A bit of a laugh?
Self-Loathing for Beginners
by Lynn Phillips
What a great title for a book! You expect great humour from a book with a title like that. You tend to think that someone who can come up with such an excellent title must be able to write a matchingly witty book. Unfortunately, I don't think it lives up to its initial promise.
"The greatest misconception beginners have about self-loathing is that you have to be loathsome to excel at it. Not true."
That's the opening line of the book. You can move on from there to self-loathing re the body, fashion, sex, romance, family, work, social or spiritual life and more.
I confess I haven't read it but thumbing through, I thought some of the quotes appeared interesting (Robert Burton 1621 " .. thou cannot think worse of me than I do of myself"). I also wondered if a closer reading would reveal the difference between self-loathing and self-abasement as many of the examples I caught sight of appeared (to me) to deal with the latter.
Why not get a copy of the book and set me straight?
Whatever Happened to . . . . ?
Whatever Happened to. . . . ? The Ultimate Sequels Book
by Adrian Mourby with illustrations by Graham Round
We have all finished reading a book and wondered how life turned out for the protagonists afterwards - after the end of the book, I mean. We have all been annoyed at some point by an improbably happy ending and wished to see the heroine subjected to a more deserved fate. And perhaps (when young and idealistic) we have wondered why the poor hero was destined to come to such a sad end.
I myself would have despatched Anna Karenina a lot earlier, given half a chance, and if I'd had my way, some of the Karamazov family wouldn't have lasted nearly so long.
In this book, Adrian Mourby allows us to read about a different outcome for Pinocchio, Frankenstein's monster, Jane Eyre, the Big Bad Wolf, Romeo, the Artful Dodger, Dorothy (she of the rainbow), Jim Hawkins (he of the island), Snow White, and Man Friday.
Light entertaining reading that can be dipped into when time isn't available for settling down with Tolstoy or Dostoevsky.
Motorcycles
What bike won the 1952 Manx GP?
Which marque had models G50, G45, G80CS and G3L?
Which company was affectionately known as Matchbox?
If you answered all the above questions with ease, you may not need to read this book but you will certainly want to.
Matchless: Once the Largest British Motorcycle Manufacturer
by Peter Hartley
This history traces the development from pedal cycles to attached petrol engines to racing motorcycles and cars. There is coverage of all the highlights of TT and Brooklands and GPs and the association with AMC, AJS, Norton, Francis-Barnett and James.
These names arouse passion in the hearts of the many who think that this was British motorcycling at its very best: superb reliable engineering at a reasonable price.
Once Peter Hartley has extensively and inspiringly covered the rise and rise of Matchless, he then tries to explain what went wrong and what factors contributed to the demise of such a successful machine. His love for motorcycles and their engines shines through on every page.
Good as Goldie
The same cannot be said of Karl Sim. However, if you read Tim Wilson's book Good as Goldie, you will learn all about New Zealand's most famous art forger: Karl F Sim aka CF Goldie. He didn't confine himself to Goldie though. For several decades, he forged the work of famous NZ artists such as Rita Angus, Toss Woolaston & Colin McCahon and broadened his brush strokes with the likes of Degas and Renoir.
Karl Sim led a wild and colourful life which he recounts to journalist Tim Wilson in this book. He is a real character and, as long as you are not constrained by an inability to laugh at lawlessness and criminality, you can't fail to be amused by this. It's a great story.
Soil
"We are exhausting the quality of our soils. As we do so, the quality of our plants goes down. And we are accepting this."
A quote from William A. Albrecht PhD and as apt today as it was when he said it.
"Dr Albrecht was a scientist whose extensive experiments with growing plants and animals substantiated his theory and observation that a declining soil fertility, due to a lack of organic material, major elements and trace minerals - or a marked imbalance in these nutrients - was responsible for poor crops and in turn for pathological conditions in animals fed deficient feeds from such soils. Obviously, mankind is no exception." A quote from the introduction written by Dr Granville Knight, MD.
This is a must read for every farmer, gardener, soil scientist, ecologist and anyone with an interest in food, health & illness. Even though some of the science may be beyond the likes of me, there are still accessible parts that are well worth the effort.
An informative, interesting and essential but depressing book:
The Albrecht Papers Volume 1 Foundation Concepts
The Mystery of Illness
What is illness?
What effect does the mind have on the body?
Why do placebos work?
Think of spells, incantations, herbalism, acupuncture, Ayurvedic, healing ceremonies, hypnotism, osteopathy, chiropractic, eating one's way to health, prayer or laying on of hands and think how fascinating it would be to read a balanced and open analysis. This book argues that every type of medicine has its own validity. It examines all the healing arts. It is an interesting look at ancient, modern, scientific and complementary medical systems and will appeal to anyone with an interest in medicine and health today. That's everyone really, so come in and get a copy of:
The Healing Arts: A Journey Through the Faces of Medicine
by Ted Kaptchuk and Michael Croucher
Great Railway Journeys
On the Slow Train Again: Twelve Great British Railway Journeys
by Michael Williams
Great British Railway Journeys
by Charlie Bunce & Michael Portillo
These two books celebrate the beauty of train journeys, in this case in Britain, and present a fabulous insight into the history, the landscape and the lasting legacy of railways.
No-one can fail to be moved by the excitement and magic of train travel: waiting on a platform as a steam engine pulls in and then clambering aboard to claim a seat by the window, but even if you can no longer find a steam engine, you can still enjoy the charm and fascination of rail travel (as long as you are not commuting by train, of course).
Michael Williams and Charlie Bunce approach the subject from different perspectives but both will leave you wanting to set out on your own train adventure as soon as possible.
Stealing
Have you ever popped something in your pocket without paying for it? Have you ever tried on a couple of items of clothing and kept one of them on underneath your own clothes as you left the shop? Have you ever picked up two items and only paid for the one on top? Have you ever used the self-check-out and lied about what it is you're actually paying for (peanuts instead of cashews, for example, or one avocado instead of three)? If you answered yes to any of those questions or if you've ever thought about it, you might find this an interesting read.
The Steal: A Cultural History of Shoplifting
by Rachel Shteir
This book explores the history of shoplifting and looks at the various ways the phenomenon has been approached over the years: with punishment, by naming & shaming, via surveillance, as a mental illness, or through drug treatment and rehabilitation groups.
Whether you think it is a crime, a disease, a mania, an anti-property protest or no more than a bit of thrill-seeking, nothing done to deal with the problem seems to have made much difference. No-one can decide why people shoplift. No-one can agree on how to stop it either. Rachel Shteir's book is an interesting commentary on society today and a fascinating study of shoplifting.
