Posts Tagged ‘wedding’

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2

The Great Book Project 11 of 20 – A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers

Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010

I feel exhausted. Not just because I’m just back from my first gym session in over a week, but just from life in general. Been super busy with my business, I’ve changed to a new team in my part time job at Capita and just the sheer volumes of bloody work involved in keeping a house (who knew?).

Most of the Lads at Gommit’s

I’ve had some fun times in-between though. Couple of weeks ago it was my good mate Grommit’s Wedding. Had a blast. Always great to get the whole bunch under one roof. Also, kudos to them for probably they best wedding meal I’ve ever had. Yum.

So A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius marked my heartbreaking return to paper books. The Kindle store did not stock this book so I had to put it aside and call on ebay to deliver me this chunky, beast of a novel.

(And if this wasn’t bad enough, I was checking my Kindle a few days after I started this latest book (I missed it so) and I noticed a defect on the Kindle screen. I shat it. Contacted Amazon support and they sent me out a brand new Kindle that was at my door within two days. I honestly can’t believe how good the customer service with Amazon was. I’ll be making sure that if I buy anything on-line in the future my first port-of-call will be Amazon. Big up y’all.)

An Unstaggering Moron

I had heard great things about this book. Personal recommendations. So I was looking forward to getting to this point on the list. I opened the book and was initially completely weirded out. The acknowledgements section lasted around 80 pages, and there was also an introductory section titled ‘Suggestions and Rules for Reading this Book’ which had, amongst them, the author outlining pages ‘you can skip if you want to’. Of-course, I suspect this is all intended to be quirky and cool, but I donno man. I was getting the feeling this was the author trying way too hard. But as I came to see was part of the books theme.

This memoir by Dave Eggers outlines his struggle after both his parents die within 15 weeks of each other and he is left to look after his little brother – Toph- on his lonesome. In the memoir he is trying to be the ‘cool’ father figure; He is trying to be the ‘cool’ author to us, the readers; and he is trying to make his way in a ‘cool’ career.

Reading the book you know that it’s all exaggeration and extravagance, his words are part of a plea for us, the readers, to find greatness in his life and works. Hence, the self indulgent title.

I thought it was great in places, especially the beginning, but if truth be told, the more this went on the more I was getting fed up with it. And I promise you it wasn’t because I’ve been desperate to get back to my Kindle.

Rating: ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Next up it’s Life of Pi as I still can’t get Austerlitz or Payback at the Kindle Store :-(

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9

The Great Book Project 8 of 20 – The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

Thursday, September 9th, 2010

WOAFT! Last Thursday I got my Amazon Kindle delivered. A few days earlier than Amazon had indicated, I might add. It is a is a belated belated wedding present from my wifey. And before you go blabbing “Oh that’s terrible, Mario has been married for 2 months now”, I need to point out that it was my fault. I didn’t know what I wanted, and by the time I had made up my mind on this badboy there was already a sodding three week waiting list on it. But have no fear. My wait is over – this thing is the bees-knees.

The Big Sleep

If you don’t know already (I’m surprised how many people look at my Kindle with a ‘What-the-fuck-is-that?’ face) the Kindle is an eInk ebook reader. You can download books from Amazon’s library straight to your device and begin reading instantly. Right up my tech-appreciation avenue.

It’s not just me that seems to be liking it though. I’ve taken it into work and as a result there is already a buzz about it. Another workmate has already ordered one based on seeing it in action and there are two other ladies, maybe three (you know who you are) who have indicated their desire to order one.

Don’t get me wrong, I totally get the argument “Nothing beats having a book in your hand and having it on your shelf”, but I thought long and hard about that and decided that the good far outweighs the bad.

So, as I alluded to in my last blog post, I’ve had to change the order I read the books in. Makes more sense for me. I should have went onto W.G Sebold’s Austerlitz but this, or A Heartbreaking work of Staggering Genius which is after that, ain’t in the Kindle store yet. So as soon as they come available I’ll go back to them.

Brucie doin’ a Phil Marlowe

The next one I could read on the Kindle was The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler so that had the privilege of being my first purchase.

This book is a wee gem. I really enjoyed it.

It’s a very complex detective story set in LA. There is loads going on, to the point where sometimes I found myself writing characters names down get their relationships with each other into my thick skull. Multiple crimes and characters criss-crossing along a path where Philip Marlowe is always one step ahead of both you and the characters within. This was refreshing for me as all books prior to this have been relatively linear stories.

It wasn’t just the story I enjoyed on this one though. I actually found myself appreciating the way it was written. The tone kinda reminded me of Max Payne and Sin City. I suppose, since this book was published in 1939, these were actually influenced by Raymond Chandler and not the other way around.

A good start to the Kindle experience. Big up to Steve for the recommendation in the comments on this post.

Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

I’m moving onto One Fine Day In the Middle of the Night by Christopher Brookmyre now.

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2

It’s all been happening…

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Hello! I am currently banished to the ‘Computer Room’ as Mrs Mario.Blog has the girls round and they are talking shop. I thought it an ideal opportunity to catch up.

So, er, yeah. I got married. It was really amazing. I had been stressed out my box for months and now, looking back, I donno what the hell I was worrying about. I had a great time and loved every minute of it (well, apart from the five minutes before my speech). It was so great to have all my friends and family under one roof. A few noticeable absences due to various circumstances, but I still had a blast!

I’ve added some pics below to give you a wee feel for the event.

It’s been so bizarre. We also moved house a week before the wedding and, now that we are back from the honeymoon, we are trying to get used to our new life. Shuffling for our own ground. I like things tidy, Gemma likes things clean. I like to watch movies late, Gemma wont buy earplugs. I like books on display, Gemma wants them in a drawer. We’ll work out things as we go.

Speaking of books. I’ve not forgot about my book project. I read a couple of ‘non project’ books on my honeymoon, but I’ll be back onto it shortly.

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14

The Great Book Project 4 of 20 – The Average American Male by Chad Kultgen

Monday, June 14th, 2010

Holy Smokes its been a tough couple of weeks! I got the keys to my house last week and have started the mammoth task of getting everything ready for when we move. This last week we have had a painter in who practically painted the whole house. Had the Sky man in today fitting the tv, phone and broadband and tomorrow and Wednesday got a guy coming to fit the laminate flooring and vinyl for the kitchen.

We’ll hopefully be set to start moving all our stuff in over the weekend as one of my buddies has sorted me out with a van! Can’t wait for it. We will probably be living out of boxes for the first month as we’ve just got so much on financially with our approaching wedding/honeymoon.

Because of all this madness going on I’ve not had a chance to read as much. Been reading on the train mostly, to and from work.

The Average Scottish Male

This book is the first on the list that was suggested to me in the comments on my first post about this project. It was Jen who recommended it. I have to say right now: Thank you Jen. I’ve not laughed so much in a long time. This book was hilarious.

To give you an idea of the book; it follows the thoughts of an unnamed twenty-something male from LA who has a high sex drive. The content of the book is absolutely absurd. When I first started reading it I was finding it really shocking. To the point where I was unsure if it was entertaining or not, but the more I turned the pages the more I wanted to laugh at the outrageousness.

The title ‘The Average American Male’ gives you the idea that this is an attempt to document just how we blokes think. In a way it does, but exaggerated times a hundred. That’s why its so funny.

Here is a video of Tom Green reading the first paragraph of the book:

Not much really happens in the book. It’s a basic little story about a guy dealing with the ladies, but I really enjoyed it.

I wouldn’t recommend this book to everyone due to the explicit content, but if you think you can deal with it and are up for a laugh, read it now!

Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Here is my Readmore stats:

5.3 hours of reading over 13 days.
Started on June 1
Finished on June 13
19 reading sessions (17 min per session)

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31

The Great Book Project 3 of 20 – Bad Science by Ben Goldacre

Monday, May 31st, 2010

So, I’m on to book three! Since staring this book it has been all hands on deck for me. I get the keys to my new house on Wednesday so we’ve been up to our eyeballs in paperwork. Can’t wait to get the keys, but it’s still going to be a few weeks before we move in. We have plans to paint walls, get new flooring in and generally get the place looking spick-and-span before we start to move in.

Our wedding invites also went out while reading this book. It’s been fun. I have been excited about everyone getting them and seeing what the response would be to my design. We’ve had loads of RSVP’s already and it’s shaping up to be an amazing day! Me and Gemma have also been secretly working on other surprise wedding day stuff that I am super excited about! The lip has to be bitten.

Bad Science by Ben Goldacre

Anyway, onto the book.

About two and a bit years ago I bought myself an iPhone. I was trying to explore all the different ways I could take advantage of media available through it and I came across a podcast called ‘The Skeptics Guide To The Universe‘. I think I have always been a critical thinker but I’ve been very nonchalant in my attitude to it. After getting into this podcast I became very passionate about the importance of rational thinking, science based medicine and critical assessment of all things ‘supernatural’.

Being interested in this I had naturally heard of Ben Goldacre, and had been interested in his blog and guardian articles. I was happy to see that this book was in the top 20 of my little project. This is the first book on the list that I would have picked up from a book store at my own accord.

The book took a different approach than I thought it would. I was expecting a book just dismissing many aspects of alternative medicine but, in many ways, this book is a guide to spotting the ‘Quacks’ and making an informed decision yourself.

It goes into how the media skew and dismiss statistics for the ‘big headline’, talks about the process of testing medicine to prove it’s efficacy and how many people just ignore the facts in the hope of miracle cures.

I’ve heard of most of the concepts in the book, but it was great to hear lots of first hand stories from Goldacre, to hear specifics that will make you laugh but enrage you all at he same time.

Overall this was an easy read for me from start to finish. Loved it. This book should be on the curriculum in schools.

Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Here is my ReadMore stats after completing the book:
10.4 hours of reading over 16 days
Started on May 16
Finished on May 31
36 reading sessions (18 min per session)

Here is nice video featuring Ben Goldacre that sums up the general content of the book:

I thought I would also share some of my favourite videos on the same subject of dispelling the quacks and down-right bullshitters out there.

Next up it’s The Average American Male by Chad Kultgen as Suggested to me by Jen in the comments here. Looking forward to this one.

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