:00

In a category of its own, Clockwork Orange is the tale of Alex, a 15 year-old gang leader who delights in random acts of violence and robbery along with his gang members, who is eventually arrested for murder. Once within the custody of the police Alex is exposed to the Ludovico technique aversion therapy which leaves him feeling violently sick at the slightest thought of violence.

A Clockwork Orange has been banned and highly criticised since its publication in 1962, for its portrayal of mindless violence and usage of a fictional slang. However, this slang, which is used throughout the book, makes this novel unique and does much to create a realistic atmosphere of gang culture and the violence within the story is all too recognisable from events happening around us now. Essentially this is a story of crime and punishment and how violence or non-violence is a choice we all must make, both as individuals and as a nation, and anyone who enjoys reading novels about moral issues should try this book.

Although at times Clockwork Orange is difficult to read, both because of its slang and graphic violence, this is a story worth persevering with as an important piece of literature and for its unique narrative. This is a thought-provoking book and should have been praised for bringing to light a real social problem instead of being berated and buried for so long whilst moral decline slowly imposed itself on society whilst society remained in a state of denial.

I would recommend A Clockwork Orange to adult readers who enjoy an inventive story telling style and though provoking novels, although if you are easily offended perhaps this is not the book for you.

Score: 9.5/10

Book Review: My Uncle Oswald by Roald Dahl

2007-10-20T22:06:00.000+01:00

Roald Dahl is, of course, most famous for his excellent children's books; the content of My Uncle Oswald, however, is the very antithesis of a children's story, invloving a series of sexually manipulated frauds in order to set up a sperm bank of the world's most marketable semen. Victims are plied with the world's greatest aphrodisiac, the Sudanese Blister Beetle, in order to encourage them to inadvertantly donate their seed - these victims include H.G. Wells, Stravinsky, Rachmaninov and Picasso!

This is an extravagant story, full of silliness and fun with a highly original and inventive purpose behind the tale - truly Dahl's most acomplished attempt to transfer his children's storytelling to an adult audience, retaining much of the inocence and humour he was famous for. One should not expect high class literature in this book, but for sheer entertainment value this is one of the most enjoyable books I have read and, incidently, reread.

Whilst I found this a highly enjoyable book, particularly the first half which had me turning the pages to find out what the next twist would be, one crticism I would have is that at one point it becomes fairly repetative, which is acknowledged by the author within the story, and it appears that the plot has run its course - however, Dahl turns this around with a fine, imaginitive ending.

This is highly recommended to any reader looking for a light and highly entertaining book, particularly those who have read and enjoyed many of Roald Dahl's superb children's books.

Score: 8.5/10

Book Review: Earth in the Balance by Al Gore

2007-10-19T10:47:00.000+01:00

Earth in the Balance (subtitled "Forging a New Common Purpose") is a superbly researched, comprehensive and holostic discussion of worldwide environmental policy, written in an accessible and readable style. Al Gore himself says that, "writing this book was part of a personal journey in search of a true understanding of a global ecological crisis and how it can be solved", and the style in which it is written takes the reader along a logical path of discovery themselves. Gore's style is to lay out the facts for the reader to see themselves and to argue logically what problems these lead to and what solutions might be sensible without preaching.

Gore makes use of diagrams and graphs to illustrate his point, but only where necessary and does well to avoid turning this book into a scientific treatise, particularly when covering subjects such as global climate change, soil erosion, peak oil production and genetically engineered organisms. It is also worth noting that this book was published in 1992, which clearly refutes any accusation that Gore's Nobel Peace Prize was won on the back of "jumping on the bandwagon" - this is a life's passion, not a populist move.

I came upon this book by chance, when a friend left it in my apartment and I found it an interesting and enlightening read. For those who wish to learn more about how environmental and economic issues fit together this is a great book to read, although at the end one may find oneself rather depressed when reflecting upon the isolated and reactionary ways our serving polititians attempt to bungle their way towards dealing with these issues. My only criticism of this book is that towards the latter third, Gore tends to repeat himself, perhaps in an effort to get his message through, but he makes it so compellingly in the first place that repetition is a little annoying.

I would highly recommend this book to budding environmentalists (it certainly proved useful during my degree in conservation) and to eco-sceptics alike so that both parties can form enlightened arguments.

Score: 9.5/10

Book Review: Blokes and Birds Edited by Stephen Moss

2007-10-16T13:20:00.000+01:00

Blokes and Birds is a collection of 40 birdwatching anecdotes from some of the United Kingdom's most active birdwatchers. Each anecdote is written by a different birdwatcher and accompanied by a short biography and photograph. A short and amusing introduction is written by the television presenter Bill Oddie.

Blokes and Birds is an amusing and light-hearted, short book which is the sort of thing that one can just pick up, read a short section and come back to later, and contains anecdotes which outline the obsessive nature of many birdwatchers. The tales of bird nerding include brushes with foreign police forces, hiring helicopters to arrive in time to see birds and arrest as suspected spies (something which appears remarkably common in birdwatching circles).

Whilst Blokes and Birds is really of interest only to birdwatchers and perhaps other wildlife enthusiasts, it is nicely written and the anecdotes within are interesting and fairly funny. This is the sort of book that makes an ideal small gift for birdwatchers and should not be mistaken for the more educational bird books that one usually comes across in book stores.

For what it is, Blokes and Birds is a nice, amusing little book that birdwatchers will enjoy reading and will reread time and time again ,and perhaps it will also amuse those that find it hard to understand the obsessive behaviour of birdwatchers.

Score: 7/10

Book Review: Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Suess

2007-10-13T22:38:00.000+01:00

The story of Green Eggs and Ham uses a vocabulary of just 50 words to teach us not to judge things before trying them. This wonderful book is most certainly one of the best from Dr Suess and was read aloud by the Reverend Jesse Jackson on television as a tribute to the author upon his death in 1991. The persistent Sam-I-am attempts to foist the rather unappealing dish of Green Eggs and Ham upon his nameless victim and Sam-I-am's persuasive technique has often been interpreted as an allegory for methods used by telemarketers.

This amusing tale begins with Sam-I-am proffering Green Eggs and Ham in a fairly conventional fashion, but quickly progresses to tempting the sceptic to try the meal in more adventurous surroundings including within a box or with a mouse as a dining companion. As the story progresses the situations in which the poor victim is asked to try Green Eggs and Ham become progressively more ridiculous such as in a tree or with a goat.

The crazy situations Dr Suess dreams up along with the wonderful rhyming text creates a very funny story for both children and adults alike and the wonderful expressions on the faces of all the characters in the illustrations are memorable in themselves.

I would recommend Green Eggs and Ham to anyone who enjoys books and of course, the kids will love this, as I did when I was a child, and parents will love reading this to their children. However, if you have never read Green Eggs and Ham you must do, whether or not you have children.

Green Eggs and Ham - Information about the characters, video clips and Green Eggs and Ham products.

Score: 10/10

Book Review: The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin

2007-10-11T15:03:00.002+01:00

Since its publication in 1859 The Origin of Species has caused controversy and remains the subject of much debate today. Despite being demonised by many religious groups, both past and present, Darwin believed in God and wrote this book in layman's terms to describe his findings from years of studying, not only in the Galapagos islands but from his back garden in Kent and at no time does he attack religious beliefs of any kind. This book is simple in its aims: to describe the observations that Darwin made and explain, in a logical process, how they point towards the conclusions he made. It all makes sense and fits into any system of beliefs with a little adaptation.

This book is probably one of the most influential ever written and is worth reading for that reason alone. The easy-to-understand language make all the arguments within simple to grasp and I would emplore anyone who has an opinion on either evolution or creationism to read the origin of species so that they can make an educated argument for whichever cause they represent: for too long people have argued about this book based upon poorly informed accusations that have been levelled at it.

Having said that, the biggest downfall of this publication for me is that although when it was published the contents were boldly original, now it appears hackneyed and cliched. Of course it is not, just that what was once profound is now mostly common knowledge, with terms such as "survival of the fittest", "natural selection" and "struggle for existence" cropping up on most natural history programs.

Despite being one of the greatest books to be published in terms of its impact on the way we understand the world around us, I found it quite dull, despite studying ecology and having a deep interest in such topics from the youngest of ages.

Highly recommended in terms of its historical impact, but don't expect to learn much that you didn't already know, which is testament to the success of this publication.

Score: 7/10

Book Review: Mr Sampath - the printer of Malgudi by R. K. Narayan

2007-10-11T14:31:00.000+01:00

First published in 1949 this book is now rated as something of a classic, and in dealing with some serious and sombre subjects with an overlying story employing a farcical style of comedy, it certainly deserves some recognition.

This is the story of Srinivas, a passionate editor of the one-man newspaper "The Banner" and Mr Sampath the printer who shoulders the financial burden of the newspaper and makes uninvited editorial comments. This relationship appears to work well for Srinivas until the Truth printing Works closes down and Sampath invites his friend to join him in the world of movie making. The novel becomes something of an insight into the chaotic world of Indian movie production and concludes with the rebirth of a stronger and more determined Banner.

I found this a very readable book due to its calm style and well-defined characters, with Srinivas being quite a naive but likeable character and Mr Sampath being something of a "wide boy". Whilst the characters and events are very interesting and the understated humour highlights some serious issues, I found that I didn't really laugh at this book at all. Furthermore, whilst the story promised much it fails to develop into anything of consequence and I felt that the author had run out of ideas half way through the story. Having said that, the ending is nicely rounded and it is pleasing to find that Srinivas has learnt from his past mistakes and found his true niche in life.

Overall I found this a good book that I wanted to keep picking up, but it didn't quite live up to some of the glowing reviews of it that I have read. However, anyone interested in Indian literature and/or culture will find it an excellent and memorable book.

Score: 7/10

Book Review: Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

2007-10-08T18:42:00.000+01:00

Midnight's Children is probably Salman Rushdie's most acclaimed novel, being a former winner of the Booker prize, even though he is probably best known as the author of the somewhat controversial "The Satanic Verses".

The midnight's children are those born close to the moment of India's independance, an accident of birth which gives them a variety of special powers including the ability to transport through mirrors, miraculous strength in the knees and the abilty to read minds, which is the power of the main character. The story follows one midnight's child whose troubled life reflects the problems of the fledgling nations of India and Pakistan and indeed the politics of these nations ultimately casuses the demise of the midnight's children.

Although extremely well written with a superb vocabulary, this book is not the inaccessible read that it may seem, in fact I was surprised how easy to read it was and found myself eager to find the next development of the powers of the midnight's children as indeed the main character discovers them himself and by the end of the book I had a real concern for he fate of the characters.

Much about this very original concept seems very familiar in the television series "Heroes" and many of the special powers in this program seem close enought to Salman Rushdie's creations to suggest that this book may have been a major influence, particularly as one of the pivotal characters in this series is an academic from an Indian university. There is also something about the way one of the midnight's children turns upon his own, allying himself to an evil power that is reminiscent of the Star Wars series. Essentially Midnight's Children is a great piece of story telling and highly original in doing so.

I would recommend this book to readers as a fine example that good books do actually win the Booker prize and for those who are curious about Salman Rushdie's ability as a story teller - I'm sure they won't be disappointed.

Score 8/10