Shop 'til you Drop

I'm afraid I've done it again. I borrowed a book from the library to see if it sounded interesting and ended up reading it all the way through instead of something from my list. I'm sorry.

On the plus side, it was a very interesting book.  I've just finished reading 'Consumed: How Shopping Fed the Class System', the first book by Telegraph journalist Harry Wallop.

Mr Wallop has noticed, like many, that the old definitions of class don't work in the UK any more. The decline of manufacturing and the growth of white collar industries means what we would think of as working class has rapidly shrunk, while the stereotypical layabout lords and ladies have morphed into farm shop managers and tourist attraction owners. Over the past 60 years, disposable income has increased and more and more people have started to consider themselves 'middle class'. Effectively all three labels have been rendered completely meaningless.

Wallop, however, has identified a number of new, more relevant classes.  Whereas the old system was based factors people often have little control over, such as where you went to school, who your family were and how you spoke , Wallop suggests that the biggest identifier of class today is what we buy and where we shop.

In the introduction to 'Consumed', he identifies several new classes; the Portland Privateers, the Wood Burning Stovers, the Hyphen-Leighs, the Sun Skittlers, Middleton Classes and the Asda Mums. Although his list feels incomplete, enough of what he said later in the book rang true to make me think he's actually onto something. And, no, I'm not going to admit which category I fall into, although his analysis was scarily accurate at times!

When someone writes a book on class, it's always a worry that it can become disdainful or judgemental about certain socio-cultural books. Although 'Consumed' did feel a bit so to start off with, possibly because the author comes straight out with his 'upper class' family history, it didn't really last long and by the end the book was at worst tongue in cheek and at best simply fascinating.

In reality, this is a book about marketing and segmentation.  It's a bit chicken and egg - are people slotting into particular consumer groups because of what they're sold or are they sold it because they're in a particular group?  I suppose we'll never know, but it was interesting to read about how shops decide where to open and what ranges to offer. Although I'd noticed that not every supermarket stocks the same lines, I had no idea that some places will never see certain shops because of the socio-cultural groups who live there. I suppose it makes good business sense, but it's still a little scary.

Is class based on shopping better than the old system? On the whole, I think it probably is a step in the right direction. So long as no one starts preventing people from buying items aimed at other 'classes'. But it would be nice to see Wallop's ideas developed further. For example, where does borrowing books from the library fit?

Overall, this is a very interesting, well written book. The author does a great job of balancing readability with raw data, but it does give the book the feel of an extended comment article.  Then again, Wallop is only mooting an idea and doesn't claim to be an anthropologist. I would be very interested to see these ideas picked up and analysed further by academia.  But, in the meantime, I think it's going to be a while before I stop thinking of people in terms of Portland Privateers, Wood Burning Stovers, Hyphen-Leighs, Sun Skittlers, Middleton Classes and Asda Mums!

I look forward to your next book, Mr Wallop. I might even buy that one!

Now, back to Georgette Heyer.

Killing Me Softly

I've just finished 'Never Let Me Go' by Kazuo Ishiguro, a book which has really got you talking on Twitter!

Set in an imaginary late 1990s Britain, 'Never Let Me Go' tells the story of three friends; the devious Ruth, child-like Tommy and contemplative Kathy, all former inmates of Hailsham, a boarding school with almost mythical status among their peers.  At the age of 32, Kathy has become a carer and reflects on the truths and lies which have had such a major impact on all their lives, many rooted, like their friendship, in their formative years at Hailsham under the guardianship of the authoritative Miss Emily and the conflicted Miss Lucy.

This book is a lot better than the previous paragraph makes it sound, but I daren't write more as I don't want to give anything away!

'Never Let Me Go' is the least science fiction-y science fiction book I've ever read.  I really didn't think it was science fiction until quite a way into the book, which just goes to show how daft labelling by genre really is.  There are two stories going on here - that of Kathy and her friends and that of the role they and others like them play in wider society.  The book's strength is its subtlety, in that it's not about a big technological idea, it's about the people who have to live with the consequences of it.  Ishiguro remains focussed and faithful to the human element throughout, so, despite a persistent sense that something isn't quite right, the science fiction is really only drip fed to the reader when it's necessary for the personal narrative.

By the end of the book, you realise that this is story is full of enough thought provoking allegory to keep any book group discussing it for many years.  Animal rights, what makes us human, innocence and childhood are just a few themes that spring to mind.  If this book isn't on the English Literature syllabus already, it really should be.

As soon as I got to the end of this book, I was ready to turn back to the first page and read it again.  Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it!) I do have one or two other ones to read first, but I'm sure I will return to 'Never Let Me Go' in the future.  In the meantime, this is a story that will live up to its name.

Now, what next...

The Difficult Second Year Post

I can't believe I've been writing this blog for two years already!  And I definitely can't believe it's a whole five months since I last reviewed my progress. Blimey!

I have to be honest, though, and say that not much has really changed since my review of the year in December. Despite not finishing anything in January, I'm still averaging two books a month (yay!), but I've still not really latched onto any themes or events or read any classics (boo!).  I've picked up 'Jane Eyre', 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' and 'To Kill a Mocking Bird' at various times, but somehow always managed to get distracted by something else. Clearly I'm shallower than I thought and these books need shinier covers!

On the plus side, and I hope you agree with me on this, what I'm reading is still quite varied. As someone who loves Historical Fiction and Science Fiction, I often worry that I'll get carried away and read too much of one or other of these genres. I really don't want to bore anyone and think my 'library' is broad enough to cater for most people, so hopefully this won't become a problem. Having said that, I do want to read a few series of books, although this category ranges from the Poldark novels to Ian Fleming's James Bond books, so perhaps I don't need to worry!

So, between May 2012 and April 2013, I read 23 books. Not bad considering I had a couple of quite major lulls due to the length (and sometimes weight!) of what I was reading. Sadly, I've not been able to help myself when unleashed in the local bookshop, so this hasn't really made much difference to the overall total.

I am reading more due to the lovely weather we've been having lately though.  It makes such a change to be sat in the warm sunshine, lulled by the sound of insects buzzing about, rather than inside, under a blanket, listening to constant rain thrashing against the windows.  So, as long as the weather holds, I'm quite hopeful for the next few months.  Just so long as I don't get too relaxed!

As always, thank you very much for reading this blog and sticking with me despite the lack of progress! I'm glad that you're interested in what I've read and what I've thought about it and hope that you're enjoying at least a few of the posts. At least not all of them are as dull as this one!

May 2012
'Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day' by Winifred Watson
'Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops' by Jen Campbell
'Notes on a Scandal' by Zoe Heller

July
'Fragile Things' by Neil Gaiman
'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald

August
'The Somnambulist' by Essie Fox
'The Day of the Triffids' by John Wyndham

September
'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry' by Rachel Joyce
'In-Flight Entertainment' by Helen Simpson

October
'Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures' by Emma Straub
'Bob Servant: Hero of Dundee' by Neil Forsythe
'Sword Song' by Bernard Cornwell

November
'How to be a Woman' by Caitlin Moran
'Legend of Sleepy Hollow' by Washington Irving

December
'Little Boy Lost' by Marghanita Laski
'The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ' by Philip Pullman

February 2013

'My Heart is My Own' by John Guy

'Fluke' by James Herbert

March

'My Word is My Bond' by Roger Moore

'The Man Who Fell to Earth' by Walter Tevis

'The Real Me is Thin' by Arabella Weir

April

'The Other Queen' by Philippa Gregory

'Remember Me?' by Sophie Kinsella