Considering this is a children's book, illustrated by non-Marvel artists and a world away from Jack Kirby's style, they have done a wonderful job of cConsidering this is a children's book, illustrated by non-Marvel artists and a world away from Jack Kirby's style, they have done a wonderful job of capturing the look and dynamism of the comics. It may only take an adult a few minutes to read this, but it's action-packed enough to hold a child's interest, long enough to teach them to read and succinct as a story. I see that Treasure Cove also list Spiderman vs Vulture and Spiderman vs Green Goblin as other books in the range. Electro was my favourite of Spidey's adversaries back in the 1980s so, silly as it all may be, I rather enjoyed this. 4.25/5...more
My edition is dated around 1926, and this is very much a book of that era, about a young lad from Leeds going to sea for the first time, on a long voyMy edition is dated around 1926, and this is very much a book of that era, about a young lad from Leeds going to sea for the first time, on a long voyage aboard the titular merchant ship, the Golden Effort. As one might expect, it has sort of Boy's Own wide-eyed, adventure quality to it, a bit like Swallows & Amazons, a bit like a nautical version of Biggles. Westerman writes pretty well and is clearly well-versed in nautical matters, with so much nautical vocabulary and 1920s slang that it is quite opaque in places to modern-day lubbers like myself. Oddly, at 255 pages, there were only two illustrations (maybe a few were ripped from my charity shop edition?). There are lots of bite-sized chapters, most of which are pretty eventful, so I was never bored for a moment. The ending is a little dated and jingoistic, but that was the era, and it all rounded off satisfactorily. Although never stunning, I still quite enjoyed it. 3.5/5...more
Despite rather decent b&w artwork, the three Rovers stories are rather humdrum and a little dated. To make matters worse, the binding isn't brilliant,Despite rather decent b&w artwork, the three Rovers stories are rather humdrum and a little dated. To make matters worse, the binding isn't brilliant, so two of those three stories have had pages fall out and go missing. The second half of the book is filled with real-life sporting 'news' of Formula 1, a racing drivers' school, rugby league, cricket, how cricket bats are made, motocross, speedway, MotoGP, athletics, boxing and sundry other 'crazy' sports. Not many of these pages are very interesting and as they date around 1930s-60s boxing or 1948/52/56 Olympics, they were old hat even in 1967. If all the pages had been present, I'd give this 3/5, although my copy wasn't even that good. ...more
(French version) Rather like a French equivalent of a Ladybird book, this 32-page children's book tells the story of flight from Icarus up until about(French version) Rather like a French equivalent of a Ladybird book, this 32-page children's book tells the story of flight from Icarus up until about 1970ish when this book was published. It describes rather well how a jet engine works, as well as aerofoils, rudders, ailerons. The illustrations are pretty detailed, colourful and atmospheric. Apart from the X-1 flying at 16,000kph(! Actually, 1127kph), it all seemed rather educational, accurate and intelligent. 4/5...more
This being Biggles' 72nd outing, long after WW2, this story is set almost entirely in the jungles of South America. Biggles and Bertie Lissie are sentThis being Biggles' 72nd outing, long after WW2, this story is set almost entirely in the jungles of South America. Biggles and Bertie Lissie are sent in an amphibious plane called the Gadfly to recover some documents from a blackmailer before they fall into enemy hands. Despite the title, there isn't much to do with orchids at all, that being a cover story for his mission. The ending and the dialogue throughout is very Biggles in style, but the general thread of this (quite short) story reads rather more like 1960s Maigret or similar, with peacetime Biggles not quite having the same tone as wartime Biggles and somehow the Spanish-speaking locals can all converse quite well with Biggles & Bertie, despite their rather eloquent English. Even so, this is still a fairly brisk and enjoyable read, especially for younger readers and Biggles fans. 3.25/5...more
A pleasant little book, nicely laid out, printed, and attractively presented. The quotations are varied and reasonably jocular, although there isn't vA pleasant little book, nicely laid out, printed, and attractively presented. The quotations are varied and reasonably jocular, although there isn't very much text as many of the pages are filled with titles, whitespace or cartoon illustrations. What there is, is good, there just isn't much of it. I did like the quotations by Alan Hansen, Victoria Beckham and Ian Wright though. 3/5...more
I picked this up in a free book exchange cupboard in France. As it was one of the few books there in English, and I wondered what it takes to become aI picked this up in a free book exchange cupboard in France. As it was one of the few books there in English, and I wondered what it takes to become a "Pulitzer-Prize-Winning Humorist", I gave it a whirl, despite having no idea who Dave Barry is. As with similar humorous books, such as Jeremy Clarkson's or Charlie Brooker's, this is a collection of newspaper articles covering all sorts of subjects, albeit mostly very American in tone. They are typically about 3 pages long, so there are almost 100 articles here.
It didn't start well, joking about setting fire to a goat on the 5th line, and after around 20 pages with nary a smirk, I was about to give up. Fortunately, for Dave I had no other books close at hand, and it was fairly easy-reading, so I persevered. Fortunately for me, it did improve somewhat. I would hardly call this a rip-roaring collection, and I'd say the Pulitzer people must set the bar pretty low, but there were a few decent articles and a few brief smiles therein, somewhere around the middle. By the end, I found it pretty arduous to finish. Just about 3/5....more
This is the second Bryson book I've read, and much as I loved a-short-history-of-nearly-everything, it was very densely-packed with historical storiesThis is the second Bryson book I've read, and much as I loved a-short-history-of-nearly-everything, it was very densely-packed with historical stories and anecdotes. This travel book about Australia is in much the same vein, but at almost 400 pages, feels somehow over-long and padded, with many anecdotes, historical stories, quotations from other writers and commentary on museums, the news, government facts etc, many of which I could've done without, while Bryson himself only collates all of this, stitching them together with his own humdrum minutiae about hotels, drinks, walks and drives. For all that, he writes very well, spinning literary gold out of strawy experiences, and I was never bored, just hardly captivated. Personally, I didn't care that much for his humour either, and was some way short of being "hospitalised as a result of ruptures caused by laughing so hard" as it states on the back cover. However, I did find Australia to be a fascinating place, so his general message certainly hit home. I just felt that this should've been a much more interesting read given the time and length of Bryson's journeys around. I've already bought half a dozen more Bryson books and will surely read them one day, but I won't rush into another one just yet. 3.75/5...more
Just as good as the first book that I read yesterday, with lovely full-page illustrations, life-sized egg pictures and b&w nest drawings. The text is Just as good as the first book that I read yesterday, with lovely full-page illustrations, life-sized egg pictures and b&w nest drawings. The text is informative and interesting, yet familiar in tone. One of Ladybird's best. 5/5...more
A wonderfully informative and well-illustrated Ladybird book from the 1960s(?). The illustrations include the birds themselves, the eggs (real size) aA wonderfully informative and well-illustrated Ladybird book from the 1960s(?). The illustrations include the birds themselves, the eggs (real size) and nests. I found the tone of the writing rather more friendly and encouraging than some other Ladybird books, with the illustrations being top notch. One of the best Ladybirds I've read. 5/5...more
Although this is still a pretty informative and interesting read for younger (British?) readers, the illustrations and text are not quite up to LadybiAlthough this is still a pretty informative and interesting read for younger (British?) readers, the illustrations and text are not quite up to Ladybird's usual very high standards. As with some of the Ladybird books on birds, reading this in 2025 makes one wonder just how many of these animals have either disappeared or become extremely rare in the UK countryside since 1967. Even as a much older reader, there were still a few things I didn't know. 4.25/5...more
A very pleasant little volume, in appearance and layout. Paine's writing is accessible and flowing, but this book only really serves as an introductioA very pleasant little volume, in appearance and layout. Paine's writing is accessible and flowing, but this book only really serves as an introduction to Greek history as it covers a wide timespan, full of activity, in not very many chapters or pages. The first 70% of the book is fine that way, and invites readers to research further on the larger, specific events. Towards the end though, so many names and battles are flung at the reader with every line, taking in Rome, Egypt, Syria, Carthage and all over, that it feels almost a chaotic 'rushed ending'. For all that, I quite enjoyed it and would certainly recommend this book as an introduction or to readers with only a superficial interest in regional history. 4.25/5...more
Much as I generally like Mark Twain's works, and this one contains some witty, stylish dialogue at times, I didn't much enjoy the story as a whole. ThMuch as I generally like Mark Twain's works, and this one contains some witty, stylish dialogue at times, I didn't much enjoy the story as a whole. The alleged simple charms of Missouri of yesteryear were mildly amusing at first, but the semi-adult plotline and some of Tom's and Huck's musings were a little disdainful, colouring my view of the book as a whole. The ending seems rather too abrupt and idealistic too. On the plus side, with short chapters and at only 100-plus pages, it was a quick and easy read, especially this Danish edition that I read, with illustrations for the odd vocabulary. I'm not sure I would recommend this to children under the age of about 14yrs due to certain aspects of the content, but then older readers will hardly be dazzled by the quaint simplicity of the story either. 3/5...more
(French version) This is quite a sizeable arc of almost 200 pages, and in the small-format, French paperback version I read, the pages were dark and d(French version) This is quite a sizeable arc of almost 200 pages, and in the small-format, French paperback version I read, the pages were dark and drab, with such tiny text in the often-verbose speech bubbles that making sense of what was going on in the picture coupled with almost-illegible words quickly became rather a chore. Putting that aside, the artwork was reasonably decent, and the plotline was novel, albeit overlong. There are several 'big' events towards the end, which would be almost shocking, were I not quite bored by the chaos of the preceding 20 pages. Perhaps if I read this in a larger, English version, I would've appreciated it more. As it is, I found it rather tiresome, all a bit too much and difficult to believe in. 3/5...more
(French paperback version) A short book at hardly 20 pages, this seems to be Perrault's B-side to Cinderella as it has essentially the same plot, only(French paperback version) A short book at hardly 20 pages, this seems to be Perrault's B-side to Cinderella as it has essentially the same plot, only for some reason this one includes a donkey that lays gold coins on its bed every morning but still gets turned into a coat for a princess's disguise. Not much of it makes any sense really, especially *spoiler* when her ring falls into a cake and so the handsome prince uses the ring's size to find the hand and finger of the girl it fell from, who turns out to be a princess in disguise. Like the ring wouldn't fit anyone else? Bof. A generous 3/5...more
I read this Batman book all in one sitting, and it is quite a long story, stretching to the equivalent of 4 comics. Alas, none of it makes much sense I read this Batman book all in one sitting, and it is quite a long story, stretching to the equivalent of 4 comics. Alas, none of it makes much sense and most of it is rather unpleasant. The best thing about it is that it is a very imaginative reimagining of the Batman mythos that briefly features Mr Freeze, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, Man-Bat, Green Arrow, Oracle, Ra's and Talia. I liked the layouts and the colour schemes, but not the artwork nor the writing. It says on the back cover blurb that it is 'Lovecraftian' which it probably is, and hence, not for me. 1.5/5...more
Not quite an autobiography, but rather a collection of chapters with Crouchie's views on various aspects of football - agents, own goals, referees, hoNot quite an autobiography, but rather a collection of chapters with Crouchie's views on various aspects of football - agents, own goals, referees, holidays, injuries etc - illustrated with moments from his own career and other players' careers or famous matches. As one might expect, this isn't the highest-brow book you'll ever encounter, but it's easy-going, quite fun and written competently enough. I quite liked Crouchie in his heyday for Spurs, Liverpool, England and having read his side of the story, he's gone up a little in my estimations. If I see any of his other books around in charity shops, I'll be sure to get them. 3.75/5...more
Quite a large format hardback, with one introductory page of text and the rest filled with rather decent b&w photographs of rather lovely houses and oQuite a large format hardback, with one introductory page of text and the rest filled with rather decent b&w photographs of rather lovely houses and other buildings, in and around Pasadena/Altadena. Probably of interest to architects and historians of the California area in 1920s, but not wildly exciting to anyone else. 3/5...more
As with its predecessor, this collection of Celtic fairy tales are all rather ancient, somewhat academic, mostly Irish in tone and appear to be perfecAs with its predecessor, this collection of Celtic fairy tales are all rather ancient, somewhat academic, mostly Irish in tone and appear to be perfectly well translated from whatever ancient manuscripts on which they were found. They do contain some peculiar words left untranslated in italics, or just local/unusual words which have fallen out of usage. This much is all well and good, but the stories themselves range from facile, through ridiculous to utter lunacy. One or two seem to contain a moral in the style of an Aesop's Fable, but mostly they just meander from one giant to a king, a fairy, a hag, feature a spot of horrendous violence somewhere therein and not a lot else happens that makes any real sense. Some of them repeat certain phrases or paragraphs like "who's been eating my porridge?" over and over, making them tiresome. I felt as if I was wasting my time ploughing through this hefty hardback tome. Very slightly interesting for Celts and from a historical viewpoint, but not for me. 2/5...more
Loading...
