Ersatz TLS discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Weekly TLS
>
What Are We Reading? 21 June 2021
Mod
That sounds very interesting, thank you, Sandya; I'll check it out.
Robert wrote: "AB76 wrote: " Rebel Richmond by Stephen Ash (U of N Carolina Press) is a study of Civil War Richmond, using public records, diaries and other accounts for the four years it became the capital of th..."yes thats the one! Dug it out of my attic yesterday
The depth of Civil War studies is impressive but as i'm avoiding the military accounts for now, i'm finding it harder to pick around seperating wheat from chaff. I am avoiding indy published POD books and sticking to reputable accounts, the U of N Carolina Press has a good series on the war
Confederate Cities (U of Chicago) remains my favourite confederate account so far, focusing on a region that was manifestly non-urban is a challenge but the book was brilliant and i learnt a lot. The Kentucky book i read was also rigorous and well constructed(OUP), looking at the border state situation.
I think the washington book or Chesnutts diaries will be my next civil war book, probably in the autumn
A highlight of my reading week has been a book of short stories, which is rare for me, as I usually find collections to have a frustrating inconsistency. Not so with Guy de Maupassant’s The Mountain Inn and Other Stories (translated by HNP Sloman). This is one of the best books of short stories I have read, and show Maupassant at the height of his powers. Only a few would be labelled as ghost stories or fit into the horror category. Rather, these are short period pieces, describing France and its culture
Amongst that horror category, for which Maupassant is perhaps best know, the title story, and Fear stand out. But, unlike other books of short stories, it really is difficult to single out highlights as they are consistently strong.
Another highlight has been Buddy Levy’s Labyrinth of Ice: The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition.
. How could this fascinating chunk of Arctic history have eluded me for so long? In July 1881, Lt. A.W. Greely put together a crew of 24 scientists and explorers and set out to reach areas of the north that had not been traversed before. The expedition carried equipment to conduct scientific research on the weather and planned to catalog the flora and fauna of the place. However, Greely's main goal was to achieve Farthest North and claim that record for the United States.
The expedition achieved almost all of its objectives, but were also faced with atrocious weather conditions which left them trapped, without a resupply vessel, and needing to spend a second winter on the ice.
Levy’s telling of the story of the expedition starts slowly, but it soon becomes compelling reading, as it’s unclear how many and which of the crew of 24 will survive.
Other expeditions of the era may be more well known, but this is an equally outstanding story of heroism, discovery, bravery, and survival. In the company of those other voyages this stands out though. Shackleton, de Long, and Franklin died before they had chance to write up their voyages over the years of their older age. Greely, like Darwin or Fitzroy, does this. He lived until he was 90, spending his last years in a residential club with scientists as peers. His crew’s achievements are therefore well documented. Indeed, his life was a fascinating one, as was that of his right hand man, the last survivor of the expedition, who I won’t name here as it would be something of a spoiler.
Greely’s development of the refuge at Fort Conger, on the Greenland coast, are in themselves fascinating.
Levy’s pacing of his writing brings the story alive, it reads like the script of an action movie, with its incredible discoveries, grief and suffering, extraordinary feats, fluctuating group relations, and miraculous escapes.
Also, I greatly enjoyed Joan Lindsay’s Picnic at Hanging Rock
, but found some of the detail blurred at times, blaming it on myself for perhaps missing a key sentence or two. However, in reading a couple of media reviews they share that hallucinatory quality that I observed, and say it was intentional, as Lindsay wrote it very quickly, the morning after a particularly vivid dream. It’s a thriller or murder mystery, set against a menacing and impenetrable backdrop of the rock.
It is also a historic piece of significance, particularly in its commentary on privilege and white history.
Only on reading the reviews, did I learn of Lindsay’s missing chapter. There’s an ending with rough edges, but again, intentional on the author’s part. The Secret of Hanging Rock has in it that additional chapter I believe, and I’m off to track it down…
Mod
The latest Slightly Foxed podcast talks about this - and other 'school stories' ranging from the Chalet School series to The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
Andy wrote: "A highlight of my reading week has been a book of short stories, which is rare for me, as I usually find collections to have a frustrating inconsistency. Not so with [author:Guy de Maupassant|1879..."i read a lot about Greely in my exploration phase about 25 years ago, as part of all the explorers like Peary,Amundsen,Franklin etc. all fascinating stuff
as for De Maupassant, i havent heard of that collection and must cross reference it with a collection of short stories i read a while ago
The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun, wow, this novel is unfolding with the deepest suspense possible, as a young woman makes a journey from Paris to Provence, all along the way people insist they saw her on the same journey the day before but she was in Paris, at her desk, at work.I am getting a hint that the resolution to this may be supernatural(doppelgangers) but am not sure, as the plotting would have to be either byzantine to explain things or more mundane co-incidence...as an alternative
Written in 1967, its an unusual tale and after 100 odd pages, i am still baffled
Sandya wrote: "The Pioneering Life of Mary Wortley Montagu. Scientist and Feminist...
Very interesting, Sandya, thank you. I could never get why in some places it says LMWM introduced inoculation/vaccination and in other places it says Jenner, and now I understand why.
Very interesting, Sandya, thank you. I could never get why in some places it says LMWM introduced inoculation/vaccination and in other places it says Jenner, and now I understand why.
Robert wrote: "Only reached 100 degrees here in Auburn Saturday. That was quite enough."At 6 a.m. here in Magnolia it is 79 inside with all house orifices trying to welcome cool air that's not there. Here's a tip I received from our local NextDoor if you have a basement - put the furnace fan on constant.
I see that Auburn Library will be open from 10-6 Monday which might be a help.
Lazy yesterday with another book from my shelves. As I have said before, I am a fan of police procedurals and have collected several series. One is Capt. Heimrich by Richard Lockridge (of Mr. & Mrs. North fame). I enjoyed - With Option to Die - which has a copyright of 1967. I was struck by how little things have changed. In this mystery an NAACP lawyer buys a home in bucolic Wellwood (think Westchester County north of NYC), proposes an integrated Country Club and all hell breaks loose with a national right-wing radical showing up to complicate things and create mayhem.
We don't seem to learn much from history and continue to have loud people with megaphones who point to others to blame for societies ills - when the other only crime is to be there.
End of complaint.
Lljones wrote: "At long last and without further ado, it is my great pleasure to announce a memorial for our dear Justine, being installed today:This really is a very beautiful tribute and the library is marvellous, what a great idea.
Today I finished a book called Dear Life by Rachel Clarke. I'm not even sure I can put into words how my emotions are - I guess in a very blunt way I feel like I have been hammered and the resultant fragments are jittery and displaced.Rachel Clarke is a doctor working in palliative care. These are her experiences from the start as a medical student through to her working life and how she deals with and helps those facing terminal illness, including that of her father. There are many stories of the patients (of all ages) who she has helped both mentally and physically prepare for and be as comfortable as possible for the end.
There were many facets of medicine explored here too - different approaches to treating different cancers (solid versus Haematological malignancy), the lack of discussion of death during medical training, the lack of emotional support to the staff in supporting those close to death, the paucity of NHS (UK) funding for palliative care etc.
What I like about this book is the human narrative. It has certainly encouraged me to think about 'living in the moment' more. How true is it we can get bogged down by the little things - 'Dishes Piling Up' and other mundane things that really don't matter in the big scheme of things.
Russell wrote: "Sandya wrote: "The Pioneering Life of Mary Wortley Montagu. Scientist and Feminist...Very interesting, Sandya, thank you. I could never get why in some places it says LMWM introduced inoculation/..."
She introduced it. 70 years later, Jenner improved the protocol.
Jenner noticed that milkmaids exposed to cowpox never got smallpox, so he substituted one for the other and reduced the small but finite mortality from inoculation with live smallpox virus to zero. This works because poxviruses are a family and confer immunity to each other.
Lady Mary introduced inoculation with live virus (albeit with a small viral load) from Turkey in ~1720, some 70 years before Jenner! By his day inoculation was an established procedure. Occasionally someone died, but for the most part it resulted in a mild fever with little or no scarring that rendered the patient immune to further infection. This was the original method. She had a hell of a fight to get people to accept that it worked.
I do not denigrate what Jenner accomplished but it is typical of the overwhelmingly male medical establishment to focus on Jenner and leave Lady Mary out of the histories. As I mentioned, this was the case in my immunology courses at university. I was puzzled at the time because I already knew who LMWM was and had read her letters! Now, I wish I had put my hand up in lectures and asked why!!
I wish some university would open an infectious disease research building and name it after her!
MK wrote: "Robert wrote: "Only reached 100 degrees here in Auburn Saturday. That was quite enough."At 6 a.m. here in Magnolia it is 79 inside with all house orifices trying to welcome cool air that's not th..."
my tip for rather more clement english warmth, is to let the cool air in overnight, leaving windows open till around 9am and then closing all curtains and windows to retain the inner cool. it works best in old houses with shade, modern boxes built by lazy tory donors are furnaces and have very little chance with this technique, as the windows barely open
on the hottest days i can change the temps by about 4-5c overnight with this tactic and return the house to morning cool by 9am. if the heat is intense for over a week, the resting low temps indoors do rise but i still get relief
plus if you have an attic with a hatch in the floor...leave that hatch open all day, the warmer air indoors will go into the attic and cooler air will drop into the bedroom
Sunday lunch with my parents and i returned home with my Grandfathers copy of The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden, also a favourite of my mothersIts a hardback 1959 edition, with a lovely painted cover, though i needed to sellotape the cover back together
will be reading it in August(if my TBR pile goes in order)
AB76 wrote: "The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun, wow, this novel is unfolding with the deepest suspense possible, as a young woman makes a journey from Paris to Provence, all along the w..."I read that a couple of years ago and enjoyed it also AB.
Japrisot Sebastien is an alias, an anagram of his real name. I’ve also read Trap for Cinderella, which was not as good, and keen to read One Deadly Summer at some stage soon…
Andy wrote: "A highlight of my reading week has been a book of short stories, which is rare for me, as I usually find collections to have a frustrating inconsistency. Not so with [author:Guy de Maupassant|1879..."Picnic at Hanging Rock was made into a good Australian film.
I'm on holiday in the Forest of Dean and today has been rather grey but dry. I intended to visit the Sculpture Trail but it was heaving when I got there so I had a scenic ride to Ross- on-Wye instead.I have finished reading Marc Morris's Anglo Saxons. It didn't end well! I came away with the sad knowledge that the lifestyle of Jesus was not carried on by many higher clergy. St(!) Wilfred, to name just one, was more interested in enriching himself and killing pagans than following Jesus' example. He was one of many and this, of course, carried on through the centuries through the Crusades the Inquisition, 16th century England.
Enriching themselves at the expense of the poorer and building huge cathedrals to the glory of God or themselves? But that probably makes me a hypocrite as I love viewing church architecture!
Andy wrote: "I greatly enjoyed Joan Lindsay’s Picnic at Hanging Rock."I think it's a hugely underrated text - and I'm sceptical of the author's claim to have written it in a couple of weeks. I feel the only hint that it was rushed is the final chapter.
Andy wrote: "AB76 wrote: "The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun, wow, this novel is unfolding with the deepest suspense possible, as a young woman makes a journey from Paris to Provence, al..."At first I misread the title and envisioned Amy Stewart's (Drunken Botanist, anyone?) the Kopp Sisters mystery series. Based on a news fragment she found while research, this series is based on history. The first book is -
.
Andy wrote: "AB76 wrote: "The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun, wow, this novel is unfolding with the deepest suspense possible, as a young woman makes a journey from Paris to Provence, al..."i'm probably gonna read it at your speed Andy, cos i'm just hooked on "what the f**** is going on?". my mind is coming up with various scenarios and you know its a good book when i;'m thinking about explanations as i lie in bed!
Robert wrote: "Andy wrote: "A highlight of my reading week has been a book of short stories, which is rare for me, as I usually find collections to have a frustrating inconsistency. Not so with [author:Guy de Mau..."i remember the film frightening me as a kid (we watched it in school a few times) and the fact, back then, i thought it was a real story, a sort of Marie Celeste thing (that was a childhood nightmare too)
Sandya wrote: "Russell wrote: "Sandya wrote: "The Pioneering Life of Mary Wortley Montagu. Scientist and Feminist...She introduced it. 70 years later, Jenner improved the protocol..."
Thanks, that makes it all clear. I can imagine that persuading people to have an inoculation with live smallpox was a pretty tough sell, so vaccination with cowpox would have been quite a breakthrough. According to “Bad Medicine” by David Wootton, before Caroline of Anspach had her two daughters inoculated in 1722 there was a trial on six condemned prisoners in Newgate, on the understanding that if they survived they would be released. They at least all survived.
Thanks, that makes it all clear. I can imagine that persuading people to have an inoculation with live smallpox was a pretty tough sell, so vaccination with cowpox would have been quite a breakthrough. According to “Bad Medicine” by David Wootton, before Caroline of Anspach had her two daughters inoculated in 1722 there was a trial on six condemned prisoners in Newgate, on the understanding that if they survived they would be released. They at least all survived.
Russell wrote: "Sandya wrote: "Russell wrote: "Sandya wrote: "The Pioneering Life of Mary Wortley Montagu. Scientist and Feminist...She introduced it. 70 years later, Jenner improved the protocol..."Thanks, that..."
Yes, and it was complicated by the fact that nobody at that time had a model for immunity. Physicians could not understand HOW giving someone a disease protected them against it.
I read a lot of 18th century correspondence. One thing you run into is statements like "Lady Harrington is always uneasy when a cat enters the room". For years I wondered what this was about. Surely she could not be scared of a cat? Then it hit me-it is "code" for saying Lady H. was what we could call "allergic" to cats. But the term used was "uneasy" because the imprecise language available described a continuum ranging from "ease" to "unease" or "dis-ease".
The book mentions that particular "clinical trial".
Another thing I noticed in correspondence from this period (18th century) concerns the "nabobs" returning from India laden with the spoils of the BEIC. They would then buy country estates and build large houses. The local hedge squires enviously snipe "The nabob so-and-so has acquired habits of effeminacy in India". For years I wondered, surely they could not all have been gay.....? Then it hit me-the nabobs had adopted the habit of taking a daily bath, very necessary in such a hot climate, and they brought this custom to England. To the manifest horror of the locals.
Mod
110 F, 43.3 C. Still rising, as far as I can tell.
I couldn't possibly be crankier.
Don't be surprised if there is no new Weekly thread posted tomorrow.
😒
Lljones wrote: "Weather update, 6:00 PM, Portland, OR110 F, 43.3 C. Still rising, as far as I can tell.
I couldn't possibly be crankier.
Don't be surprised if there is no new Weekly thread posted tomorrow.
😒"
Goodness! That's hotter than here (Pasadena CA)!
Mod
Record-setting. No end in sight. You know you're in trouble when 95 F sounds comfortable.
Lljones wrote: "Carpenter Finn still putting final construction together (he was working by candlelight on it last night!), while Justine's friends and neighbors look on."Lovely photos, and a fitting memorial!
CCCubbon wrote: "...the profusion of foxgloves this year and I remembered how poisonous they are. With my dodgy ticker I have to be careful and not touch them with bare hands. Interesting - I take it that there is some substance in these flowers which can be absorbed through the skin? I didn't know that.
You probably already know the story of the discovery of the use of digitalis as a medicine... the story goes that in 1775, Dr William Withering saw a patient with severe dropsy, and predicted his demise within a year. A year later, the patient looked much better, and told Withering that he had taken a herbal remedy...
https://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/rzepa/mim/dru....
Yes, Scarlet, foxgloves are very poisonous even to touch because the digitalis can get on your hands and is easily transferred to your eyes or any open sore. There are cases recorded of someone committing suicide by eating the plant bit luckily poisonings are rare but they could give you a nasty stomach ache and diarrhoea . odd isn't it that this poison is also used to combat heart failure in small. quantities but as I have had major surgery I don't take chances. the bees love them and they self seed everywhere.
CCCubbon wrote: "Just wondered. Veufveuve would like it. Thought of him as I watch the Wales/Denmark match…."I bet he enjoyed it more than I did! Our Danish friend left us a bottle of home-made elderflower cordial as consolation...
Russell wrote: "Dupuytren’s Contracture"So, that's what it is called? I'm pretty sure I have this (ridge in one hand - no real problems yet). Both my grandmother and mother had fingers they couldn't straighten...
Sandya wrote: "Lljones wrote: "Weather update, 6:00 PM, Portland, OR110 F, 43.3 C. Still rising, as far as I can tell.
I couldn't possibly be crankier.
Don't be surprised if there is no new Weekly thread post..."
110 F. Wow! You Portlanders have beaten we Auburnites, but not by as much as I'd wish. The heat is bad enough to sap me during the day. Hope you emerge well.
CCCubbon wrote: "Yes, Scarlet, foxgloves are very poisonous even to touch because the digitalis can get on your hands and is easily transferred to your eyes or any open sore. There are cases recorded of someone com..."Thanks - that's interesting. Look after yourself!
scarletnoir wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "Just wondered. Veufveuve would like it. Thought of him as I watch the Wales/Denmark match…."I bet he enjoyed it more than I did! Our Danish friend left us a bottle of home-made e..."
There does seem to be an increase in fouls, shirt pulling, tripping which ruins the game for me. The ref lost control of last night’s game for a while.
For many years I worked with Ken Aston. He’s the ref who introduced the red/yellow cards in football. We used to have to hold up identical cards in the playground when on playtime duty as signals to the children. It is said that he got the idea while sitting at traffic lights but we were using them before they were introduced into football.
He was a truly nice man, a good friend,
MK wrote: "Robert wrote: "Only reached 100 degrees here in Auburn Saturday. That was quite enough."At 6 a.m. here in Magnolia it is 79 inside with all house orifices trying to welcome cool air that's not th..."
Over 100 degrees Sunday at Auburn's airport, a few blocks from here. No air conditioning, but the fans are hard at work.
Lljones wrote: "Sandya wrote: "Goodness! That's hotter than here (Pasadena CA)!Record-setting. No end in sight. You know you're in trouble when 95 F sounds comfortable."
Reminds me of Kipling: "You have no idea how cool 90 degrees in the grass is until you begin to pray for it."
AB76 wrote: "MK wrote: "Robert wrote: "Only reached 100 degrees here in Auburn Saturday. That was quite enough."At 6 a.m. here in Magnolia it is 79 inside with all house orifices trying to welcome cool air th..."
It's a condominium. No attic, no basement, no air conditioning. But a character builder!
Robert wrote: "AB76 wrote: "MK wrote: "Robert wrote: "Only reached 100 degrees here in Auburn Saturday. That was quite enough."At 6 a.m. here in Magnolia it is 79 inside with all house orifices trying to welcom..."
No air-con! Are you in Auburn,CA? How can cali not have air con, or is it a cost thing, a privilege that many dont have?
What floor are you on?
Lljones wrote: "Sandya wrote: "Goodness! That's hotter than here (Pasadena CA)!Record-setting. No end in sight. You know you're in trouble when 95 F sounds comfortable."
Gosh LL and Robert too, this sounds awful, in South East blighty we havent hit 21c for about a week, any memories of warm summer days are gone but we are due short nasty heatwaves too
Keep cool folks, i am thinking of your plight....i am not a fan of heat either
Mod
I don't do well in very hot weather - we had temperatures in the thirties the week before last, but then it got stormy and cooled down. I don't like storms either, and that's still continuing.
I hope that it doesn’t last much longer, LJ, Robert, MK and our Carmen recovering from an operation.
CCCubbon wrote: "I hope that it doesn’t last much longer, LJ, Robert, MK and our Carmen recovering from an operation."how is Carmen CCC? i havent seen her on here for a very long time
scarletnoir wrote: "Russell wrote: "Dupuytren’s Contracture"
So, that's what it is called? I'm pretty sure I have this (ridge in one hand - no real problems yet). Both my grandmother and mother had fingers they could..."
Sorry to hear that. No one knows what causes it, though heredity is a probable factor. The only other thing I know is that the ridges are not what you might think. They’re nothing to do with the tendons tightening. Between the skin of your palm and the bones of the hand there are fascia or bands of tissue that hold the hand together and make it usable. In some people those bands overdevelop and form ridges which pull the fingers down. There is no cure as such, but the operation provides relief and restores the hand to usefulness – until the next time.
So, that's what it is called? I'm pretty sure I have this (ridge in one hand - no real problems yet). Both my grandmother and mother had fingers they could..."
Sorry to hear that. No one knows what causes it, though heredity is a probable factor. The only other thing I know is that the ridges are not what you might think. They’re nothing to do with the tendons tightening. Between the skin of your palm and the bones of the hand there are fascia or bands of tissue that hold the hand together and make it usable. In some people those bands overdevelop and form ridges which pull the fingers down. There is no cure as such, but the operation provides relief and restores the hand to usefulness – until the next time.
Just found a series of new translations(from 2017 onwards) of Czech classics, entitled "Modern Czech Classics" and published by Charles University and U of Chicagowell worth a look:
https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/...
am about to order Grosmans "The Shop on Main Street" and found an author called HG Adler, a german speaking Czech Jew who has 3 novels in translation, i have ordered The Journey
Sandya wrote: "...Another thing I noticed in correspondence from this period (18th century) concerns the nabobs..."
The weather here being hot and humid - though as nothing compared with the Pacific NW - the conversation has turned to showers and baths. Mrs Vermontlogger thinks your explanation of "effeminacy" is very cool.
The weather here being hot and humid - though as nothing compared with the Pacific NW - the conversation has turned to showers and baths. Mrs Vermontlogger thinks your explanation of "effeminacy" is very cool.
just checked the Pacific NW forecast, OMG...45c in Seattle and 49c in Portland, that is brutal, surely a record?
We Trade Our Night for Someone Else's Day by Ivana Bodrožić, translated by Ellen Elias-Bursać.
Though referred to simply as 'the City' this powerful novel is set in Vukovar, in the east of Croatia, just across the Danube from Serbia. In the 1990s the Balkan War was at its most fierce here. There were several massacres. Three trials have since taken place, two of which were not completed due to the deaths of the defendants.
Many local Croat people moved away in the early 1990s, but returned after the war. Schools are still segregated, as is much of the city.
A journalist, from out of town, is assigned to write an article on the perpetrator of a crime of passion, a Croatian high school teacher who fell in love with one of her students, a Serb, and is now in prison for having murdered her husband. But, in visiting the City, she has an ulterior motive.
This is a tragic and atmospheric novel that brings home just how recently the Balkan War took place, and how long it will take to heal from.
It is set in 2011, just as bilingual signage has been requested for public buildings; the very people in charge being the same people who participated in war crimes in the 90’s - corrupt politicians, surviving mobsters and warlords who, almost twenty years later, are now members of the local political and social elite.
This is a very bold piece of writing which will shock much of the wider world in what it exposes. It is also very readable, written as a thriller with a set of diverse and completely believable characters.
Russell wrote: "Sandya wrote: "...Another thing I noticed in correspondence from this period (18th century) concerns the nabobs..."The weather here being hot and humid - though as nothing compared with the Pacif..."
It is just my theory, but I used to laugh every time I read the hedge squires' comments....lol....
Stay cool!!
Mod
Yes, in both cities.
My power was out for about four hours last night. That didn't help.
AB76 wrote: "Robert wrote: "AB76 wrote: "MK wrote: "Robert wrote: "Only reached 100 degrees here in Auburn Saturday. That was quite enough."At 6 a.m. here in Magnolia it is 79 inside with all house orifices t..."
Auburn, Washington, a few hundred miles north.
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
Ersatz TLS
Books mentioned in this topic
Stoner (other topics)Reflections of a Nonpolitical Man (other topics)
Stoner (other topics)
Montaillou: The Promised Land of Error (other topics)
M Word (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Ricardo Romero (other topics)Sacha Batthyany (other topics)
Friedrich Glauser (other topics)
Ricardo Romero (other topics)
Marcelo Figueras (other topics)
More...
Thanks for posting the link. I've been thinking of reading more Mann recently, having only ever read one of his, Tonio Kröger, when studying. At the time it put me off. I knew very little of Mann, but the podcast was enlightening and puts Der Tod in Venedig into context. They say Der Zauberberg is his chef d'oeuvre, and fortuitously it was added to Gutenberg last week.