- Dishonesty Is The Second-Best Policy and Other Rules to Live By” by David Mitchell
- “Michael Palin In Venezuela” by Michael Palin
- “Happiness: Lessons From A New Science” by Richard Layard
- “The People on Platform 5” by Clare Pooley
- “Encyclopaedia of Narrow Gauge Railways of Great Britain and Ireland” by Thomas Middlemiss
- “Moscow Coup: The Death of the Soviet System” by Martin Sixsmith
- “The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged Thirteen and Three-Quarters” by Sue Townsend
- “The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole” by Sue Townsend
- “Adrian Mole: The Collected Poems” by Sue Townsend
- “How To Live Like A Stoic” by Tom Hodgkinson
- “The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass aged 37 3/4” by Adrian Plass
- “This Present Darkness” by Frank Peretti
- “Don’t Sleep, There Are Snakes” by Daniel Everett
- “Brutal Scotland” by Simon Phipps
- “Idler XXX: Thirty Years of The Idler, A Visual History” by Tom Hodgkinson
- “We” by Yevgeny Zamyatin
- “British Railways Mark 1 Coaches” by Keith Parkin
Started: 17th May 2026
Finished: 23rd May 2026
4/5 stars
I had a copy of this book many years ago, but rather foolishly sold it on eBay for peanuts, without realising it’s actually now quite valuable – it’s been out of print for many years, and I’ve seen copies change hands for £50.
I picked up another copy at my local heritage railway last week, for a much more modest amount of money, and was glad I was able to replace my previous copy.
It’s a hugely comprehensive description of British Rail Mark 1 coaches, with some superb photos, and it’s a really good reference work, especially for modellers. Only minor criticism is that there’s the odd error that’s crept in, mainly a few of the photo captions being in the wrong place. Apart from that, it’s pretty readable, fascinating to dip in and out of, and remains the definitive work on the subject. Won’t make much sense to people who don’t know a fair bit about railways already, but it’s ideal for anyone with the background knowledge to make sense of it all.