Like Father, Like Son

Can't really believe I've finished three books in as many days!  On the one hand, I wish that I could do it more often, but on the other hand, I'd rather not have the cold that's kept me indoors and reading all the time.  But at least I've turned a negative into a positive!

The most recent book I've finished is 'Him and Me' by father and son team Michael and Jack Whitehall.  Whitehall senior is a retired agent who has worked with some very well known stage and screen actors, while Whitehall junior is a stand up comedian and actor, star of BBC Three's 'Bad Education' and Channel Four's 'Fresh Meat'.

'Him and Me' is a brilliantly conceived collection of funny stories spanning the Whitehall's shared life from Jack's birth until his late teens.  The anecdotes are amusing in themselves, but the book is made all the funnier by its structure.  Each tale written by Jack is supplemented with 'corrections' and footnotes by Michael and vice versa.  It's these comments that make it worth a read.

As you can probably tell, I rather enjoyed this book.  The footnotes make it much funnier than the average memoir and it's got a friendly, family feel because it's much like listening to two competitive relations telling stories, unable to resist who chipping in over the top of each other.  It brings the text to life and allows the authors to get away with all sorts of tall tales as it places everything firmly tongue in cheek.

Another great strength is also possibly the book's biggest weakness.  Because the book has two very different authors representing two separate generations, it has two potential audiences, one older and one younger.  The book could appeal to both groups - or maybe neither.  The language used and some of the humour (it seems nudity runs rampant in this family!) may put off an older reader, while the younger reader may get irritated by regular mentions of prestigious actors they may not be aware of.

In me, I think the Whitehalls have found the right audience however.  I love a bit of tongue-in-cheek, Carry On humour and enjoy older films and TV, so knew of a lot of the people mentioned.  Whether there are enough like me to make this a bestseller, though, I really don't know!

Overall, I'd recommend 'Him and Me'.  It's an easy, funny read and just the think to lighten up the dark winter nights.

Now, for a bit of Dark Ages intrigue with Bernard Cornwell and Lord Uhtred of Bebbanburg. 

It's a Family Affair

I've just finished 'The House We Grew Up In' by Lisa Jewell, sent to me by publisher's Random House.  It's not a book I would've picked for myself, but it made a change reading something 'off list'.

'The House We Grew Up In' is the story of the Bird family; children Megan, Beth, Rory and Rhys, dad Colin and mum Lorelei.  At the epicentre of family life is the sinister eccentric Lorelei, determined that the fixtures of a perfect, rose-tinted childhood remain in place while stubbornly ignoring anything that threatens her idyll.  The pinnacle of the year is Easter Sunday in the Cotswold family home, a day of guests, egg hunts and roast lamb.  But one year the cracks give way and a shocking act rocks the family's image of itself.  As relationships are tested, is it too late for the Birds?

'The House We Grew Up In'
by Lisa Jewell
(Century, 2013)

The first thing that struck me about this book was how absorbing it was, a credit to the author Lisa Jewell.  She adeptly manages several different voices from several different times, drip feeding individual stories to keep the narrative pushing forward and the reader engaged.

Just as I felt I was on safe ground and that I had a grasp on the characters because I could relate to them, however, their behaviour started to take unexpected turns.  I suppose it makes sense in the context of the story, but everything did go a bit 'soap opera-y' and feel a bit out there.  But because of the understanding I'd gained of the characters in the first part of the book, I was willing to give the benefit of the doubt as I wanted to know what would happen to them.

Overall, I'm not sure that this is a book I'd recommend to many people as it's subject matter is actually quite dark.  It's not really a book to enjoy in the conventional sense.  I liked the writing enough to want to read more by the author, however, and intend to do so.  But I rather need read some more on the list first!

Time for a Rhyme!

For obvious reasons, many friends and family members no longer buy me books for Christmas, but every so often someone can't resist.  That's how I became the proud owner of 'You Made Me Late Again!', Pam Ayre's latest collection of poems, anecdotes and sketches.

'You Made Me Late Again!'
by Pam Ayres
(Ebury Press, 2013)

Pam Ayres is well known for her wonderful ability to take the trials and trivia of everyday life and see the funny side.  As her fans know, she's also skilled at reflecting on everyday heartaches and reminding her readers that they're not silly for feeling sad.  All these sides of Ms Ayres' work are reflected in this latest volume.  As well as covering feeling terrible after a party that was a bit too much fun, loosing sleep over loosing sleep and an evening ruined because of worries about curling tongs that may or may not be on, her latest collection also makes observations on such varied topics as animal welfare, favourite pets (yours and other people's!), salespeople who let their expertise get the better of you, fly tipping, bigotry and Ilfracombe's sea front Damien Hurst.


I enjoyed this book, even though it's not something I would've bought myself.  I both cheered up and welled up as I read it Boxing Day and by the end found myself marvelling at all the little, shared experiences of life that are so easy to miss along the way.

As you may have noticed, I'm not a big fan of poetry, but just as Ms Ayres' subjects are accessible, so are her rhymes, so don't let the label put you off.  It was also good fun to have prose and sketches mixed in with the poems.

Overall, this was lovely surprise and a charming read that I would recommend, although it's probably more for the girls than it is for the boys.  I certainly enjoyed it and am sure I'll read it again.  A well chosen Christmas present gratefully received!

Mega Bite

I really don't get the modern thing about vampires being sexy.  I understand where it all came from - the whole hypnotic, animal magnetism thing - but it's really gone too far.  They're predators that rip people's throats out, for crying out loud, not harmless, puppy-eyed boys who just need someone to change them!  If I were conspiratorially inclined, I'd start wondering if we were being prepared for some sort of undead invasion.  Or was that just an episode of 'Being Human' I once saw..?

The big noise in vampire circles has to be Dracula and I have finally finished the Bram Stoker novel of the same name.

'Dracula' begins with solicitor Jonathan Harker travelling to a castle in remote Transylvania.  Seeing the local superstitions as quaint and backward, he fails to realise how much danger he is in until it's too late. Harker has been employed to complete a house purchase for Count Dracula and, once done, he finds himself trapped in the castle as his host's eccentricities are revealed as something more sinister.  Meanwhile, back in England, friends Lucy Westernra and Mina Murray are planning their futures.  While Mina waits for her fiancé Harker to return and Lucy picks Arthur Holmwood from a trio of suitors, the girls dream of a future of wedded bliss.  But dreams soon turn to nightmares as Lucy's sleepwalking puts her in harm's way and the friends find themselves the victim of some unknown horror...

In a way, I feel a bit sorry for 'Dracula'.  The book was seized by film makers almost as soon as it was published and, like Sherlock Holmes or James Bond, the character has outgrown and evolved far beyond the original source material.  Everyone thinks they know Dracula, so it's really hard to leave all that baggage at the front cover and come to the book with an open mind.

The other reason why this book took me six weeks to read is the language.  'Dracula' is at times tense, exciting, unnerving and action-packed, but unfortunately I find 19th century prose really heavy going.  The long sections of dialogue were frustrating and hard work and Stoker's depiction of Professor Van Helsing's accent swings between embarrassing and racist to modern eyes.  As a result, I didn't exactly steam through it.

I'm very glad I persevered, however, and did finish the book because I discovered that it wasn't about what I thought it was about.  It's often said that great stories or characters live on because they're reinterpreted for different times.  So, for example, vampirism has been used as a metaphor for lust, for addiction and for contageous disease.  It turns out that 'Dracula' is actually about old vs new, ancient vs modern and tradition vs technology.

It's also about other things too, like solitude and friendship, teamwork and faith.  But what it's not about is sexy, seductive, aristocratic men and the promise of eternal youth.  But hopefully, that's just the latest interpretation and in a few years we'll see something new come around which doesn't seem quite as distasteful in a modern world of airbrushing, body dysmorphia and eating disorders.

Overall, 'Dracula' was quite an interesting and, I suppose, thought-provoking, read, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you're lucky enough to find old fashioned writing styles a doddle.  Equally, however, I'm not aware of any film or TV adaptation I'd recommend either.  In truth, although I doubt I'll ever read this book again, I may listen to it on CD, which I suppose continues the novel's main theme!  Hopefully the BBC have done a really good adaptation, but in the meantime, it's back to the shelves!

A view across Whitby

Who's Confused, Clarice Bean?

In the words of Noddy Holder, it's Chriiiiiiiistmaaaaaaas!  Well, nearly.  It's definitely prezzie buying season and for me that means some guilt-free trips to the local book shops!

I'm very fortunate in that I've got to an age where I have lots of children to buy for.  It gives me a chance to catch up on what's happening in that brightly coloured section which I never used to go in to.  An awful lot seems to have changed since I was a kid.  I'm pretty sure there are a lot more books now and a lot more authors too.  Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl and the Ahlbergs are still there, often with whole shelves to themselves, but even these big names are sometimes quite hard to spot among the spines embossed with those I've never heard of.  Equally, I've been surprised to see some familiar names from other spheres in the children's section - David Walliams always seems to busy, so I was amazed to find he'd published four children's books!

All this change leads to a weird sense of wonder and disorientation when I'm in a children's section.  Sometimes this actually begins way before I even get to the shop.  For example, one conversation I had with a mum in the run up to last Christmas went something like:

"What would your daughter like for Christmas? What's she reading?"
"She likes Clarice Bean books."

"Pardon?"

"Clarice Bean."

"What on Earth is a 'Clarice Bean'?"

All I can say is I'm grateful for Google.  As it happens, I had a brilliant time researching Clarice Bean books.  'My Uncle is a Hunkle' is probably one of my favourite book titles of all time.

Although it's great that this area is churning with new authors, for an oldie like me it's reassuring to see that the books I loved as a child are still available.  I've mentioned Dahl and Blyton already, but it's great to see Mr Majeika, Flat Stanley and Mrs Pepperpot are all still around.  It's easy to look back on the things we loved as children with rose-tinted spectacles, so it's good to know that these books have stood the test of time and are still enjoyed by new generations.

And that, I think, is an important point.  Parents share the stories they loved with their children, perhaps even the actual books they read themselves when small.  Some of my fondest memories are of my father reading to me and I've enjoyed reading to other people's children - hopefully they liked it too!  Sharing stories is something that human beings have done since the dawn of time, an act which helps groups and families bond and allows important lessons to be passed on.

So, perhaps while I enjoy buying books for children because I just love books, maybe its actually part of something a bit bigger and more important.  Or maybe I'm just looking for a really, really good excuse to go book shopping!

Now, enough of the nostalgia, back to the reading!