books we've read over the pandemic

[Doug]

Being avid readers all our lives we have dozens of hard copy books, with the shutdown we went heavily into Kindle or else we wouldn't be able to get into our house.
Here's a few we recommend, more later.
The Vera Stanhope series by Anne Cleeves.
Dark Iceland series by Jonasson Ragnar,
Detective Kim Stone series by Angela Marsons

[Spardo]

Have read all the Vera books except for the last one (8?), waiting for the price to come down on Kindle.
I read the first Darfk Iceland, liked it, but not enough to buy a second one. Maybe later, but I do have a long list.

At the moment I am reading a biography of Mussolini, prompted after reading that between the wars he was quite highly thought of by other politicians of the day. It is much longer and detailed than I thought and quite heavy going in his early years as a boy and teenager.
But a strange thing, the real meaning of 'fascist' was a surprise ('bundle' as in strength in unity, hence the axe in a bundle of sticks symbol). He had started as a socialist and always had left leanings but rejected international class warfare in favour of narrow national interest.
I was even beginning to think he had much to commend him, but now just over a quarter of the way through, his dictatorial suppression of opposition after becoming dictator. brings him more into line with my always previously held opinion.

[Wilbro]

Spardo, what is the book you are reading? I have read an excellent book about him years ago which I got from the library in the UK but can't find it again. At the moment i'm re-reading the book by Alan Bullock, "Hitler and Stalin-Parallel Lives. It's a very thick book, signed by the author and gives detailed insight into the machinations of both men in their rises to power.

[Spectrum]

Just finished reading "Instruments of Darkness" by Alfred price, its all about the development of electrical warfare before and during WW2, when we invented something the others had to find a way to block it, and of course vice versa, it was a very closely run thing, we triumphed in the end because the Brits worked as a team, the Germans and later the Japanese didn't as much, they worked on their own, ie if the army found out something they wouldn't tell the navy or air force, there wasn't the coordination found in Britain and then America, but a lot of lives where saved by some of the work done.

[Doug]

Have just read The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, his first and highly rated book.
Ok but for me not as good as stated.

[Spardo]

Spardo, what is the book you are reading? I have read an excellent book about him years ago which I got from the library in the UK but can't find it again. At the moment i'm re-reading the book by Alan Bullock, "Hitler and Stalin-Parallel Lives. It's a very thick book, signed by the author and gives detailed insight into the machinations of both men in their rises to power.

It's called simply - 'Mussolini' by Nicholas Farrell. Fascism tends to get lumped together with Nazism these days but they were not at all the same. No anti-Jewish laws for instance, and very little in the way of a death penalty (as far as I have read so far anyway) which was at first reserved only for murder of the King, his consort and heir, also for Mussolini himself. But that was only after several (amazingly failed, one from a pistol at very close range just at the instant he raised his arm thus throwing his head back so the bullet went through his nose. This at a rally where, after a brief time with the doctor, he reappeared to harangue the crowd with a large plaster on his nose ) attempts on his life. The crowds were not so forgiving as he was, he allowed the 'nose-piercer' to be declared insane and repatriated to England (she was Anglo-Irish) and placed in an asylum, but one 16 year old who shot at him was immediately stabbed to death and dismembered by the crowd. His parents and brother were charged as co-conspirators, the brother was released innocent but the parents sentenced to 30 years on a penal island only to be released by Mussolini within 2. You can imagine what would have been the result if that had been Hitler as the target.

[Wilbro]

Violet Gibson was the woman who tried to shoot Mussolini. His appearance with a plaster reminded me of Colonel Thomazo ("Leather Nose"), one of De gaulle's Algerian Generals who eventually became an enemy of De Gaulle. De Gaulle's memoirs are fascinating and one insight not generally known is how devoted he was to his daughter who had Down's Syndrome and could't speak. He was devastated by her early death. I have his autobiography "The General", a fascinating read and again, a very odd individual with ultimately a hatred of both the US and the UK (for pulling France out of the fire!) which led to some strange political decisions.

[Gene]

I've been enjoying Gallic Noir, three volumes of novellas by Pascal Garnier.

And Simenon, as usual.

[Char]

I'm a bit of a 'lightweight' when it comes to reading, although I devour books by their dozen I don't like heavy reading very much - I think it reminds me of studying.

I'm more into the fantasy realm where I can escape I'm in the middle of la roue du temps by Robert Jorden at the moment having just finished Robin Hobb's L'Assassin royal/Les aventuriers de la mer/Les Cités des Anciens series'

I did find Claude Michelet's Des grives aux loups interesting, it's a series of 4 books based on the history of his family in the form of a novel. It's set deep in the Corrèze countryside where the author was born. I believe his father was a Minister in the government of General de Gaulle. I must have a look for some of his other books actually.

[Spardo]

I'm a bit of a 'lightweight' when it comes to reading, although I devour books by their dozen I don't like heavy reading very much - I think it reminds me of studying.

Don't be tempted by Mussollini then Char, it is very heavy going, I am barely halfway through at the moment but I will continue, amongst all the detail there is some very revealing stuff. I have changed my opinion of the man in some respects, I always just thought of him as a smug buffoon (remind you of anyone?) but now I know there was far more to him than that. Not that I approve of, even my new appreciation, of fascism or his methods, but it is interesting to see that much of his time (away from the arms of several mistresses) was spent restraining the extremism and violence of some of his followers.