Book Reviews, Andy Capp, Blogs I Miss, and ROW80

ood thing I added reading to my ROW80 goals!

I finished The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith/JK Rowling the other day, and would highly recommend it, especially for fans of detective stories. I love the authors characterisation.

Then I read My Dancing Bear by Helene de Klerk, a brief biography of Andy Capp's creator Reg Smythe written by his niece. The book is interspersed with quotes from conversations with Smythe, and has a really 'close' feel, as if you're reading about one of your own distant family members.

The best part for me were the two aspects that could also relate to writing. The first was the glimpse of Smythe's complete dedication to his work. Even with a full time job, he would come home every evening and spend hours on his strips, sometimes working with a timer - one strip every half an hour. If he finished earlier, he carried over that time to the next strip. Day after day, without fail, even after he'd achieved a certain level of success.

Then there's the 'fresh fish sold here' test for clear and concise writing. In Smythe's words "...the fishmonger takes out 'sold' because customers know he's not giving it away, then he takes out 'fresh' because it implies his fish aren't, then he omits 'here' because if anyone is reading the sign it means they have found him... That leaves 'Fish'. Simple and to the point."

An intriguing titbit was learning where Andy Capp's name came from: after fiddling with a few name combinations, Smythe decided on Fred Capp, but then thought more about what sort of man he'd be, a "right pain and a definite handicap to anyone" - and that's how he became Andy Capp.

Just for fun, here're a couple of screenshots of some classic Andy Capp:

Thanks to everyone for coming by during the Songs of Summer blogfest! Can't wait to discover all your songs, too.

Haven't had a chance to visit many blogs this past week or so, and there are quite a few I miss! Here are a handful of blogs and bloggers I'd love to catch up with:

Theresa at Outlander Kitchen

Old Kitty!

Laurel Garver

From the House of Edward

Michael!

Clarissa

Ayak's Turkish Delight

Liz Fichera

Jamie at Mithril Wisdom

Adam Heine

Matthew MacNish and Project Middle Grade Mayhem

So many blogs, so little time!

Any other blogs that you would recommend?

I'm always looking for book recommendations, too!