Some books I've read recently

(BTW some info on Rome is being prepared behind the scenes, watch the space above this one...)

"Arthur and George" - Julian Barnes. I went through a brief phase of reading some of the shortlist of the Booker Prize. This one was there too, and for good reason. Again, like On Beauty it's well-written and engaging. Cleverly, the book starts with separate stories for Arthur (Arthur Conan Doyle) and George (George Edalji) but dovetails them elegantly about halfway through. The plot revolves around the conviction of George for crimes carried out in his village, but he protests his innocence - Arthur takes up his case and fights to clear his name. Justice, evidence, and human rights are all themes running through this story, and like the above, I really got involved in the book and found it very hard to put down. Top marks again for this one!

"Use of Weapons" - Iain M. Banks. Another of Banks' thrilling sci-fi outings, this one deals more closely with the Special Circumstances and Contact sections of the Culture, the organisations that try to "influence" the fates of other worlds and races. It's less technology-focussed than others of his books, - not that that would take away from the story, it's still set in the same universe - it concentrates instead on the subterfuge involved in trying to pre-arrange events on alien worlds (which we are all, no doubt, familiar with...!?). Thoroughly enjoyable, if (for me anyway) a little less so than Excession by the same author.

I went for a walk yesterday, along Glenbarrow and the ridge of Capard, in the Slieve Blooms. With fantastic weather and lovely scenery, I had a lovely couple of hours. Found the route here. And, the Slieve Blooms are much closer than the Wicklow Mountains. There's a full programme of walks starting in May, and I hope to tag along with at least one or two. (Some piccies below!)