THE CONCRETE ROUNDABOUT (TCR)

The Wilt Alternative. Tom Sharpe.
Haven't read any of his stuff for many many years.
Hilarious as all his early/mid stuff was.
Some of the context is a bit dated inevitably but this is laugh out loud with eyes watering reading at some points.

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Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment

The Sandman, Book One by Neil Gaiman

A collection of Gaiman’s early 90’s comic series enfolded into one enormous graphic novel. As I’ve already reviewed the telly series elsewhere, if you need a summary of the plot, look there. But it has to be said that this is far better. It’s actually better than I remember it. It’s also interesting to point out, in the wake of colour blind casting, that the telly is a victim of this. I know that it was written over 30 years ago, and Gaiman has had all of his other telly projects cancelled in the wake of inappropriate sexual accusations, but I genuinely think that the TV series suffers somewhat from this modern phenomena. Christ, I hope I don't sound like some pound shop Farage here.

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They say don't kick a man when he's down. Show me a better time.

The Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley - Peter Guralnick

I'm a massive Elvis fan and this is the biography that is generally accepted as being the best. When Elvis was alive, Colonel Tom made sure that all bios were hagiographies (e.g. The Jerry Hopkins book which I read as a child). And for a while after he died, all the bios were hatchet jobs, making him out to be a racist hick. This book gives, I believe, the most rounded and accurate picture of what he was like and what it was like to be in the centre of the mania that erupted around him.

This is volume 1 and it takes us from his birth and through the extraordinary start of his career, up to the point where he sails off to Germany on National Service. So I have the pleasure of looking forward to volume 2. This volume takes a pretty completist approach to names, dates and places and this can be a little obsessive and overwhelming. But it's worthwhile sticking with it as Guralnick really brings Elvis to life on the page (and "Colonel" Tom Parker too). For a fan like me, it's a fascinating read. It confirms things I knew about him; this includes the weird, obsessive but kinda sweet relationship with his mother (obsessive from both parties), the encyclopedic knowledge of Gospel and R&B music, the politeness and deference, and the nouveau riche vulgarity. It confirms things I hoped were true (e.g. although a southern white redneck with an entirely white set of friends, he wasn't a racist - Chuck D bought into the post-death hatchet jobs). And there was lots I didn't know, like the fact that once he started to get famous, he fucked an awful lot of women - which shouldn't have been a surprise I guess.

Elvis is seen as a real person, albeit with an incredible talent and living through an incredible situation. It's a long read but totally worth it.

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I don't need your ill-informed, half-baked, idiotic opinions. I have plenty of those myself.

World without End : Ken Follett

Second in his Kingdsbridge series where each novel (starting around 1100) terms of a cathedral city being built and ongoing history and people around it

Usual Follett readability with good characters and plenty of subplots

His usual cringe worthy sex scenes are there but I skip those


7/10

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Warnes World, Warnes World. Party time. Excellent

Zappa The hard way.
This is about his last ever ill fated, and cut short, 1988 tour.
A multi-talented band fell apart from internal strife - it's a bit of a whodunnit.
A great read if you are a Zappa aficionado.

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Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment

Me by Elton John

I may not like his music, but after reading this I absolutely adore him as a person. Who else would have speakers fitted throughout his house specifically to play a fanfare when he got up? And this wonderful book is full of laugh out loud moments like this. In fact, every page has one truly hilarious anecdote after another.

He goes into therapy with his husband, and they’re asked what annoys them about the other.
Elton… “David leaves his CD’s out of their cases. He’s so messy”.
Husband David… “He’s a massive fucking drug addict”.
It’s hilarious. That’s not to say that he’s not serious about his craft. He takes song writing very seriously indeed. But annoyingly he’s both very good at it, and finds it so easy that he can knock off Candle In The Wind while waiting for Ringo Starr to arrive for dinner. And speaking of The Beatles, who else would have a table specifically for the remaining members of the fab four and their families at their wedding? Only Elton, that’s who.

Not only is he self aware, he doesn't hold back when talking about his fellow superstars. Madonna… “Looks like a fairground stripper”. And various others receive similar treatment. As you’d expect, he’s wonderfully catty. The famous story of him calling room service once asking for the wind to be turned down as it was too noisy. Always assumed to be apocryphal… nope, he really did it.

This is a wonderful book, which I’d urge everyone to read. You may, like me, not like his music, but I’d defy you not to absolutely love this. It’s fantastic from start to finish.

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They say don't kick a man when he's down. Show me a better time.

I've always got a PG Wodehouse on the go - just finished The Girl in Blue and moved onto Ice in the Bedroom.

But, more fittingly, today is the 50th anniversary of his death.

He died February 14th, 1975, aged 93. While midway through writing an unfinished Blandings novel - posthumously entitled the poignant 'Sunset at Blandings'.

I was only born three years after his death, but his books have given me so much pleasure for so many years.