REVIEWS PUBLISHED IN THE CHRISTMAS ISSUE OF THE EXPRESS NEWSPAPER
Reviewed by Andrew at Dymocks Ponsonby.

Just in Time to Be Too Late, Why Men are Like Buses,
by Peta Mathias,
$35.00 Penguin Books

Peta Mathias has already made her name as a TV presenter and a cookbook writer, but she appears to have found her niche – and biggest success to date - through an altogether different genre of writing. Can We Help It If We’re Fabulous, published in 2008, and out in time for Summer 2009/2010 Just in Time to Be Too Late, Why Men are Like Buses. Both are intentionally humorous and the latter cleverly explores what it is to be male.

It seems that men have never made sense to Peta, so she armed herslef with a wad of questionnaires and set out to discover more. The book contains ten chapters which range through relationships, fatherhood, sex and love, sports, fashion, Gay Men, health, Work, happiness and Why men Lie.

In the Gay Men chapter we discover that she married a cute young gay frenchman in order to stay in France. This is a bittersweeet chapter with the death of her husband from HIV. However the stories of friendship and good food balance the story.

Peta has discovered a key difference between the genders. Women share a problem to let off steam. Men discuss problems looking to solve it. This rush to fix things drives woman crazy. Is this genetic?
This is a very inspiring book. Read it and learn more about us wonderful beings called “Men”.


City Boy My Life in New York During the 1960s and 1970s,
by Edmund White, $39.99

Edmund White has already shared much of his life with us through his books. In City Boy, his latest autobiographical work, he describes the life of a young man from the midwest arriving in the inexpensive New York of the 1960s and creating a life in this unique city. We see him slowly build his self confidence in a city that is quite different from the rest of the United States. Through it all he is striving to write and be published, which when finally achieves when he is in his late thities. As a young man he also strives to be physically attractive. He was one of the first gay men to proudly show off a gym toned body. His desire for acclaim personally and as a writer appears to have obstructed his writing. It is only with maturity and a collection of life experiences including periods of living in Venice, Paris and San Francisco that his writing finally finds a voice of its own.

This book lists 22 books written and published by White. He is most famous for A Boys Own Story, but he tells us that co-authoring The Joy of Gay Sex gave him his first boost into being taken seriously by publishers.

White also tells us about a time of sexual freedom and promiscuity that was halted in its tracks by the AIDS crisis. He writes “Gays of my generation were especially unprepared to accept the new reality since for us gay liberation had meant sexual liberation and gay culture still meant sexual access and abundance.”

Personally I had grown up wondering if I would one day discover I was actually straight and just as I found the courage to act on my homosexual desires, with no fear of pregnancy and therefore no need for contraception, AIDS arrived and the sexual delights that had been tantalising me were now shrouded with danger. City Boy provides a perspective for younger generations such as mine about life in this more carefree, yet somehow repressed era. This world of fantasy and free sex disappeared suddenly for all of us during the 80s and is brilliantly described in this book.

In City Boy we experience White’s New York life. While he does mention many famous names, these people were simply his friends. In seeking to write and find his niche, Edmund found himself at the centre of Gay Liberation in a city driven by success as major changes occurred in the American way of life. His is a life of self discovery and writing. White writes very personally and entrances with this warts and all confessional description of a New York life lived to the full.



Richard Till Makes it Easy,
by Richard Till,
$34.99 Renaissance Publishers

Richard Till treated us to a highly entertaining instore evening a couple of weeks back. He’s always got plenty to say and this particular evening was no exception. In his laconic – in fact remarkably laid-back - style (quite different to the hyped-up frontperson for Progressive Enterprises that we see on our tv screens every night), he shared with us his love for traditional recipes and related food rituals. For the Till family, Christmas is all about the turkey and the pudding – with all the usual other stuff in between.

So what does his new book deliver? Well, the style is very chatty and the layout is interesting and reminded me more of an old scrapbook. There are plenty of great combinations such as Osso Bucco (Beef Shins Italian style) served with gremolata. Also included are some classics including the ‘world famous in the South Island’ Cheese Rolls and one of Richard’s particular favourites, Devils on Horseback. My friend Susan made me Mum’s Chocolate Square and it was indeed yummy, although thinner than the chocolate squares found at most modern cafes these days.

Richard Till Makes It Easy evoked memories of food I have enjoyed before and it’s inspired me to try again. I suggest you give some of the recipes a go yourself.

All three titles above reviewed by Andrew at Dymocks Booksellers Ponsonby. Ponsonby@dymocks.co.nz