Squarepusher and Books

An entertaining article about Squarepusher in the Guardian today, although one suspects you wouldn't want to be stuck in the pub with him.

"The number '0' will never be boring to me because in it I see the infinite, the string composed of the addition of all other numbers, stretching beyond sight in both directions"

Hmm. Still, I must get round to getting tickets to see him (performing with the London Sinfonietta as part of the ongoing warp-records/classical backslapping festivities. Still, music from Cage, Reich and - best of all - Varese, so I want to go. And SP himself, obviously.

Not much band activity at the moment, as Anne-Sophie and Sam are off snowboarding (yes, I know - the Nouveau Riche...) and Pete is acclimitising to life in his new flat up the road. Meanwhile, not much happening with me; my compulsive habit of reading the comment pages of the Guardian has been replaced by obsessive book reading over the last few weeks. Just read

1. The Honour's Board - by Pamela Hansford Johnson, which was excellent, although not her best: a story about a private school and the headmaster's impending retirement.
2. Tim Parks - Shear / Tim Parks - Goodness; both quietly brilliant, if not as grabbing as his recent stuff. They're both menacing and, in the latter case, riveting.
3. Maggie Gee - The White Family - my big discovery of late; not come across her before but excellent reviews of her new book, The Flood, persuaded me to read this 2002 novel. It's superb, a lively, involving tale of domestic trauma and racism. But fun.
4. P.G Wodehouse - Quick Service; only just started this one, but if you're feeling tired and not looking forward to work, then there's no-one better than Wodehouse to read on the train.

One book I've not read, and probably won't, is the (much promoted) story of Andrew Collins' (get this) happy childhood - "Where Did It All Go Right? Growing Up Normal In The 70s". Nevertheless, it deserves a mention, if only because the tag-line in the advertising is 'They tucked him up, his mum and dad'. Genius :-)