Julian Clary

Sometimes I buy a book purely based on the cover. It doesn't happen very often but some covers just scream: 'Pick me! I'm so beautiful!'.

Still it happens often enough that it is not that unusual for me.

But to be repulsed with a cover... that happens almost never. To see it and think: 'Yeah, no.'

This was one of those covers.

To me it was so obviously meant for the female audience. Like all those covers a few years back on the books of the 'chicklit' genre. I was so glad to see those gone. So my repulsion is partly a personal taste.
But also... In our masculine society would a man buy this book? I mean kuddo's for every man who would buy this without shame. But realistically... would they? I say this because, you know the book is about two men loving each other. In my head that means that men are also the targeted audience. And this cover is not very gender neutral is it? Not in our society as it is today.

I don't know why this specific cover bugs me so much because I see the same thing in urban fantasy (I don't really care for half clothed ladies on my cover, especially when sex isn't the main attraction of the book and when the main couple is FM romance and not FF, but (heterosexual) women are the targeted audience) over and over again.

Still. It does and just like that I have no intention of reading this book.… (plus d'informations)

A Young Man's Passage by Julian Clary I like biographies because a good one will reveal more of a person that you think you know something about.
 
I think a good biography should consist of several elements.1. What happened to them.2. What they did with that.3. What they make of it all.
 
What happened to them.This is the mundane details of their life like: where they were born, what their family was like, what school was like etc.
 
What they did with that.This is normally the full description of their career/chosen path and their struggles to overcome both their own limitations and external obstacles to finally achieve their goal.
 
What they make of it all.This should contain some reflection about the bigger things in life and point to a deeper understanding about their life.
 
Sadly many biographies,  especially of living subjects, contain only the first two of the above elements. Not so this one though.
 
I cannot imagine this is ghost written because Julian's voice comes through so clearly, complete with asides in that deadpan  delivery. As you can imagine it is very frank and no prisoners are taken along the way. What else would you expect? Anything else would be a let down.
 
 … (plus d'informations)

It seems that a young couple went to Africa on their honeymoon. They decided to take a dip in a pond, so took off their clothes and jumped in. Unfortunately, a hungry crocodile came by and ate them. A pair of hyenas came by. They thought it might be fun to go to England. They already knew how to speak English by listening to the various visitors on safari who had passed by. So, they put on the clothes of the honeymooners—being sure to keep their tales tucked out of site, and their furry ears covered with hats—, took their passports, and headed off to adventures in England.

Obviously, this is a kids' book, complete with very many adorable illustrations. The Bolds have to work hard to fit in, but do manage to do so. They have a pair of children who mostly manage to go to English schools without causing too much alarm. Their main problem is the crabby neighbor who spies on them at all hours of the day and night. Mr. Bold gets a job writing jokes, which then go into Christmas crackers, so the book is full of truly pathetic, corny jokes. Well, hyenas laugh a lot, so of course they like jokes—the good, bad, and the ugly—even after hearing them several dozen times.

Well, I won't give the plot away, but it's quite a fun book. I think it might be most popular with 8- to 10-year old boys because it also contains lots of mild, scatological humor. Anyway, many adults will also find this a very fun read, especially those of us who find themselves sitting in a doctor's office waiting for skin-cancer surgery, and need a great escape from reality.
… (plus d'informations)