Long time since the 19th but I'm in a complete blue funk about HongKong on Thursday and can't concentrate. It has been made worse because I'm going from terminal 5.!!!!!Luckily my daughter is meeting me at Victoria and going with me to the terminal and I'm signed in for help because I'm not strong enough to manage. IT's not the flying but the getting on to plane and worry about luggage at other end.I do clearly label so should be OK.
Dear Stuck, I think your book group will enjoy 'Cold Comfort'. Almost the last thing I heard before Oneword closed was 'C.C being read and acted.That way was hilarious.
Have read one and skimmed the other and feel like the last person in UK to have read them.'We need to talk about Kevin' was one. I didn't like it and thought it was too long.Probably excellent for a book group because big themes to discuss.The other was '1000 yellow suns', a good book but the attitude to women just made my blood boil and having lived in that society in the Gulf I know that's how it can be. Although I have to say my ex isn't like that and all the girls in his second family are educated and not forced to marry. The younger two are in school and the elder has graduated in electronic engineering and works for BP in Abu Dhabi. Next one is studying architecture at the American Uni which is also where Fatima the eldest went. Fatima has opted to be Sunna although dad and the family are Shia but that is allowed. My 2 are Christians one RC like me, one High Anglican.
Read 'A certain Compass' lettice Cooper. This again is different and very moving. Incidently Stuck when you read Black B you will have a feel for my first years. This book did bring back memories.
Also read 'Daphne' and enjoyed it. I like books with intertextuality that make one want to go back and read other writers.Another light hearted read which did that was 'Edmund Bertram's diary' Amanda grange.This is the whole of 'Mansfield Park from Edmund's perspective. Now I must reread the original.
I was sorry to see that Dr Joanna Richardson has died. I've read all her books and own one or two. Her biographies and her translations were/are superb.
If you drop by for a read let me know. I'd love to greet you.
Sunday 30 March 2008
Wednesday 19 March 2008
once Again
As I write this I'm listening to 'Mr Standfast part 2'. radio 4's classic serial. I do like John Buchan.Had a good week for comments.Stuck asked about Storm Jameson. read any you can find. I think most of them are out of print.I believe she was afounder member of 'Pen'.Harriet, thank you for being so encouraging. I was also thrilled to hear from Viola. Now I just need to find out how to reply underneath the comment.
I have a marvellous gadget called a ' book pillow'. Dovegrey told me about them some time ago but hers came from USA, then Jottings found a site in UK so I ordered a chocolate coloured pillow on Sunday and it arrived yesterday. It's such a load off my hands and the newspaper fits nicely over it so my hands are free.
have had a good haul from Oxfam. three Elizabeth Peters in her Vicki Bliss series. £1 each,then 4 Heyers which I didn't have. There was a 4th but when the pennies were there book wasn't.The Heyers are the latest manifestation. Most of the ones i already possess are as they were first produced.Also had 2 books from the lovely ELLie, which will go with the Russian Challenge.Never imagined i'd have a pile to review.Also bought 2 Steven Saylor at the library for 10p each.I'm supposed to be diminishing my piles .
What have I read?'Child of Nations' Irmgard Keun. I didn't enjoy it at all. i suppose I just didn't know what this book was trying to say. I go to Switzerland in May so will see if I can find it in German because that might be easier to grasp.In the meditation room, I finished 'Cold Comfort Farm' Stella Gibbons. On the whole I didn't find it funny and Flora Poste irritated me immensely. that does show good writing because she seemed very real.What did Aunt ada Doom see in the woodpile? We're never told.I shan't read it again.Another character, who drove me mad was the father in 'Over' Margaret Forster. He wrecks the family, recovers after three years then expects his wife to fall in with his wishes when she has built a new life. this book is written in beautiful English.
Then I read two more Lettice Cooper's. 'Black bethlehem' is London in war time and brought back memories. It was only when i had finished this book that I could make sense of it. totally different is 'Fenny' about a girl who goes to Italy as a governess and spends her life there. Fenny knows love but she never married. I have 2 more Coopers to read then I've read all that I can lay hands on. I think there will only be 1 or 2 to find.
Light reading was 'Death on Holy Mountain' David Dickinson. this is a Lord Powerscourt dtective novel set at the beginning of the 20c. I learned a lot about Irish history as well as having a relaxing read. Lord P made me laugh when he talked about 'industrial Quantities of Hail Marys'. As this was a clash between Catholic and Anglo Irish Protestant Ireland i can see how this idea arose.
Imagine having spent 3-4 years on research,getting one's book to the publisher then discovering that 4 other people had the same idea and one would be published before yours. This is what happened to David Lodge and in 'The year of Henry James' he tells the story. He recalls that two of the other authors were at Lamb's House in Rye at the same time as he was.Coim Toibin was his rival. One of the others still has managed to have his book published. the other 2 james books were by Emma Tennant and Alan Hollinghurst. to make matters worse Toibin and Lodge began their books after James had written a play. This is no sad tale though because Lodge is a wonderful writer. There are some of his essays at the end of the book so I'll write about them separately.
If it's Tuesday it's Brighton. My friend and I go every Tuesday. the company that runs a local school bus had the brainwave of one day a week going to Brighton cheaply.We leave Horley at 9.30 and Brighton at 13.30. we have about 3 hours, which is long enough to walk along the front. school Hols we have an extra 3 hours.We are a very jolly crowd of old dears. The weather in Brighton is never the same as here. It seems to have its own ecosystem.
Didn't look at my email for 2 days because I had a migraine so must dash off and do that.
I have a marvellous gadget called a ' book pillow'. Dovegrey told me about them some time ago but hers came from USA, then Jottings found a site in UK so I ordered a chocolate coloured pillow on Sunday and it arrived yesterday. It's such a load off my hands and the newspaper fits nicely over it so my hands are free.
have had a good haul from Oxfam. three Elizabeth Peters in her Vicki Bliss series. £1 each,then 4 Heyers which I didn't have. There was a 4th but when the pennies were there book wasn't.The Heyers are the latest manifestation. Most of the ones i already possess are as they were first produced.Also had 2 books from the lovely ELLie, which will go with the Russian Challenge.Never imagined i'd have a pile to review.Also bought 2 Steven Saylor at the library for 10p each.I'm supposed to be diminishing my piles .
What have I read?'Child of Nations' Irmgard Keun. I didn't enjoy it at all. i suppose I just didn't know what this book was trying to say. I go to Switzerland in May so will see if I can find it in German because that might be easier to grasp.In the meditation room, I finished 'Cold Comfort Farm' Stella Gibbons. On the whole I didn't find it funny and Flora Poste irritated me immensely. that does show good writing because she seemed very real.What did Aunt ada Doom see in the woodpile? We're never told.I shan't read it again.Another character, who drove me mad was the father in 'Over' Margaret Forster. He wrecks the family, recovers after three years then expects his wife to fall in with his wishes when she has built a new life. this book is written in beautiful English.
Then I read two more Lettice Cooper's. 'Black bethlehem' is London in war time and brought back memories. It was only when i had finished this book that I could make sense of it. totally different is 'Fenny' about a girl who goes to Italy as a governess and spends her life there. Fenny knows love but she never married. I have 2 more Coopers to read then I've read all that I can lay hands on. I think there will only be 1 or 2 to find.
Light reading was 'Death on Holy Mountain' David Dickinson. this is a Lord Powerscourt dtective novel set at the beginning of the 20c. I learned a lot about Irish history as well as having a relaxing read. Lord P made me laugh when he talked about 'industrial Quantities of Hail Marys'. As this was a clash between Catholic and Anglo Irish Protestant Ireland i can see how this idea arose.
Imagine having spent 3-4 years on research,getting one's book to the publisher then discovering that 4 other people had the same idea and one would be published before yours. This is what happened to David Lodge and in 'The year of Henry James' he tells the story. He recalls that two of the other authors were at Lamb's House in Rye at the same time as he was.Coim Toibin was his rival. One of the others still has managed to have his book published. the other 2 james books were by Emma Tennant and Alan Hollinghurst. to make matters worse Toibin and Lodge began their books after James had written a play. This is no sad tale though because Lodge is a wonderful writer. There are some of his essays at the end of the book so I'll write about them separately.
If it's Tuesday it's Brighton. My friend and I go every Tuesday. the company that runs a local school bus had the brainwave of one day a week going to Brighton cheaply.We leave Horley at 9.30 and Brighton at 13.30. we have about 3 hours, which is long enough to walk along the front. school Hols we have an extra 3 hours.We are a very jolly crowd of old dears. The weather in Brighton is never the same as here. It seems to have its own ecosystem.
Didn't look at my email for 2 days because I had a migraine so must dash off and do that.
Wednesday 12 March 2008
wednesday
Received a lovely book from Guy at Newbooks and also 2 from Hesperus. I have been having one of my 'bad ' days so they lifted my spirits. i've written to Cambridge Press to see if they will send me some Academic books to review. Lots of us review fiction but few Non fiction. have a brilliant book from Pimlico by charles freeman one of my favourite Historians. More later.
If you like an intellectual thriller then do read 'The Shakespeare Secret' J E Carrell. She a professor of Shakespearian studies in the US and this book pursues most excitingly two secrets. A new play and who was Shakespeare. Both quests are interesting and the book is very well written. So folks do go and read it if you can.
MOstly I'm writing this blog to myself it feels but never mind. Dovegreyreader mailed about my 2007 reading. It was hard to choose although I do read lots of detective novels which go quickly and are more for relaxation.Must go now and engage with Mr D'arcy. I have several to read as well as Diana, which shall be first and the standard by which others are judged.
Would be nice if my son nd daughter read this and left a comment. HaHa
If you like an intellectual thriller then do read 'The Shakespeare Secret' J E Carrell. She a professor of Shakespearian studies in the US and this book pursues most excitingly two secrets. A new play and who was Shakespeare. Both quests are interesting and the book is very well written. So folks do go and read it if you can.
MOstly I'm writing this blog to myself it feels but never mind. Dovegreyreader mailed about my 2007 reading. It was hard to choose although I do read lots of detective novels which go quickly and are more for relaxation.Must go now and engage with Mr D'arcy. I have several to read as well as Diana, which shall be first and the standard by which others are judged.
Would be nice if my son nd daughter read this and left a comment. HaHa
Monday 10 March 2008
Monday
Monday again and I missed the Sunday salon again too busy reading others'blogs. I'm immensely chuffed because I have two reviews in the Hesperus Magazine. I read them and thought 'I didn't write these' so looked in my notebook and I did. They seem different somehow when published.Shall be doing another one because I ordered Eggs by BUlgakov from the library, took it off the library TBR pile and thought this is beautiful might be Hesperus, looked again and it was. The cover is distinctive and the paper so nice. I can't imagine them going brown. I'm reading an old Pan Storm Jameson and the pages are all brown.
Today's weather is the kind to batten down the hatches and read so that is what I shall do after I've written to the lovely man at Pimlico who sent me Charles Freeman's 381. I have all of Charles books so shall be blogging about them over the course of this year. Also have Diana Birchall's D'arcy to read. How people , who don't read use their time I can't imagine. In my Express today their is a wonderful poem about reading. Here it is:A Book by Emily DIckinson'
He ate and drank the
precious words,
His Spirit grew robust;
He knew no morethat
he was poor,
Nor that his frame
was dust.
He danced along the
dingy days,And this bequest of wings
was but a book.
What liberty
A loosened spirit brings.
Says it all about reading. Whilst typing this I've been listening to yesterday's classic serial on radio 4.'Mr Standfast'. I do so like John Buchan and especially Richard Hannay.
When I can't concentrate I read Susan Lewis, who writes well but not intelectually. Yesterday I read a memoir called 'Just one more day' about her as achild and her mother's death from breast cancer.It made me realise how far cancer treatment has come since the 60's.Her mother just had a mastectomy and massive doses of radium. I can't help but think that today she'd still be alive and there was no such thing as reconstruction. I hope Susan will write about her life after this. I long to know if she passed her 11+ and how she became a writer. I must see if she has a site on line.
Today's weather is the kind to batten down the hatches and read so that is what I shall do after I've written to the lovely man at Pimlico who sent me Charles Freeman's 381. I have all of Charles books so shall be blogging about them over the course of this year. Also have Diana Birchall's D'arcy to read. How people , who don't read use their time I can't imagine. In my Express today their is a wonderful poem about reading. Here it is:A Book by Emily DIckinson'
He ate and drank the
precious words,
His Spirit grew robust;
He knew no morethat
he was poor,
Nor that his frame
was dust.
He danced along the
dingy days,And this bequest of wings
was but a book.
What liberty
A loosened spirit brings.
Says it all about reading. Whilst typing this I've been listening to yesterday's classic serial on radio 4.'Mr Standfast'. I do so like John Buchan and especially Richard Hannay.
When I can't concentrate I read Susan Lewis, who writes well but not intelectually. Yesterday I read a memoir called 'Just one more day' about her as achild and her mother's death from breast cancer.It made me realise how far cancer treatment has come since the 60's.Her mother just had a mastectomy and massive doses of radium. I can't help but think that today she'd still be alive and there was no such thing as reconstruction. I hope Susan will write about her life after this. I long to know if she passed her 11+ and how she became a writer. I must see if she has a site on line.
Monday 3 March 2008
Monday musings
well here we are again.Mis timed yesterday so didn't do my Sunday salon blog.I wonder how I went to work since this is laughingly called retirement.however, i know I'm really lucky to have so many interests and so many friends.
On saturday, i heard verdi's Otello from the Met. it was so well sung I had permanent goose bumps.
Also finished the book ,which I have had to read in the meditation room(loo)This was 'The Rise of Venus'Sarah Dunant.i really enjoyed this. I liked learning about the art and also she has brought Savonarola vividly to life and makes one feel how awful life became in Florence under his sway.Current read is 'Cold Comfort Farm'stella Gibbons. I haven't read much but it is funny. Flora has an uncle in Scotland whose man servant is called 'Hoots'.I have also noticed how anti-semitic books before the 40's are.flora's friend sees a new brassiere(she collects them)in the 'Jew-shop'.Hopefully noone would write like that now.
Also have a continuous read going on of the Sharpe novels by Bernard Cornwell. Along side I'm reading Patrick O'Brian so that I have navy and army.Then i read about the period in non-fiction. The novels bring to life the history.Although they are violent because war is they are not like the latest Linda Fairstein 'Killer Heat'.
Why do writers now have to create such unpleasant murder scenarios?I so appreciate earlier detective writers after struggling with rape, cut up bodies etc.I shall give Fairstein a miss in future I think.
So many bloggers raved about 'Dora damage' I ordered it from the library but I was really bored by it. I liked learning about binding but there was so much and I found it really talented to write a book that reads like a Victorian Novel but it actually didn't do much for me.
This has taken ages because I'm a slow typer 'getting faster/ When i was in the lower 6th some of us our headmistress if we could go to the Tec with the one year sixth and learn typing well she went off like a rocket.'why would clever girls want to type/'. pity she had no crystal ball that would show her computing. Modern 5 year olds learn it now.Must go now and answer my e-mails.
On saturday, i heard verdi's Otello from the Met. it was so well sung I had permanent goose bumps.
Also finished the book ,which I have had to read in the meditation room(loo)This was 'The Rise of Venus'Sarah Dunant.i really enjoyed this. I liked learning about the art and also she has brought Savonarola vividly to life and makes one feel how awful life became in Florence under his sway.Current read is 'Cold Comfort Farm'stella Gibbons. I haven't read much but it is funny. Flora has an uncle in Scotland whose man servant is called 'Hoots'.I have also noticed how anti-semitic books before the 40's are.flora's friend sees a new brassiere(she collects them)in the 'Jew-shop'.Hopefully noone would write like that now.
Also have a continuous read going on of the Sharpe novels by Bernard Cornwell. Along side I'm reading Patrick O'Brian so that I have navy and army.Then i read about the period in non-fiction. The novels bring to life the history.Although they are violent because war is they are not like the latest Linda Fairstein 'Killer Heat'.
Why do writers now have to create such unpleasant murder scenarios?I so appreciate earlier detective writers after struggling with rape, cut up bodies etc.I shall give Fairstein a miss in future I think.
So many bloggers raved about 'Dora damage' I ordered it from the library but I was really bored by it. I liked learning about binding but there was so much and I found it really talented to write a book that reads like a Victorian Novel but it actually didn't do much for me.
This has taken ages because I'm a slow typer 'getting faster/ When i was in the lower 6th some of us our headmistress if we could go to the Tec with the one year sixth and learn typing well she went off like a rocket.'why would clever girls want to type/'. pity she had no crystal ball that would show her computing. Modern 5 year olds learn it now.Must go now and answer my e-mails.
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