Lee Brilleaux (Zoë Howe)

Zoë Howe

Lee Brilleaux: Rock 'n' Roll Gentleman: The Adventures of Dr Feelgood's Iconic Frontman

Excellent read of the life of Lee and his Canvey Island mates. More of a romp through the musical aspects of his life than really digging into his personal life and personality although he gigged so much maybe there wasn't a lot else. The difference between driven on the road Lee and at home with kids Lee is explored but not so much as, say, the Ian Dury biography I've just read. Zoë wrote the Wilko book so is well placed within the scene to guide us through the life of Lee according to his nearest and possibly not so dearest. Very entertaining and you come away liking Lee as much as you did before you started. Which isn't the same for Ian! Worthwhile time spent if only to nudge you into watching some of the Wilko era live footage on YouTube.

The Brothers Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The Brothers Karamazov

An epic novel in the 19th century style where we really get under the skin of the main characters whilst having analysis of the minor characters to a depth that most modern novels struggle to get to for their main characters. The Russian character itself and it's change during the turbulent years of the end of serfdom is analysed indeed the book is a parallel to the author's view of that shift. And prescient of the upheavals of the early 20th century. Of course there are pages and pages of the authors views on various subjects mainly related to ethics, Russian culture, family and religion some of which go on a bit but which is why I like these long novels. At least I didn't have to read 50 pages about the Parisian sewers as in Hugo. It's is very modern in many ways as much of the conflict, which our characters display to extremes, is about society and it's structure supported by values (not necessarily good values such as serfdom) and how we are moving to an age of individualism where we decide ourselves what is right and wrong ignoring societal structures (family, class system) and it's values. This rings true today. Maybe it does at all times in history? This story has the differences in extremes to the extent that all is legal and should not be subject to laws. An anarchism of the less helpful sort in this case. Of course the romantic and personal relationship struggles are dominant making the story more interesting. A bit of luck me buying this as I found an Everyman edition in the 20p shop in Otley then realised it was only the 2nd volume so had to buy the matching first volume (obviously wanted the same translator) for a whole £3.89 (incl. P&P) from an on-line "rare" books shop. Well worth just over 4 quid.

The Reader (Bernhard Schlink)

Bernhard Schlink

The Reader

Excellent read (translator must take some credit) and story about a young man who, well comes of age and gets into an interesting relationship which forms the story. Won't say more as there are interesting twists and turns. Gets philosophical in the self analysis and ultimately extremely thought provoking not just of the immediate subject matter but in more general terms. Well worth reading. 

Ian Dury: The Definitive Biography (Will Birch)

Will Birch

Ian Dury: The Definitive Biography

Well researched and written story of Ian's life and his idiosyncrasies. A lot of very funny stories but underpinned by someone who was a bit fucked up mentally and possibly went through a lot more trauma at school than he lets on. I can only go by this book but it seems like he was a right cunt which is a label he seemingly spread liberally to others. I guess like a lot of people who make it in show business - lovely to see them up on stage but would you want them as a friend. Maybe I should only read biographies of those I don't like. Shame Ian never wrote that autobiography, his only two words in it being "Hallo sausages" as maybe that would set a better context for his behaviour. Worth reading, but not if he's an idol of yours.

Murphy (Samuel Beckett)

Samuel Beckett

Murphy

Excellent story centred around someone who is beloved by all, well, lusted after, and his self fulfilling prophecy that him having to work to please his squeeze will result in her losing him. Wittily written with more than a few passing references to either expressions, languages, events or simply words that I'm not familiar with so probable even more witty and enjoyable to either those living in the 1930s who were better educated than what I am and have lived in Paris and other exotic locations. Nevertheless a very enjoyable read ranging from a serious analysis of what is deemed madness to laugh out loud situations and pathos. There you go. I do know Greek.

Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)

Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451

Classic I've not read before harking back to the Nazi's book burning and also the more current American reds under beds witch hunts of the McCarthy era. Still going on in a lot of the world whether by public burning or simply closing down internet sites. The story follows a "fireman" (as in one who burns houses containing books rather than saving houses) who comes round to a different way of thinking. It's a dystopian world that we seem to be at least half way into where the population are encouraged to enjoy their trite entertainment (now a hell of a lot worse than in the 50s) and not to worry themselves about thinking too much. Or not at all. Hence the banning, and burning, of all books. Sound familiar? As in other similar books we follow one person who's fighting the system although not too sure why or how. An interesting ending. One scary bit is the mechanical dog which is now a reality if you've seen the MIT cheetah robotic dog jumping. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Utopia (Thomas More)

Thomas More

Utopia

Classic text on government which sets out the advantages of a co-operative way of living where each takes according to need rather than greed, or production. Some would call it anarchy and others communism. Same difference taken to their natural conclusions. Not that Utopia as described is free of government but it's the way it's implemented. Utopia is interesting as it was written when there was still a lot of common land in Britain but it was being taken away from "the people" and given to landlords under acts or by violence. Today's local government owned land is not the same. From More's time onwards industrialisation hand in hand with capitalism has pushed people from community living to large cities where community is difficult to maintain especially related to governance. Or not. The latter parts go into great detail about enforced social regulations and it does tend to stray from the anarchist idea of utopia. Whether this particular society is utopia or dystopia or a bit of both is open to question and dependent on viewpoint and this aspect is covered in the essays included in the book. A good read.

Social Mobility and Its Enemies (Lee Elliot Major and Stephen Machin)

Lee Elliot Major and Stephen Machin

Social Mobility and Its Enemies

An interesting read but with some big omissions such as no discussion about immigration and income as a measure of happiness. Much would lead to an outcome of socialism and it's a shame that the book doesn't make that radical yet obvious leap. There are also trite connection like why mention in a throwaway line with no backup football hooligans in the 70s. Other better analysis out there.

Cycling to the Ashes (Oli Broom)

Oli Broom

Cycling to the Ashes

A straightforward tale of cycling from London to Australia with a lot of cricketing on the way. Fairly readable although faintly irritating especially as firstly you wonder why he's putting himself through so much misery, second he's not just jumped on a bike Oli's got a lot of sponsors presumably through contacts probably through his well off parents and third he keeps on going on about pretty girls in a pretty creepy way. I nearly put it down but hate doing that and it's not too long or taxing to read. I picked it up from a Herne Hill Velodrome rummage sale and think it's signed. 

Humankind (Timothy Morton)

Timothy Morton

Humankind: Solidarity with Non-Human People

What turns out to be a very academic book - i.e. expects a certain knowledge of the subject matter being philosophy and the history of economic philosophy so leads to a lot of looking up references on Wikipedia and subsequent and inevitable browsing around that particular subject. Therefore what is a short book is going to take a long time to read. Summary seems to be an analysis as to how non humans should be brought into left thinking thought - and for that read what most would call radical left but for some just socialist rather than the neo liberal capitalist left - and how Marx and subsequent theories addressed human vs non human - and how to not view non humans equally as humans has an inevitable ending of capitalism and fascism - which is what is happening most notably in the USA and increasingly in Europe. Excuse the poor punctuation. Morton flips between very serious analysis which has me reaching for my on-line encyclopedia and jokey references. One I like particularly is when he references a social media storm (US dentist kills lion in Zimbabwe) "flash-mob moralism can descend on anyone at any time, like Hitchcock's birds (it's called Twitter for a reason)". Nice. The basic premise seems to be that we lost our way when we started farming which led to The One God religions and humans treating ourselves as god like and above all animals, and indeed above all non animals, which inevitably led to the type of capitalism that the world is threatened with today and that the climate change environmental movement(s) need to focus on how to get back to that pre agricultural state, at least in mindset, and start treating everything with equal value to humans. Or at least to have solidarity with what we share the earth with. This isn't just because we need to "save the planet", although I'm sure Morton would scoff at that phrase, save it from whom and for whom? without humans things would settle back down again probably, but because we are not just human as we're made up of millions, billions?, of parasitic critters who help us digest food and everything and also who we are is determined by our relationship with others including non humans like cats and indeed mountains and rocks and dirt. It's hardly a handbook for how to live your life, unless you're deeply into philosophy and teach it, but fascinating reading even if I was struggling to keep my head above water. There's a bit about Marx's dancing tables and I'm not 100% certain whether Morton believes that they can dance, I think he goes for at least rocking about a bit. He's obviously an ageing raver as he has a lot of references to dance culture and the effects of what were known as disco biscuits. At least I now have a philosophical dance tune playlist and I now need to re-read Das Kapital (OK, Morton isn't pretentious enough to call it that and refers to Marx's Capital but I am pretentious) and Kropotkin's Mutual Aid. Jeez I got a lot to read I really need to retire!

The Death of Marco Pantani (Matt Rendell)

Matt Rendell

The Death of Marco Pantani: A Biography

Excellently written book of Il Pirata's career focussing on his relationships and what drove him with associated latter mental health and addiction issues. Goes from his birth, indeed before, up to his untimely death by cocaine. The book is a sympathetic analysis of his life whilst making clear that his successes, probably since amateur status, were fuelled by doping. There is a lot of analysis of doping in general and Pantani in particular which at times makes the book fairly dry reading but is needed if the author's arguments are to have substance. There are more scathing words about those who are around Pantani whilst also picking out many who tried to help him. The old story emerges of money vs welfare of the money maker. There again Pantani certainly doesn't come out of it as a saint. Far from it. Whilst Pantani was never suspended for doping he was for health reasons following blood tests suggesting doping. This book was written just before Lance Armstrong's fall from grace and his stripping of 7 le Tour de France wins. Pantani kept his 2 major wins from 1998 le Tour and the Giro. The book is full of recrimination (second hand as Pantani's rather than the author's) and some technical detail which is odd as I read whilst on holiday in Portugal and last year read George Clinton's autobiography which has similar themes of being done wrong by the music business and associated fairly technical descriptions of the facts. Of course Pantani is still revered as a cycling icon and why not. He was entertaining, brilliant in the mountains and although a cop out, as Matt's Epilogue so eloquently covers, who wasn't doping at that time? Well worth a read. 

The Holiday (Stevie Smith)

Stevie Smith

The Holiday

Rather downbeat story set firstly in WWII then apparently updated to post war as it wasn't published until then. Follows a woman who's emotions jump up and down both in feelings to life and her relationships with others. You feel sorry for her as there seems to be a lot of bottled up emotion (although it does come out at times) but also that if she could let herself leave what is a fairly restricted and boring life then she'd blossom. It is autobiographical so I wonder if the author also didn't let herself follow a path better suited. There's a lot of inference as to her sexuality and I'm unsure as to whether some of the implications were taken as having sexual experiences back in most austere days. The author is mainly a poet and that comes through in the style and also she puts in snippets of poems into the plot. Has quite a few insights into post war politics including world wide changes such as independence for what was British India. Readable and enjoyable but I wouldn't say a classic.

Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)

Victor Hugo (translated Norman Denny)

Les Miserables

Very daunting when I picked it up and reading about how much Hugo digresses from the main story, indeed it starts by telling you that the first part (i.e. 50 odd pages) are not strictly relevant to the story. However, from page one I'm hooked on the descriptive writing and don't mind reading about a bishop who's only purpose seems to be to introduce one of the main characters. Having now finished this epic I thoroughly enjoyed both the story and the digressions. The story is an epic covering generations of various characters with the inevitable interweaving of lives. From that point of view it's a cross between Tolstoy and Dickens. The former's family characterisation and romantic (in both meanings) descriptions and the latter's analysis of the human character especially those who have been dealt a poor deal by society and the troubles that they face including how turning to crime is not as evil as one might assume. Of course as in Dickens there are those who you think are truly evil (if you believe in that) with the main protagonist with that label turning out to be truly evil. There is a strong philosophical thread throughout the novel both directly related to the characters and also in the long digressions. I won't give any spoilers lets just say that there was a lot less story related to the cover than I'd expected. There again it is over 1,200 pages. Digressions seem to be where Hugo wants to give his opinion on, or show his knowledge of, various topics which he's included in a novel as otherwise few would read them. A couple have been relegated to the back of the book as appendices in this edition but I read them where they were in the book anyway as they are only a few pages (comparatively) and other less relevant digressions were included in the body of the story. For instance there are 15 pages about the history of the sewers of Paris. Not many pages in this book but by my calculation about a fifth of the length of Animal Farm. The ending is full of pathos, as would expect for the period, and to my mind a little too sentimental for my liking but, again, typical of the period.

Matt. You would have been proud of me. And we would have laughed about it. Did you ever read it? Better than Moby Dick. RIP.

A Short History of Philosophy (Robert C. Solomon & Kathleen M. Higgins)

Robert C. Solomon & Kathleen M. Higgins

A Short History of Philosophy

Is what is says, at least to publication date in 1995, being a readable canter through the subject mainly western but tying in some eastern. Difficult, as they say, to see where philosophy ends and economics, politics, sociology, theology etc. etc. start. But a good introduction. Ends with some musings of the authors and whilst they include some modern thought such as environmental philosophy but oddly doesn't mention the elephant that was charging into the room in the mid 90's being the explosion of communications technology detonated at that time. Worth reading, if only to understand my daughters. Thanks Rob.

Another Planet (Tracey Thorn)

Tracey Thorn

Another Planet: A Teenager in Suburbia

A follow up, or predecessor, to Disco Queen which maps her teenage years through her self admittedly not always 100% accurate diaries. Always entertaining, often poignant and mostly mirroring my teenage years and good proportion of others'. Why didn't I keep my diaries? That's another story involving teenage angst and kicking against the system.

Demian (Hermann Hesse)

Hermann Hesse

Demian

Excellent read about a boy growing up feeling at odds with the world and meeting like minded people one in particular who seems to have supernatural powers. No, not kryptonite! On the one hand it seems to be (I would not presume to know what such a great writer was thinking when he wrote his novels) a standard story about pre pubescent coming of age through teenage rebellion and on into a more considered and thoughtful early manhood. But there is that typically Hesse spirituality threaded through the story which suggests that we are part of a wider (or narrower in this case?) (other- / higher-) worldly forces and associated symbolisms. And the search for meaning in life given life's contradictions - and these light and dark, yin and yang, body and mind, good and evil are explored throughout. Not to give too much away but as many of us who feel out of kilter and keep to our own realise after maturing a bit that humanity runs through all of us. The ending is obviously symbolic of passing into another stage of life. Have I really not ready any Hesse for 6 years? Must reread although I've just given the 3 novels on my book shelf to Bruce to borrow...

The People Vs Tech (Jamie Bartlett)

Jamie Bartlett

The People Vs Tech: How the Internet is Killing Democracy (and how We Save It)

Excellent analysis of how technology is pushing us towards a polarised society influenced by big business, politicians and extremist groups through our use of social media and willingness to accept suspect news channels (not necessarily posing as such) that have been fine tuned through AI and big data to send direct micro messaging to each of us individually to hit our sweet spot whether it's to buy, vote or rage against other social, political, ethnic and religious groups. There are areas which I'm not completely agreed with (which is one of the points of the book) such as a blind assumption that democracy is "good". Also not sure about linking Corbyn with Trump as on the extremes - there are extremes of people just out for themselves at the expense of everyone else and there are those who are at least trying to further society towards a more equal basis which seems extreme (if you read the right wing press) but is not in absolute terms. Not saying Corbyn is perfect but who would you want in power if you weren't from the privileged or don't have strength in any of it's manifestations. Tribalism is not the same as political or economic views capitalism. Well worth reading...

Le Morte d'Arthur (Thomas Malory)

Thomas Malory

Le Morte D'Arthur

Started off an interesting read with excellently evocative illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley. It's a long list of knightly adventures which after a couple of hundred pages starts to wane somewhat. There's only so many ways that a joust can be described surely, and this doesn't even go into much detail. There seems to bit a bit of exaggeration even for a legend as Arthur ransacked Rome & everywhere in between. And how many knights were there to kill in Britain at the time? There are also far too many damsel's in distress to be "comforted" for modern tastes. So fairly repetitive a bit like Homer's Greek legends or don Quixote but to be honest without the compelling descriptions. I was reading this alongside Gargantua and Pantagruel and thought why? when there is so much more relevant and interesting reads out there. So another stopped before the finish. I'm making a habit of it. Maybe I'll flick through and look at the rest of the pictures...

Gargantua and Pantagruel (Francois Rabelais)

Francois Rabelais

Gargantua and Pantagruel

A beast of a book that is mainly about the exploits of a giant and his son written in 1500’s. The style is quite hard to read, despite a very good translation, as many of the people and places and customs listed are alien and so we don’t get the fully brunt of many of the attacks, or agreements. However it’s an interesting read especially the bawdy bits that are surprisingly frank, I guess from that time to this many people in Europe have become a lot more inhibited. The humour is childish at times and there are too many lists of things that don’t mean a lot to me and were probably only tolerable 500 years ago as entertainment was limited and stories the main one. Having got through the Pantagruel book and ploughing through Gargantua I thought life's too short to read the same farcical and juvenile exploits of a giant which obviously had a cutting social commentary half a millennium ago but means little now. So I stopped..

The Little Book of Philosophy for the Internet of Things (Petras various contributors)

Petras various contributors

The Little Book of Philosophy for the Internet of Things

An interesting book laying out various ethical challenges that society faces as computing power forges ahead following Moore's Law on steroids enabling many a multitude of sensors to be cheaply implemented with the resulting data being analysed through machine learning. With the results of that starting to rule our lives which is where the ethical bit comes in. Short readable pamphlet which is great food for thought. I assisted somewhat to the overall Petras programme in part by facilitating research students putting garden gnomes on the Olympic Park and having them chat to visitors. All tastefully painted and named by local school kids. Have given to my daughter studying Philosophy in Prague who by coincidence has just started an AI module. That coincidence may or may not support the theory of determinism. And thereby lead to the inevitability of machines taking over the world, if not the galaxy. For discussion...

The Dharma Bums (Jack Kerouac)

Jack Kerouac

The Dharma Bums

Enjoyable story about Kerouac's time in California meditating and bumming around the country. Lots of beat generation celebrities are part of the story which lunges from drunken orgies (well, I'd consider it that) to full on meditating whilst fully sober to mountain trekking with the other main character in the story. Philosophical musings about like, on and off the road, make the book more than an adventure yarn. All builds up to a solitary summer job up a mountain the end of which ends the book. A good read and I should re-read more of his stuff.

Miseducation (Diane Reay)

Diane Reay

Miseducation: Inequality, Education and the Working Classes

A very interesting read about how the education system has worked against the working class indeed has always been set up to do so. Many of the stats are unarguable and the theme of the book also. However most of the way through I started questioning the analysis and then looking again at the conclusions drawn. My issues are many...

Firstly, what has Brexit got to do with it. It's not happened yet. This has become a (mainly) left wing catch all for the wrongs of society which is a very easy way to blame right wing nationalists (the general brush by which "leavers" are tarred) for all of society's ills. Regardless of the fact that many on the left voted to leave and that Labour were in power for 13 years up until 2010 which is longer than Thatcher was in power. As an aside I've just been given a report by esteemed universities that says that "up to" 12,400 additional people will die of heart disease over 10 years because they can't eat vegetables due to Brexit. And agreeing with analysis of the adverse health effects put together by a retailer lobbying group that included such well known promoters of healthy eating such as McDonalds and KFC. Really shows how poor our university analysis is. Which comes on to...

Reay takes similar issues and concerns of parents and gives a very different analysis. For instance the usual and widely acknowledged parental fear of their kids first day at school is ridiculed by Reay for middle class mothers but is seen as perfectly valid for working class mothers. There is no empathy in any of the book for either parents or teachers, and very little for the kids to be honest. The cases are simply used to further Reay's argument. The specific cases of children are similarly treated indeed some of their statements are twisted by Reay to support her argument. The analysis is not consistent and to my mind flawed. As anyone knows kids won't necessarily say what they think especially if they are in a group with friends. The analysis is not about the root cause of societal inequalities that schools operate within except mentioned in passing and then Reay ploughs on to the next individual case to prove a point. The question of austerity is touched on but only to press home that working class schools suffer more than middle class schools and is mentioned in the same sentence as Brexit as if they are linked economically (austerity came before the leave vote, remember?). The other issue is that she has not defined working, middle and upper classes and therefore the whole book is confusing. The book only deals with English schools. Why not Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. And for that matter France or Germany. Is it because her argument that England is the worst place on earth for eduction will start to fall down? There is mention of USA but only in passing. Reay keeps on going back to the 60s and 70s as to how bad they were, but elsewhere says about how things have got worse which at times is contradictory.

In 200 pages there are six at the end on how to improve things and most of those six pages are used up in bemoaning that England doesn't do those things. With no case studies as to what will work despite telling us about how bad England is compared to all other countries.

The book is also extremely offensive to teachers trying to do their best (they are all dismissed as working within the system and therefore part of the problem) and very dismissive of middle class parents sending kids to comprehensives if they do not believe in selective education as Reay says that they know that their kids will be streamed anyway.

Maybe I started to feel a little defensive but this tome seems completely driven by Reay's bitter experience of Oxbridge. It's far too personal to be taken seriously. She herself says that people have accused her of having a chip on her shoulder. As this book is 200 pages of telling us how working class kids are not given a good education and those that are such as her are shackled by their background it does feel a little like a chip, yes.

In the end a poor analysis of an important subject. Ironically it is written in a fairly academic way and obviously for a "well educated" audience with a high command of English. Don't bother if you have English as a second language...

Complete Vegan Cycling (Mariana Correa)

Mariana Correa

Complete Vegan Cycling

The worst book on diet or cycling I've read. Apart from being badly written, containing many contradictions, useless information and the most basic of recipes (nearly all with soya and / or sugar) it's for vegans and yet mentions at various times meat, dairy and tuna being good sources of the vitamins mentioned. Absolute codswallop! Should be prosecuted under the trades description act.