World War II Begins

Millions Like Us: Women's Lives in War and Peace 1939-1949 by Virginia Nicholson was a very timely book as it covers a time of great social change, just as we are currently undergoing for home working (hopefully!). Women's workplace roles were never the same again after 1945, despite the best attempts of men to set the clock back. Likewise when our bosses try and get us back into the office in a few months. The book itself followed quite a few different women over the 6 war years. I lost track of most of them and just read it "as is". It was pretty enjoyable, moving in parts, and unrecognizable in many ways to the world I have ever known. It was a great eye-opener to human nature, and a pleasant change from reading "normal" war books about battles, generals and politicians. Behind the scenes, back at home, "her indoors" was also discovering hitherto untapped resources. 8/10

The Return of History

Alfred the Great by Justin Pollard saw me return to the history section after a long gap since my first foray into that area. Alfred the Great is the only English monarch to have that epithet and it's richly deserved for someone who more than anyone else can be designated as the architect of England and the first great statesman of our country. It's an entertaining book, well told, and a popular account of a person where details are inevitably quite sketchy given the timespan and how much has been lost, as well as the paucity of authentic material of proven provenance.

Coasting

I concluded the Travel section with Coasting: A Private Voyage by Jonathan Raban. It was written during the early 80s and comes from the waffly school of travel writing when the author tends to waffle on about anything in particular, in his case the Falklands, Miners Strike, Thatcher and his childhood. All well and good for but I'd rather he described more about what sounds an interesting journey by sea around Britain (he never does say where he went, when, how lomg it took etc). Raban is essentially a fiction writer so his prose is excellent, but it's not my sort of book. 5/10

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Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My God this is a negative book, I bet Gustave Flaubert was real fun at parties. I realise the book is something of a swipe at the bourgeoisie but I don't think there was a single positive character in the book. Everyone is despicable, pathetic, self-interested and nobody comes out with any credit at all.

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Cracking the Capital

The authorities tried to ban Subterranean London: Cracking the Capital by Bradley L. Garrett so it's kind of ironic that I end up getting it from a public library having hitherto never heard of it. It's an amazing collection of photos taken beneath the streets of London, all of which were without permission and many must have been very dangerous to do. Hats off to whoeever did this, although you must be mad. It would have been nice to have had a bit more text. 8/10

The Most Annoying Book in the World

The Most Beautiful Walk in the World: A Pedestrian in Paris by John Baxter is a frustrating book. It's one of these wishy washy "travel" books where there is not much travelling going on and lots of rambling on about nothing. Yet occasionally from the bubble of thoughts and recollections would come a few interesting pages and Baxter's enthusiasm for Paris was sort of infectious and made me curious how he managed to blag his way into a job of literary guide, which is what the book morphs into about half way through. Then it would sink back into the torpor and I would wonder how this book ever got published. So it's a bit like an improvised jazz piece, with no structure or plan and could never be repeated, but occasionally is very good. 5/10

Walking the Himalayas

My journey through the travel section continued with Walking the Himalayas by Levison Wood. I have never heard of Levison Wood, apparently he has been on TV, but I don't watch it much. I thoroughly enjoyed Walking the Himalayas which was about his walking from Afghanistan to Bhutan. I am not sure how often people do this sort of walk, if ever, but most of it sounded relatively easy, although there were obviously dangerous sections. What was interesting is just journeying with Lev and getting to know him as you read the book and went through places that are so far off the beaten track it had to shaking your head in bewilderment that such areas and people still exist. 9/10