sitting in my Cardiff hotel room last night after a long drive and too energised to sleep, reading appropriately: 'Hollow Crown .. The Wars of the Roses and the Rise of the Tudors' .. slippery feckers are the Welsh, we'd better watch out for Welsh Cardiff tomorrow .. that's if Slade picks any Welshmen ((:>)
Goodbye to All That (Robert Graves) - a very interesting autobiography, covering Graves' early life up to 1929, when he left England for Majorca at the age of 34. It includes his harrowing experiences on the Western Front and his meetings with other writers and poets, including Siegfried Sassoon and Thomas Hardy. The commercial success of this book got him out of financial difficulties and enabled him to spend the rest of his life in Deià (his house is now a museum and well worth a visit if you're in that part of the world). A good read.
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Muriel Spark) - set in 1930s Edinburgh, this is about an eccentric and unconventional schoolmistress and her influence over a group of her schoolgirl pupils. Amusing in parts but this one didn't really do it for me.
Walking Home (Simon Armitage) - I'd never heard of this guy, a poet, prior to my inept attempts to help my kids with their English Literature GCSEs. This books chronicles his 256 mile walk of the Pennine Way, starting just over the border in Scotland and walking south towards the Yorkshire village near Huddersfield where he was born. He set out without any money whatsoever and performed poetry readings en route for food and lodgings. I enjoyed this one - Armitage is an engaging and humorous narrator and it is also a book that you can dip in and out of from time to time.
Reading a novel called "Wool" at the moment after reading some pretty good reviews. I've been working my way through John Le Carrie's work of late, so this is a change of style and subject to say the least. It's pretty enjoyable at the moment (for a dystopian subject) It's the first of a trilogy, so there may be more updates to come...
In the Dark by Mark Billingham. Brilliant cop thriller, unputdownable. He is such a good writer even the most implausible situations seem believable in his hands.
In the Dark by Mark Billingham. Brilliant cop thriller, unputdownable. He is such a good writer even the most implausible situations seem believable in his hands.
Brooklyn (Colm Tóibín ) - I was prompted to read this after hearing the author talk about it on an old 'World Book Club' podcast. Set in 1950s Ireland, it's about a young woman who emigrates to New York. A family death brings her back to Ireland and she then faces a choice between the old life and the new. A very good read. Now, of course, it's also a film (although neither male on the posters look much like the dark haired and tanned American-Italian in the book...).
The Commitments and The Snapper (Roddy Doyle) - these are the first two books in Doyle's 'Barrytown Trilogy', which features the working class Rabbite family from Dublin. 'The Commitments' follows the trials and tribulations of forming a band and trying to bring soul music to Dublin, while 'The Snapper' concerns a daughter's unwanted pregnancy. The dialogue is very humorous and both books also cover important themes such as family life and friendship. Very enjoyable - I'll certainly read the last one, 'The Van', at some stage.
...an email from CPRE London region, concerning Bromley Council's proposals to encroach onto 'Green Belt'- designated land at various places within the Borough.
50 People who buggered up Britain by Quentin Letts. A truly ghastly tome, the worst book I have ever read. It's a series of rants from a bloke slightly to the right of Hitler (some of you will love it... ) . There is no satire - which is what I expected - just a load of invective and abuse. Hypocrisy is there in bundles though. He does have chapters on non-leftie people, but they are introduced with a lot of toadying, forelock tugging praise before the "but". Even then, he manages to blame the left for their shortcomings in some cases. The chapter where he rails against decimalisation is hilarious, considering he was eight years and nine days old when it came in...
I could have written this book, although my targets would have been different it really wouldn't be difficult to match.
Just finished the Bill Bryson book 'A brief history of almost everything' for the fifth or sixth time. Brilliant read, science for people like me who get the basics and want more without a whole load of dry, unreadable stuff. Bryson writes in a way that makes it a delight to read. I'm about to start 'The road to Little Dribbling' by him, and looking forward to starting.
Having exhausted very available book about/by James Brown, I'm now onto Brown's sidemen, with tomes by Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley.
Which James Brown biog would you recommend?
I'd say The One by RJ Smith, although Brown's first autobiography is pretty good. You can get both on amazon for peanuts. EDIT: I should've said, Brown's first autobiography was called The Godfather of Soul.
His second autobiograpy, I Feel Good, is terrible. It desperately needed a better collaborator and better proof reader. Two things that stood out: He forgot drummer Clyde Stubblefield's name and said he was sadly no longer with us. He's still alive to this day. And that he first recorded Sex Machine in 1975. It was recorded in 1970. It was the first studio track that Bootsy and Catfish Collins played on.
I've just finished "Double Cross" by Ben MacIntyre, first published in 2012, it's billed as "The true story of the D-Day spies."
It's an immensely readable version of the recruitment, set-up and running of the spy network which, together with the amazing work done at Bletchley, certainly saved many lives during and after the landings, shortened the course of the war considerably and likely helped the Allies to win.
MacIntyre did fantastic research to compile the story, including WW2 and post-WW2 material released by MI5 not so long ago.
It's a great historical spy story which involves characters from old-school MI5, traitors like Blunt and Philby, Churchill, various branches of the Nazi intelligence effort, the French and Americans and of course the heroes, the main spies themselves who amazingly all came from foreign parts.
I've read some of Booker shortlist recently. Anne Tyler's "A Spool of Blue Thread" was a gentle, very well-written account of family dynamics over a half-century. Will bore the hell out of some, by I liked it a lot. The winner Marlon James' "History of Seven Killings" links an assassination attempt on Bob Marley in Jamaica with the crack cocaine epidemic in New York. It's great in parts but suffers from some really crap stream of consciousness and drags in the middle. Really enjoying "The Year of the Runaways" following illegal(ish) Indian immigrants in Sheffield as they try to get work, pay of debts. It sounds depressing and it is in some ways but it's the back stories are great and the writing and characters excellent.
In non-fiction, a history of the Falklands War by Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins is OK generally but spoilt as history because (the usually brilliant) Hastings gets too close to the soldiers when embedded with them and slightly falls in love with some of them. Now on the Seven Lives of Keynes by Davenport-Hines, a somewhat hagiographic account of a fascinating and brilliant man.
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie, one of the best books I've read this year with themes of race and immigrant experience. It sounds a bit much but at heart it's a great story.
The Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith. Sprawling insight on human nature and why/when we perceive people as being good or bad.
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, because it was Stoic Week. There's a reason Obama and Bill Clinton read this book once a year.
At the moment I'm reading The Song of Achilles, which is Game of Thrones meets The Iliad. Very Entertaining and moves at breakneck speed.
I’m reading another Cormac McCarthy, ‘All The Pretty Horses’ which is the first of his Border Trilogy.
It details 2 Texan friends in search of work in Mexico whilst around them the old West crumbles to make way for motor cars and machinery. It’s nowhere near as bleak as McCarthy’s other stuff but it’s easier to read.
Comments
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Muriel Spark) - set in 1930s Edinburgh, this is about an eccentric and unconventional schoolmistress and her influence over a group of her schoolgirl pupils. Amusing in parts but this one didn't really do it for me.
Walking Home (Simon Armitage) - I'd never heard of this guy, a poet, prior to my inept attempts to help my kids with their English Literature GCSEs. This books chronicles his 256 mile walk of the Pennine Way, starting just over the border in Scotland and walking south towards the Yorkshire village near Huddersfield where he was born. He set out without any money whatsoever and performed poetry readings en route for food and lodgings. I enjoyed this one - Armitage is an engaging and humorous narrator and it is also a book that you can dip in and out of from time to time.
The Commitments and The Snapper (Roddy Doyle) - these are the first two books in Doyle's 'Barrytown Trilogy', which features the working class Rabbite family from Dublin. 'The Commitments' follows the trials and tribulations of forming a band and trying to bring soul music to Dublin, while 'The Snapper' concerns a daughter's unwanted pregnancy. The dialogue is very humorous and both books also cover important themes such as family life and friendship. Very enjoyable - I'll certainly read the last one, 'The Van', at some stage.
Absolutely riveting all of them
I could have written this book, although my targets would have been different it really wouldn't be difficult to match.
very interesting.
came out in 2006, shows you how much my fingers on the pulse!
probably the greatest work of fiction ever.
His second autobiograpy, I Feel Good, is terrible. It desperately needed a better collaborator and better proof reader. Two things that stood out: He forgot drummer Clyde Stubblefield's name and said he was sadly no longer with us. He's still alive to this day. And that he first recorded Sex Machine in 1975. It was recorded in 1970. It was the first studio track that Bootsy and Catfish Collins played on.
I've always loved his music and enjoyed the recent film, so will check out the RJ Smith one.
It's an immensely readable version of the recruitment, set-up and running of the spy network which, together with the amazing work done at Bletchley, certainly saved many lives during and after the landings, shortened the course of the war considerably and likely helped the Allies to win.
MacIntyre did fantastic research to compile the story, including WW2 and post-WW2 material released by MI5 not so long ago.
It's a great historical spy story which involves characters from old-school MI5, traitors like Blunt and Philby, Churchill, various branches of the Nazi intelligence effort, the French and Americans and of course the heroes, the main spies themselves who amazingly all came from foreign parts.
Truly fascinating and most enjoyable.
In non-fiction, a history of the Falklands War by Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins is OK generally but spoilt as history because (the usually brilliant) Hastings gets too close to the soldiers when embedded with them and slightly falls in love with some of them. Now on the Seven Lives of Keynes by Davenport-Hines, a somewhat hagiographic account of a fascinating and brilliant man.
The Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith. Sprawling insight on human nature and why/when we perceive people as being good or bad.
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, because it was Stoic Week. There's a reason Obama and Bill Clinton read this book once a year.
At the moment I'm reading The Song of Achilles, which is Game of Thrones meets The Iliad. Very Entertaining and moves at breakneck speed.
It details 2 Texan friends in search of work in Mexico whilst around them the old West crumbles to make way for motor cars and machinery. It’s nowhere near as bleak as McCarthy’s other stuff but it’s easier to read.