Book Club

Quoted from KingstonMariner

Intriguing is a neutral word. It could be either positive or negative. I didn’t say it was negative.

Fair enough .

I'm not sure it is fair enough. I would say that 'intriguing' is pretty clearly a positive thing for a book to be.

Quoted from Rodley Mariner

I'm not sure it is fair enough. I would say that 'intriguing' is pretty clearly a positive thing for a book to be.

Ive read history books in part before  mainly military eg  Vietnam and world war 2 books . This book though Rodley was the first one that I had read that covered things from the onset of man till the present day .I found Andrew Marrs book though a fascinating look  at what had gone on. He covered all angles and I felt it was a real tour de force. Certainly opened my eyes to what had gone on in some countries all around the world since human evolution.

I rarely read these days but I do like audiobooks. Current listen is 1918 by Peter Hart which is a decent account of the final months of WW1 which concentrates on the military action, the errors of Ludendorff and the way Foch and Haig out thought him.

Last listen was a Beatles biography - All These Years by Mark Lewisohn. There are lots of Beatles “official” biographies that are are good but this is very extensively researched using original interviews. It goes from pre-war with their family backgrounds and births, through schooldays and first meetings to early gigs Hamburg and back to meeting with Epstein and Martin and finishes with the release of Please Please Me. Long but fascinating. I kept thinking there was no way my parents would let me do that!

Quoted from KingstonMariner

With you on the Verona book and the Miracle of Castel di Sangro, and Ajax the Dutch and the War. Have you tried Ajax, Barcelona, Cruyff?

Similar to the Ajax/War book is one I read about Dynamo Kiev. Can’t remember the bloody name now or the author.

Dynamo by Andy Dougan? I also enjoyed the Castel di Sangro book, although I found the author a bit irritating at times.

One of my favourite football books is 31-0 by James Montague (who also wrote the 1312 book mentioned by Aldi). Various tales from obscure places as World Cup Qualifying goes on.

I'd also recommend When Friday Comes by the same author and Behind the Curtain by Jonathan Wilson.

Just finished The Savage Shore by David Hewson. It's a crime fiction novel centering around the 'Ndrangheta, who are the Mafia of the Calabrian region of Italy.

I wasn't aware of this gang before this novel, but they are a very powerful and ruthless organisation with roots in Greece.

Well written and researched, I enjoyed it enough to have just downloaded another book by the same author, which is another crime novel set in Amsterdam

Recently read and enjoyed 'The Wrestling' by Simon Garfield which was a top bit of nostalgia on the rise and decline of British Wrestling. A proper easy read and good to read what became of the unlikely stars of World Of Sport Wrestling. Currently reading 'I was told to come alone' by Souad Mekhennet which is a memoir of a female Muslim journalist endangering her own life getting access to various Jihadi group leaders. A really good investigative piece of journalism which almost reads as a thriller at times.

Quoted from Manchester Mariner

Recently read and enjoyed 'The Wrestling' by Simon Garfield which was a top bit of nostalgia on the rise and decline of British Wrestling. A proper easy read and good to read what became of the unlikely stars of World Of Sport Wrestling.

Wasn’t aware of this Book-I’ll have to have a read of it as this is a big part of my childhood.
Incidentally I read a lot of wrestling autobiographies mainly from Stars of WWF/WWE.
I know it gets a hard time from some but the lifestyle of being a wrestler leads to some great story telling even for  those who are not fans of wrestling.

Quoted from ginnywings

Just finished The Savage Shore by David Hewson. It's a crime fiction novel centering around the 'Ndrangheta, who are the Mafia of the Calabrian region of Italy.

I wasn't aware of this gang before this novel, but they are a very powerful and ruthless organisation with roots in Greece.

Well written and researched, I enjoyed it enough to have just downloaded another book by the same author, which is another crime novel set in Amsterdam

All four of David Hewson's books set in Amsterdam are absolutely outstanding. They are fiction of course and therefore the police work has to be taken with a pinch of salt. I recommend them all, having spent a lot of time in Amsterdam personally (both socially and with the police) I can vouch 100% for the way he captures all aspects of the city, really puts you there IMO. The characters are superbly drawn and the plots are varied and complex. Read all four in May / June during lockdown and the hot weather - perfect!

He is also a very approachable chap We corresponded for a while as his main character drinks in what is my regular watering hole in Amsterdam and Hewson himself lived opposite. He gave me some advice about my own book

He has also published a number of novels set in Denmark but that doesn't do it for me

Be interested to know your thoughts Which of the four have you ordered by the way?

Quoted from Sandford1981

Wasn’t aware of this Book-I’ll have to have a read of it as this is a big part of my childhood.
Incidentally I read a lot of wrestling autobiographies mainly from Stars of WWF/WWE.
I know it gets a hard time from some but the lifestyle of being a wrestler leads to some great story telling even for  those who are not fans of wrestling.

I'm fascinated by the characters of wrestling and how it has ridiculously become a business worth billions. The title of Jim Smallman's book nails it "I'm sorry, I love you - A history of professional wrestling", it will always be my guilty pleasure and I was made up when a guy at work confessed to being a fan. I don't watch that much of it anymore but I do listen to a fair few wrestling podcasts, mostly about 80's/90's WWF/WCW and the crazy stories both in the ring and backstage.