What I'm reading ...

I have started Holidays in Hell by P J O'Rourke.

This is the next Bookclub selection. It's actually a book I'd had on my shelf for quite a while. I like travel writing and autobiography. I think the best travel writing tends to be of an autobiographical nature and that's what this is. So I'm looking forward to it. I will try to read it more quickly, as the programme goes out in a week's time ...

Margrave Of The Marshes by John Peel & Sheila Ravenscroft

Well, the verdict after reading this book is: yes, John Peel is someone I'd have liked to meet. I have a clear impression that he really was the guy he portrayed on the radio. I said before that I felt that I knew him. I guess I now feel that I know him a bit better.

The book is very nicely put together. Part 1 is a series of numbered chapters, which is a lightly edited [I think] rendition of the material that John was in the process of writing when he died. Part 2 was written by Sheila to finish of the story and takes the form of continuous text, with no chapters as such. This sounds odd, but works well.

I am aware that I am a slow reader and, at present, I don't get that much time for reading [compared with when I'm travelling]. I am normally keen to get through a book, as there are so many more on my shelf. In this case, I was more reluctant and seemed to read more and more slowly, even though it was well-written. I just realised why: I knew what the end of the story would be and was not in a hurry to get there...

What I'm reading ...

I have started Margrave Of The Marshes by John Peel and Sheila Ravenscroft

I was rather upset when John Peel died suddenly in late 2004 - I felt I'd lost a friend. I wasn't alone - many people seemed to be affected by his early death. Generally, I don't "do celebrities"; most celebs are, IMHO, rather talentless individuals who happened to be in the right place at the right time. JP was different. Anyone who listened to him on the radio felt that he was a personal friend. He always seems so open and accessible. This biography, started by John and finished by his widow and family will, I'm sure be interesting reading. I have a feeling he was a "what you see is what you get" kind of guy. We'll see. My list of "people I'd most like to have a beer/chat/dinner with" seems to get shorter by the day ...

Flashman - by George MacDonald Fraser

This is the story of a thoroughly unlikable chap - a cad or a bounder, if ever I came across one. This terminology says it all really, as the story is set in the early 19th century. It's a rather unlikely romp through India and Afghanistan with our hero doing very little heroic, but having the luck of the devil. It has very good pace - a true adventure story, but with a tongue firmly in cheek. I enjoyed reading the book and will seek out others in the series. I look forward to listening to the Bookclub programme now.