Once more with Tapas
Walking in the Serra de Tramuntana, Mallorca - October 2011
First some explanation. The plans we had for scaling the 1000m heights and striding along the high ridges of the Serra de Tramuntana had had to be scaled down. Two weeks before we set off Jonathan phoned to say he’d … Continue reading →
Sóller Monday 17 October The idea was for Jonathan and me to go for a walking holiday in October. Somewhere with a good chance of fine weather, comfortable accommodation, and with interesting but not too strenuous scenery. The hilly part … Continue reading →
I regret to say that I don’t think this book is worthy of the Man Booker prize it won in 2008. I can only think it superficially ticked enough boxes to persuade the judges – first novel, non-white, non-English author, … Continue reading →
I was given this book in an Italian restaurant and Pizzeria in Oxford on World Book Night. It’s not easy to write a book convincingly in the first person, but Mark Haddon has managed to do it well in this … Continue reading →
Subtitled "Up the Yukon Without a Paddle" this book is one of those "We wanted to get away from it all and although we hadn’t a clue what we were doing we somehow managed to survive" stories. And frankly it’s … Continue reading →
The second of two Nesbo books I read this month. Both are airport fiction in the Scandinavian noir genre. The characters are rather uninterseting and the main character (the detective) is unattractive. They are both a quick read but don’t … Continue reading →
The first of two Nesbo books I read this month. Both are airport fiction in the Scandinavian noir genre. The characters are rather uninterseting and the main character (the detective) is unattractive. They are both a quick read but don’t … Continue reading →
An interesting book but I haven’t got anything insightful to say about it that hasn’t been said by others — see for example this review in The Guardian.
Continue reading →A journey is not always a challenge, nor is a challenge always an adventure. An episode in a life can be none, one, two, or all three of these things. In his previous book “The Man Who Cycled The World” … Continue reading →
John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California and grew up near the Pacific coast where many of his earlier successful novels and stories are based. He later moved to New York and by 1960 had been living there for some … Continue reading →