Category: READING

Sometimes I buy books not because I know that they are a good read but because I like the look of them. It might be the weight or feel of the volume or it might be the cover design but sometimes there’s just something about the book that draws me to it. This was the case a while back when I first saw the paperback editions of Andrea Camilleri‘s Inspector Montalbano novels (translated into English by Stephen Sartarelli). “The Snack Thief”  is the third Montalbano novel. Like the rest of the series (so far at least) the action is set in Sicily and although there is a crime (or two) to solve the books are really about the quirky characters of the Sicilian police and the bizarre goings on of the quirky Sicilian people. I enjoy these books because they are laced with subtle humour and charm. When I read them I feel like I should go to Sicily, but, perhaps surprisingly, it’s not the Mediterranean scenery that attracts me, it’s the food. Montalbano just adores traditional Sicilian food and throughout the books he is fed well by his housekeeper and by the chefs in the various cafes and restaurants he visits. These books make me want to eat food.

Just for completeness, I should add that The Snack Thief involves a murder, a small boy who steals other children’s lunch snacks, a snuggling racket, a secret service plot, another murder and lots of good food.

Did I remember to mention the food?

Usually when I write about a book that I have read I am writing from a perspective of having enjoyed reading it or, at least, having found it useful. Sadly, this time this isn’t the case. I came across the book “Problem Solving 101” by Ken Watanabe via Dan Roam’s Digital Roam website and because I had enjoyed Roam’s own book “The Back of a Napkin” I thought I would trust his recommendation… PS101 is a book about problem solving but it is written for children (this could be the root of my problem with it…). However, it is described as an adult bestseller “thanks to the powerful effectiveness” of the techniques it describes. I should have been more suspicious of that “adult bestseller” bit. PS101 is just too simplistic, rather silly and, in truth, doesn’t really provide anything that could be described as a powerful technique. As I read the book I was left with no feeling that there was any evidence to suggest that the stories being told had to turn out the way that they did because of the powerful problem solving techniques and that they could just as easily ended up with the child or children involved failing miserably to solve their problem(s). So for me this book was a dud although there is one thing good about it – it’s one of those small, perfectly formed hardback books with nice paper that just feels and looks good – it’s just a shame about what is inside.

A couple of weeks ago I finished reading John O’Farrell’s book “The Best A Man Can Get”. It tells the story of a married man with two young children and a third on the way who has set up a second life in which he goes to work writing advertising jingles whilst living a lazy and relaxed life in a room in a rented house with three other blokes. The idea is that he has got it all, a family life that he can return to for a few days at a time and a “single-bloke” life that he can escape to from the family life. Not surprisingly, in the end he gets found out and it all goes horribly wrong but in ther process he discovers much. It’s an amusing book at times but also rather painful to read – many of the observations do ring true though…

Over the last few years I have been working my way through Bernard Cornwell ‘s “Sharpe” series of novels. Richard Sharpe is an English soldier from the early part of the 19th century fighting battles in India, Denmark, Portugal and ultimately France (though I haven’t got this far yet). Each book follows a basic pattern – you know that Sharpe isn’t going to get killed and that the English will win so the drama always comes from two sources – i) there’s always someone, often on his own side, who Sharpe gets into a personal feud with who ultimately gets their comeuppence and ii) there’s always a girl who despite her best intentions to do otherwise falls for Sharpe (it’s just a question of how many pages into the book this happens). So the Sharpe novels are highly formulaic, but because of this picking one up to read is like getting in touch with an old friend and Bernard Cornwell is undoubtedly a master of the genre. Sharpe’s Escape is set in Portugal and involves Sharpe and his companions effecting a rather messy escape froma tight spot to re-join the English and Portuguese armies as they hold the French at bay north of Lisbon. I’m reading the series in historical order (not the order they were written) – so far it has been Sharpe’s… Tiger – Triumph – Fortress – Trafalgar – Prey – Rifles – Havoc – Eagle – Gold – Escape… next comes Fury.

A couple of years ago I heard an interview with Atul Gawande, a US surgeon/professor/writer about his book “Better – A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance” as part of a Scientific American podcast. Several aspects of this interview stayed with me and I made a mental note that I should read his book. Then a few weeks ago this interview was repeated and it spurred me on to finally get a copy which I have now finished reading. “Better” sets out to discuss how it is possible to improve the success rate of medical care in a number of settings from hospital hygiene, to battlefield injuries to “routine” treatment of medical conditions. It is a brilliant book, even for someone who, like me, has no particular interest in medicine (and who struggled somewhat to read a detailed description of the process of completing a Caesarean Section…). Gawande, tries to identify the factors that turn “good” into “better”. One simple example, which was used in the original interview I heard, is of improving hygiene in hospitals to limit spread of infectious diseases – the answer is not to search for some fancy new procedure; it’s something much more basic, namely to ensure that everyone properly washes their hands every single time that they should do. Simple.

There are two particular quotations that I liked. The first is this:

“When you make an effort, you find sometimes you are not the only one willing to do so.”

and the second comes towards the end of the book and is a kind of summary of the whole book:

“Arriving at meaningful solutions is an inevitably slow and difficult process. Nonetheless, what I saw is: better is possible. It does not take genius. It takes diligence. It takes Moral clarity. It takes ingenuity. And above all, it takes a willingness to try.”
[this one is SO good I’m going to add it to the bottom of my work email signature I think]

The final chapter of the book looks at what it takes to become what Gawande calls a “positive deviant”. This is someone who stands out from the crowd and makes a difference, who naturally makes things better and who continually raises the bar. He comes up with five suggestions for how one might make a “worthy difference” and become a positive deviant. Whether he is right or not, I think they make a great list and what particularly pleased me as I read them each in turn is that it turns out that I already do most of them…

1. Ask an unscripted question: i.e. talk to people; find things out about them; make human connections
2. Don’t complain: “it’s boring, it doesn’t solve anything, and will get you down”
3. Count something: gather data on something, anything; look for the patterns; learn something interesting about something that interests you
4. Write something: “by offering your reflections to an audience, even a small one, you make yourself part of a larger world”
5. Change: “it often seems safest to do what everyone else is doing – to be just another … cog in the machine”

What a great list – I’m going to work harder on number 2 and, to a lesser extent, number 5, and with a bit of luck, I’ll get better.

I’ve just finished reading Mark Haddon’s second novel “A Spot of Bother”. Mark Haddon (he’s got a fairly odd website here) came to prominence a few years ago when his book “The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-Time” which, if my memory serves me right is about a boy with Asperger’s Syndrome who wakes up to find a (dead) dog in his garden pinned to the ground with a garden fork. It was a much lauded book because of the nature of its central character and the way that it was written to capture his thoughts. It was a children’s book – but only sort of. Anyway, “A Spot of Bother” is about the mental breakdown of a retired man (George) who finds some eczema on his leg, thinks it is cancer and proceeds to enter a downward spiral of panic, and irrationality. His situation is not helped by the fact that his daughter is getting married for a second time to a man who everyone thinks is unsuitable and his son has broken up with his boyfriend but the final straw occurs when he returns home unexpectedly to find… well, I won’t tell you what he comes home to find because that might spoil the story.

I did enjoy reading this book, but I also didn’t enjoy it. George’s descent does not make pleasant reading – it’s just too plausible in some ways and whilst the book is funny in places it is also rather dark in places. One thing is for sure though, DO NOT do what I did. DO NOT read the section just about halfway through (leading up to page 250) just before you go to sleep. That section is NOT for the faint-hearted.

If you read my last entry you will probably have guessed that I have been reading a historical novel based on the life of Genghis Khan – you wouldn’t be wrong. Last night I finished reading Conn Iggledun ‘s “Wolf of the Plains”. This is the first book in a series following the life of Genghis Khan and at over 500 pages is a fairly meaty read. The book has been out for a couple of years but I only picked it up after buying the third book in the series at less than half price via an offer linked to The Times newspaper (which I buy on Saturday’s). Having bought the third one to read in the future I thought I should get hold of the first and second titles and was lucky enough to pick up Wolf of the Plains almost instantly in one of the local charity shops on Mutley Plain where I often buy books. I’m glad I did, because I really enjoyed Wolf of the Plains and thought that Iggledun did a great job of weaving together the factual stuff with a story that zipped along nicely with lots of suspense and exciting set pieces (bloody battles etc). I have been reading the historical novels of Bernard Cornwell for some time and have dipped into one or two other authors of this genre but I have to say that Iggledun runs Cornwell close and perhaps even beats him when it comes to producing a good page-turner. The only problem now that I have finished Wolf of the Plains and left Genghis Khan having defeated the Tartar hordes and in charge of a set of newly united tribes is that I’m going to have to get hold of the second title “Lords of the Bow” – I’ll be making plenty of trips to the charity shops over the coming weeks!

I’ve just finished Ed Smith’s “What Sport Tells Us About Life”. Ed Smith was a professional cricketer (who played a few times for England) but he has now developed a career as a journalist and writer. His book WSTUAL was much lauded in the media when it came out and, as someone who likes sport and likes analysis, it seemed to be very much my cup-of-tea. It is basically a series of essays about various aspects of sport and watching sport (cheating, money, leadership, coaching/management) which each try to connect with some  observations of how we lead our lives more generally. I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t as interesting or insightful as I thought it was going to be. I think this is perhaps because there is no over-arching theme or argument. I particularly liked one section on how different people watch sport in different ways, within which there was a comment from the head of British Airways, who, when watching sport, focusses on the leadership that is taking place. He grew up in Australia and played cricket in a team that was captained by Rodney Marsh (who went on to be one of the greatest cricketers and wicket-keeper-batsmen there has been). He noted that Marsh (and others) were successful leaders because “They set people up for success by creating the right environment” (one that is confident, tough but always fun). I like that quote and I like the idea that the “right environment” should be one involving fun. That’s something I am going to try to hold onto in my own work.