Category Archives: Literature

Retirement

Posted on December 3, 2018 by odeboyz

Barbara (anxious colleague): Do you think that you’ll by OK when you retire? Joan: Oh yes. I’ve been reading about life without work and it’s lovely. Barbara: What have you been reading? Joan: Jane Austen Chris

Posted in Humour, Literature | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Book and Film Review: Raymond Chandler ~ The Big Sleep (1939) and (1946- film)

Posted on November 26, 2018 by odeboyz

The doyen of American pulp fiction is Raymond Chandler. I knew this even though I’d never actually read his work. I relied on the brilliant, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, film The Big Sleep (1946). So I was unprepared for … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Literature, Review | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: David Eagleman ~ The Brain: the story of you

Posted on November 12, 2018 by odeboyz

I bought this as a make weight on the infamous ‘Buy one get one half price’ desk in Waterstones book shop. Unwanted, unloved and abandoned it was on my shelf for quite a few months before I picked it up … Continue reading →

Posted in Health, Literature, Review | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Martin Cruz Smith ~ The Arkady Renko novels

Posted on October 29, 2018 by odeboyz

The British Detective Inspector genre has reached new levels of sophistication in its numerous iterations. There is a pretty standard characterisation used by most authors and so thrillers depend almost entirely on ever more ingenious plots. However, no matter how … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Review, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Reviews: Sellar and Yeatman 1066 and All That (1930); O’Farrell An utterly impartial history of Britain

Posted on October 22, 2018 by odeboyz

Sellar and Yeatman invented satire on school-boy history. They mocked history books which were current at the time which mostly created the myth that the British were naturally superior to all other countries. They developed the phrase ‘a good thing’ … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Literature, Review | Tagged | Leave a comment

Book Review: Michael Lewis ~ Flash Boys: Cracking the money code

Posted on September 24, 2018 by odeboyz

This is a wonderfully entertaining book, which reads like a novel, an incomprehensible techy textbook and a polemic against the US stock market. Parts were beyond my understanding. For example- “Round-trip travel time from Chicago to New Jersey has been … Continue reading →

Posted in Finance, Literature, Review | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Helen Cresswell ~ Ordinary Jack: the Bagthorpe Saga

Posted on September 11, 2018 by odeboyz

Ordinary Jack is aimed at the 9+ market. Yes it’s a children’s book. It’s full of guileless humour and strong characterisation. Ordinary Jack is a member of the Bagthorpe family all of whom are very high achieving talented and utterly … Continue reading →

Posted in Humour, Literature, Review | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Geoff Dyer ~ Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi

Posted on August 28, 2018 by odeboyz

This book is actually two books linked by the narrator, Jeff. The first half is of Jeff as a degenerate freelance journalist who hates both his job ‘writing shit articles’ and himself. He reflects on lost talent and an inability … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Review, Travel | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Make Russia great again

Posted on August 24, 2018 by odeboyz

“It is discovered that Stalin is alive and living in a cabin in Siberia. A delegation is sent to convince him to return to Moscow, assume power, and restore Russia to greatness. After some reluctance, Stalin agrees to come back. … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Politics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Mick Herron- Slow Horses

Posted on August 21, 2018 by odeboyz

Every organisation has people who don’t fit in. Slough House is full of MI5 rejects, underachievers and the really talented who don’t fit in: they don’t have any career prospects. Jackson Lamb is significantly superior to everyone else with a … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Review | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment