Daren
Added to listSigned Copywith 17 books.
Loosely termed a 'coffee table book', this really means a large format book with fantastic photographs, and usually more of the photographs than words. Certainly the photographs are fantastic - detailed pictures of flora and fauna, especially birds, but also historic photographs showing the human history of these islands.
Divided into sections - one for each island group (Chatham Islands, Bounty Islands, Antipodes Islands, Campbell Island, Auckland Islands, The Snares, and Macquarie Island), it steps through various aspects (Geography & Geology, Flora, Fauna, History).
It has an introduction, describing these groups of islands in the Southern Ocean, basically on the way to Antarctica from New Zealand. There is also a section on the future, a detailed bibliography and an index.
I bought this book after the (tourism) expedition I went on that visited The Snares, Auckland Island, Macquarie Island and the Auckland Islands. It departed from and returned to Bluff (near Invercargill, New Zealand), and was with the company founded by Rodney Russ (the author).
This is a great book for the basic facts around the islands, plus the history of each including the many ships wrecked and men stranded on these island groups. There are two outliers included here - one is The Chatham Islands - because they are not really subantarctic, they are too far north, but also because they have been inhabited since the 14th Century, whereas the other islands have had only minor sporadic settlements. The other outlier is Macquarie Island, which is a governed as a part of Tasmania by Australia (so I needed a passport to visit!).
Re-reading this brought back great memories of my trip in December 2019.
5 stars.
Loosely termed a 'coffee table book', this really means a large format book with fantastic photographs, and usually more of the photographs than words. Certainly the photographs are fantastic - detailed pictures of flora and fauna, especially birds, but also historic photographs showing the human history of these islands.
Divided into sections - one for each island group (Chatham Islands, Bounty Islands, Antipodes Islands, Campbell Island, Auckland Islands, The Snares, and Macquarie Island), it steps through various aspects (Geography & Geology, Flora, Fauna, History).
It has an introduction, describing these groups of islands in the Southern Ocean, basically on the way to Antarctica from New Zealand. There is also a section on the future, a detailed bibliography and an index.
I bought this book after the (tourism) expedition I went on that visited The Snares, Auckland Island, Macquarie Island and the Auckland Islands. It departed from and returned to Bluff (near Invercargill, New Zealand), and was with the company founded by Rodney Russ (the author).
This is a great book for the basic facts around the islands, plus the history of each including the many ships wrecked and men stranded on these island groups. There are two outliers included here - one is The Chatham Islands - because they are not really subantarctic, they are too far north, but also because they have been inhabited since the 14th Century, whereas the other islands have had only minor sporadic settlements. The other outlier is Macquarie Island, which is a governed as a part of Tasmania by Australia (so I needed a passport to visit!).
Re-reading this brought back great memories of my trip in December 2019.
5 stars.
Updated a reading goal:
Read 100 books in 2026
Progress so far: 50 / 100 50%
Maxwells third book of the Ring of Bright Water trilogy.
If you consider Ring of Bright Water is the introduction to Maxwell's otters, who are, lets face it, the stars of the show, and The Rocks Remain as providing the follow up of the otter's lives, then this book is the story of Maxwell's property Camusfearna in the books, but readily identified, unfortunately for Maxwell who received all sorts of visitors and interference after publishing the first book.
Maxwell tells us the origins of the name of this book as he sits on a hill above his property, trying to piece together how he can go on: P16
A single raven swept by, high on the hustling wind, his deep guttural croaks almost muted by its force. I remember how Wilfred Thesiger had once told me that when a camel caravan in Southern Arabia would sight a single raven overhead the Bedouin would attempt to annul the evil omen by calling to it, "Raven, seek thy brother!" It seemed too late now for that invocation.
And is an early indicator of the disasters and sadness Maxwell shares in this book.
It is hard not to have sympathy for Gavin Maxwell, and the complex events of his life. He is certainly an eccentric man, he is without very dedicated to the animals he bonds with, and has had more than his fair share of misfortune.
There is remarkable little in this book about the otters, other than Maxwells desperate struggle to rehome them in a sanctuary or zoo, and he final few chapters. It is more about bringing more structure and some of the goings on in the background that he wasn't able to share in the second book. His constant trouble with financing the property, the animals and his other attempts are revenue are documented well in this book. It seems he was taken advantage of and his trust, which was being managed by others was mis-managed, reducing his finances to zero. His other schemes to bring industry and use to the lighthouse properties he bought, for example just never got off the ground and those he employed to establish them didn't achieve the outcome and just left while Maxwell was overseas or tucked away writing, trying to meet his publishing commitments.
The Land Rover accident that initially seemed minor almost meant amputation of his foot, but instead was months of medical care and rehabilitation, preventing him from progressing other options that were to earn him money to save his property and lifestyle. This wasn't the only medical issue, and he went through a long stressful process when he was identified as possibly having lung cancer. After a long process he was cleared of this, however he was to die of lung cancer around a year after this book was published, in a sad end to events.
I won't delve more into the details.
4 stars
Maxwells third book of the Ring of Bright Water trilogy.
If you consider Ring of Bright Water is the introduction to Maxwell's otters, who are, lets face it, the stars of the show, and The Rocks Remain as providing the follow up of the otter's lives, then this book is the story of Maxwell's property Camusfearna in the books, but readily identified, unfortunately for Maxwell who received all sorts of visitors and interference after publishing the first book.
Maxwell tells us the origins of the name of this book as he sits on a hill above his property, trying to piece together how he can go on: P16
A single raven swept by, high on the hustling wind, his deep guttural croaks almost muted by its force. I remember how Wilfred Thesiger had once told me that when a camel caravan in Southern Arabia would sight a single raven overhead the Bedouin would attempt to annul the evil omen by calling to it, "Raven, seek thy brother!" It seemed too late now for that invocation.
And is an early indicator of the disasters and sadness Maxwell shares in this book.
It is hard not to have sympathy for Gavin Maxwell, and the complex events of his life. He is certainly an eccentric man, he is without very dedicated to the animals he bonds with, and has had more than his fair share of misfortune.
There is remarkable little in this book about the otters, other than Maxwells desperate struggle to rehome them in a sanctuary or zoo, and he final few chapters. It is more about bringing more structure and some of the goings on in the background that he wasn't able to share in the second book. His constant trouble with financing the property, the animals and his other attempts are revenue are documented well in this book. It seems he was taken advantage of and his trust, which was being managed by others was mis-managed, reducing his finances to zero. His other schemes to bring industry and use to the lighthouse properties he bought, for example just never got off the ground and those he employed to establish them didn't achieve the outcome and just left while Maxwell was overseas or tucked away writing, trying to meet his publishing commitments.
The Land Rover accident that initially seemed minor almost meant amputation of his foot, but instead was months of medical care and rehabilitation, preventing him from progressing other options that were to earn him money to save his property and lifestyle. This wasn't the only medical issue, and he went through a long stressful process when he was identified as possibly having lung cancer. After a long process he was cleared of this, however he was to die of lung cancer around a year after this book was published, in a sad end to events.
I won't delve more into the details.
4 stars
Added to listIndian Subcontinentwith 289 books.
Added to listFiction Short Story Ieswith 236 books.
Simply written, likely for young readers, this short story by Ruskin Bond is a charming tale of a girl with an umbrella. Out in the hills of Garhwal Binya is herding her family cows when she comes upon so wealth city picnickers. One of the women wants Binya's lucky leopard's claw, and eventually, albeit petulantly agrees to give her a blue sink umbrella in exchange.
Binya adores the umbrella and from this point it goes everywhere with her rain or shine, despite the fact is is mostly decorative.
The beautiful silk umbrella is not an item seen before in the village, and Binya becomes the envy of all the villagers, not least shopkeeper Ram Bharosa, who wants it at all costs.
The short story has a charming twist at its end, and becomes a moral tale.
An easy read, but worth the effort, typical of Ruskin Bond's simple writing style.
4 stars
Simply written, likely for young readers, this short story by Ruskin Bond is a charming tale of a girl with an umbrella. Out in the hills of Garhwal Binya is herding her family cows when she comes upon so wealth city picnickers. One of the women wants Binya's lucky leopard's claw, and eventually, albeit petulantly agrees to give her a blue sink umbrella in exchange.
Binya adores the umbrella and from this point it goes everywhere with her rain or shine, despite the fact is is mostly decorative.
The beautiful silk umbrella is not an item seen before in the village, and Binya becomes the envy of all the villagers, not least shopkeeper Ram Bharosa, who wants it at all costs.
The short story has a charming twist at its end, and becomes a moral tale.
An easy read, but worth the effort, typical of Ruskin Bond's simple writing style.
4 stars
This has been kicking around my shelves for years. I have read a lot of Colin Bateman's novels when I was more fiction focused, but I never got around to this one.
A few days ago I finished a Gavin Maxwell book which was particularly depressing - I haven't tackled a review of it yet, but I needed something easy and light. I forgot how easy it is to read a 400 page novel, compared to a 200 page non-fiction book, and I feel a little less guilty about my low page count year on year, and my reading of short books.
Dan Starkey, formed journalist, now offers 'a bespoke service for important people with difficult problems'. He has been kicked out of his house by his wife (again) and has no clients.
In the first chapter, he is visited by old acquaintance, radio shock-jock Jack Caramac, who is always stirring things up and courting controversy. In the past days his 4 year old son was abducted (for an hour) and returned with a note, albeit a cryptic threat. So he asked Starkey to help.
Of course, this is only the beginning of an overly complex web of events that take place in Belfast post IRA, but with the UFV still playing terror, selling drugs, and dealing with internal power struggles. Caramac has been giving them grief on air about a 14 year old boy they kneecapped, and Starkey ends up mixed up in it all, dragging long suffering wife Patricia in too.
In typical Bateman style it is high octane with all manner of twists and turns as Starkey pieces together events, taking beatings as the story rolls out.
Short and sweet, enjoyable and easy. Not for those with objections of wanton violence, serial cheating and lots of sexual inuendo (par for the course with Dan Starkey).
4 stars.
This has been kicking around my shelves for years. I have read a lot of Colin Bateman's novels when I was more fiction focused, but I never got around to this one.
A few days ago I finished a Gavin Maxwell book which was particularly depressing - I haven't tackled a review of it yet, but I needed something easy and light. I forgot how easy it is to read a 400 page novel, compared to a 200 page non-fiction book, and I feel a little less guilty about my low page count year on year, and my reading of short books.
Dan Starkey, formed journalist, now offers 'a bespoke service for important people with difficult problems'. He has been kicked out of his house by his wife (again) and has no clients.
In the first chapter, he is visited by old acquaintance, radio shock-jock Jack Caramac, who is always stirring things up and courting controversy. In the past days his 4 year old son was abducted (for an hour) and returned with a note, albeit a cryptic threat. So he asked Starkey to help.
Of course, this is only the beginning of an overly complex web of events that take place in Belfast post IRA, but with the UFV still playing terror, selling drugs, and dealing with internal power struggles. Caramac has been giving them grief on air about a 14 year old boy they kneecapped, and Starkey ends up mixed up in it all, dragging long suffering wife Patricia in too.
In typical Bateman style it is high octane with all manner of twists and turns as Starkey pieces together events, taking beatings as the story rolls out.
Short and sweet, enjoyable and easy. Not for those with objections of wanton violence, serial cheating and lots of sexual inuendo (par for the course with Dan Starkey).
4 stars.
Orwell has been interviewed about this book and given slightly different explanation about the accuracy of this book, presented as autobiography. It is somewhere between 'all the events in the book happened' and 'most of the events are factually presented', which is ok for me. Dervla Murphy writes a very good introduction in my edition, where she explains this and other background.
When he originally tried to publish the Paris section of the book it was rejected, as too short, so he added the London section. The two work well together, but Orwell mentions nothing about his returning to his comfortable family home from Paris before setting out to live in the dosshouses of London. Again, that is fine. I would have ruined the flow of the narrative to have a holiday of luxury I expect. Ultimately Eric Blair decide he would publish under a pseudonym, choosing George Orwell - he was not sure how his family would feel about how he had been living, and wanted to offer separation to those who he wrote about (he changed their names too).
What to write about a book with over 8000 reviews on GR?
Well, I will keep it brief, and although when I read it I thought every second page was quotable, I noted down none, and spent 10 minutes looking for something only to come up short.
I loved this. 5 stars.
Well perhaps not that brief.
The two sections of the book both examine poverty. In the case of Paris, poverty of the hard workers at the bottom of the rung. The lowly dishwasher, or plongeur in a Parisian hotel. In the case of London, it is the tramps without jobs and without the prospect of a job, trapped as they are in the system of the boarding lodges, where they must have no money to stay, and they cannot stay in the same house more than once in a month, meaning perpetual moving from one area to another, removing the hope of finding work.
In Paris, teaching English and pursuing authorship, Eric Blair ends up without work and with very little money, in a poverty spiral. Being robbed of his cash, he ends up with great experiences to write of!
I thought the descriptions were excellent, my nose screwed up at the description of the smells; I cringed at stepping on the rubbish and waste he described on the floor; my skin itched as the bedbugs and other vermin were described. I felt sick for the guests of the hotel when Orwell described what the staff were doing, or even just their lack of hygiene. Some of the things described were foul beyond imagination, the lack of kitchen hygiene, safe handling of food, etc. Makes this reader reassured at the modern health inspectors, who notoriously do a poor job, but something is better than no checks and balances, right?
Orwell's whole relationship with the Boris the Russian refugee is hilarious and was inevitably a downward spiral based on the Russian's eternal optimism and Orwell's constant hunger and eking out of a few centimes to live on.
In London, having previously read the short essay The Spike I knew what was coming. This was a more leisurely telling of Orwell's experiences though, and again the descriptive writing was great. Orwell makes a great play at explaining the system traps those within it by its rules making it near impossible to ever fight their way back out of the system. More than in Paris, in London Orwell is voluntarily exploring life as a tramp. He has a a job lined up upon leaving Paris, as a caregiver for a mentally ill man, but the family go off on holiday for a month leaving Orwell at a loose end! Poverty tourism? Think of it as research I guess. He pawns his serviceable clothes for rags more in keeping with he fellow vagrants. A diet of bread and butter, shuffling from one spike to another, I think filling in days is the best description for his life for this period.
OK at risk of needing to go back and edit the bit about keeping it brief!
Orwell has been interviewed about this book and given slightly different explanation about the accuracy of this book, presented as autobiography. It is somewhere between 'all the events in the book happened' and 'most of the events are factually presented', which is ok for me. Dervla Murphy writes a very good introduction in my edition, where she explains this and other background.
When he originally tried to publish the Paris section of the book it was rejected, as too short, so he added the London section. The two work well together, but Orwell mentions nothing about his returning to his comfortable family home from Paris before setting out to live in the dosshouses of London. Again, that is fine. I would have ruined the flow of the narrative to have a holiday of luxury I expect. Ultimately Eric Blair decide he would publish under a pseudonym, choosing George Orwell - he was not sure how his family would feel about how he had been living, and wanted to offer separation to those who he wrote about (he changed their names too).
What to write about a book with over 8000 reviews on GR?
Well, I will keep it brief, and although when I read it I thought every second page was quotable, I noted down none, and spent 10 minutes looking for something only to come up short.
I loved this. 5 stars.
Well perhaps not that brief.
The two sections of the book both examine poverty. In the case of Paris, poverty of the hard workers at the bottom of the rung. The lowly dishwasher, or plongeur in a Parisian hotel. In the case of London, it is the tramps without jobs and without the prospect of a job, trapped as they are in the system of the boarding lodges, where they must have no money to stay, and they cannot stay in the same house more than once in a month, meaning perpetual moving from one area to another, removing the hope of finding work.
In Paris, teaching English and pursuing authorship, Eric Blair ends up without work and with very little money, in a poverty spiral. Being robbed of his cash, he ends up with great experiences to write of!
I thought the descriptions were excellent, my nose screwed up at the description of the smells; I cringed at stepping on the rubbish and waste he described on the floor; my skin itched as the bedbugs and other vermin were described. I felt sick for the guests of the hotel when Orwell described what the staff were doing, or even just their lack of hygiene. Some of the things described were foul beyond imagination, the lack of kitchen hygiene, safe handling of food, etc. Makes this reader reassured at the modern health inspectors, who notoriously do a poor job, but something is better than no checks and balances, right?
Orwell's whole relationship with the Boris the Russian refugee is hilarious and was inevitably a downward spiral based on the Russian's eternal optimism and Orwell's constant hunger and eking out of a few centimes to live on.
In London, having previously read the short essay The Spike I knew what was coming. This was a more leisurely telling of Orwell's experiences though, and again the descriptive writing was great. Orwell makes a great play at explaining the system traps those within it by its rules making it near impossible to ever fight their way back out of the system. More than in Paris, in London Orwell is voluntarily exploring life as a tramp. He has a a job lined up upon leaving Paris, as a caregiver for a mentally ill man, but the family go off on holiday for a month leaving Orwell at a loose end! Poverty tourism? Think of it as research I guess. He pawns his serviceable clothes for rags more in keeping with he fellow vagrants. A diet of bread and butter, shuffling from one spike to another, I think filling in days is the best description for his life for this period.
OK at risk of needing to go back and edit the bit about keeping it brief!