The Ghost by Robert Harris
Cold Cream by Ferdinand Mount
Black Mass by John Gray
Boris: The Rise of Boris Johnson by Andrew Gimson
The Forgery of Venus By Michael Gruber
Teenage by Jon Savage
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
Nick Hornby is an Arsenal fan and he looks the part – bald, middle aged and permanently disappointed. I once saw him autograph books at a Canary Wharf bookshop and mistook him for a Millwall fan. You get the idea - but on to his writing. When he is good, he can be very good. At other times, it resembles Arsenal’s football – boring in parts, showy in starts but ultimately not capable of winning anything any longer.
If anything, some of the books which have been turned into films end up being better than the books themselves. Superb moments of pathos in each of the films of Fever Pitch, High Fidelity and About a Boy.
And there is nothing wrong about his writing – I am a huge fan of 31 Songs. While I don’t know all of the songs, the idea of a soundtrack to one’s life is both compelling and appealing. My favourite book written by him. Then I read Housekeeping vs the Dirt. Same idea but about books this time. One good thought – that there is a separate tally for books bought in a month and books read that same month but again, not Champions League material. Again.
The Blair Years by Alistair Campbell - yesterday at Kinokuniya. As it is our nieces’ birthday this weekend, we got them each a Kipper book with a CD read by Dawn French. Of course, this was an excuse to buy my favourite Wibbly Pig book.
Back to what I am reading right now – The Steep Approach to Garbadale by Iain Banks. Never his best when on one of his periodic forays into the unfamiliar world of business or urban life. Meandering, lightweight and predictable – not about to be his best work. Stick to his horror or science fiction.
Now reading The Places in Between by Rory Stewart. Upper class Scot, ex-Army and Foreign Office, walks across Afghanistan. In the mould of Bruce Chatwin but without the charm or the finesse.
The Reach of a Chef – Michael Ruhlman. Reviews here.
Unwanted – novels for sale by weight. Will consider exchange. Wanted – children’s literature esp. picture books.
In Porco’s house, there are many rooms – this is his library. Here you can see what he is reading and read what he thinks about what he is reading. This is also a place for you to swap or sell your second hand books – but really only if you live in Singapore. Just use the comments page to advertise. Porco hopes you will have fun in his library.
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