What are you reading

[Profpointy]

Been reading Robin Ince's book on his doing a tour of a hundred independant bookshops whilst doing talks and signings. Thematically similar type of book as maybe Bill Bryson, and in its own way equally charming and well written

 

[iancity]

Rereading Eric Newby's Short Walk in the Hindu Kush. Every bit as good as I remember it. It brilliantly conveys an almost Edwardian Englishness that was bizarrely clearly still around (in certain circles) in the late '50s - the kind of mindset that can remove boots to find socks absolutely drenched in blood and think 'I say, that's a bit of a bore.' Then bind them up in the morning and carry on walking up an ice-encased mountain. Bonkers. And quite wonderful.

Just ordered :-)

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

I

Tuesday 4th


Just collected this, as a request, from the local Library
It’s a 1997 edition
Rather oddly, in the Leeds Library system, it’s a reference book, so can’t be taken out on loan!
(I might have expected that in Barnsley Libraries)
I thought l might read it, after enjoying his ‘Britain’ travel book

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I didn't really enjoy it, as it was primarily about various test matches/score/players, rather than about his upbringing
(that was limited to a couple of chapters)

 

[Profpointy]

Rereading Eric Newby's Short Walk in the Hindu Kush. Every bit as good as I remember it. It brilliantly conveys an almost Edwardian Englishness that was bizarrely clearly still around (in certain circles) in the late '50s - the kind of mindset that can remove boots to find socks absolutely drenched in blood and think 'I say, that's a bit of a bore.' Then bind them up in the morning and carry on walking up an ice-encased mountain. Bonkers. And quite wonderful.

I think I'm remembering the right book, but there's an incident where he has to pay for something relatively costly and the local in Afghanistan (or wherever he is) quite happily accepts a British cheque. Back then, the bank would return cashed cheques to you and he finds months later that the cheque had been re-signed many many times and in effect been used as currency and passed on for months before it eventually found its way to the bank

 

[stephec]

Been reading Robin Ince's book on his doing a tour of a hundred independant bookshops whilst doing talks and signings. Thematically similar type of book as maybe Bill Bryson, and in its own way equally charming and well written

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I like the sound of that.

 

[Webbo2]

Just ordered :-)

Love and War in the Apennines is a good read as well.

 

[Animo]

Love and War in the Apennines is a good read as well.

One of my absolute favourites

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

At work, on meal-breaks, I'm 're-visiting' (after a few years) The Fifth Elephant

 

[mistyoptic]

At work, on meal-breaks, I'm 're-visiting' (after a few years) The Fifth Elephant

Excellent! I’ve been revisiting the whole series, or as many of them as I own

 

[Gillstay]

Love and War in the Apennines is a good read as well.

Agreed. He did a book signing in Godalming one day and I unknowingly walked in 5 mins after he had left. Sigh.
I would have liked to have shaken his hand and thanked him for many good reads.

 

[Animo]

Currently on with Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian. Fair to say it's rather more hard going than No Country for Old Men.

 

[Profpointy]

A rather good history of British sci-fi. I'd never even heard of most of the books (so far - 150 pages in we're up to 1930). Lots of the books referred to sound intriguing and Mike Ashley's descriptions bring them to life. He doesn't shy away from mentioning "unfortunate attitudes of the time" when books refer to the "primitive races" and so on, or even a book being terribly written if there interesting ideas, as the emergence of the standard tropes of sci-fi is partly the theme


Anyhow, well worth reading if the subject matter is of interest

 

[wiggydiggy]

I'm not reading it yet, as its released in June, but I'm looking forward to Uncommon People : Britpop And Beyond In 20 Songs by Miranda Sawyer which looks at the mid 1990s heyday of Britpop.

 

[Reynard]

Currently reading "Three is a Crowd" - a book on the first 20 years of Formula 3. An interesting book (so far), and well-researched, with quite a few photos of Derek Warwick in action in it.

My bookseller friend knows the author and managed to secure me a pre-release copy, which doesn't have the cover art by Andrew Kitson on it because the painting's not been finished yet. Mind you, Andrew's paintings are beautifully done, super accurate, very commercial etc, but they've all the personality of a taxidermied duck...