what book are you reading ?

For those interested in true crime I would highly recommend three books detailing the rise of the largest organised crime group in Europe, if not the world, the Kinahan Cartel. Daniel Kinahan ( leader) was recently the boxing advisor to Tyson Fury until they found out he led a large gangland killing machine. The books are 'The Cartel' by Stephen Breen and Owen Conlon, 'Fat Freddie' Stephen Breen, and the best of them all 'The Monk' by Paul Williams. The Monk is the nickname of Gerry Hutch. The Hutch family gang have been involved in a very 'one sided' feud with the cartel for years now. All books give an incredibly shocking insight into drugs and the money being made, a drugs gang that started in Ireland and whose tentacles have spread across the world.
 
Redwurzel said:
Wandering around North East football (led by Harry Pearson) other wise known as The Farther Corner. Its one of those books that makes me laugh out loud at times and brings back memories of watching Northern League games and they people who attended them.

Boxing Day or New Years Day 1983/4 I remember seeing South Bank v Whitby Town at Normanby Road at lunch time, perched on a cinder bank then walking up to the Trunk Road and a long to Ayresome to see a Boro game. Few buses on a Boxing Day/NYD and I didn't have a car or anyone available to drive me. Bobby Saxton was at the South Bank game, I think he was manager of Blackburn at the time. Some decent players at Whitby then, a couple became professional I believe.
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It’s a brilliant read. Sad in places, very funny in others. Nostalgia, history, observations that only Harry can pen. Fully recommend it.
 
I prefer a physical book, its tactile, its easier to flick through and like climbing a mountain who can see better how far you have gone and how far to go. The downside is that books and printed material take over the house and I have nighmares that myself, family and visitors will have to climb in and out of rooms due to lack of space.

I like a good talking book when driving long repetitive distances.
 
guisborough_rob said:
Update: I loved Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell. Was my favourite book from last year.

My partner bought me Stuart MacBride’s The Coffinmaker’s Garden last week. It’s growing on me....
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I'd recommend Black Swan Green by Mitchell too (y)

Currently reading This Poem Here by Rob Walton. He's a mate but it's a lovely, touching read. A short book of poems about losing his elderly father to Covid last year, while still trying to keep plates spinning in his day-to-day life, like lots of us have to.
 
I’m currently reading 1q84 by Haruki Murakami, I really enjoy the way that he writes, even though it’s translated from his native Japanese language it is still incredibly poetic in style.
 
Just finished Barack Obama’s autobiography a couple of weeks back, I binged about 30 hours of audiobook in about a week and a half.

A bit boring and more career focussed, but I’ve just started “To sell is human”
 
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guisborough_rob said:
Update: I loved Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell. Was my favourite book from last year.

My partner bought me Stuart MacBride’s The Coffinmaker’s Garden last week. It’s growing on me....
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I have loved most of David Mitchell’s books (particularly Ghostwritten, Cloud Atlas, Slade House, Bone Clocks) but have read a lot of mixed reviews on Utopia Avenue.

Maybe I should give it a try.
 
Just finished "A World Without Work" by Danny Susskind - Fascinating read about what we'll be doing in the future.

Currently reading "Faster" by Michael Hutchinson - A book about what it takes to become a Pro Cyclist

Got a couple of others lined up: "The Essex Serpent" and "Unmasked" - A book about ANTIFA
 
Wilf said:
Ive just taken Lord of the Flies down off the shelf - its worthy of yet another re-read.

"What are we?, Humans?, or Animals, or Savages?"


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just finished "Human Kind - A Hopeful History"- Rutger Bregman
A very positive view of who we really are as a race, about our core inner decency , he uses Lord of the Flies as an example of how wrong some appraisal of the beast within have been, a good ( and easy) read if your questioning humans humanity.

Now back onto my unofficial "post retirement history degree", " In Search of the Dark Ages" by Michael Wood .
a lightweight quality read that ties together a lot of loose ends in my overall knowledge of post Roman Britain.

edit due to poor grammar and to add the author.
 
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Just finished Doomsday Book a Sci-Fi book from the early 1990s by Connie Willis where a history student travels back in time to the 14th century to record medieval life in detail like the Domesday Book - only things go wrong at both ends of the time travel. What makes the book really hit home is that there is a pandemic sweeping through modern Britain and 14th century and we see the different responses and attitudes. The masks are on, the quarantine, the PPE, the medical overloads, the contact tracing, then the blame game, the protestors, the victimisation - but all in the modern world. So much chimes with what we have experienced and it was written 30 years ago. In the medieval life is just extinguished brutally and fast.
 
Osboro said:
just finished "Human Kind - A Hopeful History"
A very positive view of who we really are as a race, about our core inner decency , he uses Lord of the Flies as an example of how wrong some appraisal of the beast within have been, a good ( and easy) read if your questioning humans humanity.

Now back onto my unofficial "post retirement history degree", " In Search of the Dark Ages" by Michael Wood .
a lightweight quality read that ties together a lot of loose ends in my overall knowledge of post Roman Britain.

edit due to poor grammar.
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In Search of Dark Ages - quite a lot is being unearthed in recent times by archaeologists about this period and quite a lot being re-discovered. In western Britain, there is increasing evidence of some continuity, even mosaics still going in villas after the Romans have "gone." More and more light is shining on the Dark Ages.
 
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