Prompted by discussion of The Ipcress File, I've been on Amazon and bought a Len Deighton novel for my Kindle, Horse Under Water. I've added the Audible narration for £8 so will listen to it while cycling.
About 20 years ago I read Deighton's XPD, about a coverup of a secret meeting between Churchill and Hitler during the Second World War. Very good and this one seems to be in a similar vein - albeit that one wasn't a Harry Palmer story. Horse Under Water was the sequel to The Ipcress File and does feature Palmer.
I watch the 2005 film of Pride and Prejudice a couple of weekends ago and thought it was wrong so I went looking for the book to reread and we don't have it so I have just bought a 1964 folio edition. Looking forward to starting it.
I have also bought in the last week
The Enchanted April Elizabeth Von Arnim
The Franchise Affair Josephine Tey
Birdsong Sebastian Faulkes
The mrs gave me Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club to read .. made a start a few days ago
I tend to buy a couple of books at a time from charity shops. Not a great choice often but now and again a gem turns up.
I got two books for Christmas; the Dave Grohl (sort of) autobiography/journal, and Billy Connolly's autobiography. I haven't started the BC one yet, but devoured the DG one in about a week - a really great read.
just bought 1st edition of Silmarillion, it even has the map in the back. £5 from severn hospice.
Quote from: Hugh on March 19, 2022, 10:50:07 PMQuote from: Neillwith2Ls on March 09, 2022, 09:40:56 PMI got two books for Christmas; the Dave Grohl (sort of) autobiography/journal, and Billy Connolly's autobiography. I haven't started the BC one yet, but devoured the DG one in about a week - a really great read.
Does DG's book tell the tale of his lost wallet? It would be worth the cover price for that story alone.
It sure does, most amusing! ;D
Started reading Pride and Prejudice.
I'm about two thirds of the way through a doorstop of a book I bought from a charity shop recently.
The Children Of Ash And Elm - A History Of The Vikings by Neil Price.
Quote from: Fishy on March 08, 2022, 12:23:13 PMThe mrs gave me Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club to read .. made a start a few days ago
Read the first one onto the second, seemingly Spielberg has bought the rights to make a film of it. Osman will be loaded
Quote from: Blastzone on April 22, 2022, 10:40:55 AMQuote from: Fishy on March 08, 2022, 12:23:13 PMThe mrs gave me Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club to read .. made a start a few days ago
Read the first one onto the second, seemingly Spielberg has bought the rights to make a film of it. Osman will be loaded
He's packing in Pointless to concentrate on his books I think or to count all his money....
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks. The movie was loosely based on this. Unlike the film though, the book is very good. It's written by using an interview technique where each interviewee recounts their own story from all over the world. The idea that Israel build a massive wall (as seen in the movie) is also part of the book.
Just received a book on my club - a collection of columns and musing by a fellow Feyenoord fan and writer. Dutch title: "Hoop is uitgestelde teleurstelling". This would translate loosley to:"Hope is extended disappointment". If you know a little on the club you'd know this is a very apt title.
Also have some Dutch literature lying around waiting to be read and "To Paradise" by Hanya Yanigohara.
Following my hospital visit, the following are due to arrive shortly
Eat your way to Lower Cholesterol
Man Food (the no nonsense guide to improving your health and energy in your 40s and beyond)
The Whole Heart Solution
Just finished the book my daughter bought me for my birthday last month.
The Glamour Boys by Chris Bryant
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Glamour-Boys-Secret-Rebels-Britain/dp/1526601737/
you can tell he was a journalist and MP. Nice light read through the social history of England's toffs between the wars that they don't teach you at school with a nice anti-appeasement twist
Quote from: pdw1 on April 22, 2022, 10:14:18 PMJust finished the book my daughter bought me for my birthday last month.
The Glamour Boys by Chris Bryant
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Glamour-Boys-Secret-Rebels-Britain/dp/1526601737/
you can tell he was a journalist and MP. Nice light read through the social history of England's toffs between the wars that they don't teach you at school with a nice anti-appeasement twist
I once read a Captain Underpants book :)
Quote from: Nickslikk2112 on April 23, 2022, 12:07:17 AMQuote from: pdw1 on April 22, 2022, 10:14:18 PMJust finished the book my daughter bought me for my birthday last month.
The Glamour Boys by Chris Bryant
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Glamour-Boys-Secret-Rebels-Britain/dp/1526601737/
you can tell he was a journalist and MP. Nice light read through the social history of England's toffs between the wars that they don't teach you at school with a nice anti-appeasement twist
I once read a Captain Underpants book :)
well done: culture reaches the north at last.
Quote from: pdw1 on April 23, 2022, 08:42:57 AMQuote from: Nickslikk2112 on April 23, 2022, 12:07:17 AMQuote from: pdw1 on April 22, 2022, 10:14:18 PMJust finished the book my daughter bought me for my birthday last month.
The Glamour Boys by Chris Bryant
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Glamour-Boys-Secret-Rebels-Britain/dp/1526601737/
you can tell he was a journalist and MP. Nice light read through the social history of England's toffs between the wars that they don't teach you at school with a nice anti-appeasement twist
I once read a Captain Underpants book :)
well done: culture reaches the north at last.
No. We've not got Yoghurt yet.
I've just finished a book I bought a few months ago, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch.
It's a mind-bendingly imaginative work, but not very coherent. Difficult to follow because you can never be sure whether the events described are taking place in a hallucination induced by the futuristic drugs taken by the characters. You get the impression that Dick is indulging his own bonkers religious philosophical mindset (he believed that the universe was an unreal projection, and suffered what he believed to be paranormal experiences). The book doesn't really conclude, it just dies.
I would recommend his short stories, though. But in his longer pieces he seems sometimes to be indulging a sort of stream of semi-delusional consciousness and they don't really go anywhere. Even Man in the High Castle, which is admittedly a brilliant book in some ways (and much more coherent than Palmer Eldritch), just sort of peters out at the end.
I finished World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War last night. I can confidently say it's the first book I've read where I want to read it straight away again. It's well written, but it's the format that makes it so appealing. I will reread it but I've been itching to start Steven Wilson's new book: Limited Edition of One so I've just got through the first chapter of that. Good it is too and I'm impressed that in the first few pages he mentions that the other PT musicians are better players than him.
Radio Life by Derek B Miller
https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/radio-life
A really good dystopian story set in the future 400 odd years from now and 300 years after civilisation collapsed. He builds great characters and a strong plot.
Just started the 7th Reacher novel, Persuader. Interestingly the first since the debut novel to be written in the first person.
We join Jack on some sort of close protection operation. And when an attempted kidnapping goes down, he mistakenly takes out a cop as well as the bad guys.
"I'd learned long ago that it was easy enough to shoot a man. But there's absolutely no way to unshoot one".
The War On The West by Douglas Murray.
£10 for the hardcover from Amazon. Bargain.
Quote from: Matt2112 on May 29, 2022, 10:43:50 PMThe War On The West by Douglas Murray.
£10 for the hardcover from Amazon. Bargain.
I've heard about that one - intrigued
Quote from: Matt2112 on May 29, 2022, 10:43:50 PMThe War On The West by Douglas Murray.
£10 for the hardcover from Amazon. Bargain.
I read a few reviews on Amazon last night, they range from "encourages hate crimes and white supremacist terrorism" to "another fantastic work from our most important writer".
I did think about buying the Kindle version last night at £7.99, annoyingly ten hours later it's £9.99. I'll keep an eye on it.
Just bought
The Madness Of Crowds by the same author, about the scourge of identity politics. Only £5.89. I identify as tight.
Quote from: Slim on May 30, 2022, 09:17:57 AMI read a few reviews on Amazon last night, they range from "encourages hate crimes and white supremacist terrorism" to "another fantastic work from our most important writer".
Reading through the first chapter, "Race" - unsurprisingly, it confirms to me that first take is simply deranged.
Electric Wizards - JR Moores.
A real tour of heavy music in general, not just heavy metal, with a lot of bands usually not featured prominently.
Ah, I see the subtitle is 'a tapestry of heavy music 1968 to the present'. First chapter starts with how Paul McCartney sort of single handedly invented heavy music by writing Helter Skelter. Not sure about that, but it's a good starting point.
Quote from: Thenop on June 01, 2022, 07:05:11 PMAh, I see the subtitle is 'a tapestry of heavy music 1968 to the present'. First chapter starts with how Paul McCartney sort of single handedly invented heavy music by writing Helter Skelter. Not sure about that, but it's a good starting point.
Hmm, I'm not sure about that either. You Really Got Me by The Kinks pre-dates McCartney's effort by four years!
Finished Steven Wilson's book: Limited Edition of One last night. Quite a good read. The first half was excellent, but the second half became a bit rambling and I could have done without some odd short story at the end. 7/10
Quote from: pxr5 on June 06, 2022, 07:24:08 PMFinished Steven Wilson's book: Limited Edition of One last night. Quite a good read. The first half was excellent, but the second half became a bit rambling and I could have done without some odd short story at the end. 7/10
thanks for reminding me, have it lying around as well. Must get round to reading it.
Starting to store books on the Kindle for holiday reads later this month :-
Andy Weir - Atremis
Andy Weir - Project Hail Mary
Richard Osman - The Man Who Died Twice
and an actual book in The Blood Road by Stuart McBride
reading- Expendable Man - Dorothy B Hughs
A 1960s book set in Arizona about the disappearance of a girl. Very much a page turner very noir
Finished The War On The West by Douglas Murray.
A typically astute and insightful commentary of our times.
Next: will re-try his The Strange Death Of Europe, which I only partially got through when it came out, but it seems an even more important read now than it did then.
Just began The Moonflower murders by Anthony Horowitz
Michel Houellebecq - Seratonin.
They say he is brilliant, I am really bored. But I have decided to finish it.
A couple of years ago I had a mild resurgence of interest in Genesis, probably prompted - now I think about it - by Steve Hackett's lockdown videos.
I remembered an album called Smallcreep's Day by Mike Rutherford, and did a bit of reading about it. What I didn't know when it came out in 1979 was that it was based on a book of the same name that had been published 14 years earlier. I bought it out of interest, but only got round to reading it this weekend. I'm about 15% of the way through.
Really an extraordinary book. Surreal, bizarre, grotesque. Seems to be a sort of depiction of a man's worst fears about working in a factory, or a grim satire on working life itself.
The Apprentice - Gordon Houghton on which the Frost* song Milliontown is loosely based upon. The author has commented on it in the Frost* forum back in 2011:
http://frostmusic.net/forum/index.php?topic=2726.0
No, but I borrowed one! 'Are we still rolling?' by Phill Brown.
Phill was a studio engineer who began his career in the '60s. Until I started reading it, I had no idea that he got his break in the business from his older brother, Terry Brown! Terry has got lots of mentions in the early chapters. Terry left the UK to set up Toronto Sound and at one point Phill worked over there with Terry for a while.
It's a great read so far but no mention of big brother Terry's stirling work with Toronto's finest.....yet
Started reading Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks.
Just bought- The Four Wise Men by Michel Tournier, who is a brilliant French writer
Read Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson.
I watched the TV adaption years ago (I think it is on the iplayer) and the book is equally good.
Stephen King Everything's Eventual
Finally finished The Strange Death Of Europe by Douglas Murray.
As an explainer of the migrant situation in Europe (and beyond) it's an engrossing and enlightening read; however, any optimism about how it might be improved significantly is rather dashed by the end, when Murray simply seems to conclude he's as exasperated with things as everybody else. Which, in fairness, is understandable.
Quote from: David L on July 17, 2022, 07:08:41 PMNo, but I borrowed one! 'Are we still rolling?' by Phill Brown.
Phill was a studio engineer who began his career in the '60s. Until I started reading it, I had no idea that he got his break in the business from his older brother, Terry Brown! Terry has got lots of mentions in the early chapters. Terry left the UK to set up Toronto Sound and at one point Phill worked over there with Terry for a while.
It's a great read so far but no mention of big brother Terry's stirling work with Toronto's finest.....yet
Just finished this tonight. To be honest, I got bored with it so put it to one side for a couple of months. The format is a little repetitive as Phill takes you through his various projects and the recording set ups, mic positioning etc.
Rush did get a mention. On a trip to Canada in 1980, Phill visits Terry at Le Studio "where he was recording another record with Rush. He'd produced six platinum albums with the band". I'm guessing it was MP.
The book has re-awakened a nascent interest in Talk Talk with whom Phill worked on their Spirit Of Eden and Laughing Stock albums. Mark Hollis and Phill became close but ultimately fell out over a later project.
I listened to what many would consider to be the band's three best works tonight. The Colour Of Spring is the most accessible, Spirit Of Eden is growing on me but Laughing Stock may be an experiment too far....at the moment anyway!
I'd say It's My Life is the most accessible Talk Talk album.
Laughing Stock is a mood record but I think it's a gem. So uncompromising and intense, in an introspective sort of way. I think there's an influence from the later Miles Davis recordings. I only discovered it after Mark Hollis died
Quote from: Slim on September 30, 2022, 12:30:16 PMI'd say It's My Life is the most accessible Talk Talk album.
That may be so but I don't find it to be revered in the same way as the three I mentioned. Perhaps I should have started there and worked
gradually towards Laughing Stock
Purchased the Spirit of Talk Talk some 3 years ago. Great book with lots of interviews, insights in their studio work and alternative art.
Lovely companion piece to the tribute of the same name with great artists giving their interpretation of Talk Talks catalogue.
I recommend both (book and CD) if you ever come across them.
I've just finished Stephen King's Danse Macabre - a Non-fiction book about horror fiction in print, TV, radio, film and comics. Some of the books he mentions in it sounded intriguing (though SK's book was written in the 80s so well out of date now), so I'm going to try a few. I've started with Ramsey Campbell's - The Doll Who Ate His Mother from 1976. I've read a lot of books over the years and only 2 I gave up on: one was a Ramsey Campbell novel (can't remember which one) and the other Gorky Park. I do recall the Ramsey Campbell one being dull, but this one I'm reading now seems pretty good after a few chapters.
Just bought the entire works of George Orwell, "Novels, Memoirs, Poetry, Essays, Book Reviews & Articles" as a Kindle edition for 99p. Always fancied reading The Road to Wigan Pier properly. I did read a chunk of it a couple of years ago.
1984 is the only book I've read three times, I probably won't make it a fourth anytime soon. I read Animal Farm at school. And a few years ago I read a short essay called (forgive me) Not Counting Niggers, simply because I was intrigued by the title.
Other than that the rest is all new to me I think.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08VDBR74J
Holiday pool side reading....
Stuart McBride - Now We Are Dead 8/10
Richard Osman - The Thursday Murder Club 7/10
Richard Osman - The Man Who Died Twice 7.5/10
Vince Flynn - Term Limits 8/10
I just got a couple of audio books in a free Audible trial.
The Talisman, by Stephen King and Peter Straub.
I've read the book a few times - definitely one of my favourites but fancied trying an audio version.
Inhibitor Phase by Alastair Reynolds. Narrated by John Lee.
Reynolds returns to "Revelation Space" in a direct sequel to Absolution Gap. I haven't read this one, and am listening to it now. Narrated by John Lee, who I am familiar with from his work on Peter F. Hamilton's incredible Salvation trilogy.
Is there any update on when Geddy's memoir might be released? All I can find online points to Autumn this year.
Quote from: The Picnic Wasp on November 11, 2022, 06:03:16 PMIs there any update on when Geddy's memoir might be released? All I can find online points to Autumn this year.
According to Classic Rock, it is now looking like Spring 2023, although I haven't seen any definitive news on it.
https://www.loudersound.com/features/geddy-lee-on-beer-rush-20-and-his-friendship-with-alex-lifeson (https://www.loudersound.com/features/geddy-lee-on-beer-rush-20-and-his-friendship-with-alex-lifeson)
Not something I've bought recently, but I started reading a graphic novel I was given as a Christmas present in 1988, The Dark Knight Returns.
It's set in a dark and dystopian Gotham City beset by gang warfare and lawlessness. Batman hasn't been seen for ten years. But late one night, after days of oppressive heat, a storm breaks - and Batman returns.
Based on very good TV shows I've watched in the last couple of months: I've just finished reading Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel and now reading The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes.
I received Time Flies: The Story of Porcupine Tree for Christmas :)
I received James Hoffmann's How To Make The Best Coffee At Home for Christmas ('twas on my wish list), along with another I had wished for: New European Baking by Lauren Kratochvila.
The next mention isn't for purchases as such, but I've just started a Kindle Unlimited free 3 months trial and I have just grabbed Simon Haynes' Hal Spacejock series numbers 4 to 10. I've got the first 3 as an audio book omnibus and they are very entertaining indeed.
Of course with Kindle Unlimited you never own the books, they are on loan. I don't think I will continue after the free 3 months - but it will be handy to try out the features whilst I've got access.
The Girl in Green by Derek B. Miller
A story of 2 atrocities commit 22 years apart in Iraq and how they affect 2 western men who were there.
It is a great read but very hard going in places. The author worked in International affairs so knows his stuff about how international aid works in particular in Iraq. The sheer madness of it all places it near Catch 22. It is full of black humour and some how humanity too.
I think his latest dystopian book Radio Life would be right up a lot of people's street.
I've just started The Man With The Golden Gun, one of the Fleming 007 novels of course and a book that I read in my teens. This was the last novel that Fleming wrote before his death in 1964. He only got as far as the first draft.
For a long time I'd thought that Kingsley Amis had finished the book off on behalf of the publishers but more recently I've read that his suggestions were rejected. So as far as I can tell, it's just been edited from the first draft. Wikipedia asserts that "Much of the detail contained in the previous novels was missing" but honestly, I'm not seeing that myself. All the usual information about what particular sort of clothes Bond prefers at any given moment, the obectifying lavish description of the women and their clothing; exactly what he orders for breakfast - it's all here.
This is one of the best 007 novels for me, a massive improvement on the faintly ridiculous You Only Live Twice with a much more down-to-earth and grittily realistic plot. It's also a million miles from the Spy-fi film of the same name. No secret base with henchmen in boiler suits, no solar energy beam weapons. In the book, Scaramanga is a brash and vulgar young assassin, very highly prized for his exceptional skill with a pistol who does contract work for the KGB and the Mafia.
A Perfect Silence by Ben Wardle, the Mark Hollis biography.
Ben Elton - Identity Crisis
Middle aged police inspector trying to make sense of modern norms. Just started but finding it entertaining
Quote from: Slim on January 16, 2023, 02:36:32 PMI've just started The Man With The Golden Gun, one of the Fleming 007 novels of course and a book that I read in my teens. This was the last novel that Fleming wrote before his death in 1964. He only got as far as the first draft.
I finished this in about a week, then I started a Reacher novel which I've just finished today. That must certainly be the only time I've ever read two novels in the space of a month.
I've never been much of a reader of novels. Intervals of several years have often gone by when I haven't read one. But cycling and audiobooks have kindled (pun not intended) a more regular interest in them.
The Tucci Cookbook
Just bought Niall Ferguson's Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00936RSAW).
Haven't started the Ferguson tome yet but I did start the next Reacher novel, The Hard Way. Good one, quite distinctive and more of a detective story than usual. About half-way through, all of it consumed on a Kindle rather than an audiobook. I could only do that while on holiday.
Just finished 'Rock and Roll Gentleman'. The story of Dr. Feelgood's Lee Brilleaux. Good read
I'm currently reading "How Britain Broke the World" by Arthur Snell
it looks back over the last 25 years of Britain's International Affairs from Kosovo to Iraq, Afganistan, Libya through to Brexit and Ukraine.
He is perhaps giving the UK more importance than it is due but so far its an interesting read
I've just realised how similar the title is to Slim's tome above (bar the verb) - be interesting to compare the conclusions the respective authors deliver
That's very interesting - in all of those various campaigns that you mention save Brexit and possibly Ukraine, Britain has been a junior partner at most - so I see quite a lot of artistic licence in the title.
Rattled through 4 books whilst on holiday in Lanzarote this past week....
William McIlvanney's Laidlaw Trilogy : -
Laidlaw
The Papers of Tony Veitch
Strange Loyalties
and
Blood Feud by Stewart Clyde (UKs answer to Mitch Rapp)
all excellent reads !!
Reading Pete Way's autobiography "A Fast Ride Out of Here". Highly entertaining. Not much on music composition, plenty on the extracurricular.
He enjoyed his time when UFO toured with Rush and speaks very fondly of "Glee".
He also claims that there was so much dry ice at the end of some of the Rush shows that he and Schenker would finish the set for them invisible to the crowd!. I'm sure that can't be true!
"Their road crew would hand us their guitars and the two of us would bash out the last crescendo of notes from the side of the stage, while Geddy and Alex buggered off back to their dressing room"
Quote from: dom on May 09, 2023, 07:34:54 PMReading Pete Way's autobiography "A Fast Ride Out of Here". Highly entertaining. Not much on music composition, plenty on the extracurricular.
He enjoyed his time when UFO toured with Rush and speaks very fondly of "Glee".
He also claims that there was so much dry ice at the end of some of the Rush shows that he and Schenker would finish the set for them invisible to the crowd!. I'm sure that can't be true!
"Their road crew would hand us their guitars and the two of us would bash out the last crescendo of notes from the side of the stage, while Geddy and Alex buggered off back to their dressing room"
I read that a number of years ago and can't remember that bit! Seems incredible, doesn't it? :-\
I went to quite a few Rush gigs in the '70s and early '80s, and I can say for certain that none of them ended with a cloud of dry ice. Actually when the old CO2 was deployed (only during Xanadu I think) it would tend to cling to the stage. At Newcastle City Hall it used to flow off the front of the stage like a waterfall.
Does Pete mention meeting me at Manchester Airport in 2006, or haven't you got that far yet?
He does talk about the dry ice during Xanadu and how they used to crawl around the stage un-noticed. Geddy confirms that once he found a pair of slippers nailed by his bass pedals 😁
Still in the heady days of the 70s at the moment. Can't wait to read about that encounter!
I have decided need to read more English books. I ran across 3 unknown words in the Wordle thread and even though I work at a multinational, read, speak & write English all day, I feel the need to expand my vocabulary.
First one to read (and bought): Colson Whitehead's The Intuitionist.
Quote from: Thenop on May 21, 2023, 10:43:29 AMI have decided need to read more English books. I ran across 3 unknown words in the Wordle thread and even though I work at a multinational, read, speak & write English all day, I feel the need to expand my vocabulary.
First one to read (and bought): Colson Whitehead's The Intuitionist.
What three words? ;)
Quote from: pdw1 on May 21, 2023, 07:31:04 PMQuote from: Thenop on May 21, 2023, 10:43:29 AMI have decided need to read more English books. I ran across 3 unknown words in the Wordle thread and even though I work at a multinational, read, speak & write English all day, I feel the need to expand my vocabulary.
First one to read (and bought): Colson Whitehead's The Intuitionist.
What three words? ;)
Over the course of the past weeks that is. Today's word for example. I cannot name it of course, I'd be banned for all times...
Just kidding.
As an aside, whenever possible I try to read books in the native language. 90% of the translations, however well intended, take away a lot from the original.
Have got Chris Carter's Robert Hunter books downloaded onto my Kindle for this month holiday reads, The Crucifix Killer from 2009 will be up first.
Quote from: dom on May 09, 2023, 10:33:56 PMHe does talk about the dry ice during Xanadu and how they used to crawl around the stage un-noticed. Geddy confirms that once he found a pair of slippers nailed by his bass pedals 😁
Still in the heady days of the 70s at the moment. Can't wait to read about that encounter!
No mention of your encounter unfortunately Slim.
Quite a sobering read though. He was married 6 times and 2 of his partners died from overdosing. One was an American doctor who used to write prescriptions to ensure they had enough morphine etc to keep them both going.
He wrote the autobiography about 5 years before his death.
He talked about a biographical album he was putting together "Walking on the Edge" - was it ever released does anyone know?
His cause of death was not given as prostrate cancer or cardiac arrest or even overdose, as could easily have been the case, but from a serious accident that occured 2 months before he died. Does anyone know what that was?
Quote from: dom on June 05, 2023, 07:57:22 PMQuote from: dom on May 09, 2023, 10:33:56 PMHe does talk about the dry ice during Xanadu and how they used to crawl around the stage un-noticed. Geddy confirms that once he found a pair of slippers nailed by his bass pedals 😁
Still in the heady days of the 70s at the moment. Can't wait to read about that encounter!
No mention of your encounter unfortunately Slim.
Quite a sobering read though. He was married 6 times and 2 of his partners died from overdosing. One was an American doctor who used to write prescriptions to ensure they had enough morphine etc to keep them both going.
He wrote the autobiography about 5 years before his death.
He talked about a biographical album he was putting together "Walking on the Edge" - was it ever released does anyone know?
His cause of death was not given as prostrate cancer or cardiac arrest or even overdose, as could easily have been the case, but from a serious accident that occured 2 months before he died. Does anyone know what that was?
I haven't listened to this yet but it's linked from Pete's FB page as "Jenny Way talks about Pete's accident"
https://www.americanheartbreak.com/rnrgeekwp/jenny-way-wife-of-the-late-great-pete-way/
27 min audio recording.
Thanks! Will have a listen
Jenny was the survivor
Pete was a bit like Henry VIII but his time line goes...
Divorced, divorced, died, died, divorced, survived!
Quote from: dom on June 05, 2023, 10:43:46 PMThanks! Will have a listen
Jenny was the survivor
Pete was a bit like Henry VIII but his time line goes...
Divorced, divorced, died, died, divorced, survived!
Loved a bit of wedding cake, did Pete
Listened to it last night Slim - thanks for that.
He fell down the stairs at home, believe it or not. The drug abuse over the years really must have taken their toll. He broke all his ribs and couldn't stop bleeding following the fall and his body had to be packed up with gauze etc to stop the flow. Think he had something like 10 transfusions during the 2 months in hospital. Years of needle use almost certainly caused that.
He had recovered somewhat towards the end and there was talk of him returning home but he passed before that happened.
Jenny also mentioned that the album he spoke about in the autobiography was done and dusted. Not sure why it hasn't been released.
Certainly not a book I bought recently, but last night I idly picked up a paperback I bought in 1990; a collection of Philip K Dick short stories. I picked one at random, Explorers We.
Really quite an unsettling little read, very similar in approach to a Twilight Zone story. Even more unsettling was the thought that I last read it 33 years ago. I did partly remember it.
The collection is titled I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon after one of the longer stories.
(https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/12696364-L.jpg)
Geezer Butlers autobiography...
Quote from: captainkurtz on June 12, 2023, 08:15:49 PMGeezer Butlers autobiography...
any good?
Listened to him on Loose Ends with Clive Anderson. He was a laugh and said his wife and Sharon don't get on and so he never talks to Ozzy.
Quote from: captainkurtz on June 12, 2023, 08:15:49 PMGeezer Butlers autobiography...
Does it include this embarrassing episode?
"The thing with Geezer Butler, I think they were drinking one night and I think Geezer had some knife or something, and he flashed it at Malcolm," he began. He continued: "Malcolm took it off – there's a trick of getting knives away from people, so Malcolm immediately did that and he said, 'What are you gonna do now? - Angus Young
;D
Intrigued by this post by Dom (http://betweenthewheels.net/index.php?topic=41.msg10045#msg10045) I had a look at a few Slow Horses clips on YouTube. Ultimately though I decided to consume it in audiobook form; the original novel of course. I listened to the first couple of hours today while out on a bike.
It's about a department of the Secret Service where failed or disgraced agents go to serve out their careers doing menial work, in a sort of exile. I was reminded of Callan in some ways - it has the same gritty cynicism and wilful lack of glamour. I loved this description of Slough House, where it's based:
The yellows and greys that dominate the colour scheme aren't what they first appear .. the yellow isn't yellow at all, but white exhausted by stale breath and tobacco, by pot-noodle fumes and overcoats left to dry on radiators
I'm currently reading The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson. People may recall the movie The Incredible Shrinking Man which was a great movie for its time (1957). The book however doesn't follow a linear timeline like the movie does. Instead we follow poor Scott from when he starts to shrink and when he is trapped in the cellar at less than an inch tall. It's a tragic story and the book pulls no punches - like when he is nearly abused by a paedophile who thinks he's a small boy and when he first starts staying in the cellar during the day he becomes a voyeur, ogling the frumpy child minder (things that the movie left out). Of course the we now know the science of this was way out and Richard Matheson was going to update the story to account for this. Still a great read though.
Colditz by Ben Macintyre.. holiday reading, which is the only book reading I do now, super interesting account of the escapes and derring do of the inmates and an interesting perspective from the German side.
Quote from: pdw1 on June 12, 2023, 08:55:56 PMQuote from: captainkurtz on June 12, 2023, 08:15:49 PMGeezer Butlers autobiography...
any good?
Listened to him on Loose Ends with Clive Anderson. He was a laugh and said his wife and Sharon don't get on and so he never talks to Ozzy.
It's a pretty quick run through sabbaths history really...but an enjoyable enough read.
Quote from: David L on June 13, 2023, 12:32:22 AMQuote from: captainkurtz on June 12, 2023, 08:15:49 PMGeezer Butlers autobiography...
Does it include this :o embarrassing episode?
"The thing with Geezer Butler, I think they were drinking one night and I think Geezer had some knife or something, and he flashed it at Malcolm," he began. He continued: "Malcolm took it off – there's a trick of getting knives away from people, so Malcolm immediately did that and he said, 'What are you gonna do now? - Angus Young
;D
It was a pocket comb, according to the Geez...
Quote from: captainkurtz on July 16, 2023, 11:52:09 PMQuote from: David L on June 13, 2023, 12:32:22 AMQuote from: captainkurtz on June 12, 2023, 08:15:49 PMGeezer Butlers autobiography...
Does it include this :o embarrassing episode?
"The thing with Geezer Butler, I think they were drinking one night and I think Geezer had some knife or something, and he flashed it at Malcolm," he began. He continued: "Malcolm took it off – there's a trick of getting knives away from people, so Malcolm immediately did that and he said, 'What are you gonna do now? - Angus Young
;D
It was a pocket comb, according to the Geez...
;D
Quote from: Slim on July 01, 2023, 10:47:07 PMIntrigued by this post by Dom (http://betweenthewheels.net/index.php?topic=41.msg10045#msg10045) I had a look at a few Slow Horses clips on YouTube. Ultimately though I decided to consume it in audiobook form; the original novel of course. I listened to the first couple of hours today while out on a bike.
It's about a department of the Secret Service where failed or disgraced agents go to serve out their careers doing menial work, in a sort of exile. I was reminded of Callan in some ways - it has the same gritty cynicism and wilful lack of glamour. I loved this description of Slough House, where it's based:
The yellows and greys that dominate the colour scheme aren't what they first appear .. the yellow isn't yellow at all, but white exhausted by stale breath and tobacco, by pot-noodle fumes and overcoats left to dry on radiators
This was very, very good - gritty, acerbic, cynical, but funny as well. Lots of duplicity and clever twists.
I'll download the next one in the series soon,
Dead Lions.
I've just bought The Physics Of Climate Change by Laurence Krauss. I've long been a fan of Krauss for his cosmology writings and lectures (there are a few on YouTube) as well as his rational examination of religious belief. I've bought the audiobook as well as the Kindle edition so I'll start to dig into it on my next bike ride.
Read several books on holiday a few weeks back.......
Stewart Clyde - Black Beach 7/10
Chris Carter's Robert Hunter books :-
The Crucifix Killer 9/10
The Executioner 9/10
The Night Stalker 9/10
The Death Sculptor 9/10
One by One 9/10
An Evil Mind 8/10
and finished the holiday with
Denzil Meyrick - Dark Suits And Sad Songs 9/10
Quote from: Slim on July 18, 2023, 06:27:48 PMI've just bought The Physics Of Climate Change by Laurence Krauss. I've long been a fan of Krauss for his cosmology writings and lectures (there are a few on YouTube) as well as his rational examination of religious belief. I've bought the audiobook as well as the Kindle edition so I'll start to dig into it on my next bike ride.
This was very good indeed. There's only a few hours of it but it's packed full of interesting stuff about how CO2 levels are measured, how we can measure historic levels by analysing bubbles trapped in old ice, how we know what the effects are, experimentally, on temperature etc.
I'm now onto another Reacher novel,
Nothing to Lose. Written in the third person, which I prefer. A bit simpler than some of the Reacher novels, so far at least, but I like that. While reading
The Enemy a few months ago I was tempted to start taking notes so I could keep track of all the different characters, and maybe even print out a map. This one's a lot tighter and easier to follow.
There's a really brutal, violent fight scene in a bar. The consequences to some of the participants are grim. And no-one does grim quite like Lee Child.
Using some book tokens which we found yesterday and thought we'd spent (but hadn't), I shall be pre-ordering a couple of items. One of them being Geddy's autobiography, and the other being this tome which is due out shortly which I am quite excited about:
Worlds Beyond Time: Sci-Fi Art of the 1970s
Whilst I won't be purchasing from Amazon as they don't take book tokens, here is the item:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1419748696/ (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1419748696/)
^ That sci-fi art book looks great Reg. Have you heard of Simon Stålenhag? Link (https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Simon-St%C3%A5lenhag/author/B01MRHBS4N?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true) I've been meaning to get Tales From the Loop since watching the incredibly good TV Show from a few years back (I'm hoping they'll do a second series sometime) IMDb Link (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8741290/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_tales%20from%20the%20loop)
Turns out that I have, but without knowing it. I have seen some of the images from some of his books. I didn't know who it was though.
Tales From The Loop is another series I haven't got around to watching but with your recommendation, I really must remedy that.
Cheers :D
Before we came away I bought Uncommon People - The rise and fall of rock stars by David Hepworth.
It's the third of Hepworth's books I've read, his writing is well-informed and witty. A great read.
I'm now onto my second 'holiday book' which the wife bought and passed over to me a couple of days ago - The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer. A page-turning novel in which Bob inhabits the character of the protagonist, Gary. If you enjoy Bob's surreal world-vision you'll love it. LOL moments aplenty.
I got The Satsuma Complex from my sister for my birthday (along with the RHS Horiticultural bible) and I'm really enjoying it
Quote from: dom on September 19, 2023, 09:22:40 AMI got The Satsuma Complex from my sister for my birthday (along with the RHS Horiticultural bible) and I'm really enjoying it
I'm preserving the remainder, probably finish it tomorrow, on the plane home from Menorca. Don't want it to end
Quote from: David L on September 19, 2023, 08:28:26 AMBefore we came away I bought Uncommon People - The rise and fall of rock stars by David Hepworth.
I like David Hepworth despite certain misgivings. I follow him on Twitter. This is available for £0.99 for the Kindle edition so I bought it. The audiobook add-on is £2.99 so I'll have that as well.
Quote from: Slim on September 19, 2023, 05:03:39 PMQuote from: David L on September 19, 2023, 08:28:26 AMBefore we came away I bought Uncommon People - The rise and fall of rock stars by David Hepworth.
I like David Hepworth despite certain misgivings. I follow him on Twitter. This is available for £0.99 for the Kindle edition so I bought it. The audiobook add-on is £2.99 so I'll have that as well.
I also had misgivings about him because I always thought he was a bit 'up himself' when presenting music stuff on the telly. He had a sort of....'smarmyness' about him and appeared not very likeable. A good writer on the broad subject of pop and rock though - 'grown up' but also uses humour well when appropriate (such that I've smiled 'knowingly' many times whilst reading his books)
Currently reading the sixth of The Millennium series - The Girl Who Lived Twice. This is the third and last one by David Lagercrantz, the first three were by Stieg Larsson. There is another set of three coming out by yet another author (Karin Smirnoff) and her first one has just been translated to English - The Girl in the Eagle's Talons (Millennium 7). The first 6 have all been superb, but the first 3 will always be the peak.
Reading Killing Thatcher by Rory Carroll - a painstaking work on the events leading up to the bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton in October '84.
It places the event in historical context and then starts in earnest with the assassination of Mountbatten 6 years earlier.
It covers in earnest the terrorists who planned the attacks and the police force who tried to catch them.
I didn't detect any particular partiality to either side and it certainly doesn't hide from the horror and brutality of the attacks from the IRA.
I'm about halfway through and I really can't fault it.
Quote from: dom on September 27, 2023, 03:53:16 PMReading Killing Thatcher by Rory Carroll - a painstaking work on the events leading up to the bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton in October '84.
It places the event in historical context and then starts in earnest with the assassination of Mountbatten 6 years earlier.
It covers in earnest the terrorists who planned the attacks and the police force who tried to catch them.
I didn't detect any particular partiality to either side and it certainly doesn't hide from the horror and brutality of the attacks from the IRA.
I'm about halfway through and I really can't fault it.
A few months ago I listened to an interview with the author on LBC and I was quite intrigued by it. I think the least the reader should expect is a bit of partiality in an account of a terrorist attempt to murder members of a democratically elected government, though.
Quote from: Slim on September 28, 2023, 06:54:03 AMQuote from: dom on September 27, 2023, 03:53:16 PMReading Killing Thatcher by Rory Carroll - a painstaking work on the events leading up to the bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton in October '84.
It places the event in historical context and then starts in earnest with the assassination of Mountbatten 6 years earlier.
It covers in earnest the terrorists who planned the attacks and the police force who tried to catch them.
I didn't detect any particular partiality to either side and it certainly doesn't hide from the horror and brutality of the attacks from the IRA.
I'm about halfway through and I really can't fault it.
A few months ago I listened to an interview with the author on LBC and I was quite intrigued by it. I think the least the reader should expect is a bit of partiality in an account of a terrorist attempt to murder members of a democratically elected government, though.
Still plenty of apologists around for the murderous cowards
As you well know I'm no fan of Thatcher, but from reading the book I was left in awe by her resolve to not be broken by the attack. Her reaction to it really showed her at her best.
Quote from: Slim on September 28, 2023, 06:54:03 AMQuote from: dom on September 27, 2023, 03:53:16 PMReading Killing Thatcher by Rory Carroll - a painstaking work on the events leading up to the bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton in October '84.
It places the event in historical context and then starts in earnest with the assassination of Mountbatten 6 years earlier.
It covers in earnest the terrorists who planned the attacks and the police force who tried to catch them.
I didn't detect any particular partiality to either side and it certainly doesn't hide from the horror and brutality of the attacks from the IRA.
I'm about halfway through and I really can't fault it.
A few months ago I listened to an interview with the author on LBC and I was quite intrigued by it. I think the least the reader should expect is a bit of partiality in an account of a terrorist attempt to murder members of a democratically elected government, though.
I think the book's ethos was to provide the facts and the context and let the reader make his/her own judgement
Quote from: Slim on August 21, 2023, 10:24:13 PMI'm now onto another Reacher novel, Nothing to Lose. Written in the third person, which I prefer. A bit simpler than some of the Reacher novels, so far at least, but I like that. While reading The Enemy a few months ago I was tempted to start taking notes so I could keep track of all the different characters, and maybe even print out a map. This one's a lot tighter and easier to follow.
I finished this one a few weeks ago. It turned out to be poor, unfortunately. The villains aren't particularly interesting, some of the plot doesn't make sense and the way it plays out is preposterous.
I did enjoy it I must admit until I realised, near the end, that it wasn't going anywhere sensible.
Still - I shall embark on the next one in a few weeks' time no doubt.
Presently I'm dipping into Michael Palin's
Diaries 1969-1979, The Python Years - prompted by my journey through the TV series. I bought it (or someone gave it to me) as a hardback edition about 15 years ago. Nice to have, though I do find physical books impractical.
New novel by Dutch literary writer Tommy Wieringa - Nirwana
Also, I was not aware this was even published: Lee Morgan, his life, music and culture by Thomas Perchard. Looks to be an interesting read.
I'm still catching up with a few books purchased over the last few months, but just got round to reading Time Flies: The Story of Porcupine Tree by Rich Wilson. I'm finding it much better than Wilson's own autobiography.
Quote from: pxr5 on October 09, 2023, 03:07:19 PMI'm still catching up with a few books purchased over the last few months, but just got round to reading Time Flies: The Story of Porcupine Tree by Rich Wilson. I'm finding it much better than Wilson's own autobiography.
Writer any relation to Stevie-o?
Having just come into some National Book Tokens, I have just ordered a couple of non-fiction books.
Design Made Easy With Inkscape (1.3) by Christopher Rogers
Uncommon Grounds (new edition): The History Of Coffee And How It Transformed Our World by Mark Prendergast
Did I mention I was a coffee nerd 8) ?
I bought All Gates Open: The Story of Can. Kindle edition.
I bought my first Can album in 1976, a compilation called Opener. I've always found them very enigmatic and different.
I've just started, in audiobook form, Uncommon People:The Rise and Fall of the Rock Stars 1955-1994 by David Hepworth. David's thesis is that the age of the Rock Star dawned in the 1950s and set near the end of the century.
He chooses one day in each year between 1955 and 1994 as a focus for his essays on the life and importance, in context, of a selection of the "uncommon people" who are culturally meaningful and impactful "rock stars".
I found his foreword, in which he explores the myth of the rock star in general, brilliantly observed. Unfortunately, David is not the most natural narrator. His delivery can come across a little bit languid and slurred. Whether this is due to the first stages of Parkinsons, a tendency to have a couple of drinks before recording or just age I don't know but this, coupled with his tendency to ramble, and to use 200 words where 100 would have done, gave me a feeling of standing next to a pub bore who'd had a gin and tonic too many.
Unfortunately I think David is one of those writers who really likes the look of his own prose. Despite that though, this is really interesting stuff. I listened to the piece about Little Richard. Well researched and eye-opening. Next: Elvis Presley.
I was gifted Boy George's autobiography which I thought might be an interesting comparison after MEL. The drop in intellect and awareness of our species is dramatic. Perhaps too dramatic for me to continue. I'll trudge on another twenty pages or so but I fear I've been spoiled by how much of Neil that Geddy absorbed and cultivated.
For the weekend trip to Kerry (stunning scenery, can't believe its taking me over 20 years living in Ireland to visit) we downloaded 'The Marriage Act' by John Marrs, a dystopian story from a World not that far from our own.
The Chapters follow various characters affected by the 'Act'. Well written with plenty of shocking moments to keep your attention. It feels like it was written with the intention of being made into a netflix serial. Not something to tax your mind particularly but it does provide food for thought.