Variable Valve Timings - Chris Harris
Discussion
The audiobook is a good listen. Very easy 5 hours or so for a long drive.
I bloody love a good audiobook when I’m alone in the car. Makes any journey even a bit of a crap one, totally enjoyable
I wish I had the balls to have said ‘f
k it’ and bought the amount of silly cars Mr Harris did throughout his life!
I bloody love a good audiobook when I’m alone in the car. Makes any journey even a bit of a crap one, totally enjoyable
I wish I had the balls to have said ‘f
k it’ and bought the amount of silly cars Mr Harris did throughout his life! Edited by p1stonhead on Thursday 21st December 16:09
Will give this a go. I've never rated his magazine writing and thought he was dreadful on TG but liked him when I watched the Johnny Smith interview(s?). He doesn't just like the usual run of the mill stuff which I always find is indicative of a somewhat eccentric persona with hidden depths!
I really enjoyed the book, but did feel the second half felt quite wham bam going through things very quickly.
For instance one line stood out. Paraphrasing “I was racing as much as I could at this point, then my friend Chris Cooper who I had raced a Caterham with as N24 let me race his Porsche”
Couldnt help reading it without going…… what where you racing? How were you racing? What was the first like? Were you sleeping in your car to do it? How do you know Chris Cooper?
That could have been a decent chapter by itself!
This bit about Chris Evans not getting Caterhams was quite eye opening. How does someone with his car collection not get what a Caterham is about? I get not wanting to own one but I have always assumed pretty much any petrolhead would love a go in one.
For instance one line stood out. Paraphrasing “I was racing as much as I could at this point, then my friend Chris Cooper who I had raced a Caterham with as N24 let me race his Porsche”
Couldnt help reading it without going…… what where you racing? How were you racing? What was the first like? Were you sleeping in your car to do it? How do you know Chris Cooper?
That could have been a decent chapter by itself!
This bit about Chris Evans not getting Caterhams was quite eye opening. How does someone with his car collection not get what a Caterham is about? I get not wanting to own one but I have always assumed pretty much any petrolhead would love a go in one.
jet_noise said:
…An enjoyable journey, not without some fairly deep potholes. There's a lot of stuff laid bare and yet much still hidden.
coppice said:
It certainly isn't an autobiography - most of his family life is off limits- and the book is described as a memoir . It's an enjoyable enough read and I finished the book still wondering whether the author has hidden depths - or shallows.
You have both beautifully summed up my feeling upon finishing the book.I felt myself wishing he would expand on certain things, especially the ‘darker’ times, as many of those reading could probably relate and/or learn from his sharing. He dropped a number of hints but left the reading hanging.
I understand why he would want his family off limits, but there was certainly room for much more personal anecdotes about behind the scenes/press trips/personal car purchases.
ntiz said:
I really enjoyed the book, but did feel the second half felt quite wham bam going through things very quickly.
For instance one line stood out. Paraphrasing “I was racing as much as I could at this point, then my friend Chris Cooper who I had raced a Caterham with as N24 let me race his Porsche”
Couldnt help reading it without going…… what where you racing? How were you racing? What was the first like? Were you sleeping in your car to do it? How do you know Chris Cooper?
That could have been a decent chapter by itself!
The second half certainly gave the impression that Harris either got bored or the publishing deadline was approaching faster than a 911 CS towards the Eurotunnel. After getting to know ‘him’ in the first half, the second half was a bit like an extended CV rattled out without much of a personal touch.For instance one line stood out. Paraphrasing “I was racing as much as I could at this point, then my friend Chris Cooper who I had raced a Caterham with as N24 let me race his Porsche”
Couldnt help reading it without going…… what where you racing? How were you racing? What was the first like? Were you sleeping in your car to do it? How do you know Chris Cooper?
That could have been a decent chapter by itself!
I would have liked more about Dickie Meaden, Harry Metcalfe, Richard Tuthill and similar.
I have been a big fan of Chris for many years and I enjoyed this book. It makes a great pairing with Jonny Smith’s Late Brake Show interview to get a proper broad view of his life.
He must have several hundred hilarious stories which I doubt would ever get past a publisher’s lawyer but I’d love to hear them over a pint.
I must admit that the people I have encountered with one all- consuming interest (cars, music , you name it ) but no cultural hinterland , no awareness of anything else outside their chosen narrow sphere are often stratospherically tedious company .
ETA - can't remember if I mentioned it here, but I review books for the US website speedreaders.info and there's my full review of VVT on there .
ETA - can't remember if I mentioned it here, but I review books for the US website speedreaders.info and there's my full review of VVT on there .
Edited by coppice on Saturday 13th January 06:27
coppice said:
I must admit that the people I have encountered with one all- consuming interest (cars, music , you name it ) but no cultural hinterland , no awareness of anything else outside their chosen narrow sphere are often stratospherically tedious company .
ETA - can't remember if I mentioned it here, but I review books for the US website speedreaders.info and there's my full review of VVT on there .
link to review?ETA - can't remember if I mentioned it here, but I review books for the US website speedreaders.info and there's my full review of VVT on there .
Edited by coppice on Saturday 13th January 06:27
jasonrobertson86 said:
coppice said:
I must admit that the people I have encountered with one all- consuming interest (cars, music , you name it ) but no cultural hinterland , no awareness of anything else outside their chosen narrow sphere are often stratospherically tedious company .
ETA - can't remember if I mentioned it here, but I review books for the US website speedreaders.info and there's my full review of VVT on there .
link to review?ETA - can't remember if I mentioned it here, but I review books for the US website speedreaders.info and there's my full review of VVT on there .
Edited by coppice on Saturday 13th January 06:27
Mezzanine said:
jasonrobertson86 said:
Pflanzgarten said:
Is it so hard to type speadreaders and chris harris into google?
is it so hard not to be a dick?Gassing Station | Books and Literature | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff