What Are We Reading? 18 January 2021

[scarletnoir]

Harry wrote: "I think the point was - or is - Scarlet, that *there is no bloody choice* - which is why it being hijacked by people like Lexit Larry Elliot and Pipsqueak Jones rankles so much.
Those two and thie..."

It's like an election, though, isn't it - people may not have been overjoyed by Biden, but to vote for Trump...

Likewise - the Guardian isn't perfect (though I'm far more tolerant of it than you are), but the alternatives are beyond the pale.

I also don't agree with your 'take' that it 'should' be a centrist paper... like most papers, its profile changes to match what is going on in the world, it supported Blair (before Iraq) if I remember right, so support for Labour is nothing new... Corbyn, of course, was a different problem.

It used to be a Liberal paper in the days of Jo Grimond, but that was a long time ago, when Labour had in addition to the Daily Mirror, the Daily Herald... and some of the Tory papers were more 'balanced' than in the recent years of consolidation and billionaire tax evader ownership (apart from the Mail, which was always like that).

Anyway, I think that's enough on that subject.

[MK]

For the longest time I have enjoyed listening to audiobooks - going back to the days of Walkmans. As I write, I am listening to V2 V2: A Novel of World War II and thoroughly enjoying it. The narrator, David Rintoul, is excellent. Not much better than an exciting book excellently narrated.

[Greenfairy]

Amelia wrote: "AB76 wrote: "FranHunny wrote: "Amelia wrote: "I've started and abandoned about 8 different books in the last few weeks (none of them bad, I just haven't had the motivation to read them), so I'm gla..."

I've been reading but It has been difficult to concentrate for any length of time- I have been struggling with SAD - in previous years I had the option of simply flying away. However some frost and snow has provided some beauty to mitigate the constant grey, but I am reading shorter and fairly unchallenging books.
Spring and vaccines are on the way..

[AB76]

Greenfairy wrote: "Amelia wrote: "AB76 wrote: "FranHunny wrote: "Amelia wrote: "I've started and abandoned about 8 different books in the last few weeks (none of them bad, I just haven't had the motivation to read th..."

i feel for SAD sufferers, i love October to March but i can imagine for many the lack of sun and daylight can be depressing, even if the british climate still offers mild weather till late october and spring can come as early as late feb

of course, with overseas travel out of bounds, this Oct-March season has been a lot harder...i hope you have one of those lamps and that your spring will be here soon....

[AB76]

scarletnoir wrote: "Harry wrote: "I think the point was - or is - Scarlet, that *there is no bloody choice* - which is why it being hijacked by people like Lexit Larry Elliot and Pipsqueak Jones rankles so much.
Thos..."

scarlet, do you contribute a monthly sum to the paper? i would imagine a lot us here do....

[Greenfairy]

giveusaclue wrote: "Justine wrote: "Snow in London this morning. A good day for settling in with a book, and forgetting the world's woes for a few hours, after several trying days when I've not been able to read. Back..."

My beloved Leicester City are through to the next round, so what with that and Trump taking his leave, '21 is showing signs of improvement :)

[Greenfairy]

Harry wrote: "Cabbie wrote: "Is anyone else missing the ability to give a post a thumbs up, like clicking the up-arrow on the original TLS?"

Yes 👍"

Harry wrote: "Cabbie wrote: "Is anyone else missing the ability to give a post a thumbs up, like clicking the up-arrow on the original TLS?"

Yes 👍"

AB76 wrote: "Machenbach wrote: "AB76 wrote: "NB. nothing against sheep tossing."

You remembered my Taffness just in time there.

Tbh, I barely watch TV at all these days, but my Mum says Sky Arts do some good ..."

FrancesBurgundy wrote: "Cabbie wrote (198): "Is anyone else missing the ability to give a post a thumbs up, like clicking the up-arrow on the original TLS?"

I miss it terribly. I loved upticking posts and I loved having ..."

Definitely ✓

[Max (Outrage)]

Justine [306]
Interestimg Waugh discussions this week: The Loved One, Scoop, etc. My favourites are still the early novels Decline and Fall and A Handful of Dust.
Me too. I prefer the early Waugh, and would add the very funny 'Put Out More Flags' to your examples. I couldn't finish 'Vile Bodies' because everybody was so vile, although he begins to show some obvious and real sympathy for his characters for the first time.
It's almost hard to believe that nearly every one of his characters was recognisable by most of his readers as one of the friends and enemies at whom the early novels were aimed.
I also realy like the Sword of Honour trilogy, but Brideshead. Hmmm, I actually preferred the TV series.

[Paul]

Veufveuve wrote: "Kevin Barry, "Night Boat to Tangier." Blimey, one of the best novels I've read in a long time. The book criss-crosses back and forth across the lives of two ageing Irish gangsters as they sit waiti..."

Ahhh, fantastic. I love Barry, but I haven't read this one yet. I'll have to bump it to the top of the heap

[AB76]

One thing i have really enjoyed in last 3-4 years is finding non-fiction by female writers about everyday events (trials, life etc), so far Rebecca West has supplied two of these books. One was on the British traitors after WW2, the other covering Nuremburg and some other trials in the 1940s and 50s

I have just started "Slouching Towards Bethelem" by Joan Didion (1969),a collection of her essays and the first essay is on So Cal, the sun drenched world of dreams. To my suprise a case of true crime and a trial emerge out of a vivid, descriptive intro and i find the same attention as West to details that i dont think men would pick up or be interested in.

West summed up the london around the Old Bailey in 1945 superbly in "The Meaning of Treason", as Didion conveys the slightly jaded and lost So Cal of 1966...

* true crime for me is an objective study of the facts and the trial, not a gory 300 page story by the victims family or a ghostwriter

[Bill]

I recall in H. G. Wells' Kipps the title character attends a party where each attendee has an anagram pinned on their clothing, I suppose it's a sort of ice breaker as guests mingle while decoding the words.

[giveusaclue]

Greenfairy wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "Justine wrote: "Snow in London this morning. A good day for settling in with a book, and forgetting the world's woes for a few hours, after several trying days when I've not bee..."

Greenfairy wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "Justine wrote: "Snow in London this morning. A good day for settling in with a book, and forgetting the world's woes for a few hours, after several trying days when I've not bee..."

And my birth town Burnley are through too, so we are both happy bunnies. Two wins in 4 days for the Clarets!!!!

[Robert]

AB76 wrote: "De Gaulle and his disabled daughter is a touching theme that Jackson touches on in the Algiers days of 1943-44. The General lived in austere quarters, his wife already sensitive to attention about ..."

AB76 wrote: "Justine wrote: "FrancesBurgundy(295) wrote: "AB76 wrote (259): "Now i'm onto the South Seas's and Herman Melvilles "Omoo", set in French Polynesia.."

I have heard that de Gaulle's daughter Anne suffered from Down's Syndrome. De Gaulle, intensely private even for a Frenchman of his generation, did not discuss the girl's condition during her lifetime. He did establish the Anne de Gaulle Foundation to aid handicapped children, and dedicated money from his War Memoirs to the foundation.

Typee is also a good read - set in Polynesia t..."