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Weekly TLS
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What are we reading? 25th October 2021
MK wrote: "He has also written a huge tome (1000+ pages) to be released tomorrow - Shadow Voices : 300 Years of Irish Genre Fiction: A History in Stories. "Seems great ! Just placed an order. Thanks for the tip, MK :)
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Her short stories are fab; Paul raved too, but I forget which collection he read. I liked all the novels I've read, some more than others. My favorite is The Monsters of Templeton, her first I think.
Lljones wrote: "Her short stories are fab; Paul raved too, but I forget which collection he read."I think it might have been Delicate Edible Birds.
Machenbach wrote: "I preferred the shorter ‘Seven Winters’ which I now see is published with the former as Bowen's Court & Seven Winters."Yep, that's the edition I was considering. Noted - I might consider reading Seven Winters first. I suppose writer's memoirs could fall into tedium, which is what I had always assumed. But it has occurred to me more recently that writers will have many of their keenest perceptions about their personal life, which they might keep out of their fiction because it's a bit too close to home.
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Hey, Syd, any buzz about Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason in your neck of the woods? I just finished it...
A rare and quick foray!1. On Let The Right One In. A word of warning (esp. to CCC, who's considered buying it for her grand?daughter)... I've fucking hated this. Had to speed read the second half and have a shower when I was done. Not that it's not a good story (although I definitely could have done without the overt paedophilia), but it is so drab and dreary, when not downright horrifying. And no, I am not talking of the horror part of the story, but of the life that happens in between for these Swedish people in 1981, in a soulless Stockholm suburb. Pathetic alcoholics, pathetic bullied kid, pathetic paedophile, pathetic parents, pathetic vampire kid, pathetic glue-sniffing teens... Drab, relentlessly so. I felt the same way as for Wuthering Heights. It was all very one dimensional, and some relief (fr) would have given it some some relief (gb). If it's a sociological comment on life in the suburbs in the early 80s (where and when the author grew up), it is a damning one.
2. On BD (comics). [I was reminded of this thread from last week or so, as I’ve just found some very old drawings of mine reproducing some I like.] On top of the marvel/DC and all the (French/Belgian) ones that have already been mentioned, there were some very popular ones in the 90s in France, such as XIII, Largo Winch or Lanfeust de Troyes (and all its declinations), and some favourites such as Corto Maltese (waves at @Flinty) and anything created by Enki Bilal, whose drawings are visually arresting. [I’ve now posted in Photos three hand drawings I’ve made based on the latter two as a late teen, but have a look at the gorgeous originals!]. Bilal has written/drawn political BD (Partie de chasse, Les Phalanges de l’ordre noir), but also sci-fi ones (the famous Nikopol trilogy), all recommended. Mangas are also quite popular in France, and I have a real fondness in particular for those from Jirō Taniguchi, as some of you may know or remember. I cannot recommend them enough...
3. And finally, not book related, BUT I’ve found that Youtube has my favourite French film, and (not greatly) subtitled in English! For those I know here who enjoy Daniel Auteuil (looking at you @Lass), and those who might appreciate Emmanuelle Beart, or Ravel’s Piano Trio in A Minor, or Claude Sautet: Un coeur en hiver - www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3kpFQEhsPU.
Edit: Ah, a comment below the video reminded me that there is one literary connection: Un héros de notre temps (Lermontov), whose main protagonist apparently resembles Daniel Auteuil's character according to one of his friends in the film (any confirmation welcomed).
Lljones wrote: "Despite vaccination record & mask requirements, I didn't feel ready for such an outing yet, so declined."Same here in plague land. I so would have wanted to share the experience of watching The French Dispatch at my local indie cinema, and of watching Dune on a big screen!
Lljones wrote: "Hey, Syd, any buzz about Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason in your neck of the woods? I just finished it..."Not in my neck of the woods, but I don't know any other fanatical readers. Just googled it - looks like she is a New Zealander based in Australia.
Anne wrote: " ...am I very shallow to think that because I've read The Corner That Held Them I don't have to bother reading any more medieval nuns ever?"I would never say that (!), but if you have a spare moment and haven't read it, I do recommend Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant.
Nuns are not really my thing, but this was excellent. Perhaps, though, you have read many books on the subject, whereas the Dunant is my only one (I think), so you may be 'nunned out'. I definitely feel 'Nazied out' ATM.
Lljones wrote: ""The French Dispatch"..."best Wes Anderson yet" Even more production design and even less story?
giveusaclue wrote: "@ MK It most certainly is! I gave up on the Scarpetta novels because Cornwell kept bringing back the same villain and also in real life the forensic experts have to remain independent of the detect..."Today I watched an episode of the old US TV series Quincy. Quincy is a medical examiner and the least silent expert known to man. Sometimes he pretends to be a detective, sometimes he acts as a consumer advocate, and I watched him trying to be a lawyer. He was of course trying to browbeat the judge, who was simply trying to keep him to the narrow path of admissible evidence; I alternated between jeering and a kind of awe. Do TV writers ever visit a courtroom, except, perhaps, to fight a traffic ticket?
Hushpuppy wrote: "A rare and quick foray!1. On Let The Right One In. A word of warning (esp. to CCC, who's considered buying it for her grand?daughter)... I've fucking hated this. Had to speed read the second half..."
Thanks for the warning, glad, too late as I read the reviews and so on and sent it but haven’t had any complaints. I did sent another classic book of horror stories which was well received. She’s sensible so would discard the book if not liked - even more of a bookworm than I am - likes hardbacks in top condition with her favourites and that was just a paperback. Happy in Uni now after dreadful year last year, dyed her hair pink and I am looking for a large pink brooch to match for her.
Hope you are feeling better, glad, concerned for you.
Dutch detective novel fans, if anyone likes Jan Willem Van De Wetering, i have just started a novel by the other dutch master of Amsterdam crime AC Baantjer.Baantjer was a prolific author from the 1960s to 1980s and i started De Kok and the Dead Lovers last night. Written in the 1980s, Baantjer uses a deceptively light style to ask important questions and to create well crafted plots
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Do tell. Something related to the ________, perhaps?
I really enjoyed it too. Sat up within just the first few pages and said "I like this voice!" Yes to the wit and the depth; also the nuanced sensitivity. I'll be watching for more from Mason.
Slawkenbergius wrote: "MK wrote: "He has also written a huge tome (1000+ pages) to be released tomorrow - Shadow Voices : 300 Years of Irish Genre Fiction: A History in Stories. "Seems great ! Just placed an order. Tha..."
Hope you will provide feedback once you get your nose into it. I'm sorry to say I went seriously over my book budget this month and am temporarily trying to be frugal.
This mean relying on the library for a while. Like listening to
which was quite delightful - plenty of twists and turns. I had no idea who the 'bad guy' was until the reveal.
Joseph Roth has always been an author that interested me, though i only discovered him a good decade after i travelled in the central and eastern european locations he called "home""The Radetsky March" was pure genius when i read it in 2005 but somewhat inexplicably i only read the sequel "The Emperors Tomb" last year.
Roths non-fiction, his numerous short pieces or "feuilletons" for newspapers have been well collected in the last decade and i am now reading the last collection published The Hotel Years
which has ben translated by Michael Hofmann.While i much prefer longer journalism than fueilletons, i am looking foward to the variety of snapshots and other writings from Europe during his lifetime,...
Thankfully none of these pieces have been published before, finding 50% of a book is not new to you can be fustrating!
SydneyH wrote: "Lljones wrote: "Her short stories are fab; Paul raved too, but I forget which collection he read."I think it might have been Delicate Edible Birds."
Yup, 'twas. Although I didn't finish it as I read it while staying at my sister's house. It was her copy, so it stayed behind. I'll probably read Florida later this year at some point, but I have to say I think I prefer Groff's novels (Arcadia and Monsters of Templeton so far) and I tend to gravitate towards Karen Russell for short stories. Honestly, the idea of Groff writing historical did give me pause. She is so grounded in the contemporary, with an odd skew, that I had some doubts whether she would jump smoothly into a more restricted setting. I'll still read it, Groff hasn't steered me wrong yet and everyone gets a freebie.
Lljones wrote: "I've since learned that my friends rated the movie as "best Wes Anderson yet""I've never seen a Wes Anderson movie, but nevertheless was able to correctly identify him on one of The New Yorker's "Name Drop" quizzes.
Machenbach wrote: "I forget exactly what bothered me, but it was something to do with ..."(view spoiler)
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(view spoiler)
My edition had a very short note at the close that simply stated that (view spoiler) were wholly fictional. Which was what I had convinced myself while I was still reading it.
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I've never seen a Wes Anderson movie, but nevertheless was able to correctly identify him on one of The New Yorker Name Drop quizzes..."
I've seen two, maybe three, of Anderson's films. Didn't think I needed to see any more until I realized the latest rlated to The New Yorker.
I just discovered those Name Drop quizzes recently. I consistently get the answer on the third clue. Amazing how often I can pull up the right answer for pop cultural things I think I know nothing about.
Machenbach wrote: "AB76 wrote: "The Hotel Years The Hotel Years Wanderings in Europe Between the Wars by Joseph Roth which has ben translated by Michael Hofmann..."I liked this, 'though it is merely a Collected Bits..."
yes, i get that impression from Hofmanns intro
@CCC: thanks a lot. I am worried too tbh, although the more sinister neurological possibilities have thankfully been discarded so far...@MB: thank you, kind sir. These result from a lack of imagination (these are reproductions - I started censoring myself in my drawings and writings aged 12-13) coupled with a desire to escape the punishing schedule of classes prepas. From GR comments, I gather that the film Let The Right One In has got the right balance, and makes a lot of things, including the sordid and gratuitous paedophilia (again, sorry CCC!), implicit. The premise is an excellent one, and the description of bullying extremely vivid and emotionally charged, so I can definitely see how a great film can be made of it.
@SydneyH: forgot to say, I too have read The Human Stain (in French though). Very topical of course (view spoiler). Like MissB, I was quite impressed by it, but 20 years down the line, knowing what I know now of Roth, I would pay more attention to the handling of the female characters (in particular, I think I can remember not completely 'buying' the relationship the main character has in his later years).
Very important study to come out on COVID-19https://www.theguardian.com/world/202...
https://els-jbs-prod-cdn.jbs.elsevier...
Rough summary:
- if you have COVID-19, whether you are vaccinated or not makes no difference to the risk of transmitting the virus to the people you live with
- if you have COVID-19, the risk of transmitting the virus to the people you live with is a bit lower IF they are themselves vaccinated (38% vs 25%)
- immunity wanes after 3 months.
Bottom line:
-> being vaccinated reduced vastly your risk of ending up in hospital or dying of COVID-19, but not your risk of transmitting the disease, and only very little your risk of catching it
-> keep wearing mask indoors, esp. FFP2/FFP3, esp. if one you're living with has tested positive or has symptoms
-> get your booster now (if you can) if you're at risk or over 50... Don't wait!
Lljones wrote: "I just discovered those Name Drop quizzes recently. I consistently get the answer on the third clue. Amazing how often I can pull up the right answer for pop cultural things I think I know nothing about."My pattern is: if I know the person's work (Arthur Conan Doyle, for example), I usually get the name on the first or second clue. If it's someone I've only read a bit about, which usually means either they an author or they've been around in the arts for a while, like Anderson, I usually get it on the third or fourth. If it's someone fairly young in the entertainment field or anyone in sports, I don't know it even with all the clues.
# 69 scarletnoir wrote: "if you have a spare moment and haven't read it, I do recommend Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant..."
Oh my goodness, yes, I have read that, forgot all about it. I read it for a book group. The rest of them thought it was great; I gave it a thumbs down for being one of those Historical Fiction books that doesn't quite cut it - this is a recurring theme in my reading of historical fiction. Anyway, you've now got me listing all the nun novels I've read. So far: The Corner That Held Them, Sacred Hearts, The Abbess of Crewe, Frost in May, Fludd. I'm wondering what else I may have missed.
Oh my goodness, yes, I have read that, forgot all about it. I read it for a book group. The rest of them thought it was great; I gave it a thumbs down for being one of those Historical Fiction books that doesn't quite cut it - this is a recurring theme in my reading of historical fiction. Anyway, you've now got me listing all the nun novels I've read. So far: The Corner That Held Them, Sacred Hearts, The Abbess of Crewe, Frost in May, Fludd. I'm wondering what else I may have missed.
# 58 Machenbach wrote: "I’m in the mood for something more exotic at the moment ...."
Exotic like Norah Hoult and Joshua O'Driscoll? Though to be fair, I can see how the latter might be. And looks like it'd be a good read regardless.
Exotic like Norah Hoult and Joshua O'Driscoll? Though to be fair, I can see how the latter might be. And looks like it'd be a good read regardless.
Don Quixote, Part 2
In this second half the comedy continues apace. There is again a long string of entertaining episodes and knightly adventures. One or two are so inside-out that they might have inspired Borges. Stopping one night at an inn, the knight and his squire meet some other guests who have with them a real copy of a false continuation of Part 1 published by another writer trying to cash in. Our heroes are properly disgusted by the way they are portrayed. Later, on the road, they run into one of the actual characters invented in this false Part 2. He is astonished to meet them, as they are not at all like the Don Quixote and squire whom he accompanied to a joust. After becoming acquainted, he agrees with them that the real real Don Quixote, not the false real one, is the famous Don Quixote, and that the real real Sancho is funny, unlike false real one, who they all agree is completely unfunny. A suitable declaration making all this clear is sworn before the mayor of the village.
Limiting ourselves to the real Parts 1 and 2, the difference now is that Don Quixote no longer looks so ridiculous. At every turn of events, even as he suffers some new humiliation, he finds a reason for hope. No matter how beaten down he may be, he will eloquently extract a heartening lesson. He stirs up our better selves. The mockers and doubters and hoaxers have their jokes and yet it is they, not he, who are out of step and look diminished. They cut poor figures in the face of his sincerity. In one long speech Don Quixote explains, with patience and dignity, that he understands exactly why people think him mad and why it is they fail to grasp the truth of what he sees. The clear-eyed conviction of his belief that the world is in need of a knight errant leaves the reader thinking he is not so wrong.
Meanwhile, Sancho Panza the foil swings between cheerfulness and gloom, largely according to whether his stomach is full. He is granted his wish to become the governor of an island, and shows a surprising unschooled wisdom in the role. He continues to be irrepressibly impertinent towards his master, not always staying this side of outright rudeness. Other characters comment that it is not altogether clear whether Sancho isn’t a bit touched himself, as though it is now a case of folie à deux. If there is a novel with a more comical pairing than these two, it does not come to mind.
Towards the end we come upon the famous passage comparing literature in translation to viewing Flemish tapestries from the reverse side. I have no way of judging how faithful this version is to the Spanish original, which is said to be magnificent for its language alone. All I can say is that John Rutherford is a premier league gymnast in words. He conveys an abounding spirit of fun, and has a wonderful command of elevated language for the knight and earthy expostulation for the squire, and beautiful turns of phrase for other moments. A tiny example: one time, night overtakes them when they are still on the road, so they settle down in the open, “and Sancho, who that day had enjoyed an afternoon meal, slipped without knocking through the doors of sleep.”
I’m glad I did not know how the book ends. Perhaps it is very obvious to the perspicacious reader. To me it came unexpected. It was affecting, and put everything in a different light.
.....
Bowdlerizing. Until now I hadn’t personally come across actual examples in any book I was reading. The Victorian edition of the Smollett translation published by Cassell in around 1880 has a minuscule footnote saying: “A few objectionable words and sentences, in no way necessary to the beauty and completeness of the work, have been omitted.” In fact, long paragraphs are cut out, or words twisted, and important plot points abandoned, in order to avoid saying what we see in the Rutherford. So, for example, the Victorian reader was saved from the following:
- “…he pressed me tighter in his arms…then my maid left, and I stopped being one.”
- “…do the enchanted eat…no, they do not…nor do they have bowel movements.”
- “…revealed by a certain swelling in [her] stomach.”
- “…you will find all the chamber-pots needed by the person who sleeps behind locked doors.”
- “…by promising to marry her he seduced her.”
- “…the treacherous, audacious Aeneas lay with the beautiful, tender-hearted Dido.”
The reason cannot have been that this illustrated edition was designed for children, because it is a large, heavy, leather-bound, expensive-looking production evidently intended for a library table. It seems there really was a significant portion of the book-buying public who thought adult persons should not be exposed to even fairly mild references to sexual relations and bodily functions and who did not wish to have these things seen, heard or discussed in their house.
…..
John Rutherford used to be Tutor in Spanish at The Queen’s College, Oxford. When a person has translated 982 pages of Cervantes, is he still able to resist the contagion? You can just imagine one of his tutorials. It is late afternoon on a wintery November day, and in JR’s college rooms an undergraduate is reading out the fourth page of his weekly essay. JR’s attention wanders just a fraction, and all of a sudden he is far away, on the sun-drenched plains of La Mancha, astride his steed, visor down, lance couched, arm puissant, heart valiant, and … but he gives a start and partly recollecting himself says, “I see, sir, that you have in your possession a paper, which I doubt not is a letter to your love. Let us consider of it. I know much that may please the lady of a knight errant.” The student, not surprised in the least, draws forth another sheet and reads, “O my Onoria, most lovely of enchanters in the high realm of Poesie, most beauteous of ladies known to the chivalry of Isis, let your lustrous eyes command me…” “Yes,” says JR, “I sense your meaning, and yet I believe the circumstance calls for a more admiring and a more submissive tone. You should begin with a clear averment that you are already on your knees, prostrate before her, overcome by the power of her charms, and…” “Excuse me,” says a voice from the corner, where there is a short and tubby man, a college servant perhaps, “I think the boy is doing great. Don’t go confusing him with your ideas. Let’s hear the rest of that there letter before you throw in your twaddle.” “Be silent, you unmannerly rogue,” thunders JR, “and kindly remove yourself to the stables and tend to our mounts.” “Don John sir,” says the sly student, who has divined how his tutor secretly likes to think of himself, “may I ask you to relate one of your adventures when you and your squire are out righting wrongs and succouring widows? It would help me a lot to know what an arrant knight actually does, and if your squire could stay I might also learn how to deal with an ass.” “Well, in the interest of instruction,” says JR, a benign look overspreading his stern features, “I will permit him to remain, and there was indeed one episode which he will have particular reason to remember.” “I don’t like the way this going,” says the voice. And so on.
In this second half the comedy continues apace. There is again a long string of entertaining episodes and knightly adventures. One or two are so inside-out that they might have inspired Borges. Stopping one night at an inn, the knight and his squire meet some other guests who have with them a real copy of a false continuation of Part 1 published by another writer trying to cash in. Our heroes are properly disgusted by the way they are portrayed. Later, on the road, they run into one of the actual characters invented in this false Part 2. He is astonished to meet them, as they are not at all like the Don Quixote and squire whom he accompanied to a joust. After becoming acquainted, he agrees with them that the real real Don Quixote, not the false real one, is the famous Don Quixote, and that the real real Sancho is funny, unlike false real one, who they all agree is completely unfunny. A suitable declaration making all this clear is sworn before the mayor of the village.
Limiting ourselves to the real Parts 1 and 2, the difference now is that Don Quixote no longer looks so ridiculous. At every turn of events, even as he suffers some new humiliation, he finds a reason for hope. No matter how beaten down he may be, he will eloquently extract a heartening lesson. He stirs up our better selves. The mockers and doubters and hoaxers have their jokes and yet it is they, not he, who are out of step and look diminished. They cut poor figures in the face of his sincerity. In one long speech Don Quixote explains, with patience and dignity, that he understands exactly why people think him mad and why it is they fail to grasp the truth of what he sees. The clear-eyed conviction of his belief that the world is in need of a knight errant leaves the reader thinking he is not so wrong.
Meanwhile, Sancho Panza the foil swings between cheerfulness and gloom, largely according to whether his stomach is full. He is granted his wish to become the governor of an island, and shows a surprising unschooled wisdom in the role. He continues to be irrepressibly impertinent towards his master, not always staying this side of outright rudeness. Other characters comment that it is not altogether clear whether Sancho isn’t a bit touched himself, as though it is now a case of folie à deux. If there is a novel with a more comical pairing than these two, it does not come to mind.
Towards the end we come upon the famous passage comparing literature in translation to viewing Flemish tapestries from the reverse side. I have no way of judging how faithful this version is to the Spanish original, which is said to be magnificent for its language alone. All I can say is that John Rutherford is a premier league gymnast in words. He conveys an abounding spirit of fun, and has a wonderful command of elevated language for the knight and earthy expostulation for the squire, and beautiful turns of phrase for other moments. A tiny example: one time, night overtakes them when they are still on the road, so they settle down in the open, “and Sancho, who that day had enjoyed an afternoon meal, slipped without knocking through the doors of sleep.”
I’m glad I did not know how the book ends. Perhaps it is very obvious to the perspicacious reader. To me it came unexpected. It was affecting, and put everything in a different light.
.....
Bowdlerizing. Until now I hadn’t personally come across actual examples in any book I was reading. The Victorian edition of the Smollett translation published by Cassell in around 1880 has a minuscule footnote saying: “A few objectionable words and sentences, in no way necessary to the beauty and completeness of the work, have been omitted.” In fact, long paragraphs are cut out, or words twisted, and important plot points abandoned, in order to avoid saying what we see in the Rutherford. So, for example, the Victorian reader was saved from the following:
- “…he pressed me tighter in his arms…then my maid left, and I stopped being one.”
- “…do the enchanted eat…no, they do not…nor do they have bowel movements.”
- “…revealed by a certain swelling in [her] stomach.”
- “…you will find all the chamber-pots needed by the person who sleeps behind locked doors.”
- “…by promising to marry her he seduced her.”
- “…the treacherous, audacious Aeneas lay with the beautiful, tender-hearted Dido.”
The reason cannot have been that this illustrated edition was designed for children, because it is a large, heavy, leather-bound, expensive-looking production evidently intended for a library table. It seems there really was a significant portion of the book-buying public who thought adult persons should not be exposed to even fairly mild references to sexual relations and bodily functions and who did not wish to have these things seen, heard or discussed in their house.
…..
John Rutherford used to be Tutor in Spanish at The Queen’s College, Oxford. When a person has translated 982 pages of Cervantes, is he still able to resist the contagion? You can just imagine one of his tutorials. It is late afternoon on a wintery November day, and in JR’s college rooms an undergraduate is reading out the fourth page of his weekly essay. JR’s attention wanders just a fraction, and all of a sudden he is far away, on the sun-drenched plains of La Mancha, astride his steed, visor down, lance couched, arm puissant, heart valiant, and … but he gives a start and partly recollecting himself says, “I see, sir, that you have in your possession a paper, which I doubt not is a letter to your love. Let us consider of it. I know much that may please the lady of a knight errant.” The student, not surprised in the least, draws forth another sheet and reads, “O my Onoria, most lovely of enchanters in the high realm of Poesie, most beauteous of ladies known to the chivalry of Isis, let your lustrous eyes command me…” “Yes,” says JR, “I sense your meaning, and yet I believe the circumstance calls for a more admiring and a more submissive tone. You should begin with a clear averment that you are already on your knees, prostrate before her, overcome by the power of her charms, and…” “Excuse me,” says a voice from the corner, where there is a short and tubby man, a college servant perhaps, “I think the boy is doing great. Don’t go confusing him with your ideas. Let’s hear the rest of that there letter before you throw in your twaddle.” “Be silent, you unmannerly rogue,” thunders JR, “and kindly remove yourself to the stables and tend to our mounts.” “Don John sir,” says the sly student, who has divined how his tutor secretly likes to think of himself, “may I ask you to relate one of your adventures when you and your squire are out righting wrongs and succouring widows? It would help me a lot to know what an arrant knight actually does, and if your squire could stay I might also learn how to deal with an ass.” “Well, in the interest of instruction,” says JR, a benign look overspreading his stern features, “I will permit him to remain, and there was indeed one episode which he will have particular reason to remember.” “I don’t like the way this going,” says the voice. And so on.
Hushpuppy wrote: "@SydneyH: forgot to say, I too have read The Human Stain"Thanks - yes, the handling of female characters seems to be a recurring criticism for Roth.
Hushpuppy wrote: "Very important study to come out on COVID-19https://www.theguardian.com/world/202...
https://els-jbs-prod-cdn.jbs.elsevierhea..."
Ciao Glad!
Nice paper, I hadn't seen it. I'd like it better if they tossed a functional or immunological assay in there. They are relying exclusively on PCR and that is a proxy assay that we need to get beyond. Same with antibody ELISAS, they are giving good data that is way too easy to over-interpret. That being said, the conclusions seem pretty sound and consistent
Just watched "The Fog" for first time in almost 20 years, lovely slow pace and fantastic locations of the coast above San Fran (Port Reyes), so lush and green, almost english.The old man who tells ghost stories at the beginning is called Mr Machen, that is the literary link to the film for me, a tribute to the master of the wierd, Arthur Machen? I hope so!
CCCubbon wrote: "Hushpuppy wrote: "A rare and quick foray!1. On Let The Right One In. A word of warning (esp. to CCC, who's considered buying it for her grand?daughter)... I've fucking hated this. Had to speed re..."
I found Let the Right One In, and the Swedish film based on, quite good.
#93 Anne wrote: "I gave (Sacred Hearts) a thumbs down for being one of those Historical Fiction books that doesn't quite cut it ."Interesting - it really wasn't my 'usual' type of book, but I liked it for the somewhat rebellious nature of the main characters, and the idea that some science could be carried out in a sense in opposition to the superstition of the religious setting. As I have no knowledge of the historical context, I would not have been put off by any inaccuracies relating to that aspect.
Of course, it also showed the limited choices open to women from 'good families' at that time.
#91 Hushpuppy wrote: "-> get your booster now (if you can) if you're at risk or over 50... Don't wait!Indeed - but it might be worth pointing out that especially vulnerable people (e.g the immunocompromised) should be getting a THIRD dose ASAP, and then a 'booster' in six months or so (i.e. a fourth dose). I only just found this out myself, and it appears that even medical professionals often don't realise or distinguish between the terms, in which case those who ought to eventually get a 'fourth dose booster' may miss out.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jc...
scarletnoir wrote: "#91 Hushpuppy wrote: "-> get your booster now (if you can) if you're at risk or over 50... Don't wait!Indeed - but it might be worth pointing out that especially vulnerable people (e.g the immuno..."
The reality is that severely immunocompromised people, including roughly half of cancer patients, cannot count on any real efficacy for any vaccine. You often can't boost an immune system that is in tatters or non-existent. Which is why EVERYONE ELSE needs to be vaccinated, to protect the people for whom vaccine protection is medically improbable at best. Obviously, getting vaccinated is still better than not getting vaccinated even for people with complicatinf pathologies.
Paul wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "#91 Hushpuppy wrote: "-> get your booster now (if you can) if you're at risk or over 50... Don't wait!Indeed - but it might be worth pointing out that especially vulnerable pe..."
Thanks for that post Paul. I can remember the same argument over the measles vaccine in that parents who refused to have their children vaccinated were putting at risk children who couldn't be. And measles is another nasty one.
Paul wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "#91 Hushpuppy wrote: "-> get your booster now (if you can) if you're at risk or over 50... Don't wait!Indeed - but it might be worth pointing out that especially vulnerable pe..."
good point about the compromised, where their immune system would be vulnerable to even a nasty cold, let alone a multi-organ disease like covid
Paul wrote: "The reality is that severely immunocompromised people, including roughly half of cancer patients, cannot count on any real efficacy for any vaccine."Indeed... and as far as I understand it, the immune system is so complicated that the degree of protection is unclear and can't easily be predicted from a simple count of antibodies. Ah, well - we do what we can, on the basis that 'something is better than nothing' - and hope for the best!
Hi all, have not been busy with books much - just want to drop in and say I am still alive, still without COVID and since June fully vacced. I have started new a self-help book: the 1% method - uhm very American in its approach. Not sure I will benefit too much by this.
Watching the Agatha Christie Marple-series on a German channel (and bought the DVD set for those films I missed). Quite like them. Wednesday's film was The Mirror Crack'd From Side To Side
FranHunny wrote: "Hi all, have not been busy with books much - just want to drop in and say I am still alive, still without COVID and since June fully vacced. I have started new a self-help book: the 1% method - u..."
Just wanted to say hello, Fran, good to hear from you.
AB76 wrote: "Georg wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Georg wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Georg wrote: "@ABI seem to remember that you read
not so long ago (?).If so: how did you like it? (I've ..."
We had a German lesson about The German lesson ... Faintly remember that. Found it quite ironic.
FranHunny wrote: "Hi all, have not been busy with books much - just want to drop in and say I am still alive, still without COVID and since June fully vacced. I have started new a self-help book: the 1% method - u..."
Good to hear you are well Fran. I hope you have the series with Joan Hickson, she was the best Miss Marple.
To The Islands by Randolph Stow highlights the plight of Aboriginal populations in Western Australia and the calculated indifference towards the population via census inumerations astounds me.The Australian consitution stated that before 1967, no aborigines were to be counted in the census, via digging on the net i found a 1954 table that shows 70,000 odd recorded, of which just under half were dual-heritage. This is clearly lower than the real numbers, though logisitics in locating the more nomadic peoples of the vast Northern Territory would have been a challenge.
Stow is brilliant at depicting the communities that relied on the mission stations dotted accross the very sparsely populated North of Western Australia. While not autobiographical, the novel uses a lot of his own experiences working on a mission station in the same area as the novel
Machenbach wrote: "Just wanted to acknowledge this fab post."I should have done the same. Missing that 'like' feature.
giveusaclue wrote: "FranHunny wrote: "Hi all, have not been busy with books much - just want to drop in and say I am still alive, still without COVID and since June fully vacced. I have started new a self-help book:..."
No, not yet, for now I got Agatha Christie Marple - two quite different Miss Marples by looks (and I think the late Geraldine McEwan was quite a good Marple, "the prim and birdlike character Christie created in her novels")
Machenbach wrote: "Paul wrote: "EVERYONE ELSE needs to be vaccinated, to protect the people for whom vaccine protection is medically improbable at best."Though if, as Hushpuppy seems to suggest, vaccination doesn't..."
Yes/no, in initial phases it looks like vaccinated and unvaccinated people shed virus at equal levels. But, vaccinated folks spread virus for much shorter periods. The immunocompromised ARE still at risk, as they ever have been, and that isn't going to change until the virus is suffocated by having enough of the population vaccinated all at the same time. Which is going to be difficult to achieve if the vaccine efficacy does indeed disappear over time. There are many indications that would suggest that decrease in vaccine efficacy is over-estimated by relying on simplistic scientific read-outs. That being said, it would not be the first time a virus has proven to be either not-vaccinateable or with a limited window of efficacy. Realistically, if you're on prednisone or other immunodepressants, you should be vigilant in public spaces regardless of a pandemia.
Paul wrote: "Machenbach wrote: "Paul wrote: "EVERYONE ELSE needs to be vaccinated, to protect the people for whom vaccine protection is medically improbable at best."Though if, as Hushpuppy seems to suggest, ..."
my booster wont be till January i think,though my voluntary work with old folks meant i should get it faster than if i wasnt doing that, the manager had the staff double vaxxed earlier than normal.
my concern for my parents(before they both got the booster) was the lack of evidence over how long vaccine efficacy lasts, as they were double vaxxed by March
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Books mentioned in this topic
Zofloya, or The Moor (other topics)The Big Sleep (other topics)
Travels with My Aunt (other topics)
Travels with My Aunt (other topics)
Singing The Sadness (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Reginald Hill (other topics)Nadine Gordimer (other topics)
Diedrich Diederichsen (other topics)
Jackie Kay (other topics)
Jackie Collins (other topics)
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Ta. I'll probably read that at some point. I'm considering reading Bowen's Court in the not-too-distant future as part of my literary memoir reading. Groff looks to me like a good writer, but none of the concepts of her books really take my fancy. I've thought I might prefer to try her short stories to her novels.