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What are we reading? 3rd August 2021
MK wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "MK wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Georg wrote: "Apologies for being OT, but I would be most grateful if somebody could enlighten me on the use of "I" and "me"......I bet I would get eye-rolls if I said that I found diagramming sentences in English class fun and informative."
Diagramming sentences???? But then a year or two back I was looking at a GCSE English paper and it talked of determiners and I had no idea what that was - they were definite and indefinite articles back in my day!
Andy wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Andy wrote: "On Lighthouses by Jazmina BarreraFor me, lighthouses are something I have relatively recently been fascinated by. It began when I read [b..."
Tony Parker, the master of oral histories wrote a book called "Lighthouse" in 1975 I havent read it but its in a pile of mine somewhere, in same style as his other oral histories
[book:Lighthouse|706015] - that link didnt work..odd
Lljones wrote: "AB76 wrote: "my mother, a retired speech therapist always maintains that you say "my brother and i " not "my brother and me"..."Mario and I hate the heat.
No one hates the heat more than Mario an..."
I'm with you and Mario. Here in Auburn we have smoke particles in the sky. How are you doing?
Is there any fiction that deals with the Mexican-American War (1848-49) from the Mexican point of view? It seems like this conflict must have been a traumatic national experience for Mexico, with the invading American army occupying the capital city, but I don't remember hearing or seeing much about it , whether in novels or in film - apart of course from things like the Alamo, always told from the American POV.
Mod
Air quality is bad here too.
We're okay. It's a sad state of affairs when you say to yourself "At least it's cooler today (98 F) than yesterday (102 F)".
Lljones wrote: "Robert wrote: "Here in Auburn we have smoke particles in the sky. How are you doing?..."Air quality is bad here too.
We're okay. It's a sad state of affairs when you say to yourself "At least it..."
Similar here. Good point on Mario grammar, by the way.
AB76 wrote: "Robert wrote: "The book on Hitler's invasion of Russia led me to Andrew Roberts' Churchill biography (it is very interesting) and to Peter Longerich's biography of Goebbels. After Churchill becam..."
I've just reached the point in Churchill's story where the local Tory organization threatened mutiny in response to his criticism of Chamberlain's Munich agreement.
Roy Jenkins' Churchill biography, also good, brought out the drama of elected representatives vs. party activists very well. Looking forward to this telling.
Berkley wrote: "Is there any fiction that deals with the Mexican-American War (1848-49) from the Mexican point of view? It seems like this conflict must have been a traumatic national experience for Mexico, with t..."The only good book I know on the subject is non-fiction: Mexico: Biography of Power by Enrique Krauze. The book examines the lives of different men who held power in Mexico, starting with Cortez's time, as well as general topics like "the Mestizo Family."
Very interesting stories. The section on Santa Anna, strongman far too many times, has a clear account of the war as observed by Mexicans, including an intellectual's sarcastic comments on General Scott's march from Veracruz to Mexico City.
Lloyd Lewis' Captain Sam Grant tells the story from the viewpoint of a junior American officer.
Robert wrote: "Berkley wrote: "Is there any fiction that deals with the Mexican-American War (1848-49) from the Mexican point of view? It seems like this conflict must have been a traumatic national experience fo..."Krauze is a brilliant writer about Latin America, i cant think of any Mex-AM war accounts though, which is interesting. There may be some POD contemporary memoirs though, of participants
Lljones wrote: "Robert wrote: "Here in Auburn we have smoke particles in the sky. How are you doing?..."Air quality is bad here too.
We're okay. It's a sad state of affairs when you say to yourself "At least it..."
i really feel for you in the Pacific NW, what a summer, i guess you hope autumn comes early....like 1st September!!
Shorter days should lessen the heat impact if the record temps continue into Sept
For reasons I've never bothered thinking about, I hardly ever read biography, but I think I will have to read this: https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...
Just started A Fire On The Moon by Norman Mailer (1970), already its fascinating me with its wit and style.Always been a moon landing junkie, loved the long, slow BBC documentary on it in 2019 and i still marvel at the complexity of the actual landing sequence
Veufveuve wrote: "For reasons I've never bothered thinking about, I hardly ever read biography, but I think I will have to read this: https://www.theguardian.com/books/202......"
When I first read about it in the G I thought: great, I am so looking forward to this.
After reading todays review I am not so sure anymore.
What makes me uneasy is that this biog obviously goes against the wishes of Sebalds wife and daughter who didn't want his private life exposed. Writing about him will invariably also be an intrusion into their private lives, however delicately it is done.
Angier is well aware of this. She tries to justify it, quoting "dictums" of Janet Malcolm. And by maintaining he did the same, after all: using real people and their stories in his fiction. The reviewer even states:
For Sebald’s books...are also heavily stolen from friends, family and acquaintances, leaving many of them furious and aggrieved.
If that were true it would mean that Sebald had somehow exploited the privacy of people who were still alive for his own ends. Oblivious of the anger and grief he might cause them. How does that fit with the portrait of a man who is oversensitive, who feels the pain of others as if it were his own pain?
I would love to read about how he worked. About the genesis of "The Rings of Saturn": what was left out from the original draft of 2000 pages and why? I would also love to read about problems with translation.
What Sebald wanted to say about himself he said in his books. And that was already more than most writers are prepared to lay open.
For doctors patient confidentiality does not end with the death of their patient. Biographers are not restricted in any way. The review alone has told me more about Sebalds struggle with depression than I wanted to know. And probably more than Sebald would have wanted anybody to know. Alas, he is dead....
Well, I have to think about that some more...
@ Veufveuv. The review of the W G Sebald biography in the Graun was by Caroline Moorehead. You could do worse than read her biographies. I have several, and always find them worthwhile, and informative. The first of hers I read was Dancing to the Precipice. Lucie de la Tour du Pin, and the French Revolution. Fascinating. Since then I’ve read Village of Secrets, and most recently A Train in Winter.
I, otherwise known as the weak-willed one, have signed up for book-related newsletters. This means that while I actually read mostly mysteries, I also keep an online running list of new books I want to keep an eye on. So far today - from the Topping Bookshop in Ely - I've added to my list: Annie Gray's, At Christmas We Feast, and Tristram Hunt's, Radical Potter (Wedgewood).
Then I happened upon this sign of the times from a local bookstore: Third Place Books Events Code of Conduct: Third Place Books is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of event attendees and guest authors, during both online and in-store events. By registering for this event, you are agreeing to refrain from engaging in inappropriate behavior and harassment of any kind throughout the course of this event (i.e. racial slurs, profanity, hate speech, spam comments, etc.). Please note that any participants who engage in inappropriate behavior or harassment of any kind will be immediately ejected from this event.
Ugh!
Robert wrote: "Lljones wrote: "Robert wrote: "Here in Auburn we have smoke particles in the sky. How are you doing?..."Air quality is bad here too.
We're okay. It's a sad state of affairs when you say to yours..."
I'm lucky that I can sleep in the basement, especially since the thermostat said 80° last night. This morning I still opened up windows and doors for cooling, but I added the air purifier I bought in case of smoke.
A sad state of affairs.
Robert wrote: "Berkley wrote: "Is there any fiction that deals with the Mexican-American War (1848-49) from the Mexican point of view? It seems like this conflict must have been a traumatic national experience fo..."Here's the beginning of a piece from NYRB - https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2017...
The Pull of the Stars – Emma Donoghue
A strong story of life, death, love and hope in a Dublin pregnancy unit during the flu epidemic of 1918. The grim details of births that go wrong, and the medical options that then existed. Not for the queasy. Grateful to Fuzzywuzz for a very good recommendation.
Ordinary People – Sally Rooney
For the first two-thirds, this was no more than a serviceable story of contemporary Irish life. The principal characters are supposed to be super-smart students. There is no evidence of this in their conversation, and linguistically it all feels flat and everyday. Then the ordinary struggle for happiness turns darker and becomes a bit more interesting. In the end it was an OK read. Not overly impressed, tbh.
The Master – Colm Tóibín. Fifty pages in. Henry James is visiting Dublin. This is the business. The sumptuous pleasure of high art.
A strong story of life, death, love and hope in a Dublin pregnancy unit during the flu epidemic of 1918. The grim details of births that go wrong, and the medical options that then existed. Not for the queasy. Grateful to Fuzzywuzz for a very good recommendation.
Ordinary People – Sally Rooney
For the first two-thirds, this was no more than a serviceable story of contemporary Irish life. The principal characters are supposed to be super-smart students. There is no evidence of this in their conversation, and linguistically it all feels flat and everyday. Then the ordinary struggle for happiness turns darker and becomes a bit more interesting. In the end it was an OK read. Not overly impressed, tbh.
The Master – Colm Tóibín. Fifty pages in. Henry James is visiting Dublin. This is the business. The sumptuous pleasure of high art.
Georg wrote: "Apologies for being OT, but I would be most grateful if somebody could enlighten me on the use of "I" and "me".
If I were you, I would stick with what you know is grammatically correct, as explained very clearly by giveusaclue in relation to verbs. You will never be wrong.
There is the same issue with prepositions. Pronouns governed by a preposition take the accusative case. It is always “It’s from John and me.” and never “It’s from John and I.”
FWIW, I think the origin of the difficulty is that teachers were determined to stamp out “John and me went out” (incorrect) and “I and John went out” (impolite, treating the speaker as more important), and did not explain sufficiently that are situations when “John and me” is correct and “John and I” is not. The message taken in by most children was simply: “You must remember to say John and I.”
So today “John and I” will be used invariably by many people, regardless of context. In my opinion, the situation is beyond recall, and the confusion has become total. It is entirely normal here in the US to hear young people with a college degree say, e.g., “Me and her went to a movie.”
I actually think I learned more about grammar in our foreign language lessons than I did in English.
If I were you, I would stick with what you know is grammatically correct, as explained very clearly by giveusaclue in relation to verbs. You will never be wrong.
There is the same issue with prepositions. Pronouns governed by a preposition take the accusative case. It is always “It’s from John and me.” and never “It’s from John and I.”
FWIW, I think the origin of the difficulty is that teachers were determined to stamp out “John and me went out” (incorrect) and “I and John went out” (impolite, treating the speaker as more important), and did not explain sufficiently that are situations when “John and me” is correct and “John and I” is not. The message taken in by most children was simply: “You must remember to say John and I.”
So today “John and I” will be used invariably by many people, regardless of context. In my opinion, the situation is beyond recall, and the confusion has become total. It is entirely normal here in the US to hear young people with a college degree say, e.g., “Me and her went to a movie.”
I actually think I learned more about grammar in our foreign language lessons than I did in English.
Russell wrote: "Georg wrote: "Apologies for being OT, but I would be most grateful if somebody could enlighten me on the use of "I" and "me".Me and her went to a movie! That sounds awful. Regarding grammar lessons, it always made sense to me that at high school we did a year of English grammar before we started Latin lessons. But when I was learning Italian (this century) one of my class mates was a teacher of German and I sometimes wondered about her understanding of grammar!
Russell wrote: "Georg wrote: "Apologies for being OT, but I would be most grateful if somebody could enlighten me on the use of "I" and "me".If I were you, I would stick with what you know is grammatically corre..."
Georg wrote: "Veufveuve wrote: "For reasons I've never bothered thinking about, I hardly ever read biography, but I think I will have to read this:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/202......"
If its any comfort Georg, my son says he learnt more about the construction of the English language, by studying two years of German at school, than anything he was ever taught in his 'English lessons"...
MK wrote: "Robert wrote: "Lljones wrote: "Robert wrote: "Here in Auburn we have smoke particles in the sky. How are you doing?..."Air quality is bad here too.
We're okay. It's a sad state of affairs when y..."
bad luck MK, thank goodness for that basement, how cool is it in there?
Mod
Ha! Just returned from local bookstore, not ten minutes ago, with that book one of three purchased. Can't wait to dig in.
AB76 wrote: "Lljones wrote: "Robert wrote: "Here in Auburn we have smoke particles in the sky. How are you doing?..."Air quality is bad here too.
We're okay. It's a sad state of affairs when you say to yours..."
It's a lot worse for our neighbors in Oregon and British Columbia than it is for us Washingtonians-- so far.
MK wrote: "Robert wrote: "Berkley wrote: "Is there any fiction that deals with the Mexican-American War (1848-49) from the Mexican point of view? It seems like this conflict must have been a traumatic nationa..."Ulysses Grant's memoirs drew heavily on a series of letters he wrote to his fiancé, Julia Dent, while he was in Mexico, giving his impressions of the country.
Decades later, Grant wrote about the misgivings he felt, as a junior officer fresh out of West Point. The Army of Observation was patrolling in Texas, but couldn't find any Americans to protect.
Grant observed that he might have tried to resign or pull out, but this would have left his West Point comrades to fight the war. "And so I followed the old flag."
Robert wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Lljones wrote: "Robert wrote: "Here in Auburn we have smoke particles in the sky. How are you doing?..."Air quality is bad here too.
We're okay. It's a sad state of affairs when you..."
Interesting as you are in between those two locations. I know that inland BC gets some real intense inland temps even before all these heatwaves but is coastal BC getting bad heat too?
BC has had about 300 fires in recent weeks. Oregon has a big fire that never seems to stop. Dry heat has fed this.
Robert wrote: "BC has had about 300 fires in recent weeks. Oregon has a big fire that never seems to stop. Dry heat has fed this."If anyone lives on the East Coast, they might think of the Bermuda Highs (weather system that sometimes seems to just sit over the Island) and because it has a clockwise rotation of air, the Washington DC area just bakes.
It looks like something similar here in WA (except Bellingham which got really hot!) In addition to the high's clockwise rotation, the air also flows down the west side of the Cascades - which doesn't help.
We are also lucky that western WA doesn't have either lots of fires (BC) or a really big fire (OR). I clipped a graphic from the Cliff Mass weather blog which kinda shows what I just said. Soon to be in photos.
Morning everyone.As I buttered my morning toast I had a flashback to breakfast, sometimes tea, as a child. This would be after the war and consisted of bread and milk. The slice of bread was cut into squares. and had warm milk over and a sprinkle of sugar sometimes.
I never served it to my children, I have not heard of it today so does anyone know if it is still served? Just curious. The bread became all soft and squidg I quite liked it. Guess it was a way of using up stalish bread
MK wrote: "Robert wrote: "BC has had about 300 fires in recent weeks. Oregon has a big fire that never seems to stop. Dry heat has fed this."If anyone lives on the East Coast, they might think of the Bermud..."
i guess you get longer summers over there too, so the late August relief we get in the UK wont affect you. I always notice the cooler mornings in late August and the sun shifting, getting less intense...
Georg wrote: "Veufveuve wrote: "For reasons I've never bothered thinking about, I hardly ever read biography, but I think I will have to read this: https://www.theguardian.com/books/202......"
All very good points well made Georg. Perhaps in some of those qualms (which exist, more or less, for all biography) lies my ambivalence or relative lack of interest in the genre. As a historian, I tend to have a very micro-focus and typically write in detail about specific individuals. This has often produced doubts in me. The only answer I've ever come up with, and its not a very good one, is to try and write with compassion and understanding. I think we should always try and read with compassion too. In the end, if we're going to have history and biography at all the rubicon has to be crossed.
Specifically with regard to Sebald, it could be argued that his life was central to how and what he wrote that a critical study would not be possible without also writing about the life.
ps. I finished "The Narrow Road to the Far North" this morning and enjoyed. I thought the final 50 or so pages were very well marshalled and brought together (even if there are one or two implausibilities).
Veufveuve wrote: "ps. I finished "The Narrow Road to the Far North" this morning and enjoyed."I hope you will consider Gould's Book of Fish as well - I much preferred it, but as an historian the historical fiction might appeal to you more. I knew a bit about the Australian experience of the Burma railway, and I thought the real history of the surgeon Edward Dunlop was actually more interesting than the fiction.
Thanks for the tip, especially as I don't know anything about Flanagan's other work. Funnily enough, as a historian I tend not to read historical fiction at all. And more funnily enough, I hadn't actually thought of TNRTHFN as historical fiction, and didn't know Evans was based on a real person. Apropos of similar things, a few years ago I got to know the son of Lieutenant-Colonel Philip Toosey on whom Alec Guiness' character in The Bridge over the River Kwai was extremely loosely based (indeed, if the character is meant to be in any way based on Toosey then it is a travesty). His wikipedia page is worth reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_.... Toosey's son is a charming man, for what it's worth.
CCCubbon wrote: "Morning everyone.As I buttered my morning toast I had a flashback to breakfast, sometimes tea, as a child. This would be after the war and consisted of bread and milk. The slice of bread was cut i..."
A Proustian moment ...
Certainly was, Veuf.I asked my husband and my sister who all remembered having bread and milk and I think that it must have been a wartime and postwar breakfast. I cannot remember when cereals came in (or back) although there was porridge.
Though I've seen it mentioned many times, I don't think I ever had it - I was born in 1964.
Thanks to everybody who answered to my grammar question.It is heartening that my instinct ("I" in the objective case is wrong) was right.
German follows the same rule: "ich" nominative, "mich" accusative and dative. No German would think of using "ich" instead of "mich" (how)ever.
From today's Guardian (not by a G journalist though):
... I don’t want my partner and I to start our married life....
Veufveuve wrote: "Georg wrote: "Veufveuve wrote: "For reasons I've never bothered thinking about, I hardly ever read biography, but I think I will have to read this: https://www.theguardian.com/books/202......"
It certainly made me think of biography writing in general. Compassion, yes, that is a good point.
I think my main problem is with the timing. It is one thing to write about somebody who has been dead long enough not to have any close relatives still alive. If I were Sebald's wife or daughter I would probably not take it too kindly that my privacy has, to a degree, also been invaded by this biography.
Comments are now open on the review. Looks like I am not the only person who has reservations.
Having finished the excellent Palestinian novel The Ship by Jabra Ibrahim Jabra, i can confirm it probably rivals The Hungry Grass as my best novel of 2021 so far. Both were written within a year of each other (1969 and 1970)Next up, after suffering a few postponements this summer is The Country of the Pointed Firs(+Selected Other Fiction by Sarah Orne Jewett. This continues my interest in female authors of the American 19th century (Ruiz de Barton, Stoddard and Chopin before).
My edition is what must be a rare Barnes and Noble classic that i ordered from the Book Depositry and looks like a real find. The treasure trove of art depicting coastal Maine in Jewetts era is wonderful too and i hope it will be a great read. It includes other Dunnets Landing stories alongside 'Pointed Firs
Bill wrote: "I haven't read anything by Jonathan Coe, but based purely on his having written a biography of B.S. Johnson, I had assumed that he would belong in the category of "demanding" authors."Not at all - apart from that book on Johnson, which I think started life as his Ph.D. thesis, and which I could not get through.
Coe tends to write stories which deal with 'ordinary people' but often in unusual or extreme circumstances - for example, The Rotters' Club is often very light and amusing, and yet covers the IRA atrocity which killed a number of people in a Birmingham pub:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birming...
The current book also has a light tone for the most part, but allows the subject, Jewish film-maker Billy Wilder, to have his say about the Holocaust in a typically forthright manner. (This may or may not be a scene which actually occurred.)
Other books don't have such devastating issues as a background - The House of Sleep takes place partly in a clinic dealing with patients who suffer from sleep-related problems...
I like Coe a lot - a storyteller with a sense of humour, and who even so manages to comment on serious issues, without (usually) misjudging transitions from one mode to another.
Greenfairy wrote: "I had Marcus Aurelius Meditations on audio initially, but the narrator's voice was verging on the unctuous and it was like being read a sermon. I found myself nodding off after about ten minutes of..."Good tip - I have been awake since 02.30 today...
I am on vacation at home for a week to catch up on a large number of jobs that are hanging fire and my reading.In the meantime, I watched, on Britbox, a dramatization of Mrs Gaskell's "North & South" which I enjoyed a lot. I have read and enjoyed "Cranford" and "Wives & Daughters" and the short stories (My Lady Ludlow is one I remember) but I hadn't read "North & South". I will try to find time to do so. Richard Armitage, who came to my attention in The Hobbit (as Thorin Oakenshield) is very good as John Thornton, but so is everyone in the cast, which is distinguished. I particularly enjoyed Sinead Cusack as Mrs Thornton. Very cold and dry. Margaret Hale is a strong character. I enjoyed comparing it to "Jane Eyre" and indeed "Shirley", since it is roughly contemporary and Mrs Gaskell knew Charlotte Bronte well. It is a story Anne Bronte might have written, had she lived longer.
I have now started watching the 1985 dramatization of "Anna of the Five Towns" which I read at university, along with a lot of Arnold Bennett, and am also enjoying. It is very bleak visually-I hadn't visualized The Potteries as quite THAT depressing-and the extreme Methodism and religious revivalism is rather irritating, but I liked the book and I think I will enjoy this version. I did enjoy the hymns in episode 1, which is where I am, as I love English hymns, having sung them all in Junior and Grammar School.... I cannot stand American hymns (I tried) which have awful music for the most part. Very strange for a Hindu I know... My favorite is "Hills of the North Rejoice", but there are many others. A few years ago I spent some time finding sung versions on YouTube and listening to them brought tears to my eyes.
As far as I know, this dramatization was never shown in the US, but I did not have cable in 1985-it was beyond the possibilities of a postdoctoral budget-I looked into it but it was way over my head at the time. I have never seen it on PBS either, but truthfully I didn't watch a lot of TV, being in the lab all the time.
AB76 wrote: "EASTERN BLOC LITERATURE(1950-1990)Im still quite suprised at how there isnt a huge pile of Eastern Bloc lit on the market
Back in 2000, i was so fustrated with the lack of good novels from within..."
Kundera is (or used to be) interesting, but went into exile and maybe isn't typical (I wouldn't know).
Another Czech author worth a look is Ivan Klima - try My Golden Trades, for example. Klima stayed put, and for many years paid the price...
AB76 wrote: "Having finished the excellent Palestinian novel The Ship by Jabra Ibrahim Jabra, i can confirm it probably rivals The Hungry Grass as my best novel of 2021 so far. Both were written within a year..."RE: The Country of the Pointed Firs(+Selected Other Fiction by Sarah Orne Jewett.
I own a very handsome old edition of this book, which I bought in Maine since I lived in Bar Harbor 1992-6. I had a faculty position at The Jackson Laboratory. However, I couldn't finish it. Maine was not really the right place for me. Moving there from Los Angeles was a horrible shock. I hated Maine. I am a city girl.
Veufveuve wrote: "Though I've seen it mentioned many times, I don't think I ever had it - I was born in 1964."Re Bread and Milk.
I had it for breakfast a few times. I was born in 1955. My Mum usually made South Indian breakfasts, but we also ate cereal and porridge and I remember bread and milk very occasionally. I thought it was boring.
South Indian breakfasts consisted of upma, idlis or dosas, etc, with simple accompaniments to start with, later more diverse as the range of Indian groceries in London improved. Every South Indian village kitchen is equipped with a huge granite pestle and mortar, set in flush with the floor. It is used for preparing dosa and idli batter, grinding spices, etc. The cook sits on the floor and puts her whole back into it. The pestle could kill a horse.... Not something you want to drop on your foot......
The thing is, it is always interesting to see how different cultures adopt/adapt technology. For a number of years, in the 60s and 70s, we took dozens of Kenwood mixers to India for my cousins, who wished to escape the tyranny of the pestle and mortar and modernize their kitchens. I remember vividly how heavy they were to cart across LHR.... However, it was soon discovered that a steel blade simply doesn't do a good job-despite it grinding the batter ingredients finely, the dosas/idlis were never quite right. I think the ionic characteristics of the food processor are the problem.
So finally.... Indians created "The Machine". It is a granite pestle and mortar attached to a motor, which turns the pestle. It sits on a huge stand. Finally, on a recent trip home I saw "The Machine" in my Mum's kitchen.... She had brought one home after a trip to India.... I gasped and asked her "How the hell did you get that through customs?" She shrugged "The customs guy just rolled his eyes...he had seen thousands of them"..... Lol.
scarletnoir wrote: "Bill wrote: "I haven't read anything by Jonathan Coe, but based purely on his having written a biography of B.S. Johnson, I had assumed that he would belong in the category of "demanding" authors."..."I loved bits of "The Rotters Club" but overall found it average, though the back story of the pub bombings and Birmingham itself was more my reason for reading it than anything else, as i was working in a company with a large Birmingham presence and spent a few days a week working there over a year when i read it
Sandya wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Having finished the excellent Palestinian novel The Ship by Jabra Ibrahim Jabra, i can confirm it probably rivals The Hungry Grass as my best novel of 2021 so far. Both were written wi..."as a country boy, Maine is like heaven, i can imagine it not appealing to a city girl. Interested to read about the significant French-Canadian and Anglo-Canadian presence in the state, from the time of federation in Canada onwards
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Books mentioned in this topic
Her Heart for a Compass (other topics)Mr Wilder & Me (other topics)
Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains (other topics)
My Golden Trades (other topics)
The House of Sleep (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jazmina Barrera (other topics)Jazmina Barrera (other topics)
Marian Engel (other topics)
Jonathan Coe (other topics)
B.S. Johnson (other topics)
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Why is it "Mr Wilder and me", rather than "Mr ..."
I bet I would get eye-rolls if I said that I found diagramming sentences in English class fun and informative.