What are you reading 2024 ?

[Zurdo]

A bit late for this !

I haven't read much of interest this year so far, until The Bassett Rd Machine Gun Murders by Scott Bainbridge. Something that has always interested me, and it's all been rumour for 60 years.  Dec 1963, a couple of weeks after the JFK assassination I remember that, Bassett Rd maybe not as much, I was 10.

Lots of information, and it is real gangland stuff, it would make a really good movie....trouble is, it's a New Zealand story, and we all know the real drama happens in other countries. Someone mentioned often - John Banks !  He was brought up with nice relatives, but went to live with his father as a teenager...Dad used to blow safes, and little Johnny drove the getaway car. He also met the 2 guys killed only a few days before, and even handled the murder weapon - these days, if found it would have his DNA on it...luckily well in the past for Banksy. A big break in the case came when Robert Muldoon brought in a key witness, when he was MP for Tamaki.   Not really a gangland murder, just the usual...a woman involved, and a couple of men after her. Not a machinegun murder either really, it was on single shot.

In the dodgy crowd I hung out with as a young guy, Bassett Rd was mentioned often, some guys seemed to have first hand knowledge of it, and the talk was always about Ron Jorgensen, not a mention of Dirk Gillies who did the actual shooting.

I hope I haven't spoiled it for you...

[Lilith7]

A bit late for this !

I haven't read much of interest this year so far, until The Bassett Rd Machine Gun Murders by Scott Bainbridge. Something that has always interested me, and it's all been rumour for 60 years.  Dec 1963, a couple of weeks after the JFK assassination I remember that, Bassett Rd maybe not as much, I was 10.

Lots of information, and it is real gangland stuff, it would make a really good movie....trouble is, it's a New Zealand story, and we all know the real drama happens in other countries. Someone mentioned often - John Banks !  He was brought up with nice relatives, but went to live with his father as a teenager...Dad used to blow safes, and little Johnny drove the getaway car. He also met the 2 guys killed only a few days before, and even handled the murder weapon - these days, if found it would have his DNA on it...luckily well in the past for Banksy. A big break in the case came when Robert Muldoon brought in a key witness, when he was MP for Tamaki.   Not really a gangland murder, just the usual...a woman involved, and a couple of men after her. Not a machinegun murder either really, it was on single shot.

In the dodgy crowd I hung out with as a young guy, Bassett Rd was mentioned often, some guys seemed to have first hand knowledge of it, and the talk was always about Ron Jorgensen, not a mention of Dirk Gillies who did the actual shooting.

I hope I haven't spoiled it for you...

I'd forgotten about that - & Ron Jorgensen, who disappeared from Kaikoura. You're right though - it could make an excellent movie. Might check the library for that book, it sounds good.

https://www.odt.co.nz/star-news/star-chr...-rekindled

[Lilith7]

Just started Untouchable girls, the Topp twins. A good read so far, just a few pages in.

[Zurdo]

I'm into a Michael Crichton at the moment - Timeline...1999. As usual a mixture of science turned into fiction, and Middle ages history, he packs a lot of stuff into his books. Kind of a formula - scientists take some theory to the extreme...some normal humans get involved, and then things go wrong...of course. There was a movie, never seen it.

I read Jurassic Park before I saw the movie....I was more terrified of the raptors in the book than the movie. My imagination is a bit more extreme than script writers.

[harm_less]

Following on from Material World which I enjoyed immensely, as did my knee surgeon who devoured the audio book version very quickly, I'm now into Blue Machine by Helen Czerski. This covers the part that Earth's oceans play in moderating and affecting our planet's climate and history. Similar to Material World in that Helen peppers the data heavy content with historical and scientific trivia to keep it entertaining. Helen's video presentation of her book.

The next one I've got lined up is Chris Miller's Chip War which was recommended by my surgeon in return for my Material World recommendation to him. It follows the ongoing battle for computer chip supremacy which was touched on by Ed Conway in Material World.

[Lilith7]

I've just started Prison break, Arthur Taylor (most of us will have heard of him)& so far its proving very interesting. And comes recommended by Greg Newbold..