April Reading Thread

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You thought more highly of it than I did then! My mini-review for my then blog in 2014 was "a less-than-compelling partial biography .... Jumbled and confusing, cravenly fence-sitting, and unlikely to be intelligible to anyone who didn't already have some knowledge of Walsingham and his activities."
I learned things, that's why it was "serviceable". But a better organisation, or at least telling the story in chronological order instead of jumping around, and some more background would have helped. I had never heard of Walsingham before this book. You usually just hear/read about the Kings and Queens. There was less stuff about the actual spying that I would have liked. I am not from the UK so my UK history is a bit lacking. I've been paying more attention to continental European history at the moment, so this filled in some gaps.
 
The Ape-Man Within (1995) by L. Sprague De Camp, which wanders all over the place, but basically contends that humanity's destructive behavior is a result of what were survival traits in hunting/gathering days.
I firmly believe this to be the case. Sadly, it makes me pessimistic about us ever being able to overcome the beastlier side of our nature, because it is inextricably linked to other traits that have made us superlatively successful. We are the descendants of people who were aggressive, territorial and xenophobic and who looked after Number One. But we are also descended from explorers, inventors and those who survived at whatever cost. The dark side can be contained and appropriately channelled when times are good - but when times are tough, it bursts through the veneer of civilisation and takes control of us.
 
I learned things, that's why it was "serviceable". But a better organisation, or at least telling the story in chronological order instead of jumping around, and some more background would have helped. I had never heard of Walsingham before this book. You usually just hear/read about the Kings and Queens. There was less stuff about the actual spying that I would have liked. I am not from the UK so my UK history is a bit lacking. I've been paying more attention to continental European history at the moment, so this filled in some gaps.
Ah, if you knew nothing of Walsingham, then you did well to get anything out of it!
 
S King The Stand is about one of the few I can re-read, as the world ending is well handled by Steven. It's a long one, but I liked it enough to read three times... I think.

The Long Walk and of course the Shawshank Redemption - after this I think Steven's style/formula can be repetitive. This is not the same as bad, but you know what your getting with Steven after a while.
 
Masters of the Air - a bit of a monster book, but very good in my view - I started in a prior month and have only just finished.

Very well researched, including German Luftwaffe reports and summary of actions. A good analysis of British bombing versus American and whatever your view of Bomber Command in WWII, this book adds the human stories behind the history. It also covers the thinking behind bombing strategies of the time with generally fairly neutral comments, as it was the only way to bring the war to Germany for quite some time. The suffering of civilians and military personnel of both sides is well covered, and flying combat in WWII was seriously dangerous for all involved and made all too clear in this book.

By the end the author doesn't present a final moral judgement on the air war over Europe in WWII, but has given multiple arguments of what occured including the firebombing of Dresden. By the end, as a reader you're given amble information to decide yourself where you stand, bearing in mind the limited information commanders had while fighting. It is a good look at a contentious weapon of war that historically, is not so well received today. But if you like your history books as I do, then this is one of the best I've read and you can decide for yourself by the end what you think. For that alone, I rate the book.

So... if you like history books, buy this one. I have no idea what Apple TV have done, but the book at least is a solid analysis that's well written.
 
S King The Stand is about one of the few I can re-read, as the world ending is well handled by Steven. It's a long one, but I liked it enough to read three times... I think
I've read the original 1978 edition and the bloated author's cut he released some years later....I would say I've read them both at least three times.
A while ago I did a back to back of them and the 1978 original is far superior with a much slicker storyline, the revised version is just a writers indulgence and gets dull at several points
 
I've read the original 1978 edition and the bloated author's cut he released some years later....I would say I've read them both at least three times.
A while ago I did a back to back of them and the 1978 original is far superior with a much slicker storyline, the revised version is just a writers indulgence and gets dull at several points
I have the updated version. Maybe the bloat is putting me off.
 
We are going on holiday here in a few weeks and this time instead of SF, I'm going with a nice spy story because it's out of my norm for reading. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre, this time. I'm also thinking of making it a writing case study, and I will bring a note pad to make chapter-by-chapter notes for myself. We're going on a cruise, so I'll have plenty of time.
 
So... if you like history books, buy this one. I have no idea what Apple TV have done, but the book at least is a solid analysis that's well written.
I've not read the book but I did watch the Apple TV presentation and it seemed to me to be very realistic. It wa told almost exclusively from the point of view of those flying the bombers. It showed the unrelenting toll it took not only of the many crews who shot to bits, but even of those who made it relatively unscathed. No one could be said to be a hero, there were only those who survived, those who did their duty as best as they could understand it, and those who weren't able to achieve either. In my opinion it was very well done.
 
Seeing as today marks what would be James Herbert s 81st birthday I'm gonna re re read The Fog
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I think I did the bloated edition, with lots of mini stories of people meeting their end. Steven knows our dark side.


It's also worth considering Cell (although not the awful movie). In many respects it felt like a shorter version of The Stand.
 
Unruly

Audiobook by David Mitchell. I'm a fan of Mitchell, and I tbink he's a funny comedian. This history book (whilst a bit sweary in places) is as insightful as it is humorous. There are times when he is relating events for obvious comedic effect, but there are also others which show that he has great understanding and love of history, especially when it comes to Shakespeare.

Very highly rated and recommended.
 
I questioned this in a SK Facebook group and the consensus was that I should read the longer, uncut version
That's because it's a Stephen King group, they'll slavishly follow his writer diktats - whereas a varied reader's group (like in here) are a bit more discerning
 
I was given a copy of Stephen King's The Stand. It's about 1200 pages long so I put in the car to read when I'm out. I've read a couple of chapters and I'm not sure I'll stick with it.
One of the longest and biggest books by Stephen King, I couldn't finish it
 
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