WRUR (Reading) Today?

Looking forward to a review after you've read it!

Just finished reading "Shadow Divers" by Robert Kurson



It's the story of a group of divers who discover a previously unknown U-boat sunk off the coast of New Jersey, and their subsequent efforts to retrieve identifying artifacts to solve the mystery of the sub. All a true story, and it reads like a thriller. It's really well written, super engaging, and ties up nicely at the end. Really incredible what these divers go through and the insane risks they take. Especially because of how deep the wrecks are, and the fact that the book begins in 1991 (which was prior to the invention of trimix, a different mix of gas that eliminates a lot of the inherent dangers of diving really deep).

For anyone with even a passing interest in diving/exploration (I figure, a safe bet on a watch forum), it's a must-read imo. I couldn't put it down. If you're a history buff or a WWII enthusiast, same story. One of the most engaging books I've read in a while.

I went to a local auction yesterday and a rare set of Kipling's poems went over the block ... I couldn't let anyone else have them, at least until I'd read them.

Babylons Ashes:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Babylons-Ashes-Expanse-James-Corey/dp/031633474X

Books like this and 1984 are going through a revival in the last 5 months
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/feb/11/margaret-atwood-handmaids-tale-sales-trump

I'm still waiting for the next collection to come out, but this is highly recommended. It's bonkers and brilliant in equal measures.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Saga-Vol-1...t&ie=UTF8&qid=1490004685&sr=1-1&keywords=Saga

Recently read The Wright Brothers by David McCullough



Restored my confidence in one of our generations great authors. I read The Johnstown Flood shortly after its publication as a young adolescent and it convinced me fact is more entertaining than fiction. While my friends read Jaws or The Godfather for excitement I gained my reputation as a bookworm, the spiritual predecessor of nerd before video games were invented by reading weighty tomes from McCullough and Caro. I confess to having lost faith in by boyhood idol after being unable to finish An American in Paris, I attended one of his personal appearances in Boston around the time of its publication and feared the onset of dementia may have gripped this scholar. In hindsight he may have been drunk at the time, it was an Irish American event. . .

This finely written biography of aviations fathers dispelled such fears and has restored my faith. A great topic well researched and finely woven into a spellbinding tales is exactly what I expect from the author of The Great Bridge, Path Between the Seas and so many other classic modern non-fiction. Either that of he's got a terrific protege ghostwriting !

Just finished Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann




Grann maybe a successor to Mccullough's non-fiction crown. His two prior books, “The Lost City of Z,” about the search for the golden Amazonian city of El Dorado, and “The Devil and Sherlock Holmes,” as well as his articles in NYT have shown Grann capable of spinning delicious, many-layered mysteries that also happen to be true. One unique aspect of Grann's writing is his ability to give even the most scurrilous of characters the benefit of the doubt.

His main thrust and sympathy clearly lie with the Osage victims yet strong second billing is given to J Edgar Hoover's formation of the FBI and his men who solve the crime, unmasking the mastermind behind the murders. By knitting together these towering thefts and crimes visited upon the native peoples of the continent with the noble efforts to bring order to the last vestige of our Wild West history Grann declares “This land is saturated with blood,” and "History is a merciless judge." Ya think?

The Power of Life

Last few reads...

The latest Laundry Novel:



https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01M4IBG5Z/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

What is the Laundry?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Laundry_Files

You all know too much now, and you'll all have to sign section three of the official secrets act. Enjoy your new career with SOE! 😎

Just an update on the Kiplings that I bought back in March ... they've been conserved, repaired, opened and I had a box made for them which is similar to what they would have originally been housed in .... they is truly bootiful now:


Im not sure if the size of this thing comes across, but that's a chair it's sitting on.

So I have been listening to a podcast called Philosophize This and it has been forcing me to dig deeper into some of the subject matter.

So right now I am finishing up The Stranger by Albert Camus

Finally got around to reading this classic:

I am reading Dallas 1963. It covers the period 1960/1963 as Dallas Texas struggles with the changing social and political aspects of its cities and state.

If you're running short on space you can always move that Bulldog picture on 👍

Ha ... it's still waiting and still has your name on it. When's the next GTG or do I have to arrange a drinking session ... erm ... watch appreciation dinner ... myself?