Reading #1

I've just finished reading Bradley Wiggins' 'My Time', which I enjoyed reading alot. Like many people last summer brought me an increased interest in cycling as a sport, so 'My Time' was my first book on the subject. Obviously ghostwritten, it was a bit dry and missing the humour & character that he is known for, however it was a fascinating insight into the preparations & tactics of the world's best cyclist and what it takes to win. I'm sure there are plenty of better books about the sport, but 'My Time' was a great introduction for a novice like me.

 

I don't often make New Year's resolutions but this year I decided that I should try to read more female authors as all of my favourite writers are men. Unsure where to begin, I asked on twitter and Waterstone's retweeted my question, and I got more responses than I knew what to do with! After a bit of research I made a shortlist as a starting place these include Evie Wyld, Yoko Ogawa, Lauren Beukes, Katherine Dunn, Scarlett Thomas, Sarah Hall and Jennifer Egan. But I am kicking off with Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale', a science fiction novel that I actually picked up for 50p in a charity shop last year.

Last year when I went to the International Press Festival one of the comics I picked up was Spandex, 6 issues of Martin Eden's gay superhero adventure which was alot of fun, and having read the first 6 issues I couldn't miss the final chapter. So having ordered issue #7 online (which was dead easy) it duly arrived with a note from the writer/artist (one of the advantages of ordering direct from people), and it wasn't a disappointment. Without wishing to spoil the story, #7 continues from the revelations of #6 and answers the questions of whether Spandex will win or even survive to fight another day, and ends with the welcome news of a final special later in 2013.


To finish with I'll leave you with a couple of articles from the web that I enjoyed reading. First off is Neil Kulkarni's piece on HMV's plight and why it makes people like me feel like we're losing something.

And secondly this Vice article called 'Things That Need To Die Before British Culture can Move Forward', which made me chuckle.