I review everything I read, on my blog and on Goodreads. Most reviews are of a decent length but sometimes you don't have much to say about the book because of its length or you DNFed it or various other reasons. In cases like that it makes sense to write a few mini reviews in one post and clear them out your way! So lets catch up with some reviews from earlier this year.
Once Mollie and Peter have discovered the Wishing-Chair, their lives are full of adventure. It takes them to all sorts of magical places, from the giant's castle where they rescue Chinky the Pixie, to the amazing party at Magician Greatheart's castle.
I don't know how many times I read this book as a child but I loved it! I was forever trying to drag chairs out into the garden to use as my wishing chair, which enraged my mum on a daily basis one summer! I grew up on Enid Blyton books but I don't remember too much about this series other than the characters, rich kids Mollie and Peter who have their own playroom at the bottom of the garden, a houseproud mother and a servant called Jane. One day they visit an antique shop to buy a present for Mother and get involved in a strange adventure where they steal a flying Wishing Chair from the wizard shop owner and take it home. Each time the chair grows wings, it is time for a new adventure, and as a kid I just loved the different places and people that they met on their travels.
Reading this as an adult was always going to be a new experience and I'm glad to say that I still had fun with it. Of course I can point at how silly the kids are at times or laugh at their outrage when somebody steals their chair (seeing as it doesn't actually belong to them) but it was all very enjoyable. Each installment is a short self contained adventure of a handful of pages. I could be picky and say that each was too short and over too quickly but they were written for kids who might have shorter attention spans so that is fair enough. The kids are nice enough but my favourite character is still Chinky. The pixie is kind, intelligent and can do magic, as well as having a ton of friends through the magical community.
One alert to give is the name of the pixie being Chinky. The books were written back in 1937, and I first read it in the late 70's when attitudes to various things were different. My review is based on that context and I won't be publishing any comments on my blog complaining about the name being used in the review.
Read June 2020
3 star.
2) Harry Mount-The Wit And Wisdom Of Boris JohnsonPlanet-brained, snortingly ambitious and given to comic one-liners that the public and press take equal delight in, Boris Johnson is the most talked-about politician in Britain. This collection of his wit and wisdom, edited and introduced by eminent journalist Harry Mount, covers his background, education, journalism, personal life and politics, as well as the Olympics and his time as Mayor of London and Foreign Secretary. It begins with an in-depth introduction, now updated by the author, exploring his character and career, not ignoring his racy peccadilloes.
I perhaps expected this to be better than it was. The introduction by the author was a yawningly long winded 32 pages which was full of his own thoughts and observations about Boris and it wasn't greatly interesting. the 'chapters' were put together of quotes on specific subjects but with no real thought for timeline and presentation. Some of the 'wit' included were huge sections of speeches, some of which might have been clever in content but not the most exciting for the reader to look at. There was repetition of quotes already used in the introduction and a lot of subjects I was interested in hearing Boris spout about were not included.
I was amused at re-living the infamous zip line incident which was really funny at the time and on meeting the Pope, Boris was wondering whether the Popemobile should pay the London congestion charge. There were some of his famous insults, describing Hillary Clinton as a sadistic nurse from a mental institution, his rude poem about the Turkish leader and describing Tony Blair as a cross between Harry Houdini and a greased piglet! There were a few gems to enjoy but not enough on what he thought of fellow politicians and world leaders. A bit of a mixed bag really.
Read June 2020
2.5 star.
3) Isabel Hardman-Why We Get The Wrong Politicians
As one of the country's leading political journalists, Isabel Hardman has spent many years in that bizarre rabbit-warren we call the Houses of Parliament. She's conducted thousands of interviews with MPs ranging from fresh-faced recruits to Prime Ministers. With some notable exceptions, she has found them to be decent, hard-working people, doing a hugely difficult and demanding job. And yet, politicians are consistently voted the least trusted professional group by the UK public - below estate agents, lawyers and journalists. And every year, MPs collectively introduce new legislation that doesn't do what it sets out to achieve - often with terrible financial and human costs.
In this entertaining examination of our political class, award-winning journalist Isabel Hardman tries to square this circle. She lifts the lid on the strange world of Westminster and asks why we end up with representatives that we are so unhappy with. Arguing that each stage of the parliamentary career favours the 'wrong' politicians, she considers the troubling legacy of a political system that dissuades large parts of society from taking part. Filled with forensic analysis and revealing reportage, this landmark book is a must read for anyone who wants to see a future with better government.
This book is not satire or designed to slag off politicians. It is looking at the reasons for why we get the same kind of people as our politicians and a lack of social diversity and people from more working class backgrounds that more voters can relate to. It looks at why hard working candidates may not get elected due to party or leader unpopularity ie May in 2017 and Corbyn in 2019. It looks at how knowing the right people is vital to get selected as a candidate, leading to so many older white men being selected over young or female candidates without the old boys network. It looks at the staggering costs associated with being a candidate and how there is no party help until you win the seat. The cost of travel, accomodation, canvassing etc all comes out of your own pocket which explains why people with money have the best chance of staying the course. Add in attending the convention and being asked to campaign for other candidates and buy a house in your chosen constituency and it becomes clear why there is not a better mix of MPs.
It then goes into the confusing Parliament buildings and lack of help to settle new MPs in, the long wait to get an office and staff, a lack of guidance on what is expected of you. It examines the balance of constituency work with ministerial duties and Parliament business, the difficult of getting bills or amendments through when the system is set up to favour the party in power, the frustrations of bad bills being blindly voted through and sexual harrassment. There is also a section on what party help an MP gets when they lose their seat after an election. There was detail following certain MPs in their duties and where it went wrong on major bills like the Poll Tax and the Iraq War. Overall this was a fascinating look behind the scenes from being a candidate until you lose the seat, and in depth study of the problems that must be sorted if we are to get a better range of MPs and better bills being passed.
Read June 2020
4 star.
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