Wine Book : Tale of two wine books

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An interesting post here about the two books written by women wine authorities.
In the left corner is Jancis Robinson's book "Tasting Pleasure - Confessions of a Wine Lover" (purchased at Borders S$33.95) and in the other corner is Natalie MacLean's book " Red, White and Drunk all over" (purchased at Kinokuniya S$26.45).

The bottomline - I did not finish Jancis Robinson's book

And here is why, both books were similar prima facie in that they both chronicle the wine experiences of these two ladies-in-wine as they prance around the world meeting winemakers and visiting vineyards.
However, Jancis's book was just like young bordeaux, it was terribly tannic and dry in the mouth, the prose was complicated and a torture to go through. It did not help that the fonts were small and nothing is explained in a simple way. The story on a page jumps for one point to another, uses a lot of name dropping and frequently incoherent. Perhaps it is like a good bordeaux that needs to be left on the shelf and for me to age, before I can appreciate the book. The peculiar thing is that in her web postings and her wine course DVD, she did not seem so long-windy to me.

On the other hand, Natalie MacLean's book is reminiscence of a straight fruity Aussie, light and refreshing especially in this hot weather we are getting in Singapore. The prose is forthright, big names are only used to inform on the location or wine. It is more personal and humorous as well, including her own experience as an undercover sommelier and how she spilled wine on the table in front of a guest. She also talks about her experience with Riedel and their passion in making glasses to unlock the unknown aspects of the wine. Though it still took me a few days to finish it after all, I was not dragged to the end by an iron chain.

So my recommendation is to buy Natalie MacLean's book to read, and buy Jancis's DVD to watch. And the twain shall never be happier.