What are you reading - Part II

[Ray S]

My current read is 'Defiant' by Robert Verkaik.

 

It is about the Boulton Paul Defiant, its history and the crews who were in them. It is a fascinating read, and really brings into perspective what the crews had to go through in them. I have learnt quite a bit about the background, who were for it and against it.

 

Ray

[Mr T]

Currently listening to 'The Shockwave Rider' by John Brunner. It was written in the early 1970s and set in a dystopia future, about 2018 or so. Some of it sounds depressingly familiar. 

Also slowly reading 'Action Stations Revisited No 1 Eastern England' 

[Neil.C]

Leave it to Psmith (again).

 

Those PG Wodehouse's bear repeat reading over the years.

[Bertie McBoatface]

On 1/28/2022 at 1:40 PM, Neil.C said:

Leave it to Psmith (again).

 

Those PG Wodehouse's bear repeat reading over the years.

 

PG who? Never heard of the bloke.

[cmatthewbacon]

I think you'll find the first "Band of Brothers" was about the men of England in the Agincourt campaign...

best,

M.

[593jones]

6 hours ago, cmatthewbacon said:

I think you'll find the first "Band of Brothers" was about the men of England in the Agincourt campaign...

best,

M.

 

Pretty hard to get a first edition now, though.

[Whofan]

I’m about half way through The End by Ian Kershaw, his account of how the Germans lived through the last 10 months of WW2.

 

I’ve also read recently Utopia Avenue, by David Mitchell (who wrote Cloud Atlas) a book about a band in the ‘60’s who achieve sudden fame and then, after 2 albums, fate takes a sudden turn.

 

I think I was distracted during reading the book by trying to work out who the fictional band might be based on, or at least drew inspiration from, but apart from me, no one else thought the real band was Fleetwood Mac.

 

In fact, I’m thinking he achieved something almost impossible, writing about a band based on no existing (or existed) band at all.

 

 

[keefr22]

Got a bit bogged down with Bomber Boys, so have started re-reading (for about the 8th time!) Stranger to the Ground by Richard Bach, one of my all time favourite aviation books. Need to get a new copy, it's a bit dog-eared!

 

Also recently finished Jonah by BM's own @Alan P writing under his pen name of Carl Rackman - really enjoyed it, excellent tale!

 

Keith

[cmatthewbacon]

14 hours ago, Whofan said:

 

In fact, I’m thinking he achieved something almost impossible, writing about a band based on no existing (or existed) band at all.

 

 

"Daisy Jones and the Six" is much the same... a bit of Janis Joplin, a bit of Jefferson Airplane, a bit Velvet Underground and Nico. It's so well done it doesn't really read like a novel... instead a music writer's book about a band who just never existed... Which means it's all a bit un-engaging, IMHO. Ultimately, the reason why bands are interesting is the music that they make. Without that, you've got no reason to either like them, or put up with their bad behaviour, and the book reads like a compilation of clippings from the news pages of Rolling Stone. The Monkees may have been a work of fiction, but they actually HAVE a back catalogue, and it's full of music by some of the best in the pop business.

best,

M.

[Neil.C]

Rock stars stole my life! By Mark Ellen.

 

Just the sort of music and high jinks I enjoyed - a great read so far.

 

[Alan P]

1 hour ago, keefr22 said:

Also recently finished Jonah by BM's own @Alan P writing under his pen name of Carl Rackman - really enjoyed it, excellent tale!

 

Keith

Thanks Keith, that's my post of the year, certainly made my day glad you enjoyed it! 

[Whofan]

38 minutes ago, cmatthewbacon said:

"Daisy Jones and the Six" is much the same... a bit of Janis Joplin, a bit of Jefferson Airplane, a bit Velvet Underground and Nico. It's so well done it doesn't really read like a novel... instead a music writer's book about a band who just never existed... Which means it's all a bit un-engaging, IMHO. Ultimately, the reason why bands are interesting is the music that they make. Without that, you've got no reason to either like them, or put up with their bad behaviour, and the book reads like a compilation of clippings from the news pages of Rolling Stone. The Monkees may have been a work of fiction, but they actually HAVE a back catalogue, and it's full of music by some of the best in the pop business.

best,

M.

 

I’ve read Daisy and the six and agree with you that you could identify to a degree that the band in the book are a kind of San Francisco band, but I think it’s difficult for an author to come up with a fictional band and make it convincing.

 

One that I really enjoyed is While my guitar gently weeps by Paul Breeze, a Nobel of revenge after a thug destroys a talented guitarist’s hand.

[keefr22]

3 hours ago, Alan P said:

glad you enjoyed it! 

 

I did indeed Alan, wish I had the imagination to write like that! I've got the two Voyager books to look forward to soon!

 

Keith

[Whofan]

17 hours ago, Neil.C said:

Just the sort of music and high jinks I enjoyed - a great read so far.

Neil, 

 

If it’s music and high jinks - and I’m not emphasising the high in high jinks at all, no siree, not at all - you want, I found Deke Leonard’s histories of Man pretty much indispensable.

 

They are Maybe I should have stayed in bed, and Rhinos Winos and lunatics.

 

I feel I should point out that reading Rhinos in bed led me to have a fit of the wheezing giggles that led to my falling out of bed.

 

a feat only achieved once before in my life when I read one of the Herriot books in bed.

 

[keefr22]

2 hours ago, Whofan said:

Rhinos Winos and lunatics

 

One of my all time favourite albums from one of my all time fave bands - shall have to look out the books!

 

Saw Man many a time in local pubs & later in bigger venues in my yoof, don't recall much of the pub gigs for some reason...!!

 

K

[Whofan]

1 hour ago, keefr22 said:

 

One of my all time favourite albums from one of my all time fave bands - shall have to look out the books!

 

Saw Man many a time in local pubs & later in bigger venues in my yoof, don't recall much of the pub gigs for some reason...!!

 

K

Funny thing is that I never saw them in my teenage years in Cardiff, having left fr Uni in 1968, just before they formed as Man, but I have a memory of seeing the Bytandrs somewhere in Cardiff, because they played When Jesamine Goes.

 

And while at University I never saw them, either, but did eventually get to see them a few times in the early 2000's when they played at the Robin club near to where I live.

 

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

23 hours ago, keefr22 said:

 

Also recently finished Jonah by BM's own @Alan P writing under his pen name of Carl Rackman - really enjoyed it, excellent tale!

 

Thanks for the tip. I've just downloaded Voyager. Support Your Local Author!

[Pete in Lincs]

Stalingrad - Antony Beevor. 400 odd pages in a quite large paperback.

I only started it this week and I'm finding it very interesting.

[psdavidson]

Joe Country - Mick Herron

Working my way through the complete series

 

/P

[Retired Bob]

2 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Stalingrad

Not much fun in Stalingrad

[stevehnz]

Eventually finished Baveystock's "Wavetops at my Wingtips" a really nice read & well written. Now reading "Another Pinch of Salt" by Terry Smith, a novel of seafaring life based on his own service in ships catering departments in the early 60s & a follow on the his "Sunshine, Sugi & Salt Water" which I read fairly recently too. I've long enjoyed reading books of travel to foreign lands in times now vanished, I've plundered many old Travel Book Club books from book fairs & second hand shops, mostly ones involving overland travel, these ones tell stories of foreign & not so foreign places but at a different time. Grist to my mill.  

Steve.

[Pete in Lincs]

@stevehnz Have you read these two books by Gavin Young?

A journalist, he decided to see if he could get 'a slow boat to China' in, I think, the late 70's. 

It was difficult then, it would be near impossible now I think. Passengers on freighters? Unthinkable!

Anyway, they are a fascinating tale. The people, the places. No internet of course, so it's all done by telephone and contacts.

Here's the first one. The second is called Slow Boats Home. Both well worth searching out.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Slow-Boats-China-Gavin-Young/dp/0140062394/ref=sr_1_2?crid=ZCUNB0KXJTBL&keywords=gavin+young+books&qid=1644087060&s=books&sprefix=gavin+yo%2Cstripbooks%2C301&sr=1-2

[stevehnz]

Hi Pete, @Pete in Lincs thanks for the thought, yes, I have both & have read them a couple of times each, super reads, more of that era that slipped me by & was gone before I was old enough in some cases (liner services between the UK & Australasia) or I was too busy doing other stuff like drinking beer, chasing girls & trying to make money to notice it had gone, just nostalgia left now.   Terry Smith's books have given that a real nudge, maybe not the best writing ever but certainly enjoyable enough. I finished the second last night & then spent a happy couple of ours looking up the ships he'd sailed on or based his fictional ships on on his blog that I found on line. The stories behind the Blue Stars A class prewar liners is a bit sad, they were all lost during WW2. More info on the Blue Star ships website.

Steve.

[cmatthewbacon]

Just finished “Beyond the Hallowed Sky”, the first  of Ken MacLeod’s “Lightspeed trilogy”, and it was a rollicking good read. If you like slightly old school hard SF; Heinlein, Niven and Brin brought up to date with a dash of Banks-ian future Scotland, then it’s for you. Moved on from that to the most recent (a few years old) Lawrence Block “Bernie Rhodenbarr” book, The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons, which is great. If you know Bernie, get it; if you don’t, start in on the back catalogue. More on topic for this forum, Hikoki’s “Teach for the Sky”, a detailed and richly illustrated history of post war RAF training aircraft, in service, prototype and paper projects, is keeping me busy, too…

best,

M.

[keefr22]

13 hours ago, stevehnz said:

just nostalgia left now.

 

You got me reminiscing then Steve, remembering when I met the missus that her parent's house is high on a hill giving a great view of Swansea's Prince of Wales Dock. There was always at least 3-4 ocean going freighters tied up alongside of which there was a great view from the future in laws front yard. Now the front is just 'glitzy' cafe bars and such. And I remember as a kid lying in bed on News Years Eve waiting for midnight when all the ships in dock all sounded their whistles -we lived out of view 6 miles away, but the wonderful noise they made carried far and wide! Now we just get flippin' fireworks going off from as soon as it gets dark until about 2am on Jan 1st.....  

 

Not all change is for the better....!!

 

Keith