Last book read

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cassini
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Re: Last book read

Post by cassini »

His book on Stalin is great, too.

I have just finished The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano
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Last book read

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Casino Royale. The third James Bond book I have read but the first that made me think "sexist, racist, obnoxious or what????"
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Re: Last book read

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saminblack wrote: 16 Aug 2017, 17:01 A few days off has finally given me the chance to finish The Romanovs by Simon Sebag Montifeore s monster of a book and one I would definitely recommend.
It is 700 pages of truly astonishing, in-depth history about the (in)famous Russian family who were the country's totally unregulated autocrats for 300 years.
They say that truth is stranger than fiction and this is definite the case here – some of the people given ultimate power were ultimate nut jobs and there's more sex, violence, murder, intrigue, backstabbing, cruelty, chaos and family feuding than the most far-fetched of soap opera writers could ever dream of. This truly is a 'game of thrones' but it's a game where due to the inadequacy of most of the people on the throne there was no real winners – especially the poor, long-suffering Russian people who were left at the whim of some of the world's craziest dictators.
A book to cherish, enjoy and dominate your reading summer (as it has done mine) and if it does nothing else it may make you realise that our own Royal dynasty- though not short of its own disaster areas - have nothing on their cousins across the waters.
A great read indeed which has really stoked my interest in all things Russian (me and Mr Trump alike) so the next stop is a much-vaunted book about the journey of the man sent to 'liberate' the Russians from the useless Nicholas II - Lenin on A Train.
Enjoy!! (Or should I say наслаждаться!!)


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I don't tend to run a "to read" list but this is definitely one I will try to get hold of at some point. Got hooked on Russian history way back at school.
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Re: Last book read

Post by Bag Lady »

cassini wrote: 17 Aug 2017, 09:29 His book on Stalin is great, too.

Have read Simon Sebag Montefiore's Young Stalin and have his "Stalin - The Court of the Red Tsar" lined up. It'll be time for a longer book very soon.
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Re: Last book read

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Boody wrote: 17 Aug 2017, 18:37 Casino Royale. The third James Bond book I have read but the first that made me think "sexist, racist, obnoxious or what????"
Interesting but pleasing that we've come far enough to see the differences and have a powerful reaction against the attitudes. I read these books as of their time. Bond's attitude towards his secretary Loelia Ponsonby would be the norm back then (although from memory she's not in CR but Moneypenny is). Have to admit Vesper is a bit of a waste of space, more of a plot device than a character.

In the last couple of weeks I have read Moonraker (knowing the Dover to Deal area fairly well this is an amusing setting) and Diamonds are Forever (this is the first in the series to change location with frequency in the way that the films do). Think I've got From Russia With Love next...
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Re: Last book read

Post by KennyH »

Peter Hook's book on Joy Division.
Great read....Stranglers get a mention and JJ gets much praise....
friends will fall for the family...........
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PaulinLondon
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Re: Last book read

Post by PaulinLondon »

Anyone done "The Enigma of Kidson" by Jamie Blackett ?

Great reviews but at 25 notes, I might go for a second hand copy somewhere.
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Re: Last book read

Post by MiB81 »

PaulinLondon wrote: 25 Aug 2017, 21:04 Anyone done "The Enigma of Kidson" by Jamie Blackett ?
Yes, I have.
It's pure pish mate, I'd avoid it.
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cassini
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Re: Last book read

Post by cassini »

King Leopold's Ghost
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Re: Last book read

Post by Jon the Impaler »

Currently - Claudio Ranieri book on his career - football and managerial . Not a Leicester fan ( Leeds United ) but its interesting how someone broke up English football and robbed the likes of Man Utd , City , Chelsea of a Premier League title . It was what the game needed .
All quiet ..........
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Re: Last book read

Post by Niki Wu »

Another offering from Angela Carter, this time "The Sadeian Woman". If you have no interest in either De Sade or feminism, don't bother. I managed to dip into my current read, "The Body Keeps Score, Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma" by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D. on the train to and from the Bath gig. This I don't see myself finishing anytime soon however. Fittingly my enthusiasm has ground to a halt during a section entitled "Stuck in Fight or Flight"

This however is what I am really keen on sharing. It's Bill Gates' recommended reading.

https://qz.com/1285629/99-books-recomme ... -ck-years/
cassini
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Re: Last book read

Post by cassini »

Flashman and the Mountain of Light. I am ploughing through the Flashman books in chronological order (ie not the order that George MacDonald Fraser wrote them). Hilarious, historically accurate, well-written and crude - what more could you want???
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