Harry Potter - J K Rowling

I am a little bit ashamed to admit that I waited until I was 27 to read the Harry Potter series. I had seen the movies of course, I don't live under a rock, and I had really enjoyed them. But I had never read the books.

Which is odd in itself, not only because of the world wide phenomenon that it became, but because when The Philosophers Stone was released in 1997, eleven year old, fantasy loving me was the prime target audience. But being then, a book snob with (according to the education system) a high reading age, I was much more interested in the worlds of Eddings and Tolkin to be bothered with such a 'simple' story. I vaguely remember trying to read the first book at the time but getting half way through and deeming it "too childish" - yeah, I was that kid.

Thankfully I grew out of that phase eventually.

And I am so glad that I did. This series is worth every single scrap of hype that it has generated over the last 17 years. 

The highest praise that I think I could possibly give it, is that it made me cry. There is nothing better, in my eyes anyway, than a book (and I guess in some respects a movie) that gets you so emotionally invested in the world and in the characters, that your own world gets ignored, and both the happy and the sad events cause you to react as though they were happening to you, rather than to your imaginary friends.

Over all, four stars from five for the series - this will definitely be required reading for any children that I have.

Sex Criminals - Matt Fraction

Its quirky, its light and its fun. The idea that these two people can use sex as a means to stop time and rob banks... its something different if nothing else.

Its bad day reading at its finest. Something to come home to and have a laugh to and smile. With bright colours and simpler artwork you can't help but enjoy it. The old school letters to the editor about adult topics are also quality entertainment in their own right.

Having read the first seven 'episodes' so far, individual ratings range between two and four stars from five, over all I would give the series a three.

The Madonnas of Leningrad - Debra Dean

Unlike The Book Thief, my second attempt at the book club proved a little more enjoyable. The story of the ravages of war on the youth as told by an aging and deteriorating Alzheimer patient. Another interesting narrative, but this time pulled off with far more success.

Writing this review nearly three months after reading it however. I have realised more and more that it is what I would consider an airplane book. A book that you pick up at the airport to entertain you en route, but then kind of forget about once you land, no matter how much you enjoyed it at the time. I guess that is further proof (as if I needed it) that I shouldn't have let my self get so far behind on this goal of review all that I read.

I remember that I liked it - I read it in one sitting with generally  means that my attention is sufficiently held by a book. I remember that the imagery was well enough written that I felt that I could almost see these paintings that were being describe; that I could see and smell and feel horrors that would have been Leningrad held in the grip of war and invasion. And I also know that I wanted it to go on longer, that is where it let itself down for me. I didn't find the ending enough of a conclusion to the story.

Three out of five stars

Deathmatch - Paul Jenkins

There was something oddly satisfying about this three part graphic novel series. The parallels and similarities between these brand new characters and the familiar characters of the DC and Marvel worlds it almost seem as though picking up an old favorite: the Superman and Batman's of the world that have become - now that I am an adult - the reading equivalent of the tatty old favorite sweater that will never be parted with, no matter how many holes it gathers, because wearing that sweater has come to mean home and comfort and safety.

But despite any such feelings, these are not those characters. They are not constrained by the continuities of universes that the Superman's and Batman's and Spidermen all come out of. 

That juxtaposition, I think, is what was most satisfying about these books. The art work was fantastic, the colours brilliant and the story solid, gripping and engaging.  And the best bit, as the reader, you were actually allowed to enjoy all that because your not fighting to learn a whole new mythos or find empathy for new characters because that part of your brain is pulling on that tatty sweater and finding itself at home in the familiar.

Definitely an easy and worth while read. Four out of five stars.

Satisfaction

When ever people find out that although I work retail and hospitality, I hold degrees in accounting and finance as well as history and classics, they are genuinely shocked. Why would I pass up a cushy salaried office job to slog it out in the kitchen?

Because of days like today.

Days where you spend 11 hours rushed off your feet, running around like a crazy headless person. Days where people can't get enough of something that you have created from scratch with your own two hands. Days that you start with nothing more that ingredients and manage to pull together catering for 150 people, even with things going wrong. 

The days where you go home, whole body aching from being so long on your feet on a concrete floor, having achieved so much.... those days make it all worth while. They satisfy the soul so much more than sitting behind a computer for eight ours ever did.

At least for me.

Ordering 101

It blows my mind on a daily basis that eighty percent of the population find it so difficult to do such a simple thing as ordering coffee:

customer: I'll have a coffee please.

me: sure, what kind of coffee would you like

customer: a white coffee

me: okay, so flat white, latte, cappuccino....?

customer: oh, a latte

me: sure, so was that a small or large?

customer: a medium

me: small or large?

customer: medium (they are getting irritated now)

me: I'm sorry, we only have small or large

customer: fine, large

I can understand it, if your in a cafe that has specialty drinks, but in a bakery? I had this conversation not just once, but at least half a dozen times today. And probably will tomorrow as well. Is it really so hard just to ask for a large latte straight off the bat?

The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore - George Khoury

In my strange little brain, Alan Moore can do no wrong. His thoughts and views on the world and life in general are things that I agree with wholeheartedly and that these opinions are reflected in his writing style is something that I both appreciate and enjoy.

I do not however, like biographies. I don't know why, I just never have. So it took me a while to convince myself that I had to read this one.

And I really glad that I did.

Its not so much a biography as tribute. Yes there is biographical information, but it is in the form of an interview, so the quintessential Alan Moore intellect and wit still shines through.

Three stars.