Monthly Recap - August 2012

Here are the books I reviewed this month:

• A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge
• World Cup Final in Danger featuring Naranjito by Lynne Bradbury and Graham Marlow
• Quickbooks 2012 for Dummies
• Booky Wook 2 by Russell Brand
• Stanley's Stick by John Hegley and Neal Layton
• Harry Hill's TV Burp Book

And the books I have on my "to review" list:

Harry Hill's TV Burp Book

In many ways this is your typical TV-tie-in annual. Coming out in time for Christmas 2009 this book presents a glossy bunch of various articles taking the mic out of TV shows and TV stars, in much the same way as the TV Burp TV show does. However all the content here is entirely separate from that that appeared in the TV show so you don't have to worry about having come across it before.

Highlights include a Coronation Street photo story entitled "Ken's Violent Rampage", Sir Trevor McDonald's stand-up comedy page showcasing his jokes, including multiple jokes about Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and Harry Hill's pick-o'-the-bill, where Harry Hill details his favourite moments from that hit ITV show, The Bill.

There are also bits in the book that are more related to the TV show, such as the exclusive photos of the Knitted Character's baby, plus the outcomes of some of those fights that occur and continue through the ad-breaks.

As with anything celeb-based it will be of its time and the celebs featured will disappear from memory the further past 2009/2010 we get. Also this being a collection of articles will be hit and miss but if you enjoyed the TV show then the book should be right up your street.

(This book is listed on Amazon here.)

Stanley's Stick by John Hegley and Neal Layton

This book is about a stick owned by a boy called Stanley. But it is more than a stick because Stanley can make it into whatever he wants it to be through the power of imagination. 

The text is full of colour. It starts with a sentence which is full of alliteration. Later the text breaks into all sorts of rhyme with the conventional rhyming couplet to the use of rhyming words littered within the same sentence. Of course you might have expected this anyway given the author is a renowned poet. 

Then there are the pictures which are equally great. They are simple, colourful illustrations which include just the subtlest pieces of collage to bring places like Blackpool beach to life. The style reminds me a little of the way the Charlie and Lola books are put together.  

To sum up the quote by The Times on the front cover says it all: “Everything a picture book should be.”

(I got this book through Amazon Vine. It is listed on Amazon here.)

Booky Wook 2 by Russell Brand

Booky Wook 2 is the sequel to My Booky Wook hence misses out a lot of Russell's life that the first book would have covered. I haven't read the first book which is a little unfortunate as some of the characters in this book were introduced there so I missed out on their introductions, plus there are other things I wasn't up to speed on.

It didn't matter too much though. This is still an amusing tale of Russell's life, presumably picking up from where the first volume finished.

This book is split into four parts: the first covers his growing fame; the second covers his making steps into Hollywood; the third part is about things going terribly wrong; and the fourth part is about things getting better again.

So probably the best bits are in the third part of the book where things go wrong with the hosting of the MTV VMA awards and he starts to receive death threats which he then ridicules. (This all may be similar to the stand-up routine he was doing during his Scandalous tour, I seem to remember something similar, but it was certainly funny to read too.) There are other moments in the book too where extracts from radio shows or email exchanges have been inserted to fill out the pages but overall it is a decent enough story, with a little bit of Morrissey thrown in as well, along with tales spent with numerous women, including his initial encouters with Katy Perry.

I enjoyed it.

(This book is listed on Amazon here.)

Quickbooks 2012 for Dummies, UK Edition by Stephen L. Nelson and Loredana Stroup

Having read QuickBooks 2012 for Dummies I still find myself perplexed by the intricacies involved in maintaining a proper accounting system - I feel less inclined to buy the QuickBooks software (if I can't understand the dummy what chance do I have in fully utilising the software)?

Although the book was very informative - I found it quite wordy (the fact that I don't have an accountancy background I confess may have contributed to my total confusion on what value Quickbooks will add to my business).

In conclusion - I think on this occasion the saying `leave it to the experts seems apt' and rather than toiling and trying to unravel my accounts - I should leave the accounting details to the external accountant we use.

- Chuka

(I got this book through Amazon Vine. It is listed here.)

World Cup Final in Danger featuring Naranjito by Lynne Bradbury and Graham Marlow

This is a comic strip story about Naranjito, the 1982 World Cup Mascot, and his friends, who appear to be other fruits.

The caper starts with them watching football on the TV only for the transmission to be interrupted because the evil Dr. Mantis wants to announce to the world that he has some dastardly deed lying in wait for them, as you do. Naranjito and his friends then go about solving it, and they are very clever which leads them to the Madrid football stadium. However Dr. Mantis has some spies out who capture them and take them to Dr. Mantis’s James Bond villain-esque base. Yet they still manage to escape and save the day so that the World Cup final gets played.

The comic strip is very primitive in the way the drawing and colouring is done. The story though is very fast-moving and suspenseful although things do conveniently happen (one of the friends happens to be a pilot, they easily slip out of some ropes they’re tied in, they have some useful gadgets …) and they are too clever for their own good easily getting to the bottom of something much faster than anyone would. But for a bit of World Cup memorabilia it might be worth getting if you can track down a copy.

(It is listed on Amazon here.)

A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge

This book is about an underground world called Caverna and a girl who lives there called Neverfell who has a face like glass. That is that you can see through her, seeing her thoughts and feelings, simply by looking at the expression on her face, whereas everyone else in Caverna only have a set number of expressions, and if they want more they have to purchase them from a facesmith.

Neverfell starts the story as a 5-year-old being found in the tunnels of a recluse cheesemaker, her previous memories wiped, and for 7 years she learns the cheesemaker trade. But then she feels cooped up and gets out where she causes all sorts of havoc. This is because she is being used as a pawn in the intricate game that is played in the upper echelons of Caverna society.  Yet at the end she outwits them all.

This was a brilliant book about a peculiar and well-thought out world, with peculiar and well-thought out characters too, like a Grand Steward who never sleeps because he alternates between using his left and right sides, and the Kleptomancer who gets his kicks from making the most audacious thefts. The plot is intricately weaved but fits together nicely, and all is written in beautifully colourful language.

A book not to be missed.

(I got this book through Amazon Vine. It is listed here.)