What was the last book you read?

[Angela Channing]

This 'n That by Bette Davis

I read Bette Davis's first autobiography around 30 years ago and I don't remember it very well so I thought it would be interesting to read her second one. It's not a memoir of her entire life so she doesn't re-tread the ground that she covered in her first book, this is more a collection of individual stories from her later life rather than a full account of it. What I loved about this book is the conversational style to the writing, it feels like she's reminiscing over a drink and a cigarette instead of writing a formal book. It starts with her disappointment over her daughter BD's tell-all biography and goes on to cover working with Faye Dunnaway who she found to be unprofessional, her unfulfilled love for George Brent, her opinion of Joan Collins (all hair and breasts and no talent), recovering from her stroke and assorted other stories from her past. There is a long chapter on her work on The Hollywood Canteen which she thought was the best thing she did in her professional career. It's a very well written, interesting and entertaining book.

 

[Seaviewer]

The Saint Sees It Through by Leslie Charteris (The Saint #26)

 

[Mo Mouse]

I've just finished reading 'James & The Giant Peach'. I won't give too much away in case any of you haven't read it yet but let's just say that there are plenty of oversized fruit high jinks and also a boy named James. It's well worth a read although at £12.99 in paperback, it's a bit pricey. I'd just nick it from the library if I were you.

 

[Seaviewer]

Alien: Out of the Shadows by Tim Lebbon
An official "canonical" novel featuring Ripley set somewhat improbably between the first two films.
I won't spoil the explanation of how this is possible.

The Saint Sees It Through by Leslie Charteris (The Saint #26)

This should have been Call For the Saint (#27).
Sees It Through was the one before. It's been very hot here the last few days and the heat is frying my brain.

 

[Jimmy Todd]

The Society of the Spectacle- Guy Debord
Definitely not an easy read. My book club is meeting next week to discuss it. I'll have a lot of questions.
Anyone read it?

 

[Angela Channing]

Love Marriage by Monica Ali

I found this book hard going and it took me longer than I expected to read because I found it painfully slow and difficult to keep my attention. The book has had fabulous reviews so it can't be a bad book, just not for me. It's about a young British Bangladeshi female doctor who falls in love with a white British man, a fellow doctor and explores and the cultural differences and family based drama that they encounter. I think the story would make a good TV mini-series but it didn't quite work for me as a book.

 

[Seaviewer]

Star Trek: Mutiny On the Enterprise by Robert E. Vardeman
I saw the denouement coming a mile - or should I say a parsec - off, and there are one or two minor errors of canon, but overall an entertaining TOS adventure.

 

[Angela Channing]

The 12 Days of Winter by Stuart MacBride

A collection of 12 Christmas based crime stories based on the carol The 12 Days of Christmas, for example, the first story is about a burglar whose surname is Partridge who is stealing a painting called The Pear Tree. What was clever about the book was that you don't realise all the stories are linked and the various threads come together in the end. Not a bad book and easy to read.

 

[Seaviewer]

Alien: Sea of Sorrows by James A. Moore
Follow-up to Out of the Shadows; this time focusing on Ripley's descendant a century or so later.

 

[Angela Channing]

All In by Billie Jean King

Billie Jean King was one of my first heroes when I was a 5 year old boy watching Wimbledon tennis on TV so I had to read this book. This in fact her third autobiography and I've read the previous 2 decades ago. The first concentrated mainly on her rise to the top and her fight for women's equality in the sport, the second focussed on her being outed for having an affair with another woman and this final autobiography covers most of the same ground and more but with a greater degree of reflection, looking back on the key events of her life in the context of where she and society is now on a wide range of matters. This is also a more comprehensive book than the previous two and there is more talk about her parents ,her upbringing and her faith. She is also more open and reveals more about things others said and their attitudes, possibly because some of those people have now died so she is more free to talk about them. There is a fascinating chapter in which she described the Battle of The Sexes match with Bobby Riggs and she analyses it shot by shot, describing why she made certain shot choices, why certain things worked and others didn't and even if you know little about tennis, the detail and involvement is impressive and gripping. It's a great read.

 

[bmasters9]

Good Evening, Friends by Dave Ward: a memoir of that longtime Houston television news anchor's life and career, from his childhood starting in 1939 (he was born in that year on May 6) to his last newscast on KTRK ABC13 Eyewitness News in 2017 (he was there for over 50 years), and everything in between...

 

[Seaviewer]

Kidnapped
Catriona
by Robert Louis Stevenson

I read Treasure Island when I was a kid, and I recall starting Kidnapped but never finishing it.
Reading it now I find that it's set in Scotland around about the same time as the early episodes of Outlander so there's a feeling of visiting familiar territory. I did think, though, that it ended rather abruptly so, when reading the Wikipedia article, I was pleased to find that there was a sequel. Catriona, aka David Balfour, the Second Part, picks up exactly where Kidnapped finishes and brings the story to a satisfying conclusion/

 

[Jimmy Todd]

Waiting by Hai Jin

 

[Seaviewer]

Saint Errant by Leslie Charteris (The Saint #28)
A collection of short stories including the final appearance of Patricia Holm. There's no story where she actually leaves; she's just not there anymore. Fanon suggests that she leaves him after discovering she was pregnant and this is supported somewhat inasmuch as both the 70s Return of the Saint series and 1997 film both started out as "son of the Saint" projects.
Reading the stories now it did seem to me that their relationship was getting increasingly testy, with Pat less willing to put up with his flirtations with other women, but that might be just me looking for an explanation after the fact.

 

[Angela Channing]

Rafa: My Story by Rafael Nadal

I really like this book. It's a real insight into the life and career of one of the greatest tennis players of all time but also it's a story of family. Rafa tells how he has always only been coached by his Uncle Toni who has never taken any payment for his work. Rafa is really open and honest in this account of his life and his focus and ruthlessness that has enabled him to become a winner. The book has an interesting format in that it tells the story of the 2008 Wimbledon final interspersed with his account of his upbringing, his training, his relationship with his family, his injuries and his triumphs.

 

[darkshadows38]

reading about a Tennis Player isn't my thing but to each their own i suppose i'm glad you liked it though i do read some bio's but i'm picky i guess as most of them are shit they are most honest when they actually write them i think but that's not always the case either. anyways the last one i read was London Bridges (2004) by James Patterson the 10th Alex Cross book i had bought that brand f.. new in (2004) so it took me 18 years to actually get off my lazy ass to read it i suppose lol and it was okay but it was a bit of a let down well not all of them are gems i suppose i'd say 3/5

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Dr. Mary's Monkey (by Edward Haslam)
Chaos (by Tom O'Neill)
Brothers (by David Talbot)
The Devil's Chessboard (by David Talbot)


I have a wide range of interests, but somehow I always wind up back at intelligence activities of the '60s. I'm not even sure how it happens.

Somethin' somethin' nazi treasure

 

[darkshadows38]

well i don't see a list of what you are currently reading and that would be Mary, Mary by James Patterson (2005) Alex Cross #11

 

[Angela Channing]

reading about a Tennis Player isn't my thing but to each their own i suppose i'm glad you liked it though i do read some bio's but i'm picky i guess as most of them are shit they are most honest when they actually write them i think but that's not always the case either. anyways the last one i read was London Bridges (2004) by James Patterson the 10th Alex Cross book i had bought that brand f.. new in (2004) so it took me 18 years to actually get off my lazy ass to read it i suppose lol and it was okay but it was a bit of a let down well not all of them are gems i suppose i'd say 3/5

What prompted me to read Rafa's autobiography was reading Billie Jean King's autobiography earlier this year. She's had a fascinating life in tennis and activism and in her book she said a few things about tennis today that I though would be interesting to read another person's perspective on. What I didn't expect was the contrast of Rafa's relatively privileged development in the game to that of BJK when she was literally building up the structures of the sport while simultaneously winning Grand Slams. Rafa's book was able to concentrate more on how he approaches matches and the support of his family. Both books were excellent reads.

 

[Seaviewer]

Eight Is Enough by Tom Braden
The book that inspired the TV series.
Apart from the basic concept the show doesn't resemble the book a great deal, which I suppose is why they changed the family name to Bradford, although the first names are all the same. Spoiler: the real-life Joan doesn't die. Given the brief time that Diana Hyland was on the show I wonder what the thinking was behind not recasting the part. But it did work in much the same way that Jock's death on Dallas would later do. No surprise that both were Lorimar Productions,