What book are you reading at the moment ?

Read a few books lately:

"Touching the Void" by Joe Simpson (it's from the 1980s): about a mountain climber who fell and broke his ankle high up in the Andes and had to crawl home, after basically being left for dead. It has a bit of technical climbing language in places but it's still understandable (and you can google a term if you want to). Even though you know how it ends, it's still an absolutely gripping read (pun intended). The way he captures the mental ups and downs of the entire journey is superb, going from hopelessness to elation to despair and back up again. I'd give it 5/5.

Read a few books lately:

"Europe United" by Matt Walker: a lad who went to a top flight game in every UEFA member state over one season. Tbh, I didn't love it. It was more a continual stream of loosely-linked anecdotes and there's a lot of "then I had a kebab then I went to the pub then I met a fan then we watched the match then I went to Ljubljana". It's an interesting idea but the book itself wasn't brilliant. I actually met him in Georgia the last time we were there (he was going from Azerbaijan to Armenia at the time). I wouldn't say I didn't enjoy it but it could have been so much better. It gets a 2.5/5 from me.

"The Secret Barrister" by anonymous: about the criminal legal aid system in England and Wales. It's a very good read and readable and understandable by lawyers and non-lawyers alike, demonstrating the serious flaws with the criminal justice system there, basically entirely caused by a continued underfunding of the system (and I don't mean more money for lawyers), in particular with court closures, overworked prosecution staff and overworked police officers, not to mention overworked defence lawyers. It's an excellent read and a lot of the same stuff applies here. It can be a bit repetitive and, at times, it comes across as a plea for nothing more than more money (which it really isn't) but it does make its point well enough all the same. It gets 4/5.

"Touching the Void" by Joe Simpson (it's from the 1980s): about a mountain climber who fell and broke his ankle high up in the Andes and had to crawl home, after basically being left for dead. It has a bit of technical climbing language in places but it's still understandable (and you can google a term if you want to). Even though you know how it ends, it's still an absolutely gripping read (pun intended). The way he captures the mental ups and downs of the entire journey is superb, going from hopelessness to elation to despair and back up again. I'd give it 5/5.

"Around the World in 80 Trains" by Monesha Rajesh: as the cover says, it's an account of travelling around the world by train. It is how travel books should be written, certainly compared to Matt Walker's book above. It was an escape during the worst of the Covid restrictions and her writing is good enough to take you there - up the Tibet railway to Lhasa, across the US with Amtrak, through Europe at speed - she captures it all very well. It's one of the most enjoyable travel books I've read. It gets a 4.5/5.

"Trans-Siberian Adventures" by Matthew Woodward: again, an account of travelling across the Trans-Siberian by train. This is less a travel book and, in some ways, more of an account of the actual train ride, and as such is much more useful for anyone planning to do the same than Rajesh's book. It is none the worse for it though, even if I doubt the value in travelling all the way from Moscow to Beijing directly, without stopping in Russia or, even more unforgivably, Mongolia. It's entertaining all the same and captures the life on board a single long-distance train really well (at least in my own, limited, experience of long-distance train travel). It gets a 4/5.

Have you read Three Weeks, Eight Seconds: The Epic Tour de France of 1989 by Nigel Tassell. Great read about the battle between Lemond and Fignon that culminated with a final stage Time Trial from Versailles to the Champs Elysees and Lemond winning the Tour by 8 seconds 

The Nanny State and Me- Stuart Maconie 9/10

The case for the welfare state with chats with the Manics, Nigel from HMHB, Arthur Scargill's daughter, Alan Bennett and Simon Armitage was always going to be up my street, even if he spent too much time around the BBC to realise that Corbyn was the last hope for it, regardless of his faults.

Hillbilly Elegy- J.D Vance 0/10

The worst book I have ever read. Everything that's wrong with America in a single person. No self-awareness, no empathy and thinks because he made it with hard-work everybody else can. I knew he was a Republican from seeing reviews and interviews but my interest in Appalachia and the huge impact it had made me think it was worth reading. I was wrong. It is worrying that it was so popular, not just because of the message but also because it was so badly written.

Three Men in a Boat- 7/10

Well-known humourous tale of three posh idiots on a boating holiday on the Thames. One of the few redeeming qualities of the English upper classes is their ability to laugh at themselves. 

Things Can Only Get Worse- John O'Farrell 5/10

The sequel to 'Things Can Only get Better', which is about the joy of being a hard-working Labour activist who hadn't seen a victory until '97 tries to come to terms with the faults of New Labour. I suppose I agreed with him a lot more in the first book so, as amusing as he can be, it is difficult to enjoy a book written by someone you so often disagree with. I might have enjoyed it more if he was honest enough to say what is indisputable fact: Tony Blair is a mass murdering old ****.

Another Bloody Saturday- Mat Guy 3/10

One of those books that appears for under a quid on Kindle and you think will be an easy distraction, but is really just a series of blog posts from a man who is using football to fill the hole of his dad's suicide. It is hard not to like him and feel for him and his childish enthusiasm for the game is heart-warming, but it is pretty average.

Post Office- Bukowski 10/10

A re-read of an old favourite and as is often the norm with his work, you read it in one sitting. The man was a genius, most likely a bit of a ****, but a genius. There haven't been that many writers that pass their emotions on to the reader as easily as he does.

Ham on Rye- Bukowski 10/10

See above, but funnier. Henry Chinaski is the anti-hero of the American Dream. 

Superior: The Return of Race Science 10/10

I downloaded this a while back when she was offering it for free on Kindle following George Floyd's death and finally got around to it. I think it is one of the most important books I have read and it should be thought in schools. It is crazy that people still think race has a basis in science in 2020; this debunks that in easy to understand language. Even more importantly it explains why people still believe in race as a scientific construct when it goes against science. That scientists themselves can hold prejudices that go against facts they themselves have proved. Well worth reading.

The Billionaires Club- James Montague 9/10

One of the best football books I have read. A look at who football's billionaire owners are and what they want from the game. He has a wonderful gonzo style that makes me think he could write about anything, but his love of the game and for travel means he is well suited to writing about the global game. He is a sort of David Conn you would like to go on the beer with. His first two books, 31-0 and 'When Friday Comes' were both very good too and I'm very much looking forward to reading the recently released '1312' about the ultras movement. 

52 Times Britain Was  a Bellend- 4/10

A sort of 'orrible histories for grown ups put together by a comedian, of sorts. He means well and has taken lots of abuse for it, but he isn't really that funny, certainly not in written form. A handy one to have for the sh*tter or to open when you are waiting for something, someone or when voiding your bowels.

Currently reading 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'. There's a few classics I have never read that I feel I should. Reading it with modern eyes is quite difficult due to the appalling racism. 'Dracula' is up next and then Margo Jefferson's 'Negroland'.

As you can tell, I have f**k all work to do!