Ian Simpson's Blog, page 2

Signing books

The doorbell rang while we were at lunch yesterday; it was a friend (a very good one) who had bought four copies of Murder on Page One and wanted me to sign them. Hoping he thought the glass of wine on the table was the first, I wiped duckfat off my hands and signed carefully, sending best wishes to each recipient. I'm not used to this, and feel greatly honoured that an intelligent man should have enjoyed my scribblings so much that he wanted to share them with others. Selling myself and my book does not come easily to me; when I started at the bar, any tendency to self-advertise was deplored and ultimately counter-productive. I'm much more comfortable assuring people that my book comes in handy for propping up a table or chair with one short leg. But this is the modern world, and I have to adapt. Joining Goodreads has been a fine experience, looking back on books I have loved over the years. It's satisfying to see that someone, perhaps on the other side of the world, gets the same visceral buzz from the closing words of A Tale of Two Cities as I do. I look forward to many more exchanges about the pleasure to be derived from words on pages.

href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12..." style="float: left; padding-right: 20px">A Walk on Part :Diaries 1994 - 1999 by Chris Mullin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The diarist was a Labout MP on the left of the party. In this fascinating record of the days from the esteemed John Smith's death in 1994 to Mullin's appointment as a Government Minister in 1999, he lifts the lid on the New Labour project. Blair comes across as brilliant but untrustworthy, with his party kept well under control. Mullin describes many personal moments. I enjoyed reading about his friendship with former Conservative Prime Minister, John Major. United by a desire to curb the power of the Murdoch empire, they went off together to drink wine and put the world to rights. It is strange how, nearly twenty years on, Murdoch continues to haunt the corridors of power. The difficulties and frustrations experienced by back-bench MPs are well described. This is gossipy, revealing and enjoyable to read. Any subjects of little interest to the reader can be skimmed. A man of principle, Mullin had friends across the political spectrum, and you do not need to share his views to appreciate his book, chronologically the first of his three volumes of diary.



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