A man like Mr. Shaw has the deliberate intention of getting people to listen to what he has to say; and therefore he must be amusing.

Have left this far, far too long. Can't remember most of the books I've read since... when did I last post here? July? :-/ Wow. Sorry. I've done tons of reading since then, but time has placed too large a barrier in between me and most of the books, so I can only give you the few recent ones I remember well enough.

Common Sense 101: Lessons from G. K. Chesterton

I love G. K. Chesterton and his work - but, oddly, not as much as the author of this tome - a Dale Alquist. In theory this book was a really good idea - and it still is, if you can get past the irritating voice in which it's written. The author's reverence for Chesterton becomes overblown and annoying really really quickly - and I found his zealous adherence to Chesterton's (sometimes inaccurate/fallacious) beliefs and policies infuriating. The first half of the book is readable; the second half annoyed me to the point of writing furiously in the margins - which I have never done before in my life. Chesterton and Alquist both have a very poor understanding of the differences between Catholicism and Protestantism; I can deal with Chesterton's ignorance because firstly, he writes with wit and humour and secondly, he died in 1936. Alquist has no humour - his style comes across as somewhat whingy and his dogma is clumsy and has none of the elegance of Chesterton's.
I'm not going to dissect all the problems that I have with the assertions made in the second half of the book - if you want a sensible, clear-headed analysis of the Catholic/Protestant question read Nothing in My Hand I Bring by Ray Galea - which I meant to discuss in this blog but never did (oops!).
The first half of Common Sense sums up Chesterton's inimitable, original viewpoints on journalism, education, God, poetry, science, democracy and lots of other topics - the hero worship is a little overdone, but if you want a quick and concise introduction to Chesterton, read the first fourteen chapters.




Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith

 It might sound like an odd thing to say, but to me this book felt just like a cross between Diary of a Provincial Woman and Three Men in a Boat - though it was more like the former than the latter. Would love to see the musical!




The Happiest Refugee by Ahn Do

I have already expressed my love of autobiography here - particularly my love of autobiographies in which the author can look back with gratitude and perspective. This is definitely one of those books. Though some of the stories are heartbreaking, terrifying, even, the book is told with genuine affection and a lovely sense of hope breathing through it. I'm not familiar with Ahn Do's other work - in comedy and film, but this book has got me interested!


George Bernard Shaw by G. K. Chesterton

I really enjoyed reading Chesterton's opinions and analysis of Shaw (who was a good friend and rival of his) - I was quoting and highlighting away all through this slightly patronising but very loving interaction with the life and works of one of last century's most famous playwrights. I wasn't quite sure what to take away from the book in the end - but as a pleasant journey through Shaw and Chesterton's brilliant brains, it was quite sufficient.