What Are You Reading

[DNO]

Still reading War of the Rats but I've also started Dead Men Do Tell Tales by William Maples.

 

[Feraud]

Currently reading Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations by Georgina Howell.
Bell was a late 19th early 20th century linguist, Oxford grad, writer, hiker, governement representative, influential in post WWI Iraq, etc. She was one of those rare Victorian types cut from similar cloth to R.F. Burton and T.E. Lawrence.

 

[Nathan Dodge]

Currently reading Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations by Georgina Howell.
Bell was a late 19th early 20th century linguist, Oxford grad, writer, hiker, governement representative, influential in post WWI Iraq, etc. She was one of those rare Victorian types cut from similar cloth to R.F. Burton and T.E. Lawrence.

She was interesting! Back in January, BBC Radio 4 had a Great Lives program on her.

 

[Feraud]

Thanks for the link!

 

[Dennis Young]

I just started the Dresden FIles by Jim Butcher. Kind of Sam SPade meets Harry Potter. A rather enjoyable bit of fluff.

Dresden Files rocks!

I just ordered 'I, the Jury' by Mickey Spillane and hope to receive it in a few days.

 

[cw3pa]

The Canary Murder Case, by S. S. Van Dine; aka: William Huntington Wright.

 

[John Boyer]

Thames: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd and;

Why Niebuhr Now? by John Patrick Diggins

 

[DNO]

Cabinet of Curiosities by Preston and Child.

 

[Nanny Ogg]

I just finished reading "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak. Highly recommend it. Certainly one of the best books that I have read so far. It's heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.

 

[Talbot]

'Mavericks of the Sky' The first daring pilots of the U.S. air mail.

Barry Rosenberg & Catherine Macaulay

Fascinating stuff and an excellent read.

 

[Nanny Ogg]

Currently reading "Jonathan Strange and Mp. Norrell" and I think I'm about to fall in love with this book. The book is a historical british fiction with magical overtones, written in perfect style.

"'Can a magician kill a man by magic?' Lord Wellington asked Strange. Strange frowned. He seemed to dislike the question. 'I suppose a magician might,' he admitted, 'but a gentleman never could.'"

 

[dnjan]

Recently finished War and Peace.
One of Tolstoy's interesting observations (in the book, just before the occupation of Moscow):
"Every sovereign, except the Chinese, wears a military uniform and bestows the greatest rewards on those who kill the most people."

Decided I needed to read something lighter, so I switched to Dickens (one of the lessor-known collections) - American Notes and Pictures from Italy.
Dickens is a genius with the polite put-down, and I enjoyed one of his comments concerning a newspaper editor: "I have no doubt he ... (is) ... held in high repute by a select circle."

 

[WH1]

Sitting on the back porch reading Warlord by Carlos D'estes, a history of Winston Churchill, the warrior, while enjoying a Rocky Patel 15th Anniversary cigar and a glass of Warres 1670 Port and listening to the late summer evening sounds with the German Shorthair Pointer playing. No body armor and no weapons. A huge step in the return to civilization, while watching the beautiful full moon. One month back in the world and a million miles from Afghanistan. God is great and life is good.

 

[Bluebird Marsha]

Currently reading "Jonathan Strange and Mp. Norrell" and I think I'm about to fall in love with this book. The book is a historical british fiction with magical overtones, written in perfect style.

"'Can a magician kill a man by magic?' Lord Wellington asked Strange. Strange frowned. He seemed to dislike the question. 'I suppose a magician might,' he admitted, 'but a gentleman never could.'"

I remember the first time I read that book. It was like slowly falling into a dream.

Do you have a copy of The Ladies of Grace Adieu? Lessons learned about magic... do not mess with children whom lady magicians are fond of. You will be served warm. And John Uskglass may be a king, but even a king shouldn't go snatching a man's dinner. Cause that's stealing .

 

[Stray Cat]

Cabinet of Curiosities by Preston and Child.

Stunning book!

 

[DNO]

Stunning book!

It is. I've read it a few times and it never fails to intrigue. It's the best of the Preston and Child 'Pendergast' series.

 

[Cricket]

I am currently reading The War, a companion to The War: A Ken Burns Film on PBS. Excellent read so far. Also found valuable information on the Battle of Hurtgen Forest, which my grandfather was in.

I love when you find a book that informs, entertains you especially with a personal touch. I feel like I better understand Paw Paw's life story now that I have pics and text to go along with it.

 

[hellsbellslolly]

I'm reading at the moment, Post War Kitchen by Marguerite Patten (OBE) she worked for the Ministry of Food in the second world war. She ran the Food Bureau at Harrods. Its really interesting.

 

[Terry292]

Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters, Lellenberg, Stashower & Foley, eds., The Penguin Press, New York, 2007. A collection of ACD's letters , 1867-1920. Eusebius, The Church History, Paul L. Maier, translator, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1999. One of the earliest histories of the Christian church through the time of Emperor Constantine.

 

[Stray Cat]

Dear Dame Agatha Christie,
(15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976)

Happy birthday! :cheer2:


In her name, today, I'll take the "Murder on the Orient Express".