Tuesday 23 June 2015

Reading and Planking: The Long Haul Take 2


After trying planking whilst reading the sprawling American novel The Corrections, or failing to, more accurately, I figured that using another large book might be easier to read this way. Something that's a little more “my thing”. So I've picked out Irvine Welsh's weighty Skagboys, the prequel to the iconic Scottish novel, Trainspotting.

I read the original book in 2001 when I started uni, and I'd never read anything quite like it. The film's great, but there's no way they could have made a movie that's loyal to the entire plot. In '08 I met Welsh when he released Crime, and I read it not long after. In about '09 I read Trainspotting's sequel, Porno, a good follow-up. Then in '12 I met the author again. He was signing Skag Boys, which he'd just released. At 450 pages it dwarfs Trainspotting and Porno, so should be a serious endurance challenge. I'm quite curious to see what Renton was like in his university days, and how he slipped into addiction.

More to the point, I want to get my abs back. My planking record stands at 4:02. Let's see if I can beat that- and finish the book- in 2 months.

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