I didn't have the patience to wait for the French edition, so I got it in English. Staalesen is mostly solid, but this book wasn't one of his best. Where Roses Never Die is still #1.
If I Was by Midge Ure
A biography about his life and about joining Ultravox, starting a solo career, and then also reaching middle age and selling less records, and then having to hustle a bit. But Midge seems like a genuine nice guy, there's no self pity, so it's all good.
Broken Music by Sting
Mostly about his life, only getting into The Police at the end, releasing their first record. Which is a bit of a shame. Will there be a volume 2? Doesn't seem like it. And since it's Sting, is there some pretentiousness once in a while? Yes.
Life A User's Manual by Georges Perec
Interesting book and a modernist classic, Perec going through all the rooms of an apartment block in Paris, on the same day, but also telling stories about the lives of the people living there. Some chapters are just a list of all the things in that room, and it took me a bit of time to get into the book, but then I did and I was hooked. Really, I should finish Ulysses next.
The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock by Donald Spoto
I already have the Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light biography by Patrick McGilligan, but got this one as well. Well written, going through all his movies, and also talking about Tippi Hedren's accusations about Hitchcock. Which all ring true, unfortunately.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark
Reading this novel for the second time. And it's 1000 pages long!
Cascade by Fabio
A collection of illustrations and one page strips by the always brilliant Fabio, published by l'association.
No comments:
Post a Comment