Tales of a Librarian

Four and Counting

2011-10-21T14:14:00.004+01:00

I am currently reading 'Dreamcatcher' by Stephen King, the fourth last book that I have to read by him. So far it is not bad and has the usual King hallmarks: friendship, Maine woods, scary shit.

I'm using it to prepare myself for his new book 11.23.63 which is set in Dallas at the time of J.F.K's assasination.

After having loved James Ellroy's 'American Tabloid', I am however a bit hesitant about King doing a J.F.K story.

Whereas Ellroy's book was a believable conspiracy theory, King's involves time travel and so could be bordering on the absurd.

After 'Dreamcatcher', I need to get back to 'Feast for Crows', book 4 in George R.R. Martin's fantasy saga A Song of Ice and Fire.

Corey Taylor & James Ellroy

2011-07-23T20:39:00.006+01:00

My new books arrived today; the autobiographies of Corey Taylor and James Ellroy.

I am very excited about both of these books and although they aren't very big, I am sure that they will be filled with fascinating tales.

Ellroy is my favourite author and like his previous memoir My Dark Places, The Hilliker Curse begin with the murder of his mother Geneva Hilliker. Whereas My Dark Places described Ellroy's search for justice and the murder's impact on his future life and career, The Hilliker Curse focuses specifically on Ellroy's relationships with women during the course of his lifetime. I have heard from a friend that he rehashes some of the same tales from the first memoir but I am still looking forward to reading this book.

Corey Taylor is the frontman in both Stone Sour and Slipknot, the latter being one of the most controversial and best selling metal bands of the last ten years. But the book is not just about his time in these bands; it is about Taylor growing up and turning his life around and then forging his career as a musician. I am sure it will be an inspirational read.

The Rhine at Oosterbeek

2011-07-11T19:54:00.002+01:00

One of my favourite photos out of all the ones I have taken. This is the River Rhine at Oosterbeek where the survivors of the British Airborne were evacuated in 1944 following the ill fated attempt to capture Arnhem Bridge.

My grandfather was killed at the bridge during the battle and in 2007 my father and I visited his grave.

The Wall live in Manchester May 21, 2011

2011-07-09T15:52:00.017+01:00

I'm a bit late in publishing this review and I'm sure there are better reviews out there but this one is mine and is archived here my own sake. This gig was one of the most momentous moments of my life and fully deserving of a place in my blog.

It began back in May 2010 when my brother Carl, my sister in law Anne, and I bought our tickets. A year was a long time to wait and in that time my sister in law became pregnant. I was definitely not going to miss out but I was worried for my brother (whilst also trying to be happy for him) as the twins were due one week after the gig.

A new year dawned and by April the twins were born, 8 weeks premature. This was a tough time as they were in hospital for nearly 8 weeks until they were well enough to go home but by then brother and I were conscious of the fact that the way was now clear for us to attend the gig. Sadly my sister in law couldn't attend anymore so we had a spare ticket which we set aside for my other brother Andrew who by chance was in Manchester that very weekend for his work.

Travelling to gigs has always been a big thing for us; travelling to another city to see a gig makes it so much more of an event. Manchester has always been our favourite city because of its vibrancy and the fantastic acoustics in the MEN Arena, so seeing Roger Waters there was sure to be the ultimate gig for two Pink Floyd fans.

Manchester has a wider musical history which has also impacted on our lives over the years. As we drove into the city, we put Blue Monday by New Order on. It was gloriously uplifting and as we did so we went past the Salford Lads club, as immortalised in gatefold of the The Smiths Queen is Dead album.

The gig itself started off quite subdued as they brought on the 'Pink' dummy before suddenly exploding into action with a series of fireworks for the opening track 'In The Flesh'. From then until Another Brick in the Wall (pt 2) it was very emotional and I was grinning like mad, not only because I was finally seeing Roger Waters but also because of the clarity of the songs and the power of the band. That song was a clear highlight, especially because of the school kids who were brought on to chant that anthemic chorus at the giant inflatable Teacher.

Empty Spaces, like much of the entire performance, took on added meaning and context because of the viduals that were beamed onto the wall during the course of the performance. Water's is clearly anti-war and establishment and he should be commended for this. The interlude was very poignant, with images shown on the wall of those who had lost their lives in conflicts throughout the world.

It was strange to pay £85 for a ticket that basically had no view at all of the stage at the start of the second half but that is what The Wall is all about. Comfortably Numb was majestic in the way that you would hope it would be but Run Like Hell was my personal favourite from the second half with three guitars playing. Credit must be given to David Gilmour for writing such a memorable piece of music. The Wall was torn down at the end and I was stunned at how they did it. Some of the people in the front row came really close to being hit by a brick.

That wasn't the end of the story as the next day when driving home we were so animated as we discussed the gig that we missed out turn off on the motorway and were heading in the wrong direction. We also came close to running out of petrol because we forgot to fill up after leaving Manchester so it was a nervous drive to the next filling station!

Summer Reading 2011

2011-06-26T14:32:00.003+01:00

Here's what I plan on reading my through during the next 7 weeks:

The Crossing - Cormac McCarthy
Fingersmith - Sarah Waters
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
Pride & Prejudice - Jane Austen
The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
Tokyo Year Zero - David Peace
Firestarter - Stephen King
Gormenghast - Mervyn Peake
Women - Charles Bukowski
Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys
Promethea - Alan Moore
Time & The Batman - Grant Morrison

Reading Habits

2011-05-30T00:20:00.006+01:00

I am currently reading Jane Eyre after a friend recommended it. Actually she recommended another book but in doing so it required me to have read Jane Eyre first. I am really enjoying it and will review it in due course but it also made me realise several things about my reading habits.

People sometimes recommend me books, "You're a librarian - you should read this (insert current trashy bestseller)" but I only read recommendations from friends and most of my few, close and real friends are readers. I know who to turn to for noir fiction, fantasy fiction, comics/graphic novels and American fiction. If anyone on this small list recommends a book then the chances are that I will read it. I don't procrastinate either - if they hand a book to me then I feel it is only fair to honour them and read it as soon as possible.

Reading a book that a friend likes is also a great way to get to know them - hence my reading of Jane Eyre, a book that is a long way from my usual tastes in noir and American fiction. I am now using GoodReads and have become friends with another person who loves Steinbeck and as I also love Steinbeck, I ordered 'The Wayward Bus' on Amazon today. I have been meaning to read this book for a long time and becoming friends with this person has been the impetus to finally read it.

I can also be quite competitive and will often read a book once I have caught wind of a friend reading it as I never like the idea of them being one step ahead of me. For my work I have to stay one step ahead of the pupils and make sure I have read the latest teenage fiction. This is often a pleasurable experience, such as my recent reading of the six books shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. Marcus Sedgwick is still the best teenage author I know, based on his stunning novel 'White Crow'. Hopefully this will be his year to win the award.

Rush - Live in Glasgow 14/5/2011

2011-05-16T11:31:00.010+01:00

Rush4, a photo by carsten_doig1 on Flickr.

I went to see Rush for the first time in Glasgow on saturday night and they were excellent.

I had only got into Rush at the tail end of last year which seems surprising given all the bands that I listen to that cite them as an influence. With a little encouragement from my friend John, who I went to the gig with, I have quickly come to love them.

I knew the audience would be made up of old men but there were a lot of young people as well, obviously a testament to the influence of this band. The two boys next to me were of university age and clearly knew their Rush songs, hammering out drum rhythms with their feet and accurately playing air guitar (or at least it seemed that way).

I haven’t stopped humming ‘Spirit of Radio’, ‘Limelight’, ‘Tom Sawyer’ although my favourite tracks were ‘Time Stand Still’, ‘Marathon’, ‘Witch hunt’ and the instrumental tracks or long passages in big songs.

Their command of their instruments was second to none. I was in awe of Neil Peart's drumming and his drum solo was so mesmerising I found myself being hypnotised by it. Alex Lifeson's guitar was incisive, piercing the hall with his riffs and solos, although I was a little disappointed with his ending to Witch Hunt, compared with the one on Snakes and Arrows live. Geddy played the most mind blowing bass I have ever seen and all with his fingers - not a plecturm in sight.

Who knows if I will get to see them again as they are getting old but it was one night I will not forget for along time.

Blood Into Wine

2011-03-30T09:13:00.015+01:00

Maynard James Keenan

Last night I watched one of the most inspirational, uplifting and funny films I have ever seen. Blood Into Wine is a documentary about wine making in the Arizona desert and as absurd as this sounds, it's a booming business because of the passion and dedication of the winemakers. Of course this is no ordinary bunch of winemakers. One is Eric Glomski but his partner is none other than Maynard James Keenan (MJK), frontman for my favourite band Tool and also A Perfect Circle (APC) and Puscifer. I like to drink wine and I enjoyed Sideways with Paul Giamatti, but I would never have watched this film if it hadn't been for MJK.

Before watching the film I had always found it rather strange that this man would do such a thing and that here was another example of rock stars indulging in ludicrous past times. I read so many quotes from other fans who were up in arms at the time MJK spent on his wine when what we (and I include myself in this) wanted was another Tool album, swiftly followed by more APC. We put him on this pedstal, now it was time for him to deliver. What he wanted to do with his life was inconsequential.

What became apparent from the start of the film was that MJK had a sense of humour, indulging in spoof chat shows and generally not taking life too seriously. Ten minutes into the film and I was loving it as he spoke with great passion about his wine and why he did made it, viewing it as much of an art form as creating brilliant music. If you know the complexities of Tool's music then making wine seems to be just as complex.

The film alternated between his philosophies on wine and the practicalities and technical processes involved in making it. Naturally, there was some discussion of his role as a musician but my opinion about him making wine was now changing. I felt some sympathy for him when he talked about coming back from a Tool tour and being ill and burnt out and how returning to his vineyard brought him back down to earth. MJK mentioned his mother Judith and the anurism that crippled her, something well documented and included in several songs (Wings for Marie and Judith). It was an emotional moment in the film when he talked about scattering her ashes over the vineyard in the hope that it would imbue the fruit with her essence and allow her to travel the world, something she had never done as a person. He duly named one of his wines after her, simple entitled Judith.

MJK was quite accepting of the fact that a lot of fans were buying the wine just because he was a rock star but he believed that this was a good thing because it was exposing them to something that they might never have tried before. There was also no pretension on his part about the wine and both men hated the whole notion of wine scores, even though their wine scored high and has recently won awards in Arizona. In the end, I had enjoyed a film featuring one of my favorite musicians and came away revering him even more because of his commitment to his wine and his continual desire to work hard. It was such a life affirming movie and I can see myself watching it over and over again, especially if I need a bit of inspiration or a boost when I am feeling down.

Castles

2011-03-23T09:42:00.019Z

Jonathan Rhys Myres as Steerpike

in the BBC Mini-Series 'Gormenghast'

I tend to prefer the boulevards and whiskey dens of L.A or the dark woods of Maine for my fiction so the fact that I recently started books set in castles did surprise me a little. Although was reading them concurrently, it was 'Titus Groan', the first of the 'Gormenghast' trilogy that captured my interest. There is nothing inherently wrong with Kafka's 'The Castle' but I think it's surrealism is too soon for me after having had my mind bent out of shape by Kazuo Ishiguro's 'The Unconsoled'.

'Titus Groan' is not a conventional book either. It was a mixture of fantasy and history and yet seemed strangely real. It was also a very vivid and picturesque book that I could also visualise in terms of colours: browns, greens, greys and blacks. The prose is grand and flowing, but never pretentious, simply offering perfect descriptions of the archaic building and its inhabitants.
"The crumbling castle, looming among the mists, exhaled the season, and every cold stone breathed it out. The tortured trees by the dark lake burned and dripped, their leaves snatched by the wind were whirled in wild circles through the towers. The clouds mouldered as they lay coiled, or shifted themselves uneasily upon the stone skyfield, sending up wreathes that drifted through the turrets and swarmed up hidden walls".

I also loved the names of the characters, Lord Sepulchrave, Steerpike and of course Sourdust, the Librarian. They were names I enjoyed reading because they were different from your standard names, either fictional or real life, and they had an air of mystery and darkness about them.

Closer to home and reality, I have also been reading 'This Road is Red', the debut novel by Alison Irvine, who happens to be the wife of one of my friends. The book is essentially a social history of the Red Road Flats in Glasgow, towering behemoths that helped define the skyline of my home town for over 40 years and so in many ways, continuing the theme of castles. The characters are fictional but the stories are based on real events, taken from interviews with many of the real life residents of the flats.

The Carnegie Shortlist now dominates my reading and as I suspected, Marcus Sedgwick is a strong contender with his gothic novel, 'White Crow'. I have now started Theresa Breslin's 'Prisoner of the Inquisition' and whilst it is well written, I don't think it will appeal to most teenagers.

Reading the Greats

2011-03-10T10:30:00.015Z

(Raymond Chandler)

I seem to be choosing books by big name authors just now and in this respect I am currently trying to read Hemingway's 'For Whom The Bell Tolls'. Not as good as the Metallica song of the same name, but once I get a few other things out of the way, I can hopefully dedicate more time to it. Another problem that I have to put to the back of my mind is that Orwell condemned Hemingway for romanticising the Spanish Civil War and I am a big Orwell fan. On the other hand, many authors have taken war as a backdrop to a story and to be fair I don't believe that Hemingway was trying to document the war per se.

Raymond Chandler's 'Farewell My Lovely' was throughly enjoyable noir fiction and I look forward to reading more of his books, all of which are within a few feet of me as I write this, in beautiful hardback collected editions. Kazuo Ishiguro's 'The Unconsoled' was a mind bending book, similar in style to your average David Lynch film. It was a wonderful, beautifully written book up until page 400 when I got fed up with the characters and the lack of direction. The last 100 pages resulted in a lacklustre conclusion. Not one I would recommend, especially if you value your reading time.

Stephen King's 'On Writing' was a nice short read but not as good as his earlier non fiction work, 'Danse Macabre' which was essentially King's critique on the horror genre. I passed this book onto another friend who is both a King fan and an aspiring writer so I hope she will draw some inspiration from it.

Roddy Doyle's 'The Van' is a nice interlude until I tackle something big. I decided to read it after my friend recommended it, but also because it features on the Waterstones 100 best book of the Century list. I know lists are subjective but this one really got me started on reading some fantastic books, turning a summer job in my local library into a career path, for better or worse. Doyle's book will be no. 79 from that list for me. Sitting on my pile of potential reads are Graham Greene's 'Our Man in Havana', 'Gormenghast', a John Le Carre book, 'Invisible Monsters' by Chuck Palahniuk and Kafka's 'The Castle'. Having read 'The Trial' I feel like I am incomplete until I have read 'The Castle'. I may even re-read James Ellroy's 'The Big Nowhere', after coming across page 13 where we meet Dudley Smith for the first time: "Call me Dudley. I'm older than you but you're better looking".

"I've got Books That I've Never, Ever Read"

2011-01-18T09:36:00.020Z

The title for this blog is from a song by a band called Porcupine Tree (PT) and was one of the prompts for deviating slightly from writing about books and instead writing about some of the music I like.

When I used to read the Pink Floyd Fanzine 'Brain Damage', I always saw adverts for the band Porcupine Tree, although I never listened to them simply because I wasn't interested in a band that sounded like the Floyd. Naturally, my interests in Pink Floyd resulted in me being recommended Porcupine Tree once again when I started using LastFm a few years ago and together with online streaming services like Grooveshark, it was possible to listen to the band without immediately parting with cash. By then PT were producing more of the kind of music I was getting into, a heavy progressive rock and metal and not the kind of prog rock perpetuated by Genesis and Yes etc.

I searched out what I thought would be the best PT album to buy first and duly went for'In Absentia', which has a rather scary cover of a man with white make up and contact lenses on, obviously to symbolise the theme of absence referred to in the title. The first couple of tracks, 'Trains' and 'Blackest Eyes', are very accessible, upbeat rock songs but the second half of the album is not only more interesting but also quite heavy in places. It's successor, 'Deadwing', is a more cohesive and consistent album and features my favourite track 'Halo', a bass driven song with distorted vocals and massive chorus from Wilson.

I ended up getting a few more albums called 'Lightbulb Sun', 'Stupid Dream' and'Fear of a Blank Planet' and am now going further back and trying out some of the more psychadelic Floydian material. Lead singer, songwriter and svengali Steven Wilson has said that on those early records he wasn't trying to sound like Pink Floyd and yet fans have a hard time believing this. Even on their latest album, 'The Incident', the epic track 'Time Flies' is in the same key and vocal style as 'Sheep' from Pink Floyd's 'Animals' album.

The second disc of 'The Incident' also features some tracks that show a clear Beatles influence, but then you could say that about most bands. Wilson is an excellent vocalist and whilst not as versatile as Maynard James Keenan from Tool, he is a very melodic singer in the same vein as Lennon and/or McCartney.
Although PT started off as just Wilson, they are very much a band nowadays consisting of ex-Japan keyboard player Richard Barbieri and one of the best rhythm sections in rock music, Gavin Harrison on drums and Colin Edwin on bass. Left to Right: Harrison, Wilson, Edwin, Barbieri Listening to PT in turn introduced me to Polish band Riverside and a solo project by their front man Mariusz Duda, recording under the name Lunatic Soul. Again, there is a line drawn back to Pink Floyd as their guitar player is clearly influenced by David Gilmour. The title track of their second album, Second Life Syndrome is my favourite at 15 minutes in length and features the most sublime guitar solo ever. I thought I had been quite diverse in my listening lately and yet LastFM tells me otherwise: http://www.last.fm/user/carsten_doig From this I can see top artists in the last few days, weeks, and months are consistently as follows:

A Perfect Circle
Tool
Nine Inch Nails
Porcupine Tree
Pearl Jam
So basically, lots of rock and prog metal!

Gerald's Game & Others

2010-12-14T09:37:00.006Z

It was a sad little branch library that I was working on saturday, with little prospect of customers and my co worker openly declared that we would be as well reading a book. As I didn't bring my own book I started reading 'Gerald's Game' by Stephen King simply because it was on shelves.

Written 19 (a magical number in King's canon of work) years ago the basic premise had never appealed to me: Gerald handcuffs his wife Jess to bed for sexual adventure and she accidentally kills him by kicking him and inducing a heart attack. She has to get out of this predicament and deal with flashbacks from her past (her incestuous father), a wild dog who enters the house and a monster(?) who visits in the night.

Despite my previous hesitancy, it turned out to be very compulsive reading and I duly finished the book three days later, reading half of it that very saturday. In fact must declare it to be one of King's best.

In the first instance, the bondage and notions of rape by her husband are quick in passing, leaving Jess to deal with getting out of the handcuffs. The relationship with her father is disturbing but fits in well with her present situation and a voice from her past helps to guide her through her escape attempts. I wasn't even sure if she would get out, half expecting some kind of deus ex machina, but thankfully this overused device wasn't reverted to. A monster also appears to visit her in the night but rather than be a cliched figment of her imagination (something King has used before in other books), the monster is cunningly unveiled at the end of the book.

So at the time of writing I have the following King books still to read: On Writing, Firestarter, Dreamcatcher, (1/2 of) The Talisman, and Lisey's Story. I am still waiting on my copy of his new book 'Full Dark No Stars' from the library but this book seemed short enough to fill the gap until I received the latest one by the King.

Prior to this I had just recently finished Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince as a build up to the new film and had started on one of the novels in the Lloyd Hopkins Trilogy by James Ellroy, a coolection of three shorter novels.

Next up I am planning on reading something a bit more challenging, Steinbeck's Russian Journal, Roy Jenkin's biography of Churchill and Steve Jone's popular science book 'Coral'.

Return of Non-Fiction

2010-11-19T08:30:00.004Z

Currently reading my first piece of non fiction in a long time. Having read Anthony Beevor's book on the downfall of Berlin at the end of the war and Christopher Hilton's history of the Berlin Wall, it seemed fitting to read this book. As the author states in his introduction, it was surprising that no other historian had written about the ordinary citizens of Berlin during the war. British people seem so preoccupied with either the Blitz or the Holocaust and forget that even the enemy suffered during WWII. The research is good and the stories are fascinating, especially the tale of the railway serial killer who was a bigger threat to Berliners in 1940 than what British bombers were.

I am also reading Cormac McCarthy's 'Blood Meridian' which is a gritty and bloody western. After having seen the film of 'No Country for Old Men' again at the cinema I felt it was time to read some more of his books. This one has been on the cards for a while and given my love of the western, it cannot fail to disappoint. I am not getting much time to read it because of the Berlin book but enjoy it when I am getting the train to Glasgow or sitting in Starbuck's in Buchanan St. with the book in one hand and a latte in the other. Thirty minutes of me and my book and no interruptions.

Next up will be another book by John Burnside called 'Mercy Boys', my second after reading a very dark book called 'Glister' which reminded me of Iain Banks at the height of his powers. 'Mercy Boys' is set in Dundee so if it is good I will be recommending it to my friend Ian who is not only from there but also shares my taste in noir fiction.

Of course, in the next few weeks I will be getting a phone call from the library to say that my reservation on the new Stephen King collection, 'Full Dark No Stars', is available to collect which basically means drop everything and devour it. Last month I read 'Bag of Bones' and although it fell into the 'consistent'category as far as Stephen King books go, it was enough to get me in the mood and erase the memory of his last novel 'The Dome' which I couldn't get into at all.

Recent Reads

2010-09-21T09:33:00.006+01:00

'Skippy Dies' by Paul Murphy is undoubtedly the best book I have read in recent months, if not this year. Set in a fictional Irish boarding school, it is a tragic tale of teenage love, but also containing some marvellously funny moments. Anyone who has worked in a school will also appreciate the caricatures of teachers.

'The Stars in the Bright Sky' by Alan Warner was another humorous read and although it featured the same characters as his earlier novel 'The Sopranos', it was not a direct sequel. Although it seemed to lack a clear plot, the book conveyed the uncertainty and confusion of the somewhat self imposed scenario that the characters found themselves in. It's conclusion was most unexpected, courtesy of a brilliant twist that firmly placed the novel into the context of the real world, especially after some larger than life and perhaps unrealistic moments.

Completing a triumvirate of novels that never made the Booker Prize shortlist was 'The Betrayal' by Helen Dunmore. It accurately portrayed the terror of Stalinist Russia. The fear was implied for large parts of the novel and I think this showed the authors talent in that she never had to revert to shock tactics to convey this atmosphere.

From last years Booker Longlist, I recently read 'Brooklyn by Colm Toibin. It was a nice read and a simple story. Perhaps a bit short but on the other hand, very well written.

For work I read 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' by Ken Kesey. I had recommended it to a sixth year pupil without having read it myself so I felt I should and duly read it in a few days. As it happened, it wasn't fit for her purposes, even though it was agreat read. The theme of mental illness was slightly different to that in the other books she was reading.

As a result of work I also read the 'Chaos Walking Trilogy' by Patrick Ness. A friend gave me the supplement from The Guardian listing the best children's books ever. I duly recommended the trilogy to a pupil and started reading them myself. They are the best books for young people that I have read since Pullman's 'His Dark Materials trilogy'.

Currently I am reading a book by Dennis Lehane, one of the The Wire's screenwriters, called 'Sacred'. It is standard fare crime fiction but good for those moments at lunch or break.

Another friend has also given me a novel by John Burnside called 'Glister', saying that I will enjoy it because it is dark. It's nice when other people know your tastes.

After that it will be 'The Rules of Attraction' by Bret Easton Ellis. I have always enjoyed his books and my motivation again comes from a pupil who is studying this book and others for her dissertation.

Once I get through all of those, it will time for a long awaited book called 'Demon Theory' by Stephen Graham Jones. I have been interested in this book for a long time, stumbling upon it through my reading of Craig Clevenger and Chuck Palahniuk. It's essentially a horror story but it's selling point was it's heavy debt to popular culture and other masters of horror. It has footnotes which sounds a bit unheard of for a novel. I have been on the lookout for it for ages but finally got a copy on ebay through an Oxfam bookshop. All proceeds to charity which it's nice isn't it?

Read to work / Work to read

2009-11-16T11:22:00.009Z

Most of my reading at the moment is being dictated by my work and it's turning out to be no bad thing.

I have just finished Janice Galloway's autobiography 'This Is Not About Me' in advance of her visit to my school in 4 weeks time. She will be coming to guide, advise and support our Advanced Higher English class who are studying her novels,'Foreign Parts' and 'The Trick is to Keep Breathing'. I devoured the TISTKB in two days, took a little longer with FP' and bulldozed through her memoir over a weekend.

'This Is Not About Me' was particularly enjoyable because of its setting in the Ayrshire town of Saltcoats. I used to be driven through this cold town on the Firth of Clyde when going to my Gran's house, so whilst reading, I had a very vivid image of the places Galloway grew up in.

What set this book apart from other memoirs was the style of writing. It felt at first like a memoir but later began to read as an engrossing story about a little girl growing up. There seemed to be a distance between Galloway as the narrator and Janice, the little girl, but with still with enough of a link to convey the emotions she felt. The final 10 pages were very powerful but not tainted by melodrama for the sake of dramatic effect or a bleeding heart seeking sympathy. What ultimately came across was a story that I'm sure many could relate to.

Again, in support of the Adv. Higher Class, I am going to read 'Coming Up for Air' by George Orwell. I love Orwell and have been enjoying his other books, beyond the standards of 'Animal Farm' and '1984'. I recommended him to one of the girls in the class so I feel it is only fair that I read this book so that I can support her. Having to read Orwell for work is no bad thing.

After that I am hoping to get the new Stephen King book, 'Under the Dome' from the library. I still have a few older King's to read but I am now reading all his new books as they come out as I feel the man is in one of his productive phases again.

Hopefully after that there will be enough time to read Janice Galloway's 'Clara', a novel based on the life of Clara Schumann, wife of the composer Robert. It's not one of the books being studied by the class but I feel I should be all-knowing vis-a-vis Galloway's works before she visits the school. Much like meeting James Ellroy, I am very excited about the prospect of this visit but hopefully her signature on my books will be better than his.

The Demon Dog Comes to Glasgow

2009-11-05T21:53:00.009Z

Not much of a signature but it means a lot to me. The greatest book ever written (FACT) signed or at least initialled by the greatest author to have ever lived, the self styled 'Demon Dog' of American Literature, James Ellroy.

I met my friend Ian and his fiance Debbie for dinnerbefore heading to Glasgow Film Theatre for the talk. Ian was quite lucky to be there given that he had escaped from a burning tenemant block the night before.

Ellroy came on and quoted Tennessee Williams, W.H Auden amongst others before launching into a massive thank you to us, his readers:

"I kneel before you and thank you for worshipping the written word, bound in cloth"

To which we roared our approval!

Ellroy read from his new book 'Bloods a Rover' and Ian and I agreed after that it was fascinating to hear his voice read his own words, especially given the unique style in which he writes.

He thanked us again:

"I want to thank you for taking time out from your sex lives, drug addictions and infatuations with Barack Obama to come and hear me read tonight".

When the time came for autographs I was a nervous, simpering wreck but thankfully managed to compose myself by the time I shook his hand. Not only is his voice big but so is the man himself, probably 6ft 3" by my reckoning. He pointed at me as I walked away and he said "See you next year!". A reference to his next book, his second volume of autobiography "The Hilliker Curse".

Full steam ahead!

2009-11-05T11:39:00.002Z

I am on a roll at the moment, reading lots of really great books. I'm averaging one a week which is not bad considering work and familt commitments. I also think the reason why I am ploughing on is because they have all been really good.

Dark Entries by Ian Rankin - my first Ian Rankin book. Not only was it a graphic novel but it was also a John Constantine (Hellblazer) story.

Fatherland by Robert Harris - Very good thriller and the first of the genre in years for me. I may try 'Archangel'.

Foreign Parts & The Trick is to Keep Breathing by Janice Galloway - TITKB was really good and I read it really quickly. I didn't enjoy Foreign parts as much but it was still pretty good. All in preparation for the visit to my school by Janice which I am very excited about.

The Pesthouse by Jim Crace - Not as good as the 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy but still a great example of dystopian literature.

Annapurna by Maurice Herzog - An account of the first ascent of Annapurna. The author lost all his fingers and toes due to frostbite and to be honest he deserved it given the risks that he put his fellow climbers in.

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters - Very reminiscent of Daphne du Maurier.......

Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier - du maurier is a treat and this one is shaping up to be as good as Rebbeca. I have my next two planned as well, 'Frenchmans Creek' and 'The Loving Spirit'

Dracula by Bram Stoker - About time I read this classic!

Ellroy#2

2009-10-08T09:03:00.014+01:00

I never doubted that 'Bloods a Rover' would be a majestic novel based on my universal admiration of everything Ellroy has written. I was, however, uncertain as to what kind of ride it would be.

At first I reached page 250 and felt things were going the way of the previous book, 'The Cold Six Thousand', with the plot becoming ever more complex, almost to the point of confusion. So I stuck a second bookmark in at the beginning and skimmed over those first 250 pages and managed familiarise myself with the array of characters and their intertwined relationships. I also spent some time on wikipedia to take things back to 'American Tabloid' as one of the characters in 'Bloods a Rover' was one of the fictitious(?) assasins of JFK.

I say fictitious because the true genius of Ellroy's work is his ability to meld fact with fiction. Whereas 'American Tabloid' built to the inevitable conclusion of JFK's death, 'Bloods a Rover' focuses more on its own plot and stoyline, but once again using real life events and characters such as Richard Nixon to add weight to the story. Ellroy's nefarious depiction of Nixon is entirely believable given Tricky's repuation and there are a few subtle hints towards the impending Watergate break in.

The real power behind this novel has been the interplay between the main protagonists, with female characters more to the fore in this book than any previous Ellroy novel. The characters are as cold and calculating as ever as they engage in their dodgy dealings and machinations, except this time there is also a strong focus on relationships and in one case, a characters desperation to prove himself as a major player. His journey is the most fascinating, especially as the cards fall all around him during the course of the novel.

I've heard people complain about how Ellroy jumps from one person to the next and this is certainly the case, along with multiple location changes, from Haiti to L.A and Vegas. But given the time frame of several years that the book covers and the scope of its multi-faceted plot, such jumps are inevitable and dare I say it, realistic. This isn't a small book about a simple crime - it's noir at the deepest level, deep in the underbelly of the American underworld, both political and criminal.

After page 250 things coasted along at a frenetic pace and whilst the writing was powerful, I was in the dark as to how the book would conclude. It couldn't end with a whimper and the first indication that it wouldn't came at chapter 155. The book is laid out in small chapters and this particular one was white hot. You could feel the tension of the scenario and then its sudden, fiery conclusion. I gasped out load and had to put the book down for five minutes to absorb the power of this moment. When I returned to it, there was an even more shocking chapter that affirmed my belief in Ellroy and assured me that this book was indeed a masterpiece.

But as with any Ellroy book, once he starts he doesn't let go. A subsequent chapter detailed some previous history behind two of the characters and in doing so, the wider plot suddenly became clearer. What had initially seemed complex at page 250 was now crystal clear and I couldn't help but marvel at Ellroy's ability to write a novel of such scope.

Ellroy

2009-09-30T10:00:00.006+01:00

The new James Ellroy book arrived yesterday from America and I'm already 80 pages into it. After 'American Tabloid' (possibly the greatest book ever written) and the complex 'Cold Six Thousand', the bar was always going to be high for this concluding volume in the trilogy.

So far it's everything I expected it to be. From the complex plot development, the staccato, shotgun writing and the cold, clinical characters that could only be written Ellroy. It's the American Underworld as only he could write it. An interpretation of the history behind the headlines, from the deaths of MLK and RFK, to the hubris of Nixon's presidency.

Surprisingly, it's also very accessible but then this is my 13th Ellroy book so I am used to the style - I wouldn't recommend it to a newcomer. If anything , it's as readable as 'American Tabloid' which is a good thing because 'The Cold Six Thousand' was complex beyond belief at times.

The American edition of 'Bloods a Rover' has a nicer cover than the one proposed for the UK edition, which is also not released for another month. I couldn't wait any longer because as far as literature goes, there will be nothing to top the majesty of this book. It also has that crazy, non-uniform cut to the pages which I believe is called 'Deckled'.

Sadly, I have to put down a really good read in favour of the Ellroy one. 'The Little Stranger' by Sarah Waters is a ghost story in the style of Daphne Du Maurier and it pains me to put it aside (or rather leave for lunchtimes at work) but NOTHING was going to get in the way of me and 'Bloods a Rover' with the exception of my 7 year old daughter who wanted me to read her a chapter of 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'.

Summer Reads

2009-06-18T20:49:00.003+01:00

Here are the books I plan on reading this summer:

The Grifters - Jim Thompson

The Dawn Patrol - Don Winslow

Trance - Christopher Sorrentino

Olive Kitteridge - Elizabeth Strout (Pulitzer Prize Winner)

Dick Contino's Blues - James Ellroy

The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo - Stieg Larsson

Cellist of Sarajevo - Steven Galloway

15 Books

2009-06-05T14:24:00.004+01:00

Blah, blah, something about the 15 books that have made a mark on you, can't live without....

1. American Tabloid - James Ellroy

2. Lord of the Rings - Tolkien

3. Dark Tower - Stephen King

4. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

5. The Magus - John Fowles

6. Power of the Dog - Don Winslow

7. Ulysses - Joyce

8. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

9. The Road - Cormac McCarthy

10. Grapes of Wrath - Steinbeck

11. Ham on Rye - Bukowski

12. Contortionists Handbook - Craig Cleavenger

13. The Bell jar - Sylvia Plath

14. The Blind Watchmaker - Richard Dawkins

15. Psychovertical - Andy Kirkpatrick