Question What are you reading?

[Lester Bangs]

Winter in Madrid by C J Sansom

Best book I've read in ages.

 

[canveyshrimper]

Winter in Madrid by C J Sansom

Best book I've read in ages.

I've read the Matthew Shardlake books, and have Winter in Madrid on the bookshelf to read.

Currently reading the third and final book in the millenium series The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest, the books have been subject to quite a lot of hype, which I don't think they've lived up to, but the series is IMO a worthwhile read.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

FM247 - This is Radio Binfield ! - astonishing but true !

Not very good,is it?;)

 

[Rob Noxious]

Not very good,is it?;)

Oh, I think you'll find that it has its admirers ...

Top of the pops fiction, 5 Mar 2010
By K. Cotton

This review is from: FM247: This Is Radio Binfield! (Paperback)
As any music lover will attest, tunes help us through the best - and the worst - of times. So, consider this: what would your life's soundtrack be? And more importantly, what's your storyline? This well-observed, endearing novel raises these very questions through its tragic, but comic, protagonist: the Emperor. Worsdale and Spooner guide us through his loves and his losses using a series of humorous and - at times - melancholic - vignettes, presented against a backdrop of the `top 100' tracks of his tears, cheers and jeers. And the result? A moving and entertaining must-read account of one man's life that will leave you thinking. Highly recommended!!

FM247. This is Radio Binfield., 3 Mar 2010
By Ms. L. Channon (U.K)

This review is from: FM247: This Is Radio Binfield! (Paperback)
I have just finished reading this book and I loved it!!! It is easy to read,full of comical bits and melancholic moments. It is a full bodied book with well observed reflections and empathy in the presentation of the protagonist. It kept me interested all the way through and I couldn't wait to get back to it after enforced breaks - life,work etc.
I would recommend this book for everyone,especially if you love something a bit different in a book - chart countdown style rather than chapters as such - and references relevent to the time. Buy it now!!!

A great read., 18 Feb 2010
By Ms. Jeanette C. Brown (Essex) - See all my reviews

This review is from: FM247: This Is Radio Binfield! (Paperback)
Whether you have stumbled on this listing by accident or are here because you have been intrigued by articles and postings elsewhere, I would whole heartedly recommend this novel to you. For compulsives of any description, for anyone who has ever got off the bus early just to look at their old house, and for anyone else who has ever looked back( whether in anger or not), this book is a must. It will both entertain and give you plenty to think about. Whether it affirms your belief that the past really was better, or whether you conclude that you cannot live your future within the past, this book will truly have spoken the words you were waiting to hear. Set into 100 shortish sections based around memorable music of the past, it is easy to read, even when interruptions are frequent. However many books you may read; only a few will become good friends. FM 247 This is Radio Binfield! has certainly become one of these for me, and when I've finally stopped thinking about it so much, I will be happy to read it all over again!

 

[Rob Noxious]

FM247 - This is Radio Binfield ! - astonishing but true !

It appears that you've made an excellent choice, Rich! :)

 

[AdamTheShrimper]

Lance Armstrong - its not about the bike. Autobiography

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Oh, I think you'll find that it has its admirers ...

Top of the pops fiction, 5 Mar 2010
By K. Cotton

This review is from: FM247: This Is Radio Binfield! (Paperback)
As any music lover will attest, tunes help us through the best - and the worst - of times. So, consider this: what would your life's soundtrack be? And more importantly, what's your storyline? This well-observed, endearing novel raises these very questions through its tragic, but comic, protagonist: the Emperor. Worsdale and Spooner guide us through his loves and his losses using a series of humorous and - at times - melancholic - vignettes, presented against a backdrop of the `top 100' tracks of his tears, cheers and jeers. And the result? A moving and entertaining must-read account of one man's life that will leave you thinking. Highly recommended!!

FM247. This is Radio Binfield., 3 Mar 2010
By Ms. L. Channon (U.K)

This review is from: FM247: This Is Radio Binfield! (Paperback)
I have just finished reading this book and I loved it!!! It is easy to read,full of comical bits and melancholic moments. It is a full bodied book with well observed reflections and empathy in the presentation of the protagonist. It kept me interested all the way through and I couldn't wait to get back to it after enforced breaks - life,work etc.
I would recommend this book for everyone,especially if you love something a bit different in a book - chart countdown style rather than chapters as such - and references relevent to the time. Buy it now!!!

A great read., 18 Feb 2010
By Ms. Jeanette C. Brown (Essex) - See all my reviews

This review is from: FM247: This Is Radio Binfield! (Paperback)
Whether you have stumbled on this listing by accident or are here because you have been intrigued by articles and postings elsewhere, I would whole heartedly recommend this novel to you. For compulsives of any description, for anyone who has ever got off the bus early just to look at their old house, and for anyone else who has ever looked back( whether in anger or not), this book is a must. It will both entertain and give you plenty to think about. Whether it affirms your belief that the past really was better, or whether you conclude that you cannot live your future within the past, this book will truly have spoken the words you were waiting to hear. Set into 100 shortish sections based around memorable music of the past, it is easy to read, even when interruptions are frequent. However many books you may read; only a few will become good friends. FM 247 This is Radio Binfield! has certainly become one of these for me, and when I've finally stopped thinking about it so much, I will be happy to read it all over again!

Thought that might rattle your cage! :)
BTW when we get knocked out in the QF's again are you going to change your Avatar for one of Uncle Roy?

 

[Rob Noxious]

Thought that might rattle your cage! :)
BTW when we get knocked out in the QF's again are you going to change your Avatar for one of Uncle Roy?

Couldn't resist referring to my public! ;)

I love Uncle Woy and I am saddened that Bobby Zamorwa was denied the call-up as a result of that Achilles injury. However, my next avatar is unknown, even to The Emperor ...

 

[GrumpyBlue]

Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby - better than FM247 or a bandwagon jumper

 

[Ron Manager]

This -

World Cup Baby

 

[Rob Noxious]

I'm so bored of the Holloway Road ...

Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby - better than FM247 or a bandwagon jumper

Hmmm, I think you're being a tad unfair here, Rich. This is one of Hornby's later ones, I guess? I don't even know what it's about, and as 'FM247' was mostly written during 1997-8, then I can honestly say that we've not jumped on this bandwagon. Giles Smith's 'Lost In Music' was an influence, as of course was the wonderful 'Coming Up For Air.' :soapbox:

 

[Lester Bangs]

Giles Smith's 'Lost In Music' was an influence

Oh gosh I've got a copy of that, I read it on holiday around 95/96 and was excellent from what I remember.

Think I'll have to dust it down and give it another read. Thanks for the memories.

 

[Rob Noxious]

Lost In Music

Oh gosh I've got a copy of that, I read it on holiday around 95/96 and was excellent from what I remember.

Think I'll have to dust it down and give it another read. Thanks for the memories.

If you like that, Lester - you'll love this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/FM247-Radio-Binfield-Rob-Spooner/dp/1409283402/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_4

Here's a little intro 'what I done' for Southend Radio earlier this year, in an effort to tell the good listeners about the novel's local flavour ...


Hello Southend Radio! I'm writing to tell you about a 'pop novel' that I have co-written with my best friend, Andrew Worsdale, which may be of interest to this page's readers. Much of it is based on our life growing up in Southend in the 1970s and though we don't actually use road names in Southend, there are recognisable places such as The Kursaal and The Bembridge 'disco-boat' (which used to be moored at Leigh) where we've set various scenes. Earls Hall School is affectionately remembered too, albeit with a different name, ie 'Binfield Hall.'

The book is called 'FM247: This Is Radio Binfield!' and it tells the story of a DJ who is reminiscing about his life growing up in 'Binfield-on-Sea' and how he is haunted by aspects of the past, not least the betrayal of his childhood friend whom he hopes to rediscover. The novel is broken up into one hundred 'Our Tunes' so that the story is told via reference to pop songs from that era and beyond. Our DJ's search takes him back to Southend and also 'Speedwell' (Runwell) Hospital as well as important places of his youth, including a particular area of emotional significance - the tennis courts and the brook near Wellstead Gardens in Leigh-on-Sea.


Although Andrew and I both live away from Southend now - in North Norfolk and West Cornwall respectively - we retain a deep love of our hometown which inspired this book. There was a feature about it in yesterday's Echo, but here's a link to our Facebook page where we've been posting new material recently.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=185747829160&v=wall#/pages/FM247-This-Is-Radio-Binfield/152785829421?ref=mf

 

[canveyshrimper]

Rob, you've probably mentioned this, but is Andrew Worsdale son of Jim.

 

[Rob Noxious]

Rob, you've probably mentioned this, but is Andrew Worsdale son of Jim.

Nephew, mate. He's the brains of the operation. :cool:

 

[canveyshrimper]

Nephew, mate. He's the brains of the operation. :cool:

:) No comment.

Jim has written a very good book called Southend the War Years, telling his story about being evacuated with his brother to some God foresaken norther out post, Mansfield IIRC. Plus some interesting tales about our town during the war years.

 

[Kent Shrimper]

Roadside Crosses - Jeffery Deaver

Cracking read about how blog comments can evolve and turn into a witch hunt!!! Well a bit more to it than that but highly recommended

9/10

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Hmmm, I think you're being a tad unfair here, Rich. This is one of Hornby's later ones, I guess? I don't even know what it's about, and as 'FM247' was mostly written during 1997-8, then I can honestly say that we've not jumped on this bandwagon. Giles Smith's 'Lost In Music' was an influence, as of course was the wonderful 'Coming Up For Air.' :soapbox:

Juliet Naked is Hornby's latest book and it's excellent.About a faded, minor pop star.And the nerdish nature of (some of)his fans.Would make a good film.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Just finished reading Alan Govenar's excellent biography: Lighnin' Hopkins(his Life and Blues).Amazingly this is the first full length biography of LH and it's a gripping read.There's a superb discography too.(Shrimpero that Walking Blues track you were talking about was first recorded in 1948). For anyone interested in LH's music there's a new two set cd coming out to accompany this book on Ace records (CDCHH2 1259).
Personally, I'm very partial to Lightnin's mid-50's tracks on Herald, where backed by a bass guitarist and a drummer he sounds(to my ears anyway)very much like Fred McDowell on "I don't play no rock and roll".Of his later stuff anything on Prestige or Bluesville is (IMO)well worth investing in.

 

[GrumpyBlue]

Hmmm, I think you're being a tad unfair here, Rich. This is one of Hornby's later ones, I guess? I don't even know what it's about, and as 'FM247' was mostly written during 1997-8, then I can honestly say that we've not jumped on this bandwagon. Giles Smith's 'Lost In Music' was an influence, as of course was the wonderful 'Coming Up For Air.' :soapbox:

Sorry Rob it is Nicks latest - I was joking that he was jumping on your bandwaggon - your cage has been rattled again !!!!!!!