Not so much a series of short stories, as a collection of recollections between 1 and 4 pages long – from the author the then-slightly-successful South London comedian, Mark Steel. In the nearly 30 years since the book’s publication he’s
Butterfly Brain
This book of memoirs felt like Barry Cryer didn’t really want to write it – but I’m really glad he did, and loved every moment of it. It’s a bit biased – I’d read a shopping list if I knew
Him Off the Viz
As autobiographies go, it was fine. The story of the genesis and the quirks/behind-the-scnes stuff of Viz magazine were great, and I suppose in a way it was slightly comforting to be reading the story of a fairly ordinary chap
In The Plex
Subtitled “How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives” – an interesting read this, given that it was published in 2011… so, a company biopic from 10 years ago for a company that’s very much continued aggressively evolving to present
Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant
See, I shoulda written this at the time rather than months later. I think the lasting impression I had of this was that it was an amusing collection of short stories, some of which (and more than I’d care for)
Jim Henson: The Biography
As a Muppet fan I’ve long been drawn to the wholesomeness and creativity of Henson, tweaked by his Bohemian streak. So this biography was a wonderful chance to get a fuller picture of the story & timelines of things. SO
Fortune and Glory
Fun little excursion, whereby Birmo’s written a story featuring 3 of his characters from his “The Disappearance” trilogy but set it in the world of SM Stirling’s “Emberverse”. Not that I’ve read that. But, you don’t really even need to
Cows, Curries and Chaos: An Indian Odyssey on Three Wheels
An old friend from Australia’s produced this smirkworthy tome – a collation of blogposts from his adventures crossing India in an autorickshaw (tuk tuk) as part of a rally race. It’s fun to see the cultural experience unfold in front
David & Goliath: Underdogs, misfits, and the art of battling giants
Gladwell doing his Gladwell thing – this time about how underdogs win, and the complexity of assumption which leads you to think that they won’t. Captivating stuff (albeit with some elements that have you thinking “reeeeeeeeallly?” afterwards) and worth a
Humble Pi: A comedy of maths errors
Standup Mathematician Matt Parker – who I know of via the old Festival Of The Spoken Nerd shows when I lived in London, and latterly his appearances on the wonderful Numberphile YouTube channel and A Problem Squared podcast – has