Uses of Heritage
The Heritage Reader
Understanding Heritage in Practice

All ripping reads 😕

Chi Runnng – Danny Dryer …..interesting stuff about running more efficient ….if a little bit 'hippyish'.

Ring of Fire – non-fiction about MotoGP, Rossi et al (and Hailwood) written by a sports writer from The Times.

Really good read.

'Generation A' by Douglas Coupland, and some rather less page-turning doorstops for a course at work.

Bad Science by Ben Goldacre, should be required reading. Favourite quote, "Gillian McKeith, or to give her full medical title, Gillian McKeith.."

Just finished Feet in the Clouds, a surprisingly readable book about fell running, and before that American Gods by Neil Gaiman. All highly recommended.

The Girl Who Played With Fire here. Finished the first one last week.

Just bought The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes and The Assault on Liberty by Dominic Raab. Looking forward to reading both of them.

Professional by Robert B Parker – latest in the Spencer series – brilliant crime books with very short chapters.

Mostly looking at Exposures – retrospective of photos by Jane Bown – portraitist photographer for The Observer for a looooooong time – good but not half as good as seeing her original prints on exhibition at the NPG last week…

Currently reading Idoru by William Gibson on the iPhone. Had to wait for the Kindle app to come out to get Virtual Light to complete the trilogy. Also dipping into Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne of Talking Heads. Very enjoyable book of observations made while cycling around various cities when touring. Nice to see Alan Garner's Wierdstone of Brisingamen mentioned. Love that book, got it in a four-book slipcase set with Moon Of Gomrath, Elidore and The Owl Service. Brilliant children's books that are dark and don't patronise. Catherine Webb's books are in a similar vein, although she wrote her first one, Mirror Dreams, when she was fourteen, astonishing when you read it and see the adult way she writes, with lots of Roger Zelazney influences.

Whit – Iain Banks
Deadhouse Gates – Steven Erikson
Thinking about starting American Gods – Neil Gaiman

awaiting the latest Maruki Hurakami to be translated, so working through Salman Rushdie's stuff; currently a few pages from finishing Grimus.

His newest work – The enchantress of Florence – was good; as was Midnights Children. Satanic verses for all the controversey, was one of his weakest I'd say

Nice to see Alan Garner's Wierdstone of Brisingamen mentioned.

+1

The Owl Service is still of my favourite books, ever – sparely written & very dark. I was lucky enough to see him give a talk about Thursbitch a few years ago. He's a national treasure.

Annapurna South Face by Chris Bonnington. Quite detailed and climbing techy but an insight into just how hard climbing above 20,000ft really is, the effort required is amazing.

Nice to see Alan Garner's Wierdstone of Brisingamen mentioned.

+1
The Owl Service is still of my favourite books, ever – sparely written & very dark. I was lucky enough to see him give a talk about Thursbitch a few years ago. He's a national treasure.

The BBC series was very dark too, and has recently come out on DVD, I believe. I think Elidor was made into a TV series as well. There's a sequence in either Wierdstone or Gomrath, can't remember which, where the children have to pass through the mines of Fundindelve, which never fails to induce an extreme sense of claustrophobia in me. Brilliant writer, and, as you say, national treasure.

Work related for me, but very interesting nonetheless:
R.F. Port (Ed.) Mind as Motion: Explorations in the Dynamics of Cognition

Just started Orlando by Virginia Woolf. We have a book club at work, which is usually rubbish. However, last week they had a set of 9 "film from a book" Penguin Classics for £5. I'm looking forward to the Jungle Book 🙂

Brilliant writer, and, as you say, national treasure.

Not least becasue of his enduring concern with (and for) the landscape.

Rereading Freefall by Charles Bruce (writing as Tom Read). The autobiography covers his time with the SAS and his plans to break Joe Kittinger's parachute altitude record, but the main focus is on the mental health issues he suffered, which lead to him trying to kill his girlfriend with a pair of scissors.

Bruce committed suicide eight years ago by jumping out of the plane his girlfriend was flying without a parachute.

Very interesting book, and very different to the Andy McNab style, despite the fact that the two served together.

Decided to reread it after seeing this: Red Bull Stratos

Just finished The Road, and bloody brilliant it was too! Very haunting!

Not sure what us next on the list but I quite fancy On the Beach by nevile Shute

Nevil Shute is always worth a read, they made a good film out that book too.