TD Online

First things first: this took me far too bloody long to finish. That’s not a criticism of the book itself – far from it – but more a reflection that I didn’t give it the attention I perhaps should. There’s various reasons / excuses I could make for that, but it mostly boils down to it not being the easiest of reads, and therefore only attracting my attention when I felt I could dedicate half an hour to it without wanting to fall asleep. Time for some fiction now I reckon!

As for the book though, despite the above paragraph, it’s a very interesting read. Effectively a run-down of Anarchism and ‘key’ anarchists throughout the centuries, culminating in their role and defeat into obscurity in Spain in the mid-to-late 1930’s. It covers characters such as Kropotkin, Godwin, Proudhon, Bakunin, Malatesta and Goldman, to name but a few, and also spends a good portion of its time explaining and exploring the somewhat strange relationship between the various anarchists and the communists as were springing up around the time of the First International.

All in all then, lots of things I had – at best – only the slightest of grips on, and it certainly paved the way to making further reading into the different areas more appealing.

It flows well, it’s well written, and spans the periods of time chronologically (as you may expect), often recalling characters that had been introduced earlier on and how most of the main figures knew each other, personally or otherwise,  as well as fairly carefully analyzing some of the failure points and successes at various times in the movement.

One of the things that was perhaps most pleasing about it as a read was the seeming lack of bias on behalf of Joll. As ever with books surrounding the political arena, I’m always a bit wary that the author will be approaching the subject from one side or the other, which usually comes across in the writing and can get a bit tedious. So it was nice to not have that to contend with!

Don’t know if I’d go as far as to recommend this to anyone, but if anarchy / history of political thoughts is your ‘bag’, then you could do worse.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read any of Fleming’s Bond and, I’ll be honest, I’d forgotten how much I really enjoyed his writing style, and why I’ve enjoyed the Daniel Craig Bond films like I have.

Fleming’s Bond is human. He’s gritty, has issues, doubts himself, and is far from perfect. But he’s human. And he’s involved in, shall we say, ‘adventures’ that let that shine.

This collection of short stories (around 7 in total, I think) includes some titles we’d all recognize; Quantum of Solace (obviously…), The Living Daylights, Octopussy, and From a View to a Kill for example. Hardly any of them relate to the films except in terms of borrowed titles.
But that’s not to detract from them, either as films or books. They’re just titles.

Instead, the short stories by and large seem to help ‘pad out’ Bond as a character. There are the odd one or two that deal with the action, the excitement and the ruthlessness we’ve come to know and love through the big screen, but at the same time many of the stories do more to flesh out the man than his actions.

Take Quantum of Solace, for example. It’s a very short story (around 40 pages, from memory) detailing a conversation Bond has with some Governor of sorts somewhere. There’s no typical ‘Bond action’, no fancy Bond-esque innuendos, in fact, not much Bond talking, but what he does say shows a depth of character that all so often is lacking from the big screen translations.

Since I’ve spoken about this but been unable to remember the exact translation, here’s an excerpt that explains the Quantum of Solace – this may only make sense to those I’ve spoke to about it, as the rest of the story does a better job of the detail:

… it’s the same with all relationships between a man and a woman. They can survive anything so long as some kind of basic humanity exists between the two people. When all kindness has gone, when one person obviously and sincerely doesn’t care if the other is alive or dead, then it’s just no good. That particular insult to the ego – worse, to the instinct of self-preservation – can never be forgiven… I’ve seen flagrant infidelities patched up… crimes and even murder forgiven by the other party… bankruptcy and every other form of social crime… Incurable disease, blindness, disaster – all of these can be overcome. But never the death of common humanity in one of the partners… I’ve invented a rather high-sounding title for this basic factor in human relations… the Law of the Quantum of Solace…

So, yeh, there it is. As you have hopefully guessed, the short story surrounding that excerpt elaborates on a particular example, and does a damn good job, but the fact is it doesn’t revolve around Bond. It doesn’t even revolve around anyone he knows. But seeing his reactions, reading his thoughts as this entire process takes place, provides that little extra piece of understanding into the character as a whole. And the other short stories do the same.

As with previous Bond books I’ve read (albeit many years ago), these short stories were a joy to read, and I seemed to fly through it (especially when compared to my reading pace of late). As such, I’d recommend it to anyone who has an interest in something that’s light and easy to read, but also has enough in it to make you think every now and then.
You by no means have to strain to read it. You can read bits, put it down and come back to it later quite easily. But it’s very good at what it does.

One of the first auto-biographies (of sorts) of a comedian that I ever read was Rik Mayall’s ‘Bigger then Hitler, Better than Jesus’ and, following on from that, I learned to take all of them with a heavy pinch of salt, at least until proven otherwise.

And that’s probably the one piece of advice I would pass on. And it applies to this, in my opinion, which is probably a huge disservice to Russel Brand – it’s not that I don’t believe every anecdote and tale of craziness – there’s plenty in there that is just too insane / sick / mental / fun for it be moderately fabricated, but the tales that are described are so far away from things I can relate to I did find myself once or twice thinking, “Oh, come on, you’ve dramatized this a bit somewhat, haven’t you? Sneakily crafted in some little white lies to spice it up? It’s ok, you can tell me.”

But that all sounds very negative, and I don’t mean that at all.

The book is a fun, comfortable read, albeit with stories in there that, I would imagine, depict some pretty alien scenes to the majority of readers.

What does the writing style tell us about Brand? Probably nothing that’s not already documented, but I also don’t really want to be drawn on those conversations.

Taken as is, it’s fun, interesting, and occasionally prods areas of the heart and mind unexpectedly. And it is amusing. I’ve never disliked Brand, and in many ways found the book as I expected I would – a slight reflection of his on-screen personality in text form.
If you’re a fan of his anyway, you’ve probably already toyed with reading it – and I’d recommend that.

If you actively dislike him (I know plenty of people claim to) then don’t bother picking it up because, in all honesty, you “won’t get it”. Not that there’s anything to get, nor is there a particularly benchmark I can set aside as being “it”, but it won’t do anything for you.

If you’ve never really heard much of him then it’d be interesting to see how you find it. It does contain a plentiful amount of sex, drugs, and rock and roll though, so bear that in mind if you are easily offended by such things.

First off, I think it’s fair to say that this review has been a long time coming – I’ve been reading this book for absolutely ages, which is unfair on the book to say the least.

I have not been a long time reading it because it’s a long book, nor because it’s a dull read – far from it. More, I’ve been a long time reading it because I couldn’t bring myself to leave it mid-chapter if I got sleepy / had to get up and move somewhere else and such matters. That’s still no excuse for it taking as long as it has.

And this little ditty will by no means lean the weight deserved on this book.

It is, simply, superb.

Herbert’s writing is immensely deep, intricate, and well thought out. The scenes described come to life and capture the imagination like almost no other book can (the last example I can think of that caught me like this is when I first read Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ when I was about 12). Every aspect of it comes alive in your mind and immerses you in the storyline, from the green-garden-esque scenes in the Atreides’ household when they first arrive on Dune to the sandy wastelands interspersed with rocky outcrops of the southern regions, it all grips you and comes to life in the process. You can feel and hear the sand whip across your feet, envision the hordes stepping in their intentional non-rhythmic way across the sands, and feel the tips of the blades when they come close. It’s really super, super stuff.

When people use the term ‘Science Fiction’ I’m sure a lot of folks first thoughts (like mine used to a good few years ago) turn to the idea of space travel, lasers, and Death Stars. The reality is, ‘Dune’ is what Science Fiction is all about, in my honest opinion.

It’s about providing the reader with enough ‘reality’ that they can see and feel it, hear and smell it, whilst at the same time allowing the story to include things that are just that bit beyond reality – comprehendible but distant, realistic but strange.

Whether you are a ‘Sci-Fi’ fan or not, I would reccommend everyone reads this book at least once.

I will certainly read again, and desperately seek out the sequels.

Side-splittingly funny.

Even if you don’t sit down to read it in one stin. just being able to refer to different segments of it is perfect for a spot of light relief.

I’ll be honest. Moderate at best.

I found it entertaining enough, and it was a pleasant ‘light read’, but I’d have to say that’s all it is.

If you enjoy action / shooty-shooty type books and are about to go on a relaxing holiday then it’s worth a go, but don’t arrive expecting an epic.

I’d still like to get hold of a copy of Bravo Two Zero to see how that is, but I wouldn’t rush out to read another piece of fiction from him.

No, I haven’t seen the film and, to be honest, before reading the book, I wouldn’t have really wanted to. Now, however, I don’t think I’d mind giving it a try.

The novel is very well written, extremely descriptive, and very vivid, all of which combine to make something that I find fairly difficult to relate to (having never been to the ‘Far East’, let alone Japan before, and it being set a good 50 years before I was born) accessible and approachable. The descriptions used conjure up very clear images and really set the tone for the novel.

Whilst I can’t say how accurate his descriptions of the Geisha culture is, it strikes me that he knows his stuff and is very confident in the way he writes. There’s little bias. Every time you read something that would make me stop and think ‘wow, that’s a bit different’, Sayuri counteracts by adding a point that makes it seem not quite so horrific as it might seem to an outsider.

Written from the perspective of a young girl who is removed from her family and placed into what can only be described as the ‘Geisha Program’, Golden does a superb job of relating things from is character’s perspective and I have to admit that every few pages I was finding myself impressed with his work.

It’s not a book I imagined I was going to enjoy greatly, but I ended up really getting into it and, like I said, it provided the impulse that would make me happy to get a copy of the movie. Which isn’t a bad thing, necessarily.

This could easily be described in just two words: good vocab.

A great read, with lots of amusing (to my – the passive reader’s – eyes) little tales and analogies of things that happened, and raises some excellent arguments based on his experiences whilst growing up.
Extremely interesting, light-hearted at times, thought provoking at others, everything you could want in an autobiography, even if it does only cover his first 20 years.
I will definitely seek out his other titles.

Thanks should go to Ed who left this with us a few weeks ago.

Side-splittingly funny. I don’t think I’ve read a novel that made me literally laugh out loud quite as much as this since reading the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series.

Sayle’s descriptions and comparisons are hilarious due in part to their vividness, and partly due to their absurdity – yet at the same time they provide reason to stop and reflect upon the points being made.

Certainly a book I would recommend everybody should read if they get the chance, and I should thank Zog for leaving it out here with us – highly entertaining!

I look forward to getting hold of some of his other books at some point.

The third sci-fi novel that I’ve read by Iain M. Banks, and the second one that is a part of the ‘Culture’ set.

And my opinions on them stay the same.

Whilst I’m by no means a sci-fi expert, I find Banks’ books entertaining, amusing, thought-provoking, imaginative, and vivid. Simply put, I can’t fault it.

Even for those who don’t think Science Fiction is their ‘bag’, I would thoroughly recommend trying one of these novels out, although from what I’ve read so far I would probably use Consider Phlebas as a starting point.

The story line here is engrossing, and brings up some important analytical points, but it does at times come across as a little confusing!

Go on, do it for me.