Amazon exiles discussion

At school as a teenager I discovered Miss Baker’s (headmistress) Cupboard on the landing next to the one containing the skeleton. It was packed with all sorts of fiction, including lots of Russian stuff. I started with Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and Turgenev but really loved Chekov’s ‘Lady With The Dog’ which led me to the plays. I saw John Thaw at the Liverpool Playhouse in The Cherry Orchard.
Those were the days when I read everything I could lay my hands on - I’ve read 2 books this year. :-(

"Those were the days when I read everything I could lay my hands on..."

Same thing here Lez - by the age of 18 I chewed through heavy duty classics such as Dostoyevsky, Dickens, Romain Rolland, Balzac, lighter stuff as Hemingway, Dreiser plus loads of fluff like Stevenson, Mayne Raid, Jack London. Imagine didn't had any time left for serious studies at school.
Just loads of books and alcohol. I was over-read eejit out of touch with real life.
Nowadays you see what I read. ;0)
Oh, decided to get some stuff by William Faulkner. Any suggestions?

Sorry PS, all I can remember about Faulkner is not liking him! I know I started ‘The Reivers’ but found it really hard going and didn’t finish it.
I went through a phase of reading lots of American stuff, I don’t really know your tastes but I really enjoyed John Updike. I’ll have a think.
Val might have more ideas, she’s very well read and a lot younger than me ;-)

Not that much younger! And not that well-read either! Like you and Post, most of my serious reading was in my teens and 20s, although even then it was usually dipping my toes into a writer's body of work rather than reading everything - apart from Hardy. Nowadays my tastes are much more plebeian. And I tend not to like a lot of American writing - something about the grammar and sentence construction grates on me. An exception in recent times was James Michener's Tales of the South Pacific. I can't think of anything that might appeal to Post, sorry.

EDIT: I love nearly all of Graham Greene and Evelyn Waugh but not sure if they are Post's cuppa. Maybe as an adopted Irishman he'd enjoy Some Experiences of an Irish R.M. if he hasn't already read it and the follow-ups.

I read Updike's Rabbit, Run as a teen, enjoyed it. Not much remember though.
Also, regarding americans, read and reread Kurt Vonnegut and string of science fiction writers such as Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Clifford D Simak. Read all Stephen King stuff, I think his writing started deteriorating around 1994. His Dreamcatcher was my first book I read in original, took me a few months!

And thanks for suggestions, never heard of them.

Lately, biographies of musicians (oh serial killers recently), horror, esoteric (on Buddhism mostly), some classics (no Kafka, Proust yet), North Korea related...

Re Faulkner: I started reading The Sound and the Fury two years ago but only got about a third of the way through. I found the style quite affected and was confused by two characters having the same name. I understand that the style changes half-way through, though. PS, if you're looking for novels set in the deep south I would strongly recommend Carson McCullers, especially The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.

Thanks, Gordon!

Jerusalem - approaching end of book 2, and urging anyone with a love of immaculate literature to grab a read!
it's a history book
it's a geography book
it's a social commentary
it's a ghost story
it's a children's adventure
it's a love story
it's a true story
it's all lies
it's a family book
it's a testament to a place (the 'tin drum' of northampton)
it all takes place within a half square mile
it also takes place in the 4th dimension
it's a tale of ordinary madness

it's a mammoth book of towering genius, do yourself a favour

chris mcqueer's highly regarded 'hings' is going for 99p today, for kindle,

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hings-Chris-...

well, 'hings' was a huge disappointment, couldn't see what all the fuss and 5 star reviews were about. was about to commence book 3 of 'jerusalem' ('the vernall's inquest'), when i saw Blood and Guts in High School going for 99p on amazon kindle (back up to a fiver now), as i hadn't read it since 1984 - i have the paperback from then (with 2 other pieces) somewhere - very blunt and very raw, more than a touch of burroughs about it.

Something for Val:

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

Thanks Lez. You know me too well! I love Guy Pearce's acting although I never really watched Neighbours (my kids did for a while but they were more into Home & Away). We've just finished watching the latest six-part Jack Irish series (Series 4) - loved it! I especially enjoy the sub-plots - Harry, Cam and Cyn's involvement with country racing and the "Fitzroy Youth Club" - Eric, Wilbur and the late Norm who are rusted-on regulars at The Prince of Prussia pub. Coincidentally the series began with Jack contemplating fatherhood. I don't think I'll be seeking out the Netflix series - I'm not a fan of sci-fi or fantasy.

Guy Pearce had an album launch a few weeks back and I would love to have gone but Sunday evening didn't suit. I do have an earlier album of his and he has a very pleasant singing voice. Saw him singing a few years ago in a wonderful play "Poor Boy" put on by the Melbourne Theatre Company, with songs by Tim Finn.

An article in today’s Guardian by the great Clive James about his new book - an epic poem!
The River in the Sky: A Poem

https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

took receipt of a cheap and reasonably conditioned copy of Reggae: The Rough Guide from u.s., tho' the buggers failed to mention it was ex-library, but hey ho, mustn't grumble - been looking for a copy of the 1st edition for a while.

......which is very good, very thorough it it's assessment of mento, ska and rock steady. written by the man behind 'blood and fire' records' (one day i'll post my theory on why it went tits up!), the man knows his stuff.
reading two books at once (hardly ever happens - reading this at work, and 'jerusalem' at home). fed up of banging on about how good 'jerusalem' is, but i have to say that it probably is the best book i've ever read! i'll shut up now, but seriously, if you know what's good for you.......................................

I haven't read it myself but it certainly does have plenty of rave reviews, tech ;o> ... Jerusalem

can you imagine the sound of jabba the hutt laughing?

ho ho ho! ho ho ho!

(I'm giving you the chance to mention it yet again by correcting me ;o>)

ho ho ho! ho ho ho!

Well really? - you try and do a friend a good turn and all you get back is pre-Christmas Santa impressions?! ... you're wearing THAT Jumper again, aren't you?!! ;o>

suzysunshine7 wrote: "I haven't read it myself but it certainly does have plenty of rave reviews, tech ;o> ... Jerusalem"

tech replies: "ahhh no, suzy, although it's good guess though :) ... the book that I am referring to and heartily recommending is Jerusalem by Alan Moore

suzy answers: "Ohhh?! ... Jerusalem by Alan Moore

tech replies: "Yes, that's the one ... Jerusalem by Alan Moore

;o>

(And it had better be an extra-special gift off you this year, Santa! ;o>)

ye'll get a wee nu'hin' wi' a whistle on the end, an' like it! :)

that's what i'd often get told when soliciting for seasonal gifts!

HA HA HA HA HA!!! ;o>

A new Joy Division book will be out next year.

"Set for release in Spring of 2019, the new book by former NME Journalist Jon Savage, who wrote the iconic book on punk 'England’s Dreaming', comes with the blessing and contributions of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis’ widow, Deborah Curtis, along with his bandmates Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, and Bernard Sumner, plus Graphic Designer Peter Saville.

This extensive oral history of the iconic post-punk band is titled 'This Searing Light, the Sun and Everything Else: Joy Division – The Oral History', and will be released on March 7 2019 in the UK.

The book follows Savage’s 2007 documentary on the band, and compiles three decades of interviews with key figures from Manchester band’s legacy."

It's already being listed on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0...

At the dentist today I picked up a copy of The Reader's Digest (June 1918 Australian edition) and was taken by an article by Ben Blatt (synopsis below). It looks like my suspicions are accurate : a lot of popular authors can't write! I also suspect that most best-sellers have cookie-cutter plots (yes, "Girl On The Train", I mean you; also "Q & A" and many others). No wonder I'm often hearkening back to writers from earlier decades. I'm off to buy his book.

"According to the September 2017 issue of Reader’s Digest, bestsellers are indeed dumber. The article demonstrates that the language of the most popular novels today is much simpler than just a few decades ago.

Author Ben Blatt discusses this in his book "Nabokov's Favourite Word is Mauve" from which the article is taken. Blatt collected every digitized number one New York Times bestseller from 1960 to 2014 and ran the Flesch-Kincaid test on all 563 of them. His research maintains that most books meant for a general audience fall within the 4th to 11th grade range as do all of the bestsellers. In the 1960’s, the median book had a grade level of 8. Blatt’s research places today’s median grade level at 6. Interestingly, bestsellers at the lowest score range (grade 4.4) were written by three high volume writers who generally top the bestseller list: James Patterson, Janet Evanovich and Nora Roberts.

Blatt also breaks down books by genre. Thrillers and romances are singled out in particular for what he calls the “dumbification” of popular fiction. Stephen King, Danielle Steel and Harlan Coben all rank at or below 6th grade reading level."

I know that magazines in dentists' waiting rooms can be out of date - but 1918?

Seriously though, his conclusions come as no surprise. No need to hark back to an earlier era though, Val, there are plenty of highly literate writers about today. Michel Faber, Al Kennedy, Ann Tyler, Hilary Mantel, Ali Smith, Jane Harris,,,just realised I'm listing mainly women, these are just the ones off the top of my head that I've been reading recently. They can write engaging, page-turning prose which is elegant and witty; to hell with your Stephen Kings and your Harlen Cobans!

Yeah! - because that is practically only yesterdays, you lucky thing! ;o>

I usually end up reading the latest chapter of the Dead Sea Scrolls at my Dental Surgery ;o>

nocheese wrote: "I know that magazines in dentists' waiting rooms can be out of date - but 1918?"

Something Freudian there! I think I must have been salivating over the novels of the early 20th century!

However often I try to bring myself up to date I end up reverting to reading stuff from the period 1875-1960. I'm currently on Patrick Hamilton's Hangover Square (1941), having recently read Norman Collins's London Belongs to Me (1948) and Robert Tressell's The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists (1914).

The Tressell is one of those I really should have read, along with Wuthering Heights and Animal Farm. Don’t know why.

Lez wrote: "The Tressell is one of those I really should have read, along with Wuthering Heights and Animal Farm. Don’t know why."

I haven't read Wuthering Heights, either. I must get around to it. Given my predilection for gloom it's surprising that I haven't. (One of my favourite novels is Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome, and they don't come much gloomier than that.)

I think I've said before that I think everyone who is entitled to vote should be required to read Animal Farm. I'd now be inclined to say everyone who depends on a wage to survive should also have to read The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists.

I've tried several times now with Wuthering Heights - twice reading it all the way through with a few brief dips in-between listening to it being dramatised on the Radio as well ... and I've disliked it intensely every time.

All the key Characters are just so emotionally damaged, disturbingly destructive, and they frequently spiral into being almost insanely out of all control. All the family and relationship dynamics remind me very much of an over-the-top and explosive cliff-hanger of an Eastenders episode - not that I ever watch any TV Soaps like Eastenders these days.

I've read all of the Bronte publications but have only ever liked Charlotte's 'Jane Eyre'.

I’ve read and enjoyed all the other Brontë novels but I can’t get beyond the first chapter of W.H. the characters are completely unappealing. Not even watched the film. I’ve ignored Animal Farm because of an aversion to allegory and I didn’t think I’d like Ragged.... as it seems exceptionally male !

I first read "Wuthering Heights" when I was about 12 and it made a huge impression - probably due to my age. I have read it many times since and always enjoy it although it is very melodramatic and I can never quite justify the actions of various characters. I've also seen most of the film and television adaptations. My favourite has always been the 1978 BBC series with Ken Hutchison as Heathcliff. That said, it is only in recent years that I've read "Jane Eyre".

I think, sometimes, books/films/TV series pass you by and it is quite difficult to come to them later in their lives. Maybe you've built them up too much in your mind. Sometimes it is the reverse. I first read James Michener's "Tales of the South Pacific" a few years ago and loved it! And then there is re-reading favourites. Some stand up very well (I'm thinking here of Arthur Ransome's "Swallows and Amazons" and A.P. Herbert's "The Water Gypsies"; sometimes not so well - "The Secret Garden" was rather disappointing when I went back to it. And "Treasure Island" was much more slight than I remembered it, a good children's adventure but not much more. I'm still gearing up to face the 1967 TV adaptation of "The Forsyte Saga", praying it will be as wonderful as I remember it. I should also think about re-reading the book. I read it in 1967 just before the TV series started. Loved it then; will I love it now?

The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists is predominantly male. It's about wage-slaves, who in 1911 were mostly male (it changed during & after the first world war, when physically able men were in short supply). There is really only one female character who plays an important part in the narrative.

Re your aversion to allegory, I presume you also dislike Gulliver's Travels, Pilgrim's Progress, etc. I think the point about Animal Farm is that it's not only an allegory of the Bolshevik revolution, Russian civil war and Stalinist regime. I would say events since 1989 have shown it's not even just an allegory of totalitarianism. It's applicable to every form of government that depends on lying, deception and manipulation of "facts"; in other words, every form of government. If you were to read it now - assuming you have some awareness of major players within the Scottish or UK government, the EU, the USA or wherever - you would be able to identify a current figure (or group within society, in the cases of the horses and the sheep) with each of the characters. In the image-obsessed age of social media, "reality" TV and talent shows, Mollie (one of the horses) is someone each and every one of us knows multiple examples of.

never read 'wuthering heights', not planning to either - can't bring myself round to having an interest in anything written before about 1950. although there are a handful of writers i admire producing work currently (kelman, mccabe, murakami, moore), the cut off date for the majority of my reading is about 1990, mibbe a bit later.

Gordon wrote: "The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists is predominantly male. It's about wage-slaves, who in 1911 were mostly male (it changed during & after the first world war, when physically able men were in sho..."

Because I was forced to read them at school with the implication ‘they’re good for you’I definitely do dislike Gulliver etc., shallow as I am. I like mostly straightforward fiction I don’t have to think about. Though I do love Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, all the other Orwells, A.Huxley etc.. As I’ve said before I don’t keep fiction and there are only 3 adult books I’ve read more than once. Quite fond of poetry.

"there are only 3 adult books I’ve read more than once"

'playgirl', 'razzle' and 'haw, jimmy, whit's up yer kilt'? :)

There's a tag game going the rounds on Facebook at the moment whereby you nominate 7 books that are important to you. Two of my friends, who don't know each other, nominated The Ragged- Trousered Philanthropists, and both described it as life-changing. I'd probably agree; the writing style is unsophisticated, even quaint, but as a simple explanation of how capitalism works it's hard to beat,

As a teenager, I read Wuthering Heights and fell in love with Heathcliff. Listening to a recent adaptation on Radio 4, I was horrified to realise what a nasty brute he was. I wonder which reaction Emily Bronte intended?

Animal Farm is simply brilliant. I found it hard to take when I was introduced to it in school because at the time I had a black and white view of capitalism v communism. That was a naive interpretation of the allegory; as Gordon points out it has a wider application.

Tech wrote: ""there are only 3 adult books I’ve read more than once"

'playgirl', 'razzle' and 'haw, jimmy, whit's up yer kilt'? :)"

You made me choke on my coffee with laughing so much! ;o>

nocheese wrote: "Two of my friends, who don't know each other, nominated The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, and both described it as life-changing. I'd probably agree; the writing style is unsophisticated, even quaint, but as a simple explanation of how capitalism works it's hard to beat..."

True. It's more than that, though: the title refers to workers' own support for the system that condemned them to life-long poverty. Writing it in the form of a novel makes it more effective than, say, The Road to Wigan Pier. Obviously, the set-piece lectures in the kitchen of The Cave are very contrived episodes but it's fairly easy to forgive this as people would be very reluctant to read them if they weren't put into this kind of setting.

Re Animal Farm, I also first read it while at school but didn't find it particularly hard to take, having never really associated Stalinism with any of the left-wing views I held at the time. I also read a fair bit of Solzhenitsyn and Koestler without feeling politically compromised. When I was at university in the early eighties I was quite active in student politics and therefore mixed with a lot of hard-left types: the majority were supporters of Solidarność, so there was little blind adherence to the neo-Stalinist Brezhnev regime.

You are younger than I, Gordon. When I was at university the Marxist-Leninists lived in fear of physical attacks by the Trots.

I got attacked by the trots quite often but I put that down to my predilection for eating in rather unhygienic curry-houses.

The majority of students even in my day were staunch Thatcherites, but of course the tiny minority of us who engaged in student politics managed to cover a remarkable range of shades of red with the odd Conservative tolerated because they happened mostly to be quite nice. It's interesting observing students as a fifty-something tutor: they are still mostly very Conservative but there will be the occasional issue on which most of them are fully behind Labour. Obviously things like tuition fees unite most of them but there are other things like disabled people's rights - e.g. in the context of changes to benefits - on which they display surprisingly high levels of agreement.

Gordon wrote: "I got attacked by the trots quite often but I put that down to my predilection for eating in rather unhygienic curry-houses.

:D

as i thought the 'barney thompson' series of books had terminated at no.7, was pleasantly surprised to pay 99p (kindle) for no.8, which i'll commence when i've done with possibly the best book i've ever read!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...

Even BETTER than ... 'playgirl', 'razzle' and 'haw, jimmy, whit's up yer kilt?' ... !

marginally

WoW? - that's quite some recommendation! ;o>

I'll take a little look later on - thank you, tech ... x