reading list 2018
wrote entry about January, lj would not accept unless used new draft template which did not want, lj then expunged page of typing when I hit POST.
fuck you livejournal.
in other news, reading v slowly v stupidly but impacting on pile of unread books on floor of room - hurray
January:
Vaizey: Flaming June teen fic from 1927. usually find mrs George de horne vaizey dead soothing but hated the heroine in this so not so much.
Guy: Thomas Beckett warrior priest rebel victim a 900 year old story retold massmarket history but when G tells you what people were thinking he gives grounds for what he says, tells you his sources and how he weighted diff contemp biographers differently on reliability grounds, what he is making educated guesses about.. it's great. G is beckett fanboy trying be balanced and his enthusiasm bleeds through. Henry 11 is entitled gaslighting bag of dicks and angrymaking - was so onboard w Guys take on this that indignant rage slowed my reading. fab book
Walsh: John Mitchel horrible whining sanctimonious biog by horrible whining sanctimonious man who hates the current (1930s) generation who don't deserve a free Ireland the way their noble gender essentialist grandparents did, the modern education is shite and why don't they all learn latin and greek, and everyone born after him (1880s) is terrible person of dubious moral spine. Mitchel, keen confederate ("blacks are more comfortable when they know their place and aren't unsettled by hopes of social rising") v v v conservative and kept trying to elope with schoolgirls in youth and did I mention the gender essentialist thing (chivalry, of the "stay on your pedestal and don't talk" type) Ugh all round.
Reid: Imprison'd Wranglers the rhetorical culture of the house of commons 1760 1800 academic but v enjoyable, lot of it about education of elite men in 18th century + importance of rhetoric in the culture.
Sittenfeld: Eligible modern version pride + prejudice, was adequate but feeling meh about it, it didn't add anything to the story
Grant + Link (edit): Monstrous Affections anthology of beastly tales love stories w monster protagonists for ya audiences, bought for the sarah rees brennan story, the bacogalupi was good too
Howard: Theatre of a City places of London comedy 1598 - 1642 super dry academic book re: how Jacobean and caroline plays represented London
Briggs: Silence Fallen urban fantasy about werecoyote, game of 2 halves, felt Adam's pov timeline was lot of hot air that went nowhere despite being presented as epic, Mercy's arc was good though. less romancey now that old married couple so moar urb fantasy and lower ration of lurve story: good
Lelyveld: Shylock on The Stage Jacobean bit largely guesswork, in depth from 18th century Macklin on, survey of presentation of S in diff generations with glances aside to status contemp real live jews, by rabbi's wife who professional actress then lecturer in college Midwest.
Byrne: Unbearable Saki the work of H H Munro looking at his work in terms of his life; byrne clearly loathes his loathsome sister ethel. enjoying, but was much less sensitive to the classism and anti Semitism when was adolescent fan (noticed it when teen, how could you not, but did not recoil as ought)
Sutherland: Victorian Novelists and Publishers bit dry 1970s survey of working trade of vic publishers, lot about decision making print run sizes, the politicking and power plays of Trollope reade and dickens interesting
Bingham: Henry Irving the greatest Victorian actor horribly written in purple prose but solid research if you can ignore author's voice
Febuary:
Foyster: Trials of the King of Hampshire madness secrecy and betrayal in Georgian england bought thinking this was about George iii, is about (prob autistic?) aristo, really good read about lot of horrible people and exploitation (bit depressing as people behave dreadfully throughout)
Fanthorpe: Berowne's Book early poems from her when still working as hospital receptionist, thus v medical preoccupation - tis good but she got better in her later collections, this is more flip less compassionate than her later poems imo
Sebastian: It Takes Two To Tumble regency romance m/m
Holt: Robin Hood how the legend developed, earliest written references, poss reallife sources, hist detective work
Moodie: Roughing It In The Bush 19th century account of emigration to Canada by (crashing snob) sister of agnes Strickland the historian - hating the narrator so far - UNFINISHED COULD NOT BEAR THE WOMAN
Brown: Shakespeare's Plays in Performance written 1960s, pov of director w academic interests, v firm and non negotiable ideas of How It Should Be Done
Kean: Disappearing Spoon and other true tales from the periodic table fluffy anecdotal but not easyread enough for me - enjoyed the gossip about famous scientists but atomic weight baffles me
Woods: Garrick Claims The Stage acting as social emblem in 18th century England wonderful read
Mortimer: Fears of Henry IV life of England's selfmade king he gets maximum value out of limited source data and is gripping and convincing about his conclusions, want to read his thing on henry V now and the Edward III too
Hawk: Hexbreaker urban fantasy about fin de siècle new York shapeshifters with chips on their shoulders foiling anarchists and rival police forces. fun tosh
Brooke: History of English Costume mostly pics and my (late) edition bit blurry.
Mangan: Book Worm a memoir of childhood reading so infectiously enthusiastic, made me want to go out and evangelise about all the good kidlit I know
March:
Briggs: Burn Bright werewolf series fantasy books, bit meh about this one after months of waiting. felt like a lot of running around for v little plot, and I spotted the hidden baddie (I NEVER spot the villain)
Fine: Delusions of Gender the real science behind sex differences been meaning to read this since 2 jacket designs ago - dry but worth it
Godfrey-Smith: Other Minds the octopus and the evolution of intelligent life
Johnston: Glass Slipper category romance based on grimm - cheesetastic cover
Shteir: The Steal a cultural history of shoplifting after working retail for 30 years, was impatient w shteir's sympathy for middle class shoplifters ("o they're expressing themselves in a cruel world")
O'Brian: Golden Ocean pre-Maturin ya-fic about Anson's voyage round the world, odd pacing and v stage oirishry. meh read
Korshin (edit) Darnton et al, (authors): Widening Circle essays on the circulation of literature in 18th century Europe 3 monographs on specific mass readership (darnton, who I got the book for, is doing preliminary swing at his later book forbidden bestsellers of pre revolutionary france. which I enjoyed but which, also, I already read) 2 other sections about journalism in provincial england and distribution of engl language titles in Germany. lots untranslated French and german
Bloodworth: Hired six months undercover in low wage Britain full of the bleeding obvious, a UK nickled and dimed
Bowyer : Celebrated Mrs Centlivre early 18th cent playwright, contemp and friends with Manley Delariviere, a lot of guesswork and gaps because lack recorded info. given challenges to author, pretty good book
Fowler : Bryant and May Wild Chamber read in a gulp, reliably a pleasure
Price : Agent Bayne psycop 9 love the series, invested in chars, so I like it but series is now relying rather on readers having read/planning to read rest of series. not great intro to series
Nielsen : Making Conversation from making light blog where seen much of this. includes slushkiller. great
Gonick: Cartoon History of the Universe II volumes 8 to 13 wonderful but maybe over condensed. am ignorant of china and india history, this sweeps majestically if confusingly through philosophy religion and back stabbing emperors.
Charles: Wanted A Gentleman m/m and v funny reminded me of mullany's het regencies
Roberts: A Sense of the World how a blind man became history's greatest traveller about the time of barrow's boys interesting man had never heard of
April :
Uglow: Little History of British Gardening which was great because uglow (has been on to-read pile for about 5 years, shame)
Sutherland: The Brontesaurus an a-z of charlotte Emily and anne bronte (and branwell) bitty and full of stuff I knew but Sutherland is always fun
Datlow (edit): Queen Victoria's Book of Spells an anthology of gaslamp fantasy anthol of steampunk comedy manners sh stories, full of usual suspects, good and my kind of thing a few years ago, not overwhelmed now but that is my tastes changing, book is fine. salvaged from enormous to-read pile, going to Oxfam
Purcell: Shakespeare in the Theatre Mark Rylance at the Globe 1st 10 yrs of new-globe when I wasn't going - interesting about where the radical differences lay and the tussle between museum and theatre as its identity.
Merrow: Lock Nut plumber's mate series book 5 gay psychic plumber in e Anglia solves homicides. fond of series, is v English and often funny
Rees: The Leveller Revolution radical political organisation in England 1640-1650 v readable so far; good, found world turned upside down impenetrably full of theology LATER: reading slowly v dense with info, keep rereading paragraphs
Taylor: Hoot Owl master of disguise enchanting picture flat about would-be menacing bird of the night and his failed hunting - must share w neil
Handeland: Shakespeare Undead from brief phase of zombie-fying all books; more shakes-in-luv the film than playwright shakes of history, bored me (but I don't care for zombies)
Odell: Shakespeare from Betterton to Irving vol 2 as relief from levellers to be honest
Hughes: Victorians Undone tales of the flesh in the age of decorum light micro history essays enjoyed reading
Green: Ask a Manager how to navigate clueless colleagues lunch stealing bosses and other tricky situations at work from website of agony aunt re: workplace etiquette (brill site!)
Craig: Bookworm a memoir of childhood reading a lot about 1950's Belfast and the public libraries she pays tribute to - defiantly low and middlebrow childhood tastes and she grew up a collector so lots about pristine condition which have never had luxury of letting self fuss about - v good about reading and being a reader
Turner: Dear Old Blighty home front during great war - ES Turner bit reactionary in politics so his comments about awful drunken irish and dreadful trade unionists not going over well with me but v anecdotal stuff - he was child at time
Medway: Sgt Chip Charlton and Mr Woofles pic book, partly in verse about idiot mountie and his faithful barfing dachshund. loved pics which look bit wood-cutty, stories meh. verse doggerel
Ephron: Heartburn not overwhelmed, poss because had heard much ephron fangirling from other people before opened book. might like her essays (oxfammed)
Grey: Pauline Becomes A Hairdresser 1950s career novel from bodley head series, supremely formulaic. the gender essentialism makes you grateful for pankhurst.
May:
Oliphant: Historical Sketches of the Reign of Queen Anne feels as if drudgery to write, dull to read and v sentimental.
Sebastian: Laurence Brown Affair m/m regency romance - fun conman hearts spectrum-y toff
Kay: This is Going To Hurt secret diaries of a junior doctor good loo book, best read in short bursts, each entry a mini-story, some enraged about conditions of work, some scabrous medical horror stories
Clarke: Brothers of the Quill oliver goldsmith in grub street more about grub st than OG; v much about literary life and expectations, bonus material about son of laetitia Pilkington who norma Clarke did previous biog on
Bronsky: Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine one for readers with mommy issues; funny and the narrator a monster of selfishness and bile. a glorious car crash of a story
White: Code Blue Emergency medical sf from james white who irish sf-er and lifelong pacifist therefore good egg. Cannot write female humans convincingly to save his life. this bit of deep space hospital has alien female pov so is one of the good episodes but couple weeks later and cannot remember a vestige of the plot already
Bayard: Fool's Errand was compared to armistead maupin. maupin should sue. bland meandering storyline with annoying hero sent to oxfam
Ainaud: Spanish Frescoes of the Romanesque Period mostly pics. wonderfully naive art amazing
Cook: We Followed Our Stars mills and boon writer who was devoted opera fangirl, she and her sister scrimped to go abroad for productions of verdi and were befriended by stars a bit. in 1930s were visiting austria and helped jewish woman who was music connection leave for blighty, which led to years of battling beurocracy and raising funds for refugees. 1939 was a slackening of tension for her except for grief for last batch in pipeline for whom too late. then worked airraid shelter in bermondsey. had heard of her before, m&b obvs v proud of her and she in their corporate history, this book interesting. more of it about opera than anticipated.
Gross: Shylock four hundred years in the life of a legend have essentially read this book before by another author. good, though
Winter: Boundless tracing land and dream in a new northwest passage bought for canadian interest. my god i hated the author, pseudopoetic narcissistic posturing special snowflake who rarely looked at world outside her when her interior life sooooo much more interesting. oxfammed with vengeance
Mortimer: Time Traveller's Guide to Restoration Britain life in the age of samuel pepys isaac newton and the great fire of london thought too tiresomely whimsical to buy as set up when it published but have read couple brilliant mortimer books recently so took a punt. Is excellent.
Schama: The Face of Britain the nation through its portraits mostly fun for the gossipy bits about artists and models; also, schama recurringly talks about male artists' sexploitation of their models.
Sutherland: Rogue Publisher the prince of puffers the life and works of the publisher henry colburn presented a bit snippety in microbite length chapters but full of good stuff about victorian book trade
Laurens: And Then She Fell regency romance - too close to Victorian for me (1837?) and bored and skimreading a lot. Oxfam
Stuart: The Boy Through The Ages hist of childhood intended for children, writ 1940s, v deff ideas about boyishness and gender essentialism
Caudwell: The Sirens Sang of Murder overly arch romp about tax evasion lawyers solving murder in jersey
Forster: Rich Desserts and Captains Thin a family and their times 1831 - 1931 kept asking self, self, why is forster wasting her time on this topic?
June:
Anderson: Literature of the Anglo Saxons 1950s book, v overviewwy which i wanted, lots of subjective assessments of interestingness/importance which is fine, wish author had been less nationalism-essentialist, he talks about the Celtic character (which is sly and unreliable) the anglo saxon, dead manly, the german, etc. Hate this. Also when anglosaxons conquer romano britains amid mass slaughter is good thing and manly; when vikings to same later to A-S, is brutal and tragic.
Thirkell: Before Lunch all the usual thirkell tropes but strangely meh effect. think i failed to like or care about the characters
Mortimer: 1415 Henry V's Year of Glory organised like diary of the year, following records day by day. Mortimer frankly dislikes henry v.
Smith: Voyage of the Dolphin attempt to do 3 Men in Boat with irishmen and the arctic not thames. is okay but will not stick with me, forget why bought it
Mearns: Shipwreck Hunter a lifetime of extraordinary deepsea discoveries way more testosteroney than my usual - reminded me of autobiog of chuck yaeger with its slight chestbeating and was v business biog with danger in it (cussler rec on cover) Thought this was underwater archaeology but mostly 20th century sinkings and military - I wanted a diff book than he was writing
Ford: Murder and Mayhem m/m romance with bit crime, light, enjoyed, not special
Crowston: Fabricating Women the seamstresses of old regime france 1675 - 1791 really good find from char x road basement, slow read cos was flaky reader in heatwave. all about status of women workers and law cases, feud between their guild and male tailors, life cycle of the job, how they lived lots of info
Thomas: An Underworld at War spivs deserters racketeers and civilians in the 2nd world war not as fun as his "Victorian underworld". author bit of a law and order man by instinct. the crims strangely innocent and not as violent as expected. v repetitive book
Dolan: Steven Seagull Action Hero picture book full of puns and jokes about a special kind of bad Hollywood movie - laughed and laughed
Loizou: Disbanded Kingdom gay coming of age novel by ex colleague. wonderful writer. 2 characters in the book (protagonist a bit detached from human emotion - depressed?) one of them the hero(?) who I was exasperated by as being gormless and inchoate the other was city of london which Polis captures brilliantly in the nuance + flavour of the diff districts. some moments where the phrasing stopped me in my tracks
BARELY STARTED FABRICATING WOMEN
July:
heatwave. no ability to follow an argument, read masses of fanfic on ao3
Chant: Master Shark's Mate cracktastic paranorm romance about shifters want to pass to min
Crowston: Fabricating Women continued and finished - very good
O'Sullivan: Folktales of Ireland an actually good one, have seen so many schmaltzy oirishry in this celtic folktale genre
Yonge: The Disturbing Element, or, chronicles of the blue-bell society late novella, not one of her best. poss drawing on her real life gosling society of protégées - also, the good and clever invalid spinster who is role model for rambunctious young girls reminded me of ermine in clever woman in family from diff perspective
Wilkinson (edit): Cultural History of Childhood and Family in the Middle Ages acad essays, largely synthesis of books had read in my 20s and 30s, laid out in sensible but uninspiring way. really about Christian west w glancing refs to islam and Judaism.
Pappagianni and Morse: The Neanderthals Rediscovered how modern science is rewriting their story overviewy for the ignorant which is what I wanted from this
Charles: Henchmen of Zenda v funny + v gayed-up and slightly meta rewrite of prisoner of z
Thomas: The Liar's Quartet bravo Figaro cuckooed the red shed playscripts by activist standup
Byrne: the Genius of Jane Austen update on theatre of jane austen which came out from aca press years ago and I kept eyeing it but too expensive. unimpressed by the theatre hist side of this which was oversimplified but some really good stuff about parallel characters in s+s
August:
Brenton: The Romans In Britain scandal play which had heard about, disappointingly less scandalous or indeed interesting than expected
Schonwerth :Turnip Princess and other newly discovered folktales not grimm but similar time of collection and also Germany. less homogenised than grimm
Hayden: Making Book essays from web about fandom editing and sff
Laurenston: Big Bad Beast porny paranormal romance with laboured banter - disliked heroine
Davis: Dead Writers in Rehab gift fr Louise last xmas. kinda meta novel, great idea not esp well executed
Lanyon: In Other Words Murder bk 4 of holmes/moriarity gay crime. v light but I v fond of protagonist, the fic hero most likely to say whippersnapper in conversation AND MEAN IT
Yonge: Aunt Charlotte's Stories of English History retold for little ones v little arthurs hist of Britain - massively imperial, illustrated
Greenwich Royal Observatory: Astronomy Photographer of the Year vol 4 coffee table picture book
Shippey: Laughing Shall I Die lives and deaths of the great Vikings shippey pulled out what he felt were the best bits (aka sex n violence) from Icelandic sagas and other norse sources to get at the Viking mindset which he feels modern academics tend to soften the hard edges of
Singer: Trump and Me new Yorker journalism depth interviews of trump before potus short term funny if long term depressing
Waller: 1700 scenes from London life bit meh but it does what it says on the tin. similar to the picard London series
Ashton: One Hot Summer dickens Darwin Disraeli and the great stink of 1858
September:
Welch: Road to Waterloo ms found after author's death, published by slightly foxed. thought would be independent story when pre-advertised, is part of the carey family series, good, bit short, glad I got it
Willes: Curious World of Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn really a general hist of London life in late 17th cent, hung on the hook of the diarists' friendship. recommendable
Ayers: Bear's Flamingo Bride shifter tosh romance which lacked even it-came-from-the-id fun
Vaizey de horne: Fortunes of the Farrells was generic mrs George de horne vaizey girlsown story, mild romance, mild Christianity, early 20th cent
Beaton aka Chesney: Sir Phillip's Folly regency romance, relaxing, sent to oxfam
tete-Michel: an African in Greenland compelling travel writing, translated by poet, written by man of charm, fascinating journey from childhood in togo to hitchhiking to arctic. best book this month so far UNFINISHED DAMMIT eta: STILL READING IN EARLY NOVEMBER
Rodgers: Irish Literary Portraits wb yeats james joyce george moore jm synge george bernard shaw oliver st john gogarty fr higgins ae transcribed from bbc radio - oral history where rodgers interviewed people who knew,were friends with/hated, were related, any strong connection, with figures of irish lit renaissance. some quality bitching, some vivid glimpses, glad i randomly heard of this and hunted it down
Bennett: Richard ii and the revolution of 1399 good counterbalance to mortimer book on henry iv. bit dry, bit overviewy but less invested in personalities (richard still emerges as ghastly and terrifyingly corrupt)
Tait: Seven Thousand Years of Jewellery picturebook brit museum press. Tries to cover all the continents and entire span of humanity. just here for the pictures really
Bythell: Diary of a Bookseller should have read in short bursts not from end to end. Odd read as I agree with almost everything but came away not liking his attitude in some ways. God only knows how his business stays viable. No real surprises, close to own experience of book trade
October:
Priestley: Sel Essays old penguin pb that disintegrated in reading, edited by Susan Cooper(!) v smooth easy read, a lot forgettable bits, came away liking him
Sebastien: A Gentleman Never Keeps Score regency romance which bored me. thought would read fast as like her other books
North: How To Invent Everything history of technology framed by concept of time travelling with reader set up to recreate all the good bits. Fun but not uproarious contrary to dustjacket claims. Prob will xmasgift this
Hill: Tale of Two Vikings I like the idea of her books more than the execution - the banter is a bit like Laurenston (thus funnier to author than it is to me) and now I look at my reading list, realise I read too much romance in a row, no wonder am bilious.
Kneale: Rome a history in 7 sackings repetitive - he did a lot of research and has lived there years and clearly loves the place, but the structure of each chapter was the same with too much sacking and not enough soc.hist. and an editor should have talked to him at early stage of manuscript. gave up before even got out of medieval
Wilkinson: Charity Shopping and the Thrift Lifestyle v listy, would be interesting to read a more narrative book on this. 8 years out of date, got in clearance sale
Brophy: The Face in Western Art furiously opinionated autodidact, great fun to read even when disagreed with his judgements
MacQueen-Pope: Haymarket Theatre of Perfection full of stuff I wanted to know filtered through the voice of an author I learned to loathe v sentimental about the past but mostly that meant being soppy about beautiful women in brocade. Read slowly on account of Marxist begrudgery
St Clair: Secret Lives of Colour collection articles from fashion mags about specific tints, done with smatterings of hist and geography and science. anecdotal, amazing loo read, better than expected.
November:
Caldwell: The Three Colonels sequel to P+P and S+S. male emphasis (set at waterloo) and tries make sympathetic Caroline Bingley and Mary Bennet. bored by this, very. why do I get these; always kinda bad. as ever, lizzie bennet unrecognisable (and largely offstage) and too much romance, too little social warfare
Perry: A Bohemian Brigade the civil war correspondants mostly rough sometimes ready US civil war was the most fun chapter in Knightley's 1st casualty about war correspondants so was up for this, written by lifelong journalist so he sympathetic to their priorities, would be great read if were into USA civil war, as it was I lost track of people and places at times. Good read regardless
Thewissen: The Walking Whales from land to water in 8 million years bit dry where he on about why fossil bone of ear proves whale species despite presence hoof residue, pics of dolphin foetuses etc, but interspersed with autobiog bits about sequence of digs in Pakistan and awkwardness of proximity to warzone being obstacle to business of digging up shale. Always wanted to know more about evolution of whales and this is non-academic answer to my wishes.
Nixey: The Darkening Age Christian destruction of the classical world not as iconoclastic and revolutionary a thesis as author clearly thought it was: the monks of the middle ages preserved some of the lit+hist of ancient rome and greece but censored lots too - about 10% survived. Had tone issues with the writer which shouldn't affect how true the book is but made it uphill read. oxfammed
Mitchnik: Egyptian and Sudanese Folk Tales very does what says on tin book, pleasant read, nice woodcut type illus
Hartnell: Medieval Bodies sumptuously illustrated, based on Wellcome exhibition I think, about how medieval (vast region, several centuries) related to their bodies. some medical hist, lot about academic notions, lovely. ghoulish too
Afanas'ev: Russian Fairy Tales 19th century Russian equiv of bros grimm. depressing amount casual domestic violence - some familiars stories slavified, some new to me
Darcy: Georgina mediocre regency romance set in poorly researched Ireland
Butts/Hunt: How Did Long John Silver Lose His Leg + 26 other mysteries of childrens' literature essays in vein of john sutherlands vicfic explorations, mixed bag.
December:
(still reading 3 colonels, less than compelling)
Brusatte: Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs the untold story of a lost world all up for hearing about dinosaurs, less so about hearing about Brusette and his ego and how cool all his friends were, v anxious he not be taken for a nerd which, why? the readership for this book the last to frown at that. seething with rage at author (showing off, sexism, bad prose style) never makes for good read, also he hinted at dino stuff without explaining. saving some inner loathing for whoever edited him
Joseph: Julius Caesar and Me exploring Shakespeare's African play loved the dvd of production, thrilled to find actor-book about the making of - fascinating and moving. note: promised to loan welshMark copy of dvd, is shouty but brilliant and cassius is dazzling
Gough: Rabbit and Bear Rabbit's Bad Habits childrens book, funny and sweet
Kelly: Beau Brummell the ultimate dandy immersive book about the time, not just for fashion readers. BB so entitled and selfpitying that when he bankrupted, was mostly sorry for the tailors he ruined in his fall. Great read.
Dromgoole: Hamlet Globe to Globe taking Shakespeare to every country in the world account of a 2 year tour by globe of H - discursive, patchy, interesting, random. Some really fun insights into scenes and characters, some lovvieness, enjoyed.
Sims: Story of Charlottte's Web eb white and the birth of a children's classic hatereading this, amazing the author of elements of style is lumbered with biographer so prolix flowery and clichéd and generally nails on blackboard. Will prob abandon (ebw has only just been hired by new yorker) OXFAM
Moss: Paperback Crush the totally radical history of '80s and '90s teen fiction too listy, not enough about contents of books, disappointing execution of interesting subject. V USA selection of titles.
Zipes: Great Fairy Tale Tradition from strapola and basile to the brothers grimm literary (as opposed to oral) folktales that were published before grimm.
O'Brien: How To Be Right in a world gone wrong based on a call-in radio show (lbc) where pugnacious leftie chat host takes on brexit enthusiasts and people who've been fed shit by tabloids. comes across bit smug in places but can argue his corner where I give up in despair - my politics far too gut and not enough brain
Foreman: A Life in Pictures sketchbook autobiog of children's illustrator
fuck you livejournal.
in other news, reading v slowly v stupidly but impacting on pile of unread books on floor of room - hurray
January:
Vaizey: Flaming June teen fic from 1927. usually find mrs George de horne vaizey dead soothing but hated the heroine in this so not so much.
Guy: Thomas Beckett warrior priest rebel victim a 900 year old story retold massmarket history but when G tells you what people were thinking he gives grounds for what he says, tells you his sources and how he weighted diff contemp biographers differently on reliability grounds, what he is making educated guesses about.. it's great. G is beckett fanboy trying be balanced and his enthusiasm bleeds through. Henry 11 is entitled gaslighting bag of dicks and angrymaking - was so onboard w Guys take on this that indignant rage slowed my reading. fab book
Walsh: John Mitchel horrible whining sanctimonious biog by horrible whining sanctimonious man who hates the current (1930s) generation who don't deserve a free Ireland the way their noble gender essentialist grandparents did, the modern education is shite and why don't they all learn latin and greek, and everyone born after him (1880s) is terrible person of dubious moral spine. Mitchel, keen confederate ("blacks are more comfortable when they know their place and aren't unsettled by hopes of social rising") v v v conservative and kept trying to elope with schoolgirls in youth and did I mention the gender essentialist thing (chivalry, of the "stay on your pedestal and don't talk" type) Ugh all round.
Reid: Imprison'd Wranglers the rhetorical culture of the house of commons 1760 1800 academic but v enjoyable, lot of it about education of elite men in 18th century + importance of rhetoric in the culture.
Sittenfeld: Eligible modern version pride + prejudice, was adequate but feeling meh about it, it didn't add anything to the story
Grant + Link (edit): Monstrous Affections anthology of beastly tales love stories w monster protagonists for ya audiences, bought for the sarah rees brennan story, the bacogalupi was good too
Howard: Theatre of a City places of London comedy 1598 - 1642 super dry academic book re: how Jacobean and caroline plays represented London
Briggs: Silence Fallen urban fantasy about werecoyote, game of 2 halves, felt Adam's pov timeline was lot of hot air that went nowhere despite being presented as epic, Mercy's arc was good though. less romancey now that old married couple so moar urb fantasy and lower ration of lurve story: good
Lelyveld: Shylock on The Stage Jacobean bit largely guesswork, in depth from 18th century Macklin on, survey of presentation of S in diff generations with glances aside to status contemp real live jews, by rabbi's wife who professional actress then lecturer in college Midwest.
Byrne: Unbearable Saki the work of H H Munro looking at his work in terms of his life; byrne clearly loathes his loathsome sister ethel. enjoying, but was much less sensitive to the classism and anti Semitism when was adolescent fan (noticed it when teen, how could you not, but did not recoil as ought)
Sutherland: Victorian Novelists and Publishers bit dry 1970s survey of working trade of vic publishers, lot about decision making print run sizes, the politicking and power plays of Trollope reade and dickens interesting
Bingham: Henry Irving the greatest Victorian actor horribly written in purple prose but solid research if you can ignore author's voice
Febuary:
Foyster: Trials of the King of Hampshire madness secrecy and betrayal in Georgian england bought thinking this was about George iii, is about (prob autistic?) aristo, really good read about lot of horrible people and exploitation (bit depressing as people behave dreadfully throughout)
Fanthorpe: Berowne's Book early poems from her when still working as hospital receptionist, thus v medical preoccupation - tis good but she got better in her later collections, this is more flip less compassionate than her later poems imo
Sebastian: It Takes Two To Tumble regency romance m/m
Holt: Robin Hood how the legend developed, earliest written references, poss reallife sources, hist detective work
Moodie: Roughing It In The Bush 19th century account of emigration to Canada by (crashing snob) sister of agnes Strickland the historian - hating the narrator so far - UNFINISHED COULD NOT BEAR THE WOMAN
Brown: Shakespeare's Plays in Performance written 1960s, pov of director w academic interests, v firm and non negotiable ideas of How It Should Be Done
Kean: Disappearing Spoon and other true tales from the periodic table fluffy anecdotal but not easyread enough for me - enjoyed the gossip about famous scientists but atomic weight baffles me
Woods: Garrick Claims The Stage acting as social emblem in 18th century England wonderful read
Mortimer: Fears of Henry IV life of England's selfmade king he gets maximum value out of limited source data and is gripping and convincing about his conclusions, want to read his thing on henry V now and the Edward III too
Hawk: Hexbreaker urban fantasy about fin de siècle new York shapeshifters with chips on their shoulders foiling anarchists and rival police forces. fun tosh
Brooke: History of English Costume mostly pics and my (late) edition bit blurry.
Mangan: Book Worm a memoir of childhood reading so infectiously enthusiastic, made me want to go out and evangelise about all the good kidlit I know
March:
Briggs: Burn Bright werewolf series fantasy books, bit meh about this one after months of waiting. felt like a lot of running around for v little plot, and I spotted the hidden baddie (I NEVER spot the villain)
Fine: Delusions of Gender the real science behind sex differences been meaning to read this since 2 jacket designs ago - dry but worth it
Godfrey-Smith: Other Minds the octopus and the evolution of intelligent life
Johnston: Glass Slipper category romance based on grimm - cheesetastic cover
Shteir: The Steal a cultural history of shoplifting after working retail for 30 years, was impatient w shteir's sympathy for middle class shoplifters ("o they're expressing themselves in a cruel world")
O'Brian: Golden Ocean pre-Maturin ya-fic about Anson's voyage round the world, odd pacing and v stage oirishry. meh read
Korshin (edit) Darnton et al, (authors): Widening Circle essays on the circulation of literature in 18th century Europe 3 monographs on specific mass readership (darnton, who I got the book for, is doing preliminary swing at his later book forbidden bestsellers of pre revolutionary france. which I enjoyed but which, also, I already read) 2 other sections about journalism in provincial england and distribution of engl language titles in Germany. lots untranslated French and german
Bloodworth: Hired six months undercover in low wage Britain full of the bleeding obvious, a UK nickled and dimed
Bowyer : Celebrated Mrs Centlivre early 18th cent playwright, contemp and friends with Manley Delariviere, a lot of guesswork and gaps because lack recorded info. given challenges to author, pretty good book
Fowler : Bryant and May Wild Chamber read in a gulp, reliably a pleasure
Price : Agent Bayne psycop 9 love the series, invested in chars, so I like it but series is now relying rather on readers having read/planning to read rest of series. not great intro to series
Nielsen : Making Conversation from making light blog where seen much of this. includes slushkiller. great
Gonick: Cartoon History of the Universe II volumes 8 to 13 wonderful but maybe over condensed. am ignorant of china and india history, this sweeps majestically if confusingly through philosophy religion and back stabbing emperors.
Charles: Wanted A Gentleman m/m and v funny reminded me of mullany's het regencies
Roberts: A Sense of the World how a blind man became history's greatest traveller about the time of barrow's boys interesting man had never heard of
April :
Uglow: Little History of British Gardening which was great because uglow (has been on to-read pile for about 5 years, shame)
Sutherland: The Brontesaurus an a-z of charlotte Emily and anne bronte (and branwell) bitty and full of stuff I knew but Sutherland is always fun
Datlow (edit): Queen Victoria's Book of Spells an anthology of gaslamp fantasy anthol of steampunk comedy manners sh stories, full of usual suspects, good and my kind of thing a few years ago, not overwhelmed now but that is my tastes changing, book is fine. salvaged from enormous to-read pile, going to Oxfam
Purcell: Shakespeare in the Theatre Mark Rylance at the Globe 1st 10 yrs of new-globe when I wasn't going - interesting about where the radical differences lay and the tussle between museum and theatre as its identity.
Merrow: Lock Nut plumber's mate series book 5 gay psychic plumber in e Anglia solves homicides. fond of series, is v English and often funny
Rees: The Leveller Revolution radical political organisation in England 1640-1650 v readable so far; good, found world turned upside down impenetrably full of theology LATER: reading slowly v dense with info, keep rereading paragraphs
Taylor: Hoot Owl master of disguise enchanting picture flat about would-be menacing bird of the night and his failed hunting - must share w neil
Handeland: Shakespeare Undead from brief phase of zombie-fying all books; more shakes-in-luv the film than playwright shakes of history, bored me (but I don't care for zombies)
Odell: Shakespeare from Betterton to Irving vol 2 as relief from levellers to be honest
Hughes: Victorians Undone tales of the flesh in the age of decorum light micro history essays enjoyed reading
Green: Ask a Manager how to navigate clueless colleagues lunch stealing bosses and other tricky situations at work from website of agony aunt re: workplace etiquette (brill site!)
Craig: Bookworm a memoir of childhood reading a lot about 1950's Belfast and the public libraries she pays tribute to - defiantly low and middlebrow childhood tastes and she grew up a collector so lots about pristine condition which have never had luxury of letting self fuss about - v good about reading and being a reader
Turner: Dear Old Blighty home front during great war - ES Turner bit reactionary in politics so his comments about awful drunken irish and dreadful trade unionists not going over well with me but v anecdotal stuff - he was child at time
Medway: Sgt Chip Charlton and Mr Woofles pic book, partly in verse about idiot mountie and his faithful barfing dachshund. loved pics which look bit wood-cutty, stories meh. verse doggerel
Ephron: Heartburn not overwhelmed, poss because had heard much ephron fangirling from other people before opened book. might like her essays (oxfammed)
Grey: Pauline Becomes A Hairdresser 1950s career novel from bodley head series, supremely formulaic. the gender essentialism makes you grateful for pankhurst.
May:
Oliphant: Historical Sketches of the Reign of Queen Anne feels as if drudgery to write, dull to read and v sentimental.
Sebastian: Laurence Brown Affair m/m regency romance - fun conman hearts spectrum-y toff
Kay: This is Going To Hurt secret diaries of a junior doctor good loo book, best read in short bursts, each entry a mini-story, some enraged about conditions of work, some scabrous medical horror stories
Clarke: Brothers of the Quill oliver goldsmith in grub street more about grub st than OG; v much about literary life and expectations, bonus material about son of laetitia Pilkington who norma Clarke did previous biog on
Bronsky: Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine one for readers with mommy issues; funny and the narrator a monster of selfishness and bile. a glorious car crash of a story
White: Code Blue Emergency medical sf from james white who irish sf-er and lifelong pacifist therefore good egg. Cannot write female humans convincingly to save his life. this bit of deep space hospital has alien female pov so is one of the good episodes but couple weeks later and cannot remember a vestige of the plot already
Bayard: Fool's Errand was compared to armistead maupin. maupin should sue. bland meandering storyline with annoying hero sent to oxfam
Ainaud: Spanish Frescoes of the Romanesque Period mostly pics. wonderfully naive art amazing
Cook: We Followed Our Stars mills and boon writer who was devoted opera fangirl, she and her sister scrimped to go abroad for productions of verdi and were befriended by stars a bit. in 1930s were visiting austria and helped jewish woman who was music connection leave for blighty, which led to years of battling beurocracy and raising funds for refugees. 1939 was a slackening of tension for her except for grief for last batch in pipeline for whom too late. then worked airraid shelter in bermondsey. had heard of her before, m&b obvs v proud of her and she in their corporate history, this book interesting. more of it about opera than anticipated.
Gross: Shylock four hundred years in the life of a legend have essentially read this book before by another author. good, though
Winter: Boundless tracing land and dream in a new northwest passage bought for canadian interest. my god i hated the author, pseudopoetic narcissistic posturing special snowflake who rarely looked at world outside her when her interior life sooooo much more interesting. oxfammed with vengeance
Mortimer: Time Traveller's Guide to Restoration Britain life in the age of samuel pepys isaac newton and the great fire of london thought too tiresomely whimsical to buy as set up when it published but have read couple brilliant mortimer books recently so took a punt. Is excellent.
Schama: The Face of Britain the nation through its portraits mostly fun for the gossipy bits about artists and models; also, schama recurringly talks about male artists' sexploitation of their models.
Sutherland: Rogue Publisher the prince of puffers the life and works of the publisher henry colburn presented a bit snippety in microbite length chapters but full of good stuff about victorian book trade
Laurens: And Then She Fell regency romance - too close to Victorian for me (1837?) and bored and skimreading a lot. Oxfam
Stuart: The Boy Through The Ages hist of childhood intended for children, writ 1940s, v deff ideas about boyishness and gender essentialism
Caudwell: The Sirens Sang of Murder overly arch romp about tax evasion lawyers solving murder in jersey
Forster: Rich Desserts and Captains Thin a family and their times 1831 - 1931 kept asking self, self, why is forster wasting her time on this topic?
June:
Anderson: Literature of the Anglo Saxons 1950s book, v overviewwy which i wanted, lots of subjective assessments of interestingness/importance which is fine, wish author had been less nationalism-essentialist, he talks about the Celtic character (which is sly and unreliable) the anglo saxon, dead manly, the german, etc. Hate this. Also when anglosaxons conquer romano britains amid mass slaughter is good thing and manly; when vikings to same later to A-S, is brutal and tragic.
Thirkell: Before Lunch all the usual thirkell tropes but strangely meh effect. think i failed to like or care about the characters
Mortimer: 1415 Henry V's Year of Glory organised like diary of the year, following records day by day. Mortimer frankly dislikes henry v.
Smith: Voyage of the Dolphin attempt to do 3 Men in Boat with irishmen and the arctic not thames. is okay but will not stick with me, forget why bought it
Mearns: Shipwreck Hunter a lifetime of extraordinary deepsea discoveries way more testosteroney than my usual - reminded me of autobiog of chuck yaeger with its slight chestbeating and was v business biog with danger in it (cussler rec on cover) Thought this was underwater archaeology but mostly 20th century sinkings and military - I wanted a diff book than he was writing
Ford: Murder and Mayhem m/m romance with bit crime, light, enjoyed, not special
Crowston: Fabricating Women the seamstresses of old regime france 1675 - 1791 really good find from char x road basement, slow read cos was flaky reader in heatwave. all about status of women workers and law cases, feud between their guild and male tailors, life cycle of the job, how they lived lots of info
Thomas: An Underworld at War spivs deserters racketeers and civilians in the 2nd world war not as fun as his "Victorian underworld". author bit of a law and order man by instinct. the crims strangely innocent and not as violent as expected. v repetitive book
Dolan: Steven Seagull Action Hero picture book full of puns and jokes about a special kind of bad Hollywood movie - laughed and laughed
Loizou: Disbanded Kingdom gay coming of age novel by ex colleague. wonderful writer. 2 characters in the book (protagonist a bit detached from human emotion - depressed?) one of them the hero(?) who I was exasperated by as being gormless and inchoate the other was city of london which Polis captures brilliantly in the nuance + flavour of the diff districts. some moments where the phrasing stopped me in my tracks
BARELY STARTED FABRICATING WOMEN
July:
heatwave. no ability to follow an argument, read masses of fanfic on ao3
Chant: Master Shark's Mate cracktastic paranorm romance about shifters want to pass to min
Crowston: Fabricating Women continued and finished - very good
O'Sullivan: Folktales of Ireland an actually good one, have seen so many schmaltzy oirishry in this celtic folktale genre
Yonge: The Disturbing Element, or, chronicles of the blue-bell society late novella, not one of her best. poss drawing on her real life gosling society of protégées - also, the good and clever invalid spinster who is role model for rambunctious young girls reminded me of ermine in clever woman in family from diff perspective
Wilkinson (edit): Cultural History of Childhood and Family in the Middle Ages acad essays, largely synthesis of books had read in my 20s and 30s, laid out in sensible but uninspiring way. really about Christian west w glancing refs to islam and Judaism.
Pappagianni and Morse: The Neanderthals Rediscovered how modern science is rewriting their story overviewy for the ignorant which is what I wanted from this
Charles: Henchmen of Zenda v funny + v gayed-up and slightly meta rewrite of prisoner of z
Thomas: The Liar's Quartet bravo Figaro cuckooed the red shed playscripts by activist standup
Byrne: the Genius of Jane Austen update on theatre of jane austen which came out from aca press years ago and I kept eyeing it but too expensive. unimpressed by the theatre hist side of this which was oversimplified but some really good stuff about parallel characters in s+s
August:
Brenton: The Romans In Britain scandal play which had heard about, disappointingly less scandalous or indeed interesting than expected
Schonwerth :Turnip Princess and other newly discovered folktales not grimm but similar time of collection and also Germany. less homogenised than grimm
Hayden: Making Book essays from web about fandom editing and sff
Laurenston: Big Bad Beast porny paranormal romance with laboured banter - disliked heroine
Davis: Dead Writers in Rehab gift fr Louise last xmas. kinda meta novel, great idea not esp well executed
Lanyon: In Other Words Murder bk 4 of holmes/moriarity gay crime. v light but I v fond of protagonist, the fic hero most likely to say whippersnapper in conversation AND MEAN IT
Yonge: Aunt Charlotte's Stories of English History retold for little ones v little arthurs hist of Britain - massively imperial, illustrated
Greenwich Royal Observatory: Astronomy Photographer of the Year vol 4 coffee table picture book
Shippey: Laughing Shall I Die lives and deaths of the great Vikings shippey pulled out what he felt were the best bits (aka sex n violence) from Icelandic sagas and other norse sources to get at the Viking mindset which he feels modern academics tend to soften the hard edges of
Singer: Trump and Me new Yorker journalism depth interviews of trump before potus short term funny if long term depressing
Waller: 1700 scenes from London life bit meh but it does what it says on the tin. similar to the picard London series
Ashton: One Hot Summer dickens Darwin Disraeli and the great stink of 1858
September:
Welch: Road to Waterloo ms found after author's death, published by slightly foxed. thought would be independent story when pre-advertised, is part of the carey family series, good, bit short, glad I got it
Willes: Curious World of Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn really a general hist of London life in late 17th cent, hung on the hook of the diarists' friendship. recommendable
Ayers: Bear's Flamingo Bride shifter tosh romance which lacked even it-came-from-the-id fun
Vaizey de horne: Fortunes of the Farrells was generic mrs George de horne vaizey girlsown story, mild romance, mild Christianity, early 20th cent
Beaton aka Chesney: Sir Phillip's Folly regency romance, relaxing, sent to oxfam
tete-Michel: an African in Greenland compelling travel writing, translated by poet, written by man of charm, fascinating journey from childhood in togo to hitchhiking to arctic. best book this month so far UNFINISHED DAMMIT eta: STILL READING IN EARLY NOVEMBER
Rodgers: Irish Literary Portraits wb yeats james joyce george moore jm synge george bernard shaw oliver st john gogarty fr higgins ae transcribed from bbc radio - oral history where rodgers interviewed people who knew,were friends with/hated, were related, any strong connection, with figures of irish lit renaissance. some quality bitching, some vivid glimpses, glad i randomly heard of this and hunted it down
Bennett: Richard ii and the revolution of 1399 good counterbalance to mortimer book on henry iv. bit dry, bit overviewy but less invested in personalities (richard still emerges as ghastly and terrifyingly corrupt)
Tait: Seven Thousand Years of Jewellery picturebook brit museum press. Tries to cover all the continents and entire span of humanity. just here for the pictures really
Bythell: Diary of a Bookseller should have read in short bursts not from end to end. Odd read as I agree with almost everything but came away not liking his attitude in some ways. God only knows how his business stays viable. No real surprises, close to own experience of book trade
October:
Priestley: Sel Essays old penguin pb that disintegrated in reading, edited by Susan Cooper(!) v smooth easy read, a lot forgettable bits, came away liking him
Sebastien: A Gentleman Never Keeps Score regency romance which bored me. thought would read fast as like her other books
North: How To Invent Everything history of technology framed by concept of time travelling with reader set up to recreate all the good bits. Fun but not uproarious contrary to dustjacket claims. Prob will xmasgift this
Hill: Tale of Two Vikings I like the idea of her books more than the execution - the banter is a bit like Laurenston (thus funnier to author than it is to me) and now I look at my reading list, realise I read too much romance in a row, no wonder am bilious.
Kneale: Rome a history in 7 sackings repetitive - he did a lot of research and has lived there years and clearly loves the place, but the structure of each chapter was the same with too much sacking and not enough soc.hist. and an editor should have talked to him at early stage of manuscript. gave up before even got out of medieval
Wilkinson: Charity Shopping and the Thrift Lifestyle v listy, would be interesting to read a more narrative book on this. 8 years out of date, got in clearance sale
Brophy: The Face in Western Art furiously opinionated autodidact, great fun to read even when disagreed with his judgements
MacQueen-Pope: Haymarket Theatre of Perfection full of stuff I wanted to know filtered through the voice of an author I learned to loathe v sentimental about the past but mostly that meant being soppy about beautiful women in brocade. Read slowly on account of Marxist begrudgery
St Clair: Secret Lives of Colour collection articles from fashion mags about specific tints, done with smatterings of hist and geography and science. anecdotal, amazing loo read, better than expected.
November:
Caldwell: The Three Colonels sequel to P+P and S+S. male emphasis (set at waterloo) and tries make sympathetic Caroline Bingley and Mary Bennet. bored by this, very. why do I get these; always kinda bad. as ever, lizzie bennet unrecognisable (and largely offstage) and too much romance, too little social warfare
Perry: A Bohemian Brigade the civil war correspondants mostly rough sometimes ready US civil war was the most fun chapter in Knightley's 1st casualty about war correspondants so was up for this, written by lifelong journalist so he sympathetic to their priorities, would be great read if were into USA civil war, as it was I lost track of people and places at times. Good read regardless
Thewissen: The Walking Whales from land to water in 8 million years bit dry where he on about why fossil bone of ear proves whale species despite presence hoof residue, pics of dolphin foetuses etc, but interspersed with autobiog bits about sequence of digs in Pakistan and awkwardness of proximity to warzone being obstacle to business of digging up shale. Always wanted to know more about evolution of whales and this is non-academic answer to my wishes.
Nixey: The Darkening Age Christian destruction of the classical world not as iconoclastic and revolutionary a thesis as author clearly thought it was: the monks of the middle ages preserved some of the lit+hist of ancient rome and greece but censored lots too - about 10% survived. Had tone issues with the writer which shouldn't affect how true the book is but made it uphill read. oxfammed
Mitchnik: Egyptian and Sudanese Folk Tales very does what says on tin book, pleasant read, nice woodcut type illus
Hartnell: Medieval Bodies sumptuously illustrated, based on Wellcome exhibition I think, about how medieval (vast region, several centuries) related to their bodies. some medical hist, lot about academic notions, lovely. ghoulish too
Afanas'ev: Russian Fairy Tales 19th century Russian equiv of bros grimm. depressing amount casual domestic violence - some familiars stories slavified, some new to me
Darcy: Georgina mediocre regency romance set in poorly researched Ireland
Butts/Hunt: How Did Long John Silver Lose His Leg + 26 other mysteries of childrens' literature essays in vein of john sutherlands vicfic explorations, mixed bag.
December:
(still reading 3 colonels, less than compelling)
Brusatte: Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs the untold story of a lost world all up for hearing about dinosaurs, less so about hearing about Brusette and his ego and how cool all his friends were, v anxious he not be taken for a nerd which, why? the readership for this book the last to frown at that. seething with rage at author (showing off, sexism, bad prose style) never makes for good read, also he hinted at dino stuff without explaining. saving some inner loathing for whoever edited him
Joseph: Julius Caesar and Me exploring Shakespeare's African play loved the dvd of production, thrilled to find actor-book about the making of - fascinating and moving. note: promised to loan welshMark copy of dvd, is shouty but brilliant and cassius is dazzling
Gough: Rabbit and Bear Rabbit's Bad Habits childrens book, funny and sweet
Kelly: Beau Brummell the ultimate dandy immersive book about the time, not just for fashion readers. BB so entitled and selfpitying that when he bankrupted, was mostly sorry for the tailors he ruined in his fall. Great read.
Dromgoole: Hamlet Globe to Globe taking Shakespeare to every country in the world account of a 2 year tour by globe of H - discursive, patchy, interesting, random. Some really fun insights into scenes and characters, some lovvieness, enjoyed.
Sims: Story of Charlottte's Web eb white and the birth of a children's classic hatereading this, amazing the author of elements of style is lumbered with biographer so prolix flowery and clichéd and generally nails on blackboard. Will prob abandon (ebw has only just been hired by new yorker) OXFAM
Moss: Paperback Crush the totally radical history of '80s and '90s teen fiction too listy, not enough about contents of books, disappointing execution of interesting subject. V USA selection of titles.
Zipes: Great Fairy Tale Tradition from strapola and basile to the brothers grimm literary (as opposed to oral) folktales that were published before grimm.
O'Brien: How To Be Right in a world gone wrong based on a call-in radio show (lbc) where pugnacious leftie chat host takes on brexit enthusiasts and people who've been fed shit by tabloids. comes across bit smug in places but can argue his corner where I give up in despair - my politics far too gut and not enough brain
Foreman: A Life in Pictures sketchbook autobiog of children's illustrator