What are you reading

[Reynard]

An English teacher of mine reckoned he intended it as a parody, which I always thought made a lot of sense.

I believe that's correct.

 

[Reynard]

@Reynard My granny lived in Holloway, hence an interest in the book!
She was stone deaf due to the noise & an explosion working at the Woolwich Arsenal during WW1 but that's a tale for another day, and tgeead!

Archway end, or Highbury & Islington end? Either way, it was mum's patch as a district nurse back in the early 1980s.

 

[PeteXXX]

Archway end, or Highbury & Islington end? Either way, it was mum's patch as a district nurse back in the early 1980s.

Highbury & Islington IIRC. I have pics somewhere, too.

 

[stephec]

Finally found myself a copy of this, the front cover is a famous Cecil Beaton photo taken towards the end of the battle of Britain, he's only twenty years old there and has already been through plenty of stuff that he shouldn't have had to do.

 

[Dogtrousers]

We read To Kill a Mockingbird at school too. Shakespeare was Henry IV PT1 and Henry V which were great. And the Merchant of Venice which was a bit wet, but despite that I've been a Shakespeare fan ever since. Well, a fan of the histories and tragedies. Comedies not so much.

 

[Reynard]

We read To Kill a Mockingbird at school too. Shakespeare was Henry IV PT1 and Henry V which were great. And the Merchant of Venice which was a bit wet, but despite that I've been a Shakespeare fan ever since. Well, a fan of the histories and tragedies. Comedies not so much.

I dunno, Twelfth Night is bloody hilarious! Especially if you're wearing cross-gartered yellow stockings.

Some are born great
Some achieve greatness
And some have greatness thrust upon them.

 

[Reynard]

Finished the last of the six-volume "Lost Fleet" series. it's a favourite that I revisit every 18 months or so.

Am now reading Khalid Hosseini's "A Thousand Splendid Suns" as I spotted it in the book exchange and it intrigued me given you see so much about Afghan women (and their lack of rights) on the news. And a friend had recommended the author as she'd read some of his other books. It's not really the kind of book or subject matter that I'd ordinarily choose for myself, but it's well-written enough to be engaging and hard to put down.

That said, I'm about halfway through, and I don't like it. I can't quite put my finger on *why* I don't like it.

Maybe it's because because I'm used to reading novels that are set in detailed universes with more characters and more backstory and just, well, a greater depth, a more complex plot, and a greater breadth of language. Also, it could be that as a writer, I've noticed the techniques the author's used to keep the reader engaged that a lot of the "how to write" books recommend - and not subtly, but kind of in-your-face. I find that a bit distracting.

This is the beauty of book exchanges though. You can try something different at no cost. I will finish the book, but it will be going back to the book exchange via the friend who recommended the author, but who hadn't read this particular book.

 

[stephec]

I've just finished this, somehow he managed to blag a full day at Kate Bush's home to interview her, lucky boy.

 

[All uphill]

I'm deeply into Robert Sapolsky's investigation about the existence or not of free will. I find the case against persuasive.

It's a surprisingly amusing and well written book for anyone with a scientific and philosophic mind.

 

[Profpointy]

I dunno, Twelfth Night is bloody hilarious! Especially if you're wearing cross-gartered yellow stockings.

Some are born great
Some achieve greatness
And some have greatness thrust upon them.

I felt they were more cruel to poor Malvolio than he really deserved, but there is a real menace in his last line "i'll have my revenge on the whole pack of you". It rather sounds like a set up for a sequel

 

[dicko]

Around the World in 80 Days, a Jules Verne classic and a very good read too.

 

[Reynard]

I felt they were more cruel to poor Malvolio than he really deserved, but there is a real menace in his last line "i'll have my revenge on the whole pack of you". It rather sounds like a set up for a sequel

Funny, I'd never thought of it that way.

As a character though, he's a bit of a pompous ass. Of course, he secretly loves the Lady Olivia, but the gulf in social class makes it impossible. And also, as a result, makes him the butt of everyone's jokes.

 

[Reynard]

Finished "A Thousand Splendid Suns"

Compelling, emotional, but would I read it again? No. And I think I got to the bottom of why I didn't like the book. It's written from the POV of two women. Afghan women are largely sheltered, so there's not much detail about the events the story is set in, simply because they wouldn't really know what's going on in the wider world and would be relying on male relatives to keep them up to date. Or not. Which is frustrating. I think that's deliberate on the part of the author.

I didn't like the frustration.

Would I recommend the book? Yes, because, like Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" I think it's one of those books that needs reading.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Surprisingly from the writer of Onward Christian Soldiers
It was written whilst he was a Curate(!) in Horbury (part of Wakefield now)

He later married the daughter of a mill-worker, & she was perceived to be the primary inspiration for ’Pygmalian', wrote by his friend George Bernard Shaw
(filmed, with Rex Harrison as My Fair Lady)

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Were-Wolves

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Don Winslow - Force.

Tough, gritty, authentic tale of corruption in the NYPD.

Longish book, c13 hours to read.

Brilliant 9/10.