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What are we reading? 17 April 2023
Andy wrote: "and Widdershins by Oliver Onions 
Oliver Onions was a prolific writer of tales of the supernatural in the first half of the 20th centur..."
I read The Beckoning Fair One years ago in a Bennett Cerf anthology. Excellent story. I'd rank it with Isak Dinesen's The Supper at Elsinore as an uncanny story.
I've finished a graphic story, A Game for Swallows by Zeina Abirached, and have words of praise. A mix; the focus is on a single incident, the tenants of a Beirut apartment building taking shelter for a night while their neighborhood is shelled. An old woman, Anhala, is watching two children while their parents visit their grandmother. Another relative? No, the servant of another tenant. A hairy man appears; the son of a murdered man. He lives in his father's old apartment, and does odd jobs in the neighborhood.
A central focus like Poe's short stories; a mixture of destinies, which Solzhenitsyn called a "tale." It is drawn in a very simple black-and-white style, sometimes a blueprint of a half-destroyed city, other times intimate and loving. Translated from the French.
CCCubbon wrote: "We went walking in Picos de Europa a few years ago and went up on the cable car at Fuente De which is quite terrifying. As it nears the top it almost looks as if it’s going to crash."You are not wrong there - madame suffers from vertigo, and had to sit on the floor of the car as she could not bear to look out. Unfortunately, it was rather misty/cloudy that day, so there wasn't much of a view.
When we arrived at the Parador the previous evening, we found that guests were not guaranteed a place in the restaurant, and we hadn't booked... so had to eat some unsatisfactory cobbled together snack in the bar. Take a tip - book the restaurant, or eat before you arrive.
Most memorable part of the stay was a display of falconry with a number of raptors, including an enormous vulture. The falconer got us all to lie flat on the ground facing up, and called the vulture - which glided down and skimmed across the surface of our recumbent figures. Very impressive, though I'm not certain whether this sort of display is considered OK or is frowned upon by bird lovers.
scarletnoir wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "We went walking in Picos de Europa a few years ago and went up on the cable car at Fuente De which is quite terrifying. As it nears the top it almost looks as if it’s going to cras..."Yes we had the same problem with the meal and couldn’t get anything to eat until late. We worked out this morning that it must have been back in the late 1999s as we took the car over from Plymouth.
That moment before the car landed on the top sticks in my mind. I had not realised that my heart was not good, hence the exhaustion. MrC remembers the walk back most .
Not a lover of caged birds but it is good to see the falcons fly.
CCCubbon wrote: ".That moment before the car landed on the top sticks in my mind. I had not realised that my heart was not good, hence the exhaustion. MrC remembers the walk back most ."Sorry to hear that - I'm not sure if we were even aware that walking back down was an option, but in any case it would not have been possible with two young children and the mist - we could easily have gone over a cliff! I hope the docs are able to help you control your symptoms nowadays - many of us have these little daily boxes for pills so we don't forget! "What a drag it is getting old", as the Rolling Stones sang all those years ago, though they are still rolling - or most of them!
Still and all - with the right attitude and no pain, life can still be enormous fun. I hope you are enjoying yourself.
A brief report on our trip to Brittany... the ferry was delayed by 30h by a storm, so as it was still rough when we left the ship rocked and rolled a lot. Fortunately, we are not seasick and rather enjoyed it...The weather has been mixed - mainly dry in weeks 1 and 3, mainly wet in week 2. Most disappointing has been the temperature - the wind has consistently blown from the N and/or E, and has been chilly - so even on sunny days, it's been too cold to eat outside, or even for an aperitif most days. Good enough for cycling, though - I managed six rides along the canal (so no hills).
The storms did for a couple of poplars on the boundary of our field (it's OK - there must be at least 40 left), and our neighbour chopped them up. A tree surgeon had to be called to dispose of a huge spruce which was suffering from old age and/or some illness, though. Madame spent most of the holiday gardening in the border, or filling in huge holes dug by our friend's beagle cross - when not socialising (wife not beagle!). The magnolia was past its best when we got here, but the pieris was superb; our favourite, early rhododendron already has many flowers, though it won't quite be fully open before we leave.
All the rain that's fallen has ensured that this part of Brittany is in no danger of drought - from the stream running along two sides of our field to the rivers, canals and reservoirs - everything is full. The bullfrogs seemed to be enjoying it in a pond we saw recently - what a chorus! Wildlife is strange - I usually see rabbits - none this year, but lots of hares. We also saw a deer cross a nearby field. It's been a good year for jays and woodpeckers, to judge by what we've seen. Only one heron spotted, and no kingfishers. Most exciting spot - an otter in the canal, one day.
Our dog Teddy 'sensed' a fox - and reacted - but we never saw it!
In the end had a bypass in 2003 - didn’t expect to survive but here I am twenty years later with five other ops along the way.. thank goodness for the nhs - I rattle with pills!
Who'd have thought it? Since the whole world is at peace and nothing exciting is happening anywhere the MI5 have apparently managed to find an object worthy of their intelligence: a small publisher in a neighbouring state. Highly suspective of terrorist activities. Apparently.And the Guardian, apparently, thinks that story belongs in the Culture/books section, not in the Politics/UK bit.
(and I'm not going to mention the S-word, let alone the G-word)
https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...
CCCubbon wrote: "In the end had a bypass in 2003 - didn’t expect to survive but here I am twenty years later with five other ops along the way.. thank goodness for the nhs - I rattle with pills!"Good news about your op and continued existence... I had treatment in 2011 for something that 'could have' finished me off in 2-5 years, but the treatment worked and no recurrence. Luck is a big factor in life!
Georg wrote: "Who'd have thought it? Since the whole world is at peace and nothing exciting is happening anywhere the MI5 have apparently managed to find an object worthy of their intelligence: a small publisher..."This whole business was a total joke, and once again shows that the so-called 'security services' have a bias towards investigating left-ish individuals and groups as opposed to the far more threatening neo-fascist cells which exist.
I'm pretty sure that the story was given prominence high up on the Guardian's online page when the story broke, though. It may well have slipped down in prominence a few days later.
I certainly saw it and was shocked, and I don't think it was on the book pages then.
scarletnoir wrote: "A brief report on our trip to Brittany... the ferry was delayed by 30h by a storm, so as it was still rough when we left the ship rocked and rolled a lot. Fortunately, we are not seasick and rather..."so far, 2023 in the NW of Europe (which includes NW France and Uk) has been rather cool, no heatwaves or prolonged warm spells. its 14c today and bright sun in the shires,in that sun itfeels like the real spring warmth is here but tommorow it will be 10c and a max of 12c till the end of April. it looks like we are stuck between highs and lows with no system dominant this spring
i loathe hot weather but even so, by late April, i'm ready for milder temps but it looks below average into May
scarletnoir wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "We went walking in Picos de Europa a few years ago and went up on the cable car at Fuente De which is quite terrifying. As it nears the top it almost looks as if it’s going to cras..."Time to bookmark some peregrine pages? Eggs should be cracking in the next week or so at - https://hawkandowltrust.org/ (Pull down for Norwich and Bath live cams) or try youtube and search for Cromer peregrines. The Cromer site is especially good when the kids start to explore beyond the nest box.
Georg wrote: "Who'd have thought it? Since the whole world is at peace and nothing exciting is happening anywhere the MI5 have apparently managed to find an object worthy of their intelligence: a small publisher..."Good heavens - should someone point MI5 to Housmans?
Where can I register a complaint? We are still cold in the PNW - and have not broken 60° (16°C) yet. This is not usual. And I am pissed.It doesn't help that I am carrying a rapidly depleting Kleenex box from room to room either. My only consolation is Mac&Cheese for the mind, a re-read of St. Peter's Fair. I think I remember the bad guy but will also read to the end to make sure.
When not glued to a book-book, I'm also listening to The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream which is really good. I had no idea how extensive the smuggling was and how the snakeheads took advantage of laws that might have been better written. (Rather like the loopholes the accountants of the rich ferret out.)
Am enjoying A Difficult Young Man by Martin Boyd(1955)
It opens in turn of the century Melbourne, with the story concerning a wealthy Anglo-Australian family in the emerging dominion of Australia. Boyd has an eye for language and the subtle dclass prejudices of the mother nation exported among the australian elite.
I wouldnt describe it as a social comedy, though the blurb does,but there is a healthy mix of situation and family relations that will be familiar to readers of Stead or Galsworthy. I read the first volume of the quartet a few yrs back.
MK wrote: "Where can I register a complaint? We are still cold in the PNW - and have not broken 60° (16°C) yet. This is not usual. And I am pissed.It doesn't help that I am carrying a rapidly depleting Klee..."
i would say 15-16c is a good temperature for April, if the sun is out and its not too cloudy. Though your observation matches the shires, it hasnt reached over 15c since October.
Mod
i would say 15-16c is a good temperature for April..."
Average April temperature here said to be 17°.
20° yesterday, 12° today with a cold wind so ressentie 6. I've just come in, changed into warmer things and put the heating on.
Mod
There's another article about it today:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/...
Outrageous.
Gpfr wrote: "AB76 wrote: "MK wrote: "Where can I register a complaint? We are still cold in the PNW - and have not broken 60° (16°C) yet. This is not usual. And I am pissed."i would say 15-16c is a good tempe..."
Paris is interesting, classsified as a northern city like London but as its not coastal gets a lot warmer in summer but colder in winter. i hoped the 37c temps Paris was getting in last decade would not reach over the channel till i was in my 60s but last summer london hit 37c. Luckily i dont live there but it was boiling in the shires too
Gpfr wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "Georg wrote: "Who'd have thought it? Since the whole world is at peace and nothing exciting is happening anywhere the MI5 have apparently managed to find an object worthy of the..."i'm astonished at this too. i guess this is Braverman toadying to the french (unlike with anything to do with brexit)and as she loves anything that damages the left wing, this was a win-win.
something similar happened to a HK editor when the chinese nabbed him crossing the border into mainland china a few years back, how low we have stooped...
AB76 wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "Georg wrote: "Who'd have thought it? Since the whole world is at peace and nothing exciting is happening anywhere the MI5 have apparently managed to find an object ..."Brexit, did someone say Brexit? https://on.ft.com/3AfnYij
PS - I think Braverman is a sorry excuse for a human being! So there.
May I also say that - if I were younger and richer and the UK had not done Brexit, I would have liked to join those of you living there.
MK wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "Georg wrote: "Who'd have thought it? Since the whole world is at peace and nothing exciting is happening anywhere the MI5 have apparently managed to fi..."Braverman is a joke, amazing to think we have these z-list dog whistlers creating policy in 2023
It's hard to believe.. It's also quite upsetting that librarians are being asked by some readers to remove books, sometimes under threat. For goodness sake what on earth is going on? I never believed that the UK would become fascist.
Gpfr wrote: "There's another article about it today:https://www.theguardian.com/politics/...
Outrageous."
Indeed.
I'm not sure how they categorise these things, but the article is on the 'front page' (for want of a better term) of my online edition.
Nice piece (with map) (love maps) of the Russian spy ship's voyage which included the Norfolk coast - https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/23468523...
MK wrote: PS - I think Braverman is a sorry excuse for a human being! So there.She vindicates Nye Bevan's opinion of the Tories (lower than vermin) for sure. But thinking of her predecessors in the Home Office (and a lot of others) she seems to be quite representative....
Greenfairy wrote: "It's hard to believe.. It's also quite upsetting that librarians are being asked by some readers to remove books, sometimes under threat. For goodness sake what on earth is going on? I never believ..."Where the US go the UK follows. Ok, you have no fundamentalist "Christian" mobs. So count your blessings
CCCubbon wrote: "We went walking in Picos de Europa a few years ago and went up on the cable car at Fuente De which is quite terrifying. As it nears the top it almost looks as if it’s going to crash. It’s very very..."Alas, no dogs on the Fuente De cable car..
Helps us to avoid the crowds also I suppose..
MK wrote: "Brexit, did someone say Brexit? https://on.ft.com/3AfnYij"Thank you so much for that - I have emailed the link to friends and family.
MK wrote: "...a re-read of St. Peter's Fair."Whilst lurking indoors out of the cold wind, I've caught up recently with a few re-run episodes of the excellent 'Cadfael' series starring Derek Jacobi... it's been showing free to air on ITV (4, I think) and appears to be available on the streamer ITVX as well.
Each Thursday I check the Washington Post because that's when their Book World is posted. I am especially enamored with Michael Dirda. I guess I must have missed where he said he was going to be away because I've taken him as a 'no show' for at least three weeks. Since like so many of us, he no longer gets to use the adjective 'spring' before chicken, I was getting concerned. Well, no more, he is back and here's a gift link to see his latest post - https://wapo.st/3KT4rZW
scarletnoir wrote: "MK wrote: "Brexit, did someone say Brexit? https://on.ft.com/3AfnYij"Thank you so much for that - I have emailed the link to friends and family."
I'll be interested to see how far the link will go. If you hear back that all (or most) enjoyed it, please let me know as I am curious about the level of control the FT has over gift links.
AB76 wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "AB76 wrote: "MK wrote: "Where can I register a complaint? We are still cold in the PNW - and have not broken 60° (16°C) yet. This is not usual. And I am pissed."i would say 15-16c is..."
PNW gardeners face another year where nothing ripens. I'd urge them to complain to the Legislature's Agriculture committee.
MK wrote: "I'll be interested to see how far the link will go."My wife enjoyed it, so she had access... I sent it to around six people, and will ask around in a few days (if I remember!)
MK wrote: "Each Thursday I check the Washington Post because that's when their Book World is posted. I am especially enamored with Michael Dirda. I guess I must have missed where he said he was going to be aw..."Thanks for that.
Dirda should learn a trick or two from Boris Johnson - take the advance (massive in his case), but don't bother to actually write a word.
Wedding Station by David DowningThis is the last in Downing's 'station' series in which British/American dual John Russell observes the rise of the Nazis and survives in wartime Berlin. Although the last written, it is the first chronologically as this is a prequel. It deals with Hitler's power grab and the subsequent treatment of Jews, communists, gays and opponents of the regime. Well up to the usual standard, and full of details which greatly enhance the plausibility of the narrative.
Russell is working for a 'moderate' German newspaper as a crime reporter... but in this period following the Reichstag fire, most crimes are being committed by the Nazi SA and so can't be honestly reported. He nevertheless does dig around the killings of several people, including a young male prostitute and an astrologer...
One interesting aspect of the novel is the way in which Downing reflects upon the impunity with which Nazi groups and individuals ignore the laws and even don't care whether or not their lies are believed:
Russell wondered if the Portierfrau had unwittingly put a finger on what was new about the Nazis – that they actually didn’t care if the lie came out. Shame to them was a foreign concept...
What did seem increasingly serious was the declining credibility of official pronouncements. Looking around at his fellow journalists’ faces, he could see that few believed a word they were hearing. These days no one trusted the authorities to tell the truth, unless of course it was in their interests to do so. Each piece of evidence, true or invented, was equally suspect. Everything came down to opinion, which usually meant prejudice.
This behaviour, unfortunately, feels strangely reflected in recent events and history. As for whether it is more important to run a country with the intention of improving living conditions, or to focus on being beastly to 'outsiders' and foreigners:
Russell had always believed that economics trumped everything else, but in Hitler’s Germany bullying the Jews was clearly more important.
H'mmm. In the meantime:
What did a political person do when political hope was gone? You tried your best to keep your values alive, in your work, in your dealings, in how you explained the world to your son. You shared your despair and whatever new hope you could muster, with colleagues, friends and family. You nursed a resistance of the heart...
I'm afraid some of this in a slightly less extreme form feels all too familiar. The way in which the wealthy dominate the press and other media makes it very difficult for left of centre groups to get anything like a fair hearing. Still - 'resistance of the heart' must continue. And despair has never been my reaction to even the most depressing circumstances.
The Guardian's excellent politics sketch writer John Crace also writes a column about his week, here:https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023...
This week, John comments on two subjects of interest to some of you. On Wednesday he refers to his lack of maths knowledge, and the fact that he would like to learn more. On Thursday, he reports on a service to commemorate Hilary Mantel.
John is always good value. Recommended.
scarletnoir wrote: "The Guardian's excellent politics sketch writer John Crace also writes a column about his week, here:https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023......"
I wonder if he will really take an A level Maths and which he would choose, Pure, Mechanics, Statistics or the new mixed one.
I'm a great fan of VS Naipaul's non-fiction, his fascinating accounts of London as a young man and the indian culture of Trinidad as a child. The Naipauls are quite a family, as his father wrote some fiction and so did his younger brother.It is to his younger brother Shiva that i have turned, who died young at 40 and his travel non-fiction account of 1970s Kenya, Zambia and Tanzania entitled North of South(1978).
So far it is a very amusing study of people and the African-Indian relationships in these countries. (i guess he avoided Uganda due to the hostile atmosphere in the 1960s and 70s).Both Kenya and Tanzania were cosmopolitan in some regions but the diversity was fading as the Indians left and the Arab populations dwindled, the white flight was also under way. The coastal Arab communities of both countries fascinate me and predate the vulture empires of Britain and Germany. (Germany had Tanzania for a few decades up to WW1)
scarletnoir wrote: "The Guardian's excellent politics sketch writer John Crace also writes a column about his week, here:https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023......
This week, John comments on two subjects of interest to some of you. On Wednesday he refers to his lack of maths knowledge, and the fact that he would like to learn more. On Thursday, he reports on a service to commemorate Hilary Mantel.
John is always good value. Recommended."
His condensed read columns are always funny, even when I'm not very familiar with the object of his satire.
CCCubbon wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "The Guardian's excellent politics sketch writer John Crace also writes a column about his week, here:https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023......"
Here's the link that worked for me. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/...
On pain of being thought of as 'more than a little odd' I will say that I appreciate tidbits which otherwise might be said to be trivia bits. As I said here the other day, I am listening to
which I find quite interesting. My tidbit is (clipped from Wikipedia) - The modern practice of ships being registered in a foreign country began in the 1920s in the United States when shipowners seeking to serve alcohol to passengers during Prohibition registered their ships in Panama.
That's a wowser of an unintended consequence as were others, like organized crime. All those 'do-gooders' meant well but have left the US and the world in a pickle when it comes to flags of convenience.
Seattle broke a weather record yesterday. In 103 years of record keeping the temperature high of 47° is the lowest April 20th on record.
And under 'who knew' Native Americans officially became citizen in 1924 with the enactment of Indian Citizenship Act.
Continued existence? Always a good thing, and grounds for congratulation.
Greenfairy wrote: "librarians are being asked by some readers to remove books..."Really? It strikes me that these 'readers' have somewhat misunderstood what librarians are for!
Mod
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023......"
"Here's the link that worked for me. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/...
These are actually 2 different John Crace columns — scarletnoir was giving the link to the Digested Week, and MK's link is to the politics sketch (also about Sunak's maths plans).
Mod
Final Acts: Theatrical Mysteries, edited by Martin Edwards, British Library Crime Classics. I've been dipping into these short stories over a few months and read the last yesterday. Some well-known names, but most of the writers aren't — I enjoyed reading it, but I won't be seeking out those I didn't know before.
La Maison du commandant by Valerio Varesi. This is the 9th book in the series and the 6th translated into French. I started it yesterday. Like the other book in the series I've read, River of Shadows (3rd in the series, 1st translated into English/French), Commissario Soneri, is by the river Po, in the fog ... His boss wants him to investigate Eastern European gangs fishing for silure, catfish, there's also a gang blowing up ATMs and 2 corpses have been discovered. Soneri seems to be as I discovered him in the earlier book, refractory to modern inventions like the internet and smartphones, not too keen on following orders, in a relationship with Angela ...
BLACKWELLS(dreadful)i've been on a determined campaign since Jan 2022 to use amazon as little as posisble for books. So its waterstones, blackwells, BW Books and Oxfam.
For BW Books and Oxfam i have no complaints, Waterstones can be dicey but is not too slow. Blackwells are appalling, a shambles, i have just had a second wrong book sent and a fifth order vanishing from my account. It is also slow, so slow, never quicker than 5 days to arrive for every order
AB76 wrote: "BLACKWELLS(dreadful)i've been on a determined campaign since Jan 2022 to use amazon as little as posisble for books. So its waterstones, blackwells, BW Books and Oxfam.
For BW Books and Oxfam i ..."
Serious question: don't you have a brick-and-mortar bookshop close to where you live?
I live, more or less, in the sticks in Germany. I can order a book in one of the bookshops in my next town and collect it one or two days later. Not as convenient as mail order, but I don't do mail order for anything anyway.
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thanks GF..i think my mother should have a copy of either of those, will ask her when i next see her, she has so many books