My dear Scottish mother detested the French.  She forgave the Germans for their couple of hiccups.  She was sympathetic to the Poles.  She tolerated the Spanish.  But the French?  Even French cheeses were not welcome in her house.

There have been so many books written by ex-inmates of the Bang Kwan jail (AKA Bangkok Hilton) that I began to feel there must have been writing classes included in the incarceration.  Unfortunately, not all are well written.

With the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) looming in 2015, I thought it might be prudent to learn something more about the ASEAN before that date.  There on the Bookazine shelves would appear to be the answer - a very slim volume (just over 50 pages) to explain ASEAN.  Almost the definitive ASEAN for Dummies publication, or something similar.  And the price was only B. 114.  What a bargain!

My local Bookazine in Big C Extra was having their stock-take, so I decided to re-run Private Dancer which I consider to be one of the most important books of the decade.

Oscar Pistorious is rather well known these days, especially after he became a medal winner in both the London Olympics and the London Paralympics.  This book, Blade Runner - My Story (ISBN 978-0-7535-4085-5, Virgin Books, 2012) tells of his life leading up to the competitions themselves in London.

A confused title to this week’s book review, with Angels of Pattaya (ISBN 978-1-908518-09-5, Maverick House, 2012) not really the sole province of Pattaya’s angels, but also shared by Bangkok and Phuket, and countless “Thai” venues throughout the country.  In fact 75 percent of the first interviews are with girls from anywhere but Pattaya.

I really cannot call myself a great fan of tennis, though I do know the names of those at the top of the professional circuit, and Rafael Nadal is obviously one of those, having spent time as world Number 1.  I have even watched some of Nadal’s games and always felt that he looked a tortured man, but I had no inkling as to his inner self, so I picked up this book Rafa (ISBN 978-0-7515-4773-3, Sphere Books, 2011) from the Bookazine shelf and wondered if it would really expose his character.

Golf seems to be the universal pastime for expats all over the world.  On the Eastern Seaboard, the Pattaya Mail devotes several pages to golf tournaments, and there are many driving ranges for the golfer to practice his swing.  However, Tom Gingerich has produced an e-book, Headgame Solutions for Golf, which has the promise that it can cut strokes from your rounds, by tuning up your mind.  “If you could knock a few strokes off your score by changing what you are thinking on a golf course, wouldn’t you do it?” writes Gingerich, following up with, “There are numerous testimonials from professional golfers praising the benefits of developing an effective state of mind on the course.”  Of course, when the mind is in turmoil, you can expect to be adding strokes.  Just ask the Tiger.

Pattaya Property and Thailand’s Real Estate is a slim book that was sent directly to the Pattaya Mail for review.  Written by Nick Pendrell (ISBN 978-0-9561448-4-3, Informer Books, 2012), the book is designed to assist the reader buy Thai condominiums, homes and villas.  As many different factors abound for the different types of dwelling, this has been a large project for author Pendrell.

This week’s book The Greatest Show on Earth (ISBN 978-0-552-77524-3, Black Swan publishing 2010) was written by Richard Dawkins, the author of many previous books, including The God Delusion.  One may correctly guess that certain demographic groups would be ready to crucify this writer, as after all he is promoting heresy.  Or is he?