What are we reading? 26/02/2024

[AB76]

Tam wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: ".I used to wonder how often many of the extremists on either side went to church or what they thought Christ would have thought about it."

I doubt that the ..."

always amuses me when protestant irish yanks claim they are irish in the catholic tradition and seem to forget their history, a significant percentage of Irish Canadians and Irish Yanks were Ulster Protestants. The emigration stats from the 1840s show that protestant emigration was as strong in terms of % ofprotestant population as the catholic one. (typically poorer protestants remained as alienated as poor catholics and sought the new world,especially in the famine years of the 1840s, though it was less impactful on the north

Many ulster protestants emigrated to Glasgow,not sure if it was just ones with existing presbyterian links

my space bar is sticking...so if my nextpostisallonelongjoinedwordiapologise!

[Lass]

Yes, I seethe G has closed for comments. Promise it wasn’t me swearing!

[giveusaclue]

AB76 wrote: "my space bar is sticking...so if my nextpostisallonelongjoinedwordiapologise!"

Haveyouthoughtofputtinganarrowattachmentontiyouvacuumandseeingifyoucansucksomedustoutfromunderthespacebar?

[MK]

AB76 wrote: "Tam wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: ".I used to wonder how often many of the extremists on either side went to church or what they thought Christ would have thought about it."

I dou..."

I have been known to munch and surf which is hazardous to me desk top's keyboard.

If you are able to - turn yours over and gently touch a solid surface. You may be surprised at the fallout.

Or you might have to try levering the space bar a little - dislodge the culprit.

[[deleted user]]

Russell wrote: "Good spot. I bet they closed the wrong one by mistake. Let's see if Feb's reopens ..."

Ha! It didn't even occur to me to notice the oddity of the January thread still being open.
I fully endorse gladarvor's recommendation of The New Life by Tom Crewe. It's excellent.

[AB76]

giveusaclue wrote: "AB76 wrote: "my space bar is sticking...so if my nextpostisallonelongjoinedwordiapologise!"

Haveyouthoughtofputtinganarrowattachmentontiyouvacuumandseeingifyoucansucksomedustoutfromunderthespacebar?"

lol!

[AB76]

Mountoliveby Laurence Durrell (1958)is a success and going well, i'm glad after dumping the second of the series last year

Alexandria is fascinating me again

There is a good balance of intrigue and suspense in this third novel of the Quartet, well written and plotted and maybe less of Durrell trying to be clever with words. I still get fairly bored with the love affairs though, never been that interested in adulterous lust and its sloppy justifications

[Paul]

Commenting has been reactivated over at the current What We're Reading page

[scarletnoir]

AB76 wrote: "always amuses me when protestant irish yanks claim they are irish in the catholic tradition and seem to forget their history, a significant percentage of Irish Canadians and Irish Yanks were Ulster Protestants."

I've not looked in to this, but used to wonder if some of the 'Irish' in the USA who sent funds to the IRA were, in fact, from Protestant backgrounds? There is (unfortunately) a great deal of ignorance about!

[AB76]

scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "always amuses me when protestant irish yanks claim they are irish in the catholic tradition and seem to forget their history, a significant percentage of Irish Canadians and Irish Yank..."

i would imagine mistakes were made with NORAID!

[AB76]

included a Uygher artwork from 1984 in photos....showing a typical Uygher music event with countless instruments

the variety of faces in the painting reminds me that the Uygher race is vividly different than the Han Chinese, at whose hands they are being eradicated

[giveusaclue]

AB76 wrote: "included a Uygher artwork from 1984 in photos....showing a typical Uygher music event with countless instruments

the variety of faces in the painting reminds me that the Uygher race is vividly di..."

Have you solved the space bar problem?

[AB76]

giveusaclue wrote: "AB76 wrote: "included a Uygher artwork from 1984 in photos....showing a typical Uygher music event with countless instruments

the variety of faces in the painting reminds me that the Uygher race ..."

it seems to have stoppd but i havent done anything to improve things, odd

[Tam]

AB76 wrote: "Tam wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: ".I used to wonder how often many of the extremists on either side went to church or what they thought Christ would have thought about it."

I dou..."

ugger!... I seem to have something stuck after my letter after A... oh its sort of there, occasionally.... hopefully it will occasionally re-appear...

[giveusaclue]

MK wrote: "That must be SUCH a relief!"

It is great to be independent again!

[AB76]

giveusaclue wrote: "MK wrote: "That must be SUCH a relief!"

It is great to be independent again!"

i think until till you confront a limiting condition, you never know quite what it will mean. Great to hear you are FREE!

[giveusaclue]

AB76 wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "MK wrote: "That must be SUCH a relief!"

It is great to be independent again!"

i think until till you confront a limiting condition, you never know quite what it will mean. Gre..."

Thanks AB

[AB76]

I love Japan and Japanese literature but have read very little in the last decade or so, so i have turned to the post-war crime classic Tokyo Express by Seicho Matsumoto. I meant to read it in January but started it tonight

Already a familiar Japan returns to me with references to Ginza, Akasuka and the resort of Kamakura, all places that feature prominently in great Japanese writing, settings in the Greater Tokyo area

I like the setting and the crime so far, i am impressed with the clipped style which belies a greater depth, some good wit and a feel for the genre. So far, so good

Oh and Thubrons The Amur River just gets better and better, i am priveleged to be reading new works by him, aged 80 and still out there, at work, writing.

[Robert]

scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "always amuses me when protestant irish yanks claim they are irish in the catholic tradition and seem to forget their history, a significant percentage of Irish Canadians and Irish Yank..."

Two of the most successful IRA fundraisers in the US were Patrick Nee and Whitey Bulger, both Boston gangsters. Since they were operating out of a heavily Catholic neighborhood, and were in a gunrunning operation with the cooperation of the IRA, I doubt that they ran into many Irish Protestants.

[AB76]

Robert wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "always amuses me when protestant irish yanks claim they are irish in the catholic tradition and seem to forget their history, a significant percentage of Irish Cana..."

i remember Bulger....who was the congress link to Noraid again?

[Robert]

AB76 wrote: "Robert wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "always amuses me when protestant irish yanks claim they are irish in the catholic tradition and seem to forget their history, a significant percentag..."

Unknown. There was a panic caused once by an interview meant for US audiences, picked up on satellite in Britain. The interviewer mentioned that a company was generous with IRAs. Many inquiries about contributions to Noraid. None of the questioners knew that in the US, IRA can also stand for Individual Retirement Account. Two nations separated by a common language, etc.

[scarletnoir]

Robert wrote: "Two of the most successful IRA fundraisers in the US were Patrick Nee and Whitey Bulger, both Boston gangsters. Since they were operating out of a heavily Catholic neighborhood, and were in a gunrunning operation with the cooperation of the IRA, I doubt that they ran into many Irish Protestants."

I have no doubt whatsoever that most of the support and funding for the IRA from North America came from Catholics. I was asking whether there was any evidence that some support was also sent by people of Protestant background as a result of ignorance? I don't know the answer to that one.

[[deleted user]]

Of all the very good entries in The Oxford Book of Scottish Short Stories, which I’ve now finished, my favourite was largely in dialect and by an author I had never heard of, Smeddum by Lewis Grassic Gibbon (1901-1935).

A notable absentee is Arthur Conan Doyle, who must surely have written a few decent short stories.

[scarletnoir]

Russell wrote: "The Oxford Book of Scottish Short Stories.. A notable absentee is Arthur Conan Doyle, who must surely have written a few decent short stories."

Perhaps the editor had a sniffy attitude to detective fiction - a not uncommon view as late as the 1950s-60s. From reading Ross MacDonald: A Biography by Tom Nolan, it seems clear that this started to change in the 1970s onwards, with Ken Millar (Macdonald) being contacted by research students for his views, and graduate study groups being set up to study popular culture.

[AB76]

scarletnoir wrote: "Russell wrote: "The Oxford Book of Scottish Short Stories.. A notable absentee is Arthur Conan Doyle, who must surely have written a few decent short stories."

Perhaps the editor had a sniffy atti..."

Conan Doyle wrote a lot of non-crime short stories, good gothic mysteries, fantasy and colonial stories, i'm baffled he isnt included, especially as OUP released his Gothic Tales, which i loved only 4 years ago

[MK]

AB76 wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "MK wrote: "That must be SUCH a relief!"

It is great to be independent again!"

i think until till you confront a limiting condition, you never know quite what it will mean. Gre..."

This seems to be the right place with @Clue being free; I recently became tethered - literally. Here in the states there are machines that grab oxygen from the house air and flit it through a long tube to my nose. That's me now. Luckily, you can also have a kinda (it's heavy) portable one so I'm not completely housebound. This is a major drat in one's life!

[giveusaclue]

MK wrote: "This seems to be the right place with @Clue being free; I recently became tethered - literally. Here in the states there are machines that grab oxygen from the house air and flit it through a long tube to my nose. That's me know. Luckily, you can also have a kinda (it's heavy) portable one so I'm not completely housebound. This is a major drat in one's life!"

Oh MK I am so sorry to hear that. How rotten for you. Makes my recent issue pale into insignificance, at least my problem is solved.

[Tam]

MK wrote: "AB76 wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "MK wrote: "That must be SUCH a relief!"

It is great to be independent again!"

i think until till you confront a limiting condition, you never know quite what it w..."

I am so very sorry MK, stuff that limits the quality of life seems so darned ornery. I knew someone who had a portable oxygen tank on wheels. It must have been a pain, but it didn't seem to slow her down any. Here's wishing you all the best, despite the trials...

[AB76]

MK wrote: "AB76 wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "MK wrote: "That must be SUCH a relief!"

It is great to be independent again!"

i think until till you confront a limiting condition, you never know quite what it w..."

oh dear MK....keep us posted, i hope things get easier

[Robert]

I'm reading John Reeves' Soldier of Destiny, a biographical study of Ulysses S. Grant. The author focuses on a particular period of Grant's life-- from the beginning of the Civil War, when the former officer rejoined the US Army to his appointment as Lincoln's General in Chief-- and particular issues-- Slavery, Secession, and what the author calls his "redemption" on the slavery issue. I'm flipping back and forth between the Grant book and Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals, the story of Abraham Lincoln and the rivals who became his cabinet members.
Interesting character studies of the major figures of the Northern side in the Civil War.

[Robert]

Russell wrote: "Of all the very good entries in The Oxford Book of Scottish Short Stories, which I’ve now finished, my favourite was largely in dialect and by an author I had never heard of, Smeddum by Lewis Grass..."

Serious omission, though university anthologies often shun escape literature, and Doyle didn't set any of his mysteries in Scotland that I recall. I hope that they found room for a few fine Scottish supernatural stories, like Stevenson's "Thrawn Janet" and Scott's "Wandering Willie's Tale."

[Gpfr]

MK wrote: "I recently became tethered - literally...."

So sorry to hear this, MK, that must be hard. Courage! as they say in French.

[Gpfr]

I'd never read anything by Javier Marías — I remember people writing about Tomás Nevinson — when I picked up from a book exchange Vies écrites (transl. Alain Keruzoré) / Vidas escritas / Written Lives.
It consists of brief biographies of 20 writers (all dead and no Spaniards) which were first published in a revue. He writes,

"This book shows lives or fragments of lives, nothing else ... And while there is virtually nothing invented (or decidedly fictitious), there are on the other hand a few 'embellished' episodes or anecdotes."

I'm reading a bit at a time, so far William Faulkner à cheval and Joseph Conrad à terre. The translator notes that the French titles were established with the collaboration of the author.

Marías was also a translator and translated the works of some of the writers here, eg Robert Louis Stevenson and Isak Dineson. He says that these texts are far from hagiography but are written with affection and humour.

[[deleted user]]

Robert wrote: "Russell wrote: "Of all the very good entries in The Oxford Book of Scottish Short Stories..." ...I hope that they found room for a few fine Scottish supernatural stories, like Stevenson's "Thrawn Janet" and Scott's "Wandering Willie's Tale."

For Stevenson they had Thrawn Janet, plus A Lodging for the Night and some excerpts from Fables. For supernatural there was also The Gowk by Jessie Kesson and Andrina by George Mackay Brown, and some others were definitely a bit weird. For Scott they chose The Two Drovers.

[scarletnoir]

MK wrote: "AB76 wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "MK wrote: "That must be SUCH a relief!"

It is great to be independent again!"

i think until till you confront a limiting condition, you never know quite what it w..."

I do hope this is a temporary fix for a problem which can be resolved... good luck.

[AB76]

Robert wrote: "I'm reading John Reeves' Soldier of Destiny, a biographical study of Ulysses S. Grant. The author focuses on a particular period of Grant's life-- from the beginning of the Civil War, when the form..."

these sound interesting, i have read mainly about confederate generals, including a good book on Stonewall Jackson, this was due to my confederate focus a few years back. I must read the huge Foner book i have on reconstruction too, its been on the pile for a while but i dont think i have any civil war books lined up for 2024 so far

[Greenfairy]

glad you're making a good recovery Clue , I've not been around much as I wasn't too well last week, but picking up now.
I'm reading Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead.
I'm not very far into it yet, but a remarkable feat of translation it is.

[giveusaclue]

Greenfairy wrote: "glad you're making a good recovery Clue , I've not been around much as I wasn't too well last week, but picking up now.
I'm reading Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead.
I'm not very far into..."

Thanks very much but sorry to hear you have been ill. Hopefully the year will pick up with the weather.

[giveusaclue]

I've just finished reading

I shan't bother with the rest of the series. Not a very credible plot and could do with some serious editing.

I'm just about to start on the latest Alex Delware book


I do like this series. So hopefully this will live up to the previous ones.

[Tam]

MK wrote: "AB76 wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "MK wrote: "That must be SUCH a relief!"

I just wanted to say thanks for the Tiepolo ceiling... https://i.postimg.cc/VNhDTrjB/IMG-080... If you hadn't have pointed it out to me, I don't think I would have stopped of in Wurzburg, on my travels around N Germany last April. I am still writing it up, as my jottings on the whole enterprise were very random.

Anyway I very much enjoyed my stop off there, it gave me much food for thought. I hope your current problem is only a temporary discombobulation.... another piccy of one of his ceilings... elsewhere... https://i.postimg.cc/y6rPfSyf/IMG-080...

[[deleted user]]

Happy world book day, everyone.

[AB76]

Tokyo Express has me baffled after 35 pages, which is a good sign with a crime novel, i may finish it quick as i will be desperate to find out what happened leading up to the Kashii beach situation...(no spoilers!)

The translation, a new one, impresses me too with its style, it feels just right and the maps are good too. I dont think i have read any novels set on Kyushu island since Endo's Silence

[Paul]

AB76 wrote: " Tokyo Express has me baffled after 35 pages, which is a good sign with a crime novel, i may finish it quick as i will be desperate to find out what happened leading up to the Kashii beach situatio..."

I have Tokyo Express lying around somewhere in an Italian translation, and I keep meaning to dig it up. Endo's Silence was a beautiful book, but I just couldn't bridge the empathy chasm for any of the characters. Faith so absolute is just not something I can understand, or sympathize with, frankly.

[scarletnoir]

Anne wrote: "Happy world book day, everyone."

And happy International Women's Day to those of you of that persuasion! ;-)

[AB76]

Paul wrote: "AB76 wrote: " Tokyo Express has me baffled after 35 pages, which is a good sign with a crime novel, i may finish it quick as i will be desperate to find out what happened leading up to the Kashii b..."

at the same time i read Endo, i was also reading The Bells of Nagasaki by Takashi Nagai, this was about a decade ago and it opened my eyes to the visible Nagasaki christian population that exists to this day. for a very homogenous country, Nagasaki prefecture is an outlier, with 5% of the population being christian

Irrelevant to religion(although Nagai was a catholic like Endo), i recommend The Bells of Nagasaki a non-fiction account of the bombing of that city

[CCCubbon]

@MK
I was tethered to a drip for some time - I gave it a silly name, forgotten for the minute as I trailed it around as if it was a dog. MrC had minor op on his scalp yesterday and is done up in swathes of bandages which are seeping . They let him come home with restrictions and he is already bored! We found one of my old pink bobble hats to cover it…….lovely - one has to laugh.
I tried to read another Banville - The Book of Evidence - but disliked the character so much gave it up. Did manage an audio book only missing a few bits where I fell asleep, just an old Ann Cleeve Shetland..
I really fancy the new book called Deep Water by Bradley about oceans but even the kindle is nearly £18

[AB76]

CCCubbon wrote: "@MK
I was tethered to a drip for some time - I gave it a silly name, forgotten for the minute as I trailed it around as if it was a dog. MrC had minor op on his scalp yesterday and is done up in sw..."

i found the Banville novel a bit uneven though with still some wonderful writing. overall i liked The Sea better. i have The Untouchable on my pile..

[AB76]

Pushkin have published a novel by Salvador Dali and a second novel by Alba De Cespedes. Will have to put these on my list am trying to keep purchases down in March or the pile just gets bigger and books get lost in the maze!

i didnt know Dali wrote any novels...

and wonderful concidence, i had been trying to track down a Sartre essay on Paris during the occupation(a printed effort was all over the page, ink blurred), i now find on Pushkin, a diary written in occupied Paris by Felix Hartlaub on Pushkin....superb

wonderful spring day here....10c, a cold wind but bright and small little shoots are emerging everywhere...

[CCCubbon]

AB76 wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "@MK
I was tethered to a drip for some time - I gave it a silly name, forgotten for the minute as I trailed it around as if it was a dog. MrC had minor op on his scalp yesterday and..."

Yes some great writing again but I disliked the arrogance of the man telling his story so have put it aside for something less demanding.
I read The Sea recently and enjoyed it, then watched the dvd, preferred the book, don’t think the film did it justice.

[giveusaclue]

Coincidences - yesterday I reported that I had started the latest Alex Delaware crime novel. In it the husband of the victim was staying at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, apparently famous for its twice daily duck walk!! Never heard of it before. Today I am watching Nick Knowles journeying along the Mississippi River, where he visits.......The Peabody Hotel and witnesses the duck walk.

These coincidences do crop up.