O/T Fit You Reading 3

[TheDeeDon]

Both Boyle books are magnificent. The tie-ups between the four elements are genius.

I am unsure whether or not I?ve read any Waugh. I did start the war trilogy, but I somehow never got back to it. I think the nearest I have come to Waughing was watching Brideshead Revisited on telly 30-odd years ago, and buying the DVD box as soon as it was released. Must rectify.

I read Norah Webster by Colm Toibin, rated as his best book, but I think several of his other books are superior.

Bournville by Jonathan Coe was OK. Clever structure, good characters, but something didna chime with me. Probably the events which provide the structure. Royal wedding, royal funeral, VE Day, a coronation, the 1966 Jules Rimet final?

Canna remember if I reported in about Melvyn Bragg?s A Son Of War but it was very good - even if I did read a trilogy in 3-1-2 order.

Still reading - slowly and word by word - History of a Revoluter. Its detail is astonishing; I have a bookmark placed in the notes appendix which covers over 30 pages and gives brilliant insight into the forensic research Bill undertook over 40 year.

On the iPad I?m into Slum Boy by Juano Diaz - recommended to anyone who read and enjoyed Shuggie Bain. Splendid so far, and a true story that promises much.

Currently waiting for Spotify to give me my next 15 hour audiobook credit - and for the miserly bstds to put a copy of the new Beatles book by Stuart Maconie.

I first stumbled into Waugh through Vile Bodies and only read Brideshead Revisited after I watched it all during lockdown.
His war trilogy is of the highest standard. I got the whole three novels in one book from the Library. I had learned my lesson from Sunset Song and went for it and it didn't disappoint.
I would say he is one of the best writers I have ever read, but he seems to have been a bit of a c*nt in real life.

I'll try and get a copy of the Juano Diaz book you have mentioned, as I enjoyed the Shuggie Bain book a lot. I read it two years after it was released, as not normally one for something so hyped, but it did deliver.

Fire by Boyle, really was an excellent read. Contemplating even buying a copy of Air just so I can finish off the series.

[57vintage]

With A Little Help From Their Friends (Stuart Maconie) is released on 12 June, says Spotify.

Alarm clock has been set.

[TheDeeDon]

With A Little Help From Their Friends (Stuart Maconie) is released on 12 June, says Spotify.

Alarm clock has been set.

Just out of curiosity, do you ever to listen to the Radcliffe and Maconie show on 6 Music?

I would prescribe listening to their show to anyone getting bogged down with life.

That and the Paul Gambaccini Collection of Radio Two, are worth of the licence fee alone.

[Mason89]

Just out of curiosity, do you ever to listen to the Radcliffe and Maconie show on 6 Music?

Ive got Radio 6 on all day. Theres some amount of shyte on it but its also the only chance youve got of hearing anything new. The highlight of the week for me is Chris Hawkins doing names in songs. Its impossible to listen to without laughing

[57vintage]

Just out of curiosity, do you ever to listen to the Radcliffe and Maconie show on 6 Music?

I would prescribe listening to their show to anyone getting bogged down with life.

That and the Paul Gambaccini Collection of Radio Two, are worth of the licence fee alone.

I don’t listen to much radio these days. Spotify and podcasts provide the aural backing to my daily five-mile flaneur activity around the banlieu.

I did go to see Maconie when he included the Lemon Tree on the tour following a radio series he did on Radio 2 about 50 classic songs or something. He’s a very good radio presenter, and his Full English travelogue, and The Nanny State Made me are well-written books. I’ve just had an alert appear onscreen from my ‘supplier’ of hooky downloads suggesting that he’s got hold of the Maconie Beatles book…

[TheDeeDon]

Ive got Radio 6 on all day. Theres some amount of shyte on it but its also the only chance youve got of hearing anything new. The highlight of the week for me is Chris Hawkins doing names in songs. Its impossible to listen to without laughing

Same here. Names is songs is genius, but I love the Chris Hawkins show anyway, although his new music choices are usually p!ish.

[57vintage]

Just out of curiosity, do you ever to listen to the Radcliffe and Maconie show on 6 Music?

I would prescribe listening to their show to anyone getting bogged down with life.

That and the Paul Gambaccini Collection of Radio Two, are worth of the licence fee alone.

I don’t listen to much radio these days. Spotify and podcasts provide the aural backing to my daily five-mile flaneur activity around the banlieu.

I did go to see Maconie when he included the Lemon Tree on the tour following a radio series he did on Radio 2 about 50 classic songs or something. He’s a very good radio presenter, and his Full English travelogue, and The Nanny State Made me are well-written books. I’ve just had an alert appear onscreen from my ‘supplier’ of hooky downloads suggesting that he’s got hold of the Maconie Beatles book…

[57vintage]

The Maconie book is very entertaining. Fine chat with him here:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0giZoIyK2pqThvQHJc9iYg?si=5ChivRY-S2qdi2tpNGCqsg

History of a Revoluter demonstrates why Dr Bill took 40 years to write it. The research is incredible, all carried out whilst he was teaching for 20 years, and contributing to various other Gibbon/Mitchell books. I may take a few more weeks to pigamongsh1tely pick my way through it.

The Land In Winter by Andrew Miller is bubbling away nicely on audiobook now that miserly Spotify has given me my 15 hour ration.

The film of Salt Path is poor. The audio is awful, but Gillian Anderson is still hotter than skirlie straight fae the frying pan.

[TheDeeDon]

The Maconie book is very entertaining. Fine chat with him here:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0giZoIyK2pqThvQHJc9iYg?si=5ChivRY-S2qdi2tpNGCqsg

History of a Revoluter demonstrates why Dr Bill took 40 years to write it. The research is incredible, all carried out whilst he was teaching for 20 years, and contributing to various other Gibbon/Mitchell books. I may take a few more weeks to pigamongsh1tely pick my way through it.

The Land In Winter by Andrew Miller is bubbling away nicely on audiobook now that miserly Spotify has given me my 15 hour ration.

The film of Salt Path is poor. The audio is awful, but Gillian Anderson is still hotter than skirlie straight fae the frying pan.

I've read all the Maconie books to date, so will likely read his newest one, even though I am not a huge Beatles fan.

The other half was wanting to go and see The Salt Path and Gillian Anderson is usually good in whatever she is in, but think it will be out of the cinema by the time we can go and see it.


My own reading this week has been pretty limited, due to my current crop of books being particularly poor. Happens from time to time with the way I select books to read, but this batch have been very poor. It does allow me to catch up on other stuff from my reading pile.

I've started to use the Library website more and have even signed up to the recommendations email, which I think is just an algorithm based on my previous borrowings and turns up some absolute shyte, but I assume I am partly to blame for that.

[TheDeeDon]

With A Little Help From Their Friends (Stuart Maconie) is released on 12 June, says Spotify.

Alarm clock has been set.

Just took it out of the Central Library.

I have read all his other books, so thought I'd best give this one a go.

[TheDeeDon]

I can?t remember which way chronologically Brooklyn and Long Island are set, but both are Colm at his very best. I?ve just begun his The Magician, am still working my way through David Hepworth?s A Fabulous Creation, and have dipped a toe into Anthony Quinn?s latest The Mouthless Dead. I had a mini-crisis with the audiobook of Sarah Moss?s The Tidal Zone when my monthly 15 hours of Spotify credit ran out, less than 10 minutes from the end. The IT sorcerer that is former TRF stalwart Basin City somehow found me the last three chapters as an audio file to my delight. I?d recommend anything by Ms Moss.

Now over to Sean for the weekend weather.

Just finished The Magician by Colm Toibin.

Wow, what a book.

I re-read The Master by him too and doesn't come as close to the Magician.

In my opinion The Master doesn't keep you quite as hooked as The Magician and the story doesn't flow as well

I have struggled with finding good stuff to read this past month, but The Magician was just what I needed.

[57vintage]

Currently listening to Sarah Moss's latest "Ripeness". About 85% through it. The ending's going to be interesting.

Reading Louise Welsh's To The Dogs where a well-respected vice-principal at Glasgow University falls in with the bad boys of the criminal fraternity when his loon dabbles too deep in the smack-vending scene (Library Borrow Box e-book)

Reading in actual factual proper mannies' paperback Edwin Muir's Poor Tom. It's in a quadrology of "west of Scotland" novels alongside JF Hendrie's Fernie Brae, Gordon M Williams's From Scenes Like These, and Tom Gallacher's Apprentice.

It was the third-named of the authors who attracted me to it. He wrote the original yarn (The Siege of Trencher's Farm) on which the still-controversial Straw Dogs was based, and the 1970s Hazel cop series co-written with Terry Venables.

[TheDeeDon]

Have the Fire part of the John Boyle books. I honestly can't read the pages quick enough, which isn't great for a book with only 160 pages. No dip in quality from the previous two I have read in the series.
I'm awaiting the final part of this series of books (Air) to enter the Library, but I was able to reserve it, so hopefully not too long.

Finally got the final part at the weekend. Got an email from the Library to say it was ready for collection and had to pick it up by the 7th and didn't return from holiday until the 9th. A begging email was sent to the Library and although not the done thing, they agreed to keep it for me until the Saturday. Public institutions at their finest.

The quality of the final book didn't slip from the previous three books in the series and tied it all up nicely.

Currenty reading a book about the author Nevil Shute, an author whose work I really like. Although not so well known now, he was a very prolific and successful author between 1940 and 1960.

A decent, but uneventful read.

[57vintage]

It?s very unusual for me to abandon a book, but the well-regarded Cold Comfort Farm (Stella Gibbons, 1932) is something I couldn?t get into at all.

Struggling a bit too with Colm Toibin?s The Magician, an imagined biog of German writer Thomas Mann.

John Patrick McHugh?s Fun and Games (Spotify audiobook) is entertaining though. Irish adolescent, ?fitba? (Irish version with handling the ball poovery) and riding obsessed late **** about to go to college, dealing with issues, not least, with the fact that his ma?s bit on the side has circulated online a photie of her paps which the whole town is discussing.

[TheDeeDon]

It?s very unusual for me to abandon a book, but the well-regarded Cold Comfort Farm (Stella Gibbons, 1932) is something I couldn?t get into at all.

Struggling a bit too with Colm Toibin?s The Magician, an imagined biog of German writer Thomas Mann.

If your not enjoying a book I find it's best to leave it. So much good stuff to read and not enough time to read it all.