Books I’ve Read – 14

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A new author for me. I came across a review of one of Conn Iggulden‘s other books, and both it and his name piqued my interest.

We all studied Roman history at school? We all know the story of Julius Caesar and the Ides of March, and we’ve all seen Gladiator, right? But what do we really know about Julius Caesar before he became Julius Caesar?

The first book in this five-book series introduces us to the boy who would become one of history’s greatest figures and follows his journey from childhood to the beginnings of his rise to power. It really is a good read and, once again, a book that teaches you something you probably didn’t already know. What is it? Well, you’ll have to read the book to find out.

Another new author for me: Joy Ellis. She came recommended by a family member and wasn’t someone I had heard of before, but this is the first instalment in what is an 11-book Nikki Galena series.

It’s quite a fast-paced read about a murder, of course, but it’s also a story about the interesting relationship between the two main characters, Detective Inspector Nikki Galena and her sidekick, Detective Sergeant Joseph Easter.

The atmosphere of the Fens is brought vividly to life throughout the book, which I think would make for a good TV or film adaptation. It seems that another of Joy Ellis’s detective series, Jackman & Evans, will be coming to TV in December 2026. A good read, and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Book six of the Plantagenet and Tudor Novels series, following the order recommended by Philippa Gregory.

Catherine of Aragon is the main character in The Constant Princess. She was first married to Henry VII‘s eldest son, Arthur Tudor – the Prince of Wales and heir to the throne – until his sudden early death. She later married Henry VIII, remaining his wife until their marriage was officially annulled in 1533. This left Henry VIII free to pursue his romance with Anne Boleyn, but that’s another story… or another book!

Another great book, packed with secret plans and plenty of intrigue, that helps you understand more about the lives and history of that period – yes, even though some of it is fiction?

It caught my eye… 1-2026

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As we know, it’s hot! Weather records have been broken across Europe, and wildfires abound, including one right next to the swimming pool of some friends in southern Spain, where we spent four fantastic weeks on holiday two years ago. Luckily, the flames did not spread beyond the wall, and their house survived. Sadly, many others have suffered tremendous losses of both homes and lives.

It’s not just what you see and feel that is evidence of climate change, something more subtle is happening below the surface of the world’s oceans, particularly in the North Atlantic, and the effect this could have on the UK’s and Western Europe’s future weather patterns.

We have all heard about El Niño, but many may not have heard about the Atlantic Conveyor or the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) to give it its scientific name?

The AMOC acts as a planetary climate regulator. It moves warm, salty surface water from the tropics north to Western Europe, where it cools, sinks, and returns south as a deep, cold current. It also influences the Gulf Stream, which helps the UK and Western Europe enjoy a milder climate that is better than our latitude would suggest.

However, that could be about to change – or at least over the next few years, according to a recently published report by BBC InDepth.

Like many other reports about the subject, it discusses the many ways in which the world’s oceans influence global weather patterns. As we have seen over the past few months, it appears that changes in the world’s oceans may be accelerating.

Another report from the Scottish Climate Coalition discusses the changes that may lie ahead. Of course, not everyone is convinced.

Something is changing. Exactly what that is remains open to debate, but let’s hope it’s not too late to do something about it.

Books I’ve Read – 13

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Citadel is the final instalment of the Languedoc Trilogy by Kate Mosse.

Another long read (850 plus pages!), but well worth it to reach the conclusion of the many storylines over the previous two parts.

It’s a great ending to the story. I really like her style of writing, easy to read, but full of facts that makes you never want to stop reading this page turner.

I’ve read The Joubert Family Chronicles series, Now I’ve completed the Languedoc Trilogy, what next? Maybe I should try some of her stand-alone novels like The Taxidermist’s Daughter or The Winter Ghosts, but at the moment I have another pile to get through.

This is the third book I have read by William Boyd and I can’t still figure out what it was about? I did read it from front to back and understood the story lines, but still can’t connect the dots, so to speak! I am also sure that the format of this book did not help, it turns out that this edition is sold under the title of ‘Penguin Essentials‘.

Instead of a traditional paperback size of 19.5 cm by 12.5 cm, it is only 18 cm x 12 cm – referred to as A-format. One would think that should not matter, but when the typeface size is reduced proportionally this does not make for an easy read, even with reading glasses.

I do wonder whether the author was aware of this transformation. Perhaps I would have followed the story more easily instead of taking more than two intermittent weeks to finish it because of the tiny print.

Book five of the Plantagenet and Tudor Novels series, if like me, you are reading them in the order recommended by Phillipa Gregory.

The White Princess is centred on Elizabeth of York who was married to Henry VII until her death in 1503. Her marriage to Henry VII brought an end to the English civil war known as the War of the Roses.

You may recognise many of the names and remember them from your history lessons, but it is wonderful to see them brought to life in this fantastic novel.

Another very great page turner from any author who I ready like, I look forward to the other subsequent books in this great series.

I’ve not read a John le Carré book for quite a while. This one did not disappoint!

As one would expect, it’s a good spy story featuring many familiar names, such as George Smiley, Peter Guillam and Control, as the narrative moves back and forth across different time periods.

It does help, though, if you have read Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, as it provides much of the background and context.

I think I have read nearly all of his novels, but for some reason this one seemed to pass me by. I really enjoyed this one and will have keep a look-out for some of the others that I may have missed.

Back again, at last!

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Where did that five months go? It seems to be a common comment to myself lately!

So what’s been happening, since February’s last post.

The Hi-fi – I’ve made some good progress and in fact, the Welsh dresser has been replaced by a rather nice unit from Ikea for not a great deal of money. All we need to do now is sell the Welsh dresser, but it seems that they are not that fashionable these days and that’s another story for another post.

So once we had assembled the new sideboard, out came some of the old stereo, and I mean parts of it are old.

Current configuration is around a Technics Tuner Amp, Kenwood floor speakers, a Lenco L85 turntable, a Technics CD player and a Technics tape player all quite old school, but the system still works and still produces a great sound via the 40 yr+ old speakers. Still a few things to sort out, but pleased to hear Vinyl based sound again.

What else has been taken up my time? Being Chair of a local Allotment association has taken up far too much of my time, but it has its rewards in a number of ways. Reading has taken a lot of time – another post – as well as looking after my own allotment which now looks good, considering the recent heatwave we have been having.

Time to let go!!!

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Well, it’s the first post of the year and, unbelievably, it’s already February!! I’m already a month behind, what I thought would be a new period filled with lots of spare time! Ha ha.

So what is this post all about? With vinyl undergoing a big revival, I thought I’d recommission my old Hi-Fi stereo system (the actual equipment setup is for another post), which we haven’t had running for fifteen/twenty years.

As with many things in life, one thing leads to another, and of course the first question is: where does it go? Large floor speakers take up space, and stereo units from the 80s/90s are far too big to slip under a small table! Yes, it really is that old.

Why don’t we buy a new system? No way — I like a challenge!

So, back to finding a location for the stereo. Let’s put it on top of the nice big Welsh dresser we have. But what about all the stuff already on top of that? Well, we could move it into the nice tall, glass-fronted “Billy” cupboards we have… but wait a minute — they’re already full of books. And then…

We arrive at the point of letting go!!!

I’ve collected books for most of my life, particularly coffee-table books, which for me have always served as reference books on various subjects. Such as…

So the time has come to make some space and decide what to keep and what to let go! I’ve looked at some of the “buy my books” websites, but most of the offers are pretty paltry — in one case around £4.50 for ten books!!

I’ve also tried eBay a few times in the past, but when you see the wide array of prices for the same book — anything from £52.00 to £9.99 — it does make you wonder whether any of them actually sell.

So some will be going to a local secondary school library, where I know the good reference books will be put to use, and the rest to a recent find: a local Oxfam bookshop, where I’m sure someone will enjoy their contents.

Before I disposed of them, I wanted a way to catalogue all the books I have dotted around the house, and I finally settled on Handy Library. What a great app. It’s very easy to use: it can scan book ISBNs and add them to your own created ‘shelves’, you can manually add books, or even search for them on the web and import the information from there. It has full editing capabilities, tagging, and — most importantly — it backs up the content (in my case to Google Drive). Not only that, but it will also export your lists to Excel! What more could you ask for?

Anyway, that one room done, only four more to go!!

Books I’ve Read – 12

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What can you say about this author? Another amazing book from William Dalrymple that is the result of immense research. Though a long read of 567 pages, the last sixty-four taken up by chapter notes, an extensive bibliography and a substantial index, it will keep you turning pages to understand more about the intrigue of Afghanistan.

I must admit, it’s not a part of the world that I knew much about. I guess; like many people today, I learnt more about it during the aftermath of 911 and the resultant so-called Global War on Terror wars.

Although centred on the first British invasion of Afghanistan in 1839, it delves much deeper into that invasion and as the many other invasions have proved, overcoming a tribal based nation with massive forces does not always work out the way it is initially intended. A very good read.

This is the second book I have read by William Boyd and it turned out to be a very good read. Written in Journal form – which took a bit of getting used to – it documents the life of a Logan Mountstuart as he meanders through various careers from Writer to Spy to Art Gallery Owner.

It’s a great story full of surprises and references to real life events that are cleverly woven into the tale. As usual, I can’t help myself when reading any story today without having a tablet/smartphone at hand to follow up on various ‘stuff’ in any book I am currently reading.

From this story, one of the best hoaxes ever played on the so-called experts of the Art World by the author. A good sense of humour!

Book four of the Plantagenet and Tudor Novels series if like me, you are reading them in the order recommended by Phillipa Gregory.

This time centred on the Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick – aka The King Maker and his ambition to have control over the ‘puppets’ he wanted to install on the Throne of England during the War of the Roses.

Central to this story though are his daughters Anne and Isabel Neville, the whole story is told from Anne Neville’s narrative point of view.

Another very interesting story of the destructive ‘Cousins Wars‘ era of English History, with its never ending plotting and killing of one another. Great read and now understanding the different viewpoints.

Four books in this post!

A good spy story and short read. I do like William Boyd’s story telling.

Someone saw me reading Any Human Heart and gave me this one, so I guess that I am hooked! Finished it in a day and a half.

I’ve not seen the TV version of this one – he wrote the screen play for this one (as well as many others), but I would assume that there would be quite a few flashbacks in it as this is style of this story.

Another very good tale and I’ll search out the TV version, when I have time!

Books I’ve Read – 11

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The second book in the Languedoc Trilogy by Kate Mosse. Another great read – I do like her style of writing – this one is written a standalone story, but does carry on the themes established in the first book – Labyrinth.

I didn’t know a great deal about Tarot cards before reading this story, but their meaning and interpretation is revealed throughout this tale. Another great story. Backed up as usual with abundant and relevant info at the back of the book. A very well researched book.

Not sure why so many books I read at the moment seem to cover the same area in France that I have visit many times over the years, I need to go back.

We all sat through various history lessons about Henry VIII at school, right?, But what about the years before he arrived on the scene? Not covered that much, well certainly for me. This story sheds more life on that period known as the Wars of the Roses – yes, I’ve heard of that!

The third book (based on the order suggested by the author) of The Plantagenet and Tudor novels takes us through another chapter of the Cousins Wars and their never-ending struggle for supremacy over one another.

As per previous books, I spent a lot of time on the Internet following up information from the book. Another great book. Kingmaker’s Daughter next.

A new writer for me, but another great read. A bit far-fetched in places, but nicely put together to make a good spy/adventure story with a great deal of verifiable facts in the tale. Turns out to be the first of a trilogy, so now I have to read the others, of course.

The author also has a past connection to Touch of Frost – a great TV detective series which ran from 1992 to 2010.

It’s amazing to me, just how much research goes into novels to get the stories just right to make them believable. Let’s hope the others are as good as this one.

It caught my eye… 8-2025

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Churches in the UK are under threat! Not from a 2nd Reformation, more from a failure of Bricks and Mortar!

In a report from the National Churches Trust, the Guardian quotes that “One in five churches say their building has deteriorated in the past five years, …”

But there is some hope, especially for Hastings’ Holy Trinity (HTH) Church.

I was always and still am a big fan of Inspector Montalbano, the Italian detective series set in Sicily. Yes, it had its many oddities, one of which was the lack of motor vehicles in every episode. But it was a great series and sad that it is no more, apart from the odd repeat.

Imagine my surprise and delight at seeing the advert for Inspector Gerri. Not just another Italian Detective series, but one that has a lot of flesh on it bones and in many ways superior to Inspector Montalbano. Set in beautiful Apulia, it’s a must-see programme.

Yes, another TV programme – I’m catching up on my Humax recordings, (still another 195 programmes to go, but that another post!)

Venezuela has been in the news quite a bit recently as Trump ramps up his ‘Narco-War’ against the country. However, as we find in Michael Palin‘s travel documentary, there are many sides to Venezuela.

From deserted tourist towns, to Intelligence Services stopping them and from Angle Falls – how did that helicopter land – to a 3-metre Anaconda. It’s another must-see programme, and a country to visit, perhaps!

It caught my eye… 7-2025

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Another fascinating programme from the BBC Storyville cupboard – The Librarians. The programme focus’s on the pressures being piled on United States Librarians from a Trump driven agenda to suppress/control what books are available in Public and School libraries.

I found the 90-minute story fascinating to watch, with heartfelt testimonies from many under scrutiny Librarians and coverage of ‘school-board‘ meetings, where at one of these ‘events’, a ‘parent’ is recorded threatening to assault a librarian with a firearm!

Some good comparisons to other incidents of book/reading suppression in stories like Fahrenheit 451 and pictures/video of book burnings in Germany during the Nazi era.

I must admit that I was amazed at some of the content in this documentary, common-sense seems to have been driven out by some kind of pseudo-religious fervour seemingly backed by money from Trumpesque like funding sources.

Could this happen in the UK? Well, it might surprise the reader that there has been a rise of complaints and requests to have certain book taking off the shelves at UK Libraries!

          Microplastics in our Bodies

Another shocking story of the continuing invasion of Microplastics into our bodies!

Even UK government research shows that it is a major problem. Other articles continue to show that the rise of microplastics is a serious problem to our health.

The problem is getting worse by any measurement, and one wonders when politicians are going to wake up and do something about this threat to the Human Race?

            The rise in diagnoses

A family member has recently been diagnosed with Autism, bringing it more into focus for me. Like many people, I thought I knew quite a bit about it, but of course there is always more to learn!

One question I would ask, though. What is driving the increase in diagnosis of Autism? Has this number of cases always been with us or are we are just getting better at diagnosing it, or are there other reasons. Which ever, it’s a learning curve for all of us!

Books I’ve Read – 10

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Wow, three posts in short succession! I’m doing well at the moment. Here are three more books I have read this year. Though in reality, one is a reference book that I pulled off the shelf to find some information that I seemed unable to get from the Web. Now there’s a surprise!

Anyone of the pre-mobile era, will find this a great read. It traces the rise of the mobile phone from early Nokia days right up to the latest iPhone (circa 2020’s – when this book was published). Why it took me so long to find and read it, I am not sure.

However, the household name of, well it was for me – Rory Cellan-Jones tells a great story about the Hendy (German), Cell (American), Mobile (UK) – local parlance for what has now become one of the most ubiquitous devices of all time.

How did Apple’s iPhone & Google’s Android outwit all the other offerings? What happened to Blackberry, Ericsson and many others? This book will tell you all. It’s a very good read.

Book two of this series. Another good read from Abir Mukherjee, continuing the story of unlikely bed-fellows, Sam Wyndham and Sergeant Banerjee off on another detective adventure.

Sometimes I feel that follow-on books don’t always live up to expectations, but this does and I am sure the others in the series will, there are four more after this one.

Always great to find new authors that can weave a story over so many books, the first two have kept me entertained and a good job that my sister has all the rest of the series, so that will save some pennies as I work through them.

A New Kind of Science is a very interesting book, again something that I actually bought quite a while ago (2002), read some of it, but then kept it on a shelf as a sort of reference book.

If I remember correctly, I came across Stephen Wolfram‘s name and his book when I was doing some consulting work with a number of small end computer companies looking for the next ‘big-thing’ and his name was mentioned by a number of them. Sadly, none of their ideas came to fruition, but I did get paid!. The book has been quite an interesting book to keep for reference. His comments about Artificial Intelligence (AI) from a 2002 viewpoint are very interesting.