James May (1) (1963–)

After finishing a fiction book midweek I was looking for something a bit different to read. Carbolics is a collection of articles James May (of Grand Tour, Top Gear and ‘Bim’ fame) wrote for DriveTribe. It was a fantastic website and a good place to read car information. But on the internet, my attention span is a lot less hence why I’m much happier to read away from a screen lying on the couch.

Carbolics is kind of a Fiat Panda sized book – it’s smaller than your average book but it is a cheery yellow. However, the ideas inside are much more interesting and varied. There’s the technical stuff that you would expect from James May – changing gears, stop-start motoring and the easiest explanation I’ve read on power and torque. But it’s not just supercars, hybrid vehicles, motorbikes and even bicycles are discussed. The articles are generally quite short (3-4 pages of the smaller format book) so if something doesn’t grab your fancy, you can skim read and move on. This shorter format also really suits May’s sense of humour. I think I laughed more during this book than the other books of his that I’ve read. (Or, perhaps I’ve just read his more serious books). For fans, there are multiple jibes at Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson.

Overall, it’s a good read to pick up and put down when busy, or during the holiday period. It’s got James May’s distinctive way of explaining things and you might even learn a thing or two (like the longest car name ever).

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com… (mer)

Modern gadgets and machines are designed to have almost no user serviceable parts, even a washing machine these days will need a technician to plug in a laptop to verify the fault before he is able to repair it. Gone are the days where most things could be repaired, though James May argues that this was because products were expensive, not particularly well made, often went wrong and so needed repairing and routine maintenance. He prefers modern gadgets that don’t need repairing or fiddling with to function. For May, reassembling items is a form of therapy; the act of creation calms and stimulates at the same time. That, and he has a thing about having the correct tools and screwdrivers in particular.

This is a nice tie into the series with lots of colour pictures from the workshop that he used on TV as he takes a pile of nicely laid out parts and makes a lawnmower and a guitar and an old Bakelite telephone. It is full of his rambling philosophy and dry sardonic wit, with short essays explaining how a specific item works, though sadly there is not as much text as I’d like. I completely get why he needs to assemble things, it is a theme that seems to be gaining traction elsewhere that using our hands to make and create is good for the soul. As an engineer (electronics and mechanical) I would have liked more detail on the items he was reassembling, but this an ideal book for the general reader.… (mer)