Book log 2018 #23 2019 #1- THE UNKNOWN KIMI RAIKKONEN
Recreational reading and the crossover book, being number 23 of 2018 and number 1 of 2019 is THE UNKNOWN KIMI RAIKKONEN by Kari Hotakainen
A bit of a mixture. It's a fun book for F1 fans, and there is a mix of interesting trivia and confirmation of what a lot of us figured about Kimi, as well as some good bits of insight behind the scenes at race weekend. On the other hand, F1 fans will have read or seen footage of what goes on behind the scenes elsewhere already, so even the new bits all sound fairly familiar.
It's also not really a traditional biography, as it jumps around with occasional interview snippets and leaves out a lot links from one thing to another.
The blurb mentions Hotakainen being an experienced novelist who has never written a nonfiction book before- and that latter element definitely shows. Whether it's because it's his first or whether it's down to the translation from Finnish, it comes over as bitty and not that engaging. It's also very Finnish-parochial, but to be fair, British and American books do the same thing, so...
I did get a certain amusement from Kimi's first driving experience apparently being from Lahti, and his antics when arriving at customs at airports...
Still, an F1 fan or Kimi fan will get entertaining moments from it, but it's not that good a biography, not that well written (or perhaps translated). But it plays well into Kimi's brand, and is less “look how great and cool I am” than most celebrity books.
A bit of a mixture. It's a fun book for F1 fans, and there is a mix of interesting trivia and confirmation of what a lot of us figured about Kimi, as well as some good bits of insight behind the scenes at race weekend. On the other hand, F1 fans will have read or seen footage of what goes on behind the scenes elsewhere already, so even the new bits all sound fairly familiar.
It's also not really a traditional biography, as it jumps around with occasional interview snippets and leaves out a lot links from one thing to another.
The blurb mentions Hotakainen being an experienced novelist who has never written a nonfiction book before- and that latter element definitely shows. Whether it's because it's his first or whether it's down to the translation from Finnish, it comes over as bitty and not that engaging. It's also very Finnish-parochial, but to be fair, British and American books do the same thing, so...
I did get a certain amusement from Kimi's first driving experience apparently being from Lahti, and his antics when arriving at customs at airports...
Still, an F1 fan or Kimi fan will get entertaining moments from it, but it's not that good a biography, not that well written (or perhaps translated). But it plays well into Kimi's brand, and is less “look how great and cool I am” than most celebrity books.