tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16492588003445636252024-03-05T15:24:55.617+01:00A barmy bookworm sitting on the shelf...I'm not reviewing. I'm just sharing. Sharing my love of words wherever they may be.a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-12337929008452832352014-11-10T18:18:00.005+01:002014-11-10T18:18:54.346+01:00We may sit in our library and yet be in all quarters of the earth - John Lubbock
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's five months since I was last </span><a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/books-make-great-gifts-because-they.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">present</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> on this blog. I have since popped by. Glanced briefly across at it before clicking elsewhere. Looked longingly to it from a distance and hurriedly moved away. The source of my malaise? Shame. Doleful, inexcusable shame.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I dislike neglect of any description. It smacks of a lack of control on the one hand and a lack of thought on the other. I am here guilty of both.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I knew there was a risk. Read my two previous </span><a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/books-serve-to-show-man-that-those.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">posts</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and you know that I knew that I knew. And still I went ahead. Still I chose to continue irrespective. There are no excuses.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So I joined a </span><a href="http://roofbeamreader.com/2014/05/18/moby-dick-a-whale-of-a-read-along-sign-up-post/#comment-201671" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">reading group</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> challenge. So I tried to set a deadline on finishing a book. It didn't work for me. It sent me backwards instead of urging me forwards. Can I say never mind? Put a line under it all? Onwards and upwards?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If it helps, I lost the group after the second check in. (Where did you go, group? Was it me??). And then, through my dismay at missing my deadline, I forced myself to finish <em>MB. </em>Even when the thrill of whales and their hunters had long gone. Which was fairly soon, if I'm honest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But finish it, I did. Last week. Only four months short of the given deadline. It has been a busy summer. But enough of my excuses.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My reaction to the book: intermittently gripping, informative and exciting with long periods of incredibly intense descriptive passages. That frankly I could have done without. I was a tad dismayed that of 470 pages, Moby Dick only featured in the flesh for around 20 pages. At the very end. And then mainly in a frenzy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Still the pervading gloom which Melville hangs over the tale was enough to hint at the outcome. And I was so joyous at closing the book for the last time that I could not really bring myself to sympathise with the fate of any of the characters. And most especially the hunters.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have now found for myself some (much) shorter stories. To break me back into a regular rhythm of reading and writing. And to help ease away the shame of my months of neglect. If anyone's still out there to notice...</span>a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-36962570666824443672014-06-08T18:17:00.001+02:002014-06-08T19:23:10.930+02:00Books make great gifts because they have whole worlds inside of them. And it's much cheaper to buy somebody a book than it is to buy them the whole world! - Neil Gaiman<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
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</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I'm not really one for updates on my progress through a book. I don't like the pressure. The interruptions. And I don't really like commenting on anything when I don't have a full overview of it.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;">Still, I'm going to make an exception with Moby Dick as I'm taking part in this <a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/books-serve-to-show-man-that-those.html" target="_blank">readalong</a>. Which I'm actually enjoying. Thinking about everyone reading the same book at the same time. Somewhere in the world. It's ever so motivating.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;">And anyway it's quite a hefty book. Meaning if I waited till the end you wouldn't be hearing from me for another month. Or maybe two.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;">I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised by my initial experience of MD. It's been a fairly easy and enjoyable read thus far. Interesting. Quirky. Descriptive. Zippy.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;">The chapters are short which make the reading easy. You feel like you're moving along quite speedily. And this echoes the observations of our narrator, Ishmael, looking around, taking everything in.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">His descriptions are stunning. "<em>A gable-ended old house, one side palsied as it were, and leaning over sadly</em>." "<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em>Humming to himself in his heathenish way</em>." "</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em>I sat there in that now lonely room</em>."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">This suggests not only an </span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">observant man. But a sensitive, perceptive man. Open to be educated by the world around him instead of relying on his education to mould his view of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">And so begins my list of themes running through it: acceptance versus prejudice. Perception versus reality. Friendship and intimacy versus scorn and rejection. Tradition versus humanity.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Of course you can't escape the constant biblical references that litter this work. These may indeed be the point of the work? I will learn that in good time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">They begin with the names of the characters: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Ishmael = <em>God hears</em>. Abraham's son by Hagar. Sent away for disrespecting Isaac, the promised seed and Abraham's son by Sarah. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Peleg = <em>Division</em>. In the line from Shem to Abraham.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Bildad = One of Job's three companions. A descendant of Shuah, the son of Abraham by Keturah.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Ahab = King of the northern kingdom of Israel. Married to a pagan wife, Jezebel.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Elijah = One of the foremost prophets of Israel. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The fiery sermon by Father Mapple Rose about Jonah and the whale then sets the tone</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">: Jonah disobeys God. God’s
reacts. "<em>And God had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah</em>."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">The woes pronounced by MP will, I feel, be significant
for the rest of the tale. But to what extent, I cannot say. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><o:p>All I can say is that it would appear that Melville is lamenting the state of mankind. "<em>It's a wicked world in all meridians</em>." "Bildad<em>... had come to the sage and sensible conclusion that a man's religion is one thing and this practical world quite another</em>." "<em>We good Presbyterian Christians should be charitable in these things and not think ourselves so superior to other mortals, pagans and what not…. Heaven have mercy on us all – Presbyterians and pagans alike – for we are all somehow dreadfully cracked and sadly need mending</em>."</o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">And so I continue. I've yet to meet Ahab. And methinks there are many adventures awaiting me as the <em>Pequod</em> sets sail...</span><br />
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</span>a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-57456482651779606332014-06-01T21:29:00.002+02:002014-06-01T21:29:50.268+02:00Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new after all - Abraham Lincoln
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've decided that I'm going to join a read-along. A whole new concept for me. And a whole new experience.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Being a somewhat solitary sort, I'm not sure how it'll all pan out. But I feel the need to jolt my reading into life after a few months of meandering. And stalling.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="http://roofbeamreader.com/2014/05/18/moby-dick-a-whale-of-a-read-along-sign-up-post/#comment-201671" target="_blank">Roof Beam Reader</a> has mounted the challenge to join him in reading Herman Melville's <em>Moby Dick</em>. Which is on my <a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/i-have-always-imagined-that-paradise.html" target="_blank">Classics Club Challenge</a>. Something I've well and truly neglected over the past few months.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">So I've signed up to join him. And quite a few others. To try and keep up. To start and finish MB between today and 15 July.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I know little about the book. Apart from the fact that it features a whale pursued by a man. And "Call me Ishmael". The opening words.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I will try to post my progress. Or lack of it. Regularly. Or just intermittently. I don't know how this will work. Or not.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">But stay with me. The adventure begins here...</span>a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-46682621144396571842014-05-26T19:58:00.001+02:002014-05-26T19:58:49.469+02:00There is no friend as loyal as a book - Ernest Hemingway<span style="font-family: Verdana;">And so to <a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/books-are-like-mirrors-if-fool-looks-in.html" target="_blank">Sense & Sensibility</a>. What can be said? That has not already been said a thousand times?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">It was a good book on which to end my revisiting of Austen's novels. It is somehow so familiar, so endearing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">There is the steady Elinor to take us through. The long-suffering, stoic Elinor. So put-upon, so faithful. There is so much to admire in this respectful, diligent young lady. And yet few would admire her alongside the prettier, livelier Marianne.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">She is abused by so many: a mother most puerile in her wants and actions; a sister almost indifferent to the world around her; the Jennings, the Ferrars; her brother, her lover, her lover's lover. And often the reader. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">But I think we can all only rejoice at the vision of her happiness and emotional fulfilment at the close of the curtains.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">This is a story we love to see on the screen. And although generally faithful, I often wonder at the need to embellish an already richly dramatic tale. Love and loss. Money and poverty. The intricacies and snobberies of class and social standing. Marianne's hysteria; Lucy's uncouthness. Willoughby's selfishness; the Jennings' crassness; the Dashwood's pomposity. Elinor and Colonel Brandon's selflessness. What more could you possibly ask for?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">And so, that's all the Austen novels done. This time round. Read but not forgotten. There is a reason Jane Austen is hailed as one of the great novelists and held in such high esteem. And it's not just the tales she tells. Her inimitable way of seeing the world leaves a mark. Her quirky study of human nature. The beauty of her word use and composition. It all marks and stays with you like a warm mug of hot chocolate on an icy cold day. It is truly delightful and the ultimate feeling you would hope to get from the best hours of reading.</span>a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-64223499308673793592014-05-16T23:59:00.002+02:002014-05-17T00:08:42.303+02:00Books are like mirrors: if a fool looks in, you cannot expect a genius to look out - J. K. Rowling<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Since my last post, many things have happened. Good and mediocre. But thankfully nothing bad. One of the more exciting things was watching a foal being born. But that's another story and another <a href="http://moncalling.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/travel-brings-wisdom-only-to-wise-it.html" target="_blank">blog</a>...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;">On the literary front, I have now finished <em>Sense & Sensibility</em>, and thus have completed my return journey through the Austen novels. And it has been truly delightful. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;">Even more exciting is that my blog has reached and passed 10,000 page views. Yey!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;">But back to Austen. And in particular, <em>Mansfield Park</em>. Following such an enjoyable <a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.fr/2014/03/you-can-never-get-cup-of-tea-large.html" target="_blank">read</a>, I allowed myself to indulge in some light refreshment and took out the DVD interpretations. On a whim. And against my better judgement.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;">Now I won't dwell on this too much as I inflicted both productions on myself. And in fairness, although Billie Piper didn't strike me as Fanny Price material, at least the ITV version attempted to respect the novel. Dialogue came from the pages of Austen's work, even if it was not attributed to the characters she penned it from. And the overall story was conveyed. In general.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;">The 1999 film of the same name conveys the overall story even more generally. And from quite a distance may vaguely be associated with Austen's text. If you look really hard. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;">Call me a purist but I expect to see the book if I watch a film of the same name. Or at least elements of the book. And certainly the main protagonists. Fanny Price was conspicuously absent from the film. Replaced by a feisty young writer who was uncannily like Ms Austen herself in character... </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;">But I will say no more. Each to their own. And this was not close to mine. It will be my endeavour to one day pen a script of my own of <em>Mansfield Park</em>. Just for the pure delight. And to see just how difficult it really is.</span></span>a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-49175245161249598822014-03-30T20:55:00.003+02:002014-03-30T21:55:06.560+02:00You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me - C.S. Lewis<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was a beautiful day today, but I couldn't get myself outside before finishing Mansfield Park. It was a long read but an excellent one.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It surprises me somehow. I think I may have been brainwashed over the years into believing Pride & Prejudice and Sense & Sensibility to be the best of Austen's works. I have thus been pleasantly surprised re-reading both MP and </span><a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/many-people-myself-among-them-feel.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Persuasion</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To be sure, MP is far more intense than any of Austen's other works. And indeed lacks the interspersing of humour that make JA such an easy read. The only hint of the playful author comes through at the end, when she brings the story to a speedy conclusion to the satisfaction of all her favoured characters, ensuring another one of her eternal happy endings. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yet in its examination of feelings and class and of each one's place in the world, maybe MP is the closest of JA's works to real life: People scheming to marry well. Playing with the feelings of others. Each one's fate dependent on their wealth. Or lack of it. As such, the story hardly lends itself to humour. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As is so well seen in the case of Fanny Price. MP follows the life and loves of FP. Living in a world and family she has not been born into. Incessantly apologetic and woefully conscious of her indebtedness to the Bertrams. Awkward and uncomfortable amongst her cousins. Cowering under the constant bullying of Mrs Norris. Wilting under scrutiny.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All of which the reader feels particularly, party as they are to each of FP's feelings. Insightful and overwhelming as they are. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fanny's sensitivity, her uncommon humility and her particularly feeble health are offset by her kindness, discretion and discernment. And stand in stark contrast to the hardness of her cousins and their friends. Their selfishness. Their vain pursuit of pleasures. Their complete disregard for the feelings of others and their duty to family.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mansfield Park is a strangely intense tale of hopes and dreams, both frivolous and serious. Almost a Cinderella-like tale, where the outer beauty of the privileged daughters gives way to the inner beauty of the book's steadfast, principled yet insecure heroine. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think that Fanny may not be the most loved of Austen's chief protagonists. But I cannot dislike her. Indeed I love to admire the romance that sees a character with so little to recommend her, remain the heroine to the end. It gives me hope...</span>a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-15229855255534879002014-02-11T23:11:00.003+01:002014-02-11T23:12:46.357+01:00Many people, myself among them, feel better at the mere sight of a book - Jane Smiley<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I continue to be a very slow reader. And as I have lacked the imagination of late to invent other reasons to write, I have needed to finish another book before returning here. Although I have been </span><a href="http://moncalling.blogspot.fr/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">elsewhere</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But here I am. A month after my last post. Not very productive methinks. How do people read two or three books a week? I don't care to be pressured by the activity of others. All the same...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Still I am happy to share my thoughts on Jane Austen's <em>Persuasion</em>. Which I have just now finished. For all my thoughts are happy ones. In spite of the fact that this was the book of Austen's that I least wanted to read. The least appealing. The most grim. In my memory, at least. And yet I found it one of the most satisfying. On so many levels.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The tale of Anne Elliot and her lost love, Captain Frederick Wentworth, is perhaps not as invigorating as JA's other novels. And littered with accidents, death and deception, it is also perhaps not the lightest and brightest of her stories.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yet for me Anne Elliot is one of JA's most endearing characters. The most deeply developed, least frivolous. She is reflective, principled. Gentle. Discerning. And well read. She is discreet and put upon. Despised and loved. And she neither bursts forth youth nor beauty. Thus she is charming through her very nature, which is always to me the best of charms.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Captain Wentworth for his part is the devoted, dejected lover. Angry and spurned. Yet unable to stay far from his love any longer. His letter admitting his feelings and pronouncing his intentions is stunning. In that moment, he beats any of JA's lovers for me. So manly, so emotive. Sooooo romantic.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The characters are perhaps not as lively, not as immediately appealing as say an Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy, an Emma and Mr Knightley. But their feelings, love and attachment seem deeper, more passionate, more real for their durability. The romance intensified for its duration. And therefore the whole effect is more. Just more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was eager to finish <em>Persuasion</em>, and equally sad to arrive at the end. Always the sign of a good read for me. And so I will pursue Austen to the finish. <em>Mansfield Park</em> to be followed by <em>Sense and Sensibility</em>. I will try to pop by more frequently in between reads with some intelligible musings. But make no promises. On either regard...</span>a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-5428548482194197602014-01-19T20:21:00.000+01:002014-01-19T20:22:24.523+01:00Sleep is good, he said, And books are better - George R R Martin<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since starting my new job, I've had little time to sit and relax online. Or to do anything much else either, if I'm honest. Still, reviews by my fellow bloggers of their exploits during 2013 have not escaped my notice. Much to my chagrin. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">My proud boast of having read <a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/there-are-two-motives-for-reading-book.html" target="_blank">30</a> or so books last year now leaves me somewhat red-faced. I think I must be a laughing stock in the book blogging world where everyone seems to manage at least 80 or so books in 12 months. At least. And that, it would seem, is not always a good year. I can only be left wondering how they do it. Any hints, advice or explanations would be welcome.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">In the meantime, I press on with Jane Austen. My latest re-read has been <em>Northanger Abbey</em>. Never one of my favourites. An opinion which remains unchanged.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">It's a sweet enough tale. But not a page-turner for me. Possibly because I have little sympathy with the heroine, Catherine Morland. She's a tad wet for my liking. Her mind is weak, her judgment obtuse. JA usually can be relied on for much better.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Still, I find the author's voice as entertaining as ever. Note her remarks on dressing to impress. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">"<em>Dress is at all times a frivolous distinction</em>", she warns, because men remain insensible to the new clothes women take so much time over in order to impress them. She continues: "</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><em>It would be mortifying to the feelings of many ladies, could they be made to understand how little the heart of man is affected by what is costly or new in their attire... woman is fine for her own satisfaction alone. No man will admire her more, no woman will like her the better for it. Neatness and fashion are enough for the former, and a something of shabbiness or impropriety will be most endearing to the latter</em>".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">With regard to the mortification Catherine feels in her inability to understand a conversation with the Tilneys, the author chides: "(It was) <em>a misplaced shame. Where people wish to attach, they should always be ignorant. To come with a well-informed mind is to come with an inability of administering to the vanity of others which a sensible person would always wish to avoid. A woman especially, if she have the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well she can"</em>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Is that a tad harsh, I wonder? I'm not altogether sure. But they may be arguments I adopt in the future. To explain away anything. And everything. I have the misfortune of knowing something... </span>a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-10165269511774103782014-01-03T23:55:00.001+01:002014-01-03T23:55:19.977+01:00That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you to another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's geometrically progressive - all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment - Mary Ann Shaffer <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Despite my recent reservations, I continue to indulgence myself. And have just finished <em>Pride & Prejudice</em>. Accompanied by a whole lot of Galaxy chocolate. Although the less said about that, the better.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">P&P was totally delightful. As was to be expected. And all the more so as it comforted me through a dreadful 1 January 2014 of gales and torrential rain. Charming, romantic, funny. And featuring Mr Darcy. All in one. Who could ask for anything more?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Austen's musings on love and lovers cannot be anything less than delightful. With Charlotte's apparent cynicism, Mary's stoic pronunciations and Lizzie's carefree - and at times careless - commentaries. It has everything to please.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Silly characters abound, for sure, in both female and male form. And in all levels of society. But this gives all the more grace and elegance to the main characters and their stories.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I admit that I do tend to find Jane and Mr Bingley's tales a tad insipid. Still the fiery misunderstandings and prideful foot-stamping of Lizzie and Mr Darcy more than compensate. Two characters ultimately so alike. Both big fish in their own spheres. Both outspoken and admired. Both despising inferior minds and inferior behaviour.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The collision of these two worlds, and the resulting indiscretions, provide great entertainment and admirable romance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Re-reading it after so many years, I realised how faithful was/is the BBC's rendering of the novel. Apart from the licence taken to have </span><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Mr Darcy dive into a lake after his long ride home from London. But who am I to quibble on such minor additions. Inspired as they are.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The BBC can usually be relied on to make both faithful and truly entertaining interpretations of most writings. However, I must inscribe here my great disliking of its recent production of Emma. I hasten to add that my love for the novel renders me a tad unyielding in such matters. And that having seen most of the productions in her name, I am not best enamoured by any of them. There would seem to be a wilful desire to misrepresent her (as I read her). Instead of a self-important, cheeky but loving daughter, she is portrayed as a selfish, almost spiteful and emotionally-stunted, manipulative girl, mocking and belittling her father amongst others.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No, no, no. Only the 1996 version starring Kate Beckinsale comes close to holding a balance of the contradictions that are Emma. Her silliness and sincerity. Self-importance and attention to duty. Propriety and indiscretions. The scenes of her reveries help us to laugh both at and with her. And thus we have enough sympathy to like her in the end, and rejoice with her in her happiness.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't say it's a perfect version, by any means. But it is the only one I can tolerate. Intolerant as I am. :0(</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Amidst the novels and screen versions of them, I'm beginning to feel trapped in JA. Not unpleasant in itself. But I do wonder if I should not move on to another author. It's not like there aren't others (and lists of them) waiting to be read by me. Still why change a winning formula. I'm finishing books again. What to do, what to do...</span>a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-25742830678660162722013-12-31T22:38:00.005+01:002013-12-31T22:38:59.731+01:00There are two motives for reading a book; one, that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it - Bertrand Russell<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's the end of another year. How did that happen? And s</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">o much has happened this past year. Not least my move from one country to another. I am now happily installed in my new home, waiting to start my new job. And before I look ahead, I just have to take a little peek backwards. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I particularly lament my lack of reading these past few months. The move seems to have disturbed my momentum and killed my ability to finish books. A phenomenon which will be reversed the more I settle, methinks. Me hopes...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Still, overall, I have made my way through a delightfully diverse and not-so-shabby list of books over the past twelve months. From children's books to classics. Europeans to Americans. And a couple of re-reads thrown in for good measure.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The highlights for me have been many. Finally discovering <a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/outside-of-dog-book-is-mans-best-friend.html" target="_blank">Roald Dahl</a> and <a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/make-it-rule-never-to-give-child-book.html" target="_blank">Pooh Bear</a>. Not disliking <a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/what-she-was-finding-also-was-how-one.html" target="_blank">Dickens</a>. Loving <a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/there-is-no-mistaking-real-book-when.html" target="_blank">Waugh</a>, <a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/fiction-reveals-truth-that-reality.html" target="_blank">Nathaniel Hawthorne</a>, <a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/a-book-is-only-place-in-which-you-can.html" target="_blank">Tolstoy</a> and <a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/its-not-that-i-dont-like-people-its.html" target="_blank">Virgil</a>. Re-acquainting myself with <em><a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/he-that-loves-book-will-never-want.html" target="_blank">Emma</a></em> and <em><a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/always-read-something-that-will-make.html" target="_blank">Le Petit Prince</a></em>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Disappointments have also been part of the journey. Realising that I really don't like <a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/everything-in-world-exists-in-order-to.html" target="_blank">Virginia Woolf</a>. Finding <a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/the-reading-of-all-good-books-is-like.html" target="_blank">Joyce</a> hard going. Being unable to finish <a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/make-it-rule-never-to-give-child-book.html" target="_blank">Kundera</a> and <a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2013_11_01_archive.html" target="_blank">Gabriel Garcia Marquez</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">My absolute favourites of the year? Hardy's <em><a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/the-things-i-want-to-know-are-in-books.html" target="_blank">A Mere Interlude</a></em>, Hawthorne's <em><a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/fiction-reveals-truth-that-reality.html" target="_blank">The Scarlet Letter</a></em> and Waugh's <em><a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/there-is-no-mistaking-real-book-when.html" target="_blank">Brideshead Revisited</a></em>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">In total, I managed roughly 30 books this year. I'd like to improve on that during 2014. However, I put no pressure on myself. Some of those names remaining on my <a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/i-have-always-imagined-that-paradise.html" target="_blank">Classics Club Challenge</a> are quite chunky. And, as I said, I'm just not on top of my reading at the mo. Let's see what happens, eh. And enjoy. :0)</span>a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-2894967574410104532013-12-19T23:54:00.000+01:002013-12-19T23:54:03.609+01:00He that loves a book will never want a faithful friend, a wholesome counselor, a cheerful companion, an effectual comforter. By study, by reading, by thinking, one may innocently divert and pleasantly entertain himself, as in all weathers, as in all fortunes - R H Barrow<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I finally finished <em><a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/the-person-be-it-gentleman-or-lady-who.html" target="_blank">Emma</a>. </em>And in her company thoroughly enjoyed my Sunday afternoon of rain and gales. The storms outside tamed by the gentle ambling of the inhabitants of Highbury. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">It really was a pleasant read. With all the reminders of why Jane Austen's works remain timeless classics. Easy reading. Charming characters. And enough twists and turns to ensure a healthy - and amusing - mental constitutional.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Before we began our study of <em>Emma</em> for A level, my English teacher gave us a very severe warning. You will love it or hate it. The marmite of English literature, it would seem. A warning well founded. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Emma cannot be considered an entirely lovable character. She is wealthy, beautiful and intelligent. Added to which she is spoilt, revered and headstrong. Hardly a person to insight sympathy. And yet I cannot dislike her. Never have and apparently never will.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Austen herself it seems did not dislike her either. Indeed, she is credited with declaring that in Emma she was creating a character that only <em>she</em> would like. You can almost feel her presence hovering protectively over her favoured protagonist. Explaining her misdeeds. Excusing her silliness.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">"Vanity working on a weak head, produces every sort of mischief", she muses. The warning is clear. Although the application not quite so. Isn't Harriet Smith the weak head? Worked on with vanity by Emma? Indeed it is so. Yet Emma is by no means immune to the effects of vanity. And in doing so, shows her weakness. And the result? Only ever <em>mischief, </em>says Austen. Never malicious.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Austen also works through the delightful Mr Knightley to show Emma's humanity and personableness. How masterfully he rebuffs her puerile meddlings and fertile imagination. "Better be without sense, than misapply it as you do". Her stoic acceptance of such discipline and put-downs must give evidence of a good heart. Indeed, her entire conduct towards her troublesome father shows her worth.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">So the read was a pleasant one and has given me a taste for the rest of Austen. Now that I have found a job (hurrah!), I feel that I can indulge this taste. Although re-reading such classics really does feel like too much of an indulgence. Like time ill spent when there are so many other books waiting for my attention. Can I indulge guilt free? Mmm. We shall see...</span>a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-81005860224733777372013-12-08T17:02:00.002+01:002013-12-08T20:09:37.055+01:00The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid - Jane Austen<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It seems inconceivable that a month has passed since my last post. And without my having finished a book. Not one. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Indeed, since my last post, I have barely advanced through <em>Emma</em>. Or <em>One hundred years of solitude </em>for that matter. So much for "working through Austen's novels over the next couple of <a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/no-person-who-can-read-is-ever.html" target="_blank">weeks</a>". Still, my settling in has continued. I am now settled. And in.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Only germs these past three days have made me stop and stay at home. And read again. Hence I feel that I can post without shame. That said, I still haven't finished <em>Emma</em>. Speed is beyond me. And it suddenly seems to be a very long novel. Was it ever so?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">That's one more thing about reading on Kindles. It's fine having a percentage gauging your way through. But it's nothing like <em>seeing</em> how far through a book you are. And how far you've got to go. Like carefully placing your bookmark, and flicking through the remaining pages to the end. Not reading, just savouring what's gone before and what is to come.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Yet my reproach is harsh and fleeting. My dear Kindle is in fact ideal. When you're feeling pants, and want to lie down on the sofa and read. When you feel colder than normal because of the germs coursing through your veins and so want to keep as much of your body as possible under the quilt. When your cats have cuddled up to sleep on your belly and your feet, and you can't move without waking them. Then my dear Kindle is indeed ideal. Only one hand needs to be exposed because only one hand is needed to hold it and turn the pages. No need to expose two hands. No need to move and disturb me or the cats. No need to fret. Oh yes. I still love my Kindle dearly.</span>a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-46161779256224285782013-11-04T15:14:00.000+01:002013-11-04T15:14:01.953+01:00No person who can read is ever successful at cleaning out an attic - Ann Landers
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I’ve finally arrived
home. To my hometown. I’m installed in my new flat with my cats, waiting for my
furniture to arrive. And the rest of my life to begin.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Those of you who might
still be popping by regularly (thank you!) may well have noticed a lack of activity on
this blog. But lack of activity here belies a great deal of activity elsewhere. Indeed I
have been so very active over the past couple of months. To the point of exhaustion. I resigned, packed up and came home. And that was more work than you can imagine.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">So I've been active in moving. Just not in reading
matters. </span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Consequently, my books
have been somewhat neglected. Then packed away. Then sent off. And thus
my reading activities have more than stalled. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I did keep my Gabriel Garcia
Marquez read out. <em>One hundred years of solitude</em>. Indeed, I took it with me everywhere over the past two months. On the bus, on the tram. To
the dentist’s, optician’s, doctor’s, physio’s. Even to
the vet’s. But there were too many distractions. Too many check lists to check and
check again. Too many phone calls to make. People to see.
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And so<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I </span>have still only read a quarter of the book.
And, I do have to say, not much enjoyed that. Is it me? I'm just not enjoying the tales. The ramblings. I think it’s possibly not the
book to read while repatriating yourself. Or maybe just not the book for me. We shall see.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So in the meantime I've opted to re-read
<em>Emma</em>. For familiarity. For comfort.
And loving it. Again. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I may continue in the
same vain and work through Austen’s novels over the next couple of weeks as my
settling in process continues. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I will get back on track –
and back to my Classics challenge – once on more stable ground. In the
meantime, JA will soothe me through these turbulent days. In which I am
actually delighting...</span></span>a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-760428944960883572013-09-18T21:38:00.002+02:002013-09-18T21:42:21.906+02:00A house without books is like a room without windows - Heinrich Mann<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Way back when I started this blog, I wrote about <em>The Descendants</em>. One of three books that featured in my <a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.fr/2012/04/read-in-order-to-live-gustave-flaubert.html" target="_blank">first post</a>, methinks. When I was still in incredible pain. Trying to ease my days with good reading.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">And good reading this was. A strangely traumatic and yet very probable story. Really enjoyable. Beautifully written. Intelligently put together. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I mused at the time that I was curious to see the film. Because George Clooney was playing the lead. And only for that reason. Sad but true. I'm rarely curious to see the film of the book.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Since that time, the DVD of <em>The Descendants</em> has been high on the list in my DVD-by-post club. And I've been waiting and waiting to see it. And waiting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Until this last week. When I ended my membership of the DVD club because of my move back to the UK. I'm ending all memberships here. Standing orders, contracts, the lot. But the membership department of the DVD club apparently has not yet communicated with the dispatch department. And the latter sent me my regular batch of DVDs. Including the long-awaited <em>The Descendants</em>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">So yesterday afternoon, instead of working through the huge list of things I have to get done before I leave, I sat with chocolate and orange juice (a most sublime combination, I might add) and indulged myself with the film. It was bliss. The day was grey and wet, and deserving of little else. My bliss was complete.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">On top of which, this is a really good interpretation of the book. Now I know that I'm a bit late in this observation. There have been awards and nominations to prove the fact. Still, I feel the need to add my voice. It was the book that I remembered. It echoed the ambiance that I had felt. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">And George. Well, he was good. More than that. He was very good. He was how you always hope he will be. Delightful. Really. I may have to watch it again before sending it back... </span>a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-77928416128274819142013-09-10T21:43:00.004+02:002013-09-10T21:43:44.775+02:00We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel... is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become - Ursula Le Guin
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am so very tired. Drained, in fact. Drained of energy, emotion. Everything. Much to do with the fact I'm moving. House. Home. Country. But that's another story. And another </span><a href="http://moncalling.blogspot.fr/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">blog</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, that's not all. I've just been to Paris with work for a meeting. A long journey to my favourite city. But without the fun. The visits, the photos, the cafés. This was a straight there and back. With only tantalising glimpses of the architect and monuments and museums through taxi Windows to feed my frustration.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Top this with the intensive reading of Doris Lessing's <em>The Good Terrorist</em> during the journey. Pushed by the desire to finish it. And be done. Which I did. And have done. Kind of. Because as much as I love DL's easy, expressive, intimate style, this tale was hard to shake. It pulls you in. As much as you may resist. And I did.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em>TGT</em> follows Alice, a 30-something middle class drop-out, moving into a London squat with fellow revolutionaries. Without comment or judgement, DL tells of the interactions of Alice with the man she loves, her fellow housemates, her family and the Authorities. Underlying the whole is a sizzling anger and violence that will ultimately find expression.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is a bleak tale. Full of broken people seeing a broken society. And nobody knowing truly how to fix it. Except by breaking it some more.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Alice epitomises the confusion. Vehemently rejecting her parents' world of so-called luxury, she spends the entire book trying to bring order and comfort to the squat. Through little "luxuries". She yearns for a man who has moved on from her. And, it would seem, her sex. And thus openly rejects her. She rails at the injustices and abuse of the ruling classes and yet imposes her own injustices and abuse on her family.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And while at first you sympathise with this vulnerable girl who would seem to be a victim, as the book goes on, Alice's unstable mind is only oppressive and disturbing and its ramblings become more clearly incoherent. DL said of her: "the girl is of course quite mad. This confirms what I have said so often in this context: if a mad person is in a political setting, or a religious one, a lot of people won't even notice he or she is mad. A theme for our times, indeed". Indeed, some more.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So now I'm drinking cider and hugging my cats. Trying to shake off the bleakness. And I'm already feeling better. And wondering which book will be next from my </span><a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.fr/2013/02/i-have-always-imagined-that-paradise.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Classics Club challenge</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> list. I think I need something light and airy. Just not seeing anything... Any suggestions?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span>a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-11347144857404454382013-08-31T20:07:00.000+02:002013-08-31T21:06:52.735+02:00So many books, so little time - Frank Zappa<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I need help. Your help. Somebody's help. I am oppressed. Under a heavy burden. Well, not that heavy. But oppressive, yes. And all in the form of one of my favourite authors. Milan Kundera.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">It is of course not his fault. But his book of essays, <em>Les Testaments trahis,</em> is weighing heavily on me. Killing my spirit. Softly but surely. I can't finish it. I'm halfway through and now I'm blocked. I can't let it go. But I can't carry on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You may recall that I started it back in <a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.fr/2013/05/make-it-rule-never-to-give-child-book.html" target="_blank">May</a>. With great gusto and enthusiasm, I might add. But maybe my tired brain is not up to this intellectual challenge. His undulating and mesmerising thought processes. And so I put it back on the shelf. Away from sight. And it's been hanging over me ever since. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can't throw it aside never to read again. Although deep down in the darkest recesses of my being that's what I'd like to do. If I'm honest. Between me and you. But I seem incapable. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">What is wrong with me? Held to ransom by a book! </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have <a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.fr/2012/04/never-read-book-through-merely-because.html" target="_blank">posted</a> about this before. I thought I had made a step forward at that point. But no. It would seem that it was one step forward, two steps back...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">And so, MK and his <em>Testaments trahis</em> remain </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">on my <a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.fr/2013_02_01_archive.html" target="_blank">Classics Club challenge</a> list. Until I can be brave enough to remove them. If ever I can. Help me. Any advice would be welcome. Please...?</span><br />
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a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-18889724099673695572013-08-21T22:57:00.001+02:002013-08-21T23:00:43.068+02:00A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us - Franz Kafka<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wow! It's been such a long while since I last wrote. Holidays and visitors and projects have filled my time. As have vineyards and wine and photography. As well as good food and truffle-tasting. All of which were very pleasant, I might add. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As you can see for yourselves: <a href="http://www.moonflowersnserendipity.com/Travel/Burgundy/31226211_mFt4nB#!i=2702253428&k=fsTvDsb" target="_blank">http://www.moonflowersnserendipity.com/Travel/Burgundy/31226211_mFt4nB#!i=2702253428&k=fsTvDsb</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">But it's time to come back to earth and get on with life. Even reluctantly. And so to books...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Well, not much has been going on there. I did take books with me on my travels. And they were comforting to behold. Still, they never stayed out of the bag for too long.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">These were hot, steamy, summer days. When we stopped, we slept. Basically because we didn't have the energy to do otherwise. When we moved, we were eating and drinking and tasting. And generally perspiring profusely. Conditions not conducive to books and paper and concentration.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Before I left, at the start of my time off work, I did read <em>James and the Giant Peach</em>. Just because nothing else would go in. And I really, really needed a frivolous tale and a happy ending. To which James answered perfectly. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">But on my return home, Sylvia Plath was waiting for me. <em>The Bell Jar</em>. Not exactly holiday reading, of course. And certainly n</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">ot the happiest of books. But then mental health issues are not meant to bring happiness methinks. Just possibly understanding. And a little of that would go a long way today...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">TBJ makes for a powerful read. More shocking than anything. Scary too. Although unfortunately not totally unfamiliar. SP describes with frightening clarity the pain of a soul in torment. A soul misunderstood, losing control. Lost. Esther Greenwood - whose spends a year "in the bell jar" - presents her case without pomp or ceremony. Taking you along with her. And making no apologies for the bumps and discomfort that follow. Offering little explanation. Barely bewailing her fate. Just giving you the experience. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Esther increasingly isolates herself as her tale unfolds. Rejects all help, affection and love to the extent possible. And thereby the bell jar descends. You can really feel this odd sense of distance permeating her account. Distance from others, from reality, from the life she is attempting to get to grips with. Other people remain very much in the background of her existence. Her family. Her friends. Her colleagues, sponsors. Surrounding her. Part of her life. Yet cut off from her by her own inability to function. That said, their </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">pain and frustration remain tangible somehow. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The end brings little joy. The worst seems to have past, but there's little to convince that this is truly so. And yet such is life. For some more than others. One long struggle after another. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I read that this book was very much a shock to audiences when it first came out. Possibly because such things weren't talked about, or even imagined, in those days. Possibly because they were just hidden away. Today, I think it may be less shocking, but the whole remains equally uncomfortable. And sad. Just sad.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">This was certainly a strange note on which to end my holidays. Of the reality of life. And its ups and downs. And why it's so very important to hold on tight to those ups. And all those who bring them...</span><br />
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a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-35666297449328262032013-07-25T22:08:00.002+02:002013-07-26T21:09:29.744+02:00There is no mistaking a real book when one meets it. It is like falling in love - Christopher Morley<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I have just finished Evelyn Waugh’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Brideshead Revisited</i>. Just this minute. This
very second. I wanted to share it with you. But also to hold onto it a tad longer
by writing about it immediately. And yet the moment is already slipping away…</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">This was the absolutely perfect book to read at the
start of my holidays. A luxurious, indulgent read to soften the edges of a
harsh year. And relax me into the next few weeks. Beautiful people a world away
from anything I’ve ever known. And yet troubled by the same dilemmas and
disturbances of any other existence. Sometimes in gigantic proportions. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I actually bought this copy of BR way back in the 1980s or thereabouts. I believe I’ve tried to read it before, but never got into it. I can’t think why. It’s a warn, yellowing book now. Featuring a young Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews on the cover in stills from the Granada TV adaptation. Which I vaguely recall. For the attractive young men, rather than for the story methinks. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Through the eyes of Charles Ryder, Waugh recounts
the adventures – if they can thus be called – centring around Brideshead,
seat of Lord Marchmain and his family. An odd, dysfunctional group.
Although engaging all the same. CR is charmed as much as he is disarmed by them. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The story begins at Oxford University. CR
encounters the youngest family son, Sebastian who is already manifesting traits of a troubled mind. After much circling around, Sebastian reluctantly leads him back to Brideshead. And CR is
sucked into the family and their ways. From England and across Europe to
North Africa.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It’s interesting – or just telling – that there are
no simple, ordinary and problem-free people in BR. None. Characters sit at
extremes: sly, mean, devious and crooked; lonely, sad, despairing and
desperate. Manipulative. Emotional. Stifled.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">And around all this hangs in the air like incense
Roman Catholicism. To believe or not to believe. The rights and the wrongs of this Church. Its traditions and beliefs. And
ultimately the idea that you’ll give in in the end. They all do.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Re-reading my immediate thoughts, I can’t imagine
why I liked the book. I’m not making it sound very inviting. And yet there is the
power of Evelyn Waugh. He has such a majestic way of writing. A mastery of
language.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A smooth,
engaging manner. Much like rich, dark chocolate that’s been melted. A delight
to admire, a temptation impossible to resist, richness beyond belief. Waugh challenges
ideas, argues points, and presents genuinely unpleasant character traits in the
most inoffensive, leisurely tones. Dripping indulgence. Delightful.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I
have just seen that there was a film made in 2008. I might have to see it. I’m
loathe to let the BR feeling go. I wanted to finish, and yet so didn’t. That
rare joy loitering in the pages of a good book. Indulging in the indulgence. What
to do now? Where to go? I may need a glass of wine or two to help me move on…</span></div>
a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-20192857253811881372013-07-15T22:30:00.001+02:002013-07-25T22:30:57.324+02:00A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge - George R. R. Martin<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can't seem to do anything too much of late. I'm thinking it may be the sunshine and heat. Lazy days. Lulling us into a haze of inactivity. Maybe it's the inevitable slump after the over-excitement of watching the recent successful sporting events. Maybe it's just the end of a long six months...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I managed some (belated) spring cleaning last week. Although my back still hurts and I (somehow, once again) wrenched my (already damaged) shoulder. Ouch.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">My brain seems to have switched off though. Left the building. Gone off without me. And yet things still need to be done. Lists of things. I'm still at work. Not yet on holiday. Tasks need to be completed. Here and there. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">There has been one achievement though. Just the one. Merrily being ticked off my list as I write. I finished <em>Eugene Onegin</em>. Pushkin. A life-size, drum-roll kind of an achievement, my friends. A novel in verse. A tragic poem. Read from start to finish. And enjoyed, into the bargain.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Indeed, a few lines in and I forgot that this was poetry. I was drawn in, pulled along by the tale and the characters. Wondering, imagining. Worrying and anxious. I think this is a good sign. I will certainly try more poetry. Of length. In the future. Some time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">For now, I'm satisfied. Although the tale was sad. Romance and tragedy inexplicably and irresistibly intertwined. Once again. Love and tears, life and death. It seems to be the only way.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I have the ambition of one day reading Pushkin in his native tongue. Possibly not <em>EO</em>, but something all the same. In the meantime, how grateful can we be to all the translators out there and the massive job they have to convey great literature to us not only in a tongue we can understand but in a manner we can appreciate? And in this particular case of <em>EO</em>, it's just </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">all the more impressive. Not only did Stanley Mitchell have to convey the Russian into English. He had to do it in verse. Incredible. Mind blowing. And to do it so well. In my humble opinion. Although I have, of course, very little to compare it with. I'm sure my few words of praise would have little effect on him. Still, to all intents and purposes, it felt right. Thanks, Stan. You're the man.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">And that's all the rhyming you'll get from me. Which can only be a blessing...</span>a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-88860848167657357772013-07-10T00:35:00.000+02:002013-07-25T22:31:28.159+02:00After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world - Philip Pullman<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have read absolutely nothing of interest over the past few days. Nothing from my reading list. Nothing from my <em>non</em> reading lists. Nothing from my piles of organised <em>one day</em>, <em>holiday</em> or just plain <em>maybe</em> books. No trashy novels or the like. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I travelled. I was with friends. Inspired, upbuilt, encouraged. But I got nowhere close to reading something I could write about here.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Apart from tons of articles on Andy Murray. Wimbledon Champion 2013. They in themselves are words to delight. At least, to delight the hearts of tennis fans. Of British tennis fans. Of Andy Murray fans. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I cannot <em>not</em> mention it. After the Lions' win on Saturday, it was the cherry on the cake of a pretty cool weekend.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">A belated well done, Andy Murray! Not that you will ever hear my best wishes. But let those who pass by these pages know that you have rejoiced the hearts of the faithful. Thanks! :0)</span>a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-21073945465269582052013-06-25T22:22:00.001+02:002013-07-25T22:32:18.715+02:00A book is a gift you can open again and again – Garrison Keillor<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Things are not as they should be just now. My head is all over the place. Too much work. Too much stress and anxiety. Too much to do, too little time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The result? I have four books on the go. Yes, FOUR. Now that can’t be right, can it? I've never done this. I
don’t know where I’m at. My concentration is shorter than short. My decision-making is non existent.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And so I have four books on the go. My
endeavour to read </span><a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.fr/2013/05/make-it-rule-never-to-give-child-book.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Kundera’s essays</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> continues. It’s a tad hard
work. But not altogether unpleasant. Therefore, I persist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In
the meantime, I need to read for pleasure and so started <em>Eugene Onegin</em>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pushkin. A novel in verse. A strange experience. But enjoyable all the same. Which is more than a little surprising, I don't mind telling you. I’m not a big poetry fan. Much to my chagrin. I would <em>like</em> to be. But I'm just not. So this was to be a challenge. That it's enjoyable is a great bonus. And so I persist.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then
after my bout of extravagance on </span><a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.fr/2013/06/when-i-have-little-money-i-buy-books.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">eBay</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, a book arrived that I couldn’t wait to
delve into. Literally, couldn’t wait. I unwrapped it and began to read. <em>The Note Books of a Woman Alone</em>. A strangely intriguing title. And you know
my penchant for intriguing book titles. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The foreword in itself was stunning.
The reasons behind the collection and publication of these notes books. The
reasons having motivated an acquaintance of the woman alone in question. The
rest are the starkly honest thoughts and mental meanderings of this woman alone.
Along with snippets from authors, newspapers, novels, poems. Quotes and
passages obviously close to her heart. Making a somewhat melancholy
read. But so touching. I haven't finished it yet. But will. And so I persist here too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And finally
the fourth book: <em>Where the Sidewalk Ends</em>, by Shel Silverstein. During the </span><a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.fr/2013/05/a-reader-lives-thousand-lives-before-he.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Armchair BEA</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, a fellow book blogger recommended it to me. With gushing enthusiasm. Supported by comments from other book bloggers. I’d never even heard of it. So into my
Amazon basket it went. And somehow it slipped into my post box. And onto my knee.
And I started reading that yesterday... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Short poems. Yes, more poetry! Mainly for children, methinks. But delightfully written. Moral counsel. Cautionary tales. Childlike musings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
truly wonderful work. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em>H</em><em>ug o' war. I</em><em>t's dark in here. Early bird. Rain. One inch tall. Sick. The crocodile's toothache. Lester. N</em><em>o difference.</em> It reminds me somewhat of Hilaire Belloc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Compulsive reading. Sweet. Instructive. Funny. And so I persist.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But
this cannot continue. I’m divided. Pulled four ways. And that is never a happy
situation. But I have train journeys ahead. So I hope to get everything back
under control. Shortly. Soon. I hope.</span></div>
a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-4343998686738458062013-06-13T20:38:00.001+02:002013-07-25T22:33:04.406+02:00I cannot remember the books I've read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me - Ralph Waldo Emerson<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today is a bad day for
me. A painful anniversary. One that has marred many aspects of life in recent
years. And which keeps coming back. Year in, year out.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sometimes the only
thing to do when life is getting you down is to take refuge in books. To read. To learn. To force the
brain cells to contemplate something else, often something worse than you’re going
through. If only to get perspective.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And so came John
Hersey’s <em>Hiroshima</em>. And believe me, mentally walking through the aftermath of an atomic
bomb is a surprisingly effective perspective maker. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Written one year after
the bomb was dropped, Hersey follows the experiences of six survivors. And then
returns to them all 40 years later. To see if they’re still surviving. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is not just a
fascinating account of one of history’s world-changing events. But it’s
compelling reading. Devastating, frightening, shocking. On so many levels. There’s
nothing sordid or invasive here. And it’s certainly not sentimental. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These are real people, real lives. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Each tale adds to the
next. Indeed, the humanity in such inhumanity makes the whole real. Makes the
statistics real. Make the suffering and the death tolls mean something. They bring
the atrocities of dropping an atomic bomb to life. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And serve as a testimony to the resilience of
human beings.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I came across this
book through a course in speed reading. Would you believe. A course which I didn’t enjoy, I hasten to add. All the more so
because the flash of text from this book made me want to read more. And slowly.
Which of course was not the point.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To me, it's the kind of book that could be used really effectively to teach people about Hiroshima and its aftermath. To really help young and old capture the horror of the
final days of the war. To move teenagers to understand why we seemingly
incessantly point back to these world wars as so significant and shocking.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My anniversary is
indeed painful. But very personal to me and my family. The anniversary of
Hiroshima (and Nagasaki) should be painful to us all.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-48787904959733719602013-06-09T21:29:00.003+02:002013-07-25T22:34:19.385+02:00When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes - Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've spent the last three or four days buying new books. Well, old books actually. Very old books. Mainly first editions. But not very expensive ones. Just first editions of old books I like.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I say three or four days because I was buying on eBay. So the time frame was dictated to me. What fun, though! Finding the right book. Putting it in the basket. Waiting for the <em>time left</em> to tick by. Bidding. And winning. Or not. Sooo therapeutic. And then getting some seriously nice feedback. Into the bargain. (I'm a model eBayer, apparently!).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think this should be standard for all human interactions: find the right person to talk to, approach, engage. And get feedback. Wouldn't life be more fun? And more civil?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anyway, my spare cash is now spent and I must abandon eBay for a while once again. But awaiting receipt of the spoils is good too. And I now have so much more reading material to catch up on. Again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While I continue with Kundera's essays, I have in the meantime finished <em>The Sorrows of Young Werther</em> by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. In English, I hasten to add.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was always going to be inclined to like it as it's a tale told through letters. One of my favourite writing styles. And it was an easy read. Despite being Goethe. A big name with an equally big and intimidating reputation. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was charming. Endearing. Drawing you in by its expressiveness, its emotion. All so admirable. At least at first. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The story of a man deeply attracted to a woman. Beside himself with love and desire. Honourable at first. But which takes possession of him. And never lets go.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He is ready to do anything to be with her. Except step away when she is no longer available. When the admiration sours somewhat. He becomes a tad obsessive. And then very much so. Leading to his downfall. A long, drawn out affair. Coldly, indulgently dragged out for maximum effect. By him. On her. Sure indeed to stay with her - and her husband - forever. Sitting between them always.</span> </span><br />
<o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></o:p><br />
<o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The whole leaves you with a sour taste. As if you've just partaken of something unpleasant. Unwillingly. As though thrust upon you while trapped and unable to move away.</span></o:p><br />
<o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></o:p><br />
<o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Such is the skill of the author. Arousing sympathy, empathy for the main protagonist. Convincing you all is well. Convincing you he is a winner. Kind of. Eventually. Maybe. And then no. </span></o:p><br />
<o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></o:p><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p>Still, the warning hints abound: "</o:p><em>Human
kind is merely human, and that jot of rational sense that a man may possess is
of little or no avail once passion is raging and the bounds of human nature are
merely hemming him in</em>."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Goethe certainly champions emotions and our expressing them: "<em>The
only thing that makes Man’s life on earth essential and necessary is love</em>", but warns "<em>The
source of man’s contentment becomes the source of his misery</em>".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And so <em>Young Werther</em> was not the book to cheer me up. Although I didn't dislike it. Quite the contrary. But you understand my need for some eBay retail therapy? The worst is that I thought YW was on my </span><a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.fr/2013/02/i-have-always-imagined-that-paradise.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Classics Club challenge</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> list. It was but now isn't. Still, it would seem I don't have many cheery books on the list. <em>Hiroshima</em> is next. I sense more eBaying in the very near future. Let's hope my funds will hold out...</span> </span>a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-90253544495059287202013-06-03T20:13:00.003+02:002013-07-25T22:34:55.759+02:00Be awesome! Be a book nut! - Dr Seuss<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Armchair BEA topic for today: <strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">WRAP UP</span></strong></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So my
first Armchair BEA has ended. But it’s not over. The effects and experiences
will stay with me for a good while. And I hope the contacts made will grow and
develop.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It
has been an intense few days. I’ve learned such a lot. Mainly through the
experiences of others. And I don’t think I’ve ever read so many posts. Thanks
to everyone for sharing so freely!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
a lovely community of bloggers!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now
an apology: I don’t think I was a very good Cheerleader. Didn’t get round every
one of the posts assigned to me every day as requested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And planned. My excuse being that reading posts and making
worthwhile responses takes time. And I’m very slow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sorry if I failed to cheer you on. Here's a general "Yey" for one and all. To make up for any failings...</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now I
need to digest everything that I’ve learned, all the advice I’ve received
and the ideas that have come to me. Then see what I can do about it. Watch
this space!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks to the organisers for such a great event. And so that's all folks! Till next time...</span></div>
a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1649258800344563625.post-62526608167147150812013-06-01T10:18:00.002+02:002013-07-25T22:35:44.359+02:00There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all - Jacqueline Kennedy <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The
Armchair BEA topic for today: <strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">CHILDREN'S LITERATURE</span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I
wrote about </span><a href="http://abarmybookwormsittingontheshelf.blogspot.fr/2012/04/to-acquire-habit-of-reading-is-to.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">my favourite childhood books</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> fairly early on in my blogging life.
It seemed natural to explain my obsession with books. Only I can’t really
explain it. My parents weren’t readers. Not then. Mum came to books later. Dad still resists.
Nevertheless both my sister and I love books. And so now does my nephew.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can
remember buying my first <em>Mr Men</em> book (by Roger Hargreaves). It wasn’t my first book by any stretch of
the imagination. But I think it must be one of the first that I had a hand in
buying. That I was allowed to choose. And that feeling of satisfaction and pride
stayed with me. <em>Mr Small</em>. Loved it. Went back for more. All of them, in fact.
Indeed, became a tad obsessed with the <em>Mr Men</em>. But that’s another story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The
<em>Mr Men</em> however brought me my first audio recording. A single (record, 45 rpm) of
<em>Mr Happy</em> and <em>Mr Jelly</em>. Read by Arthur Lowe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How amazing is that?! I still have it. Don’t have a record player any
more though...</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can’t
write about children’s books with mentioning Enid Blyton. <em>Brer Rabbit</em>. <em>The
Naughtiest Girl</em>. <em>The Famous Five</em>. <em>The Secret Seven</em>. Today I still have <em>The
Enchanted Wood</em>, <em>The Folk of the Faraway Tree</em> and <em>The Magic Faraway Tree</em>.
Stunning tales. They transported me to another world. I wanted to be in that tree. To
climb on the visiting cloud to see which land was there today. To meet
Moon-Face, Silky, Saucepan. To make toffee and eat pop biscuits. To experience
the slippery slip, Dame Washalot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Those
tales influenced our play, our dreams. Our sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have stayed with me. I can still feel
the excitement of reading them. Talking about them with my best friend. The
hope that such wonderful worlds might exist. The desire to create them for
ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em>The
Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe</em>, C. S. Lewis:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember walking through the wardrobe with Lucy. Feeling past the musty coats till the crunch
beneath our feet turned to snow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crying so
hard when Aslan died that I couldn’t articulate and mum thought something awful
had happened to her daughter.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em>Swallows
and Amazons</em>, Arthur Ransome: sitting for hours in the abandoned boat in my best
friend’s garden. Planning sailing trips. Fending off pirates. Trying to whistle
and coo like owls (and btw never succeeding). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Making a survival kit. Just in case.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I
could go on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Books have shaped me since
I could read. Stimulated my imagination. Stirred desires and hopes and dreams. And
continue to do so. I can only be
grateful to all the authors then and now busily working to the benefit of us
all.</span> </span></span></div>
a barmy bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339352572459162587noreply@blogger.com6