Longchalk Posted May 18, 2014 Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 The Little Grey Men The Little Grey Men Go Down The Bright Stream Both the above written by "BB" who I believe wrote a lot of fishing books They are about a family of gnomes and their travels, The second one has a dark side to it BB lived in the Georgian rectory a few doors down from my current house. Im typing this overlooking his garden. Just bought an anthology of his various countryside writing for my Dad for Fathers Day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted May 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 BB lived in the Georgian rectory a few doors down from my current house. Im typing this overlooking his garden. Just bought an anthology of his various countryside writing for my Dad for Fathers Day. thats great ! what is the anthology and can I ask were you got it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longchalk Posted May 18, 2014 Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 (edited) Another vote for Thomas Hardy...Not surprising he's popular here given that we are country enthusiasts. Also recommend Wilkie Collins, and the "The Master", Patrick O'Brian - The quality of wrtiting, historic detail and vivid characterisation in his 21 volume "Aubrey-Maturin" series has to be read to be believed. Emile Zola is another spellbinding writer. Of modern authors I like Haruki Murakami a lot, and also John Updike. Edited May 18, 2014 by Longchalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted May 18, 2014 Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 I've said it before here more than once, but the Patrick O'Brian Aubrey-Maturin series is a joy and a delight. I've read the entire series three times and I'm embarking on the audiobooks in the car. Life can quite literally be bisected into two parts, before you experience them, and after. You will never be quite the same again. A few more: Flashman Series by George Macdonald Fraser Most of Douglas Adams stuff Ian Fleming The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte The Rum Diary by Hunter S Thompspn For pure trash holiday reading Lee Child is a guilty pleasure. For essays...Hunter S Thompson, PJ O'Rourke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted May 18, 2014 Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 stig of the dump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longchalk Posted May 18, 2014 Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 (edited) Shantaram - cant remember who wrote it. A bit far fetched in places imo but what a book. True story spparently. A gripping book about human strengths and frailties, even if you can't like him all that much at times. Apparently rewritten several times after the manuscripts were destroyed in various prisons the author languished in. Written by Gregory David Roberts, who is supposedly working on a second volume. Edited May 18, 2014 by Longchalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaun4860 Posted May 18, 2014 Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 A recent find which should appeal to most on here is a book called, Bird Brain by Guy Kennaway. Its a funny novel about a murder on a pheasant shoot, when the victim is reincarnated as a pheasant, and the gundogs are smarter than the humans. The description of the antis is particularly amusing...give it a try. Downloaded this last night and read a few pages before nodding off, When I first read your description I thought it would have been set at the turn of the century but its not, It's set right up to date, they even have mobile phones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longchalk Posted May 18, 2014 Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 (edited) thats great ! what is the anthology and can I ask were you got it Its called "The Countryman's Bedside Book" and I got it at Watersones online. ISBN 978-1-873674-949 . Hardback, 12 chapters, illustrated with his own Beautiful woodcuts. Would you believe, I bought soley it for the write up, as Dad is 82 and a proper Countryman, without knowing who BB actually, was or that I live two doors from his chidhood home...... Its a small world. Edited May 18, 2014 by Longchalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapp Posted May 18, 2014 Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 Chickenhawk by Robert Mason Great book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted May 18, 2014 Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 Speaking of Pheasants, I've bought my son Danny The Champion Of The World for bedtime reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted May 18, 2014 Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 A mate recommended Chickenhawk; still haven't read it, but its mention on here reminded me of another very good modern warfare book- Blackhawk Down. As is often the case, much better than the film. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted May 18, 2014 Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 I've just read Agent Zigzag by Ben McIntyre, about the wartime double agent Eddie Chapman. Absolutely fascinating reading and a real insight into the thought processes of (elements of) the Abwehr during the war.. I've got Operation Mincemeat from the same author yet to read. Operation Fortitude by Joshua Levine is very good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
double10 Posted May 20, 2014 Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 I found the old man and the sea a very good read, along with of mice and men. The Hobbit, while not a classic as such was an excellent book too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OJW Posted May 20, 2014 Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 Biggles by W.E Johns when I was a youngster. Look forward to reading them again one day! Flashman Chronicles by George MacDonald Fraser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjpainter Posted May 20, 2014 Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 (edited) Well, I've divided them up into novels and short stories as I couldn't decide! To The Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad Short stories: Stirrings Still, Samuel Beckett Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, Rudyard Kipling The Man Who Would Be King, also Kipling Edited May 20, 2014 by chrisjpainter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 (edited) Glad to see I was not the only one. Although 'The Throwback' is my favourite. Ah, yes - that reminded me of the first to two books that made me laugh out loud when commuting on the train:Tom Sharpe - "Riotous Assembly" and "Indecent Exposure".Regards,Mark. Edited May 21, 2014 by Penelope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 Superb! Speaking of Pheasants, I've bought my son Danny The Champion Of The World for bedtime reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriBsa Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 Chickenhawk by Robert Mason Snap, excellent book. But the best book on flying I've read would be Think Like a Bird by Alex Kimbell, who was an Army Air Corp pilot in the last days of fixed wing flight before they switched to helicopters. Imagine just dropping in (landing) on a Navy Carrier for a cuppa no red tape then. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 If you want flying try First Light by Geoffrey Wellum. Probably the most honest account I've ever read. The opening chapter as I recall is gripping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriBsa Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 (edited) Thanks Thunderbird, but I have read it and enjoyed it. Difficult to relate nowadays that an 18 year old could be thrust into the Battle of Britain flying a plane. Guess they grew up quicker then. I have read most of the WW2 books by aircrew over the years that were available from local libraries, a good read all. So much so that I now look for something a bit different like Chickenhawk or Think Like a Bird. Tom Edited May 21, 2014 by TriBsa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted May 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 Keep looking through this list and taking notes of the books i will read and just remembed one of my favourites John Barth "the Sotweed Factor" also Flann Obrien The Third Policeman and The Dalkey Archive, The Third Policeman and The Sotweed Factor are both insane, and made me LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChAoS Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 I now look for something a bit different like Chickenhawk I seem to remember that this book held the solution to that ol' chestnut*: "You're piloting a Huey in a hover over a minefield but the helicopter is so heavily laden that it won't fly up over the fence. Waddaya do?" Regards, Mark. * Disclaimer: it's been a looong time since I read that book. I may have got the scenario wrong or, in fact, it may have not have been it that book at *all*... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petethegeek Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 So much so that I now look for something a bit different like Chickenhawk or Think Like a Bird. Classics from a couple of aviation pioneers; Cecil Lewis "Sagittarius Rising" or Antoine de Saint-Exupery "Wind, Sand and Stars" and "Flight to Arras" perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keg Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 If you want flying try First Light by Geoffrey Wellum. Probably the most honest account I've ever read. The opening chapter as I recall is gripping. Good choice, i have it at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travlaa Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 Hunger Games books are excellent, far better than the films Also "Ready player one" is very good, especially if you are a fan of science fiction and 80s pop culture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.