The "I am currently reading" thread

[hauxwell]

1 hour ago, nikki-red said:

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage - Alfred Lansing

 

What an absolutely amazing, crazy true story. I loved this book so much. 
Totally recommend it 👍🏻

I have read this book Nikki and watched a few documentaries about Earnest Shackleton on YouTube, well worth watching if you get the time. It was short of a miracle that they all survived thanks to Shackleton and his leadership skills. They have recently found his ship The Endurance.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syg1IxOvbqU
 

 

[hauxwell]

The Allotment Girls

by Kate Thompson 

 

A grope of girls who work in a match stick factory during 

The Second World War persuade the owners of the factory to let them start an allotment on a piece of land in the factory as part of the Dig for Britain Campaign. 

From an abusive husband and dark family secrets the girls find the allotment as a place to escape and form community friendships.

 

Not a bad read 

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, hauxwell said:

The Allotment Girls

by Kate Thompson 

 

A grope of girls who work in a match stick factory during 

The Second World War persuade the owners of the factory to let them start an allotment on a piece of land in the factory as part of the Dig for Britain Campaign. 

From an abusive husband and dark family secrets the girls find the allotment as a place to escape and form community friendships.

 

Not a bad read 

A grope of girls that's a new one to me, a gaggle of geese yep but never a grope of girls 😂😂

[hauxwell]

2 minutes ago, Uggy said:

A grope of girls that's a new one to me, a gaggle of geese yep but never a grope of girls 😂😂

Yes you are right.  Still it put a smile on your face.

 

[Guest]

45 minutes ago, hauxwell said:

Yes you are right.  Still it put a smile on your face.

 

It certainly did.

[Gormenghast]

Just finished three autobiographical  books by ex- mp Alan Johnson.

This Boy

Please Mr Postman 

The Long and Winding Road.

All very well written, documenting his early life, time as a postman and time as an MP for Hull West and Hessle. A story from poverty, to postie and finally the corridors of power. I really enjoyed all three books and I'd recommend them if you have any interest in unìon or government business, or even if you haven't.

 

He's also written three novels. I've just finished he first, The Late Train to Gypsy Hill, and again really enjoyed it.

 

Just about to start the second, One of our Ministers is Missing...

[wearysmith]

Some of you may recall the tv adaptation. As I mentioned to friends recently, I think it's one of those rare occasions where the filmed version is better than the book.
This is mainly because the printed word could never capture the full force of nature that is Alison Steadman.
Very enjoyable nostalgic re-read.

 

[Bellatrix]

On 13/08/2024 at 10:07, Uggy said:

Just reading Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz. Evokes the Conan Doyle atmosphere really well

I love his work. Great TV screenwriter, too. If you haven't already, you should try his Hawthorne and Horowitz series.  You'll guess by the title that the author is a character in his own books.

 

I've just picked up a copy of Guilty By Definition by Susie Dent.

[Zinger549]

Just finished Ticket to the World My 80's story by Martin Kemp. Interesting read learning about his early days in Spandau

[metalman]

Another dozen of the usual variety in August.

 

Stuart Kaminsky - Murder on the Yellow Brick Road. It's 1940, and on the set of the Wizard of Oz, a Munchkin is stabbed to death. Private eye Toby Peters investigates, and on the way enlists the help of Judy Garland, Clark Gable and Raymond Chandler. Neatly done.

Michael Wood - A room full of killers. DCI Matilda Darke investigates a murder in a young offenders secure unit on the outskirts of Sheffield.

Michael Wood - The hangman's hold. Now a vigilante serial killer is hanging criminals that he consider have got off lightly. Two more cracking entries  in this series. Even the proofreading seems to have improved in the second one, though even then Hastings has mysteriously moved from Sussex to Kent.

Sarah Woods - Call back yesterday. Woods wrote a large number of legally-focused detective stories featuring lawyer Anthony Maitland. In this one a female stalker is convinced she was married to her victim in a past life. Not bad though it stretched credulity somewhat.

J. Jefferson Farjeon - Mystery in white. Stranded train passengers enter a deserted house, finding tea laid on the table and a fire in the grate but nobody home. Another good read from this author in the British Library crime classics series.

Shelley Smith - The Lord have mercy. Murder of village doctor's wife leads to a whispering campaign against him, but with an unexpected outcome. Every book I've read by Shelley Smith has been top drawer and this one's no exception.

Tom Gauld - Department of Mind-blowing theories. Amusing cartoon book. Maybe not quite as clever and amusing as he thinks he is, but still a good effort.

E.C.R. Lorac - Fell murder. Murder of an old farmer in the Vale of Lune in Lancashire investigated by the patient Inspector Macdonald. Probably the most enjoyable Lorac I've read so far.

Janice Hallett - The mysterious case of the Alperton Angels. Rival journalists research the background of a cold case where members of a cult committed suicide. While she may be a one trick pony in terms of style, Hallett shows no sign of slacking in the plot department. Excellent.

Kate Ellis - The plague maiden. A vicar's murder, a modern body in a medieval plague pit and contamination of supermarket goods with botulism all come together for DI Wesley Peterson. Still really enjoying this series.

Hillary Waugh - Madman at my door. Homicidal maniac released on parole from secure unit goes after the man who shot him years before. It's another cracking read that winds up the tension effectively.

Shaun Bythell - Seven kinds of people you find in bookshops. Bookseller sorts his customers into species. Amusing, though a bit worrying that I seem to fall into several categories.