What book (s) are you reading now ?

Gone back to Game Of Thrones, book 2 of A Storm of Swords, after something like a five year break. And really enjoying it,  just a pity that the series doesn’t have an ending yet, which is why I stopped reading it in the first place.

I actually read Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a book that really stuck with me. It’s a dystopian novel about a totalitarian government that controls everything, and it’s kind of scary how relevant some of the themes still feel today.

If you’re looking for something thought-provoking, I’d definitely recommend checking it out! Just a heads up though, it can be a bit dark at times.

On audio I’m doing James O’brien “How They Broke Britain “, tbh I wish I hadn’t started it, just frustrating that so few people can create this mess.

As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning ..Laurie Lee

and

Toy Fights  ..Don Paterson

As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning ..Laurie Lee

I thought this and the others in the series were excellent, even if he did play a bit fast and loose with the truth.

Picked up Anthony Beevor’s D-Day, seemed apposite – early days but as fantastic and engaging as he always is. 🙂

Currently reading Vassal State How America runs Britain by Angus Hanton , whilst I knew we were pretty **** I didn’t realise just how **** we actually are, we as a country own the princely sum of sweet **** all, since the mid 80’s we have to all intents and purposes sold everything,

I actually read Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a book that really stuck with me. It’s a dystopian novel about a totalitarian government that controls everything, and it’s kind of scary how relevant some of the themes still feel today.

If you’re looking for something thought-provoking, I’d definitely recommend checking it out! Just a heads up though, it can be a bit dark at times.

I fully expected to hate it.  I bought it as my free book on a 3 for 2 in Smiths while stranded at Waterloo years ago and told myself to give it a go as proper literature.  It’s a truly impressive and as you say still worryingly relevant bit of writing.

Picked up Anthony Beevor’s D-Day, seemed apposite – early days but as fantastic and engaging as he always is. 🙂

I’ve read most of his books and this is the best by far imo (Stalingrad is also V good), I’m half way through my 3rd reading of it.  Also just about to dive into these.  Mrs Bloke bought me Politics On the Edge because she knows I like RS. But tbh I read his Afghan walk book which whilst an epic achievement, wasn’t the most riveting read. Hoping for better with this one, though I know it paints a very bleak picture of the current state of affairs. Bought the Dalrymple book after the ‘Empire’ podcast piqued my interest in the subject.

I finished Berlin by Anthony Beevor recently. Interesting insight into just how bananas the 3rd Reich was at the end.

I’m gonna give these a try

.https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166020548290

I mean What the actual..?!

“Disclaimer – This product can’t be opened and read, it’s just a decoration” !!

Was looking at getting the Werner Hertzog memoir and ebay thought I might be interested. What ****!

Just finished.

Roads Were Not Built for Cars

https:/roadswerenotbuiltforcars.com/

Definitely worth a read. Bit of a slog in the middle.

But sadly, IMO the audience who should be aware of the content, hate us so much, they will never read it or be aware of it.

Great book.

And The Deep
Benchley, Peter

Quick read, great. Especially if you use your imagination….. Jacqueline Bissett’s new Tee range 😉

Just picked up….

Ian Flemmings

From Russia with Love.

Looking good so far 🙂

As above ..

I’m going to try 1984.

https://archive.org/details/GeorgeOrwells1984/page/n275/mode/1up

Reading Jerusalem, by Simon Sebag Montefiore – it’s a slog, basically “.. and then Xxxxx invaded the city, destroying it and looting its treasures whilst persecuting the Jews/Muslims/Christians” (delete as appropriate), over and over again. Decided I was going to finish it, wish I hadn’t.

This is Ace … 😉

Trip Hazzard from the 95th Rifles

Hazzard and the Zombie Apocalypse (01)

Bit of Ai fun.

Hazzard and the Zombie Apocalypse (02)

There are eleven chapters the last one is the best. ChatGPt and Stable diffusion XL for the pix.

13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey by Kathryn Tucker Windham.

Done a bunch lately

Enjoyed Alex Lamb’s “The Roboteer” trilogy, Expanse-lite space opera. Linda Nagata’s “The red” (Trilogy) finished the first book, which has some interesting concepts, but I can’t be doing with the angst and “The Swarm” by Frank Schätzing… almost 38hr of audiobook, which didn’t drag! Michael Crichton-esk but the final act was quite predictable (& understandably so).

Started Who Dares Wins by Dominic Sandbrook (as I’m a Rest is History Pod fan and have read Tom Holland’s Dominion so felt I owed his pod partner a go). 80s is my era and it’s got me gripped. Even tho it’s 900 pages long. Maybe should have gone for the audio book!

Also been reading the sort-of-series Infinite by Jeremy Robinson. Kind of a mixed bag, stopped after the first 4 (there are 12!) but may go back.

On the ‘worthy but difficult’ bookshelf, I’ve finally completed a couple of Malcolm Gladwell’s books, and am ploughing through Daniel Kahneman’s “Thinking fast and slow” which everytime I manage a couple of chapters, I think “wow this is amazing” and then put it down for another 3 months,

Finally having very much enjoyed prisons of geography by Tim Marshall, I’ve bought a couple more – one about his reflections as a journalist in the former Yugoslavia in the 90s and the follow up to prisoners. Very engaging style, for some reason reminds me of Ben Macintyre’s books.

Just finished Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run. First half better than the second but still surprisingly vulnerable and much less self confident than i thought he would be.

Just starting The Dubliners by James Joyce………probably be a bit of a different read!

Just starting The Dubliners by James Joyce

mm I started that a few times. Never finished it 🙂

Finished Character Limit About Elon buying Twitter, it goes as well as you pretty much thought it would, but it’s interesting in an insider gossipy sort of way. Half way through Clown-Land  A couple of Vice journalists investigate Andrew’s Tate world. It’s pretty grim and sordid if I’m honest. Got James Holland Latest about the Italian campiagn lined up after that.

I’ve just finished listening to James Holland’s Normandy ’44 on Spotify. I’ve read a lot of D-Day/second WW books, but this really brought the horror (on both sides) of it through. No wonder they called Normandy “the grinder”.

@nickc – the Sicily one was excellent. I didn’t know much about that campaign.

I read Beevor’s D-Day recently, how he writes suits me down to the ground. Just making a start on Sleepwalkers, by Christopher Clark, about the causes of WWI (whole lot of Serbian characters I’m struggling to remember at the start of that!), and my first Pratchett, The Colour Of Magic. That one’s a little lighter. 🙂

I SO need to read more…

Just making a start on Sleepwalkers, by Christopher Clark, about the causes of WWI (whole lot of Serbian characters I’m struggling to remember at the start of that!)

The Rest Is History podcast did a recent series on that, I know it’s not in the spirit of the thread but it’s probably a gentler introduction!

I’ve just started reading Beyond by Stephen Walker. NASA was pretty shonky at its beginnings but oh my goodness, the Soviets!

Reading this at the moment, I was aware it went on but didn’t realise it was quite as ingrained into political life quite as much

Lobbying for Zionism on both sides of the Atlantic by Ilan Pappe

I’ve just started reading Beyond by Stephen Walker. NASA was pretty shonky at its beginnings but oh my goodness, the Soviets!

That’s a fantastic read, enjoy. 🙂

the Sicily one was excellent. I didn’t know much about that campaign.

Me neither, also really enjoyed it, so looking forward* to this as well.

* well, as much as you can of a narrative about warfare…

Currently reading ‘Blood River’ by Tim Butcher.

I can heartily recommend it.

Just started ‘The way of the hermit’  by/about Ken Smith’s life. He of ‘The Hermit of Loch Treig’ documentary that was on telly the other year.

Thought provoking.

Just started ‘The way of the hermit’  by/about Ken Smith’s life. He of ‘The Hermit of Loch Treig’ documentary that was on telly the other year.

That book was one of a few I bought my mum for Xmas last year after we watched the documentary, she really enjoyed it as he went into a lot more detail than was in the documentary

Thought provoking.

Dont show it to Adam Rutherford or discuss it with any evolutionary geneticists, apparently it didn’t go down to well with them

Personally I gave up with it about halfway through

Just started Beau Geste.

Just started Beau Geste

A 20s British novel about pre WW1 French Colonial soldiering. That’ll at least be an interesting little timepiece about race and class. I re-read A Town Like Alice not long ago having first read it in my early teens. It’s a great story and I still really enjoyed it but some of that was quite eye-popping in its language and assumptions,

Just finished Voyage by Stephen Baxter. Was recommended it after falling in love with teh alt-history space race of For All Mankind, I’ve read a ton of sf but I wanted something 60s/70s, all tobacco stains and bakelite, like Lady Astronaut. This absolultely delivered, it’s an alternative history if Kennedy had survived and an alternative space race where they cut back on the moon, binned the shuttle but went to Mars instead using super-Saturns. Too many characters, and the pacing’s odd but the basic thrust of it was fantastic. I’ve read some Baxter before and never really engaged with it fully but this one got me. Not entirely sure if it would have if not for me having that specific request, but, still enjoyed it a lot.

 I wanted something 60s/70s, all tobacco stains and bakelite

Well, you’ve just sold me a copy! Added to the ever-lengthening queue…

Dead Lions, by Mick Herron, the second of the Slow Horses books. Having become obsessed with the Apple TV series, and just finished watching season 4, I’m working my way through the books. It’s Gary Oldman’s voice I hear speaking Lamb’s dialogue in the book when I’m reading it.

James Holland The Battle of Britain on the kindle and the latest tome of Peter F. Hamilton, Exodus.

I think I should have swapped them round.