I have been making a concerted effort to get through the pile of books I have been sent to review, which at one point reached the ceiling from a starting point of a shelf half way up the bedroom wall. Mrs Big Mouth felt it was a potential safety hazard and insisted I do something about it.
What I did was this: I sampled the opening chunk of each book and decided whether or not I was going to keep it to read in full.
Here are the results.
Dave Farrar - The Perfect Punter: A Year of Losing Everything and Trying to Win it All Back
One man gets dumped by his girlfriend and pisses away a fortune on gambling. But he then decides to do some research and is determined to beat the bookies. The book charts his success, or otherwise, in this endeavour.
VERDICT: Probably only of interest to fellow punters. I do like a bit of a flutter so may well read on.
Karen Blumenthal - Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different
Clearly not the official million-selling one but a reasonable alternative that is more than just a cut and paste job. Also, importantly, shorter and cheaper.
VERDICT: Ultimately I don't give a shit about the bloke but what I did read was pretty good.
Evan S Connell - Mrs Bridge
That splendid chap on Twitter, @john_self, has been raving about this book for some time and it finally gets a resissue. I can see why he was so keen, it is a wonderful portrait of family and marriage in 50s America reminiscent of Richard Yates.
VERDICT: Top notch, plan to read this in full pretty soon.
Jim Carrington - Drive By
Enjoyable slab of contemporary teen fiction that I have passed on to the kids for an expert opinion.
VERDICT: Martha or Ethan will report back.
Henning Mankell - The Troubled Man
I had pretty much given up on Mankell. I'd read a few of his books and found them to be OK but nothing special. Am quite taken by this latest Wallander thriller, though, so may give him another go.
VERDICT: Have moved it to the bookshelves.
Andrea Eames - The Cry of the Go-Away Bird
A young girl comes of age in an increasingly complex and dangerous Zimbabwe.
VERDICT: Can't pretend it blew me away but it was decent enough. Will pass on to a more worthy home.
There are lots more Quick Flick reviews over in my sidebars and they are updated almost every day of the week.
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