The OFFICIAL NPR Book Thread

[Hugo]

I've got a couple of books on Africa on the go at the moment.

The first is Britain in Africa, by diplomat and journalist Tom Porteous. I got the book based on a top 5 books on Africa type of list. Published in 2008 it is a review of Tony Blair's govt interventions/initiatives in Africa. The second is Wangari Maathai's autobiography, the first African woman to win the Nobel prize for her environmental work.

Both interesting books in their own way.

[Slick]

I've got a couple of books on Africa on the go at the moment.

The first is Britain in Africa, by diplomat and journalist Tom Porteous. I got the book based on a top 5 books on Africa type of list. Published in 2008 it is a review of Tony Blair's govt interventions/initiatives in Africa. The second is Wangari Maathai's autobiography, the first African woman to win the Nobel prize for her environmental work.

Both interesting books in their own way.

oh, I'll have to get the Britain In Africa one, hadn't heard of it before.

I've been getting quite into African literature lately. Think I've already talked about Wole Soyinka's Chronicles From the Land of the Happiest people on Earth, but just finished Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe which pretty much put African literature on the map.

It's the first part of a trilogy and absolutely stunning and rich for such a short book, looking at the arrival of Western missionaries into African village life.

[vball]

I am after books on Africa. Well really books about white people settling in Africa (any of the areas where there are wild animals), what they did, the struggles they had, etc. Not political struggles more natural ones. Wilbur Smith type stuff - either fact or fiction. Probably set in a time period no more recent that 100 years ago.

[Paddington Bear]

I am after books on Africa. Well really books about white people settling in Africa (any of the areas where there are wild animals), what they did, the struggles they had, etc. Not political struggles more natural ones. Wilbur Smith type stuff - either fact or fiction. Probably set in a time period no more recent that 100 years ago.

Thomas Packenham’s ‘the Scramble for Africa’ may be worth looking at.

[Hugo]

I've got a couple of books on Africa on the go at the moment.

The first is Britain in Africa, by diplomat and journalist Tom Porteous. I got the book based on a top 5 books on Africa type of list. Published in 2008 it is a review of Tony Blair's govt interventions/initiatives in Africa. The second is Wangari Maathai's autobiography, the first African woman to win the Nobel prize for her environmental work.

Both interesting books in their own way.

oh, I'll have to get the Britain In Africa one, hadn't heard of it before.

I've been getting quite into African literature lately. Think I've already talked about Wole Soyinka's Chronicles From the Land of the Happiest people on Earth, but just finished Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe which pretty much put African literature on the map.

It's the first part of a trilogy and absolutely stunning and rich for such a short book, looking at the arrival of Western missionaries into African village life.

Awesome. I read things fall apart last year, thoroughly enjoyed it. I need to read the other two in the trilogy.

I too am going through an African phase, I have Donald Woods book on Steve Biko lined up and a BBC book on Cecil Rhodes that accompanied an 8 part documentary on him in the mid 90s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodes_(TV_series)

Any recommendations on African books gratefully received.

[Hugo]

Oh and I recommended it on the last page but as far as books on African go this is good:

Two Hours by Ed Caesar which is a book about the quest to run a sub two hour marathon.

Very, very good book. The book serves as a pretty good survey of the history of the marathon and it goes into fairly exhaustive detail about Kenyan distance running. I had no idea that Kenyan distance runners for the most part hail from just one tribe - the Kalenjin.

[Slick]

Right weirdos, our very small informal book club has decided that since none of us have really read any sci-fi we are going to do one for the next book.

None of us really have any idea of where to start, so any recommendations? Obviously probably stand alone books rather than a series and pretty open as to how sci-fi it is and if it new or a classic.

[robmatic]

Right weirdos, our very small informal book club has decided that since none of us have really read any sci-fi we are going to do one for the next book.

None of us really have any idea of where to start, so any recommendations? Obviously probably stand alone books rather than a series and pretty open as to how sci-fi it is and if it new or a classic.

The best stand alone sci-fi book I've read from the last couple of years is The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler. It's a thriller about AI and first contact with an alien intelligence (that in this case happens to be octopuses in the Pacific Ocean) in a cyberpunk-y near future.

If you are open to short fiction, Ted Chiang has two excellent collections, Stories of Your Life and Others, and Exhalation.

For classics, I think Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed are pretty timeless. She's a truly great writer.

[Slick]

Right weirdos, our very small informal book club has decided that since none of us have really read any sci-fi we are going to do one for the next book.

None of us really have any idea of where to start, so any recommendations? Obviously probably stand alone books rather than a series and pretty open as to how sci-fi it is and if it new or a classic.

The best stand alone sci-fi book I've read from the last couple of years is The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler. It's a thriller about AI and first contact with an alien intelligence (that in this case happens to be octopuses in the Pacific Ocean) in a cyberpunk-y near future.

If you are open to short fiction, Ted Chiang has two excellent collections, Stories of Your Life and Others, and Exhalation.

For classics, I think Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed are pretty timeless. She's a truly great writer.

Oh thanks mate. The Mountain in the Sky sounds interesting as some in the group were quite keen it involved some kind of AI. I'll put that forward.

[Hugo]

Bump.

I'm just finishing a second Wu Tang clan member biography. The first I read was Raekwon's now I'm finishing up U Gods.

Fascinating stuff. Im really intrigued by the groups association with Islam. Most of the members belonged to or were affiliated to the 5 percenters who were an offshoot of Malcolm X's organisation which in turn had broken away from the Nation of Islam.

These Islamic organisations really gave impoverished black men in the ghettoes a foundation to build self esteem & self worth, gain knowledge and racial and spiritual consciousness.

Its also become apparent to me that the influence of Islam played a role in originating hip hop. Its like Malcolm X was a forefather of the genre.

[Uncle fester]

Proxima
Stephen Baxter

Been a big fan of Baxter since the mind blowing concepts of The Ring but a lot of his subsequent novels weren't up to the same level and exposed his weakness in writing about people.

Gave Proxima a shot. Well he's certainly improved on his writing about people and the sci fi is pretty okay too. Am seeing a lot of similarities with The Expanse books but with a lot more depth. Can't wait to read Ultima.

[HKCJ]

I see it has been a while since I contributed to this thread so will just add a few fairly eclectic recommendations that I’ve really enjoyed here

Square of 7s (Dickensian type twisty thriller)
The Gargoyle (batshit crazy love epic)
Cloud Cuckoo Land (5 disparate stories of time and place fall together)
The Daevabad Trilogy (Middle Eastern fantasy)
The Beartown trilogy (Swedish hockey drama)
The Ambrose Parry series (Edinburgh noir)
Piranesi (nice and short intellectual mind fuck)
Blood Meridian (beautifully gruesome, Cormac at his best)
East of Eden (Steinbecks best imo)
Jonathan Strange & MrNorrell (weird magic world of alternative England in Napoleonic wars)

[I like neeps]

I finished A Fever in the Heartlands by Timothy Egan.

If anyone is interested in the KKK and legal drama this a book for you.

[Hugo]

Just read Caster Semanya's autobiography - South African runner whose gender was questioned by World athletics. It was really boring, hard to muster any sympathy for her because she was an unlikable person.

Before that I read John Carlos book. Much better, funny how he talks about growing up in Harlem and going up to the Bronx at night to steal food off of trains. Him and his pals brought it back to Harlem and handed it out to everyone who was financially struggling in the neighbourhood.

[Hugo]

My reading habits have been utterly crap for the past few months, just have not been in the mindset to sit still and read.....

Only thing I have Read in months is Running with Kenyans. It's just about a journalist who goes to Kenya for a year or so (I think it was?) to try and become a better runner, pick up some tips and then run a marathon. It was okish.

I am going to Madrid in two weeks time so picked up a book on the Spanish civil war - Ghosts of Spain. Once I'm done with it I think I will grab Orwell's homage to Catalonia. Then I will either continue reading up on the Spanish civil war or finish up all of Orwell's works I have yet to read. Maybe both.

[Monk]

I am going to Madrid in two weeks time so picked up a book on the Spanish civil war - Ghosts of Spain.

A great read. A lot about the civil war but fascinating on many other things like the flamenco culture of which I was hopelessly ignorant.

Shamelessly stolen from me by a Spanish friend.

[Hugo]

I am going to Madrid in two weeks time so picked up a book on the Spanish civil war - Ghosts of Spain.

A great read. A lot about the civil war but fascinating on many other things like the flamenco culture of which I was hopelessly ignorant.

Shamelessly stolen from me by a Spanish friend.

Thanks for the endorsement - I am three pages in and it is already a great read.

[Monk]

I am going to Madrid in two weeks time so picked up a book on the Spanish civil war - Ghosts of Spain.

A great read. A lot about the civil war but fascinating on many other things like the flamenco culture of which I was hopelessly ignorant.

Shamelessly stolen from me by a Spanish friend.

Thanks for the endorsement - I am three pages in and it is already a great read.

and .... ?

[Slick]

Just finished My Childhood by Gorky.

I've always been keen to read some of his work given what a massive figure he is in Russia, and having read quite a few of the other Russian classics. It has always fascinated me that his books are actually quite difficult to get hold of in the UK, bookshops rarely seem to have them, either new or second hand, and I've often asked why, which no one can explain.

Anyway, was struggling to see how a book about his own childhood could be that exciting, but it was absolutely enthralling and gave a really vivid insight into life for a Russian peasant and I finished it in 4 days on holiday. He is incredibly descriptive without being verbose and everything moves at breakneck speed without ever feeling rushed.

[Hugo]

A great read. A lot about the civil war but fascinating on many other things like the flamenco culture of which I was hopelessly ignorant.

Shamelessly stolen from me by a Spanish friend.

Thanks for the endorsement - I am three pages in and it is already a great read.

and .... ?

Ok, I paused reading it because I'm planning on doing a deep dive on the Spanish civil war and I wanted to finish off a few books that were in various states of incompletion. Almost done.

I'm putting together my list of books for the SCW -

1. Tomorrow, perhaps the future - a book about female writers/activists who were on the side of the Republic. Picked it up last week from the Imperial War Museum.
2. Hemingway - For whom the bell tolls
3. GOS
4. Homage to Catalonia - as aforementioned
5. Beevors book on the SCW.

May add a couple more books to the list, either way this is going to be the focus of my reading for the rest of 2024.