‘Give a hoot, read a book’ (Krusty the Klown)
For some time now, I’ve been wanting to challenge myself to read more. A far cry from my days in the Robinson Library at Newcastle University – where I could consume an academic text in a day – but of late I have been reading a little more again. Mainly due to various work travels on planes and trains, as well as the pilgrimage up to Villa Park of a weekend and the need for entertainment that doesn’t include the prefix i. There’s nothing quite like rolling up to the Holte End with a copy of the complete novels of Kafka under your arm.
Around the time of my 27th birthday, I thought of setting myself the challenge of reading a book every 2 weeks. However, work, beer and endless evenings of masturbation have always seemed to get in the way. But now maybe there should be no more room for excuses. And so the challenge was set.
But a book every 2 weeks is quite the challenge; especially for someone that can work long hours, drink long hours and try to study Japanese, particularly as A Tale of Genji is on my to-do list. At well over 1,000 pages, I’d have to take 2 weeks off work. I’m, therefore, prepared to let some less heavy works into this challenge. Nothing by Dan Brown, but some art, photography, pretentious culture books may slip in; a conclusion that came about after my deliberation as to whether or not to include Graffiti Japan. But as this is a New Year’s resolution that I’d like to keep, mainly as it started in November, I’m going to have to give myself a little leeway here and there.
So, inspired probably by Richard Herring’s blog, Ash Miller’s weekly diatribe and some drunken conversations, I thought I would document how I get on. That way, any failure is made public. So, sit comfortably, crack open a Special Brew and enjoy... starting with Richard Herring’s ‘How Not to Grow Up’...
How Not to Grow Up (Richard Herring)
Being an avid Lee and Herring fan and having recently completed Stewart Lee’s ‘How I Escaped My Certain Fate’, I thought I’d give Richard Herring’s attempt a try. Both looking and sounding like a novelty Christmas book that you buy for someone you dislike enough to put absolutely no effort into thinking about the present you buy for them, I was a little surprised and sceptical about this title. But thankfully a comedy hero didn’t let me down.
Documenting his life in the days leading-up-to and subsequent period since his 40th birthday, ‘How Not to Grow Up’ is a mini-autobiographical piece about a man struggling to come to terms with whether or not he wants to have kids or still be a kid. A large focus is around his ‘Ménage a Un’ tour, in which he suggests the desire for a threesome to any willing young ladies in the audience. The consequential anecdotes provide a lot of the humour, but also an insight into the life of a travelling stand-up the still knows the meaning of the term ‘tour’.
Maybe a little contrived and arrogant at times, the book is an honest account of Herring’s life during this period and is an entertaining enough read about the life and times of a long-serving stand-up.
Days to read: 20
Sputnik Sweetheart (Murakami Haruki)
Thankfully, my Mum had decided to order the German edition of ‘Sputnik Sweetheart’ from Amazon as a 27th birthday present. And while this serves as good a reason as any to take up Deutsch, being that I’m trying to stick to a 14-day average and the loss of my B at GCSE German over the years, I thought I’d best buy the English translation instead.
Typical of my favourite novelist, the story focuses around a 20-something male, often a loner, in pursuit of a young lady that will inevitably lead to a myriad of musical descriptions, masturbation sessions and voyages of discovery.
Part set in a holiday destination, ‘Sputnik Sweetheart’ is a holiday read, in that it is relatively short, easy to read and pick-up and won’t require you to think too hard. Hardly as impressive as ‘The Wind-up Bird Chronicles’, nor as inventive as ‘Kafka on the Shore’, this won’t break any ground, but is a nice, quick read to boost your 14-day average.
Days to read: 7
Days per book: 13 (Oh yes, I’m keeping a spreadsheet of this)
Lost Japan (Alex Kerr)
Bought by my friend Caroline for my 27th birthday, I took a couple of months to get round to picking this one up. A work of non-fiction, ‘Lost Japan’ is a collection of essays published over the years in Japan written by America Alex Kerr. Originally written in Japanese – his adopted country – struggled to translate the work into his mother tongue after it won the Shicho Gakugei in 1994.
Now translated and updated, ‘Lost Japan’ is a document of Kerr’s experiences around more traditional elements of Japanese life and culture that he feels are now quickly becoming lost after waves of foreign influence, concrete and pachinko halls. Ironically, Kerr sees Japan’s inability to fully incorporate and understand modernisation that has led to many of these losses. But this is very much a love-hate relationship, and Kerr still finds beauty and intrigue in the small parts that maintain what was once sacred.
Paradoxically, the culture and arts that have made Japan Japan being lost is very much a Japanese phenomenon; and the Japan of today is as Japanese as it has ever been.
Days to read: 20
Days per book: 15
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