Has anyone else read Paul Morley's book The North? As someone born in Wigan and having lived in Wigton, Bolton, Nelson and Morecambe, and doing three years at Manchester University, I thought it might be a good read about where I grew up, before I left for London.
Anyone any views on it?
Or is there a book thread I should be on?

We used to have a book thread, unfortunately many on here think reading is a large town in Berkshire

Is that surprising give the volume of self-absorbed diatribe that gets posted on here by many of the regular posters on here?

I like what you did there, "volume", very good that.

I like your pun. But, silly, it's Reddin, innit.

Better get me coat then.

I read a review of it (reviewed by Stuart Maconie, he liked it) and I heard it being discussed on the radio.
Sounded good so, when next in a bookshop (n.b a proper bookshop, not like Amazon in that it's not virtual and you get to leaf through the book and also get your real book home a lot quicker), I had a look through it.
From that (albeit unreliable) five-minute glance through, it seemed to be more about Lancashire than "The North", so I didn't bother.
I had already read Stuart Maconie's [iPies and Prejudice[/i which, whilst lightly amusing, was also a little bit Lancashire-centric and I noticed some glaring inaccuracies about places outside the County Palatine.

As a Wiganer, you might like it.

Putting coat down for a moment......I read it and I agree it is not only North West biased, but is really about the authors life as an 8 year old in Stockport. It is interspersed with various facts about the north over the last few hundred years, seemingly placed at random. It would have been more accurately titled something along the lines of Paul Morley's North to be fair. The author's skill is such that it is a reasonable read but not a keeper, so it's now in the charity shop.
Personally don't care much for Mr Maconie's work an awful lot.

I agree, I was lent Maconie's "Pies and Prejudice" and told it was a brilliant read - I struggled to keep any interest past the first chapter and I don't know whether it was the writing style, the subject, or what, which was strange as I find Maconie to be very listenable on the radio.

Being Wigan born and bred I have read all Maconie's books, my personal favourite being "Cider with Roadies" which is pretty much his autobiography of his early life. It mentions many places with which anyone from the town would be familiar and gives a good idea of what life was like in the town in the 70's.

I've renamed this to make it the new book thread – so carry on, including, of course, Euclid's original query.

Thank you

In terms of books, [url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24077796Nadine Dorries has signed a six-figure book deal[/url.

Well, her novels will apparently be based on her childhood in Liverpool.

There: how's that for a connection to both books and the north?

I do like Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling

Oooh, I'll be first in the queue for that then.

Not.

OK I'll throw a question open, I'll be spending a week in Robin Hoods Bay very soon and in the course of looking for things to do the Dracula connection with Whitby comes up time and time again.

Now I have the original Bram Stoker version of Dracula on the eReader thingy and have started it several times but the first few chapters are set in Transylvania and I've never got as far as Whitby, does the town feature much in the book or is it all wishful thinking from the Tourist Assc ?

No not really.
But it might add to your own imagination when reading it.

I deliberately read Greene's [iOur man in Havana[/i and Hemingway's [iThe old man and the sea[/i whilst in Havana, Greene's [iBrighton Rock[/i in Brighton and Shute's [iOn the Beach[/i in Melbourne.
It did actually add to the imagination when reading the books ... even if erroneously.

I've almost finished Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, just four years after buying it and it does something similar for Barcelona albeit most of the Barcelona in the book probably doesn't exist now, have another one of his waiting in the wings but I haven't been reading much recently - too busy on other little projects

It's been a long time since I've read it, but isn't the sum of Whitby's link it being the place where Dracula docks?

Yep, the ship sailed into Whitby at the height of a storm, crashes into the dock and there is a rumour of a large black dog leaping ashore, other than this the only person on board is the ships captain who is dead, with a ship full of soil and mould from Transylvania.

Thats the extent of my knowledge although I have to say the film adaptation which starred Keanu Reeves and Gary Oldman sticks pretty close to the first part of the book that i have read - will have to do some revision before my trip, could save a few bob on a tour

In which case, it seems to me that your knowledge is pretty close to 100% of Whitby's involvement in the book.

But I'd be willing to bet that a tour would point out many and various locations unprovably "thought" to be the "inspiration" for various aspects of the book.

Long, long ago, when La Senora was still of a such an age that she would still come camping with me, we camped in a site on the clifftop just South of Whitby and walked to town for a pint and a meal.
In one pub on the dockside, a local tried to tell me that Bram Stoker missed out most of the "local legend" from the book ... and warned me against crossing St Mary's churchyard at the top of the 199 steps at midnight, he couldn't tell me why, just that I ought to heed the warning as, with trembling finger, he pointed at the floodlit church upon the opposite clifftop and said that anyone who had been up there at that time would concur.

As chance would have it, when heading back to the campsite, we were crossing that very churchyard at midnight when the floodlights switched off on the stroke of midnight.

"Never again" is all I will say.

So they were on a timeswitch then



[urlhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/local/york/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_8121000/8121579.stm[/url is fairly definitive - might give the book another go and see how far I get this time.

Yup.
Surprises you a little bit, that's all.

[iDracula[/i is a fascinating read – not least as it's clearly about modernity, female emancipation and sexuality, and the threat of STDs (specifically, syphilis).

Mind, you could try [iAnno Dracula[/i, Kim Newman's fun alternative version. I've also just read the sequel, [iAnno Dracula: The Bloody Red Baron[/i, which is a romp too.

Just read James Lovelock's more recent books - Revenge of Gaia and Vanishing Face of Gaia. Not looking good for humanity if he's right.