Ersatz TLS discussion
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Weekly TLS
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What Are We Reading? 9 Nov 2020
Gladarvor wrote: "Justine wrote: "Hello again! Ersatz TL&S has made it through our first ‘official’ week, despite some issues with the GR architecture and the distractions of a particularly contentious American pres..."Thanks for those links - I am unsure whether I knew the 'name' Riviere (it's not that memorable), but the style makes me think that I must have seen some of his works somewhere (Pont-Aven?) - it also reminded me of the Parisian posters from the end of the 19th C. Reading about Riviere, it seems that he was heavily involved with the Chat Noir, so it would be no surprise if his style influenced (say) Toulouse-Lautrec, or maybe it was the other way 'round? (Pure speculation - I daresay some expert has teased out any real links between these artists!)
Justine wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "Thanks Justine.I am finding The Searcher , the latest Tana French quite irresistible. The story is set in the west of Ireland, a lone , rather jaded American ex-policeman from Chi..."
When I lived for a while in an isolated bungalow in Wales - with no car - I soon discovered that anyone you met while walking along the road would ask who you were, your business etc. Living in cities, it always struck me that the usual mode of behaviour was to avoid eye contact, 'just in case', and to inspect your shoelaces or whatever.
So different!
Justine wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "Justine wrote: "During the 1980s, some friends of mine ran a bed-and-breakfast about a mile outside a tiny village on the Welsh border."Not only in villages - when I first moved here..."
You would recognise the behaviour of the postman Jansson in the book I have just finished, then - After the Fire by Henning Mankell.
Nosiness must be a universal quality of country postmen/women!
Justine wrote: "Bill wrote: "I didn’t expect that our moderators would do a full-on Sam Jordison above-the-line summary every week. Knowing that it may save them some effort, I’m going to confess that, except for ..."I like the idea - it keeps the 'feel' of the original, and draws our attention to comments we may have skipped. Keep it up, unless it feels too much like hard work!
Tam wrote: "I for one welcome it, as I miss quite a few of the comments, and it makes it feel a bit more like the old TLS, which I am still busy being nostalgic for. There are lots of things I haven't worked o..."Bob Dylan.
(Do I win a prize? ;-) )
giveusaclue wrote: "I mentioned last week that I was reading (and still am) The Bookseller's Tale by Ann Swinfen, well I came across this article today:http://the-history-girls.blogspot.com......"
Thanks for that - an interesting blog. Let us know what you think of the book - I may well be tempted.
I am over halfway through The Searcher now and there has been a distinct change from the pleasant settling in to a new way of living to the underlying tensions in village life, not everything nor anyone quite what they appeared to be at first. Quite disturbing.
FrancesBurgundy wrote: "I've just had a depressing two weeks working my way through Lucia Berlin’s 'A Manual for Cleaning Women,. All I can say is do not attempt this book if you’re feeling in any way down. You will sink ..."I think that I'll wait until I am feeling an excess of cheerfulness before I tackle this one - it should balance things out nicely!
Veufveuve wrote: "After a reading hiatus of over a week I began Naguib Mahfouz's "The Thief and the Dogs" last night. I know I will be happy with my choice.ps. unhappy it's not possible to italicize here, unless I..."
Yes, Vv, you can italicize here, although it's more of a nuisance than on the G sites. Before the italicized word or phrase, type triangular brackets < > with an i in the middle. After the word/phrase type /i between the same brackets.
Reen wrote: "PaleFires wrote: "Reen, the news about your niece is so exciting! Can you tell us what she drew?I don't think I've ever actually even touched a Harry Potter book but I will definitely look for Lo..."
As a tutor, I read the first couple of Harry Potter books with several 'reluctant readers'. They truly caught the imagination of many. Anyway, that's a very moving story about your niece, and a wonderful triumph for her. And she is lucky to have such a loving and appreciative auntie!
Veufveuve wrote: "After a reading hiatus of over a week I began Naguib Mahfouz's "The Thief and the Dogs" last night. I know I will be happy with my choice.ps. unhappy it's not possible to italicize here, unless I..."
Anything between "< i >" and "< /i >" will be italicised - you can see that when you reply to a comment and the snip from the original is in italics. Substitute b for the i and you can bold things. In my example I've had to make a space between the < > and the inside so it doesn't recognise it as an instruction - remove the spaces inside the <> and put the two bits either side of what you want to format
You can of course have something bold AND italicised by doubling up.
scarletnoir wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "I mentioned last week that I was reading (and still am) The Bookseller's Tale by Ann Swinfen, well I came across this article today:http://the-history-girls.blogspot.com......"
I have posted my review. Enjoyed it very much
MK wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Justine wrote: "AB76: Given your interest in war diaries and modern women's nonfiction, I wonder if you are aware of Iris Origo? A member of one of my book groups has recommended A Chi..."Finland-Swedes are an interesting people, many settled in Sweden around the industrial city of Eskilstuna in central sweden. In Finland the Ostrobothnia region is the area with most swedish speakers
Tove Jansson was a famous Finland-Swede, who wrote in Swedish, the name usually give away the Finland-Swedes. as Swedish is a Germanic language and Finnish is Finno-Ugraic.
Beautiful peacock Reen! You are right to be proud. Amazing 🤩
Some time off work in the middle of lockdown in the middle of a pandemic and I was drawn to My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh. About half way in and I’m enjoying it. It’s funny and also a little bit terrifying. I might have a little snooze later zzzzzzzz
Reen wrote: "I'm almost lost for words having seen the Wollstonecraft sculpture. I'd like to see it in person. It's the head and face I find most discombobulating... its proportions seem wrong, whether intentio..."Lottie must be so chuffed.
Only one in >500 drawings was chosen. She is a proper published artist now. In a JK Rowling book, no less.
What an achievment!
I really like the peacock (no flattery). The colours are great, And the blue cliff (?) at the top is truly inspired; not only for the colour but also for balancing the composition.
There is a German proverb:
Share your grief, it will be halved
Share your happiness, it will be doubled
The MW sculpture is truly awful in so many ways.
The first thing that struck - and shocked - me when I saw the photo:
it conforms to classical fascist aesthetics regarding the human body (see Arno Breker's work, he was the darling sculptor of the Nazis). Had this work been unveiled in Germany the criticism would have been beyond scathing. Not sure whether being English is an excuse for an artist for being ignorant of art history
Georg wrote: "Reen wrote: "I'm almost lost for words having seen the Wollstonecraft sculpture. I'd like to see it in person. It's the head and face I find most discombobulating... its proportions seem wrong, whe..."Hi Georg. Sorry I didn’t respond in time to your last message on TLS. I took so long in searching through my Norma Waterson albums for a suitable song title to express my mood at the demise of our reading community that I ran out of time before it closed. Anyway, Black, Muddy River? Still missing TLS, after commenting there since it began, but onwards we must go. Casting about for something to read, decided to tackle Diarmaid MacCulloch’s hefty Thomas Cromwell biog. Should keep me out of mischief. Hope all’s well with you. BTW, Claire Tomalin’s Wollstonecraft biog is well worth looking out. Happy Reading.
Just watched the service in Westminster Abbey for Remembrance Day and as always and especially when hearing the Last Post sounded I think of Ford Madox Ford’s Parade’s End books. But this year I read another WW1 series, John Masters’ Loss of Eden trilogy – Now God be Thanked, Heart of War and By the Green of the Spring. It’s definitely in a more ‘popular’ vein, plenty of sex and action, but I finished it thinking how much I’d learnt about the war. There’s a large cast of characters, an American contingent, some Germans and all manner of Brits. Perhaps the most interesting part for me was learning all about the pilots flying their little wooden planes.
I have another WW1 series on the radar – Henry Williamson’s 15-volume Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight. If I can get back to reading properly after this Covid year I might tackle it, but today I’m thinking that whatever we’re going through at the moment it cannot compare to what people went through in 1914-18.
CCCubbon wrote:You read far more into the book than I did, scarlet. I enjoyed the book, read it earlier this year but confess to have forgotten lots, remember the wellingtons and the postman by boat in the main. I had not realised that Mankell had been married four times. We’ve been watching all the Wallander series on iPlayer. Not having seen them the first time around as the Swedish actor who played him in the original series had been identified as the detective in our heads. Enough time passed to accept the English version.
I like Mankell - a lot - and have read all the Wallanders and quite a few of the other novels.
Wallander has been portrayed by three actors so far - in Swedish we had Rolf Lassgard and later, Krister Henriksson... then in English, Kenneth Branagh. Perversely, although I think that the Branagh version is closer to the texts - being irredeemably gloomy - I prefer the Lassgard version, of the three - he brings more humour and a flexible weakness to the character - and a liking for Swedish rock music! Henriksson is somewhere between the two in my affections; Branagh is, unfortunately, 'Branagh acting' - he doesn't inhabit the role - for me, anyway.
I see that a Young Wallander series is being developed for Netflix (which I don't have)... this time, the very talented Adam Palsson takes the role. He was excellent in series 3 of The Bridge and - especially - in Before We Die.
Veufveuve wrote: "After a reading hiatus of over a week I began Naguib Mahfouz's "The Thief and the Dogs" last night. I know I will be happy with my choice.ps. unhappy it's not possible to italicize here, unless I..."
It's not straightforward - have just had my own first success.... there is a list of 'how to do it' tips here - (hope this works):
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
giveusaclue wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "I mentioned last week that I was reading (and still am) The Bookseller's Tale by Ann Swinfen, well I came across this article today:http://the-history-girl..."
Thank you... although I tend to prefer my 'tec stories in the present or recent past, (say, 20th C.), I did enjoy Cadfael on TV, and given your positive reaction, will more than likely follow this up.
@lassI am glad you are here.
Black muddy river? Yes: "I don't care how deep or wide...".
I miss the continuity here, the embedded threads where you could add your view days later.
Thanks for the Tomalin recommendation. She is on my list for Dickens' and Austen's biogs. For MW I've noted "Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley" by Charlotte Gordon. Have you (or anybody else) read it?
Mod
Here's today's example:
RECOMMENDATIONS
Because you are currently reading The Happiness of Getting It Down Right: Letters of Frank O'Connor and William Maxwell:
The Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe
I'm just passing as trying to catch up with work after (and still) being really quite unwell...Reen That is simply amazing. She'll always be able to treasure the memory of her achievement. Love the bookshop putting it in the window open at the right page. Like @Mach I couldn't see it at first, the link would redirect me in the wrong place. Love the rainbow gradient of colours in the peacock's plumage, and do I dare say - I hope this won't be taken the wrong way! - an almost biological quality, à la Klimt, with the feathers almost breaking free from the bird.
LC Ah! I love it when people discover Natasha is not who they seem to be at first. The bit where they have been programing (in C) since the 70s would give it away sadly (not anymore, things have changed a lot over the past decades!).
CCC [From PoTW] Just like you, my memory of pebble beach is that of the entrancing sound it makes when the waves go back and forth. The first time I encountered one I was 15, and this was for one of my linguistic travels to the UK, in Hastings. I was in an international group, with Italian, Polish, German, Austrian people who were great, and we had the most wonderful teacher - so much so that we couldn't wait going every morning, when this is normally a chore (you get the afternoons free in these programmes).
Mach Why does shingle move diagonally? I can't believe you've been sitting on this niche knowledge of yours for so long!
Alwynne You're right to wish me good luck about re-watching the film! Have a look here, under Angel Heart: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019...
scarlet I would agree with you re Le Chat Noir and Toulouse-Lautrec!
Justine wrote: "Bill wrote: "I didn’t expect that our moderators would do a full-on Sam Jordison above-the-line summary every week. Knowing that it may save them some effort, I’m going to confess that, except for ..."I like it. A trip down memory lane to where we all found together! And I cannot follow the GR discussions as closely as the Guardian ones (because - no threads - takes more time). So I am very happy with that!
Mod
Machenbach wrote: "Gladarvor wrote: "Why does shingle move diagonally?."It doesn't necessarily, but unless the incoming wave direction and beach are perpendicular it will, so it generally does:
https://en.wikipedia...."
Thanks x2. Because of the sailing exams, I learnt (and sadly soon forgot) a lot about waves, and tides, and clouds, and winds, but somehow, never about the beach itself. How fitting that you should be the one knowing loads and teaching me about the land by the sea 😉!
Gpfr wrote: "Speaking of peacocks, after looking at Lottie's wonderful one, you might like to check out the cover of my Pride and Prejudice, posted in Photos."Yes! Almost commented on it*, we have quite the peacock-theme at the moment.
*But didn't since we have not heard back from GR about their bug.
Lljones wrote: "There are many 'features' of Goodreads that I totally ignore, but maybe nothing more than Recommendations (shows up on your home page).Here's today's example:
RECOMMENDATIONS
Because you are cur..."
Wow going from William Maxwell to Gene Wolfe is like jumping in Seattle and landing in Ulan Bator
Machenbach wrote: "Gladarvor wrote: "Why does shingle move diagonally?."It doesn't necessarily, but unless the incoming wave direction and beach are perpendicular it will, so it generally does:
https://en.wikipedia...."
PS: When you helped, was it in Swansea? I see somebody there who's quite the expert on these questions. I should have spent my life modelling shoreline instead, I've just looked at some papers, and they use the same data-driven approaches (e.g. canonical correlation analysis) as we do on the brain, but I think they might just be happier with their jobs (lazy assumption of course)... Ok - I should really be off now!
Gladarvor It's never too late. I just sent a letter to the Ministry of Health to denounce budget irregularities on a grant I lead. So, shingles sound interesting
Mod
@Machenbach : I had a notification that you'd commented - I guess on this photo - but the photo comments bug is still bugging away.
Mod
The plot thickens concerning photo comments - I've just had a new notification that there was a comment from Lljones and you. Clicking on the notification, I can see the comments (and your peacock contribution). If I go to the photo, I can't.
Mod
Hadn't really thought about it - I bought it cheaply many years ago.
Lass wrote: "Georg wrote: "Reen wrote: "I'm almost lost for words having seen the Wollstonecraft sculpture. I'd like to see it in person. It's the head and face I find most discombobulating... its proportions s..."Hi Lass, Please let me know how you get on with Cromwell, as I have it on my enormous digital tbr pile. SPOILER: I bet it doesn't end well. 😀
Gpfr wrote: "Machenbach wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "@Machenbach : I had a notification t..."The plot thickens concerning photo comments - I've just had a new notification that there was a comment from Lljones and yo..."
Yep, that is what I get. 🤔
Mod
That's entirely healthy. Just thought I'd let you know anyway.
examples"
Mmm, my goodness! Well, if I'm desperate for cash some time ...
Last night I dreamt that I met Cugel in the park, in Blackheath. But dear Cugel was dressed as a pirate, the sort of pirate that a talented child would have drawn, a tri-cornered hat with a skull and cross-bones, a nifty black velvet ‘military’ jacket and a sash around his waist, but with a shepherd’s cloak in his hand as well. He had a staff in his hands and a tee-shirt with ‘Conscious Pirate’ written, in large friendly letters, across the chest. I asked him what he was doing these days. He said he was looking after the ‘ideas’ that were sheltering up on the commons, round the back of ‘The Observatory’. “Great tee-shirt” I said. He looked sad. “I met one of my old PhD students. Lovely girl, I loved that she cared, but she dropped out. She said that her words would be read by a lot more people, and make more impact, on a tee-shirt, as long as they were thoughtful and about ideas, than her dissertation ever would. She’s selling them in Greenwich market. She asked me to choose one, for old time’s sake, and I chose this one. She said if you glanced quickly at it your mind would rhyme it to something more graspable, like ‘Pontius pilot’, and then it would notice that it was not saying that at all, so It would make you think more about what it was actually saying… Such a clever girl… She always got A’s… Anyway… it would lead on to you thinking about things like ‘justice’, ‘theft’ and survival… and a lot of other things as well…
So that’s why I’m looking after the ideas. If I don’t do it, then who will? Some of them have burrowed down under ‘The Observatory.” He laughed… “Great way to stay hidden, get yourself under the base of the telescope… no one will see you there. The ideas will always cluster together though, they often have to huddle in together, so they can ‘shelter from the storm’… You never know when a ‘hard rain’s a-gonna fall’, like it did way back then, in Oregon… I take care of them, keep an eye out an all that, “who’s knows? Not me”. He blinked… and a tear popped out, just the one, it hung for a moment like a glass bauble catching the light… then sank back down into his roving eye again… “Still… must go… things to do” he said and he sauntered on. And into my mind came a refrain, an echo, from some long-lost time ago.
“he prayeth best, who loveth best
All things great and small;
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all”
Any news on how bookshops are doing, or did in 2020?
Gpfr wrote: "Machenbach wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "Hadn't really thought about it - I bought it cheaply many years ago."That's entirely healthy. Just thought I'd let you know anyway.
examples"
Mmm, my goodness! We..."
I like ‘ideas’, think of them popping in your brain like the bubbles that we used to blow as kids, those little cylinders full of soapy oily liquid and one had a looped twist of wire to blow through, and the bubbles sailed up in the sun with colours, all the spectrum turning , relishing the light before ‘pop’.
But I digress, the little popping idea, a brain flicker that dashes around the synapses, in and out the neurons, picking up a bit here, a link there, and rolling it all into a ball to tumble then forgotten into a memory until another ‘pop’ and who knows, will one meet another, join and become a new creation.
Calm down Margie, go and get another cup of tea.
Gladarvor wrote: "Machenbach wrote: "Gladarvor wrote: "Why does shingle move diagonally?."It doesn't necessarily, but unless the incoming wave direction and beach are perpendicular it will, so it generally does:
ht..."
First of all - sorry to hear that you have been, or still are, unwell - get better soon!
Secondly - as we walk the dog most days on a shingle beach, we get to see, almost in real time, how the sea re-shapes it - some days, it's steeper than others, with precipitous ridges; other days, it's flatter - and the underlying sand comes to the surface. Sometimes - sand with pebbles of various sizes mixed in; fine sand; coarse sand...etc. You get the idea. (Teddy prefers wet, fine sand for his wave chasing!)
When we first moved here, my wife was puzzled for quite a while by the noise at night - sounded like distant traffic, she thought. It took her quite a while to realise it was the sea moving the shingle about.
Lljones wrote: "There are many 'features' of Goodreads that I totally ignore, but maybe nothing more than Recommendations (shows up on your home page).Here's today's example:
RECOMMENDATIONS
Because you are cur..."
I wonder what mutant algorithm linked those two titles up.
AB76 wrote: "Any news on how bookshops are doing, or did in 2020?"Currently, bookshops are closed, so I can't ask at my local one, but I will.
Gladarvor: Sorry you are feeling unwell. As one who hasn't felt entirely well since April, I haven't any remedies - but I do have loads of sympathy to send your way.
scarletnoir wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "I mentioned last week that I was reading (and still am) The Bookseller's Tale by Ann Swinfen, well I came across this article today:http://the-history-girls.blogspot.com......"
I, for one, am sorry that I clicked on this link. I now have more items on my TBR list! When will it all end?
Alwynne wrote: "I can identify with that reaction, I was allowed to watch an old Bette Davis movie when I was quite young 'Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte' - liberal household and assumption that Bette Davis wouldn't be too scary - there's a scene where someone has their head removed with an axe while they're sleeping. (...) To this day I can't sleep without a cover of some kind over my head...."Oh my! That's hardly encouraging me to watch Angel Heart again... What if this spirals out of control again and I need to close all the curtains to avoid the eyes, and check inside the bed for the mummified hand each time? I may not be passed it! I'll blame you if I wuss out 😉.
giveusaclue wrote: "Lass wrote: "Georg wrote: "Reen wrote: "I'm almost lost for words having seen the Wollstonecraft sculpture. I'd like to see it in person. It's the head and face I find most discombobulating... its ..."Hi Georg, just getting used to navigating here. Have, but haven’t read the Lyndall Gordon Wollstonecraft, I treasure the Tomalin one. Have her J Austen biog. Also her Mrs Jordan’s Profession, and The Invisible Woman. Her own memoir, A Life of my Own, is v good. Never self pitying about the tragedies in her life.
scarletnoir wrote: "as we walk the dog most days on a shingle beach, we get to see, almost in real time, how the sea re-shapes it - some days, it's steeper than others, with precipitous ridges; other days, it's flatter - and the underlying sand comes to the surface. Sometimes - sand with pebbles of various sizes mixed in; fine sand; coarse sand...etc. You get the idea. "I remember how steep the one in Hastings was compared with my sandy beaches of the south coast of Brittany! It does make a ruckus, but a lovely one. If you're interested in the physics of it, have a look at that google scholar account, many interesting papers (I forced myself to only look a few up today): https://scholar.google.co.uk/citation...
And thanks to you and @inter for the good wishes.
Paul wrote: "Gladarvor It's never too late. I just sent a letter to the Ministry of Health to denounce budget irregularities on a grant I lead. So, shingles sound interesting"
Aïe aïe aïe. I don't have any good memories of doing the right thing in science, ever... Hope it goes better for you than for me (and that you have all the hard documentation you need).
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Ersatz TLS
Books mentioned in this topic
Telephone (other topics)So Much Blue (other topics)
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis (other topics)
The Enchantress of Florence (other topics)
World Without End (other topics)
More...
ps. unhappy it's not possible to italicize here, unless I'm missing something?