Ersatz TLS discussion

Hello, everyone!

I hope all are well or doing as well as possible.

As you see, I'm back after a pleasant break in Wales (with reasonable weather 😏⛅🌦). Two days in Shrewsbury, which I'd only seen from the train before, and liked a lot. Though I didn't realise it was so hilly! Here's a picture of the abbey for Cadfael fans.



Time to catch up with some reading — I hope you've all got good books on the go. I've started Demon Copperhead and am enthralled.
Russell and Robert's last posts on the previous thread are interesting if you haven't seen them.

I've posted some more views of Shrewbury in Photos.

still not feeling at all well here with this mysterious infection that has laid me low. its not a killer, i'm just rarely ill and finding it hard to deal with temperature, sweats and endless paracetemol!

i have been able to read which has been good and is something i am grateful for...

Thanks for the new thread G. Glad you had a good time. I also remember walking back from the Abbey up the Wyle Cop (Caedfael fans would recall that) and it being very steep. Would have a problem with it at the moment.

One thing that disappointed me slightly about Shrewsbury was that part of it had not been modernised very sympathetically.

giveusaclue wrote: " walking back from the Abbey up the Wyle Cop (Caedfael fans would recall that) and it being very steep..."

My B&B was at the bottom of that, so getting into and out of the town centre took some effort!
One of the photos I've posted shows part of Wyle Cop. This leads to Dogpole, some great street names.

AB76 wrote: "still not feeling at all well here with this mysterious infection that has laid me low..."

That's too bad, AB. Fingers crossed you feel better soon.

Gpfr wrote: "AB76 wrote: "still not feeling at all well here with this mysterious infection that has laid me low..."

That's too bad, AB. Fingers crossed you feel better soon."

my last illness was probably a decade ago, so i'm not familiar with all this, thanks for your concern

From the train to Tywyn, I saw the ospreys which return to the Dyfi estuary every year.
Those who like such things can watch them at
https://www.dyfiospreyproject.com/live

Amid coughing, shivering, sweating and feeling very rough, i have started an interesting war diary from Japanese Admiral Matome Ugaki

Fading Victory: The Diary of Admiral Matome Ugaki, 1941-1945

His style is an interesting mix of informal chat with his fellow naval officers, political commentary and delight in all things naval. The diaries open with the Japanese preparing for Pearl Harbor and i would imagine the positive spirit will start to fade as the war goes on.

Hope you’re better soon, AB. If the coughing is deep and you’re aching as well, could it be some variant of covid?

I looked up Matome Ugaki on Wikipedia. His story seems to epitomize the Japanese officer class

Glad you enjoyed the break, G. I have been to Shrewsbury a couple of times - liked it - remember bridges.

Poor you AB. If it carries on much longer maybe phone the doc for help - sounds like a virus. Get well soon.

Gpfr wrote: "I've posted some more views of Shrewsbury in Photos."

I've visited Shrewsbury a few times, not surprisingly as it's sort of the 'end of the line' from Aberystwyth - you often have to change trains there, though they can run through to Birmingham. On one visit in 2001, we saw Antony Gormley's wonderful, charming and rather unnerving 'Field for the British Isles' installation, which consists of 40,000 small terracotta figures. They seem to be staring at you! Here is a photo taken of the exhibition in St.Mary's church:

https://www.alamy.com/40000-terracott...

Oddly, in one place it's claimed that the exhibition was once on display in Aberystwyth, but I didn't see it here. Missed the publicity? Too ill to attend? The listing is wrong? (I could not find confirmation elsewhere.) No idea.

Although the military is not really 'my thing', I did find the Soldiers of Shropshire museum in the castle interesting.
https://www.soldiersofshropshire.co.uk/

As for Cadfael - I've caught a couple of old episodes on TV in recent weeks when at a loose end. Restful watching, after a bad night.

AB76 wrote: "Amid coughing, shivering, sweating and feeling very rough..."

Sorry to hear this... like Russell, I was wondering if this was a new variant of covid? Have you tested?

Get well soon!

In the last thread, Bill wrote:

have you read anything about incidents in Orwell's (or should I say Eric Blair's) or Nabokov's real life that you found interesting or rewarding?

In fact, I don't usually read biographies; from time to time, I do look up information on authors online but usually only those I especially like (or maybe hate). So I know little about Orwell's life, or Nabokov's.

I will say that Orwell's reportage in Homage to Catalonia was far better than his novel '1984'. That seemed to play to his strengths as a writer; for me, he doesn't have the instincts of a novel writer. I believe that other opinions are available. So... it's perfectly possible, given his reporting, that his life would make for a more interesting book than his novels.

scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Amid coughing, shivering, sweating and feeling very rough..."

Sorry to hear this... like Russell, I was wondering if this was a new variant of covid? Have you tested?

Get well soon!"

thanks everyone for your thoughts, still negative for covid, breathing has been fine and the cough wasnt constant. its the headaches and the aches that remain

Thank you for Andy's link, Gp.

Anne wrote: "Thank you for Andy's link, Gp."

You're welcome!

Gpfr wrote: "I've posted some more views of Shrewbury in Photos."

Thanks. I had no idea idea it's so hilly. I don't recall Cadfael mentioning it. It's probably time for a re-read.The Leper of St. Giles is next up for a re-read.

In the meantime I've been reading Journey Into Fear and because the protagonist comes across as really naive, I want to go back with Mr. Ambler and begin at the beginning with The Dark Frontier.

I'm also listening to Manzoni's The Betrothed which has surprised me by being so interesting - the peasants are really unhappy!

And two history non-fiction are in progress as well - The Watchdog: How the Truman Committee Battled Corruption and Helped Win World War Two which portrays Senator Truman as a rather straight-shooter for a politician. (Note: it became evident while working at the Pentagon that projects last longer than a tour of duty - one reason for cost overruns because the main thing the officer is interested in is his/her annual fitness report. What happens after they have left for their next assignment is not material.)

The second non-fiction is a hot-off the University of California Press and is about the New York Times v. Sullivan - Actual Malice: Civil Rights and Freedom of the Press in New York Times v. Sullivan. Many may have heard derogatory remarks about it from our four-time indicted former President who would like it overturned. Although it's early pages for me, I surely did not know it was so darned race-related (as continues to be in this country) . More on that later.

It's good that I have all these books in progress as we are doing heatwave here and for the next couple of days, too. It is 79° inside the house now. Time to stay cool and read.

Gpfr wrote: "Hello, everyone!

I hope all are well or doing as well as possible.

As you see, I'm back after a pleasant break in Wales (with reasonable weather 😏⛅🌦). Two days in Shrewsbury, which I'd only seen..."

One of my neighbors has acquired a corgi. A sign of things Welsh?

AB76 wrote: "Amid coughing, shivering, sweating and feeling very rough, i have started an interesting war diary from Japanese Admiral Matome Ugaki

[book:Fading Victory: The Diary of Admiral Matome Ugaki, 1941-..."

Quotations from his diaries show up in WW II histories. I've requested the library's copy.

scarletnoir wrote: "In the last thread, Bill wrote:

have you read anything about incidents in Orwell's (or should I say Eric Blair's) or Nabokov's real life that you found interesting or rewarding?

In fact, I don't ..."

I enjoyed his Homage to Catalonia; it led me into his collected journalism.

Robert wrote: "I enjoyed his Homage to Catalonia; it led me into his collected journalism."

I've got a copy of that, but of course haven't read it.

I picked it up at a used book sale after another customer unintentionally called it to my attention. He was browsing with a companion and exclaimed "Hey, Catalonia!" and pulled the book off the shelf; then, with a disappointed, "Oh, George Orwell," put it back.

Robert wrote: "...Orwell...I enjoyed his Homage to Catalonia; it led me into his collected journalism."

It was the same for me. The impact of both his forthright reporting and his unambiguous style was long-lasting.

I’ll share just one thing from Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman. In a comical chapter about proof-reading and misprints she quotes a delightful specimen from the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

“Meanwhile, Richard Parker Bowles, brother of Camilla’s ex-husband, Andrew, said that from the beginning Camilla approved of Charles’ marrying Diana while she remained his power mower.”

It’s obviously a misprint, but for what? It took me a minute to work it out.

@MK
I often return to Ambler - The Mask of Demetrius still favourite

Russell wrote: " Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman ..."

I loved Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader. Came across it recently during some shelf re-organisation and thought I must read it again — now you've given me a further push :)

Robert wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Amid coughing, shivering, sweating and feeling very rough, i have started an interesting war diary from Japanese Admiral Matome Ugaki

[book:Fading Victory: The Diary of Admiral Matome..."

last night i continued reading the sections as the Japanese fleets prepare for Pearl Harbor. Some heading towards Malaya, some the Phillipines. Ugaki is a confident character but one does feel the tension among the Admirals as they all head to what could be their deaths. There is no sense of false-bombast either, there are realistic, well trained officers in a very well trained navy, aware they are taking on their biggest challenge, the USA

what is less impressive over the US-Japan negiotiations that led to war is the fact Ugaki seems fine with invading China and Indochina, as if the Yanks had the temerity to suggest this was a territorial violation. as impressive as his prose and his intelligence is, Ugaki was deeply in favour of the Japanese war aims from 1937

My copy is an impressive 600 odd pages, i am dividing it into two reads, so Dec 41-Feb 44 and then the rest at a later date. Unlike with the Nazi occupation in Europe, the Japanese occupation in the Pacific is harder to divide into two halves, as there was a short sustained period of glory(invasion of Malaya-Phillipines-Pearl Harbor), followed by some heroic disasters (midway etc) and then the vicious and violent slow defeat( battle of the islands).

i think you will enjoy it, if you have same copy as me, its well edited and well composed

Russell wrote: "Robert wrote: "...Orwell...I enjoyed his Homage to Catalonia; it led me into his collected journalism."

It was the same for me. The impact of both his forthright reporting and his unambiguous styl..."

me too, he was the first author in my adult reading years i returned to and found ever increasing returns from his fiction and non-fiction. i think he towers over the 1930-1950 period for his excellence in both genres and his firm beliefs. I always wonder whatmore he could have written if he had lived on a few decades. A masterpiece better than 1984 maybe?

Finally feeling a bit better this morning and rid of sweats. its been a sobering 5 days as i was meant to be spending time with neices-nephews and the family

reading hasnt really been affected and i have started the fascinating travel account of Olmstead The Slave States which was recommended by Russ, Robert or Bill. Great recommendation chaps

also started the Martin Beck novel The Man Who Went Up in Smoke and in an inspired moment ordered Jozef Wittlins Polish novel Salt of The Earth a war novel about WW1

Wittlin was a conmtempary of Roth and like him, penned a novel about the imperial world he grew up in. It will be interesting to compare it to The Radetsky March, The Good Soldier Svejk and other Austro-Hungarian tales of WW1

but back to Martin Beck first and i'm enjoying the style, its set in Budapest, written in 1966, a hot summers novel it seems

AB76 wrote: "Finally feeling a bit better this morning and rid of sweats..."

Glad to hear it!

Before going away, I'd nearly cleared the physical TBR pile, but obviously that state of affairs couldn't continue.

First of all in the excellent 2nd-hand bookshop in Tywyn, Clock Tower Books, I picked up 2 Penguin Crime books by Michael Innes :
There Came Both Mist And Snow
Hare Sitting Up

+ a travel book, Patrick Leigh Fermor:
Roumeli: Travels in Northern Greece

Then back in London, a quick bookshop stop before getting the Eurostar:
Demon Copperhead (which I think I've mentioned I'm enjoying)
Kate Atkinson's latest, Shrines of Gaiety
Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne
Winters in the World: A Journey through the Anglo-Saxon Year

Gpfr wrote: "Before going away, I'd nearly cleared the physical TBR pile, but obviously that state of affairs couldn't continue.

First of all in the excellent 2nd-hand bookshop in Tywyn, Clock Tower Books, I p..."

sounds like you have had a great trip to Blighty GP, i enjoyed the updates from my sickbed and nothing beats second hand bookshops as part of a holiday experience

are you a fan of Wahloo and Sjowall by the way?

just googled Innes and am having a google now....interesting man

@gp
You’ like the last two on your list - I hope as much as I did

Still have a green copy of the Mist and Snow Innes but forgotten the story.

@AB Wahloo and Sjowall Oh yes, read them all

Gpfr wrote: "Before going away, I'd nearly cleared the physical TBR pile, but obviously that state of affairs couldn't continue.

First of all in the excellent 2nd-hand bookshop in Tywyn, Clock Tower Books, I p..."

Covid shut off my trip to England, but I'm hoping to get in shape and head there in September 2024. When I do, I will be sure to stop at Waterstones on Gower (university area) where they've had a set of shelves with old, green Penguins for £5. Mind you they are rather ratty but have at least a read or two left in them. I might even come across an Innes. Note - there is also an orange Penguin set of shelves.

AB76 wrote: "are you a fan of Wahloo and Sjowall by the way?..."

I read them all many years ago and liked them, obviously as I read the whole series, but don't remember them in any detail — borrowed from the library so don't have them to refresh my memory.

MK wrote: "Waterstones on Gower (university area) where they've had a set of shelves with old, green Penguins - there is also an orange Penguin set of shelves...."

Yes, I had a couple of things from there (shelves outside the shop) when I was in London in January.

AB76 wrote: "Finally feeling a bit better this morning and rid of sweats. its been a sobering 5 days as i was meant to be spending time with neices-nephews and the family

reading hasnt really been affected and..."

The Laughing Policeman is an excellent Martin Beck book.

I ran across notes from years ago, my comments on Alan Moore's Watchmen:

The other is a true oddity, a philosophical fantastic novel done in the format of a comic book. Alan Moore's Watchmen finds a common theme, the fight against evil, in three popular genres--the superhero comic, the detective story, and the apocalyptic writing. Moore boldly draws the three together into a sort of Menippean satire set in New York City in October 1985.

Watchmen begins (and ends) with one masked vigilante's investigation of the murder of another. Moore uses sharp characterization, clever dialouge, and narrative skill in making his comic-book premise--"The Comedian is dead"--into a real novel. As the investigation gradually reveals who the Comedian was, why he was killed, and by whom, the nations slide toward World War III. Along the way several sorts of apocalyptic visions are juxaposed--80's right-wing nightmares about social decay and plots aimed at upsetting the balance of power jolt up against 80's liberal panic over nuclear war, and a 50's pulp narrative of a personal struggle against evil carried on too long and in the wrong way. Newspaper headlines, flashbacks, excerpts from apocryphal books and magazines, graffiti, and advertisements flesh out a sort of alternative history.

The book's two major villains both echo the traditional Antichrist. The first is Watchmen's great political figure, a master of the game of the Cold War. He offers a series of victories--Communism and anti-Americanism rolled back in the Third World--and before the story proper begins has become President for life. He is an uneasy blend of schemer and elder statesman.

However, after the "Restrainer" who has given America its advantage in the Cold War unexpectedly vanishes, a second contender, an enemy of the first, emerges, offering "powerful signs and miracles of the lie" (a mixture of science fiction, consumerism, and media manipulation) with the aim of subverting and remolding the world. Through "terror, gifts, and prodigies" he tempts and bedevils the heroes of the main narrative. As required by apocalyptic tradition, two witnesses go to the Tempter's stronghold to confront him; as required by America in the 1980's, it seems unclear to our witnesses themselves what greater good they are to affirm once they are there and the Tempter's schemes are revealed. At story's end, an ersatz Utopia may be launched under the auspices of the Lie--but an ironic bubble of Truth threatens to pop open in the last panel.

The Man Who Went Up in Smoke has started well as Beck is called away from his archipelago vacation to investigate a missing journalist in Budapest.

He hasnt got there yet but as i ponder on how accurate a depiction of Budapest the authors will manage, my mind goes back to my first visit in high summer 1995.

I found the city hot, dusty and confusing, my friends and i were staying in a cheap but cheerful hotel in the Buda Hills, which was beautiful and full of small villas and great views. Pest, the flat centre, seemed to spring from another world, back then i wasnt really aware of how Hungarian is so totally different to most European tongues and navigating the underground was quite an undertaking. The heat was stifling but aged 19, it never affected like it does now. The people were lively and fun, , the food was good and very cheap indeed

I'm mentioning a film here rather than in the special topic as it's a subject that's been discussed, the Japanese soldier who spent 30 years in the Philippines thinking the war was still going on.

Onoda, 10 000 nuits dans la jungle (2021, dir. Arthur Harari)
It's described as

A great anti-spectacular adventure and a brilliant reflection on the denial of reality.

The cultural magazine where I saw this praises it highly.

scarlet, I don't know if you're interested, it's on Arte on the 23rd.

Anticipation is the name of the game for me. Yesterday I found that BA hasn't gotten around to listing flights for September, 2024. Today so far I have printed off a September 2024 calendar and have started making notes. HODs (Heritage Open Days) begin on Friday the 13th in 2024 - duly noted. Also that there is an https://www.radarmuseum.co.uk/ that it looks like I can bus to.

So now a question - has anyone here ever been to https://southbanklondon.com/attractio... ?

Today is promised to be our last hot day - hopefully for the summer as the sun has moved from what I'll call high orbit. I've been sitting the weather out and did a reprise of yesterday. Finished in the early hours. I did notice that the Shrewsbury hill was mentioned on page 58. My eyes missed it on my first read.

MK wrote: "Anticipation is the name of the game for me. Yesterday I found that BA hasn't gotten around to listing flights for September, 2024. Today so far I have printed off a September 2024 calendar and hav..."

yes, the book market is wonderful and informal, books laid out most days of the year and is under the shelter of a bridge(partially) if the weather is inclement. Always lots to find and browse, with many places to eat nearby. I also suggest popping in the National nearby and its bookshop which is impressive, especially for plays, ofc!

AB76 wrote: "MK wrote: "Anticipation is the name of the game for me. Yesterday I found that BA hasn't gotten around to listing flights for September, 2024. Today so far I have printed off a September 2024 calen..."

Thanks - will have a long list before I get finished.

Any history buffs here? Want to get inside somewhere you usually cannot? Check out https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/ Just put in your post code to see what's available next month (September) - if you don't want to scroll through everything.

I noticed the Wren Library will be available for free over several days.

I love HOD and have visited places in Norfolk and Derbyshire. One year I got to see the lovely garden behind The Bear Shop on historic Elm Hill, Norwich. Quite surprised to see it in the center of a medieval city.

Gpfr wrote: "I'm mentioning a film here rather than in the special topic as it's a subject that's been discussed, the Japanese soldier who spent 30 years in the Philippines thinking the war was still going on...

scarlet, I don't know if you're interested, it's on Arte on the 23rd...."

Thanks for the heads up - I may well watch that unless there is something even more tempting on, and if madame agrees!

In for a bout of hot weather here. I'm going to Strasbourg for 3 days next week — 35° isn't ideal for sightseeing! Yesterday was not only hot but cloudy which made it very sultry and disagreeable.

Excited about The Salt of the Earth by Jozef Wittlin(1939), another of the great WW1 novels that focuses more on the slow chaos of the Austro-Hungarian mobilisation of 1914

Hasek,Roth, Rebreanu and others in non fiction have studied this period in mid to late summer 1914 where the groaning, creaking multi-lingual military of the empire slowly fed itself into the meat-grinder on the Russian front. Officers in finest uniforms, uhlans, hussars striding forth from their elegant barracks to mix with the various regiments and units that no virtually no common ethnic cause at all when ethnic ties were introduced

The hot summer sun was murderous for the conscripts and reservists while the supplies and logistics floundered in the less developed eastern reaches of the empire, less impressive railroads, roads and river systems for moving millions of men to the East

Austro-Hungary was always fascinated me and just being studying the 1900 census of the Bukovina, a section of Carpathia where the novels starts. Wittlin was a Pole but seems to have settled on a Hutsul(Ukranian minority) as his main character. The city of Lvov that Wittlin loved lies to the North West of the Hiusul area and i first heard of Wittlin via his homage to Lvov,City of Lions

Whether it resembles too much the stories of Hasek, Roth and Rebreanu, about the days of August 1914 will probably define how good this novel is but the subject matter is so fascinating, i dont expect to to be a let down

Quick note on Polish literature from 1920-1939, there is a really good swathe of novels from this period in translation, an era which in Polish history always seems to fade between the horrors of 1919 and 1940.

Gpfr wrote: "In for a bout of hot weather here. I'm going to Strasbourg for 3 days next week — 35° isn't ideal for sightseeing! Yesterday was not only hot but cloudy which made it very sultry and disagreeable."

I hope that high pressure system that is pumping your too hot air will have moved on toward, say Russia, before you head to Strasbourg. For me a day or two of real heat is okay, but 3 or 4 or more days just makes me tired and irritable.

Under 'where do they all come from?', I don't know how I heard about , but I am glad I did.

Trump sometimes brings up New York Times v. Sullivan as a Supreme Court ruling he would get 'his' Supreme Court to nullify when re-elected. This book certainly explains his attitude. Since it is a slim book, I will only say this ruling took place in the height of the fight for equality in the South - the era of Bull Connor and attacking guard dogs and is a First Amendment - Freedom of Speech - a shield for news outlets.

My only quibble is that at the end of the book several follow-on rulings are mentioned without any detail. I ended up asking Google about them. They further clarified Sullivan.

I have already put a hold on .

I will say that, having lived south of the Mason-Dixon Line in the late '60s and early '70s, I have seen such racial hatred that others might find it difficult to believe. Of course this continuing need for 'white supremacy' is just awful.

Back to Trump (for those who are interested) two 'originalist' constitutional lawyers have written that because of January 6th, he is ineligible for re-election. If any here want to follow up on this - Google - Heather Cox Richardson substack. Her piece is about that and has a myriad of links for further reading.