Monthly Recap - January 2012

Here are the reviews I’ve posted in the past month:

24^th: Pyg by Russell Potter

25^th: What every man thinks about apart from sex by Shed Simove

26^th: CasperCandlewacks in Death by Pigeon! by Ivan Brett

27^th: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾ by Sue Townsend

28^th: The Dangerous Book for Men by Rod Green

29^th: Knots & Crosses by Ian Rankin

30^th: Hide & Seek by Ian Rankin

31^st: Tooth & Nail by Ian Rankin

Here are the books on my reading list right now:

• Socks Are NotEnough by Mark Lowery
• Places toHide in England, Scotland and Wales by Dixe Wills
• Brotherband:The Outcasts: Book One by John Flanagan
• You Are Awful(But I Like You): Travels Through Unloved Britain by Tim Moore

Tooth & Nail by Ian Rankin

This is the third Rebus novel and is set in London. Because of this it seems a little strange if you are used to the Rebus of Edinburgh but it is still a great book. If it were in Edinburgh I'm sure it would have been more in line with the other Rebus books and felt even better. 

In the introduction that the author, Ian Rankin, has helpfully added it says that this is the only Rebus set in London and he did that because he was living in London at that time. It also talks about the Scottish words that are used in the book that put up a language barrier between Rebus and his London colleagues. However in the book they get their own back with the use of Cockney rhyming slang. 

The book follows Rebus as he is requested to investigate a serial murder case in London from his native Scotland. It follows the case through to completion with a thrilling car chase which ends in Trafalgar Square. And as usual there are a few laughs along the way and the various thought processes of the characters.

(This book is available here)

Hide & Seek by Ian Rankin

This is the second of the Rebus novels and is definitely more accomplished than the first. The writing is more in line with the later novels and the storyline isn't a simple. However I was not very satisfied with the way things came together in the end. It was all too bitty for me and not as streamlined as in the later books. Also the one-liners aren't as prevalent. But this only goes to show that over time Ian Rankin has been able to develop his writing skills and the Rebus character. 

Also this is the first of the Rebus novels to split the chapters by day which I think works really well in all the Rebus novels I have seen it in. 

Lastly in the recent reprints Rankin has written a little introduction just setting the scene of what influenced the book and so forth which is interesting as are his introductions in the other books I have read.

(This book is available on Amazon UK here)

Knots & Crosses by Ian Rankin

This is the first "Rebus" book and isn't as good as the others that I've read. It seems a little seedier than the later books and lacking in the clever, witty dialogue present in them. I suppose this is to do with Ian Rankin's development as a writer. The book starts slow bout then picks up the pace towards the end into a thrilling climax. The story is quite simple hasn't got as many storylines interlinking as in the later Rebus novels. However it's still a good book and it fills in the gaps of John Rebus's past life in the army etc. 

Further it comes with an introduction written by the author some years after the book was first published that is interesting. Originally Ian Rankin was going to kill off Rebus. Bet he and his fans are glad he didn't!

(Book is available here)

The Dangerous Book for Men by Rod Green

There are a plethora of these books out there at the moment with “The Dangerous Book for Boys” probably being the book to have kick-started the trend. But which of them is better? Well I have only read this one so I can’t possibly answer that question but I can relay my thoughts about this particular book.

Basically this is a book of mini-instruction manuals. It contains many different sets of instructions detailing how to navigate using the sun, or how to survive falling out of a plane with a failed parachute and so on. It is the stuff that you’d expect Bear Grylls to know but that other men need not know. Hence this is a book that is best read by dipping in and out of it skipping the bits that you think are not relevant or that are not of interest.

The instructions are illustrated with occasional funny little drawings and diagrams to help you understand the sometimes detailed text. Also each section is normally introduced with a joke just to lighten up what would be a very dull book indeed if it were just a continued set of instructions on how to do some such “dangerous” task and then another separate “dangerous” task. And as to whether dangerous tasks include how to darn a sock or how to sew on a button or not is up to the reader to decide (after all you might get that needle stuck into your thumb, ouch).

Lastly is the advice in the book any good? Well next time I have to escape from a bear I’ll let you know. And if I am unable to let you know then you’ll know that the advice was not quite up to scratch.

(And if this review hasn’t convinced you either way as to whether to purchase this book or not then use the Amazon ‘look inside’ feature to view its contents and also to see some sample sections.)

This book is available here.

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend

You’ve probably heard of “The Secret (although not anymore it would seem) Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾” but I’ll review it anyway.

The diary covers the period January 1981 through to beginning of April 1982. Therefore Adrian was not 13 ¾ throughout the story (false advertising?); instead he was merely 13 ¾ at the beginning and 15 at the end. 

It is now 30 years since the diary’s release and apart from mentions to the price of things (£30,000 for a semi-detached house, if only) and the mention of certain politicians of the time it hasn’t really dated. Big events of the time are covered like the Royal wedding between Prince Charles and Lady Diana. Also the country is in a recession it seems which may have reflected the time period (I was born during the time period so can’t remember it but have been told that it was a recession).

Adrian Mole is funny because of his “woe is me” attitude to everything that happens to him. He is an intellectual too (self-classified). He also has an innocence, particularly at the beginning of the book, to what goes on around him that leads to some more funny moments.

All in all I think this book has already proved itself what with its many millions of sales. If I were to say it were rubbish then it wouldn’t matter, but I liked it and thoroughly recommend it to people after a laugh.


(Book was received through Amazon Vine and is available here)

Casper Candlewacks in Death by Pigeon! by Ivan Brett

I got this book because the title and the blurb intrigued me. It sounded like the book was totally off-the-wall, and something I would enjoy.

After reading the book I wasn’t disappointed. The author was able to keep a certain zaniness throughout the whole book whilst still maintaining a plot which went a little something like this:

Casper Candlewacks, an 11-year-old boy, lives in a village Corne-on-the-Kobb with his family. His dad is the chef at the restaurant. One day the world-famous Italian magician, the Great Tiramisu, comes to the village to perform. However he has a coriander allergy and after eating a meal with lots of coriander at Casper’s dad’s restaurant he gets ill so places a curse on the village. This includes turning the pigeons into man-eating peckers. Casper’s dad is then blamed for this and the village sentences him to death by pigeon. Can Casper save the day?

My favourite bits were the jokes, particularly the running jokes about mice and those based on the phrase “and the rest, as they say, is history”. My worst bit was a little tangent in the middle where the book delved into the annual village donkey race. I didn’t feel this flowed well with the rest of the book.

Lastly the book is illustrated in a style that suits the writing with little quirky images popping up throughout the text.

I’m looking forward to reading the next Casper Candlewacks book already.

(Book was received through Amazon Vine and is available here)

What every man thinks about apart from sex by Shed Simove

Shed Simove with his book

If I were to compare this book to literature past then I would have to say that it was like the chapter entitled "The average director's knowledge of football". That is also blank but this comparison would be missing the point of this book. 

from Len Shackleton's famous autobigraphy "Clown Prince of Soccer". This book is what it is. A novelty product designed to make you laugh. And laugh you will. In fact it is ideal for sharing as it is so quick to get to the punchline. And because it is cheap it would make a great gift perhaps for the/a man in your life, or maybe you could buy it for the secret Santa gift you will inevitably need to get at Christmas time.

Of course if you disagree with the author you could also buy this book and fill in each page with what you believe men do think about apart from sex, like a football on page 1, a pint of beer on page 2, a Ferrari on page 3, and after that I struggle. But you can use the blank pages fro whatever you want (one Amazon reviewer already mentioned to write a novel in).

However one word of caution on this product, if you are after a substantial read then steer clear and maybe buy something else, like Shed Simove's other book to find out why he makes these products, or maybe Len Shackleton's book or perhaps the pop-up Pamela Anderson book you've been promising yourself, whoops...


(Book is available here)

Pyg by Russell Potter

What is it about pigs that makes us want to tell stories about them? There was Babe (otherwise known as The Sheep-pig), there was Wilbur from Charlotte's Web, and there was, er, Harry Hill's tale of Buster, his pet pig, from his Harry Hill - First Class Scamp DVD?

Well now add to the list this, the memoirs of Toby the pig. He was born in the 18th century. If you can get past the antiquated language and the antiquated typeface too then there is something here worth reading, although the story for me seemed to run out of steam towards the end.

The tale follows Toby's escape from becoming sausages, his first period of learning, his subsequent tour showcasing his talents, his adventures along the way, his second escape from possibly becoming sausages, more touring, more learning (you can see why I thought the book ran out of steam after a while), a trip to London, a farewell tour, more learning and finally his settling down once and for all.

Russell Potter says at the beginning that he is simply the editor of this book, not the author, with the memoirs being real and taken from the first editions that were published all that time back. However at the end Toby the pig talks about the success of his memoirs so this was either a mistake or the end chapter must not have been from the first editions as stated.

There is also an appendix giving biographies of the characters and places in the book. Perhaps this was there to add authenticity to the book but for me it held little interest although it did have the translations for several Latin phrases that were used in the latter half of the memoirs. If only I'd known that whilst I was reading them.

So a great start but fading out at the end.

(Book was received through Amazon Vine and is available here)