Best Books read during Lockdown.

If you've never read Wilbur Smith some of his stories about Africa are brilliant, When the Lion Feeds, The Sound of Thunder and A Sparrow Falls, would be a good place to start.

You should read Stuart Maconie's latest book on The Nanny State. Really timely and really good. A lot of resonance about growing up in the 70's and 80's, a lot of thought provoking ideas and a good few laughs too. It's not all as obvious as it might have been; eg he has a good pop at parts of the BBC which, given the vast majority of his work is through them, is fairly brave.

Couple of survival stories:-

Endurance by Alfred Lansing - the tale of Shackleton's ill-fated expedition to the Antarctic in 1915.  Extraordinary story of survival against impossible odds. 

Unbroken - Laura Hildenbrand (she also wrote Seabiscuit) - life story of Louis Zamperini who ran for the US at the Berlin Olympics, impressed Hitler who insisted on meeting him.  During the war, he crashed into the Pacific and was one of three survivors who drifted on a raft for two months (one died).  Eventually captured by the Japanese and endured years of brutal torture because of his Olympic past. Survived the war and eventually returned home a hero.  In 1998 he ran a leg of the torch relay for the Nagano winter Olympics.   This was Time Magazine's top book of 2010, recently made into a Coen Brothers film directed by Angelina Jolie, but the book should be read before.  This might be the best story I've ever read.  Absolutely incredible what went on.  Highly recommended.

Reading gone up from 1 book a week to 2 a week average

1981 Headingley Test - Wisden
Behind Closed Doors - Gary Lineker / Danny Baker
If It Bleeds - Stephen King
The Night Fire - Michael Connelly
I Love The Bones Of You - Christopher Eccleston
Nemesis The Battle For Japan 1944-5 - Max Hastings
Agent Running The Field - John Le Carre
The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe (goodness knows how many times read now) - C S Lewis

the tale of Shackleton's ill-fated expedition to the Antarctic in 1915.  Extraordinary story of survival against impossible odds.


Scott is more often depicted as the hero and courageous but Shackleton I am lead to believe brought all his men back alive.

Have you read "Catastrophe" (Europe goes to war 1914)?

Not yet ,Foinavan ...

Dandy in the Underworld - Sebastian Horsley

The most compelling, disgusting and hilarious autobiography I think i've ever had the (mis)fortune to read.

This is the story of Sebastian Horsley's life. Growing up at High Hall, in Hull, with his alcoholic mother, who regularly attempted suicide, his stepfather, a cult member dressed in orange, and his father, a crippled millionaire, Sebastian Horsley couldn't wait to leave home. Searching for happiness, meaning and a good outfit he embarked on a doomed career as a punk guitarist, had a stormy relationship with a notorious Scottish gangster, enjoyed a wildly successful period as a stock-market entrepeneur and experienced a near fatal stint as a shar****er. Sebastian charts his years as a dandy, an artist, a male escort and a brothel connoisseur. There are the love affairs, with Rachel 1 and Rachel 2, and a harrowing descent into heroin and crack addiction. DANDY IN THE UNDERWORLD evokes his desperate attempts to get clean, culminating in his crucifixion in the Phillippines.

This bloody Mary...Jonathan Rendall
The perfect punter...Dave Fararr
Steak Diana Ross diary of a football nobody..David Mcvay
All worth a read
Best Autobiography of sorts..The Moons a Balloon  David Niven.If you can track down the great man reading the audiobook its a real treat.

Japans motorcycle wars by Jeffrey W Alexander a real insight into the culture and response to Japans surrender after ww2

Monarch...i have 12 grand also,starts really well but in the end tails off due to way to many dodgy spelling.  Trying to be too clever.
The Ganmbler was a 3 part programme made by channel 4 who had gifted Rendall 12 k...one of the best things ever broadcast at the time and would love a link to view again..it could be on more 4 or whatever it is called.

Found a clip of the show. Think we all can relate to this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkuqOB94zCw

Spot on flushgordon1 ,one of the best fiction ever.Only £150 a year to follow it.

Is there a single thread left that doesn't get taken over by snowflakes?

Is your missus getting more then envelopes from the postman porky ,seemed to have hit a nerve there.

I have recommended books earlier in the thread pineapple. Furthermore u dont and will never make the rules on here,so if u cant take it fcuk off.

"sixty something"!!! Well, I never!!!



You carry on then sweetcheeks. Just wanted to share a simple etiquette lesson and how topic titles are generally a good guide as to their contents. If you want to be thick, ignorant, racist or display any other sheep-following-Hopkins type opinions then can I just suggest you'll generally find more like-minded types on 90% of other threads on here. They're not hard to find. But maybe - as an act of simple courtesy - leave those rare nuggets of sanity on here free of bigotry and let the posters chat to each other about the topic in hand without diverting it to whatever Brain Juice Guy is outraged about this morning.

Thinking Fast & Slow is a great book that sadly will be wasted on a good chunk of chitchat forumites but some here will derive something + from it.

Its an old un now but Michael Crick's bio of Fergie was pretty good when I read it 10+ years ago

& the duel biography of Bobby & Jackie Charlton by Leo Mckinstry was superb.  I dislike that authors politics but he writes very well & fairly.

Pineapple
Etiquette aint for me.Sorry if i don't subscribe to the status quo.

Read that last year and remember enjoying it. Sent it straight to a charity shop and barely remember any of it now though so not sure if it was really for me.


On a vaguely similar theme, I enjoyed To Kill the Truth by Sam Bourne a couple of months ago. Very prescient tale about a race against time to stop someone destroying evidence of things like slavery and the holocaust and similar. Some frankly ridiculous bits to it but it's well told and clips along nicely. Good book to have by a pool.