What book are you reading atm?? CHAPTER TWO

Chums by Simon Kuper.

Even though nothing about the Oxford elite comes as a surprise to me it's still shocking when you actually read it.

Indeed, Kerr was a fine writer and his "Berlin Trilogy" was superb. He died way too young. Bernie Gunther was like "a water-washed diamond in a river of sin"

Currently, at the finish line of "The Narrow Road to the Deep North", by Richard Flanagan.

Part love story, part harrowing tales of the "death Railway" in Siam, then denouement in Japan after defeat. - Recommended.

Next up; Faith, Hope and Carnage by Nick Cave and Séan O' Hagan

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/462836 This Phillip Kerr book got me in to reading dystopia type books, I like it but it gets mixed reviews.

I do love a good dystopian story. Nothing as nice as to sit by the fire and dreaming of catastrophe 😉

"Canticle for Leibowitz" is a classic.

Also, "Alas Babylon", I found very agreeable

THE SELFISH GENE - Richard Dawkins. Very interesting

Bomber Command: The Strategic Bombing Offensive: 1939-45 by Max Hastings.

A topic that fascinates me, an author that I thoroughly enjoy, surely means a recipe for success? Unfortunately not, I found Bomber Command absolutely boring, it was a difficult and very disappointing read. First book from Mr. Hastings that I have not enjoyed at all 😔

Lemme see, what have I read since I last posted?

The Push by Ashley Audrain. A bit of a poor man's We Need To Talk About Kevin but enjoyable enough all the same.

Poor by Katriona O'Sullivan. An equal parts horrifying and rage-inducing account of growing up dirt poor. Highly recommend it.

Just finished Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet. Probably the last person on the planet to read it. Really enjoyed it.

There's definitely at least one, if not two others I'm forgetting about.

Heading away for a fortnight on Monday so any recommendations to bring with me are most welcome. I have Joe Hill's Heart Shaped Box on its way to me so hopefully that arrives before then.

I read mostly fiction but I'm open to a good NF recommendation. Fairly genre-agnostic, other than nothing romantic or traditionally "chick lit" (although I hate that term). I do love a good dystopian/post-apocalyptic novel.

If someone was dying to read something - and I wasn't worried about how easily shocked they were - I'd probably recommend the first Flashman novel by George McDonald Fraser.

Historical Fiction detailing the "memoirs" of a member of the Victorian upper class as he travels the world in the 19th century, sometimes as a member of the army, sometimes on account of some misfortune that means he has to put as much distance between himself and someone out for his blood.

Flashman is an absolute cad, liar, and cheat: an absolute bastard. Throughout the series he manages to find himself thrust into famous moments in history and interacts - usually hilariously - with famous figures from the time period.

Be warned though. The books are extremely - extremely - un-PC. Flashman holds all the opinions you would expect a toff from the 1800's to hold. It can be hard to know how much of politically incorrect humour is a critique of jingoism and imperialism, or a genuine attempt to get some reactionary laughs out of it. There's a lot of people who I know who would hate the novels because much of what you will read, by today's sensibilities, is pretty outrageous.

But, taking all that into account, they are amazing novels. Fraser had an absolute gift for creating prose that contained vivid descriptions of action, place, character, dialogue. And his ability to incorporate all this into gripping historical fiction was second to none. I've seen them compared to Aubrey/Maturin novels, but, honestly I found the books of that series to be hard going: Flashman is technicolor, bawdy fun, but still with an equally strong grounding in history.

Sorry, for the essay, but I love those novels and I try to push them on anyone who could deal with the questionable stuff.

Of Crowns and Legends by Chelsea Banning.

I discovered this author after seeing her tweet at her disappointment that only one person had shown up for her debut novel reading. She had some many writers, like Stephen King, respond to her to tell their tales of being in the same position on launching their first books.

I decided to order a copy and definitely do not regret it. This book picks up the legend of Camelot. King Arthur is dead, Queen Guinevere has been regent for the past two decades and about to transition power to her son Prince Anwil, her daughter Princess Ariadne dreams of becoming only the second female Knight of the Round Table, Merlin is only occasionally in the picture. But not all is well in Briton, the petty kings are planning to overthrow the Pendragons, there are evil, magical forces targeting relics hidden in abbeys to cast powerful spells to bring about the destruction of Camelot. Can the Pendragons and their allies survive this onslaught?

Hamnet was OK wasn't mad on it.

Just started something called "Trust" today a friend recommended, new enough book that won lots of awards and its only 99p for kindle at the moment, I really like it already and will bring it on hols too.

Attack warning red by Julie mc Dowall. How Britain prepared for nuclear war. Gripping stuff,and her podcast Atomic Hobo is excellent too.

Just finished A Confederacy of Dunces and found it a bit of a slog so just skimmed over the 2nd half. The New Orleans characters are colourful enough but the constant stream of consciousness just didn’t hold my interest.

I actually have this on my bookshelf waiting to be read. Glad to hear that it is an engaging read as I know anything factual about Ancient Egypt can be very hit and miss depending on the author.

The Premonitions Bureau Sam Knight

Premonitions are impossible. But they come true all the time.

In 1966, John Barker, a dynamic psychiatrist working in an outdated British mental hospital, established the Premonitions Bureau to investigate

this phenomenon .