Books

I've not been reading so many books recently as I've had to focus on my OU course, particularly on Dr Faustus by Christopher Marlowe which was hard work at first but suddenly made sense when I listened to some actors performing it. No surprise there seeing as it was written as a play and not as a book! Any road up, I have managed to squeeze in a couple and have re-read Puckoon by Spike Milligan, and The Best of Beachcomber by JB Morton. Both amusing in their different ways although they do share a tinge of surrealistic weirdness in their approach. Puckoon has dated a bit as it was written in the early 1960s before the outbreak of the troubles in Ireland, and is basically a satire on the absurdity of dividing Ireland up in the way in which it was in the 1920s. Beachcomber is also from another age, when humour was gentler. And I can't imagine any newspaper giving him or his ilk a regular daily column these days. Either way, both books are recommended if you're looking for a pleasant diversion and a laugh or two.