Books - What are you reading?

[Levin]

Legend83 said:

Just finished this:



An absolutely fascinating insight into the domestic German psyche across WW1 to WW2 and living through the rise of Nazism - through the eyes of a relatively sleepy village. The author really drops you Streetview-esque into the frosty crunch of the village and you have genuine sympathy for many of the main-players.

One doesn't often read this era from the viewpoint of the "aggressors" but it's easily forgotten that German civilians suffered significantly under the NSDAP.

Highly recommended.

If you enjoyed that, then you may also like Travellers in the Third Reich, as mentioned on the cover. I read it some years ago but haven't read the above. Consider me interested. As for the part of your post I've underlined, I have to recommend Florian Huber's Promise Me You'll Shoot Yourself. It is a fascinating account of the wave of suicides which took place in the dying days of the Third Reich. Some were fanatics who saw no future without their Führer, others petrified of the Red Army, and still others entirely innocent: children, drowned by parents believing it to be an act of mercy. Arresting reading.

Huff said:

If you enjoyed that, you really ought to read 'Diary of a Man in Despair' by Friedrich Reck-Malleczewen
It is - astonishing. I first came across it 25yrs + ago at Uni; remains my first and best recommendation for covering such territory.

I am intrigued by this too. Do you happen to know what form you originally read it in? Looking on Amazon, I see a Paul Rubens translation, but perhaps there are others.

[droopsnoot]

I've just finished "Skinner's Ordeal" by Quintin Jardine. Policeman Bob Skinner has to deal with an aircraft crash on his patch, then when he finds out who was on board things get a lot worse. Another good read, I haven't read one of his for a while and forgot how good they are.

[andy_s]

Seeing Like a State by James Scott was an excellent if slightly long-winded delve into ergodicity/map doesn't equal territory/local vs global and why various [albeit selected ] grand schemes by states end up failing. Like all these things, reality is like nails in a wooden board and books such as this attempt to wind string out around them to form a coherent picture - but there are many ways to string the nails so you have to judge to what degree the argument reflects reality and to what degree is there 'forcing'; I would say this book touches on a realistic picture of the problems with 'grand designs' when the architect is out of contact with the minutia of reality and is well worth a read if that's your bag.





---

ETA - and just finished the last of the Tom Thorne series [18], insert sad smiley.

Edited by andy_s on Tuesday 21st February 11:02

[p1doc]

just started senlin ascends-about a missing wife and the tower of babel
just finished stiletto-book 2 of checquy series vgood looking forward to next one

[KaraK]

p1doc said:

just started senlin ascends-about a missing wife and the tower of babel
just finished stiletto-book 2 of checquy series vgood looking forward to next one

I finished Stiletto last week - and I also enjoyed it very much. I thought it took a little while to find it's feet but the second half was superb. I've now started the third book Blitz and am enjoying it right out of the gate.

[andy_s]

A nice surprise today, albeit only on Kindle but it's a book I've anticipated for a while, Tim Urban and What's Our Problem? A self-help book for societies.

Blurb: What's Our Problem? is a deep and expansive analysis of our modern times, in the classic style of Wait But Why, packed with original concepts, sticky metaphors, and 300 drawings. The book provides an entirely new framework and language for thinking and talking about today's complex world. Instead of focusing on the usual left-center-right horizontal political axis, which is all about what we think, the book introduces a vertical axis that explores how we think, as individuals and as groups.

[Slowboathome]

andy_s said:

Like all these things, reality is like nails in a wooden board and books such as this attempt to wind string out around them to form a coherent picture - but there are many ways to string the nails so you have to judge to what degree the argument reflects reality and to what degree is there 'forcing';

That's a brilliant metaphor. Not come across it before.

[toasty]

I'm currently enjoying Never by Ken Follett. A What If? about how minor incidents could lead towards full blown war. It's quite unnerving how similar it is to current events but that was obviously the intention.

[Huff]

Levin said:

Huff said:

If you enjoyed that, you really ought to read 'Diary of a Man in Despair' by Friedrich Reck-Malleczewen
It is - astonishing. I first came across it 25yrs + ago at Uni; remains my first and best recommendation for covering such territory.

I am intrigued by this too. Do you happen to know what form you originally read it in? Looking on Amazon, I see a Paul Rubens translation, but perhaps there are others.

Mine is the Paul Rubens translation. It is very good - preserves a distinct author's voice, - the sense and vitality of a man committing treasonous thoughts and concerns his private journal, not just the meaning.

[Levin]

toasty said:

I'm currently enjoying Never by Ken Follett. A What If? about how minor incidents could lead towards full blown war. It's quite unnerving how similar it is to current events but that was obviously the intention.

I read this a few months ago as well. For an enjoyable doorstop novel, Follett is a hard man to beat. I'm not sure how far through you are, but it's one of those novels where the pace gets ever more frenetic and the stakes continue to get higher, right up until you're staring at the ISBN.

I recall enjoying Follett's 'century trilogy' as well. If you find a 1000-page novel isn't enough, I'll recommend three of them!

Huff said:

Mine is the Paul Rubens translation. It is very good - preserves a distinct author's voice, - the sense and vitality of a man committing treasonous thoughts and concerns his private journal, not just the meaning.

I had a moment of madness last night and bought it, as well as a couple of other books. One is definitely an Everyman's Library edition of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and the third I can't remember. I'm not sure I want to remember, either - the anticipation should be part of the enjoyment. The copy I've ordered is the Rubens translation as well, so hopefully I find it as captivating as you did. I'm looking forward to reading it already.

[Huff]

Levin said:

I had a moment of madness last night and bought it, as well as a couple of other books. One is definitely an Everyman's Library edition of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and the third I can't remember. I'm not sure I want to remember, either - the anticipation should be part of the enjoyment. The copy I've ordered is the Rubens translation as well, so hopefully I find it as captivating as you did. I'm looking forward to reading it already.

I must re-read, again.

And a solid +1 for Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
- of which I've also my Dads c 1948 school book version for one, which starts, roughly Im pauvre widwe / in narrwe cottage .. with the letters Thorn , Yoch & Eth sprinkled everywhere

When I was a kid, Mum used to take such a Middle English translation of Chaucer to read, in her own time on the bleachers, as my sis & I ploughed up and down the local swimming pool each week. Mum was a Midwife, and Sister nurse - but her formal education ended at 16 as was normal in the late 50s; thus it was a thing she chose & learned to read for her own pleasure: and a portal to another passion of hers - contemporary medieval recipe books like 'the Forme of Cury' and anything associated.

And I've always admired that. Chaucer in ME is on my to-do list!

Edited by Huff on Tuesday 21st February 20:02

[anonymous-user]

Holiday in a couple of weeks so have ordered some cheap second hand stuff from Amazon - The Maltese Falcon and The Postman Always Rings Twice, and 'Continental Drifter' by Tim Moore (his second book and the only one that's out of print I believe), and will also take his 2019 book, 'Another Fine Mess, across the USA in a Model T Ford'. Should see me through seven days by the pool.

[TheJimi]

Levin said:

toasty said:

I'm currently enjoying Never by Ken Follett. A What If? about how minor incidents could lead towards full blown war. It's quite unnerving how similar it is to current events but that was obviously the intention.

I read this a few months ago as well. For an enjoyable doorstop novel, Follett is a hard man to beat. I'm not sure how far through you are, but it's one of those novels where the pace gets ever more frenetic and the stakes continue to get higher, right up until you're staring at the ISBN.

I recall enjoying Follett's 'century trilogy' as well. If you find a 1000-page novel isn't enough, I'll recommend three of them!

Excellent shout

Toasty - if you enjoyed Never, definitely get your teeth into the Century trilogy.

[Andy665]

Fenn Murder Series by Jack Cartwright - great series of books, the interaction between the characters is very cleverly done

[ribiero]

200Plus Club said:

Station 11 by Hilary St.John Mandel

Really enjoyed this, quite a thought provoking story about how human life continues after a worldwide plague, and post covid quite interesting to consider.
One of those "can't put it down" books, highly recommended.
9 plagues out of 10 cures..

really good book this, I think being made into a film or series which I probably wont watch.

she's got a couple more out that i've bought but not read yet but I've heard are just as good.

[Levin]

Huff said:

I must re-read, again.

And a solid +1 for Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
- of which I've also my Dads c 1948 school book version for one, which starts, roughly Im pauvre widwe / in narrwe cottage .. with the letters Thorn , Yoch & Eth sprinkled everywhere

When I was a kid, Mum used to take such a Middle English translation of Chaucer to read, in her own time on the bleachers, as my sis & I ploughed up and down the local swimming pool each week. Mum was a Midwife, and Sister nurse - but her formal education ended at 16 as was normal in the late 50s; thus it was a thing she chose & learned to read for her own pleasure: and a portal to another passion of hers - contemporary medieval recipe books like 'the Forme of Cury' and anything associated.

And I've always admired that. Chaucer in ME is on my to-do list!

Edited by Huff on Tuesday 21st February 20:02

I haven't received my copy of the Canterbury Tales yet, but I shall take note of whether it features Thorn, Yoch, and Eth or not. My only brush with Chaucer was during my schooldays. The Pardoner's Tale was an assigned text for A-Level English Literature, and it was a text near-universally despised in the class. I, on the other hand, loved it. Whether the stories Chaucer tells are all of the same quality or, perhaps, even better, remains to be seen, but my greatest joy in reading the Pardoner's Tale came from the literary criticism and analysis typical of the curriculum. There's something infinitely compelling about the idea of a good story, told well, echoing through the ages.

I stopped posting what I was reading in this thread some years ago, finding more enjoyment in talking about books than in stating my current read, but on the topic of Chaucer a quote from what I am reading becomes very relevant. I'm rereading Stoner, by John Williams. It concerns the fictitious-yet-average life of William Stoner, a professor of English literature. Early in the novel, and in Stoner's education, he is challenged by a university lecturer, who asks: "Mr Shakespeare speaks to you across three hundred years, Mr Stoner; do you hear him?"

Encountering this quote again feels timely, though, not unlike Chaucer, I have but limited experience with Shakespeare as yet.

That said, limited experience does not rule Shakespeare out of my reading list. For teaching herself to enjoy Middle English writing, I have enormous respect for your mother. Embracing Middle English is no mean feat, and to incorporate fourteenth-century cooking into her repertoire speaks volumes about a sustained level of interest. Did you ever experience the recipes of fourteenth-century England and, if so, do they manage to speak across centuries?

TheJimi said:

Excellent shout

Toasty - if you enjoyed Never, definitely get your teeth into the Century trilogy.

I'm glad to have backup on this one! I understand Follett's Kingsbridge trilogy is widely considered his magnum opus, and it's one I will eventually delve into. I've read only the prequel, The Evening and the Morning. Based upon it, I have no qualms about reading the rest of the Kingsbridge series eventually. I'm not sure I've read a bad novel from Follett's back catalogue.

[toasty]

TheJimi said:

Excellent shout

Toasty - if you enjoyed Never, definitely get your teeth into the Century trilogy.

Thanks, I’m already partway through as I read the first one.

I do prefer contemporary thrillers but may get around to the other two in trilogy at some point.

[micky g]

Levin said:

I'm rereading Stoner, by John Williams. It concerns the fictitious-yet-average life of William Stoner, a professor of English literature. Early in the novel, and in Stoner's education, he is challenged by a university lecturer, who asks: "Mr Shakespeare speaks to you across three hundred years, Mr Stoner; do you hear him?"

I read Stoner only a few weeks ago, it's a beautifully written and haunting book that stays with you long after you've finished it.

[Legend83]

I like Follett's books, Pillars is magnificent.

I do however find his style of writing dialogue is a bit cheesy/teeth-itchy. I think it's the way he prefixes and suffixes so much of his dialogue with "she said" or "he said" it stilts the flow into something more script-like / join-the-dots.

Might be just me!

[droopsnoot]

Legend83 said:

Might be just me!

I've just bought "Never" (local WH Smiths is closing, 75% off everything) and this sort of thing annoys me too. I'll try to remember to reference that in one of my extensive reviews when I've finished it.