As Nations Go The Brink Of Nuclear War....Let's Talk About Hilary Mantel And P G Wodehouse

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So for the past few days the world has to face the serious possibility of war between the United States and North Korea. Who knows how this will pan out. Let's just hope that both nations will wake up to the cliff edge they're walking towards. After all it will be far more than just those two countries that will be directly affected. And indirectly every country in the world.

And what of course this proves also is that fat men with stupid hairstyles should not be allowed to lead nations. Remember that when Boris Johnson tries to be British Prime Minister.

Let's then drag ourselves to the more civilised pursuit of reading books then. First off being Hilary Mantel's collection of short stories The Assassination Of Margaret Thatcher......oh.

When you read a well known author for the first time, as I will go on about when discussing P G Wodehouse, their reputation precedes them. Sometimes it's very difficult to shake that off as you're going through the book. With Mantel it wasn't that difficult. She's known for historical fiction, indeed have given out the Reith Lectures on BBC Radio 4 on the subject, revealing a voice that could be best described as a gentle Dalek.

These short stories though are set in the late twentieth century to the present day. So they're relatively modern which meant I could approach them relatively fresh. There are ten stories in the book, but one, Comma, I'd already found out was about child cruelty. Wasn't going to read that. So I'm chatting about the remaining nine.

Three of these Hilary Mantel stories had, much to my surprise some of the worst writing I've read since reading Sam Allardyce's autobiography........

(I'll pause here. I'm going to claim to be the first person able to put Hilary Mantel and Sam Allardyce in the same sentence. Now I've done it twice)

.....the writing was that bad I noticed it.

Two of the stories were inconsequential. What I mean by that is that was that my reaction at the end was to mentally shrug my shoulders.

One was well written but had a surprise ending so disturbing I wish I hadn't read it.

Three (the final three as it happens that includes the Assassination of Margaret Thatcher) were truly engrossing.

So a mixed bag then. I can't say I really have an opinion of Hilary Mantel after having read the book. Seems I'll need to read another one to have an opinion of her. Not today though. The next tome that I took out of the baby collection of books that is Sully library is this.

Cecelia Ahern - How to Fall in Love

Now this is an unexpected experiment. Regular readers to this blog would know how I've gone on about male readers avoiding female writers because the covers were too "girly" and argued that Marian Keyes is a far better writer than her chick lit covers would suggest. Well here's a book that the old me would have avoided by a famous "chick lit" writer. So we'll see how I get on.

With regard to the Kindle The Man With Two Left Feet And Other Stories by P G Wodehouse is finished. Every one of my prejudices were confirmed. Young men just want a good time, upper class men are mainly stupid, young women are pretty, old women are battleaxes, life is just froth. Problems just go away like that.

Even attempted suicide, suicide, is treated as if it was mere whimsy. Goodness only knows how he would have dealt with nuclear war.

So as you can guess I hated it.

The next on the ebook pile is Persuasion by Jane Austen. Thus far (early days) I prefer it to Emma.

Until the next (hopefully not radioactive) time

On A Cover Spoiling A Book, Library Crisis, The Dangers Of Forgotten Wells And On Avoiding The Wodehouse Until Now

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Since I last chatted a number of books have been finished. Time to take a deep breath and begin.

Totally Wired by Andrew Smith. The first book borrowed since I joined Sully library is now read. Here's my suggestion about it.

Avoid the cover.

On the cover of the book I borrowed it implied a general investigation into the dotcom crash of the early nineties. But although there is an explanation of events at that time, it's to put in context the creator and company that it focuses on Josh Harris and Pseudo.com. I didn't realise this until a third of the way through. Thinking "Well I get Josh Harris when do I get to the others?" felt quite irritated until it dawned on me that the cover had led me astray.

Perhaps (I don't know) the UK publishers felt that unless you were that technical geek interested in internet American history the book would be avoided by the great British public. This could be true. But for me it spoilt the book as my mindset was on one route because of the cover whereas it was taking a slightly different journey.

(As a quick aside the only internet or even information technology advice I will give people is. If a geek describes to you a high tech future in whatever form then believe in the geek. It will happen. You might not want it to happen, you might not want your life to be monitored by a mainframe in Vladivostok, but it will happen. However it will never, ever, happen at the speed they will tell you though. That one piece of advice that was given to by a geek and I pass it on to you).

Totally Wired is actually worth a read once you realise what it's really about. I'd recommend it.

Had a library crisis last night. Came home after the afternoon/evening shift knowing amongst other things I'd be off to the library tomorrow to borrow the next non fiction book. But, disaster.....my library card was missing.

That's right the library card I had waited for, made an effort to get, was gone. WAS IN A PANIC! Before I pinged myself a microwave meal at ten forty five pm was hunting it down and accusing wife/daughter of having hidden it. Why am I like this? Why am I obsessing over a library card? Is there a hidden meaning? Where is Freud and Jung when you really want them?

Anyway I gave up last night when hunger took over as a concern. Then, as it eventually does, sleep.

What did I do first thing this morning? Hunt for the card again. And you will be happy to know my mental state is back on track as I found it, sticking out behind a furniture cabinet like a naughty schoolboy. Must have dropped after the wife moved pile of papers it was on. Panic over. Better put it in the wallet now. Don't judge me. At least it's not drink or drugs.....it's reading.

On the ebook side of things finished Our Italy by Charles Dudley Warner. Italy in this case meaning California. I won't repeat what I've written before about it except that if you want to give a present to a Californian Geography teacher with a taste for local history then this is the book to get. Otherwise avoid..

Next up turned out to be a ghost short story from H G Wells about a man who knowingly spends the night in a room. I won't spoil it further except to say that once finished you will be severely underwhelmed. Unless he wrote it for money it was the most pointless ghost story I've ever read. It was as if he was thinking "I'm H G Wells. I've revolutionised science fiction novels, I done works of social commentary, I can write a ghost story. How difficult can it be?"

Well if The Red Room is anything to judge by very difficult.

H G Wells is remembered for specific Science fiction novels as well The History Of Mr Polly and Ann Veronica. A lot of his other stuff is forgotten. Having read the bonkers and racist When The Sleeper Wakes and now this could it be that most of his work was forgotten because it was rubbish? An experiment for another day perhaps.

So am now reading The Man With Two Left Feet And Other Stories by P G Wodehouse. I've never read a P G Wodehouse book before. No let me be even more clear. I've avoided them. Whether it was in the library,bookshop or online Wodehouse works were to be swerved from. Why? Well the impression the covers (we come back to that again) as well as short snippets on TV whilst channel surfing gives is that it's the chocolate mousse of literature. Easily consumed and as quickly forgotten. There always seemed to be better things to read.

As for Bertie Wooster and Jeeves. Well if Jeeves really was the one with the brains he would've thrown Wooster into jail whilst taking part in the glorious revolution of the masses against their capitalist oppressors. Instead he serves an idiot.

But I haven't read the books....this is just an impression....and this collection was free.

Will chat properly when I've finished it but on a scientific survey of having read two short stories....my prejudices remain.

Until the next time.