The "I am currently reading" thread

[metalman 21]

Recently read:

 

John Rhode - The Motor Rally Mystery. Another good Rhode detective story from the 1930s which would horrify modern day motoring organisations!

John Rhode - Death at Breakfast. Another good one with an ingenious murder method. Recently reprinted so more available than most of his.

John Scalzi - Agent to the Stars. His first book, in which a Hollywood agent is put in charge of PR for aliens who look like globs of snot. Even more so than his other books, a fast paced amusing romp.

T P Fielden - The Riviera Express

T P Fielden - Resort to Murder. First two of a series featuring  reporter sleuth Judy Dimont in late 1950s Torquay. OK but a bit verbose overall.

Agatha Christie - Mrs McGinty's Dead. Poirot unravels a case from almost nothing. One of her better ones.

Anna Kavan - A Bright Green Field. Hallucinatory, strange, surreal short stories by the author of the cult post-apocalypse novel Ice.

Anthony Abbot - The Murder of the Night Club Lady. One of his breathless Thatcher Colt detective stories from the 1930s. I like these, just wish they were more readily available.

 

Just started: John Rhode - The Hanging Woman.

[Rockers rule 673]

 

Get the Bunting out I've finally finished 'Jarhead' for a little book sure took me some time and it wasn't because it was hard reading I've just been busy with Bikes, Cars, Garage, House etc etc. I do know I'm going to have to watch the film again now.

The book itself isn't as good as what I can remember of the film and reminds me a lot of 'Catcher in the Rye'.

Typical rights of passage our American Cousins seem to delight in. 

[Rockers rule 673]

'The Great North Road - Now and Then'

 

Factual book by Chris 'Wolfie' Cooper.

 

interspersed with maps and 100's of photos of the Great North Road along its 400 mile journey from London all the way up to Edinburgh.

Not to be confused with the modern A1 although the A1 as we know it now is derived mostly from the original  Great North Road but has nothing in relevance to the Great North Road that wound its way up the country through Towns that have been bypassed or duel carriage'd over the years.

The Author takes us through those villages and routes that still have sections of the old road and gives you a feast for your eyes with photos that are as near as dam it to pictures and sketches from many years ago revealing just how some places have changed or changed very little as it may be from the time of Toll roads and coaching stages pre motor vehicles.

I did find some of the writers descriptions of where the road had altered away from the present day A1 and the early maps in the book a little hard to follow at times and had to resort to my own modern Road Atlas and even Google Maps to understand some of it but all in all an Excellent book definitely one for the Coffee table.  

Not specifically for the petrol heads out there but having done quite a bit of recovery work over the years on the A1  found it very interesting.

lots of nice pic's of all types of vehicles from Trams, early (Dennis) buss's, single cab buss's, lorry's, and cars some of which I've owned or driven over the years . Nice pic of a Trojan bubble car making it's way through traffic in Newcastle and having a strange thing for 3 wheelers liked the nice pic of one of the big Scammell 3 wheel articulated wagons similar to one of the many that flew around Sheffield years ago.

 

Keep safe 

 

Read well.

 

 

[taxman 12]

I've just ordered The Mirror and the Light, the final installment of Hilary Mantel's Cromwell trilogy. To get me in the mood and up to speed on the characters I'm binge re-reading Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies.

[metalman 21]

Recently read:

 

Barbara Paul - But he was already dead when I got there. The author was inspired to write this by characters saying that in the Perry Mason TV series, and decided to take it to extremes by having all six suspects visit the murder scene and disarrange it in various ways. Good.

Barbara Paul - Your eyelids are growing heavy.  Woman is hypnotised into committing a crime. As far fetched as the above but again an entertaining read.

Ruth Rendell - A sleeping life. A good Inspector Wexford mystery, though I'd worked it out way before the end for a change.

Agatha Christie - The body in the library. Miss Marple investigates exactly that.

T. P. Fielden - A quarter past dead. The third in the Judy Dimont series (see my previous post above) and again it was OK but overlong and too verbose. Think I might give up on this bloke for now.

Robert A. Heinlein - The green hills of Earth. 1950s science fiction which now seems hopelessly dated but still a nostalgic read for anyone of my vintage.

James Hadley Chase - Figure it out for yourself. Sort-of private eye Vic Malloy tackles a kidnapping, several murders and some drug smuggling. They may not be fashionable but I always find his books good page-turners.

 

Now reading: John Rhode - Vegetable Duck. It's apparently a term for a stuffed marrow, which in this case is used to bump off a woman by virtue of being laced with digitalis. Another ingenious murder method in action. I can recommend The Hanging Woman by him from my last post too, but there's not much point recommending it since you stand almost no chance of finding a copy these days.

Edited June 22, 2020 by metalman

[GavinBall 0]

On 01/01/2008 at 22:17, *Wallace* said:

Phillip Pullman his Dark Materials.

Oh, great one. I loved it

[feargal 21]

On 22/06/2020 at 10:52, taxman said:

I've just ordered The Mirror and the Light, the final installment of Hilary Mantel's Cromwell trilogy. To get me in the mood and up to speed on the characters I'm binge re-reading Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies.

I tried Wolf Hall when it came out, but packed it in pretty early (scared myself with the sheer size I think!).  However, I'm currently reading Kate Mosse  "Burning Chambers" and loving it, so I might give old Hilary another crack. 

 

I'm itching to get back to the charity shops and book swaps!  However, I've had some decent stuff from The Works for their 3 for a fiver offer, which has helped see me (and my neighbour, mum and two friends) through lockdown so far.  Thank goodness for having friends and family who are willing to share 🙂

Edited July 1, 2020 by feargal

[mikeG 16]

Reach for the Ground by Jeffrey Bernard.

[Rockers rule 673]

Treasure Island (according to Spike Milligan) 

 

Not one of his best unfortunately.

 

Think I'll leave it at that and remember Spike as he was.

 

RIP

 

[nikki-red 308]

I’ve just finished The Wave, by Morton Rhue.

 

Its a really dumbed down, dramatised version of events but still quite interesting.

 

Only short too, read it in a few hours.

[metalman 21]

Read since my last post:

 

Phoebe Atwood Taylor - Punch with care. Another sprightly mystery for Cape Cod detective Asey Mayo; good fun again, if a bit coincidence-stretching.

Dell Shannon - Root of all evil

Dell Shannon - Double bluff. Two early entries in the long series of police procedurals featuring Lt. Luis Mendoza. If you like Ed McBain's 87th precinct series, you'll like these too.

A. Fielding - The Craig poisoning mystery. Inspector Pointer investigates in his usual methodical way. OK.

Raymond Chandler - Trouble is my business. A selection of hard-boiled detectives go down a variety of mean streets. Typically Chandler really.

James Hadley Chase - You'll be lonely when you're dead. Sort-of private eye Vic Malloy investigates a millionaire's wife and finds a rapidly escalating body count instead. Pacy.

Erle Stanley Gardner - The case of the smoking chimney. Although Gardner created Perry Mason, this isn't a Mason story, but still has the same style.

 

Now reading: E. R. Punshon - Death comes to Cambers. Punshon's series copper Bobby Owen progresses from constable to head of Scotland Yard but here he's only got as far as Sergeant when he investigates the bumping off of Lady Cambers at her country house. Took me a while to get into his style, but now I'm used to it it's not bad.

[nikki-red 308]

Pans Labyrinth 

 

This is my favourite film. It came out in 2006 but was only adapted into a book last year.

 

I was worried it wouldn’t do the film justice but Im 3 pages in and love it already.