Week 35 Book 63 - A Very Punchable Face

 

From the Dedication, For My Mom, Dad & my Brother - You're like family to me. That sets the tone and the level of humour in this book. A laugh a minute - except the chapter about 9/11 when it doesn't become maudlin, but does a good job of portraying a family caught in the midst.

Week 34 Book 62 : Conversations With Friends

 

One of those books I bought a while ago and put down as I struggled with it. I loved Normal People and consumed whole, in one go on a flight 2 years ago. So I bought this and nursed it for ages, I enjoy the writing, the insights and the structure of it all. The characters I found difficult to enjoy reading about though. I kept seeing the worst in the ordinary, which to be fair was probably the point (well done you), but apart from the Indie Film ending, it was a roller coaster of struggling with the first half, enjoying the last third of it. 

My math is awsm obv.

 

 

Week 34 Book 62 : How Music Works

 

Fascinating look into how music works, how it has evolved, all the weird things that impact it in ways you've never thought of, and how David Byrne works too.

It's a kind of half and half, a bunch of ideas, history and sideways looks at the holistic product we call music and then a history of the Talking Heads, David Byrne and his collaborations and why he did them that way.

I found it endlessly interesting and could easily have consumed more.

Week 34 Book 61 : The Guest List

 

The problem with referencing the previous (and superior) work is that it inevitably draws comparison. A thing I guess you can't avoid as this is a carbon copy of the Hunting Party. Spoilers being that if you have read THP then you'll see the twists and tuns of TGL coming a mile off.

Still well paced and a cracking read, just less so by comparison.

Week 33 Book 60 : Daisy Jones & The Six

 

Every quote on the cover of this book is actually true. I started off thinking it was twee and silly, too constructed and too clever for it's own good. But then I could not put it down and I cried at the end. 

Dammit.

Week 33 Book 59 : Enemy of All Mankind

 

If you've played Uncharted (especially 4 - A Thief's End) then Henry Avery and some of his exploits are a known quantity, albeit ramped up for the scale of the game. In this interesting/entertaining/gripping piece on it, they turn into not only a game of cat and mouse but also a global history lesson. And of course the parallel story of the bigger and more effective Pirate, The East India Company.

A bit of guesswork is involved, as there are gaps in the record, but they are clearly signposted in the narrative.

Week 33 Book 58 : Birdseye The Adventures of a Curious Man

 

Didn't know this was a real person, or that he invented so many things. A man ahead of his time, but only because he was of his time. Interesting to think he'd probably be vilified today, for his methods, but maybe he was just clever enough and adjustable enough to find even more inventive solutions when standing on the shoulders of other giants.