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2022 Buddy Read: Scottish Authors
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Lesle, Appalachian Bibliophile
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Aug 30, 2022 05:18PM

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Thanks for letting us know about it.





These both sound excellent Brian - I'm sure you'll achieve your vow.
According to my last "Ancestry" update, I'm 46% Scottish, 25% English, 24% Irish, 3% Welsh, and 2% Sweden & Denmark........anyone fancy a Scandinavian Buddy Read in 2024?????
John wrote: "I've never read this one Lesle, and it looks interesting. Its short enough to read with my other Scottish novel for September, so I've ordered a copy today (no library in Glasgow has a copy, which ..."
I am ordering it to.
I am ordering it to.

And, I forgot that while I enjoy reading books by Scottish-born writers like A.J. Cronin and D.E. Stevenson, I really should read a book set in Scotland too. So I plan to return to the streets of Glasgow as I bought the other 2 books in the Laidlaw trilogy, The Papers of Tony Veitch and Strange Loyalties. Although they aren't technically "classics," they provide a look at Scottish life that this buddy read has encouraged me to explore. I hope to get to one or both by the end of this year of the Scottish read.
I don’t think I’ve ever read a Scottish author, that I know of, so I’ll join in the fun! I’ll give The Beach of Falesá a try. I should have it in a few days from the library. Thanks for the suggestion Lesle.

Conside..."
2023 is already looking busy for the group with some great reads, so 2024 might be more realistic, Sandy. And it would be fantastic if you participated.

..."
Delighted to see that you're reading the rest of the Laidlaw trilogy, Brian. I enjoyed them all, although the first book was always my favourite. Glaswegians of my generation, especially if from the east end of the city, were able to recognize in the first book one or two infamous residents. I look forward to your reviews.

That's excellent Pam, I'm delighted you're joining us; Lesle, who suggested the book, also has it on order.
The summary from Amazon is -
"Originally censored by its British publisher, The Beach at Falesá is a scathing critique of colonialism and economic imperialism that bravely takes on many of the 19th Century’ s strongest taboos: miscegenation, imperialism, and economic exploitation. It does so with a story that features a surprising and beguiling romance between an adventurous British trader and a young island girl, against a background of increasing—and mysterious—hostility. Are the native islanders plotting against the couple, or is it the other white traders? The result is a denouement that is astonishing in its violence. Told in the unadorned voice of the trader, it is a story that deftly combines the form of the exotic adventure yarn with the moral and psychological questing of great fiction"
Stevenson wrote in a number of genres, but I think this was his first move from Romance to Realism.
John wrote: "According to my last "Ancestry" update, I'm 46% Scottish, 25% English, 24% Irish, 3% Welsh, and 2% Sweden & Denmark........anyone fancy a Scandinavian Buddy Read in 2024????..."
Well John according to my "Ancestry" I am:
35% England & Northwestern Europe
23% Scotland
21% German
9% Wales
7% Ireland
and sprinklings of Northern Italy and Jewish (European)
Well John according to my "Ancestry" I am:
35% England & Northwestern Europe
23% Scotland
21% German
9% Wales
7% Ireland
and sprinklings of Northern Italy and Jewish (European)

Well ..."
Now that's quite a volatile mixture Lesle!

It was good timing, as my copy of The Beach of Falesá arrives today, and I hope to start that tonight. (With some feelings of guilt that I haven't finished my August choice yet).

Its interesting, unlike anything I've read from Robert Louis Stevenson. It certainly paints a damning picture of Western colonials, including the main protagonist.
I'm glad I read it, and I want to check out some of the other stories from his time in the South Seas.


I'm glad you enjoyed it Melanie. I've not yet read any of her books, but I see that her Wiki entry states that she "developed the romantic mystery genre, featuring smart, adventurous heroines who could hold their own in dangerous situations."
I plan to read The Crystal Cave when it's on the group's schedule in December - will you be reading that one?

But it was very short, so I might try to squeeze in another of his early books if I can.

John, thanks for pointing that out. Yes, I would like to read The Crystal Cave in December. I haven't read her Arthurian Sagas.


I haven't read any of Bennett, so I look forward to hearing your opinion. I read that in 1958 a young William Shatner appeared in a TV adaptation of The Man Who Didn't Fly.

Though I didn't plan to read Scottish authors it just so happens I'm reading Michael Innes Inspector Appleby series and I read quite a bit of R.L. Stevenson ( I'll add the link later from my Laptop).

It's a very good book, Luis - a few of us read it back in May as part of this Buddy Read.

Though I didn't plan to read Scottish authors it just so happens I'm reading Michael Innes Ins..."
That's a long series, Shaina!
I loved the description in Wiki that "His mysteries have also been described as combining "the elliptical introspection ... [of] a Jamesian character's speech, the intellectual precision of a Conradian description, and the amazing coincidences that mark any one of Hardy's plots"

Though I didn't plan to read Scottish authors it just so happens I'm reading Michael Innes Ins..."
Shaina, I didn't realize that Innes was a Scottish author! I'll definitely read one of his Inspector Appleby books as a buddy read.

Sadly he doesn't, Chad (although his Children of the Dead End would qualify, as its set in Scotland).
But don't let it put you off reading The Great Push, which is an excellent book.


Though I didn't plan to read Scottish authors it just so happens I'm reading Mi..."
John, the description on Wiki sounds about right. I must say though Lament for a Maker is a book I quite enjoyed thanks to the Scottish setting, local colour, and language/ slang/ dialect used. It was eerie too!

Sadly he doesn't, Chad (although his Children of the Dead End would qualify, as its set in Scotland).
But don..."
Thanks John, I think that I have a copy of Children of the Dead End. I’ll take a look.

Though I didn't plan to read Scottish authors it just so happens I'm reading Mi..."
I too didn't realise it. Let's call it serendipity. I'm reading the series as a buddy read with a GR group. We read an Appleby book every alternate month. I have The Daffodil Affair coming up Nov/Dec.

I'm happy to discuss any of the books selected in the series. I would recommend Death at the President's Lodging, Hamlet, Revenge!, Lament for a Maker or The Secret Vanguard.



Obras sobre Religião by David Hume
I intend to read it in Portuguese.

Obras sobre Religião by David Hume
I intend to read it in Portuguese."
Excellent Luis - I think that's the first philosophy book to be included in this buddy read!

Obras sobre Religião by David Hume
I intend to read it in Portuguese."
Excellent Luis - I think that's t..."
Great!

Are we all OK to read it this month?"
I'm OK to read it this month!
I got The Daffodil Affair from Libby since they didn't have any of the others mentioned above. I've read Death at the President's Lodging and really enjoyed it.

Thanks for the mention of Death at the President's Lodging, Rosemary - that one's available from Libby in Glasgow so I might try it next.


Just FYI, for any of you on Facebook, there is a group called Five Books which has posts that highlight 5 books with a specific focus. Today's post is Landmarks of Scottish Literature with recommendations by author James Robertson. The books mentioned are The Heart of Mid-Lothian by Walter Scott, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by RL Stevenson, Gillespie by John MacDougall Hay, The Grampian Quartet by Nan Shepherd and Silence by James Kennaway.
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