What are you currently reading?

[johnbrown]

Salazar and modern Portugal
You could say he was a "benign" dictator. Struggled to get this book for years in the UK. Available but to expensive, so bought it in US and sent it to my brother who brought it over when visiting the UK (after reading it himself!). Not easy going but as not much was written about him I will have to persevere.
He was not a orator in the style of Franco or any other dictator for that matter. 40 years in power and never removed. When hospitalised he had a couple grand in the bank, a state pension and was to all intents and purposes, homeless. Unlike other dictators (and a few elected leaders!!) forgot to line his own pockets!
An economist whose economic policies were defined as corporative which is not to dissimilar to fascism. Although unlike fascism, religion (The Catholic Church) was an integral part of the state.

 

[palinurus]

Karl Ove Knausgaard's Dancing in the Dark (I'm an addict) and Adam Kotsko's 'Creepiness'.

 

[rich p]

Bifocals?

Karl Ove Knausgaard's Dancing in the Dark (I'm an addict) and Adam Kotsko's 'Creepiness'.

Bifocals?

 

[Hitchington]

Shark by Will Self. Part 2 in his stream-of- consciousness trilogy. So good so far ( about 20 pages in)

 

[mybike]

The Lords of Avaris, David Rohl.

 

[stephec]

In the past month I've gone through these, and a few others I don't have to hand at the moment.

 

[User16390]

The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer.

 

[matiz]

Working my way through John King read White Trash and Human Punk now reading skinheads

 

[swee'pea99]

The Trial of the Cannibal Dog by Anne Salmond. A colourful, amazingly detailed and authoritative account of Captain Cook's journeys to the South Pacific. Just read the account of his return to England after his first voyage to Tahiti, New Zealand and Australia. He was tremendously proud of having lost no-one to disease on the outward journey - very unusual - but on the way back had a stopover at a port town called Batavia in Java. By the time they got back to England nine months later, over half the ship's company were dead, mostly from dysentery, typhus or malaria. "On 4th July 1771, as they approached the English coast, Bank's 'Lady Bitch', the mongrel that had accompanied him around the world, lay down on a wooden stool and died."

 

[Tin Pot]

Psychology, Warwick University.

 

[RhythMick]

In honour of Sir Terry's passing I picked a random early book. A paper one, which feels weird. "Guards, Guards" fell into my hand.

 

[w00hoo_kent]

Just finished The Rules of the Tunnel: My Brief Period of Madness by Ned Zeman which wasn't great and I'd probably have rightfully avoided if I'd twigged the glowing adulation on the cover was all written by his Vanity Fair work mates. Just started Lanterne Rouge: The Last Man in the Tour de France by Max Leonard because I got a pile of cycling books for Christmas and figure I should interleave them with other stuff otherwise I'll be reading loads on the trot. I'm liking it after a couple of chapters.