What are you reading at the moment?

[grobyfox1990]

Britney Spears' autobiography was strangely very readable.

Otherwise this was a great story, fraud and conspiracy on the seas - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-Water-Hijacking-Maritime-Conspiracy/dp/0593329236/

[ajthefox]

Really interesting and insightful.

 

[Lillehamring]

On 07/04/2024 at 22:48, boots60 said:

His description of a first encounter of an English B&B & its lengthy list of rules & regulations at Mrs Smegma's in Dover is literary comedy genius.

Amusing observations, yes, but comedy genius...?

[ozleicester]

a meandering and interesting read... ive come to be quite a Ronson fan

[Bellend Sebastian]

1 hour ago, ozleicester said:

a meandering and interesting read... ive come to be quite a Ronson fan

Have you listened to the Things Fell Apart podcast? I find his voice a bit distracting (like Professor Brian Cox, I struggle not to just talk like him for an hour or so after hearing it) but it's very interesting and quite sobering to hear about where a lot of nonsense comes from and how people can really, really get themselves lost. Cautionary tales abound 

[Libertine]

25 minutes ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

Have you listened to the Things Fell Apart podcast? I find his voice a bit distracting (like Professor Brian Cox, I struggle not to just talk like him for an hour or so after hearing it) but it's very interesting and quite sobering to hear about where a lot of nonsense comes from and how people can really, really get themselves lost. Cautionary tales abound 

I was the same after listening to his series The Butterfly Effect. Can’t say the phrase ‘free porn’ without doing it in his voice, which is a phrase I obviously use on a daily basis.

[Dr The Singh]

Foxestalk

[ozleicester]

15 hours ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

Have you listened to the Things Fell Apart podcast? I find his voice a bit distracting (like Professor Brian Cox, I struggle not to just talk like him for an hour or so after hearing it) but it's very interesting and quite sobering to hear about where a lot of nonsense comes from and how people can really, really get themselves lost. Cautionary tales abound 

Brilliant...thanks,!

I didnt know about this.... now added to my downloads.

[ozleicester]

14 hours ago, Libertine said:

I was the same after listening to his series The Butterfly Effect. Can’t say the phrase ‘free porn’ without doing it in his voice, which is a phrase I obviously use on a daily basis.

hmm cant find this

[Libertine]

30 minutes ago, ozleicester said:

hmm cant find this

Might only be on Audible nowadays. 

 

https://www.audible.co.uk/podcast/The-Butterfly-Effect/B08DDC8DNH

[LanguedocFox]

Probably mostly of interest to Brits over the age of about 60, but this story of Guy Burgess, one of the Cambridge Five spy ring of the 1930s onwards is fascinating. It’s told in a very accessible way and brings alive his story - brilliantly clever, promiscuous homosexual, historian, diplomat, drunk and, ultimately, disappointed man who died in Moscow probably of liver disease at the age of just 52.

 

 

Edited 25 April 2024 by LanguedocFox

[ozleicester]

On 24/04/2024 at 23:42, Bellend Sebastian said:

Have you listened to the Things Fell Apart podcast? I find his voice a bit distracting (like Professor Brian Cox, I struggle not to just talk like him for an hour or so after hearing it) but it's very interesting and quite sobering to hear about where a lot of nonsense comes from and how people can really, really get themselves lost. Cautionary tales abound 

just finished season 1... fantastic... and now ...OMG... my dream intellectual threesome Louis Theroux interviews Jon Ronson while i listen  

[Libertine]

Listened to both series of Things Fell Apart on Thursday. Had avoided it before as thought it would enrage me too much, but it’s actually not like that at all. Classic Ronson really.

[ozleicester]

On 27/04/2024 at 21:42, Libertine said:

Listened to both series of Things Fell Apart on Thursday. Had avoided it before as thought it would enrage me too much, but it’s actually not like that at all. Classic Ronson really.

season 2 even better than season 1... just great!


Just finished this... incredible reading, by one of Australia's best journo's

[Trav Le Bleu]

Foundation by Isaac Asimov.

 

Set at least 25,000 years into the future, but written in the 1950s, the constant use of tobacco (barely 2-3 pages pass without someone lighting up), the complete absence of female characters (not even being referenced in the third person) and a reliance on physical media for communication, are easily summed up in one paragraph in which a man walks into a boardroom of men smoking cigars and declares, throwing a newspaper onto the table, "have you seen the latest news?"

 

So, dated. To call Asimov a visionary sci-fi writer is stretching it... Jules Verne, almost 100 years earlier is much nearer the mark.

 

However, the sociopolitical narrative remains interesting. The story spans about 200 years, so there's no constant protagonist, rather a series of historic dilemmas being handled by several characters and thus advancing the rise of the Foundation.

[Countryfox]

Highly recommended ..  he worked for the CIA so it gives a great insight into how they conduct their business ..  and also an insight into that mess in Syria. High praise indeed from General Petraeus !! .. 

 

 

[Tielemans63]

 

Absolutely loving this. Genuinely fascinating 

[Jon the Hat]

On 10/05/2024 at 22:39, Trav Le Bleu said:

Foundation by Isaac Asimov.

 

Set at least 25,000 years into the future, but written in the 1950s, the constant use of tobacco (barely 2-3 pages pass without someone lighting up), the complete absence of female characters (not even being referenced in the third person) and a reliance on physical media for communication, are easily summed up in one paragraph in which a man walks into a boardroom of men smoking cigars and declares, throwing a newspaper onto the table, "have you seen the latest news?"

 

So, dated. To call Asimov a visionary sci-fi writer is stretching it... Jules Verne, almost 100 years earlier is much nearer the mark.

 

However, the sociopolitical narrative remains interesting. The story spans about 200 years, so there's no constant protagonist, rather a series of historic dilemmas being handled by several characters and thus advancing the rise of the Foundation.

I solved this by reading them about 35 years ago.

[Tielemans63]

 

Read this while on holiday this week. Interesting, funny and informative. Recommended 

[Raj]

Big Bazzas book!!!

[Durnerz]

A Waiter in Paris by Edward Chisholm, great book so far.

[bovril]

The Garden of the Finzi-Contini, about an Italian Jewish family on the eve of WW2. Beautifully written, maybe my favourite novel of the year, but knowing what's going to happen I'm not sure I can bring myself to finish it. 

[westernpark]

The Hounding of David Oluwale by Kester Aspden. A case I knew nothing about, until today.

[Trav Le Bleu]

15 hours ago, westernpark said:

The Hounding of David Oluwale by Kester Aspden. A case I knew nothing about, until today.

So why did Kester Aspden hound David Olywale? 

[Lako42]