Blog No 175 – Book Review – Surf, Sweat and Tears by Andy Martin

Who doesn’t like a fiction book, I’ve accepted an offer to write a book review for Andy Martin’s latest book, Surf, Sweat and Tears. I was intrigued to learn about the life of Edward George William Omar Deerhurst and his passion for surfing.

The book is available at @orbooks https://www.orbooks.com/catalog/surf-sweat-and-tears/Congratulations to Andy for a thought-provoking book.

Book Description

This is the true story of Ted, Viscount Deerhurst, the son of the Earl of Coventry and an American ballerina who dedicated his life to becoming a professional surfer. Surfing was a means of escape, from England, from the fraught charges of nobility, from family, and, often, from his own demons. Ted was good on the board, but never made it to the very highest ranks of a sport that, like most, treats second-best as nowhere at all. He kept on surfing, ending up where all surfers go to live or die, the paradise of Hawaii. There, in search of the “perfect woman,” he fell in love with a dancer called Lola, who worked in a Honolulu nightclub. The problem with paradise, as he was soon to discover, is that gangsters always get there first. Lola already had a serious boyfriend, a man who went by the name of Pit Bull. Ted was given fair warning to stay away. But he had a besetting sin, for which he paid the heaviest price: He never knew when to give up.

Surf, Sweat and Tears takes us into the world of global surfing, revealing a dark side beneath the dazzling sun and cream-crested waves. Here is surf noir at its most compelling, a dystopian tale of one man’s obsessions, wiped out in a grisly true crime.

About The Author – Andy Martin

Book Review

This book had touched so many emotions with me and has left me questioning whether Ted is alive or dead. You must read the book to establish your own conclusion, however, expect to be intrigued

I felt Ted was emotionally wounded originated from his childhood. He showed signs of vulnerability, low self-esteem, and rejection, throughout his life. One consistent thing in his life was surfing and his passion took him around the world. Even with surfing, Ted, stride to be better and was accepted in the surfing world as an athlete. His knowledge of the sport was incredible and still to this day it suggests that Ted is still remembered in the surfing community. Ted’s emotions have impacted his life in one way or another, leading him down a road that conveys happiness to him but unfortunately may have ended his life.

If you have a passion for surfing or like a true story, I suggest you read this book. I have a better understanding of surfing terminology and for the sport itself. I am glad that Andy wrote this book about Ted, as the world needs to read Viscount Deerhurst life story to enable history to be told. Ted if you are out there, keep riding the waves.

This book was compulsive reading, and I would thoroughly recommend this book.

Andy’s Martin Other Books

1.  With Child: Lee Child and the Readers of Jack Reacher
2. The Boxer and The Goalkeeper:
3. Stealing the Wave: Sartre vs Camus
4. Walking on Water

Andy’s Martin Social Media and Random Things Tour

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Blog No 171 – 2021 Reading List

My goal for 2021 was to read more than 40 books. If I could beat my previous years target of 66 books or more, I was going to be extremely happy. I achieved 43 books in total, therefore I superseded my target and averaged nearly one book a week, which wasn’t bad for last year.

Here is my reading list: –

1. The Whitechapel Girl – Gilda O’Neil
2. Quick Cooking – Mary Berry
3. The Colliers Wife – Chrissy Walsh
4. A Sisters Sorrow – Kitty Neal
5. The Jam Factory Girls – Mary Wood
6. The Abandoned Daughter – Mary Wood
7. The Little Book of Colour- Karen Haller
8. Joe Biden – Beatrice Gormley
9. The Brave Daughters – Mary Wood
10. The Wronged Daughter – Mary Wood
11. An Orphan’s Journey – Dilly Court
12. Secrets of the Jam Factory Girls – Mary Wood
13. As Time Goes By The House – Anne Bennett
14. Get Fit, Get Healthy, Get Happy – Mark Wright
15. Another Mans Child – Anne Bennett
16. Unnatural Causes – Dr Richard Shepherd
17. Winter Wedding – Dilly Court
18. Where’s There’s a Will – June Francis
19. Girls in Tin Hats – Anne Murray
20. A Girl From Woolworths – Elaine Everest
21. Two Pence to Cross the Mersey – Helen Forrester
22. The Case for Keto – Gary Taubes
23. Suspects – Lesley Pearce
24. Fortunes Daughter – Dilly Court
25. A Promised Land – Barack Obama
26. A Mother’s Secret – Kitty Neal
27. The Patchwork Girls – Elaine Everest
28. A Winter Love Song – Rita Bradshaw
29. The Forgotten Daughter – Glynis Peters
30. The Doctor Will See You Now – Dr Amir Khan
31. Reluctant Heiress – Dilly Court
32. It’s a Love Story – Martin Kemp & Shirley Kemp
33. Rome is Where the Heart is – Tilly Tennant
34. Over the Rainbow – Katie Flynn
35. Keto in an Instant – Jen Fisch
36. Shuggie Bain – Douglas Stuart
37. Shamed – Linda Castillo
38. The Stolen Baby – Diney Costeloe
39. The Butler – Danielle Steel
40. A Sinple Wish – Rosie Goodwin
41. Meet Me in London – Georgia Toffola
42. The Red Cross Orphans – Glynis Peters
43. The Asylum – Carol Minto

Here’s a reading Q&A

What is your favourite time of the day to read.

I tend to read when I go to bed, however I do listen to audiobooks during the day whilst I’m undertaking tasks.

How many hours do you read a day.

I can read or listen anything from 15mins to 2/3 hrs. It all depends what I’m doing or how tired I am.

What is my favourite genre.

Historical fiction is my favourite, however I’m trying other genres. I do like biographies, I feel it’s an education learning someone else’s struggles. It can make me appreciate my life and have empathy and compassion for other people. Even though I have cancer, I’m always saying there is someone out there suffering more than me so I’m lucky.

Which author did you first get obsessed with.

I would say it was Lyn Andrews then Katie Flynn

Who are you currently obsessed with.

Definitely Mary Wood and Dilly Court. To be fair my obsession is growing with many authors.

Can you read multiple books at one time.

Yes I can, nevertheless I think two is enough for me.

Which book/books was your favourite this year.

I did love “The Orphans Journey ” by Dilly Court, “Patchwork Girls ” by Elaine Everest and “The Jam Factory”’Series by Mary Wood.

Who was your favourite author this year.

I would say Mary Wood because her books are all so different and clearly well researched. Her imagination is incredible and it blows my mind how creative she is with her books.

Which new authors did you try this year

I would say Tilly Tennant and Georgia Toffola this year.

Which book touched you this year.

It has to “The Asylum” by Carol Minto. The true story was about the horrific abuse by her family and Aston Hall, the asylum.

How many books do you intend to read in 2022

I’m think about 40 again, let’s see what happens.