Stuff I've Been Reading (Feb 19)

Books read:

Drunk Folk Tales - Beans on Toast
Straight out of Crawley - Romesh Ranganathan
The Portrait - Antoine Laurain
Fox8 - George Saunders
Carra - Jamie Carragher
Tom's midnight garden - Philippa Pearce

When I read the Polysyllabic Spree I was travelling, so my book choice was largely limited to what I could find in book swaps. Which made taking Nick Hornby's recommendations a bit less straightforward. The only book I remember reading as a result of the Polyphonic Spree was Stuart A Life Backwards. Having access to the Internet whilst reading this follow up is dangerous - I now have eight books on the go. Which is ridiculous.

It was a surprisingly autobiography-y month. Three of them, all from people roughly my age. Which is a bit weird. Not wholly sure why I read the Jamie Carragher one, it was recommended to me a decade or so ago but I have no idea by who. The only person it could have been has assured me it wasn't him. Hmmm.

I found the Beans on Toast book the most relatable. It felt like hearing your mate's anecdotes down the pub. Something which the Carra book just didn't quite pull off.

Everyone loves a non human narrator, right? And I'm fairly sure Fox8 was the first book I've read narrated by a fox. Which is obviously ace. Plus George Saunders. And it's only little so you may as well read it.

Not sure how I hadn't read Tom's Midnight Garden before. Apparently it was voted second best children's book of the last seventy years, after His Dark Materials. I really enjoyed it. Which I guess shouldn't be a surprise.

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At the start of the Nick Hornby book he talks about how books would never have the same cultural impact as songs, as (paraphrasing) they take too long to read, so (generally) by the time you've read the latest book it's not that new anymore. In a similar vein, I was chatting to Ollie from Hopsters about how beers were like music used to be, how you could get excited about trying something new. How a limited edition Tiny Rebel and Deya collaboration NEIPA was like finding a rare b-side back in the nineties, beforemusic became so easily accessible. With that in mind...

Beers supped:

Yeah yeah yeah - Magic Rock x Wylam
Skeletory - Northern Monk x Deya
Putty - Verdant
Tiny Rebel birthday collaboration beers
It's this way Tony and Juice Campbell - Brew York
Caracolillo - Watson's
Chasing mirrors through a haze - Wylam
Little Urchin and Wormburner - Time and Tide

There are some big names in there, right? I think Wormburner was my favourite.