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What Are We Reading? 16 Nov 2020
Bill wrote: "Though I’m sure it must have had a sizable domestic audience, it’s hard for me to imagine Americans exposed to the daily firehouse of national political news who want to relax by watch an entertainment centered around US politics."Fair point. Then, in a completely different register, but equally brilliant, can I suggest The Thick of It for a bit of a political relief? It's all set in the UK, so you should not feel as weary about it.
Oops - just put this in the wrong spot! Look before you leap!Here's the link to the Cambridge Lit Fest now on -
https://cambridgeliteraryfestival.com/
MK wrote: "Oops - just put this in the wrong spot! Look before you leap!Here's the link to the Cambridge Lit Fest now on -
https://cambridgeliteraryfestival.com/"
Don't worry: you have the possibility - if you want to - to delete the one you posted in the wrong spot.
@AB76: same with double posting of Photos (this has happened to CCC too): you can delete those that are redundant (top right of the page 'add/edit/delete').
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It had a HUGE following in the US, especially as we advanced through the DUBYA era. It was must-see for everyone I know, during its first run and for some years after. I can't watch it again now, because the contrast to the ORANGE era would be just too devastating.
Gladarvor wrote: "can I suggest The Thick of It for a bit of a political relief?" I don't know if this would be at all similar, but I had a friend (she was Republican at the time, if that's relevant) who used to love the series "Yes, Minister". I think I watched it once, but it did nothing for me.
Nothing personal, but I am very unlikely and largely unable to follow up any TV series recommendations.
I watched a ton of TV from, roughly, ages 5 – 14 (1959-69). In that period I was pretty indiscriminate, though of course I had favorites. In high school I became more discriminating about what I watched and tended not to watch shows in which I was not actively interested. By college, I watched little except for Monty Python and a series of classic films on PBS. This limited menu continued into adulthood – I was the last person I knew who owned a black-and-white TV.
I watched an occasional show, mainly The Simpsons and comedy series like Get a Life and Sledge Hammer!, and some British comedies on PBS, up until the US went to digital broadcasting (2009 Google tells me), at which point getting a good signal over the air became more of a trial than it was worth. At that point the only things I saw were on the computer: The Colbert Report and occasionally The Daily Show (my wife liked both, but I have limited tolerance for Jon Stewart).
For the past 4 years my mother-in-law has been living with us and we’ve had cable TV for her sake, but no premium channels and no streaming services. I occasionally watch a movie on TCM – the nature of the fare and the absence of commercials is a combination that makes this station tolerable. Other than that, I do have a few shelves of DVDs that I turn to on occasion, more frequently at some times than others, probably only about once or twice a month in the past year.
Lljones: As the years blur together, I'm not completely sure which series overlapped with which administrations. I'm trying to think of shows that co-workers used to consider must-see. Maybe Seinfeld (I watched it for a season or so) and Twin Peaks (after Blue Velvet I was not going to let David Lynch get my eyeballs ever again). There were some people who liked Newhart (at least I was persuaded to watch the last episode by a TV critic - I did like The Bob Newhart Show). There were probably others, but I tended to tune out talk about dramatic series (I don't think I've followed one of those since, my god, could it be as long ago as The Prisoner? I watched a few seasons of Mad Men on DVD, though). There was inevitably frequent talk about sports, which is mostly television and which of course I didn't watch.
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Not even bowling?
Bill wrote: "Is it more horrifying to learn that a Welshman has never seen The West Wing or that an American is in a s..."I'd watch if it were called "The East Wing".
Machenbach wrote: "Sangorski & Sutcliffe, who are probably the most famous bookbinders..."Which instantly made me wonder (as one does) 'Whatever happened to Bernard Middleton, that modest bookbinder loved by all?' I was sad to find:
https://www.societyofbookbinders.com/...
Machenbach wrote: "AB76 wrote: "xmas....being the uncle mule"I'm assuming that this refers to carrying nephews on your back, rather than drug running, but both are valid reasons to stop reading.
As far as I can rem..."
hahahahaha, definately no drug running, no county lines malarkey, smuggling fresh mushrooms into deepest darkest Hampshire....
Lljones wrote: "Not even bowling?"Well, I have occasionally watched bowling when I came across it on TV, but never actively sought it out; however, neither that sport nor Roller Derby (a short-lived youthful viewing enthusiasm) was ever a topic of any of the innumerable sports-centered conversations I've encountered.
Machenbach wrote: "Justine wrote: "Which instantly made me wonder (as one does) 'Whatever happened to Bernard Middleton, that modest bookbin..."The guvnor. But he had a good innings. Have you ever been to the St Bri..."
I've been right up to the door - but have never gone in. Must remedy that when it becomes possible to do so.
Reen wrote: I absolutely loved Trapped and have watched both series and eagerly await The Valhalla Murders having just finished DNA last Saturday. I have a weakness for angst-ridden men of the north I think. Not reading much at all at the moment...In that case, you will probably enjoy Twin if you haven't already seen it... it's available on BBC iPlayer and stars red-haired giant Kristofer Hivju as identical twins. Apparently, he is in something called 'Game of Thrones', but as I don't play musical chairs with toilets, I haven't seen that one!
Bill wrote:Is it more horrifying to learn that a Welshman has never seen The West Wing or that an American is in a similar state of innocence? I confess that I am such an American
Neither have I. The idea of trying to make politicians human AND entertaining strikes me as appealing as kissing your sister
Machenbach wrote: I don't know why anyone would choose to specifically mention the fabrication of the spine labels if the rest of the book was made of a similar material, and a rare book aficionado would know that the term is 'Morocco' not 'Moroccan'.This is exactly the kind of unconvincing performance you get when you don't hire InterMachen Set Dressing and Script Consultancy Inc.
I wonder if you have anything else in common with Philip Marlowe? He, too, could recognise a fake rare book shop when he saw one!
(In passing - I have never seen The West Wing, either. Perhaps they didn't show it in Wales...)
Machenbach wrote: "Bill's sister is Sigourney Weaver."AH, well kissing my sister then. Kissing his sounds more intriguing. Particularly given the knowledge that she could snap my spine and flick cigarette ash on my remains
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My brother's academic field was Game Studies (ludology, I guess, though I've never heard him use that term). Many of his 5000+ books fall into that category: Shogi Japan's Game of Strategy and The Top: Universal Toy, Enduring Pastime and Hangin' Out: City Kids, City Games; baseball biographies and histories (boatloads; I may end up keeping those), history of backgammon, stuff like that. I've been watching for books on bowling for you, but haven't spotted any yet.
Paul wrote: "Neither have I. The idea of trying to make politicians human AND entertaining strikes me as appealing as kissing your sister"How could so many good people here get it so WRONG? No seriously, you're all wrong. That's it.
scarletnoir wrote: "I wonder if you have anything else in common with Philip Marlowe? He, too, could recognise a fake rare book shop when he saw one!(In passing - I have never seen The West Wing, either. Perhaps they didn't show it in Wales...)"
I was wondering if somebody would make the reference. Since Natasha is still largely absent, you were another good guess! Perhaps President Bartlet was just testing them: 'first edition of 1886'?, like, duh.
The West Wing is definitely in my top 3. I'll see if this stays there as I watch it again 20+ years later.
Machenbach wrote: "Gladarvor wrote: "How could so many good people here get it so WRONG? No seriously, you're all wrong. That's it.TV gives you eye cancer; everyone knows that."
Not if you watch it with sunglasses you dummy.
Machenbach wrote: "Gladarvor wrote: "Not if you watch it with sunglasses you dummy.."Mylar sunglasses?"
Mylar glasses, tout court.
Just read this article in the Graun:https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandst...
Along the way she discovered “that part of happiness is accepting that we’re not going to be happy all the time. There’s a real power in accepting and acknowledging all of our emotions – even the ones that might not be as comfortable.”
Thinking about TLS, and the Guardian:
I want to scream and scream and scream!
Bill wrote: "Gladarvor wrote: "can I suggest The Thick of It for a bit of a political relief?" I don't know if this would be at all similar, but I had a friend (she was Republican at the time, if that's relev..."
You could try 'Black Books' which I loved when it came out, many years ago... if you enjoyed 'Monty Python' and love books it might be for you? if you can get hold of it. I too watch very little on the TV these days but somethings I catch up with current stuff on I player, I don't know if the US has a similar system. Otherwise I recommend Heimat by Edger Reitz, especially the earliest one of the series.
Shuggie Bain! Now I really must read it. 📚
Bill wrote: "Well, I have occasionally watched bowling ..."
Would that be ten- pin or bowls?
Bill wrote: "I watched a few seasons of Mad Men on DVD, though). There was inevitably frequent talk about sports, which is mostly television and which of course I didn't watch."There's worse than Mad Men to have in DVDs, definitely amongst the best TV shows.
BUT: I have limited tolerance for Jon Stewart
Two?! TWO daggers in the heart on the same day William? That is cruel, plain and simple.
Lass wrote: "Shuggie Bain! Now I really must read it. 📚"It’s a big cheer from me.
It’s never happened before that a book I shout for from the longlist has gone on to win.
Worth the raise of a Talisker later tonight..
Bill wrote: "I don't know if this would be at all similar, but I had a friend (she was Republican at the time, if that's relevant) who used to love the series "Yes, Minister". I think I watched it once, but it did nothing for me."Oh, and what with this whole bleeding everywhere, I forgot to answer this: I actually have never watched it, and I am not too tempted tbh. Maybe another forest dweller would like to jump in if they've seen it, and say how this compares for them with The Thick of It?
Lljones wrote: "My brother's academic field was Game Studies (ludology, I guess, though I've never heard him use that term)."Probably because people would tend to hear it as lewd-ology. I'm not a ludologist, but I suspect that bowling may be strategy free (other than trying to work some psychological mojo on one's opponent; this may be the case at least as we Americans practice bowling: the game of bowls the rest of the world plays probably does have strategies associated with it). This may be why it appeals to me - I liked playing chess until the friend who was my usual partner started learning about the game and would mutter things like "the Polendorff-Kleinfelder opening" as we were playing.
Georg wrote: "Just read this article in the Graun:https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandst...
Along the way she discovered “t..."
oh so true, but in a vacuum no one can hear your scream I guess... I guess we are left with a bit of 'lippy' to cover the scars...
Gladarvor wrote: "Bill wrote: "I watched a few seasons of Mad Men on DVD, though). There was inevitably frequent talk about sports, which is mostly television and which of course I didn't watch."There's worse than..."
Cheers. 🥃
CCCubbon wrote: "Bill wrote: "Well, I have occasionally watched bowling ..."
Would that be ten- pin or bowls?"
I suppose ten-pin: roll the ball, knock them down, have a beer - you know, sport.
Gladarvor wrote: "Bill wrote: "I don't know if this would be at all similar, but I had a friend (she was Republican at the time, if that's relevant) who used to love the series "Yes, Minister". I think I watched it ..."Yes Minister is one of my favourite BritComs of all time (the original series, not the remake of a few years ago). It's just brilliant! Mind you, people who don't like politics might disagree.
Lass wrote: "Cheers. 🥃"You meant this for Andy/safereturn, didn't you Lass?
As LL mentioned, to reply to a post, you need to hit the button that is at the bottom right of the post, not top right, which then corresponds to the message above (in that case, mine). This Goodreads interface has been tricky for all of us! But at least we have emojis 👍...
Slawkenbergius wrote: "Yes Minister is one of my favourite BritComs of all time (the original series, not the remake of a few years ago). It's just brilliant! Mind you, people who don't like politics might disagree."Good to know, thanks Flinty! I have to confess to having troubles going past the aesthetics of late 70s/early 80s English sitcoms (see also Fawlty Towers).
CCCubbon wrote: "
Bill wrote: "Well, I have occasionally watched bowling ..
Only asked because in non-pandemic times MrC plays bowls and I watch sometimes, it is a very strategic game - ( I get it explained at length) but mainly I just make cakes for the teams.
Machenbach wrote: "SydneyH wrote: "Have you read The Ivory Tower?" "Yes, but I don't recall much about it ..."The Ivory Tower is the only post-Maisie James I've really enjoyed. I'm not sure satire is the right word, it's still a cold-blooded Modernist text, but I just find the writing far more interesting than anything else after Maisie.
Georg wrote: "I want to scream and scream and scream!"
What is a 'life coach' anyway? What are the qualifications?
Gladarvor wrote: "Two?! TWO daggers in the heart on the same day William? That is cruel, plain and simple."My apologies, Gladarvor, if I’m misremembering or misrepresenting your citizenship or residence, but I believe you live in and are a citizen of France, n’est pas?
As an American, I’m kind of surprised that people who are not US citizens or living in the US have this kind of passionate attachment to commentators and dramas centered around the US political system.
Thinking about my distinct non-enthusiasm about Yes, Minister and, beyond that, Trollope, I think that British politics tends to make my eyes glaze over. I suspect that reaction can be extrapolated to the political dramas of most other nations as well.
I guess I’m not all that enthusiastic about fictional versions of US politics either (the “Washington novel”) – though rather passionately involved, by a felt necessity if not intrinsic interest, in the real thing.
As for real-life politics outside the US, I’m admittedly very ill-informed, but frighteningly I’m probably more informed than over 90% of my fellow Americans: for example, at least I don’t have a totally clueless expression when I see the term gilets jaunes.
CCCubbon wrote: "in non-pandemic times MrC plays bowls and I watch sometimes, it is a very strategic game" Though I have only a vague sense of the rules of bowls, I suspected that strategy was important.
As a one-time frequent ten-pin bowler, my impression is that that version of the game is purely a matter of physics (and, as far as renting the shoes, perhaps microbiology).
Gladarvor wrote: "Lass wrote: "Cheers. 🥃"You meant this for Andy/safereturn, didn't you Lass?
As LL mentioned, to reply to a post, you need to hit the button that is at the bottom right of the post, not top righ..."
Thank you, and LL. Hope I’ve got it right this time. Have been watching the West Wing, and enjoying a 🍷of Pinot. Off now to journey with Thomas Cromwell in Tudor England, courtesy of Diarmaid MacCulloch.
Alwynne wrote: "Another review as part of my reading for German Lit. Month Carl Seelig's Walks with Walser - don't know if there are any other Robert Walser fans here but if so highl..."I have read Walks with Walser some years ago. I found it quite moving. Because Seelig was, I think, more interested in the person Walser than in the writer Walser. So am I.
You say
There must have been inequalities, issues of power separating them or causing conflict, not just the fact that Seelig’s free and Walser isn’t...
I have always felt that Walser was free in Herisau, that he couldn't have survived in the real world.
Thank you for that lovely review. Put me in the mood to re-read Seelig; and Sebalds Le Promeneur Solitaire.
Bill wrote: "Gladarvor wrote: "Two?! TWO daggers in the heart on the same day William? That is cruel, plain and simple."My apologies, Gladarvor, if I’m misremembering or misrepresenting your citizenship or r..."
Bill, as a US (now US/UK) citizen, I learned, when I left the States that everyone is obsessed with America although, as you note, few Americans are even slightly interested in 'over there'. For a small, necessarily affluent number it's of interest as a travel destination, historical (lots of old stuff) or picturesque. But most travellers have minimal contact with the people of the foreign lands they visit or knowledge of their day-to-day lives, politics and main concerns. Not that your average Brit actually understands a lot more about the US, for all the news and other media coverage.
Machenbach wrote: "Maybe I'll give it another try"No pressure - as always, just read a bit and see if it tempts you. Definitely don't try the others again. I'll probably read The Golden Bowl and The Sacred Fount eventually, I'm clearly just a masochist in that way.
It’s Novellas In November (#NovNov) at several of the book blogs, and there’s lots of suggestions and reviews if anyone’s interested.. See more here 746 Books
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I probably should have said that his interest is as much in the nature of "Play" as in games. The sociological, psychological, cultural, child-development, yadda yadda aspects of playing, in humans and in non-human animals as well.
Bill wrote: "My apologies, Gladarvor, if I’m misremembering or misrepresenting your citizenship or residence, but I believe you live in and are a citizen of France, n’est pas?"No, and yes.
I think I was interested in all things politics anyway (see also Flinty, the Portuguese man living in France posting on an American website of a UK defunct book blog). We had The West Wing in France, and also that mini-series about Labour in the 90s which apparently from the imdb ratings I am pretty much the only to have seen (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328290/...). But since moving to the UK, I've been even more exposed, so The Thick of It/In The Loop was on the menu, but also a lot of the American commentators such as Colbert and Stewart.
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I just phoned my bro to ask if 'ludology' captured his ideology, which set him off on a tirade about academic pedants arguing over ludology, narratology, etc. I reminded him, though, that ludology's root is 'ludic', and we the Joneses, children of Cal Jones, King of the Ludics, don't mind the label (see my note to MB about playfulness).
Georg wrote: "Thinking about TLS, and the Guardian:I want to scream and scream and scream."
... but not until you are thick (sick), we hope!
Georg wrote: " Skippy Dies by Paul MurrayI bought this book because it was only 50p and came with a 'Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award' recommendation.
I am not very interested in 14yo boys ..."
I read Skippy.. about a year ago, probably on a TLS recommendation, and all I can say is that it's a good 'un, and I'll possibly re-read it one day.
PM's An Evening of Long Goodbyes is another good 'un, stranger even than Skippy... .
Sorry I can't be more specific about the merits of the two novels, and match Georg's proficiency in writing a review, but since discovering TLS a few years ago I've been practically drowning in books - mixed metaphor, I know, but you'll catch my drift.
Thanks to Georg for showing what a book review should be and for reminding me about PM, with the result that I'm seeking his third novel, The Mark and the Void.
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Ersatz TLS
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Once his outlandish premise is accepted, what follows is an enjoyable diversion from more serious reading.
Set in the 1990s, when Scrabble was the highest-grossing tabletop game, Tunnard pictures an alternate world, one in which the game is included in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, 'backroom business' is big money, and controlled by the elderly female Gilbert triplets of Argentina, who have a crime syndicate as a sideline; Spanish Scrabble soon overtakes the English version, and match-fixing is rife.
There's some interesting factual snippets and Scrabble trivia that can be sifted from the fiction; there are, for example, twice as many 3 letter words in English than Spanish (about 1,000), and that they include BRR and ZZZ.