Reviews and Comments

I have thoroughly enjoyed this book about the joys of walking and there are so many little titbits of information that shall stick with me for ages, particularly about badgers on the side of the road...I even went hunting for scurvy grass until I realised that was featured in a different month to the one I was experiencing so the flowers were probably past it now....still I got to have a play on the motorway.

One of the things about walking that I enjoy is how your mind wonders, it's amazing how many issues at work I've solved during my lunchtime walk on the common and that part of walking features heavily in this book.  Somerville's mind wanders again and again to his father, about how distant he was when Somerville was a lad and how once he had retired they were able to bond over long distance walking,  it was a great homage to a father and at times quite heart-breaking.

I liked how this book was laid out, a walk per month, usually with a reason for walking in that area ie: lambing season or particular birds arriving back in the UK. The walk is only a small part of the chapter, so much history has been included and a lot of nature crammed in too.  A favourite part for me was when he did St Cuthbert's walk,  an area of Scotland I have been too a few times and he covered the bit of the route I have done, it absolutely tipped it down for me at the same spot and it would be funny if we took shelter at the same place.

The writing is very good, easily drawing in the reader and not getting boring at any point.  Somerville has written a lot of books so I'll have to check another one out soon.

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2020/08/12/the-january-man-by-christopher-somerville/

What a bloody good story!  Just like Carter-Winward's other novels I'm left speechless at the conclusion of this book and with an emptiness inside now that it is all over.  This book is an exploration of the relationships between a group of people, all are very different but with one link, the mesmerising stripper Kopper Kandy.  Kopper comes across as a Goddess, moving across the stage drawing in the crowd with her eyes and somehow reaching into their soul, it is during the private dances that she is able to help them by just being there.  And you can't help but become invested in the characters, especially Shay and Jeremy, I was on the edge of my seat with each twist and turn in their relationship, hoping that it would work out.

I love Carter-Winward's writing style, it feels so poetic and is so easy to read, there is passion, wit and a real grittiness to her words.  Great care has been taken with the scenes of Kopper on stage, the perfect balance of sex and inner angst, a lot of time must have been spent with real life dancers to get that spot on.  Don't shy away from the subject matter, this may feature a stripper but it covers so much more, you're bound to see a bit of yourself in at least one character.

A very classy novel which deserves much more attention.

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2020/08/01/grind-by-j-a-carter-winward/

Kafka's life was quite an enigma, he didn't become well read until after he had died and it wasn't long after his death that WWII happened and a huge amount of those that knew him ended up dying in camps, so finding out about his life, his relationships and inspiration for writing is a particularly difficult undertaking.  Klaus uses Kafka's surviving diaries and letters to piece together the life of the man who wrote classics like The Metamorphosis and The Trial.   I think he has done a good job, plenty of facts have been included but he manages to make sure the writing doesn't get too dry.

A lot of these classic writers were usually well travelled and had experienced poverty at least once in their lives, Kafka lived his whole life in Prague and had a steady job with an insurance company.  He always wanted to travel but never managed to break away from the grip that Prague had on him.  The one thing that stands out big time about Kafka was his network of friends, so many of them were loyal to him, never taking advantage or giving him a hard time and it was nice that the ladies in his life stuck by him even though they eventually were moved to the side so he could focus on his writing.  It was a tragedy that he died so young, but if he hadn't contracted TB we wouldn't have had the books we love today, he used the pain and imminent death as the driving force behind so many of his books...that and his father.  :-)

I enjoyed this book, plenty of pictures make a great addition to the quotes from his letters and diaries.  Any fan of Kafka would be sure to get something out of this book.

Blog review: wordpress.com/post/felcherman.wordpress.com/2049

This is the second dictionary that I have read cover to cover in my life time, the first one was what got me through some terribly dull times at school, it was the dictionary of slang and was good fun to read. I got much more fun out of Cauld Blasts and Clishmaclavers though, my wife is from Motherwell and it was nice to finally have a book to explain the meanings of those lovely pet names she has for me; eejit and Sassenach being the ones most commonly used.

I know this isn’t a full dictionary but I still call it that because it works the same, you have the word, then it’s origin, pronunciation, definition, examples of usage and now and then a well known quote using that word. One really good part of the book was the examples, not only were they humourous but previous words were included in the example, this was a great way to actually learn the words, see them in everyday use and to not end up just reading the definition and moving on. I am rubbish with accents so having somebody Scottish available to read out the phrases is a must have, the language is very inventive and the Scottish sense of humour comes through big time. Many words seem to leap out of the pages when you recognise one, i.e. Jobby, when I hear that word instantly I picture Billy Connolly and one of his great jokes.

There was one word here that was new to the family which we all loved, now whenever one of us spots a bee you are guaranteed that somebody will shout out “there’s a hairy bummer!” Just waiting on a call from the youngest’s school to ask why she is shouting things at bees.

I have enjoyed reading this and will be keeping in on my shelf ready for when I want to give Burn’s poetry a go, I reckon this will be very helpful addition to understanding his work. Since reading this book I have actually been able to put it to use a couple of times, reading Kathleen Jamie’s “Surfacing” I was able to look up a couple of the words she used. I got a copy of another book by Crawford for my birthday, Into the Peatlands and am looking forward to reading that.

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2020/08/20/book-tour-cauld-blasts-and-clishmaclavers-by-robin-a-crawford/

An autobiography about somebody unknown and done in the format of a comic, how could that work?  Well it worked for me, I really enjoyed reading this, I can't stand those autobiographies by famous people full of name dropping and desperately trying to make every aspect of their life interesting.  Always Goodbye is the sort of book that could be about you, the reader, if you are a child of the 80's then you'll see similarities to your own life in this book, as Ray Hecht describes events you'll be going "I remember that" and you'll end up on your own journey down memory lane.  And being born in the 80's means a lot of big moments in your life would be defined by technology, getting that first email address, joining myspace and Facebook, games consoles and smart phones are all big points in Rays life and until reading this I have never thought of things like that before.

A huge part of Rays life has been spent reading and making comics, falling in love with Marvel and DC universes and because he has that huge knowledge about comics it has made this book much more special.  Some clever little bits really bring this to life, describing his parents, birth, upbringing and how they met was cleverly done, drawn as a column with each event side by side worked well.  Each chapter starts off with a year of Rays life and the first window shows a significant event from that year and I loved trying to figure out what they represented.  There was the odd quirky bit thrown in too which gave me a chuckle, favourite bit was Ray sat at his desk at school and the writing about the scene takes up so much space that he has to have his head at an angle.

The comic has been hand drawn, which gives it a personal touch that would have been taken away by a piece of software, whenever Ray draws one of his girlfriends the amount of detail increases until they are almost glowing, it shows just how important they were in his life.  

I have really enjoyed reading about Ray's life and now wish I had a time machine to go and get my hands on the sequel in 30 years time :-)

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2020/07/12/always-goodbye-by-ray-hecht/

An amazing debut, Ozgur's writing has so much energy, it really draws the reader into the macabre life of a sociopath and what a sociopath this character is!  We do not get told his name, you may think this odd but we are getting the story from his point of view and he has no real interest in what others are saying so any mention of his name is lost.  He is a horrible human being and you instantly hate him, but like all decent sociopaths you start to believe him, you create an attachment to him and start to care and then are left feeling foolish when he shows you his true colours.

The focus of the story is his big break through into the art world, you follow him as he plans this piece, he fully immerses himself into his art and this in turn reveals his insecurities and past traumas, explaining just why he is like he is.  The piece of art itself is part performance and this included some incredible writing, I was on the edge of my seat (most probably pulling a stupid grimace) absolutely mesmerised by the complete unravelling of the artist, he almost becomes a child again before your eyes.  Incredible stuff.

This book contains some of the most visual writing I've ever read, I finished the book and only then realised I had in my head the feeling that I'd watched a film.  I thoroughly enjoyed this and love the fact that you are left wondering whether this was fact or fiction. The cover is also something else, the use a black biro to block out the face really pulls you in, almost like a black hole.

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2020/06/29/conception-by-ozgur-uyanik/

I reckon that Kirton has captured the essence of an acid trip within these pages, using flash fiction (each story around 2 pages long) he takes you from one trippy story to another with barely a chance to take a breath. Each story jumps between violent, drunken, drug fuelled worlds with a pinch of sex added to distort the vivid stories just a little bit more. And just when you are starting to be worn out trying to keep up with these short trips the last story brings you down to Earth, it’s a story of three lads going to a funeral after taking acid and it is far longer than what came previously. Witnessing what those guys were going through calms the reader and almost prepares them for entry into the real world. I’ve no idea if any of that was intentional but that’s how if felt to me….In fact I’m not 100% certain that I have left the story and maybe none of this is real……..

This book is good fun but possibly not suitable for those that prefer a book to…..actually no, it’s suitable for all! Give it a read.

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2022/07/08/everything-dissolves-by-hank-kirton/

If you are new to discovering what nature is all about or like me you enjoy being outside watching birds and insects but are blooming useless at identifying them then this book is for you.  Lev is still new to this nature lark and this book is his journey into the outside world to learn more about what is out there.  It is not packed full with a gadzillion facts about one species, instead you get given Lev's knowledge on what he sees, with plenty of footnotes explaining he is probably wrong.  He takes you from his kitchen sink to his garden and surrounding area, he gradually moves further afield to zoos and islands and this is one of the best things about this book, it takes you to places that are easily accessible to the reader...well at least once I've figured out the clues to find his house that is.

One of the funniest nature books I've read was by Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See was so good because his sense of humour gave the reader a bit more involvement, it was like you were there with him.  Lev's sense of humour is brilliant, I love reading his funny observations on twitter and it was great to see it here in this book.  He does a lot of people watching and his comments about those he met had me laughing, his almost-fear of joggers gave me a good chuckle.  He is also the master of creating some pretty bonkers metaphors, one of my favourites was:

"Good humour runs through them like writing through a stick of rock"


Unlike your standard nature book this author does like a good swear word and for that reason the book should be used in schools, I would have been hooked on nature as a kid if this book was available to me then.  He also explores areas that usually get missed out of other books,  the kitchen sink and it's resident spider get explored which was a great addition to the book.  He explores his garden too and it's these sort of things that will inspire the reader to go out exploring.

This is a wonderful book, a must read for all and would make a great gift for anybody showing the slightest interest in the outside world.  The cover makes my top 10, lots of little things to spot in the drawing.

Blog Review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2020/06/27/into-the-tangled-bank-by-lev-parikian/

This book is totally Wacker-doodle-dandy to the max!  I love a good absurd novel and this is a mighty fine addition to the genre.  Yes it does feel like the author is using the luck of dice to create the plot and there is no way of guessing what is going on until you get told but at it's heart is a wonderful story full of love and heartbreak, exploring the everyday fears that people experience...not the silly ones about spiders...fear brought on by the birth of a child and making sure they get the right life, of being out of your depth and whether or not you'll be the next world champion burger flipper.  At least that is my interpretation and like any great piece of art there are so many different ways of seeing this story.

The book follows the four main characters; Mr Seiler, obsessed with measuring everything with string, he can even measure the length of winter, this is until he becomes obsessed with measuring the depth of a lake.  Next up is Noranbole, she has her own Cinderella story, from doing her chores to working in The Big City.  Then Noranbole and Urine's mother, Emma Wakeling, tells us about each of her husbands interspersed with chapters describing the house and family life.  The book is concluded with Urine's story which gives you a cracking finale.

Noranbole's story was my favourite part of the book, the satire surrounding The Big City and the Giant company that she works with was very clever, I got the feeling that I was reading a new book by Vonnegut for a while.  

This will most definitely be re-read by me in the future, give it a couple of years and I'll be spotting new things I missed first time around.  A fine novel well worth reading.

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2020/06/15/lake-of-urine-by-guillermo-stitch/

This is a must read book for the fans of Charles Dickens, ever wondered where the great man himself lived or went to school?  Want to know the area his books were based and where his characters lived and died?  If you want to visit these places and look for the landmarks that still exist, then this is the book for you.

The book contains 5 walks, it doesn't give lengths of the walks as there are plenty of little detours down side streets to make that a too difficult task.  The first walk starts off at Trafalgar Square and if you look at all the routes at once it takes a sort of circular route around London finishing up at Trafalgar Square again.

I read this book during the great lockdown of 2020 so was unable to get out and do this book on foot, instead I read it from the comfort of my home using google maps as a tool...not the easiest thing to do with that temperamental piece of software but I did mange to find a number of the places mentioned.  Most interesting to me was the church that rang the bells in A Christmas Carol, that was the point where I realised just how brilliant this book was.  I've only read a few of Dickens's books so I will have to re-read one day in the future when I've read more of them.

There is a huge amount of history included in the book and it was interesting to read about how London has changed since Dickens walked the streets...it is a shame that a lot of the buildings have been replaced with boring concrete and glass structures.

A very enjoyable book, crammed with lots of facts and hopefully one day I'll be able to get out there and follow one of the routes.

Blog Review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2020/06/13/dickenss-london-by-peter-clark/

This debut by Stephen Rutt is a wonderful book, his writing is a joy to read so informative and about the birds that tend to get ignored either because they are too far away to find or the cheeky buggers are stealing your chips.  His love for these birds really shows and you can't help but fall for them too.  We get (I think) grey-backed gulls hanging around our house and I now see them in a new light, they've always seemed noisy and boisterous but now I can see the elegance as they glide in a circle above me.

The book starts with Rutt being overwhelmed by living in London and his need to get away, so he spends 7 months in that glorious place Orkney.  This is the place I would most love to visit, it seems to be the place to go to cleanse yourself of the nonsense of civilisation, the healing powers of nature are strong there.  The book has a journal feel to it, mixed in with facts about the birds is his experiences and how he recuperates, there are a number of funny anecdotes which gave me a good laugh, the vending machine was funny.  There is nice mixture of info in each chapter, facts about the birds, how the birds have influenced people throughout history and the current decline in their numbers.  The descriptions of the bird's calls were really good...a faulty blender?  I was straight onto google to check that one out.

As with a lot of these nature books a large section is dedicated to how we are killing the birds off with our neglect and plastic waste and this book is no exception.  He does try to point out the good things too, like the Kittiwake tower in Newcastle.  I've never heard of it but it is a wonderful thing to have done, if only more places would come up with great ideas like that.  Go check it out if it's unknown to you.  He also bravely defends the notorious chip thieves you get at the seaside, they are hated by so many but how else are you going to see a wild bird up close like that?


I've now read both books by this author and loved them both, so impressed that they were both published in the same year and very deserving the award he's won.  I hope he is working on a new book and I can't wait to find out what birds it features.

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2020/06/02/the-seafarers-a-journey-among-birds-by-stephen-rutt/

I have so much respect for Eland for finding this novel and for publishing it.  It has spent most of it's life hidden away and barely read by anybody, which is such a shame as this is such a wonderful little book, Gamel's prose is so moving at times, she shows a side of war that tends to get ignored.

Gamel and her husband Gerald are living just outside Malaga in the 1930's when the Spanish civil war kicks off.  There have been rumours that the Spanish workers aren't happy and that things could go wrong soon, but their Englishness can't see it affecting them.  Soon Malaga is burning and most of the English residents are running away.  Gamel decides to stay, partly because she romanticises war and partly because they have a big house and with them still there it could be put to use to help the Spaniards. 

Gamel then witnesses some horrific scenes, she sees the evil of war start to appear in the eyes people she knew to be sensible, the suspicion eating at the villagers and it makes them do shameful things.  Gamel and Gerald do what they can, sheltering terrified locals as planes drop bombs every night, fighting to save the innocents who have been taken to prison only to be murdered in revenge after the next airstrike.  At one point they take in a family and hide them from the murder gangs in a priest hole, putting themselves at great risk.  As the book goes on you can see the strain of the conflict, it is no longer a romantic thing and the chapter on Juan was heart-breaking to read, her love for the people of Spain really shows at this point.  You can see that she was most definitely suffering from PTSD but this still doesn't stop her love.

Eland have released some very good books that I've been lucky enough to read and this one has to be my favourite.  Wonderful writing, I only wish her writing had been more successful so that she would have written more.

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2020/05/25/deaths-other-kingdom-by-gamel-woolsey/

If you are wondering what sort of book this is and how relevant it is today then check out these words found in the chapter called Xenodochy.


"Xenodochy is a word of tolerance and empathy, curiosity and cooperation.  And if ever a new watchword for our modern world were needed, this is surely it."


Powerful stuff and if ever a book was needed to deal with the stress of 2020 (viruses, Trump, social media trolls and climate crisis) then this is surely the book to help you heal.

This is the first book I've read by Paul Anthony Jones, I've seen others about but never gotten around to buying one of his books, I loved how this is laid out, a brief introduction and then come the words with a brief line to state when it would be helpful followed by a chapter on that word.  You get so much information on the origins, examples of when it was first used and the odd tale about the words first use.  I found it interesting how many of these words had a Scottish origin, I never knew how much influence they had.

My favourite word has to be Hurkle-Durkle, absolutely love how that one rolls off the tongue and it is very me...in fact I reckon most of us love a bit of Hurkle-Durkle now and then.  Don't google it, buy this book to find out it's meaning.

This book isn't going to heal you but it will help you to calm down and re-centre yourself, getting lost in words for a while will be very soothing, just as the cover states.

A brilliant book that I am now passing on to my daughter who starts A-Level Psychology soon, hopefully it will provide inspiration during the course.....Now has this author done a book on swear words?

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2020/05/21/the-cabinet-of-calm-soothing-words-for-troubled-times-by-paul-anthony-jones/

This must have been one tough man to research, Hemingway was a legend for exaggeration and constantly changing his life story.  One line in this book, a quote by his 4th wife Mary Welsh, sums him up perfectly:

"I could never detect when he skidded off fact into fiction."

One of the most famous events in his early life was getting injured on the front during WWI, his story changes again and again, sometimes exaggerating and sometimes more humble.  Richard Owen has done a good job, instead of trying to prove which one was real he has shown the reader each version in a sort of timeline and how that fits into each of his books.  Owen's writing is really easy to get into and right from the off I was hooked, I was able to use google along side this book to find images of Hemingway in these places and the people he hung out with, I loved the pictures on him as a young man on the front line in his uniform.  One of the biggest things to stand out in this book is how much he loved Italy and how much the people he met loved him, it just shows what kind of man he was to make so many friends.

It has been a long time since I read anything by Hemingway, so long in fact that all I can remember is that I didn't get what was so great about his writing, nothing really happened and then it had a dark ending.  This fascinating book by Owen really does add a whole new dimension to Hemingway's books and I'm planning to get a couple of them to read again and put my knowledge gained here to good use.

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2020/05/17/hemingway-in-italy-by-richard-owen/