Rugd1022 Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 We already have or have had in the past threads on films, TV shows and music, so I thought why not have one along similar lines for our favourite books... it doesn't necessarily have to be railway related of course, anything goes, a nice ramble through the absorbing world of printed words and pictures... what are you perusing now, are there any longed for treasures you've yet to track down, or do you have a few favourites which always find their way to the top of the pile...? I'll start the ball rolling with a fine book on the GWR locos which has come round to the front of the queue again... 'A Century In Steam' by Kenneth Leech and Bryan Holden - a lovely book from the Irwell Press stable, crammed with quality photos by Kenneth Leech which he took in the 50s on numerous trips around Bath, Chippenham, Swindon etc... he was lucky enough to have access to the footplate almost on a daily basis and often found himself firing and driving all types of GW 4-6-0s once he'd gained the trust of the loco crews and inspectors. The photos and accompanying text are a nice evocation of what the first ten years or so of the Western Region must have been like, with superb action shots, loco portraits and a few crew portraits too (mostly smiling!). There's one particular photo which always perks me up and catches the eye - a tidy profile shot of 6853 Morehampton Grange freshly outshopped in BR lined green at Melksham on a running in turn from Swindon with a quote from Kenneth 'I had driven the engine and stopped with it clear of the platform, jumped off the footplate, taken this picture and nipped back on to the footplate just in time to obey the guard's signal to start the train again'.... what a great way to enjoy your hobby. The photo itself seems to sum up for me just what was so good about the Swindon way of doing things - a handsome, elegant and compact profile, beautifully finished in lined green which suited the 4-6-0s so well, topped off with copper and brass, cabside number and splasher mounted nameplate on what was after all, a mixed traffic loco... everything is ticketyboo! Righto folks... open floor.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodshaw Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Railway books I dip into time and again are "Diesels in the White Rose County" by David Hey and "Railway Memories No. 4 - Bradford" in the Bellcode series. "The Timewaster Letters" always makes me laugh out loud. I'm currently wading through a novel set in WW2 and written in Italian and Neapolitan by a cousin of mine. The idea is that I then translate it into English (and maybe Yorkshire) for him. Hmmm... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Worsdell forever Posted June 5, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 5, 2012 Railway related my latest book is 'The Whitby - Loftus Line' by Michael A Williams, recently published by the Mulgrave Community Research Project. (ISBN 978-0-9567890-1-3) Nothing non-railway at the moment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heinz57 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 I've recently finished 'Misery' by Stephen King. I've now moved onto 'The Shinning', but to be honest I can't get stuck into it and after over a month of reading I'm still only on chapter six Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted June 7, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 7, 2012 Railway wise there are 8 Middleton Press books to go through in detail post a spot of shopping at Railex (an excellent deal for a bulk purchase). Most recent non railway is 'Into The Silence' by Wade Davis which is about attempts on Mount Everest in the 1920s up to and including the loss of Mallory & Irving and a book of pics taken in the Antarctic by Captain Scott on his final trip. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 I got hooked on the HBO series "Game of Thrones" last year. I'm not normally a fan of fantasy but this is different. George RR Martin has written 5 books in the series so far, with 2 more to come. The books are great, if a bit long winded. I think the plan is to cover one book per season, and season 2 is about complete. Season 1 is on DVD. So, great books and great TV series (with all the things that HBO do because they can, not because they should). John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 Mike - that book of Captain Scot's photgraphs, is it a recently published one...? A few weeks back our local news prog 'Midlands Today' did a feature on the expedition and showed several photos I'd never seen before (very crisp and clear they were too as I recall). A non railway book waiting in the wings is 'Vulcan', about a vital chapter in the Falkland's War and the subject of a recent TV documentary.... I've had it tucked away for some time but haven't got round to reading it yet. Another railway favourite 'fell out of the cupboard straight into my lap' yesterday, 'Didcot Engineman' by Bernard Barlow, another quailty volume from Wild Swan. Reminds me, I must get 'Swindon Engineman' next time I go shopping, and I think Wild Swan also did a book on the Henley Branch a few years ago which I ought to have a butchers at Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumblestripe Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Nothing railway related that I am "reading" at present though a couple of Hoole's are regularly dipped into. Lurking on the to do pile is Antony Beevor's "D-Day", I read his "Berlin" some time ago and it was astonishingly readable for such a large volume on (what I thought) was almost a sideshow. Educational in every sense of the word. I have a bit of Fantasy stuff on the go at the moment Patrick Rothfuss' "A Wise Man's Fear", second part of the Kingkiller Trilogy and very good (for those who are struggling to find something to follow George RR Martin for example) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bike2steam Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 I'm about 3/4 of the way thro' Bernard Cornwell's Saxon series, excellent stuff about one of my favourite periods of our history in this country of Angelcynn. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 I'm about 3/4 of the way thro' Bernard Cornwell's Saxon series, excellent stuff about one of my favourite periods of our history in this country of Angelcynn. Anything by Bernard Cornwell is guaranteed to be brilliant. I have read all but the newest book in the Saxon series (waiting for the price to come down). I read "The Fort" not too long ago. A great story of an unsung very minor skirmish in the Revolutionary War. It featured a very young John Moore (of Corunna fame) and a not so noble Paul Revere. Cheers John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted June 7, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 7, 2012 Mike - that book of Captain Scot's photgraphs, is it a recently published one...? A few weeks back our local news prog 'Midlands Today' did a feature on the expedition and showed several photos I'd never seen before (very crisp and clear they were too as I recall). Indeed it is Nidge - I saw a review of it in one of the Sunday 'heavies' in early December and immediately suggested to herself that it would make a rather good Chrissie pressie, which it did. A lot of the pics - some of which are of remarkable quality considering Scott was only then learning how to take photographs - have never been published before and some were taken in the early stages of the trek to the Pole/laying out of the depots which Ponting did not accompany so they're of even greater interest from that viewpoint. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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