What are you reading just now?

[bill]

The Hanging Shed by Scottish author Gordon Ferris is a terrific read.
It's 1946,The Gorbals ,and young boys are going missing. When the fifth missing boy is discovered,sexually abused and murdered,it doesn't take the police long to charge Hugh Donovan.Only trouble is he is innocent.A phone call to his schoolboy friend,ex police sergeant Brodie,now a journalist in London is his only hope.From Glasgow to Arran to Northern Ireland the story continues at a steady pace.

[Kulana]

bill, I too have read and enjoyed 'The Hanging Shed'. I have 2 more by Gordon Ferris: Truth Dare Kill (2007)
and The Unquiet Heart (2008), both of which are very good.

If you haven't already, try the Rhona MacLeod series (set in Glasgow) by Lin Anderson and the Logan McRae series (set in Aberdeen) by Stuart MacBride. They are excellent.

[Kulana]

numberplease - Thanks for the tip about Lisa Jackson. I checked her out on http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/j/lisa-jackson/ and she looks like my kind of author.

I still have a couple of thousand paperbacks but, more and more, I'm using the Kindle. With the ability to carry loads od books in one hand, it's pretty good.

[numberplease]

Kulana, this is my first Lias Jackson, but there`s another in the cupboard awaiting reading. I`ve read 2 or 3 of the Stuart McLeod Logan McRae stories, they`re a bit rough and ready, but I like them.

[Martin]

Kulana, You'll need to be careful how long you spend using one of those Kindles otherwise you may end up burning the kindle at both ends.
Do you actually prefer one of those things over a proper book ?
I've looked at one and did not like it at all. There's no magic like there is between the pages of a book, there's no feel, there's no smell, there's nothing, it's cold and clinical.
I remember the little children's room in Campbeltown library when I was a kid, it was like going into a treasure cave, the smell of books, all the titles to look through, the thrill of opening the book to take a peek never knowing what was going to be there, what worlds I was going to be transported to in the little piece of magic I held in my hands. There never seemed to be anyone else in there and I was always left alone while my parents went into the adult section, alone and in silence and before long I used to get lost in the titles. I discovered Billy Bunter and Bill Badger in there and many others. I was ever so sad to see that room being used as a store room. I've never found a library anywhere that has compared with that wee room.
It frightens me that things like Kindles could ever take the place of a proper book, I love technology but books are sacred and there is no substitute.
Just my opinion.
Oh dear, I do seem to have waffled on a bit.

[Kulana]

Martin - You are absolutely (in a non-waffling way) correct. I love books too. I still have hundreds of them and I still read them. There are many things that a Kindle can't do such as the things you mentioned but, when I go away it's a lot easier to carry my Kindle with guidebooks, phrasebooks, dictionaries and novels on it than carry them separately.

Certainly, in my lifetime (yours too I wager) e-books will not replace paper books however, I note that the images of the old library you posted were taken with a digital camera. I still have my old Brownie 127 but I use my digital camera now. Things change although, admittedly, not always for the better.

The Kindle, for me, is just another electronic tool which, on occasions, makes my life easier. I would say that some books are 'sacred' but others are just for reading.

[Martin]

I can understand how a Kindle would be handy for travelling, I just get worried that eventually kids could grow up without without having the experience of proper books, but, as you say, not in our lifetimes.
I still have my old film cameras, Yashica, Pentax etc, but digital has made things easier and certainly cheaper and the small Kodak I used for those pics is handy to fit in a pocket.
I understand what you mean, in other words !

[numberplease]

Kulana, I`ve finished the Lisa Jackson book, Chosen to Die, it was brilliant. Have just started another of hers, Left to Die, only to discover that it precludes the other one, so I should have read it first! Never mind, I`m sure I`ll still enjoy it, even though I know who the murderer is!

[Kulana]

numberplease - Over my many years of reading (!), I have developed a complex about reading books in order. Sad, I know. I made the mistake - some years ago - of reading the third book in a series first and then, upon reading the first book, I was confused (which is easily accomplished for me).

Now I go to this site: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/, enter the author's name and check the list of titles.

At the moment I'm reading the 'Commissario Brunetti' series (set in Venice) by Donna Leon. They're excellent and the main character matures as the series progresses so it's always better, imho, to, as Julie Andrews warbled, "Begin at the very beginning".


Edit: Then of course they go and write a prequel!

[numberplease]

Kulaman, I also made that mistake with the C.J.Sansom books, reading the second one first, but it was before I discovered that there was a series of them, but it didn`t detract from the enjoyment. I can recommend his Matthew Shardlake stories, if you haven`t already read them.

[EMDEE]

I remember the little children's room in Campbeltown library when I was a kid, it was like going into a treasure cave, the smell of books, all the titles to look through, the thrill of opening the book to take a peek never knowing what was going to be there, what worlds I was going to be transported to in the little piece of magic I held in my hands. There never seemed to be anyone else in there and I was always left alone while my parents went into the adult section, alone and in silence and before long I used to get lost in the titles. I discovered Billy Bunter and Bill Badger in there and many others. I was ever so sad to see that room being used as a store room. I've never found a library anywhere that has compared with that wee room.

I have exactly the same memories and sentiments about that wee room. I used to be in there on Saturdays looking for Jennings books. Oddly enough, they reflected a lifestyle and educational system far removed from the 1960s in Campbeltown. I think it was a form of escapism. I was also an Astronomy nerd at that time, but soon worked my way through all the relevant books in the wee room, and started going to the main library to satisfy this particular passion. I was a budding Patrick Moore, but lost the momentum when other pursuits took over.

[Martin]

I remember Jennings, I'd forgotten all about those books.

[numberplease]

I enjoyed Left to Die, despite having read the follow on book first. Am now reading The Death Chamber, by Sarah Rayne. I readanother of her books a couple of years ago, Tower of Silence, and enjoyed it immensely, emailed her as well to say so, but this is the first time since that I`ve come across anything of hers. It`s a tad slow at the moment, but I hope it`ll pick up.

[numberplease]

The Death Chamber was okaaaay, but a bit too much switching of time zones, between 1917, 1938-40, 1958, and the present day, got slightly confusing at times, remembering which era I was in. Am now reading Malicious Intent, by Kathryn Fox. After a few pages I realised I`d read it before, a while ago, but can`t quite remember the outcome, so will carry on and read it again!

[bill]

The Best Way to Walk: The Chic Murray Story by Andrew Yule is a great biography of my all time favourite comedian.