CUK Book Club: Currently reading...

[DoctorStrangelove]

Done: off to Oxfam with it. Wilderness of Mirrors & all that.

Next: "Fire and Steam" by Christian Wolmar, being Another Book About Railways. Dunno how long I've had this one but it must be 15 years or more. My dad had the paperback version which met Oxfam years ago in the ongoing but vain attempt to thin the shelves a bit.

Done: off to Oxfam with it. The obnoxious Mr James Savile gets a mention, along with The Great She Elephant, always keen to travel by any means other than rail, and the idiot who was in charge when the railways were "privatized" so successfully, one John Major.

Oh, and that chap Grayling, well known for his reverse midas touch.

Inneresting to learn that when nationalised BR had a mere 448 different classes of locomotive, and in an attempt to rectify this, introduced another 12 classes of their own design. All of them steam.

Contrast the cost per mile of steam: 1/- (one shilling (5p) for those of tender (see wot I did there? tender, steam engine, oh don't bother)) years with cost per mile of diesel: 3 3/4d (that's 3 old pence and three farthings, must be less than 2p).

Next: another attempt at "Trinity: the treachery and pursuit of the most dangerous spy in history" by Frank Close.

Dunno how far I'll get with this, but here goes nothing.

[milanbenes]

I just finished "Snuff"

the eighth one in that thread

next I am starting on "Soul Music" I think or whichever one is the first of those three

any other fans of the City Watch here ?

Milan.

[sadkingbilly]

I just finished "Snuff"

the eighth one in that thread

next I am starting on "Soul Music" I think or whichever one is the first of those three

any other fans of the City Watch here ?

Milan.

last year I re-read the whole discworld series. - great stuff!
(i'd left it long enough to have forgotten enough to do so)
I find it difficult to find good fantasy/SF now.
it's all rehashes of LOTR etc.*
even cyberpunk and steampunk have gone generic.

* game of fecking thrones, anyone?

[DoctorStrangelove]

Next: another attempt at "Trinity: the treachery and pursuit of the most dangerous spy in history" by Frank Close.

Dunno how far I'll get with this, but here goes nothing.

Done: off to Oxfam with it on Monday. Much mention of the glory hunting Mary of FBI Director fame. And who knew that the judge in the Fuchs case creamed his jeans every time he got to sentence someone to death.

Next:There's so little choice available. :

"The Wilson Plot" by David Leigh. 1988. Spooky.

edit you mother****er.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Done: off to Oxfam with it on Monday. Much mention of the glory hunting Mary of FBI Director fame. And who knew that the judge in the Fuchs case creamed his jeans every time he got to sentence someone to death.

Next: There's so little choice available. :

"The Wilson Plot" by David Leigh. 1988. Spooky.

Done: Off to Oxfam with it. He has a low opinion of Peter Wright, which is quite probably justified.

Next: "Without Enigma: the Ultra and Fellgiebel Riddles" by Kenneth Macksey.

[vetran]

Heads you lose - Jeffery "give us an" Archer - pretty standard fare rehashed dreams of being a world statesman and a billionaire businessman - easy holiday read.

Now on Simon Scarrow "the honour of Rome".

[milanbenes]

read Mort last week, it was good, but doesn't beat the City Watch series, we'll see what Soul Music brings

took a John Grisham with me but didn't have time for it and also A Farewell to Arms

Milan.

[vetran]

read Mort last week, it was good, but doesn't beat the City Watch series, we'll see what Soul Music brings

took a John Grisham with me but didn't have time for it and also A Farewell to Arms

Milan.

Can't go wrong with Terry Pratchett & Grisham.

When I was doing the uni runs I got a few on tape. Great way to spen 3-4 hours driving.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Done: off to Oxfam with it.

Not as interesting as the Dam Busters, apparently Bader was upset with the amount he received in royalties, he was still upset after the agreement was altered, so it took decades before he watched the film.

Next: "Jambusters" by Julie Summers. I expect this to be an easier read. .

Wot a lot of Jam they busted, and knitted socks, and all sorts of other things the WI did during the last global unpleasantness. Off to Oxfam with it (the duplicate went a month ago).

Next: "The Tree Collector: the life and explorations of David Douglas" by Ann Lindsay and Syd House.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Next: "Without Enigma: the Ultra and Fellgiebel Riddles" by Kenneth Macksey.

Done: off to Oxfam* with it. A sort of alternate history what might have happened if... sort of thing. On the bright side, the print size was reasonable & it was short at 152 pages unlike some of my doorstops.

Next: Confidence Man by Maggie Haberman. The life story up to 2021ish of the Orange Moron. A curiously easy read compared with some of my earlier tomes. I bought it about 6 weeks ago so it hasn't mouldered.

Still stuck on this one 7/7/25 and the **** has been reelected. Why couldn't that kid shoot straight? Preferably with something a bit heavier than 5.56?

Picked up again 23/8/25 due to boredom with the other books, tv, and Life The Universe and Everything: my existential angst is playing up again. It's no joke.

And the jungle drums from next door ain't helping. Or that fecking dog barking all the time.

The question remains: how the feck was this Orange Micropenised Moron elected once FFS. It's a riddle wrapped in Russian espionage. .


*It was shelved in an odd place rather than with the WWI & WWII books. But there you go.