Member: desultory

thanks..i worry about my comments becoming either nonsensical or pompous, so it's a relief when something i say, that's potentially obscure, makes sense to someone! Lit-crit is a good thing, but i have no background in it so more or less toss out thoughts on the fly and hope they're not entirely stupid.

posted by bobmcconnaughey at 2:03 pm (EST) on Jan 26, 2009

i can't post on the board at the moment..but i think you're completely right in re Stevens, but i think he also realized that a perfectly objective description is a function of the eye/mind of the beholder.

posted by bobmcconnaughey at 10:34 am (EST) on Jan 26, 2009

"Untenable opinions" was a great idea for a thread, Dave, well done.

Get some debate and vitriol flowing among the snobs. We've been getting rather bloodless of late. Keep posting, mate...

posted by CliffBurns at 2:08 pm (EST) on Jan 3, 2009

Got the new years blues? ;-) What do you think of Karan?
Ever watch "Rome" a hbo series? I'm finishing the first season
(on dvd from netfix). Highly recommended.

posted by tros at 2:54 pm (EST) on Jan 2, 2009

Atonement is my only other McEwan read, too. I enjoyed it, thought some of the writing was remarkable, but wasn't overwhelmed by it the way everyone else seemed to be. I've been struck, however, by the way in which Chesil Beach has stayed with me. I occasionally lurk at Literary Snobs, but never post. Your assessment of Chesil Beach seemed so apt that I forgot myself.

My best,

Teresa

posted by theaelizabet at 9:57 am (EST) on Dec 12, 2008

A recommendation from you goes a long way, Giles! I heard some mixed reviews of "On Chesil beach"; now I'll have to check it out.

posted by LolaWalser at 6:12 pm (EST) on Dec 6, 2008

Hi David,

I have some for you, but you need a Dutch dictionary I think. A quick look on them learned me that they might send to other countries.
http://www.nnbh.com/nedlit.htm
http://www.nl.bol.com
http://www.vanstockum.nl/search
I hope it will work

Thanks for the Sebald suggestion. I’ll look him up.

Marieke

posted by marieke54 at 1:41 pm (EST) on Mar 24, 2008

Thanks for reminding me of Mani and Roumeli, I've added A Time to Keep Silence, as well. I'm adding books as I find time, but it will be a slow process. I lost several thousand books a few years ago in a flood (the only good thing to come out of it, my wife says), and am recalling my favorites gradually.
I notice you are on the Isle of Man. My great-grandmother, who lived to be 105 was born there, and remembered a few words of Manx into her 90's, so I have always been interested in its history.
May I recommend Redmond O'Hanlon's In Trouble Again as a travel book? It's complete different that Fermor as O'Hanlon is a bit of a wingnut looking for unusual experiences in the Amazon, but it's a lot of fun. His other books, the best of which is No Mercy, are also good, but not as special as this.

Richards

posted by rjacobs17 at 6:40 pm (EST) on Feb 9, 2008

Welcome to Books Compared. I hope you'll join the discussion, and perhaps contribute a comparison of your own sometime.

posted by margad at 12:43 am (EST) on Nov 20, 2007

Actually Desultory I thought afterwards maybe what I said could be taken badly as well. I didn't look at your post negatively by the way and I hope you don't make too much out of mine. It may be just my up at two in the morning personality can be a little aggressive at times. Preparing to take and hurl barbs.

It is a desire of mine to see more of the world--it just isn't the right time. There was a window open a couple years ago. It's just we got sidetracked and it's closed for the time being. Greece, Ireland, Britain and especially the Mediterranean are all places I'd like to see. Maybe some Eastern Europe. To do all that I'd have to win some kind of lottery and I don't play the lottery--at least anymore. Anyway I haven't read a whole lot of travel literature. I'm more into literary fiction. There was a book by a Colin Thubron on the front page of last Sunday's NYTimes book review section titled--Shadow of the silk road. One of my favorites it Literary Routes of Spain which seems to be a rarity--it's translated and has a number of essays from contemporary Spanish writers following in the footsteps and through the regions of some of Spain's most famous writers like Cervantes, Perez-Galdos, Pio Baroja, Antonio Machado, Garcia Lorca, Blasco Ibanez. It is illustrated as well and even covers Mallorca and the Canary Islands. Curzio Malaparte's 'Those cursed Tuscans' may be another I like a lot and covers of course Tuscany. Liked Bruce Chatwin's In Patagonia as well.

posted by lriley at 12:23 pm (EST) on Jul 21, 2007

Desultory,

Problem is the money or lack thereof. I don't know how things are in Britain or the rest of Europe but here we get five weeks and a day vacation time spread out over the course of the year. We work for a living. We're part of what's left of the continuosly diminishing laboring masses that are still paid relatively well. I expect that within the next 10-15 years they may will have disappeared. FWIW we have made trips all over Canada and do a yearly excursion to NYC--to see my beloved Rangers, a play or two--and it is chock full of museums. The money thing is a real concern at this point in time with all kinds of home improvement over the last few years and two kids closing rapidly onto their college years. We would like to go other places but it has to be feasible. If we do ever make it to this or that place we probably will be doing our own itineraries which is the best way but for now we got what we got. Next year the plan is actually to take my daughter around on a college exploration trip. We might work our way into Canada--we might not but we'd like her to have a closer look at potential places she might like to go to. Anyways for now I'm resigned to traveling through my reading material.

posted by lriley at 2:27 am (EST) on Jul 21, 2007

Desultory,

I added a few comments to the threads on the subject.

David Perrings

posted by dperrings at 5:20 pm (EST) on Jul 15, 2007

desultory

Thanks for joining the Proust Group.

David Perrings
Danville, California

posted by dperrings at 4:37 pm (EST) on Jul 15, 2007

I had to learn some latin for a job a few years back, I'd love to learn Greek but don't have the time (or the brains)

posted by tartalom at 8:40 am (EST) on Jul 15, 2007

Hi. I guess a shared interest in the classics and football puts us in a pretty small niche.

posted by tartalom at 5:49 am (EST) on Jul 14, 2007

Hoi, David! - Yes, we do still say that... Yup, guilty as charged - Direct Dutch in the 80s. I confess that my Dutch has never improved from there - that was the high point in my capability; but as you can see, I've stuck it out here. In fact, in January I got dual nationality (British and Dutch).

The glasses came along with the aging process in the late 1980s...

Cheers,

Geoff

http://gcoupe.spaces.live.com/ - the Blog
http://flickr.com/photos/gcoupe - the Photos
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/gcou... - the Library

posted by gcoupe at 3:50 pm (EST) on Apr 9, 2007