Face It (Debbie Harry)

Debbie Harry
Face It: A Memoir

A very readable and interesting account of Debbie's time in early 70s New York and the start of the punk scene. As much about her feelings and looking back from the present as about the facts of what went on. Written in anecdotal form starting way back as an adopted child. A lot more interesting that I thought it would be as I guess I never realised quite what her background was and to be honest not really followed her since the late 70s. Maybe I should have. The only time I saw her was relatively recently at Glastonbury as I passed Blondie playing on one of the stages. Well worth a read.

Lady Susan (Jane Austin)

Jane Austin
Lady Susan

An interesting tale about a near shameless woman who neglects her daughter, indeed seems to dislike her, and plays men, and women, off against each other with skill and selfishness helped by her charm and extreme good looks. It's another in the long line of stories about women and what they have to do to survive especially in times when it was extremely hard to without a man by your side. All the more interesting as Jane was very young when this was written (thought to be 19) although it wasn't published for over 50 years after her death. Possibly because it seems to not to make a moral indignation about Susan who is treating people badly and having an affair with a married man whilst stringing others along. My theory that. A great short story.

The Gambler/Bobok/A Nasty Story (Fyodor Dostoevsky)

Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Gambler/Bobok/A Nasty Story

Three different angles of Dostoevsky. The Gambler is a long story about addictive gambling with the highs and lows that it brings. Brilliantly written. Bobok is a strange little tale listening in on the dead whilst A Nasty Story is just that. An excellently written piece about good intentions, albeit extremely condescending, gone wrong in spectacular fashion. Three good reads.

Woolwich Arsenal FC: 1893-1915 (Tony Attwood, Andy Kelly, Mark Andrews)

Tony Attwood, Andy Kelly, Mark Andrews

Woolwich Arsenal FC: 1893-1915 (The Club That Changed Football)

One for die hard Gooners no doubt but nevertheless very interesting as the club moved from amateur status to professional, moved grounds ultimately to north London and whilst being the first London club to join the League proper being promoted to the top flight and then demoted for the only time which is unique. Those who aren't Gooners may be interested in how many players came from up north and Scotland, partly due to the armaments factory and partly as professional players, and the life expectancy which was pretty high all things considered. A good read for the fan.

The Dutch House (Ann Patchett)

Ann Patchett
The Dutch House

Very engaging story of siblings who... spoiler alert... have a mother who leaves whilst they are young, a father who dies when still children and a step mother who kicks them out and ensures that they don't get anything from the sizeable will. It's convoluted so I won't try to summarise further except to say that it's funny and sad and makes you think about life and relationships. A good read with a few twists in the tail.

The Periodic Table (Primo Levi)

Primo Levi
The Periodic Table

I can't believe I've not read this before given it's fame. A very readable and interesting series of anecdotes each related to a chemical element. If that seems a bit contrived it doesn't read like that in any way. It's broadly a biography very much focussing on his feelings and skirting around his time in a Fascist Nazi concentration camp which he's documented elsewhere. There are a couple of other stories thrown in for good measure. I'm entirely sure why except that they are interesting. Excellent book.

Barnaby Rudge (Charles Dickens)

Charles Dickens

Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty

The "other" of Dickens historical novels set in turbulent times following a range of folk with their turbulent and antagonistic lives intertwined with the turbulent and antagonistic times culminating in a very vivid description of the storming and firing of Newgate Prison. The plots of personal and public life follow each other in a way that is fascinating. Of course Dickens' descriptions of people and place are brilliant and amongst the seriousness of the story's threads there is the usual humour in characterisations pointing out flaws, and strengths, which resonate as much today as they would have when written. How people could wait a week between each installment I'll never know. Maybe that's a reflection of our instant gratification times.

Sweet Thames Run Softly (Robert Gibbings)

Robert Gibbings

Sweet Thames Run Softly

Book that was at the place Debbie and I stayed at Dorchester on Thames that I thought I need to read and finish before I left. A journey in a small boat down the Thames with observations on wildlife and people, history of places and generally interesting anecdotes. And a bit of fantasising about female swimmers although maybe he wasn't and more went on that he could publish when this was. And he was married at the time. A good read to have by the Thames where it meanders through the English countryside.

Year of the Monkey (Patti Smith)

Patti Smith
Year of the Monkey

A strange and lovely book of a year in Patti's life with both personal and societal trauma. This edition has the start of the Covid epidemic and lock downs. It's a mix of autobiography (albeit just a year or so) with dreams and fiction and fantasy thrown into the mix so you're not too sure where you are but it doesn't matter as it's readable and what's going on in Patti's head anyway. I wonder how the last 18 months have been for her.

Night Boat to Tangier (Kevin Barry)

Kevin Barry
Night Boat to Tangier

A book I bought for Simon as we'd spent time in Algeciras in the 1980s waiting for a ferry to Maroc. We weren't there for the same reason as these guys and were taken under the wings of 4 Moroccan guys who on the other side of the waters helped us negotiate travel between the Spanish enclave and Morocco proper. And one then took us to stay with his family in Casablanca. Such hospitality. For that little adventure see here: https://sites.google.com/site/funkingpunker/home  Anyway Barry's story is of two guys waiting at the port looking out for a certain girl whilst reminiscing about their lives which have been, umm, let's say interesting but you wouldn't've wanted to be part of their lives. Well I wouldn't've. No more spoilers as it's a compelling and fascinating read darkly funny at times. As they are the same age as me, give or take, a lot of the cultural references are of my time which makes it more readable. This edition has an extra short story Old Stock which is more descriptive than a plot but nonetheless enjoyable. 

The Mill on the Floss (George Eliot)

George Eliot
The Mill on the Floss

Epic tale of morality and the conflicts between differing views of that nebulous and changing concept. And with a bit of love and lust thrown in for good measure to mix it up and confuse the outlook of the main characters. There are many strands throughout the story running alongside our main character the beautiful and troubled Maggie. Bookmarked by the power of water firstly being under the influence of man and lastly of a higher power. This edition is part of The Great Writers Library and it certainly meets the criteria.

Soho in the Eighties (Christopher Howse)

Christopher Howse
Soho in the Eighties

Not really about Soho but about 2 pubs and a bar that the author hung out in. Interesting as they are pubs that I frequented when meeting friends, The Coach & Horses and the French House, usually before going to a club. The Coach is the famous Jeffery Bernard pub of Private Eye's The Regulars comic strip. Although some interesting anecdotes about artists, journalists and hangers on you get the feeling that they are mostly alcoholics and either too pissed or too interested in getting pissed to notice anything else going on around them in Soho. They come over as a self centred and argumentative lot which addicts often are and people you wouldn't really want to hang around with. By descriptions of the Coach you'd think that the regulars described lauded it over the place but I never really noticed the goings on when I drank there. Another irritation is Howse constantly going on about how poor they all were and therefore how bohemian - despite most of them going to public schools and Oxbridge and coming from rich families. And they all seemed to write for (mainly) right wing papers such as the Times, Telegraph and Spectator. The overall impression is that most of the people mentioned are slumming it in Soho and either died through alcoholism and it's physical or mental health affects or got out when they reached a certain age to settle down in to normal society. I would imagine that if I had noticed them in the Coach or the French House I'd have thought what a bunch of sad wankers.

Lady Sings the Blues (Billie Holiday)

Billie Holiday

Lady Sings the Blues

Written with William Dufty. Autobiography of the famous jazz singer packed full of anecdotes and her life's path which was not easy by any means not least as a black woman plying her trade in America. In some ways what Billie had to put up with seems like another world - in many ways probably not a lot different to today. One very interesting piece is about when Billie toured Europe and how we back in the 50s apparently treated drug addicts as medical cases with doctors giving addicts what they needed and governments putting addicts through the health service rather than the prison service. Billie talks about how many drug users are in American prisons and what a waste it is and with no proper rehabilitation many will go back on heroin. Also making the point that addicts buy drugs on the black market which are unpure leading to deaths and also very expensive leading to robberies. She hopes that in time, perhaps not her lifetime, that America will take up the European model. Unfortunately the opposite is true with America jailing more and more about half being for drug offences. Until the mid 70s the incarceration rate for American males was 200 per 100,000 population. That has gone up five fold. So for every 100 men 1 is in a federal prison. Half for drug offences. For the population those under "correctional supervision (probation, parole, jail, or prison)" it's nearly 3% of the population. One in three black boys born today will go to prison. Although drug use among African Americans is much less that amongst white Americans. It would break Billie's heart. Although the book ends on a very optimistic note about being clean and with a loving man she died a few years after it was published having been abused by her man, back on drugs and virtually penniless. A great read by a beautiful Lady with a tragic life story.

Moll Flanders (Daniel Defoe)

Daniel Defoe

Moll Flanders

Hardly the racy novel that I was expecting as the descriptions of sex are not graphic by any means. In some ways this is a precursor to later novels of the trials of a woman, or girl, left destitute in the world and how she makes her way. The difference between much later novels is that the morality of prostitution, or at least promiscuous living, and theft is put forward as inevitable in order to survive which is exactly what Moll (Defoe) tells us. The critical analysis at the start of the novel, note it's a real spoiler, as is the introduction by Defoe to be honest, puts this in the context of political upheavals of the time and are interesting. The novel is a good read and although not particularly descriptive of people or things has enough detail to bring you nearer to the early 18th century.

Olive, Again (Elizabeth Strout)

Elizabeth Strout
Olive, Again

... the sequel I read straight away and by the end of it realised that it's not the stories as such that are the point here but the feelings and small actions of the characters which is the point of the novel, and the first, and once I realised this I could float along on the descriptions of people, place and feelings without anticipating and action or wrap up of loose ends. Enjoyable, again.

Olive Kitteridge (Elizabeth Strout)

Elizabeth Strout
Olive Kitteridge

A very readable novel which I bought Debbie on a whim, along with the sequel. It's a very American novel in the intense descriptions of place and people and therefore very engaging. Follows one person, Olive, and her relationships with others but jumps around a lot going off at tangents about others' lives which you think will be tied together by the end but really aren't. No spoilers but a couple of incidents you really want to know the outcome. Maybe in the sequel...

Renegade: The Lives and Tales of Mark E. Smith (Mark E. Smith & Austin Collings)

Mark E. Smith & Austin Collings
Renegade: The Lives and Tales of Mark E. Smith
 

An amusing book of anecdotes and vitriol which is hardly surprising. You wonder if he really was this moody or it's partly a front. Probably not. A great read but like so many other (auto)bigraphies (of genius) you feel that you really wouldn't've wanted to know him.

The Turn of the Screw (Henry James)

Henry James
The Turn of the Screw

A book I decided to read as I've not read any Henry James and he's mentioned in the The Man in the Red Coat book I recently read. Is meant to be the best horror story ever written but I really didn't feel that as it meanders about and when afterwards I read summaries of it, thinking I really must have missed something, didn't go any further as to why. 

The Mortgaged Heart (Carson McCullers)

Carson McCullers
The Mortgaged Heart

Extremely enjoyable and interesting collection of short stories including some very early ones, essays and musings on writing, and poems. With some introduction and commentary by Carson's sister. The stories show the path to her novels and are a great read on their own. Try as I might I just cannot get to grips with poetry and that's the only bits I skipped. Interesting insights into Carson's life too.

The Man in the Red Coat (Julian Barnes)

Julian Barnes
The Man in the Red Coat

A book I wouldn't have chosen but we happened to have it. A tale centred on a 19th century doctor and socialite, Pozzi, who is "the man" taking in his life and others in his circle who were the artistic and aristocratic elite of the day. Some interesting anecdotes but I did wonder why I was reading it as not interested in the characters or their lives. I guess it was because it is very readable. Having said that doesn't make me want to read anything else by Barnes.

Segu (Maryse Condé)

Maryse Condé
Segu

Another book selected by my work book club, this for Africa Day, which is great in introducing me to authors I've not heard of. It's a bit of an epic over time and family which is the kind of novel that I like and this lives up to that range. The stories of the main family over the generations and geographies are engaging and interesting especially with the wide subject matters of slavery and religion integrated with narrower matters around family relationships, support and betrayal. A fascinating read. However, one thread which I didn't like was the underlying attitude to women which whilst I understand that the story probably fairly well represents it's setting there are a couple of times where pre-teenage girls who are raped fall in love with their violent rapist. This is a common representation of rape which is truly awful. If it was written by a man I would have wondered as to their attitude but it was written by a woman and I guess I don't have her experience and view of the world. I note this was written back in the 1980s.

10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World (Elif Shafak)

Elif Shafak
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World

A recommendation from someone at work which is her favourite book. It's a novel premise which I won't spoil with someone who has fallen into a life on the edges of "respectable" society in Istanbul. That's in quotes as most of what is viewed as respectable society has no respect for others who are different to them whilst those outside it seem to have much more empathy and respect for those who are different. The first half of the book is the main character's story and we are introduced to those who she now counts as her closest friends. The latter part is more adventure with comic moments whilst encased in tragedy. It's a good read, once I settled into it, with serious messages put over well. Like a lot of books I read now I feel that something is missing and in this novel it's getting to know the 5 friends in more depth and to read about their adventures together rather than passing references to them. Each character here could have a book to themselves. I guess I have more time to read than many others do and more than I did when I was younger. Picking up massive novels in my 20s I thought life's too short to read such a big book. Now life is shorter for me ironically I'm happy to spend ages reading long novels. Maybe I should give Moby Dick another try. If Moby Dick the whale was Ahab's nemesis then Moby Dick the book is mine. Although I find the plot pretty distasteful someone trying to exact revenge on a whale which attacked him hardly surprisingly as he was trying to kill the whale. Yes I must read again. Sorry, I digress from the review of Elif's book which is beautifully written with lovely descriptive passages and left me wanting more which I must search out.

Headspill (PriceyPoet)

PriceyPoet
Headspill

Found on bench in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park I guess left by the author PriceyPoet. A short volume of poetry, published by Amazon so I assume self published, mostly about mental wellbeing, or not, particularly during the Covid Lockdown. Some interesting verse and sketched drawings. All very thought provoking.

Travels with Charley (John Steinbeck)

John Steinbeck
Travels with Charley: In Search of America

A road trip with dog who gets far too much attention in my opinion. It's a strange book. Very interesting and of course Steinbeck describes places and people with great evocative detail. He meets lots of people and we hear their conversations often involving coffee or whiskey in the van. And although he tells us how great people are, or not, I come away with the impression that he doesn't really like people that much. It starts me wondering if his novels are like that and to be honest whilst his characters are interesting none are particularly likeable if I remember rightly. I think he liked places and dogs more than people. At least that's how it comes over. The ending is fairly unsatisfying as he suddenly gets fed up travelling and rushes back home to NY without telling us anything about it. So the story sort of peters out into nothing. Feels like he wanted to write a book about a road trip and in the end gets fed up with it but needs to finish the book for publication. Maybe that's a little unfair but I do remember thinking it's not that great when I've read it before.

Reunion (Fred Uhlman)

Fred Uhlman
Reunion

Very readable short novel where not a lot happens action wise, if you discount that the story is about a German Jewish boy during the rise of fascism and slide into WWII, which is really a study in friendship and loss with a twist in the tail. It's a very descriptive piece and I won't try to summarise. A quick read and well worth it.

The Professor (Charlotte Brontë)

Charlotte Brontë

The Professor

Interesting tale of an English teacher in Brussels written from his narrative. It seems very moralistic whilst putting forward incredibly unflattering caricatures of various nationalities, including the English, which makes it altogether confusing. The fact that it was written before Charlotte was "outed" as a woman and written originally (although not published?) under her male nom de plume makes it even more interesting, or strange. Spoiler... The characters are not particularly likeable in fact the one that is most obnoxious turns out to be the most likeable in my view. The story is fairly mundane and whilst anticipating a wholly predictable sting in the tail there isn't one which is just as bad as having the predictable one. The ending is strange in being about to submit the son to a life of misery at Eton to toughen him up in readiness for life in a world where everyone is out for themselves. That includes the narrator and his wife who are introduced as likeable, albeit with personality defects, but whose romance seems to be less romantic and more convenient. As ever, it's difficult to judge a book from today's society's context and to give that context there is an interesting introduction which gives certain aspects of the story more analysis than I had and how it relates to both the author, her life and society at that time. Interesting but by no means a classic. Although apparently the author was adamant as to it's value and that it should be published the shame being that it only was after her death.

Walls Come Tumbling Down (Daniel Rachel)

Daniel Rachel
Walls Come Tumbling Down: The Music and Politics of Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone and Red Wedge

History of what it says on the tin by only using quotes from the people involved so no surrounding narrative although that's not really needed given the quotes used. Very interesting but probably of most interest to those of us who lived through those times and can relate to the prevailing society and the bands and their place in changing (did they?) that society. I picked it up on the off chance whilst visiting the Penderyn distillery in Wales and have taken years to read it as was at work to read in my lunch break and since Covid times now dipped into at home. Finally finished but as not a story as such and I know the background easy to dip in and out of.

As I Walked Out One Summer Morning (Laurie Lee

Laurie Lee
As I Walked Out One Summer Morning

The sequel in Laurie's life to Cider with Rosie in which, as you may guess, he leaves his village of Slad in the Cotswolds and walks through southern England before getting a ferry to Spain. Which he then walks the length of staying in cheap posadas, or dossing at the side of the road, and gets by on friendliness and playing his violin. It's the description of character, place and wildlife which are so evocative and make this such a joy to read. You really are transported to a sunset in the Sierra mountains or wake sodden with dew in a wheat field. His description of Gibraltar as covered in clouds like the West Country (I grew up at the southern end of the Cotswolds Way) made me dig out my photo album of when me and Simon travelled to London then hitched through France and trained through Spain into Morocco and yes my photo is a big rock with the upper half covered by cloud rising above it in a big ball. No other clouds around. A photo of the same ferry journey looking back to Morocco is of a shimmering sea without a cloud in the sky. The time in Spain is abruptly ended by the Spanish Civil War to which he returns in the epilogue.

East of Eden (John Steinbeck)

John Steinbeck
East of Eden

An epic classic along the lines of, well, the epic classics where families and stories are intertwined, places are key to the novel and space is made to comment on social, religious and the human spirit and soul. It's the descriptions of places and people that make Steinbeck's novels so special. It's rare to find such love of, and perhaps tiredness of, places in writing. Interesting reading given the setting is a century ago and at times views are uncomfortable and, as often, difficult to know what are Steinbeck's view and language as opposed to how his characters would have thought and spoke. A great thought provoking ending.

To Throw Away Unopened (Viv Albertine)

Viv Albertine
To Throw Away Unopened

An autobiography of Viv's middle age with the running theme of her mother's death. It's extremely soul baring, along with a lot of physical baring, and although a gripping read it's slightly uncomfortable viewing. Some very funny bits in it too especially at very inappropriate moments. Not clear whether they are meant to be funny but given Viv's dark humour I'm sure they are. Having just read Poly Styrene's biography and just after finishing this book watching the film made by Poly's daughter it does make we wonder if having a fairly conventional child will disbar you from becoming an artist or rock star. Makes me want to read Viv's first book about her time in the Slits...

The Red Pony (John Steinbeck)

John Steinbeck

The Red Pony

A short story of 4 shorter ones full of Steinbeck's typically evocative descriptions. The stories are a mix of a child who's not really shown a lot of love and directs that into things that are lost to him. The book ends with the realisation that he's not the only one to feel loss.

Girl, Woman, Other (Bernardine Evaristo)

Bernardine Evaristo

Girl, Woman, Other

Very readable novel of 12 interlinking lives coming together at the end... ?

Thought provoking and what some may view as a controversial subject matter it's beautifully written. My only complaint is that each story could cover a book in itself and what could be in depth and insightful anecdotes are glossed over. For instance Dominique's time in the American commune community and her interactions with the baker, shopping in the local town, what films did she walk out from and why and what was the reaction of those there. Feels like it could be an epic which has been cut down to bring into a readable size. Maybe I like the detailed descriptions of people and places too much and that that is not the point of the story which is fair enough. After all, I'm not the author! Having said all that the book packs a punch and every paragraph adds to the story and is very readable. The ending is a bit odd to my mind as I don't think it really wraps up the main stories. Overall it feels a bit like an essay on diversity rather than the epic story it could be.

My Life in Red and White (Arsène Wenger)

Arsène Wenger
My Life in Red and White: My Autobiography

The definitive, as in his, autobiography which from a managerial perspective was dedicated to teams who played in red and white. It's a fascinating mix of his life and his views on football. Plus his perspective on what went on at Arsenal whilst he was in charge of the team, and so much more, and interesting take on what has happened since he left. He doesn't bad mouth anyone but reading between the (missing) lines you can tell his view of what happened between his departure and Arteta's permanent appointment. A good read if you are a Gooner and probably a good one if you're not. Some nice photos too. And for any budding Statto's out there there are pages of stats at the back.

Hadji Murat (Leo Tolstoy)

Leo Tolstoy
Hadji Murat

A story about a real life character that Tolstoy wrote at the end of his days. All about the Russian control of Chechnya so not much has changed politically in a few hundred years. It's part adventure and part political statement especially scathing of the Tsar. And with a lot of character analysis thrown into the mix of course. An excellent read and a reasonable length with limited number of characters and not a great deal of using different names for the same person so you don't find yourself confused as in War and Peace (at least I did, twice). 

How I Won the Yellow Jumper: Dispatches from the Tour de France (Ned Boulting)

Ned Boulting
How I Won the Yellow Jumper: Dispatches from the Tour de France

 

Ned is one of the voices of le Tour and this is an amusing book giving insights into following the tour as one of the media circus. It goes from Ned's first tour in about 2003 through to 2010 so Armstrong's wins had not been stripped from him as yet. The bonus written after original publication is 2011's tour where Cavendish had come into his own. It's no hold barred whether jokingly calling out his media colleagues or letting us know his views on cyclists, their team support staff and tour officials. A great read if you're a cycling fan. Probably not so interesting if you're not except for a passage about Johnny Hoogerland's argument with a barbed wire fence where the injuries sustained are graphically described comparing to coming under a kitchen knife. Although appalling the description is hilarious. Maybe that's just my sense of humour.

The Beekeeper of Aleppo (Christy Lefteri)

Christy Lefteri
The Beekeeper of Aleppo

 

A book that I'm reading for my work Book Club. It's a very moving story but not one that I particularly enjoyed reading. I guess the subject matter of Syrian refugees being people smuggled across to the UK is not one that is meant to be very enjoyable. There are parts of the story that you think "why would(n't) you do that" and the main characters I didn't really warm to. Maybe that's the point that going through what these refugees have deadens your emotions or at least you are forced to cap them. At times it felt a bit formulaic as a novel and maybe the construct of each chapter being half present and half past whilst a good ploy does make it a little artificial. Also from the start you know that they have reached the UK. 

Work book club review: "A challenging read that shows the human side of refugee journeys rather than statistics or disturbing images. Well written the book gives context as to the reason why our couple decided to make the journey and shows that having made it this isn’t the end of their refugee story. Ultimately shows that there is hope although hanging by a thread dependent on UK immigration authorities with their interrogative interviews.”

I Wanna Be Yours (John Cooper Clarke)

John Cooper Clarke

I Wanna Be Yours

A very entertaining autobiography which really brings to life the times that JCC grew up in - a lot of which I can relate to (3 channels on telly?)  It's obviously got a lot about punk rock and the RnR lifestyle and also brings out how literary JCC is. Well, he is a poet after all. Some you feel is a little pushing it but who wouldn't bend a few facts when writing their life story. He's well known as a(n ex-) heroine addict, making the Honey Monster collaboration all the more funny, or not, and at first his exploits are entertaining. But after a while the interesting bits are interweaved with how he had to get more (and more) gear and it does get a little repetitive. Junkies have to get smack. Enough already (as he would have written). I suspect he's upset a few by implicating them in his dealings and I never know with autobiographies if all those mentioned are forewarned let alone agree to the stories. After he kicks his habit and settles down into family life it gets a bit twee but then we're swept through about 20 years with a few more amusing anecdotes and name dropping. To be fair the book is very readable and he does come across as a good sort (when not junked out) who is very appreciative of those who have supported and helped him in career and life. I Wanna Be Yours is only mentioned in passing as on the school syllabus and covered by The Arctic Monkeys so we don't find the roots of it. Although read at my wedding (as for many others I suspect) I always wondered if it was a poem about heroine rather than his true love much as there is ambiguity (amongst some) about Lou Reed's Perfect Day.

Roof Dog: A Short History Of The Windmill (Will Hodgkinson)

Will Hodgkinson

Roof Dog: A Short History Of The Windmill

As it says a quick run through of the Windmill pub atop Brixton Hill which is possibly the best venue in the universe all things considered. The writer interviews or landlord and the guy who books bands and gives an excellent account of why this place is special and why places like it are an essential part of our social fabric. And why they need saving given that they can't open due to Covid. I like the comparison to the Hammersmith Clarendon Hotel which I used to go to with Olly and saw a storming set by Big Black for their farewell UK tour, with Wire on for the encore.

Riot. Strike. Riot (Joshua Clover)

Joshua Clover

Riot. Strike. Riot (The New Era of Uprisings)

I thought this would be a romp through various riots and strikes but turns out to be a pretty intellectual piece about the differences between the two and how due to social and economic, and therefore political, conditions have led to the development of strikes from riots and back full circle to riots being the main form of resistance to the capitalist economic order. Written by an American professor who has made some fairly controversial (in the eyes of the media) statements regarding the police this is an academic work. Throughout the language is academic (as in words related to academic analysis that I have to look up) and there are many references to both original agitators and subsequent academic authors that you feel you are assumed to know well. It hit home to me half way through when a paragraph starts "The split in the First International surely needs no rehearsal here..." which both assumes you know what the First International was, what the split in it was and subsequent development of the radical "left" due to that split. Which is all assumed when used to analyse strikes. 

I don't necessarily agree with all the analysis and indeed the point is made that riot and to some extent strikes are often spontaneous and whilst their origins can be analysed to some extent that's just the point - you cannot predict. A bit like chaos theory in that given a certain landscape you can predict something will happen but not exactly what where and when. Interesting point is that you get strikes when the economy is booming, workers wanting more of the profits, whereas riots form when people are not in work to even think about getting more of profits. Some good analysis of class and how since the 1970s the early industrialised countries have had more unemployment, more underemployment, more people getting by in the grey economy and more in work in prisons as part of the industrial incarceration programme.

Very timely as I read this when Trump supporters invaded the Capitol building. Although this was called a riot it wasn't that. It wasn't looting and arson by an excluded group venting their anger with the police or military fighting them off. This was a mob infiltrating the seat of government to get the election result reversed in an attempted coup. The fact that Capitol security allowed it to happen, it was so obvious that the mob were going to march on the Capitol and security did nothing to stop them, shows that those forces were complicit in the action. Sitting presidents don't incite riots - they do however attempt coups. In this case Trump was hedging his bets and wouldn't go all in himself. Hence the far right backlash against him. The real riots are in the streets of big cities where the disenfranchised have nothing to lose.

How Much Land Does A Man Need? & What Men Live By (Leo Tolstoy)

Leo Tolstoy

How Much Land Does A Man Need?

What Men Live By

A couple of very short stories, the title and "What Men Live By". The title was "considered by James Joyce to be the world's greatest story" according to the back cover and although very a very readable moral little tale I'm not sure that something that takes under an hour to read can be quite that good. Good all the same. A better story to my mind is What Men Live By. Spoiler alert... Rather than a tale of greed and being snared by "the" fallen angel it's a tale of love and kindness and redemption of "a" fallen angel who learns 3 facts about man. As the angel says, "I have learned that men live not by selfishness, but by love." which is obviously what Tolstoy believed as he was both religious (although seems to be against organised religion) and held anarchist views (albeit nonviolent resistance).

Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad)

Joseph Conrad

Heart of Darkness

A famous short story that is as the title suggests pretty dark in substance and so much more than a trip up a jungle river. Very worthwhile reading. Apparently bits influenced Apocalypse Now and you can see why. Language and views are very much of it's time...

Essex Girls (Sarah Perry)

Sarah Perry

Essex Girls

A short run through of what it means to be an Essex Girl with examples drawn mostly not from Essex. An interesting and quick read more about feminism than an in depth analysis of the phenomenon of the Essex Girl, if such a think exists outside of the tabloid press.