A good week for books.

A good week for books. Being in St.Andrews and having Toppings to browse in was a joy. To have read two very good books and one truly exceptional book in a week is a luxury.

Tuesday night. First book was Chernobyl. Written in a breathless and entertaining way by a Professor at Princeton. Read over dinner in the new ( and overly expensive ) steak restaurant at the far end of South Street. A former bar that's been reinvented as a Laguna Beach meets North East Fife dining experience. This, on reflection, is not a recipe for a culinary marriage made in heaven. Glitzy without the glitz or in plain English a $120 bill for a $30 meal. The wine list south of uninspiring - a fault compounded by a sixfold markup. The build up of suspense as Gorbachev comes to terms with the disaster and the knowledge that so many would die from radiation poisoning made the book unputdownable. The author combines political and technical detail with a fast moving style. What 'The Font' would call a book for a 'masculine' library. As for the restaurant - it's a candidate for a visit from Chef Ramsay , if it lasts that long. The final indignity was ordering a decaf espresso and being brought a cup of breakfast tea. ' The barman's just told me we're out of decaf coffee. I've brought you this instead ". 



Night two at Tail End the brilliant and reasonable fish and chip shop / restaurant on Market Street .They had Lemon Sole on the menu, caught that afternoon, which the chef was happy to grill. A $30 charge for a dinner that would cost  $100 anywhere else. The bookstore recommended Shape Shifters by a young doctor in Edinburgh. I wasn't sure but time being tight I bought it on the basis of how bad could it be ?



I read it from cover to cover in one sitting. A light Soave helps. An adult book that deals with the doctors experiences of the changes in life in an intelligent and kind way. Birth, sleep, jet lag - it's all here. He has a reassuring way of writing-  both wry and modest - that makes you understand why some rugby playing Scots lads are born with a stethoscope hanging round their necks. Many books aim to be intelligent. Few succeed. This is both intelligent and perhaps more importantly kind. The combination a true rarity. The author addresses issues that are rarely addressed and the volume is an unjudgemental delight.  Serendipity made an appearance. A young couple sitting across the aisle stood up to leave just as I put the book down. He a 30 something doctor at the nearby Army base. A life spent alternating between duty in Afghanistan and dealing with the aftermath back at home. He asks if I enjoyed it. I read out a passage on trauma. He laughs. '' That's just what I needed to hear ". He borrows the book and promises to drop it back through the letter box at the wee house when he's finished. His wife gives me the contact details for a woman who hires army wives as cleaners. They are as honest as the day is long, are delighted to make extra money, get off base and have something to do other than worry when their partners are on the other side of the globe.

Finally, the catalogue from the Grant Wood exhibition at the Whitney in NY arrives. Ordered through Toppings at the same price as Amazon. This readers companion over dinner in the restaurant by the town Kirk. A faux long established place  run by a Glasgow chain. The food so so, the service agonizingly slow. Angus starts with haggis before moving on to salmon. They had happily set up a table for one by the window which was a thoughtful gesture and as it turned out the high point of dinner.  As for the catalogue it's beautifully illustrated, the plates matt rather than gloss, the essays interesting and jauntily Manhattanish. The book cover shows Paul Revere's midnight ride - a witty and detailed work. My favourite this etching of ponies in the snow. A coffee table book you actually want to devour.