What Are You Reading

[Gray Ghost]

Reading "Gotcha" by David Danneger on my Kindle. The book is about a WWII USAAF reenactor who is flying home in an L-2 Grasshopper, that he restored, from an event and ends up going through a strange cloud. He comes out the other side and ends up getting shot down by what he thinks is a perfectly restored ME-109 but is actually the real deal. He finds out that he is now in England in 1944 and ends up being able to live his dream of being a real fighter pilot flying a P-51 Mustang. The book is great and written by a friend of mine that I have done USAAF reenacting with. The characters are based on some people that we know in the hobby. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a good read. Love to see a movie made from this.

 

[Nathan Dodge]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams.

I bought this for my wife this past Christmas, because she's become such a huge Dr. Who fan (Adams was script editor during season 17), despite hating it when she was a child. This book is every bit as brilliant as many say it is...hilariously so.

My first exposure to "H2G2" was at age eleven when I stayed late at a friend's house watching the series on PBS. I didn't get all the high-falootin' concepts, but it was British, so that was something to young me.

 

[esteban68]

Flannagans run, great insight into sportsmanship in 1930's America, written as a companion to Chariots of Fire...well sort of.
I have also been reading a few of the C J Box books, quite impressed actuallY

 

[DNO]

C. C. Humphreys' A Place Called Armageddon, a fictionalized account of the siege of Constantinople in 1453.

 

[DanielJones]

Started reading Lost Horizon after watching the Ronald Coleman film.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[WH1]

I'm so happy now!

I thought I'd read all about the 1920s and 30s in Europe and New York etc...and that was that.

No, I was wrong....Kenya! I missed the British in East Africa "Happy Valley" omg!!! so wonderful.... amazing reading this is ... it's called "White Mischief" by James Fox.... listen to this.... and this is non-fiction of course


"A story which is as compelling and violent as a thriller, but which also happens to be one of the most dazzling feats of reportage in recent years"




"When the body of Josslyn Hay 22nd Earl of Erroll was discovered with a bullet through his oh so handsome head yes my dears.... just outside Nairobi in January 1941, the resulting scandal revealed a hornet's nest of upper class decadence and misbehavior..."

Yummy!!!! pure gold reading for those interested on the topic!



Joss

Hadley
if you thought that was good you need to read "The Bolter" it is about Lady Idina Sackeville, Joss's wife at one time in Kenya. I read it a couple of years ago and also find that period fascinating. An interesting group the happy valley bunch, talk about degenerate lifestyle WOW!

below is the description from Amazon
"Osborne's lively narrative brings Lady Idina Sackville (an inspiration for Nancy Mitford's character the Bolter) boldly to life, with a black lapdog named Satan at her side and a cigarette in her hand. Osborne (Lilla's Feast) portrays a desperately lonely woman who shocked Edwardian high society with relentless affairs and drug-fueled orgies. Idina's story unfolds in an intimate tone thanks to the author, her great-granddaughter, who only accidentally discovered the kinship in her youth with the media serialization of James Fox's White Mischief. Osborne makes generous use of sources and private family photos to add immediacy and depth to the portrait of a woman most often remembered as an amoral five-time divorcée: the author shows her hidden kindnesses at her carefully preserved Kenyan cattle ranch—a refuge from the later destructive Kenyan massacres. Still, Osborne unflinchingly exposes Idina's flaws—along with those of everyone else in the politely adulterous high society—while ably couching them in the context of the tumultuous times in which Idina resolved to find happiness in all the wrong places. The text, most lyrical when describing the landscapes around Idina's African residences, proves that an adventurous spirit continues to run in this fascinating family. "

 

[Renault]

My first edition "For Whom the Bells Toll" ......

Gotta be careful with the binding. Love that read!!!!!!!!!

Renault

 

[DNO]

I've never read any of this type of fiction before but I am enjoying the stories so far. O'Brian's attention to nautical detail is amazing. I've not read the authors you mention but will add them to my reading list.

Years ago I got addicted and read all the Hornblower series, all the Bolitho series and all of Dudley Pope's Ramage series. I could never seem to get into O'Brian...perhaps I've had about as much of the Napoleonic vintage Royal Navy as I can take! However, I recently read Julian Stockwin's Kydd. An interesting book, primarily because it's narrated from the point of view of a pressed seaman, not an officer. It contains an amazing amount of nitty-gritty tall ship detail. I'd certainly recommend it.

 

[dhermann1]

I just finished off George Washington, and I thought I'd change tracks a little, so I pulled a book off the shelf that I picked up a couple years ago called "69 A.D. - The Year of Four Emperors", by Gwyn Morgan. It tells the story of the year when the Roman Empire had four emperors in the space of less than 12 months. A short book, only 268 pages (plus appendices), but dense. A hard slog. Still, a fascinating glimpse into a very different world from what we're used to. Those Romans sure knew how to slaughter each other.

 

[Derek Cavin]

Just finished "You Are Here" by Chris Potter on the bus home this afternoon. A guide to the history of the universe.

Starting "The Valley of the Moon" by Jack London

 

[Penny Dreadful]

I finally finished the biography of Josephine Baker. It wasn't a bad book, but I found Josephine to be crazy, usually a diva, and pretty unlikeable. The book tried to present her in a mostly flattering way, but I just couldn't see myself getting along with this person. In the end the book lost my interest and I had to force myself through to the end. I have a pretty short attention span, but I don't let myself give up books once I'm more than 100 pages in or so, except in extreme cases. Now I'm on to "We Two", about Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's lives together. I discovered in advance that it's full of historical inaccuracies, but keeping that in mind, so far it's great

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

I finally finished the biography of Josephine Baker. It wasn't a bad book, but I found Josephine to be crazy, usually a diva, and pretty unlikeable. The book tried to present her in a mostly flattering way, but I just couldn't see myself getting along with this person. In the end the book lost my interest and I had to force myself through to the end.

Josephine Baker harbored an intense dislike for Maurice Chevalier and Mistinguett who she saw as collaborators. In lot of ways she was determined to be more French than the French.

 

[samtemporary]

My wife bought me the complete 1965 "Edition Deluxe" of the Harvard Classics for my birthday last week. I can't wait to start with Vol 1!

 

[Flicka]

A book in Swedish about the history of Western Europe 400-800 AD.

 

[BigFitz]

"War is a Racket" by Smedley Butler, published 1935.

 

[cw3pa]

Just finished "The Moonstone" by Wilkie Collins. It was interesting; definately written in a different era.

 

[Heather]

Just finished "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to seeing the movie!

 

[Hercule]

Whew - just finished going through all 467 pages of this thread, and it took me four days to do it! As a result I've ordered more than a dozen books. Thanks everybody!

 

[Dr H]

Empire of the Sun, JG Ballard...

 

[AmateisGal]

Just finished The Diplomat's Wife by Pam Jenoff. Not too bad. I enjoyed it more than her first one, The Kommandant's Girl.