Sing a Song of Sixes....  

I ‘borrowed’ this idea from several places: 

Six authors I am looking forward to reading more of 

Edward Marston 

Andy Weir 

Robert Goddard 

Agatha Christie 

Natalie Haynes 

Madeline Miller 

Six series of books read or started 

Foundation series by Isaac Asimov 

Dune series by Frank Herbert 

Maze Runner series by James Dashner 

Ghost series by George Mann 

Destroyermen series by Taylor Anderson 

Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell 

Six books I really want to buy in the next six months 

If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal: What Animal Intelligence Reveals about Human Stupidity by Justin Gregg 

The Jill Tars: Seven Remarkable Accounts of Female Sailors Who Served and Fought Disguised as Men by Rachel Beatty 

Superspy Science: Science, Death and Tech in the World of James Bond by Kathryn Harkup  

When Giants Ruled the Sky: The Brief Reign and Tragic Demise of the American Rigid Airship by John J. Geoghegan 

Magnificent Women and Flying Machines: The First 200 Years of British Women in the Sky by Sally Smith 

Snow Widows: The Untold History of Scott’s Fatal Antarctic Expedition Through the Eyes of the Women They Left Behind by Katherine MacInnes 

Six books recently added to my Wish List 

American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin 

Island Dreams: Mapping an Obsession by Gavin Francis 

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown 

Tourists: How the British Went Abroad to Find Themselves by Lucy Lethbridge 

The Quiet Before: On the unexpected origins of radical ideas by Gal Beckerman 

Into The Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them by John Yorke 

Six classics I have yet to read 

Hard Times by Charles Dickens 

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton 

East of Eden by John Steinbeck 

Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell 

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist by Robert Tressell 

Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf 

Six books on my Wish List that have sport as their major theme 

Little Wonder: The Extraordinary Story of Lottie Dod, the World's First Female Sports Superstar by Sasha Abramsky 

Five O'Clock Lightning: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and the Greatest Baseball Team in History, the 1927 New York Yankees by Harvey Frommer 

Raise a Fist, Take a Knee: Race and the Illusion of Progress in Modern Sports by John Feinstein and Doug Williams 

The Betrayal: The 1919 World Series and the Birth of Modern Baseball by Charles Fountain 

The Games: A Global History of the Olympics by David Goldblatt 

Berlin 1936: Sixteen Days in August by Oliver Hilmes and Jefferson Chase 

Just Finished Reading: Footprints – In Search of Future Fossils by David Farrier (FP: 2020) [287pp] 

If the historical record (or the nightly news!) is anything to go by our present civilisation or even humanity itself will not last forever. But after we’re gone what, if anything, will we leave behind for far future investigators to discover or uncover? That’s the intriguing question poses in one of the most interesting books of the year (so far). 

One of the early interesting viewpoints is that of the distance of time itself. The author isn’t really interested in what our cities would look like in a hundred or even a thousand years after we vanish. His baseline is at least 100,000 years and BEYOND. On that kind of timescale, you’d be right that very, very little would remain. No books, no paper products at all, no fabric, no paintings. Our greatest cities would have been flattened and largely erased from the environment. But some things would have survived. Glass for one thing as well as buried concrete, tunnels, bore holes and the discovery of rock formations hundreds or thousands of miles from where they ‘should’ be. Mining on an industrial scale would be reasonably apparent even that far out as well as radical and local changes in the natural environment. But our footprint and our fingerprints would extend far beyond our built environment and far further into the future. Human activity, the author maintains, would still be detectable as much as 5 or 10 million years in the future – though not in the way I expected. 

Part of the echo from our time would be in the fossil record itself, both by absence and addition. It would be abundantly clear, looking backward, that the present is a period of Mass Extinction along with a strong indication that a recent arrival in the fossil record (that would be us) was significantly involved in the widespread demise of other species. Conversely the widespread super-abundance of chicken and cattle bones everywhere except Antarctica would also point to our influence. Likewise, the tell-tale signs of increased CO2 in the atmosphere (if by then we hadn’t done anything about it) plus the multiple residues of industrial processes captured in the planet's geology will show something dramatic happened in a vanishing short (in Geological terms) timescale. Other discoveries will show both our disregard and our thoughtfulness about future inhabitants of our world – in the guise of nuclear fallout residue from widespread ‘testing’ and stored nuclear waste in facilities designed to be secure for hundreds of generations and beyond. 

Without even attempting to do sufficient justice to this well written, thought provoking and intriguing work I can simply say that I was both impressed by the science and technology behind the ideas in this book and dismayed at what future (alien?) geologists and archaeologists will think of us and our treatment of the Homeworld. If you fancy a relatively easy introduction to ice cores, nuclear waste facilities and the problems of communicating danger to people (or non-humans!) 100,000 years from now, why jellyfish are blooming and much, much more besides this is definitely the book for you. Highly recommended – especially for all you science nerds out there.     

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It's *basic* Capitalism - scarcity increases value. So, either there's not a lot of (or enough) parking spaces in Toronto or your skills just aren't in demand ATM. It might be time to retrain... or invest in parking spaces....

Oh, an EXCELLENT idea for Dr Who!

Just Finished Reading: A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie (FP: 1953) [249pp] 

The cry for help stunned the whole office. Rex Fortescue seemed to be having a heart attack or a stroke. The confusion lasted a few minutes before anyone called for an ambulance and by then it was too late – Rex was pronounced dead soon after reaching the nearest hospital. His last words: It was the tea. When Inspector Neele of Scotland Yard arrived, it was already a mystery. Other people had drunk tea in the office that morning and where none the worse for it. The preliminary toxicology report just added to the strange circumstances of Rex’s death. Apparently the victim had ingested an amount of Taxine – a substance found in the berries and leaves of Yew trees. But what really confused the Inspector was the contents of the victim's pocket – flakes of rye, a lot of them. For the life of him he couldn’t see why anyone would fill their pocket with rye. What, if anything, had it to do with the murder? As soon as the investigation started the suspect list seemed to expand and contract whenever a new piece of evidence was uncovered. Then the prime suspect died under suspicious circumstances and Neele admitted he was out of his depth and needed help. Fortunately for him the Fortescue residence had a recent visitor, a sweet older woman who had seen the details of the crime in her local paper and wanted, in her own small way, to help. Her name – Miss Marple. 

This was my 7th Miss Marple outing and I really enjoyed it – despite this time getting neither the motive nor the murderer correct, not even close! As usual Christie throws in both credible suspects and reasonable evidence like so much confetti. The ‘trick’ is to be on the ball enough to see what sticks and what falls by the wayside. As always I had theories, lots of theories but as they were felled one after the other, I finally decided to give up guessing and just enjoy the ride. The plot, as always, was very simple. Rich man dies in very suspicious circumstances and there are a significant number of people who could have ‘done it’ and an equal number who might have prospered from it in one way of another. As always looking at simple means, method and opportunity doesn’t really help much here. Usually, the motivational triad of greed, lust or revenge helps eliminate *some* of the suspects but that didn’t help much either. I was honestly stumped this time. 

As often with classics, I did like picking up on some interesting social/historical details. The first one that jumped out at me was the mention of ‘black-market stockings’ and later black-market butter. Published in 1953 I’m guessing that this was actually being written in 1951-52, which meant that wartime rationing was still in effect (ending in 1954). The other thing that jumped out was the confusion in the office of who to call for medical help as the National Health Service had only just come into effect in 1948 and was presumably still very much ‘bedding in’ at that point. One final point was a nod to the characters recognising that they were now living in the Nuclear Age which had all sorts of implications. 

As I said several times above, I really enjoyed this classic crime novel and am already looking forward to Miss Marple’s next triumph which I hope to get to before the end of the year. Oh, one last thing... As in some of her other novels Miss Marple does arrive rather late in this one – on page 105 to be precise! That alone made me laugh out loud as my ever-present expectation was finally relieved. Highly recommended for all mystery fans.  

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Getting ready for some Sun.... Maybe....

Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag 2023 

As borrowed from Marianne over @ Let’s Read 

1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2023 

‘Night Train to Lisbon’ by Pascal Mercier 

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2023 

‘Havanna Bay’ by Martin Cruz Smith – the 4th book in the Arkady Renko series. 

3. New release you haven't read yet but want to 

‘Stone Blind’ by Natalie Haynes 

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year 

‘The Making of the Modern Middle East: A Personal History’ by Jeremy Bowen (out on 14th September)   

5. Biggest disappointment 

‘The Color of Money’ by Walter Tevis 

6. Biggest surprise 

'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society' by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows 

7. Favourite new author. (Debut or new to you) 

Not sure if any ONE author jumps out at being a new (or potentially new) *favourite* author. It’s the word ‘favourite’ that I’m struggling with here. 

8. Newest fictional crush 

No ‘crushes’, per se, but I did like Nora Seed from ‘The Midnight Library’ by Matt Haig for her strength of character as well as Juliet Ashton from ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’ by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows for her essential goodness, and of course the eponymous Circe from ‘Circe’ by Madeline Miller who was a fascinating and complex creation. 

9. Newest favourite character 

Commander Richard Bolitho from ‘Passage to Mutiny’ by Alexander Kent 

10. Book that made you cry 

None. Not really my ‘thing’. 

11. Book that made you happy 

Well, all good books make me happier..... 

12. Best book cover you’ve seen so far this year 

‘Ariadne’ by Jennifer Saint 

13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year? 

EVERYTHING on my planned reading... SO much to read...!! 

14. Best book title of the year so far 

‘Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar.... Understanding Philosophy Through’ Jokes by Daniel Klein and Thomas Cathcart 

I'm *presuming* this is fake.... Right?

Just Finished Reading: 1916 – Ireland's Revolutionary Tradition by Kieran Allen (FP: 2016) [196pp] 

This was yet another one of those books that turned out not to be exactly what I’d expected. Indeed, it was far more about its sub-title than its main title. Although the author did discuss the events of the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916 (briefly) as well as the underlying reasons for both the event and its failure (briefly), the main thrust of this often deeply political work was what happened next and how those events echoed through the following century until the present. 

After the failure of the Uprising and the quite brutal British response (things never go well when you’re firing artillery down streets into enemy held buildings) Ireland secured partial independence from the British Empire followed by a short bloody Civil War and counter-revolution. Here I learnt exactly why southern Ireland became the poster child for religious conservatism on steroids. I never fully realised before just how much of a stranglehold the Catholic church had over just about every aspect of Irish life south of the border with Northern Ireland. Coupled with the political power they had access to 24-7 it’s hardly surprising that a clamp down on unions, socialist politics in general (the fear of *communism* was the foundation of much of this and, it seemed, communism was defined as anything that even smelt of social justice or freedom of thought), abortion, divorce, women in any position of power or influence, women in higher education, essentially women as anything other than baby factories (within wedlock naturally) chained to the kitchen sink. Oh, and no access to contraception of any kind, indeed no universal access to healthcare of any kind – unless you could pay through the nose for it, or travel to England which amounted to the same thing. This didn’t really begin to change until the 1970’s and only really got going in the 80’s and beyond.  

On top of this was, as we know, the situation in the North with the minority Catholic community in the separated 6 Counties living under the heel of the majority Protestant community. As you might expect it wasn’t long until fighting broke out as it had been bubbling under for some time. As you’d also expect the Catholics got the rough end of things which prompted both a backlash from organisations like the IRA and the involvement of the British military – AKA ‘The Troubles’.  

Looked at from a very Left-wing perspective - (I hesitate to go so far as to say Marxist, but Karl does come up quite a bit throughout the book) as much of the countries revolutionary tradition/history centres around the life and thought of James Connolly (who I definitely need to read up about!) who was a devoted Socialist/Syndicalist and was a big fan of the bearded one – this was an often fascinating, if at times deeply political look at Irish history post-1916. I think I had a fair, if general, knowledge of Irish history over the last 100 years but I learnt a LOT in less than 200 pages which is cool. Definitely of interest to anyone who wants to dive deeper into Irish political history, though if you’re a novice to this country’s past I’d start with something a bit lighter! More on ‘1916’ to come. 

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Just Finished Reading: Ariadne by Jennifer Saint (FP: 2021) [386pp] 

As a princess of Crete young Ariadne knew her place, not that she liked it much. Her role was to marry someone important, someone wealthy and someone who could help her father, King Minos, consolidate his power. Minos held Crete in his grip in part by fear, fear of his wrath, fear of his palace guard but mostly through fear of the monster he controlled – the Minotaur. Ariadne knew it, him, by another name – Asterion – her brother. Trapped on Crete, just like the greatest engineer of the age, Daedalus, she was suddenly presented with an alternative, a chance to change her Fate. Each year the recently defeated city of Athens sent a number of its youth to serve as tribute and as meat to feed the Minotaur. This year amongst them was Theseus, prince of Athens. Ariadne had never seen anyone quite like him. He was quite simply a Hero who had walked out of the songs being sung in the great halls. Here was hope personified, here was her way out of her island prison and a way to rid the world of a monster. 

I can see why the retellings of Greek myths have become so popular. Most people, I think, have at least a nodding experience with these stories if only from Hollywood movies and stories from childhood. What’s different in the present retellings, apart from the language modernisation, is that the focus has generally shifted from the male heroes to the female characters often either ignored or sidelined previously. The other difference I think is that despite the existence of gods and other fantastical creatures, these stories are told very much from the human level – rather than exclusively from the viewpoint or sorely focused on gods and heroes. This particular tale is definitely one of two halves. The first 130 pages covers the well-known story of Theseus and the Minotaur. Despite the different Ariadne viewpoint, I did find this a little bit dull because it was so well known. The second part of the novel was split into two points of view – Ariadne herself and her younger sister Phaedra who becomes Queen of Athens. Although somewhat long and at times rather drawn out – especially with Ariadne’s relationship with the god Dionysus – I did find this more interesting than the first half because this part of the story/myth was unknown to me. The ending, in typical Greek tragedy fashion all rather grim and bloody, was I thought well done and did surprise me a few times with its very dark path. Much like the plays of Shakespeare there more than enough misunderstanding, grief and death to go around. 

Although this could’ve been at least 50 pages shorter without losing any of its style and impact I still liked this retelling quite a bit. I couldn’t help but think that the author essentially tacked two stories together (possibly after finding the first tale wasn’t quite long enough for the full novel treatment) but I might be being a bit harsh there! The two connected stories worked well together, and it was interesting (for me at least) to find out about what happened after the Minotaur incident. Despite a few minor quibbles this was an impressive first novel and I’m looking forward to the authors future works and I have her next book already. Recommended for all lovers of Greek myths.     

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Thinking About: Identity, please! 

I’m not usually one for ‘talking’ about so-called hot-button topics, but I’ve been watching and thinking about the seemingly constant flood of stories around Identity and thought I’d throw in my 10 cents into the maelstrom. A couple of things struck me about the whole thing. Looking at the issue from 20,000 feet – as a cultural issue – it certainly appears to be very much to be purely (or mostly) a Western problem. Looking at this further, although identity politics pops up in stories across the ‘West’ it seems to me to be primarily am American issue. This, of course, may simply be because the media focus on American stories rather than it actually being a US issue but still, I think the epicentre is located in North America. Drilling down further, the crisis in identity seems to be located in urban rather than rural areas (I’d like to see a chart – if such a thing was possible – relating identity angst to population density) and it seems primarily located in the ‘young’ - the under 40’s. So, if all of that is true (which is debatable as these are my impressions taken primarily from media reports rather than any kind of scientific study), the question is: Why here, why those groups and why now? Now I’m pretty confident that identity issues have always existed. What seems to be happening presently is that Identity (in multiple ways) is front & centre in our culture – again taking into account the seeming group focus outlined above. Is it just that, especially with social media allowing such things to be debated between millions of people and previously isolated individuals finally discovering that they are, in fact, not alone in their own particular identity crisis? I think that there’s *some* truth to that, but I don’t think it’s the whole truth. But I do think that a finger can be pointed at social media for lighting the fuse of the present mess we’re wading through. But that fuse had to be attached to something already existing, otherwise – no BOOM, right? So, what was the explosive/accelerant ready to pop? 

That, I think is the deeper and much more interesting question. The present Identity Crisis is, I believe, an epiphenomenon of Modernity or maybe even post-Modernity. But before going all ‘post-modern’ I think we need to go FAR back in our collective history. Being apes we are creatures both of the small group and the group hierarchy. The reason ostracism – expelling someone from the group – works so well and hurts SO much is that being expelled in that way in millennia past was effectively a death sentence. Without fellow apes to look out for you and watch your back (as you watched theirs) you were MUCH more likely to get picked off by a passing predator or getting into existential trouble in other ways. Fitting into the group was vital for existence, which meant knowing who you are and where you fit in. Identity was survival. Now what happens when you take that identity and group cohesion away – which is exactly what modern life (most exemplified by the US ‘hustle’ culture) seems to be intent on doing? 

In reasonably recent times people were born into extended multi-generational families often with rich cultural histories. People not only knew their parents and grandparents, but they often felt connected in a real way to their ancestors – both real and mythical – going back far into history. History was another thing that people were embedded in from an early age. They might not know the history of other countries, but they generally knew the history of their own and most especially the history of their own region, their own culture and their own family. They had, in other words, roots and often very deep ones too. But, as many people know, such a close identification with the past and with a groups culture can be suffocating. Countless stories exist of young people especially breaking away from the chains of tradition to make a new and successful life for themselves in the city. But the sting in the tale is that such a break is not without cost. We’re still that ape who needs to know where they fit into things. A free-floating life seems great in theory but without knowing where you came from its difficult to know where you are. 

Today many people live such a free-floating life. They no longer know who their neighbour is. Part of that reason is that they’re on a short-term lease because they move about so much. They have no loyalty to their company (or their teammates) because they’re on a zero-hours contract or are ‘subbing’ for someone else. They have no roots in their city because they’ve only lived there for 2 years, and this is their 4th city since leaving school. They’ve lost touch with school/college/University friends over the years or periodically keep ‘in touch’ with Facebook. Their family is scattered and often hundreds of miles away and family get-togethers are getting both smaller and less frequent. Is it any wonder, therefore, that people aren’t really sure who they are, especially when their identity seems to or needs to change from month to month or situation to situation. Being an identity chameleon eventually results in no longer being able to change back to your ‘factory setting’ or even remembering what it was. But deep down, at base, in our very bones, we NEED to know who we are. The result of not knowing is increasing anxiety – something we see around us more and more each day. 

OK, now for what I’m not saying... I’m certainly not saying that the present Identity Crisis isn’t real. It’s real and, for far too many, very real – indeed existentially real. I’m also not saying that we should ‘go back’ to a more traditional, often over idealised, social structure. That’s not the solution. But what we can do is realise that there’s a real problem here rather than just a media circus to distract us from the other problems we face. Second, we need to realise what the causes of the Crisis are and not just blame Facebook as usual (even though it and other social media aren’t really helping the situation). We need to face the fact that we are social apes living in a very unsocial non-ape like cultural environment and it’s REALLY messing us up. That would be a good start. 

I never had a problem getting my cat to take a pill. I just crushed it up and sprinkled it on her food. She didn't seem to mind. But what I do remember very well is trying to use ear drops on her when she picked up an infection from somewhere. The first time was OK as she had no idea what was coming. The next few times got interesting as I had to sneak up on her and then hold her down while I put the drops in. After that it got REALLY interesting as she ran for the hills if she caught me looking at her meaningfully.... Fun times!

Just Finished Reading: Amazons – The Real Warrior Women of the Ancient World by John Man (FP: 2017) [273pp] 

Just like the Ancient Greeks, I have long been fascinated by stories of Amazons. Even today women in combat roles can seem odd or even wrong but to the Greeks they seemed positively bizarre. The norm of Greek society at that time was that women stayed at home – they were either daughters or wives. The idea of them riding horseback in armour, complete with bow or spear and (incredibly) not only fighting but besting male warriors was somewhere between obscene and deeply alluring. The word ‘Amazon’ was full of negative meaning and was not used in a positive way – quite the opposite. Yet, the Greeks kept coming back to the idea even incorporating Amazons into several of their founding myths.  

We know now of course that the mythical race of Amazons were just that – a myth. But, the author argues, they did have at least some basis in fact. Several tribes in East Asia – most notably the Scythians – did indeed use female warriors on horseback to great effect. Why, after all, relegate up to half of your available force to the kitchen and the hearth when they can ride and use a bow just as well as their male counterparts? Such a practical use of resources was well outside the Greek experience. Archaeological evidence exists in abundance (once unthinking sexist assumptions about the gender of interned skeletons had been challenged) for celebrated female warriors throughout Asia. This idea was so powerful that the myth of the Amazons lasted long after the Greek civilisation that gave it birth had fallen. The land of the Amazons continued to be looked for and continued to remain just over the next mountain range or beyond the next forest. Both the Amazon River and the state of California bare the mark of the Amazon myth. Real-life ‘amazons’ have indeed existed though with examples of massed female troops in Africa, female fighter and bomber squadrons in Soviet Russia during World War 2 (the fabled ‘Night Witches’ amongst them) and the Kurdish female fighters in Syria and elsewhere. 

Probably the most interesting chapter for me – especially as I am no fan of the present Superhero genre – was on Wonder Woman herself (that’s ignoring the short chapter addressing the ‘missing’ breast issue). I knew something of her comic creation but had no idea about the strange life of her creator and how his interests in both feminism and bondage produced the hero we know today. It was all very illuminating and so much about Diana Prince makes total sense now. I’ll be following up that particular thread in a book already on my Wish List – watch this space! 

Overall, this was an interesting and often fascinating read of how a myth (or misunderstanding) became such a powerful idea in Western culture and survived largely intact to the present day. Although it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting – as it wasn’t exclusively concentrated on the Ancient World – this was still a fun and very informative read. If you’ve ever wondered about the Amazons or about Wonder Woman herself, this is definitely the book for you. Recommended and more to come on this intriguing subject. 

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Happy Birthday America..............!

Advanced Skills Transfer...

Just Finished Reading: Twelves Days on the Somme – A Memoir of the Trenches, 1916 by Sidney Rogerson (FP: 1933) [194pp] 

I’m always looking out for first-hand accounts of historical events (or travels), so snapped this up when I saw it in my fave Indie bookshop some time ago. Although I’d never heard of the author before apparently he was quite famous in the 1930’s and not only for his books of WW1 (I have his other one stacked in a separate pile) but for his cricket biographies and tales of farming between the wars.  

The author was a fresh lieutenant when his regiment (the West Yorkshires) was assigned to a section of the Somme. Interestingly, as he stated in his introduction, this was not a tale of fighting and heroism in the face of the enemy. This was a tale of everyday life in the trenches told with a quite brutal honesty. It was a tale of mud, not only sticky and smelly but deadly. It was a tale of trying to keep warm and especially dry. It was a tale of ‘sleeping’ if it could be called that for a few hours at a time in-between orders arriving and the odd crisis. It was a tale of senior officers trying to do the best for their men and even more senior officers having zero idea either of what the men had to deal with, nor of what was being asked of them. It was a tale of random death – one of the things that struck me on several occasions was when the author focused on a fellow officer or common soldier and then mentioning the fact that he died at such and such a place by sniper bullet or shell impact. One weird thing was when people simply disappeared – they went out on patrol and simply didn’t come back. No one saw them hit, no one saw them fall. No capture report ever came back from the enemy and no POW ever returned. One moment they were there and then – vanished. Bizarre. 

Of course, there were funny stories too as we would expect in the circumstances. Jokes made at the expense of orders received that made no sense and of the ‘characters’ that have no doubt been sprinkled through every military unit throughout time. My favourites were the trooper who seemed to be able to light a fire in any conditions no matter the circumstance – and then proceed to brew a decent cup of tea. I also liked the soldier who requested permission to ‘survey’ No-Mans Land – AKA loot the German dead of anything of value. Aware that he couldn’t give such permission but also aware that the trooper was going to do it anyway suggested that if he did find himself outside the wire that the soldier should bring back any identification of British dead he found so that they could be taken off the missing list and allow their families to properly mourn – being in the days before ‘dog-tags’. 

In other words, this was an account of the mundane reality of trench warfare. This was talk of the weather, food, the lack of information, random death, watching attacks further down the line and thinking about the enemy who they almost never saw. All in all, this was honestly fascinating and an interesting change to tales of carnage, horror and death we’re usually given when trench warfare is discussed. Definitely recommended and more memoirs to come. 

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Reading Plans for 2023 and Beyond! (Half-Year update) 

Has it been SIX months already? How time flies when you don’t have to do stuff you don’t want to (mostly). Despite knowing that no plan ever survives contact with the enemy or enemies, I still keep making and all too often breaking them. But what are plans for, except to laugh at as they slink away unfulfilled? Anyway, how exactly am I doing at the half-way point? 

Following the Labels   

As I mentioned back in January, I’ve given up on my previous attempt to fill in label blanks and instead have decided to attempt to read at least one book from each book-friendly label over on the right. There’s 108 or 109 in that list so I’ve got my work cut out for me. I’m not doing TOO badly though – despite being concerned that I’m reading far too much that don’t add a single label to the pile – with 53 to date. That’s very roughly halfway but it also means that I’ve probably already snagged a lot of the low hanging fruit. The next 6 months could be a challenge here! 

The ‘Knowledge Streams’   

The three ‘Knowledge streams’ I’m trying to focus on – Britain Alone (1939-41), World War to Cold War and USA: WTF? - are not doing awfully well, I’m afraid. I’ve managed a few books that could be unsystematically slotted into the Britain Alone pile but that needs some more systematic reading to bring it in line. The USA: WTF? Stream is SUCH a wide subject that almost any US related reading will apply and I think I’ve made a bit of progress there. What HAS fallen down – again for another year to be honest – is the World War to Cold War theme. I had intended to start this with the D-Day landings and move to the raising of the Berlin Wall and beyond but, as you’ll no doubt have noticed, D-Day has been delayed for some time. Which means, hopefully, the landing craft will be leaving their mother ships shortly, or at least at some point THIS year! 

The ‘Wild Cards’  

I think the new ‘Wild Cards’ are working well. Essentially, I’m slotting in a pair of ‘related’ books – usually one fiction and one non-fiction with a common theme (or at least some kind of obvious link) - about every 5-6 books in my ‘Reading Next’ pile. They’re normally easy to spot and will continue for the foreseeable future. 

Finishing/Progressing Series   

Again, I think I’m doing OK with this one. Presently my immediate focus is to progress the Foundation and Dune series with reading the 3rd book from both before the end of the year. Being me, there’s a few outstanding series that I’ve started (reading the first book only) or have almost finished (with a single book yet to go) so I’ll be trying to progress at least a few of them too. 

Book length & the Review Pile 

I’m still experiencing some kind of weird slow-reading bug, so my review pile is still at rock bottom (presently just 2 books). This means I can’t really read any chunkers presently as that would probably result in me having nothing to review periodically (which means either gaps or with me trying to think of something to say – neither of which I really want to do). So, that means I’ll be reading shorter or fast books again for the foreseeable future. My present average size (after 279 books) is 307pp. I think the *real* average page length is more like 280-285. We’ll see how low it can go! 

Other Plans 

I’m on target with my Classic reads this year – the aim is 10. Presently, I’m at 7 although 2 of them are short story collects so maybe shouldn’t ‘count’. I’ve got 1 more coming up shortly with a LOT more in the background waiting to be read. Looking ahead to 2024 I wonder if I could (or should!) attempt to read 10 in a row. Oh, and speaking of Classics, I need to continue with some more British Library Crime Classics and I’ve been meaning to re-read my Sherlock Holmes books (after 40 years or so). One thing I am very conscious of is the lack of Science reading so far this year. I’ll look at that and see what I can do. I might even try to get out of my Biology rut at the same time! Finally, I’ll see if I can drop in a few more modern thrillers that I’ve been accumulating and that are presently accumulating dust around my house. I’ll aim to read at least 2-3 before the year ends. I think that should keep me going for another 6 months!