What are we reading? 18/12/2023

[Greenfairy]

Ruby, what an ordeal, we are here, anytime you want to vent
Well done in advance for getting through it.
Here's wishing you better times very soon.

[Gpfr]

Ruby wrote: "I want to write about what I've been going through the last 4 months. Weaning off meds I've been on for 13-14 years. It's almost over: night sweats, aches and chills, fatigue, etc. Have not been ab..."

Oh, Ruby, that's tough.
I'm glad you're coming through it and have your doctor and friends to help.
Know that you have friends here too.

[FrancesBurgundy]

Ruby wrote: "I want to write about what I've been going through the last 4 months. Weaning off meds I've been on for 13-14 years. It's almost over: night sweats, aches and chills, fatigue, etc. .."

Hi Ruby, I don't post much at the moment but I regularly remember your horror when I said (with respect to what I don't remember) 'keep your pecker up'. Didn't we laugh when we realised that a British pecker was very different from a US pecker!

If you were a Brit I'd say it again, but I don't want to reoffend. Looking forward to more of your posts - you were one of my favourites on TLS ttfn xx

[AB76]

I'm off back to the parents for Xmas tommorow, so will be offline until around the 28th, busy with little ones

hope you all have a great Xmas and good reading over that period, if you have the peace and quiet, i dont think i will get much reading in, but am bringing back a half read NYT incase i get a few mins!

[Ruby]

FrancesBurgundy wrote: "Ruby wrote: "I want to write about what I've been going through the last 4 months. Weaning off meds I've been on for 13-14 years. It's almost over: night sweats, aches and chills, fatigue, etc. .."..."

So it was you! I had forgotten about the pecker peccadillo.

[Ruby]

Ruby wrote: "FrancesBurgundy wrote: "Ruby wrote: "I

Funny what one remembers -- I am pretty sure that you liked arctic adventures or something akin.

[scarletnoir]

Greenfairy wrote: "I did a cross stitch that said " Be excellent to each other" and framed it for a wedding present for two of my daughter's friends who play in a rock band.They were delighted:)"

Very good! I included the tale in my Christmas email, as well as a few other jokes... can't 'do' some long list of 'what I did' - which would in any case be rather short!

[scarletnoir]

Ruby wrote: "I dont post much but I read everything and to know that the reading life is central to a good life and we all believe that, and here you are."

Good to know, and sorry to hear you've been having such a hard time. I've had some stressful times this year, especially recently - but red wine (in reasonable moderation) is my drug of choice, as well as avoiding too much bad stuff such as doomscrolling the news. As a reflection on how to react, I included this song in my Christmas email - don't know if it helps others, but the joyful video always cheers me up!

https://imvdb.com/video/billy-ocean/w...

[scarletnoir]

Ruby wrote: "I had forgotten about the pecker peccadillo."

Haha! Many years ago, I read a lot of Henry Miller, and I'm sure he uses this phrase somewhere - maybe more than once. At the time, I didn't get that to an American, it would have a double meaning. I suspect Miller knew only too well that British usage was different, and was having a bit of fun...

[CCCubbon]

scarletnoir wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "Cassie Raven is a mortuary technician, the one who preps the bodies, removing the organs and brain. The book is called Body language by AK Turner.
It sounds rather gruesome but is ..."

That might be a step too far…..

[scarletnoir]

CCCubbon wrote: "That might be a step too far…..."

Oh, don't be put off - it's very well written and has a good dose of black humour too. Not nearly as grim as it sounds!

[giveusaclue]

scarletnoir wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "That might be a step too far…..."

Oh, don't be put off - it's very well written and has a good dose of black humour too. Not nearly as grim as it sounds!"

Black humour - I had to go to have my pre-op tesst done again last Friday and in the pre-op department they didn't have a Christmas tree with baubles, they had a skeleton decorated with baubles, complete with Santa hat. Made me smile.

[Fuzzywuzz]

I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and hopefully find some time to squeeze in a bit of reading.

[Fuzzywuzz]

CCCubbon wrote: "Cassie Raven is a mortuary technician, the one who preps the bodies, removing the organs and brain. The book is called Body language by AK Turner".

I read this a couple of months ago and I really liked it, like you, I must seek out the other two in the series.

[giveusaclue]

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas, and I hope you get some interesting books in your stockings.
🎅🎄

[FrancesBurgundy]

Ruby wrote: "Ruby wrote: "FrancesBurgundy wrote: "Ruby wrote: "I

Funny what one remembers -- I am pretty sure that you liked arctic adventures or something akin."

Yes I did, and still do! And sailing ships. Though this year I've got interested in the French Revolution.

And if anyone's interested I'm really surprised at how I can't stop thinking about the 14-volume series 'Chronicles of Ancient Sunlight' by Henry Williamson that I finished in March. Towards the end it was a real slog - the WW1 books were amazing but after that he became a farmer in Norfolk and a follower of Oswald Mosley. But those are the parts that have stayed with me. I should point out that although it's supposedly fiction it's very closely based on Williamson's own life.

Happy Christmas to everyone and happy reading in 2024!

[Bill]

Wishing a Merry Christmas to all Ersatzers.

[[deleted user]]

A very happy Christmas to everyone here. Today I've listened to Martin Jarvis read one of the William stories, William's Truthful Christmas, as superb as ever. And in between Christmas prep I'm dipping into Alan Rickman's Diaries - Madly, Deeply.

[Gpfr]

Merry Christmas everyone!

[Paul]

Merry Christmas everyone!

[Paul]

Ruby wrote: "I want to write about what I've been going through the last 4 months. Weaning off meds I've been on for 13-14 years. It's almost over: night sweats, aches and chills, fatigue, etc. Have not been ab..."



I missed this earlier Ruby. Sorry to hear about your ordeal. I had 3 years on Welbutrin and I can relate to the difficulties that come with stepping down the dosage. Particularly the night sweats, yeesh. Know that it does get better and you will be able to wean down to nothing. Those first few days when you don't have to take any pills are odd, full of giddy wariness. Just take it easy, The ability to concentrate and to read will jump back into your arms.

[Ruby]

Paul wrote: "Ruby wrote: "I want to write about what I've been going through.....

Im off meds and also cannabis (legal here in Wash) but concentration for books not yet. I rarely spend money but bought a bookshelf system so I can listen to audiobooks. speaking of spending money, I always notice how y'all read books that did not come from library or oxfam. but there are 2 second-hand shops with a well-reading clientele.

Thanks Paul and everyone. 2024 in the US and Israel/Palestine--oy veh.

[giveusaclue]

Well this isn't the Christmas Day I expected. Goddaughter rang to tell me husband had covid, and we can't take the risk of my op being cancelled so had to cancel. My lovely next day neighbour stepped into the breach and I went there for my Christmas Dinner.

Hope everyone else's day went according to plan.

[Gpfr]

I went to Smith & Sons this morning (Boxing Day being business as usual here) to pick up a book for a present and ended up also getting 2 books for myself:

Ammonites and Leaping Fish: A Life in Time by Penelope Lively

Ms Demeanor by Elinor Lipman whose books I enjoy although I haven't read her more recent ones.

[scarletnoir]

FrancesBurgundy wrote: "I can't stop thinking about the 14-volume series 'Chronicles of Ancient Sunlight' by Henry Williamson"

I had no idea who this was - until I checked and found he wrote Tarka the Otter which I read and enjoyed as a kid... not read anything else by him, nor am I inclined to read a 14-volume fictionalised autobiography! His claim to be a pacifist post WW1, followed by an admiration for Hitler and Mosley don't make a lot of sense to me.

[scarletnoir]

Anne wrote: "A very happy Christmas to everyone here. Today I've listened to Martin Jarvis read one of the William stories, William's Truthful Christmas, as superb as ever. And in between Christmas prep I'm dip..."

Richmal Crompton's stories are great fun, and very likely still bear reading as an adult...

[scarletnoir]

giveusaclue wrote: "Well this isn't the Christmas Day I expected. Goddaughter rang to tell me husband had covid, and we can't take the risk of my op being cancelled so had to cancel. My lovely next day neighbour stepp..."

A shame - hope you had a nice time at the neighbour's though.

Our Christmas went off as planned - me the sole (surviving) male apart from the dog, plus mother (101), madame, two daughters and one daughter's wife. All got on well and enjoyed good food and wine (except the dog was on the wagon). Even mam had a small glass of kir royale, as usual. Didn't post on the day - too busy, plus also recovering from the French Christmas which takes place on Christmas Eve - this is usual in most continental European countries AFAIK. So - two celebrations for the price of one! But the digestive system takes a battering... and not only. I slept on my side and woke up with a severe strain in my left shoulder/back area. Could not type - or hardly think - yesterday.

[scarletnoir]

I'd intended to post this link on Christmas Day, but events decided otherwise.

Never mind - "saddle up the chickens" for a fun quiz on idioms and sayings from many countries. It's a laugh:

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2...

[FrancesBurgundy]

scarletnoir wrote: "nor am I inclined to read a 14-volume fictionalised autobiography! His claim to be a pacifist post WW1, followed by an admiration for Hitler and Mosley don't make a lot of sense to me.

The first four volumes take him from being born (in South London) to being mobilised at the start of WW1. They are SO readable. The next four (!) volumes take him through WW1. They are the best thing I've read about it.

The next seven (I got it wrong, it's 15 volumes) are post-war, having affairs, farming in Norfolk and being pro-Mosley. Definitely not a likeable man but that's what we read for, isn't it, to (try to) understand other people?

You might be interested in this interview with him - https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...

[giveusaclue]

scarletnoir wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "Well this isn't the Christmas Day I expected. Goddaughter rang to tell me husband had covid, and we can't take the risk of my op being cancelled so had to cancel. My lovely next..."

Sounds like your time was full on. Does the dog know it is on the wagon? I've done the same thing with my shoulder several times. Make sure it is just your head on the pillow.

[scarletnoir]

giveusaclue wrote: "Does the dog know it is on the wagon?"

No, but then he's never had a drink afaik, so he won't miss it. He's also been castrated, so you can add 'that' to things he won't miss!
We got soaked in a thunder shower just then - Teddy really does not like thunder, and dragged me all the way home!

[scarletnoir]

An interesting phenomenon - new to me, but maybe not to others - after not receiving any 'friend requests' for ages, I had two in two days from people apparently 'liking' my 'review' of The Big Sleep.

Since there is no review as such - I gave it 5* with no comment - this was a bit puzzling. It turns out that both are budding authors, one with a newly published book and the other with a book which will appear in 2024... so it seems that they are seeking to raise their profiles and improve the odds of good sales - both books are in the 'noir' genre. I carried out a book comparison and both scored 80% similarity of scores on books we've read, so for the moment I have accepted them as friends. We'll see where that takes us... they both sound like interesting people, but such individuals don't always write interesting books.

I may give their books a go, but if I do and don't like their efforts, I'll be sure to say so. "Books (and food) are too important to lie about!" as we say in the family. As far as food is concerned, honest comments about what could have been better are valuable in order that the recipe/cooking method or time are adjusted 'next time'; for books, I'd say that readers can provide living authors with pointers about what they can do to make their efforts more readable and/or interesting.

[Berkley]

scarletnoir wrote: "Berkeley wrote:

Do you remember which character it was who said this? I'm thinking it was old man Karamazov, the father of the brothers, but don't feel 100% certain...


It's not surprising that neither of us could remember, as it appears to come from a reported conversation with an unnamed Doctor from Ch. 4: " A lady of little faith". The online version is a little different in translation from that I found before:
...

Edit: It surely would not have been 'old man Karamazov', who was a totally selfish bastard iirc!.."

Yes, that was a bad guess on my part. Thanks for doing the research and finding out who the actual character was!

[Berkley]

Back to my computer after a couple of weeks away, hope everyone had a nice Christmas. While away I read two books:

Highway to Valour: Very intriguing to me as a Newfoundlander bcause Duley was a Newfoundland author who for some reason seems to have been forgotten: we never learned about her in school, that I remember, and I only recently became aware of her work when searching for another Nfld writer whose name had momentarily slipped from my memory. Based on this novel she deserves to be rediscovered and I;ll be looking for anything else of hers I can find.

The Worm Ouroboros: this was a re-read, but after an interval of around 45 years so one of the interesting things was to see how much I remembered (mostly just the first few chapters). As most people here are probably aware, this is a classic, early-20th century English fantasy novel, much admired by contemporaries Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. I found it very rewarding though its idiosyncratic style may not be to everyone's taste, especially now, a century after it was first published. But I imagine that even in 1922 its highly ornate Shakespearean language would probably have felt overwrought to many readers. I think Eddison pulled it off with aplomb, though. Essential readng for anyone interested in the history of literary fantasy.

[AB76]

hope you all had a good xmas

i did no reading due to five little creatures on overdrive but took in a panto, a heritage railway ride and a football match over the last 2 weeks. my nephew loved going to the see a live football match with his uncle and daddy

weather was quite wet and very mild...almost 13c on Xmas Day

[giveusaclue]

AB76 wrote: "hope you all had a good xmas

i did no reading due to five little creatures on overdrive but took in a panto, a heritage railway ride and a football match over the last 2 weeks. my nephew loved goi..."

Quite wet? Gales and pouring rain up here in S Derbys. Rivers overflowing and in a flood alert area again. Glad you had a good time, and bet you are having a rest now.

https://check-for-flooding.service.go...

[AB76]

giveusaclue wrote: "AB76 wrote: "hope you all had a good xmas

i did no reading due to five little creatures on overdrive but took in a panto, a heritage railway ride and a football match over the last 2 weeks. my nep..."

i am resting...oh yes...a lot of garden football games reminded me that at 47, little creatures can go for a lot longer than their uncle! i held up pretty well but i also slept very well....!

[Lass]

@AB76. You took in a panto? Only one response to that……”Oh, no you didn’t” 😂

[scarletnoir]

Just signed in to mention that today was our 42nd wedding anniversary - best thing I ever did, and proof that sometimes you just have to follow your gut instincts.

(I then also started a comment about books, hit a wrong button and deleted the lot, so I'll get back to you on that!)

[giveusaclue]

Lass wrote: "@AB76. You took in a panto? Only one response to that……”Oh, no you didn’t” 😂"

Oh yes, he did!

[giveusaclue]

scarletnoir wrote: "Just signed in to mention that today was our 42nd wedding anniversary - best thing I ever did, and proof that sometimes you just have to follow your gut instincts.

(I then also started a comment a..."

Many congratulations to you and Madame.

[Tam]

Just got back from Spain yesterday, and not feeling too good this morning, so we both took a covid test... positive... alas, so we are under lock down. A friend will be delivering food parcels and I will have to cancel my 'bigger biopsy' on the 4th. I had a feeling that this one was going to run and run. I hope baby Ivan will be OK.

Still I have many books to catch up on. For some reason the sprog was convinced that I really wanted to read Werner Herzogs 'Every Man For Himself And God Against All' - a memoir, so I have that to look forward to. So far its just like a really bad cold... I hope everyone else is faring better...

[Gpfr]

giveusaclue wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "Just signed in to mention that today was our 42nd wedding anniversary "

Many congratulations to you and Madame..."

Seconded! I hope the champagne is flowing freely 🥂✨

[Gpfr]

Tam wrote: "Just got back from Spain yesterday, and not feeling too good this morning, so we both took a covid test... positive... alas, ..."

Sorry to hear that.

[MK]

AB76 wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "AB76 wrote: "hope you all had a good xmas

i did no reading due to five little creatures on overdrive but took in a panto, a heritage railway ride and a football match over the ..."

Aah - to be 47 again. I, on the other hand, managed to do myself temporary injury. Why, I decided that making a barley soup with hulless barley which is too healthy for an older intestine was a good idea I don't know. My rebellious intestine decided a couple of days negotiating between bed and bathroom and off and on reading Linda Barnes Coyote was an excellent idea.

BTW, thanks to whoever mentioned Linda Barnes here, Her paperbacks are just right for bedtime reading and one gets to travel to Boston in the bargain. I have her The Big Dig a little further down the TBR pile. Should be interesting as Boston did over-runs and scandal (as I remember it) on a huge scale - https://www.wgbh.org/podcasts/the-big...

[giveusaclue]

Tam wrote: "Just got back from Spain yesterday, and not feeling too good this morning, so we both took a covid test... positive... alas, so we are under lock down. A friend will be delivering food parcels and ..."

Oh Tam I am sorry. Cancelling my hip replacement for the same reason was annoying but you have even longer to be on tenterhooks. I hope all will go well for you. My op is under two weeks away so am keeping all fingers (but not legs, obviously) crossed that there are no further hold ups and I can look forward to starting my recovery. Got to go ahead with the op because a. the hip is getting worse and b. I have paid up now! 😀

[Gpfr]

MK wrote: "BTW, thanks to whoever mentioned Linda Barnes here..."

It was me, glad you like her books :)

[AB76]

Lass wrote: "@AB76. You took in a panto? Only one response to that……”Oh, no you didn’t” 😂"

hahaha, it was good fun, we went once with the kids in 2019, that xmas before covid and this was first time since that. as a kid i remember loving panto and i still do

[AB76]

Tam wrote: "Just got back from Spain yesterday, and not feeling too good this morning, so we both took a covid test... positive... alas, so we are under lock down. A friend will be delivering food parcels and ..."

sorry to hear this, the damn disease is everywhere, i hardly know anyone who hasnt caught it since October, yet not one precaution or action from the NHS or the Tories.

[scarletnoir]

giveusaclue wrote: ".Many congratulations to you and Madame."

Thanks!