Guy Delisle - Pyongyang (Book, 2004) and Shenzhen (Book, 2000)

I previously wrote with some enthusiasm about Canadian Guy Delisle's excellent graphic novel Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City, and so thought it worth adding how much I've since enjoyed two of his earlier works, Pyongyang and Shenzhen.

All three books are similar in format and style, covering Guy's stays in the titular cities. His brand of self-deprecating humour ensures that the often-stark, strange environments, which are so different to the Western world, are viewed with friendly curiosity and bewilderment.

The main benefit of the graphic novel format is its visual nature: as the old saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words. Jerusalem brought back many wonderful memories for me, and although I've never been to North Korea or China, in some small way I feel I now have. I'd wager that there is as much information in Delisle's 175 pages or so of drawings as there would be in as many pages of solid text, albeit the latter would be considerably less amusing. Pyongyang in particular could have been a thoroughly depressing book, but instead it is quite oddly affectionate (and never less than thoroughly fascinating).

My only sadness is that I have just one of Delisle's books remaining - Burma - but I suppose all good things must come to an end. Here's hoping that his travels will continue!

Seasick Steve @ Manchester Ritz - Review

I'm still a bit undecided, but last night's Seasick Steve gig at the Manchester Ritz on 4th May might well be my favourite gig of all time.(Can it really push out the White Stripes...? Maybe not, but it's damn close.)

Steve's music is always better live, not just because that's the way blues should be heard but because he's such a great personality: walking up and down the stage, peering into the crowd like he's looking for someone, cracking jokes and making humorous observations... He's a bona fide entertainer, the likes of which are so rare these days amongst the sour-faced miserables of modern "rock".

Last night's gig was all the more remarkable for the unbilled presence of a certain John Paul Jones (he of the great Led Zeppelin) on bass, mandolin, slide guitar - well, you name it, he played it. The smiles that frequently crept across his lips showed just how much he was enjoying playing with Steve.

The three men on stage - including outstanding drummer Dan Magnusson - must have had a combined age of over 200 but they blew the crowd away with all the gracious confidence of musicians half their age. The set list was perfectly constructed, incorporating old and new material, flowing from loud, raucous blues (Down at the Farm, Thunderbird) to quiet soulful acoustic numbers (including a stunning cover of Cathy's Clown) and back again.

There were no egos on display; Steve thanked the crowd numerous times, Paul and Dan simply got on with the business of playing. Near as I could tell, there was not a single disappointed attendee: one lucky gal even got plucked from the crowd by Steve so that he could sing Walkin' Man to her.

All in all, it was an amazing night. You can't teach an old dog new tricks? Pull the other one, Steve.

Breaking the Reading Block

Every now and then I suffer quite badly from a hideous affliction: readers block. For some unknown reason, I will be unable to focus on longer pieces of writing. Half a dozen books - fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels - will be left unfinished, their first chapters digested but I won't have any appetite for the rest. It's my experience that the blocks tend to coincide with periods of stress or busyness, but sometimes they occur quite randomly.

Luckily my most recent bout was broken by Walter Tevis's The Hustler, which is a great piece of American fiction. I know very little about pool, but I had seen the excellent Paul Newman film some years ago and this was enough to tempt me when I recently came across the source novel. Tevis was an extraordinarily good write, both precise and evocative, and The Hustler is short enough for even a blocked reader to complete with ease. Since finishing it I've managed a couple of long essays and am currently part way through a good-sized non-fiction book (more on which later...)

As with writer's block, overcoming reader's block is simply a matter of sticking at it until you find inspiration. Do whatever it takes to enjoy reading again - it's worth it.