Book thread: what are you reading?

[George Watt]

Am currently reading 'Mao- The Unknown Story' by Jung Chang( author of Wild Swans). Been fascinated by China since visiting for a couple of weeks holiday back in 1978 when the streets of Beijing were full of bicycles with not a private car to be seen. At that time Mao had been dead for a couple of years.

Still have my little 'Red Book' and blue Mao cap with the red star as momentos of the trip. Have been to Hong Kong many times since but not to the mainland. 

 

[The Future is League]

Today i have just finished reading Storm Front by John Sandford.

First published in 2014 and great read with lots of twists

[The Future is League]

I have just finished reading The anatomy of ghosts By Andrew Taylor.

It was fine too about half way through it and then it became very very slow and i kept going hoping something exciting might happen, but alas it didn't

[Phil]

Ghostlands by Edward Parnell, a journey through Britain entailing a mixture of visits to towns where celebrated writers of ghost/horror fiction, M R James, William Hope Hodgson etc lived, but also the writer searching for meaning in his own family history. Hypnotically beguiling 

[The Future is League]

I have just finished reading The Body in ice. Written by A.J. Mackenzie and first published in 2017 and it's set on Romney March in Kent which 200 years ago was a haven for smugglers. A very good read

[MattSantos]

I've read a few before and not the Jason Bourne efforts, but i'm going chronologically through the Ludlum catalogue.

Scarletti inheritance last week, the Osterman weekend this.

Enjoying it

[Futtocks]

The Worm Ouroboros by E.R.Eddison. While Tolkien praised much about this book, it has aged fairly badly and often comes across as a bit twee.

[The Future is League]

Today i have just finished reading Panic Room by Robert Goddard. 

A very good read set in Cornwall mainly with other part in Hampshire and Devon

[The Hallucinating Goose]

I'm gonna leave this short and sweet. A month ago today I started The Pillars of the Earth, tonight I finished it. I have just one word to describe it. 

Masterpiece. 

[Oxford]

The Big Con: How the Consulting Industry Weakens our Businesses, Infantilizes our Governments and Warps our Economies by Mariana Mazzucato and Rosie Collington

This is not for Conservatives of any kind really and least of all free marketeers

One fact from it in 1979 the UK government was spending 6 million on consultants a decade later it was 246 million. It's way beyond that now. Excellent book.

[Oxford]

Oliver Twist now and having discovered what a comic Dickens was I'm on for the depth of his racism.

Someone asked me when I mentioned this if I would rewrite it then, I said no because it was a product of what the writer was, like them or not, and a product of it's time. Also how can children come to recognise racism if it's all censored out of their experience.

Then they moved on to statues and I said there is a huge difference between Churchill who though hated in my family was important in a time of great need and crisis and the slave guy who should've been dumped years ago.

I post this cos I'm honest about my views but also because it shows how things can be easily be mixed up in your 'ed and in life. And how talking about the things in books helps you organise your thoughts about things.

 

 

[Oxford]

Sad Little Men by Richard beard 

[Futtocks]

[Futtocks]

Currently on sale (in Kindle format) for 99p, Simon Sebag Montefiore's 1,200+ page history of humanity, The World: A Family History.

At that price, even if it turns out you absolutely hate every word of it, it's no great loss.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

On 26/02/2023 at 22:22, The Hallucinating Goose said:

I'm gonna leave this short and sweet. A month ago today I started The Pillars of the Earth, tonight I finished it. I have just one word to describe it. 

Masterpiece. 

Tonight I have finished the sequel to The Pillars of the Earth, World Without End. Another incredible novel. I am tempted to even say I preferred it to Pillars but that doesn't really mean much when both novels are so brilliant.

A Column of Fire next and I will have finished the Kingsbridge series, at least until the 5th novel is released later this year. 

Edited March 29, 2023 by The Hallucinating Goose

[Deranged Drunk Guy]

At the moment im reading " 28 Days" by David Safier , a book about the resistance in the warsaw ghetto WW2 

This year ive already read 

" I must betray you " By Ruta Sepetys , a stunning book its historical fiction about the dying days of the cacescu regime in romania . 

Ive also reas 

" The tattooist of Auschwitz" by australian author Heather Morris ,another awesome read , she befriended a holocaust survivor named lale sokolov and turned his experiences from Auschwitz into a story. Was incredible. 

All three books i highly recommend .

[Futtocks]

On 10/02/2023 at 18:07, Futtocks said:

The Worm Ouroboros by E.R.Eddison. While Tolkien praised much about this book, it has aged fairly badly and often comes across as a bit twee.

Coming back to that, the book is written in a very affected phoney-Elizabethan heroic style. So, while there is a lot of imagination, creativity and style, it feels forced.

Anyway, I'm a few chapters into City of last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky, which is a lot more promising.

[Leeds Wire]

On 27/02/2023 at 11:15, Oxford said:

The Big Con: How the Consulting Industry Weakens our Businesses, Infantilizes our Governments and Warps our Economies by Mariana Mazzucato and Rosie Collington

This is not for Conservatives of any kind really and least of all free marketeers

One fact from it in 1979 the UK government was spending 6 million on consultants a decade later it was 246 million. It's way beyond that now. Excellent book.

I should read that, thanks.

I spent many years in independent consultancy for govt departments, but under Blair and Brown it was genuine 'evidence-based policy making'. They wanted to know what was happening at local levels so they could adapt as necessary, for example in Job Centres.

The day the Tories came to power in 2010 they scrapped evidence based policy and moved to ideological policy making, but continued to use (their own) consultants for advice.

Consultancy is a fundamentally good thing, but it depends how it's used.

[OnStrike]

On 26/01/2023 at 04:18, George Watt said:

Am currently reading 'Mao- The Unknown Story' by Jung Chang( author of Wild Swans). Been fascinated by China since visiting for a couple of weeks holiday back in 1978 when the streets of Beijing were full of bicycles with not a private car to be seen. At that time Mao had been dead for a couple of years.

Still have my little 'Red Book' and blue Mao cap with the red star as momentos of the trip. Have been to Hong Kong many times since but not to the mainland. 

 

Have you read Red Star Over China? By an American who happened to be there during the Chinese Revolution in a similar way John Reed was in Russia for the October Revolution. Brilliant read

[Adelaide Tiger]

Well, to bring the high brow reading booklist down to National League North Division 7 I am reading ‘Travels with Boogie’ by Mark Wallington - wasn’t he Leicester City’s goalie in the 70’s?

The book comprises two journeys by Mark and his dog of unknown breed called Boogie.  The first journey ‘500 Mile Walkies’ which I have just finished is about walking the south east coastal route.  I read the book back in the 1980’s and I enjoyed it again.  I have just started reading ‘Boogie up the River’ describing their monumental journey to find the source of the Thames.

However, I hope that by reading ‘The Future of Humanity’ by Michio Kaku earlier this year at least promotes me to Third Division (North) status!

[Futtocks]

1 hour ago, Adelaide Tiger said:

Well, to bring the high brow reading booklist down to National League North Division 7 I am reading ‘Travels with Boogie’ by Mark Wallington - wasn’t he Leicester City’s goalie in the 70’s?

The book comprises two journeys by Mark and his dog of unknown breed called Boogie.  The first journey ‘500 Mile Walkies’ which I have just finished is about walking the south east coastal route.  I read the book back in the 1980’s and I enjoyed it again.  I have just started reading ‘Boogie up the River’ describing their monumental journey to find the source of the Thames.

However, I hope that by reading ‘The Future of Humanity’ by Michio Kaku earlier this year at least promotes me to Third Division (North) status!

Boogie up the River was serialised by Radio 4 in the Nineties, with Timothy Spall as Mark, Carla Mendoca as Jennifer and Ronald Herdman as Boogie. It's pretty funny.

[Adelaide Tiger]

1 hour ago, Futtocks said:

Boogie up the River was serialised by Radio 4 in the Nineties, with Timothy Spall as Mark, Carla Mendoca as Jennifer and Ronald Herdman as Boogie. It's pretty funny.

Just looked it up on Google unfortunately it said that no episodes were available.  Damn.

[Futtocks]

6 minutes ago, Adelaide Tiger said:

Just looked it up on Google unfortunately it said that no episodes were available.  Damn.

Check your PMs in a minute or so.

[Adelaide Tiger]

55 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

Check your PMs in a minute or so.

Cheers mate. Just been off the site listening to the 5 episodes of Ken Bruce’s Pop Master.  I will wait until I have finished the book and look at the link you sent me.

[Oxford]

On 12/04/2023 at 19:46, Leeds Wire said:

Consultancy is a fundamentally good thing, but it depends how it's used.

Consultancy in an era of bent governments, showmethemoney politicians and a disappearing sense of responsibilty and ethical behaviour can never be good but it can dress itself up to look like a reasonable facsimile.

If you're not sure ask Keith call me moral and ethical about expenses when his consultancy group said attack the other side on their wrong doings!

 

Edited April 16, 2023 by Oxford