Blog Cards, Year at the Circus, Saints of the Shadow Bible

I've been busy. I've pulled up a flag outside my house, cut out a tree root, cemented the base area and relaid the flag so it doesn't rock any more. Also I've made new blog cards, something I haven't had for about 5 years.

I've finished 2 books: the first being A Year at the Circus: Inside Trump's White House, by BBC North America Correspondent Jon Sopel. Released very recently, the book documents Mr Sopel's time covering Trump's administration from July '18 onwards. It systematically outlines Trump's flagrant disregard for the truth, his countless lies and misleadings, and his bizarre nonchalance to the consequences of his actions. It's a gripping, gobsmacking account.

Say what you like about political exposés- until recently it wasn't the most thrilling of genres. Fire and Fury was the first Trump presidency book to drop, and that was far from dull. A Year at the Circus covers the aforementioned book's arrival and the Trump administration's, well, fury over it. It also covers a more damning publication: the Mueller report, released in April this year, and reveals the key factors within it that crippled Trump's already embattled team of cronies. It's a fascinating read.

I met Mr Sopel at the book launch in Manchester.

I also finished reading Saints of the Shadow Bible, a Detective Rebus novel by Ian Rankin.

A young woman is found behind the wheel of a car after a crash, but something isn't right about it. She wasn't driving, even though she was found behind the wheel. Meanwhile, the Double Jeopardy law has been scrapped, meaning old cases can be reinvestigated- which is a nightmare for the corner-cutting, fast-and-loose Rebus.

This book didn't bite me on the nose. Very slow, kinda cliched, lots of dialogue to reveal exposition, and really didn't make use of the possibilities that Rebus' closet skeletons could have offered. Not that I've read any other Rebus novels and know what else there might be.

I got the book signed at the launch in 2013, which I kinda accidentally blagged my way into.