"Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" by Douglas Adams - audiobook review

I wanted a taste of Douglas Adams that wasn't The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. This wasn't quite what I was expecting (probably because it starts with the weird description of the electric monk) but I did enjoy its whimsical humour. I didn't really care about the plot (nor was I expecting to). I enjoyed the witty description of fusty Cambridge academics at high table and the fascination with technology: answering machines, telephones, personal computers. I may read the other books in the series in due course - particularly since this audiobook version was excellently voiced by Stephen Mangan. I'm curious to see how many of the characters return in the other books, or will it just be Dirk Gently, who's actually a minor character in this one?

"Heartburn" by Nora Ephron - audiobook review

I know Nora Ephron from her screenplays - particularly When Harry Met Sally… - one of my favourite films. I started reading this on Fran's recommendation expecting it to be a memoir, so I was slightly confused that the main character was a TV chef, but then I realized it was a novel (although still based on the author's broken marriage). (Fran has also read Ephron's essays: The Most of Nora Ephron - hence my confusion.) It was light and amusing and captures the scene of dating and relationships in New York and Washington, D.C. in the 70s and 80s - a bit like a Woody Allen film. The audiobook is expertly narrated by Meryl Streep, which added to my enjoyment. I think it made me laugh out loud a couple of times. But the unseriousness of some of the relationships portrayed in the book, the rampant infidelity and unfettered consumerism left a bitter aftertaste. It's worth having a physical copy of the book, too, because it includes a few recipes that I'd like to try. Oh, and it contains a line that is transferred verbatim to the script of When Harry Met Sally…: "What does she look like?" "Thin, pretty, big tits: your basic nightmare."

"On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft" by Stephen King - audiobook review

This book has been on my radar for a while: it was mentioned on the Kermode and Mayo podcast and the title of Emma Smith's Portable Magic is also a quoted from it. It's nice that it's read by Stephen King himself. I was more interested in the potted biography than in King's advice to fellow writers, but if you're looking for someone to give you permission to write and a few tools to do it, then this would be a good place to start. I'd probably find it more interesting if I'd read some of his fiction books (I've only seen film and TV adaptations), but they're too long for my taste and not my tempo.