Speaking To My Madness

(Short review)

“Speaking To My Madness” by Roberta Payne (Kindle edition)

Autobiographical account of the author’s troubled early life and her slow realization that she’s a schizophrenic. Not the total downer you might expect, ending with a message of hope.

Apology

Sorry for the lack of updates since May (*gulp*) - I have actually been reading books, but pesky life has got in the way of writing about them. In the near future I might just do some very short quick reviews to bring things up to date..stay tuned.

Octopus!: The Most Mysterious Creature in the Sea

"Octopus!: The Most Mysterious Creature in the Sea" by Katherine Harmon Courage

As you may have suspected from the title this is a book all about the Octopus in the recent popular science tradition. Writing in a very chatty, engaging style, the author travels the globe visiting aquariums, research labs, fishing boats and restaurants. Yes, somewhat disturbingly after telling us how intelligent and majestic the animal is she seems to spend a lot of time eating the poor creatures - even supplying recipes. Overall a pleasant but brief read, the only annoying thing was the author's habit of padding out paragraphs with vaguely octopus-related pop culture trivia.

The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story

"The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story" by Vivek Tiwary, Andrew C Robinson & Kyle Baker

This book is a large format, fully painted graphic novel that looks absolutely gorgeous. It tells the true story of Epstein, a mild mannered record store manager who discovers The Beatles, becomes their manager and ultimately meets a tragic end. There's not much more to the story but in this format it evokes strong emotions and a strong sense of period.

George Alec Effinger Live! from Planet Earth

"George Alec Effinger Live! from Planet Earth" by George Alec Effinger

I came to Effinger's writing fairly late in his career when I discovered his Budayeen series of novels, he died a few years later so I've been catching up ever since.
This volume collects a selection of his previously published short stories, each introduced by other writers who knew or had a passing acquaintance with him. While most of the stories have a SF angle, there's quite a variety on offer here. Many are satirical or just plain funny.
I enjoyed this collection but for somebody new to the author the novels might be a better bet.

Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking

“Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing” by Anya Von Bremzen

First of all this is a FANTASTIC book and probably deserves a longer, more detailed review..but I’m going to be lazy and just highly recommend it and give a brief description:

The author, born in the 1960s Soviet Union takes us on a journey through the 20^th century history of Russia and the Soviet Union using its food and the lives of her ancestors to illuminate several distinct periods. From the opulent last days of the Tsar, through famines, war, stagnation and eventual collapse. Von Bremzen and her mother emigrated to the US in the 1970s, and now they try and recreate the more famous or memorable dishes from each era. There are a lot of fascinating little details, facts and anecdotes in this book for anyone into history, Russia/The Soviet Union or just food. And yes, she even includes recipes at the back.

Fooling Houdini

“Fooling Houdini” by Alex Stone (Kindle Edition)

A fan of magic from an early age, writer and physics student Alex Stone gets the stuffing knocked out of him when he makes a disastrous appearance at a world magic championship in Europe. Later when he writes an insider’s guide to the skill and art of magic (in the process revealing a few secrets) he finds himself expelled from the magic society he’s been a long-time member of. After swearing off the tricks for a while he then plunges back into the field, travelling across America meeting magicians, con-men, psychologists and memory experts. Seeking the perfect illusion he almost abandons his career and close relationships in this single-minded pursuit. Most of the people he encounters are quite fascinating, and the book keeps the reader gripped with its humour and the author’s self-deprecating honesty.

Them

“Them: Adventures with Extremists” by Jon Ronson (Kindle Edition)

This book is pretty straight-forward – Investigative journalist (and humourist) Jon Ronson travels the globe interviewing assorted extreme nutjobs, from a  comical Islamist in London to American militia through to a man who believes 12-foot tall alien lizards are our secret rulers. Along the way he discovers they all have certain beliefs in common – that a secretive group known as the Bilderbergers regularly meet to conspire against us all and arrange the great events of history. Assisted by some rather dodgy personalities he tracks down the group to a meeting in Portugal and then to their annual retreat in California. Yes the Bildeberg group actually exists but the reality seems somewhat more mundane than the conspiracy theories would have you believe. This book is highly entertaining and somewhat eye-opening when it comes to the ‘extremists’ – most are pretty sad and ineffectual little men.

Hatchet Job

“Hatchet Job” by Mark Kermode (Kindle Edition)

One of my favourite critics (I’m a big fan of the radio show/podcast he hosts with Simon Mayo) Mark Kermode writes up a storm on the topic of the role of the professional critic in the modern age. Along the way he digresses and meanders through all sorts of related topics and tangents – from how people ‘game’ the review system on Amazon.com to how he managed to piss off film makers and other critics alike. Refreshing is his positive assessment of how the rise of the internet and review sites has actually helped his job -  rather than the usual doom and gloom we hear from some of his colleagues. I enjoyed this book, but it was rather short and easily finished in one sitting.

Twilight of the Bombs

“Twilight of the Bombs” by Richard Rhodes

Some time back in the late 1980s I borrowed a fantastic book from the New Brighton library – that book was Rhodes's master work “The Making of the Atomic Bomb”, a sweeping non-fiction historical epic. Several years later came “Dark Sun” his account of the creation of the Hydrogen bomb and the genesis of the cold war. Then about a decade ago came “Arsenals of Folly” a more journalistic account of (then recent) history and attempts at super power arms control.

Now I come to “Twilight of the Bombs” the fourth and final book in his nuclear history series. Again like “Arsenal” it’s a more piecemeal approach, jumping from Iraq after the first Gulf War to North Korea then to South Africa and back to Iraq a decade on. Also, he includes musings on how to eliminate nuclear weapons all together and how that could become a possibility in our lifetimes. The strength of this book and indeed the whole series is the author’s meticulous research and the recounting of anecdotes from people who were actually involved in these matters. Overall a fascinating account of recent history (all of it within my lifetime – scary) and it’s a little sad he’s giving up on it now before the real end has come.

Solo: A James Bond Novel

“Solo: A James Bond Novel” by William Boyd (Kindle Edition)

I’ve never read any of William Boyd’s previous novels so I don’t know how much of a stretch this book is for him – he’s produced a pitch perfect impression of Ian Fleming’s style and ‘voice’ in this volume.

It is the late 1960s, after celebrating his 45^th birthday alone a troubled James Bond is sent on a mission to halt a civil war in an (imaginary) oil-rich African nation. Things don’t go entirely to plan and Bond goes rogue (or ‘solo’) following a trail back to the US capital where he exacts his revenge.

The plot is pretty simple but it’s the little Fleming-Bond touches that bring this book to life – the obsession with fine living, food, drink, clothing, cars and women. At one point there’s even a foot-noted recipe for Bond’s personal salad dressing. It reminds the reader that the literary Bond was more than the quipping action hero of the movies..although I did still picture him as Sean Connery in my mind.

Mail Order Mysteries

“Mail-Order Mysteries” by Kirk Demarais

If, like me, you are of a certain age and used to read the occasional American comic in your youth you will have memories of all the amazing mail-order adverts that used to appear inside them. For mere cents it seemed you could buy all sorts of wonders..as long as you could wait 6-8 weeks. This book exposes the shocking truth behind those ads. Photo after photo documents what you really got for your money – who would have known that X-Ray specs didn’t really work, and giant ghosts were just balloons and rubbish sacks?? This is a fun book written with a good sense of humour and fondness for the source material.

Adventures with the Wife in Space

“Adventures with the Wife in Space” by Neil Perryman (Kindle Edition)

Another highly entertaining book - also too short. In the first section Perryman presents a memoir of his life, and how the TV show Doctor Who kept intersecting with it until he became a life-long fan, the wasn’t, then was again. The second part recounts his grand experiment – to watch every single (existing) episode of classic Who from the beginning with his long-suffering wife and report her reactions online. Somehow he managed to pull it off and stay married. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it more or less in one sitting.

From Earth's End

“From Earth’s End” by Adrian Kinnaird

This is a handsomely produced, chunky non-fiction volume divided into 3 main parts. In the first Kinnaird provides us with a history of comic creation and publishing in New Zealand – from the early 20^th century to the present day. Well illustrated with examples this, to me, was easily the best part of the whole book. The second section gives us simple biographies of a couple of dozen NZ comic creators along with samples of their work. The last part is a collection of several NZ comic related articles and even plans for a cut out model boat. Overall it’s a great book; the only thing I found annoying was the needless repetition of some information.

Murder In Mississippi

“Murder In Mississippi” by John Safran

I’ve been something of a fan of John Safran’s TV and radio efforts over the last decade so was looking forward to reading this, his first book. It doesn’t disappoint. After discovering a white supremacist he recently filmed has been murdered by a black man, John heads off to the US south and tries to find the facts of the case. Things don’t go quite that smoothly, and a lot of the enjoyment is the fish-out-of-water aspect. My only complaint is that it was too short.

Bleeding Edge

"Bleeding Edge" by Thomas Pynchon

First of all this is the second Pynchon book in a row that I've actually managed to finish(!) - he seems to becoming more prolific in his output which is a good sign I guess.
Unfortunately, I have to say this book gave me a bit of a 'meh' reaction - I was expecting so much more from a book set in 2001 and centred around September 11 and the internet industry. It could have gone in all sorts of trademark Pynchon paranoiac directions and gotten really weird but apparently not. This is pretty much a straight story about a forensic accountant who discovers dirty dealings going on behind the scenes of a tech company and how her family, friends and city all end up being involved to some extent. There are some nice little touches here and there and I can't fault the writing, close in style to his last novel "Inherent Vice" (also pretty mild Pynchon stuff). A decent read but not exactly mind-blowing.