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What are we reading? 3rd August 2021
AB76 wrote: "Andy wrote: "By coincidence rather than intention, two books set in Wales as my last two reads. Though separated in date published by 94 years.. Benighted by [author:J.B. Priestle..."
Our messages crossed AB. You’re right, I will enjoy it I’m sure.
I’m in the Lakes, hunkering down and avoiding the tourists. Quieter though I think than last year.
I’m away early September, me and the dog, to find some Spanish and Portuguese wildernesses. Looking forward to it. I’m not very good with summer temperatures, much prefer the shoulder seasons.
Hope you’re enjoying summer also.
Andy wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Andy wrote: "By coincidence rather than intention, two books set in Wales as my last two reads. Though separated in date published by 94 years.. Benighted by [author:..."
sounds like a good plan Andy, i'm also less interested in blazing heat!
All good here....minus the 7 day melt in mid July, where every corner of the shires seemed like it was Death Valley!
Tam wrote: "Anne wrote: "Anyone want to volunteer to read 
and report back here?"No I cant be roused to comment myself, but there is a review in this fortnights L..."
Before anyone here who is also on FB commits to reading her book, do a search there for - financial times sarah ferguson. I warn you it's an eye-roller.
Veufveuve wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Andy wrote: "By coincidence rather than intention, two books set in Wales as my last two reads. Though separated in date published by 94 years.. Benighted by [author:..."
He has a skill with describing the journey that is rather unique, i think as a designer and artist, his artistic viewpoint means he rarely lets anything pass without a good description but without labouring the point.
i have travelled where he did but over 100 years later, though i dont remember it being as green(it seemed mostly rocks and debris) as he described in the region around Oddi, though i was there about a month earlier and maybe the farming of Iceland has faded in those 100 years.
MK wrote: "Tam wrote: "Anne wrote: "Anyone want to volunteer to read and report back here?"No I cant be roused to comment myself, but there is a review in this ..."
I did the search. She is an airhead. No-I am not going to read her book.
Anne wrote: "Anyone want to volunteer to read and report back here?"Sandya wrote: "MK wrote: "Tam wrote: "Anne wrote: "Anyone want to volunteer to read
and report back here?"No I cant be roused to comment myself, but there is a revi..."
Good gosh...that Sarah Ferguson, i hadnt clocked from the name, i thought it was an FT journalist not the Duchess of York!
Wow, did she write it herself or with help? A Duchess writing novels....is she the first?
AB76 wrote: "Anne wrote: "Anyone want to volunteer to read and report back here?"Sandya wrote: "MK wrote: "Tam wrote: "Anne wrote: "Anyone want to volunteer to rea..."
By no means the first.
Off the top of my head:
1) Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire published a novel, but not under her own name.
2) "Mad Madge", Margaret, Duchess of Newcastle was the first woman to write a science fiction novel in the UK-"The Blazing World"-under her own name in the 17th century, among much else. Hence "Mad Madge". She was anything but-a very interesting woman with a wonderful tomb in Westminster Abbey.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margare...
3) Margaret, Duchess of Portland sponsored much botanical research and scientific writing.
Sandya wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Anne wrote: "Anyone want to volunteer to read and report back here?"Sandya wrote: "MK wrote: "Tam wrote: "Anne wrote: "Anyone want to vol..."
Cavendish...doh...how could i forget her, love reading about her life a few years back
I didnt know that Georgiana had written a novel or the Duchess of Portland, thanks Sandya!
Andy wrote: "I’m really surprised it was long listed for this year’s Booker."Hmm, that's a shame - I thought it looked like one of the more promising ones on the list.
Anne wrote: "How do you manage to replicate a picture so beautifully in a post, Bill? I'm still pretty clueless about how to do things around here."I've taken a stab at writing a tutorial and posted it under HELP!!!
Tam wrote: "Anne wrote: "Anyone want to volunteer to read and report back here?"No I cant be roused to comment myself, but there is a review in this fortnights L..."
A sentence from the goodreads blurb:
Queen Victoria’s close friend, the Scottish Duke of Buccleuch, Lady Margaret Montagu Scott is expected to make an advantageous marriage.
Does this make any sense ? Are there some words missing (e.g. 'The daughter of Queen Victoria's good friend, ...'), or was 'Duke' meant to be 'Duchess', or what?
Or perhaps I'm the one who's missing something obvious, but when I read that sentence it doesn't seem right to me.
Berkley wrote: "Tam wrote: "Anne wrote: "Anyone want to volunteer to read and report back here?"No I cant be roused to comment myself, but there is a review in this ..."
I noticed the same thing. Maddening. Sloppy writing and no editor to check it.
AB76 wrote: "Sandya wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Anne wrote: "Anyone want to volunteer to read and report back here?"Sandya wrote: "MK wrote: "Tam wrote: "Anne wrote: "Any..."
"The thrice noble, learned, and virtuous Princess, Margaret, Marchioness (as she was then) of Newcastle".
I will not read Sarah Ferguson's book but in an odd sort of way I do admire that despite all the criticism she receives and has done for many years, she is still out there fighting. Maybe she doesn't write all that well, I cannot judge because I have not read anything she has written, but for anyone to open their work to public scrutiny takes a dint of courage. That is true for writers, artists, poets........
Maybe your work sinks without trace, do you carry on? Do you learn from it? What about praise for work that you do not rate very highly? Or the other way that which you feel merits praise but none is forthcoming? It's much easier to hide.
Bloc Life
is superb reading so far, a well collated and collected set of interviews with various witnesses to the Cold War Years in the DDR, Romania and Czechoslovakia.Gunter Schawbowski talks of his progress from a young journalist to the politburo and his evential conviction that "marxism was never possible without violence". He admits that he saw his time as a journalist was about creating a reality for the DDR citizens, not about truth.
The security chief for Nicolae Ceausescu, reveals the many foibles of the "Conducator", his stammer, his mangling of the Romanian language, his paranoia. How the tv chiefs spent hours re-editing tapes of his speeches to remove imperfections.
The most bizarre anecdote was that Ceaucescu was an avid bird watcher and fascinated by the social structure of the Danube delta pelican population. He would travel to various bird hides by hydrofoil with his security chief and an uzi strapped round his neck. As he watched the pelicans and discussed policy, he would then take the uzi and kill all the pelicans in that location with his sub machine gun. Apparently he was a bird watcher and a hunter.....bizarre
CCCubbon wrote: "I will not read Sarah Ferguson's book but in an odd sort of way I do admire that despite all the criticism she receives and has done for many years, she is still out there fighting. Maybe she does..."
Fighting for what?
I rather think she is one of those people whose priviledged life has made them immune to feeling embarrassed.
Like the part-time writer who wrote this
Georg wrote: "Like the part-time writer who wrote this Seventy Two Virgins by Boris Johnson."Perhaps the author will be able to write a follow-up in a few years' time entitled "Seventy-two bastards"!
@AB76. Well connected? Wot, a lass from Yorkshire? No, just incredibly lucky to have lived for more than thirty years in a city that hosts varying literary events. Looking forward to seeing Francis Spufford later in the month. His Golden Hill had me fully absorbed on holiday two or three years back.
Lass wrote: "@AB76. Well connected? Wot, a lass from Yorkshire? No, just incredibly lucky to have lived for more than thirty years in a city that hosts varying literary events. Looking forward to seeing Francis..."ah i see! Which city? York? I love York...
Georg wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "I will not read Sarah Ferguson's book but in an odd sort of way I do admire that despite all the criticism she receives and has done for many years, she is still out there fighting..."Fighting in the sense that she doesn’t hide away, takes the criticism, no-one is immune.
Thanks Fuzzy and Glad for your horror suggestions. I have nade notes and will pick a couple.
Morning give.I was thinking about your post yesterday in response to AB and Veuf and while I loathe this government I love my country.
Yesterday I posted a Yeats poem over on A place for a poem called ‘ A lover tells of the Rose in his heart’ where he wants to remake things to be fitting for the one he loves and I thought that one could think of the Rose in his heart as being our country and wanting to make it better. Maybe rather fanciful but wanted to tell you. Here’s the poem;
message 567: by CCCubbon
Aug 09, 2021 06:19AM
Another Yeats to enjoy
THE LOVER TELLS OF THE ROSE IN HIS HEART
All things uncomely and broken, all things worn out and old,
The cry of a child by the roadway, the creak of a lumbering cart,
The heavy steps of the ploughman, splashing the wintry mould,
Are wronging your image that blossoms a rose in the deeps of my heart.
The wrong of unshapely things is a wrong too great to be told;
I hunger to build them anew and sit on a green knoll apart,
With the earth and the sky and the water, re-made, like a casket of gold
For my dreams of your image that blossoms a rose in the deeps of my heart.
(from The Wind Among the Reeds, 1899)
Erich Honecker wasnt much better than Ceaucescu in his hunting, apparently they reduced the wild animal population in the north of the DDR to almost nothing, new animals were shipped in to be shot and to amuse the leaders of visiting Communist nationsthe life of the workers state eh? Luxury hunting lodges for the elect, however one of the elect did describe it as a stultifying dull, lower middle class desert of culture in the DDR leaders villages..
AB76 wrote: "Bloc Life is superb reading so far, a well collated and collected set of interviews with various witnesses to the Cold War Y..."Bloc Life collects first hand testimony of the people who lived in East Germany, Czechoslovakia and Romania during the Cold War era, ...
"Testimony" is a very flexible term, isn't it?
I found the pelican story so bizarre that I googled. Didn't find anything to corroborate it at all.
And Honeckers hunting? 60 years ago all you could hunt were deer, wild boar and foxes. Hunting game birds is not a German tradition AFAIK. So: what kind of animals did they have to ship in after they had so vastly decimated them?
As for Peter Molloy, the author of that book: I couldn't find any information about him. Not even what awards this "multiple-award-winning BBC producer" has won.
Georg wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Bloc Life is superb reading so far, a well collated and collected set of interviews with various witnesses to t..."I had never heard about the pelicans before either, i thought the uzi was for his own protection, not to kill pelicans! I guess he used a sub machine gun as he wouldnt miss so many birds and maintain his aura of invincibility
They didnt specify the animals shipped in, apparently they had animals in frozen store to lay out for any politburo members who didnt manage a big kill!
I know Molloy well,from various documentaries he has produced including "Plague Wars, Tabacco Wars and Suez" he has mainly worked in tv, not the book world and his "Lost World of Communism" documentary series was popular in the late Noughties
Any books and tv that explores the evil of communism is worth reading, it was on our doorstep for 40 odd years
Jabra Ibrahim Jabra might just be my favourite author now!I'm half way into "The Ship(1970)" and its hitting all the right notes,its not an easy read, its serious reflection on the Arab 1960s, set on a cruise ship travelling round the med.
Like all the best novels i read in my 20s, its asks a lot of questions, without a lot of answers, that lack of certainty is what all good books produce. You leave the page, put the book down and keep thinking along the same lines.
AB76 wrote: "I know Molloy well,from various documentaries he has produced including "Plague Wars, Tabacco Wars and Suez" he has mainly worked in tv, not the book world and his "Lost World of Communism" documentary series was popular in the late Noughties"Indeed, you just need to know where to look. Of course, since most of this was in the 80s, 90s and early noughties, there aren't many details online, for instance on imdb, including about awards. But considering the number of documentaries he's produced, including for Panorama, the flagship BBC vehicle, it's really not difficult to imagine the documentaries receiving awards, which then go to the producer(s).
Hushpuppy wrote: "AB76 wrote: "I know Molloy well,from various documentaries he has produced including "Plague Wars, Tabacco Wars and Suez" he has mainly worked in tv, not the book world and his "Lost World of Commu..."Yes, he is a top notch talent at the BBC and his documentaries are of the usual high standard for the Beeb. I did wonder if it might simply be a re-hash of the documentary series on communism in book form and a bit of a disappointment but its excellent.
i love oral histories and accounts from people who lived through the terrible communist catastrophe. Its a balanced account so far, quite a few unrepentant communists and others who suffered appallingly at the hands of the DDR and other nations
Is anyone au fait with the Institute for Palestinian Studies, it has a good website and downloadable essays and articles, impressive.https://www.palestine-studies.org/
My interest in Palestine/Israel is as strong on both sides, the cultures and their people fascinate me
I didn't realize how much I didn't miss the news in our post-Trump era until I read that David Sedaris was in the same boat. Life is so much calmer now, and the collective BPs of non-Trumpers have to now be in a much healthier range. I have not given up all news however. I stumbled across Heather Cox Richardson somewhere and signed up to receive her newsletter. Today's was the under-reported news of last Friday's job numbers. She takes one news item and writes in depth about it. If anyone is interested, you can take a look here - https://heathercoxrichardson.substack...
CCCubbon wrote: "Georg wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "I will not read Sarah Ferguson's book but in an odd sort of way I do admire that despite all the criticism she receives and has done for many years, she is still out ..."The summer issue of the LRB reviewed the Duchesses novel along with the new novel by Megan Markle. I wont be reading either
Bill wrote: ""
Absolutely brilliant!!!
CCCubbon wrote: "Morning give.I was thinking about your post yesterday in response to AB and Veuf and while I loathe this government I love my country.
Yesterday I posted a Yeats poem over on A place for a poem ..."
Thank you very much CC. My problem is that I have no confidence in either of our main parties. But I still think our country is a much better place to live in than many. And at least we can moan about our politicians without looking over our shoulders in fear
CCCubbon wrote: "Morning give.I was thinking about your post yesterday in response to AB and Veuf and while I loathe this government I love my country.
Yesterday I posted a Yeats poem over on A place for a poem ..."
Interesting CCC and i still love the idea of England i grew up with, just nothing about this current government, brexit or conservatives in general!
Bill wrote: "Anne wrote: "How do you manage to replicate a picture so beautifully in a post, Bill? I'm still pretty clueless about how to do things around here."
I've taken a stab at writing a tutorial and pos..."
Big thank you, Bill. I shall get practising.
I've taken a stab at writing a tutorial and pos..."
Big thank you, Bill. I shall get practising.
After getting about a third of the way through I have just given up on The Promise by Damon Galgut. The story centres on a white Afrikaans family during a period when aparthied is ending , and a promise made to a dying wife , who has just reverted to judaism, that a family property will be left to a black servant. THe first problem is that none of the characters are particularly likeable or believable. The born again Christian reformed alcoholic father lives on the family farm but rather oddly owns a reptile park - which may be a rather strained plot device; on the day his mother dies the army son shoots dead a black woman protestor which causes a breakdown as he believes he may have killed his mother ; one dumpy and greasy skinned daughter returns from a few years in Europe beautiful and slim ( mentioned several times) while another who stays in SA becomes fat ( again mentioned several times) and buleamic after child birth; an aunt and uncle are blatantly racist, anti-semitic and bigoted in a 1970's sitcom sort of way; the black characters have yet to come to life. On top of that the writing is lumpy, with jarring changes in tone, some times with crude attempts at humour.I am usually loathe to criticise a book but this is the third prize winning /nominated novel this year that has somewhat flattened me,
In contrast, I recently picked up The Sun Also Rises after watching the excellent BBC4 documentary series on Ernest Hemingway. Again I would not want to spent a night in a cafe with many of the characters but I felt they were real people ( which they mostly were) and I recoiled from the anti-semitism, homophobia and racism; but the writing is incredible. The repetitive style gives a real sense of the moment , of place , of fleeting observations and also a certain weariness; I could appreciate the excitement and needless cruelty of the bullfights because they are so beautifully described.
Oggie wrote: "After getting about a third of the way through I have just given up on The Promise by Damon Galgut. The story centres on a white Afrikaans family during a period when aparthied is ending , and a pr..."Three prize or nominated duds eh Oggie? Thats interesting, do you usually find such a return?
Good essay on the hubris of We Work in the NYRB. Astonishing to see the way that Neumann managed to get investors to part with huge amounts of funds, for a kind of hippy, unicorn style start-up. The creepy woman who fooled people with Theranos falls into a similar category.Am not entirely sure where the capitalist dream got so shabby, in basic due diligence. Your average working family would probably run a mile from these snake oil sales people, though maybe in the USA,the power of positivity goes a long way. The greedy, individual lie that "anyone can make it"....a remarkable person is not the hard working nurse in A&E apparently on £18k a year, its the loud hippy with some positive slop to swill about, asking for £18m investments in a shaky concept of a business.
AB76 wrote: "Oggie wrote: "After getting about a third of the way through I have just given up on The Promise by Damon Galgut. The story centres on a white Afrikaans family during a period when aparthied is end..."Not usually, I think I have been paying too much attention to the Guardian and Times reviewers
AB76 wrote: "Good essay on the hubris of We Work in the NYRB. Astonishing to see the way that Neumann managed to get investors to part with huge amounts of funds, for a kind of hippy, unicorn style start-up. Th..."Ahh! The evils of capitalism...
Oggie wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Oggie wrote: "After getting about a third of the way through I have just given up on The Promise by Damon Galgut. The story centres on a white Afrikaans family during a period when apa..."I think the Guardian are usually good with reviews, i wouldnt read anything a Murdoch paper recommended mind you, the Times has never been my paper of choice. I only read it when waiting for the dentist....
AB76 wrote: "Oggie wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Oggie wrote: "After getting about a third of the way through I have just given up on The Promise by Damon Galgut. The story centres on a white Afrikaans family during a p..."I'm not sticking up for Murdoch, but I am glad to see that my local library is open 3 days a week. I used to go there (and do again now) to read the weekend WSJ. They are quite good when it comes to book reviews. Note - I've drawn the line at ever paying for the Journal.
giveusaclue wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "Morning give.I was thinking about your post yesterday in response to AB and Veuf and while I loathe this government I love my country.
Yesterday I posted a Yeats poem over on A ..."
I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to be the source of any discord. I wasn't thinking of Brexit at all when I made my comment, let alone of England or Britain. It was just a reaction to being in Liverpool city centre on a Saturday - a sense of abandonment to the pleasures that seemed Hogarthian. It was probably a rather throwaway observation and I really am sorry it caused any argument.
I did at least by some books while I was there!
Thank you for the poem CCC.
Oggie wrote: I am usually loathe to criticise a book but this is the third prize winning /nominated novel this year that has somewhat flattened me,I am always grateful for critical reviews by real readers. As an antidote to the, more often than not, gushing PR from professionals
Though, in this case, my mind was all but made up after reading the mixed Guardian review. Sounds like an interesting story, but I am sure I would hate the "neo-modernist" writing style. Let alone the similes, the two examples that were quoted told me enough.
It might not be a good book, but that doesn't seem to matter much for the Booker as long as it is "experimental". As if that were an achievement per se, irrespective of the outcome of an experiment.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...
Veufveuve wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "Morning give.I was thinking about your post yesterday in response to AB and Veuf and while I loathe this government I love my country.
Yesterday I posted a Y..."
i dont think there was any argument Veuf, dont worry!
Good to see you commenting on here again...
MK wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Oggie wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Oggie wrote: "After getting about a third of the way through I have just given up on The Promise by Damon Galgut. The story centres on a white Afrikaans fami..."interesting you should say that, i remember on my visits to Australia that his aussie papers were very good on a weekend too....for culture and reviews
Georg wrote: "doesn't seem to matter much for the Booker as long as it is "experimental"."I think it's more that the Booker is decided by a pretty random selection of about five people, so it's a pretty arbitrary affair.
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Benighted by [author:J.B. Priestle..."
For some long ago reason I can no longer remember, I've read Morris' Icelandic journals. I mean, I love old WM, but I've no idea why I read this specific volume.