Kind of one for the music thread too, but if anyone is into Irvine Welsh, we did a Made By Music episode with him that's out now - https://open.spotify.com/episode/5ZihTvVdP1Omlh9DdLHeJr?si=ca000f31e0d443a0
I did read this when it first came out - for some reason I really struggled to get engaged in it. There was a BBC drama of it a few years ago - that was a bit better.
I am really partial to books aboit Victorian football and have enjoyed Ian Chester's "Charles Alcock and the little tin idol" which chronicles the first ever FA cup competiton in 1871-2. The book is fascinating on so many levels , whether it is the fact that the games ended up being played in pitch darkness, the different rules or the fact that some teams got byes into the next rounds. It is odd that the Scottish team Queen's Park also played in this competition. There are some great pin portraits of the players as well as reproductions of the match reports. I am amazed at how quickly football caught the public imagination which could result in venue like The Oval being packed. This book captured the spirit of the time perfectly and the only thing missing was the fans' perspective. I would really recommend this book which is also excellent in the way that it establishes the location of each of the matches - Maidenhead's ground is still in use.
I am reading a brilliant book by Martan Da Cruz called "From beauty to duty" which is aboit the history of football in Uruguay vetween 1878 anbd 1917. This is probably the ultimate obscure footballing related book ever! I am fascinated as i am addicted to books about 19th century football but it is a "must" for Saints fans to learn how pivotal the Southampton team's visit to Montevideo in 1904 was and just how the 8-1 tonking made the Uruguayans appreciate that modern football required the adoption of combination play. Southampton were seen as a model, modern football team. I am about 1/3rd the way through and am finding it fascinating.
Here is my first contribution of 2024 to this thread. I grabbed this book, Darkest Night by Jenny O'Brien, from a stall outside a garden centre, here in Palma. This is a contemporary crime thriller set in the towns and countryside of North Wales in which the writer makes good use of the various locations to build her story such as the remote farmhiouse near Caernarfon. Christine has been out with a friend to celebrate her 30th birthday and gets blind drunk. The following morning she wakes up and finds the dead body of her flatmate in her bed after, unwittingly,” inviting” an unknown male back for coffee. She is taken in for questioning but released a few days later as the evidence that is provided after a post mortem of the victim sugggest she was not the murderer. The plot thickens when there is a secoond murder so DC Gaby Darin is assigned to take charge of the case and see if the two murders are connected. The main characters are Christine, a recently divorced woman who went out with her friend to celebrate her birthday and finds herself being questioned for the murder of her flatmate the following day. Gaby Darin, the DC assigned the case, Owen Bates, her trusted deputy, Amy the FLO, Paul de Bertrand, a headmaster of an exclusive public school and former husband of Christine and Nikki, Christine’s flatmate. Amongst the themes written into the story, are the issues of sexism that may exist with pólice forces, deafness, personal relationship within and outside the workplace, eating habits and lifestyle, and mental health. The book moves along at a fast pace as the chapters are very short. I think a fast reader might be able to complete it in the time it takes to travel from Southampton and Leicester by train or coach.
Crusade by Robyn Young As the title suggests, it is indeed the story of a crusade. In this instance it was the crusade of the “Anima Templi,” a fictional inner circle of knights within the Knights Templar whose mission it was to preserve the peace between Christians, Muslims and Jews. This meant building bridges and personal friendships with influential leaders who were in theory, the enemy. The central characters in this story are Will Campbell, one of the knights in the Anima Templar and Kalawun, a Mamluk amir who ruled over what is now Egypt and territories not under Christian control in and around the Levant. Kalawun is under pressure from not only his generals but also his own son, to declare war on the remaining Christian kingdoms as they see this as their territory before being usurped two centuries before by the Franks. The decision is finally made after the slaughter of Muslims in the city of Acre by an untrained “army” of peasants who ran amok in Acre after being promised great wealth and riches if they went there to defend the Christian kingdoms, and finding no such riches turned angry and rioted. (Where have we heard that line of thinking recently?) The book deals with several themes including that of betrayal, honesty, the rights of the biological father regarding access to his child, although he had no part in the child’s upbringing, violence, greed and selfishness. If you like History, I think you would enjoy reading this book. Although historical, there are parallels with the politics of this part of the world today. At the time, around 1291 the Christians were the invaders, the infidels occupying land that for over a millenia had been Palestinian. With regard to the present day, in the eyes of Muslims, is Israel the infidel, occupying land that for two thousand years has been Palestinian? If so, it is only a matter of time before the Muslim world unites to fight against this occupation.
Tell us what it is about! I am trying to communicate in a reasonable way with you! It is good to get feedback and healthy discussion but you seem to have ignored many of my postings recently yet engage in the bullshit that people post on the politics page.
I’m re-reading all the Hack Reacher books, halfway through the last one. Next up is The History of the Druids in Britain, by Professor Ronald Hutton.
