CUK Book Club: Currently reading...

[DoctorStrangelove]

Next: "All quiet on the western front" by Remarque.

Done: off to Oxfam with it.

Next: "The Reluctant Gunner" by Bernard Small, being the story of a 41 year old conscripted as a gunner in WWII and who hated every minute of it.

Remained a gunner until VE day, then was transferred and ended up RAMC in Greece in an Indian regiment (or whatever), even worse than the preceding business in Italy. Demobbed December 1945, after which he returned to life as a postman.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Next: "The Reluctant Gunner" by Bernard Small, being the story of a 41 year old conscripted as a gunner in WWII and who hated every minute of it.

Remained a gunner until VE day, then was transferred and ended up RAMC in Greece in an Indian regiment (or whatever), even worse than the preceding business in Italy. Demobbed December 1945.

Done: off to Oxfam with it.

Next: "Great cases of Scotland Yard Vol 2" by Julian Simmons et al.

The Siege of Sidney Street by Julian Symons: dear old WSC in this one.

Doctor Crippen's Diary by Emlyn Williams. Meh. Hard work reading that. The most inneresting bit was the historical bit at the end: Ethel Le Neve died as Mrs Smith in 1967, having borne two children who didn't realise who she was.

The Billion Pound Forgery by Michael Gilbert: those nasty Nazis forging £5 notes: the big white ones none of us have ever seen.

The Shepherd's Bush Case by Russell Braddon: Harry Roberts, well remembered by those around in 1966: killed 3 policemen. The scumbag Roberts died on 13th December 2025 at the age of 89 having been released after a mere 48 years on 11th November 2014. Of his fellow criminals John Duddy died in clink in 1981 and John "Jack" Witney was released in 1991 only to be murdered in 1999 by his heroin addicted flatmate who used a hammer.

The Wembley Job by Winston Graham: Bertie Smalls supergrass case in the 70s. Leave it out, guvnor & all that. . One in the ceiling to concentrate minds, then empty the safe.

[Croesus]

Duple: 70 Years of Coachbuilding by Alan Towsin.

As an ex Mech. Eng. an interesting read.

Had no idea of the origins of the company name - the founder's original venture was the production of a convertible pick up - during the week, you used it for deliveries and on the weekend, you removed the truck bed and you were left with a family car.
Hence the name Duple - reflecting duality of purpose.

The duality didn't stop there - They company, now making buses, relocated to Blackpool and found that all their orders were being produced during the winter leaving the workforce little to do during the summer months so during this time of year, they were all deployed to pull pints in the town's many hotels and pubs.

I would imagine anyone over the age of 50 will have memories of coach trips or maybe being taken to school in a Duple coach.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Next: "The Tailor of Panama" by John Le Carre. Two and a half times the length of the above. We'll see if it stalls in the middle.

Yes it might be said to have stalled a little. . Only taken a year to read the fecking thing. Apparently it's supposed to be funny. Can't say I laughed a lot really. Inspired by "Our Man in Havana" apparently. . Maybe selling vacuum cleaners leads to more comedy than bespoke tailoring does. .

Done: off to Oxfam with it at long last. Maybe the fact that it had been remaindered was a bit of a warning. .

Next: TBD.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Next: "Doorway into time": 1966 collection of SF short stories from the 1940s/50s.

Done: off to Oxfam with it.

Next: "50 short SF tales" ed. Asimov & Conklin. Wot it says on the tin. Golden Age SF. Includes the story "The Fly" (which isn't the one they made a film of) where said fly really isn't a fly at all, much to the surprise of a spider and an insect collector. As to quite why the insect collector needed a geiger counter remains unexplained.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Next: "50 short SF tales" ed. Asimov & Conklin. Wot it says on the tin.

Done: off to Oxfam with it.

Next: "Spectrum 2" ed. Kingsley Amis & Robert Conquest (1962).

More golden age SF including Van Vogt's "Resurrection (1948)" (the resurrect a superman on a dead Earth who then duly disposes of the s).

[DoctorStrangelove]

Next: "Killer in the rain" by Raymond Chandler. Being a collection of short stories whence came many of the more famous tomes.

Done: off to Oxfam with it.

Rather good in its way: since Chandler reused the short stories in assorted books parts were really familiar.

Next: Raymond Chandler Collection Vol. 3: "Pearls are a nuisance", "Smart Aleck Kill", "Killer in the rain". Judging by the dust it's been here a looooong time.

First story is moderately odd, 2nd story "Finger Man" introduces Philip Marlowe by name. As it turns out it's a 1934 story (which explains the 1926 car) with Carmody renamed as Marlowe. Well who'd have thunk?

[Croesus]

Just finished Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse.

I wonder how many blokes read that and think - that's me.

Anyway back to Atlas Shrugged. Nearly there but the John Galt speech, all 60 pages of it, I'm finding hard work.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Next: Raymond Chandler Collection Vol. 3: short story collection: "Pearls are a nuisance", "Smart Aleck Kill", "Killer in the rain". Judging by the dust it's been here a looooong time.

Done: off to Oxfam with it.

Next: "The Father Brown Omnibus". Read 3 pages: back on the shelf.

"Masque of the Red Shift" by Fred Saberhagen: A Terminator type story written 20 years before Terminator.

Next: "The Poisoned Chalice" by Michael Clynes. A sort of Tudor period Flashman thing, book 2. I don't have book 1.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Next: "Spectrum 2" ed. Kingsley Amis & Robert Conquest (1962).

More golden age SF including Van Vogt's "Resurrection (1948)" (the resurrect a superman on a dead Earth who then duly disposes of the s).

DNF: Done: off to Oxfam with it. Got bored with that lot: didn't read the Asimov or the PKD.

Next: "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad. Feels like it could do with helicopters to help it along a bit. . Thankfully it's short. The book about the King Leopold of Belgium gives rather more detail in post #566 of this thread (26th Dec 2023).