Paul's Grand European Tour 6
This is a continuation of the topic Paul's Grand European Tour 5.
This topic was continued by Paul's Grand European Tour 7.
Talk 75 Books Challenge for 2025
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1PaulCranswick
Since this month the Grand European Tour is visiting the countries that composed the former Warsaw Pact, where better to start than Warsaw itself.
2PaulCranswick
Opening Words
Based on Deb's strong recommendation and with a hunch to the upcoming Women's Prize longlist, I am currently reading and enjoying Nesting which is a debut novel by Roisin O'Donnell
" Ciara steps out of the car and a cold sea wind catches her breath, whipping her hair across her face. After some manoeuvring, ignoring tuts from the passenger seat, she's managed to squeeze her old Micra into a tight parking spot across the road from Skerries beach. The April afternoon sky stretches bright and clear. Above the rooftops of the seafront terraces, gulls glide as it manipulated by invisible wires, their taut wings motionless."
Interested.........................?
Based on Deb's strong recommendation and with a hunch to the upcoming Women's Prize longlist, I am currently reading and enjoying Nesting which is a debut novel by Roisin O'Donnell
" Ciara steps out of the car and a cold sea wind catches her breath, whipping her hair across her face. After some manoeuvring, ignoring tuts from the passenger seat, she's managed to squeeze her old Micra into a tight parking spot across the road from Skerries beach. The April afternoon sky stretches bright and clear. Above the rooftops of the seafront terraces, gulls glide as it manipulated by invisible wires, their taut wings motionless."
Interested.........................?
3PaulCranswick
Poem
I wanted to feature Wislawa Szymborska who won the Nobel Prize in 1996 (the year I got married). She was one of my favourite poets and my favourite Polish poet - one who invariably translates well.
The End and the Beginning
After every war
someone has to clean up.
Things won’t
straighten themselves up, after all.
Someone has to push the rubble
to the side of the road,
so the corpse-filled wagons
can pass.
Someone has to get mired
in scum and ashes,
sofa springs,
splintered glass,
and bloody rags.
Someone has to drag in a girder
to prop up a wall.
Someone has to glaze a window,
rehang a door.
Photogenic it’s not,
and takes years.
All the cameras have left
for another war.
We’ll need the bridges back,
and new railway stations.
Sleeves will go ragged
from rolling them up.
Someone, broom in hand,
still recalls the way it was.
Someone else listens
and nods with unsevered head.
But already there are those nearby
starting to mill about
who will find it dull.
From out of the bushes
sometimes someone still unearths
rusted-out arguments
and carries them to the garbage pile.
Those who knew
what was going on here
must make way for
those who know little.
And less than little.
And finally as little as nothing.
In the grass that has overgrown
causes and effects,
someone must be stretched out
blade of grass in his mouth
gazing at the clouds.
I wanted to feature Wislawa Szymborska who won the Nobel Prize in 1996 (the year I got married). She was one of my favourite poets and my favourite Polish poet - one who invariably translates well.
The End and the Beginning
After every war
someone has to clean up.
Things won’t
straighten themselves up, after all.
Someone has to push the rubble
to the side of the road,
so the corpse-filled wagons
can pass.
Someone has to get mired
in scum and ashes,
sofa springs,
splintered glass,
and bloody rags.
Someone has to drag in a girder
to prop up a wall.
Someone has to glaze a window,
rehang a door.
Photogenic it’s not,
and takes years.
All the cameras have left
for another war.
We’ll need the bridges back,
and new railway stations.
Sleeves will go ragged
from rolling them up.
Someone, broom in hand,
still recalls the way it was.
Someone else listens
and nods with unsevered head.
But already there are those nearby
starting to mill about
who will find it dull.
From out of the bushes
sometimes someone still unearths
rusted-out arguments
and carries them to the garbage pile.
Those who knew
what was going on here
must make way for
those who know little.
And less than little.
And finally as little as nothing.
In the grass that has overgrown
causes and effects,
someone must be stretched out
blade of grass in his mouth
gazing at the clouds.
4PaulCranswick
BOOKS READ IN 2025 (1-75)
By the way my completed dates are using the British system of DD/MM/YY
First Cycle
1. Colonel Chabert by Honore de Balzac (1832) 101 pages Fiction from before the last decade. (Completed 1/1/25)
2. Forest of Noise by Mosab Abu Toha (2024) 77 pages Poetry/Plays (completed 1/1/25)
3. Now Then by Rick Broadbent (2023) 433 pages Non-Fiction (Completed 2/1/25)
4. The Hunter by Tana French (2024) 467 pages Thriller (Completed 4/1/25)
5. Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood (2023) 293 pp Fiction from the last decade (completed 5/1/25)
Second Cycle
6. The Great Fortune by Olivia Manning (1960) 318 pp Fiction before this decade (completed 7/1/25)
7. Stag's Leap by Sharon Olds (2012) 89 pp Poetry/Plays (completed 8/1/25)
8. The Wild Places by Robert Macfarlane (2007) 321 pp Non-Fiction (Completed 12/1/25)
9. The Reborn by Lin Anderson (2010) 424 pp Thriller (Completed 25/1/25)
10. The Cold Millions by Jess Walter (2020) 337 pp Fiction from this Decade (Completed 28/1/25)
Third Cycle
11. Lost Empires by J.B. Priestley (1965) 308 pp Fiction before this decade (Completed 28/1/25)
12. After You Were, I Am by Camille Ralphs (2024) 71 pp Poetry/Plays (Completed 28/1/25)
13. The Junior Officers' Reading Club by Patrick Hennessey (2009) 327 pp Non-Fiction (Completed 29/1/25)
14. Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths (2013) 390 pp Thriller (Completed 31/1/25)
15. Fen by Daisy Johnson (2016) 190 pp Fiction from the last decade (Completed 31/1/25)
Fourth Cycle
16. In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin (2009) 237 pp Fiction before this decade (Completed 1/2/25)
17. The Power of Geography by Tim Marshall (2021) 356 pp Non-Fiction (Completed 2/2/25)
18. Macbeth by William Shakespeare (1606) 97 pp Poetry/Plays (Completed 2/2/25)
19. Night Blind by Ragnar Jonasson (2015) 210 pp Thrillers(Completed 4/2/25)
20. Take it Back by Kia Abdullah (2020) 373 pp Fiction from the last decade (Completed 5/2/25)
Fifth Cycle
21. Nagasaki by Eric Faye (2012) 109 pp Fiction before this decade (Completed 6/2/25)
22. The Shepherd's Life by James Rebanks (2015) 287 pp Non-Fiction (Completed 7/2/25)
23. Alphabet by Inger Christensen (1981) 77 pp Poetry/Plays (Completed 8/2/25)
24. Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson (2012) 427 pp Sci-Fi/Fantasy (Completed 9/2/25)
25. The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane (2023) 379 pp Fiction from the last decade (Completed 10/2/25)
SIXTH CYCLE
26. Silence by Shusaku Endo (1966) 201 pp Fiction before this decade (Completed 15/2/25)
27. In the Land of the Cyclops by Karl Ove Knausgaard (2018) 297 pp Non-Fiction (Completed 16/2/25)
28. God's Gift to Women by Don Paterson (1997) 56 pp Poetry/Plays (Completed 16/2/25)
29. Our Fathers by Rebecca Wait (2020) 334 pp Thriller (Completed 16/2/25)
30. The Other Americans by Laila Lalami (2019) 301 pp Fiction from the last decade (Completed 20/2/25)
Seventh Cycle
31. Dart by Alice Oswald (2002) 48 pp Poetry/Plays (Completed 21/2/25)
32. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (2012) 294 pp Fiction before this decade (Completed 22/2/25)
33. Afternoons with the Blinds Drawn by Brett Anderson (2019) 278 pp Non-Fiction (Completed 23/2/25)
34. Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson (1946) 203 pp (Completed 27/2/25)
35. Othello by William Shakespeare (1602) 145 pp (Completed 28/2/25)
Eighth Cycle
36. Nesting by Roisin O'Donnell (2025) 382 pp (Completed 8/3/25)
37. Selected Poems 1969-2005 by David Harsent (2007) 133 pp (Completed 8/3/25)
38. Zero Days by Ruth Ware (2023) 339 pp (Completed 15/3/25)
39. The Pigeon Tunnel by John le Carre (2016) 342 pp (Completed 16/3/25)
By the way my completed dates are using the British system of DD/MM/YY
First Cycle
1. Colonel Chabert by Honore de Balzac (1832) 101 pages Fiction from before the last decade. (Completed 1/1/25)
2. Forest of Noise by Mosab Abu Toha (2024) 77 pages Poetry/Plays (completed 1/1/25)
3. Now Then by Rick Broadbent (2023) 433 pages Non-Fiction (Completed 2/1/25)
4. The Hunter by Tana French (2024) 467 pages Thriller (Completed 4/1/25)
5. Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood (2023) 293 pp Fiction from the last decade (completed 5/1/25)
Second Cycle
6. The Great Fortune by Olivia Manning (1960) 318 pp Fiction before this decade (completed 7/1/25)
7. Stag's Leap by Sharon Olds (2012) 89 pp Poetry/Plays (completed 8/1/25)
8. The Wild Places by Robert Macfarlane (2007) 321 pp Non-Fiction (Completed 12/1/25)
9. The Reborn by Lin Anderson (2010) 424 pp Thriller (Completed 25/1/25)
10. The Cold Millions by Jess Walter (2020) 337 pp Fiction from this Decade (Completed 28/1/25)
Third Cycle
11. Lost Empires by J.B. Priestley (1965) 308 pp Fiction before this decade (Completed 28/1/25)
12. After You Were, I Am by Camille Ralphs (2024) 71 pp Poetry/Plays (Completed 28/1/25)
13. The Junior Officers' Reading Club by Patrick Hennessey (2009) 327 pp Non-Fiction (Completed 29/1/25)
14. Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths (2013) 390 pp Thriller (Completed 31/1/25)
15. Fen by Daisy Johnson (2016) 190 pp Fiction from the last decade (Completed 31/1/25)
Fourth Cycle
16. In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin (2009) 237 pp Fiction before this decade (Completed 1/2/25)
17. The Power of Geography by Tim Marshall (2021) 356 pp Non-Fiction (Completed 2/2/25)
18. Macbeth by William Shakespeare (1606) 97 pp Poetry/Plays (Completed 2/2/25)
19. Night Blind by Ragnar Jonasson (2015) 210 pp Thrillers(Completed 4/2/25)
20. Take it Back by Kia Abdullah (2020) 373 pp Fiction from the last decade (Completed 5/2/25)
Fifth Cycle
21. Nagasaki by Eric Faye (2012) 109 pp Fiction before this decade (Completed 6/2/25)
22. The Shepherd's Life by James Rebanks (2015) 287 pp Non-Fiction (Completed 7/2/25)
23. Alphabet by Inger Christensen (1981) 77 pp Poetry/Plays (Completed 8/2/25)
24. Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson (2012) 427 pp Sci-Fi/Fantasy (Completed 9/2/25)
25. The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane (2023) 379 pp Fiction from the last decade (Completed 10/2/25)
SIXTH CYCLE
26. Silence by Shusaku Endo (1966) 201 pp Fiction before this decade (Completed 15/2/25)
27. In the Land of the Cyclops by Karl Ove Knausgaard (2018) 297 pp Non-Fiction (Completed 16/2/25)
28. God's Gift to Women by Don Paterson (1997) 56 pp Poetry/Plays (Completed 16/2/25)
29. Our Fathers by Rebecca Wait (2020) 334 pp Thriller (Completed 16/2/25)
30. The Other Americans by Laila Lalami (2019) 301 pp Fiction from the last decade (Completed 20/2/25)
Seventh Cycle
31. Dart by Alice Oswald (2002) 48 pp Poetry/Plays (Completed 21/2/25)
32. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (2012) 294 pp Fiction before this decade (Completed 22/2/25)
33. Afternoons with the Blinds Drawn by Brett Anderson (2019) 278 pp Non-Fiction (Completed 23/2/25)
34. Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson (1946) 203 pp (Completed 27/2/25)
35. Othello by William Shakespeare (1602) 145 pp (Completed 28/2/25)
Eighth Cycle
36. Nesting by Roisin O'Donnell (2025) 382 pp (Completed 8/3/25)
37. Selected Poems 1969-2005 by David Harsent (2007) 133 pp (Completed 8/3/25)
38. Zero Days by Ruth Ware (2023) 339 pp (Completed 15/3/25)
39. The Pigeon Tunnel by John le Carre (2016) 342 pp (Completed 16/3/25)
5PaulCranswick
Currently Reading
6PaulCranswick
THE GRAND EUROPEAN BOOK TOUR
January : Prelude - 19th Century Europe : https://www.librarything.com/topic/367210 - Colonel Chabert by Balzac
February : Nordic Nations : https://www.librarything.com/topic/368107
1. Night Blind by Ragnar Jonasson (Iceland)
2. Alphabet by Inger Christensen (Denmark)
3. In the Land of the Cyclops by Knausgaard (Norway)
4. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (Sweden)
5. Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson (Finland)
March : Warsaw Pact : https://www.librarything.com/topic/368897
April : Ottoman Empire
May : Non-National Languages
June : Caesar to Meloni
July : The Germanic World
August : Anita Fameulstee Memorial Month (Benelux)
September : Books About European Places
October : La Belle France
1. Nagasaki by Eric Faye
November : Iberian Peninsula
December : Back to the Future : 21st Century in translation
January : Prelude - 19th Century Europe : https://www.librarything.com/topic/367210 - Colonel Chabert by Balzac
February : Nordic Nations : https://www.librarything.com/topic/368107
1. Night Blind by Ragnar Jonasson (Iceland)
2. Alphabet by Inger Christensen (Denmark)
3. In the Land of the Cyclops by Knausgaard (Norway)
4. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (Sweden)
5. Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson (Finland)
March : Warsaw Pact : https://www.librarything.com/topic/368897
April : Ottoman Empire
May : Non-National Languages
June : Caesar to Meloni
July : The Germanic World
August : Anita Fameulstee Memorial Month (Benelux)
September : Books About European Places
October : La Belle France
1. Nagasaki by Eric Faye
November : Iberian Peninsula
December : Back to the Future : 21st Century in translation
7PaulCranswick
British Author Challenge (Hosted by my friend Amanda)
January - The stage : https://www.librarything.com/topic/366934#8710962
Lost Empires by J.B. Priestley
February - Kia Abdullah : Take it Back & Adrian Tchaikovsky
March -
April -
May -
June -
July -
August -
September -
October -
November -
December -
January - The stage : https://www.librarything.com/topic/366934#8710962
Lost Empires by J.B. Priestley
February - Kia Abdullah : Take it Back & Adrian Tchaikovsky
March -
April -
May -
June -
July -
August -
September -
October -
November -
December -
8PaulCranswick
American Author Challenge (Hosted with occasional assistance this year by my friend Linda)
JANUARY - Pacific North West : https://www.librarything.com/topic/367006
The Cold Millions by Jess Walter
FEBRUARY - American Muslims (Guest Host) : https://www.librarything.com/topic/367970#n8746462
1. In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin
2. Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson
3. The Other Americans by Laila Lalami
MARCH - Stewart O'Nan (Guest Host; Katie)
APRIL -
MAY -
JUNE -
JULY
AUGUST -
SEPTEMBER -
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER -
DECEMBER
JANUARY - Pacific North West : https://www.librarything.com/topic/367006
The Cold Millions by Jess Walter
FEBRUARY - American Muslims (Guest Host) : https://www.librarything.com/topic/367970#n8746462
1. In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin
2. Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson
3. The Other Americans by Laila Lalami
MARCH - Stewart O'Nan (Guest Host; Katie)
APRIL -
MAY -
JUNE -
JULY
AUGUST -
SEPTEMBER -
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER -
DECEMBER
9PaulCranswick
NON-FICTION CHALLENGE
Hosted this year by my friend Benita. Challenge thread is here : https://www.librarything.com/topic/366835
January - Award Winners : The Wild Places by Robert Macfarlane
February - Maps : The Power of Geography by Tim Marshall
March - Espionage : The Pigeon Tunnel by John le Carre
Hosted this year by my friend Benita. Challenge thread is here : https://www.librarything.com/topic/366835
January - Award Winners : The Wild Places by Robert Macfarlane
February - Maps : The Power of Geography by Tim Marshall
March - Espionage : The Pigeon Tunnel by John le Carre
10PaulCranswick
Big Book Challenge
Link to thread : https://www.librarything.com/topic/368910#n8778254
March - Fyodor Dostoevsky or alternatives
April - Orhan Pamuk, Nikos Kazantzakis or much further back
Link to thread : https://www.librarything.com/topic/368910#n8778254
March - Fyodor Dostoevsky or alternatives
April - Orhan Pamuk, Nikos Kazantzakis or much further back
11PaulCranswick
Women's Prize Longlist (Announced 4/3/25)
1. Aria Aber, Good Girl owned
2. Kaliane Bradley, The Ministry of Time
3. Jenni Daiches, Somewhere Else
4. Saraid de Silva, Amma
5. Karen Jennings, Crooked Seeds
6. Miranda July, All Fours owned
7. Laila Lalami, The Dream Hotel
8. Sanam Mahloudji, The Persians owned
9. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Dream Count owned
10. Roisín O’Donnell, Nesting READ
11. Rosanna Pike, A Little Trickery
12. Rose Ruana, Birding
13. Lucy Steeds, The Artist owned
14. Elizabeth Strout, Tell Me Everything owned
15. Yael van der Wouden, The Safekeep owned
16. Nussaibah Younis, Fundamentally owned
1. Aria Aber, Good Girl owned
2. Kaliane Bradley, The Ministry of Time
3. Jenni Daiches, Somewhere Else
4. Saraid de Silva, Amma
5. Karen Jennings, Crooked Seeds
6. Miranda July, All Fours owned
7. Laila Lalami, The Dream Hotel
8. Sanam Mahloudji, The Persians owned
9. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Dream Count owned
10. Roisín O’Donnell, Nesting READ
11. Rosanna Pike, A Little Trickery
12. Rose Ruana, Birding
13. Lucy Steeds, The Artist owned
14. Elizabeth Strout, Tell Me Everything owned
15. Yael van der Wouden, The Safekeep owned
16. Nussaibah Younis, Fundamentally owned
12PaulCranswick
Family Photo
Hani and I should take centre-stage a little this month. March is the month of her birthday (5th) and our wedding anniversary (23rd)
Hani and I should take centre-stage a little this month. March is the month of her birthday (5th) and our wedding anniversary (23rd)
13PaulCranswick
Books Added in 2025
January & February Books 1-64 : https://www.librarything.com/topic/368611#8767173
March :
65. Good Girl by Aria Aber
66. All Fours by Miranda July
67. The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji
68. The Artist by Lucy Steeds
69. Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
70. Swell by Maria Ferguson (no touchstone yet; poetry)
71. Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
72. Another England by Caroline Lucas
73. Pity by Andrew McMillan
74. Barley Patch by Gerald Murnane
75. Pax by Sara Pennypacker
76. Clear by Carys Davies
77. The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
78. Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright
79. The Wardrobe Department by Elaine Garvey
80. In All Weathers by Matt Gaw
81. The Alternatives by Caoilinn Hughes
82. Dog by Rob Perry
83. The Cafe With No Name by Robert Seethaler
84. Richard II by William Shakespeare
85. Fundamentally by Nassaibah Younis
86. Great Britain? by Torsten Bell
87. Theory and Practice by Michelle de Kretser
88. The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
89. Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
90. Richard III by William Shakespeare
91. Rooza by Nadiya Hussain
92. Heat Wave by Penelope Lively
93. Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond
94. The Household by Stacey Halls
95. Solenoid by Mircea Cartarescu
January & February Books 1-64 : https://www.librarything.com/topic/368611#8767173
March :
65. Good Girl by Aria Aber
66. All Fours by Miranda July
67. The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji
68. The Artist by Lucy Steeds
69. Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
70. Swell by Maria Ferguson (no touchstone yet; poetry)
71. Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
72. Another England by Caroline Lucas
73. Pity by Andrew McMillan
74. Barley Patch by Gerald Murnane
75. Pax by Sara Pennypacker
76. Clear by Carys Davies
77. The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
78. Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright
79. The Wardrobe Department by Elaine Garvey
80. In All Weathers by Matt Gaw
81. The Alternatives by Caoilinn Hughes
82. Dog by Rob Perry
83. The Cafe With No Name by Robert Seethaler
84. Richard II by William Shakespeare
85. Fundamentally by Nassaibah Younis
86. Great Britain? by Torsten Bell
87. Theory and Practice by Michelle de Kretser
88. The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
89. Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
90. Richard III by William Shakespeare
91. Rooza by Nadiya Hussain
92. Heat Wave by Penelope Lively
93. Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond
94. The Household by Stacey Halls
95. Solenoid by Mircea Cartarescu
14PaulCranswick
2025 Book Stats
Books Read : 39
Pages Read in completed books : 10,051 pp
Longest book : The Hunter : 433 pp
Shortest book : Dart : 48 pp
Mean book length : 257.72 pp
Pages per day average in completed books : 134.01
Books written by men : 21
Books written by women: 18
Non-Fiction : 8
Fiction : 14
Poetry : 7
Thriller : 6
SF/Fantasy : 2
Drama : 2
1600s : 2 books
1830s : 1 book
1940s : 1 book
1960s : 3 books
1980s : 1 book
1990s : 1 book
2000s : 5 books
2010s : 14 books
2020s : 11 books
UK Authors : 21
US Authors : 6
France Authors : 2
Ireland Authors : 2
Australia Authors : 1
Palestine Authors : 1
Iceland Authors : 1
Denmark Authors : 1
Norway Authors : 1
Japan Authors : 1
Sweden Authors : 1
Finland Authors : 1
Challenges :
European Grand Tour Challenge : 7 books
Non-Fiction Challenge : 3 books
American Author Challenge : 4 books
British Author Challenge : 2 book
Women's Prize Longlist : 1 book
1001 Books : 1 book
Awards :
Pulitzer Poetry Prize
Read : 39 books
Added : 85 books
Change to TBR : +46
January Books : 15
January Pages : 4,146
Pages Average : Per book : 276.40 Per Day : 133.74
February Books : 20
February Pages : 4,709
Pages Average : Per Book 235.45 Per day 168.19
March Books : 4
March Pages : 1,193
Pages Average : Per Book 298.25 Per Day : 74.56
Books Read : 39
Pages Read in completed books : 10,051 pp
Longest book : The Hunter : 433 pp
Shortest book : Dart : 48 pp
Mean book length : 257.72 pp
Pages per day average in completed books : 134.01
Books written by men : 21
Books written by women: 18
Non-Fiction : 8
Fiction : 14
Poetry : 7
Thriller : 6
SF/Fantasy : 2
Drama : 2
1600s : 2 books
1830s : 1 book
1940s : 1 book
1960s : 3 books
1980s : 1 book
1990s : 1 book
2000s : 5 books
2010s : 14 books
2020s : 11 books
UK Authors : 21
US Authors : 6
France Authors : 2
Ireland Authors : 2
Australia Authors : 1
Palestine Authors : 1
Iceland Authors : 1
Denmark Authors : 1
Norway Authors : 1
Japan Authors : 1
Sweden Authors : 1
Finland Authors : 1
Challenges :
European Grand Tour Challenge : 7 books
Non-Fiction Challenge : 3 books
American Author Challenge : 4 books
British Author Challenge : 2 book
Women's Prize Longlist : 1 book
1001 Books : 1 book
Awards :
Pulitzer Poetry Prize
Read : 39 books
Added : 85 books
Change to TBR : +46
January Books : 15
January Pages : 4,146
Pages Average : Per book : 276.40 Per Day : 133.74
February Books : 20
February Pages : 4,709
Pages Average : Per Book 235.45 Per day 168.19
March Books : 4
March Pages : 1,193
Pages Average : Per Book 298.25 Per Day : 74.56
15PaulCranswick
Welcome to my 6th thread of 2025.
16amanda4242
Happy new thread!
17PaulCranswick
>16 amanda4242: Thank you dear Amanda.
18Whisper1
>3 PaulCranswick: WOW! This poem simply blew me away. What an incredible writer. Are there more of hers that you could recommend?
19ArlieS
Happy new thread, Paul.
>3 PaulCranswick: Wow - a poem that actually spoke to me.
They don't, generally, in part for reasons of personal history.
>3 PaulCranswick: Wow - a poem that actually spoke to me.
They don't, generally, in part for reasons of personal history.
21PaulCranswick
>18 Whisper1: I have her Poems New and Collected which was published in the nineties (she passed away in 2012). It is a great introduction to her work. And I have seen copies of it in a number of stores.
I will post up a few more of her poems, Linda, soon.
>19 ArlieS: Yes she has a habit to getting her point across. She was not the most productive writer in terms of output but her quality control was mightily impressive.
I will post up a few more of her poems, Linda, soon.
>19 ArlieS: Yes she has a habit to getting her point across. She was not the most productive writer in terms of output but her quality control was mightily impressive.
22PaulCranswick
>20 quondame: Thank you, Susan. Lovely to see you as always.
23vancouverdeb
Happy New Thread, once again, Paul!
24LovingLit
Ommigosh, I missed a whole thread!
But I did see you over on Mark's thread saying you recall your South Island visit a few years back...fyi that was 12 years ago now ba(ck when Little Lenny was indeed Little, and your kids were still young!
But I did see you over on Mark's thread saying you recall your South Island visit a few years back...fyi that was 12 years ago now ba(ck when Little Lenny was indeed Little, and your kids were still young!
25CDVicarage
>3 PaulCranswick: I'm someone who doesn't read much poetry but that one is really affecting.
26PaulCranswick
>23 vancouverdeb: Thank you, Deb.
(I am really pleased that Nesting has made the Women's Prize Longlist)
>24 LovingLit: I still have pictorial evidence of our meet-up Megan at the Container Mall. I remember Lenny was a bit under the weather poor little chap.
Honestly I enjoyed every minute of our South Island trip. Our best family holiday ever.
(I am really pleased that Nesting has made the Women's Prize Longlist)
>24 LovingLit: I still have pictorial evidence of our meet-up Megan at the Container Mall. I remember Lenny was a bit under the weather poor little chap.
Honestly I enjoyed every minute of our South Island trip. Our best family holiday ever.
27PaulCranswick
>25 CDVicarage: I loved her poetry, Kerry. I have tried my best to replicate that beautifully simple but emotionally driven directness but it is amazingly difficult.
28PaulCranswick
THE WOMEN'S PRIZE LONGLIST is out and as usual my powers of prediction were terrible!! I got 25% 4 out of the 16. (July, Adichie, O'Donnell & van der Wouden). Surprised no Tyler or Kushner and especially that Shafak wasn't included).
Here is the list:
The Women’s Prize for Fiction 2025 longlist is as follows:
Aria Aber, Good Girl
Kaliane Bradley, The Ministry of Time
Jenni Daiches, Somewhere Else (no touchstone)
Saraid de Silva, Amma
Karen Jennings, Crooked Seeds
Miranda July, All Fours
Laila Lalami, The Dream Hotel
Sanam Mahloudji, The Persians
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Dream Count
Roisín O’Donnell, Nesting
Rosanna Pike, A Little Trickery
Rose Ruana, Birding
Lucy Steeds, The Artist
Elizabeth Strout, Tell Me Everything
Yale van der Wouden, The Safekeep
Nussaibah Younis, Fundamentally
Here is the list:
The Women’s Prize for Fiction 2025 longlist is as follows:
Aria Aber, Good Girl
Kaliane Bradley, The Ministry of Time
Jenni Daiches, Somewhere Else (no touchstone)
Saraid de Silva, Amma
Karen Jennings, Crooked Seeds
Miranda July, All Fours
Laila Lalami, The Dream Hotel
Sanam Mahloudji, The Persians
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Dream Count
Roisín O’Donnell, Nesting
Rosanna Pike, A Little Trickery
Rose Ruana, Birding
Lucy Steeds, The Artist
Elizabeth Strout, Tell Me Everything
Yale van der Wouden, The Safekeep
Nussaibah Younis, Fundamentally
31alcottacre
>28 PaulCranswick: I had not seen that yet. Thanks for posting it, Paul!
I have read exactly one title on the list, The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley.
Happy new thread!
I have read exactly one title on the list, The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley.
Happy new thread!
33PaulCranswick
>31 alcottacre: I have only one at the moment too and I am currently reading it! I have another The Safekeep which Hani/Belle bought for me and will be with me soon when Hani arrives here soon.
Thank you, Stasia.
Thank you, Stasia.
34SandDune
I've read one title on the list as well, also The Ministry of Time. I know a lot of people loved that one, but personally I found it disappointing.
35Crazymamie
Happy new one, Paul! I also liked the poem in >3 PaulCranswick:. I have not read her before, but I do have Here in the stacks.
Like Stasia, I have read only one on the longlist, and it is the same one - The Ministry of Time - I did really enjoy it.
Like Stasia, I have read only one on the longlist, and it is the same one - The Ministry of Time - I did really enjoy it.
36PaulCranswick
>34 SandDune: We are like minded Rhian because I just posted over at your thread. I don't think that I have seen that one on the shelves in the bookstores here. There are three listed that I don't currently own that I have seen in Kino.
>35 Crazymamie: Szymborska is, I think, the most important post war female poet and I find so much of her work intensely direct and moving.
It is funny that three of my favourite ladies in the group have all read the same Longlisted book with such seemingly different experiences of having done so.
>35 Crazymamie: Szymborska is, I think, the most important post war female poet and I find so much of her work intensely direct and moving.
It is funny that three of my favourite ladies in the group have all read the same Longlisted book with such seemingly different experiences of having done so.
37PaulCranswick
I watched a video just now on the Women's Prize website of the Judges introducing this year's longlist and I must say that I am quite excited by this year's selection.
I had hoped that Anne Tyler, Catherine Airey, Elif Shafak, would have been there and I thought that Catherine Chdigey (whose "Pet" I adored), Rachel Kushner, Sally Rooney and Julia Armfield had a decent chance too. But there are just so many great books to choose from.
I honestly think that this Prize has helped tip the balance in favour of female authors in terms of giving them long overdue exposure as well as revealing to a much wider audience that they can tell stories at least if not better than men can.
The finest storyteller I ever met was my own dear late Grandmother whose Irish blood seemed to give cadence to whatever she was imparting.
I had hoped that Anne Tyler, Catherine Airey, Elif Shafak, would have been there and I thought that Catherine Chdigey (whose "Pet" I adored), Rachel Kushner, Sally Rooney and Julia Armfield had a decent chance too. But there are just so many great books to choose from.
I honestly think that this Prize has helped tip the balance in favour of female authors in terms of giving them long overdue exposure as well as revealing to a much wider audience that they can tell stories at least if not better than men can.
The finest storyteller I ever met was my own dear late Grandmother whose Irish blood seemed to give cadence to whatever she was imparting.
41booksaplenty1949
As a complement to Journey by Moonlight I have just read The Honeymoon, a fictional account of George Eliot’s ill-fated trip to Venice with her new husband, “Johnny” Cross, a man 20 years her junior. Although I recognise Eliot’s status as a major English novelist I am not personally a fan, so I must confess I skipped over the chapters of backstory depicting her childhood and previous romances to focus on the honeymoon itself and the events before and after Cross attempted suicide by jumping out the hotel window into the Grand Canal. Having greatly enjoyed Young Mrs Ruskin in Venice, another account of local honeymoon failure, I was interested that the Crosses paid a visit to Ruskin’s assistant, still working on the illustrations to The Stones of Venice even after Ruskin was under full-time psychiatric care.
42PaulCranswick
>41 booksaplenty1949: I have located my copy of Journey By Moonlight and I will read it this month all being well.
45booksaplenty1949
>42 PaulCranswick: Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
46foggidawn
Happy new thread! Of he Women's Prize longlist, I have read only The Ministry of Time, but I enjoyed it very much.
47johnsimpson
Hi Paul, Happy New Thread mate.
49PaulCranswick
>45 booksaplenty1949: If I like it half as much as you did then I'll be contented.
>46 foggidawn: That seems to be the one that, Foggi, that our peers in the group have already gotten to.
>46 foggidawn: That seems to be the one that, Foggi, that our peers in the group have already gotten to.
51atozgrl
Happy new thread, Paul!
>1 PaulCranswick: What a pretty picture of Warsaw! I had no idea that Warsaw was so colorful.
>1 PaulCranswick: What a pretty picture of Warsaw! I had no idea that Warsaw was so colorful.
52witchyrichy
Well! I got to your thread just in time to say happy new thread! Warsaw is beautiful.
53EllaTim
Happy new thread, Paul.
>3 PaulCranswick: I loved the poem.
"In the grass that has overgrown
causes and effects,
someone must be stretched out
blade of grass in his mouth
gazing at the clouds."
Hoping for more of that.
I’ve started Stalingrad, it’s really good, but I can’t help wondering what Russians would be thinking of the war they are currently fighting.
>3 PaulCranswick: I loved the poem.
"In the grass that has overgrown
causes and effects,
someone must be stretched out
blade of grass in his mouth
gazing at the clouds."
Hoping for more of that.
I’ve started Stalingrad, it’s really good, but I can’t help wondering what Russians would be thinking of the war they are currently fighting.
54ocgreg34
>1 PaulCranswick: Happy new thread!
55PaulCranswick
>51 atozgrl: I suppose when we think of the Warsaw Pact countries, Irene, the colours we normally see are grey or sepia toned. The photo catches a clear day but it shows off the Polish capital nicely.
>52 witchyrichy: Thank you, Karen. Always a pleasure to have you visit.
>52 witchyrichy: Thank you, Karen. Always a pleasure to have you visit.
56PaulCranswick
>53 EllaTim: Thanks Ella. I make no secret of my admiration of Szymborska's poetry.
>54 ocgreg34: Thank you, Greg.
>54 ocgreg34: Thank you, Greg.
57vancouverdeb
I posted the longlist on my thread as well, Paul. I've only read two, The Safekeep and Nesting. I purchased Fundamentally from a local bookstore today and picked up Dream Hotel from the library. Now to finish reading my current book.
58PaulCranswick
>57 vancouverdeb: I am going to go to the bookstore and have a look what they have there. I will be tempted to ask Hani to bring another couple from the UK but she may be a bit annoyed by the idea!
59PaulCranswick
Today (5 March 2025) is my soulmate's birthday. We have been together through thick and thin. Always able to make each other laugh, she is my better self, my conscience, my sounding board, and the person I am honoured to be spending my life with.
The person with the biggest heart in the universe!
She likes walking and photography but food is her greatest passion!
The person with the biggest heart in the universe!
She likes walking and photography but food is her greatest passion!
61PaulCranswick
>60 Kristelh: Thanks Kristel. I spoke to her by video call at 8.00 am my time here which is midnight her time in the UK together with the Kyran and Belle (I think that Yasmyne was sleeping Pip).
She will be in Malaysia in one week's time.
She will be in Malaysia in one week's time.
62amanda4242
Happy birthday Hani!
Glad to hear you'll be seeing your lady wife soon, Paul, but how are you going to hide the mountains of books you've acquired in her absence?
Glad to hear you'll be seeing your lady wife soon, Paul, but how are you going to hide the mountains of books you've acquired in her absence?
63PaulCranswick
Managed to find 5 of the Women's Prize Longlist and I am assured that the rest are on order:
65. Good Girl by Aria Aber
66. All Fours by Miranda July
67. The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji
68. The Artist by Lucy Steeds
69. Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
70. Swell by Maria Ferguson (no touchstone yet; poetry)
65. Good Girl by Aria Aber
66. All Fours by Miranda July
67. The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji
68. The Artist by Lucy Steeds
69. Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
70. Swell by Maria Ferguson (no touchstone yet; poetry)
64PaulCranswick
>63 PaulCranswick: In plain sight, Amanda. Best way. She is bringing me a few too!
66PaulCranswick
>65 amanda4242: Yeah even though it is through gritted teeth! Four books if I am not mistaken.
67CDVicarage
>59 PaulCranswick: Happy birthday to Hani!
68PaulCranswick
>67 CDVicarage: Thank you, Kerry. She seems pleased with herself today as she is going to meet up with Yasmyne and Pip later for dinner.
69PaulCranswick
Another prize that I love is The Walter Scott Prize. Released towards the end of February this is the shortlist of 12 which will reduce to a shortlist of 6 on 15 April.
THE HEART IN WINTER Kevin Barry (Canongate)
THE CATCHERS Xan Brooks (Salt)
MOTHER NAKED Glen James Brown (Peninsula Press)
CLEAR Carys Davies (Granta)
THE MARE Angharad Hampshire (Northodox Press)
THE BOOK OF DAYS Francesca Kay (Swift Press)
THE FIRST FRIEND Malcolm Knox (Allen & Unwin Aus)
GLORIOUS EXPLOITS Ferdia Lennon (Fig Tree)
A SIGN OF HER OWN Sarah Marsh (Tinder Press)
THE LAND IN WINTER Andrew Miller (Sceptre)
MUNICHS David Peace (Faber)
THE SAFEKEEP Yael van der Wouden (Viking)
THE HEART IN WINTER Kevin Barry (Canongate)
THE CATCHERS Xan Brooks (Salt)
MOTHER NAKED Glen James Brown (Peninsula Press)
CLEAR Carys Davies (Granta)
THE MARE Angharad Hampshire (Northodox Press)
THE BOOK OF DAYS Francesca Kay (Swift Press)
THE FIRST FRIEND Malcolm Knox (Allen & Unwin Aus)
GLORIOUS EXPLOITS Ferdia Lennon (Fig Tree)
A SIGN OF HER OWN Sarah Marsh (Tinder Press)
THE LAND IN WINTER Andrew Miller (Sceptre)
MUNICHS David Peace (Faber)
THE SAFEKEEP Yael van der Wouden (Viking)
70Kristelh
I’ve only read The Safekeep and it is also on the Women’s list.
71PaulCranswick
>70 Kristelh: It will be a classic two birds one stone for me then Kristel. It is already packed in Hani's luggage as she bought it for me from Sheffield. Clear by Carys Davies awaits me next week similarly.
72figsfromthistle
Happy birthday to Hani!
73booksaplenty1949
>59 PaulCranswick: I hope Hani reads your LT posts. Sometimes we think warm and wonderful things about people we love but don’t tell them often enough.
74PaulCranswick
>72 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita
>73 booksaplenty1949: That is a lovely post. Actually I don't know if she reads my posts but I do tell her when she gets goodwill messages here.
>73 booksaplenty1949: That is a lovely post. Actually I don't know if she reads my posts but I do tell her when she gets goodwill messages here.
75amanda4242
>69 PaulCranswick: Wow! A literary prize that nominated books I might actually read!
76elkiedee
Another list for list fans
On 24 February, the Authors’ Club announced the longlist for the annual Best First Novel Award, now in its 71st year.
The longlisted books are as follows:
Colin Barrett, Wild Houses (Jonathan Cape)
Mark Bowles, All My Precious Madness (Galley Beggar Press)
Kaliane Bradley, The Ministry of Time (Sceptre)
Emily Howes, The Painter’s Daughters (Phoenix)
Tom Lamont, Going Home (Sceptre)
Ferdia Lennon, Glorious Exploits (Fig Tree)
Phoebe McIntosh, Dominoes (Chatto & Windus)
Tom Newlands, Only Here, Only Now (Phoenix)
Scott Preston, The Borrowed Hills (John Murray)
Varaidzo, Manny and the Baby (Scribe)
Leo Vardiashvili, Hard by a Great Forest (Bloomsbury)
Lai Wen, Tiananmen Square (Swift Press)
Very surprisingly, I've acquired 8 of these through Kindle deals - 7 last year, one this month. I've borrowed two and may investigate one of the others when I've tamed my library book piles...... this might take some time.
On 24 February, the Authors’ Club announced the longlist for the annual Best First Novel Award, now in its 71st year.
The longlisted books are as follows:
Colin Barrett, Wild Houses (Jonathan Cape)
Mark Bowles, All My Precious Madness (Galley Beggar Press)
Kaliane Bradley, The Ministry of Time (Sceptre)
Emily Howes, The Painter’s Daughters (Phoenix)
Tom Lamont, Going Home (Sceptre)
Ferdia Lennon, Glorious Exploits (Fig Tree)
Phoebe McIntosh, Dominoes (Chatto & Windus)
Tom Newlands, Only Here, Only Now (Phoenix)
Scott Preston, The Borrowed Hills (John Murray)
Varaidzo, Manny and the Baby (Scribe)
Leo Vardiashvili, Hard by a Great Forest (Bloomsbury)
Lai Wen, Tiananmen Square (Swift Press)
Very surprisingly, I've acquired 8 of these through Kindle deals - 7 last year, one this month. I've borrowed two and may investigate one of the others when I've tamed my library book piles...... this might take some time.
77PaulCranswick
>76 elkiedee: It is one of my favourite prizes, Amanda. This year is the 16th edition and I have read 5 of the previous winners and have all bar one of the others.
>77 PaulCranswick: Thanks for posting that one, Luci.
I wasn't aware of it previously and I have read one of the longlist Glorious Exploits which won last year's Waterstone's First Novel award and was excelent. I own a further two and will look out for more of them.
>77 PaulCranswick: Thanks for posting that one, Luci.
I wasn't aware of it previously and I have read one of the longlist Glorious Exploits which won last year's Waterstone's First Novel award and was excelent. I own a further two and will look out for more of them.
78PaulCranswick
Wow it seems that the Author's Club Best First Novel award was instituted in 1954.
What an interesting roll of honour and I must admit to never having heard of some of the previous winners although some of the winners went on to have stellar bodies of work.
I have read 6 of the previous winning books by - Brian Moore, Alan Silitoe, Leslie Thomas Barry England, Jackie Kay, Anthony Quinn. I have a further 12 of the winners on my shelves.
What an interesting roll of honour and I must admit to never having heard of some of the previous winners although some of the winners went on to have stellar bodies of work.
I have read 6 of the previous winning books by - Brian Moore, Alan Silitoe, Leslie Thomas Barry England, Jackie Kay, Anthony Quinn. I have a further 12 of the winners on my shelves.
79alcottacre
>33 PaulCranswick: I already had The Safekeep in the BlackHole thanks to its presence on the Booker list last year, but my local library still does not have a copy. *sigh* I have not started tracking down the other books yet.
>37 PaulCranswick: I have not yet read Chidgey's Pet, but I read her Remote Sympathy a couple of years back and thought it was terrific.
>59 PaulCranswick: Happy birthday, Hani!!
>69 PaulCranswick: >76 elkiedee: Noting those titles too! Thanks for sharing those lists. I will have to start tracking those down as well.
Happy whatever, brother!
>37 PaulCranswick: I have not yet read Chidgey's Pet, but I read her Remote Sympathy a couple of years back and thought it was terrific.
>59 PaulCranswick: Happy birthday, Hani!!
>69 PaulCranswick: >76 elkiedee: Noting those titles too! Thanks for sharing those lists. I will have to start tracking those down as well.
Happy whatever, brother!
80PaulCranswick
>79 alcottacre: Thank you, Juana and best wishes always to you too.
Pet was one of the best things I read last year and I have heard tell that her book The Axeman's Carnival is wonderful too.
Pet was one of the best things I read last year and I have heard tell that her book The Axeman's Carnival is wonderful too.
81alcottacre
>80 PaulCranswick: Cool beans! I will add The Axeman's Carnival to the BlackHole as well. Thanks, Juan!
83SilverWolf28
Happy New Thread!
84PaulCranswick
>82 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Silver
85PaulCranswick
My three ladies earlier today.
86PaulCranswick
Pip proving that you are never too young to handle new technology
87humouress
>85 PaulCranswick: >86 PaulCranswick: Very nice.
>86 PaulCranswick: Get that away from her this instant and don't even let her see a device again until she's - oh, say, 30!
>86 PaulCranswick: Get that away from her this instant and don't even let her see a device again until she's - oh, say, 30!
88quondame
>86 PaulCranswick: The younger they are the more quickly they master it!
What a delightful picture! Pictures, really!
What a delightful picture! Pictures, really!
89amanda4242
>86 PaulCranswick: Please be reading an ebook. Please be reading an ebook. Please be reading an ebook. Please be reading an ebook. Please be reading an ebook. Please be reading an ebook. Please be reading an ebook. Please be reading an ebook. Please be reading an ebook. Please be reading an ebook. Please be reading an ebook. Please be reading an ebook. Please be reading an ebook. Please be reading an ebook. Please be reading an ebook. Please be reading an ebook.
90Deern
Happy newish thread, happy birthday to Hani and thanks for the lovely pics!
Another long hours work week for me with basically no reading while the tbr are piling up, so doing my best to ignore any long or short lists for now. Wish they weren’t so tempting..
Another long hours work week for me with basically no reading while the tbr are piling up, so doing my best to ignore any long or short lists for now. Wish they weren’t so tempting..
92vancouverdeb
Happy Birthday to Hani! What a great picture of your ladies! Pip is so cute. They do learn how to use technology very quickly. I recall getting a photo of Melissa when she was about 2 years old by text. I thought, that's really cute, thanks for sending it Serenade. But it turned out Melissa sent the picture to everyone in Serenade's text contact list. Serenade was so embarrassed.
93SirThomas
Happy new Thread, Paul and Happy Birthday to Hani!
The speed of your threads is breathtaking...
The speed of your threads is breathtaking...
94EllaTim
Happy Birthday, to Hani. Hope you will be seeing her soon Paul!
Your granddaughter is adorable with that serious look on her face.
Your granddaughter is adorable with that serious look on her face.
95elkiedee
I would also recommend Pet, but there are just so many good books to choose from. I have several other books by Catherine Chidgey TBR and would also like to reread what I think is her first novel, In a Fishbone Church.
Happy birthday to Hani.
Happy birthday to Hani.
97PaulCranswick
>87 humouress: I do agree Nina, only I have zero power over any of my crew!
>88 quondame: Thank you Susan. I'm sure that she could beat me already!
>88 quondame: Thank you Susan. I'm sure that she could beat me already!
98PaulCranswick
>89 amanda4242: Hahahaha hahahaha hahahaha hahahaha
>90 Deern: I can certainly empathize with busy weeks - I just got back home at 9.00 pm and it is Ramadan. Still love my lists and longlists though!
>90 Deern: I can certainly empathize with busy weeks - I just got back home at 9.00 pm and it is Ramadan. Still love my lists and longlists though!
99PaulCranswick
>91 alcottacre: Her expressions remind me so much of the younger Belle would was serious to the extent appearing dour.
>92 vancouverdeb: Lovely story Deb. I can just imagine the little one deciding who to send the pictures to.
>92 vancouverdeb: Lovely story Deb. I can just imagine the little one deciding who to send the pictures to.
100PaulCranswick
>93 SirThomas: Lovely to see you Thomas. It isn't really surprising that I regularly need the use of an inhaler!
>94 EllaTim: Thank you Ella. I am jealous of Pip actually because I don't do a very appealing "sour" face.
>94 EllaTim: Thank you Ella. I am jealous of Pip actually because I don't do a very appealing "sour" face.
101PaulCranswick
>95 elkiedee: The recognition that Remote Sympathy received in the Women's Prize enabled a wider audience for her excellent writing, Luci.
>96 Kristelh: Thank you Kristel. The generation before Hani was blessed with good looks too - my dear late mum turned heads everywhere she went and into her seventies and my dear late mother-in-law was stunningly good looking in her youth.
>96 Kristelh: Thank you Kristel. The generation before Hani was blessed with good looks too - my dear late mum turned heads everywhere she went and into her seventies and my dear late mother-in-law was stunningly good looking in her youth.
102ffortsa
Wow. Another list, and books I've never heard of. Of course, there are a few I've read, and it's nice to know they were honored.
103PaulCranswick
>102 ffortsa: I know, Judy. There are always 30% of a longlist that I had never encountered before.
105booksaplenty1949
Long ago, in a hotel room short of playthings, I foolishly gave a toddler my keys as a toy. She threw them off the balcony into the river. Given this example of my judgement in these matters I’m very glad cell phones weren’t around.
106PaulCranswick
>104 hredwards: Thank you, Harold. Quite possibly but apparently she never stops.
>105 booksaplenty1949: Hahaha I can see very vividly those keys flying through the air and hitting the water.
>105 booksaplenty1949: Hahaha I can see very vividly those keys flying through the air and hitting the water.
107avatiakh
>80 PaulCranswick: She has a new book out in May, The Book of Guilt. I really need to tackle The Axeman's Carnival.
https://teherengawakapress.co.nz/the-book-of-guilt/
https://teherengawakapress.co.nz/the-book-of-guilt/
108SilverWolf28
Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/369071
109PaulCranswick
>107 avatiakh: It will definitely find its way into my home when it appears here or in the UK, Kerry. The one book of hers that I have read realy blew me away.
>108 SilverWolf28: Thanks Silver. I need to finish some books this weekend.
>108 SilverWolf28: Thanks Silver. I need to finish some books this weekend.
110PaulCranswick
Friday lunchtime additions
71. Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
72. Another England by Caroline Lucas
73. Pity by Andrew McMillan
74. Barley Patch by Gerald Murnane
75. Pax by Sara Pennypacker
71. Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
72. Another England by Caroline Lucas
73. Pity by Andrew McMillan
74. Barley Patch by Gerald Murnane
75. Pax by Sara Pennypacker
111Familyhistorian
Happy newish thread, Paul. Nice to see the pics of all the ladies in your family including the newest member!
112PaulCranswick
>111 Familyhistorian: Thank you, Meg. I will be happier early next week when Hani is back here with me.
113Caroline_McElwee
Ok, caught up now Paul.
>28 PaulCranswick: I read and enjoyed The Artist, Tell Me Everything and The SafeKeep. Dream Count on the list for this month.
I too thought Elif Shafak's novel deserved to be on the list.
>59 PaulCranswick: Belated birthday wishes to ahani.
>85 PaulCranswick: >86 PaulCranswick: Great photos of your girls.
>28 PaulCranswick: I read and enjoyed The Artist, Tell Me Everything and The SafeKeep. Dream Count on the list for this month.
I too thought Elif Shafak's novel deserved to be on the list.
>59 PaulCranswick: Belated birthday wishes to ahani.
>85 PaulCranswick: >86 PaulCranswick: Great photos of your girls.
114PaulCranswick
>113 Caroline_McElwee: Great to see you Caroline.
Dream Count was added to my library yesterday and I will prioritize reading it VERY soon. She is an author whose work I very much admire and I still would rate Half of a Yellow Sun as the best novel written in the 21st Century.
I was surprised that Shafak wasn't on the list as I have heard very good things about her work. Isn't it surprising that a 16 book longlist isn't enough to accommodate all the wonderful novel written by women in the last year?
As you know I love lists and I whittled down my prospective longlisted books to 60 books and I still only got 10 of them in that 60.
Somewhere Else, Amma, The Persians, Nesting, Birding and Fundamentally were not even on my longlist of longlists!
Dream Count was added to my library yesterday and I will prioritize reading it VERY soon. She is an author whose work I very much admire and I still would rate Half of a Yellow Sun as the best novel written in the 21st Century.
I was surprised that Shafak wasn't on the list as I have heard very good things about her work. Isn't it surprising that a 16 book longlist isn't enough to accommodate all the wonderful novel written by women in the last year?
As you know I love lists and I whittled down my prospective longlisted books to 60 books and I still only got 10 of them in that 60.
Somewhere Else, Amma, The Persians, Nesting, Birding and Fundamentally were not even on my longlist of longlists!
115Tess_W
>114 PaulCranswick: I also liked Half of a Yellow Sun, but probably not as well as you. Your comment about the best book of the 21st century got me to thinking.....if I should pick.........after looking over my reads and reviews, I really can't narrow it down, but it would have to be something by Gabaldon or All the Light We Can Not See by Anthony Doerr.
116PaulCranswick
>115 Tess_W: I am pretty sure that All the Lights We Cannot See would be on a few lists, Tess. Shamefully I haven't read it yet.
117booksaplenty1949
>114 PaulCranswick: I also found Half of a Yellow Sun a great novel. Yet Americanah, which I read previously, struck me as competent but not remotely in the same league.
118PaulCranswick
>117 booksaplenty1949: I don't know why but I haven't gotten round to reading it even though I have owned it a good while. Font is very small as I recall.
119booksaplenty1949
>118 PaulCranswick: Don’t bother. My copy is 588 pages, of which an excessive number are devoted to the narrator’s hair-styling issues. A thin story on which Adichie hangs her exploration of Black identity in the African and the American context.
120vancouverdeb
Nesting was on my list of possible Women's Prize longlist, Paul , but only because I watched a youtube video that predicted it as a Women's Prize Longlist potential.
121PaulCranswick
>119 booksaplenty1949: I have heard such mixed things about that one - it is certainly a marmite book.
>120 vancouverdeb: I had to laugh at all those booktubers getting their free deliveries of all the books and getting virtually none of their predictions right.
>120 vancouverdeb: I had to laugh at all those booktubers getting their free deliveries of all the books and getting virtually none of their predictions right.
122booksaplenty1949
>121 PaulCranswick: Presumably those who can relate to the (recent) African immigrant experience find more in the book than those who are looking for plot and character.
123PaulCranswick
>121 PaulCranswick: I think that is true. If it is a book whose theme is one you don't so easily relate to, it can denude the interest a little. Half a Yellow Sun's themes were more universal.
124booksaplenty1949
>123 PaulCranswick: I think one can also admire a finely crafted story, regardless of theme or setting. But if you can neither admire the literary skill nor relate to the author’s interests, it’s hard to like a book.
125PaulCranswick
>124 booksaplenty1949: I need to be able to generate a feeling for the character or the setting irrespective of theme and that doesn't necessarily mean that feeling should be one of sympathy.
126booksaplenty1949
>125 PaulCranswick: When we were discussing Madame Bovary here I got the impression that some people had disliked the book because they found the characters uniformly unattractive, even to the author. A fair judgement, but I had to admire the precision of Flaubert’s depiction.
127PaulCranswick
>126 booksaplenty1949: For me I didn't find the character sympathetic but it was more that I couldn't raise sufficient interest in the issues she was facing or dealing with. The book seemed somewhat cold and aloof.
128booksaplenty1949
>127 PaulCranswick: The precision of the details in Madame Bovary tells us that Flaubert was writing about the confining rituals of small-town life that he had personally suffered, but I would agree he doesn’t convey any sympathy for the victims. But I also agree with Oscar Wilde’s statement that “One must have a heart of stone to read the death of Little Nell without laughing.” We shouldn’t necessarily take the author’s apparent judgement, positive or negative, as our own.
129booksaplenty1949
Also, I was interested in the idea of Emma Bovary as a Don Quixote-like victim of novel reading. Book addiction is a fascinating topic. I can, of course, quit any time I like.
130louisisaloafofbreb
I missed another new thread of yours haha, well anyways happy new thread
131PaulCranswick
>128 booksaplenty1949: The emotional detachment is skillfully wrought but left me cold. Not a question of positive or negative judgement but of lack of concern.
>129 booksaplenty1949: Book additions are, of course, easy to quit anytime!
>129 booksaplenty1949: Book additions are, of course, easy to quit anytime!
132PaulCranswick
>130 louisisaloafofbreb: Thank you, Lily. Nice to see you.
133humouress
>129 booksaplenty1949: Same here. Just ... not today.
134PaulCranswick
>133 humouress: I can do it tomorrow and then realize that tomorrow ever comes.
135PaulCranswick
Finally got this thread fully set up!
I have had a ridiculously busy week and Hani will be back on Tuesday. Whilst I am overjoyed at the prospect I am in a pickle thinking how I am going to stow all the books I have added in the last six months without it being painfully obvious!
I have had a ridiculously busy week and Hani will be back on Tuesday. Whilst I am overjoyed at the prospect I am in a pickle thinking how I am going to stow all the books I have added in the last six months without it being painfully obvious!
136PaulCranswick
BOOK #36
Nesting by Roisin O'Donnell
Date of Publication : 2025
Origin of Author : Ireland
Gender of Author : Female
Pages : 382 pp
Challenges : 2025 Women's Prize Longlist
I find this a difficult book to review.
I liked and admired it but felt that on occasions it plodded a little too. This is possibly because it is a debut novel and the author hasn't quite perfected how to tauten her prose so precisely.
The dialogue was, I felt, as someone very familiar with people from the places mentioned in the book, extremely well done and accurate.
This is a very good novel but I don't see it winning the Women's Prize.
I can only say, whilst recommending the book to others and not giving away any spoilers, that I am glad I never brought such an atmosphere of fear into my family home.
Nesting by Roisin O'Donnell
Date of Publication : 2025
Origin of Author : Ireland
Gender of Author : Female
Pages : 382 pp
Challenges : 2025 Women's Prize Longlist
I find this a difficult book to review.
I liked and admired it but felt that on occasions it plodded a little too. This is possibly because it is a debut novel and the author hasn't quite perfected how to tauten her prose so precisely.
The dialogue was, I felt, as someone very familiar with people from the places mentioned in the book, extremely well done and accurate.
This is a very good novel but I don't see it winning the Women's Prize.
I can only say, whilst recommending the book to others and not giving away any spoilers, that I am glad I never brought such an atmosphere of fear into my family home.
137The_Hibernator
>135 PaulCranswick: Under your pillow?
138PaulCranswick
>137 The_Hibernator: Sugar. I wondered why I had neck ache!
139louisisaloafofbreb
>132 PaulCranswick: Nice to see you as well, i ended up going to sleep, i had a very busy day yesterday
140PaulCranswick
>139 louisisaloafofbreb: I have a busy day coming up tomorrow, Lily, as Hani hits town the following day!
141Caroline_McElwee
>140 PaulCranswick: How lovely you have Hani heading your way Paul.
142figsfromthistle
>135 PaulCranswick: perhaps you can store some at your neighbours? If you have a backyard you could always bury them…… 😂
143amanda4242
>135 PaulCranswick: Maybe she won't notice all the extra books if you distract her with lavish gifts?
144PaulCranswick
>141 Caroline_McElwee: She will arrive tomorrow evening, Caroline and I hope we can travel back to the UK together reasonably soon.
>142 figsfromthistle: No neighbours to speak of, Anita - my apartment is on the 26th floor and is served by a private lift that stops at my own lift lobby. No back yards 26 flights up!
>142 figsfromthistle: No neighbours to speak of, Anita - my apartment is on the 26th floor and is served by a private lift that stops at my own lift lobby. No back yards 26 flights up!
145PaulCranswick
>143 amanda4242: Oh dear! With pals like you Amanda!
146louisisaloafofbreb
>140 PaulCranswick: Hope you have fun!
147PaulCranswick
>140 PaulCranswick: I'm sure that we will!
148LovingLit
>136 PaulCranswick: sounds ominous (plot-wise). I have just finished a novel depicting people living in fear in their own homes, and I can say that I love my warm, safe, cosy (it not sometimes a little too busy) home.
>135 PaulCranswick: you are so busted re: book purchases. lol
>135 PaulCranswick: you are so busted re: book purchases. lol
149PaulCranswick
>148 LovingLit: Yeah I know, Megan. Hiding the books in plain sight is my normal way but I don't think it will be easy.
Nesting is good but I feel if it was a little more condensed it would have been even more effective.
Nesting is good but I feel if it was a little more condensed it would have been even more effective.
150alcottacre
Checking in on you before I head out of town today, Paul. I hope all is well with you!
>136 PaulCranswick: I am hoping to read that one at some point. I just need my local library to get a copy.
Happy whatever!
>136 PaulCranswick: I am hoping to read that one at some point. I just need my local library to get a copy.
Happy whatever!
151PaulCranswick
>150 alcottacre: I'm ok Juana, the back is much better and tomorrow my soulmate is back in town!
Enjoy your trip to the Sunshine state, dear lady.
Enjoy your trip to the Sunshine state, dear lady.
152foggidawn
My suggestion would be to make four stacks of equal height, push them together in a square, and cover them with a tablecloth. Ta-da! What new books? This is just my new end table!
153thornton37814
I'm way behind on threads. I haven't visited properly since the end of January. I've been busy trying to catch up with what all I got behind on while staying up on the day to day stuff. I just spent half of our spring break sick. I'm still sniffling a little, but just barely. It was just a cold, but still it was bad timing. The Power of Geography that you reviewed a couple threads back sounds interesting. I've been playing GeoGuessr on my iPhone and am a bit addicted. It is fun although I have a hard time with some of the "rural" ones. The game makes me want to pull out all the travel books so I can identify some of the "famous places" more often -- and purchase a flag guide so I can identify those more easily.
154PaulCranswick
>152 foggidawn: Hahaha Foggi, I can see you may have faced similar difficulties in the past!
>153 thornton37814: Lovely to see you, Lori. Marshall is a wise and readable observer of geo-politics. I like very much that he doesn't ram a particular viewpoint down your throat whilst explaining the issues being faced by a particular place or region.
>153 thornton37814: Lovely to see you, Lori. Marshall is a wise and readable observer of geo-politics. I like very much that he doesn't ram a particular viewpoint down your throat whilst explaining the issues being faced by a particular place or region.
155foggidawn
>154 PaulCranswick: I had "more books than furniture" difficulties in my early 20s, but I'm super fortunate that I don't have to hide my books from John, as he has quite a few of his own!
156PaulCranswick
>155 foggidawn: To be fair, I do think Hani has surrendered somewhat in that she is bringing some books back for me too!
157foggidawn
>156 PaulCranswick: Perfect! Buy her a pretty handbag in exchange, and you will be even! ;-)
158PaulCranswick
>157 foggidawn: Hahaha she would be far more even than me with that exchange!
159witchyrichy
>59 PaulCranswick: What a lovely tribute to Hani! I found myself thinking it could fit my husband and me: something about long marriages maybe? Ups and downs but somehow you always know there is one person for you in the world. My parents are working on 60 years and they bicker like the best of them but also laugh and connect and just like being in each other's company.
160PaulCranswick
>159 witchyrichy: Thank you Karen, your comments made me feel really nice just as the lady in question is boarding her plane!
Longevity in marriage is something people used to take for granted but as divorce and giving up and walking away became so much easier the trail of broken homes has had a devastating effect upon society. I am certainly not saying that people should be locked into an unhappy and abusive relationship - God forbid - but oftentimes couples just don't try hard enough and put themselves before the family they had created.
Hani and I have had some tough times but the good ones far outweigh those and as I regularly tell her, I wouldn't swap her for a Gold Pig.
I am quite proud that my twin brother, my sister and I have all had enduring marriages and between us brought 8 pretty great individuals into the world who have benefited greatly from couples that always put them first.
I cannot think of anyone else that I would like to spend the rest of my life with. She gets me, understands me and still - somehow - still loves me!
Longevity in marriage is something people used to take for granted but as divorce and giving up and walking away became so much easier the trail of broken homes has had a devastating effect upon society. I am certainly not saying that people should be locked into an unhappy and abusive relationship - God forbid - but oftentimes couples just don't try hard enough and put themselves before the family they had created.
Hani and I have had some tough times but the good ones far outweigh those and as I regularly tell her, I wouldn't swap her for a Gold Pig.
I am quite proud that my twin brother, my sister and I have all had enduring marriages and between us brought 8 pretty great individuals into the world who have benefited greatly from couples that always put them first.
I cannot think of anyone else that I would like to spend the rest of my life with. She gets me, understands me and still - somehow - still loves me!
161mdoris
>160 PaulCranswick: Such good words about marriage expressed Paul. Enjoy your time together and I am so pleased that Hani is returning home!
162PaulCranswick
>161 mdoris: Thank you, Mary. When I look at a lot of my friends back in the UK with their broken families and their weekly visitations, I realize that sometimes progress means regress.
163avatiakh
Happy Hiding Books Day to you, Paul. Hope Hani is the forgiving type when it comes to finding deposits of books all around the place.
164PaulCranswick
>163 avatiakh: I am quite pleased with my work overnight but careful observation will reveal a slight swell over the last six months!
165Berly
>160 PaulCranswick: You are indeed lucky to have such a wonderful partner, Paul. And she is lucky to have you. xoxo
Good luck hiding book! LOL.
Good luck hiding book! LOL.
166vancouverdeb
You've got some explaining to do about the books to Hani, Paul! :-) Enduring Marriages are a great thing. Dave and I have been married nearly 42 years, my siblings, 3 of them for 40 and 28 and 29 years or so. My younger brothers married later in life, like 28 and 29 years old, so they have not been married as long me and my sister. One of my sister's never found the right guy, and she remains unmarried. 10 grandchildren between we kids and now 4 great grandchildren. I am sure you and Hani will be delighted to see each other .
167PaulCranswick
>165 Berly: Thanks Kimmers. A couple of hours and I am off to the airport. I am lucky to have her.
>166 vancouverdeb: There is a wonder to family gatherings as you get older that you don't appreciate in quite the same way when you are younger, don't you think? Me and my siblings seem to be following your family along a similar path, thankfully.
>166 vancouverdeb: There is a wonder to family gatherings as you get older that you don't appreciate in quite the same way when you are younger, don't you think? Me and my siblings seem to be following your family along a similar path, thankfully.
169PaulCranswick
>168 hredwards: She's back Harold and says thank you!
170PaulCranswick
And she came bearing gifts:
76. Clear by Carys Davies
77. The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
78. Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright
76. Clear by Carys Davies
77. The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
78. Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright
171figsfromthistle
>170 PaulCranswick: Aww. Looks like you didn't have to hide those books after all :)
172Berly
>170 PaulCranswick: See? The perfect partner! LOL
173PaulCranswick
>171 figsfromthistle: Oh, Anita, I definitely did need to hide them (or at least tidy them into order).
>172 Berly: Yes she is. We sat up and watched a couple of episodes of Reacher together the first time I have switched on the main TV in 8 months! I realized it is July since she was with me.
>172 Berly: Yes she is. We sat up and watched a couple of episodes of Reacher together the first time I have switched on the main TV in 8 months! I realized it is July since she was with me.
174booksaplenty1949
>173 PaulCranswick: That’s way too long to be apart, especially when you had to deal with legal issues at work and the loss of your cats on top of life’s usual stresses and demands. Make up for lost time!
175PaulCranswick
>174 booksaplenty1949: Indeed. I don't want to be apart even 8 days in the future.
176vancouverdeb
That is a long time to be apart. I hope you can stay in the same city with Hani for a long time, Paul .
177PaulCranswick
>176 vancouverdeb: Let's do hope so, Deb. The reunion was a sweet one other than her commenting on my bulk!
179PaulCranswick
>178 DianaNL: Of course Diana I am happy but she made me go swimming yesterday evening and then decided that it would be better for us to "sleep without air-conditioning." It feels a little like being conscripted into the army!
180Berly
>179 PaulCranswick: Obey the General!!
181PaulCranswick
>180 Berly: She got promoted to Commander-in-Chief!
183EllaTim
I’m glad to see your Commander-in-Chief is home again, Paul. I bet she would have wondered if you were really still Paul, if you hadn’t bought some books! Enjoy each other’s company!
184PaulCranswick
>182 Berly: She has got both the televisions working (unused for 8 months), I have never seen the fridge so full of food.
>183 EllaTim: We are enjoying each other's company for sure, Ella. I love her to distraction but she is a hard taskmaster. So I am now on a impelled fitness regime which will be good for me. I had to take the train home yesterday and walk from the station which was an ordeal but one that I felt good about after I had gotten my breath back at home!
>183 EllaTim: We are enjoying each other's company for sure, Ella. I love her to distraction but she is a hard taskmaster. So I am now on a impelled fitness regime which will be good for me. I had to take the train home yesterday and walk from the station which was an ordeal but one that I felt good about after I had gotten my breath back at home!
186PaulCranswick
>185 ffortsa: I said in January I want to get healthy and lose weight and what I really needed, Judy, was Hani back to push me in that direction wilfully.
187SilverWolf28
Here's the Saint Patrick's Day readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/369213
188PaulCranswick
>187 SilverWolf28: Thank you Silver
189PaulCranswick
Friday lunchtime (foodless) additions:
79. The Wardrobe Department by Elaine Garvey
80. In All Weathers by Matt Gaw
81. The Alternatives by Caoilinn Hughes
82. Dog by Rob Perry
83. The Cafe With No Name by Robert Seethaler
84. Richard II by William Shakespeare
85. Fundamentally by Nassaibah Younis
79. The Wardrobe Department by Elaine Garvey
80. In All Weathers by Matt Gaw
81. The Alternatives by Caoilinn Hughes
82. Dog by Rob Perry
83. The Cafe With No Name by Robert Seethaler
84. Richard II by William Shakespeare
85. Fundamentally by Nassaibah Younis
190PaulCranswick
CARTOON
It will only be a lasting peace if it is a fair peace.
It will only be a lasting peace if it is a fair peace.
191Familyhistorian
Good to see that Hani is back and making you stick to fitness goals, Paul!
192PaulCranswick
>191 Familyhistorian: She is a woman on a mission, Meg!
193PaulCranswick
BOOK #38
Zero Days by Ruth Ware
Date of Publication : 2023
Origin of Author : UK
Gender of Author : Female
Pages : 339 pp
Ruth Ware is Hani's favourite author and I am sort of making this a celebratory read.
I can see why my good lady likes her - propulsive narrative, interesting if a little one-dimensional characters, a spinner of a good yarn.
Didn't exactly break new ground but it did its job more than adequately, although I had figured the plot pretty early in the piece.
Zero Days by Ruth Ware
Date of Publication : 2023
Origin of Author : UK
Gender of Author : Female
Pages : 339 pp
Ruth Ware is Hani's favourite author and I am sort of making this a celebratory read.
I can see why my good lady likes her - propulsive narrative, interesting if a little one-dimensional characters, a spinner of a good yarn.
Didn't exactly break new ground but it did its job more than adequately, although I had figured the plot pretty early in the piece.
194PaulCranswick
I realised that I have missed a review:
BOOK #37
Selected Poems 1969-2005 by David Harsent
Date of Publication : 2007
Origin of Author : UK
Gender of Author : Male
Pages : 133 pp
Harsent is a lyrical poet that I was not unduly familiar until reading this selection of his work.
There is a bestial quality to some of his writing that is raw and visceral but still somehow persists in the appearance of being polished.
His series of poems on fairly wild topics like the sequence on Punch (bringing to life the nasty little character in Punch & Judy) are distinctly disturbing but nevertheless compelling.
He won't become a favourite of mine, I'll hazard, but I am interested to see what else he is writing about.
BOOK #37
Selected Poems 1969-2005 by David Harsent
Date of Publication : 2007
Origin of Author : UK
Gender of Author : Male
Pages : 133 pp
Harsent is a lyrical poet that I was not unduly familiar until reading this selection of his work.
There is a bestial quality to some of his writing that is raw and visceral but still somehow persists in the appearance of being polished.
His series of poems on fairly wild topics like the sequence on Punch (bringing to life the nasty little character in Punch & Judy) are distinctly disturbing but nevertheless compelling.
He won't become a favourite of mine, I'll hazard, but I am interested to see what else he is writing about.
195booksaplenty1949
Apropos of the, erm, lively exchange of views on Dr Zhivago in the last thread I note from The Economist this week that when it was smuggled out of Russia to Italy and published there (in Italian) and further translations were licensed the CIA recognised its “great propaganda value” and arranged for its publication in Russian and had copies distributed widely.
196PaulCranswick
>195 booksaplenty1949: Interesting. I didn't get a propaganda vibe from it myself to be absolutely honest.
197booksaplenty1949
>196 PaulCranswick: The CIA distributed the book at the 1958 World’s Fair and pushed for Pasternak to win the Nobel Prize. Apparently it was not so much the book’s contents as the hope that Soviets would “wonder what was wrong with their government” when a highly acclaimed book by a Russian author was not available in his own country.
198booksaplenty1949
Presumably the Nobel Committee found the CIA quite persuasive. The Swedish Academy was historically quite resistant to Russian writers. Tolstoy, for example, was nominated, unsuccessfully, from 1902 to 1906.
199Deern
Hi Paul, wishing you and Hani a lovely weekend! How absolutely wonderful that she’s back, and even brought books :D
200PaulCranswick
>197 booksaplenty1949: I'm not much aware of those facts and must say that the 1950s, the dacade before my birth, was an odd time.
>198 booksaplenty1949: That first decade of the Nobel Prize is extraordinary for the terrible choices the Academy made:
1 Zola
2 Tolstoy
3 Chekhov
4. Ibsen
5. James
6. Twain
7. Hardy
8. Strindberg
All being overlooked undermines the award for certain.
I'm not sure how much impact the CIA had but irrespective of Zhivago, Pasternak's poetry was long regarded as exceptional.
>198 booksaplenty1949: That first decade of the Nobel Prize is extraordinary for the terrible choices the Academy made:
1 Zola
2 Tolstoy
3 Chekhov
4. Ibsen
5. James
6. Twain
7. Hardy
8. Strindberg
All being overlooked undermines the award for certain.
I'm not sure how much impact the CIA had but irrespective of Zhivago, Pasternak's poetry was long regarded as exceptional.
201PaulCranswick
>199 Deern: Yes Nathalie she is back where she belongs! And so are her Malay drama soap operas, playing in the background as I try to read!
202ffortsa
>200 PaulCranswick: That is amazing, Paul. They really skipped all of those? I took a look at the first 10 or 15 winners, and either I'm very ignorant or they are not read much anymore, whereas, of course, your list is rich in authors of extraordinary classics.
203PaulCranswick
>202 ffortsa: The eighth winner Rudyard Kipling is probably the only one of those first eight who is widely read today. Quo Vadis is still read, I suppose by Sienkiewicz but even a bookworm like me couldn't name any other thing he had written.
Did anyone seriously believe that Sully Prudhomme more deserving than Zola?
Bjornson more influential than either Strindberg or Ibsen?
Did anyone seriously believe that Sully Prudhomme more deserving than Zola?
Bjornson more influential than either Strindberg or Ibsen?
204booksaplenty1949
>203 PaulCranswick: When Sven Hedin, a member of the Nobel Committee from 1913 to 1952, was asked why James Joyce had never been nominated, his reported response was “Who?”
206vancouverdeb
I'm glad Hani is back and keeping you in line, Paul! ;-)
207PaulCranswick
>204 booksaplenty1949: To be slightly fair, Joyce was still in his 50's when he died but it does show the "credentials" of the Academy doesn't it? Their omission of Pessoa, Proust and Kafka is probably justified by the fact that they died at relatively young ages.
>205 banjo123: Thanks Rhonda. It is midday here and she is currently sleeping!
>205 banjo123: Thanks Rhonda. It is midday here and she is currently sleeping!
208PaulCranswick
>206 vancouverdeb: Why thank you, Deb! A case of ladies sticking together, I hazard. Still I am pleased about it too!
209booksaplenty1949
>207 PaulCranswick: Pearl Buck? Really? I’m not a huge fan of prizes but most of them have the excuse that they are awarded shortly after a work is published. Over time, judgement of a work’s merit often changes. That's inevitable. And some years produce more high quality work than others. But the Nobel is supposed to represent a lifetime of achievement.
210PaulCranswick
>207 PaulCranswick: I have actually enjoyed some of Pearl Buck's novels but the epitome of high literature they are not.
211PaulCranswick
BOOK #39
The Pigeon Tunnel by John le Carre
Date of Publication : 2016
Origin of Author : UK
Gender of Author : Male
Pages : 342 pp
Challenges : Non-Fiction Challenge March
This is a fascinating glimpse at two things. One is an inside peek into the secret world of espionage; the characters, the processes, the banality, the creeping dangers. Secondly, the creative process of an author - from where does he obtain his inspiration, who were some of his famous characters based upon, how did various incidents in his life dictate his storylines and oeuvre.
John le Carre here is in the foreground as his real self David Cornwell but still keeps himself very much in the background here in his anecdotal memoir. We come to the end finding out some interesting things - his father was a malign influence and imprisoned in David's youth his later tutor playing a vital role in his development and life choices. We hear how he was at dinner with Joseph Brodsky when Brodsky was told he had won the Nobel Prize and that he was at a public meeting when Lord Hailsham called the meeting short with tears in his eyes informing those gathered that President Kennedy had been assassinated. But for all that we don't know Cornwell / le Carre any better or more than we did before starting this memoir. Is that because we find le Carre in his books?
Recommended for an interesting look at world's unknown.
The Pigeon Tunnel by John le Carre
Date of Publication : 2016
Origin of Author : UK
Gender of Author : Male
Pages : 342 pp
Challenges : Non-Fiction Challenge March
This is a fascinating glimpse at two things. One is an inside peek into the secret world of espionage; the characters, the processes, the banality, the creeping dangers. Secondly, the creative process of an author - from where does he obtain his inspiration, who were some of his famous characters based upon, how did various incidents in his life dictate his storylines and oeuvre.
John le Carre here is in the foreground as his real self David Cornwell but still keeps himself very much in the background here in his anecdotal memoir. We come to the end finding out some interesting things - his father was a malign influence and imprisoned in David's youth his later tutor playing a vital role in his development and life choices. We hear how he was at dinner with Joseph Brodsky when Brodsky was told he had won the Nobel Prize and that he was at a public meeting when Lord Hailsham called the meeting short with tears in his eyes informing those gathered that President Kennedy had been assassinated. But for all that we don't know Cornwell / le Carre any better or more than we did before starting this memoir. Is that because we find le Carre in his books?
Recommended for an interesting look at world's unknown.
212booksaplenty1949
Finally finished a book today. Have three chunksters on the go but took a little break to read a mystery, A Great Reckoning, by Louise Penny, a writer I love to hate. Only plusses are that I get one book closer to 75, and since it was “borrowed” from the sorting room for a forthcoming book sale I can now return it and feel one book lighter. 🙂
213PaulCranswick
>212 booksaplenty1949: She gets a lot of love in the group and I bought her debut with a lot of optimism but just couldn't get into it at all. Her books are not for me, I guess.
214PaulCranswick
I have put aside Devils for now despite struggling well into the piece. Not on Dostoevsky's wavelength at the moment and it is slowing up all my reading.
Since I have my big books challenge and I am in Russia, I have switched my allegiance to Vassily Grossman's Stalingrad which so far is proving a good decision because it is eminently readable.
Since I have my big books challenge and I am in Russia, I have switched my allegiance to Vassily Grossman's Stalingrad which so far is proving a good decision because it is eminently readable.
215booksaplenty1949
>214 PaulCranswick: I am also finding Stalingrad highly readable, despite its occasional passages which sound like something out of Seven Brave Tractor Drivers. I will be very interested to see how Grossman’s political ideas had evolved by the time he was writing Life and Fate, which I have on order.
216PaulCranswick
>215 booksaplenty1949: As I understand it Stalingrad had sections that were very heavily censored and/or modified for or by the censors. I am reading the NYRB version of the book translated by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler.
217booksaplenty1949
>216 PaulCranswick: Yes, that is the version I am reading.
218PaulCranswick
>218 PaulCranswick: I'm still enjoying it too!
219booksaplenty1949
>218 PaulCranswick: Yes, I’m amazed at how quickly I’m turning the pages.
220louisisaloafofbreb
>193 PaulCranswick: I has a few of her books :D
221EllaTim
>216 PaulCranswick: I was having some trouble with Stalingrad.
>215 booksaplenty1949: Those tractors were one thing! I guess he had to try and get the book past the censors.
I’m now more or less halfway and luckily the book has picked up speed, the German troops are gathering before Stalingrad. I liked the descriptions of the soldiers waiting for the fighting to begin.
>215 booksaplenty1949: Those tractors were one thing! I guess he had to try and get the book past the censors.
I’m now more or less halfway and luckily the book has picked up speed, the German troops are gathering before Stalingrad. I liked the descriptions of the soldiers waiting for the fighting to begin.
222avatiakh
>214 PaulCranswick: I should add Stalingrad to my list. I haven't read anything by Grossman as yet.
223PaulCranswick
>219 booksaplenty1949: I am about 25% through it already and I am also reading your recommendation Journey by Moonlight which is enjoyable as well.
>220 louisisaloafofbreb: My wife's favourite author currently, Lily.
>220 louisisaloafofbreb: My wife's favourite author currently, Lily.
224PaulCranswick
>221 EllaTim: Yes, it is a heavy tome to lug about, Ella, but I am not stuck in the detail so far. I really like his observations on small town / village life in the Soviet Union at the time. Remarkable to think, given what we know of his views now, how he was able to keep the censors on side for the book.
>222 avatiakh: I really want to read Life and Fate but felt that it was only right to read this one first, Kerry.
>222 avatiakh: I really want to read Life and Fate but felt that it was only right to read this one first, Kerry.
225PaulCranswick
More than a little excited because Yasmyne and Pip will arrive here, God willing, this evening.
226booksaplenty1949
>221 EllaTim: He may not have just been catering to the censors; perhaps he had drunk the Kool-Aid, but then later life experience caused him to re-examine his ideas. Not an uncommon experience, after all.
227booksaplenty1949
>223 PaulCranswick: Very contrasting works, but both very compelling. That’s why *reading* is the best. Always something different to experience.
228louisisaloafofbreb
>223 PaulCranswick: Ive read uh....The Woman in Cabin 10 by her :D it was a REALLY good read!
229humouress
How's the weather in your neck of the woods Paul? It's been downpouring here non-stop for two days and still going strong.
Have fun with three generations of Cranswick women!
Have fun with three generations of Cranswick women!
230Familyhistorian
Enjoy your time with most of the women in your family, Paul!
231PaulCranswick
>226 booksaplenty1949: You could be right, there is a lot of cases of convenient re-writing of history.
>227 booksaplenty1949: Indeed and I am enjoying both as much for the contrast as any other reason.
>227 booksaplenty1949: Indeed and I am enjoying both as much for the contrast as any other reason.
232PaulCranswick
>228 louisisaloafofbreb: The one above is the only one I have read as yet. Hani has all her books, I think.
>229 humouress: On and off raining cats and dogs. I am looking forward to this evening for sure.
>229 humouress: On and off raining cats and dogs. I am looking forward to this evening for sure.
234louisisaloafofbreb
>232 PaulCranswick: Did you like it? I know i did
235PaulCranswick
>232 PaulCranswick: Yes I did enjoy it, Lily. I can see why both you and Hani like her books.
237alcottacre
>189 PaulCranswick: The only one of those I have ever read is the Shakespeare. I look forward to your thoughts on them, Juan, as I have not even heard of any of them :)
I am not even trying to catch up, Paul, but I just wanted to check in. . .Happy whatever, brother!
I am not even trying to catch up, Paul, but I just wanted to check in. . .Happy whatever, brother!
238PaulCranswick
>236 louisisaloafofbreb: She has just bought The It Girl and is currently reading it.
>237 alcottacre: All the others are newish fictions (except Gaw's book on weather) from the Women's Prize or lauded in the blurbs.
Always great to see you, Juana.
>237 alcottacre: All the others are newish fictions (except Gaw's book on weather) from the Women's Prize or lauded in the blurbs.
Always great to see you, Juana.
239PaulCranswick
The arbitration hearings on the steelwork provided to the project finished yesterday - I feel confident that we will have prevailed on at least two of the three main arguments. I can concentrate on my proper works now and get things in place to go back home to the UK.
240PaulCranswick
Yasmyne and Pip are here!
241amanda4242
>240 PaulCranswick: Hurray!!
242quondame
>240 PaulCranswick: That is someone to be reckoned with! She is so engaged and engaging!
243EllaTim
>240 PaulCranswick: Hurray, Paul. Enjoy.
And what a serious face! Some will-power there.
And what a serious face! Some will-power there.
244PaulCranswick
>241 amanda4242: Indeed Amanda.....hurray!
>242 quondame: She seems destined to be musical, Susan. She was very reflective and gentle on the family piano last night as if she really has a feel for sound.
>242 quondame: She seems destined to be musical, Susan. She was very reflective and gentle on the family piano last night as if she really has a feel for sound.
245PaulCranswick
>243 EllaTim: She seems to have some powers of concentration, Ella and a striking fascination for books which of course I like the look of.
247PaulCranswick
>246 figsfromthistle: I am a happy chappy too. Hani had told me that Pip was scared of "fat" people and referenced my sister as an example. I was pleased as punch yesterday that she came straight to me and cuddled me with a very satisfied look on her serious little face.
Sam has, of course, come back with both of them. Thanks for mentioning him, Anita, I should have done so too.
Sam has, of course, come back with both of them. Thanks for mentioning him, Anita, I should have done so too.
248SilverWolf28
Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/369373
249PaulCranswick
>248 SilverWolf28: Thank you, Silver
250PaulCranswick
Friday lunchtime additions
86. Great Britain? by Torsten Bell
87. Theory and Practice by Michelle de Kretser
88. The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
89. Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
90. Richard III by William Shakespeare
86. Great Britain? by Torsten Bell
87. Theory and Practice by Michelle de Kretser
88. The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
89. Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
90. Richard III by William Shakespeare
252Kristelh
Paul, Pip is growing, a toddler now! Glad your family is there with you, that the trial is coming to an end and you’ll be able to start planning for your departure and the departure of the “books”. I’ve read Wandering Star from your recent acquisition list. Have a great time with your family.
254PaulCranswick
>251 Deern: Thank you, Nathalie. We plan to take a couple of days away in Terengganu on the East Coast to get some sun, surf and relaxation time.
>252 Kristelh: It will only be a partial departure, Kristel, as we will maintain two homes which will enable me to migrate the books a little more slowly.
>252 Kristelh: It will only be a partial departure, Kristel, as we will maintain two homes which will enable me to migrate the books a little more slowly.
255PaulCranswick
>253 hredwards: Thank you Harold and, as always, it is good to have you drop by.
256booksaplenty1949
I assume you are reading, or plan to read, Zola’s Money in the Oxford World’s Classics edition. This translation, done by Valerie Minogue in 2014, is apparently the only one since Ernest Vizetelly published the first English translation in 1900. I had occasion to look at the original translation, available on Project Gutenberg, to see how he handled the scene in chapter 7 where Delcambre, the lover of Baroness Sandorff, finds her naked on her knees in front of a pantless Saccard in the apartment Delcambre has rented for his trysts with her. It seemed to present a challenge given contemporary censorship in England and indeed Vizetelly’s version simply eliminates the entire episode. Incredible that English readers had to wait over a century to get an unbowdlerised version.
258Kristelh
>254 PaulCranswick:. ah, two houses of books. I have a few I keep in Florida. For some reason, I always want the one in Florida when I am in Minnestoa.
259PaulCranswick
>258 Kristelh: Hahaha, I am sure that I will be the same, Kristel!
I will have extra luggage and I am thinking to take 250 books back in the first wave. That selection will be a tough one.
I will have extra luggage and I am thinking to take 250 books back in the first wave. That selection will be a tough one.
260Copperskye
>240 PaulCranswick: Adorable!! Enjoy your family time, Paul!
261PaulCranswick
>260 Copperskye: Thank you, Joanne. Lovely to see you. I will try to add some more pictures of her when I can.
262vancouverdeb
How wonderful to have Yasmyne and Pip with you and Hani , too, Paul. Pip is so cute! Melissa just turned 7 this past week, it's amazing how fast they grow up.
263PaulCranswick
>262 vancouverdeb: Doesn't time move along so quickly, Deb? Melissa shares the same birth month as both Hani and my father.
264humouress
It's nice to see that your family is in town, Paul.
Maybe it's time to invest in an e-reader, for the times when you absolutely have to read the book that currently resides on the other side of the world? ;0)
Maybe it's time to invest in an e-reader, for the times when you absolutely have to read the book that currently resides on the other side of the world? ;0)
265SirThomas
>240 PaulCranswick: That's wonderful news, my friend.
I wish Hani and you a wonderful wedding anniversary with your family.
I wish Hani and you a wonderful wedding anniversary with your family.
266PaulCranswick
>264 humouress: Maybe, Nina, let's see but I adore the feel of books.
>265 SirThomas: Thank you, Thomas and well spotted. We celebrate 29 years of marriage tomorrow.
>265 SirThomas: Thank you, Thomas and well spotted. We celebrate 29 years of marriage tomorrow.
268PaulCranswick
>267 SirThomas: Yes that is true, Thomas. I make it to Sunday about 7 hours before you do!
269booksaplenty1949
>266 PaulCranswick: When I find a nicer, better copy of a favourite title I often buy it and then retire the old retainer to my vacation home. So I often have the same title in both places.
270booksaplenty1949
>264 humouress: I have to admit that when I look on people's profiles and read statements along the lines of “In retirement I am downsizing and now most of my reading is done on e-books” I just shake my head. Although I have started listening to audio books while I’m driving. But to me that’s a bit different than “reading.”
272PaulCranswick
>269 booksaplenty1949: That is certainly an idea. I will admit to having more than one copy of a few of my favourite books.
>270 booksaplenty1949: I love surrounding myself with all my books. I am not really a gadgets sort of person.
>270 booksaplenty1949: I love surrounding myself with all my books. I am not really a gadgets sort of person.
273booksaplenty1949
Fortunately a family member has inherited the book hoarding, I mean collecting, gene, so I can sometimes bring myself to release a book whose place has been taken by a flashier copy into the hands of a caring new owner.
274booksaplenty1949
This message has been deleted by its author.
275Carmenere
Paul, I am overjoyed that you have been reunited with your loved ones. It's been so long!
Please take my advise and stash your books until everyone is asleep and then read a bit. Other than that enjoy every second (focused) with your family
Please take my advise and stash your books until everyone is asleep and then read a bit. Other than that enjoy every second (focused) with your family
276PaulCranswick
>273 booksaplenty1949: Unfortunately I cannot see that in any of my lot yet. Kyran loves books but he imbibes them through the medium of audiobooks.
>274 booksaplenty1949: Deleted messages always intrigue me. Double posted?
>274 booksaplenty1949: Deleted messages always intrigue me. Double posted?
277PaulCranswick
>275 Carmenere: Lovely to see you, Birthday Girl!
Today is my wedding anniversary so I am hoping for some quality time with just one member of the family - its matriarch!
Today is my wedding anniversary so I am hoping for some quality time with just one member of the family - its matriarch!
278PaulCranswick
Saddened to see the passing of George Foreman. I used to love the sport of boxing as a younger man and one of my first memories of it is the absolute mauling he gave poor Joe Frazier. Leading up to his Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire, my precocious 8 year old judgement told me that the ex-champ Muhammad Ali had no chance against him. Well I was wrong but George regrouped from that disaster and eventually returned to reclaim the title as a much older man.
279booksaplenty1949
>276 PaulCranswick: No, I think I was going to overshare about how I used to write my name in my books, and how that inhibited my giving away even sad, worn copies.
280PaulCranswick
>279 booksaplenty1949: It is funny how we booklovers can be so alike. I so long had the habit of "personalizing" my books too.
281booksaplenty1949
>280 PaulCranswick: Eventually someone told me that it decreased the resale value of a book. I hope my heirs appreciate the sacrifice.
282PaulCranswick
>281 booksaplenty1949: I am not aiming to sell any of mine and I am pretty sure my lot will give them away rather than try and profit by them!
283booksaplenty1949
>282 PaulCranswick: Even if Loved Ones gave my books to charity it would be nice for them to receive a charitable receipt.
284Carmenere
>277 PaulCranswick: Happiest of anniversaries to you and your lovely wife, Hanni!
285PaulCranswick
>283 booksaplenty1949: Yes, I suppose that is true.
>284 Carmenere: Thank you so much, Lynda. It seems a mere blinking of an eye and I am 29 years on from the Pasir Gudang mosque where we solemnized our marriage. She is a long suffering spouse and sometimes I don't know how she puts up with me but we have always laughed together and shared wonderful moments in each other's company. She can be a hard taskmistress but I wouldn't want to be chastized by anyone else!
>284 Carmenere: Thank you so much, Lynda. It seems a mere blinking of an eye and I am 29 years on from the Pasir Gudang mosque where we solemnized our marriage. She is a long suffering spouse and sometimes I don't know how she puts up with me but we have always laughed together and shared wonderful moments in each other's company. She can be a hard taskmistress but I wouldn't want to be chastized by anyone else!
286PaulCranswick
Hani wanted a book for her Wedding Anniversary and I was in the right place at the right time!
I bought her:
91. Rooza by Nadiya Hussain
Whilst I was there:
92. Heat Wave by Penelope Lively
93. Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond
94. The Household by Stacey Halls
95. Solenoid by Mircea Cartarescu
I bought her:
91. Rooza by Nadiya Hussain
Whilst I was there:
92. Heat Wave by Penelope Lively
93. Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond
94. The Household by Stacey Halls
95. Solenoid by Mircea Cartarescu
288Caroline_McElwee
Glad you have your girls together for the anniversary Paul. Pip, she growed.
289thornton37814
Paul--
I've been playing an iPhone app game called GeoGuessr. I think of you any time the location is in Malaysia, Singapore, or Indonesia. Sometimes I just wish I could recognize the landscape in those areas a bit better so I could guess. I've gotten pretty good at figuring out Singapore, probably because it is so tiny and most of the photos depict well-maintained facilities. The others, especially if rural, can be harder to figure out!
I've been playing an iPhone app game called GeoGuessr. I think of you any time the location is in Malaysia, Singapore, or Indonesia. Sometimes I just wish I could recognize the landscape in those areas a bit better so I could guess. I've gotten pretty good at figuring out Singapore, probably because it is so tiny and most of the photos depict well-maintained facilities. The others, especially if rural, can be harder to figure out!
290quondame
>286 PaulCranswick: It sounds like Hani wanting a book for the anniversary was as much about you getting what you want as her getting the right present.
Joy to you and your family!
Joy to you and your family!
292witchyrichy
>240 PaulCranswick: Adorable! Enjoy!
293PaulCranswick
>287 Deern: Of course, Nathalie, it didn't stop at a book. She also got some perfume - I traditionally always bought her the perfume that she wore on our first date but she has moved on from there.
Her current favourite is by Christian Dior.
>288 Caroline_McElwee: She has grown, Caroline, hasn't she? Makes me realize what I have been missing stuck here with my work and my fixation with finishing things properly.
Her current favourite is by Christian Dior.
>288 Caroline_McElwee: She has grown, Caroline, hasn't she? Makes me realize what I have been missing stuck here with my work and my fixation with finishing things properly.
294PaulCranswick
>289 thornton37814: I should go and check that out, Lori, I like those games too but I do have the habit of being overly compulsive with them.
Parts of Malaysia and Indonesia would be difficult to spot the difference.
>290 quondame: Well let's just say she was encouraged a little, Susan. She does love cookery books though to be fair.
Parts of Malaysia and Indonesia would be difficult to spot the difference.
>290 quondame: Well let's just say she was encouraged a little, Susan. She does love cookery books though to be fair.
295PaulCranswick
>291 mdoris: Thanks Mary. I am biased of course, but I do agree with you!
>292 witchyrichy: Thank you, Karen.
>292 witchyrichy: Thank you, Karen.
296booksaplenty1949
>293 PaulCranswick: Well, at least she told you. I have a mental image of a scene in a novel where the loving hubby presents a new bottle of Evening in Paris or whatever every anniversary and the wife adds it to a growing cache in the back of the garage. Or perhaps pours it down the drain and refills the bottle with the scent she has actually been wearing for the last decade or two.
297PaulCranswick
>296 booksaplenty1949: Hahaha no. She is always straightforward and sometimes painfully so! She did used to love Elizabeth Arden's Red Door but has moved on.
298PaulCranswick
Pip enjoys her food just the same as the rest of us!
299quondame
>298 PaulCranswick: What glee! And I'm sure she'll have a meal very much worth being gleeful about!
300PaulCranswick
>298 PaulCranswick: She seems to have a fondness for rice crackers. Enjoying having her around, Susan.
301drneutron
>298 PaulCranswick: Whata wonderful smile!
302SandDune
>298 PaulCranswick: Such a cutie!
303PaulCranswick
>301 drneutron: Thank you, Jim.
>302 SandDune: Thanks Rhian.....I would say that she takes after her Grandpa but I don't want to stretch credibility too far!
>302 SandDune: Thanks Rhian.....I would say that she takes after her Grandpa but I don't want to stretch credibility too far!
304vancouverdeb
A belated Happy Universality , Paul! I'm glad you had a good day and some book buying. Pip is so cute! Great picture!
305PaulCranswick
Thanks Deb. 29 years in the blinking of an eye.
306booksaplenty1949
>305 PaulCranswick: I’m impressed that you decoded “Happy Universality.” I thought it might be some Malaysian festivity unfamiliar to me.
307jnwelch
>298 PaulCranswick:. Pip! Great photo, mate.
Seems like an e-reader is contraindicated for you. I love too much the thought of your swelling bibliocoffers. And if you kept them all on an e-reader, would Hani have enough to gripe about? I guess, if you’re like me, there’d be plenty left for that.
Seems like an e-reader is contraindicated for you. I love too much the thought of your swelling bibliocoffers. And if you kept them all on an e-reader, would Hani have enough to gripe about? I guess, if you’re like me, there’d be plenty left for that.
308alcottacre
Happy anniversary! Happy, happy Pip!
Happy whatever, brother :)
Happy whatever, brother :)
310PaulCranswick
>306 booksaplenty1949: Well to its core she is my universe! We certainly have enough holidays here in Malaysia to keep everybody happy. In Kuala Lumpur there are 18 days of public holidays every year and celebrations spanning four religions.
>307 jnwelch: Thanks Joe. I figure that if my books is the thing the Boss is griping about, I must be doing fine otherwise.
>307 jnwelch: Thanks Joe. I figure that if my books is the thing the Boss is griping about, I must be doing fine otherwise.
311PaulCranswick
>308 alcottacre: Thanks Stasia. She was anything but happy yesterday - overtired I think. She greeted my return from work as though I was the Big Bad Wolf coming to blow down her house of straw!
>309 Berly: Thank you, Kimmers. I think she is cute too but she also likes to control a room and is going to keep her mum slim.
>309 Berly: Thank you, Kimmers. I think she is cute too but she also likes to control a room and is going to keep her mum slim.
312booksaplenty1949
>310 PaulCranswick: I think that’s great. Helps people to recognise their common humanity as they strive to honour the transcendant forces that give it meaning.
This topic was continued by Paul's Grand European Tour 7.
