Category: Books

I bought this on a total whim a while ago, and my recent few days in a wet and soggy Cote D’Azur afforded me a chance to read it. Haruki Murakami seems to be quite a popular author in Japan, and on this reading, I’m going to have to investigate some of his other work…

I finished the Graham Greene novel the other day, and immediately promised myself that I’d read much more Greene in 2003. Obviously it’s an excellent work, and I was pleased to see just how closely the recent film adhered to the novel. Certainly there were contractions and fewer characters but overall it was a very…

Kim Philby died some years ago, but fortunately, his autobiography has just been republished in the States. (A quick note that I ordered this book from Amazon.com in the States some months ago before it had been published. Once it had been published, it shows up on Amazon.co.uk at a significantly cheaper price – particularly…

John Sergeant’s autobiography is a thoroughly entertaining read, taking us on a whistlestop tour of his journalistic career, and his early start in comedy. Sergeant’s career has taken him over the place, and he tells his story with humour and honesty. You can get some idea of the internal struggles he has as he tries…

Well I could not have timed reading this book any better than I have. Written by William Rivers Pitt and based on an interview with former UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter, this short booklet is about as well timed as it could possibly be. The interview that forms the heart of the book was given…

I read Stella Rimmington’s book a couple of weeks ago, and must say that I’m a little disappointed by it. I don’t think it’s the best written book that I’ve ever read, and somehow it doesn’t really deliver. I know we were never going to get lots of operational detail, but something a little more…

I’m a bit of an Iain Banks fan, although strangely, I’ve never read any of his SF stuff. I say “strangely” because I don’t mind a few science fictions books here and there. Oh well – there’ll be plenty for me to read at some point. Anyway, back to the present and Dead Air. I…

Well I’ve finished the first book on my list of yesterday. I did start it last week however – I wouldn’t have ordinarily been able to get through 440 pages within 24 hours without devoting a lot of time to it. As it was, in typical fashion, I was left with ten pages to go…

Autumn arrives, and a flurry of books to read. So here’s what are upcoming on my “to read” list. 1. White Teeth – making sure I read it before the Channel 4 series starts next week (it’s been on my bookshelf for about a year). 2. Dead Air – Always got to read the latest…

Finished reading this a couple of weeks ago and fascinating it was too. I’m a sucker for any stories about codes or ciphers so this is right up my street. I must admit that I know/knew absolutely nothing about the Napoleonic Wars either. Since reading this I went out and bought a book on the…

Wow. This book is pretty good. Translated from the French and reset in London (not totally convincingly since the protagonist is called Octave). Maybe it’s because I’m a total cynic, particularly where advertising is concerned – despite working in the industry – but I empaphised with the feelings expressed here a lot. The book is…

A concise book detailing the Clinton presidency by the author of Primary Colors. I must admit to having only really having read his novels, but he does seem to have a good understanding of Bill and Hilliary – at least in so far as anyone can have an understanding. Must get around to reading Stephanopoulos’s…