What I've been reading

The Talented Mr Ripley
by Patricia Highsmith

narrated by David Menkin

"Tom Ripley is struggling to stay one step ahead of his creditors and the law when an unexpected acquaintance offers him the chance to start over. When his newfound happiness is threatened, his response is as swift as it is shocking."

Another book from the 'Classic' list, which was made into a successful film that I seem to remember I enjoyed. The book doesn't follow the same storyline, and was filled with unpleasant characters and a plot that made me constantly feel uneasy. So not a comfortable experience, although I won't deny that it is a 'good' book.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
by J. K. Rowling

"Back at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for his second year, Harry hears strange whispers echo through empty corridors - and then the attacks start."

Not as good as the first book of the series, and strangely unbalanced - the whole story seems to take place in the last chapter. It does have the bonus of introducing Dobby, who I've decided is my favourite character at the moment.

Solomon Gursky Was Here
by Mordecai Richler

"Since the age of eleven Moses Berger has been obsessed with the Gursky clan, an insanely wealthy, profoundly seductive family of Jewish-Canadian descent. Now a 52-year-old alcoholic biographer, Berger is desperately trying to chronicle the stories of their lives, especially that of the mysterious Solomon Gursky, who may or may not have died in a plane crash."

A strange mess of a book, in which the author seems to have written a quite entertaining family saga then chopped it up into bits, thrown all the bits in the air and reassembled it in a random order. The writing was fine so I didn't mind continuing reading, but even having finished it I have no idea what happened to whom and when, and I don't have the inclination to work it out either.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
by J. K. Rowling

"Harry can't wait to get back to school after the summer holidays. But when Harry gets to Hogwarts, the atmosphere is tense. There's an escaped mass murderer on the loose, and the sinister prison guards of Azkaban have been called in to guard the school."

Definitely the best so far, and many would say the best of the series, but she still spends most of the book setting up the final section when everything happens. And no Dobby.

What I've been reading

Conundrum
by Jan Morris

"As one of Britain's best and most loved travel writers, Jan Morris has led an extraordinary life. Perhaps her most remarkable work is this grippingly honest account of her ten-year transition from man to woman - its pains and joys, its frustrations and discoveries."

This is a fascinating account from the early 1970s of a gender transition from James to Jan Morris. It was mostly a memoir of the journey, and coincidentally a reminder that such things are not new in the 21st century although they are now more commonly known, and hopefully accepted. The story was going well until the chapter after the surgery, when the author was comparing her feelings as man and now as woman, and describing the difference in how she was treated. My hackles rose at the stereotypical attitudes of the times - it was the 1970s after all - and how welcome they were to a woman who had been born as a man in the 1920s. How unwelcome they are to me, reading as a woman now living in the 2020s! The first man who kissed this woman newly born from surgery was a taxi driver, uninvited. " 'There's a good girl,' he said, patting my bottom and returning to his cab: and all I did was blush." Later in the chapter she compares men with women on the basis of her n=1 experiment, and it made me furious. "Men are [like this] and women are [like that]," she decides, without knowing what the hell either men or women are like. She now takes more interest in clothes, she describes how good a mother she would have been, how she can imagine more vividly how others feel, now that manliness is replaced with femininity. My goodness, how irate I became. Anyway, I am glad that she found happiness and even more glad that some things are different now, although there's still a long way to go.

The Old Wives' Tale
by Arnold Bennett

narrated by David Haig

"From working as children in their family's drapery shop to their later years, Constance and Sophia's journey through life could not be more different. While one travels the world and defies male expectations, the other becomes a dutiful wife and mother."

I really enjoyed this. It's been a long time since I've read Arnold Bennett, but I remember that I used to like his writing. And what's more, he writes wonderfully about women with agency, who are most definitely constrained by the restrictions of the era but don't sit back and let it define them. I think after all my forays into the Classics I have to conclude that I enjoy writing from the 18th and 19th century much more than anything more recent. 

The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald

narrated by B. J. Harrison

"Nick Carraway is an aspiring writer; his cousin, Daisy, is married to the fabulously wealthy Tom Buchanan. Their neighbour, Jay Gatsby, throws extravagant and extraordinary parties in the exclusive and hallowed neighbourhood of West Egg."

I do think this is a fine piece of writing, although I can't say that I enjoyed it all that much. I found it hard to like any of the main characters, even the neutral narrator, and when you don't like any of the people it's difficult to like the book.

Breakfast of Champions
by Kurt Vonnegut

narrated by John Malkovich

"Set predominantly in the fictional town of Midland City, Ohio, the book focuses mainly on two characters: Dwayne Hoover, a Midland resident, Pontiac dealer and affluent figure in the city and Kilgore Trout, a widely published but mostly unknown science fiction author."

He's certainly a strange fish, this Vonnegut fellow. He writes in an odd manner, and it's lucky that I found it attractively odd this time or else the book would be unbearable. The author himself features as a character towards the end, revealing himself to his fictional counterparts as their Creator, and throughout the book there are drawings that have to be described in this audio version. I probably wouldn't recommend it, but I didn't find it too bad to listen to - John Malkovich is a great narrator. And it's admirably short.

Sailing the Worldly Winds
by Vajragupta

"Tossed around by gain, buffeted by loss, borne aloft by praise, cast down by blame, how can we not be ground under, lose all direction, confidence, and sense of purpose? This book focuses on the Buddha’s teaching of the worldly winds, how we can learn to navigate them more effectively, so that we can sail safely through life rather than being blown off course, however stormy the weather."

The second time I've read this, and this time I was doing it for my book group. Still my favourite Buddhist author, and most accessible (in my opinion), with some useful things to say about dealing with what life throws at me.

What I've been reading

Second Foundation
by Isaac Asimov

"The old First Empire lies shattered. It has been swept from the Milky Way's bright spiral by the inexorable expanding forces of the First Foundation, established by the psychohistorian Hari Seldon - the only man to have foreseen the shifting patterns of the inhabited cosmos."

I stamped my foot like a toddler and said that I wouldn't enjoy this book - well, I didn't, much, but it wasn't quite as bad as I expected. I can't for the life of me understand why the series has been labelled a classic - I still don't know whether I'm supposed to be for or against the Foundation, or which army was on which side and why. Anyway, I'm done with it all now.

The Lost Duke of Wyndham
by Julia Quinn

"Grace Eversleigh has spent the last five years toiling as the companion to the dowager Duchess of Wyndham. It is a thankless job, with very little break from the routine... until Jack Audley lands in her life, all rakish smiles and debonair charm."

One of the books on my shelf that I kept because I liked it the first time, but twice is definitely  enough. Hooray! I can move one solitary book out of my shelves. I'm going to have to think up another plan for emptying the house.

On The Road
by Jack Kerouac

narrated by Matt Dillon

"Sal Paradise, a young innocent, joins his hero Dean Moriarty, a traveller and mystic, the living epitome of beat, on a breathless, exuberant ride back and forth across the United States."

Another book from the list of Classics, and so marvellously narrated in a way that brought all the characters alive. Not much of a story arc, just a description of a few trips from New York to San Francisco by way of all sorts of other places, sometimes by bus, hitchhiking, and driving and meeting all kinds of people. The last trip to Mexico was probably the best.

Death in the Stocks
by Georgette Heyer

"Beneath a sky the colour of sapphires and the sinister moonlight, a gentleman in evening dress is discovered slumped in the stocks on the village green - he is dead. Superintendent Hannasyde's consummate powers of detection and solicitor Giles Carrington's amateur sleuthing are tested to their limits as they grapple with the Vereker family - a group of outrageously eccentric and corrupt suspects."

Easy to read and all the clues are there, such good fun to pin down the murderer.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
by J. K. Rowling

"Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy - until he is rescued by an owl, taken to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, learns to play Quidditch and does battle in a deadly duel."

A nice short one to start the series. It's good, but it's still going to the charity shop - or to the downstairs shelves for the time being.

Behold, Here's Poison

by Georgette Heyer

narrated by Ulli Birvé

"It's no ordinary morning at the Poplars. The master is found dead in his bed, and it seems his high blood pressure was not the cause. When an autopsy reveals a sinister poison, it's up to the quietly resourceful Inspector Hannasyde to catch the murderer in time to spare the next victim."

The plot was a good one but the book was slightly spoilt by the strange, slow narration, and the fact that the 'hero' came over as pretty unlikeable, which might also have been because of the narration. It seemed unrealistic when the girl fell for him, and the dialogue of the proposal scene was dreadful. In fact I've now convinced myself that it was the writing not the narration. Pity. 

The Journey and the Guide: A Practical Course in Enlightenment
by Maitreyabandhu

"The journey starts with our mind, particularly when we begin to look into the truth of things - the truth of the friend in hospital, the coffin we carry to the graveside. What we find in our guide, the Buddha, is a man with a fit, healthy mind. To get fit, we need to work on becoming a happy healthy human being."

Within my Buddhist group we've spent eight weeks reading and discussing this book, chapter by chapter. It's very readable but not particularly coherent, and most of us agreed that there are some bits that we bump up against, the main one being the author's focus on same-sex friendships above all other relationships. We've invited him to speak to our group next week, so that will be interesting.

Prosperity Without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet
by Tim Jackson

"This challenge to conventional economics openly questions the most highly prized goal of politicians and economists alike: the continued pursuit of exponential economic growth."

I'm no economist so the majority of this book was way beyond my understanding. But I read all the words anyway, and luckily the last chapter summarised the argument in non-economic terms. Essentially, to support a growing population our capitalist society relies on economic growth fuelled by our inclination towards consumerism and novelty . This is not sustainable in the context of a planet with limited resources. The answer has to be found within social policy, as do most of the issues that compete with the selfish and hedonistic nature of humans (like better health, diet and exercise).

What I've been reading

Foundation and Empire
by Isaac Asimov

"In this struggle for power amid the chaos of the stars, man stands at the threshold of a new, enlightened life which could easily be put aside for the old forces of barbarism."

I can hardly believe that I thought this series was worth keeping for re-reading. Admittedly the twist at the end of this book is a good one, but doesn't justify the 200 pages leading up to it. I'll probably skim the third book of the series for completeness but I won't enjoy it.

Wise Children
by Angela Carter

narrated by Tracey Ullman

"Born illegitimately, spurned by their father Melchior and brought up by their landlady, Mrs Chance, Dora and Nora learn to dance, and begin to forge a career. After the post-war decline of their careers they are reduced to performing in nude revues, while the latest generation of Hazards rise to fame as stars of television."

It wasn't a bad book to read, and the narrator was terrific, but I ended up wondering what was the point of it? Pleasant enough, but nothing has stayed with me after a day or two.

Thinking, Fast and Slow
by Daniel Kahneman

"Two systems that drive the way we think. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System 2 is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. The impact of loss aversion and overconfidence on corporate strategies, the difficulties of predicting what will make us happy in the future, the challenges of properly framing risks at work and at home - each of these can be understood only by knowing how the two systems work together to shape our judgments and decisions. "

An academic book written for a lay audience, I was very impressed by this book the first time I read it, but gave it back to the person who'd lent it to me and declined to buy it for myself. Well, that was four years ago and now I not only have my own copy (which I found in a 2nd hand book shop) but bought another to give to a friend for Christmas. With Christmas being cancelled that book is still gift wrapped in my hall. Anyway, I thought I'd re-read my own copy, and what do you know, I found it much less interesting this time. Now I'm wondering whether to find a different book to give to my friend for Christmas.

Ritual and Devotion in Buddhism: an Introduction
by Sangharakshita

"Imagine a world without beauty, myth, celebration or ritual. It seems that to feel fully and vibrantly alive, these experiences are essential to us, helping us to feel in touch with all levels of our being by engaging our emotions, senses and imagination."

My Monday study group is about to embark on a series of sessions about ritual, and this is the textbook to go with that. I'm not entirely comfortable with the Buddhist ritual I've encountered so far, and my discomfort is readily acknowledged in this book as a common reaction. But I continue to enjoy the study, and nothing within Buddhism is compulsory, so I'll keep trying it out to see if it becomes more comfortable over time. And if not, that's fine too.

What I've been reading

Pigeon Pie
by Nancy Mitford

narrated by Rosalind Ayres

"When the highly imaginative Lady Sophia Garfield discovers a nest of very real German spies in her home, nobody believes her. With her maid murdered and her beloved bulldog held hostage, she sets out alone to gain proof and, with time out for tea at the Ritz, save Britain."

An early work, and it shows, but still pleasant enough and written at a time like no other - war has been declared and the nation is bracing itself, but nothing much has happened yet. Actually, now that I think about it, perhaps there are comparisons to be drawn with other times...

Whose Body
by Dorothy L. Sayers

narrated by B. J. Harrison

"Lord Peter Wimsey investigates the sudden appearance of a naked body in the bath of an architect at the same time a noted financier goes missing under strange circumstances. As the case progresses it becomes clear that the two events are linked in some way."

I know the story quite well, which is useful in spotting the clues leading to the murderer left along the way. I'm not sure whether the repeated allusions to the missing financier being a Jew is just a feature of the story or casual anti-Semitism. Times and attitudes have changed within my lifetime, let alone the hundred years since this was published.

A Woman of No Importance
by Sonia Purnell

narrated by Juliet Stevenson

"The remarkable double life of an American-turned-British spy, Virginia Hall, a woman from Maryland who, determined to overcome a physical disability that threatened to define her life, successfully infiltrated Vichy France, providing crucial intelligence and logistics for the mounting French Resistance and, later, Allied troops."

I wasn't aware of this formidable woman who had lost most of a leg in her twenties when she tripped and accidentally shot herself while out hunting. Using a prosthetic leg and reserves of strength that are hard to imagine, she achieved astonishing results working with the French Resistance while continually facing discrimination at almost every level of command. I kept expecting things to go wrong and was always anticipating the betrayal that led to capture, torture and death, but she survived the war and returned to the USA. She was recruited by the newly formed CIA, only to face further discrimination at work after the war.

The Beast Must Die
by Nicholas Blake

narrated by Kris Dyer

"Respected crime writer Frank Cairns plots the perfect murder - a murder that he himself will commit. Cairns intends to murder the hit-and-run driver who killed his young son, but when his intended victim is found dead and Cairns becomes the prime suspect, the author insists that he has been framed."

Truly appalling narration - he seems to be trying to portray the protagonist as some sort of James Bond villain played by Gyles Brandreth, with a high nasal voice and ominous pauses... before... the end... of sentences. It's a great shame, because at last I've found an author who writes detective fiction that I can follow - not too many people, each easily distinguished and with realistic characteristics, and an outcome where enough clues were left that the astute reader could work some of them out before the end. Nicholas Blake is the pen name for Cecil Day-Lewis, ex-Poet Laureate, so there's some pedigree there. But his other books on Audible are all narrated by the same person, so I'll have to give them a miss.

Quicksilver
by Neal Stephensen

"A novel of history, adventure, science, invention, sex, absurdity, piracy, madness, death and alchemy that sweeps across continents and decades, upending kings, armies, religious beliefs and all expectations. It brings a remarkable age and its momentous events to vivid life in an historical epic populated by Samuel Pepys, Isaac Newton, William of Orange, Benjamin Franklin and King Louis XIV."

The friend who lent me this book interestingly mentioned that he read it as a historian but expected that I would read it as a scientist, which turned out to be quite true. It is very long indeed and not very exciting at all, but written well enough to keep me reading. It does give some sense of the potential of science (Natural Philosophy) at a time when there were so many things observed but not understood in astronomy, chemistry, biology, physics, optics... Even so, I don't think I can be bothered to attempt the other two of the trilogy. Too long, not enough action.

Blue Shoes and Happiness
by Alexander McCall Smith

"A new and rather too brusque advice columnist is appearing in the local paper. Then, a cobra is found in the offices of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Recently, the Mokolodi Game Preserve manager feels an infectious fear spreading among his workers, and a local doctor may be falsifying blood pressure readings."

Least satisfying so far, perhaps he'd been churning out the little books for a bit too long. Still very evocative of the place, and probably romanticises Botswana beyond what is reasonable, but I suddenly found myself imagining the characters on television. That's probably what he was aiming for, and this is the last of the series that I actually bought.

What I've been reading

Schindler's Ark
by Thomas Keneally

"In the shadow of Auschwitz, a flamboyant German industrialist grew into a living legend to the Jews of Cracow. He was a womaniser, a heavy drinker and a bon viveur, but to them he became a saviour."

This was a tough read. I think I am becoming more sensitive as I get older, but maybe I haven't read accounts of the atrocities of the Holocaust like this one. I still find the character of Oskar Schindler himself fascinating - a successful industrialist before the war, a passionate activist during the time described in the book, and then managed nothing very successful afterwards. This one act that he carried out with considerable risk and cost to himself stands out not only because of its utterly heroic nature, but also because he shows no similar character or action before or after the war. No matter - he deserves no less recognition because of that.

Ratking
by Michael Dibdin

narrated by Michael Kitchen

"Italian Police Commissioner Aurelio Zen is dispatched to investigate the kidnapping of Ruggiero Miletti, a powerful Perugian industrialist. But nobody much wants Zen to succeed: not the local authorities, who view him as an interloper, and certainly not Miletti's children, who seem content to let the head of the family languish in the hands of his abductors."

This only confirms my existing conclusion that I can't follow this kind of 'police procedural' novel in the audio form - I forget who is who, and it wasn't helped this time by leaving fairly long periods between listens. But despite this it's quite good, although I won't be seeking out any more books in the series.

Psmith in the City
by P. G. Wodehouse

narrated by B. J. Harrison

"Mike Jackson, cricketer and scion of a cricketing clan, finds his dreams of studying and playing at Cambridge upset by news of his father's financial troubles, and must instead take a job with the New Asiatic Bank. On arrival there, Mike finds his friend Psmith is also a new employee, and together they strive to make the best of their position, and perhaps squeeze in a little cricket from time to time."

Not one of his best, perhaps, because he's put upper-class Psmith to work in a bank in order to create the dramatic scenario, and the caricatures of other employees are barely recognisable. So the story is a bit far-fetched, and there's nothing particularly to recommend it.

The Count of Monte Cristo
by Alexandre Dumas

"Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantes is confined to the grim fortress of If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo and he becomes determined not only to escape, but also to unearth the treasure and use it to plot the destruction of the three men responsible for his incarceration."

A humongous read - the paperback is about four inches thick, which is what put me off the audio version and made me go to the library to borrow a copy. Great move, I thought, until someone else reserved it, so I had to give it back when I'd got just a third of the way through and wait for three weeks before I could borrow it again. But despite the intermission it's good, very good, and the story rolls along at the right pace and with the right amount of detail and action, and the whole cast of characters is introduced so that you don't forget who they are. A cracking story.

The Mighty Micro
by Christopher Evans

"A computer in your wrist watch, a car that refuses to start if the driver is drunk, a micro-chip book instead of a paperback... Science fiction? No, by the year 2000, all these and much more will be part of our everyday lives."

This book was written in 1979, and contains the author's predictions for how computing would progress in the short, medium and long term, reaching all the way to 2000. He foresaw many of today's uses of microchips - electronic books (although he wrongly predicted the demise of paper), flat-screen TVs, ubiquitous computing, a network of computers, and the addictive properties of computer games. He got some things spectacularly wrong - a twenty-hour working week, personalised education and Ultra Intelligent Machines, and he anticipated the influence of computers in medicine, but thought they would be replacing diagnostic physicians rather than assisting surgeons. 

He also got some things right but in the wrong context: he thought interactive voting would allow us to influence our elected politicians; he didn't foresee pointless celebrity shows. He had high ideals, and while he acknowledged the stupidity, shortsightedness and greed of humanity he thought it would be kept in check by scientific sense. So did I, until it became clear in the last decade that political domination is more important to our ruling classes than facts, truth and integrity (and not just in the USA).

I'll give you a few extracts that particularly entertained me. 

One was in the section where he describes a portable device that contained all the books you could wish for, including an encyclopedia. "One of the winners of a 'Brain of Britain' contest attributed his great knowledge to the fact that he had a set of encyclopaedias in every room in his house so that whenever he wanted information he could get it immediately." He then imagines the future scenario where he could carry his encyclopaedia with him, but doesn't come up with the idea that the portable encyclopaedia is anything more than a digitally formatted book.

Another missed target was crime. He anticipated the demise of cash and cheques in favour of digital transactions, but thought that this would mean theft and robbery of physical money would decline and digital security would prevent any other form of financial crime. "The solution is to create more secure computer systems, and while nothing in this world is absolutely inviolate, computers can, in the long run, be made far more secure than any bank vault." With hindsight, how naive. 

He anticipated a shift in working patterns that only happened in the face of a global pandemic. "The cities will empty and expensive office blocks will gather dust. For centuries Man has been accustomed to the notion that he must travel to find his work; from the 1980s into the 1990s the work - such as there is to do - will travel to meet Man."

Last of my examples is in a section where he is comparing the need for 'biological computers' (i.e. humans) to carry huge software packages (brains) in order to survive. "[Computers] do not, and I am sure never will, have to devote any software to supporting a complex reproductive system ... nor does any software have to be given over to maintenance and repair functions, or to providing immunological defences against bacterial or viral assaults." Good thing you didn't bet on that last one, Dr Evans.

I bought the third impression of the book in 1983, my first year at university, by which time Dr Christopher Evans was already dead - of cancer, in the same year that his book came out. He never found out whether even his short-term predictions came true.

As I Lay Dying
by William Faulkner

narrated by Marc Cashman, Robertson Dean, Lina Patel, Lorna Raver

"The death and burial of Addie Bundren is told by members of her family, as they cart the coffin to Jefferson, Mississippi, to bury her among her people."

I knew that I enjoyed the way that Faulkner wrote 'The Sound and The Fury' (looking back at my review, I enjoyed it even more than I remember), which is why I chose to read this one. Which I also enjoyed, even though it's completely nuts. Not quite as confusing in its time line and character names as the other, but still crazy, and written in a voice (voices) like no other author's in my experience. Taking the seriously decomposing body in July heat to its resting place involves falling in a river, drowning the mules pulling the cart, breaking a leg which is then given a cast made of builders' cement, burning down a barn and getting sent to the asylum, failing to get an abortion, and getting new teeth, a gramophone, and a new wife. What a ride.

Foundation
by Isaac Asimov

"To preserve knowledge and save mankind, Hari Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire - both scientists and scholars - and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the Galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for a future generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation."

Now, this is peculiar. The first time I read this book, which could have been in the 1990's or even earlier, I liked it enough to want to buy the next two in the trilogy. This time round it doesn't have that effect at all; I found it lacked cohesion, spread over too long a time period, no character development... But I still have the subsequent books so I'll read them and see if it gets better.

What I've been reading

Watchmen
by Alan Moore (Author), Dave Gibbons (Illustrator)

"A ground-breaking graphic novel that chronicles the fall from grace of a group of super-heroes plagued by all-too-human failings. Along the way, the concept of the super-hero is dissected as the heroes are stalked by an unknown assassin."

This is a book that made a huge impact on publication in 1986 - I remember the buzz about this novel for adults told in pictures, but never saw a copy until visiting a friend recently, who let me borrow it. I can see how it broke new ground, and it's a whole different experience reading in pictures in this way, but I found that I couldn't absorb the threads of the story as well as if it had been told in words, the way I'm used to. It's a bit like the radio plays I sometimes listen to - I don't remember who's who and so can't follow the plot as well as if I were watching as well as listening. I'm sure I could get used to it, but as far as I know there aren't any more graphic novels in my reading list.

Solitude and Loneliness: A Buddhist View
by Sarvananda

"Drawing on a wide range of sources – the poets Dickinson and Hafiz, the painter Edward Hopper, the sage Milarepa, the lives of Helen Keller and Chris McCandless, and of course the Buddha – Sarvananda explores the themes of isolation, loneliness and solitude from a Buddhist perspective and examines how and why our relationship to ourselves can be a source of both suffering and liberation."

This is my first e-book and I read it entirely on my tablet, and it's the strangest thing - not having the paper copy in my hand leaves me a little bit adrift. I can't judge where I am in the narrative. It turns out that I value knowing that I'm half way through, say, to adjust my attitude to whether the author is introducing new ideas or rounding off old ones, and although I only finished the book last night I'm struggling to remember what was in it. I think I enjoyed it while I was reading, so perhaps I'll have to have another go at it.

Brighton Rock
by Graham Greene

narrated by Samuel West

"A gang war is raging through the dark underworld of Brighton. Pinkie, malign and ruthless, has killed a man. Believing he can escape retribution, he is unprepared for the courageous, life-embracing Ida Arnold."

One of the first audio books I listened to was 'Travels With My Aunt' by the same author. Although I remember very little of the story I know it was fun to listen to, while his tales of sweaty civil servants having affairs were much less fun. This one comes in between - not exactly fun, but at least I understood where it was coming from. I'm not sure if it's the audio medium or the more familiar setting of Brighton rather than Vietnam or Cuba that makes me like it better, because one thing's for sure, it never ends well for the characters in Greene's books.

What I've been reading

The Full Cupboard of Life
by Alexander McCall Smith

"Mma Precious Ramotswe helps indecisive fiancé Mr J.L.B. Matekoni when orphan farm manager Mma Potakwani persuades him to jump out of an aeroplane, and a bullying dishonest competing mechanic calls."

Not much more to say about this one now that we're in the full swing of the series. As good as the others, a very enjoyable read.

Hello World: How to be Human in the Age of the Machine
by Hannah Fry

"Welcome to the age of the algorithm, the story of a not-too-distant future where machines rule supreme, making important decisions – in healthcare, transport, finance, security, what we watch, where we go, even who we send to prison."

I've learned a lot about algorithms here, but while I enjoyed the book a lot I haven't retained much information after reading it. It does have some very interesting case study narratives, and raises many of the issues that I am aware of - how does a self-driving car decide between two different fatality rates? why is it important for human pilots to override automatic pilots (this one surprised me - pilots weren't required to practise without automation until after a fatal accident in 2009). The book reinforces my belief that if human error puts you on the wrong side of an algorithm (e.g. identified as someone you're not, or having an incorrect credit score), you can be in as much trouble as if the algorithm were correct. 

A History of Britain: The Fate of Empire
by Simon Schama

narrated by Stephen Thorne

"This volume tells the eventful and exhilarating story of Britain’s rise and fall as an imperial power, from the political turmoil of the 1770s to the struggle of present day leaders to find a way to make a different national future."

He's picked a few subjects to focus on: India, Ireland and Winston Churchill spring to mind, but as he says, it's A History, not The History. I really should try and learn about the history of the United States next.

Change Your Mind
by Paramananda

"Buddhism is based on the truth that, with effort, we can change the way we are, and among the many methods Buddhism has to offer, meditation is the most direct. It is the art of getting to know one's own mind and learning to encourage what is best in us."

I first read this in June 2018, and wrote at that time that I would come back to it in about a year, when I'd probably get more out of it. It's been two years, but I was absolutely right - I understand many more of the references, and it's been a good reminder of some of the more basic principles of Buddhist meditation alongside this advanced level retreat I'm on.

Buddhism: tools for living your life
by Vajragupta

"The personal stories, examples, exercises, and questions in this book help transform Buddhist practice into more than just a fine set of ideals. They make the path of ethics, meditation, and wisdom a tangible part of our lives."

Very readable and pitched just right for the point I'm at, where I know a few things but not at great depth. So it reinforces things I've picked up and adds just a little more to think about. And it's nice having met the writer, who is also a great teacher.

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
by Alexander McCall Smith

"Not only has Mma Ramotswe suffered a mishap - a collision between her tiny white van and a bicycle - but she is also having to deal with a major personality clash between her assistant Mma Makutsi and Charlie, one of the garage apprentices."

This is probably the best so far, interesting stories that take the characters a bit further along their path.

The Triratna Story: Behind the Scenes of a New Buddhist Movement
by Vajragupta

"This is the story of a circle of friends dreaming a dream, and working to make it a reality. It’s a record of idealism and naivety, growth and growing pains, friendship and fall-out. It’s a celebration of how so much was achieved in so short a time, and a reflection on the mistakes made, and lessons learnt."

An easy read during my retreat, this tells the history of the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order from its origin in 1960's London up to its change of name to Triratna in 2010. Of little interest to the general public, it's quite useful to me because I'm trying to work out how to grow the Warwick Group, and knowing a bit about the structure of the organisation may help me to understand where we might get a bit of help along the way.

What I've been reading

The Kalahari Typing School for Men
by Alexander McCall Smith

"Life is never without its problems. It turns out that her adopted son is responsible for the dead hoopoe bird in the garden; her assistant, Mma Makutsi, wants a husband and needs help with her idea to open the Kalahari Typing School for Men."

The least satisfying of the series so far - nothing much happens compared with the previous books. But still pleasant and easy to read.

Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers
by Grant Naylor

"The first lesson Lister learned about space travel was you should never try it. But Lister didn't have a choice. All he remembered was going on a birthday celebration pub crawl through London. When he came to his senses again, he had nothing in his pockets but a passport in the name of Emily Berkenstein."

I've read this before, evidenced by the fact that it was in my bookshelves, but I didn't remember anything about it so a pleasure to read again. The experience is definitely supported by the memory of the TV series and the actors portraying the characters, but it manages to do something new with the story and my only criticism is that it doesn't have a satisfactory ending - there must be a subsequent book that picks up the pieces and resolves things. Another thing that the No. 1 Detective Agency series accomplishes superbly - each book can stand entirely alone.

The Shipping News
by Annie Proulx

"When his no-good wife is killed in a road accident, Quoyle heads for the land of his forefathers - the remotest corner of far-flung Newfoundland. With 'the aunt' and his delinquent daughters in tow, Quoyle finds himself part of an unfolding, exhilarating Atlantic drama."

At last, a book from my 'classics' list that I've enjoyed reading, even if I'm not sure why. It was made into a good film though. The story meanders about, never really having any shape, but creates the atmosphere of the Newfoundland settlement at the end of the earth next to the ocean where almost everyone has lost someone to the sea, or worse. But it manages to have a happy ending.

The Penguin Book of Southern African Stories
by Stephen Gray (editor)

"From the pre-Christian African legends full of people, animals and death, to the tales of the white settlers colonizing in a land both beautiful and inhospitable, to the later stories of a civilization that had established itself, this selection reflects a thriving, diverse and colourful tradition."

A selection of short stories, some just a page or two and others a bit longer, some written in English and some in translation. None was particularly memorable, but an interesting contrast as a more academic compilation alongside the populist No 1 Detective Agency series set in the same part of the world. Best of all, I left the book with the friends I was staying with when I finished it.

The Betrayers
by David Bezmozgis

"When Baruch Kotler, a disgraced Israeli politician, refuses to back down from a contrary but principled stand regarding the West Bank settlements, his political opponents expose his affair with a mistress decades his junior. He and the fierce young Leora flee the scandal for Yalta, where, in an unexpected turn of events, he comes face-to-face with the former friend who denounced him to the KGB almost 40 years earlier."

I was offered this by some friends I was staying with, and read it all in a morning after waking up quite early and waiting for the rest of the household to emerge. It is based loosely on the story of Natan Sharansky, but offers a fictional idea of how a meeting between him and his betrayer might arise and what might transpire. Very satisfactory.

Scaramouche
by Rafael Sabatini

narrated by B. J. Harrison

"Set during the French Revolution, this classic novel of swashbuckling adventure and sweeping romance is also a thought provoking commentary on class, inequality, and the individual's role in society."

I didn't have high expectations about this one, especially as it's my American-narrated podcast, but he got help from a French-speaker so the pronunciation was much improved, and the story isn't bad at all. There was a (plot spoiler) "I am your father" incident at the end which I spotted just before it happened, but apart from that I was carried along nicely with the adventures of the lawyer-turned-actor-turned-fencing master-turned politician hero, who also got the right girl in the end.

The Full Cupboard of Life
by Alexander McCall Smith

"Mma Precious Ramotswe helps indecisive fiancé Mr J.L.B. Matekoni when orphan farm manager Mma Potakwani persuades him to jump out of an aeroplane, and a bullying dishonest competing mechanic calls."

Back to form with this one - there's a nice balance between the personal lives and the detective work of the characters.