Wednesday, February 18, 2015

CivilWarLand in Bad Decline

Author: George Saunders
Genre: Short stories, novella, dystropian
Source: Print
Rated: 4/5
Read: Feb 2015


Saunders is a magician of the written word. These are superbly well crafted stories, each a decidedly original take on the world around us, and each does the work of holding up a mirror of our world in all is darkest (Bounty, the novella, is a miracle). Where is separates from the later 'Tenth of December', Saunders' masterpiece in my opinion, is that even though dark, somewhere is Tenth is something very hopeful and life-affirming, while all that you will find in Civilwarland is a sense of overwhelming bleakness and hopelessness. The mirror showed such depressing images that sometimes they made this reader want to just close the book and prefer the placebo of turning away.

Sunday, January 11, 2015

The Shadow of the Wind

(The Cemetery Of Forgotten Books, in Spanish)

Author - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Genre - Fiction, Thriller, Adventure, Modern Classic
Source - Audiobook
Rating - 4
January 2015 (started ages back)

Magnificent. Sprawling. Meandering. Rambling. Confusing. Contradictory. Infuriating. Grandiose.
Doomed, defeated, flawed characters. Caricatures. Swathed in Black and White.
This is the novel that Dumas, were he alive today, would have written. and Dumas is (almost) the reason I read.
So... so read. It's a 3.8 on 5 that I will recommend more highly than most 4.8s.

Monday, January 5, 2015

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Author - Mary Ann Shaffer and Angie Barrows

Genre - Fiction, World War II

Source - Print

Rating - 4

January 2015

May all books have a soul like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society.
I have become choosy and selective in my appraisal. Maybe even a bit snooty. That's the only reason I can think of why I would not rate this a 5. But I didn't. 
But read. Do read. 

Monday, November 3, 2014

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

Author - Haruki Murakami

Genre - Fiction, Short Stories

Source - Print

Rating - 4

October 2014

Dated Review:
You know that I am fairly ambivalent about Murakami. I do not get him. 
That is going to get rephrased now.
You know that I am fairly ambivalent about Murakami's novels; I don't get them. 
I do get his short stories. They are special. 

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

The Silkworm

Author - Robert Galbraith (J K Rowling)

Genre - Fiction, Thriller, Detective, Cormoran Strike #2

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 5

September 2014

Dated review:
JKR is a genius. That's all.
If you are a lover of detective fiction, you would not miss this.Go on, what are you waiting for?

Monday, September 1, 2014

Tenth of December

Author - George Saunders

Genre - Fiction, Short Stories

Source - Print

Rating - 5

September 2014

George Saunders is a genius. No, a Genius. With a capital G. I wish I can write short stories with such a macabre twist, with such an evil forbearing and such a light touch. This man is a genius. A Genius.

Best Football Books of all time, as suggested by Football365

This is target, and I will scratch the ones that I have already read. Only scratch out the first word of the books that I have but have not read yet.
The Ball Is Round - David Goldblatt - The bible. The best football book I've ever read, documenting the game from ancient times until the present day around the world. Meaty, but wonderful
The Miracle Of Castel Di Sangro

How To Score - Ken Bray - Scientific look at football

Inverting The Pyramid - Jonathan Wilson - The tactics bible

Brilliant Orange - On culture and history of Dutch Football

Calcio - The same on Italy

Tor - The same on Germany

Feet of the Chameleon - Sameish on Africa

Morbo - Same on Spanish.

La Roja - Another same on Spanish

Futebol - Same on Brazil

Behind the Iron Curtain - Same on Russia

Bamboo Goalposts - Same on China

Teambuilding - Rinus Michels - The famous coaching guide

Why England Lose - Stats and science on England

The Manager - Barney Ronay

A season with Verona - Tony Parks

Those Feet - David Winner

The football men - Arthur Hopcraft

Dick Kerr's Ladies - Barbara Jacobs

World Is A Ball - John Doyle

Once In A Lifetime - Gavin Newsham

The Last Game - Jason Cowley

Beautiful Game? - David Conn
Left Foot Forward - Garry Nelson

Floodlit dreams - Ian Ridley

Broken Dreams - Tom Bower

Only a game - Eamon dunphy

The Glory Game - Hunter Davies

The Nowhere Men - Michael Calvin

Football Against The Enemy - Simon Kuper

Football Business - David Conn

Fever Pitch - Nick Hornby

My Father and other working class heroes - Gary Imlach

Bios and Autobios

Paul McGrath

Robert Enke

Cantona - Philippe Auclair

Bergkamp - Stillness and Speed

Garrincha - Rui Castro

Keeper of Dreams - Ronald Reng

Duncan Edwards: The Greatest

Paul Lake