What Are We Reading? 26 April 2021

[scarletnoir]

Fuzzywuzz wrote: "It may have been you previously who have made some excellent recommendations vis-à-vis crime/thrillers in the past."

Entirely possible, as it's my go-to genre for a bit of harmful entertainment... though I can't be sure. I just wanted to suggest that Rebus is worth sticking with even if you find Knots and Crosses underwhelming - but not if you find it unreadable, of course!

[scarletnoir]

AB76 wrote: "i found Deighton very dissapointing to read, i expected a lot from his ouevre and having watched the films with Michael Caine in and SS-GB a few years back but on the page, i just felt...not for me, something about how he writes just made me stop reading"

Fair enough - I read Deighton mainly in my teens and after. I eventually went off him, because (as I thought then) his standard dropped. Maybe it was my expectations that rose, as I became a more sophisticated reader... who knows? I'm quite loyal to favourite authors - I remember feeling that I should really have bailed earlier. I still have fond memories of the earliest books, though.

[scarletnoir]

CCCubbon wrote: "Finally, I have bought myself a proper reading light. Expensive, that’s why I delayed but what a difference it has made for now I can read my poetry books again.
I had despaired of enjoying Crow (..."

Excellent news re the lamp - well done!

[Lass]

I do indeed seem to be having a spot of bother responding correctly here. Most probably a severe attack of brain fuzz. Will try to sort myself out, and respond coherently.

[AB76]

scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "i found Deighton very dissapointing to read, i expected a lot from his ouevre and having watched the films with Michael Caine in and SS-GB a few years back but on the page, i just felt..."

Interesting thing is Eric Ambler, who i disliked after 3 of his later novels died a death on my commute, warmed on me in last 18 months and is now an author i will probably read more of. Epitaph for a spy was a really good read, great setting and it made me think

[giveusaclue]

Pomfretian wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "Battle of Towton"
We don't live far from Towton and had a wander about the battlefield last week. There is a trail round and a number of information boards giving historical con..."

Thanks, I will remember that as I am sure I will visit the area at some point

[giveusaclue]

CCCubbon wrote: "Finally, I have bought myself a proper reading light. Expensive, that’s why I delayed but what a difference it has made for now I can read my poetry books again.
I had despaired of enjoying Crow (..."

Lovely news, I'm glad you have found something to help

[AB76]

AntiSemitism by Hermann Bahr is a fascinating read so far

Rixdorf Editions have compiled a set of interviews he undertook in 1893 with the main literary and political figures of his social circle across Europe, all discussing the growing menace of anti-semitism in European society.

The first two interviewees identify the need for a scapegoat and the nature of political rabble rousing. I see this as the age old process of finding and creating the "other" to put all the problems of society onto.

Hatred or hate is the simplest guide to anti-semitism in this era, one interviewee identifies the coarseness of german mass politics in the early 1890s as an issue, the rise of the demagogue and the "character"