Reading the 20th Century discussion

Oops, just belatedly realised that I read The Gilded Chalet in 2015 - when I saw the cover I remembered it! Here is my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I bought the kindle version, which is 99p in the Autumn sale.
https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product...

Val wrote: "I have just bought The Gilded Chalet by Padraig Rooney.

In the summer of 1816 paparazzi trained their telescopes on Byron and the Shelleys across Lake Geneva. Mary..."

Ooh, looks good, Val.

Currently The Gilded Chalet: Off-Piste in Literary Switzerland is 99p on kindle. Thanks, Val.

Judy wrote: "Do you know if that cover is from an early film version, Elizabeth? It has that look about it - great cover."

Acknowledgement on the back cover:

"The cover shows a still from the film The Understanding Heart © 1927 Turner Entertainment Co., Ren. 1955 Loew's Inc., All Rights Reserved (photo: British Film Institute)"

Judy wrote: "The Gilded Chalet sounds great from that description - I will be interested to hear what you think of it, Val. Adding it to my TBR."

I agree. Added as well.

There is quite a lot about Byron in my current read, Dear Mr Murray: Letters to a Gentleman Publisher

I'm currently rereading Flashman and the Angel of the Lord (brilliant if you were wondering) but when I'm done with that I'll have to choose which of my two recent purchases gets read first.
Will it be Blood on the Snow by Emanuel Litvinoff, the second part of the Faces of Terror Trilogy?
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Or will it be In the Absence of Mrs. Peterson a late (1966) Nigel Balchin thriller which sounds, from the blurb, a little bit Hitchcockian ?
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Answers on a postcard.

I have only read one Nigel Balchin novel, and loved it. I can't comment on the other book, but I presume you have enjoyed the first in the trilogy, so they both sound pretty good choices. I would read both at the same time, but then I always have lots of books on the go.

Susan wrote: "I have only read one Nigel Balchin novel, and loved it. I can't comment on the other book, but I presume you have enjoyed the first in the trilogy, so they both sound pretty good choices. I would r..."

Ooh no. I can't be reading two books at once unless one is fiction and the other factual.
Yes, the first part of the trilogy, A Death Out of Season, was good and set around the Seige of Sidney Street and the Houndsditch murders so was right up my alley.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
As to Balchin I've read six of his books and with the exception of A Way Through the Woods thought they were all brilliant.

Sounds like a win-win situation to me, either way.

CQM wrote: "I'm currently rereading Flashman and the Angel of the Lord (brilliant if you were wondering) but when I'm done with that I'll have to choose which of my two recent purchases gets read first.

Will it be Blood on the Snow by Emanuel Litvinoff, the second part of the Faces of Terror Trilogy?

Or will it be In the Absence of Mrs. Peterson a late (1966) Nigel Balchin thriller which sounds, from the blurb, a little bit Hitchcockian ?

Answers on a postcard. "

Always a joy to read your musings CQM.

I am still slowly but surely working my way through the Flashman series - all have been a lot of fun and I am sure that the rest will be enormously enjoyable too

In my experience of both Balchin and Litvinoff you cannot go wrong (A Way Through the Wood notwithstanding).

I look forward to your musings as and when you read them.

I've just started Spider from Mars: My Life with Bowie by Ziggy era drummer Woody Woodmansey which is probably one for the Bowie obsessives rather than the general reader.

I'm also ploughing on through with the sprawling, epic, exhaustive Wolf Hall

Nigeyb wrote: "I'm also ploughing on through with the sprawling, epic, exhaustive Wolf Hall."

Oh dear. Do the words "ploughing" and "exhaustive" imply that you're not enjoying it?

Have just read A Crisis of Brilliance: Five Young British Artists and the Great War, which I wanted to read because I want to find out about the art of the First World War. It was excellent; a bit narrow in its focus perhaps, but very redolent of the whole era, and it introduced me to some very interesting artists - Stanley Spencer and Paul Nash I knew about, but not C.R.W. Nevinson or John Currie or Mark Gertler. I got sufficiently into them to read Nevinson's autobiography, Paint and Prejudice - an entertaining if slightly odd book.

I am most definitely enjoying it Storyheart but must confess to a few moments of feeling it is going on just a bit. It's almost a daily diary of Cromwell's life. It's probably going to be a five star book for me because the writing is wonderful, the research is extraordinary, and the evocation of life in Tudor England and in Henry's court is remarkable but could it, maybe, have been a bit shorter?

It's been too long since I read it to remember if I had the same feeling, Nigeyb, but I think I might have. It must be hard for an author who has really immersed herself in the research the way Mantel has to be objective about what to leave out.

I really did think that Mantel must be the queen of waffle. Such a shame , as you say she really has done her research.

I loved every word of "Wolf Hall." I know reviews were mixed, but I adored that and "Bring Up the Bodies." Would like to listen to the audio versions too.

I have not added Wolf Hall, primarily because I'm not especially interested in the time period. What I *have* added is her A Place of Greater Safety. I have read some other fiction of that time period, though not extensively, and also not actually getting to any nonfiction.

A Place of Greater Safety is brilliant - particularly given that it was written when Mantel was still unpublished.

Glad to hear that Hugh. It's my only unread Mantel and I've been saving it. She's my favourite living author.

One of the things I like about Mantel's historical novels is that she can make the story compelling even when we all know the ending. It would be interesting to read one where I didn't already know what happened to all the main characters and see if it is even better.

You're so right, Val.

Have you tried The Giant, O'Brien? It is historically based but I wasn't all that familiar with the history and found it quite fascinating.

A Place of Greater Safety was my first Mantel. With Wolf Hall, she may have taken a very well known era, but she, at least, came at the story from a different angle.

I haven't read that one Storyheart, but I do know the end.
(view spoiler)[https://www.theguardian.com/science/2... (hide spoiler)]

I just finished The Fifth Risk. Fascinating and scary. Highly recommended, especially if you want to know how near the precipice we may be.

The postman brought Black Roses by Jane Thynne today.

I got 3 books into that series but then I had to wait for the next book to come out and I never got back to it. I enjoyed the ones I read though. I have come to the conclusion that I need to wait until all the books for a series are out before I start reading it or I get distracted before the end.

Great cover, Elizabeth and, of course, a future Buddy Read on Detectives :)

I discovered that the Shardlake books were part of a monthly sale on Audible, so completed my series. Also, downloaded Invitation to the Waltz for our future Buddy Read.

NetGalley just approved me for The Sentence is Death

Very excited about this one, but it is out on 1st November, so I do need to get reading. When I have review books, I do like to read them before they are published.

Just received my copy of Invitation to the Waltz. Not that I'll wish my life away (nor the books I have to read soon), but I'll be glad for January and the buddy read.

I'm looking forward to it too, Elizabeth. We have some great reads lined up for next year.

By sheer coincidence, I've just noticed that I own a copy of Invitation to the Waltz - I didn't realise I had it! Looking forward to it too.

I have a copy too Judy. I think I bought it soon after reading The Weather in the Streets but never got around to reading it.

In Boston recently, at Brattle Books I stumbled on A. Edward Newton's 1921 "A Magnificent Farce," a collection of his musings on books collecting and authors. I'm not very far along, but so far it is utterly delightful... so much so that I raced to biblio.com to order a copy of his first book, "The Amenities of Book-Collecting."

My brother lives in Boston and we always check out Brattle Books when we visit. Always come home with at least 1 book. Usually more.

Lynaia wrote: "My brother lives in Boston and we always check out Brattle Books when we visit. Always come home with at least 1 book. Usually more."

It is a fun and dangerous place!

I just substantially increased my collection of P.G. Wodehouse novels. Included in my binge are:
Laughing Gas
The Luck of the Bodkins
Summer Lightning
Heavy Weather
Leave It to Psmith

Cannot wait to receive them all. Should keep me laughing through the coming tax season.

All marvellous Lynaia

A great collection! Leave it to Psmith is my personal favorite Wodehouse novel.

Very recently been given three of Claire Fuller's booksSwimming Lessons Our Endless Numbered Days and Bitter Orange

I was lucky enough to receive three Persephone books for Christmas - Lettice Delmer by Susan Miles, an unusual novel in verse from the 1950s which I couldn't resist starting, They Were Sisters by Dorothy Whipple, and the temptingly-titled Tea with Mr. Rochester by Frances Towers.

Got three books for Christmas:
A Step So Grave by Catriona McPherson (the latest in the Dandy Gilver 1920s detective stories - I love these and read it in one sitting on Christmas Day)
Miss Kopp's Midnight Confessions by Amy Stewart - love this series too and am a book behind in it
The Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller - two copies due to accidentally double-briefing


Also a bumper crop of Michelle Obama's Becoming - I bought it for my mother, she bought it for me (and my two sisters), and my husband bought it for our daughter. The Obama family are doing VERY nicely out of this.

What great sounding gifts!

Annabel, I heard that Michelle Obama's Becoming was selling nine copies a second before Christmas.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainm...

This is a BBC email about forthcoming books. Any we are excited by? The sequel to Handmaid's Tale will be big news. What pre-orders does everyone have forthcoming? On pre-order for 2019, I have:

Memories of the Future
The Adventures of Maud West, Lady Detective: Secrets and Lies in the Golden Age of Crime
Deadland
Metropolis
A Fabulous Creation: How LPs Saved Our lives
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
Somebody's Mother, Somebody's Daughter: True Stories from Victims and Survivors of the Yorkshire Ripper
The Testaments

Of the BBC books, I like the sound of Machines Like Me: A Novel and Something to Live For

Just picked up Something to Live For on NetGalley.

I received one book - Becoming.

I received a couple of books this Yuletide, both of which I cannot wait to get my teeth into...


Diary of a Rock 'n' Roll Star by Ian Hunter

Ian Hunter's Diary of a Rock `n' Roll Star, first published in 1974, is a fascinating diary of Mott the Hoople's 1972 US tour. It has received a litany of plaudits and been described as what "may well be the best rock book ever" and "an enduring crystallization of the rock musician's lot, and a quietly glorious period piece" from Q and The Guardian. A brutally honest chronicle of touring life in the Seventies, and a classic of the rock writing genre, Diary of a Rock `n' Roll Star remains the gold standard for rock writing. This edition includes new content from Hunter. Ian Hunter is the lead singer in Mott the Hoople and a successful solo artist in his own right. He continues to record and perform across the world after more than fifty years in rock'n'roll.



Home and Away: Round Britain in Search of Non-League Football Nirvana by Dave Roberts

Dave Roberts was, for once, almost lost for words as the news sank in. Perennial underachievers Bromley, in the vertigo-inducing fifth tier of English football? It was the greatest achievement in the club's 130-year history and, by extraordinary coincidence, Dave had decided to spend the next 12 months in the UK, after an absence of 35 years, deciding whether he and his wife Liz could live there. And what better way to explore modern day Blighty than by following a roadmap based on the fixtures in the Vanarama National League? It was like the ultimate package holiday; well, for Dave at least.

Home and Away takes Dave - and occasionally Liz too - the length and breadth of the land on a journey of discovery, with Bromley games thrown in. So from the White Cliffs of Dover and the English Riviera (Torquay) through the timeless charm of the Cotswolds (Forest Green, Cheltenham) to towns steeped in history (Lincoln, Chester), faded seaside resorts (Southport, Barrow) and fallen giants of the game (Grimsby, Wrexham, Tranmere - OK, pushing it there), the season unfolds, and the ultimate 'home or away' decision approaches.

Against the odds, the season also proves not to be full of the endless disappointments football fans are conditioned to expect. Unfancied Bromley are on a mission, they have a man called Moses up front, and the promised land of the Football League might not be beyond their capabilities...

Nigeyb wrote: "I received a couple of books this Yuletide, both of which I cannot wait to get my teeth into...


Diary of a Rock 'n' Roll Star by Ian Hunter

Ian Hunter's Diary o..."

I read the original version of this book when it was first published and loved it. Hope you do too.

Andrew wrote: "I read the original version of Diary of a Rock 'n' Roll Star by Ian Hunter when it was first published and loved it. Hope you do too."

Thanks Andrew. I read it back in the 1970s but all I can remember now is that I liked it, so I expect it will now be like reading a new book. I'm really looking forward to it.