NWR What are we Reading?

[David Crossley]

Currently reading a book about the Dutch, but it's a bit pedestrian and not all that well written. Despite a large pending pile, I bought David Byrne's "How Music Works" today. I must find time to open the last World of Fine Wine that's been by my bedside for about a month.

 

[Warren EDWARDES]

Tango Stories: Musical Secrets by Michael Lavocah

It is basically a detailed study of Golden Age tango music 1935-1955 and helps with understanding the music as an aid to choreography on the fly as required.

 

[Nigel Palesford]

Reading 'A Brief History of Seven Killings' by Marlon James which is astonishing and worth the effort! Quite an achievement.

 

[G. W o l f f]

Reading 'A Brief History of Seven Killings' by Marlon James which is astonishing and worth the effort! Quite an achievement.

Agreed - an excellent if disturbing book; more like historical fiction than fiction alone. I also like the Jamaica-focused novels of Roger Mais.

The Dead yard by Ian Thomson is also worth a read if Seven Killings awakens an interest in what's been going on politcally and culturally in Jamaica

 

[Nigel Palesford]

Thanks Greg - will check them out!

 

[G. W o l f f]

In the same vein (i.e., background to the terrible current situation), "Born fi Dead" by Laurie Gunst is worth a read.

All the events in Seven Killings seem to be based on truth. Googling "Back O Wall" and "Green Bay Killings" should turn up some interesting insights and lead to more information on the history behind the book. "Copenhagen City" is Tivoli Gardens. As you haven't finished the book yet, maybe best not to look them up yet. Also once finished, looking into the Coke family (Lester, Dudus) and the Shower Posse will be revealing.

Marlon James was brave t write this book and I believe is writing another now.

 

[G. W o l f f]

Thank goodness I am now in a job which allows me to take public transport again as I now have a good deal of time to read each day.

On the old board, somebody recommended "German Genius" by Peter Watson. I have finally got around to starting it. Very much enjoyed the first chapter on music ("The high renaissance in music: the symphony as philosophy") which would be of interest to many here, based on several posts. Good stuff on Gauss and then separately on the origins of homeopathy in the following chapter ("Cosmos, Cuneiform, Clausewitz"), the latter which may also be of some interest here.

 

[bob parsons]

Edward Elgar biography.

 

[Tim York]

Edward Elgar biography.

I have been wanting to read a biography of Elgar. Can you recommend that one, Bob?

Sibelius, too. Any recommendations out there?

I'm at present reading a novel called Resuscitating Friendship by my niece, Frances Wright, and very good it is too. It is about two firm friends who have fallen out badly. One, a male nurse, finds himself looking after his comatose friend after a near fatal accident, nurses him back to life and revives the friendship. It doesn't sound much but it is beautifully done and full of insights, especially into the hospital environment. Congratulations Frances!

 

[Joel Hopwood]

I'm 80% of the way through Napoleon, which is fascinating but heavyish, and I've been stalled for a few months.

I breezed through More Lives Than One, Felix Dennis's biography which was a fascinating insight into a brilliant man. Also will shortly finish Steve Coogan's Easily Distracted which must be one of the worst-written / structured biographies I've read in a while.

In between I'm making my way through How Brands Grow for work reasons.

And now the confession. As we were leaving my mum's house over Christmas, my stepdad (with whom I share a passion for Michael Dobbs, Dick Francis and similar) pressed a kilo of close typed paperbacks into my hands saying you'll like this. The snob in me recoiled from Jeffrey Archer's massive trilogy but politeness forbade me uttering anything but a simple thank-you. I managed to find a carrier bag to put them in.

Of course, having turned the page a few times I am now completely hooked and half way through the second one. And loving every minute.

Joel

 

[David Crossley]

Thank goodness I am now in a job which allows me to take public transport again as I now have a good deal of time to read each day.

On the old board, somebody recommended "German Genius" by Peter Watson. I have finally got around to starting it. Very much enjoyed the first chapter on music ("The high renaissance in music: the symphony as philosophy") which would be of interest to many here, based on several posts. Good stuff on Gauss and then separately on the origins of homeopathy in the following chapter ("Cosmos, Cuneiform, Clausewitz"), the latter which may also be of some interest here.

Greg, not sure whether it was me or not, but IMHO it's a great book.

 

[David Smart]

The Establishment: And How They Get Away With It. Owen Jones. An eye opener for sure.

 

[Thom Blach]

Joel, I must admit to a faiblesse for the works of Jeffrey Archer too. They are always about a chap called Effrey Jarcher being born into unimaginable squalor who by dint of sheer hard work and moral probity ends up as ruler of the world. Barking mad(and what on earth must they be like before entering the year-long editing process?) but somehow endearing in a particularly perverse kind of way. They remind me rather of the novels of Fanny Cradock.

 

[Hugh Millar]

A trilogy by Agota Kristof, a Swiss-based Hungarian author. Just finished the 1st book, The Notebook, which is set in a dystopian rural setting which I assumed to be Hungary at the end of the second WW. Enjoyed it as much as it's possible to enjoy such a dismal tale. About to start The Proof, the 2nd book of the trilogy, which is completed by The Third Lie.

 

[Alan Smeaton]

Old thread. I've always enjoyed reading parliamentary sketch writing. This is hilarious, taken from the late Simon Hoggart's "House of Fun: 20 Glorious Years of Parliament":
"Mr Blair announced that Labour’s policies were ‘mainstream, costed, sensible’, and with that battle cry ringing in our ears we set off for the leader’s cavalcade. This consists of three buses, each with a slogan on the side: ‘Leading Britain’, ‘Into the Future,’ and ‘With Tony Blair’. As we sped north, we sometimes changed order, or a lorry would slide between us so that the convoy would read: ‘Eddie Stobart Leading Britain into the Future’ or ‘Daily Wet Fish Deliveries Throughout the UK With Tony Blair'."

 

[David Crossley]

Well, Alan, we know that a carefully chosen slogan on the side of a bus can work wonders...for London cinema attendance. You'd think some of the more marketing driven wine factories would have cottoned on.

 

[David Crossley]

I'm actually reading Edward Behr's The Food and Wine of France. Really enjoying it, definitely "dans son jus", to rework my most currently overworked pun. Good bedtime reading for those without hunger.

 

[Jeremy Caan]

Franzen's "Corrections".

After that I have intentions toward FMF's Good Soldier.

 

[Mark Carrington]

Geoffrey Nicholson's Great Bike Ride a book covering Le Tour '76.