Arabian Nights (Horta & Seale)

Paulo Lemos Horta (edited & notes)
Yasmine Seale (translation)
Arabian Nights (annotated) : Tales from 1001 Nights

Wonderful stories from the Middle East set in a fairly macabre "frame" story. They are varied and all interesting and brilliantly told by the translator. The introduction, notes along the way and analysis at the end are all very interesting too. So many modern stories take their lead from these stories. I got lost in this for hours on end. A big book which I probably wouldn't've bought but I had a book voucher from Becky for my 60th and thought I'd always wanted to read 1001 Nights and this new edition was highly recommended. As it's so many stories I've been reading for a year having really got into it during that scorching time in June 2023 when we were holidaying in an old thatched two room farmhouse in the north of Eire. One of those books I would hate to part with but will I ever really tackle again? Maybe dip into one or two of the stories. Interesting that I finished it just after finishing Nomads. The 1001 Nights, as explained by Horta, are a lot about traders as the stories would have been told in the equivalent of coffee shops and inns by and / or for those traders either with market stalls, wholesalers or travelling merchants. 

Nomads (Anthony Sattin)

Anthony Sattin
Nomads : the wanderers who shaped our world

An engaging and fascinating account of how those who roamed shaped our world. Well worth reading although and in many ways tells the untold story of our histories especially in Eurasia. Fascinating although it does seem to favour nomads more than settlers who after all lay foundations for how we live today but there again that story has been told time and again. Goes into some detail in north America and China gets a mention along with Australia. But other areas such as sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and western Europe are glossed over completely. Guess it's a long enough book anyway. Worth the time.

The Wild One : The True Story of Iggy Pop (Per Nilsen & Dorothy Sherman)

The Wild One : The True Story of Iggy Pop 

Per Nilsen & Dorothy Sherman

History of Iggy in music until late 80s. Lots of photos and comments from friends and colleagues with a great insight into his close relationship with David Bowie. Also quotes by Iggy himself often his views on his life a number of years beforehand. Not quite as comprehensive as Open Up and Bleed but an interesting read with a comprehensive list of records and tours as a solo performer. Very readable and interesting.

The Kingdom by the Sea (Paul Theroux)

Paul Theroux
The Kingdom by the Sea

A book that looked very interesting and was looking forward to reading. Unfortunately I gave up before he'd got too far along the coast. It was a barrage of moaning about England and the English making particularly nasty comments about how people live and horrible caricatures of most of the people he meets which I don't believe were all completely accurate. It sounded like he hated where he was staying, disliked the people who hosted him and wasn't enthusiastic about the countryside. Felt like he just went out to write a book about how crap the English are in a lazy way. I skipped to sections of where he'd visited areas I knew but he either missed them out or badmouthed them. A nasty piece of bigged writing by a miserable git which wasn't even amusing.

Where Angels Fear to Tread (E. M. Forster)

E. M. Forster
Where Angels Fear to Tread

Excellently written story which has twists and turns just when you thought you had a good idea as to the rest of the plot. Mainly about relationships and in the end coming down to analysis of one personality. Great descriptions of both characters and the Italian countryside. Some descriptions of nations seem as bit bigoted but maybe that's the times or what the characters themselves would have thought. Must read more of his stuff.

Jamaica Inn (Daphne Du Maurier)

Daphne Du Maurier
Jamaica Inn

It's not often I fully agree with The Times opinion but this is a first-rate page-turner. It starts off very sinister and from there on in it's a roller coaster where your emotions are thrown around at times thinking it's quietened down, but why is there so much of the book left, and then you are dragged down into even more sinister stuff. I started reading it and after a couple of chapters thought I wasn't in the right frame of mind for something so dark so left it a day or so but when I picked it back up and got into the plot and the character of Mary I couldn't put it down. Not finished in one sitting but one of those books where you think I've got to the end of that chapter and that's a good place to stop as not on a cliff-hanger but then it's such an enjoyable (well, maybe gripping is a better description) read that you just pick it up again 5 minutes later with a cup of tea and hope you aren't disturbed. How did I get into Daphne as a novelist so late in life? I'm not sure if it's because they both write about the west country with it's wild heaths and moors but this novel in particular reminded me of Thomas Hardy and his bleak tragedies. In some ways Hardy is more brutal than du Maurier at least in parts. There again I've read more of him than her so I may have unpleasant surprises to come as I wade through her catalogue...

Caliban Shrieks (Jack Hilton)

Jack Hilton
Caliban Shrieks

An interesting read written in the 30s then apparently a lost work before being rediscovered recently. Another biography. The first 2/3 are about his life going to WWI then back home as a working man getting into socialism and having a time in prison. It's written in a free flowing modern style with a lot of literary references which to be honest I couldn't be bothered to look up but I don't think they are really needed to be known. The last part is part social political commentary including about the labour movement but descends somewhat into long rants which go on too long to my mind. He slags off just about everyone which sort of answers the question posed by the introduction by the contemporary "discoverers" as to why Hilton didn't continue with a literary career and went back to plastering. Well worth reading but a bit of a slog by the ending.

The Descent (Thomas Dekker)

Thomas Dekker & Thijs Zonneveld
The Descent

Another (auto)biography about sex and drugs and cycling rather than rock and roll. In ways more believable than the FWFB book I've just read but on the other hand many of those mentioned in the book deny vehemently that it's truthful. In the murky world of cycling and sports doping it's impossible to know who to believe. Nevertheless an interesting read if only for Dekker's life regardless of others. You do wonder if cycling has moved on but there are persistent doubts as there are for other sports. At least if you take drugs as a musician you aren't banned for 2 years...

Ten Thousand Apologies (Adelle Stripe, Lias Saoudi)

Adelle Stripe and Lias Saoudi
Ten Thousand Apologies: Fat White Family and the Miracle of Failure

A history of the Fat White Family band from Lias' childhood, the band's inception until the global lockdown. Written by Adelle with little bits from Lias and they do add to the story. It's a good read and fantastic insight into the band but seems too chaotic and fantastic to be the whole truth. Indeed the intro states that "Fact has been used to create fiction". So in many ways you are left wondering how much is true and how much not. At times I felt myself thinking "really..." but then told myself to treat it as a novel rather than a factual biography. The characters don't seem like ones you'd want to hang out with although they do make great music and put on great shows. I guess true of many musicians who are on the edge of genius. Some is just plain wrong - watching the sun set over the sea in Scarborough? And the constant whinging about not having money to rent a flat when every page is about taking as many drugs as possible does grate. So read as a novel or you will feel a little cheated as I feel. Still gonna go see the band and the various offshoots though.

They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us (Hanif Abdurraqib)

Hanif Abdurraqib

They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us

A series of essays about life in America being an 80s born black punk and hip hop fan. Too many angles to list but includes much about life death and love; insights into bands that he particularly loves and sometimes wonders where they are going and a flavour of what it's like being at gigs where you don't feel you quite fit in. Enjoyable reading about the bands, uncomfortable about some of the other aspects but I guess that's the point of these essays. 

Frenchman's Creek (Daphne du Maurier)

Daphne du Maurier

Frenchman's Creek

 

Excellent story which I really enjoyed reading. Part adventure but mainly a book about emotions, love, responsibilities and potential other lives. A commentary also on the role of women and how they are expected to act within society, and the freedom brought when they don't. Within the complexity of the novel there are other social commentaries such as class and nationality I could go into the storyline but that would give away the plot. Go read.

Raincoats are for Tourists (Isabel Best)

Isabel Best

Raincoats are for Tourists (The Racing Secrets of Raphaël Géminiani)

 

A great book about a cycling legend that I didn't know about. Rode with all the greats of his time, indeed helped them become great, and then went on to become a very successful DS (team manager). Part narrative from the author and part quotes from the outspoken Raphael himself it's a great read at times laugh out loud. Probably one for the cycle geeks...

The Good Immigrant (edited by Nikesh Shukla)

21 essays edited by Nikesh Shukla

The Good Immigrant  

Interesting array of essays mainly about what it's like to be a "non white" British person with a wealth of different angles some of which are very funny, others serious and still others very depressing. All are well written and all have a point to make. Some things I could identify with but many gave insights that I guess I hadn't really thought about. Worthwhile reading.

To Be a Machine (Mark O'Connell)

Mark O'Connell

To Be a Machine

Subtitle neatly sums up the book: Adventures Among Cyborgs, Utopians, Hackers, and the Futurists Solving the Modest Problem of Death.

A journalist investigating those who feel that humans should become machines to the extent of getting rid of our bodies completely and migrate our brains to machinery or a communications network (like the internet) or even to be distributed across that network(s) across the universe. Some pay for their dead bodies to be frozen awaiting the time when they can be revived, some are just heads awaiting the time to transfer their brains into a robot. The people he meet range across different personalities but all are driven in their quest. As the author questions, would you be human if your brain was lodged in a machine or network given that human behaviour and enjoyment is driven by relationships with others and physical sensations including holding babies and such like. There again you get the feeling that these are secondary to those pursuing eternal life. Although the end game wished for seems fantastic since the book was written in 2017 we have moved significantly forward, if you think this is progress which I don't necessarily, with artificial intelligence and in using tech implants for both experimental and medical uses such as bypassing someone's broken nervous system so that they can control their legs by thinking with that being transmitted to muscles. Overall of course it's a dream of the very wealthy with billionaires pouring vast amounts of money into research much of which is by the American military. An interesting read and although seemingly a dry subject there is a certain amount of humour some laugh out loud. Very well written. Thanks Simon.

Dombey and Son (Charles Dickens)

Charles Dickens
Dombey and Son

Another great Dickens novel full of angst, comedy, treachery and social commentary. It's a long one following the life, relationships and of a city trader. I got through most whilst incapacitated with a virus for 5 days. Without a spoiler I'm not totally convinced by the ending and I feel that there is another which wouldn't've been as popular. The characters are as good as ever and I'm sure some are Dickens sending up real people. Must have been a nightmare being a friend or close acquaintance of him as I'm sure you'd be wondering if those particular traits are taken from yourself. Well worth a read.