What are you reading - Part III.

[Whofan]

14 minutes ago, One 48 said:

I did something similar with Bruce Dickenson from Iron Maiden in Edinburgh just after Covid recovery, and it was great fun ... Furthermore, I was lucky enough to be to get the chance and ask him a question and that was about his real Fokker Dr.1 he flies, hope I get lucky again with a question still to be thought up for Geddy, from Rush as I'm sure you all know

 

I went to Bruce Dickindson's "evening with Bruce" in Birmingham! Great fun, though my question wasn't picked.  Neither was my question to Roger Daltrey on an evening with Roger Daltrey, again in Birmingham.

 

I also went to Greg Lake's an evening with Greg Lake, where he played songs, told stories and answered questions, including mine - I asked him if he still has the persian rug he stood on on the 1973 tour.

 

He did, somewhere in his house.

 

Enjoy the Geddy Lee show!

 

[One 48]

I shall post up pics and a vid or two here on BM, not long after the show 👍

[Redstaff]

Just finished Stephen Kings' Salems lot on audio book and Treasure island by Robert Louis Stevenson on kindle

Both different books, but both really good  

With all the hype of the new film, I may try Charlie and the chocolate factory next as something easy and light hearted for over Xmas  

[psdavidson]

I finally finished Moby Dick (on audiobook at 1.25 speed it still took a while)

Just started The Lost World which is a bit shorter

 

/P

[Neil.C]

Working my way through this book of reprints of classic noir type Black Mask stories. It's over 1100 pages and weighs a ton when trying to read it in bed but well worth it!

 

[Procopius]

I just finished Men at Arnhem, a novel written by Major (later Colonel) Geoffrey Powell MC FRHistS under the pen name of Tom Angus. Powell was part of the second lift of the 1st Airborne Division during Market Garden, and by the end of the operation, was the senior living officer in his battalion. It's a book well-known to young British men growing up in the 1970s, and it's easy to see why it's still in print: Powell is introspective and the book has an elegaic quality, giving one the sense that part of the reason for writing it was to enable him to come to terms with his experiences. There is little of the triumphalism one sees in German or American memoirs or roman a clefs of the war.

 

The scene, taken from life, of a middle-aged Dutch housewife holding the hand of a mortally-wounded British officer throughout the hours it took him to die (with the full knowledge that the Germans would kill her entire family if they found him with them) will haunt me for some time.

 

 

I'm also reading William F. Buckingham's misleadingly-titled Arnhem (as it's a full history of Operations Market and Garden), and Christer Bergström's two-volume Arnhem 1944. I don't think there's a single account of Market Garden that doesn't have a principal villain upon who the blame is laid (if the book was written by an American, the villain is almost always "Monty", the evil parallel universe twin of Montgomery who never did anything right); Buckingham lays fault principally with "Boy" Browning, in a scathing pen portrait of him, along with Major General Roy Urquhart (you know, Sean Connery), whereas Bergström, always a contrarian, lays much of the blame on James Gavin of the 82nd Airborne, citing his how his account of who made the call to defer capturing a crucial bridge until the perimeter was secured changed more and more as his distance from the event increased. In some ways, as a fan of Montgomery (unlikeable, supercilious, hyperfixated people have to stick together), I want Bergström (who is effusive in his praise of the Field Marshal) to be right, but I'm distrustful of any narrative that confirms my prejudices so readily.

[upnorth]

Christmas came a bit early and I received a copy of Sir Patrick Stewart's autobiography, "Making it So".

 

I'm looking forward to getting into it in short order.

[Billy54]

I have fallen behind on both my reading and building and lately have been going down the "YouTube" rabbit hole and I'm sure you all know what that is like.

 

I am in a Japanese mystery phase now and have finished the following, all of which were translated from Japanese to English.

 

The Village of Eight Graves by Seishi Yokomizo is the story of a young man who is told that he has inherited property in a rural area in Japan and upon arriving there is met with mystery and murder.

 

The Tokoyo Murders by Soji Shimada is a "locked room mystery" where an eccentric artist is found dead in his studio along with a document with a complicated plan to kill women know by the artist. Soon these women start showing up murdered and dismembered in different parts of Japan.  

 

The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji which concerns a group of college students on a deserted island and the murdersof each of the students. The plot is similar to that of Agatha Christie's "And Then There None" 

 

I have also finished "The Last Devil to Die" by Richard Osman which again features the members of the "Thursday Murder Club" in yet another adventure involving murder and other crimes. There is also a sad ending to one of the minor characters which I felt was handled appropriately especially considering the characters involved. I can highly recommend any and all of Osman's "Thursday Murder Club" books, I find them all entertaining and very easy to read.

[Whofan]

I’m in the middle of Fairy Tale by Stephen King, a very readable book in his fantasy world style. 
 

[flyboy2610]

I am reading the late Dr. Thomas Horn's final book "We are Legion for We are Many". It is a fascinating read, as are all his books. One may disagree with everything he says, but everything he says is thoroughly documented.

[Whofan]

Just picked up the final Inspector Banks book, standing in the shadows.

 

Final as in the author, Peter Robinson, died in October 2022. I did not know this, and was quite shocked to see it.

 

I’ve read all the previous Inspector Banks books, not a dud among them.

 

It will be the next book I read after the Scarlet papers by Matthew Richardson, a spy novel which so far seems to be based on a 6th man unknown to the British.

 

Reasonably entertaining so far.

[stevehnz]

Recently finished The Korean War by Max Hastings, even though perhaps superseded by volumes with more up to date info, I found it gave me sufficient as an overview for me to mentally assemble the course of the war & most of the important political shenanigans that lead to it. Might try his Vietnam war soon but at 200 pages more than Korea, I'll leave it for a bit. Currently reading Carrier Fighters by David Brown, a good little hand book to the conduct of carrier ops during WW2. Although I've long been a fan of such, I like the way this does the overview thing again without bogging down in detail of individual actions too much.

Edited to add a Quest For Wings by Lance Adlam, another RNZAF wartime memoir, in this case later in the war, he started flying ops on Corsairs based on one of the Piva strips on Bouganville in mid 1945. A decent read with his training with the RNZAF & follows with his building a Jodel homebuilt post war, also a bent wing bird. I was just finishing this at the time I got the Hastings book from the library & it slipped to the hidden recesses of my memory banks.  

Steve.

[psdavidson]

Just started The Tales of Para Handy by Neil Munro, audiobook narrated by David Rintoul

[Billy54]

On 1/6/2024 at 1:03 PM, Whofan said:

Just picked up the final Inspector Banks book, standing in the shadows.

 

Final as in the author, Peter Robinson, died in October 2022. I did not know this, and was quite shocked to see it.

 

I’ve read all the previous Inspector Banks books, not a dud among them.

 

It will be the next book I read after the Scarlet papers by Matthew Richardson, a spy novel which so far seems to be based on a 6th man unknown to the British.

 

Reasonably entertaining so far.

 

I was also unaware of the passing of Peter Robinson, have read a couple of his books and enjoyed the televised version of them.

 

Currently I am reading via Kindle (they take up less space) the early works of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books. 

[psdavidson]

this thread drops down the pages really quickly

 

Just finished a couple of audiobooks

The Tales of Para Handy by Neil Munro (you need to be Scottish 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿)

Jeff Wayne's The War of The Worlds: The Musical Drama

 

The 2nd is a dramatrised version of the story with music from Jeff Wayne, but no singing. Very enjoyable apart but some of the additional sound effects were slightly irritating

 

Now starting to listen to Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

[stevehnz]

Have just finished Flying Blind The 737 MAX Tragedy and the Fall of Boeing by Peter Robinson. In view of the latest controversy to befall the 737 Maxs, I felt it would be useful to revisit this & hopefully be able to judge how far Boeing have come. Too early to tell yet, the lost door saga has a way to run yet I feel but even though I'd followed the longish thread on here after the Max crashes & read many different reports on what had happened & the sheer dysfunctionality of the Boeing management, I was little prepared to confront just how appallingly awful many of the principals really were, a definite eye opener. Human greed & corruption at its repulsive worst. 😠

Now reading. Blood Money, the story of a Kiwi Father & his son killed while running a company supplying catering to the UN forces in Somalia in the early/mid 1990s. Not a country that fosters happy endings & this is shaping to be the same.  

Steve

[Neil.C]

Not long started reading Ardennes 1944 by Antony Beevor.

 

Like all his stuff it is forensic in its detail with so many smaller stories I had no idea about.

 

Recommended.

 

[Redstaff]

After finishing Dickens  Oliver Twist, I've started "All Hell Let Loose" by Max Hastings which is an overview of WW2

Whereas I've read and studied a fair bit about the RAF in the war (mainly Bomber command) I am a bit light in a lot of other areas, so hopefully this will help 

to fill in the gaps.

 

Ian  

[Pig of the Week]

Just read( in one sitting)  "Malta Convoy" .. co-written by Peter Shankland and my old friend Tony Hunter. 

The story of Operation Pedestal, the crucial "last chance" to re-supply Malta in August 1942, told with particular focus on the central part played by the tanker Ohio, which finally arrived towed in sinking condition between two RN vessels. 

Well worth a read. 

[Karearea]

Reading Mosquito Men: The Elite Pathfinders of 627 Squadron by David Price.

 

I was hoping for something with the technical depth of the Will Iredale book on the Pathfinders, but it’s pitched ever so slightly more to the general reader. Nevertheless the written style flows well and I’ve found myself devouring chunks of it in one go.

Edited January 22, 2024 by Karearea

[Pete in Lincs]

Down under by Bill Bryson. A compilation of several of his visits to Australia, Not my first read of it and it's probably twemty odd years old now but still enjoyable. A recent read was Mel Brooks' autobiography. A smile on every page. 

[Whofan]

7 hours ago, Redstaff said:

After finishing Dickens  Oliver Twist, I've started "All Hell Let Loose" by Max Hastings which is an overview of WW2

Whereas I've read and studied a fair bit about the RAF in the war (mainly Bomber command) I am a bit light in a lot of other areas, so hopefully this will help 

to fill in the gaps.

 

Ian  

I found this an absorbing and at at times gripping book. 
 

Hastings has his detractors, but I’ve always found his books excellent reads. 
 

I’ve just started 10 Maps that changed the world, by Tim Marshall. Interesting book, it takes a map of an area (eg Australia, Iran, and briskly runs through the history and the future importance of the area mapped.

[Billy54]

Have finished a few of Rex Stout's, Nero Wolfe books including

The Rec Box

Black Orchid

Too Many Women

Be A Villain

The League of Frightened Men

 They are all short, interesting books to read and the dialog between Wolfe and Archie Goodwin is always entertaining, and nobody speaks like Nero Wolfe except perhaps Rex Stout.

 

Just this morning finished The Hollow Man by John Dickson Carr, a locked room mystery.

[Billy54]

On 12/20/2023 at 4:30 AM, Neil.C said:

 

 

On 12/20/2023 at 4:30 AM, Neil.C said:

Working my way through this book of reprints of classic noir type Black Mask stories. It's over 1100 pages and weighs a ton when trying to read it in bed but well worth it!

 

If pulp is something you are interested in and Dashiell Hammett in particular you may be interested in "The Big Book of the Continental Op". It contains all of Hammett's Continental Op stories as they appeared in Black Mask. The book contains 730 pages.

 

 

[stevehnz]

On 1/18/2024 at 7:19 PM, stevehnz said:

Now reading. Blood Money, the story of a Kiwi Father & his son killed while running a company supplying catering to the UN forces in Somalia in the early/mid 1990s. Not a country that fosters happy endings & this is shaping to be the same.  

Finished this up in short time, a thoroughly interesting read, all at once dramatic, tragic & appalling in it's indictment of the handling of the whole Operation Restore Hope debacle by the UN. Now I need to find a book that covers the whole deal from a objective view point.

Steve.