The Barry Town Barber Was Right. To Kill A Mockingbird Is A Great Book..Shame About The Others I've Read

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well the Barry Town barber was right. For the reasons explained in my previous post I borrowed the book from the local library and as he saw the book by the sink he mentioned, unprompted, that it was a "great" book.

Now I've read it, (very quickly as well - always a good sign) I can only agree.

There are certain aspects that make this novel truly exceptional. Firstly, and I knew this beforehand, it's from the point of view of a child. Thus idealism is mixed with inexperience as the reality bites.

Secondly the trial of the Afro Caribbean man accused of rape does not occur to just after halfway through. When it is mentioned in the beginning it is slow seeping process and just part of the narrator's life until for the moment of the trial it starts to dominate. It's the skill of Harper Lee's writing that you're not impatient for the trial to start.

Finally. Given that it's set in a small town in Alabama. What it shows is that for the most part the white people were not evil. They were good people indoctrinated by a racist doctrine in their attitudes. You know you can make an argument that it's like some of  those people who voted for Brexit with regard to their attitudes to people from East European countries who moved to the UK.

And as for the use of the N word that bothered the Biloxi schools district to not teaching this book in schools anymore. Well as I said context is everything and in the context of the book I didn't see it as an issue. Indeed there is a paragraph where the book's hero Atticus Finch gives his opinion on the word, and he's not a fan. Perhaps the Biloxi school district should read that paragraph again.

In conclusion then. Unless something comes along to truly blow me away. It's not only a great book, but the best book I've read this year. So thankyou, Biloxi Schools District for getting me to read it

Sir David Attenborough's book Life Stories turns out to be one of those rare things, a book where you preferred the sequel. I'm, as I've explained before not really the audience for this type of book. Still it comes under the category of slight disappointment. It just wasn't all that interesting.

Still the Attenbourough book, disappointed as I was with it, is still a gazillions light years better than The Cake Shop In The Garden by Carole Matthews. It was chick lit cliché. Put upon woman frustrated with life (tick), handsome man with a past (tick) constraints to the woman finding happiness with handsome man with a past (tick) a crazy sidekick (tick).

What was even worse than that though is that although as a reader I've come to an age where I don't mind not being surprised.Being able to tell what's going to happen is a different matter entirely. There were moments where things were so obvious it was as if Ms Matthews had emailed the plot points to me beforehand.

A truly awful novel.

So it means I've borrowed two new books from the library. They were:

The Great King - Christian Cameron

If the cover is of any guide I don't think I'm going to like this. But we'll see.

And the other was :

To The End Of The Earth - Tom Avery

This is a book about Robert Peary being the first man to reach the North Pole. Now this seems interesting.

We shall see.

Until the next time

Charles Dickens Can Write. Plus the latest Library Visit

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well it's been a while I know but after a great deal of distractions, including other books to read and, let's face it we're not talking about a slim volume here but anyway David Copperfield has at last been finished.

It is not an easy book to judge. Though I'll start by saying that I did not like it as much as Great Expectations or A Christmas Carol if only because though a novel it seems to be less of a plot and more of a biography. There were moments where we seemed to be led on a wide diversion before going back to the central story.

There are moments, rather as in Great Expectations, when you don't really like David Copperfield the adult,thinking that he's rather stuck up.Then, almost instantly you suddenly become his chief cheerleader in what happens to him ("Give me a D...."). And that's a skill, for the moment when your brain started to wander away from the story Dickens drew you back

So I would say it's a guarded thumbs up. Though I would be surprised if anybody said it was their favourite Dickens.

The next book to reads on the great pile of ebook unread is Main Street by Sinclair Lewis.

Went to the library and got two books. This was the first:

Carole Matthews - The Cake Shop In The Garden

I think it wins the "book cover illustrating what you're going to get award" for this year. Including the praise by Mary Berry.

The other book was:

David Attenborough - Life Stories

Given I've recently praised the sequal I'm expecting great things from this.

Until the next time.

In Which David Attenborough Surprises Me. So Does Bridgend Labour Council....To A Point

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

When I borrowed New Life Stories by David Attenborough from the library, I'd made it clear that I didn't think that it was going to appeal to me, given my ambivalent view (in essence like snow I'm more comfortable with animals when picturesque and from a distance).

Now that it's finished must say that I was pleasantly surprised. I've never seen any David Attenborough (or any animal one for that matter) programme but that didn't mean I wasn't aware of his strong reputation beforehand. We have a man who has lasted generations and is probably hero worshipped. He also is so comfortable with animals that he's able to frolic with a family of gorillas (call him a naturalist? Has he ever seen the Planet of the Apes?). Having read New Life Stories you can add writer to the man's talents.

The book basically is a collection of short essays on various subjects. Attenborough's own experiences,particular animals and naturalists from the past. littered with mainly coloured photographs that take your breath away. It's worth a read. Though I will say it hasn't changed my long distance approach to wildlife.

And speaking of long distance, given that I no longer live (though still work) there. We find ourselves back in Bridgend Town. Regular readers will recall the case of the McDonalds in the town that I've mentioned from time to time. That is to say the McDonalds and was closed down and was just left to rot since the turn of the millennium.

Well yesterday I learnt on Twitter that the building is being demolished (and the next time before I go to work I'm going to take a picture of it - an end of an era after all). Now I've no problem with this. It should have been done, oh I don't know much earlier than the seventeen years since it's closure but at least it's being done now. So hurrah for that.

But.....

But then I asked someone I knew on Twitter what was going to replace it.

(As an aside the young lady's name is Louvain Rees. She is amongst other things a historian with her own blog hellohistoria.blogspot.co.uk which is worth a read )

Her answer was that whilst she was not sure she thought that it was going to be accommodation over some retail outlets. My reaction was that if she was right Bridgend Labour Council was still insane.

Now let's put the issue of accommodation to one side for today, given that we don't know what type of accommodation is going to be built (though if it's like the newly built block nearby trying to appeal to "young professionals" doing "young professionals" things it's really not tapping into the Bridgend Town market currently).

But accommodation over retail outlets? In a town that can't fill the retail outlets that it already has? Nolton Arcade for example. Aside from the two shops that go onto the street every single shop has closed.It's nothing short of madness. I've said before with regard to Welsh Labour that big ideas should come second to revitalising what's already there. Creating potentially even more empty retail space is not going to help the town. Particularly now with the worries regarding Ford Bridgend engine plant as I explained in the previous post.

Until the next time.

Of Books Read And Borrowed Leading To My Big Enviormental Question

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well the collected essays of Brian Aldiss is now finished. And for the most part I enjoyed it. You will rarely have a consistent view of any anthology but for the moment calling him the George Orwell of Science Fiction essays (though not all are Sci-fi) seems appropriate.

There are a few caveats. Some of these essays were so above me they were rocket to the moon length. Also this particular ebook lazily put certain volumes together even though some of the essays appeared twice, which was annoying. But approaching subjects like Mary Shelley or George Orwell from his sci-fi perspective is interesting and unusual. The book was worth reading for those essays alone.

Won't read the other Brian Aldiss I have on my Kindle yet, I'll save that for another day. So back to Charles Dickens and David Copperfield.

Went to Sully library to choose some new books. The Fiction choice was..

Edward Marston - Timetable of Death

I've never read The Railway Inspector crime series before. So this is new to me. But when waiting for my daughter at her school read sixty one pages of this book without realising I'd gone through so much in a short space of time. That is the mark of a good writer. Early days obviously, but it looks promising.

The other book. The one I wasn't sure to get but eventually decided upon was this.

David Attenborough - New Life Stories

This leads to my environmental question. Because I should explain first that I've never watched a David Attenborough or any animal programme.

So the question: Can you be truly care for the environment when you're wary in the presence of animals?

I believe in being environmentally friendly. I do believe in climate change and have shown that landscapes are important to me. Also I'm against zoos believing that animals should be allowed to roam free but at the same time I'm ambivalent to anything that's not human.

Part of the reason for this, possibly all of it, is my actual phobia for dogs. Brought on by being almost mauled by an Alsatian when I was a very young child. Even now, no matter how small the dog ("He won't bite,he's showing he likes you") my reaction is to stiffen with fear.

So I can't say I've read many animal books. When I finish it that will need to be borne in mind.

Until the next time.