What book are you reading at the moment ? |
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ErsatzThistle
Liam Brady Joined: 05 Nov 2013 Location: Glasgow Status: Offline Points: 1013 |
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Aye, that's right. Canvas. The pilots nicknamed them "stringbags". They did the raid on the Italian fleet at harbour in Taranto as well.
We are honoured PM ! Two off the top of my head you might (it's your call) be interested in are ..... "Crowdie & Cream : Memories of a Hebridean Childhood" by Finlay J MacDonald. This is an omnibus edition of three autobiographical books written by MacDonald (who was once a well known BBC Scotland journalist) about his early life growing up on Harris in the Western Isles. MacDonald grew up on a small agricultural holding (we call it a "croft") in a predominantly Gàidhlig speaking and devoutly Presbyterian environment from the late 1920s until the early 1940s. There's a fair amount of sadness, loneliness, disappointment, death and despair (the incident where a fake firm in Manchester cons the islands women into sending masses of highly valuable freshly spun Harris tweed to them and never pays them is infuriating) occurring on the island. Nonetheless they make the most of the good times when they happen. The latter half of the trilogy also deals with the very interesting and painful dilemma MacDonald faced as a a teenager. A very intelligent boy, he wants to be a journalist. Yet he also worships his father (a traumatized veteran of WW1) who works the land and the culture and way of life his family have adhered to for generations. He feels like he will be betraying them by following his dreams in spite of their urging him to "get on in the world". MacDonald's style of writing is magnificent. A wonderful study of a people, a time and place on the edge of a great change. It's one of my favourite books. Recommended. With regards to non-fiction, there is "The Scottish Nation - A Modern History" by T. M. Devine This is the book to read for anyone who wants to understand just what the hell modern Scotland is all about. It covers the years 1700-2000. It's a staggering political, social and economic examination of Scotland through three centuries. He doesn't shy away from dealing with sectarianism, Glasgow and Edinburgh's slavery links (although his other book "Scotland's Empire" does it in much more detail) and the sad fact that a people who were outraged by the treaty of union in 1707 quickly became seduced by it until we gradually began to reawaken again in the 20th Century. I also particularly liked his takedown of the romance and legends of the contemptable Charles Edward Stuart (aka "Bonnie Prince Charlie") who was a rank coward who wilfully abandoned his men to the mercy of an unforgiving enemy when they needed him and looked to him for leadership. In doing so set the scene for a violent cultural assault upon Scotland's Celtic heritage - Gàidhlig, Highland dress, the pipes etc. . Devine himself is from a working class, state educated background. Not an upper middle class, privately educated historian. Like many others, he was once a pretty firm unionist who was initially sceptical of devolution but today he is a convinced supporter of Scottish independence.
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MayoMark
Moderator Group The NEW angrier Freewheeler Joined: 27 Jan 2009 Location: Castlebar Status: Offline Points: 26312 |
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Not the quickest reader in the world. The girlfriend would power through 3 books by the time I'd finish 1!
Reading 1984 by George Orwell at the moment. Really enjoying it!
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They finally did it man... They killed my f**kin' car...
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Zinedine Kilbane 110
Jack Charlton Man City records obsession Joined: 20 Mar 2012 Location: Dundalk Status: Offline Points: 9647 |
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I used to be really slow and would re-read lines/ paragraphs but have a look online, there are techniques to speed up your reading. It makes a difference and you will find yourself reading more.
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pre Madonna
Robbie Keane I am MALDING Joined: 30 Nov 2014 Location: Trumpton Status: Offline Points: 44659 |
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I picked up 'Crowdie and Cream' before, but the fact it is called 'Crowdie and Cream' means it can f**k right off and keep f**king off. The Outer Hebrides might appeal, but he seems a top-class ****. I am more than familiar with Devine's work, including the volume mentioned, he is an excellent historian and writer. He seems like a good bloke too.
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ErsatzThistle
Liam Brady Joined: 05 Nov 2013 Location: Glasgow Status: Offline Points: 1013 |
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I'd definitely give Crowdie and Cream a go sometime PM. It's a lovely autobiography. "Crowdie" is a kind of cheese that was eaten by the ordinary, poor folk of the Highlands and Islands for centuries. You would also like how story the crofters con their factor into giving them small token rents for life in exchange for letting him build a golf course on the grazings.
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pre Madonna
Robbie Keane I am MALDING Joined: 30 Nov 2014 Location: Trumpton Status: Offline Points: 44659 |
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Names of books are important and that sort of twee sh*te in titles can do one. As I said, from what can be gleaned of him online he seems a ****.
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ErsatzThistle
Liam Brady Joined: 05 Nov 2013 Location: Glasgow Status: Offline Points: 1013 |
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PM, just out of interest what exactly did you read about MacDonald online ? I'm beginning to fear you may have confused him with someone else. MacDonald was a popular figure on BBC Scotland prior to his sudden death in 1987.
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Baldrick
Robbie Keane Peyton-tly Pedantic Joined: 18 Sep 2008 Location: Ireland Status: Offline Points: 32714 |
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Finished Champagne Football like a lot of people on here. Great book. Well recommend it.
Dublin the Chaos Years. Names Heard long Ago Jonathan Wilson about Hungarian football. |
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AKA pedantic kunt
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pre Madonna
Robbie Keane I am MALDING Joined: 30 Nov 2014 Location: Trumpton Status: Offline Points: 44659 |
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Just a few extracts. I find it all very twee and, if I was Scottish, quite patronising.
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ErsatzThistle
Liam Brady Joined: 05 Nov 2013 Location: Glasgow Status: Offline Points: 1013 |
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Respectfully, I'll have to disagree there if I may PM. I didn't find his writing patronising. It's all about culture. The way of life and the traditions practiced in the Western Isles were once very different from that of mainland Scotland. The emphasis on family and religion (Lewis and Harris are devoutly Presbyterian whilst Barra* and South Uist are devoutly Roman Catholic) was far greater than anywhere else in Scotland. Many islanders also felt a real kind of mystical connection with the land they worked and the sea they lived by. The great Celtic tradition of local elders passing on to others stories which were true and false was also still strong in MacDonald's youth. All this is what affected him and it shows in his work. MacDonald as I said felt very conflicted about breaking the link with his family and their traditional way of life on the croft. He even says that although he achieved his dream of becoming a journalist, he never shook off the guilt about not following his father and wondered if he had really done the right thing. Anyway, whilst I'm waiting for my order to come through at Waterstones I'll be going through some of W. B. Yeat's works in the meantime. One of Ireland's greatest *Barra was once declared to be "the most Scottish place on earth" in some weird survey
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pre Madonna
Robbie Keane I am MALDING Joined: 30 Nov 2014 Location: Trumpton Status: Offline Points: 44659 |
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People take things in different ways.
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Flanno7hi
Liam Brady Joined: 26 Jul 2010 Location: Chester Status: Offline Points: 2614 |
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If you are enjoying 1984 is recommended Fahrenheit 451 when you finish.
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Our City. Our Community. Our Club
IG @flanno_7hi |
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pre Madonna
Robbie Keane I am MALDING Joined: 30 Nov 2014 Location: Trumpton Status: Offline Points: 44659 |
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'Brave New World' too.
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McG
Moderator Group SISAO? What the hell is SISAO? Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Location: Christmas Island Status: Offline Points: 26975 |
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Wrong thread
Edited by McG - 27 Sep 2020 at 6:41pm |
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YBIG Table Quiz winner 2016 & 2017
AS YOU WERE McGx |
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Hotlips_Hoolahan
Jack Charlton Joined: 04 Aug 2020 Status: Offline Points: 6615 |
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Reading The Martini Shot by George Pelecanos [writer on The Wire]. It's a collection of seven short stories and one novella. I've finished the seven short stories and they're hit and miss. He's much more suited to writing full-length fiction. As always his dialogue is very authentic, especially when it comes to writing street characters. Street poetry is how I've heard The Wire being described and Pelecanos books are similarly inclined. I used to read a lot of Michael Connelly books but they look prosaic compared to Pelecanos. Hoping to read more James Ellroy and get started on Richard Price, too.
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zizu Kilbane
Jack Charlton Joined: 23 Oct 2007 Location: Ireland Status: Offline Points: 8355 |
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For any WW2 history buffs on here, I cant recommend the two part volume 'The Hitler Years' by Frank McDonagh enough. (McDonagh is a Professor of modern history and one of the leading international experts on The Third Reich)
The first volume came out in 2019 and 2nd one just before Christmas. Its a linier history beginning in 1933 as Hitler comes to power, culminating in the fall of Berlin in 1945. It's a very easy and engaging read (written in a style more for the layman than the academic historian) and really well illustrated.
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"Sometimes, sh*t happens, someone's gotta deal with it, and who ya gonna call?"
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t_rAndy
Robbie Keane Joined: 06 Feb 2008 Location: Ireland Status: Offline Points: 26214 |
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Read the Richie Sadlier book during christmas. Decent read, could relate to a lot of the drinking stuff!
Nearly finished the Paul Williams latest book where he covers the Monk. Also enjoying it and would recommend, even if Williams is a bit of a douche Edited by t_rAndy - 13 Jan 2021 at 1:09am |
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Hotlips_Hoolahan
Jack Charlton Joined: 04 Aug 2020 Status: Offline Points: 6615 |
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King Suckerman by George Pelecanos, who wrote on The Wire and The Deuce among other things. Very good. Constantly laughed my arse off all through it (in a good way). The antagonist in this is like a precursor to Omar Little. People who quote The Wire all the time would enjoy this one. Next on the agenda is the L.A. Noir trilogy by James Ellroy. I love his clipped writing style and the way he brings old Los Angeles to life. The real-life murder of Ellroy's mother clearly informs all of his books with their unrelenting grimness. Like Pelecanos, the despair is matched by an acerbic wit. Used to be big into the aul Michael Connelly books but he's a bit dry IMO and isn't as good at writing believable characters with real motivations. I love reading about true crime as well, particularly the mafia. Can't go wrong with any of the following. I'd especially recommend the first one which covers everything from the formation of the five families in America to John Gotti to the decline of the present day mob. Five Families by Selwyn Raab Gotti: Rise and Fall by Jerry Capeci Blood and Honor: Inside the Scarfo Mob, the Mafia's Most Violent Family by George Anastasia Brotherhoods: The True Story of Two Cops Who Murdered for the Mafia by Guy Lawson and William Oldham Murder Machine by Jerry Capeci and Gene Mustain
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