Goodbye Lee Child. Did not finish this one, it is rubbish.
Good reference book for understanding biology. A mine of information well presented.
Live Wire: Harlan Coben: It is just possible that a social layer of people exist in US who are identified by the high price they pay for their shoes. Even so, it is not really worth reading about them
I really enjoyed this read. I liked all the other Hitchhikers but not as much as this one. This one seemed special, very funny, not quite so mad. I would have loved to find out more about Gusty Winds, he had the makings of another five part trilogy.
So long, Douglas, thanks for all the laughs.
So long, Douglas, thanks for all the laughs.
These cartoons of Jesus and Mohammed arguing about their respective beliefs are hilarious. Salmon Rushdie says: "Jesus & Mo (the characters) are absurd, blinkered, and oddly very sweet. J&M (the cartoon) is brilliant: sharp, delicious, irresistible." Richard Dawkins reports: "Jesus and Mo cartoons are wonderfully funny and true."
These books must by now be the most widely read cartoons in the world. The Riffy awards (Washington Post) drew more than 15,000 reader votes in five categories, "Jesus and Mo" certainly seemed able to mobilize its many online converts. The twice-weekly cartoon by the pseudonymous Mohammed Jones won both the Best Comic and Best Webcomic categories in the reader poll.
These books must by now be the most widely read cartoons in the world. The Riffy awards (Washington Post) drew more than 15,000 reader votes in five categories, "Jesus and Mo" certainly seemed able to mobilize its many online converts. The twice-weekly cartoon by the pseudonymous Mohammed Jones won both the Best Comic and Best Webcomic categories in the reader poll.
Famous and curious Animal Stories. If you read only one animal book, this should be the one !! This is a masterclass selection. It should be one of the most popular books in the world. (edit)
Too long, too many people, too many lies, boring. Did not get to the end.
The Maltese Falcon. The only person on earth who had not read the book or seen the film must have been me. So I got it and read it. So many Richard Stark fans commented on the similar styles. A brilliant book written in the days when every-one smoked and wore a hat. Very well put together.
The Rising Sea. Clive Cussler. On every other page a miracle is performed against all odds. By page 320 it’s getting a bit too much.
A clever yarn that made me laugh out loud quite a few times. Good fun and recommended. Will on the lookout for more by David Lodge.
Rebecca: Each time I read this I like it less. Written in 1937 it belongs to a bygone, very snotty age when one-dresses-for-dinner. Imagine dressing up like a bandaged finger just to eat! These were the “nothings” who got written about in that era. The tale sometimes gets so slow you could chuck it . . . . but then again, it is very well written. Oh! All right, three stars.
So, you read the book, did you? So what was the name of the narrator?
So, you read the book, did you? So what was the name of the narrator?
Battle for Spain. There is a heartbreaking grim reality in this long read. The reader will lose track of the many factions killing one another in the late 1930s Spain and the reasons why. It changes from day to day and week to week. The factions regularly change their names and sometimes their allegiance. After a while I was not sure who was killing who or why. The book demonstrates it must have been the same for the poor misguided persons taking part in the fighting with medieval religious brains and modern weaponry.
The Affair, Lee Child. Thriller set deep in Mississippi with so many twists and turns you start to think it will all end in a mess. But it comes to a clever and satifactory conclusion against all odds. Well done, Mr Child.
The making of Terry Wogan, See John run. This is such a witty little book from the Irishman who almost single handedly saved the BBC from boring it’s listeners to death. There is also a CD which will make you cry with laughter. The following is the tale of how it all came about.
The British Government in 1960s controlled the radio airwaves of the nation through their wholly owned subsidiary The British Broadcasting Company (BBC). They totally refused to play any Rock n Roll music and filled the day with The Billy Cotton Bandshow and Mantivani, music from the 30s and 40s. There was no other radio and only the very rich had TV.
This situation created the need for The Pirates. These were small ships at sea broadcasting, quite legally, just outside the British three mile territorial waters. They played the music the nation wanted to hear and as a result were fantastically successful. The public loved them. The BBC did not.
Over time even the BBC eventually noticed their listeners had nearly all defected.
At dawn one morning The Royal Navy appeared, arrested all the pirate radio ships simultaneously, all around the coast, then escorted them into ports. They were charged with broadcasting within the British SIX MILE legal sea limit. When they protested, six miles? Since when has it been six miles? They were told “since midnight last night”. Yes! The British Government, which always takes many years to amend British law, had changed this law (to aid it’s own BBC) show more overnight.
So The Royal Navy really worked for the BBC? So it would seem. A long time later. after much protest, the BBC were forced to produce a new program they called Radio One. It was a poor substitute for Pirate Radio but it was all there was. It was galling hearing phony BBC DJs proclaiming the success of the channel the public had had to force them to create.
Probably the only good thing to come out of Radio One was Terry Wogan, who's show was very entertaining and included skits about See John run. show less
The British Government in 1960s controlled the radio airwaves of the nation through their wholly owned subsidiary The British Broadcasting Company (BBC). They totally refused to play any Rock n Roll music and filled the day with The Billy Cotton Bandshow and Mantivani, music from the 30s and 40s. There was no other radio and only the very rich had TV.
This situation created the need for The Pirates. These were small ships at sea broadcasting, quite legally, just outside the British three mile territorial waters. They played the music the nation wanted to hear and as a result were fantastically successful. The public loved them. The BBC did not.
Over time even the BBC eventually noticed their listeners had nearly all defected.
At dawn one morning The Royal Navy appeared, arrested all the pirate radio ships simultaneously, all around the coast, then escorted them into ports. They were charged with broadcasting within the British SIX MILE legal sea limit. When they protested, six miles? Since when has it been six miles? They were told “since midnight last night”. Yes! The British Government, which always takes many years to amend British law, had changed this law (to aid it’s own BBC) show more overnight.
So The Royal Navy really worked for the BBC? So it would seem. A long time later. after much protest, the BBC were forced to produce a new program they called Radio One. It was a poor substitute for Pirate Radio but it was all there was. It was galling hearing phony BBC DJs proclaiming the success of the channel the public had had to force them to create.
Probably the only good thing to come out of Radio One was Terry Wogan, who's show was very entertaining and included skits about See John run. show less
A really good yarn involving a couple of Roman soldiers mixed up in the invasion of Britain some long time before Brexit.
Now that you’ve gone: A good murder mystery with many twists and turns full of Irish brogue and snappy dialogue. The characters are well rounded so most readers will identify easily with them. I enjoyed the read and it held me right up to the last page.
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
Mary Mary: Patterson started off telling me about a nasty murder with a few clues. Then he left me and wandered away telling me about the detective’s nasty divorce and his children.
I gave it up.
Mr Patterson, if I wanted Mills and Boon, that’s what I would buy. Can I have my money back, please?
I gave it up.
Mr Patterson, if I wanted Mills and Boon, that’s what I would buy. Can I have my money back, please?
Each time I pick this book up and read it again (it's 70 years old!) it gets better and better. How did those guys do it? Look at the photos, see what they are wearing on Everest, they even had to make most of their own climbing gear themselves or use second hand army surplus to get the gear they needed. No climbing shops in those days, climbers were regarded as nut-cases.
The Burning Room: This one reads like three stories that were abandoned, rehashed and bundled together to meet a publishing deadline.
Not up to the usual standard.
Not up to the usual standard.
Magical true account of a young girl (author Cathleen Leonard), her pack-horse and wolf-dog walking together from the tip of Scotland to Cornwall. (More than 1000 miles). What an adventure! And the adventure comes across in the reading, lots of fun and problems. It feels as if you are with them every step along the way, very good writing. I hope we see, hear and read a lot more of this young author. Five stars.*****
The Quest: As far a I can make out, these people are searching in the jungle in Africa for a goblet (a small gob?) or cup (grail?) used by their “saviour” to imbibe his last drop of wine before he snuffed it. They appear to think it is important. I could not share their feelings or understand so I bailed out at about page 12. I did not feel that they needed me along. They may still be there .. .. .. ..
Slaughterhouse 5. To the best of my knowledge this is a book based around the allied bombing of Dresden during World War Two. The author does not appear to be too sure, so I could be wrong. Very casually written, it is one of those books famed for being famous.
The Ashes of London. Interesting book that tends to wander a bit and is therefore a bit too long. The boring walks through the burned out streets are repeated again and again. I felt if the author described the coat of arms on the coach door in detail one more time I would throw the book at the wall. I would not rush to buy another of his books.
The epic voyage of the "Seven Little Sisters": A 6,700 mile voyage alone across the pacific by William Willis
One of the very best reads in the whole world. One day this will be a popular film. On this lone trip Willis fell off the stern of his raft and reflected how beautiful it looked sailing away from him and knowing he could not now survive mid Pacific.
A "must read" for everyone. I will always love this book about true friendship (and growing up). This is the 50th anniversary edition and I think I have read it once every year since 2005. Last read 03/03/2019, when I discovered that I have never read "Stuart Little" so have ordered that book and it should be here soon.
It's hard to believe that Lee Child allowed this book of fairy tails to be published. Everything his readers loved about Jack Reacher is destroyed in this handful of short stories. Personally, I will never be able to read another JR yarn without calling to mind these hopeless pages.
A lovely selection of yarns from the master, some wonderful, some really dated. The poetry is all dreadful but a couple of the short stories make the whole book well worth reading.