Ersatz TLS discussion
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Weekly TLS
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What Are We Reading? 1 February 2021
Tam wrote: "Has anyone here any experience of launching blogs on Wordpress? I have set one up to put up my own historic eclectic collection of musings, including the full set of 'Doors of the Day', in case any..."I run my blog for several years now (this year it will be 9, I think). I am writing in German, inhannover.wordpres.com, and post about this and that - culinary and other adventures, sometimes quirky things I see in town or hear on the radio. I am not exactly the most successful blogger, but then my blog is not directed at a specific audience. Sometimes (rarely) I post in English, for example when I partake in a blog roll and write my own contribution to In Purrsuit of flavors.
Wordpress is not hard to use when you just want the basics. If you want to get all fancy shmancy, I cannot be of help. But it certainly helps to go to other blogs (preferably related to your own in theme) and comment on their stuff (and follow them). They might seek you out and if they like what they see might follow you.
I made it to meanwhile over 300 followers, some are just following me for a reason only they know (I have strangely a lot of super religious followers, but I am not obliged to follow them back)
Only some very few comment regularly on my posts, usually I am following their blogs, too. So do not get disheartened if you do not get much discussion going.
Machenbach wrote: "Reen wrote: "I also heartily approve of her panache."It's spelt ganache you doofus."
Machenbach wrote: "Reen wrote: "I also heartily approve of her panache."
It's spelt ganache you doofus."
I'll give you ganache, and a loaf of spelt bread with it mister. That'd be quite a nice elevenses.
Machenbach wrote: "Reen wrote: "I'll give you ganache, and a loaf of spelt bread with it mister. That'd be quite a nice elevenses.."."Sounds good to me - I'm down to the dust at the bottom of a Flahavan's pack and ..."
I'm on a day off so I had that treat of treats, tea and toast in bed. I'd have preferred a croissant but I didn't want to push my luck.
message 192 (Machenbach) -'Wow, I've never heard of either of those places'...
Well it's current popularity is a main line rail to London just a 90 seconds walk from our home (well it was until events last April turned it back into a commuter free sleepy village).
AB76 wrote: "...the idea of reading an authors entire oeuvre for a year or a few months is a challenge i might try at some point, it could be an immersive trip to another world, with various biographies and studies to compliment...I did not mean to suggest that I read the whole œvre of authors I like exclusively and in succession; however, when I do get involved with an author, I like to revisit their works frequently over a relatively short period. This is especially useful if I have a bad experience - then, I'll almost inevitably select something by a 'tried and trusted' author for my next read. Not that long ago, I made the mistake of trying out three 'experiments' in a row - all failures. It's off-putting, and such a relief to find a 'safe pair of hands' who knows how to write well, and to tell a story worth reading.
I try to read only one book by the same author a year
Fair enough, but you will probably end up with many disappointments... and I sincerely hope that you don't get hooked on Barbara Cartland (700+ novels) or - more understandably -Simenon (500 novels or so), because if you do, you'll have to find some elixir which will allow you to stick around for a considerable time!
Had to ditch the Mcilvanney novel "the Big Man", law of diminishing returns with this author, who has great talent but i grow weary of a "mafia scotland" setting.He isnt revelling in his unpleasent, untouchable hardman characters but there is a feeling that he enjoys describing their lives and the victims in their net. The Big Man isnt a crime novel but it involves the world of crime. The violence was not an issue, McIlvanney dwelt on the emotions during a fight not "punch porn" but around 180 pages, i just said "meh"...bye bye
written in 1985 it doesnt really count as "modern" but too many attributes of the modern novel were leaving me flat
Georg wrote: When I was 16 or 17 half of my classmates started to speak middle-earthish, so I felt compelled to read LotRs. I did finish it, just. My first and last foray into fantasy fiction territory.I never much cared for fairy stories even as a child - mind you, the traditional ones are pretty sick and scary, so that's not surprising. They should have been banned! ;-)
So, it's not surprising that fantasy never appealed later on...
Andy wrote: Edinburgh... certainly makes me want to go there and see it for myself.Edinburgh is well worth a visit - the underground tunnels are fascinating:
https://www.edinburghexpert.com/blog/...
and for those of us religious sceptics, the statue to commemorate the philosopher David Hume, as well as his grave in the cemetery on Calton Hill, definitely repay a visit:
https://www.edinburghexpert.com/blog/...
Bill wrote:"Actually, the only other Barnes I've read, many years after Flaubert's Parrot, was The Noise of Time which I liked pretty well.."Interesting - I haven't much cared for Barnes's biographically based fictions - 'Arthur and George' being another (my wife liked it, though).
In general, I have preferred his early novels (especially the Francophile ones) - such as Metroland and 'Cross Channel' (short stories) - and some of the later, shorter books such as The Sense of an Ending, The Only Story, and the memoir 'about' (in a manner of speaking) his love for his deceased wife, 'Levels of Life'.
The last three show the mature Barnes in especially good form, in my opinion (others are available, no doubt).
"Machenbach wrote: ...So I'll take this AND Normal People. Happy days. Thank you brain. Thank you TLS."I can see how that might happen...
As for 'Normal People', no idea how good the book is, but TBF the TV adaptation was very sensitively handled (I thought) - excellent actors portraying the difficult parts of growing up.
Greenfairy wrote: "I have date on Tuesday morning for my initial dose of vaccine. Light at the end of the tunnel"Haha!
I read: "I have date on Tuesday morning", and thought we were in line for a bit of confessional stuff here... how disappointingly that sentence ended!
(No date yet for myself, despite being in a group 'supposedly' to be jabbed by mid-February... but at least Mam (98) has had a shot, so small mercies...)
Machenbach wrote: ...the book link search thing here seems to be behaving very erratically of late...It certainly is - I tried to link to a few Julian Barnes titles a few minutes ago - not the most obscure author, I'd have thought - but "Levels of Life' brought up a lot of Biology textbooks!
AB76 wrote: "Just been doing a little shop for female novelists of the dominions (Canada-Australia-NZ-S Africa)I'm not entirely sure what your tastes are - they seem pretty eclectic - but you may like to consider novels by Canadian author Stef Penney, which deal with woman or man vs nature - 'The Tenderness of Wolves' and 'Under a Pole Star'. Both rattling good yarns.
scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Just been doing a little shop for female novelists of the dominions (Canada-Australia-NZ-S Africa)I'm not entirely sure what your tastes are - they seem pretty eclectic - but you may..."
well i've got Ethel Wilson "Swamp Angel" on the way and my next aussie novel is "A Kindness Cup" by Thea Astley,
part of the excellent text classics series, thanks for the Stef Penney recommendation
A friend has just alerted me to Gustav Freytag's "Soll und Haben" (Debit and Credit). Has anyone here read it? I'm aware it's deeply racist and anti-semitic.
Veufveuve wrote: "A friend has just alerted me to Gustav Freytag's "Soll und Haben" (Debit and Credit). Has anyone here read it? I'm aware it's deeply racist and anti-semitic."i dont think its translated but it seems to be the big german Wilhelmine classic that never "crossed over" like Storm or Fontane did. Unlike the two Theodors, it apparently was very much of its time, in the vein of nationalistic but not pre-Nazi pan-germanism
if you read german, then you will be ok..
Greenfairy wrote: "I have date on Tuesday morning for my initial dose of vaccine. Light at the end of the tunnel"Good news, things are going a pace in my neck of the woods. Hopefully I will have my second by the middle of April at the latest.
AB76 wrote: "I also was tempted by Christina Stead but despite being an aussie most of her novels are set in the USA."Often, when I have read (usually crime) novels set in one country but written by an author from a different country, I have a good chuckle at the things they get wrong. Or the ones written by American authors which have to have a glossary of terms (which are always at the end of the book, not the beginning which would make more sense).
This post comes across as horribly superior, which is not how I mean it to be.
AB76 wrote: "Veufveuve wrote: "A friend has just alerted me to Gustav Freytag's "Soll und Haben" (Debit and Credit). Has anyone here read it? I'm aware it's deeply racist and anti-semitic."i dont think its tr..."
Actually, I think I've just found a translation by the author, published in New York in 1858, on Project Gutenberg.
Reen wrote: "In other news, I have just finished watching Spiral, the final series. I now have a Gilou-shaped hole in my life.."I miss Spiral so much too. If you have never seen it and like tense cop dramas I would highly recommend it. I think all the series are on the BBC iplayer so you can watch it if you live in the UK. The rest of us will have to rely on CD box sets. I think a box set of the entire 8 series is out soon.
FranHunny wrote: "Since I finished Bryson I started another non-fiction aboutchemistry in our everyday life, Komisch, alles chemisch, by Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim.Have I mentioned I hate to navigate goodreads? It took me..."
Awkward isn't it?
scarletnoir wrote: "Greenfairy wrote: "I have date on Tuesday morning for my initial dose of vaccine. Light at the end of the tunnel"Haha!
I read: "I have date on Tuesday morning", and thought we were in line for a..."
No chance of anything worth confessing whilst in lockdown ;)
The Woman in White is a long novel that has been on my list for years, which Borges considered to be, along with The Moonstone, one of the great detective novels. The writing in The Woman in White is similar to that in an epistolary novel, with a selection of characters writing their impressions in journal entries. This mode was apparently part of the appeal to the Victorian audience, but this style of narration is not one of my favourites. For that reason, I prefer Braddon’s Lady Audley’s Secret and Dickens’s The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Apologies to everyone here who is passionate about the text, but I just felt it detained me longer than I would have liked.Moving onto Nabokov’s Pale Fire.
Blue wrote: "Reen wrote: "In other news, I have just finished watching Spiral, the final series. I now have a Gilou-shaped hole in my life.."I miss Spiral so much too. If you have never seen it and like tense..."
We are likely to watch the last two episodes tonight, having waited for the whole series to air so that we could see it in binge-watch style. For us codgers, it's also much easier to avoid losing the thread without a week's gap in between episodes!
(Of course, it aired first in France on Canal+, but as we don't subscribe, saw it on BBC like most others in the UK... loved the series, but did miss the remarkable Philippe Duclos's portrayal of Judge Roban in this final series.)
scarletnoir wrote: "Blue wrote: "Reen wrote: "In other news, I have just finished watching Spiral, the final series. I now have a Gilou-shaped hole in my life.."I miss Spiral so much too. If you have never seen it a..."
no spoilers please but i'm watching it real time-ish, ie one episode every 3-4 days. Its a brilliant series and i miss Roban too but the new investigating judge is an interesting gallic beauty and i like her
i remember the early days of canal + on a french exchange in 1987, in the uk we didnt have satellite/cable in uk( in the rural shires at the time) and i was enthralled by the idea
It seemed quite strange to read that someone, Juliet Nicholson, has written a book called Frostquake about the big freeze which began on Boxing Day 1962. Strange because I remember standing with my mother-in-law watching the snow fall on that day with delight but coming to curse it as it forgot to stop.My second son was two months old, the elder one four recently out of hospital. In those days one had these big old prams which were useful in that you could put one child inside and one on top, a basket underneath held the shopping. The pavements were ice bound for months and one slipped and slithered to the shops.
Nicholson writes that it was the beginning of change in British society. The Profumo affair had shocked, the Cuban crisis was coming and the pill arrived for married women. But at the time it didn’t feel much like change, just an everlasting battle to get the nappies dry. No disposable ones then. The satirical That Was the Week That was on television was very popular and, I suppose, that may have heralded the decline in respect for pompous authoritarianism.
Looking back it seems to me that the real change was the Pill, the one that has altered society most for it gave women the freedom to choose whether or not to have a child, something not very reliable before.
I say this because it enabled women gradually to begin to think that they could have a career, could further their education; it has brought about fundamental change.
The emancipation of women has meant that the prediction of ever increasing human population is incorrect simply because the fertility rate ( the number of children a woman has) has fallen dramatically. For many countries this rate is now below 2.1 which is needed for a stable population. In 23 countries, including Italy, Spain, Portugal, their populations are now predicted to halve by the end of the century. China’s population to decrease by almost half, a seven hundred million person drop.
While world population will go on increasing largely due to the high fertility rates in some African countries until the middle of this century it will then fall and, in time, as education spreads throughout Africa there will be population decline there, too.
The decrease in populations has enormous economic effects.
I would trace it all back to 1962, the Pill that changed the world.
Mod
CCCubbon wrote: "It seemed quite strange to read that someone, Juliet Nicholson, has written a book called Frostquake about the big freeze which began on Boxing Day 1962."I was born in Januar 1964 ...
You’re just trying to make me feel old!
CCCubbon wrote: the big freeze which began on Boxing Day 1962.The 1962-3 winter was bitterly cold, with the most snow I can remember - some images from Pinterest:
https://www.google.com/search?q=image...
I seem to recall that a local had the 'bright' idea of taking a back road home, and got stuck in his car, completely buried in snow, for a day or two - only a couple of miles out of town. Couldn't find a link though... no Google in those days, and clearly the story hasn't been uploaded!
I think you are right to indicate that the pill was a major step forward, as humankind can't keep on using resources at the current rate, and falls in birthrates will help to rein that back a bit.
Machenbach wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "the memoir 'about' (in a manner of speaking) his love for his deceased wife, 'Levels of Life'."I haven't read that, but she was an important literary agent wasn't she..."
Yes, indeed - Pat Kavanagh, who clearly lived a very interesting life:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Kav...
FWIW, Barnes is one of the few current 'literary' British authors I care to read (the very different Jonathan Coe is another) - but I can't stand Marin Amis, and have gone off Ian McEwan.
Ah, the winter of 1962/63 I had to take two buses for the 9mile journey to school in Nottingham, The buses always managed to get up Derby Road's very steep hill, then we walked down/up/ a couple of steep hills to the school, which stayed open all winter as I recall.
Mod
I've just looked this up - rather ashamed of having no memory of it whatsoever. My journey to school - in the suburbs of London - wouldn't have been affected as it was 10 minutes on foot.
Mod
Another fan of Engrenages here - I watched it on dvd as I don't have canal+ and enjoyed reading the Guardian blog over the past few weeks.
To Magrat & Hushpuppy (I think): on another series note - I've seen The Queen's Gambit and thoroughly enjoyed it. I totally agree about the clothes. I think one of you has read the book? I've just bought it but not started it yet.
Today, I am in the mood for Lust, a book-length essay by Simon Blackburn and one of an Oxford University Press series covering the Seven Deadly Sins.(Unfortunately, due to the current bug in the database mentioned by others, I am not able to provide a link to the book itself.)
Hope it will prove as enjoyable as Thierry Paquot's The Art of the Siesta, which I reviewed for the non-ersatz TL&S (allow me a small sigh).
Right after the preface we get Shakespeare's sonnet 129,
"The expense of spirit in a waste of shame
is lust in action; and till action, lust
is perjured, murderous, bloody, full of blame,
savage, extreme, rude, cruel, not to trust,
enjoy’d no sooner but despised straight,
[...]"
You probably know that the fear and loathing continue for the rest of the fourteen lines. Blackburn quotes the complete sonnet, following this with the dry statement that "lust gets a bad press."
Indeed, he continues:
"It is the fly in the ointment, the black sheep of the family, the ill-bred, trashy cousin of upstanding members like love and friendship. It lives on the wrong side of the tracks, lumbers around elbowing its way into too much of our lives, and blushes when it comes into company."
Today's choice of book made me remember that Gert Mattenklott (a late professor of Comparative Literature inspiring many students) raised some eyebrows (wouldn't know about blushes) when he published a brief essay on "Horniness: A Memory"... Other than the title might suggest, it was about salaciousness in various discourses through history, not personal reminiscences.
Appropriate to the subject, and for booklovers, I peeked a bit, and Blackburn's essay is peppered with various illustrations ranging from Attic satyrs to a photograph of Mick Jagger during a 1976 concert, with Tizian, Gainsborough, Toulouse-Lautrec and others' works interspersed inbetween. I look forward to seeing how they are interwoven with which arguments! Happy to let you know, should you be interested.
____________________________
I read the contributions on the snowy winter of 1962 with great interest, the more so as lots of snow are announced to come down in many regions here this weekend! I hope that despite this, we will be able to visit Mr B's parent, whose birthday is coming up.
In more domestic news, we just had waffles with (defrosted) raspberries (no cream today). It was my friend's birthday this week, and for many years, we have always celebrated it together — with smaller or bigger crowds of people, but always with waffles and cherries and cream. So I told her on the phone we'd eat waffles in reminiscence this week, as it is not possible we celebrate together this year, and she loved that.
Love the waffles, too.
scarletnoir wrote: FWIW, Barnes is one of the few current 'literary' British authors I care to read (the very different Jonathan Coe is another) - but I can't stand Martin Amis, and have gone off Ian McEwan."I see that our tastes are quite similar in this regard, scarletnoir! Though I should add that have not read most of the latest Ian McEwans. I thought The Children Act was a good one, disliked various others.
In Julian Barnes' A History of the World in 10½ Chapters, in the middle we get half a chapter on love. It is central, in various ways. I was reminded of it when I read of Pat Kavanagh's death, though, yes, it is vital to distinguish between narrator and author in most cases.
Due to posts here as well as the unmentionable B*****, I have been thinking about rereading Barnes' England, England. Haven't read that one for twentyish years, so it might be interesting.
I do have a weak spot for Jonathan Coe's novels, even the ones I would not rate as his best.
Mod
"I've just looked this up - rather ashamed of having no memory of it whatsoever."
"i was 14 years off being born ..."
Ah ... I was 14 years old 😉
i am just uploading two pics my grandfather took in 1962-3, showing the icy stretches of keyhaven river in hampshire. ( i have never seen that river freeze in my lifetime)
Pics uploaded, memories of WInter 1962-3
CCCubbon wrote: "It seemed quite strange to read that someone, Juliet Nicholson, has written a book called Frostquake about the big freeze which began on Boxing Day 1962. Strange because I remember standing with my..."Are you going to read it? Inquiring minds want to know.
Veufveuve wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "It seemed quite strange to read that someone, Juliet Nicholson, has written a book called Frostquake about the big freeze which began on Boxing Day 1962."I was born in Januar 196..."
I remember that winter well-I was 7-and have ordered a copy from John Sandoe.
The Proof by César Aira, translated by Nick Caistor.
This is a stand-out and memorable opening to a book...
Wannafuck?
Sixteen year-old, overweight Marcia is wandering around when similarly aged punks, calling themselves Lenin and Mao, interrupt her. At first she is very put off by them, but they are insistent, and she follows them to a fast-food restaurant, and a supermarket.
With a thirty pages of the book to go though, this love story gathers pace to say the least, to a quick, unsettling and astonishing end, as the punks prove their love to Marcia.
Its a wonderful little book, don't read too many reviews to avoid spoilers, simply know it is about the things we do for love..
MKI haven’t decided but was interested enough to read the article. I do find the population changes because of the pill particularly fascinating and will certainly be following the statistics.
Coupled with climate change the implications for the middle of this century are going to be a challenging for many, it’s not yet fully realised by most people what is going to happen.
There was study done by the UN recently which predicts that out of the 190plus countries they looked at over three quarters would have more than a 10% decline by 2150. The period when there are too many old people, not enough Young is going to be difficult. Eventually I guess things will even out again .
The earth/ nature will benefit ..... wish I could live long enough to watch it happen.
Christopher Plummer – It is worth watching the 2005 rom-com “Must Love Dogs” to see him stand up and recite “Brown Penny” by WB Yeats. He is playing a secondary part, but I think he makes the movie revolve around himself and that moment.
Mystery lovers who are into video ought to think about viewing on You Tube - Otto Penzler Mystery Classics. The most recent one is about Donald E. Westlake, who is an author I return to (especially those of the Dortmunder Gang) when I want a story with a twist which also makes me laugh.If we ever get out of this mess, I will be taking a trip east which will include as many of the bookshops that have survived, including the Mysterious Bookshop in NYC.
CCC (264) - Beautiful, thank you. It never occurred to me to check Youtube.
MK wrote: "Mystery lovers who are into video ought to think about viewing on You Tube - Otto Penzler Mystery Classics. The most recent one is about Donald E. Westlake, who is an author I return to (especially..."lets hope Biden can sort you guys out,i've been reading "The Federalist papers" slowly for a good 7-8 months and the states rights issues are where the corona response has died a death
some states seem to be actively against restrictions and there is no way the USA will get out of covid with 52 different strategies...along with the UK, the USA has handled covid very badly. trump and boris..plague infliction specialists
Gpfr wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "Ah, the winter of 1962/63 ..."Ah ... I was 14 years old 😉"
So was I!
CCCubbon wrote: "It seemed quite strange to read that someone, Juliet Nicholson, has written a book called Frostquake about the big freeze which began on Boxing Day 1962. Strange because I remember standing with my..."I do remember the big Freeze, but I was not quite seven and this was in Bavaria. I remember trying out some kind of hurling game on the nearest large lake, the Ammersee, which was frozen over.
The snow was several feet thick for months. I loved it, but we had central heating in our RAF flat complex in Landsberg. I think the Germans were far more technologically advanced then, than we were, back in 'blighty'. I remember feeling really cold, in Glasgow, (without actual snow) a year later, in winter, in a way that I did not remember being actually cold in Germany.
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Ersatz TLS
Books mentioned in this topic
A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters (other topics)A History of the World in 10½ Chapters (other topics)
Bengal Nights (other topics)
The Count of Monte Cristo (other topics)
The Proof (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
César Aira (other topics)César Aira (other topics)
Jonathan Coe (other topics)
Simon Blackburn (other topics)
Henri Bosco (other topics)
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A section set in the Mozambique bush (due to all the invented names it might be NE S Africa), is richly detailed in the flora and fauna described, a tropical winter trek through the "deadlands" as a portugese officer tells the narrator. the amazing intensity and variety of species described makes the chapter almost like an Attenborough documentary.....