Being terrible for buying tons of books at a time, which then sit untouched on my physical and virtual shelves for years whilst I get distracted by newer, shinier books, I thought I’d start this year by trying to get through some of my backlog. I picked Lorna Doone – this was a HUGE mistake, nearly robbing me of my reading mojo just two books into the new year. John Ridd is a farmer in the village of Oare and leads a simple enough life. […]
Mostly dull
Dr John Dee is astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I and, in most people’s eyes, a conjuror. Not because of his magical ability (as he has none) but because…well, mostly because the general population back then wasn’t exactly known for its reasonability, and seemed to really enjoy watching people get executed (and accusing someone of witchcraft virtually guaranteed getting them killed). Menaced by apparent portents of doom, Queen Liz sends Dr Dee on a secret mission to help protect her – recovering the bones of King […]
I now need to bathe in bleach.
Sweet Fucking Jeezus. I was 15 when bodies started being brought out of 25 Cromwell Street and, like the rest of the country, I equal parts fascinated and horrified at what else was unearthed alongside the remains of the young women that had fallen victim to Fred and Rose West. Thanks to the wall to wall media coverage that accompanied the investigation, I thought I had a fair idea of the depths of depravity that the West’s were capable of. Reading Happy Like Murderers quickly […]
Or, How Not to Climb A Mountain
As someone who has paged through the expedition diaries of more than one Victorian explorer, I found a lot to like about The Ascent of Rum Doodle, a satire of those very types of people and their writing. But even if you haven’t has the pleasure of reading much in that genre, you may still find something to like within. Led by Binder, a man desperate to be the type of leader he’s read about but lacking any insight into himself and others and trying […]