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Weekly TLS > What are we reading? 19 December 2022

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message 151: by scarletnoir (new)

scarletnoir | 4272 comments AB76 wrote: "Xmas tv was interesting with "Knives Out" a hit with the family...

i attempted another tv adaption Vienna Blood on the BBC was dissapointed.."


We tried Vienna Blood, too, but didn't like it. As for the first 'Knives out', we found the style so annoying that we bailed after 10 minutes! Maybe it's for younger people...


message 152: by scarletnoir (new)

scarletnoir | 4272 comments CCCubbon wrote: "(I) wondered again why pupils are not taught about the more shameful aspects of British history."

Oh, that wouldn't do at all - it doesn't fit with the heroic and principled version that our current leaders wish to preserve.
(It's clear that they prefer fiction or 'alternative facts' as lies are now known - to a more honest and balanced picture, both of the past and the present.)

I wonder if the Wyndham and Banerjee series will continue as far as that point in history? Abir Mukherjee certainly covers some of the dirty deeds carried out in India by the British.

I didn't know about this scorched earth policy either, though was aware that the Russians in particular have 'previous' in the tactic's use - but they are not the only ones by any means:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorche...


message 153: by Gpfr (new)

Gpfr | -2220 comments Mod
scarletnoir wrote: "MK wrote: "Nothing like a thriller set in India."

have you tried the Wyndham and Banerjee series set in 1920s Calcutta? The first one is A Rising Man..."


I read that not long ago and liked it. I've got the 2nd waiting on the TBR pile.


message 154: by AB76 (new)

AB76 | 6948 comments scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Xmas tv was interesting with "Knives Out" a hit with the family...

i attempted another tv adaption Vienna Blood on the BBC was dissapointed.."

We tried Vienna Blood, too, but didn't ..."


Vienna Blood was poor as the young actor was just too smug and too limited, any subtle relationship between him and the old school cop was dead in the water. I took such a disliking to the character (Liebermann) that it was painful to watch one episode

Knives Out was a hoot, though the southern accent of Daniel Craig seemed a bit silly


message 155: by Robert (new)

Robert | 1018 comments Andy wrote: "Greenfairy wrote: "On Christmas Eve I was in search of ghost stories, and downloaded a collection of Henry James supernatural tales, a little disappointed as they were so very wordy.Anyway, Recomme..."

A fine ghost story from an unlikely source: The Night Visitor by B. Traven.


message 156: by Paul (new)

Paul | -29 comments CCCubbon wrote: "Paul

Gpfr has posted some great slime mould photos over on archaeology - remembered that you like them too."



Oh, thanks! I'll swing over there and give them a peek


message 157: by Robert (last edited Dec 30, 2022 12:40PM) (new)

Robert | 1018 comments Discussion of a story where a child rolls under a bed and into another dimension brought back this memory:

Once a neighbor's deaf child couldn't be found, and it was getting dark. Several neighbors and her father were preparing to search the woods, when the mother made one last search of the house. She found the little girl asleep under her bed. She had shut off her hearing aids and crawled under the far corner of her bed. Her mother stood holding her... the little girl was still half asleep.


message 158: by Robert (new)

Robert | 1018 comments AB76 wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Xmas tv was interesting with "Knives Out" a hit with the family...

i attempted another tv adaption Vienna Blood on the BBC was dissapointed.."

We tried Vienna Blo..."


Craig did a good job creating the character of the detective. I'd like to see the Glass Onion story.


message 159: by MK (new)

MK (emmakaye) | 1771 comments This is so cute. Knight Owl by Christopher Denise . I found it on a librarian's blog post of 2022 favorites and have put it on hold even though I am so far beyond the 4-8 age range.


message 160: by giveusaclue (new)

giveusaclue | 1896 comments giveusaclue wrote: "Not a lot of reading done this week, too much live footie on the box. Also having to cope with the "trauma" yesterday of dropping my mobile phone in the bath. Rescued and several hours in the airin..."

Gave u p on the Medici Murders as it was getting far too long winded.


message 161: by MK (new)

MK (emmakaye) | 1771 comments Gpfr wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "MK wrote: "Nothing like a thriller set in India."

have you tried the Wyndham and Banerjee series set in 1920s Calcutta? The first one is A Rising Man..."

I read that not long..."


Thanks - I checked and have missed the latest one and so the pile grows (what a surprise!).

Miranda Carter has written three (Blake and Avery) that began in India but moved to London later.

Tarquin Hall has written several starring a PI - Vish Puri. These tend to be on the cute and snarky side and are excellent in audio thanks to a fantastic narrator.


message 162: by MK (new)

MK (emmakaye) | 1771 comments For Slow Horse fans, I picked up Standing by the Wall The Collected Slough House Novellas by Mick Herron which has five short stories, three of which are connected. My thoughts are - Meh. I think I'll even put it in the recycle stack.


message 163: by AB76 (last edited Dec 30, 2022 09:08AM) (new)

AB76 | 6948 comments An xmas carol i had never really listened to or sung, suprisingly is "In The Bleak Midwinter" and after singing it a few times this xmas and delving into the wonderful lyrics/poetry by Christina Rossetti, its currently an ear worm of mine

Rosetti is an interesting character and the poem to me, sums up the spirit of the season, though midwinters are rarely bleak in the shires, usually just damp and windy!


message 164: by Andy (new)

Andy Weston (andyweston) | 1473 comments scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Xmas tv was interesting with "Knives Out" a hit with the family...

i attempted another tv adaption Vienna Blood on the BBC was dissapointed.."

We tried Vienna Blood, too, but didn't ..."


I'm with you on the Knives Out films SN.

Also will third your recommendation for the Mukherjee series..


message 165: by Andy (last edited Dec 30, 2022 09:56AM) (new)

Andy Weston (andyweston) | 1473 comments Robert wrote: "Andy wrote: "Greenfairy wrote: "On Christmas Eve I was in search of ghost stories, and downloaded a collection of Henry James supernatural tales, a little disappointed as they were so very wordy.An..."

The interview Mark Gatiss does with Mark Kermode on the latest Screenshot highlights of Michael Hordern in the BBC adaptation of Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad, which was directed by Jonathan Miller.

Gatiss calls it the best scene of eating breakfast on the screen. It made me want to watch it again, and indeed, his performance is wonderful (its available on YouTube).


message 166: by AB76 (last edited Dec 30, 2022 10:37AM) (new)

AB76 | 6948 comments For anyone interested in late Victorian London, the monumental sociological work of Charles Booth is a must read

The LSE has a formidable collection of his notebooks, impressively digitised and i include a link here to his notes on Jewish London

https://booth.lse.ac.uk/notebooks/b10...

I have just read an essay by Beatrice Webb from 1886 on London's Jewish population in that year, a fascinating study of a group of people who were escaping intolerant regimes in Poland and Russia. Its a well written piece by the young Webb(then still a Potter) and some interesting notes on what she calls "Chevras", organisations for the immigrant Jews, outside the Jewish council and organised synagogue circuits

I lament the fact that the 7 or so volumes of work that Booth compiled is still only in print via piecemeal cheap, tatty POD editions, with no real work gone into them. Price may be a factor but i am suprised that such a key study of one of the largest cities in the world has been so neglected in the 120 years since it was printed. There may prejudice towards its sociologial bent, where subjectivity can be an issue or maybe its attitude towards the evils of poverty but it would be fascinating to study all 7 volumes as one

In book form i have only a Penguin summary edition from 1969, of 420 pages called "Charles Booths London" but thats all


message 167: by MK (new)

MK (emmakaye) | 1771 comments I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel as I have only a few more mysteries (short stories) to shelve. I have been working on this off and on for more time than I care to admit.

One of the books I recently picked up to shelve is The Historian as Detective: Essays on Evidence by Robin Winks, a historian at Yale. I am also listening to Who Killed Jane Stanford?: A Gilded Age Tale of Murder, Deceit, Spirits and the Birth of a University by Richard White, a historian at Stanford.

What is interesting to me is that both authors characterize history as collecting, interpreting, and explaining evidence - just as detectives in fiction do. I really like that correlation - perhaps that explains that my shelves are mostly filled with mysteries and histories.


message 168: by AB76 (new)

AB76 | 6948 comments Andy

a Conan Doyle recommendation for you from "Gothic Tales"

"The Lord of Chateau Noir", check this gothic tale out if you can find it, the last one i read and it was superb, set in the Franco-Prussian War, short but effective


message 169: by [deleted user] (new)

Quatrevingt-treize – Victor Hugo

His last major work. He builds the story around some historical characters (Danton, Robespierre, Marat, all plausibly monstrous) but mainly three invented characters – a marquis landowner turned merciless royalist leader; the marquis’s family priest turned merciless revolutionary; and his viscount great-nephew (to whom the priest was tutor and substitute father) who is now the determined but humane commander of a battalion sent to Brittany to put down the royalist revolt.

I wanted to be impressed. Hugo does a good job of conveying the tumult of the Revolution, and he certainly constructs a worthy climax. But the way the plot unfolds is pure melodrama. Perhaps it is more stirring for native French readers. I found I read it with a lot of interest but not much excitement.

The style too was not to my taste. He always seems to be reaching for an effect and mostly not quite getting there.

He often writes paragraphs.
Of single lines.
Not even sentences.
To create an impact.
And failing.

His favourite rhetorical techniques are contrast and repetition. Sometimes it works. Most of the time the attempt to excite our emotions is too blatant. At least for this reader it ends up drawing attention to the style, and away from the story.

For example, when a vessel carrying the royalist leader is caught between fatal rocks and republican ships guarding the coast, we get in a single page: ... towards sunset three high rocks… towards sunrise eight sails…the three rocks were a reef, the eight sails were a squadron… behind there was a rock of bad reputation, in front the French patrol… to the west an abyss, to the east carnage…it was shipwreck or combat…to meet the reef the vessel was already a wreck, to meet the battle most of the cannon were off their mountings… the situation was critical… the sea itself advances and falls back… it suggests a squall and renounces…it threatens the north and strikes the south… shipwreck here, battle there.

Enough already! There is hardly a chapter without something of the sort. This manner of narrative is so ingrained it is as if he can hardly help himself.

He does have some good strokes. He spends six pages describing the hall in the Tuileries where the Convention meets. It was once the royal theatre. Gone are the gilded figures, the garlanded loges, the sporting nymphs, replaced by banks of benches and rectilinear plainness. He says it was like Boucher guillotined by David.

His account of a battle for control of a town, between the royalist peasant force led by the marquis and the Parisian column led by the ci-devant viscount, is another good passage, a proper drama. For once the rhetorical flourishes are dropped, and the tactics and swaying fortunes are very believable.

This was my first long Hugo. I was quite glad to have read it but I’m afraid it does not encourage me to try any of his other major novels.

I've read that Stalin liked it.


message 170: by Tam (last edited Dec 30, 2022 11:47AM) (new)

Tam Dougan (tamdougan) | 1086 comments MK wrote: "I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel as I have only a few more mysteries (short stories) to shelve. I have been working on this off and on for more time than I care to admit.

One ..."


And a Happy New Year to you MK, and everyone else on here. Here is me in heaven, the art book room in Scarthin Books, in Matlock Bath. Thanks for telling me about it. https://i.postimg.cc/CMk1bpBB/IMG-067.... Wonderful shop, not quite so much a fan of the cafe though. I'm sure they served up Vegan cheese on my Margarita pizza, I have never knowingly eaten vegan cheese so I was open to trying it, but it was beyond cheesy, with a weird aftertaste. Unami with (wonky) knobs on...

Great place for people watching as well as book-looking. All colour co-ordinated outdoorsy families, (North Face and Patagonia apparel!) and all the children were girls! I don't know where the folks with boys went to but they were not there. Perhaps they were all in the nearby Lead Museum? And here is the front of 'The Museum of Making' in Derby. https://i.postimg.cc/0y6mM4Cj/IMG-070... Opinions differ, in the family, about whether it's (they?) are a peregrine or not. Artistic license maybe? Its an odd place. I'm not sure that they have actually sorted out what the purpose of the museum should be. Still it's early days... I think they need some one visionary in the mix somehow. The family were not impressed... but as mills go its a lovely mill. I kind of wish they had given us more history of the building, as a silk-mill, what there was displayed was very sketchy. I suppose that most of the looms have been destroyed by now but it would have been lovely to see someone demonstrating the making of silk. Though 'the worm might turn', and disagree...


message 171: by Bill (new)

Bill FromPA (bill_from_pa) | 1708 comments Russell wrote: "Quatrevingt-treize – Victor Hugo
...
I've read that Stalin liked it."


I know that Ayn Rand did - she wrote an introduction to the novel which she later recycled as a chapter of The Romantic Manifesto.


message 172: by FrancesBurgundy (new)

FrancesBurgundy | 287 comments AB76 wrote: "An xmas carol i had never really listened to or sung, suprisingly is "In The Bleak Midwinter""

There are two lovely and completely different tunes for this carol. But I doubt if 'earth stood hard as iron' in the Holy Land, even in midwinter,

And, not wishing to depress anyone, whenever I think of Christina R I think of my (pretty cheerful) father quoting her 'Does the road wind uphill all the way? Yes to the very end.' Sometimes I think it does!


message 173: by AB76 (new)

AB76 | 6948 comments FrancesBurgundy wrote: "AB76 wrote: "An xmas carol i had never really listened to or sung, suprisingly is "In The Bleak Midwinter""

There are two lovely and completely different tunes for this carol. But I doubt if 'eart..."


some areas of Northern Israel do get cold in winter as do the Golan Heights and Jerusalem, snowfall isnt rare but i would agree that long snowy winters are not common and the ground is seldom hard as iron.


message 174: by Gpfr (new)

Gpfr | -2220 comments Mod
Ridiculous weather here for the "bleak midwinter": 15° during last night and 16° this afternoon.


message 175: by Robert (new)

Robert | 1018 comments AB76 wrote: "Berkley wrote: "Bill wrote: " This caused me to reflect that, as far as I know Christianity is the only world religion whose adherents, pretty much universally (with the exception of a small minori..."

Unrelated question to Bill: Some time ago, you reviewed "Diary of a Mad Housewife." The protagonist made references to a very odd US comic strip that was new to me. Can you recall the name of the strip?


message 176: by Andy (new)

Andy Weston (andyweston) | 1473 comments AB76 wrote: "Andy

a Conan Doyle recommendation for you from "Gothic Tales"

"The Lord of Chateau Noir", check this gothic tale out if you can find it, the last one i read and it was superb, set in the Franco-..."


Noted..


message 177: by scarletnoir (new)

scarletnoir | 4272 comments Russell wrote: "Quatrevingt-treize – Victor Hugo

He often writes paragraphs.
Of single lines.
Not even sentences.
To create an impact.
And failing."


Hahaha!

I got annoyed by - and wrote a similar criticism of - Bernardine Evaristo's Girl, Woman, Other.

I couldn't get past halfway.


message 178: by [deleted user] (new)

scarletnoir wrote: "Russell wrote: "Quatrevingt-treize – Victor Hugo...I got annoyed by - and wrote a similar criticism of - Bernardine Evaristo's Girl, Woman, Other.
I couldn't get past halfway."


Yes, I actually find writing unfavourable reviews a bit of a challenge, not only because you have to think specifically about what you didn’t like, but also in case you’re too unpleasantly disparaging about a book someone else really loved. So I find myself trying to find the positives as well.

For anyone who may be interested, here is a brief end-of-year update on my wife’s metaphysical bookshop. It has been open for three months and it has gone very nicely, well above break-even, which was our aim. The briskest trade has been in tarot decks, of which there are 200+ different ones on display. The main stock is of course books, and there the sales have been steady. One person came in last week and bought $200 worth of books to give as presents. The top seller so far, perhaps not surprisingly since we are in a college environment, has been “War and the Iliad” which comprises two WWII essays, by Simone Weil and another French philosopher, Rachel Bespaloff, closely followed by “The Farm in the Green Mountains” by Alice Herdan-Zuckmayer. In poetry, Byron, Coleridge, Keats, Akhmatova and Plath were popular, as were several of the beautiful pocket anthologies from Macmillan and Everyman. Books about trees also sold well. Apart from the fun of learning the book business, the best part has been the number of new and interesting people we have met; and I still get a small historical thrill from knowing that this fine old building, built in 1850, used to be the village livery stable.

Very best wishes to everyone for a healthy and happy New Year.


message 179: by Bill (new)

Bill FromPA (bill_from_pa) | 1708 comments Robert wrote: "Unrelated question to Bill: Some time ago, you reviewed "Diary of a Mad Housewife." The protagonist made references to a very odd US comic strip that was new to me. Can you recall the name of the strip?"

The narrator of Diary of a Mad Housewife uses the phrase "Nov Shmoz Kapop", which I found out came from the comic strip "The Squirrel Cage" by Gene Ahearn.
The Squirrel Cage


message 180: by giveusaclue (new)

giveusaclue | 1896 comments AB76 wrote: "Knives Out was a hoot, though the southern accent of Daniel Craig seemed a bit silly"

Glad someone else here liked it AB, I think Craig's accent was a bit of a send up.

Off out to a friend's house to see in the New Year shortly so I will take this opportunity to which one and all a very Happy, Healthy 2023.


message 181: by MK (new)

MK (emmakaye) | 1771 comments Anyone here who liked The Rose Code? If so, Kate Quinn has another out - The Diamond Eye which I have just downloaded from the library.

I am still listening to Who Killed Jane Stanford?: A Gilded Age Tale of Murder, Deceit, Spirits and the Birth of a University. What an odious woman!

Looking forward to a change in the calendar.


message 182: by FrancesBurgundy (new)

FrancesBurgundy | 287 comments Russell wrote: "For anyone who may be interested, here is a brief end-of-year update on my wife’s metaphysical bookshop.."

That sounds a great start. I'm feeling awful with a non-Covid cold so allowed myself to leave Henry Williamson for a day or two in favour of something lighter and easier. Confessions of a Bookseller hits the spot but what a way to earn a living. Obviously your wife has got it right and I hope her customers are easier to deal with than Mr Bythell's.


message 183: by Greenfairy (new)

Greenfairy | 830 comments Happy New Year TLS, I have just finished a remarkable book; Silverview by John le Carreé. It wasn't published in his lifetime and it wasn't exactly finished but organised and tidied from his notes by his youngest son Nick, and it's a triumph. There is a very poignant afterword by him.
I have started another excellent book Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver which is her take on David Copperfield - it could I suppose be described as "gritty"as she describes a boy's awful life.
Happy reading in '23 everyone:)


message 184: by Greenfairy (new)

Greenfairy | 830 comments Andy, I will certainly give The Haunting Season a try, thank


message 185: by Greenfairy (new)

Greenfairy | 830 comments Thanks Andy, I will take a look at The Haunting Season a try :)


message 186: by Greenfairy (new)

Greenfairy | 830 comments My cat is interfering with my posting again, She was nervous as someone was setting off fireworks too early,I so I gave her some catnip - It seems to have affected both of us! I am using a version of Goodreads sans an edit button as well which doesn't help..


message 187: by Bill (new)

Bill FromPA (bill_from_pa) | 1708 comments Russell wrote: "The briskest trade has been in tarot decks, of which there are 200+ different ones on display."

Which are your best selling decks? I haven't kept up with new designs for some time, but imagine the Ryder-Waite deck, illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith remains pretty popular with its unique illustrations for each of the Minor Arcana cards.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rider%E...


message 188: by Robert (new)

Robert | 1018 comments Russell wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "Russell wrote: "Quatrevingt-treize – Victor Hugo...I got annoyed by - and wrote a similar criticism of - Bernardine Evaristo's Girl, Woman, Other.
I couldn't get past halfway."..."


Happy New Year.


message 189: by Robert (new)

Robert | 1018 comments Bill wrote: "Robert wrote: "Unrelated question to Bill: Some time ago, you reviewed "Diary of a Mad Housewife." The protagonist made references to a very odd US comic strip that was new to me. Can you recall th..."

Thanks and Happy New Year.


message 190: by Andy (new)

Andy Weston (andyweston) | 1473 comments Greenfairy wrote: "Thanks Andy, I will take a look at The Haunting Season a try :)"

The other stories in the book aren’t half as good beware..


message 191: by [deleted user] (new)

Happy new year to everyone.


message 192: by MK (new)

MK (emmakaye) | 1771 comments Tam wrote: "MK wrote: "I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel as I have only a few more mysteries (short stories) to shelve. I have been working on this off and on for more time than I care to ad..."

I'm voting for peregrines! Too bad about the cheese. Here in the PNW we are lucky to have Tillamook (Oregon) which is delicious and REAL cheese.

I hope you restrained yourself bookwise in the shop.

Looking forward to 2023. Here in the States the Congress got a lot of governing done this year. It will be fun? to watch the GOP House and probably their witch hunts which means we will only get more reasonable judges on the bench (Senate) and no meaningful laws passed.


message 193: by CCCubbon (last edited Dec 31, 2022 10:19PM) (new)

CCCubbon | 1254 comments MK wrote: "Anyone here who liked The Rose Code? If so, Kate Quinn has another out - The Diamond Eye which I have just downloaded from the library.

I am still listening to [boo..."


I did try to read The Rose Code a couple of years ago but for some reason (bored?) abandoned the book.

I do remember becoming interested in one of the codes mentioned and spent some time experimenting but forgotten now.


message 194: by CCCubbon (new)

CCCubbon | 1254 comments Happy, healthy, peaceful New Year, everyone.


message 195: by Robert (new)

Robert | 1018 comments MK wrote: "Tam wrote: "MK wrote: "I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel as I have only a few more mysteries (short stories) to shelve. I have been working on this off and on for more time than ..."

Another year of arrogant misrule, directed by people I wouldn't trust to wrap a package.


message 196: by Gpfr (new)

Gpfr | -2220 comments Mod
Happy New Year, everyone, very best wishes for 2023.


message 197: by giveusaclue (new)

giveusaclue | 1896 comments Those in the Pacific North West may be interested in the book I am currently reading:

The Bones at Point No Point (A Thomas Austin Crime Thriller #1) by D.D. Black

As I think you know this area. It is a bit gruesome in that it involves the kidnap and murder of newborn babies. The book involves a recently retired and widowed NYPD detective who is called in by the local police to help with the investigation.

(view spoiler)


message 198: by Lass (new)

Lass | 307 comments Happy New Year, all. Hope it brings good things. Good health of course, and friendship, but as always, may your year be filled with happy reading memories.


message 199: by scarletnoir (new)

scarletnoir | 4272 comments Happy New Year - Blwyddyn Newydd Dda - to one and all.


message 200: by scarletnoir (last edited Jan 01, 2023 05:32AM) (new)

scarletnoir | 4272 comments FrancesBurgundy wrote: "Confessions of a Bookseller hits the spot but what a way to earn a living."

An intriguing title - what can it refer to? Presumably nothing as salacious as the shenanigans portrayed in the British 'humorous' film 'Confessions of a Window cleaner'...
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071357/...

But booksellers - or at any rate publishers - are not above shady dealing: I have bought the same book under different titles more than once - Simenon's novels are prone to this, not surprisingly as he wrote so many.

A recent discovery, the Costas Haritos series by Petros Markaris, has also suffered from this phenomenon, apparently - I am currently reading Deadline in Athens, but this book has also been published under the title 'The Late Night News' - so be warned.

Even worse, I was checking yesterday to see if there were any additions to the excellent Wyndham and Banerjee series by Abir Mukherjee - and came across some non-series books by 'Abir Mukherjee'. But it's not the same person! I have no idea if this second 'Abir Mukherjee' is using his own name, or if this is a cynical rip-off. Anyway, FYI I present an excerpt of one of the reviews:

I was conned into thinking that (this book - 'Sin is the New Love') was written by the same author of the Sam Wyndham books.
IT ISN'T.
What it is is a deep disappointment. Someone somewhere is cashing in on the Abir Mukherjee name.
It is written in what I can only describe as mangled pidgin English which grates to say the least.
If it was possible I would award it no stars.

If you enjoy the "genuine" Mukherjee novels on no account buy this dross!


So, watch out!


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