What I've been reading

It just occurred to me...
by Humphrey Lyttelton

"The legendary band leader and jazz trumpeter, broadcaster and humorist looks back at his extraordinarily rich and varied life and the many colourful characters he has known and played with. During the war, he served in the Grenadier Guards and, on demobilisation, studied for two years at Camberwell Arts School. In 1949, he joined the "Daily Mail" as cartoonist, wrote the story-line for Trog's "Flook" cartoon, and also signed a recording contract with EMI. He had the first British jazz record to get into the Top Twenty in 1956 with 'Bad Penny Blues'."

Much quicker to read than weeks it took me to get through the last tome, only a couple of days for this one. Lovely. I heard that the BBC were hoping to replace him on ISIHAC - my suggestion is John Sargeant, although that was before I found out JS had lowered his standards sufficiently to take part in a popular reality TV dance programme. How the mighty have fallen.



The Thirty-Nine Steps
by John Buchan

"Richard Hannay has just returned to England after years in South Africa and is thoroughly bored with his life in London. But then a murder is committed in his flat, just days after a chance encounter with an American who had told him about an assassination plot which could have dire international consequences. An obvious suspect for the police and an easy target for the killers, Hannay goes on the run in his native Scotland where he will need all his courage and ingenuity to stay one step ahead of his pursuers."

This is actually the first book of five featuring Richard Hannay and his adventures, brought together in a Penguin 'omnibus edition'. I had no idea that it was so short, just 100 pages - I read it in just two or three sittings, but it is perfectly formed. Interesting that it was published in 1915, so presumably written about the time of the outbreak of World War One. I'm looking forward to reading the other four.