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I just bought this - http://www.reisubok.net - and it is tentatively next on my "to read" list.

The blurb: "In the summer of 1627, Barbary corsairs from North Africa raided Iceland. They attacked settlements on the eastern and southern coasts, and on the Westman Islands off the south coast, taking close to four hundred captives away into slavery. Among those captured on the Westman Islands were the Reverend Ólafur Egilsson, a Lutheran minister in his sixties, and his family. 

The Travels of Reverend Ólafur Egilsson (Reisubók Séra Ólafs Egilssonar) is Reverend Ólafur’s own account of his capture in Iceland, his time as a captive in Algiers, and his subsequent travels across Europe to Denmark to raise ransom money for his wife and children. Along with Reverend Ólafur’s first-hand account, the book also contains a contemporary report on the raid based on eye witness testimony plus a series of letters written by the captives themselves. There are also Appendices presenting background information on the cities of Algiers and Salé in the seventeenth century, on Iceland in the seventeenth century, on the manuscripts accessed for the translation, and on the book’s early modern European context.

Reverend Ólafur’s account describes both Christian and Islamic civilization in the first quarter of the seventeenth century and tells a powerful, altogether remarkable story, while the report and the letters bring to life both the harrowing details of the raid itself and the conditions the Icelandic captives endured as slaves"

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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On 30/12/2022 at 11:59, Phil said:

Mrs Phil always gets me a couple of books for Christmas, I’m currently halfway through The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith aka JK Rowling.

it’s the first book of the Strike series and I’m really enjoying it so far 

Excellent .,.as are the BBC TV productions (mumbling dialogue apart) The TV version is directed by Susan Tully formerly actress in East Enders.

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Was wandering round Town looking for a book I heard about on the radio called a history of Treason. (still not got it) and found another sci fi:

Provenance by Ann Leckie. It's set in the same universe as the imperial Rach trilogy (for those that have heard of ancillary justice,sword and mercy) but is not part of that series. I'm guessing a bit like rouge 1 is to the starwars films.

Edited by Midlands hobo
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19 hours ago, Futtocks said:

I just bought this - http://www.reisubok.net - and it is tentatively next on my "to read" list.

The blurb: "In the summer of 1627, Barbary corsairs from North Africa raided Iceland. They attacked settlements on the eastern and southern coasts, and on the Westman Islands off the south coast, taking close to four hundred captives away into slavery. Among those captured on the Westman Islands were the Reverend Ólafur Egilsson, a Lutheran minister in his sixties, and his family. 

The Travels of Reverend Ólafur Egilsson (Reisubók Séra Ólafs Egilssonar) is Reverend Ólafur’s own account of his capture in Iceland, his time as a captive in Algiers, and his subsequent travels across Europe to Denmark to raise ransom money for his wife and children. Along with Reverend Ólafur’s first-hand account, the book also contains a contemporary report on the raid based on eye witness testimony plus a series of letters written by the captives themselves. There are also Appendices presenting background information on the cities of Algiers and Salé in the seventeenth century, on Iceland in the seventeenth century, on the manuscripts accessed for the translation, and on the book’s early modern European context.

Reverend Ólafur’s account describes both Christian and Islamic civilization in the first quarter of the seventeenth century and tells a powerful, altogether remarkable story, while the report and the letters bring to life both the harrowing details of the raid itself and the conditions the Icelandic captives endured as slaves"

You know when when you go 'ooooh!' in a rather embarrassingly uncontrolled way?  Yeah.  Like that.  Bought.  Thank you so much for this! 

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1 hour ago, CanaBull said:

You know when when you go 'ooooh!' in a rather embarrassingly uncontrolled way?  Yeah.  Like that.  Bought.  Thank you so much for this! 

Let's hope it's any good, then!

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Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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On 30/12/2022 at 11:59, Phil said:

Mrs Phil always gets me a couple of books for Christmas, I’m currently halfway through The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith aka JK Rowling.

it’s the first book of the Strike series and I’m really enjoying it so far 

I’ve got that on my TBR pile of books

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Anyone else got their reading planned right through to 2025-26?

I'll be reading the Kingsbridge Quartet and Milennium Trilogy series by Ken Follett in 2023.

At the end of this year and through 2024, I'll be reading the Railway Detective series by Edward Marston and the new Sharpe novel that comes out later this year. 

In 2025, I'll be reading the Domesday Book series also by Edward Marston and probably start working through a stack of history books I've had sat about for a while which will probably take me into 2026.

I read about 20 books a year at the moment or about 8,000 or so pages, hence why this year I'll probably only read about 10 books seen as the Folletts are 1,000 pages each.

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On 02/01/2023 at 15:19, The Hallucinating Goose said:

Anyone else got their reading planned right through to 2025-26?

I'll be reading the Kingsbridge Quartet and Milennium Trilogy series by Ken Follett in 2023.

At the end of this year and through 2024, I'll be reading the Railway Detective series by Edward Marston and the new Sharpe novel that comes out later this year. 

In 2025, I'll be reading the Domesday Book series also by Edward Marston and probably start working through a stack of history books I've had sat about for a while which will probably take me into 2026.

I read about 20 books a year at the moment or about 8,000 or so pages, hence why this year I'll probably only read about 10 books seen as the Folletts are 1,000 pages each.

Too many books and not enough time Pillars of the earth keeps coming up on my recommendations so once I clear my backlog Ken Follett will be on my radar 

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An overdue first read of David Hepworth's Overpaid, oversexed and over here. It's been on the Kindle for a while, waiting for its moment, and it is up there with Hepworth's other work.

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Reading Dickens "Pickwick" something or other, Miriam's right he's hilarious and I think it was having to read him that stopped the enjoyment first time around.

 

 

2 warning points:kolobok_dirol:  Non-Political

 

 

 

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'Born to be Posthumous', a biography of Edward Gorey. If you don't know who Gorey was, here's a couple of examples:

http://personal.victoria.ac.nz/richard_joyce/doubtful_guest.pdf

http://ieas-szeged.hu/downtherabbithole/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/gashlycrumb-tinies.pdf

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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On 02/01/2023 at 15:19, The Hallucinating Goose said:

Anyone else got their reading planned right through to 2025-26?

I'll be reading the Kingsbridge Quartet and Milennium Trilogy series by Ken Follett in 2023.

At the end of this year and through 2024, I'll be reading the Railway Detective series by Edward Marston and the new Sharpe novel that comes out later this year. 

In 2025, I'll be reading the Domesday Book series also by Edward Marston and probably start working through a stack of history books I've had sat about for a while which will probably take me into 2026.

I read about 20 books a year at the moment or about 8,000 or so pages, hence why this year I'll probably only read about 10 books seen as the Folletts are 1,000 pages each.

The Railway Detective series is a good read. There is also a collection of short stories so don’t forget about them!

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2 hours ago, LeeF said:

The Railway Detective series is a good read. There is also a collection of short stories so don’t forget about them!

I've already found the short story collection in a charity shop. I've got 6 of the novels still to find but plenty of time to do so. 

I started the Kingsbridge Quartet tonight with 'The Evening and the Morning'. I read the first two chapters. Wow! It was exciting! I think I may get through the Ken Folletts I'm planning on reading a lot quicker than I initially thought. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 08/01/2023 at 22:15, The Hallucinating Goose said:

I started the Kingsbridge Quartet tonight with 'The Evening and the Morning'. I read the first two chapters. Wow! It was exciting! I think I may get through the Ken Folletts I'm planning on reading a lot quicker than I initially thought. 

I finished 'The Evening and the Morning' tonight. I absolutely loved it! I'm not a quick reader usually and am rather astounded I finished a 900 page book in just over two weeks. This should highlight how much I enjoyed this first volume in the series. 

Tomorrow I start with 'The Pillars of the Earth' and I can hardly wait! 👍

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I've just found out there is a 5th book in the Kingsbridge series being released this year. Set at the end of the 18th century it moves the story of Kingsbridge on another 200 years and includes themes to do with the early years of the industrial revolution and the rise of Napoleon. 

The novel is called, 'The Armour of Light'. Details here: https://ken-follett.com/books/the-armour-of-light/

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