What book you reading ?

[mothhawk]

"My" library is still closed for another two weeks, and I've given up on the community library in the next village (I can never get near the bookshelves for all the various clubs they have each day - knitting, sewing, coffee, etc, all sitting round a long table with their chairs pushed back against the shelves...grr). So I'm going through my own bookshelves re-reading books and I've just finished "Hannah - The Complete Story" about Hannah Hauxwell. Remember her? What a hard life she lived, and so contentedly.

[Containergardener]

Oh I remember watching her on the TV. Sounds like an interesting book.
I'm not reading anything at the moment, need to choose something. I read on kindle. As much as I love books and would love my own library, it's just easier for me.

[mothhawk]

I use a kindle too,especially at night to read in bed - it's lighter to hold than a book, and I can turn out the light and read by kindleglow, but I do like a real book, which is why I use the library so much. On my kindle I've just started Past Imperfect by Julian Fellowes.

[Nicos]

Just finished
The Farmer's Wife: My Life in Days by Helen Rebanks

She’s the wife of James Rebanks who has written several books on himself and ecological farming.
Both have written very readable books.

[Nicos]

I prefer the feel and smell of real books, and manually turning pages.
I’m very much an ‘in the bathtub’ and ‘in bed at sillyo’clock.fr’ sort of reader.

I did try my mom’s kindle for a while but I hadn’t realised how much I like to turn back a few pages to check things out again. Ney on impossible with the kindle…unless there’s a trick to that?

[mothhawk]

You're right about turning pages, Nicos. That's why I find I tend to only have fiction on the kindle, but proper books for non-fiction. I seldom turn back a page in fiction

[Andraste]

I'm experiencing the 'drought-lander' phenomena i.e. sadly awaiting the return of the next Outlander series so decided to pick up the books on which the series is based by Diana Gabaldon.

Now on book four, I've not yet got to the stage where the book goes past the tv series. So far they're very consistent with each other in terms of the storyline and I'm enjoying the books very much.

For those unfamiliar, Claire (a former WWII Nurse) accidently travels back from 1945 by 200 years. She ends up in all sorts of historically based trials and turns and marries Jamie (Highland Scot). Circumstances lead Claire to return to her own time around the time of the battle of Culloden, where she stays for 20 years until realising that Jamie is still alive so she goes back to him. The books (and series) tell the story of Claire and Jamie but also their families and broader experiences. It's hard to describe as it's a love story at its core but there's plenty of treachery, warfare, struggle etc. to get your teeth into - there's even a nice dose of genealogy for those inclined (which I am).

I love a saga and with the first book at around 800 pages on its own this series is ticking my boxes.

[mothhawk]

My Turn To Make The Tea by Monica Dickens, a semi-autobiographical book. She wrote Follyfoot - anyone remember that on the telly?

[Penellype]

My Turn To Make The Tea by Monica Dickens, a semi-autobiographical book. She wrote Follyfoot - anyone remember that on the telly?

I remember Follyfoot, which was filmed at the Harewood estate in Harrogate, just down the road from the village of Follifoot, a couple of miles from where I grew up.

I'm reading The Self-Sufficiency Garden by Huw Richards and Sam Cooper.

[1batfastard]

Hi All,
Nearly finished the Billy Cullen autobiography and a very good book it is IMHO....

The Bill Cullen story is an account of incredible poverty and deprivation in the Dublin slums. It highlights the frustration of a father and mother feeling their relationship crumble as they fight to give their children a better life. It's a story of courage, joy and happiness.

Born and bred in the tough inner city slums of Summerhill in Dublin, Bill Cullen was one of fourteen children. A street seller from the age of six, Bill left school at thirteen to make a living. Dublin in the '40s and '50s was a harsh place, rife with unemployment and poverty, but the Cullen's were blessed with the qualities of determination, good humour and an abundance of love.

The lessons Bill learnt from his grandmother stood him in good stead as he progressed from selling dolls and cinema tickets on street corners to a job in a Ford card dealership and eventually to head a company with a turnover of more than £250 million.
(Courtesy Of Amazon)

EDIT:- I knew Rock Hudson was for many years alleged to have been a closet gay, but in this book there is an episode that is mentioned about an incident at a swimming pool. To this you will have to draw your own conclusions as to what it suggests, so you need to read the book to find out...

Apart from that hiccup the book is a very good read and a true Rags to Riches story..

Geoff.

[Nicos]

Good book indeed ^^^^^ - I read it a while ago and it still lingers in my thoughts.

The book I’m reading is really thought provoking/ educational ..

The Treeline by Ben Rawlence
” The last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth”

Loads of interesting information, simply explained . Not doom and gloom but incredibly thought provoking - especially as , as gardeners, we’re already noticing how Climate Change is affecting us locally.

Its one book I think we all need to read and open our eyes.
Basically, the author has followed the Artic treeline around the planet, talking to locals and researchers in situ about the changes in habitat and wildlife etc they’ve noticed change over the years.

[1batfastard]

Hi All,
Just about to start a marathon double book single publication by Tess Gerritsen - Gravity / Bloodstream.

GRAVITY Deep in space, a routine mission is going badly out of control. A culture of organisms has begun to regenerate and infect the crew studying it. Their only hope is Dr Emma Watson, a brilliant research physician who has been training for this moment her entire life. But as her colleagues around her die in agony, back home another battle is raging, between her husband Jack and NASA. This time, the question is not how to bring them home, but whether to leave them to die...

BLOODSTREAM Dr Claire Elliot took her son Noah and moved to Tranquility, Maine to get away from it all: the temptations, the pressure, the violence of the big city. But the quiet little town has a deadly big secret. As winter creeps in, a murderous outbreak spreads across Tranquility that has all the hallmarks of an epidemic. Using her medical knowledge, only Claire has a chance to stop the madness - before everything she loves is destroyed.
(Synopsis courtesy www.abebooks.co.uk/)

Geoff.

[mothhawk]

The Potting Shed Papers: From Johnny Appleseed's Apples to Sex and the Single Strawberry - Explorations of Gardens and Gardeners, by Charles Elliott

[1batfastard]

Hi All,
Really enjoyed the double header good reads they were, I am just about to start the book below.

When a plane crashes high in the mountains of North Carolina, Tempe Brennan is one of the first on the scene. As a forensic anthropologist for the state, she serves on the region's disaster response team. The task that confronts her is a sad and sickening one. Putting normal life on hold, she and her colleagues must painstakingly identify the victims. A chance discovery concerns her: a severed foot, well away from the main crash site. A deserted house close by is buried so deep in the woods that locals claim to know nothing of its existence. And her examination of the foot throws up more questions than it answers. Before she can make any progress, an anonymous accusation is levelled against her. Tempe must fight to save her professional standing. But she fears that, air tragedy aside, another corpse lies somewhere in the woods. Pitting herself against a conspiracy of silence, Tempe is determined to bring justice for her mystery victim.

Geoff.

[Andraste]

I think I've read most of the Tempe Brennan series - I hope you enjoy them 1batfastard

I'm currently reading The Picasso Scam by Stuart Pawson following your recommendation for a later book in the DI Charlie Priest series earlier in this thread (I like a series so thought I'd start at the beginning)