Did you know that there was a virtual monopoly on condom production in the UK? I certainly didn't! This book is a detailed dive into how and why one company came to dominate the "French Letter" business and the ways in which British culture shaped them. This is a sober and detailed look through the lifespan of a fascinating British company. It is, in part, corporate biography, marketing…
Continue reading →
I am flying through the sky with a magic glass on my lap. As I hurtle at terrifying speeds to lands undreamed of, Chaucer's words arrange themselves on the slate. With the merest flick of my fingers another tale appears. In a few hours I will have covered more distance than he ever did in his lifetime. The parchment evidence of his life is now compiled for all to read. I can't remember when I…
Continue reading →
What does it mean to write an autobiography? For most people, their autobiography is a series of well-worn stories that they've told themselves. I remember reading Peter Mandelson's autobiography and being staggered at how he won every argument he ever had and was proved completely right by history. I'm sure you've read a dozen autobiographies where the subject has gleefully recounted something …
Continue reading →
I think I mostly agree with everything this book is saying, but after almost every paragraph I found myself scribbling the same note "Yes! But what action should I take though?" The author has an excellent and accessible way of showing the problems caused by the Climate Crisis - but the "action" part is mostly missing. Take this example: So something you can do right now to tackle them is to…
Continue reading →
What if the Discworld's Assassin's Guild existed in the real world? That's it. That's the plot. Go to a university where they'll teach you to be a better class of murderer. The first half is excellent. Chuckles all the way through. A heady mix of every boarding-school novel you've ever read, and funny little twists and turns. Lots of the dialogue is straight out of Terry Pratchett (and I can't…
Continue reading →
This is a lovely and twisted anthology of stories. Each presents a "historic" robot - be they an automaton, a puppet given life by the gods, or a resurrected villager. Some, like the Mechanical Turk, are historical fact but others are invented just for us to gawk at. The stories are mostly dark and brooding, with the macabre turn. They're fun - but the constant theme is "what if I, an…
Continue reading →
There's a fine line between genius and madness - and I'm not sure where this book lies. It dives right in with some splendid technobabble: The base model TM-31 runs on state-of-the-art chronodiegetical technology: a six-cylinder grammar drive built on a quad-core physics engine, which features an applied temporalinguistics architecture allowing for free-form navigation within a rendered…
Continue reading →
This is a gem of a book. The language of Polari was used extensively in the gay community during the early 20th century. A way to speak without being overheard, using a mixture of rhyming slang, underworld cant, and loanwords. While Julian and his friend Sandy dominate the story - being one of the only mass-broadcast records of the language - the book dives in to the hidden history of its…
Continue reading →
My friend Andrew has written a cracking novel. The English Civil Wars have left a fragile and changing world. The scarred and weary inhabitants of Newcastle Upon Tyne enlist a Scottish "Pricker" to rid themselves of the witches who shamelessly defy god. Many are accused, and many hang despite their protestations. The town settles into an uneasy peace. And then, from London, rides a man…
Continue reading →
Can a Japanese mindset help you find fulfilment in life? Based on this book - the answer is "no". The Little Book of Ikigai is full of trite and unconvincing snippets of half-baked wisdom. It is stuffed with a slurry of low-grade Orientalism which I would have expected from a book written a hundred years ago. I honestly can't work out what the purpose of the book is. Part of it is travelogue…
Continue reading →
It is always nice to meet someone in a pub who says "I've written my first book!" - so, naturally, I picked up Katie's novel as my next read. I'm glad that I did as it's a cracking crime story. It starts slowly, with a brilliantly observed satire of office life. The gossip, banal slogans, venal senior managers, and work-shy grifters are all there and jump off the page. You'll have met all of…
Continue reading →
404 Ink's "Inklings" series are short books with high ideals. This is a whirlwind tour through the ramifications of the rapid digitalisation of our lives. It provides a review of recent literature and draws some interesting conclusions. It is a modern and feminist take on Seeing Like A State - and acknowledges that book as a major influence. What are the dangers of static standards which force…
Continue reading →
