THE DONSTALK BOOK CLUB

[RicoS321]

1 minute ago, Ajja said:

Yes! It’s the greatest of all the ones I’ve read. Absolutely loved it, right up my street! The post war and early stages of the Cold War were the best time for those types of novels. Everyone was gripped by the fear of mass destruction, some belters in that era. 

Oh well, that's you completed the genre. There's nothing further to add.

[CurlsLikeTattie]

14 hours ago, Ajja said:

Anyone ever ventured into the world of Pratchet? I’ve never bothered, always felt it would be verging on a kids book but I’ve taken the plunge and started The Long Earth series. Mainly because I’ve run out of good post apocalyptic/alternative society stuff to read. 

I tried some Discworld stuff a few years back. Not totally my thing, but quite enjoyed them. I got 2 or 3 books in, saw how many there were, got overwhelmed, and gave up on them.

[BigAl]

On 25/03/2026 at 09:33, TheDonbytheDee said:

Scattershot - Bernie Taupin

Only thing I knew of this man, was he wrote songs with Elton John.

I read a lot of biographies of footballers and musicians, as along with books, that is my three main hobbies, Fitba, Music and Books.

When it comes to biographies, the best ones are usually from folk you know least about and this Bernie Taupin book is one of them.

The guy can write and tell a story and not much people he hasn't met throughout his life.

So I gave this one a go, but afraid to say I really struggled with it early doors and subsequently stopped reading.

The problem with audio books for me, is that because I only really listen whilst walking the dog I'm hearing them in short snippets and if they don't grab me right away, I'm always going to struggle to continue with it, whereas it takes a lot for me not to finish a book that I'm actually reading. Don't know if that'll make sense or not, but just the way I am.

Rattling through paperbacks and kindle editions at some rate as I'm now onto my 42nd book of the year and I have finished all of them 

[TheDonbytheDee]

20 hours ago, BigAl said:

So I gave this one a go, but afraid to say I really struggled with it early doors and subsequently stopped reading.

The problem with audio books for me, is that because I only really listen whilst walking the dog I'm hearing them in short snippets and if they don't grab me right away, I'm always going to struggle to continue with it, whereas it takes a lot for me not to finish a book that I'm actually reading. Don't know if that'll make sense or not, but just the way I am.

Rattling through paperbacks and kindle editions at some rate as I'm now onto my 42nd book of the year and I have finished all of them 

When I posted about it I hadn't quite reached the end and I'll be honest and admit, the ending was pretty shit. 

I often don't finish books now. Too many to read to stick with something that isn't floating my boat and a lot of shyte fiction about.

I find I have to work harder to get books that I like and reading more history books due of the lack of good fiction. 

 

[Ajja]

On 25/03/2026 at 09:33, TheDonbytheDee said:

Scattershot - Bernie Taupin

Only thing I knew of this man, was he wrote songs with Elton John.

I read a lot of biographies of footballers and musicians, as along with books, that is my three main hobbies, Fitba, Music and Books.

When it comes to biographies, the best ones are usually from folk you know least about and this Bernie Taupin book is one of them.

The guy can write and tell a story and not much people he hasn't met throughout his life.

Love a musician biography. Nick Drake: The Life by Richard Morton is a lovely read. Love the Brian Wilson autobiography Wouldn’t It Be Nice. Only one I’ve struggled with was Torment Saint about the life of Elliot Smith. Great music but a deeply troubled bloke

[Ajja]

16 hours ago, TheDonbytheDee said:

When I posted about it I hadn't quite reached the end and I'll be honest and admit, the ending was pretty shit. 

I often don't finish books now. Too many to read to stick with something that isn't floating my boat and a lot of shyte fiction about.

I find I have to work harder to get books that I like and reading more history books due of the lack of good fiction. 

 

I went through a historical fiction phase. Must have read around 40 Bernard Cornwell books during Covid. Conn Iggulden has written fantastic series about Genghis Khan and Julius Caesar. 

[TheDonbytheDee]

6 hours ago, Ajja said:

I went through a historical fiction phase. Must have read around 40 Bernard Cornwell books during Covid. Conn Iggulden has written fantastic series about Genghis Khan and Julius Caesar. 

Not my bag either, I'm a fussy git.

My history interest is mainly 1900 onwards, with the two world wars, being of particular interest.

Love a biography in general, read hundreds of the things over the years, find them easy to read.

Julian Cope is a particular favourite, well worth a read if you haven't done so already, as been released a long time.

Another few music books worth a read, are Viv Albertine, Will Sergeant and Stephen Morris. The three of them have two books each, with a third installment due from both Sergeant and Morris.

I used to lap up political biographies for years too. Again only politicians from around 1900 to around the 1990s. I think the most recent one I read was Nicola Sturgeon and before that would have been Dennis Skinner.

Books about Aberdeen and ex Don's players are another genre I love and looking forward to reading the upcoming Neil Simpson book, released this month I believe.

None of my recent reads have been worth sharing with anyone, been pretty poor stuff I have picked up.

 

 

Edited 13 hours ago by TheDonbytheDee

[Ajja]

13 minutes ago, TheDonbytheDee said:

Not my bag either, I'm a fussy git.

My history interest is mainly 1900 onwards, with the two world wars, being of particular interest.

Love a biography in general, read hundreds of the things over the years, find them easy to read.

Julian Cope is a particular favourite, well worth a read if you haven't done so already, as been released a long time.

Another few music books worth a read, are Viv Albertine, Will Sergeant and Stephen Morris. The three of them have two books each, with a third installment due from both Sergeant and Morris.

I used to lap up political biographies for years too. Again only politicians from around 1900 to around the 1990s. I think the most recent one I read was Nicola Sturgeon and before that would have been Dennis Skinner.

Books about Aberdeen and ex Don's players are another genre I love and looking forward to reading the upcoming Neil Simpson book, released this month I believe.

None of my recent reads have been worth sharing with anyone, been pretty poor stuff I have picked up.

 

 

Have you read anything on Mikhail Gorbachev? Covered a load on him in the mid-90s as I wrote my uni dissertation on him. Reform within a One Party Totalitarian System. Ploughed through some great political and history books back then. 

[TheDonbytheDee]

15 minutes ago, Ajja said:

Have you read anything on Mikhail Gorbachev? Covered a load on him in the mid-90s as I wrote my uni dissertation on him. Reform within a One Party Totalitarian System. Ploughed through some great political and history books back then. 

I'm sure I have read Gorbachev, but he didn't fuss me like the other Russian politicians before him. 

The Soviet Union is a great period to read into if you like your politics, but then the whole of the last century is a great read politically, but nae saying much more in case we head into Newsnight review territory. 

[Mason89]

The Stephen Morris book is good. Hooky’s, not so much. 
 

The best music biography I read was ‘Never Enough’ about the Cure. I like them but I’m not a massive fan. Love the singles, find the albums a bit chewy. Anyway, worth a read if you haven’t already 

[RicoS321]

2 minutes ago, TheDonbytheDee said:

the whole of the last century is a great read politically, but nae saying much more in case we head into Newsnight review territory

One of the rules of this forum, and perhaps all fora, I believe, is that posters are not supposed to self filter. You pile on until you've either made a cunt of yourself, called someone's died ma a whoor, or gone wildly deep into a topic, boring the shite out of a'bidy. 

[Mason89]

2 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

One of the rules of this forum, and perhaps all fora, I believe, is that posters are not supposed to self filter. You pile on until you've either made a cunt of yourself, called someone's died ma a whoor, or gone wildly deep into a topic, boring the shite out of a'bidy. 

I could talk for hours about welding consumables and transmission towers (pylons to you plebs) if anyone is interested? 
 

Anyone? 
 

Hello? 

[RicoS321]

33 minutes ago, Mason89 said:

I could talk for hours about welding consumables and transmission towers (pylons to you plebs) if anyone is interested? 
 

Anyone? 
 

Hello? 

Aye, pylon.

[Don Julio]

47 minutes ago, Mason89 said:

The Stephen Morris book is good. Hooky’s, not so much. 
 

The best music biography I read was ‘Never Enough’ about the Cure. I like them but I’m not a massive fan. Love the singles, find the albums a bit chewy. Anyway, worth a read if you haven’t already 

Tracey Thorn’s autobiography is a great read, whether you like their stuff or not.

[TheDonbytheDee]

20 minutes ago, Don Julio said:

Tracey Thorn’s autobiography is a great read, whether you like their stuff or not.

Not a huge lover of EBTG, but her books are very good.

What I find with biographies, is that the best ones are by people that you are not a fan of, especially when it comes to music biographies.  

[TheDonbytheDee]

1 hour ago, Mason89 said:

The Stephen Morris book is good. Hooky’s, not so much. 
 

The best music biography I read was ‘Never Enough’ about the Cure. I like them but I’m not a massive fan. Love the singles, find the albums a bit chewy. Anyway, worth a read if you haven’t already 

The Bernard Sumner one isn't that great either.  Never thought it would have been Stephen Morris with the best story to tell 

I've read the Cure book.  

[TheDonbytheDee]

1 hour ago, Mason89 said:

I could talk for hours about welding consumables and transmission towers (pylons to you plebs) if anyone is interested? 
 

Anyone? 
 

Hello? 

Arc at you!

[RicoS321]

In an unrelated note, has anyone read this?

Mason

[Mason89]

6 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

In an unrelated note, has anyone read this?

Mason

I haven’t, might give it a go. 
 

I met a welder once who thought Nelson Mandela read the ITV News at Ten. They are a special breed 

[RicoS321]

2 minutes ago, Mason89 said:

I haven’t, might give it a go. 
 

I met a welder once who thought Nelson Mandela read the ITV News at Ten. They are a special breed 

I've never seen Nelson Mandela and Trevor McDonald in the same room.

[BigAl]

20 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

I've never seen Nelson Mandela and Trevor McDonald in the same room.

Delighted to put that right for you mate

https://www.itv.com/news/2018-07-18/nelson-mandela-centenary

[BigAl]

From time to time, I take a gee to read something historical

Current ones I have in my collection but not yet read include

The Spanish Holocaust by Paul Preston

The Classical World (An Epic History Of Greece & Rome) by Robin Lane Fox

The Silk Roads (A New History Of The World) by Professor Peter Frankopan

[Ajja]

Choas: The Truth Behind the Manson Murders is a good read. If you like a conspiracy it’s on steroids. 

[blinlemon]

Currently nearing the end of the B&W Publishing’s 1993 imprint of part three of Weegie Guy McCrone’s Wax Fruit trilogy which is pretty good, set in the late 19th century, mostly in Glasgow, but the final part is majorly in Vienna. 

On Kindle, Daphne du Maurier’s Jamaica Inn is holding my attention, with One Grand Summer by Ewald Arenz in limbo until DdM’s classic has been digested, and Melvyn Bragg’s Another World (his autobiography of his Oxford University years) is my current Spotify audiobook. 

 

[TheDonbytheDee]

7 minutes ago, blinlemon said:

Currently nearing the end of the B&W Publishing’s 1993 imprint of part three of Weegie Guy McCrone’s Wax Fruit trilogy which is pretty good, set in the late 19th century, mostly in Glasgow, but the final part is majorly in Vienna. 

On Kindle, Daphne du Maurier’s Jamaica Inn is holding my attention, with One Grand Summer by Ewald Arenz in limbo until DdM’s classic has been digested, and Melvyn Bragg’s Another World (his autobiography of his Oxford University years) is my current Spotify audiobook. 

 

I've got the first part of the Wax Fruit trilogy on order at the Library. Must have had a reprint recently, as they are all fairly new and a waiting list, not a huge one thankfully.

I might give Jamaica Inn a try, couldn't be any worse than some of my recent picks.