What book you reading ?

[1batfastard]

Hi again All,
I forgot thinking outside the box posting on here but if anybody ever comes across the following:-

Bristol Hercules Aero Engine -VI / XVI Overhaul book Vol.2

Pleas get in touch as this will very much help with getting the stagnated restoration of a Bristol Beaufighter that has been languishing on the back burner at DUXFORD airfield for many years.

This is because of the lack of 1st -Correct engines ( Literally Hens teeth ), 2nd:- A solution has been found to this however the required book has not plenty of Vol.1's but sadly no Vol. 2's

Geoff.

[1batfastard]

Hi All,
Eight chapters into The Dangerous Edge by Tim Renton. I think it's meant to be a political thriller so far more politics than thrill though.

When two British aid-workers are taken hostage in Beirut, the Government devises a plan to rescue them. Working on intelligence reports, they send fighter aircraft to intercept an airliner en route to Libya with orders to shoot it down if it refuses to divert to British-occupied territory.


EDIT:- He should stick to politics as the book features heavily on this, IMPO the books cover should really have the Houses Of Parliament prominent with a Tornado F.3 (Aircraft mentioned in book) flying as it were above them and not an F-16 with a pilots image like above, gives you the wrong impression of what the book features, again IMPO.
(Yes I know knit picking!)

Geoff.

[1batfastard]

Hi All,
Just about to start Three Mothers (And A Camel) by Phyllida Law haven't a clue as to what genre Phyllida writes normally but I'll usually give anything a bash to expand what little brain I have...,

A single-volume edition of two hugely charming and funny memoirs of family life - 'Notes to my Mother-in-Law' and 'How Many Camels Are There in Holland?' - by the inimitable Phyllida Law. Phyllida Law's treasured mother-in-law Annie was the lynchpin of the entire family, so when they realised she was growing ever more deaf the only solution was for Phyllida to note down all the day's gossip for Annie to read. When her own mother Mego - always deliciously dotty - was diagnosed with dementia late in her life, Phyllida devoted herself to Mego's care, on hand to keep the cottage tidy and prepare a medicinal G&T. And all the while Phyllida had to manage her busy acting career and bring up her own daughters, the actresses Emma and Sophie Thompson. Complete with wonderful new material from Phyllida, Emma and Sophie, this single-volume edition of Phyllida Laws's two enchanting memoirs of family life - 'Notes to my Mother-in-Law' and 'How Many Camels Are There in Holland?' - is a tender and sweetly comic story of mothers, daughters, a malfunctioning hearing aid and a most peculiar question about camels ...

EDIT 03/10:- I quite enjoyed this book, I imagined it was Victoria Wood doing one her funny standup monologues even though the subject matter is quite sad.

Geoff.

[Nicos]

A light hearted one at the moment.

talk to the SNAIL by Stephan Clarke

A light hearted description of French attitudes.
It was written in 2006 so a bit dated now, but many things still hold true.

[MelanieSW]

I'm currently reading a non- fiction book, "Flint" by Joanne Bourne (subtitled "a lithic love letter"). Many years ago Jo and I were on the same part-time Archaeology MA course. One may think a book about flint is quite niche, however this is a great read. It's lovely, funny and informative, and kind of makes you want to go out for a walk and take in the landscape around you.

[1batfastard]

Hi All,
About to start this apparently dark comedic uplifting of book.

At three o'clock in the morning, that defenceless hour when anything feels possible, the Idyll Inn's only sounds are the low hum and thrum a building makes to keep itself going. An uneasy hour, it is also the most discreet time for unsavoury acts. If all goes well, there will be no repercussions.

At three o'clock in the morning, four people convene in one room to do the unthinkable. All four harbour secrets - of betrayal, sex, fear, and guilt - but all four are united in their loathing of the director of the Inn. Fuelled by Sylvia's secret wine stash, they begin to confess to past demeanours, to abandonment and hope, to questions of love and loyalty. But then one of them asks a question that no one is prepared for...EXIT LINES is a wry, funny but also terribly poignant novel about life's turning points and about how we adapt and change. It is about growing old disgracefully and tackles the 'Big Questions' with a refreshing lightness of touch.

EDIT:- Not really funny IMPO mildly amusing in places, the book mainly centres around the four main characters in an old peoples home and there life in the past, until coming altogether in the home on a secret project.

Geoff.

[1batfastard]

Hi All,
I started The Complete Book Of Dreams by Edwin Raphael already read through the A + B lists of meanings and it looks like a mish mash of Dream meanings / Fables / Old wives tales and sayings to flesh out the book all mixed together. To be totally honest as some dream features have multiple meaning you take them with a pinch of salt.

I suppose you could look back at certain events occurring in your personal life and match them up with recent or well remembered older dream's or possibly a recurring dream you have had who knows ?

Also if your superstitious it would obviously play on your mind I imagine, but who is to say if dreams actually are portents of good or bad fortune ? At the end of the day it is up to the individual trying to make sense of what they have dreamt especially when the dream makes no sense.

Geoff.

[Nicos]

Easy reading …
Snowball Oranges by Peter Kerr.
Almost finished it so I’ll then be reading his next book Manana Manana.
Life in rural Mallorca for an expat and his family back in 2000

[1batfastard]

Hi All,
Just started At Home In The Himalayas by Christina Noble.

An autobiography which is an account of the author's life in the Himalayas. In 1970 she walked through the mountains from Simla to Kashmir and decided to set up a business which would organize walking holidays in the West Himalayas. She now spends six months of each year in Manali, India. ( Synopsis courtesy of www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb )

Geoff.

[Nicos]

Similar sort of book Geoff!…
‘How the English made the Alps’ by Jim Ring

Part biographical, part historical facts.

A very interesting read.

Basically about how the English introduced tourism, winter sports, railways etc to the area from the 1700s onwards and factors affecting them at the time.

Goodness knows how some of the first climbers managed to conquer the peaks wearing such basic survival gear.

[1batfastard]

Hi All,
Nicos - I was quite surprised as I enjoyed reading the book, I picked up in a box of books off of Ebay £10 inc,p&p for 20 books, I have already read three of them so for and not the books I wanted that I spotted in the box so as far as I am concerned a winner...

I got another couple of bargains out on a very, very, very rare for me on a shopping trip with the wife last week, we called, In our local Sainsbury's, they have a charity book rack I bought (50p Each) Kate Mosse - The Ghost Ship along with Papillon by Henri Charriere ofwhich the latter I have started.

I watched the original Steve McQueen /Dustin Hoffman film many years ago which I thought was really good and could not understand why Hollywood ? decided in their infinite wisdom remake it it 2017 with the film was met with just average critique and not really that successful. Some films are remade / reimagined quite well but I do wish those who are at the top would just leave classics alone for the sake of a gamble and quick profit, especially when it really does not come near matching the original IMPO.

Henri Charrière (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃ʁi ʃaʁjɛʁ]; 16 November 1906 – 29 July 1973) was a French writer, convicted of murder in 1931 by the French courts and pardoned in 1970. He wrote the novel Papillon, a memoir of his incarceration in and escape from a penal colony in French Guiana. While Charrière claimed that Papillon was largely true, modern researchers believe that much of the book’s material came from other inmates, rather than Charrière himself. Charrière denied committing the murder, although he freely admitted to having committed various other petty crimes prior to his incarceration.

Geoff.