“Me Talk Pretty One Day” by David Sedaris

Me Talk Pretty One Day is a collection of autobiographical essays, with the book split into two parts, the first part covering growing up and his life in America, while part deux about his French experiences. Sedaris writes about his childhood and his family, with tales of pets and parents, before going on to some of the various jobs including removals and cleaning, and then after meeting his partner, spending time and moving to France, learning the language and Americans in Paris.

I was nervously worried by how many “Hilarious!” type blurbs were on the cover, as it usually ends up being an omen that the book will not be in the slightest funny, but I actually enjoyed it. It wasn’t laugh out loud funny, but I found a gentle humorous tone running through the pieces, which were easy to read and at times acutely observed. I have to admit, I liked the French essays more than the American ones, but I think that’s because I love reading books about people who move to France to start a new life, and I could identify much more with learning a new language than I could with growing up in the States.

On the whole, an entertaining book and I did enjoy it. I may well look at some of his other books in the future, but I’m not going to be running out to grab them immediately.

“Adventures on the High Teas” by Stuart Maconie

I adore Stuart Maconie’s writing; he has quickly become my favourite travel writer. In this book, he’s looking for what Middle England is, and in themed chapters based on subjects such as food and music, he searches the country to try and find the meaning.

His quirky view of the world hits the spot every time with my own sense of humour. His descriptions of the places he visits and the people he meets are warm with an air of nostalgia, but always feel authentic.

I laughed aloud, chuckled, smiled and fondly remembered childhood experiences along with him. I loved this look at real English life, he recounts the tales of the people he meets and places he visits with charm and even when poking fun at them, it always done with fondness for England. It isn’t at all a rose-tinted view of the country though, and he does highlight the bad as well as the good he finds, but he does seem to be able to find some good almost everywhere.

A fantastically entertaining read.

“Three Men on the Bummel” by Jerome K. Jerome

A sequel to Three Men in a Boat, this book follows our eponymous heroes who are now older and, supposedly, wiser, on a holiday to Germany. I loved Three Men In A Boat when I read it earlier in the year, and wasn’t expecting this sequel to be as good. In fact, I thought it was by far the more entertaining book.

This seemed much more like a novel than the first book, where the author had tried to include local history in to the narrative. The three men are now older and decide to take a bicycle ride through Germany, and this time we get their side of the story about how they get on together (or don’t) as well as the various escapades they find themselves in along the way of their journey. We learn about the family life (now two of them are married with children) and get a glimpse of to society of the times through their eyes.

It was funny! I smiled almost all the way through – there’s something about the contemporary language of that era that makes me chuckle anyway, but knowing it was written in that period makes it feel even more real and authentic, and gives it an extra level of humour.

The only thing I didn’t like about the book was the final chapter. After having seemingly made a very definite decision to make this the story of the three men, the conclusion is an essay on the modern Germany of the time, which was dry and felt a let down after a very funny, very charming story of three friends.

Apart from that it was very, very entertaining and great fun.
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“Eleven Minutes Late” by Matthew Engel

The back cover of this book tells you it that the author travelled the length of the British railway system from Penzance to Thurso, meeting a variety of people from politicians to platform staff on charmingly bizarre trains, the most beautiful branch line, and uncovered the mysteries and explored the history of railways in Britain.

I had really high hopes for this book – a mixture of train travel, quirky characters and the nostalgia of the railways as a British institution. A promising start gave me everything I was looking for, but unfortunately, it didn’t last.

After a few chapters, the narrative took a must stronger turn towards this history of the railways and diverted away from the people and places of the journey. I stuck with it, but it gradually got drier and drier, and I actually ended up putting it down for three months.

I eventually decided I wanted to finish it, and starting it again, the history continued for quite a while, but the last couple of chapters looking more at the state of the railway today along with the conclusion of the authors journey, made me glad I made the decision to continue.

I liked the authors writing style, it was just the depth of railway history that I found hard to take, as the blurb did not reflect the content making me feel a bit cheated. I would have been much happier to have read a book that concentrated mainly on the story of the journey with a bit of history thrown in, but I got the reverse felt which was rather dry and lacking in character.

“Three Men In A Boat” by Jerome K. Jerome

What a little gem of a book this is! Perfectly evoking the era of the late 19th Century, this witty narrative of three young men embarking on a boating break is just charming. Quintessentially English, J. has decided he has every ailment in the medical dictionary, to which his doctor prescribes him:

1 lb. of beefsteak, with 1 pt. bitter beer every 6 hours.
1 ten-mile walk every morning.
1 bed at 11 sharp every night.
And don’t stuff up you head with things you don’t understand.

A canvas covered boat, meandering down the river Thames from Kingston to Oxford, results in a series of anecdotes about the places they visit, the people they meet, as well as the realities of three young men spending 24 hour a day in each others company. Although there are some elements of a travelogue about the story, the best elements are definitely the observations of the three young men living together, and while we only see this from J’s point of view, it is written in such a way to allow you to read between the lines and see the reality of their various predicaments. For example, J. obviously thinks he is doing all the work to keep the boat and the trip moving along nicely, but each of the others thinks they are also taking on more than their own fair share of chores!

The humour and style reminded me a lot of The Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith, a book I thoroughly enjoyed last year, and I’ll definitely be reading the follow up to this one, Three Men on the Bummel.

“Cider With Roadies” by Stuart Maconie

Many people will know Stuart Maconie from radio or television. Some will know him as a writer, but there will be a certain contingent who will know him as NME writer. This memoir tells his journey from a three year old Beatles fan, through the fascination with rock, Northern soul, punk and pop which lead to a career as a music journalist.

My first encounter with Stuart Maconie the author, was his book Pies and Prejudice, after which, I was convinced I would love his musical memoir, not just because he has a distinctive style of writing that I loved, but as with most people, music had a huge influence me during my teenage years. So it was with mounting trepidation that I became worried during the first half of the book, because although I was still treated to the same humour and warmth for the subject, I wasn't enjoying it as much as I'd hoped. I'm about a decade younger than Maconie, and I think had I been the same age, I would have loved the book in its entirety, but I found I just couldn't relate to the opening chapters, as I had no memories I could attach with that time period. But then, suddenly, I was transported to the late 1970s with my first musical memories were reawakened, and I was slap bang in the middle of my childhood and teenage favourites. I suddenly found the book I'd been dreaming of from the beginning. By the end, I was laughing out loud, nodding knowingly and eventually putting the book down with a contented sigh.

“Sacred Sierra” by Jason Webster

If you’ve ever read one of those books where the author tells us how they turned their back on the rat race and moved to France/Italy/Spain to get back to nature and create their self sufficient haven by renovating a run down/ruined farmhouse/vineyard/mill, then you might think this book by Jason Webster is another one of those writing by number memoirs and with comical, colourful local characters, and disasters aplenty, concluding with the all round happy ending of a beautiful home with the perfect life achieved. THIS IS NOT THE CASE!

Yes, the author and his Spanish girlfriend buy a rundown mas (a small hamlet of buildings that would have supported the people farming the surrounding land) in the mountains of eastern Spain and, yes, they renovate it to live a different lifestyle, but, this book is so much more than that story. The subtitle of the book is “A Year On A Spanish Mountain”, and each month forms a chapter of the story. At the start of each chapter is a quotation from a 12th century book of agriculture, showing how the practises of farming from 900 years ago can still be applied today, working with the elements and the seasons to get the best out of the land and crops.

The natural history, geography and geology of the area are included, and we learn of the bees and insects, trees and weeds, water and rocks surrounding the mas, from the authors own experiences, as well as the encounters and meetings with the three elderly farmers who become his friends and mentors in the various aspects of bringing order back to the overrun olive and almonds trees, the terraces for planting, and the prospect of fulfilling a dream to plant an arboretum.

Religion is still a big part of Spanish society, and we are also told of modern day festivals and pilgrimages, as well as some of the history of the various religions and peoples that have occupied and lived in the area, including the Moors, the Cathars, and the story of the Knights Templar within the region.

Interspersed with local tales of fairies and folklore, handed down through the generations, these beautifully told myths and legends provide a lovely interlude between chapters.

The writing style is very readable and accessible. Too often, authors writing on this subject feel compelled to include plenty of local words and dialect within the text, trying to add colour to the narrative. Whilst there are some local words and phrases included, they are never intrusive or over used, and always translated. The descriptions of both the people and the locations are beautiful and tell of a lifestyle and landscape that may not exist for much longer.

To conclude the book is a fabulous coda explaining the trees of the region, including details of their history in the area, the conditions they thrive in, the mythology surrounding them, their medicinal properties, and their specific requirements for nurturing them. A fantastic resource, echoing the style of the book, and giving a potted history and reference guide to the trees on the land surrounding the mas.

All this adds up to, quite simply, an engrossing and evocative book, and I highly recommend it.

“Honey and Dust” by Piers Moore Ede

Piers Moore Ede is living in San Francisco when an horrific road accident while cycling down one of the famous hills transforms his life forever. It’s hard enough dealing with the physical injuries, but back home in London, managing the depression that he starts to suffer from, he yearns for the open countryside and natural world. After spending time volunteering on a farm in Italy, the owner rekindles Piers interest as a lifelong lover of honey, and embarks on a journey of discovery around the world searching out ancient and modern forms of bee-keeping and honey collection. Through the book we learn about not only the fascinating world of apiculture but also how Piers comes to terms with the changes in him following the accident.

This is a wonderful book, in every sense of the word; for example, reading about the tribes in Sri Lanka who hunt for honey filled me with wonder – that the tribes are still able to survive, the methods of hunting, and the risks involved, as well as the wonderful honesty of the author in talking about the depression he suffers from, and the impact it has on his life. There was a mix of history, nature, travel and apiculture in the book, as well as the personal emotional journey of recovery, and was a very satisfying read.

“Attention All Shipping” by Charlie Connelly

For many people in the UK, the shipping forecast is an enigmatic yet comforting piece of radio programming, with unfathomable but melodic words flowing over the airwaves. The familiar names of the sea areas, Dogger, North Utsire, South Utsire, etc., evoke romantic notions of a byegone era, seemingly unchanged since the programme was first broadcast in the 1920s. The programme itself has been the inspiration for poems, novels and songs, and gives both valuable information to the nations seafarers, but also a comforting nostalgia for its many other listeners. Charlie Connelly sets out on a journey to visit all the shipping areas listed in the shipping forecast, and this book is the tale of his travels.

After reading the back cover of this book, I was looking forward to a humorous romp through the various areas of the shipping forecast, but I unfortunately I didn’t get it. The book felt disjointed, with each chapter feeling that time passes between trips without this coming across in the narrative. It feels as though it should have been a single journey, similar to Tony Hawks “Around Ireland With A Fridge” so you had a continuous travelogue of the journey, but instead it was part local history, part a guided tour of bad hotels and part an attempt at colourful humour about the local people of each area. For me, it was too disjointed and lacked the continuous story that kept me turning each page of Tony Hawks book in anticipation of the next story. I found I was easily distracted while reading the book, and it was actually a bit of a chore to finish it.