Book Reviews

The Coast Of Everything by Guillermo Stitch

Jason DennessLeave a comment
Image

What Da Cover Says: “To find the center, begin at the edge . . .

​A daughter’s devotion parts her from her father. A dutiful soldier sentences his child to a loveless exile and her mother to madness. With her last breath a dying woman exhales the whole world. A girl with a broken body holds it up.

​Their nested stories bleed into one another: tributaries in search of a common sea; parched souls in search of an oasis; ink racing through blotting paper.

What I Says: This was an epic read, Stitch takes the reader deeper into a book than any author has ever done before, through the art of story-telling Stitch explores the boundaries between when one story ends and the next one begins and how they overlap. The way these stories are nested reminded me a lot of the movie Inception, we travel through each story and at some point the next story is started by a character and we delve deeper and deeper until eventually we start to resurface. There is quite a mix of genres included, scifi, detective, dystopia…we even have a bit of Dickens…who did feel more like Bukowski in my opinion.

It is a really innovative book, a unique method of writing, each story easily draws you in…you may have no idea what is going on but with the fantastic characters you happily go along for the ride. Some bits made me chuckle, little throw away comments like after the deepest story ends somebody listening to the story mentions how long that last story was, I was thinking the same thing. Normally in a collection of stories there will be that standout favourite but here the feeling is different, they are separate entities but at the same time they are one…more a collective than a collection.

This is a very very good book, this review doesn’t do it justice, if you like a good story and a puzzle then I very much doubt you will be disappointed by the experience of this adventurous book.

Image
Book Reviews

A Coney Island of the Mind by Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Jason DennessLeave a comment
Image

What Da Cover Says: The title of this book is taken from Henry Miller’s “Into the Night Life” and expresses the way Lawrence Ferlinghetti felt about these poems when he wrote them during a short period in the 1950’s—as if they were, taken together, a kind of Coney Island of the mind—a kind of circus of the soul.

What I Says: I first heard about Ferlinghetti when reading about one the well know Beat poets, I assumed he was just a publisher but delving further into his life I found that he also wrote. A Coney Island of the mind is a small collection of poems, ones made for this book and others taken from two other collections, Oral Messages and Pictures of the Gone World.

The Coney island poems are untitled and all very good, nicely laid out on the page to help the words flow, a lot of them feel like memories, as if Ferlinghetti went out and about for the day, watched people and explored areas, then he went back home and wrote up the day, there is a feeling of the author being disconnected from each viewing.

The Oral Messages were my favourites by a long way, they are supposed to be read aloud in a Jazz style reading and that is just what it was like, the repetition of lines gives the poems a certain beat which doesn’t distract from following the story. “I Am Waiting” was fantastic.

Pictures of the Gone World is almost the opposite of the Coney Island collection, Ferlinghetti is right there in the moment people watching. My favourite in the whole book was watching the lady hang out the washing, so few words needed to transport the reader to the moment, and as an added bonus there was a nostalgic element which I reckon Ferlinghetti wouldn’t have counted on…the lady was using wooden pegs, I think I forgot they were a thing in this modern plastic world.

Really enjoyed this and if you ain’t read anything by this chap before then this is the place to start.

Image
Book Reviews

Shamans: The Visual Culture of Animism, Healing and Journeys to Other Planes by Max Carocci

Jason DennessLeave a comment
Image

What Da Cover Says: Around the world, shamanic traditions dating back thousands of years are being revived, recovered, and reinvented. Many people are increasingly turning to shamanic practices and rituals for community, connection to nature, and spiritual direction. Focusing on an expertly curated selection of ritual artifacts and visionary images, this book skillfully explores the roles of shamans around the world and throughout history, from the Mesolithic shamans of Germany and the Evenki shamans of northern and central Asia to the shamans of the Shang dynasty and the booming populations of neo-shamans in the West.

Beginning with a clear explanation of what we mean by “shaman,” author Max Carocci identifies three key elements of shamanic worldviews and practices: animistic models of the cosmos; communication between realities; and healing of body and soul. Beautifully illustrated throughout, this book features a compelling narrative text interspersed with analytical presentations of the key artifacts, artworks, and rituals pertinent to the chapter themes. Shamans examines a diverse range of visual subjects and decodes their symbolism, including the powerful adornments of a Siberian shaman’s coat, the psychotropic plants that facilitate trance states and interdimensional journeys, and the carved effigies that reveal the remarkable transformation of shamans into animals. Carocci makes the manifold meanings encoded in the forms, colors, and purposes of shamanic images and objects clear, painting a vibrant and in-depth picture of shamanic cultures past and present.

What I Says: This book is a stunner, it looks great and the slightly heavier weight paper feels nice as you read it, it is jam packed with so many pictures, I probably spent more time exploring the detail of these than I did reading the words. If you do get yourself a copy of this book, I recommend you get a magnifying glass as some sections of the book will give you a photo of artwork or sculpture and describe elements of it in detail, the magnifying glass really helps to see all those tiny details.

The book is split into three elements of a Shaman’s world, Animism, Healing and travelling to other planes, Carocci gives us an introduction to the subject, covers the history, clothing, tools and brings us up to date with Shamanism in the modern era. The writing is clear and unbiased, the use of images does well to engage the reader….often I have to use google when reading non-fiction but not this time…and Carocci comes across as very knowledgeable, the writing feels like his own work and not just quoting from other sources.

As somebody with zero knowledge of Shamans and their work this was a great introduction which has left me with plenty of questions to find out about in more books.

You can get yourself a copy of this book direct from Thames & Hudson HERE:

Image
Uncategorized

Otherless by Ferris Wheel Fox

Jason DennessLeave a comment
Image

What Da Cover Says: Marcia Gordon, a future cult leader, starts an arts and crafts club at her high school.

What I Says: I was tidying up at work and found a print out of this book, no idea where I got it from but there it was waiting patiently for me to give it a read. I wish I had looked into what it was about because for 98% of the book I had no idea what was going on. We follow a girl at school known as Gordon where she starts an art club with some random students, that is pretty much the main plot. The rest of the story is a mesh of Gordon’s various plans for revenge and manipulation, the reader watches as she puts in place long term plans to get revenge, she is certainly a troubled girl and we do get glimpses of how she became damaged. As for the side characters, I did struggle to keep track of them, it might be they get lost under Gordon’s shadow or it might be because Gordon is narrating and only sees them as pawns in her plan, but they come across as rather 2d compared to Gordon herself.

I did enjoy reading this, the writing is nice and easy to get into and everything ties up well in that last 2% where I finally figured out what was going on. Gordon and Ferris Wheel Fox hold their cards close to their chests with this one.

Image
Music Reviews · Uncategorized

Album review: Get Sad by The Restless Coast

Jason DennessLeave a comment

Band: The Restless Coast

Album: Get Sad

Format: Vinyl

No. of Tracks: 11

Track Listing:

  1. Everything’s Tragic
  2. Carry On Complaining
  3. Sigh, Sigh My Darling
  4. Just Shoot Me
  5. Succeedophobe
  6. Sleepless In Southampton
  7. Wish We Weren’t Here
  8. Get Confident, Stupid!
  9. Yeah, That’s My Bad
  10. No Year’s Resolution
  11. Now It Ends
Image

Review: Enjoyed this album, only recently heard of The Restless Coast but am an instant fan. Emo is not my usual cup of tea but blending it with punk works, it seems to be both a downer with the lyrics and a bouncy song yer wanna jump about in the sunshine. Tried to think what this reminded me of and the best I could come up with is that it is the antithesis of The Lottery Winners’ Anxiety Replacement Therapy, this feeling peaks with “Wish We Weren’t Here” this will be my anthem anytime I have to go to a supermarket. Couple of favourites on here was “Carry On Complaining” this is the one track I remember from seeing them live and “Get Confident, Stupid!” other than a great title I think this track is where Rob Gray’s vocals work perfectly with the music. If you like pop-punk-emo music with catchy tunes then give this one a go.

Ratings:

Album artwork 5/5

Music 5/5

How it compares with the crap my neighbours were playing at the time of listening 5/5

Earworm rating 4/5

Titles creativity 5/5

Lyrics included YES

Free Digital Download Available via Bandcamp (Pay what you like)

And the most important rating, did I instantly play it again after first listen? YES (you’re welcome neighbours)

You can get yourself a copy of the album from HERE:

Music Reviews

Music Review of 2025

Jason DennessLeave a comment
Image

It’s been another epic year for music in the Basingstoke/Alton area, last year I only went to the Lounge Bar at Alton, this year I was at the Lounge Bar 22 times as well as checking a couple more venues that play awesome bands. First up was the Proteus Theatre (I had tried to go there before but thought it would be more fun to lock meself out of the house instead…not as fun as you’d expect) the second venue was The White Hart, which I did a few times, it has the tiniest area for the crowd which either gives you a great view or no view at all, brilliant fun. I also did my first festival ever, way too stressful for me to go to a festival normally but the ZigZag at Selbourne looked safe…well I thought it was safe until I came down with Mega-Man-Flu-From-Hell, until then it was great fun. In 2025 I managed to see 92 different bands, some of them a few times:

Fools Gamble
Dead Authors x2
The Dazed Minded x2
White Phosphorus
Acertory
Blank Xpression
Cold July
Vain Wild x4
aAnd
Divide The Truth x2
Goblyn x2
Gutlocker
Halfway Home
Sam Mellor x2
All Ears Avow
Bitchin Hour x3
Spaz Tenorman
Strayers
Bandits
GezzaPunx x2
id.id.id x2
Pizzatramp
Alternative Carpark
Goodbye Andyy
Within Reach
The Blade Itself x3
Eagle Burner x3
Stone Soup x3
Brioche x3
Pink Diamod Revue
Skunkworm
Benchy & The Gazers
GUYM
SLUNG
Cestra
Dahlia
Ilona Mahieu
Luo
Tribe Of Ghosts
Writhe
Kiss My Brass x2
The Lurxx
Babylon Band
Broken Noses
Hollow Space x3
Senor Fire
Vibracore
Dahlia’s Comet
Exhilaro
Karrion
Thrm
Fred Irwin x2
Dead Gentry
Aventyde
Terraborn
Reawaken x3
Captain Flatcap
Death in Poverty
Hugh Deeny Band
Simon Ellis
Snake Day
Lugnut
Kyros
Buds
Frank Blood Incident
Jot Cloppy
Popes of Chillitown
Majuba
Tangled Leads
Bailey Upson
Rob Tuft Duo
Swell x2
Tommy Thompson
Velvetine
Mislead
We The Sun
BEEF
Rats! Rats! Rats!
The Link
Lance Skybaby
Whole Nine Yards
Fake Spiked Punch
The Station
Ukelele Skinhead
Angry Anxiety
Joe Bitter
Kalybrated
Pixxie Teeth
Fate Of The Magpie
Resurrectionists
Retrophonic Pete
Two For Joy

These were all fantastic, super varied and probably cost less than an Oasis ticket.

The highlight of 2025 was my daughter joining a band, they are called Fake Spiked Punch and played their first gig at The White Hart, an event to showcase local young talent organised by Debbie Young and The White Hart. It was a brilliant experience for the band and I was super proud of the daughter on the drums.

Some highlights of the shows

Reawaken At The Proteus Theatre

Bitchin Hour Halloween Special At the Loungebar

Hollow Space Debut At The Lounge Bar

Resurrectionists joined on stage by some Rando from the crowd at the ZigZag

The best band I saw was id.id.id. I had no idea what was going on, two drummers, an ironing board and some guy screaming into the corner, I swa them a second time and they managed to up the crazy by inviting a chair to do a duet with the singer…I think that is what was happening.

That’s it, looking forward to 2026, already got tickets for the first show on the 2nd Jan.

Book Reviews

The Golden Mole: And Other Living Treasure by Katherine and Rundell illustrated by Tayla Baldwin

Jason DennessLeave a comment
Image

What Da Cover Says: A pangolin’s tongue is longer than its body. It keeps it furled in a nifty pouch near the hip

A swift flies 200,000 miles in its lifetime. That’s far enough to get to the moon and back – then back to the moon.

There’s a fable that storks deliver babies. In fact, the Nazis used them to air-drop propaganda.

Each of these animals is extraordinary. And each of them may soon disappear from the earth.

A lavishly illustrated compendium of the staggering lives of some of the world’s most endangered animals, Consider the Golden Mole is a chance to be awestruck and lovestruck – to fall for the likes of the wondrous Pygmy Hippo, the seahorse, the narwhal and, as astonishing and endangered as them all, the human.

What I Says: This is a very pretty book, from the gold cover and gold end pages to the stunning illustrations from Tayla Baldwin, it is the sort of book I wanted on my bookshelf regardless of what it was about. The question is, was the content any good?

Rundell writes childrens book and it shows here, I was instantly engaged with the little facts and I bored the daughter telling her everything I had learnt, there is a spider displaying the only version of that colour blue on planet Earth, you eat more spider dust a year that you do actual spiders and the golden mole is gold and has no eyes…a bit like this book….

Rundell mixes these interesting facts with a good amount of jokes and anecdotes (I did get a bit confused about the drunken story of trying to feed chicken to a pigeon…who was drunk? Rundell or the pigeon? These fun bits work well with what this book is really about, each of these animals are on the edge of extinction, it’s not too late yet but as is always the case those with the money and power to make a change don’t see the bigger picture (except those storing the meat of endangered animals to sell once extinct). It won’t be long before the only way to see these wonderful treasures is in a book like this.

All in all it was a very fine read, I learnt lots, I fell for the animals but I feel it is missing one thing: It warns about these animals vanishing but doesn’t share what we can do to help, I would have though since Rundell had my attention she could advise what we could do next.

Image
Book Reviews

Three Rivers: The Extraordinary Waterways That Made Europe by Robert Winder

Jason DennessLeave a comment
Image

What Da Cover Says: Three of Europe’s greatest rivers share the same geological one fertile patch of Alpine ice in the jagged heights of central Switzerland. Coursing down through the peaks, the Rhine, the Rhone and the Po gave birth to three different European cultures – German, French and Italian – as they flowed across the continent.

From this shared geological cradle, these waterways have shaped the landscape, influenced the pattern of towns and cities, laid the foundation for economies and created an intricate network of transport, trade and agriculture. From the Romanesque buttresses and vines of Provence to the Wagnerian music of the Rhine and the artistic miracles of Lombardy, the heart of Western Europe – its languages, religion, philosophy, science, politics and art – has been nourished by these waters.

What I Says: Quite the unexpected book was this, I was expecting a journey floating down the river as Winder points out important landmarks and shares a bit of local history with the reader, but it was way more than that. Winder does infact take use down each river but his journey focuses not just on the water but on the people, geography and history surrounding the river and the impact that the rivers have on those three.

The three rivers are Rhone, Rhine and Ticino (later the Po). All three start off in the Alps fed by mighty glaciers and plenty of rain and snow, the scenery here is dramatic, mountain peaks and valleys, the sort of background you’ll find on Windows log on screens. Gradually it decends to dams, villages, cities and industrial complexes that do their best to polute the river. Throughout this epic journey the river has had a bigger impact on humans that you possibly expect before picking up this book, it is obvious once you think about it, early on we had to build near a water source and you can’t go wrong building next to a river, so of course any progress in civilisation is going to be influenced by the river.

A huge amount of data is shared by Winder on an impressive range of topics and not once does it get dull, he blends facts, local lore, literature, history, science, religion, poetry and art, all laid out to show civilisations progress as the river takes it journey to the sea. The rivers have seen it all, every single sadistic and brutal cruelty that humans have dished out on each other, the rivers have run red with what we can acheive. On the flip side they have also witnessed some of our best moments, stunning architecture, art, scientific discoveries and literature.

This was a fantastic book, one of those that will go onto the shelf to be re-read in a few years time as I will have forgotten a lot of it, info runs through my head as quick as these rivers.

Image
Book Reviews

We Are All Adrift by David Banning and Iain Sharpe

Jason Denness1 Comment
Image

What Da Cover Says: Weaving together fragments of artists’ stories across time and place, David Banning embarks on a Sebaldian exploration of the enduring legacy of harbours and the sea. In a post-truth world, rising water levels are mapped into micro-conflict zones of resistance, with borders, loopholes and quotas absorbed into the bed of the English Channel. While elements of the current political hostility toward migration are underlined, a connection is established between the intertidal mudflats of Morecambe Bay and the chalky downlands surrounding Newhaven Harbour. Mixing, biography, fiction and history, a poetic odyssey probes the work of English Neo Romantic artist Eric Ravilious, and uncovers the ‘unknowing strangeness’ of Harold Mockford, a fine lyrical artist based in East Sussex.

What I Says: My first thought after reading this was I had just walked my way through an art installation, learning about architecture, harbours, the sea and the people that it has affected over time in different ways. This may be because of some very fine artwork by Iain Sharpe but I think it is the short pieces of writing placed alongside the visual art that gives this sensation. In a short number of pages Banning takes the reader on a journey around the coast of East Sussex sharing his knowledge of art and history but it is his commentry on the current political climate that hits home the hardest. These days I seem to find myself surrounded by flags on lamp posts and social media swamped with strange people determined to spread hate, in my town we have a hotel with refugees in, that on a regular basis have to witness protests by people who don’t really understand why they are doing this…the pleasing thing about this book is that it raises awareness but also shows there is still beauty in the world….now I’m going to go look at Sharpe’s artwork in closer detail.

If you wanna check out the book then follow this link HERE:

Image
Book Reviews

Wrongful by Lee Upton

Jason DennessLeave a comment
Image

What Da Cover Says: When the famous novelist Mira Wallacz goes missing at the festival devoted to celebrating her work, the attendees assume the worst—and some hope for the worst. Ten years after the festival, Geneva Finch, an ideal reader, sets out to discover the truth about what happened to Mira Wallacz. A twisty literary mystery dealing with duplicity, envy, betrayal, and love between an entertainment agent and a self-deprecating former priest, Wrongful explores the many ways we can get everything wrong, time and again, even after we’re certain we discovered the truth.

What I Says: This is one of those books I went into without reading the back, I knew Upton was a cracking story-teller so I had faith I wouldn’t be let down…using this technique added some more mystery into this mystery novel. I have to admit I struggled at first, lots of characters thrown into the mix, but once I knew who was who and the book had settled on a protagonist I was hooked. A famous novelist goes missing, lots of gossip happens with people showing their true colours and then the novelist is found, it feels like a homage to Agatha C…it was also a sort of homage to the famous novelist featured in the book copying her formulaic style, very clever twist that was.

The characters are dispicable, envious and very egotisical (normal author traits?) there is nothing to like about any of them and because this is the side of them you see, any of them could be our villian. Geneva Finch is out to try and figure out what happened 10 years ago. She starts off as pretty clueless, not sure where to start and nervous around everybody, it was fantastic to see her grow in confidence and start to reveal the clues. I had no idea of who-dun-it but had a lot of fun following the case. The writing is witty, the scene well set and like any good detective show it was addictive.

I have now read two books by Upton, the first was super funny and now this one, a proper clever mystery. Give her a read if you aint done so already.

Thanks to Sagging Meniscus for sending me this copy. Check out the book HERE.

Image