The Moaning of Life - Karl Pilkington

I don't know whether I would have bought this book myself, but it was a gift and, being a Karl Pilkington fan, a good gift.

Upon starting it, I didn't realise that there was a TV show of the same name that this was related to - it is really something to accompany the series as it obviously was the same plot but through a different medium.

Having now seen the series as well, it is hard to say which order to do them in, but overall, I think that I'm glad that I read the book first as I probably wouldn't have bothered with it after having the images tell me the stories first.

I think that the book is better now that I look back - it captures Karl's thoughts as well as actions and it comes over well and clear - and made me chuckle more than the series.

It seems that with Karl, you either love or hate him - some people just don't get why others like him. I am a big fan - he always makes me laugh and he comes at things from interesting angles - the leaps of logic from what has happened to what Karl thinks of it, are often unexpected but always very Karl.

So what to say? It isn't a novel - it is the companion to the TV show. It was an easy read and didn't take too long. And I'm pleased to have read it and had a good old chuckle. It doesn't have to be any more than that.

A review from the internet:
"Karl Pilkington is forty years old. He's not married, he doesn't have kids, and he's got a job where he's known as an 'idiot'. It's time for him to take stock and face up to life's big question - what does it all mean?
 
Karl is no stranger to travel, and now he's off on a series of adventures around the globe to find out how other cultures approach life's big issues. Traveling from far-flung tribes to high-tech cities, Karl experiences everything from a drive-thru wedding in Las Vegas to a vocational theme park in Japan, he meets a group of people in Mexico who find happiness through pain, undergoes a plastic surgery procedure in LA, and even encounters a woman in Bali who lets him help deliver her baby.
 
Yes, Karl is back on the road, and this time he's on a journey of self-discovery."

Jeeves and The Wedding Bells - Sebastian Faulks

This is an interesting one. A bit of a dilemma around what I thought about the idea of somebody else writing about Jeeves and Wooster.

To me, P. G. Wodehouse is the funniest author that I have read - no question about it. I've read plenty that has made me laugh, but there is something about PGW that is just perfect for me. I smile at the thought of his works - I am doing it now. Nothing can challenge the delight of the stories in print - particularly the Jeeves and Wooster stories - which I have read a few times. I even didn't mind the TV series featuring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie - probably because I already had the characters alive in my head so it was good to see the scenery that they lived in as reproduced on TV. And really, Hugh Laurie was so close to the Bertie that lived in my head, that it was a delight to see him moving about.

So would I be able to accept a Jeeves and Wooster book penned by another? It was impossible to resist - how could I not be curious? Surprisingly, I approached the book without hoping that it wouldn't work - a younger version of me would have been outraged at the attempt but the older me hoped that I'd like it.

The first challenge was to understand the craft of the book - was it supposed to be written as though PGW had written it or was it supposed to be a new eye on old characters? That wasn't clear before starting it.

But within a chapter it didn't matter - I was reading a J&W book - the characters were true, the narrative was true - it was how it should be. I didn't think that the author was trying to be PGW - it wasn't about the author as much as the characters - the words all worked and fitted.

There was plenty of smiles - and the occasional chuckle. There were moments where I cringed at what Bertie said or did - but that's what you do.

I loved this book and even before I finished it, I knew that I'd be sad when it was over - I knew that I would miss the characters as soon as I finished the book, but then I realised that I was going to start reading all the books again - and that excites me.

I have already listened to the audio version of this book and I enjoyed the story all over again.

I have to say that Jeeves and Wooster are a constant delight in my world - and I hope that remains true to the end of my days. I will try and read some other PGW, but I have to fight to escape J&W as the pull is strong.

A review from the internet:
"A gloriously witty novel from Sebastian Faulks using P.G. Wodehouse's much-loved characters, Jeeves and Wooster, fully authorised by the Wodehouse estate.
 
Bertie Wooster, recently returned from a very pleasurable sojourn in Cannes, finds himself at the stately home of Sir Henry Hackwood in Dorset. Bertie is more than familiar with the country house set-up: he is a veteran of the cocktail hour and, thanks to Jeeves, his gentleman's personal gentleman, is never less than immaculately dressed.
 
On this occasion, however, it is Jeeves who is to be seen in the drawing room while Bertie finds himself below stairs - and he doesn't care for it at all.
 
Love, as so often, is at the root of the confusion. Bertie, you see, has met Georgiana on the Côte d'Azur. And though she is clever and he has a reputation for foolish engagements, it looks as though this could be the real thing. However, Georgiana is the ward of Sir Henry Hackwood and, in order to maintain his beloved Melbury Hall, the impoverished Sir Henry has struck a deal that would see Georgiana becoming Mrs Rupert Venables.
 
Meanwhile, Peregrine ‘Woody' Beeching, one of Bertie's oldest chums, is desperate to regain the trust of his fiancée Amelia, Sir Henry's tennis-mad daughter.
 
But why would this necessitate Bertie having to pass himself off as a servant when he has never so much as made a cup of tea? Could it be that the ever-loyal, Spinoza-loving Jeeves has an ulterior motive?
 
Evoking the sunlit days of a time gone by, Jeeves and the Wedding Bells is a delightfully witty story of mistaken identity, a midsummer village festival, a cricket match and love triumphant."

Out of Alfreton - David Simons

This is a strange one. What do you mean that you haven't heard of the author or the book? Oh that's right - it isn't a public book.

I arrived home one day and there was a package waiting for me and within it was this book. It is written by my uncle and is about his first 25 years - a lot of that time involved doing stuff with his sister, my mother.

It certainly was an easy book to read - he writes with a flow and tells a good tale. A lot of the characters were known to me, but I didn't know any of them in the same way that he does. And some that he mentioned are gone now - particularly family members.

In terms of the impact on me as a reader, I liked that it was shining a different lens on the world - a reminder of how interacting with a person can be different for each person - we all have our own view of the world.

I learned a hell of a lot from these tales - hard to explain what - clearly there was history in there that I didn't know. And there was learning about what people had done whereas I just knew the people - not really who they were.

I kept drifting into thinking about what my story would be like if I was to go back over my past - something that I have been doing recently - so the book arrived at an opportune time as my mind was ready for just such a read.

It was great to get an understanding of my uncle's upbringing and a view of what his influences have been. A different era, different values, different opportunities, different expectations, different challenges etc.

But then, that should be how I feel about all the people I interact with - we are have a unique life and you have no idea where they have come from or what they have been through or are going through. But that's life, so back to the book.

What can I say - it was a damn fine read. I imagine that you need to know the characters to enjoy the book, but he's written it so that his grand kids know who their grandad was and where he came from - a great thing to do and something that he has done very well.