Fast N' Loud

Fast N Loud

Blood, Sweat and Beers

Richard Rawlings with Mark Dagostino

 

My copy with my thumb on the corner of the book

 

Are you a car guy/girl?

 

Richard Rawlings is a car guy or as he calls it a Gas Monkey.

 

Chances are if you have heard of Richard Rawlings then you are familiar with work and his TV show on Discovery Channel. If not then you will probably have seen some form of advertisement for his show, he is the slick looking chap next to the guy with the beard otherwise known as Aaron Kaufman (Richard's head mechanic).

 

Photo credit to Discovery Channel

 

However this blog/review is not about the afore-mentioned television show as the head monkey has written a book well an auto-biography to be more accurate.

 

Although it is actually a bit more than a biography as this book has other elements such as favourite episodes and a guide to being successful in the automotive industry but we will get to those parts in a little bit.

 

Firstly the biography section, here you find the traditional things you will see in almost every biography: family, his formative years, education, early jobs & of course some rebellion that we all go through. What makes Richard's story telling different from other biographies I have read is that I was able to visualise myself alongside him witnessing his journey.

 

From his time in the emergency services up to where he is now, ride alongside Richard and have a smile on your face and laughter in your throat.

 

I won't go in to all the details or stories as I don't want to spoil your experience of this book.

 

I mentioned earlier the book had other elements to it besides the biographical bits the first of these being his staff. Here Richard tells us about the other monkeys, how he met them and how they have come together as a family under the name of Gas Monkey.

 

Next the book goes into favourite episodes from the TV show, here Richard tells us why these episodes are special to himself, to the Gas Monkey crew and to the fans.

 

Rounding out the book Richard gives us a guide to buying and flipping (selling) cars, along with Aaron this guide gives you a look at how you could become successful in the automotive trade industry. Even if you don't fancy flipping cars this guide can be helpful to you getting yourself a better deal when you wish to purchase a new vehicle.

 

Throughout this book I kept finding myself learning new things I was unaware of, about a man and a television show I enjoy. Richard shows that whilst he is a famous man that is not what is important to him nor what defines him; he is simply after a fun ride, the fame is just a bonus.

 

In the book and as seen on the TV show Richard likes a bet and taking a gamble, the way this book is presented seems a bit of a gamble as well but I feel it is one that has paid off.

 

At 202 pages it is a quick read that you could easily knock out in a couple of hours but I personally would suggest taking your time with this book and savouring it like a fine whisky take it slow and enjoy it.

 

4.5 stars

 

Find it in your nearest bookstore or the links below.

 

 

GYSOT

 

The Outlaw Panda

 

Amazon UK

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fast-Loud-Blood-Sweat-Beers/dp/0062387863/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439479450&sr=8-1&keywords=richard+rawlings+book

Waterstones UK

https://www.waterstones.com/book/fast-n-loud/richard-rawlings/mark-dagostino/9780062387868

Amazon US

http://www.amazon.com/Fast-Loud-Blood-Sweat-Beers/dp/0062387863/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439479581&sr=8-1&keywords=richard+rawlings

Barnes & Noble US

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fast-n-loud-richard-rawlings/1120159654?ean=9780062387868

 







The Portable Door

The Portable Door by Tom Holt

 

 

This is the book I alluded to in my introduction post.

 

 

So lets begin.

We have all been there, the first day of a new job we are nervous we don't know how we got the job in the first place and we don't want to screw up and make the bosses mad. Paul Carpenter is no different he has just started as a junior clerk for J.W Wells & Co., a company who are a lot more sinister than even Paul can imagine.

From the beginning we are introduced to the main character of Paul, one of life's downtrodden a non descript male, who's family has abandoned him and emigrated from dreary London to the sunny climates of Florida.

Things start off normal enough but get quirky quickly, starting with the fact that nobody can be in the building before 9am nor after 5:30pm.

Just as Paul is getting used to the weirdness of this obviously not normal company, things get tipped on their backside when his fellow junior clerk Sophie gets kidnapped one evening as the two of them get locked in the building after hours.

From finding out that he is a trainee sorcerer to dealing with Goblins and a stapler that constantly vanishes, add in the fact that one of his boss's mother fancies him and Paul's dreary life will not be the same anymore.

The author Tom Holt who I have found to be hit and miss in the past, comes out swinging with this one. The fantasy elements such as magic and goblins, do not require you to have prior knowledge as they are explained easily without interrupting the flow of the narrative.

One element that possibly hurts this novel is the introduction of too many characters too early in the story. Whilst it turns out that all these characters are essential to the plot and to the continuing plot in the rest of the series, it may have been more advantageous to stagger their introductions so as not to give the reader too much to process all at once.

At just over four hundred pages this is a fun paced quirky story, that can appeal to a novice or a more serious reader either of which can lose a day inside the story.

4/5

The Outlaw Panda

 

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Portable-Door-Tom-Holt/dp/1841492086

An Introduction

Books

 

Where would we be without books? Who knows, that is probably a scary thing to contemplate but I digress.

 

Books I love them, I read at least four books per week, but that was not always the case. Books used to be a chore, they would be things that I would have to read certain chapters from books for school stuff. I never properly sat and just read a cover to cover book of any genre. That changed one day when I was in the local library, there was this book that was displayed differently as the library had picked it as their novel of the week. The name and the simplistic style of the cover grabbed me, and I knew I had to read it. Doing so changed my opinion on books entirely.

Recently as I have embarked on my own literary voyage (that can be read over at http://coggienovels.blogspot.co.uk/ ) I felt a return to the story that sent me down the original path would be a fun idea that may spark creativity.

This creativity gravitated to me in a way of dissecting a story, and finding its strong points or weak points.

So to start off as a bit of fun that may lead to something more serious down the road, please join me as I review the books I stumble upon.

The Outlaw Panda