QI: The Second Book of General Ignorance – John Lloyd etc – 4*

Well I treated myself to this when it was on the kindle deals, and wasn’t disappointed in it.

At times it feels a bit random, but then I guess there’s no logical way of writing about facts that people thought they knew but actually didn’t.  For a book of facts it is written in a way that makes the facts accessible to everyone, and by not staying on a particular topic for too long you don’t end up with glazed-over eyes wondering when it will be over.

One thing is for sure with this book – be prepared to learn things you ‘knew’.

Questions looked at include:

How many legs does an octopus have? (and NO it isn’t 8)

Who made the first aeroplane flight?

Update

The second year of my law degree officially starts in 2 days time (ok technically it starts tomorrow seeing as it is past midnight).  I have been busy preparing for the course to start and checking that all the forums, software and databases are working.

I have also been asked to crochet a blanket for a wheelchair user (in the same colours as the rainbow poncho)  I’ve been inspired by ChrissyFresh: A Granny A Day Project and have decided that I am going to crochet enough granny squares to make this blanket – I have a plan and know exactly what colours I’m using for each square, I just have to find the time to get the hooks out.  I currently have 3 squares for the blanket (pics up soon) and I am also doing a rainbow blanket for Elise.

My eldest son, Ryan, has been unwell this week, I received a phone call from his school on Monday morning and I had to pick him up.  We got half way home and he decided he was going to vomit all over the inside of my car and down the windows too as he tried to get his head out the window – poor kid was so upset and kept apologising to me because he had made a mess.

In between being a ‘nurse’ to Ryan I have been taking in an engagement party dress – I have been horrified at the construction of this dress and, although it does look absolutely beautiful from the outside, the stitching quality and fabric placement has been just awful.  I did a fitting tonight after band practise and just need to do a couple of minor adjustments for a final fitting on Sunday, which should also be the time I hand it back and think myself lucky I won’t have to see it again (here’s hoping).

Talking of band practise, the little girl I’m teaching to play cornet is making me so proud, and is now on a planned introduction to the band rehearsal, she should hopefully be playing out with them in 5 weeks time when the band is next responsible for providing the music in our morning Church service.

I will hopefully get the book reviews out the way tomorrow (or should that be later today?) I haven’t slept yet so it’s still today (Thursday).  Will have to arm myself with Twitter and my Kindle so I can refresh my mind on the books and get the reviews done.  I honestly haven’t forgotten that I have a back-log, it’s just someone has hidden the life-remote-control and life is currently running on fast-forward.  I wish someone would return the life-remote-control so I can press pause for a few minutes and get some peace.

Tell me what books and authors you would recommend

https://jdaviesx.wordpress.com/you-recommend/

Leave me a message on the above thread and I will get through as many as possible

Diary of the Displaced – Glynn James 5*

I have to admit this is not the typical kind of book I would normally consider reading.  However, I have an ‘addiction’ to downloading the free books from www.amazon.co.uk for my Kindle.  I have found some amazing new authors by allowing this ‘addiction’ to take hold.  It’s not an addiction that makes me feel bad, because I’m not spending anything to feed it.

Anyway back to this book.  Zombies, dog-like creatures and ghosts fill the pages of this book, but it is written in a way that is fascinating and makes you want to keep turning the pages.  Although there are details of zombie killings and fighting, it’s not overly graphic.  Glynn has the art of leaving enough out to leave your imagination to really soar and creat the scenes in your head.

The story charts the struggle for survival and escape, the bond between a man and his ‘dog’, a faith in your own capabilities and a belief in a life after this one.

Led by intuition, and friendships with the ghosts and ‘dog’, James (the central character) learns to survive.  The majority of the time, I felt like I was actually there with James, and I could feel his emotions and struggles as he learnt how to be self-sufficient and live off nature.

The development of the storyline was believable and at a pace that was easy to keep up with.  There was sufficient detail in the writing to know what was being described and experienced, but not so much that it detracted from the plot and gave your own mind plenty to feed on

QI: The Pocket Book of General Ignorance – John Lloyd et al – 4*

This was a great read (not a favourite read though).  I found it funny, informative and quite often shocking (not in a bad way – just questioning what I thought I knew)

There are a wide range of subjects, all of which appear to be well thought out and presented.

Maybe a treat for today, as the second book is available for 99p – hope it’s as good as the first

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.html/ref=tsm_1_fb_s_kin_lxqklb?ie=UTF8&docId=1000577623