What books are we reading at the moment ?

[Canardly]

Re reading The ragged trousered philanthropist just to remind me why I vote the way I do.   

Acquired a replacement copy myself recently. How relevant it is today.

[Peter]

Yes, the politics is sound.  Regrettably, it's also my style of decorating.....

[Vince]

I've been reading the Sharpe books in chronological order, and have read the first twelve. Sort of ground to a halt as the next one (Sharpe's Company) has the reappearance of Hakeswill, a baddy so evil that he has no redeeming features at all (except he was played by Peter Postlethwaite in the TV series) that I'm going to struggle to read it.
Just lined up The Flame Bearer, the latest in the Last Kingdom series, Total Control by David Baladacci and Midshipman Bolitho and the 'Avenger'.

[T42]

Justin Cronin having added a third book to his The Passage opus, I'm re-reading the first one and searching our shelves, sofas & sundry horizontal surfaces for the second. It's in there somewhere.

[Mr Larrington]

Justin Cronin having added a third book to his The Passage opus, I'm re-reading the first one and searching our shelves, sofas & sundry horizontal surfaces for the second. It's in there somewhere.

I was just thinking it was about time I checked on thr progress of vol. 3.  Spook!

[Mr Larrington]

Mr Sainsbury's House Of Toothy Comestibles lacked the latest volume by Mr Cronin so I am now on "Into The Black", Rowland "Vulcan 607" White's account of the birth of the Space Shuttle.

[Quisling]

The Midnight Gang by David Walliams. 

A bit beneath my reading age tbh but my 8 year old insisted I read it.  Good so far - easy reading and gently humorous.  If nothing else, I'll be able to have sensible discussions with MicroQ about it.

Edit - finished it.  Very good.  Not overly complex.  Good for 8 year olds.
Plot

(click to show/hide)

Has a happy ending

[fuzzy]

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep

very different to the film.
 
When I was reading it in a restaurant last week (on my own) the waitress asked me what I was reading.

 Cue brief exchange, blank look from her. 

Me: you know the film Blade Runner, it was based on this

Cue more blank looks.  Am I getting old?

No you aren't getting old. The waitress has been spectacularly fialed by those that brought he rup.

No.1 Son has stolen my copy of the soundtrack and watches the film regularly.

No.2 Son watches the film and spends money on things like replicas of Deckards handgun as decoration for his room. he even bought a naked resin version of the gun and spent hours painting it up. Did a good job as well.

[redshift]

I do hope he's seen Adam Savage's Youtube spot about how he built his replica by buying the Mannlicher and Ruger weapons on which the original was based, and butchering them as per the prop?

[fuzzy]

I don't know if he has so I shall bring it to his attention

[mrcharly-YHT]

Finally finished Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy. Been meaning to do this for a long time.

That's grim. So grim.

Need to get hold of her Union street books now, and I'll have read all of her books.

[Nuncio]

Coincidence. I've just started re-reading Regeneration. First time round it affected me considerably. I expect to be finishing it next week on a beach in Thassos - not sure if that will make it more bearable or ruin my holiday.

[PeteB99]

Just started No cunning plan - Tony Robinson's memoirs. £1.79 on kindle at the moment.

[mrcharly-YHT]

The library didn't have any of the Union Street books, so I read The Martian instead (finally). That's a good lightweight read.

Now reading 'The rapture of the nerds', a collaboration between Charles Stross and Cory Doctrow. Its just as daft and silly as you might expect, or require.

[Vince]

I've just pre ordered the next Damian Boyd, Heads or Tails. No doubt more detective work on the Somerset Levels.

[Vince]

Just started No cunning plan - Tony Robinson's memoirs. £1.79 on kindle at the moment.

Missed it . Its now more expensive than the paperback edition!

[Ashaman42]

Two thirds of the way through KSR's Red Mars - not read this one before though I did read either Blue or Green about 15 years ago, not sure which.

I know I have Blue Mars on the bookcase but I'm not sure if I have Green.

[Quisling]

I recently finished Clover Moon by Jacqueline Wilson at the insistence of my 8 year old.  It was very good, and ties win the the Hetty Feather books too, in case you're after something an 8 year old girl might like.

Onto more adult subjects I'm currently 80% of the way through The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz.  It's very good, and tells the story of, er, a long walk to escape the soviet labour camps of Siberia.  However, a quick Google suggests it's all a load of balls.  Nonetheless, the guy spent an interesting life:
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/may/05/guardianobituaries
BUT (from Wiki)
"The missing link came through documents discovered by an American researcher, Linda Willis, in Polish and Russian archives. One, in Rawicz's own hand described how he was released from the gulag in 1942, apparently as part of a general amnesty for Polish soldiers. These are backed up by his amnesty document and a permit to travel to rejoin the Polish Army. These papers make it almost impossible to believe that Rawicz escaped, unless there is a case of mistaken identity. However, the name and place and date of birth all match. The documents also show that rather than being imprisoned on trumped-up charges as he claimed, Rawicz was actually sent to the gulag for killing an officer with the NKVD, the forerunner of the Soviet secret police, the KGB. "
There is some thought that Rawicz essentially re-told another person's story of a long walk to freedom.  Either way, it is an engagingly written story, even if it is probably fiction.

[Peter]

I read The Long Walk as a teenager, probably not that long after it came out.  Even with almost zero knowledge of the USSR at the time, it seemed a bit unlikely, to me.  But it was a very gripping read, especially to one who loved Jack London and real life tales such as that of Shackleton, whose tale also seems unlikely but is verifiable.  I seem to remember reading a similar story about an overland escape from Russia a little later, which seemed plausible, but I can't remember the title!

[Mr Larrington]

I've wanted to read that ever since noted primatologist John Napier gave its credibility a thorough shoeing for, among other things, Rawicz' description of his encounter with a couple of Yetis.

[T42]

I read that years ago. Good read.

I should think that if Rawicz had killed an NKVD officer they'd had given him one in the back of the head rather than sending him to the gulag. 

[De Sisti]

Music Theory for Dummies.

[Mr Larrington]

Justin Cronin having added a third book to his The Passage opus, I'm re-reading the first one and searching our shelves, sofas & sundry horizontal surfaces for the second. It's in there somewhere.

Having now ploughed through all 800 pages of "The City Of Mirrors" I'm rather afraid I'm going to have to re-visit vols 1 & 2 just to get the cast straight in my head-branes.

[T42]

I re-read the first two first. Just finished tCoM. Liked it overall, but I'm still mulling over whether I liked the end or not.

After reading the whole saga I now feel somewhat bereft. WFT am I going to do for a book?

[Quisling]

How to be good by Nick Hornby.

I found it on the bookshelf and Mrs Q denies any knowledge of it so it's getting a read before a visit to the charity shop.  It's okay, vaguely funny and it poses some interesting questions on whether the kind of middle class lives people lead are good only in terms of the protagonists' own indoctrinated expectations but not in terms of providing soul developing fulfillment.  Maybe that's enough for most people, who just want to go to work, provide for their families and occasionally complain to their MP rather than actually Do Something About It.
The book provides entertainment.  I'm hoping for something more enlightening but not expecting to find it therein.
Marks: 3 out of 5.

edit: craftily ambiguous ending but otherwise nothing exciting.  Now reading The Shepherd's Life by James Rebanks.