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I finished Hedges by E. Pollard (and others) last night; it was very interesting as it went into the history and the wildlife of hedges and their effect upon crops and stock animals on farms. They suggest that there is not a simple answer as to their benefits/drawbacks in agricultural terms and quite a lot of hedges are actually recent additions to the landscape but it does seem as though they are very important reservoirs of wildlife (particularly where woodland losses has been heavy) and they add a lot to the agrarian landscape.

I've just started reading Bird Migration by Ian Newton, which looks really fascinating and well-written (and very detailed at 600 pages) but I did have to pay collector level prices to get hold of a copy, though the ones I bought is pristine and is signed by the author. I have another of his books to read, a parallel volume on Bird Populations.

Still reading Leviathan. Quite horrific description of early whaling industry

I think I'd find that too upsetting to read - I felt very uncomfortable reading Moby Dick.

I've started reading Zoo Quest to Guiana by David Attenborough, which is very good; intriguing to see how early nature programmes and zoo collection expeditions were carried out and David is a compelling writer of these kinds of book.

I'm also still reading these:

Medieval People by Eileen Power
Bird Sounds And Their Meaning by Rosemary Jellis
Bird Migration by Ian Newton

and today I picked up a secondhand copy of Robin Lane Fox's biography of Alexander The Great. I have Michael Wood's book, In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great: A Journey from Greece to Asia (have just started re-watching my DVD of the tv series and want to read the book soon, if I can fit it in with all the others I want to read!) but Lane Fox's book is supposed to be extremely good and I've been looking for a copy for some time so I couldn't really pass it up.

I picked an interesting looking book yesterday; kind of caught my eye and the synopsis looked interesting as well; by TaraShea Nesbit.

Does look quite an interesting twist on the Los Alamos period. Is it actually non-fiction Bill - the description on GR says it's a novel but it could be wrong?

I've pulled out of my non-fiction 'fug' a little, though unfortunately it's led to my adding another book to my pile of currently reading books! I've started reading The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker, which discusses the theory that language is an instinctually, perhaps genetically, coded part of humans rather than a social construct brought about purely by intelligence. Quite convincingly argued at the moment, though I'm only a small way into the book. He's already demonstrated that people affected by a very low IQ though medical conditions can have highly developed language skills, and people with an average to high IQ where a specific region of the brain is affected can lose the ability to articulate, and that conditions that affect language specifically can be passed on through family lines.

I'm half way through The Highly Sensitive Person. This is so recognizable for me.

Paulfozz wrote: "Have been reading The Pianist by Władysław Szpilman though my reading has really slowed as I am finding the book difficult to read in more than short sections. Even t..."

I read The Pianist and can remember that I took my time. It sure isn't an easy read.

Paulfozz wrote: "Does look quite an interesting twist on the Los Alamos period. Is it actually non-fiction Bill - the description on GR says it's a novel but it could be wrong?

I've pulled out of my non-fiction 'f..."

It looks like you might be right Paul. It does say historical fiction doesn't it.. I've been checking out various reviews and it's still somewhat confusing to me.. *sigh*... Sorry for including as non-fiction..

Was more curious than anything else Bill. Some books don't really fit either category clearly (like Papillon, which I'm currently reading).

The synopsis was interesting, Paul, as it seemed like straight history. Will be interesting to see what it's like and about... Papillon was very interesting.

There has always been a lot of controversy over the accuracy of Papillon. There were always doubts about whether Charrière lived through everything he described or if he used stories of other inmates. And he had a reputation as a great fantasizer.

He maintained that his account was accurate and true. However, in an interview before he died, his publisher, admitted that the book was originally submitted to him as a novel and that he persuaded Charrière to release it as an autobiography.

And in 2005 a man called Charles Brunier claimed he was the real papillon and that Charrière had based the book on his life. Brunier had a butterfly tattoo on his left arm.

Who knows, the butterfly tattoo was maybe very popular amongst French convicts. Anyway, I read Papillon many years ago and liked it. Enjoy Paul.

Thanks Bill and Danielle. I'm enjoying it a great deal and have been treating it as a story rather than fact.

I've just read an interesting (depending on your point of view!) little book from the 1960s, Old Farm Implements by Philip A. Wright; it has drawings and photos of old tools used in the countryside, particularly in East Anglia, and Philip gives recollections of his time working his family farm back in the 1920s and 30s. Also includes a little chapter on local words and expressions.

I've also started reading (well, am nearly halfway through it) Devil Birds: The Life Of The Swift by Derek Bromhall, which is a wonderful book about Swifts and has some superb photographs. Thought I'd better read it before the Swifts all leave for Africa!

Though it may change I think the next read will probably be A Single Swallow: Following An Epic Journey From South Africa To South Wales.

I've made a start on [bookcover:The F author Gretchen Reynolds]irst 20 Minutes: Surprising Science Reveals How We Can: Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer|13358979] The First 20 Minutes: Surprising Science Reveals How We Can: Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer by Gretchen Reynolds but I've lost momentum with it to be honest...

I loved Moondust: In Search Of The Men Who Fell To Earth. I thought Andrew Smith's enthusiasm and passion really shone through. I'd recommend it.

Paulfozz wrote: "I finished Hedges by E. Pollard (and others) last night; it was very interesting as it went into the history and the wildlife of hedges and their effect upon crops a..."
If you are interested in the history of the rural economy you might like to read William Marshall's The Rural Economy of the West of EnglandThe Rural Economy of the West of England: Volume 1: Including Devonshire, and Parts of Somersetshire, Dorsetshire, and CornwallIt was written in the late 18th century and is fascinating.The only problem is that s is written as f, which is a little disconcerting for the first few pages.

Carol wrote: "If you are interested in the history of the rural economy you might like to read William Marshall's The Rural Economy of the West of England"

Thanks Carol, though I've had a leaf through an online copy and I'm not sure it's something I'd read.

A Single Swallow has proved to be fascinating, far more about the countries and people than Swallows. I'm on the final 40 or so pages of it now. I took a new book on the train this morning though, Nathaniel's Nutmeg: How One Man's Courage Changed the Course of History, which is really very good - definitely worth the 10p I paid for it!

I bought a few more non-fiction books in Bury St. Edmunds today too, which somewhat weighed me down for the wander around the town! The first two Folio Society books are more that I've wanted for some time (almost was tempted to buy a new copy of Carthage but the cost put me off) and the last is of great interest to me as it's about my local river, where I do most of my bird/wildlife watching.


Carthage: A History by Serge Lancel


Empires of the Nile by Derek Welsby and David Phillipson


The Rivers Chelmer and Blackwater by Stan Jarvis

I'm starting In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. A book I've always wanted to read.

Bill wrote: "I'm starting In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. A book I've always wanted to read."

Loved that Bill. Enjoy.

I'm planning to read In Cold Blood for USA Challenge, I'll keep an eye out for your rating/review.

I'm onto a non-fiction for travel/exploration in the meantime Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed. Seems like a mixture of travel and memoir which I'm only about 5% into reading...

Blimey, that sounds like it will take you through the wringer along with Cheryl - I suggest you use a strip of blister plasters as a bookmark Em. ;-)

I've just finished reading Assyrian Sculpture by Julian Reade, which was excellent and really interesting. Focused mainly on the pieces in the British Museum but gave an overview of Assyria and the broader picture in terms of the history of excavations.

I'm now reading Birds in a Cage, about birdwatchers in World War II Prisoner-of-War camps; particularly of interest to me is John Buxton, who wrote a monograph on Redstarts based on his experiences and studies in the camps.


The Redstart

I've been dipping into Private Lives of the Pharaohs: Unlocking the Secrets of Egyptian Royalty and Woodlands, plus have borrowed a copy of Discoveries In the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon; With Travels in Armenia, Kurdistan and the Desert from the library, but with a very hectic week at work my ability to concentrate on these has been abysmal so this evening I'm switching to some light fiction instead.

I know the feeling!

In fact, this is the status quo. Only about 5 mins per week that I can concentrate on anything complicated.

Yes, I'm like that. I like to mix 'heavy' and 'light'.

Reading book on Victoria Cross winners. Very humbling read.

Em wrote: "I know the feeling!

In fact, this is the status quo. Only about 5 mins per week that I can concentrate on anything complicated."

I'm not usually quite as distracted as that Em, must be tough having that all the time! I'm having a go again at non-fiction (have given up on Robert Rankin as I haven't really enjoyed the last two books I read of his) and I've read a tiny bit more of Private Lives of the Pharaohs: Unlocking the Secrets of Egyptian Royalty, but I've also read about half of The Private Life Of Plants: A Natural History Of Plant Behaviour by David Attenborough, which is very interesting indeed (last bit that raised my eyebrows was that wood pigeons can hold up to 70 acorns in their crop! That's a lot of acorns!

I bought a couple more non-fiction books this weekend;The Classical World: An Epic History of Greece and Rome by Robin Lane Fox and Travels with a Tangerine: A Journey in the Footnotes of Ibn Battutah by Tim Mackintosh-Smith. I'd been tempted by the folio society edition of the first (and their edition of Ibn Battutah's journal) so these defused my interest in buying them, which was important as they've just hiked their prices so they are even more expensive than they were before!

I'm reading Masterpieces of the British Museum at the moment, which is proving to be most absorbing (trying hard not to say 'interesting' yet again!) since it's a museum I'm going to be visiting quite often I think! It's a 'large photo with explanatory text' type of book but it's certainly not a puff-piece; one you just breeze through in one sitting. Quite an eclectic selection of objects they chose for the book too, it's certainly showing the breadth of their collections!

I'm also reading a little of A Short History of Time, about the history of time and calendar systems. It's proving to be a bit of a mind rotter though; the way Leofranc writes and the terminology he uses is making it a little difficult for me to get into.

Today I bought another bulky history book... I'll never learn! ;-) I found a copy of The Penguin History Of Modern China: The Fall And Rise Of A Great Power, 1850 - 2008 in my local Oxfam; I'd previously seen a BBC tv documentary on the period and found it very interesting - whether that interest will hold through 700 pages remains to be seen but this looks like a good book on the subject and it's certainly a topic I'd like to know a little more about.

Just reading Bill Bryson at Home. He uses his house as a starting point to discover how people have lived in the past.It's very entertaining and informative. Always enjoy Bill Bryson. At Home: A Short History of Private Life

Four of my favorite non-fiction books:

Son of the Morning Star (Custer & The Little Bighorn) by Evan S. Connell
Published in 1984, it separates the myth from the truth about this famous battle and the men, on both sides, who fought in it.

1,000 Years, 1,000 People by Agnes Hooper Gottlieb, Henry Gottlieb, Barbara Bowers, Brent Bowers
Published in 1998, it ranks the top 1,000 people, whose personal contributions greatly influenced the past millennium, for better or worse.

The Century by Peter Jennings & Todd Brewster
Published in 1998, the people, some famous and some only known by their family members, who lived and witnessed some of the most significant events of the 20th. century, describe them in their own words.

The War (An Intimate History 1941 - 1945) by Geoffrey C. Ward & Ken Burns
Published in 2007, the last (hopefully) world war is recalled through the personal recollections, anecdotes and pictures of the soldiers and civilians, from every walk of life, in their own words.

Had a bit of a double take on that last one Jim. Was wondering what war was 1941 to 1945 but then realised that 1941 was when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour.

Ian wrote: "Had a bit of a double take on that last one Jim. Was wondering what war was 1941 to 1945 but then realised that 1941 was when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour."

Ian,

An astute observation on your part. The book does include a cursory overview of Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939 as being the action that resulted in the U.K. and France declaring war on Nazi Germany; thus initiating World War II. However, like most Americans, the authors and editors chose to focus upon the year that the U.S. declared war on Japan, thereby provoking Hitler to declare war on the U.S.

You Brits got a bit of a head start confronting the Fueher and his cohorts, but we Yanks finally joined the fray. Better late than never.

Certainly glad you did......and in WW1.

Non-fiction wise I'm gravitating toward the psychology side of things so far this year - I read Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain which was an interesting look at personality and the degree to which we might be introverted/extroverted and how we might adapt or personality and behaviour to cope with work/home life.

Now, I'm reading Sane New World: Taming The Mind by Ruby Wax which looks at using mindfulness to cope with depression and anxiety etc. These are illnesses which have impacted on some members of my family and several of my close friends and I think that generally, we don't look after our mental health in the same way we do our physical health when perhaps we should.

I'm currently reading The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century which is an interesting way to get some history - it's very thematic, focused on practical details rather than dates and events.

I've also recently picked up Talking Theatre: Interviews with Theatre People in the Kindle sale, which sounded like a great collection of essays.

I like the sound of the time-traveller guide - I had a subscription to BBC History Magazine and it's been good reading that for a regular historical fix!

I've read a couple of memoirs lately - very different in tone but I enjoyed reading both How to Be a Woman and Not My Father's Son: A Memoir.

Also, I've a new purchase which I'm hoping to get to soon, being a bit of a yogi I'm interested to read Wheels of Life: A User's Guide to the Chakra System by Anodea Judith.