What Are We Reading? 16 Nov 2020

[Georg]

Alwynne wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Georg wrote: "AB76 wrote: The poor guy had a lonely death..."

All of us will have a lonely death. Even if you have 47 friends and family members at your bed side: you'll die alone, th..."

Sounds pretty perfect to me...

I agree. But I do have my doubts: did he die from a heart attack or chose to take his own life. We will never know.

[AB76]

Gladarvor wrote: "AB76 wrote: "good article on laicite

https://www.institutmontaigne.org/en/..."

Brilliant, thanks a lot for this excellent link. Funny that you should ..."

its a complex topic, like french law but endlessly fascinating and all opinions on this thread have been interesting

[Hushpuppy]

AB76 wrote: "its a complex topic, like french law but endlessly fascinating and all opinions on this thread have been interesting"

Agreed. I like @Swelter/Bill's idea too! Republican values are under threat everywhere, not least by a lot of the so-called 'Republicans' in the US.

[AB76]

Gladarvor wrote: "AB76 wrote: "its a complex topic, like french law but endlessly fascinating and all opinions on this thread have been interesting"

Agreed. I like @Swelter/Bill's idea too! Republican values are un..."

Swelter is always good value, a pillar of the TLS world...

[Slawkenbergius]

Gladarvor wrote: "It's a bit too close to the bone, so I'll leave it there again!"

Know what you mean. I'll keep shtum before I lose my temper!

[Lljones]

The Tournament of Books longlist just posted!

https://themorningnews.org/article/th...

Apeirogon is on the list - maybe because I voted for it 47 times! (Voter fraud!)

[Hushpuppy]

Slawkenbergius wrote: "Gladarvor wrote: "It's a bit too close to the bone, so I'll leave it there again!"

Know what you mean. I'll keep shtum before I lose my temper!"

Yup yup. If TMW were here, that would be colourful (and not moderated, bliss...)!

[Lljones]

Alwynne wrote: "I keep hearing about the Tournament of Books..."

About The Tournament of Book

Also: https://themorningnews.org/article/a-...

[Paul]

Gladarvor wrote: "

Yup yup. If TMW were here, ..."

Speaking of which, where is the old crank? He hasn't updated his Twitter account for a while

[Paul]

AB76 wrote: "good article on laicite

https://www.institutmontaigne.org/en/..."

That's the article I read before expressing my mysticism. I think it's an issue difficult to tweezer apart from the specific culture in which it resides. Likewise, the deep seated need for religious fervor inherent to American society is difficult for my Italian colleagues to grasp

[Hushpuppy]

Paul wrote: "Gladarvor wrote: "Yup yup. If TMW were here, ..."

Speaking of which, where is the old crank? He hasn't updated his Twitter account for a while"

Yes, I saw that too, but Vasco assures me he's still active on twitter to some extent (or at least was so ~2 weeks ago) - don't know if this holds true still... @Flint?

Considering the dangerous shit that's being levelled from all sides at CH at the moment, and in the midst of the trial of the terrorist attacks, I guess they have a lot on their minds...

[Paul]

Gladarvor wrote: ".."
and in the midst of the trial of the terrorist attacks ,

Ahhh, I hadn't thought of that

[Hushpuppy]

Paul wrote: "Gladarvor wrote: ".."
and in the midst of the trial of the terrorist attacks ,

Ahhh, I hadn't thought of that"

Well, that's actually the context of this whole discussion.

Trial of the CH attacks -> Additional terrorist attacks in Paris, on Samuel Paty, in Nice <-> Rightly defiant CH which republishes THE cartoons and a cover on Erdoğan <-> Condemnations, death threats and posturing boycotts of French products by some government officials/small crowds including in Turkey, stupid articles like the FT one <-> Response by Macron to reaffirm the Republican and laïc values in France and to stand by CH, and to curb radical Islamist teachings proliferating in some mosques by very specific imams (usually not French).

[Slawkenbergius]

Gladarvor wrote: "don't know if this holds true still... @Flint?"

Don't know myself. His twitter account has not changed much since late September but I received the notification of his following somebody not a long time ago (can't recall the date exactly).

[Anastasia]

MK wrote: "Calling all mathematician wannabes, check out today's Google Doodle remembering Benoit Mandelbrot. Love those Mandelbrot sets."

Alas, today's doodle of the day in Ukraine is Universal Children's Day. Fractals have always seemed to me infinitely more exciting than procreation, so I can only sigh in despair.

Back in university days, our prof 'forgot' to tell us what exactly we were doing, so most of us just 'discovered' the dimensional measure of the Koch snowflake once more. Mind-blowing :)

[Andy]

AB76 wrote: "Georg wrote: "AB76 wrote: I'm a Walser fan and of Swiss lit (though its a fairly narrow field with Ramuz, Chessex, Constant, Durrenmatt,Frisch, Keller and Walser)

You forgot Jean-Jacques Rousseau ..."

Me also Georg. Thanks for that.

But Durrenmatt is special AB, so be sure not to miss him.

[Hushpuppy]

Anastasia wrote: "Alas, today's doodle of the day in Ukraine is Universal Children's Day. Fractals have always seemed to me infinitely more exciting than procreation, so I can only sigh in despair."

I don't have any doodle at all when I look at google (.com, .co.uk and .fr). Try this, from one maths geek to another! https://www.google.com/doodles

I loved 'rediscovering' things all over again! We built N, then Z, then Q, then R, then C. All fun. Also: Bose-Einstein condensate, one of the coolest things to 'rediscover' for me, ever.

[Hushpuppy]

Slawkenbergius wrote: "Don't know myself. His twitter account has not changed much since late September but I received the notification of his following somebody not a long time ago (can't recall the date exactly)."

Thanks Flinty. Sigh, it's always worrying when he's not that active...

[CCCubbon]

Machenbach
I found a van Dongen print online at last from Thr Revolt of the Angels and have posted it on photos - on page3

[SydneyH]

Alwynne wrote: "could happily live without books like The Europeans"
I think the Europeans is gorgeous. James rarely wrote with such warmth.

[AB76]

Andy wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Georg wrote: "AB76 wrote: I'm a Walser fan and of Swiss lit (though its a fairly narrow field with Ramuz, Chessex, Constant, Durrenmatt,Frisch, Keller and Walser)

You forgot Jean-Jacq..."

i'm a huge durrennmatt fan, this will be my third of his novels read

[Anastasia]

Gladarvor wrote: "Anastasia wrote: "Alas, today's doodle of the day in Ukraine is Universal Children's Day. Fractals have always seemed to me infinitely more exciting than procreation, so I can only sigh in despair...."

Cheers :) I've seen it earlier today when connected via the work VPN, but it's just disappointing, it wasn't 'important' enough to steal the spotlight.

Rediscovering things is probably the most exciting and interesting way to learn them. They stick with you once you've done it, as if it were your own achievement of knowledge or skill. And in some ways it is.

[SydneyH]

So maybe I'm the problem!."

No, I think that's common practice in James criticism. In my view The Europeans and The Reverberator tend to be underrated because they are short and not heavy in subject matter. My view is that the prose itself should play a significant role in assessment of the texts.

[Hushpuppy]

Machenbach wrote: "Ah, that's not van Dongen, that's the English illustrator Frank C. Papé whose illustrations are in an art nouveau/Arts and Crafts style, I guess you'd call it. Van Dongen's were in a very different Fauvist kinda vein - this is one of those he did for Revolt of the Angels. Funny how two artists can come up with something so different :)."

Ah, thanks, I was a bit confused. For me, it looks kind of like Matisse, which this one didn't at all (also explains the puzzling signature). Love the 'angelot' at the bottom right.

[Hushpuppy]

Anastasia wrote: "Rediscovering things is probably the most exciting and interesting way to learn them. They stick with you once you've done it, as if it were your own achievement of knowledge or skill. And in some ways it is."

This.

[giveusaclue]

Slawkenbergius wrote: " I had a friend (she was Republican at the time, if that's relevant) who used to love the series "Yes, Minister". I t..."


The original Yes Minister was absolutely brilliant. Apparently Thatcher said that it was very true to life!!

[SydneyH]

Alwynne wrote: "At sentence level it's well-crafted"
That's exactly what I meant, stylistically. 'Insubstantial' seems to be the common criticism, though I personally dislike assessing the merits of a work based on the 'ideas explored', which I consider to be an ideological criticism, not an aesthetic one. As to 'warmth', you could just as easily ask how prose can be 'polished', or 'luminous', which we often say to describe enjoyable writing. I use 'warmth' here to distinguish from some of James's less engaging writing, which I find lacks imagery, drama, and figurative language. I suppose I'm probably also alluding to some of the intangible qualities we enjoy in writing, such as humour, which James is generally not famous for.

[CCCubbon]

Van Dongen
Yes I realised after I posted it. Van Dongen’s Are more linear.. There used to be several online but I cannot find them now. I had saved one for a while but lost it That one was under van Dongen but isn’t as you say. Back to the search.
Lots of his big eyed ladies on view but hardly anything from Angels

[Hushpuppy]

CCCubbon wrote: "Van Dongen
Yes I realised after I posted it. Van Dongen’s Are more linear.. There used to be several online but I cannot find them now. I had saved one for a while but lost it That one was under v..."

Try this CCC https://www.google.com/search?q=anato...

[giveusaclue]

Now we are back to what are we reading .......I am still reading Brother Cadfael's Penance, the last in the series before Ellis Peters died. It is like meeting up again with an old friend. I read all the previous books in the series but missed this one, until a fellow tlser mentioned it a few months ago. Enjoying it very much so far and already have two friends queuing to read it after I have finished. I will post a review in due course.

[Clare de la lune]

Alwynne wrote: "Clare de la lune wrote: "Roger Deakin 'Wildwood' a journey through trees.

It was so sad to turn over the final page of this much loved book.

Wildwood is a celebration of all living things, from

I read this lovely book after reading Rob Cowen's 'Common Ground' a book that I really enjoyed despite a couple of false starts.
I've really connected to these humble authors that have a huge knowledge of the natural world that we share with so many other species. I love the sense of calm that they present to the reader and their willingness to share all their experiences openly and generously.
I hope you find the time to be immersed in 'Wildwood' and that you enjoy Roger's journey as much as I did.

[Tam]

Machenbach wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "I found a van Dongen print online at last from Thr Revolt of the Angels and have posted it on photos.."
Ah, that's not van Dongen, that's the English illustrator Frank C. Papé whos..."

Seems rather similar to this one from the 13th century, to me, from the 'Holkham Bible'!... Inspiration can come from some very distant placeshttps://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illumina..... It is f8 four rows down 'Noah'

[Hushpuppy]

Machenbach wrote: "Oh sorry, it's the usual postimg site so unlikely to be anything worse than popup ads I'd hope."

Thanks a lot for this, quite sensual as you say, that seems to be his trademark.

@Alwynne: the website is safe, except as Mach says for the silly ads (they keep advertising for hot Asian babes in xx to me, really annoying). And yes, Cocteau, I can see that!

[CCCubbon]

Mach, Glad
Thanks, found the one that I have been looking for and posted.

[SydneyH]

Alwynne wrote: "If I'm looking for 'luminous' sentences combined with other elements that I find enjoyable, for whatever reason, then I'm more likely to opt for Chekhov than James"

Sure, and I'm not making a case for The Europeans to become your favourite James, I just like to be the Devil's advocate for a text that I think is generally underrated. I'll also admit that the lack of 'substance' does matter to an extent, which is why I generally identify The American as the best James novel, because I think it has the best balance between elegance in style and weight in subject matter.

[Tam]

I will try this one as a more detailed version of Noahhttps://postimg.cc/fk1r830v/5fb55586

[Tam]

Machenbach wrote: "Gladarvor wrote: "they keep advertising for hot Asian babes in xx to me"

I had a message on GoodReads the other day saying something along the lines of "'RedHot Latvian_69#Foxy Gal oolala' is now ..."

whatever you do not, I repeat NOT, put in imagepost, rather than postimage... or you will get a probably unwanted surprise... when trying to upload images... I have a tendency to put some phrases/words back to front, so sometimes it catches me out...

[Clare de la lune]

Clare de la lune wrote: "Alwynne wrote: "Clare de la lune wrote: "Roger Deakin 'Wildwood' a journey through trees.

It was so sad to turn over the final page of this much loved book.

Wildwood is a celebration of all livi..."

My thoughts on Rob Cowen's 'Common Ground'-

Part novel, part nature diary Common Ground is big on the minutiae of our natural world.

It follows nature in the edge lands of towns. Life amoung the scrap heaps of brush and gorse and wastelands. As the author explores areas close to his home he brings a different story to each chapter - The final days of an old fox fighting for survival; The minute by minute story of a deer being hunted; What is the tiny life of a mayfly? The non stop flight of the swift; On and on. He brings wonder and magic to the pages.

Running parallel to this journey through scrubland is his wife's pregnancy bringing the promise of new life of their own.

The mayflies -

'elavated above their previous aqueous universe, poised on the alder leaves, cushions of wood ear mushroom and pole like grass stems, the mayflies took little over an hour to achieve their ultimate incarnation to molt into the sexually mature 'spinner', the imago. They appear more clearly defined and sharper,as though an aeronautical engineer has stepped in to improve their designs, readying them for their last triumphant function.'

The swifts -

'Over time and given persistently grim summers, it's feasible that swifts could cease to exist in our skies. We're only too aware nowadays that species will vanish, but the thought of losing swifts terrifies me. 'They've made it again,' wrote Ted Hughes, 'which means the globe's still working.' How perfect that is. Nothing speaks of this planet's interconnectedness like the swift's migration; nothing screams so loudly of it's fragility either.'

The pregnancy reaches full term and there are complications at the birth -

'Then, at some point while I'm distracted and staring, a different animal steals into the room....And now I see it and feel it, that wild animal that crept into the corner while my guard was down. I sense it's size and shape; nature's other side, the chaotic antithesis of the hypnobirthing affirmations; this viscious twin of glorious creation.'

The book highlights the ebb and flow of life, the dark and the light side. And that change is an inevitable part of life too.

[Bill]

Machenbach wrote: "'RedHot Latvian_69#Foxy Gal oolala'"

When I first got on Twitter, I got a few "followers" like this, but it hasn't happened for a while, maybe because I tend to be real trigger-happy with the "Block" function.

It hasn't happened on Goodreads, but I have had a few authors replying to one of my reviews of a popular book, suggesting I might like their book. So far, I haven't followed up on any, but if Jonathan Franzen tries to pitch me his forthcoming novel in this manner, I may take him up on it.

[AB76]

I jumped in with my latest read, after "In hazard" i have decided to read some Swiss-French with Ramuz's "What If the Sun", a short and interesting novel about the suns dissappaearence, so its an "event" novel but with that unique Swiss-French feel

"The Young Man From Savoy" was a novel of his i greatly enjoyed, along with Chessex, he brings calvinist Swiss-French culture to life.
(my parents have swiss-french neighbours and i learnt a lot about the Protestant culture of the Neuchatel area

[AB76]

Alwynne wrote: "Machenbach wrote: "Gladarvor wrote: "they keep advertising for hot Asian babes in xx to me"

I had a message on GoodReads the other day saying something along the lines of "'RedHot Latvian_69#Foxy ..."

boring porn, escort services, this definately beats those pesky guardian censors removing all interesting informatiuon!

[Justine]

giveusaclue wrote: "Now we are back to what are we reading .......I am still reading Brother Cadfael's Penance, the last in the series before Ellis Peters died. It is like meeting up again with an old friend. I read a..."

I look forward to your review!

[Lljones]

Bill wrote: "Machenbach wrote: "'RedHot Latvian_69#Foxy Gal oolala'"

When I first got on Twitter, I got a few "followers" like this, but it hasn't happened for a while, maybe because I tend to be real trigger-..."

I've been on GR since 2011 and I've never seen any of this stuff mentioned!

[Clare de la lune]

Alwynne wrote: "Clare de la lune wrote: "Clare de la lune wrote: "Alwynne wrote: "Clare de la lune wrote: "Roger Deakin 'Wildwood' a journey through trees.

It was so sad to turn over the final page of this much l..."

Yes but how great to read of people who can still live so close to nature and to how so many of us would like to live connected to our natural world if we could!

[Lljones]

Alwynne wrote: "A few examples for you of the groups I mentioned"

None of those groups have any discussions, posts, or members other than the one that set it up. Could be a case of poor clean-up on GR's part.

Don't forget, everyone, to use the 'flag' function, to alert the GR powers-that-be when you come across spurious stuff. (I've just flagged these three.)

[Lljones]

Ads or not, they're inappropriate and should be flagged (which I did).

[Hushpuppy]

Justine wrote: "I look forward to your review!"

Well, I've had some fun catching up with the TLS thread tonight. In particular, this post of yours came right after Alwynne's Well it might not be boring [porn], I can't say I've been tempted to find out!, so this got me confused for a sec (ah, just mistyped 'sex' for 'sec' there, ohum)!

No, come on, honestly, what do people get advertised on postimage, say Mach's one https://postimg.cc/SXwRTkB5?

I get 'Sexy Asian Women in < redacted city >', the oddly specific: 'Sexy Asian Women in < redacted city > looking for men over 35', and the more engaging: 'Single Asian Cuties Are Bored At Home. Let's Chat!'. And then some uninteresting bitcoin and psoriasis ads (like, why?).

[Hushpuppy]

PaleFires wrote: "Slawkenbergius wrote: "Yes, Minister is one of my favourite BritComs of all time. It's just brilliant!"

YES!!! The writing and the acting is off the charts!

I've never watched West Wing although I wish I'd seen Veep. I think Julia Louis-Dreyfuss is hysterical (and Tina Fey and Sofia Vergara too, apropos of nothing)."

Ok, what with @giveusaclue backing it too, I might give it a try. Veep is actually based on The Thick of It I've been heavily promoting (with The West Wing). But I've just discovered that Ianucci, the creator of both Veep and The Thick of It, actually describes the latter as a cross between Yes Minister and Larry David, so I'm now quadruply intrigued! (I love Tina Fey, and like the very little of Louis-Dreyfus that I know, from Enough Said and Arrested Development.)

[Magrat]

Gladarvor wrote: "PaleFires wrote: "Slawkenbergius wrote: "Yes, Minister is one of my favourite BritComs of all time. It's just brilliant!"

YES!!! The writing and the acting is off the charts!

I've never watched ..."

I agree with PaleFires about Yes Minister and its successor Yes Prime Minister, classic TV up there with Fawlty Towers. But who is Larry David?

[Hushpuppy]

Magrat wrote: "I agree with PaleFires about Yes Minister and its successor Yes Prime Minister, classic TV up there with Fawlty Towers. But who is Larry David?"

I'll just have to get over myself with its aesthetics very much of its time! Larry David: I'm not the best person to say, perhaps @Mach is, he's developed Seinfeld and his own TV show called Curb Your Enthusiasm in the US. I've watched only very small bits of it, and I don't get it (at least so far). I also really dislike Seinfeld as a person, he comes across - to me! - as a bit of a prick. But I quite liked Louis CK (another US comedian, disgraced after #MeToo although rehabilitated too soon), so what do I know?