What are you reading ... NOW!

[Mr Sloane]

Re -reading







A superb read.

[will.15]

name='Sgt Sunshine'][IMG]



Arthur C Clarke's first book of short stories........1953



Sgt S

Does that have the Mickey Mouse story?

[CaptainWaggett]

name='Mr Sloane']Re -reading



A superb read.

Though it's slightly disheartening to discover that the main stock of 84 Charing Cross Road was occult and porn and Frank Doel used to go round the neighbouring bookshops for Helen Hanff's Jane Austens and Arthur Quiller-Couches so he could contine to qualify for the free stockings and dried eggs

[Mr Sloane]

name='CaptainWaggett']Though it's slightly disheartening to discover that the main stock of 84 Charing Cross Road was occult and porn and Frank Doel used to go round the neighbouring bookshops for Helen Hanff's Jane Austens and Arthur Quiller-Couches so he could contine to qualify for the free stockings and dried eggs

That I did n't know



I remember the first time I came to London and the disappointment of the whole of Charing Cross Road but Foyles lived up to expectations. It was like a giant book stall at a jumble sale.

[CaptainWaggett]

name='Mr Sloane']That I did n't know



I remember the first time I came to London and the disappointment of the whole of Charing Cross Road but Foyles lived up to expectations. It was like a giant book stall at a jumble sale.

Read Leo Marks' autobiography - it was his dad's shop (Doel was the manager). Charing Cross Road is more depressing every year - there's only about 4 second hand bookshops actually on it now.

[Steve Crook]

name='Mr Sloane']I remember the first time I came to London and the disappointment of the whole of Charing Cross Road but Foyles lived up to expectations. It was like a giant book stall at a jumble sale.

name='CaptainWaggett']Read Leo Marks' autobiography - it was his dad's shop (Doel was the manager). Charing Cross Road is more depressing every year - there's only about 4 second hand bookshops actually on it now.

There are still some good independent bookshops there. But they are where they always were, in the side-streets and alleys off the main Charing Cross Road.



A lot of them always did specialise in some quite esoteric categories. The better one for occult books always was Watkins Books in Cecil Court just off Charing Cross Road. Known as Robinson & Watkins for some time they are now back to just Watkins.



Steve

[Freddie Freeloader]

Hi folks...



I've just completed Halfway To Hollywood, Michael Palin's 1980 to 1988 diaries.



Highly recommended.

[mallee59]

just finished colin dexter the way through the woods and berard cornwells battleflag

now finishing the will hay biography

[torinfan]

I'm reading "Beyond This Place" by A J Cronin. Really great book! How I long to see the 1950's tv drama version Torin was in and received a Sylvania award for his performance as Rees Mathry. Hopefully I will get lucky one day.

[GRAEME]

Halfway through Epitaph for a Spy. My first Eric Ambler and it's great, just like a 1930s British movie thriller. I can quite imagine Leslie Howard in the lead...

[jaycad]

just finished 'murder on the orient express' by agatha christie,i'm three quarters of the way through 'the witch of the low tide' by john dickson carr and just started a collection of supernatural tales by vernon lee

[will.15]

I'm re-reading (it's been a long time) Meet Mr. Fortune. Reggie Fortune is an irritating ass, but his chronicler, H. C. Bailey, was a master of the detective short story and being a pathologist, it at least makes sense that the police would consult him, unlike many other amateur sleauths.

[jaycad]

name='will.15']I'm re-reading (it's been a long time) Meet Mr. Fortune. Reggie Fortune is an irritating ass, but his chronicler, H. C. Bailey, was a master of the detective short story and being a pathologist, it at least makes sense that the police would consult him, unlike many other amateur sleauths.

i've not read any h.c.bailey although i'm familiar with some of the titles of his work-how does he compare to conan doyle,christie,dickson carr et al?

[will.15]

His short stories I would say are right up there with them. But in the 1930's he focused on novels. Have not read any of them. But it seems to be unanimous from what I've read they are vastly inferior to the 1920's short stories. The big flaw in the shorts are not the plots, often masterfully constructed, but Reggie Fortune himself. He's somewhat in the Peter Whimsey manner, but not that bad. and perhaps he is easier to take in a short story instead of a novel. I don't know why he is always called "Mister." He is a practicing physician.

[Claire1066]

Last night finished Postmortum by Patricia Cornwell and tonight I will start Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. And my husband is reading a Peter Cushing biography.



Claire

[wadsy]

Showdown by Mr Erroll Flynn

[Bell Bottom George]

Halfway through Greenmantle by John Buchan (1916). Don`t know if it was ever made into a film or televised, but as it is one of the Richard Hannay novels I can`t get the image of Robert Donat out of my head whilst reading it.....

[billy bentley]

Simenon's "The Clockmaker" - i've just started and judging by the cover, it's one of his "Roman Durs (Durs Roman ?)", which I prefer to his Maigret output.

[Sgt Sunshine]

name='Claire1066']Last night finished Postmortum by Patricia Cornwell and tonight I will start Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. And my husband is reading a Peter Cushing biography.



Claire

Check out the film "Angela's Ashes" too Claire........its superb

Cheers

Sgt S

[batman]

'Cause of Death' ... a rather splendid thriller from 1960 written by Michael Underwood.