What are we reading? 9/10/2023

[Greenfairy]

Hi Mk. Blues fan here, That does seem expensive, and where are the women? Russell, I agree about the Stones' Love in Vain. Perhaps we should discuss all this o the music section :)

[MK]

Russell wrote: "(Rather a long note, but I think it’s worth it.)

Through to the end of The Age of Decadence Simon Heffer demonstrates liberal sympathies. While duly even-handed, it is clear that he is, for exampl..."

Are you ready for his next? Sing As We Go: Britain Between the Wars
Here's the blurb from Topping in Ely -
Sing As We Go is an astonishingly ambitious overview of the political, social and cultural history of the country from 1919 to 1939.

It explores and explains the politics of the period, and puts such moments of national turmoil as the General Strike of 1926 and the Abdication Crisis of 1936 under the microscope. Crucially, it probes the deep divisions that split the nation: between the haves and have-nots, between warring ideological factions, and between those who promoted accommodation with fascism in Europe and those who bitterly opposed it.

That said, thanks for your post as I have the The Age of Decadence: Britain 1880 to 1914 on the shelf. Note that an estate sale here had a picture of an adjustable music stand that I thought might work for a heavy book. However, it was much too expensive! Time for plan B.

[MK]

Greenfairy wrote: "Hi Mk. Blues fan here, That does seem expensive, and where are the women? Russell, I agree about the Stones' Love in Vain. Perhaps we should discuss all this o the music section :)"

Hah - I hadn't considered women. And I didn't know there was a music section. Live and learn.

[Bill]

Talk about those Blues recordings has called to mind two stories from American Negro Short Stories.

“How John Boscoe Outsung the Devil” by Arthur P. Davis and “Cry for Me” by William Melvin Kelley. The former is in the spirit of the folk tale, the latter about a Black Southern musician finding success with white audiences in New York City, with, as I recall, a somewhat cynical take on the white fans’ obsession with “authenticity”.

[Gpfr]

MK wrote: " I didn't know there was a music section. ..."

It's in Special Topics.

[[deleted user]]

MK wrote: "Russell wrote: "...The Age of Decadence..." Are you ready for his next? Sing As We Go: Britain Between the Wars...

Thanks, MK. I didn’t know about that at all. I’m definitely interested, though I do see it is even longer, at 960 pages, so I may give Mr Heffer a rest for the moment.

[Gpfr]

Diana wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "For the crime novel aficianados here, I have found yet another writer new to me. P. F. Ford ..."

am happy to start on this series"

I'm trying it, too! Thanks, give .

[Gpfr]

I've just read The Satapur Moonstone, the 2nd in Sujata Massey's Perveen Mistry series about a woman solicitor in early 20th century India. Like CCC and scarlet, I enjoy these. I'd read the 3rd before, waiting for the price of the 2nd to come down.

And now I'm halfway through the latest in the Flavia Alba series, as well as having been unable to resist starting , the 3rd of Deborah Levy's "living autobiographies" which my daughter has passed on to me.

[giveusaclue]

Gpfr wrote: " I've just read The Satapur Moonstone, the 2nd in Sujata Massey's Perveen Mistry series about a woman solicitor in early 20th century India..."


Hope you like it, and thanks for mentioning the Perveen Mistry series, I will give them a try too.

[giveusaclue]

Hey, how is this for amazing. I called at the doctor's surgery at just after 12 noon today to ask if I could talk to a doctor about stronger painkillers for the arthritic hip. Was given a telephone appointment for this afternoon and was called at just after 2pm!!!

[[deleted user]]

giveusaclue wrote: "Hey, how is this for amazing. I called at the doctor's surgery at just after 12 noon today to ask if I could talk to a doctor about stronger painkillers for the arthritic hip. Was given a telephone..."

[[deleted user]]

giveusaclue wrote: "Hey, how is this for amazing. I called at the doctor's surgery at just after 12 noon today to ask if I could talk to a doctor about stronger painkillers for the arthritic hip..."

Nice to hear, giveus.

Last month, a family member in the UK also experienced the superb service that the NHS can provide. She arrived home to find her diabetic husband comatose. While she was taking the usual steps to deal with a “hypo” he stopped breathing. She started CPR and called 911. Withing five minutes an ambulance crew had arrived and were in the bedroom. Then two more crews arrived. Then she heard one crew member say to another “The doctor has Landed” which turned out to mean the doctor really had landed – choppered in to the park opposite. It was a half hour of frantic activity. Sadly, all to no avail, for particular reasons I won’t go into. But as an example of what the NHS will do in an emergency it is extraordinary.

[giveusaclue]

Russell wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "Hey, how is this for amazing. I called at the doctor's surgery at just after 12 noon today to ask if I could talk to a doctor about stronger painkillers for the arthritic hip......"

So sorry to learn that the attempts were unsuccessful. Someone I have met through friends basically "dropped dead" and survived solely because the man next door was in the mountain rescue team and just happened to have their defibrillator at home!

[MK]

My mind is a sieve, that said, I think it was AB who was following the mess in Israel/Gaza. For whoever here is interested in today's podcast, I really recommend it. Here's a gift link to the NYT show, The Daily - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/18/po...

I find it amazing how much information can be packed into 30 or so minutes. Worth a listen.

In other news I got a Covid shot yesterday evening and am really mad that I seem to have a reaction. Had to get under the covers this afternoon with a book after taking a couple of Ibuprofen. Feeling better now.

[AB76]

giveusaclue wrote: "AB76 wrote: "my covid has had a string in the tail the first 4-5 days were mild but since Saturday i have been very tired and spent most of those days in bed, comfortable and sort of catnapping or ..."

thanks! starting to feel better now in last 24 hrs, a spark is re-igniting afer the most bedridden weak since i had a vomiting bug in 2014. Mind totally shredded, almost unable to do anything but lie in bed, though in a paradise of comfort, i will remember i was warm and comfy but even getting a half a slice of toast was a mental journey. it felt like a daydream, like a sort of half waking state, i didnt sleep during the day but just drifted in and out of a vague fog

i tested negative just now as well, so i hope this is the end of my first covid saga. my parents had it a week before me , both are 79, mum has been a bit slow to regain her normal self, while dad, with asthma and issues with colds and sniffles sailed through. was out in the pouring rain fixing their henhouse yesterday!

[AB76]

slowly emerging from the half-sleep coma of Sat-Weds, i watched the Russell T Davies adaption of A Midsummers NighT Dream which i heartily recommend

uplifting, colourful and just what i needed after too many days where rolling over in bed was all the exercise i did. Was on BBC4

[giveusaclue]

AB76 wrote: "slowly emerging from the half-sleep coma of Sat-Weds, i watched the Russell T Davies adaption of A Midsummers NighT Dream which i heartily recommend

uplifting, colourful and just what i needed aft..."

The Beeb have done a few of Will's plays lately, Branagh's Henry V, the 2012 Henry IVs and Edward IV I believe. I have recorded some. I would check which ones but the tv has bust - no picture since Tuesday!

[[deleted user]]

AB76 wrote: "... a spark is re-igniting afer the most bedridden weak since i had a vomiting bug in 2014..."

Sounds pretty awful, AB. Glad you're coming out of it.

[AB76]

Russell wrote: "AB76 wrote: "... a spark is re-igniting afer the most bedridden weak since i had a vomiting bug in 2014..."

Sounds pretty awful, AB. Glad you're coming out of it."

thanks Russ...yeah its been a vile Sat-Weds for sure....

[AB76]

Next up, my first post-covid read will be a British Library collection of tales by Walter De La Mare Out of The Deep. I have always enjoyed his tales, especially his haunting novel The Return which seemed so deeply english and unsettling at the same time

Machen, Masefield and De La Mare are three authors from a golden era of british writing that i have returned to in last decade, glad to find a lot of newly collected tales and editions. MR James was another one and looking foward to returning to the style of De La Mare.

I should add that Kipling sits well in this company, a few of his tales are also deeply haunting and affecting, involving the supernatural. They is a must read, i found it in a my mothers copy of Traffics and Discoveries

[AB76]

looks like Paul got censored on the G, what did you post Paul?

[Paul]

AB76 wrote: "looks like Paul got censored on the G, what did you post Paul?"

Yeah, you noticed?

I posted the fact that Fitzcarraldo Publishers had made Adania Shibli's Minor Details free for download in protest of her exclusion from the Frankfurt Book Fair due to her Palestinian identity (whihc was a follow-up to an article that the Guardian books page had put on-line).

Which is really no surprise. You can't criticize Israel without being labelled an anti-semite. Jack-booted thuggery and censorship of free thought flows from both sides of the political spectrum. Perhaps not equally in magnitude though.

When i finish reading Shibli's book i'll review it here and post a link in the TLS column

[giveusaclue]

Paul wrote: "AB76 wrote: "looks like Paul got censored on the G, what did you post Paul?"

Yeah, you noticed?

I posted the fact that Fitzcarraldo Publishers had made Adania Shibli's Minor Details free for dow..."

Welcome to the not so exclusive club Paul! I've given up on posting on the
Guardian.

[AB76]

Paul wrote: "AB76 wrote: "looks like Paul got censored on the G, what did you post Paul?"

Yeah, you noticed?

I posted the fact that Fitzcarraldo Publishers had made Adania Shibli's Minor Details free for dow..."

geez....The Guardian eh, it continues to dissapoint, especially as they had an article discussing the topic you posted on

bad luck mate, you join a distinguished club!

[MK]

Nothing like a little sleeze - . I have to pick this up from the library by tomorrow. Of course I am hopeful that the subtitle will eventually be correct.

PS - Sidney Powell pled guilty in the Fulton County, Georgia case today. That’s very bad news for Donald Trump (from a newsletter).

[Gpfr]

AB76 wrote: "starting to feel better now..."

Glad to hear you're getting over it.

[giveusaclue]

Hope everyone is staying safe and dry in today's soggy weather. I went to meet friends for a coffee, driving back along the lane which had standing water on going, it had deeper water flowing across and hour and a half later when I was coming home. Carefully negotiated that until I got to the level crossing. It was malfunctioning and unsafe to cross, so had to turn round and negotiate the water again. I dialled 999 when I got home to make sure the police were aware that the road needed closing off.

So it is going to be a reading spell for a while.

[AB76]

Gpfr wrote: "AB76 wrote: "starting to feel better now..."

Glad to hear you're getting over it."

thanks GP

[AB76]

giveusaclue wrote: "Hope everyone is staying safe and dry in today's soggy weather. I went to meet friends for a coffee, driving back along the lane which had standing water on going, it had deeper water flowing acros..."

in the shires aka the desert, it has been wet in intense stages but very little water lies around long and the rivers sink back to the low levels of normal. even with a fairly wet summer, the lack of river flow is a concern as the drier spells have been getting longer for 3 years

intensity of rain is much higher, i remember the long drizzly days of yore, now thats really rare, heavy showers then dry

[CCCubbon]

Paul wrote: "AB76 wrote: "looks like Paul got censored on the G, what did you post Paul?"

Yeah, you noticed?

I posted the fact that Fitzcarraldo Publishers had made Adania Shibli's Minor Details free for dow..."

I was zapped today, too. No real surprise rather too outspoken on news although it was getting lots of ticks!

[Greenfairy]

I live in a picturesque village with a babbling brook, willow trees and fluffy ducks. tonight the village centre is a lake and the ducks and moorhens are swimming along main street. Residents were well prepared with sand bags but obviously the road is closed Fortunately I live uphill from the centre.

[Bill]

Paul wrote: "I posted the fact that Fitzcarraldo Publishers had made Adania Shibli's Minor Details free for download in protest of her exclusion from the Frankfurt Book Fair due to her Palestinian identity (whihc was a follow-up to an article that the Guardian books page had put on-line)."

Since discovering that most of the regulars are back to posting on the Guardian, I lurk from time to time, but am not tempted to return.

I saw your lengthy reaction to The Poisonwood Bible - for you it seems to have been an axe to break the frozen sea within, as Kafka said books should be.

In the past year Kingsolver has had a hit (as far as such a description can apply to literary fiction) with Demon Copperhead and seems to have taken upon herself the task of being a spokesperson for Appalachia.

Here's a NYT Gift link to an interview she did with Ezra Klein (both audio and a transcript are available) -
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/21/op...
I'll just note that my sharing the link is in no way an endorsement of her views, which I found to eager to embrace the idea of Applacians as victims.

It feels like an impossibly simple thing. But if you look at all the ways that rural people are stigmatized, it comes down to their self-sufficiency that’s being mocked. If you look at the cartoon, “Hillbilly,” he’s got a fishing pole — that’s food self-sufficiency — he’s got the jug with the XXX on it — that is alcohol self-sufficiency — and he’s got a straw hat on. That’s because he’s a farmer. It’s all about what he’s making and consuming himself.

It’s so insidious people don’t realize it. But this long, long-term brainwashing has resulted in a widespread notion that city people have got it, city people are the advanced form of humans, and rural people are sort of having this provisional existence. They just haven’t made it yet into the real life. And so everybody looks down on the country people. And the country people sort of absorb that. You can’t help but absorb it.

The interviewer does give her some pushback:

And there has always been this tension, I think, broadly, it particularly afflicts Jews, the sort of rootless cosmopolitan stereotype. But then there’s also this side thread in America — I won’t speak for it in other countries — of, oh, the city dwellers aren’t real Americans. They’re not on the land. What they do isn’t real work.

I remember George W. Bush winning the election in 2004. Oh, Democrats have lost the heartland. There’s a part of this country that is its real heart. And the other parts, they’re not real. You’re not a real American. You’re something else.

[Bill]

Bill wrote: "Paul wrote: "I posted the fact that Fitzcarraldo Publishers had made Adania Shibli's Minor Details free for download in protest of her exclusion from the Frankfurt Book Fair due to her Palestinian ..."

I'm seeing a report tonight on Bluesky that Viet Thanh Nguyen's appearance at NYC's 92nd Street Y has been canceled. No official explanation that I know of, but those reacting to the news are pretty certain it's due to his support of Palestine (which I've known about for some time), though I am not aware of anything he's said since the start of the current war that might have provoked a backlash at this moment.

[Paul]

Bill wrote: "Bill wrote: "Paul wrote: "I posted the fact that Fitzcarraldo Publishers had made Adania Shibli's Minor Details free for download in protest of her exclusion from the Frankfurt Book Fair due to her..."

Yeah, it's getting pretty ridiculous how much both sides are proscribing open discussion. Being from NY, roughly half the people I know are Jewish and most of them have been vocally against the Israeli government since the 1980s.

I think it has drifted worse and further apart than any time in my life, but, really, not much. I remember the Aryan Nationand the Skinheads were everywhere and very public in the mid 1990s. They had clubs, bands, parades, counties, caches,...

. I may or may not have greeted a Skinhead parade through downtown Boulder by prying bricks out of the street and I may or may not need to thank my History teacher, Mr Dorsey, for intervening when the police found me. I remember the Iraqi students staying at home during Operation Gulf Storm. I'm pretty sure my relatives were raising money for the IRA.

I don't know. Yes, things aren't good, people are picking sides, but they really seem to have very short memories prone to nostalgia

[giveusaclue]

Greenfairy wrote: "I live in a picturesque village with a babbling brook, willow trees and fluffy ducks. tonight the village centre is a lake and the ducks and moorhens are swimming along main street. Residents were ..."

I came down a lane near me with flood water, cars seemed to be getting through ok. I came through ok. Just. It was a longer stretch than I realised and the drag factor increased. All ok but will be very circumspect in future. Would have felt a right plonker if I had got stuck!

Quite a lot of traffic disruption around my town and village. Roads into Nottingham flooded in various parts. The River Erewash (pronounced Eriwosh not Earwash!) has overflowed.

And my landline is dead!

[Gpfr]

giveusaclue wrote: "Greenfairy wrote: "tonight the village centre is a lake ..."

I came down a lane near me with flood water"

Stay safe all of you! I hope it doesn't get any worse.

[AB76]

Paul wrote: "Bill wrote: "Bill wrote: "Paul wrote: "I posted the fact that Fitzcarraldo Publishers had made Adania Shibli's Minor Details free for download in protest of her exclusion from the Frankfurt Book Fa..."

my school had refugees from Kuwait(1990) and Bosnia (1992-93). it was interesting to listen to them and the worlds they came from but as an adult i can see a lot of prejudice in their views as well.

i loathe Netanyahu and his settler goons, the toupee wearing crook needed to be shuffle off into the Negev and retirement, not become a bad smell in a nasty situation. Now he finds himself and his mad views in some ways facilitated by the Hamas terrorism.

i'm always pro two state solutions, i remember the mid 90s before Rabin was assassinated but i would think now that any chance of this occurring is almost nil and in the West Bank, settlers are more and more violent. (Al jazeera docu on the Hilltop Youth was chilling in light of the terror attacks. Meir Kahane followers talking like terrorists)

Gaza was always suffering and even more now, due to Hamas the poor relative of the Palestinian Authority.

[MK]

AB76 wrote: "Paul wrote: "Bill wrote: "Bill wrote: "Paul wrote: "I posted the fact that Fitzcarraldo Publishers had made Adania Shibli's Minor Details free for download in protest of her exclusion from the Fran..."

I, too, would love to see the back of Netanyahu, but if he leaves office, he has to contend with that indictment/trial for breach of trust, accepting bribes, and fraud.

Meanwhile, here in the States I hope one of Trump's indictments will result in him being imprisoned before the 2024 election.

[Robert]

Ah, the administration's purge-by-stealth against Trump. It's so Third World it's remarkable.
Since both Trump and Biden are irresponsible and indefensible, the only thing making the one electable is the other.

[Gpfr]

. I've just finished Real Estate, the 3rd volume of Deborah Levy's memoirs, and I absolutely loved it. I think The Cost of Living is my favourite, but they're all to my taste.

Real Estate: imagined ideal houses, her London flat with its building's grim corridors, her writing sheds, a flat in Paris where she has a fellowship, a rented house on Hydra, and then friends, family ...

I will read them again.

[Gpfr]

giveusaclue wrote: "For the crime novel aficianados here, I have found yet another writer new to me. P. F. Ford. ..."

I'm enjoying the first one :)

[AB76]

Out of the Deep: And Other Supernatural Tales has started so well, the perfect balance, tone, depth and setting for the stories

i havent timed it for Halloween or the start of the darker, longer evenings but there is always something special about tales from this island that are started on misty, chilly days, with the night quickening in. Like Machen, Kipling and James, the style of De La Mare matches the greats of their own childhoods, a real knack of expression, atmosphere and also something so very British in the telling. Elements of childhood fears in the subconcious, of old houses and the shadow worlds.

I should note i was dissapointed with Blackwood's tales last xmas, i expected him to match the Machen-James-De La Mare standard but he was far below their skills

[Greenfairy]

Thanks for this AB

[Greenfairy]

Gp.The flood is over the sun is out and all's well apart from a lot of debris to be cleared.
Thank you for your concern :)

[Diana]

Gpfr wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "For the crime novel aficianados here, I have found yet another writer new to me. P. F. Ford. ..."

I'm enjoying the first one :)"
Me, too. Good bedtime reading on my Kindle.

[MK]

Diana wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "For the crime novel aficianados here, I have found yet another writer new to me. P. F. Ford. ..."

I'm enjoying the first one :)"
Me, too. Good bedtime reading on m..."

Well, I am jealous. Being an unfortunate who prefers paperback books to e-books, I have had to put his first, A Body on the Beach in my basket at Amazon (where I do buy but prefer not to) in case I end up with some extra cash at the end of the month.

Just another author who is not readily available in the States - not in libraries in any case.

[giveusaclue]

Diana wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "For the crime novel aficianados here, I have found yet another writer new to me. P. F. Ford. ..."

I'm enjoying the first one :)"
Me, too. Good bedtime reading on m..."

Glad to hear it. Hear is another one:



An eminent Edinburgh obstetrician is murdered in her home. Next a man from a totally different background and area of the city is murdered in a similar manner. Then an eminent barrister. The detectives have to find the connection to find the murderer. Another good start to a series from a new to me author!

[Lass]

Hope all are safe and well after the rain and floods.

[scarletnoir]

After our return from France (which seems an age ago, though it's only a month), life here got a bit crazy with all sorts of stuff to work through and duties to carry out... so little time for reading and even less for commenting. Anyway - I've skimmed through this latest thread and will respond to one or two issues if time allows! In the meantime:

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead - it took me a long time to get through this, because I wasn't really enjoying it. Why? The author has won numerous awards - surely, he had something to say? This is what I found:

The book is set in NYC in the late 50s and early 60s. Our protagonist is Ray Carney - who is the owner of a furniture store on 125th Street. Ray comes from a 'hardscrabble' background, and though his tendency is to seek respectability through his shop, his father was a criminal and his feckless cousin Freddie is always dragging him towards the wrong side of the law. So - on the one side, Carney trades in furniture legally; on the other, he also receives and sells on stolen goods and later indulges in a bit of fencing, passing high value items to jewellers 'downtown'.

What's not to like? In theory, I should have enjoyed this book - as I have Walter Mosley's NY based Leonid McGill series... but, crucially, the characters in Whitehead's book never come to life; they are a series of actions and behaviours, with zero inner life apart from the most banal observations. What's more, the author has no idea how to write any thrilling or suspenseful passages: at one point, Carney becomes involved in a robbery... but instead of creating some nervous tension as this goes on, he provides pen portraits of each and every individual who appears on the scene - most of whom we never hear of or see again. What is worse, both in this passage and throughout the book, 'Carney' can't help but observe and comment on... the furniture! I don't even know if the companies mentioned are real or imaginary - one is even called 'All American' - but of course I don't care to find out.

I did at one moment have hopes that Carney would 'break bad' in a significant way, and go all out into gangsterism, but it doesn't happen - despite a few violent deaths here and there. The most promising character introduced is the ruthless heavy Pepper - and as we get passages from different POVs, I hoped we'd get more of him... by the end of the book, when the two go together to a dangerous meet, instead of Carney thinking like a gangster, we get Pepper showing an interest in, and being paid in... furniture! I ask you... He's been corrupted by semi-respectable Carney.

While some of this is going on, there are riots in Harlem - these may well have been real events (I know/remember that rioting was common in the 1960s) - but again, the character (or author) seems strangely uninvolved. We nowhere get the rage against racism shown by Chester Himes in If He Hollers Let Him Go, or the small victories won by Walter Mosley's characters - just a dull and uninvolving reportage, with no emotional impact.

You may gather that this was a major disappointment for me; I expected a lot more. The characters are not developed and have no inner life - and the women are mere ciphers. Pace is undermined by a furniture obsession and unnecessary pen portraits, so it's not exactly Patricia Highsmith. It was an entirely passionless experience. I will allow that the author has a good vocabulary, but that's not enough to make a story work - sorry.

[scarletnoir]

Diana wrote: "


I usually enjoy mysteries in specific (and perhaps recognizable) locations .."

So do I... but as I'm Welsh, does anyone know if this is set in an actual town? I have an aversion to books set in 'imagined' towns invented purely for the sake of the story. I'd likely see through any inaccuracies in description, too.