I have just finished Tom's Midnight Garden and The Compleet Molesworth and am about halfway through Gogol's fantastic stories.
I'm also reading Richard Dawkins' The Ancestor's Tale (on the train, not a FS book) and just came to a mention of Aldous Huxley's After Many a Summer, which means that tonight I will have to dig that out and reread it (I see that the touchstone has put the American title).

Message edited by its author, Aug 3, 2009, 8:33am.

I'm reading Master and Commander and The Brontes: A life in Letters

Le Grand Meaulnes and The History of Western Philosophy.

The History of Western Philosophy and the Diary of Samuel Pepys and occasionally dipping into The Devil's Dictionary.

Message edited by its author, Aug 3, 2009, 9:20am.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

"The Old Curiosity Shop" (in the Folio Nonesuch edition.) What a strange and wonderful book -- and what a wonderful edition!

None! I'm reading Gary Shteyngart's "Absurdistan", which would make a good Folio selection.

I'm currently reading Don Quixote not in a FS edition as I was not fortunate enough to have been a member when they printed the LE.

I've been laughing my way through The Best of Saki.

Slowly slowly getting through Don Quixote (not the LE) ,and Allinghams Diaries . Just finished Travels with my Aunt and the Plums of PG Wodehouse.

Edited to correct typo!

Message edited by its author, Aug 3, 2009, 10:50am.

>9 I love Saki

I'm reading I Capture the Castle right now. Lately, it's been Ovid's Art of Love, Three Men in a Boat, and The Third Policeman.

FWIW - I show what I'm reading and what I've recently read on my profile page.

Os.

> 11

Osbaldistone.

How do you show what you are reading on your profile page ? I have been looking for a way to do that and I can't figure it out ?

It's done by inserting HTML code into "About Me" when you edit your profile. I can't type it here, because it will interpret the HTML. The best way is to go to my profile page and select from your browser menu what is, in MS Internet Explorer, 'View - Source'. This will load the source code for the page into the default viewer (Notepad, Word or whatever). Search for the phrase "pay the bills" which is what just precedes the code you're looking for. You'll see the HTML code right after that. After the title, for each book, it's basically a link to the book and a link to the image of the book with some code for size and color of the frame around the image. I get the link to the image by looking at the 'View - Source' for the book's page, and searching for the code just above the text "Main Page". You'll see a link to either an LT image or an Amazon image.

If you've not messed with HTML before, this won't be very obvious, but if you have, you should be able to work it out by copying from the source of my profile page and inserting your own books/images.

Os.

The HTML for images is (remove the spaces next to angular brackets).

I suggest you take a look at the examples here:

http://www.librarything.com/groups/greyh...

Just polished off the two Nancy Mitford volumes - lovely lovely FS editions - and am 3 chapters into the FS edition of Zuleika Dobson. Coming up are Rebecca and The Towers of Trebizond.

>12 Quicksilver66:
You might also want to take a look at the Help and FAQ page of LT by clicking on 'Help/FAQs' on the bottom of the page, left side. Then click on 'Your Account' and then 'Your Profile'. Under Your profile you'll find: "How do I put links in the text on my profile page?" and "How do I put images in the text on my profile page?"

15: We're moving along similar paths. I recently finished the Mitford "Love" novels and Zuleika as well.

In a similar vein as the Mitford books, I highly recommend, "I Capture the Castle," if you haven't read it yet.

I can't say what FS book I'm reading at the moment, because I'm not reading one now! I'm reading a paperback version of The Remains of the Day, in order to hold it in one hand and hold the three-week-old in the other.

When renewal time comes, "Remains" is going to be one of my orders. (It's not part of the summer sale, thank goodness.)

Message edited by its author, Aug 3, 2009, 2:08pm.

I'm out of the country for another week and a half so I didn't bring any Folio books with me, but waiting for me when I get back is Night Thoughts, so I suppose I don't need to say what will be the first thing I'm going to do!

I am reading Les Liaisons Dangereuses.
--BJ
ETA Oh, and I am also reading Anna Karenina.

Message edited by its author, Aug 3, 2009, 2:17pm.

>18 - You have such a thrill in store for you! As a Blake lover and book lover, you will find yourself in a rare region of heaven.

I'm reading a paperback of The Wind in the Willows, to see if I want to buy the Folio version. Sadly, I think it will be a 'no'. I forgot how much I dislike stories in which animals are the main characters, even fanciful ones like these.

>13, 14, 16

Thanks. I will give it a try.

>21 I'm not by any means a lover of stories in which animals are the main characters but The Wind in the Willows, is a most beautiful book and the illustrations by Sandwyk so beautiful that it is an amazing adition to any library. I regularly take it down from the shelf just to turn the pages!

#18, 20
Django6924 & Lloydville, you two are so mean, torturing me by talking about Night Thoughts when mine won't even ship until November. ;-) And now I'm going to torture myself by asking Django6924 to post his first impressions when he gets home. I'd ask for pictures but it's hard enough holding on to my sanity after seeing the ones from the FS site and the Blake Archive.

>24 - There's another way of looking at it. I'd give anything to relive the moment I opened that elaborate packaging and saw "Night Thoughts" for the first time. An instance of unrecoverable magic. You still have that to look forward to. I envy YOU!

At the moment I am reading Ovid's The art of love (which is very.... interesting) and I am also reading Night Thoughts. However the Night Thoughts is just a cheap paperback version as I am stuck waiting till November for my Folio Edition.

And Lloydville I couldnt agree more I have several LE's from Folio and everytime I open one my heart skips a beat. I can only imagine the day that Night Thoughts shows up. I picture myself locking myself in a room so that my children cannot get their hands on it.. and sitting their saying "my precious".... over and over again like Golem from Lord of the rings.

>9 I laughed all through the Saki, too, would love more!
>11 osbaldistone, what do you think of the Third Policeman? I loved it but oh how I regret peeking at the afterword when I was only halfway through.
>15 I must get that other Mitford! and Zuleika Dobson.
>the FS Remains of the Day is fabulous!
>21, it's strange, but the FS Wind in the Willows seemed so much more "grown up" than the book I read long ago - I suspect that the Pan chapter was missing from the children's editions. And the descriptions of the river and countryside seemed much more appealing. Or maybe it I was just reading it from an older viewpoint... I was never a great fan of it as a child.

I'm intermittently reading The Body-Snatcher and Other Stories, between "main" books - currently The French Lieutenant's Woman (in Vintage paperback) and a book of Welsh history called Land of My Fathers. The last Folio I read cover-to-cover was I Capture the Castle, which I read in one sitting about three weeks ago and absolutely loved.

Message edited by its author, Aug 3, 2009, 4:54pm.

Right now Bestiary, which I bought on e-bay, Shakespear's Sonnets, which I bought from 1/2 price books. I will read The Remains of the Day as soon as my order comes in, then Aristocrats, and The Wind in the Willows (I never read it as a child).

>27
overthemoon,
I loved the The Third Policeman, but was warned not to read the afterword, and, you're right, I would have regretted it. Third Policeman read like a book that has more to offer on the second read, but I don't know when I'll get to it. I did review it on LT back on March 20, so you can see that if you click on my reviews from my profile page.

I discovered Wind in the Willows at age 37, so I don't know how I'd have reacted to it as a child. But I loved it right off the bat. When my children were born, the got WITW stories from my memory whenever we were driving anywhere, and then when they got past picture books for bedtime reading, they got the real thing. That's all in the past now, but I hope it becomes part of their fond childhood memories - I sure did my part to make it so.

I still read every couple of years. It's like visiting an old friend, but I always find something new or something I'd forgotten. There's an honorable nature to the characters; a sense of the value and responsibility of friendship; the lack of hesitation when someone needs help. It's a community where one may have no secrets, but one also is never left to cope alone.

Os.

I'm reading Dracula

I'm reading a story per night from the Collected Ghost Stories of MR James. Earlier this evening I finished slogging through John Davies' A History of Wales, so now I have a decision to make: at the moment it's a toss-up between The Last Grain Race and Ten Days that Shook the World, or possibly Schindler's Ark, or maybe The Once and Future King. Hm decisions, decisions.

>28 Belemnite, how are you finding Land of My Fathers? Despite the glowing reviews on Amazon, I can't really recommend the Davies book. I found it long on fact and statistic, and short on analysis. I also found it rather insular, the antics of John Redwood attempting to sing the anthem warranted the same volume of text as the Welsh contribution to the International Brigades, whilst the revolutions of 1848 didn't get a mention at all.

#26
When I got the First Folio Shakespeare and Letterpress Hamlet my sister actually told my nephew never to touch them. Of course that was when he was much younger and his hands were always filthy. Now he doesn't touch them for much different reasons--he won't go near Shakespeare even if you paid him. But I just bought him four military and survival themed books so there's hope for him yet!

I just finished Body Snatcher and Other Stories and am currently reading Blake

Message edited by its author, Aug 3, 2009, 7:34pm.

I am reading History of Western Philosophy and am enjoying it immensely as a break from med school reading

Myths and Legends of Russia, which is beautiful, and Bernard Lewis's The assassins, a great example of a small Folio done well.

I've finally got round to reading the Thomas Browne selection The Voyce of the World. When I finish this little session at my keyboard I'll be starting on the extracts from “Vulgar Errors.”

An outcast of the islands by Joseph Conrad and The Screwtape letters
by CS Lewis, both are brilliant.

I just finished (with the kids) Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens and The Wind in the Willows. For myself, I am slowing working my way through the six-volume box set of Proust's In Search of Lost Time (I'm still in volume 2, Within a Budding Grove).

Currently reading Master & Commander.
Not only am I thoroughly enjoying it, but I now know where Captain Jean-Luc Picard got the saying 'Make it so' from.

Re #40: And O'Brian possibly got it from Mr. Midshipman Easy, although it was probably a common naval usage before Frederick Marryat's time.

Incidentally, for all O'Brian fans, I think you would enjoy Marryat's novel, which deserves a much wider readership than it has gotten.

#41 I was going to add "(Or was it a common naval term?)" but didn't bother. That'll teach me.

Re #42: I hope I didn't come off as pedantic in mentioning this; I just wanted to praise an author and a work I think should be better known--seeing that there are so many fans of the Aubrey-Maturin books.

>43 Not at all - I honestly had thought of adding that comment, as I was genuinely interested.

I am currently reading The Invisible Woman: the story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens by Claire Tomalin (not FS). It's a fascinating glimpse into a darker side of Dickens and beautifully constructed and written (it has won three literary prizes).

After that I plan to read the last volume of the Raj Quartet, A Division of the Spoils in the Folio edition. Alas, I embarked on the first three some months ago, before I even knew Folio were bringing it out.

Shall I inform you that Claire Tomalin is now preparing a biography of Charles Dickens which should be published in the coming months?

(edited) : Sorry, not in the coming months, but in 2011. See here.

Message edited by its author, Aug 6, 2009, 7:22am.

Just started dipping in and out of Eyewitness To History which is fascinating but pretty dense. I guess it's going to take a while to get through. Otherwise reading, non-FS, Oscar Wao.

Just finished Night Thoughts and am moving on to A hundred years of solitude. Has anyone read it? Any feedback?

I adore A Hundred Years of Solitude. The names are confusing. I found it helpful to write them down as I was reading to keep a track of all the Aurelianos etc.

>48 and 49

Check here for a Wikimedia Commons chart that might be nice to have handy while reading.

Os.

Message edited by its author, Aug 6, 2009, 8:41pm.

One Hundred Years of Solitude is a wonderful book. Wortth reading several times, and I don't do that with very many books.

>46 - "Shall I inform you that Claire Tomalin is now preparing a biography of Charles Dickens which should be published in 2011?"

Can't wait. The article you quote says it all.

>50

Thank you very much OS. I have a feeling i am going to need the chart.

I'm going to jump on the LEC bandwagon with Django and just mention that the Limited Editions Club edition of One hundred Years of Solitude is fabulous, if you are lucky enough to find it at a decent price.

At the risk of hitting a sensitive spot with some, I had to edit the touchstone because the one that came up automatically included "Oprah's Book Club" in the title. It's great that she is with us on encouraging people to read but I don't think Señor García Márquez really wants her added into the title of his masterpiece. Maybe I should hack into LibraryThing and see if I can change some touchstones to "Hamlet (jveezers Book Club) by William Shakespeare". 8^P

jveezer, I have seen the LEC edition and was just awestruck....beautiful. Wish I could afford it and I agree most vigorously with coynedj that it should be read a good many times. One of those books that just gets better with age, both mine and the book's.

But to go back to the topic of the thread I am currently reading Hourani's History of the Arab Peoples

Message edited by its author, Aug 8, 2009, 3:56pm.

As for me, I'm reading The Victorians by A.N. Wilson.

#56: How is that book?

>57

Read that book when it came out a few years back. Wilson is flippant, prejudiced, and embarrassing in all sorts of ways, but The Victorians is certainly good. His two follow up histories, on the other hand, are weak, cynical (the publications, not the espoused world-view), to be avoided. His biography of Milton is also quite entertaining. From his journalism I'm sure I dislike the man, and our politics are incompatible, but still he's knocked out a couple of good reads - I wont deny him that.

Read him selectively, and with a pinch of salt, I'd say.

Thanks Leonb. Appreciate the input

A memoir of the 'Forty-five by James Johnstone

Ooh, LesMis, I hadn't heard of that one before. Now I've put it on my list of Scottish history books to acquire/read - as if it wasn't long enough already! Thanks a bunch!

>61

That's quite all right.

I'm unsure of your heritage and ancestry, but I must admit that I have been filled with the greatest indignation, despair, horror and sorrow as I have been reading this.

I should finish it today.

I managed to finish this treasure A memoir of the 'Forty-Five by lunch time today having just started it yesterday. I was thoroughly engrossed in it though and I have discovered that the Folio edition is an abridgement (pthfaw..) of the original manuscript which follows James Johnstone into France after safe passage by Lady Jane Douglas aboard a steam packet to Holland.

The original manuscript had been printed by an Aberdeen printer by the name of Wyllie in the late 19th Century and presented in three volumes which I must have!

I note that there are reprints circulating, but will keep my powder dry in the hope that fortune will join me with these works at some stage.

Meanwhile I have discovered a free resource where a facsimile of all three volumes is available for download, to which I have made much use and have them now safely stored on my digital archive for reviewing.

My pleasure though would be to get hold of the three volumes complete.

Whether you are sympathetic to the Jacobean or Scottish histories or not, this is a great read and worthy to grace any library shelf.

>62: On my father's side I'm 6th generation Australian, and in finest melting-pot style am a mixture of Irish, German, English, West Indian, Scottish, Danish and Czech. But I emerged from all that with a Scottish surname; the clan apparently originates from Arrochar, at the northern end of Loch Lomond - technically Highlanders, but certainly not Jacobites! (Knowing that, I felt slightly guilty when I visited Culloden last year.)

I'm looking for a FS edition of The Highland Clearances to complete the Prebble "trilogy", but I'm beginning to wonder whether I can bear to read it. Battles are one thing; the systematic, cold-blooded and mercenary destruction of an entire people is harrowing to even think about.

Message edited by its author, Aug 10, 2009, 12:29am.

I know Arrochar very well, hailing myself from Glasgow, I was a keen 'Munro Bagger' and skipped from cairn to cairn till I tired of the journeys to the more distant peaks.

Prior to the ethnic cleansing, a man was subject to the whims of his Clan chief and followed him at pain of death (or expulsion and dishonour) into battle.

I have no doubt there were more than enough bewildered Scots asking 'why?' in the Crown camp as they fought their countrymen.

Alas!

I have just finished reading the short "The Fallen Idol" by Graham Greene. I thought I'd better get to it now that I've discovered I actually do own it. According to the author's intro the story was changed considerably when it was made into a movie because they didn't think audiences would go for the original ending. I think both versions work.

Now I'm working on the Gormenghast trilogy. Started Titus Groan last night, just the first two chapters though as it was getting late.

Just started The Deptford Trilogy. Thought it was a good choice, as I'm heading down the shore for a couple of days later this week. If my possible-future-stepsister leaves me alone, I should be able to get through a good chunk of it.

(Rest easy, fellow Devotees - it will be a paperback edition coming with me!)

Message edited by its author, Aug 10, 2009, 8:18pm.

I finished my re-read of After Many a Summer, read the Hunting of the Snark between receiving it (second-hand purchase) yesterday and breakfast this morning, started Onward and Upward in the Garden, and must get back to Gogol.

Message edited by its author, Aug 11, 2009, 3:13am.

>1 Which FS book are you reading now?

Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson (r)

The Human Factor - just started last night - received it yesterday. It is absolutely beautiful. Everything about it fits - the cover, the art, just terrific, and I am enjoying the story too:)

Just finished The English Language and have about 80 pages to go in Herodotus. The I'll shift to literature and start on Don Quixote.

I just finished the non-Folio "Absurdistan". Despite my initial enthusiasm for it as a Folio selection, it didn't take long for me to realize that it is NOT the type of book Folio publishes. But it was exhuberant, cynical fun!

But what next? I have taken de Quincey's "Confessions of an English Opium Eater" off the shelf, which I bought from Folio many years ago but have never gotten around to reading.......

> 71

How do you like "The English Language"? I have been contemplating that book for a while.

73> For my part, I didn't like it a lot, although two other members of this group wrote good reviews. Don't know if this helps...

#73 I enjoyed it, but I'm always interested in the history of languages. It was written in a rather scholarly manner and at times it was technical. The author divides the books into chapters that deal with vocabulary, syntax, punctuation, etc. He also discusses the differences between British, American, and other types of English. A more 'readable' book on the subject that i enjoyed was the Penguin book by Robert McCruim, Robert MacNeil & William Cran, The Story of English. Hope this helps.

Message edited by its author, Aug 12, 2009, 7:41am.

> 74, 75

Thanks. Perhaps I will read McCrum first and then Burchfield.

Just started The Right Stuff, which I'm enjoying a lot and is my first book by Wolfe. Just finished The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao, a non-FS, which was good but not as good as I thought it would be. I'm also dipping into East of the Sun and Eyewitness to History here and there.

>1

Just started Catriona by RLS

>78 How was Kidnapped? I am thinking about purchasing more RLS.

>79

Kidnapped is beyond any doubt a great novel of adventure and friendship.
RLS has a mgic way with words and sentences in my opinion. You get the sense when you are reading Kidnapped, that you are reading a finely crafted piece of literature.

Also reading FS "Kidnapped" and enjoying it immensely!
Non FS I'm reading:
"Rat Race" by good ol' Dick Francis and
"Child 44" by a new author Tom Rob Smith

Just finished One Hundred Years of Solitude (which is a masterpiece, I highly recommend it to anyone). And I am just starting The Scarlett Letter.

I am reading The Ambassadors by Henry James, which I think is really good! Not exactly a page-turner, though ...

Message edited by its author, Aug 17, 2009, 2:08pm.

SirFolio I agree with you re 100 Years of Solitude, one of my overall favourites.

I'm very much enjoying Woodbrook and it's making me want to read Uris' Trinity next.

Message edited by its author, Aug 18, 2009, 1:40am.

I'm about a quarter of the way through the Scarlet Pimpernel.

The Scarlet Pimpernel was alot of fun, I wish they would publish the rest of the set.

>87

I was just thinking the same thing - even just went to look up how many there are! :-)

(There are ten more novels, and two collections of short stories, in case anyone is wondering.)

I agree, it is definitely a fun read. It kept me up until after 2am last night. Which, by the way, is not fun when the alarm is set for 6am.

>87 Easton publishes a 6 Vol set

http://www.eastonpressbooks.com/leather/...

I had seen the Easton Press set and was tempted but I just dont feel that it is the right binding for that set. Its a great series of books but I feel they are meant to be light and fun reading and the Easton binding gives them too serious of a feel. If I remember correctly they are bound in red leather in the traditional Easton Press style. I thought Folio did a much better job of binding their version, its classic but fun.

I felt the same way and went with the FS version as well.

I am presently reading the History of Western Science,and Rumpole. Also I am part way through volume one of the World Crisis and trying to finish Ruling the Later Roman Empire.

I've never made acquaintance with Rumpole, what is it like?

I have just finished reading Catriona by RLS.

All I can say is, those of you (and there are many) who have read Kidnapped but not its sequel, do not hesitate. You will not be disappointed. It follows on almost immediately from where Kidnapped left off.

Brilliant

Just starting Master of Ballantrae by Robert Louis Stevenson

the fall and siege of troy - robert graves ... some wonderful illustrations in it too! (as always - except unfortunately for the new picture of dorian gray. the illustrations in there put me off buying it)

Just finished the Scarlet Letter. And now I am re reading Jerusalm by Blake (The folio edition is gorgeous).

>94 Sorry about taking so long to respond.
I first came across Rumpole when Leo Mckern portrayed him on television.
The written Rumpole is quite good in my opinion and I have read the folio edition a number of times. The short story format allows you to do other reading and then come to it at any time.

Message edited by its author, Aug 22, 2009, 10:59pm.

thanks Barton; I haven't seen the TV series.

>100 - overthemoon:
You might be interested in Christopher Hitchens' article in Vanity Fair on the passing of Sir John Mortimer, which may give you an insight into what to look forward to in the Rumpole stories:

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/featur...

>98 I just finished the Scarlet Letter myself and really enjoyed it. I'm now reading Heart of Darkness by Conrad.

Just finished Jerusalem... now onto Les Liaisons Dangereuses

I am currently reading Life: A Natural History by Richard Fortey. I am also re-reading Great Expectations.

Re #100:

overthemoon, Rumpole is a walking compendium of Folio Society Devotees--not all, but certainly those who are most given to spouting lines from Palgrave's Golden Treasury at the least provocation. I am a complete fan, of course, of the books and the series.

And on a personal note, Mortimer came to my home town promoting his then just-released book, Rumpole and the Angel of Death when I was away on business. My late wife bought a copy and told him what fans we both were, and how much I reminded her of Rumpole in my fondness for both poetry and sturdy plonk, and he wrote a very long and touching inscription in my copy.

LibraryThing thinks I will love Rumpole (the arrow is right at the green tip!) so maybe I had better add it to my wishlist!
Thanks for your information, dianp and Django

>105
I 'googled' "sturdy plonk" and only one entry came up - your post! Care to illuminate me? Some kind of drink, I assume...

Os.

plonk is ordinary nameless red wine that may well leave stains difficult to remove.

Frequently also described as "an unpretentious little paintstripper".

>108, 109
Ahh! There it is (plonk) in my Shorter Oxford. I should have looked their instead of googling on the phrase "sturdy plonk".

One more for my curmudgeon vocab.

Os.

Just beginning Pepys's Diary 1667, after having stopped for a while. Only one volume left after that.

>107-110
Rumpole's preferred plonk is "Chateau Thames Embankment", sometimes known as "Pommeroy's Very Ordinary".

I just finished The Day of the Scorpion and have begun The Towers of Silence, volumes 2 and 3, respectively, of The Raj Quartet.

dianp how is it so far?

>114 SirFolio:
I'm enjoying it very much. The four novels overlap and with each volume, we learn more about, and gain fresh insights into, the various characters and elements of the storyline. In fact, so far (part way through vol. 3), I have to say that I'm enjoying each successive volume progressively more than the preceding one.

Physically, the Folio edition, with illustrations by Finn Campbell-Notman, is very attractive, notwithstanding the very minor issue of some dye rubbing off the corners of the back cover of some copies of The Jewel in the Crown, which was discussed in the thread: Fugitive Dye: The Raj Quartet:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/69204

Halfway through A Time Of Gifts, which is as wonderful as its reputation suggests. I have to say I found the Folio edition rather unappealing so picked up a simple paperback with a much more evocative cover (to me). I'm already debating whether to read Between The Woods And The Water straight after or leave a gap. I'm off to Italy in a few days (to Lake Como and Venice) and am saving up my FS The Leopard until then.

Message edited by its author, Aug 30, 2009, 2:17pm.

Now I'm well into Zuleika Dobson and loving it, but I'm kicking myself for looking it up on wikipedia because it tells you the whole plot.

>116. What did you find unappealing about the Folio edition? I think the cover is a little on the uninteresting side, but I really enjoyed the drawings by Daniel Whistler, who coincidentally illustrated my current reading matter, The Riddle of the Sands.

Finished Catriona and zoomed through First Folio yesterday. Started Woodbrook last night.

It's not FS, but I finished A Christmas Carol in bed this morning. My edition is lovely nonetheless, bound in leathery material, with a thread-sewn binding and illustrations by Arthur Rackham. Ah, and nice paper. For $19, I'm quite happy, especially considering it has The Night Before Christmas at the end. :-)

I just started reading Remains of the Day.
--BJ

Just finished Time Regained and into book first of The Golden Bowl.

> 118 - I really didn't like the cover and the drawings just didn't grab me. Illustrations obviously are pretty tricky if you have already have a mental image in your head and his drawings just didn't conform to mine. I find it happens quite a lot. It's a shame in this case but glad to hear there are others who like it.

I have just finished Bertrand Russell's History of Philosophy. I have now embarked on the Myths and Legends of Ancient Rome which I am thoroughly enjoying. Volumes collecting myths and legends is something which Folio appears to do very well.

Message edited by its author, Sep 2, 2009, 6:25am.

I'm reading Thomas Becket by Frank Barlow - a volume I was sent by accident years ago and was allowed to keep. Quite enjoying it, although it is something I would never have chosen to purchase.

>105 ff. sitôt dit, sitôt fait - a nice second-hand first edition of Rumpole just landed on my desk.

> 124 I have just finished Bertrand Russell's History of Philosophy

Instant kudos!

I am a big fan of BR. I love his humour, when you unearth it.

I too am reading Bertrand Russels History of Western Philosophy. I think it is one of the few Folio volumes I own that does not have illustrations but yet is one of the nicest to hold and read. The goatskin binding feels and smells wonderful.

I'm also working my way very slowly through Don Quixote and for a little light relief John Fothergilll's An Inkeepers Diary which I picked up second hand in a bookstore in Dublin recently.

edited to remove typo!

Message edited by its author, Sep 3, 2009, 3:47pm.

The Castle of Otranto, a very attractive little volume from the days of letterpress.

I'm currently reading The Aztecs by Nigel Davies in the evenings while by day, in the subway, a fifty cent paperback I picked up of Jacques Soustelle's Daily Life of the Aztecs.

I am reading Catch 22 again. Every time I finish it the number of times I must read it is increased, so I read it again.

Message edited by its author, Sep 5, 2009, 6:08am.

I just finished The Remains of the Day and am starting Complete Nonsense by Edward Lear.
--BJ

Did you enjoy Remains of the Day?
I like some of Lear's nonsense but his limericks are terrible. No punch in the last line, it is just a repetition of the first.

#133 I loved The Remains of the Day. It is one of my top reads of the year. I felt totally drawn to this book about a man looking back over his life and ahead to the remaining time left to him.

The limericks are definitely different from what I am used to. I do like some of them. I especially like the Nonsense Botany, the alphabet books, and of course The Owl and the Pussycat and The Jumblies.
--BJ

I'm just about to move from the wonderful A Time Of Gifts to I hope the equally good Between The Woods And Water. I've been slowed down by reading the rather good Great Tales From English History - I'm sad to say I know rather less than I should do about my country and I find it a simple but engaging way of playing catch-up. I'm also about to start The Leopard in tandem with the Fermor and I'm really looking forward to that as the FS edition looks rather attractive.

Post Captain, the second of the Aubrey / Maturin series.

>132 - 134 I recently read The Remains of the Day and likewise enjoyed it. I didn't think that I would at first but was won over quite quickly.

I have three books going at the moment:
The Folio book of H.G. Wells' short stories. Loads of fun.
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, by Edward Tufte. Sounds boring, but it actually is quite good.
Getting Things Done, by David Allen. One thing I can't seem to get done is finishing this book.

And Pandora in the Congo, highly recommended by someone here, is waiting for me at the library. That's next.

Just finished Woodbrook. I highly recommend this book, especially if you have an interest in the History of the British Isles and Ireland in particular.

It is still an open sore to read about the atrocities that were ladled out thick to ordinary men, women and children who just so happened to be born into one family (and thus religion) rather than another.

David Thomson, I believe, has done a wonderful job in describing rural Ireland. He describes the townlands and customs so well.

He brings back some vivid images to mind. the smell of the wet, rich earth; the smell of the turf from some range; the impossible roads, which remain to this day; and the rocks of course.

Good read.

Rereading Frankenstein!

Have moved to a non Folio book (gasp) for my next read. An Everyman Library edition of the Aeneid by Virgil.

> 140

....which I have now duly finished :-)

Excellent, Excellent, Excellent!

Now the big question is, what to read now?

I finished Rumpole which is a good read, though I feel I am missing a dimension, not having seen him on TV.
The next book I picked up (paperback to read in the train) was She - and by amazing coincidence, I found within the pages the original model for She Who Is To Be Obeyed, Rumpole's wife.

142>

And what a great character she is! As limned by both Mortimer and Haggard. You really should see the series, in which she is perfectly portrayed by Marion Mathie (who was also Mrs. Susan Wyse in the BBC's "Mapp and Lucia").

Django, I have also been advised to get the TV Mapp and Lucia DVDs - having read the Lucia Victrix trilogy quite recently.
I finished the Haggard today, what a great story, I coud hardly put it down. Only the use of ye, thee and thou annoyed me a bit but I suppose it was to give an idea of great age... And the strange participle "clomb" for climbed, I never heard that before.

My wife and I have just finished watching the Mapp and Lucia DVDs. We loved Geraldine McEwan as Lucia, and Nigel Hawthorne (of 'Madness of King George' fame) showing just what a versatile actor he was, as Georgie. We were not quite so enamoured of Prunella Scales, but I think that was perhaps more to do with the character of Mapp. It was also good to see locations in Rye (Tilling) where E. F. Benson lived, curiously in a house previously occupied by none other than Henry James. The house is now open to the public.
http://www.rye-tourism.co.uk/efbenson/

>144

He just wasn't a good speller--it should be "clumb."

Currently sharing my time between M.R.James 'Collected Ghost Stories' and Woody Allen 'Complete Prose'.

The Woody Allen is very funny and the cover has an unusual and very tactile rough finish. Struggling with the James collection - all alike. Don't think the design of the James is up to the usual Folio standard either.

#144

Mapp & Lucia with Prunella Scales, Geraldine McEwan and Nigel Hawthorne?! It is glorious!

ETA: Oops, somehow I managed to miss boldface's post.

I was caught up in the humour almost unawares--in fact, although I enjoyed the books, it took the TV series to make me realise fully how funny it was.

Message edited by its author, Oct 2, 2009, 4:06pm.

Georgie is by far my favourite character in Mapp & Lucia, anyway.

Dracula! My annual reread...

>150 - I started Dracula this morning in honor of Hallowe'en. I've never read it before and I must say THANK YOU to everyone who recommended it so highly; I would never have gotten it otherwise!

> 151

I enjoyed it immensely.

I am reading Moby Dick for the first time (it's been on my reading list for 20 years!). I sit in my reading chair every evening and read 3 or 4 chapters of the delicious LE. The quality and quantity of Kent's illustrations have by this point (about 1/4 through the book) become interwoven into the narrative. The smell and feel of the binding and the pages, the images, large and small, and the text are, even this early on, combining to make this an exquisite read.

I had a friend in college who, when I mentioned Moby Dick one night walking to our cars after class, got a fire in his eyes and spoke with such excitement about the greatest book he'd ever read. He then began to recite the entire first chapter by heart. I'm starting to sense why he responded so.

Os.

Message edited by its author, Oct 31, 2009, 10:29pm.

The Quest for Corvo. Recommended by someone on this site.

Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West. Whoops, not a Folio (but it needs to be, by gum!).

Before that, however, I polished off The Shooting Party and Stories by John Buchan. Loved the Chekhov. I can best describe it as an Agatha Christie mystery narrated by the lead character in Notes from Underground only he's speaking in Bertie Wooster's voice.

The Buchan was a rip-snortin' good time. Highly recommended.

Uncle Silas by Le Fanu.

Second the recommendation on the Rebecca West--this was originally recommended over a year ago; isn't anyone listening?

I just finished re-reading Rebecca - I like the spookiness of the illustrations. Now I'm reading I Capture the Castle.

>158 - I always felt it would be much more fitting for the narrator's face never to be shown in the illustrations for Rebecca. Besides that, they're nice.

I did a little Halloween reading as well. Casting the Runes from the FS edition of M.R. James' Collected Ghost Stories and Sardonicus from Ray Russell's Haunted Castles (non-FS but as it arrived the day before Halloween it seemed appropriate to read the story that inspired a movie from my childhood that I still vividly remember scenes from). Hopefully this week I'll be able to read a few more stories from the James collection.

FionaCat, hope you are enjoying Dracula. It's one of my favourite books.

I have just finished Travels With My Aunt, which is the first Graham Greene novel I have read and am happy to say I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I've started on a non-FS copy of The Heart of the Matter while the thirst for a new author was still there but I'm not finding it as immediately gripping, though I am only a few chapters in. If there are others people can recommend (whether they've been Folio'd or not) I'd be most grateful :)

I've rapidly gone from 0 Folios in August to approaching 60 with others in the post or awaiting publication! I think I'm a bit overenthusiastic as I'm now at a loss what I'd like to read next!

I'm slowly plodding through the Collected Gogol which I'm finding interesting but the language is a bit... not difficult but hard to absorb for some reason. I see from the abridged post that perhaps the translation used is not most people's cup of tea.

Hello there LoChan,

I have just finished re reading Brighton Rock by Greene which I highly recommend. Two of my favourite G.G. novels are The Quiet American and The Human Factor (the Folio edition of T.H.F. is wonderful.). You might also try one of the "Entertainments" such as Our Man in Havana. I enjoyed The Heart of the Matter although it is pretty heavy on the Catholicism toward the end although this is of course a recuring theme throughout many of his books.

Hope this helps and happy reading.

> 161

The "Entertainments" are just that--very entertaining reads, but not superficial. In addition to Our Man in Havana, I still find A Gun For Sale, aka This Gun For Hire very absorbing. I recently gave my Folio copy of The Third Man --which also contains The Fallen Idol-- to a reader who was looking for something she could read a few chapters a night without falling asleep with the book in her lap. She read the entire Third Man in one night, and The Fallen Idol the next night, and is now on to The Ministry of Fear.

In addition to whatstherumpus' suggetions, I'd also recommend The Power and the Glory. Great story.

Now reading and thoroughly enjoying Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde. I read this as a small child and was not able to appreciate it then.

I am not going to read Weir of Hermiston in the same volume - it is an unfinished novel and one I will return to later when I have read more of my Folio Stevenson's. I feel I may also struggle with some of the Scots in Weir, although a glossary is provided in the Folio volume.

Double post.

Message edited by its author, Nov 3, 2009, 5:35am.

>162, 163

Thanks for the recommends - getting the folio editions of Brighton Rock and the Entertainments set off Abebooks, also waiting to see if I'm the highest bidder on a copy of The Power and The Glory - I've put The Human Factor on my wanted list for now to keep an eye out for it in the winter/summer sales :)

The Heart of the Matter is beginning to move along smoothly now, it's been making bus journeys fly by. I haven't hit the heavy catholism yet (unless it missed me!).

Looking forward to reading the Rubaiyat as soon as it comes too, I'm not familiar with it but couldn't resist how rich the book looked in the Folio snapshots!

> 164

I don't think you will find the Scots too difficult, but then again I'm Scottish.
The Weir can be read in a day easily, without breaking sweat.
It had the makings of a great novel: in fact it is a great unfinished novel, in my humble and completely prejudiced opinion. :-)

> 167

Thank LesMis. This is what I had heard - that Weir could have been Stevenson's greatest and is left tantalisingly unfinished. I have difficulty with unfinished novels and could never read Edwin Drood for the same reason.

> 168 "I have difficulty with unfinished novels and could never read Edwin Drood for the same reason."

At least, Quicksilver, there are dozens of 'completed' versions of Edwin Drood, admittedly of varying quality, but they make a study in themselves.

That's true boldface. But then equally I have difficulty with takes on other writers characters !!!

I finally finished Proust's In Search of Lost Time and needed a brain-wash so I've moved on to The Age of Scandal by T. H. White. So far, so entertaining.

Re #171 - you will certainly enjoy Germaine Greer's hatchet job on In Search of Lost Time in today's Guardian - see http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2009/n...

#171: Have you read all novels consecutively? Is is really temps perdu, as Germaine says? (I must confess I've never read Proust :-(

me neither, but if ever I do, it will certainly be in French, I don't think I could survive a translation.

In Search of Lost Time certainly has flaws and Greer does a good job pointing them out--particularly the fact that the last three volumes were not finished prior to Proust's death (hence, the first three volumes are much, much better reads). The Folio Society's version is the Scott Moncrieff/Terence Kilmartin/D. J. Enright translation, which is considered not only the best English translation of the book but one of the best English translations of any work of fiction (why aren't more translations translated in this manner where you start with a fairly good translation, refine it further and then give it an erudite polish--like sanding a piece of wood). Greer thinks the translation stinks and picks out one obscure howler in a 2500-page work. She castigates Proust for giving a "dishonest account of homosexuality" without noting that he was himself homosexual. She also picks a fight with Nabokov, describing his admiration for Proust's prose as a "momentary lapse of barbarism." That ridiculous statement gives her game away: she is just looking for outraged Proustians to write in and further stir up controversy. Next up: Dante's Inferno--just a lot of hot air.

>172

Just are those who like escargot and others who like oysters, there will always be those who like Proust and those who can't stand him. Ms. Greer obviously belongs to the "can't stand him" camp, and, as I am fond of quoting, de gustibus non disputandum est (or perhaps chacun à son goût would be more apropos).

I read most of Proust as an undergraduate in the Scott-Moncrieff translation, and found myself drawn into his world. I bought the Folio Society edition a few years ago, but have not dipped into it yet. I wish to thank Ms. Greer for providing the impetus I needed, and now I know how to answer the thread "which Folio volume will you be reading this Christmas?"

Not reading a Folio at the moment, but a cheapo Wordsworth edition for two quid: The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo....worth every one of those 200 pennies.

175: Just for the record, Greer said that Nabokov was having "a momentary lapse into barbarism" which is just the opposite of having a momentary lapse of barbarism.

>178
Yes, my 10-yr old has momentary lapses OF barbarism. %^)

Os.

>178

Just for the record, Ms. Greer's comment seems irrelevant, not to mention a little churlish. To use the term "barbarism" to apply to Nabokov's description of Proust's prose as "translucid" reminds me of Pope's "who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?" (I couldn't resist using this quote, knowing of Nabokov's penchant for things lepidopterous, and only in the sense of an inappropriate application of force.) Perhaps she believes only Lewis Carroll had the right to coin portmanteau words. (Now perhaps Nabokov wasn't deliberately trying to create an adjective that combined the connotations of "transparent" and "lucid"; out of respect for his erudition and skill as a writer, though, I'd be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.) At any rate, if she doesn't like Proust, let her voice her own objections and not try to bolster her authority by proving she is smarter than those people who don't think reading him is time wasted.

Nabokov was probably anglicizing "translucide" which is French for transparent. I do that sort of thing all the time, as my French and English wires get crossed.

>181

Thanks, otm, I should have pursued my French studies past French 102!

Translucid is a word already in my Oxford English Dictionary, meaning translucent. (My French-English dictionary says that translucide also means translucent, and that the French word for transparent is... transparent.)

How it's barbaric to use it is beyond me. Still, I think she did give her own reasons for not liking it (while ALSO trashing people who do.)

Message edited by its author, Nov 10, 2009, 10:04pm.

I would be a bit hard pushed to explain the difference between transparent and translucide or the English equivalents transparent and translucent, but my Collins says translucent means semitransparent. Translucid isn't in it. My Littré says of "transparent": se dit aussi pour translucide dans le langage vulgaire (i.e. used for translucid in common parlance).

>184

Vive le difference!

I'm not happy with that Oxford definition: both "lucent" and "lucid" are derived from the Latin "lucere," which means "to shine" (in my Latin dictionary, anyway), but "translucent" in general usage means an object which lets light shine through but diffuses it sufficiently to prevent clear perception (in cinematography we have an entire class of materials for diffusing light from luminaires which are classified as "translucent", which allow light to pass but which you can't "see" through; there are other materials which alter the chroma of light, or attenuate its intensity that are classified as "transparent," and images are distinct when viewed through these materials). "Lucid" in general use always means something which is clear, transparent, easy to understand.

To make "translucid" a synonym for "translucent" muddies the waters: prose which is "translucent" seems to have connotations of a certain hazy impressionism, wherein everything is suggested rather than precisely limned, and where the oblique rather than the explicit is the order of the day. "Translucid" would seem to me to indicate a transmission of what is clear and understandable.

Not having read Nabokov's original comment on Proust (and thanks, Ms. Greer, for indicating where we might track this down to see it in context!), I can't say whether this latter meaning of "translucid" is what was intended, or whether he was, in fact, suggesting that Proust's prose is impressionistic and suggestive rather than clear and easy to understand. At any rate, the OED definition is, I think, an unsatisfactory one.

>185

I considered posting something similar (without reference to cinematography), as that's exactly how I would differentiate the words - was too lazy, however.

I would add, though, that the OED's definition, unsatisfactory on one level, perhaps reflects vulgar usage, its vision from inception to emphasize the historical over the strictly etymological.

The difference between something "translucid" and another simply "lucid" is beyond me - the "trans" seems redundant, since lucidity is anyway inherently communicative. It could be that Nabokov was getting at a lucidity indirectly communicated (perhaps a clarity emerging through confusion/obscurity, akin to drunken/religious epiphany?) - the haze of memory, but the clarity of sensations, associations? Or did Nabokov simply know too many languages for his own good?

185: It seems as though you find the definition unsatisfactory because you don't believe it's true. It's simple enough, but you don't think it's accurate.

You may be right, of course, but I'm sure you know that there are thousands of words that don't mean what one might logically think they mean by breaking the word apart.

For example, lucid may always mean "clear" today, but in the late 16th century (again according to the OED) it meant "bright, luminous, resplendent." So I could see people start to use translucid as a synonym for translucent.

Unfortunately, "lucid" also meant both "translucent" and "clear" in later years. And more: Translucent itself is apparently sometimes a synonym for transparent. That's not how I use it, but I can't vouch for Nabokov.

So how did Nabokov mean it? Was he trying to coin a new word that unfortunately already existed? Was he just using a 5 dollar word for transparent, and now we're all confused? I don't know, but I wouldn't blame the OED for not anticipating Nabokov's nuanced use of metaphor.

>187

"What is truth? said jesting Pilate, and would not stay for an answer."

Truth really doesn't have any relevance to my criticism. The art and science of lexicography is based on textual references and citations. The fact that "translucid" appears in few dictionaries indicates a paucity of these.

Here is one such reference, from Emerson's "Essays":

"This insight, which expresses itself by what is called Imagination, is a very high sort of seeing, which does not come by study, but by the intellect being where and what it sees; by sharing the path or circuit of things through forms, and so making them translucid to others."

To me, Emerson's use of the word denotes a quality of understanding--an understanding that makes things appear clear, or "lucid."

The only other source for usage I could find was from Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea":

"As to the molluscs, they consisted of some I had already observed--turritellas, olive porphyras, with regular lines intercrossed, with red spots standing out plainly against the flesh; odd pteroceras, like petrified scorpions; translucid hyaleas, argonauts, cuttle-fish (excellent eating), and certain species of calmars that naturalists of antiquity have classed amongst the flying-fish, and that serve principally for bait for cod-fishing."

Based on other threads on FSD, I suspect that the usage here is a lazy attempt by Verne's translator at rendering the French original "translucide." Pictures of these hyaleas, or "sea butterflies," show them to be, in fact, translucent and not transparent.

I'm not about to state that my definition of "translucid" is the only correct one, but I just think that a dictionary definition should offer some attempt to show subtle nuances in the meaning of words--especially words which are not in common usage, and especially in the case of words that are homophonic or cognates of words in another language.

188: As long as you're not going to say that your definition is the only correct one, then I don't have much to add.

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying about Verne. It seems as though the translator considered translucid to be a synonym for translucent, right?

"I'm not sure I understand what you're saying about Verne. It seems as though the translator considered translucid to be a synonym for translucent, right?"

No. I'm saying that he was being lazy and just used an English cognate for the word without thinking about the meaning. Based on the criticisms of Verne fans here, who disparage the old translations, this seems likely. I suspect Emerson (and Nabokov) when they used the word, meant "a kind of writing that was so clear it allowed the reader to participate in the experience." to use "translucid" to describe a diaphanous sea creature would make as much sense as describing it as "perspicuous."

Completely unrelated to the lengthy debate above but still on 'topic', I'm about to start on the Five Children series of the E Nesbit collection - I haven't read the stories before but saw the tv serialisation of The Phoenix and The Carpet when I was small and vaguely remember it being quite charming. I also just watched the film version of The Five Children and It with the sand fairy voiced by Eddie Izzard which was an interesting casting choice to say the least!

I just finished Graham Greene's Heart of the Matter which was rather dismal (not the writing but certainly the general mood) so some children's literature will be a pleasant change of pace.

Message edited by its author, Nov 14, 2009, 9:31am.

I finished reading the Beatrix Potter tales to my youngest son. We both quite enjoyed most of them. Piggling Bland left us feeling deflated and confused.

I've started reading The Natural History of Selborne, an older and smaller FS edition than the one I now see and drool over on the FS site. No color illustrations either but hoping the subject matter keeps me interested.

Message edited by its author, Nov 15, 2009, 12:50am.

I've just started reading A Nervous Splendour. It's been languishing in my TBR mountain since I got it on Ebay a couple of months ago, but I visited Vienna for the first time last week and the book was rapidly promoted! I love the texture and look of the red silk binding.

193: Ooh, I'm really interested in A Nervous Splendour, but just never pulled the trigger. You'll have to say how you like it.

>192
The 'Selborne' volume which you now see and drool over shows up on the FS website as a renewal premium for US$4.95, so, if you haven't renewed but plan to, this might be a good time. Of course, renewal offers seem to vary with geography and even with individuals.

Os.

#195: Any comment on Selborne by some owners? Like it? Interesting to read? (I have not renewed yet, because THEY didn't accept my deal...)

195 - Os, unfortunately I just joined FS in October. I've got many months of anticipation ahead before I find out what renewal offers will be dangled to tempt me. But only $4.95? Yes, I think I might have jumped at that one.

196 - Pepys, I've only just begun, reading a letter or two a night, and so far it's been a little dry while White goes over the geography of the area. I'm more interested in the zoology and botany which I'm hoping he'll get to soon.