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Currently Reading…
How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran. It's funny cos it's true.
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. Stuck half way, but it's true, her eyes do change colour. Like David Bowie. Or a Blythe doll.
Recently read…
Gumble's Yard by John Rowe Townsend.
Noah's Castle by John Rowe Townsend.
The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness. Grim, but brilliant kids' book.
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. Brilliant dystopian book for teens. The short prequel is a free Kindle download.
Seven Types of Ambiguity by Elliot Perlman. 607 pages, seven viewpoints of the same extraordinarily inter-twined events. Clever, full of good ideas but I didn't warm to the main character and didn't love it anywhere near as much as A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz.
The Fear by Charlie Higson.
Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson. I HATED this book - which was a surprise as I really liked the previous 3 Jackson Brodies, esp the previous one. Why? Too many characters I didn't care about. Not enough Jackson Brodie. And I know it's grim up North - but just too, too grim. Forced myself to finish it, but only because I bloody paid for it.
When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson. MUCH better than the TV adaptation, which I found very confusing. Very readable - some of the turns choices made by the main characters have had me going 'whaaat'? but it's all the more believable and enjoyable for them.
One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson. Good, but didn't enjoy it as much as Case Histories.
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. Bliss.
Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi by Geoff Dyer.
Solar by Ian McEwan. Good holiday read but not stunning literature.
One Day by David Nicholls. I am officially the last person-but-one in England to read this. Loved it, though. Bastard.
Moonraker by Ian Fleming. Ah, another improbably-named young woman to see you, Mr Bond. (Like I can talk).
Obstacles to Young Love by David Nobbs. This lad Nobbs will go far. Funny, touching, very occasionally annoying, but a damn fine novel.
The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim by Jonathan Coe. Hated the ending. Sorry. Sure it's been done elsewhere. My first, and probably last, Coe.
Hungry the Stars and Everything by Emma Jane Unsworth. Delicious!
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber. It's Dickens with swear words. In a good way.
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. From 1949. Perfect. It's so good, I love it so much. Cannot believe I've never read this before.
Jar City by Arnaldur Indriðason - bit disappointed. Just a police procedural. Not that odd. No big DNA conspiracy.
The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford - I proof-read a neighbour's uni essay on this and had to read it. Bleak it is, so bleak - especially for a man of my age and circumstance. Almost gave up but half way through I 'got it' and glad I finished it. But grim. Grim.
The Game by Jack London.
The Man Who Went Up In Smoke by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. 2nd Martin Beck novel from the original masters of the modern (1960s) police procedural.
Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks writing as Ian Fleming. I enjoyed this WAY more than Engleby. Really good, flavour of Bond captured very well indeed.
Dead Man's Cove by Lauren St John. Great children's book, set in St Ives, Cornwall. If the Laura Marlin Mysteries continue like this, I might have to write my own Caitlin Ros Mysteries. (Geddit?!)
Sweet Desserts by Lucy Ellman.
Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming.
Engleby by Sebastian Faulks. My first Faulks - he's too damn popular with the ladies for my liking. I almost gave up on it on page 85. Luckily something happens on page 86. Blog post coming...
Street Kids by Chandrika Kaviraj. Excellent unpublished story for older children set in Pakistan and India during Partition.
The Sacred Art of Stealing by Christopher Brookmyre.
Casino Royale by Ian Fleming. My first Bond. It's just as I would have hoped and expected. And me oh my does Vesper Lynd remind me of someone.
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. There's a stunning novel in here, struggling to get out. Just spare me the state of Russian agriculture, Leo, I beg you...
Nemesis by Jo Nesbø - this is shaping up very nicely, up there with The Snowman and The Redeemer.Calendar
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Category Archives: photography
Why I don’t get Instagram
Maybe I’m too old, maybe even I’m just getting a bit jaded with the faded faux Polaroid aesthetic – but I really don’t get Instagram. Instagram is a suddenly fashionable iPhone camera and social networking thing that aims to snatch … Continue reading
Télégramme Sam, you’re my main man
Delicious new photography magazine… Check it out: http://www.sarahmia.co.uk/telegramme/
Useful iPhone camera apps
There are gazillions of camera and photo apps for the iPhone – here’s a review of the ones I’ve tried on an iPhone 3GS, starting with the most useful. Thanks to Dave for pointing me in the direction of many … Continue reading
Martin Parr on Flickr
Someone on Flickr quoting Martin Parr on Flickr – he’s quite right, of course… there is a huge compulsion to conform to what will make an image that will be popular on Flickr. I do it all the time. So … Continue reading
Great un-taken photographs, number 73
Outside Tesco on the Strand in London this morning: hundreds of cartons of milk spilled all over the road and pavement. Title: “No use crying”. I even had my camera on me and I still didn’t take it. It was … Continue reading
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Moving pictures
The new video feature on Flickr has – predictably – caused a small storm with thousands of users joining a group calling for video to be removed from the site; these are Flickr purists who think the site should just … Continue reading
Posted in internet, photography
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Great Un-taken Photographs, again
NUMBER UMPTEEN IN AN OCCASIONAL SERIES. Another ‘damn, if only I’d remembered my camera’ moment this morning. On the train, sitting in front of me, diagonally across the aisle, her back to me. She is copying a speech out of … Continue reading
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eeePC – the photographer’s friend
The Asus eeePC is great for the photographer on the hoof – especially if your camera uses SD cards which you can just pop in the slot in the side. The default image viewers are okay but leave a bit … Continue reading
Posted in Asus eee PC, Linux, photography, Xandros
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The genius of photography
Being a bit spoilt at the moment… an excellent series on photography started on BBC Four this week, and an adviser to the programme is one one of my favourite photographers, Martin Parr. There was also a nice supplement on … Continue reading
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Photos of Conflict
Check this out: http://inmotion.magnumphotos.com/essays/conflict Every one of these photos is better than the lame photo that – unaccountably – won the World Press Photo Award this year. And Robin Lustig – what can I say? He the man. (If you’re … Continue reading
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