The Fred Tissue Book Club

Mrs Roo quite liked Thursday Murder Club, she said it was like a Murder Most Unladylike for grownups

Reading Bleak House at the moment, I find Dickens a bit of a guilty pleasure, the Victorian melodrama aspect is a bit offputting but the world he creates with the grotesque caricature personalities are somehow compelling. This is one of his best too - the last one I read, Barnaby Rudge, was really f***ing dull and put me off for a while.

Originally Posted by andyroo

Mrs Roo quite liked Thursday Murder Club, she said it was like a Murder Most Unladylike for grownups

Reading Bleak House at the moment, I find Dickens a bit of a guilty pleasure, the Victorian melodrama aspect is a bit offputting but the world he creates with the grotesque caricature personalities are somehow compelling. This is one of his best too - the last one I read, Barnaby Rudge, was really f***ing dull and put me off for a while.

Bleak House is bloody huge as well, but its decent. Studied it for A level and it didn't put me off him.

On The Road by Jack Kerouac

In a way I'm glad I didn't read this a decade ago, as it would have tempted me to set sail on my own travel odyssey that no doubt would have ended badly.

Now that I'm a bit longer in the tooth I can see how the Beat-gen lures of the care-free lives of Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty are seductive to a more naive mind, but I can also appreciate the hollowness of that culture.

Nevertheless, it's a great read in large parts, particularly the tales of gigs, which have an added tinge of nostalgia given our current IRL lockdown situ, the lost loves (lusts), Dean's craziness, and the superb final parts of the novel in Mexico.

Whilst I'm partly glad I didn't end up reading this book at a younger age, as I probably wouldn't have been mature enough not to follow it literally, it's essential reading for most late-teens/early 20-somethings, as it truly does encapsulate, better than anything else I've read, the wild freedom of that magical age of youth when you're old enough to go wherever you want, and young enough to do whatever you want.

“Somewhere along the line I knew there'd be girls, visions, everything; somewhere along the line the pearl would be handed to me.”

Two more books by Shari Lapena

A Stranger in the House
Someone We Know

She is an excellent thriller author. If you like modern twists on Agatha Christie type material I'd highly recommend her books. Finished in a week each.

Now taking a break from thrillers and moving onto a book I've been meaning to read for a while



Love mountaineering documentaries but not many tell from the perspective of sherpas who really are the heroes of the stories.

The nanny state made me by Stuart Maconie

Fairly biased view of cuddly helpful socialism v rampant nasty capitalism, but an nostalgic trip down memory lane for us old c***s who remember when union membership was the norm and you could rely on a government safety net if you needed it

7/10

Finished Buried in the Sky yesterday. Fantastic book into the background, culture and mindset of sherpas while telling the tale of the ill-fated 2008 climb. In this case the authors really well introduce and personalise their stories. I'd highly recommend it.

Now moving onto this

A Strange Kind of Glory by Eamon Dunphy

A must read, part Busby bio, part United bio and to a slightly lesser degree part Manchester bio. Big Colm Tóibín helped Dunphy write it which goes a long way to redeeming the underwhelming Brooklyn. Interesting that Dunphy refers to United as Red Devils as early as the 50’s which is slightly at odds with the 70’s adoption of the badge.

Also didn’t realise the Busby Babes were good friends with Jimmy Saville, sounds like he was a top top red back in the day.

This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay

A collection of diary entries by an NHS junior doctor who ended up quitting, equally funny, tragic and disgusting. A quick read and and important one.

Who they was by Gabriel Krause

Story of a young roadman in London living the life....robbing, dealing whilst studying English at University

Very well written, a sad indictment of da yoof

8/10

Just finished an Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Good Men (Hombres Buenos). About a delegation from the Academia Española sent to Paris just before the Revolution to get hold of a copy of the first encyclopaedia ever published. The expedition actually happened so the major characters are people who really existed but almost nothing about them is known, so he was fairly free to make up all sorts while inveigling famous people of the time into the story - Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Pierre Laclos (author of Les lliaisons dangereuses) and even a delightful cameo from Benjamin Franklin.

It's also a book where he regularly gives asides to the reader about his research for the novel, those bits are delivered with a lovely irony that contrasts nicely with the high drama of the novel itself.

One of the best of his I've read.

Finished Eastern Horizons. Wonderful travel book. The guy was only 22 years old and hitchhiked from home in England to the Himalayas in India through the Silk Road (Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan). This was during the time military occupation was being ramped up for the "war on terror" so there is some personal observations and exchanges related to local folks and their perceptions of it. But it overwhelmingly paints a positive picture of hospitality as per local culture and exploration of culture. It's not all pretty and some aspects are grim but it was not meant to be a holiday. Stories of survival and not just being a typical western tourist looking for a easy and quick getaway make the story great. There was purpose to what he was doing. A lot of great historical facts and background shared to fill in the gaps too. I don't usually read these kind of books but now I'm going to take more of an interest.