Love For Books

Real life

I love reading books about things that have happened in real life. I am not really a fan of fiction. When I am in a book shop, I usually head straight towards the auto biographies. I particularly love to read about famous people and the events in their lives which have helped shaped the way they have lead their lives and who they are as people. I think a lot can be learnt from reading about peoples journeys through life and how they handled what life has thrown at them. Often people who write books have had very colourful lives and they are just very interesting to read.

Waterstones Petition Call

I am calling for a petition. To stop the Poetry and Classics section from getting any smaller, and to bring it back to the front of the shop – where the DVDs are. DVDs?! In a bookshop?! Really.

I used to love browsing the poetry section in Waterstones, and eventually choosing a title that I hadn’t heard of, from a poet who I didn’t know existed, to be either delightfully impressed, or expensively disappointed. But it didn’t matter. It was nice to read something new and fresh.

Now, though, I have to ask a member of staff where to find the poetry, because it is usually one tiny column, split between Poetry, Classics and Drama (including Shakespeare, no less) and it’s hidden away around the corner in the back of the third floor somewhere.

When I eventually get there, there is nothing new to be found. Although the poets there are fantastic, famous, and very certainly worth reading, I find no pleasure in looking through the section. I want to find something new, something I haven’t read before, something unexpected.

Is that just me?

Stephen Fry in America

I know quite a few people who don’t much care for Stephen Fry, but I think he’s fantastic. I do think that playing Scrabble whilst having QI on in the background should officially be called cheating.

However, for those who like him as I do, reading the Literary counterpart to his hit Stephen Fry in America series, was quite an eye opener. With phrases like “I already look seven shades of twat, what else can they possibly do?” it is Stephen, through and through.

I learned plenty about the good old U S of A, and facts about states and cities that I had never comprehended.

If you have seen the TV series, and quite liked it – or haven’t seen the series – read the book. Sectioned into relatively small chapters, one on each state, it is an easy to get through, light hearted, tongue in cheek account of different peoples, cultures and traditions, all of which seem strikingly familiar, and yet so alien. It is quite bizarre.

Election books: the cure for insomnia?

Insomnia is a very serious condition. It can completely disrupt day-to-day life and in extreme cases ruin lives, so it is incredibly important that some kind of cure be found for the affliction. I think I’ve found it - election related books.

Yes, election fever has kicked off in the UK (well, for a month - not a patch on those 18 month marathons in the USA) and as a result, the shelves are being hastily rearranged to show off the books produced by and about our illustrious political leaders. Of course these books have been out for months, as they knew it was election season soon enough, but now you will have them rammed down your throat at every turn.

If you don’t believe me - just check out your nearest book shop. You’ll find all sorts of immensely boring material, ranging from diatribes against everything establishment (expenses, the closed-shop of public schoolboys in politics), histories of the candidates (Cameron being the favourite here) all the way through to a collection of speeches from Gordon Brown himself.

Yes, try to contain your enthusiasm.

I can barely stay awake when Gordon Brown is on the TV, never mind condensed into speech form and stuffed into a book. Do I really care what he said to the Pottery Enameler’s Union in 2008? Is it really that awesome a prospect to read about how he promised that Britain wouldn’t be hit by recession? No, it bloody isn’t.

If there was ever an award for ‘Driest Topic in a Book’, the book of speeches from a hapless Prime Minister would be getting out of its seat already to pick the damn thing up.

There are, as always, a few gems out there which will make the topic of politics as much fun as jetskiing with Mr T. However, weeding out the dross may well cause you to give up all hope. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Angela Carter’s Fairy Tales with a difference

When I got this book, I wasn’t expected Cinderella, and snow white, and fairies, puppies, children, sweetness and light. Let’s face it, Angela Carter’s name is on the front cover. It’s going to be bizarre.

And she doesn’t disappoint at all. In a wonderful collection of tales from around the globe, from Innuits, Chinese, Mordvin, African American, English Gypsy… the list goes on. They are collated from everywhere. And they are as bizarre as you might hope.

Not for the faint hearted, Carter’s collection is full of old dirty tricks, black arts, abusive fathers, evil stepmothers and old crones. There are stories that are hilarious in their oddity, some that are horrifying, some with strong morals and others that seem to serve no purpose at all.

It is a great book to read from beginning to end or two did in and out of, as there are stories and tales of all lengths: from a paragraph to ten pages.

With titles like ‘ A Pottle O’ Brains’, ‘Aunt Kate’s Goomer-Dust’ and ‘Diirawic and her incestuous brother’ you know there’ll be enough to keep you entertained and enthralled.

God’s Own Country – Ross Raisin

This book is certainly one that’s hard to put down. It’s not that long, so a good one if you want a relatively quick read. I found myself reading it on my way to work, whilst walking to the shops, standing in a queue for my coffee. I just had to find out where the plot was going to go.

The debut novel is a first person narrative, and the Yorkshire dialect comes through strongly. I learnt to use the words ‘gleg’ and ‘goylem’ in normal conversation. Sam is a farmer’s son, who was expelled from school and who always seems to be getting into awkward situations. His voice is fascinating and utterly compelling, and his way of thinking soon becomes the way things are.

The story follows him and his bizarre friendship with a new ‘town’ girl – a city girl moved into the country. What happens is truly a far cry from anything I expected. It’s both haunting and, in some ways, beautiful; creating such a character you are torn as to how reliable a narrator he is and whether you wish you could truly understand him more than you do.

If you have a spare couple of hours, read this book. It shocked me more than I was expecting and taught me a lot about people, relationships, and perceptions.

New Reading Glasses For William Lever

I’m currently reading a biography about William Lever, an intriguing chap who built an empire on soap. In fact whilst reading it i realised that i should invest in some designer reading glasses.

Born in Bolton 19th September 1851, he grew up in a middle class area of Bolton and worked for his dad in a grocery store, within 20 years he had cleaned up his act literally, and for that matter the whole of the country. Soap in the mid 19^th century was a fairly new invention. Personal hygiene was not big before then and fragrance became big business.

William Lever himself was an odd chap, he had open air bedrooms installed in three of of his many houses that he had custom built. When I say open air bedrooms I mean just that, he slept completely open to the elements, a practise that was raved about by many prominent figures of the time, it was not unusual for the tycoon to be found waking up with a covering of snow on his blankets.

He also built an entire village for his workers, the now infamous port sunlight in Liverpool was a totally self sufficient town, entirely made up of his workers, when most people lived in slums, the people who worked for Lever were given more than 10 time the living space than the average household complete with front and back gardens, which Lever had gardeners keep in good condition.

His generosity did not stop there, every child in the village from the ages of 8 to 14 were presented with a different novel each year, signed by Lever himself.

The village like i said was totally self sufficient with allotments, dance halls, museums and dining halls. It’s amazing to see how much affect one man can have on the lives of so many people.

Safari Holidays with my book

Is there a place where a book is in-appropriate? I can’t think of one. Books are awesome as i have expressed implicitly throughout these posts consistently. Reading books extends your vocabulary beyond the plethora that you thought it was. For those of you who are confused I do apologise as I didn’t intend to discombobulate ones self.

I was thinking the other day about where to go on holiday, seeing as my last 18 holidays were 2 weeks in the local library, I fancied a change-something more excitable than library “shhh!” wars.

I looked up the idea of safari holidays and the possibilities are endless-you will almost certainly need to take a book with you which details the animals, elements of the environment which would enhance the holiday even more just having knowledge about where you are and what you’re looking at. Safari holidays to Kenya took my fancy particularly as I’m all up for the lions. If they do decide to attack, I’ll be fine as all I need to do is throw my 94th Edition of Tarqin Chapelles book on Quantum Mechanics and the Universe to them to fight over-it weighs more than me so I’m sure they’d get stuck in.

Power tools needed to house books

When you love books as much as I do and I’m pretty sure I’ve made it clear in my previous posts. Due to my love I endeavour to provide a haven for such literature in my possession.

Building a book case/home library in my situation is the choice I need to be making. If I did have the choice I would live in a library, surrounded by books-it’s my ultimate fantasy just coming home for a good book-I’d be booking all night long to be followed by a quick book in the morning-makes me feel lighter on my feet all day.

I shall not despair as I’ll only need some wood and power tools to accomplish my dream in my own home.

Ill start slow and hopefully when I’ve built enough my house will look like a library. In order to do so; the materials required are lots of flat MDF, plenty of small 90 degree brackets, and power tools.

When you have these items you can begin building away a haven for your books. Take the largest piece of wood and build it up so it looks like the shape an oblong bath. Now its time to cut the shelves out, these should be about the length of the top.

Make as many shelves as you like-turn it to face you and presto-you got a book shelf.

My e-book and I need Battery Suppliers

Love for books? Well I’ve got a love for note books, iBooks, eBooks, books in general-I love them-just can’t get enough of them.

Are you familiar with the dance track released in the 90’s titled “I Can’t get enough”-well she sounded passionate about not having enough-I can relate to that in the sense of I can’t get enough books.

I have constant nightmares remembering scenes from the film “The Day After Tomorrow” starring Dennis Quaid- where the son of the geologist has to burn books to stay alive. This shocked me-I contemplated writing a letter to Warner Brothers iterating my distress to this scene-it was completely uncalled for.

Now I’ve conveyed my opinion on loving all books in different formats, shapes and sizes. You could understand the pain and suffering I’d have to endure if I were reading the 4th Edition of Macro-Economics in the under developed Botswana in e-book format on my laptop, suddenly the battery runs flat and charging it lasts about enough time to log in then its requesting I charge it again.

It’s time for a new battery-bring in the pro’s where do you find Battery Suppliers for one of my laptops, I swear it’s older than the 1st Edition of the Old Testament originally hand written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Looking no further, when I found this place they managed to source exactly what I needed-quicktime. I’d suggest you take a look……. when you’re not reading a book!