Lavinia has chosen a random place to sleep

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#snow

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Books I've read in 2010 - no13 - Tickling the English by Dara O Briain

I bought this one randomly one day in a 3 for 2 offer. I like Dara O Briain on Mock the Week and other shows so I was expecting the book to be good. It is written as a sort of travelogue going through his (2008 I think) tour of the UK. He talks about each town and gives a little description about what happened at each show. I'm finding it quite hard to describe even though I'm writing this less than 24 hours after finishing it (though I am posting it months later). 

It is quite a funny book and his appraisal of the English is quite accurate - speaking from a non-English person's point of view at least. If I were English I might have a different view. One thing that bugged me about the book was the inclusion of Scottish and Welsh towns. I just don't understand why he didn't just leave them out or why not call the book "Tickling the British". It didn't let that get in the way of my enjoyment of the book - it was quite amusing and passed the time well on my commute and sometimes that's all I want from a book.

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@ellsbellsc

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Got this for my hair for the wedding on sat (not the scary thing I was referring to earlier!)

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Dinner for one: pasta puttanesca

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Books I've read in 2010 - Book 12 - Kidnapped and Other Distpaches Alan Johnston

Alan Johnston is the BBC journalist who was kidnapped in the Gaza Strip. This book is a collection of his reports from Gaza preceeding the kidnap, an account of his time as a hostage (which I think was broadcast), an interview with him about the experience and some other dispatches from his time in Afghanistan and Central Asia. I really like the fact that he hasn't written a "blockbuster" memoir and has just basically got his BBC reports published. He is obviously a man of strong mind and I've got a lot of admiration for the way he dealt with his capture. It makes interesting reading. He really gets under the skin of the people he talks to and even though the disptaches were written to be broadcast (and so listened to) the book works and it works well. I like Alan Johnston after reading this and I'm pleased that he has just let his From Our Own Correspondent (and other) reports speak for themselves.
*pic from amazon

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