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*What book are you reading? (part 2)

Hans Fallada - Alone in Berlin

It’s about a couple living in Berlin through WW2 who are strongly opposed to the Nazi regime and start their own small form of resistance. What is brilliant about this book is the way it conveys the horror of living under totalitarianism - the fear and suspicion of everyone around you, when a quick word to the Gestapo could land you in the concentration camp.

I believe it is based on real people but I’m avoiding looking into that until I’ve finished it.

About 2/3 of the way in so far, brilliant book.
 
shifting gears said:
Hans Fallada - Alone in Berlin

It’s about a couple living in Berlin through WW2 who are strongly opposed to the Nazi regime and start their own small form of resistance. What is brilliant about this book is the way it conveys the horror of living under totalitarianism - the fear and suspicion of everyone around you, when a quick word to the Gestapo could land you in the concentration camp.

I believe it is based on real people but I’m avoiding looking into that until I’ve finished it.

About 2/3 of the way in so far, brilliant book.
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Yes this is a great book. It's quite slow but worth it. I might try to get it on audio book to have a relisten.
 
RedRedRose said:
They turned ‘Alone in Berlin’ into a movie staring Brendan Gleeson and Emma Thompson, which is half decent.

In addition, Hans Fallada’s life is discussed on a BBC podcast. He has a very interesting backstory.
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For some reason I thought he only wrote one book and disappeared but that doesn't seem to be the case from when I looked earlier. Remember it was an interesting story so I'll check out the podcast.
 
Choirboys by Joseph Wambaugh. It's about 10 cops from the LAPD who get together after work for secret drink and sex sessions in a local park, euphemistically referred to as "choir practice".
 
I'm reading "Black Lamb and Grey Falcon" by Rebecca West. It's a book about her travels through the former Yugoslavia in the 1930s, and a lot of history of the Balkans, particularly the battle of Kosovo and the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. I remember hearing an extract on R4 Book at Bedtime when I was a kid, and 35 or so years laster I'm getting round to reading it. The print edition must be well over 1000 pages; it's long. I suspect I would like Ms West very much politically, but it is very well written and fascinating history of a part of the world I know very little about.

I've also started a collection of Thom Gunn's letters. it's not really providing the light relief I was expecting.

I'm currently in hotel quarantine before working offshore next week but I'm struggling to concentrate for long periods. :(
 
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

I liked this. Interweaving characters and it's not clear to begin with who the book focuses on.

She has a deft touch of mentioning really important events that have happened or are going to happen, and not making a fuss about them. So the tension shifts from what happens to how it happens.
 
Nikkormat said:
I read Philip Kerr's A German Requiem yesterday. A Bernie Gunther detective story, very easy reading.

Today I started The Zone by Sergei Dovlatov, a memoir based on the author's time as a prison camp guard in the USSR.
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The Zone is excellent. I've read three of Dovlatov's books so far, and enjoyed them all.

Now on Heaven's Command, the first volume of Jan Morris's Pax Britannica trilogy. Great so far.
 
I'm currently reading 'Becoming', by Michelle Obama. A beautifully written, honest and vulnerable book where she tells her life story. Yes she was the president's wife. But as a black woman from the 'wrong' side of Chicago, she has a very interesting story to tell, and I warmed to her immediately
 
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
A dystopian novel set in a near-future New England, in a strongly patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state, known as Republic of Gilead, that has overthrown the United States government.
 
Swindled - from poisoned sweets to counterfeit coffee - the dark history of the food cheats, by Bee Wilson. Started it a while ago but picked it up again today - an interesting and very detailed account of how bad things used to be.
 
I've just finished 'The Untethered Soul', which is a book about living mindfully and with present moment awareness. It reminds the reader that keeping our own death in mind as a constant presence frees us to live joyfully and with full appreciation of life. It guides the reader how to remove life long blockages that impede our joy, and to love others unconditionally. The principle is that we only need to transform our inner selves, not everything/one around us (which of course would be impossible). It's beautifully written; but one definitely needs to leave one's cynicism at the door in order to fully appreciate it . ;)
 
Just got my first e-reader, and on it I´m reading "Austerity: the history of a dangerous idea" by Mark Blyth, while at the same time re-reading (after a break of about 38 years) "Absolute beginners" by Colin MacInnes in a second-hand paperback.
 
han said:
I've just finished 'The Untethered Soul', which is a book about living mindfully and with present moment awareness. It reminds the reader that keeping our own death in mind as a constant presence frees us to live joyfully and with full appreciation of life. It guides the reader how to remove life long blockages that impede our joy, and to love others unconditionally. The principle is that we only need to transform our inner selves, not everything/one around us (which of course would be impossible). It's beautifully written; but one definitely needs to leave one's cynicism at the door in order to fully appreciate it . ;)
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Thank you for that. I just downloaded a copy of that. I will read it shortly.
 
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Deep Play by Paul Pritchard, about the author's years as a top climber (mainly on the dole) in the 1980s and early 1990s.
 
han said:
I've just finished 'The Untethered Soul', which is a book about living mindfully and with present moment awareness. It reminds the reader that keeping our own death in mind as a constant presence frees us to live joyfully and with full appreciation of life. It guides the reader how to remove life long blockages that impede our joy, and to love others unconditionally. The principle is that we only need to transform our inner selves, not everything/one around us (which of course would be impossible). It's beautifully written; but one definitely needs to leave one's cynicism at the door in order to fully appreciate it . ;)
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Russell Brand recommends this book on his YouTube channel, I’ll give it a go
 
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I'm currently reading 'Breath - the new science of a lost art' by James Nestor.

It's a fascinating book about how we breathe, how the way we breathe has changed over evolution, and how impactful good breathing is on our health. Bloody brilliant. I'm only a few chapters in and already I'm like 'feck! I need to change the way I breathe!'.
 
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