What Are You Reading? (6)

New thread since number 5 was getting too long for loading purposes.

I've started reading again American Gods. I previously read the Kindle version to find out more about the story. Great stuff by Neil Gaiman! Very happy with the Folio edition which is magnificient. The illustrator is working on a serialization as a pictoliterature adaptation.

Have started, at the same time, with A Wizard of Earthsea. First two chapters look very promising.

Reading Natural Born Heroes

Currently half way through FS Heart Of Darkness. I've never been able to finish this book before. I'm determined this time however. 55 pages to go I think I can force it through.

Slogging my way through the admittedly short Art of War. Finding it very hard to appreciate its much-vaunted "profound knowledge" to be honest.

As such, also reading Syme's Roman Revolution. More my line for sure.

>5 adriano77: I don't know about Art of War but I had a similar problem with Clausewitz. I stopped 'slogging' my way through it and chucked it out. There are better ways of wasting one's time!

>4 Sorion: Really enjoyed it. I had meant to read this one for so long. Glad I did.

>5 adriano77: Read this recently too. In terms of applicability to life's issues, it remains relevant. As a work of literature; no.

Breezing through Stacy Schiff's Cleopatra at the moment. It's not bad!

Following up on the previous thread, The Doomed City (Arkady and Boris Strugatsky) was excellent. I'll definitely be reading more of their work, and it would make a superb Folio Society publication. Hint, hint.

>6 scratchpad: Oh dear, I've got the FS Clausewitz still sealed on my shelf... I was looking forward to seeing what the fuss was about! Ha.

>7 LesMiserables: It just struck me that things like "attack where they don't expect to be attacked" aren't exactly revelations. I'll inevitably finish it so maybe it'll surprise me though.

James Joyce's Dubliners. On the final story , "The Dead" now, and it is probably my pick of the bunch as far as the stories go.

New book to follow imminently and while I haven't chosen which one yet I feel a more light-hearted offering might be called for as my last few have been rather stern reads...( "All Quiet on The Western Front" / "Black Dogs" / "London Fields"....and currently "Dubliners").

>11 adriano77: Good luck with the Clausewitz. To reply type a forward arrow then the number you are replying to then a space and then your message. Press 'preview' to check it out before posting. Cheers.

>13 scratchpad: Nailed it.

From Bacteria to Bach and Back, another strong effort from Daniel Dennett on the evolution of the human mind. Splendid.

I've begun Stoner, by John Williams (a NYRB Classics publication). It seems all the cool kids are reading it.

MARTIN AMIS - DEAD BABIES. Fairly 'colourful' start to the book, one might say.

The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett. FS edition.

>18 Lady19thC: Just got this. Don't know when I'll get around to reading it, though.

>16 coynedj: I'm not sure it will warm you up any - it did nothing for me. I bought it on the back of alleged critical acclaim. Maybe I'm missing something. Would like to hear your verdict when you've read it.

Just finished Natural Born Heroes. Very good enabler! Now where can I buy Cretan Runner?

>16 coynedj:

I must be cool then, read it a couple of years ago!

Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh: In his excellent introduction (to the FS boxed set of six) David Lodge describes Waugh's style as "...staying on the surface, giving the minimum of information about the characters' thoughts and feelings, making the reader draw the appropriate conclusions from what they say and do, (and so) prevents the novel from becoming excessively emotional and moralistic". In addition to or as a consequence of this the story is told in a brisk, clipped manner that moves it along at a rapid pace. Thus I should have thoroughly enjoyed the ride but didn't.

The reasons were obvious almost from the start. I found the story of a hapless, directionless, put-upon individual irritating - if a novel's main attraction is to chart the development, education, change, achievements or redemption of a character then this novel had none of that since that person is pretty much an empty vessel and one without sides so cannot therefore be filled with anything resembling a change-agent. Also and more to the point, as an allegedly 'funny' book I read it straight-faced throughout (although I confess to one or two mental smiles, but only one or two). Waugh's technique of employing savagely ironic and otherwise comic shocks came across as too intended to be funny. It may have been funny in 1928 but, for me, not now. However, it may not even have been considered funny then, at least by the publishers who were evidently worried about its shocking nature so as to have Waugh remind readers in a forenote that the book is meant to be funny and to treat it as such. It's just as likely though that this was just a marketing publicity stunt. In any event the 'shocking' nature of the book, in my opinion, is dead on its feet in the cynical times of today and is purely a point of academic interest for literary historians.

Not to be put off I'm persuaded by Lodge's enthusiasm to give Waugh another go. There are five more books in the set - if anyone can recommend a 'best' choice I won't hold it against them!

The BBC's current serialisation of this book and the associated publicity prompted me to read it before watching it on the small screen. It will be interesting to see what they have done with it. I find that book humour often fails on screen - the media are too dissimilar - but maybe it will work here in reverse, if you get my meaning.

>23 scratchpad:

The comment about 1928 is probably accurate: folk back then brought their imaginations with them to a book. But now?

I am doing a really deep TBR effort. The FS 1974 "Between the Acts" by Virginia Woolf can now move from the TBR list. Do you remember the days? It is letterpress with lovely lithographs by Gillian Barlow. Thanks to the slipcover the Mellotex Matt Cartridge paper, with the cloth binding and paper sides stayed as new as when I purchased it from the FS.

A toast to retirement!

>25 Forthwith: I got my BTA to add to my collection without really looking at it, shame on me. I just now pulled it out of my bookcase and you are so right - the book is 'as new'. Great stuff. Now all I have to do is read it.

>23 scratchpad:
"a novel's main attraction is to chart the development, education, change, achievements or redemption of a character"

Really? I did not know this was a requirement - would it not be sufficient to faithfully tell a character's story and thereby reveal something of the human condition?

Of course we now live in the age of Facebook and are obliged to be cool, incredibly successful and have awesome adventures on a daily basis!

(Waugh does occasionally trouble me - he frequently takes the piss out of the social structure, jet somehow manages to endorse it too. There is an element of voyeurism, like today's celebrity gossip, except Waugh's snapshots of the elite have a ring of truth.)

>27 StevieBby: Yes, I agree that my 'main attraction' is not the only one and that is why I preceded it with an 'if' that you failed to quote. However, I can see how it might have been interpreted in the way you suggest - this was not intended.

The Cremator - Ladislav Fuks

>23 scratchpad: I have not read all of the books in the Waugh set of six, but of those read I enjoyed Scoop most. I read it over ten years ago and so cannot remember the detail, except that it is about a journalist who was not suited to the assignment being sent to report on unrest in a fictional African state, with hilarious results.
It is almost certainly dated in its treatment of Africans, but if you can accept that it is of its time, then I remember it being great fun.

Currently reading A Gambling Man: Charles II and the Restoration which I am finding an excellent overview of the first decade following the Restoration in Britain, as a follow up to a history of the Great Fire of London read last year.

>20 scratchpad: - Re Stoner. Well, I tried. After 128 pages, I concluded that I truly didn't care about the characters or the story, and I gave up on it. It is definitely well written, with some notable observations and turns of phrase. But the fine clothing couldn't hide the fact that, for me, the skeleton holding them up was rather frail.

I've moved on to The Last Samurai, by Helen DeWitt. It thankfully has no connection with the regrettable Tom Cruise movie of the same name. I'm quite enjoying it, I'm sure in some part due to the great stylistic contrast to Stoner.

>24 LesMiserables: >27 StevieBby: >30 CarltonC: I got the bright idea of going through the set in order of publication after having the brilliant idea of learning to love Waugh after having the dazzling conviction that I had in fact been missing something. A few pages into Vile Bodies and your comment about Scoop (the misfit abroad) leads me to think these books are pretty much about the same thing and once you've read one etc...My bright idea is losing its luminescence.

>31 coynedj: Thanks for your feedback on Stoner. I persevered to the end and somewhere between the middle and the end was rewarded by one truly gripping chapter. Sadly it didn't make up for the rest.

ps:I've just looked for the book to find the gripping chapter and I can't find it, the book not the gripping chapter - I must have thrown it out. I suppose that says it all.

pps: Hey, what's wrong with Tom Cruise? I reckon he could give Stoner a bit of fizz!

>33 scratchpad: - the movie was very bad. Cruise was serviceable, but little more.

Had a major wrench thrown into the finishing Heart of Darkness plan in the form of rewatching the Angel television series. Nostalgia has taken firm root!

Not looking good for Heart Of Darkness. Fell asleep trying to finish it last night. This book drives me crazy. Eyeing Dubliners pretty hard.

Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh: I was premature to suggest earlier that once you have read one of these comic novels (in my case Decline and Fall) then you have read them all. This one is really about the Bright Young Things of that era (and those not so young but equally vile) while describing the adventures of one of their members as he struggles to find enough money to get married to another. While the tone and style are similar to D & F the story (flimsy though it may be) is not. The cast of characters is huge, confusing, and merely serves as a vehicle for social comment and satire - most of them are easily, and without penalty, forgotten. The novel is more humorous than D & F but not enough to raise more than a few smiles so as to reinforce my prejudice that the alleged biting wit of Waugh is now a thing of the past.

I'm not sure that comic novels are my strong point as I read them knowing that I'm wasting my time. Maybe I should stick to short stories and waste less. But the other four in the set are giving me the come-on with promises of better things ahead and I'm a perennial victim of the fantasy that hope will triumph over experience. All I need now is to find my fun receptors.

Starting in on Hobbes' Leviathan. I can tell from the off that I may not enjoy it but I feel compelled to give it a fair shot as it's been highly recommended by a number of friends.

Anyone have an opinion on it they care to share?

>39 adriano77: Power through the beginning, for me it improves markedly around the 20 percent mark before declining again three-quarters of the way through

>40 gmacaree: So half a good book or thereabout. Could be worse! Thanks.

My success rate continues to be quite high, though not 100%. I've just finished The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt, and liked it quite a lot. Implausible? Certainly. But it held my interest through all 480 or so pages, which is more than I could say for my previous book, Stoner. I happily recommend it.

Reading Moby Dick. Oldeer 1943 Special Edition. I am enjoying the way Melville has created this novel as a series of short chapter scenes, which makes much easier to read than others I read by him.

I just saw this and went to hunt for my copy but could not find it. I have just moved and have books still in boxes so it will show up eventually. I have a very old copy that came from my father's library. He was a minister for 30 years! I am misunderstanding your finding it hard to appreciate. I was a social studies teacher for 29 years and coached for the first 15. It has been long ago that I read the whole book but found it a wonderful basis for strategies both in my classroom and on the track. I taught in rougher than usual schools the first of my career and at an alternative school the latter(no extra-curricular activities there.) I will admit it can seem like reading a manual at times but trying to overlook that I approached it as a philisophical guide to leadership. I guess it may have been helpful as one of my runners is the assistant coach at a major university now. Your current book seems interesting and I might think that if the Roman Republic had read and followed Sun Tzu they may not have ended up transforming from a Republic to an Empire! Hindsight for sure but just a thought..... Coach D

Folio: The Red Fairy Book

I actually started on this to make a final decision about keeping or losing the set, given it now seems unlikely either my niece or nephew will want them... It's far more readable than I expected. Years ago I read the Blue one but wasn't especially taken by it--perhaps too many stories were familiar? But I'm really rather enjoying this. It's very soothing--just the thing in times like these.

Non-Folio: too many to list.

My commute read is currently archy and mehitabel, originally published in 1927.

the things that i had not ought to
i do because i ve got to
wotthehell wotthehell
and i end with my favorite motto
toujours gai toujours gai

One of archy's maxims:

procrastination is the
art of keeping
up with yesterday

(archy's a cockroach. He types by jumping on typewriter keys, so can't do capitals and other upper-shift signs.)

This is just the sort of title one can see the FS publishing in the sixties.

>46 LolaWalser: Thank you! Archy and Mehitabel sounds wonderful. I've just ordered a copy on-line.

P.S. Perhaps this is something Folio could successfully publish even now. It would lend itself well to a cute binding, illustrations and a typewriter slipcase :)

>46 LolaWalser:
>47 cronshaw:

I'd certainly go for a Folio "Archy and Mehitabel". Maybe we could even have it together with "Archy's Life of Mehitabel" in a single volume. My fifty-year-old Faber paperback editions are still in pretty good condition, but a Folio version would be great.

>46 LolaWalser: >47 cronshaw:
I'm not big on poetry, but wotthehell wotthehell, an Everyman's Pocket Poets hardback is on its way. Thanks for instant enablement.

>47 cronshaw: >48 TabbyTom: Agree, FS edition illustrated by Quentin Blake would be most welcome!

Just kidding. I'd pick David Hughes.

Finished The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson, a now doing a reread of Cider with Rosie (FS edition), by Laurie Lee.

>47 cronshaw:, >49 elladan0891:

Ooh, I hope you both like it. I'd be very curious to know whether your editions are illustrated, and if so, is it George Herriman? That's what drew my attention to it in the first place, being a huge fan of Krazy Kat--his Mehitabel looks very much like her. I understand Herriman's version has become iconic, but I can imagine different takes succeeding very well.

>48 TabbyTom:

A twofer is a great idea! Same question, Tom, is your Faber edition illustrated and by whom?

>51 LolaWalser:

There are no illustrations at all in my 1960s Faber paperbacks of "Archy & Mehitabel" and "Archy's Life of Mehitabel".

>51 LolaWalser:

Another instant fan of archy and mehitabel here! Had no idea that Herriman had illustrated the book. That cat is indeed a close relative of Krazy, one of my most admired characters. Thanks for the tip, Lola.

>52 TabbyTom:

That surprises me! But it does show that the verse is charming on its own.

>53 drasvola:

That's great, I'm so glad. I always wanted to explore more Herriman's illustrating career but Krazy Kat was so successful I don't suppose he did much of that kind of work.

Put down Heart Of Darkness last week. Can't do it. I'm reading Dubliners right now for the first time and loving it. Trying to limit myself to a story or two a day in order to not blow through and miss something. Just love the book.

Have just started The Mill on the Floss. Having loved Middlemarch and enjoyed Silas Marner, have been looking forward to this.

Just about to finish The Shepard's Life by James Rebanks.

The Cremator is a fantastic novel, definitely one of the best books concerning the psychology of the Nazi Reich. I know we had a few people in praise of Primo Levi on here so would wholeheartedly recommend Fuks to those amongst us. I don't want to spoil the novel, and recommend interested folks avoid reading the blurb, but for me it was perfectly written to explore the destabilisation & corruption of moral systems and the horrors that leads to; I think it's on par with any 'modern classic'.

The Bayeux Tapestry by Carola Hicks: Written as a biography of the Tapestry, and its wider cultural influences, I was a bit disappointed it followed, in large part, a conventional academic route of doing this via reports of what others (of whom there were many) have said while remaining fairly reserved if not virtually silent about hazarding personal opinions. As a result I found this book, although well written, something of a slog. It is so detailed (again to the point of tedium) and referenced that I might have recommended it as the go-to information resource but for a surprising note in the afterword that the author sought to fill the gaps in current knowledge rather than report the state of the art. I would hope that she did both but as I am an ignoramous on the subject I now couldn't say one way or the other. Certainly this book would be a necessary addition to any enthusiast's library and the volume itself is everything that FS should be proud of. The jewel in the crown is the commentary (by Sylvette Lemagnen) accompanying a picture-by-picture sequence of the Tapestry itself.

My plate is rather full right now. I'm still trying to work through all of the books I have put on hold at the local library - the current batch are:

Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction, by Philip Tetlock and Dan Gardner. I thought I would blow through this one quickly, but it's proving more interesting than anticipated.

A Savage War: A Military History of the Civil War, by Williamson Murray and Wayne Wie-Siang Hsieh. Only a few pages into this one.

Snuff, by Terry Pratchett. Good fun, as expected.

To begin soon:

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, by Milan Kundera. Time to re-read this.
Buying Time: The Delayed Crisis of Democratic Capitalism, by Wolfgang Streek.
History: A Novel, by Elsa Morante.

>51 LolaWalser:
Yes, mine is illustrated by Herriman.
A cute well-made pocket cloth-bound hardback. This is my first Everyman's Pocket Poets book, but it turned out to be printed and bound in Germany just like their Wodehouse and Pocket Classics series, just slightly smaller in size and with better spine and board blocking. Perfect to take around when traveling or using public transport.

>60 elladan0891:

Nice, thanks. Didn't know about that edition; I keep seeing the old Dell Anchor paperbacks like mine.

Have started to read the Malay Archipelago, a free download version on iBooks. It wasn't even on my radar but the FS version looks impressive and I wanted to make sure I'd enjoy the content before purchasing. An hour or so in and I'm already hooked! It's pulling me away from the latest historical fiction series I was starting to get in to!

>56 Willoyd: I tried Middlemarch, battled with it for many hours but gave up about 2/3 in, I decided life is just too short to read something you don't enjoy, for the sake of saying you've read it!

>63 leemeadowcroft: Yes, why finish a book that you are not enjoying? I've done this but not often. There's a certain stubborness kicks in born of an almost unconscious commitment, a contractual agreement with oneself, to complete the task. Failure to do so is quite unsettling - it's as if a promise has been broken. It's the weirdest thing and completely bonkers!

>63 leemeadowcroft: >64 scratchpad:

Fair enough, but many books come good in the end. My own experience has taught me that when I'm not enjoying a book, sometimes it's not the book that is the issue.

>65 LesMiserables: "sometimes it's not the book that is the issue"

That uncertainty pushes you to the finishing line - an unbroken tape is abject hence the guilt.

Just starting a reread of Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier. Always a fun and creepy read, and especially interesting to compare to my recent read of The Haunting of Hill House. Some of the characters and situations are rather similar.

>67 Lady19thC: I just re-read Jamaica Inn. I forgot how absolutely sinister and terrifying it was! I love reading du Maurier on a rainy day with a cup of tea. The world just disappears. I have Rebecca on my list of re-reads. Enjoy!

>68 MegEynons: That is my favourite of all her works, but I want to reread My Cousin Rachel later this summer in preparation for the new movie! So creepy! Love them all!

Starting Michel de Montaigne's 'Complete Works' (Everyman's Library edition).

Speaking of which, bit of an off-topic query, but does anyone know what's the deal with Everyman's Library in terms of binding? I had read on their site that their bindings were sewn but this book, while having pages bundled in signatures, appears to be glued - no visible thread or stitching from what I can tell. Quite disappointed.

>70 adriano77: >71 EclecticIndulgence:

I recall 400+ sewn, or was that for Modern Library?

I'm new to LibraryThing. Currently, I am reading the FS edition of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I expect to finish either today or tomorrow, after two and one half weeks' reading, after which I will start Emma. I plan to read Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion after that. Persuasion is the only one of these novels that I have read previously.

>73 sviswanathan:
Welcome to Folio Society Devotees.
You will find many like minded people here able to help you with advice and enablement.
Make sure you check out the FSD wiki at-
http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/Groups:Folio_Society_Devotees
to learn as much as possible about the Folio Society and this group.

Thank you! I appreciate the warm welcome.

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov: Fun and games as the devil plays tricks on the good citizens of Moscow, creating mayhem in the process.

And apparently it's not over yet. I put together some comments on this book and in attempting to paste them here the damn things vanished. That was enough for me. Wherever they are I'm not resurrecting them and this novel goes into a lead-lined box.

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, FS edition. A reread for me, but I love his works!

>77 Lady19thC:
I end up reading Martian Chronicles almost every year.

>76 scratchpad:
This is a favorite of mine. And I have numerous times pleaded for Folio to REPRINT THIS BOOK!!!!
And Reprint Fahrenheit 451 too.

>71 EclecticIndulgence: >72 LesMiserables:

Small update. I decided to really dig into the copy of de Montaigne and it does indeed have a sewn binding. The stitches just happened to be unusually deeply placed. My mistake!

As such, I ended up ordering a few more titles - Tacitus' Annals and Histories (888 pages), Machiavelli's The Prince (232 pages), Thoreau's Walden (338 pages) and Anne Frank's Diary (320 pages).

They're all sewn. So, good news for anyone on the fence. The cloth isn't especially great but serviceable and overall the books are quite sturdy.

>79 adriano77:

I have quite a few of these. Great value for money.

Finished Scoop, reading Vile Bodies.

A Traveller in Time, by Alison Uttley.

Been on a Patrick Modiano kick lately.

In the Cafe of Lost Youth
Young Once
Suspended Sentences

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami :)

>85 XiaoGustav: Really enjoyed Norwegian Wood (and A Wild Sheep Chase), but for some reason did not seem able to get into The Wind-up Bird Chronicle and have faltered from attempting other books by him.
I am currently reading Dissolution, historical fiction as a change from history books from around this period!

Ring of Steel: Germany and Austria-Hungary in World War I, by Alexander Watson
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, by Milan Kundera
Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right, by Arlie Russell Hochschild

My son read The Long Earth, by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter, and is very eager that I read it too and talk about it with him. So, I'll be starting that very soon as well.

>86 CarltonC: I can't wait for another Shardlake novel. Sansom is by far my favourite novelist in the genre.

Just finished Dostoevsky's The Idiot, starting Xenophon's Persian Expedition.

Question, for anyone familiar with the former, what's up with the Prince S./Prince Shch. character? Does he have an actual name? Why is it abbreviated like that?

Recently finished Elmore Leonard's Glitz in LOA copy and Priestdaddy, US poet's memoir of growing up with a Catholic priest as a father. Patricia Lockwood is a treasure as a poet, but I selfishly hope she continues in prose.

Currently reading The Time of Our Singing and Company Aytch.

>89 adriano77:
He was probably hinting at some particular person being the prototype of the character. I just googled an article that quite convincingly shows that it was very likely prince Grigory Scherbatov, whom Dostoevsky knew personally as both were active members of St. Petersburg Society for helping writers and scientists in need. Adding him to the book as prince Sch. was probably a token of respect and admiration.

Prince Grigory in his youth (unknown source from wiki):

>91 elladan0891:

Fantastic, thanks. I was thinking it was something along those lines, similar to some of the street names being edited in Crime and Punishment.

-edit. Hmm. It seems the street names were done for censorship reasons... Weird.

>92 adriano77:
Not censorship as far as I'm aware. Dostoevsky abbreviated names of some of the locations himself. As for reasons behind it... It was quite common in 19th century literature to abbreviate names/locales, and it was done for multiple reasons - to avoid issues with libel if describing real people/events, to give more immersive appearance to fiction pretending that you're protecting some real people's identities, etc. Perhaps it's a variation of the latter that Dostoevsky was going for.

The street/bridge names that he abbreviated in Crime and Punishment are all real - his wife actually wrote down all the full names on the margins of one copy. All in the neighborhood where Dostoevsky lived himself. So while they were real streets and bridges, perhaps he concealed them because he was trying to create such a realistic narrative (realistic for its time) that he was almost saying "this crime and events really happened, so it's not very apropos to give all the full details"

Or perhaps it's the other way around, he didn't want to be too realistic, creating his own reality, hence reluctance to use real street names sometimes.

Or maybe he was even playing with the readers, inviting them to solve the topography by themselves.

>93 elladan0891:

Interesting insight. Appreciate it.

On a more general note, Dostoevsky has lived up to his reputation, IMO. I've only read two of his novels thus far but loved them both. Tolstoy, on the other hand, has not impressed me with Anna Karenina (recently trying to rectify overlooking Russian lit. previously).

>95 EclecticIndulgence:

Well, I bought War and Peace at the same time as Anna Karenina so I'll be reading it regardless (eventually)! Hoping that I enjoy it. I absolutely do plan to check out Dostoevsky's notable works. I'm told Brothers Karamazov is "essential reading" quite often.

I've read all of Dostoevsky's major works EXCEPT for The Brothers Karamazov. I really need to correct this travesty at some point. They were all quite good, as was Anna Karenina. I have not yet read War and Peace, a situation which also needs correction.

Just a few years until retirement, when I can read these long novels and not have it take three months. I long for the day.

>97 coynedj:

I've read the two popular Tolstoy novels, W&P and AK, but only the slim Dostoevsky 'Notes from the Underground'.

Dostoevsky is brilliant, but Tolstoy is one of humanity's greatest treasures.

Finishing "The Lady in Gold" after seeing her last month in New York.

>98 LesMiserables: - Speaking only for myself, both writers are brilliant and need to be read. Dostoevsky's books are definitely weightier than Tolstoy's, and much of their power is cumulative, building as their stories and the points of view and actions of their characters add to each other. Not that this is absent from Tolstoy, but my experience with him is only several of his short stories, where such a cumulative effect isn't in the cards, and Anna Karenina. What I love in Tolstoy is his ability, in the middle of an otherwise ordinary scene or discussion, to drop in devastatingly insightful observations and comments on human nature. I find myself saying "wow" at the end of a Dostoevsky book, but saying it all through a work of Tolstoy.

>88 HuxleyTheCat: Preferred Wolf Hall, but very interesting to read about Thomas Cromwell as a minor character.
I guess I do not read historical mysteries for the mystery, but I enjoyed this first Shardlake novel and will be reading more.
If you like medieval mysteries you might like Morality Play, although that is not part of a series.

Just started reading Wuthering Heights

I wanted to read a classic because, lately, i've been reading recently written books.

>102 CarltonC: I thoroughly enjoyed Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies too, but I haven't read any Mantel beyond those (I have A Place of Greater Safety on my shelf and I'm reminded I should tackle that soon), whereas I think I've read all of Sansom's novels and as an original character Shardlake is wonderful. I haven't read any comparable series which is so consistently entertaining and the books are considerably better written than the majority of the competition. Heartstone was perhaps marginally weaker than the others but he was back on top form with Lamentation.

Smith by Leon Garfield: a nicely written and engaging story expressed with an abundance of colloquialisms wrapped in cleverly quaint turns of phrase that convey a thoroughly convincing, humorous and satisfying picture of the hard, dirty and crowded warren of eighteenth century London. Marketed as children's literature but like many as such should appeal to anyone who enjoys a good read. A little cracker of a book, attractively bound, and definitely worth a punt if your eyes and brain need a break from more heavy duty FS fare.

Just finished Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl. I've not been this affected by a book previously. The concluding "Anne's diary ends here" statement chilled me. Even more so the inevitable internet search digging up more details of the aftermath. In a way I'm glad I never read this when I was younger, I wouldn't have appreciated it in such a significant way as I do now.

Back to Xenophon, I guess.

Just finished Vile Bodies by Waugh.

I just started reading my new Folio edition of American Gods. FS did such a great job designing this book. I love the illustrations.

Reading From Dawn to Decadence and really getting fed up with having to reach for Volume 2 every time I want to follow a note. I cannot understand the rationale behind this. Surely it would not have been to difficult to put Volume 1 notes at the end of Volume 1?

>109 N11284:

Yes very frustrating. I much prefer footnotes to endnotes for much the same reasons.

>109 N11284: You'd think so wouldn't you? I wish Folio would put as much thought into readability as it does into binding design. I didn't buy their Romance of the Three Kingdoms set because it's so reader-unfriendly: the endnotes for all four volumes sits at the rear of the last volume, so that for three-quarters of your one-and-a-half-thousand page read, you have to have two volumes at hand.

>111 cronshaw:

But I'm mostly a desk reader, so it's rather better to have the notes ready open in another volume. Who'd be a book designer, and get rubbished by half your readers whatever you do?

>112 affle: I'm very glad to learn that someone benefits from the layout, Alan. In your case, if only the endnotes for the last volume had also been shifted to another it would have been perfect!

Just finished Gone to Ground - Marie Jalowicz Simon

Having completed my Discworld odyssey last week (minus the YA vols, which leaves me with a dilemma concerning The Shepherd's Crown), I'll finish the FS Egypt Revealed this evening. Egypt Revealed was the 1997 members vol, so there are gazillions of them around in very nice order. It makes a good companion to the Roberts set in terms of scene-setting*. Next, I'll do a re-read of Tale of Two Cities (I've been waiting to acquire a copy in the Folio Nonesuch edition and have just done so) alternating with God's Englishman.

* Likewise the Tomb of Tut, as there is a chapter on Howard Carter's background as an artist.

Swiss Family Robinson. B&N edition. I don't recall ever seeing a Folio Society edition. Did they ever publish this beloved classic? For that matter, have they ever done Heidi?

>116 Lady19thC:
The FS have never publish Swiss Family Robinson nor Heidi.
They probably should consider doing so.

I'd like an FS Heidi but think it merits a new translation - I've read three versions and find them all unsatisfactory.

Just finished Enemy of the State by Tommy Robinson

Just started reading Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility.

Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Tales, in a rather nice new edition from, hmm, some publisher no-one's ever heard of.
Jane Austen could be a nice contrast when I finish.

>121 Cat_of_Ulthar:
A nice contrast indeed - I will probably read The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories after finishing Sense and Sensibility, for that same contrast. But, after that, it will probably be back to Austen with Persuasion. I want to finish all of the current Folio Society Austen books before the anticipated release of Mansfield Park later this year.

Recently completed while working on the TBR stack as I am trying to recover from an illness:

The Jefferson Bible
Between the Acts, Virginia Woolf (FS)
The Only Language They Understand: Forcing Compromise in Israel and Palestine, Nathan Thrall
Thucydides: The Reinvention of History, Donald Kagan
Cranford: Elizabeth Gaskell (FS)
The Go-Between, L. P. Hartley
The History of Rasselas: Prince of Abbissinia, Samuel Johnson
in Love, Alfred Hayes
Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. Jane Mayer
Lincoln in Indiana, Brian Dirck
Astrophysics For Those in a Hurry, Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Augustus Carp, Esq., By Himself Being the Autobiography of a Really Good Man, Henry Howarth Bashford (FS)
Inside the Head of Bruno Schultz, Maxim Biller
Mirror, Shoulder, Signal, Dorthe Nors (2017 Booker Prize Shortlisted, How did this get on there?)
Late Fame, Arthur Schnitzler

Now I feel a bit better but I'm facing likely surgery.

>123 Forthwith:

Nice haul! Hope you are on the mend.

It got my blood pressure up. She writes for The New Yorker so her surprisingly deep research is solid.

Finished The Time of Our Singing, which was the last Powers I hadn't read. Too long, but heartfelt attempt at describing the possibility of living as mixed race in the US from Post-War to the Million Man March. Published in 2003, fascinating to consider how/if the Obama era followed by the Trump era is progress or a continuation.

Currently reading Hemingway Lives! that mostly manages to be a fresh reading of the Macho Man in the 20teens. Recommended.

Just finished How to be a Conservative by Roger Scruton

>125 EclecticIndulgence:
Dark Money is a must read. It truly sheds light on so much that has been kept in the dark over the past 40 years.

Re-reading The Handmaid's Tale.
Just finished A Connecticut Yankee in my cheap paperback version with 200+ illustrations by Dan Beard. I really enjoyed it.

The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood: An unwilling sex servant of a government obsessed with a crisis in the birth rate and informed by an old-time religion to which it fanatically adheres. The basic ingredients for an attraction-grabbing story are all there but instead this turns out to be an agonisingly dull plod through the thoughts (of which there were many) and experiences (of which there were few) of the main character not helped one little bit by the restricted viewpont of a first-person narrative. Rightly or wrongly comparisons with 1984 spring to mind and the clear difference is the more fully realised picture of a possible dystopia that Orwell supplies. This is due to the activities of the main character as he interacts with the government of Big Brother whereas Atwood's handmaid doesn't do much at all except sit in her room, go shopping and submit to a zombie-like sex ceremony every so often. While this may convey the repressively controlling nature of the regime it does little to engage the reader. Some of the deficiency is rectified in the historical notes at the end of the book where an attempt is made to put some flesh on the events described and this proves to be the most interesting part of the book. But it is too little and too late.

In the introduction Atwood states that she did not anticipate the popularity and durability of this novel. I can see why.

>131 scratchpad: I think that this is all about context: when you read it and what you have already or subsequently read.

I thought that The Handmaid’s Tale was well done, but just with religious totalitarianism rather than political totalitarianism. At the time of publication (1985), the religious totalitarianism perhaps partially mirrored the resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism, although for the purposes of the speculative fiction being set in a possible future US. I suspect that it also resonate strongly with some readers if considered as a feminist text (I really do not know how to use these phrases, so take the gist of the above rather than any technical literary meaning).

I “enjoyed” 1984, but have not reread, having subsequently read Brave New World and Zamyatin’s We, and although I think Orwell was fantastic in his coining of new words which have been taken their place in our language, I did not really think his characterisation was wonderful. It is more a novel of ideas, and the originality of these was undermined by my reading of subsequent books. Perhaps I just didn’t like the rats…

Currently reading the FS American Gods.

>132 CarltonC: Re your ref to 'Islamic fundamentalism': I noted with interest Atwood's use of the words 'Islamic fanaticism'. She employed it only once, I think, and then only as a passing reference, easily missed and easily forgotten. Kind of ironic in the present circumstances.

>132 CarltonC:
Hmm I'm in two minds wether I'll pick Handmaiden's Tale up, maybe in the next FS sale.

I actually find you criticism more suited to Brave New World - a book only famous for its ideals and lacks characterisation, structure and narrative style. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed BNW; but, in terms of being a well written book it falls flat. Inversely, I would say that 1984 has reached its status because it combines both great ideals and sublime prose. I remember thinking how well crafted and dense each sentence is in 1984 - which you cannot say for the majority of books.

Maybe I just need to read We - how was it?

>134 Santas_Slave: OK. Hands up. Although these works are firmly in my consciousness and I read The Handmaid’s Tale only 10 years ago, I find that I read We 35 years ago and 1984 and Brave New World prior to that.
For We, mine was a Penguin translation from the Russian, but my recollection was that it had reasonable characterisation (and must have been one of the first translated works I read).

With reference to Orwell's prose, whilst he is one of my favourite author's, it is the non-fiction and essays that I cherish for their directness, rather than his fiction, and sublime would not have been the adjective I would have used. It is fascinating how each of us interprets the same text (subject to translation) differently.

>135 CarltonC:
I'm glad you picked me up on that, sublime wasn't the best descriptor - I want to say dense but that makes it seem like it has poor flow. Often words elude me.

Well, I think thats what precisely separates a "classic" - the fact you can read something new out of it

A Midsummer Night's Dream~William Shakespeare The oversized pretty FS volume :)

>137 Lady19thC: With just over a week to go to midsummer (in this hemisphere), a very timely read.

>138 CarltonC: That is why I read it this time, every year! :)

>140 Lady19thC:
One of my favourite Shakespeare plays.

Not for the purists, but the BBC adaptation starring Johhny Vegas had me in fits of laughter for days.

Just started Gogol's Dead Souls.

Supposedly a classic. We'll see!

Master and Margarita - not the FS version. I can't afford it at the prices it's demanding on the secondary market.

>142 adriano77: Dead Souls is excellent and wonderfully dark!

Talking about souls...

I am presently reading The Story of a Soul; The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux. This would be nice in a FS edition instead of always in paperback.

I'm currently on the Allen Press Poeticon Astronomicon

Just finished The Strange Death of Europe by Douglas Murray
One of those rare beasts that compelled me to start reading again as soon as i"d finished it.

I'm re-reading the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series. I always get to the forth book and then start fading a bit. I'm determined to read it all the way through this time. It's definitely an entertaining read but I need to finish it soon or I may not make it.

>144 Lady19thC:

I'm not very far into it yet - but dark is good, hah.

Would you say the characters are well-written? Depth, so forth?

Wanted to do one book a week this year. That went by the wayside very early on.

Just finished American Gods. Wanted to read it before the TV series came out. The latter is very disappointing. Book was, of course, amazing.

Have now started The Place at the End of the World by Janine di Giovanni.

28 books into my reading challenge so far - this years been particularly good; groups like this are such a great way to source interesting reads

That reminds me, is it possible for anyone to link me to the thread where members contributed their favourite "modern classic" and translated lit publishers? I should've bookmarked it

The Eustace Diamonds - FS 1990 edition.

I am midway through the FS LE of Victor Hugo's The Toilers of the Sea. The first 54 pages are setting the stage of the Channel Islands. Then it seems that he feels an obligation to introduce a few characters slowly and a plot. The first 54 pages are alone a fine read.

His preface is confessional and one of the best succinct summaries of a writer's career that I have ever read. He points out the three human needs and challenges: Religion, Society and Nature. He addresses the first in Notre-Dame de Paris; the second in Les Miserables and the third in this book.

The FS edition of his illustrations are a great enhancement. His illustrations are very fine indeed.

I've just finished A Time of Gifts. What an inspiring adventure undertaken by a 19 year old during the years leading to the outbreak of WW2, and what a beautifully written account! I now feel compelled to read some of the works mentioned by Fermor: C.V. Wedgwood's The Thirty Years War, Kafka's The Castle, Gustav Meyrink's The Golem, Jaroslav Hašek's Good Soldier Svejk, plus a good deal more Shakespeare and Horace. I'm very much looking forward to Between the Woods and the Water, and of course Mani and Roumeli!

I decided to read A Midsummer Night's Dream as well. I've read the FS letterpress edition, now I've gone back to the commentary (i.e. the Oxford Shakespeare),

I've also started a paperback of Neil Gaiman's nonfiction, The View From the Cheap Seats.

Speaking of Neil Gaiman, at this time of college graduations, it is inspiring to remember his commencement address at the University of the Arts, class of 2012. Below:

https://vimeo.com/42372767

>156 drasvola: Thanks for that - great stuff.

>156 drasvola: Thank you Antonio, that was inspiring lunchtime listening!

>157 scratchpad:
>158 cronshaw:

I listen to that speech quite often... So happy you liked it!

>156 drasvola:

Nice speech.
The interesting thing about delivering wisdom as Neil Gaiman did there, is that we already know what it is, but yet it sounds brand new every time.

Things like appreciating happiness that you get from your family and friends, but still you spoil it by worrying overly about next year's contract that you don't have yet, or about the neighbour from hell who hasn't moved in yet.

Things like acting like the way you should be, by copying what works from the wiser than you, yet you quickly unconsciously retreat to reinventing the wheel and making it much more difficult than it needs to be.

We all know this stuff but forget, until in a moment of rare luminosity that comes upon us like a wisp of quickly moving cloud, we suddenly remember and promise ourselves to get back to basics. We promise ourselves in this moment of clarity that we will seize the day, on Monday coming, and we will set off, this time in the right direction.

And when Monday comes, the cloud has passed us by, and we forget to be wise.

>156 drasvola:

Thank you for the link. I think this must be the speech that the bookseller in Waterstones asked if I'd seen, when I bought the book.

>160 LesMiserables:

Thank you. Recognizition of wisdom is one thing, ability to apply it is quite another.

>161 housefulofpaper:

Gaiman's speech is available in a book, at least in Spanish:

https://www.librarything.com/work/16053354/book/118876811

I"m currently reading Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts based on recommendations on this forum. Really enjoying it. It's not one I'll read straight through but will sample and taste from it over time.

Also read Maldon printed by The Salvage Press: http://thesalvagepress.com/index.php/product/maldn-new/

What an enjoyable read. The quality of the printing is just excellent, though I'm sure that will surprise no one. As an added bonus I read The Cat in the Hat to my daughters earlier this evening and found myself reading Maldon in the same Cadence as the Cat in the Hat. Was a lot of fun!

Currently halfway through the FS edition of War & Peace (2014 two-book edition). It took about 300 pages to get all of the characters situated in my head, but after that it's smooth sailing!

Just started Allison Utley's A Country Child, a book I've been trying to hunt down at a good second-hand price ever since reading her wonderful A Traveller In Time. So far it is not nearly as gripping as the time-travel book, but I'm only 35 or so pages in so trying to be patient.

The Little Engine That Could, just kidding. I'm reading "Nicholas and Alexandra."

>162 drasvola:

And in English, too:
http://www.librarything.com/work/13501931

I've now discovered that the speech is collected in The View From the Cheap Seats (towards the back, pages 459-467), and Gaiman mentions this separate edition in an endnote.

>167 housefulofpaper:

Many thanks for this information. Great to know!

Currently reading my 1980 FS edition of Out of Africa. I had little idea of what to expect beyond a vague memory of the film three decades or so ago, but already it's one of my favourite reads this year. Blixen is a perceptive, sensitive and humorous observer, and a wonderful writer to boot; her prose is superb. Highly recommended, and you can pick up the lovely Folio edition for a song on the secondary market!

I just finished the FS Dune. I loved it.

Currently, I'm reading Sense and Sensibility (the recent FS one), and Fire From Heaven (FS).

>171 EclecticIndulgence: I'm sure it would sell well if redesigned. The 1980 FS design is undoubtedly dated, particularly the spine titling, but to my eye the cloth binding itself with its wrap-around landscape photo is evocative and charming (the 1986 reprint binding is different), rather like that of Lark Rise. I'm also enjoying the paper, typography and wood engravings.

>170 chrisrsprague:

I am also reading the current FS version of Sense and Sensibility!

Just finished my FS edition of Tess of the d'Urbervilles.
About to start my FS collector's edition of The Diary of a Nobody. Excited to have this in larger print and wider pages, as opposed to the original FS copy I owned and sold off years ago to a used bookstore.

Finished The Diary of a Nobody (really like my Collector's edition of this fun book), and now starting Empire of the Sun, by J. G. Ballard. :)

Currently reading a non-Folio book, Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance.

>175 Lady19thC:

How did you find The Diary of a Nobody? My wife has urged me many times to read it; she found it funny.

>106 adriano77: "Just finished Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl. I've not been this affected by a book previously. The concluding "Anne's diary ends here" statement chilled me."

Yes; ending with:

"...and keep trying to find a way to become what I’d like to be and what I could be if…if only there were no other people in the world.

Yours, Anne M. Frank"

...was quite affecting.

Not that one needs to be a parent, or a parent of a daughter, to be affected by this book, but I had two daughters of my own by the time I read this, and it really impacted me.

>119 LesMiserables: "Just finished Enemy of the State by Tommy Robinson"

Thoughts? Seems an interesting tale by an interesting fellow.

>176 LesMiserables: - Hillbilly Elegy was a very interesting read. It gave context to some behaviors that I have always found difficult to understand. Another excellent read along those lines would be Albion's Seed, which covers more than the hillbilly culture but does spend a considerable amount of time analyzing it, in a more academic (but still very readable) fashion.

>177 LesMiserables: It is hilarious. And what I love the most about it is that the humor is timeless! Get it! :)

>119 LesMiserables:

It was an interesting read, as you say. Much of what he says and continues to say about the state of the nation is taboo for the political self-interested class who govern the UK: all of this despite the evidence to support his argument.

I found reading Murray's The Strange Death of Europe afterwards, filled out the body of what Robinson was arguing. A very scary read.

>180 coynedj:

Thanks for the heads up on Albion's Seed. I'm around half way through Vance's book and like Robinson's book above, it's a sociological examination in narrative form; very personal and to the point.

>181 Lady19thC:

I do have it, but like many other Folio books, they sit unread as I continue with my paradoxical habit of buying more books than I can physically read!

>180 coynedj: >182 LesMiserables:

I loved Albion's Seed, which I read a few years back. It is a wonderful book, which has really shaped my perception of American society and culture.

If I was to add another book to form a trilogy of sorts from my reads this year it would be Scruton's How to be a Conservative.

Vol 1. Enemy of the State (Effect)
Vol 2. The Strange Death of Europe (Cause)
Vol 3. How to be a Conservative (Solution)

I'm reading too much into things, so I'm told.

I finished Empire of the Sun. Excellent read, but so much darker and realistic than the movie, which I happen to love. 12 hours later, after finishing the last sentence, I feel so haunted and as though I have deserted Shanghai Jim and need to go back into the book, fulfill all his dreams, keep him safe, give him a happier life. So, so dark.

I decided to lighten things up a bit with a pleasant reread of Dandelion Wine. Kind of the life Jim should have had...carefree, inquisitive without question, adventure without danger. Maybe that is why I chose it....

Having, in the course of the last few months, reread the first five Palliser novels, I am now beginning the FS complete edition LE of The Duke's Children with relish.

>187 boldface: Bon appetit!

>188 cronshaw:

Thanks, Russell. The more Trollope I read the more I like him. Time and again he surprises me with his "modern" view of life - not totally modern, of course, but progressive for a man of his Age (not to mention age) and class. And the workings of Parliament, its preoccupations and driving motives, and the machinations of political parties in the 1870s seem still very much present in the Westminster of 2017.

>189 boldface: I often think Trollope is underrated: his characters seem to me fully three dimensional and convincing human beings compared to those of other authors of his period (including Dickens), characters that show subtle, progressive changes as circumstances alter. Even though Trollope will intermittently remind us he's spinning a story, his characters remain extraordinarily real and I'm always entranced as to how they will react to the slowly escalating yet irresistible pressures of his plots.

>189 boldface: >190 cronshaw:

Russell, Jonathan
Thanks for reminding me of Trollope. I am sadly beyond excuse in not reading him, and I shall rectify that shortly.
One thing that struck me was the comment...Time and again he surprises me with his "modern" view of life - not totally modern, of course, but progressive for a man of his Age (not to mention age) and class. I haven't read Trollope to give a substantial reply but do you think that in a sense many 19th Century writers also had this and that it's far more common than what we might think. I remember reading Hardy and thinking that this gentleman knows the dangers to come. Dickens is more explicitly condemning. Muir did so thematically et cetera

Personally, my take is that we aren't in a different Age at all. Yes, things have changed, but less than two centuries is hardly a major historical interval.

>192 sviswanathan:

I'm going to disagree here. The digital revolution and mass communication is a new board game altogether.

>193 LesMiserables: I tend to conceptualize those innovations as further developments of the prior communications innovations of the period (i.e., telegraph, telephone, radio), whereas there were long periods of history without any substantial improvements to communications technology. That said, I do think your point of view is quite reasonable.

>194 sviswanathan:

Fair enough. I can see your point of view. As someone who was born at the tail end of 67' I have however witnessed an explosion in wireless innovation and communication from just about zilch to everything.

>185 xrayman:
I hear ya bud

>195 LesMiserables:
Yeah, it is definitely an impressive development, however we look at it.

Just finished reading a non-Folio book, Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance. Overall quite enjoyable, although it kind of fizzled out towards the end.

Just started on the famous Nevill Coghill (yes the Inkling) translation of the Canterbury Tales. I'm really enthralled by this already and I'm just into the Knight's Tale.

Nearing the end of Guy Mannering by Scott and enjoying this too as he brings all of it together towards the climax.

Just started the Arion Press edition of The Leopard. In love with the book and the edition.

>200 Sorion:

I loved that movie, and definitely want to read the book. How is that edition? I have thought about buying it, but it will probably be some time before I recover from the Folio Society's various sales.

For my part, I am reading Persuasion by Jane Austen. I have also read about 5 and 1/2 cantos of the 1st book of the Faerie Queene, trying to determine whether or not I want to buy the LE while it is on sale.

>201 sviswanathan:

It's interesting that you loved the movie as Arion chose to use photographs taken during filming of that movie instead of illustrations. I find that it sets the tone wonderfully.

The paper wasn't what I was expecting to be perfectly honest. As I've set about reading the book however I find it's the perfect choice. Being really well made and fading into the background at the same time. The text pops off the page in a very legible and clear manner.

I love the titles on the spine and on the outside of the slipcase. The slipcase however is the one negative as it's fairly cheap feeling.

That aside though I can't recommend it enough. I bought it as a test of the Arion Press. I wanted a new copy from Arion as my first copy of an Arion Press book and I haven't been disappointed at all. Surprised as a matter of fact at how much I love it.

Hope that helps!

>202 Sorion: "The slipcase however is the one negative as it's fairly cheap feeling."

Your lucky it came with a slipcase at all. Often the AP doesn't provide a slipcase for its "cheaper" (less than $800) editions.

Do you think the AP edition is worth more than three times the cost of the LEC edition?

>203 kdweber:

I've heard that about Arion and slipcases. I was thankful it came with one!

I cannot speak to the LEC edition as I've never seen it. The Arion Press edition though I feel like it's probably not worth quite what they charged for it. However, it is what they charge for it and I do love it. Very much.

Just finished Guy Mannering. Scott brings this all together in the end masterfully.

>202 Sorion:

Thank you - that was very helpful!

Continuing my tromp through selected works by Balzac, I am currently reading the Folio Society edition of Lost Illusions. I'm only at the very beginning but it is exceptionally well written (or exceptionally well translated!) and I absolutely love the book design. It is a thick book (around 600 pages) with gorgeous crushed silk boards blocked with a sturdy buckram spine in an orange and brown theme (looks better than it sounds). I like the typography, layout and size, but I cannot escape the density of the work due to relatively small print and narrow margins. I feel it takes me about twice as long as usual to complete a page, and yet the layout is actually easy to read and satisfying. I have only encountered a couple of illustrations so far, including the lovely color frontispiece, but they seem to fit the work nicely. Balzac is often criticized for being overly descriptive and with interminably long tangents, but so far these do not bother me due to the quality of the writing and the inescapable sense that you get a very accurate feel for provincial life in 1820s France.

I read a little here and there these days. But last summer i read `First Love` and the edition is very good. So, now it`s time for more tragedy i bet in `On the Eve`. Highly recommended FS editions

Following King Leopold's Ghost and Heart of Darkness, I wanted something a bit lighter, so opted for the pulp fiction of The Day of the Jackal. Now I want something rather better written, so I've started what may well be a Patrick O'Brian odyssey.

>209 HuxleyTheCat:

From the beginning? Heureux qui, comme Ulysse, a fait un beau voyage! I never finished the series due to major life event disruption and as I was only three-four volumes from the end, also never made up my mind to start again.

For my part...

Folio: still the Red Fairy Book

Non-Folio: still too many to list

Commute: Memoirs by Tennessee Williams (too many touchstones to fish for the right one)

>210 LolaWalser: Indeed! Being forewarned and forearmed about Post Captain, I'll set the stuns'ls during the light winds of Austenesque tedium ashore and press on to the prize of derring-do on the ocean blue.

>211 HuxleyTheCat:

Fair winds and following seas!

Hm, I don't recall a particular problem with Post Captain but I suppose that for many it all goes downhill with the introduction of *whispers* wwwomennnn...

To be fair, I wholly subscribe to the view that THE grand romance of the series is the one between Aubrey and Maturin. :)

>212 LolaWalser: I have made it about half way through Post Captain previously, but I'll admit to finding Jane Austen as boring as (something incredibly boring) and all through Aubrey's stranding ashore I kept thinking (courtesy of John Masefield):

I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied

At least O'Brian's ladies are a little more well rounded than Forsyth's, but yes, I'm all for a good bromance.

With the amount of copies of Big Chief Elizabeth FS sent out it's conspicuously absent in this thread. Shocking.

Starting Einstein's Relativity. Hopefully I'm able to appreciate it.

Just finished Helena by Evelyn Waugh.

I'm in the middle of Jan Morris's Pax Britannica, finding it not as good as the first volume in the trilogy(Heaven's Command), this one reads a bit more like a text book.

Currently:
The Valley of Fear (EP - part of their 3 volume Sherlock Holmes HP reprint). Almost done with this one.
As I Lay Dying (FS).
On The Psychology of Military Incompetence (FS), which I'm finding to be very interesting.

>215 LesMiserables: Had not heard of this Waugh novel. Did you read as hagiography or historical fiction?
>216 lfsmagina: I keep meaning to start James Morris's Pax Britannica trilogy - I have enjoyed other works by her, especially Hav, which I think would make a wonderful FS title.

Currently reading (amongst others) At The Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails, which is an interesting mix of biography and philosophy.

I really loved the first one, I had never read anything she wrote before and it was an awesome surprise. Each chapter is told through a different episode of British imperial history, and the book is full of anecdotes and funny stories. The second one I'm finding a bit more traditional, although there is still a lot to love here (her analysis of the drinking habits during the Empire is specially great).

Just finished Shusaku Endo's Silence. Very good.

Currently 2/3 through the FS Letters to Vicky.

I'm also reading the Faerie Queene - I am going at the pace of one Canto per evening to try to both absorb the content and extend my perusal of this beautiful set of books! The last epic that I read was Dante's Divine Comedy, but it's been a while so it's nice to dip my toes back into these magnificent works.

>218 CarltonC:

Definitely historical fiction, or as Waugh says "retelling an old story", though in the preface he does take some time to articulate how much is factual and what fiction carries it along.

IT is reported (and I, for one, believe it) that some few years ago a lady prominent for her hostility to the Church returned from a visit to Palestine in a state of exultation. "I got the real low-down at last," she told her friends. "The whole story of the crucifixion was made up by a British woman named Ellen. Why, the guide showed me the very place where it happened. Even the priests admit it. They call their chapel 'the Invention of the Cross '."

It has not been my primary aim to disillusion this famous lady but to retell an old story. This is a novel.

The novelist deals with the experiences which excite his imagination. In this case the experience was my desultory reading in History and Archæology. The resulting book, of course, is neither History nor Archæology. Where the authorities are doubtful, I have often chosen the picturesque in preference to the plausible; I have once or twice, where they are silent, freely invented; but there is nothing, I believe, contrary to authentic history (save for certain wilful, obvious anachronisms which are introduced as a literary device), and there is little that has not some support from tradition or from early documents.

The reader may reasonably enquire: how much is true ? The Age of Constantine is strangely obscure. Most of the dates and hard facts, confidently given in the encyclopaedias, soften and dissolve on examination. The life of St. Helena begins and ends in surmise and legend. We may take it as certain that she was the mother of Constantine by Constantius Chlorus; that she was proclaimed Empress by her son; that she was in Rome in 326 when Crispus, Licinianus and Fausta were murdered; that she went soon after to Jerusalem and associated herself with building the churches at Bethlehem and Oliveto. It is almost certain that she directed excavations in which pieces of wood were found, which she and all Christendom immediately accepted as the cross on which Our Lord died; that she took part away, with many other relics, and left part at Jerusalem; that she lived some of her life at Nish, in Dalmatia, and at Treves.

Some hagiographers have fancied her at Nicaea in 325. We do not know that. We do not know where she was born or when. Britain is as likely a place as any other and British historians used always to claim her ...................................

We do not know that the wood Helena found is the True Cross. We need make no difficulty about the possibility of its preservation, for the distance in time between Helena and Our Lord is not greater than between ourselves and King Charles I, but if we do accept its authenticity we must, I think, allow an element of the miraculous in its discovery and identification. We do know that most of the relics of the True Cross now venerated in various places have a clear descent from the relic venerated in the first half of the fourth century. It used to be believed by the vulgar that there were enough pieces of this "true cross" to build a battleship. In the last century a French savant, Charles Rohault de Fleury, went to the great trouble of measuring them all. He found a total of 4,000,000 cubic millimetres, whereas the cross on which Our Lord suffered, would probably comprise some 178,000,000. As far as volume goes, therefore, there is no strain on the credulity of the faithful ........
.
The story is just something to be read; in fact a legend.

Decided to revisit the Sherlock Holmes canon this summer, doing so chronologically (as per Penguin Books' order). Just finished 'The Boscombe Valley Mystery' from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

I just finished the Best of Raconteurs. Most of the anecdotes were not really for me, but it could be that I just don't get some of them, due to missing background information on my side.

Currently I'm reading Impossible journeys. I've only finished the first chapter but the book seems to quite entertaining.

Just starting Like the Roman, The Life of Enoch Powell by Simon Heffer. Been meaning to read this for years and finally getting around to it.

>218 CarltonC: - I'm also reading At the Existentialist Café, but I've just started it. The books I've read recently have mostly been a nondescript bunch, so I'm hoping for a winner.

I also recently started A Story as Sharp as a Knife, which is quite good so far but I'm only on page 65. In the car, I'm reading/listening to Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. It seems to be more Pratchett than Gaiman; it's a lot of fun, but it isn't deep by any means. For light reading, it's well worth picking up.

>227 coynedj: I read Good Omens a couple of years ago, my first Gaiman, and enjoyed it sufficiently to buy the FS American Gods without having previously read it. As you say, it is a fun, light read.

I recently finished The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir, which is very different to my normal reading, but it was a Guardian recommended summer read - not a book for the beach! If you liked In Cold Blood, this is similar, but more contemporary (obviously), and I would recommend this.
Also read Days Without End and if you like historical fiction (making of the American West), then you would enjoy this, and it is very well written.

I started on Saturday with Touching the Void, the FS edition. Seems odd to read about mountain climbing in the heart of Summer but it actually takes place in the better weather of late spring and early summer. To climb in optimal conditions.

The book is a handy format with a nice illustrated design on cloth. The story itself is about two climbers who want to be the first to climb the West Ridge of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes. The climb up goes according to plan and they reach the Summit. It's on the descent all goes haywire and the story is told by the climber most affected by it all, Joe Simpson. A heart-gripping read of human endurance and survival, well worth the time! The b&w illustrations illustrate the immense backdrop of the mountain(range) and the sheer isolation of the two climbers, depending solely on each other.

I just finished and it really is one of the better books about mountain climbing and all that it entails. It follows the third printing of the book from 2004 and was published in 2008. The third edition followed on the documentary made about the book and has two epilogues.

>229 NLNils:

Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed that book. So much so that I wrote a unit of work (geography) for year 9/10 students on it.

Just finished Thoreau's Walden. I liked quite a few parts of it but, to be honest, I'm not sure why this is so well-regarded as a classic.

Thinking about starting Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire next.

Anyone familiar with the various editions? I bought the Everyman's Library version as it has his footnotes intact but now I'm looking at a hardcover copy of Womersley's as it's supposedly more complete. Are its pages sewn, I wonder...

>231 adriano77:

Just finished Thoreau's Walden. I liked quite a few parts of it but, to be honest, I'm not sure why this is so well-regarded as a classic.

Horses for courses. I thought it was fairly inspiring. I found it rather uplifting that someone had the audacity to embark on such a bold project. I also considered it to be a book that highlights what man is capable of rising above. There is so much wisdom within this book on subjects such as diverse as debt, society and perseverance.

>232 LesMiserables:

Fair enough.

In hindsight I probably should have stuck to an EL copy - although the FS was hard to pass up. It will look good on a shelf, if anything!

>229 NLNils:

I've been thinking about grabbing Touching the Void since looking it up after seeing your pic. How's the interior of the FS? Worth the buy?

>231 adriano77:

About Gibbon's Decline and Fall, I don't have my research at hand, but I can tell you I did arrive at Womersley as the only choice for me, based on completeness of footnotes.

>233 adriano77:

Yes, the FS edition is stunning in my opinion. One of my treasured volumes.

>230 LesMiserables: That's really interesting! Care to elaborate?

>233 adriano77: You can find a full page highlighting the book in the 2009 prospectus, on physical page 5. If you acquire additional information, get back to me.

>234 St._Troy:

Gibbon's Vindication being included is also appealing. Did you have the hardcover of it? If so, can you tell me about the binding?

For reference, I'm looking into this edition -



>235 LesMiserables:

Absolutely.

>236 NLNils:

Thanks for the tip. Interesting artwork. Will be a bit of a conspicuous addition to my FS stuff. I really need to grab more modern stuff, haha.

>237 adriano77:

I read that edition--unfortunately, I do not have it at hand (I typically keep on my shelves books I have not read--with an honorable exception for FS editions, of course). It did contain the footnotes and was easy to read and hold. The font was clear and the print bright. I enjoyed it.

>231 adriano77: If you plan to read Gibbon's Decline and Fall, the so-called Gibbon's Atlas of the World, published by the FS in 1991, contains many good maps of the Mediterranean basin in the Antiquity. It's easy to find good second-hand copies at a very reasonable price. I extensively used Gibbon's Atlas when I read the 8-volume FS edition (yeah---I know---with only a selection of footnotes) a couple of years ago. The FS edition---and also the Atlas---contain some funny errors. I listed a few ones in the Edward Gibbon Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire thread, which dates back to 2013-2015.

>238 podaniel: >239 Pepys:

Thanks for the input both of you!

Also, the atlas sounds very useful. I'll look into it. Will browse that thread fully a bit later too.

>233 adriano77:
The black & white illustrations might not be everyone's cup of tea; you can check them in ebay listings. But caxton wove paper is nice, typesetting is excellent - clear, crisp, fairly large and easy on the eyes. The book itself is, in my opinion, the perfect size for reading - not too large and heavy, so you can read it anywhere - in your armchair, in bed, on the public transport, etc. All in all - even if you're not digging the illustrations, this is the edition to get if you want to read the work.

All of this talk about The Decline and Fall made me look into the edition I have - the seven-volume AMS Press edition from the 1970's. I must admit that it has been on my shelf for about 35 years, and has not been read - I promise to get around to it some day, perhaps in 2021 when I finally retire and have some more free time. I didn't pay much for it as I recall, and I see that it has all of the footnotes. It's a reprint of a J.B. Bury edition of 1909, quarter bound in leather.

The atlas sounds like a very useful volume to have at hand when reading Gibbon - I'll have to look into it. Maybe in 2021 - someone please remind me when the time comes.

Just finished reading the golden ass LE FS. Really enjoyed it. What a gem of a book. Next, I want to start reading my Letterpress Hamlet slowly like sipping a really expensive wine.

>236 NLNils:

It was just a unit on physical geography, so we looked at glaciers, moraines etc. I used the book (and film) as a dynamic to make the geography more interesting.

>241 elladan0891:

Sounds good! By the way, the prospectus lists it as cloth, but from the photos it appears to be the FS "buckram" type of material. Care to clarify for me? Thanks.

>242 coynedj:

The AMS Press set looks great - very impressive, formal look to it too. I've been seeing it for very reasonable prices over the last few months.

>245 adriano77:
Well, buckram is cloth, so prospectus is right regardless )
The cloth is indeed quite buckramy in its feel, but not on the heavy paint/plasticky side like some modern buckrams.

>246 elladan0891:

Well, yeah, just sometimes FS is a bit vague in how they use their cloth/buckram terms. For instance, using my last order as an example, both Confucius and Eusebius are described as being bound in cloth. However, the former uses the smooth, shiny and "plastic-y" buckram while the latter is more of a dull, coarse-feeling "normal" cloth. Other times they'll specify "buckram" or whatever...

Speaking of which, it'd be great if FS could be a bit more liberal with their slipcase sizing. Almost all the "buckram" titles I've received are so tightly fit that taking the books out two or three times leaves a lot of the colour rubbed off along the edges. Irks me!

>247 adriano77:
Yeah, I feel the same way about tight slipcases.
Touching The Void is pretty smooth, soaked in paint, but not very shiny and plasticky. I'd still call it buckram.

Recently finished:
The Trial - Kafka
Headbirths - Gunther Grass
The Silence and the Roar - Nihad Sirees
The Wannsee Conference & the Final Solution

The last one was a FS edition and if I'm being honest doesn't merit it. The problem with historians is they're so damn noncommittal about everything they say, meaning most of the text is inconclusive waffle - however, it was useful in understanding the political machine of Nazi Germany and its power structure. The document itself is a very sobering read indeed, surreal that it exists.

Just started on my FS the Deptford Trilogy and can tell I'm going to love it! Immediately reminds me of Graham Swift's Waterland which, for me, is close to the perfect novel.

Picked back up in Memoirs of a Fighting Captain by Admiral Lord Cochrane, my first ever Folio book. Will follow up with Trafalgar, also by FS.

Just finished The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. (Nevill Coghill trans.)

This is without doubt, one of the best and most important works I have read.

Currently, a re-read of Les Miserables (last time was in 2001) in a newer translation; the Penguin Classics Christine Donougher translation.

Reading Booker longlist entries, something that I have not done for many a year, after I found that I had already read some earlier this year. Currently enjoying Solar Bones, set in West Ireland.

>252 chrisrsprague:

I haven't read Les Miserables but have been eyeing the Donougher translation - how is it going?

>254 St._Troy: I really like it so far. I read the Charles Wilbour translation last time, and didn't have any real problems with it either. I'll have to compare passages at some point once I'm finished.

Non-FS: Just finished “A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy” – a charmingly written travel account with R-rated subtext. “Lighter” (and shorter) reading than “Tristram Shandy”, but still unmistakably Sterne – who else can start chapters with dashes and omit the very last word of the novel? Love his style and love this Fraser Press book, a little thing of 4½ x7 inches with rounded corners, bound in very tactile violet morocco leather. The sheer pleasure of holding it adds a lot to the joy of reading.

Audio: “The Name of the Rose” (reread).

FS: finished (does it even count?) “The History of England” by a partial, prejudiced and ignorant Historian (Jane Austen) – many thanks to “Folio archives” section and its author.
Started “Eleanor of Aquitaine” – I was surprised to learn that troubadour culture originates from Hispano-Arabic poetry.

Just finished the LOA volume with Melville's Polynesian trilogy (Typee, Omoo, Mardi). The first two were enjoyable but Mardi was brutal. I never quit a book once I start but I'll admit to skimming a lot of the last half of this one. Any of you have a better experience with Mardi?

>256 shelob:

Your Sentimental Journey does sound a delightful copy. I was persuaded a little while back in the course of reading George Moore's Avowals that I should read the book myself, and settled on buying one only a little larger, styled an exact reprint of the first edition, and published by Bliss, Sands & Co. in 1897. The missing last word, or rather the nature of the ending, accounts for three of the five paragraphs of the volume's introductory note:

It is worthy of note that in the first edition the work does not conclude with a hyphen, as do most modern editions.

It probably made its first appearance in the "Continuation" published not long after. This work is a wretched imitation, and whether or no the momentous hyphen be regarded as a libel upon the memory of Sterne, at any rate the author of such poor stuff canhnot be considered as a sufficient authority for its introduction.

There is a potent reason also for supposing that Sterne would never have been guilty of using it, for if he had done so, any question as to the propriety pf the termination would thereby have been eliminated; and it was ever Sterne's delight to leave his readers in doubt as to whether or no certain suggestions, which need not be characterized, do not originate in their own imagination.

I'll read it soon...

Finished The Call of Cthulhu. Got to say the namesake of the collection wasn't as good as I was expected, maybe I set the bar too high considering the mythos it spawned.

Up until I read this collection I had only read one other of his stories; The Colour Out of Space in the form of Amy Borezo's masterful binding. Still definitely my favourite as I like that it stands on its own two feet without inferences to names found elsewhere in the wider mythos and still the most creepy. Of the remaining stories the ones that really stuck out to me where The Rats in the Walls, Dagon and The Whisperer in the Darkness.

As far as it being the LE goes, I found the eco-simulated leather a pretty good material for long-handling sessions. More crucially I also felt it's unique texture actually helped immerse me in the creepyness of the stories given that it feels so unlike natural leather, almost like it's some weird alien material all the way from Yuggoth.

Overall a very enjoyable read. The real question is now whether the volume counts as one book or 18.

>258 terebinth:
the first edition the work does not conclude with a hyphen

Thank you for letting me know! The brief search showed that it is “the editorial “tradition” of committing a trespass on the text, by inserting” this punctuation mark. Interesting. However, I’d say that the final hyphen is not entirely out of character with the narrative and this elusiveness is consistent with the author who managed to have two headstones and several skulls, one of which was identified as his, albeit with "a certain area of doubt".

I'll definitely look into "Avowals" then.

Reading Master of War, a biography of US Civil War General George Thomas.

Also in the midst of the the final (for now) Library of America Elmore Leonard volume, just finished Get Shorty.

>259 wongie:

The real question is now whether the volume counts as one book or 18.

If you're a pedant then you're in trouble. If you're not, then interpret as you will.

I am reading the Folio Society volume A Circle in the Fire and Other Stories by Flannery O'Connor.

>261 kcshankd:

I also just finished Get Shorty. Love Elmore Leonard and Get Shorty is one of his most enjoyable.

Just finished The Room by Jonas Karlsson which someone on these forums recommended to me a while back. Thought it was absolutely hilarious! Thank you for the great suggestion, feel free to recommended me some more Scandinavian authors

>264 devilsisland:

I also re-watched the movie and wow is Danny DeVito an odd choice for Michael.

>266 kcshankd:

Travolta is perfectly cast.

DeVito is a bit of a mystery. I think Ed Norton would have been a great choice.

>267 devilsisland:

Maybe they took the title too literally? I was imagining Tom Cruise or someone more heart-throbby (in the early 90s).

Just picked up the lovely three volume Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton. This has been winking at me for a long time and as I am finally in the mood to pick up my reading above the deplorably slackened state that it currently resides within, I thought I should enjoy (based on so much that I have read about it) what Burton has to say.

As an aside, my wife picked up Oscar and Lucinda tonight too for the first time and we both grimaced at the horrendous post-modern abominations masquerading as illustrations. I imagine it's a good read though.

NB Edited to add that Burton is beautifully marbled on paper sides, bound in buckram and printed on abbey wove.

Just finished The Woman in Black, by Susan Hill and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving. Now doing a fun reread of Jane Eyre! I love the latest FS version and really want them to continue and publish all the Bronte books in this style. It would be fabulous!

Currently enjoying the attractive Folio edition of Steven Pinker's The Language Instinct. It's a fascinating read.

(edited to amend misspelt Steven!)

>269 LesMiserables: remember that Burton “hanged him selfe” after completing his Anatomy of Melancholy...

>272 Pepys:

I thought that this had not been corroborated and may just have been rumour. It would be irony given that he said that writing about it relieved the symptoms. He should have continued.

Just finished The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben

I really enjoyed this. I do like trees though.

Anyone else read and enjoyed this?

>273 LesMiserables:

One bookseller offering an early edition of the Anatomy on Abe for a healthy fou8r-figure sum uses a surprising, to me, string of keywords to attract the notice of purchasers:

1676 Burton Anatomy of Melancholy Depression Philosophy GOBLINS Superstition.

Any searcher after goblin lore would, I suspect, be disappointed with the purchase. Goblins do merit five entries in the Folio edition's index, but that's equalled by the meseraic veins, and well below the eleven references to hellebore...

The Book Nobody Read by Owen Gingerich: This book was mentioned in another thread that I now can't find about someone I now can't remember who was aiming to complete a census of a book of historic interest that I also cannot remember. The project involved locating the wherabouts of every known copy of the book. A fascinating and possibly futile enterprise I thought.

Anyway, one of us good devotees whom, shame on me, I also cannot remember referred to the census of Copernicus's seminal tome Of the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres carried out by Gingerich and I subsequently obtained a copy of his book titled after a commemt made by Arthur Koestler that the Revolutions was a book nobody had read. This odd claim could not go unchallenged and in that Gingerich more than succeeded. Over a period of almost three decades he hunted down and examined about 600 copies of Copernicus first and second editions held in libraries and other institutions in Europe (the major repository), North America and as far afield as China. He estimated about 400-500 of each edition were printed. Annotations were the big prizes and of these there were many that not only showed that Koestler's remark had been mere hyperbole but revealed a fascinating insight into the reception of the heliocentric hypothesis and the informal network, an 'invisible college', of the astronomers of the day. The Ptolemaic system was shown not to be in a state of collapsing muddle and that Copernicus provided an 'aesthetic' improvement rather than one of astronomical necessity (at least at that period of scientific knowledge). Moreover, it was possible to acheive harmony between the Ptolemaic and Copernican systems by combining them into a single working model. Thus any possible controversy was ameliorated.

The expertise of Gingerich in this field, particularly the detailed records he amassed regarding the extant copies of the great book, led to his being called upon by other interested parties such as academics, book dealers, librarians and law enforcement agencies for advice an assistance.

All in all, an important piece of historical research and an absorbing read that should appeal to students of the development of science and astronomy but also to anyone interested in bibliophilic historical research. Many thanks to that person who, having slipped into the dank depths of my memory, suggested this book in the first place.

>276 scratchpad:

I believe it all started here:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/259428#6095939

>276 scratchpad: >277 drasvola: I remember reading somewhere that there was a similar project to find the locations of all fifty copies of Tu Fu: Wanderer and Minstrel Under Moons of Cathay from the Mosher Press printed on Japan vellum. For anyone out there still engaged with this, one of them resides in South East Hampshire, UK. :-)

>277 drasvola: Yes, thanks for that and to the subsequent posts of groeng and pythagoras for pointing me in the right direction.

>276 scratchpad:
>278 HuxleyTheCat:

See also Eric Rasmussen, The Shakespeare Thefts: In Search of the First Folios.

Just finished The Postman Always Rings Twice. I enjoyed it more than I expected to.
Took a short break from Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down, which I'm learning quite a lot from.

I'd recommend both.

Just finished the rewarding A Shropshire Lad by A.E. Housman

>282 LesMiserables: I hope that you enjoyed and if you did you might like to look at Housman Country.

>283 CarltonC:

Thanks you for the suggestion.

I loved it (A Shropshire Lad)

It is unlike anything I have read before. I knew after a few pages that I would enjoy the whole collection, which I did. This is certainly one to return to time and again. There is something refreshingly candid and spirited (yet melancholy) on his treatment of death. It is unlike say Brooke, void of that high romance, and dissimilar to Owen in that it has life beyond the clay.

If this was to get the LE treatment I would bite.

Read tonight, TS Eliot's Prufrock, and other observations
Probably too early to make any worthwhile observations other than to say that Preludes caught my attention most.

>284 LesMiserables:
The "life beyond the clay" didn't last long -- perhaps not to the end of that early collection. Housman became an atheist at Oxford, with an outlook on life (and death) that was as pessimistic as Hardy's. Even in ASL, the early conventional "fight for the queen" morphs into more than one righteous suicide, and The Carpenter's Son has made a wrong choice. It's hard to find a poem in the collection where the last stanza doesn't end in the grave, with less and less mention of the soul. But memorable stuff, and a huge influence on the poets of WW1.
I'd prefer an LE of his collected poems, which aren't too numerous. Folio has already published 2 editions of ASL, the second a freebie. They made the mistake of issuing a LE of Liber Bestiarum after doing a presentation volume that went to every member, and I believe LB has hung around longer than any LE in history.

>286 Jayked:

Thanks for that information. I did have a little background of Housman through my reading (currently) of J. Enoch Powell's biography by Simon Heffer, which is outstanding. That's what led me onto Housman as Powell was much influenced by him and produced a few volumes himself.

Just finished The (Faber) Collected Poems 1909-1962 of TS Eliot

De Profundis, FS, fine edition. It is really astounding how Wilde tries to blame everything on a guy nearly half his age, despite of all his intellectual superiority that he appears to be swinging at the reader throughout the entire book.
However, Wilde being Wilde, this 100-page-long rant is a pleasure to read. He makes a lot of really brilliant observations, but now I cannot be sure that he is genuine. Maybe, all those ‘insights’ were constructed on the spot, to rub the lesson in. But they’re still insights – for me, at least.

Just finished "The Transylvanian Trilogy" by Miklós Bánffy. A wonderful, complex historical novel set in the Transylvanian region of Austri-Hungary at the close of the 1800'sand leading up to the first world war. I recall when this book, which was written in the 1930's, was published in Hungarian in 2001, made quite a splash in Hungary and was quite difficult to get hold of. A great translation, partly by Bánffy's daughter. I was thrilled when it became available in "Everyman's Library" edition.

>291 LG2:

I read those a few years ago - I really loved it!

Just finished Meditations - Marcus Aurelius (Gregory Hays trans.)

I've been thoroughly enjoying Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin, wonderful imagination and compelling reading.

Just finished:

Jane Eyre~Charlotte Bronte

Now reading:

Something Wicked this Way Comes~Ray Bradbury
The Pow-wow Grimoire~Robert Phoenix
Hex and Spellwork~Karl Herr

Just finished reading The Enchiridion by Epictetus.

Tonight I'll finish Welcome to the Universe: An Astrophysical Tour, by Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michael A. Strauss, and J. Richard Gott. I followed along fairly well in the early going, but the last few chapters are beyond my feeble mind. Clearly, these people are smarter than I am.

And then I'll start something a wee bit lighter in tone - Men at Arms, by Terry Pratchett. I thoroughly enjoyed Guards! Guards! when I read it a few months back, and feel it is high time I read the second book in this Discworld series.

I'm making my way through 3 excellent books at the moment. Two them are Folios: Letters from a Stoic by Seneca and The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton. The non Folio is Like the Roman by Simon Heffer on the life of Enoch Powell.

Just finished a quick read today The Devil Hates Latin - Katharine Galgano. Enjoyed this very much: quite gripping.

I've just started the massive The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. As a historical fiction lover, I can't believe I hadn't heard of him until recently.

I'm reading the FS edition of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. My expectations were quite low but I am very pleasantly surprised--Kesey is a great stylist. And the illustrations are perfect. Once again, a wonderful FS production.

>302 kristinemoore: I found this to be a great book! It was also the first Follett I've read. If you really like it, it's now part of a trilogy, with World Without End and just released A Column of Fire. Enjoy!

I finished:
Something Wicked This Way Comes~Ray Bradbury
The Little Witch~Otfried Preussler

Now reading:
My Uncle Silas~LeFanu (FS version, beautifully bound, but such tiny writing!) My first time reading it and perfect for the season!

Also listening to Herodotus' Histories on audible which is a nice way to spend the time commuting. This is my second reading of the Histories.

I am reading 3 books currently:

Flights by Olga Tukarczuk (Fitzcarraldo Editions) on my commute daily to work

1001 Nights and Rupert Brooke Poems (both FS) when home.

Finished Uncle Silas (FS), which was my first time reading it and had a lot of fun, though parts were pretty predictable. Still, I enjoy his descriptions worthy of Dickens and the Gothic atmosphere.

Now doing a reread of Frankenstein for my Halloween reading marathon!

Just finished Letters from a Stoic by Seneca, FS Edition.

Highly recommended.

Just started reading The Exorcist - The 40th Anniversary ed.

...and

Just finished it! What a read.

NB Edited to add, I've just ordered the sequel Legion

Taking a break from Aubrey / Maturin, who I have left on Desolation Island, this week I've visited Westeros (and was surprised to find the levels of sex and violence considerably reduced from the Sky Atlantic version), have participated in a Conclave (it strikes me that Robert Harris' Fatherland, or the Cicero trilogy would be good Folio choices - his books are at least as exciting as Forsyth's and he is a much better writer) and am now in Renaissance Scotland with Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond, again perhaps a good Folio choice.

Reading Foundation's Edge, Asimov's belated first sequel; not too enthralled so far.
Just finished Travels with Charley , and re-read Grapes of Wrath before that (as good as I remembered)

>310 LesMiserables: my favourite epigraph of all is from Faulks' Engleby , from Seneca; " It is a small part of life we really live. Indeed, all the rest is not life but merely time" Thought for a Friday night !

Reading the Picture of Dorian Gray. So far it is borderline tedious with no payoff. I always finish what I start so we'll see. I just thought with as many people who say this is their favorite book it would have grabbed me by now.

>315 devilsisland: - I have read that book, and I agree - it's a brilliant concept, but poorly executed.

>316 coynedj:

I was afraid of that.

Never having read Ian Fleming before and away for a long weekend and feeling like something light to read,I am reading From Russia With Love It is such a beautifully designed book with a nice slipcase and good illustrations so am unexpectedly enjoying it
I think FS did well.

>319 podaniel:

I was in the same boat--and tried FS's Casino Royale a couple of months ago. I then gobbled up From Russia with Love and Dr. No in short order. They truly are beautifully designed books with great illustrations.

Yes I have the other two as my next read. Another example of reading what I wouldn't normally consider thanks to FS

I quite liked Dorian Gray, but - nothing suits everyone.

Just finished The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis.

A profound book of virtue and wisdom. Best read with deliberate meditation, slowly, carefully, over time. (I would recommend 1-2 years)

>322 LesMiserables:
One of my favourite books on spirituality. I started reading this regularly back in the 1980's when I was thinking about becoming a cloistered nun (not kidding) as it is one of the most popular books in Catholicism on interior life. At this point in my life I think I have about 4 different copies, including the FS one.

>323 Lady19thC:

I know this is perhaps a cliché, but after the Bible it might just be the most important text that has come to Christians. I have been reading this slowly, mostly on a Sunday after Holy Communion, towards the end of Mass. It's probably the kind of book that should always be in the pocket or handbag.

My edition is the handy pocket sized one, printed by the Confraternity of the Precious Blood.

Working my way through Perfidia by James Ellroy, more of his in depth 'history' of LA...I'll need to read 'Imitation of Christ' after I finish it.

Finishing up Judas by Amoz Oz - exceeded my expectations for it. I'm currently looking for good literature set in Iraq & about the Iraqi people, if anyone has any recommendations I would greatly appreciate it.

Just finished Legion by William Peter Blatty.

This is the sequel to The Exorcist I referred to (and bought Legion on Friday night) in >311 LesMiserables: and >312 LesMiserables:

Not my usual genre but over the course of the two books, the chilling horror remains but it develops more into the crime genre. What I admire in the sequel is the... what can I call it... the theological and cosmological promulgating on the lovable detective.

NB edited to add that anyone who has read the sequel will understand why I now feel compelled to read Dostoevsky.

>327 LesMiserables: - You go through books faster than I go through clean pairs of socks. How do you do it?

>328 coynedj:

Reading multiple books concurrently and every so often they get completed on or around the same time.

>329 LesMiserables:

Impressive, LesMis. How many hours do you manage to get to read?

>329 LesMiserables:
Me too. Might be an occupational hazard. When you're used to reading alternately for course preparation, research, student work, and pleasure, it's hard to settle down to just one text per day.

>330 ironjaw:

Good question. Under normal conditions it might be anything like just half an hour in a day although presently I'm on holiday so I'm reading perhaps 4+ hours per day.

Interestingly, the Legion book I read over the weekend, was with me when I was out with the family shopping etc. I would snatch the odd page here and there. Great post on it here.

Just finished reading the Papal Encyclical Humani Generis by Pope Piux XII

Which reminds me that I should really keep Denzinger to hand rather than on the bookshelf.

I'm on the Wealth of Nations right now. Extremely interesting.

>335 gmacaree: I've been dipping into that too this past month, the Everyman Library edition (somewhat more portable than the 3-vol Folio). It is fascinating. In addition to the lucidity of his prose and argument, I've been struck by how socially minded Smith was, seemingly more so than many a modern day free marketeer.

Am also presently reading The Old Curiosity Shop for the first time, very much enjoying it.

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold: My impressions of the 1965 film, watched more than once, are seemingly, even now, as vividly intact as they were on the first viewing - no small achevement for one of hundreds of otherwise forgettable celluloid productions I've suffered over the years. Often a film has sent me straight to the book but for some reason this one did not and I have wondered about that ever since. I suppose it's because I thought the book could only detract from what I considered to be a perfect piece of cinema. The advent of the FS version gave me little choice but to buy it and settle the issue once and for all. The result did not disappoint - it is intelligently written, superbly plotted and exerts a narrative pull that transforms what might easily have been an understated plodding storyline (the denouement excepted) into a compulsive page-turner which is exactly how I responded to the film. Inevitably, the images and characterisations in the film intruded in every way but this just seemed to give substance to some of the minimalist bones of the book and enhance the overall experience. It is likely that my impressions would be different if I had read the book first - that is the mystique of pairing up these media and also the curse of comparisons. In this instance I find it impossible to separate the two. The last time this happened was for The Day Of The Jackal where the match of film and book, equally satisfying, left me with the peculiar feeling that one of them, film or book, was redundant and I had wasted my time on it. But which one? All I can say is that for either of these two books/films it doesn't matter and that if your preference is reading or watching then either will be equally rewarding. For me, that raises the more interesting proposition that duplicating a novel in film is a redundant exercise and should never be attempted because if it succeeds it fails. On the other hand if it fails it may not, and often does not, succeed. The film-makers' natural instincts to interpret and adapt according to their own vision of a novel while observing the constraints of their medium are almost certainly the best and probably the only course for them to follow. The novelist may do much of their work for them which is undoubtedly the case here. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with this novel (or film).

>337 scratchpad: "The Day Of The Jackal where the match of film and book, equally satisfying, left me with the peculiar feeling that one of them, film or book, was redundant and I had wasted my time on it. But which one?"

I'd stick to the film, which as I recall is at least quite well acted, whereas the book demands nothing of the reader other than an ability to turn pages with a certain velocity.

>338 HuxleyTheCat:

Interesting discussion. As a rule, when dealing with films adapted from novels, I would always plump for the written word.

First of all, it is presented as the author intended in almost all cases (that is why I shun abridgments as arrogant impostors).

Secondly, they place much higher and rewarding demands on the reader through the activation of the imagination, something which film actively destroys.

>336 cronshaw: yes, very much so. I admire both the clarity of Smith's thought (which I expected) and the moral/social consideration in his writing (which I did not)

>339 LesMiserables: As a rule, so would I.

ETA - Having said that, I've just read A Game of Thrones, after being very late on the HBO bandwagon and having seen all the TV seasons in quick succession. The book is sufficiently different from the adaptation to keep interest, and the cast of characters is so huge that I find it useful to have a picture of the character in my head, rather than having to rely on my increasingly aged brain to keep track.

Folio: still the Red Fairy Book.

Not-Folio: still too many to list.

Commute: La folie de dieu by Peter Sloterdijk (touchstone says it's God's zeal, the battle of the three monotheisms in English). Will be finished today, so I brought Patrick Hamilton's Hangover Square too, lest I be found bookless two stops or so before mine...

Once I figure out where to put them, I will be taking custody of a family set of The Life and Works of George Eliot, comprising 25 volumes or so. I have never read Eliot, and am looking for recommendations of where to start, assuming I don't plan to read v. 1-25 in the near future. I would appreciate hearing the thoughts of those who enjoy her work.

Folio: The Golden Ass.

Non-Folio: Mark Valentine's collection of (mostly) literary essays, A Country Still All Mystery, and a 40-year old paperback edition of Night's Black Agents by Fritz Leiber.

>343 wdripp:
Oh, wow! You are incredibly lucky! I am so envious of you! Not meaning to be a pest, but would you consider listing the titles of those volumes? I have read Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner, Scenes of a Clerical Life, Felix Holt, Middlemarch, Romola, Daniel Deronda, her journals and her poetry. Apparently I am missing some writings??!! I personally would start on The Mill on the Floss. Middlemarch is considered once of the greatest novels of all time, and often the best of the entire 19th century English Lit. I would definitely agree, but feel it is better to ease into her works. Daniel Deronda is also exceptional. Silas Marner is a fabulous novelette to read between Christmas and New Year's, being partially set during that time period. How fun to be discovering her works. Her diaries/journals are also quite interesting after you read some of her novels. She mentions a lot of what she reads and was a big fan of Shakespeare and ironically, while not considering herself religious, had something like 25 copies of The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas a Kempis, in her home at her death. She was fascinating! The Mill on the Floss is loosely based on her own life and her stormy relationship with her brother.

>345 Lady19thC:

I agree, Silas Marner is fantastic. It came to me as I was reading it that it reminded me of the Steve Martin film A Simple Twist of Fate. On investigating further I discovered that it was based on the novel. Enjoyed that too.

>345 Lady19thC: Yes, I am lucky! They belonged to my great grandmother (I also have her Jane Austen set) and are apparently in good condition. Thank you for the recommendations. I will plan to start with The Mill on the Floss. I would be happy to list the titles once the books are in my possession, hopefully in the next few weeks.

ETA: I should add that if they are like the Austen books, there are multiple volumes for each novel due to the thick paper used, and that may explain why there are so many books in the set.

I am as usual reading a few books simultaneously.
Game of Thrones (reread)
American Gods (reread)
The Colour of Magic

>335 gmacaree: >336 cronshaw:
Smith has not been displaced in economic thought. Every successor has had to deal with him.
Smith on regulation:
" The man of system, on the contrary, is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamoured with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government, that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it. He goes on to establish it completely and in all its parts, without any regard either to the great interests, or to the strong prejudices which may oppose it.

He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chess-board. He does not consider that the pieces upon the chess-board have no other principle of motion besides that which the hand impresses upon them; but that, in the great chess-board of human society, every single piece has a principle of motion of its own, altogether different from that which the legislature might chuse to impress upon it. If those two principles coincide and act in the same direction, the game of human society will go on easily and harmoniously, and is very likely to be happy and successful. If they are opposite or different, the game will go on miserably, and the society must be at all times in the highest degree of disorder.”

Just finished the Picture Of Dorian Gray. I think this book was a victim of the times, and by that I mean details could not be revealed because of prevailing moral guidelines. Well written but very vague throughout. I guess my expectations were to high.

Now I am reading my Folio edition of Dracula. I purchased this one many months ago and have just been waiting for autumn/ Halloween season to read it. Three chapters in and it's even better than I remembered.

>351 devilsisland:

Interesting comments. For what it's worth I really enjoyed it. Read the whole thing in a day.

My own perspective is that we are victims of our own 21st century times. We are desensitised to moral value by a continuous stream of decadence. We cannot hide from it. Worse still, it leaves little or no room for our imaginations.

Give me vague any day! :-)

Finished And then there were none.
Really enjoyed it.
I was very surprised at the end. I think there are a few things that were a bit convenient but overall a good read.

I also knocked over "Nabokov's favorite word is Mauve"
It looks into the statistics of literature.
I have not read a book quite like it. Really fun

Poor People (Poor Folk), by Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky. Found a copy in our local used bookstore and it caught my eye. Now I am hooked. Reading this to keep my mind occupied this week. My mother passed away on Saturday night and we have the wake and funeral coming up. Waiting until all the heartbreak and stress of that is over before my next Halloween read, which will be my annual reread of Dracula.

>354 Lady19thC:

My condolences on the loss of your mother. I also lost my mother this year and reading was one of the few things that took my mind off the situation, for a little while at a time at least.

>341 HuxleyTheCat: Having read the series before the start of the TV show and the books that followed I have to say I much prefer the TV show. One gets the sense that George RR has gotten a little lost in an increasingly large and unwieldy world. My opinion anyway!

Reading My Daily Psalm Book ie The Psalms and Canticles. Some beautiful compositions within the Psalms.

>354 Lady19thC: - Very sorry to hear of your loss. Like devilsisland, I find that reading can help take your mind off your situation, but it can only do so much. I wish you well in this difficult time.

As for what I'm reading, it's a busy time. I usually have three books going at any time, but right now I'm reading:
- The Canon: a Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science, by Natalie Angier. It was recommended to me, but I'm not really getting into it yet. Her writing style is better suited for her job as a columnist.
- The Beauty and the Sorrow: An Intimate History of the First World War, by Peter Englund. Excellent.
- The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm. I read a tale or two before bed each night.
- A Story as Sharp as a Knife, by Robert Bringhurst. Not the FS version, unfortunately, but quite interesting.
- Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation, by Elaine Pagels. I just finished this yesterday. In my attempt to make some sense of the Book of Revelation, this volume didn't really help very much. Now that it's done, I'm moving on to:
- The Golden Cockerel and Other Writings, by Juan Rulfo. If this is half as good as his Pedro Paramo, it will be well worth the read.

>356 Sorion: I'm halfway through A Clash of Kings and so far I'm preferring the books to the tv series, which I don't think really hit its stride until about this equivalent point. It's spectacular, of course, but I feel it's a little let down by some uneven casting, from the stupendously brilliant Peter Dinklage through to... some others.

>355 devilsisland:
>358 coynedj:

Thank you so much for your kind thoughts. Yes, reading has always been my cure for many ailments, including this mourning period.

>360 Lady19thC:
So sorry to hear about the passing of your mother. May she rest in peace.

>360 Lady19thC:
May I add my sincere condolences to those above.

Another book to add to my list posted above - The Elements of Pizza, by Ken Forkish.

This looks like a winner.

Am about to start my first ever C.J. Sanson, Dissolution, having heard nothing but positive reviews from friends.

>354 Lady19thC: Sorry to hear about your mum. She must have been happy that she raised such a well-read daughter.

>364 cronshaw: Enjoy! (Please, mole, Shardlake deserves to be Folioised.)

Finished reading My Daily Psalm Book

>361 LesMiserables:
>362 tarangurgi:
>364 cronshaw:

Thank you all so very much. Reading is on the list for today. Relaxing, decompressing and reading. Funeral was yesterday. Such a long day. Slept like a log last night for the first time in 2 weeks. Ready to move on with good memories. xx

>354 Lady19thC:

My deepest sympathy for your family's loss.

>359 HuxleyTheCat:

A Storm of Swords should blow you away. Although, if you've already caught up on the entire television series it may lose a bit of its magic, unfortunately.

As for what I'm reading - Darwin's Origin of Species. Rather, attempting to. A pinched nerve in my neck is doing its best to interfere.

Just finished Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor. Great read.

Finishing Claire Tomalin's autobiography A Life of my Own, and ready to embark on the Folio edition of The Deeds of the English Kings (William of Malmesbury).

>368 adriano77: I'll find out shortly (need to decide whether to have a bit more Aubrey/Maturin or a bit more Lymond first) as I finished A Clash of Kings last night. Blackwater was the most exciting battle I've read since my first reading of Helm's Deep many, many years ago, and it struck me once again at how much more powerful the written word in combination with imagination can be than expensive SFX.

Given that he just won the Nobel Prize, I am finishing up the FS edition of Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day. A wonderful read. I had never read anything by Ishiguro before and am looking forward to dipping into other of his works. Oh, and the FS edition is beautiful, clothbound with wonderful illustrations by Finn Campbell-Notman. I wonder what else he illustrated? Oh, let me guess, there's a list in Folio 60.

>372 podaniel: Not, actually, FC-N work is post F60, you'll have to look to F70/75 if you choose to purchase one. I recall more illustrations for Death Comes for the Archbishopmaybe one other, I dismember.

>372 podaniel: The Tiger in the Smoke (still available), In a Glass Darkly (OOP)

>373 olepuppy:

Thanks--I loved the illustrations for Death Comes for the Archbishop too. Never connected the two until you mentioned it.

>372 podaniel:

Disappointed to see that the FS The Remains of the Day is out of print.

Just finished Poor People and A Little Hero, by Dostoyevsky. Heartbreaking, charming, fun reads.

Now reading The Vampyre by Polidari.

>376 sviswanathan:

Well, it should be easy to get a copy on the secondary market--it was popular enough to go into a second printing (and maybe more--but I would not know since I do not have Folio 70 to turn to; oh, the humanity!).

I'm currently reading War and Peace. I'm enjoying it a lot, but sometimes I feel dizzy with the amount of characters.

I'm approaching Arthur in a roundabout way...
Read the first part of Kevin Crossley-Holland's Arthur trilogy (The Seeing Stone) a couple of years ago, and though it 'quite' good.
That assessment has changed drastically now I have started T. E. White (The Once and Future King) - seems to me Crossley-Holland was merely poking about in the ashes left by White, blowing on the embers but never matching the inventiveness, humour, characters, authority or effortlessness of White.

When I read it I had a character list in front with the real names and all the aka's which helped out a lot.

>378 podaniel:

I'm lacking Folio 70 too, of course, but my Remains of the Day is from the fourth Foilo printing, in 2013.

I've begun my annual reread of Dracula, by Bram Stoker. FS edition, of course!

After finishing Wise Blood I read A Good Man is Hard to Find. What a story! Some laugh out loud moments, but the looming shadow of nonchalant evil was almost too much to bear at times.

>378 podaniel: I'll have to take a look! Thanks.

Reading Ian Fleming in Thunderball!

Finished Thunderball. Not too bad actually.

Currently reading FS The Remains of the Day and AP The Sundial. The prologue of Remains of the Day is hilarious!

>389 Sorion:

It gets funnier--wait until the butler is delegated the task to explain "the facts of life" to a young man in his early twenties. I think people overlook just how funny Ishiguro can be. He has the piquant blend of comedy and tragedy found in the best of Waugh (I am thinking here of the Sword of Honour trilogy).

I had an unexpected day off work today because of travel disruption caused by hurricane Ophelia, a rare event here in Ireland. Used the occasion to finish Patrick Leigh Fermor an Adventure by Artemis Cooper, The Travels of Ibn Battutah and A Life in Postcards by Melosina Lennox-Conynghim. All equally enjoyable.

I just started Midnight's Children, but didn't get far as I don't take it with me and only read it at home. I'm also reading QualityLand by Marc-Uwe Kling (it's in german, despite the english title) which I find quite amusing and makes you think about the relations between companies, data and people.

>392 c_schelle: I thoroughly enjoyed Midnight's Children. I found it took me quite a long time to get through, but it was well worth it. Which reminds me that I originally read it in an Everyman's edition, and I really need to do a reread via my lovely Folio.

Just finished, and thoroughly enjoyed, The Remains of the Day. A lovely read and suitable illustrations in the FS edition.

...and just finished Casino Royale

Inspired by this very inspiring group, just started non-Folio #46, God and the Fascists: The Vatican Alliance with Mussolini, Franco, Hitler, and Pavelic by Karlheinz Deschner (whose monumental Kriminalgeschichte des Christentums (The criminal history of Christianity) I cannot recommend enough.

I wonder: Do they keep dogs in the Vatican?

...and I just had a revelation: If you can name a woman Pussy Galore, of course you can name a dog Blondi.

(Edited for spelling.)

Just started reading One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

...and just finished reading One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

What a great read! Highly recommended.

I have just read in sequence :-
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - quirky and entertaining - 4 stars
A Scanner Darkly - weird, did not enjoy - 2 stars
American Gods - entertaining easy read - 5 stars

Just finished the Folio edition of Dracula. It was very good and quite a bit different from the movies. Highly Recommended.

Just started Rashomon. I'm reading this one on my kindle. Like the first few stories but like all short story compilations some are better than others.

>402 devilsisland:

I too enjoyed my maiden Dracula read in a FS ed.

>402 devilsisland:

Ditto--just read it this year.

"As an intellectual you move to the left. Then, if you think a little bit more, you move back to the centre, and then to the right"

Roger Sutton

>345 Lady19thC:

I know there is a newer thread, but I finally have the whole 24 volume set of Eliot in my possession, and am back to report on what it contains, as promised.

Middlemarch (3 vol)
Daniel Deronda (3 vol)
Adam Bede (2 vol)
Felix Holt The Radical (2 vol)
Poems (2 vol)
Romola (3 vol)
The Mill on the Floss (2 vol)
Scenes of Clerical Life (2 vol)
Silas Marner, The Lifted Veil, Brother Jacob (1 vol)
Impressions of Theophrastus Such, Miscellaneous Essays (1 vol)
George Eliot's Life (3 vol)