PAUL C IN 23 (4)

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Discussions75 Books Challenge for 2023

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PAUL C IN 23 (4)

1PaulCranswick
Modifié : Jan 23, 2023, 11:59 pm

THE PLACES WHERE I READ!



Continuing through North Africa to the teeming streets of Cairo. A city of history, of honour, of smells indescribable, of happy memories, of rich imaginings.

2PaulCranswick
Modifié : Jan 24, 2023, 12:15 am

The Opening Words

As our freedoms have been crushed in the last few years for obvious and understandable of just as often misconceived reasons, I have been drawn to those commentators who do not espouse consensus views - Neil Oliver, John McWhorter and Douglas Murray. They are not right wing in any traditional sense but they speak of many things I firmly believe in - freedom of choice, speech, religion, sexuality and against the increasing tendency of governments everywhere and of whatever ilk to dictate to populations and to impose a sort of secular consensus morality which does not permit of honest, thoughtful and rational debate.

I will be reading Douglas Murray's The Madness of Crowds which is concerned with these issues and the culture of cancellation.



"We are going through a great crowd derangement. In public and in private, both online and off, people are behaving in ways that are increasingly irrational, feverish, herd-like and simply unpleasant. The daily news cycle is filled with the consequences. Yet, while we see the symptoms everywhere, we do not see the causes."

Interested................................?

3PaulCranswick
Modifié : Fév 4, 2023, 5:25 am

BOOKS COMPLETED

January
1. The King's Fool by Mahi Binebine (2017) 125 pp Fiction / ANC / Morocco
2. The Golden Ass by Apuleius (c 170) 216 pp Fiction / ANC / Tunisia / 1001
3. Driftnet by Lin Anderson (2003) 262 pp Thriller / Rhona MacLeod 1
4. The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff (1954) 292 pp Fiction / BAC
5. Free : Coming of Age at the End of History by Lea Ypi (2021) 310 pp Non-Fiction / NF Challenge
6. The Bridges of Constantine by Ahlem Mosteghanemi (1993) 305 pp Fiction / ANC / Algeria
7. Bloodlines by Fred D'Aguiar (2000) 161 pp Poetry / BAC
8. Borstal Boy by Brendan Behan (1958) 372 pp Fiction / 1001
9. Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson (2008) 300 pp Fiction / AAC
10. U.A. Fanthorpe : Selected Poems by U.A. Fanthorpe (2013) 153 pp Poetry
11. In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar (2006) 245 pp Fiction / ANC / Libya
12. Foundation : The History of England Volume 1 by Peter Ackroyd (2011) 462 pp Non-Fiction
13. Closed Circles by Viveca Sten (2009) 451 pp Thriller / Sandhamn 2
14. The Albemarle Book of Modern Verse edited by FES Finn (1961) 181 pp Poetry
15. Brooklyn Heights by Miral al-Tahawy (2012) 220 pp Fiction / ANC / Egypt
16. The Midnight Bell by Patrick Hamilton (1929) 221 pp Fiction
17. The Siege of Pleasure by Patrick Hamilton (1932) 118 pp Fiction
18. The Plains of Cement by Patrick Hamilton (1934) 188 pp Fiction
19. The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov by Vladimir Nabokov (1995) 663 pp Fiction / Short Stories
20. The Madness of Crowds by Douglas Murray (2019) 267 pp Non-Fiction
21. The Death of Murat Idrissi by Tommy Wieringa (2017) 102 pp Fiction
22. Foster by Claire Keegan (2010) 88 pp Fiction

4PaulCranswick
Modifié : Fév 4, 2023, 5:29 am

BOOK STATS

Starting Stats of the Year :

Present TBR : 5,679 books
Pages to Read : 1,943,264
Average Book Length : 342.18

Books Read 22 (30 Jan 23)
Pages : 5,702
Pages per day : 190.07
Average Book Length : 259.18 pages
Female Authors : 9
Male Authors : 12
Various : 1
Countries Read : 13 (UK, Morocco, Tunisia, Albania, Algeria, Guyana, Ireland, USA. Libya, Sweden, Egypt, Russia, Netherlands)
Fiction : 13
Thriller : 2
Non-Fiction : 3
Poetry : 3
Short Stories : 1

1001 Books First Edition
Read 2 (329)

Nobel Winners
Read : (75)

Booker Winners
Read : (38)

Pulitzer Fiction Prize
Read : (20)

Women's Prize
Read : (7)

Books Added in 2023

24 (30 January 2023)

Books Read in 2023

22 (30 January 2023)

Change in TBR +2 (5,681)

Pages Read : 5,702
Pages Added : 7,324

Change in TBR Pages : +1,622 (1,944,886)

5PaulCranswick
Modifié : Fév 4, 2023, 5:30 am

African Reading Challenge 2023



Plans

January - NORTH AFRICA https://www.librarything.com/topic/347131 read 5
February - LUSOPHONE LIT https://www.librarything.com/topic/348039
March - ADICHIE or EMECHETA
April - THE HORN OF AFRICA
May - AFRICAN NOBEL WINNERS
June - EAST AFRICA
July - ACHEBE or Okri
August - FRANCOPHONE AFRICA
September - SOUTHERN AFRICA
October - MUKASONGA / NGUGI WA THIONG'O
November - AFRICAN THRILLERS / CRIME WRITERS
December - WEST AFRICA

Total : 5

6PaulCranswick
Modifié : Fév 4, 2023, 5:31 am

BRITISH AUTHOR CHALLENGE



January - Rosemary Sutcliff & Fred D'Aguiar Eagle of the Ninth by Sutcliff, Bloodlines by D'Aguiar

7PaulCranswick
Modifié : Fév 4, 2023, 5:34 am

AMERICAN AUTHOR CHALLENGE



January - YA Books - Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

8PaulCranswick
Modifié : Fév 4, 2023, 5:35 am

RESET AROUND THE WORLD READING

2023

Countries : 13 (29 January 2023)


Create Your Own Visited Countries Map

9PaulCranswick
Jan 23, 2023, 11:58 pm

Welcome to my fourth thread of 2023!

10WhiteRaven.17
Modifié : Jan 24, 2023, 12:03 am

Happy new thread Paul! Am I first? Also, like the art in the opening photo.

11PaulCranswick
Modifié : Jan 24, 2023, 12:04 am

>10 WhiteRaven.17: You are indeed Kro! Well done.

I wanted something more than just a standard street scene of Cairo in all its grubby grandeur.

12amanda4242
Jan 24, 2023, 12:06 am

Happy new thread!

13PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 12:15 am

>12 amanda4242: Dear Amanda. You are most welcome as always. xx

14AnneDC
Jan 24, 2023, 12:24 am

Happy new thread! I love that opening image--I am headed to Cairo myself for vacation in about two weeks.

15quondame
Jan 24, 2023, 12:36 am

Happy new thread Paul!

16PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 1:01 am

>14 AnneDC: Lovely to see you, Anne. It is a marvelous but slightly crazy city. Of course just outside the ever expanding metropolis are those pyramids sitting on the edge of the city and the desert.

>15 quondame: Thanks Susan. Always great to see you here.

17SirThomas
Jan 24, 2023, 2:20 am

Happy new thread and all the best for the week!

18PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 2:24 am

>17 SirThomas: Thank you dear Thomas. I will be back at work tomorrow so I wanted to make the best of today.

I had brunch out with Belle which included some delicious Belgian waffles with cream, blueberries and maple syrup and what seemed like a gallon of really good coffee.

Now catching up with Patrick Hamilton and realizing how he is very unfairly overlooked today as a novelist of real quality.

19PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 2:39 am

Update of thread posting stats with one week of January left:

Top 75 threads

1 PaulCranswick 762
2 katiekrug 613
3 CrazyMamie 593
4 msf59 425
5 scaifea 415
6 richardderus 402
7 Berly 383
8 laurelkeet 296
9 bell7 284
10 karenmarie 251
11 alcottacre 241
12 figsfromthistle 205
13 jnwelch 205
14 lyzard 188
15 curioussquared 186
16 Carmenere 185
17 drneutron 185
18 Familyhistorian 183
19 FAMeulstee 180
20 RebaRelishesReading 179
21 BLBera 172
22 MickyFine 169
23 SandDune 166
24 quondame 148
25 jessibud2 131
26 thornton37814 118
27 foggidawn 116
28 Caroline_McElwee 110
29 Whisper1 110
30 klobrien2 109
31 ronincats 109
32 ursula 109
33 johnsimpson 108
34 SandyMacpherson 108
35 storeettlr 108
36 SirThomas 105
37 humouress 99
38 laytonwoman3rd 98
39 avatiakh 97
40 streamsong 94
41 cbl_tn 92
42 mahsdad 92
43 The_Hibernator 91
44 chelle 89
45 Donna828 89
46 weird_O 86
47 norabelle414 85
48 copperskye 83
49 mdoris 83
50 witchyrichy 82
51 DianaNL 81
52 ffortsa 81
53 LizzieD 76
54 Squeaky_Chu 76
55 mstrust 75
56 Whiteraven.17 74
57 ArlieS 73
58 Ella Tim 73
59 Dreamweaver 72
60 PersephonesLibrary 72
61 EBT1002 71
62 kristelh 70
63 AMQS 69
64 kgodey 69
65 Ravenswoodwitch 57
66 Chatterbox 56
67 LovingLit 53
68 sibylline 52
69 amanda4242 51
70 banjo123 51
71 brenzi 50
72 CDVicarage 48
73 souloftherose 48
74 tiffin 40
75 PawsforThought 39
76 vivians 39

20FAMeulstee
Modifié : Jan 24, 2023, 2:45 am

Happy new thread, Paul!

ETA: >19 PaulCranswick: I see I dropped a few places, and you are still leading the pack :-)

21Berly
Jan 24, 2023, 3:01 am

Happy new thread!! The madness of Crowds sounds very intriguing. Not sure I have room to fit it in right now but I look forward to your thoughts on it...and I am happy to still be in the top 10. ; )

22PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 3:14 am

I checked from my own excel catalogue of books that I have on the shelves and identified that I have 93 active series from 90 different authors.

I have not counted any that I know to be finished (Montalbano for example) ones that are clearly franchised and not strictly a series like Doctor Who, Nick Carter or James Bond or any series - and there are many - on the shelves and hoping to start soon.

23PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 3:17 am

>20 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita.

A few of the ladies are out-posting me at the moment and I am trying to concentrate on my reading a little bit more. As were you most likely!

>21 Berly: It is a subject quite near to my heart these days, Kimmers, but won't meet with full approval across the group, I'm sure.

Thanks for the new thread wishes!

24WhiteRaven.17
Jan 24, 2023, 3:37 am

>11 PaulCranswick: I'm always keen on artistic representation, is it any particular piece or just one you liked for the thread?
>2 PaulCranswick: I'm also curious to see your thoughts on the book. I've not been in a headspace to read that kind of work between school and life myself, but I would like to keep a list of decent books to read in this area once I am.
>8 PaulCranswick: I see you've reset, perfect timing with my starting to track so I can pick up more recs from different areas as I'm sure you will outpace me in filling the map.
>19 PaulCranswick: Glad to see I'm still holding pace with the list for this month, always love the stats updates.
Okay, now that I've addressed every other post, have a good evening. :)

25PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 4:34 am

>24 WhiteRaven.17: I do spend quite a lot of time looking at pictures to choose for the thread. The artist is Kamel Moustafa who was born in Alexandria and was very active in the 1950s depicting Cairo and the nile scenes. In the last decade one of his paintings "The Seller of Lupines" was sold at Christies for $37,000.00 .
I subscribe to mutualart.com and have an avid interest in painting and have a few pieces by Malaysian artists hung in my home.

Murray is someone who I feel talks common sense even though he is to the right of me on many issues.

I thought it wise to start again and see how long it will take me to fill up the map!

I think you'll climb the list steadily this year, Kro!

26SandDune
Jan 24, 2023, 5:13 am

>2 PaulCranswick: Paul I don’t know much about the other people you mention but I’m afraid in my view Neil Oliver has gone 100% David Icke. I fully expect him to start blaming everything on little green aliens in our midst shortly.

27PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 5:26 am

SCANDI SERIES

Either am following already or aim to be this year:
Author - Series : Next Book

DENMARK

1. JUSSI ADLER-OLSEN - Department Q : The Hanging Girl (Book 6)
2. ELSEBETH EGHOLM - Peter Boutrup : Three Dog Night (Book 1)
3. LENE KAABERBOL - Nina Borg : The Boy in the Suitcase (Book 1)

ICELAND

4. ARNALDUR INDRIDASON - Detective Konrad : The Darkness Knows (Book 1)
5. RAGNAR JONASSON - Dark Iceland : Night Blind (Book 2)
6. YRSA SIGURDARDOTTIR - Thora Gudmundsdottir : The Day is Dark (Book 4)

NORWAY

7. KARIN FOSSUM - Inspector Sejer : The Murder of Harriet Krohn (Book 10)
8. JORN LIER HORST - William Wisting : Closed for Winter (Book 2)
9. JO NESBO - Harry Hole : Police (Book 10)

SWEDEN

10. KJELL ERIKSSON - Anna Lindell : The Princess of Burundi (Book 1)
11. MARI JUNGSTEDT - Inspector Knutas : Dark Angel (Book 6)
12. VIVECA STEN - Sandhamn Murders : Guiltless (Book 3)

28PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 5:32 am

>26 SandDune: There is an element of hysteria certainly in some of his GB News Monologues but they are not all unfounded rubbish IMHO, Rhian. He certainly over eggs the pudding and I am not someone who avoided taking the COVID jab (I couldn't have worked, or shopped or survived in Malaysia otherwise) but there is some truth in the global and globalist elites becoming ever more dictatorial in their methods. Just because he is over the top doesn't mean that he isn't a voice of opposition that isn't worth taking note of. It is attempts to silence people like Oliver and label his point of view or opinion as misinformation and block it that I stand up against.

29figsfromthistle
Jan 24, 2023, 5:43 am

HAppy new one!

Looks like my stats improved :)

30PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 6:03 am

>29 figsfromthistle: Thanks Anita. Leading Canadian so far!

31SandDune
Jan 24, 2023, 6:10 am

>28 PaulCranswick: Sorry Paul. You won’t convince me of that one. He’s a climate change denier of the worse type in my view and I wouldn’t believe a word he says. We’ll have to agree to disagree on this one.

32Kristelh
Jan 24, 2023, 6:56 am

Happy new thread Paul.

33PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 7:24 am

>31 SandDune: No problem, Rhian. I certainly don't agree with everything he espouses, I think climate change is clear but I do think that the medicine prescribed is often as bad as if not worse than the disease. The level of hypocrisy and sense of entitlement by the Davos crowd is also quite stunning.

34PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 7:24 am

>32 Kristelh: Thank you, Kristel. xx

35WhiteRaven.17
Jan 24, 2023, 7:56 am

>25 PaulCranswick: I will have to look up more of their work. I had the option to take Art History as my history class in highschool and it's been one of the most oddly influential courses to my everyday life as I've aged with appreciating art and it's story.
That must be very nice to have a few pieces yourself, painting is such a broad and interesting medium. Makes me half tempted to find my old easel and bring it out to take up the hobby again, it's been years.

36ChelleBearss
Jan 24, 2023, 8:30 am

Happy new thread!

There are some unfamiliar names in the top 30 now. Guess I need to be more social outside of the usual crew!

37drneutron
Jan 24, 2023, 9:05 am

Happy new thread! Looks like this has been a relatively active year for the group.

38hredwards
Jan 24, 2023, 9:45 am

Happy New Thread!!

39Caroline_McElwee
Jan 24, 2023, 10:02 am

Love the >1 PaulCranswick: topper Paul.

40alcottacre
Jan 24, 2023, 11:47 am

Happy new thread, Paul!

41Storeetllr
Jan 24, 2023, 12:54 pm

Happy new thread!

>2 PaulCranswick: I’m interested. I put a hold on it and am 5th in line so not sure when I’ll get it.

>1 PaulCranswick: Oh! I wish I could have visited Egypt! Lovely painting!

42PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 1:03 pm

>35 WhiteRaven.17: I think one of the reasons I am drawn to it, Kro, is that I have zero talent myself although I like to think I know what I am looking at!

>36 ChelleBearss: A year away and see what happens, Chelle! If you move on to all the other threads don't forget your little pal in these tropical climes who started in the group at roughly the same time that you did!

43PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 1:05 pm

>37 drneutron: The numbers are slightly down on last year Jim but have more depth as I can see. I don't think we will ever get back to 2012-2014 levels but this definitely remains the place to be!

>38 hredwards: Thank you, Harold.

44PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 1:08 pm

>39 Caroline_McElwee: Thank you, Caroline. He is an artist I have actually bid for but failed to get his work at auction. I bid $20,000 for a painting of his fourteen years ago when I had money but didn't manage to succeed even back in the days that I actually had money.

>40 alcottacre: Thank you, Juana. x

45PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 1:11 pm

>41 Storeetllr: It is never too late to go there surely Mary. Everybody should see the exhibits in the Egypt Museum in Cairo and visit the Giza Pyramids. I would not however necessarily recommend a visit inside the Great Pyramid as the way to the main burial chamber is not for those claustrophobic in nature.

46PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 1:44 pm

Wordle 585 6/6

⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
🟨⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Squeaky bum time!

47humouress
Jan 24, 2023, 2:00 pm

Happy new thread Paul!

48PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 2:01 pm

>47 humouress: Thanks neighbour. x

49m.belljackson
Jan 24, 2023, 2:24 pm

Paul - back to previous thread: Ivan Doig's The Whistling Season is on my forever save shelf,

as will be Richard Powers' The Overstory, not the least because it is the only fiction book ever

to mention Token Creek, Wisconsin!

50mdoris
Modifié : Jan 24, 2023, 3:10 pm

>2 PaulCranswick: Paul I am a big, big fan of Douglas Murray. i have read his most recent books.
The Madness of Crowds
The Strange Death of Europe
The War on the West
They are all good, interesting and brave.

Happy new thread to you!

I have just received the new Andrew Doyle book The New Puritans: How the Religion of Social Justice Captured the Western World. I think it will be very interesting too!

51witchyrichy
Jan 24, 2023, 3:32 pm

Happy new thread! Just replied to your old one about Angle of Repose. Happy to read it whenever you are ready.

>37 drneutron: >43 PaulCranswick: I am trying to add to the data...mostly retired means I can put LT first rather than after.

52johnsimpson
Jan 24, 2023, 4:03 pm

Hi Paul, Happy New Thread mate.

53avatiakh
Jan 24, 2023, 4:52 pm

>2 PaulCranswick: Happy new thread. I do admire your respect for open debate and willingness to go in to bat for those who don't necessarily hold the same views as yourself.
I started The Madness of Crowds a year or so ago but the library wanted it back before I could get past the first couple of chapters.

54Oregonreader
Jan 24, 2023, 5:18 pm

Love the picture at the top, Paul. I’m intrigued by the Murray book. And thanks for the tip about Patrick Hamilton. I’m looking forward to reading some of his books. When I looked him up, six different writers with that name came up!

55PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 5:34 pm

>49 m.belljackson: Linda included Richard Powers in the American Author Challenge this year and I am looking forward to finally getting round to reading one of his much lauded novels.

That is a great place name, Marianne, Token Creek!

>50 mdoris: I have the first two of his books on the shelves, Mary, and read the Introduction and first chapter in bed last night. It was interesting to read his thoughts - him being a gay man - on the politicization of homosexuality. He is right that the various strands of the LGBT 'community' have so little in common with each other and generally don't get along so that to treat them as a cohesive bloc is very misleading.

56PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 5:38 pm

>51 witchyrichy: I will be up for starting it on 1 February, Karen, if that suits you. I saw your comment about setting up a thread and I'm happy for you to do that if you would like to.

>52 johnsimpson: Thank you, John. I watched a You Tube review of the 1974/5 Ashes series yesterday and I had not quite realized just how dangerous Thomson was in his pomp. Also extraordinary that Bedser as manager help mean no Boycott and no John Snow and I think with them in the side we would have had a real chance.

57PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 5:42 pm

>53 avatiakh: In these times, Kerry, I think it is vital we don't try to silence those whose views are not perfectly aligned with our own. We test and verify our own thoughts and perceptions by testing them carefully against the opinions of others. Why do we need to be so afraid of words?

>54 Oregonreader: Patrick Hamilton was active from the mid 1920s to the mid 1950s and I have managed to gather all his novels to myself these few months, Jan.

58ArlieS
Modifié : Jan 24, 2023, 6:26 pm

>2 PaulCranswick: Interested, except that I don't think "freedoms have been crushed in the last few years," at least not if you take that as anything exceptional about those years. You do say our freedoms, so I suppose you might mean something specific about Malaysia or Great Britain, but I think I'd have noticed if there'd been a major change in either location.

I am not currently required to pretend to be a member of a state religion, on pain of death or imprisonment. (Other people are.)

I am not currently required to pretend to be heterosexual, ditto. (Other people are.)

I am currently able to say what I think of my local politicians, executives, and even the super rich, and maybe even get what I say published. I certainly won't be arrested for sedition or lèse majesté. I might get insulted, threatened, fired, or physically attacked by people who disagree with me to the point of believing such things shouldn't be said, but that's been true approximately forever. They won't generally be government officials acting in their official capacity, which is more than I can say for other times and places.

I can vote for whichever candidate(s) the oligarchs have funded, or write in a name more to my liking - not that they'd have any chance of winning.

Etc. etc. etc.

It is true that there's been a change in which things draw fire, and it may be that the already violent United States has gotten even more violent since 2019. And obviously folks in the Ukraine have experienced a major drop in their freedoms, particularly if they live in territory that's been occupied by the Russians. But I don't see any overall major drop in freedom - just changes in what things its wise for the ambitious and/or ultra cautious to say or not say, do or not do, and a bit more conflict than usual about what informal rules should be applied by all right-thinking (sic) people.

59ArlieS
Jan 24, 2023, 6:25 pm

Fourth thread already! Congrats with a side order of amazement!

(And yes, this should have been my first comment.)

60msf59
Jan 24, 2023, 6:29 pm

Happy New Thread, Paul. I hope you are having a good week.

61foggidawn
Jan 24, 2023, 7:09 pm

Happy new thread, and thanks for posting the stats! I’m quite pleased with my place on the list.

62PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 7:24 pm

>58 ArlieS: I suppose it is always a question of comparatives, Arlie. Certainly in comparison with my forefathers and mothers in Ireland and Northern England largely indentured into servitude in the mines, the fields, the factory and in the homes of the gentry, then clearly we have less to grumble about.

I do feel however that there is a move afoot to stifle opposition to perceived consensual narratives and label it not as differing opinion but misinformation. There is also an obvious rush to blame and shame those who have said things that were the widespread view a decade ago but are no longer part of the orthodoxy. Many on the left were against 'gay marriage' for example but have since come around to our view that it is a fundamental abuse of their rights to deny them that privilege, but those same individuals are the ones most likely to be keen to vilify those whose positions have not changed.

>59 ArlieS: It is ok which order you say it! You are always welcome and treasured here. xx

63PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 7:25 pm

>60 msf59: Thanks Mark. Back to work this morning so it is less fun than yesterday!

>61 foggidawn: It is great to see you posting quite a lot this year Foggi. Your thread and the prodigious reading that has gone on there remains a favourite spot for me. xx

64ArlieS
Jan 24, 2023, 7:55 pm

>62 PaulCranswick: I'm sure there are attempts being made to stifle opposition to perceived consensual narratives. But when have there not been attempts of this kind?

I've also lived through multiple cases where consensus narrative has changed, and what used to be appropriate became taboo, and vice versa.

One thing is different - it's a lot easier to find out what Joe Random was doing two decades ago, which is now offensive, and attack them for it. That always could be done, but tended to be reserved for public figures of fairly high status, because it probably involved private detectives and huge amounts of work. Now you can find a party I announced when I was in college in the 1970s - or at least you could a couple of decades ago. The invitation contained a joke that might be taken as being at the expense of an ethnic minority - fortunately you don't currently need to include that minority to be counted as "diverse", so no current risk to me. (For the record, it was intended as a "laugh with" not "laugh at", and was so taken at the time.)

I think those of us who grew up with our honest opinions more-or-less taboo in right thinking company find it difficult to empathize with the experience of people who are in this position for the first time in their lives. We grew up only calling the landlord a "slum lord" among ourselves. We learned to sit politely in religious services, however much we regarded them as absurd. Some of us even learned to make appropriate sounding appreciative comments about the attractiveness of people we were unlikely to ever be attracted to. The list goes on and on and on.

I'd rather not have to deal with pretending to be normal, and of course it's worse when the attributes required to be normal change. But it seems to me to be part of the human condition. Some opinions brand their expressers as crazy or evil, or even just as "not one of us". Sometimes young people try to change things such that everyone can and will let it all hang out (e.g. the 60s, and therapy subcultures), but even there people learn that some expressions are more equal than others, and appropriate role playing can improve their status and prospects.

I'm still in favour of less suppression rather than more. But when it's just a matter of what gets suppressed - rather than how much - I prefer that the other fellow bear the brunt of the burden of pretense, not me.

For the record - I'm rather shocked at what's become "transphobic" and "racist" in recent years, but roleplaying e.g. allyship requires less effort than roleplaying religious belief. And this is not dissimilar to the reversal of attitudes to tobacco smoking I experienced within a 2 or 3 year period in the 1980s.

65EllaTim
Jan 24, 2023, 8:08 pm

Happy new thread, Paul!

>2 PaulCranswick: Interesting! I am all for open debate. Unfortunately it is being attacked from two sides. People (politicians) demanding support for the scientific consensus. Sounds good, but that scientific consensus they mean isn’t that scientific at all. People attacking the scientists, and proposing their own anti-science. I listened to a podcast today, where they talked about the pandemic, and how it was handled here in Holland (not too well), and how the big demonstrations of anti-vaxers were the only people who seemed to be having fun through it all. People are weird. I am probably rambling. Anyway, I’ve found through last year that what I thought was my side is sometimes wrong, and people on the wrong side can sometimes be right. Very confusing.

66PaulCranswick
Jan 24, 2023, 8:42 pm

>64 ArlieS: Thank you for that very interesting and well argued post, Arlie. Your penultimate paragraph made me smile in particular and isn't it so true with all of us!?

I am pretty much against oppression/suppression of speech and opinion unless it set out to purposely inflame violence/hatred or hurt others. That is quite different of course from agreeing with a lot of the nonsense spouted by both sides in any debate.

>65 EllaTim: Oh I think that is perfectly correct, Ella. Both sides are guilty when it suits them. I do believe that nobody has a monopoly on being right or wrong and most of the issues faced by the world are shades of grey rather than black and white ones. My twin brother is a committed anti-vaxxer and feels himself justified, but I am less convinced than he and, given my time over, would still take the jabs and boosters as I am in a so-called high-risk group and believe that it was right for me to take them. Some of his pronouncements make me cringe but not all of them - the high-handedness we were all treated with was appalling. The efforts to force healthy young men and women and even worse children to take the jab in full knowledge that they were not in the risk category and without really knowing the longer term impact on children. Closing down schools and the economy seems to have made little positive impact and caused much harm to those in education and those who lost their jobs and their income. The separating of families and not allowing loved ones to be together at the end is simply unforgivable and I know this from the personal cost and pain given me.

67PaulCranswick
Modifié : Jan 25, 2023, 10:30 pm

BOOK 16



The Midnight Bell by Patrick Hamilton
Date of Publication : 1929
Origin of Author : UK
Pages : 221 pp

This is the first part of the Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky trilogy.

Apparently semi-autobiographical as Hamilton worked in public houses before making his name as a writer and became dangerously infatuated with a prostitute in the process. Such infatuation is the basic theme of this extremely well conceived novel which rightly remains in print after more than 80 years.

The 'Midnight Bell' is of course a pub situated on the Euston Road in London and we meet the habitues of the place although the main focus is on Bob our hero and the unworthy source of his infatuation.

Recommended.

68Familyhistorian
Jan 25, 2023, 12:15 am

Happy new thread, Paul. I see from your last thread that you read A History of England: Foundation. I pulled it from my shelves in anticipation of a shared read. Guess I missed it.

69PaulCranswick
Jan 25, 2023, 12:16 am

>68 Familyhistorian: You read faster than I do, Meg, and I am sure that you'll catch up with me. I will be moving onto the awful Tudors next month as this forms the subject of the second volume of his six volume history.

70Familyhistorian
Jan 25, 2023, 12:22 am

>69 PaulCranswick: I read about your plan to read the rest of the set of histories, Paul. I'll see if I can shoehorn them in. Might take me a while to catch up as there aren't many days left in the month and my library holds are coming in thick and fast.

71PaulCranswick
Jan 25, 2023, 12:23 am

>70 Familyhistorian: No problem, Meg. I will push the second volume back until later in the month.

72Familyhistorian
Jan 25, 2023, 12:29 am

>70 Familyhistorian: Okay thanks, I'll give you the heads up when I finish volume 1.

73PaulCranswick
Jan 25, 2023, 12:31 am

>72 Familyhistorian: Sounds like a plan, Meg. It will be good to have your thoughts on the story of England as told by Ackroyd.

74PaulCranswick
Jan 25, 2023, 4:43 am

THE AFRICAN NOVEL CHALLENGE THREAD FOR FEBRUARY IS UP :

https://www.librarything.com/topic/348039

75Crazymamie
Jan 25, 2023, 7:57 am

Happy new thread, Paul!

>67 PaulCranswick: Nice review - you got me with that one. When I looked him up, I see that he also wrote the plays Rope and Gaslight, which were made into movies by Hitchcock and Cukor.

76PaulCranswick
Jan 25, 2023, 9:01 am

>75 Crazymamie: Thank you, Mamie. In all, Hamilton wrote 12 novels and plenty in addition for the stage. I'm not surprised at you pointing out his cinematic successes too. Really good author.

77johnsimpson
Jan 25, 2023, 4:31 pm

>56 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, i remember seeing bits on the news at the time of how the Tests were going and marvelled at the pace Thommo was generating. I could be wrong but i seem to have read that Bumble was so nervous at the WACA that he went out without a box until he realised what he had forgotten. I think Boycott would have ground down Thommo and Lillee and John Snow would have had a field day on those tracks.

78PaulCranswick
Modifié : Jan 25, 2023, 8:00 pm

>77 johnsimpson: It was bizarre that Boycott refused to play for Denness or that Snow was blackballed by Alec Bedser - talk about self-inflicted wounds.

79benitastrnad
Jan 25, 2023, 8:22 pm

I noticed that now they have found papers marked Top Secret in Vice President Pence's home. Seems like there is some kind of problem with interpretation of the laws by many politicians - and it doesn't matter which party they are from - or their rank.

When I did some research work in the Eisenhower Presidential Library back in the 1970's there were many papers that were marked Top Secret. Most had passages redacted with notes from the Archives telling the reader when the rest of the document would be de-classified.

This whole fracas about the Top Secret papers harks back to the Nixon Tapes and who really owns governmental papers. I am certain that Top Secret papers are going to show up in the papers of retired Senator Richard Shelby when the semi load of boxes of his papers arrives from Washington, D. C. and goes into the Hoole Special Collections Library. I think that what the real issue here is the attitude about the papers, and a lack of knowledge about the governmental papers laws that staffers at all levels have. I am certain that learning about what should go to the National Archives is number 1 on the list of things that Staffers should know about when there is any regime change. I am sure that somebody spends hours training them on what to look for and what papers can go where. (NOT!)

I don't blame the Orange Haired Gasbag for having the papers, but I do blame him for being unwilling to turn them back to the government. So far neither Pence nor Biden have tried to stop the government from taking their papers back. BIG difference.

80PaulCranswick
Jan 25, 2023, 9:07 pm

Wordle 586 3/6

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That was a given on three after my two.

81PaulCranswick
Jan 25, 2023, 9:18 pm

>81 PaulCranswick: It does seem a more general problem, Benita, you are right. And that part of it is non-partisan.

I am less worried about Biden having the documents as VP than I am about him having kept documents from his time as a Senator as that would appear to be extremely dubious according to all Senatorial testimony.

I agree with you that the absence of cooperation is an issue that may distinguish the various incidents and time will of course tell how cooperative Biden has been and why they surfaced at the beginning of November but the public only found out two months later.

The more important issue than any obstructiveness is the manner in which the documents were kept, in terms of National Security. The fact that Biden doesn't see any issue with the documents being stored in an often opened garage next to his corvette is alarming to me as well as who may have had access to those documents. Say what you like about Trump (and I certainly wouldn't want him holding documents) but he did have the benefit of executive privilege at the time and the ability to declassify documents which neither Pence or Biden had.

I am not taking sides here - they are all at fault - and I hope that there is enough to disbar both Biden and Trump from holding future office as the USA needs to move forward not sideways and backwards.

82PaulCranswick
Modifié : Jan 25, 2023, 10:38 pm

BOOK 17



The Siege of Pleasure by Patrick Hamilton
Date of Publication : 1932
Origin of Author : UK
Pages : 118 pp

This is the second part of the 20,000 Streets Under the Sky trilogy and it concentrates on our 'heroine' from the first part and takes place before the events narrated in The Midnight Bell.

A fascinating character study of how the fallen fall. Told with sympathy and clarity in his trademark style although at 118 pages, I have to say I would have preferred a bit more from him in quantity and I wanted to know what happened to her henceforward.

83Carmenere
Jan 25, 2023, 10:32 pm

I'm gone for a day and BOOM a new thread! Happy fourth, Paul!! Hope your Thursday has been a sweet one!

84PaulCranswick
Jan 25, 2023, 10:38 pm

BOOK 18



The Plains of Cement by Patrick Hamilton
Date of Publication : 1934
Origin of Author : UK
Pages : 188 pp

The concluding volume of the 20,000 Streets Under the Sky trilogy.

Here the timeline overlaps the events in the first section and we are back in The Midnight Bell but now following the fortunes of Ella, Bob's fellow worker and the barmaid smitten futilely with our first part hero.

Our decent, rational but plain young lady must balance her future prospects and happiness against the calling of her heartstrings.

One thing that I really appreciate about Hamilton is his innate understanding of personality and character and all his creations are believable and sympathetic even when doing things we would not approve of.

I recommend this trilogy.

85PaulCranswick
Jan 25, 2023, 10:39 pm

>83 Carmenere: So far so good, Lynda. It is lunchtime here so I am taking advantage of a late breakfast to catch up with my thread and reviews.

86PaulCranswick
Modifié : Jan 26, 2023, 12:18 am

BOOK 19



The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov by Vladimir Nabokov
Date of Publication : Various but collected in 1995
Origin of Author : Russia
Pages : 663 pp

There are too many stories here ranging from thirty or so pages to just two or three to make very sweeping considerations and evaluations about this reader's appreciation. To be quite honest only perhaps one in four or five stories really struck a chord but, boy, when he did as in "The Razor", he demonstrated a magnificent mastery of the form. He could stun, he could jar, he could amuse, he could educate, he could appall and occasionally he was more than capable to disorientate with several unexpected twists and unreliable narrators.

He rarely bored although I do think I would have enjoyed these stories in much smaller clumps and I will go back to some of them more at my leisure and sample them again in the future as there was simply too much to take in in one sitting.

The collected stories was a gift to me a couple of years ago by my Russian then-colleague, Olga, who professed him to be her favourite writer. I don't agree with her but I can see why she would have said so.

87PaulCranswick
Modifié : Jan 26, 2023, 8:45 pm

TENTATIVE READING PLANS FOR FEBRUARY

AFRICAN NOVEL CHALLENGE
1. Woman of the Ashes by Mia Couto
2. The Book of Chameleons by Jose Eduardo Agualusa
3. Chiquinho by Baltasar Lopes

BRITISH AUTHOR CHALLENGE
4. Metamorphosis : Selected Stories by Penelope Lively
5. Messer Marco Polo by Donn Byrne

AMERICAN AUTHOR CHALLENGE
6. Bewilderment by Richard Powers

SHARED READS
7. East of Eden by John Steinbeck (With Mary - mdoris)
8. Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner (with Karen - witchyrichy)
9. The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig (Stasia)

SERIES
10. The Darkness Knows by Arnaldur Indridason - Scandi
11. Torch by Lin Anderson

PROJECTS
12. The Tudors : The History of England Volume 2 by Peter Ackroyd
13. A Man in Love : My Struggle 2 by Karl Ove Knausgaard
14. Outer Dark by Cormac McCarthy
15. The Kill by Emile Zola

Any others to follow TIOLI Challenges

88alcottacre
Modifié : Jan 26, 2023, 1:38 am

>67 PaulCranswick: >82 PaulCranswick: >84 PaulCranswick: Adding those to the BlackHole. I have only ever read one of Hamilton's books, The Slaves of Solitude, and liked it quite a bit.

Happy whatever, Juan!

89PaulCranswick
Jan 26, 2023, 5:25 am

>88 alcottacre: I hope to get to that one soon too, Juana. His most famous book is probably Hangover Square which I may read in March.

90m.belljackson
Jan 26, 2023, 10:42 am

Hi Paul - we don't get HULU, but if you do, the 1619 Documentary will be on -

today (26th), the New York Times, who first published The Project, has a great Interview!

91PaulCranswick
Jan 26, 2023, 10:46 am

>90 m.belljackson: I still, for reasons that sometimes escape me, Marianne, keep my NYT subscription so I will go and have a look. xx

92ChelleBearss
Jan 26, 2023, 11:41 am

Wow, you are on a book roll this year!

93Storeetllr
Jan 26, 2023, 12:40 pm

>79 benitastrnad: Good points, Benita. I’m just surprised that, as careless as everyone in government seems to be with classified information we haven’t been (overtly) taken over by some foreign power.

Hi, Paul!

94humouress
Jan 26, 2023, 12:57 pm

>93 Storeetllr: … little do you know …

95PaulCranswick
Jan 26, 2023, 5:01 pm

>92 ChelleBearss: January is always a good month for me, Chelle, but my problem are those middle months of the year. My Quarter 3 reading has typically been a third of my first quarter and last Quarter reading which I need to correct this year.

>93 Storeetllr: Hi Mary. We probably wouldn't realize if we were! I think that is partly the concern with China!

96PaulCranswick
Jan 26, 2023, 5:01 pm

>94 humouress: Hahaha neighbour like minds and all that!

97PaulCranswick
Jan 26, 2023, 5:15 pm

Wordle 587 3/6

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Another competent day!

98SilverWolf28
Jan 26, 2023, 6:10 pm

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/348078

99PaulCranswick
Jan 26, 2023, 6:12 pm

>98 SilverWolf28: Thank you, Silver. This weekend will be an important reading time for the end of the month.

100quondame
Jan 26, 2023, 6:13 pm

>93 Storeetllr: Possibly because we classify stuff lavishly and declassify it reluctantly - and anyone who cares has much better sources. Besides, as much trouble as we cause our own government, we'd probably be much more difficult for an invading one.

101PaulCranswick
Jan 26, 2023, 6:19 pm

>100 quondame: By necessity we also do not know what documents Trump, Biden and Pence were in possession of and how serious it may have been had they fallen into the wrong hands. It could have been relatively frivolous or not.

102quondame
Jan 26, 2023, 7:02 pm

>101 PaulCranswick: Having lived adjacent and in classified US govt. works, and having loose connections with spies, well, I doubt there was much any really hostile entity could learn from the documents in question. By the time information gets distributed at that level, plenty of opportunities for leaks are more likely than looking in the ex-VPs garage.

103PaulCranswick
Jan 26, 2023, 7:09 pm

>102 quondame: You are most probably right, Susan, but the hypocrisy and the politicking is obnoxious and nauseating.

104witchyrichy
Jan 26, 2023, 7:46 pm

105alcottacre
Jan 26, 2023, 7:55 pm

>95 PaulCranswick: Maybe this will be the year that you avoid "summer sags" in your reading :) We need to do a ton of shared reads then to keep you motivated!

Happy whatever!

106PaulCranswick
Jan 26, 2023, 8:44 pm

>104 witchyrichy: Thank you Karen. I am good to go my dear as I took down the tome from my shelves in preparation for the February drive!

>105 alcottacre: Let's hope so, Stasia! I'll never get to your numbers - my work will guarantee that - but I do want to eclipse 200 for the first time during my membership of the group and since my college days.

107Storeetllr
Jan 26, 2023, 10:05 pm

>94 humouress: >95 PaulCranswick: I wouldn’t be surprised. Hence the “(overtly)” in my comment.

108ronincats
Jan 26, 2023, 10:22 pm

just catching up here, my friend!

109PaulCranswick
Jan 27, 2023, 1:19 am

>107 Storeetllr: Yes, Mary I did pick up on your subtle use of parentheses!

>108 ronincats: And very welcome you are dear lady.

110humouress
Jan 27, 2023, 5:56 am

>97 PaulCranswick: Three for me today too Paul.

Give Worldle a shufti today, would you? I came a little unstuck with the fifth neighbouring country for a bit, but all good.

111alcottacre
Jan 27, 2023, 6:24 am

>106 PaulCranswick: So, the obvious solution is for you to quit your job and do nothing but read. Works for me - although I used to routinely hit 500 books in a year when I had a job, lol.

112PaulCranswick
Jan 27, 2023, 6:41 am

>110 humouress: I will go and have a look, Nina. I am pretty good at geography and grew up poring over maps and atlases so I can most often get them but if you don't get it first time then quite often it is TOUGH.

>111 alcottacre: That does sound like a plan! I really should start counting some of my reading at work - bit dry unless you enjoy construction disputes but it would sure add up!

113alcottacre
Jan 27, 2023, 7:13 am

>112 PaulCranswick: I had a feeling you might like that plan, lol.

Back to Kerry's blueberry muffins. He is leaving for Nacogdoches this morning to visit Nichole and I am making breakfast for him.

114PaulCranswick
Jan 27, 2023, 7:19 am

>113 alcottacre: Give him a hug from me, Stasia, and wish him God speed and a safe return. He needs broad shoulders right now poor chap. Hopefully Nichole will be comfortable when he gets there and I am sure that she will be happy to see her dad.

115PaulCranswick
Jan 27, 2023, 7:29 am

>110 humouress: If you couldn't get that one........................

116FAMeulstee
Jan 27, 2023, 7:30 am

>115 PaulCranswick: >110 humouress: I thought of you both. I needed more guesses.

117PaulCranswick
Jan 27, 2023, 7:36 am

>116 FAMeulstee: It is an image ingrained on my brain, Anita, but it keeps getting bigger!

118humouress
Jan 27, 2023, 8:06 am

>115 PaulCranswick: >116 FAMeulstee: It did strike me as vaguely familiar when I opened the page :0)

119PaulCranswick
Jan 27, 2023, 8:15 am

>118 humouress: "Vaguely familiar?".........mmmm.

120msf59
Jan 27, 2023, 8:45 am

Happy Weekend, Paul. We have Jackson for the weekend, so our hands will be full. I will try to get my reading in, whenever I can. When are you planning on reading East of Eden? If it works out, I might join you. It has been a couple of decades and I adore Steinbeck.

121PaulCranswick
Jan 27, 2023, 9:07 am

>120 msf59: It depends on Mary, Mark. She has ordered the book and I will wait for her to take delivery of it before starting out. Could be third week of February? It would be great if you could join us.

122PaulCranswick
Modifié : Jan 27, 2023, 10:47 am

FRIDAY ADDITION - BOOK OF THE WEEK

20. Redder Days by Sue Rainsford

Added as it caught my eye for a TIOLI challenge next month involving twins. Rainsford is an Irish author whose book Donal Ryan describes as "so immense and beautiful" and Daisy Johnson suggests is a "beautiful beast of a book".

123quondame
Jan 27, 2023, 3:24 pm

That looks interesting - and when I looked it up it was Rainsford's earlier title Follow Me to Ground that appealed more - I am never too happy with cult centered plots.

124mdoris
Jan 27, 2023, 3:52 pm

>120 msf59:, >121 PaulCranswick: Hi Mark and Paul. I will let you know when I receive my East of Eden copy. in the mail. There might be others who would like to join a shared read too! All welcome!

125ocgreg34
Jan 27, 2023, 4:26 pm

>3 PaulCranswick: Wow! Already on your fourth thread!!

I finished and enjoyed The Golden Ass. Surprisingly good for such an old novel. Last night, I stared Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief; if you haven't read any of the Lupin stories, this book is good introduction.

126PaulCranswick
Jan 27, 2023, 4:56 pm

>123 quondame: Her other book was also available, Susan. I had a feeling that I already owned the first one and I didn't pick it up but I don't have it. I was rushing actually because my lunchtime had been curtailed due to a meeting a work.

>124 mdoris: Certainly Mary. Will wait for you of course!

127PaulCranswick
Jan 27, 2023, 4:58 pm

>125 ocgreg34: Thanks Greg, my threads keep thankfully chugging along for which I am always grateful.

It is good fun, isn't it? I haven't yet read any of the Arsene Lupin books and I must put that right soon.

128PaulCranswick
Jan 27, 2023, 5:02 pm

Wordle 588 4/6

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Methodical today and not really in doubt.

129PaulCranswick
Jan 28, 2023, 5:58 am

Woe, woe is me. I didn't stick entirely to my one book a week in the bookstore rule but, but, but I can sort of blame Belle.

She is for some reason set on doing mortuary science as a degree in the UK and she had a book recommended to her which I promised to get her as an additional birthday present:

21. Unnatural Causes by Richard Shepherd

but then I tried to come away without adding anything for myself. I really did but the following three got the better of me. At least by some herculean effort I limited the damage to four books in total:

22. The Shining by Stephen King (for the 1001 First Ed)
23. Land of Snow and Ashes by Petra Rautiainen
24. The Lost Art of Sinking by Naomi Booth (a native, like me of West Yorks and fits the BAC novellas)

130WhiteRaven.17
Jan 28, 2023, 9:06 am

>129 PaulCranswick: Oh, mortuary science is something I had considered going into and still find interesting. I'll have to note that book. An intriguing study choice.

131PaulCranswick
Jan 28, 2023, 9:31 am

>130 WhiteRaven.17: I always joke with her that it perfectly suits her personality. She never smiles at that!

132PaulCranswick
Jan 28, 2023, 5:04 pm

Wordle 589 4/6

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Standard game today after a slow start

133amanda4242
Jan 28, 2023, 5:07 pm

The February BAC thread is up!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/348109#

134PaulCranswick
Jan 28, 2023, 5:23 pm

>133 amanda4242: I will be along there shortly, Amanda.

I had planned to read Assembly by Natasha Brown as my novella but much to my annoyance it isn't where it should be on the shelves (I am wondering if I took it down to read earlier and didn't put it back) so I added Naomi Booth's book The Lost Art of Sinking to assuage my bad mood.

I will read Penelope Lively's selected stories also.

135alcottacre
Jan 28, 2023, 9:25 pm

>114 PaulCranswick: I will do that!

>122 PaulCranswick: I will be curious to see what you think of that one.

>129 PaulCranswick: Nice haul, Juan!

136PaulCranswick
Jan 28, 2023, 10:17 pm

>135 alcottacre: I will read the Rainsford next month all being well, Stasia, as it features twins.

137PaulCranswick
Modifié : Jan 28, 2023, 11:52 pm

BOOK 20



The Madness of Crowds : Gender, Race & Identity by Douglas Murray
Date of Publication : 2019
Origin of Author : UK
Pages : 267 pp

This is a difficult book to review.

And I say that not because I don't have opinions (I probably have too many), nor can I refrain from the view that Murray is articulate, likeable but often a little smug.

I agree of course, as regulars here will know, both in the propagating of free speech and freedoms generally but also in Murray's core opinion that the world is not irredeemably racist, sexist or phobic. I don't, however, hold those views uncritically.

There is still racism (but I don't believe that racism will be eradicated by demonizing a particular race) and the idea of white supremacy to this little, fat and often lonely Caucasian is ludicrous as I look about me. That is not to pretend that there are not others in the minority thank goodness who think otherwise and hold one race above another.

Women still don't get an entirely fair shake of things in their daily lives and there is still homophobia but the world is less accepting of this and it will not be advanced further in my humble opinion other than by a gradual understanding of each other.

Murray also covers trans issues in the final section of the main book and it is a subject that is certainly not one I am an authority on or can particularly speak to. He quotes Ben Shapiro, the conservative and whilst I do feel Shapiro gets the biology right he is wrong on the issue because I believe it to be more than a simple question of biology but more an issue of being, or more correctly becoming. And it is the coming to mature knowledge that for me legislates against pre pubescent children being encouraged or assisted in starting a conversion process until they have the considered benefit of adulthood to come to self-realization - whatever that self-realization may be. Two of my heroes in Robert Millar and James Morris became heroines in Phillipa York and Jan Morris but the process that lead to their conversions and the dignity accompanying it underscores the hideousness of describing what they went through as an aberration or illness.

In many respects Douglas Murray is preaching to the converted here but he does rather over egg the pudding by going out of his way to make his point by using the most extreme and egregious examples in order to do so.

Recommended, largely.

138EBT1002
Jan 29, 2023, 2:32 pm

>1 PaulCranswick: Lovely painting!

I have only recently started playing Wordle (today will be my 12th game, I think?). I noted yesterday that I need to stop guessing more obscure words before more common words (I mean, who guesses quirt before flirt??? -- comment is about yesterday but in an abundance of caution, I'm activating the spoiler prevention mechanism).

Looking at your February tentative plans, I want to say that I loved both Bewilderment and Angle of Repose. The latter was many years ago but I still remember the reading experience as excellent.

I also want to thank you for stopping by my thread now and then, Paul. You know I'm in very weird head space these days, struggling to find the concentration I need for reading and the time I want for LT. It means a lot that you still stop by to say hi. xo

139thornton37814
Jan 29, 2023, 3:29 pm

It's been a long time since I hit 20 books in a single month. This won't be the month for it. I will be adding 3 today. I don't know that I'm on track to finish any others before the end of the month. I should finish a couple in early February though.

140PaulCranswick
Jan 29, 2023, 3:36 pm

>138 EBT1002: I will never abandon your thread, Ellen. You have always been very dear to me throughout all my time in the group and our visits are especially important when you are in a 'weird head space'!
I don't have a very consistent strategy for Wordle with my first word being a random one derived from the back cover of a book I am reading at any given time. Keeps the game a bit fresh for me.

>139 thornton37814: January is often a month I do manage it, Lori, but it is one of the few months I have regularly managed to do so. I am hoping for more consistency this year and I really want to start to reach 200 books.
I should finish a few more before the month end.

141PaulCranswick
Jan 29, 2023, 4:08 pm

Wordle 590 4/6

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A bit lucky I feel with my fourth guess as there really were a lot of options

142PaulCranswick
Modifié : Jan 29, 2023, 4:31 pm

BOOK 21



The Death of Murat Idrissi by Tommy Wieringa
Date of Publication : 2017
Origin of Author : Netherlands
Pages : 102 pp

A compelling and utterly disturbing novella about desperation. Girls stupidly alone in Morocco and being made use of as couriers for human trafficking/smuggling which goes horribly wrong and how they cope with the consequences.

Apparently the book was banned in schools in Ohio for the use of racist and sexist language. I don't see any just cause for banning the book which deals with important and sadly realistic situations.

143Oregonreader
Jan 29, 2023, 6:02 pm

>57 PaulCranswick:. I wondered where all the Patrick Hamilton novels were. I haven’t been able to locate many and now I know why. You have them!

Happy reading.

144PaulCranswick
Jan 29, 2023, 6:10 pm

>143 Oregonreader: Hahaha, well yes I do have a complete set but I would encourage others to follow my lead. xx

145EllaTim
Jan 29, 2023, 6:46 pm

>142 PaulCranswick: Glad you liked it Paul. It got a lot of praise here.

146PaulCranswick
Jan 29, 2023, 7:03 pm

>145 EllaTim: I thought it was very well done, Ella, and I was a bit flabbergasted when I read that the book had been banned from schools in Ohio as novellas such as this are perfect chunks of writing for students to get a lot of benefit from.

147PaulCranswick
Jan 29, 2023, 7:56 pm

I hope to get at least a couple more books finished by the month end. I am reading A Death in the Family by Karl Ove Knausgaard which is engrossing but only repays close attention and just started The Orchard Keeper by Cormac McCarthy.

After that I will look for a quick read to equalize books read/added this month.

148PaulCranswick
Modifié : Jan 29, 2023, 8:09 pm

I have tried to comment much less on politics and social issues this year so far but one thing that caught my eye, saddened me to the core and sickened me was the awful Tyre Nichols video released in the aftermath of his killing at the hands of five police officers in Memphis. The poor boy was pleading for his mom to come save him and was extremely distressing to view. Those five 'officers' will face the consequences but why on earth were they so out of control and so angry? Whatever the consequences that poor lady will not get back her son.

Secondly, I would also comment that Zahawi's sacking as Conservative Chairman is a ray of good news. Politicians should set an example for the good not the corrupt and unlawful.

Thirdly both Pelosis are in the news. For Paul with another police video which was scary viewing and shows that he probably saved his own by his own actions rather than the police actions. For Nancy and Paul with news that they had made a huge killing again trading in microsoft shares with the benefit of privileged information from the legislature. Only shines a light on a terrible loophole (and they are far from the only culprit) - the law needs changing to prevent those in the legislative or executive branches of government from trading in or benefiting from stocks and share trading.

149PaulCranswick
Jan 29, 2023, 8:25 pm

I thought I would share a little bit of John Donne this morning with probably his most famous poem - 'No Man is an Island'. We know for sure that Hemingway read it! :



No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend's
Or of thine own were:
Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.

John Donne was born in London in 1572 and died in 1631 straddling the late Tudor and early Stuart age. He lived a very interesting life and was committed to prison for the 'offence' of marrying the daughter of the Lieutenant of the Tower of London against his wishes (the father's wishes).

I aim to cover favourite poems by a number of British poets in the coming weeks.

150AMQS
Jan 29, 2023, 11:10 pm

Hello Paul, I hope you have a good week ahead.

151PaulCranswick
Jan 29, 2023, 11:18 pm

It will be nicely broken up Anne by having a holiday on 1 February which is Federal Territory Day here.

152RBeffa
Jan 30, 2023, 12:14 am

>137 PaulCranswick: I have been waiting for your comments on this book since the start of this thread. I don't think I will need to seek this one out but if I chance upon a copy at the library I might sample it.

153PaulCranswick
Modifié : Jan 30, 2023, 12:20 am

>152 RBeffa: You could definitely do that Ron, by chapter, as he clearly delineates the topics.
Nice to see you out and about, buddy!

154Whisper1
Jan 30, 2023, 1:18 am

>2 PaulCranswick: Thanks for posting the opening words of the book you were reading! I agree with the comments.

Happy Reading. As always, I am impressed not only with the amount of books you read, but the scope and depth of so many of them.

155PaulCranswick
Jan 30, 2023, 2:15 am

>154 Whisper1: I only hope that I can keep it up, dear lady!

>2 PaulCranswick: I do think that he is more often than not right in the main thrust of his argument, Linda, even though he would probably be considered on the conservative side of politics and I am not. I feel increasingly like Bill Maher but with less humour having to call out my own side on its behaviour and it does sadden me.

My review of the book is at >137 PaulCranswick:

156Caroline_McElwee
Jan 30, 2023, 6:29 am

>149 PaulCranswick: I can highly recommend Super-Infinite: the transformations of John Donne which was one of my top reads last year Paul.

157ChelleBearss
Jan 30, 2023, 9:36 am

Happy Monday, Paul! Hope this week is kind to you!

Have you read The Shining before? If not you're in for a good one! I think it's been voted one of his best.

158PaulCranswick
Jan 30, 2023, 1:22 pm

>149 PaulCranswick: I will definitely go and look for that one, Caroline.

>150 AMQS: So far so busy, Chelle, but at least Wednesday is a holiday.

I haven't read The Shining. My King experiences are limited to Carrie and 11/22/63. The former was juvenile but the second was good though over long.

159PaulCranswick
Jan 30, 2023, 1:50 pm

Wordle 591 3/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

I actually mistyped the last letter of the first guess which gave away the structure of the word for me.

160Familyhistorian
Jan 30, 2023, 2:42 pm

>159 PaulCranswick: Well I hope that one goes better for me when I get it. There were too many options with puzzle #590.

161PaulCranswick
Jan 30, 2023, 3:01 pm

>160 Familyhistorian: Indeed Meg. 590 was one I also could see going horribly wrong!

162avatiakh
Jan 30, 2023, 3:10 pm

>142 PaulCranswick: I read this a couple of years ago and I can't remember any reason for it to be banned. I intended to read more of his works but still haven't.

We've had a wet long weekend here in Auckland, luckily our area is fairly elevated.

163PaulCranswick
Jan 30, 2023, 3:17 pm

>162 avatiakh: Censorship is generally quite bad, Kerry, but in this instance it seems utterly perverse.

Stay dry and warm and tucked up with all your wonderful books. x

164RBeffa
Jan 30, 2023, 3:52 pm

>142 PaulCranswick: although wikipedia says banned it also notes that a reference is needed. I didn't search too hard but did not find an actual report of the book banning in Ohio or anywhere. I did find over and over the exact same wikipedia sentence give or take a word. I sometimes think the "banned book" tag is a, how would one say it?, a business promotion bit.

165PaulCranswick
Jan 30, 2023, 3:57 pm

>164 RBeffa: You could be right, Ron, because I cannot really find rhyme nor reason for banning the book.

166RBeffa
Jan 30, 2023, 4:08 pm

>165 PaulCranswick: Weil, it is entirely possible that someone somewhere said it. I've gotten rather tired of inflammatory rhetoric and overexaggerating things to make a point, whether on the left side or the right side of the political and moral spectrum. Kinda why I was interested in your reaction to >2 PaulCranswick:. This article for example https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2022/03/08/book-bans-accelerate-in-ohio-as-new-bi..., one of our local libraries had a big cart out last year that looked very much like the one in the photo. Banned book week or month or whatever.

I'm cranky

167PaulCranswick
Jan 30, 2023, 4:42 pm

>166 RBeffa: I did see a list of books banned in schools and some of them like Winnie the Pooh and To Kill a Mockingbird are frankly bizarre and it seems to your point that it is both extremes are at the censorship model.

You well know my own views about courtesy in public discourse, the need from free open and respectful debate and the danger of the rush to extremes. The penultimate paragraph of my review of Murray's book touches on exactly the point you were making.

168RBeffa
Jan 30, 2023, 4:53 pm

169ArlieS
Jan 30, 2023, 5:21 pm

>167 PaulCranswick: The two US sides sometimes seem to me to be in violent agreement - both are 100% certain that children should never be taught, or even exposed to, history that's actually accurate. In both cases, that includes fiction that attempts to depict unacceptable aspects of history.

I'm inclined to conclude that they are right - a well-informed electorate would be disinclined to support either collection of rascals, so promoting ignorance is necessary for them to retain what power they have, never mind increasing it. The only possible exception is that children of the elite may be able to conveniently bypass the restrictions applied to peons; after all, there will need to be a new generation of the powerful eventually, and it would be useful for some of them to understand what's really going on, so as to effectively continue or even enhance it.

170PaulCranswick
Jan 30, 2023, 6:18 pm

>168 RBeffa: It is a shame sometimes to be right, Ron!

>169 ArlieS: A sad indictment that I nodded along, Arlie. I'm not convinced that the motivations are from the same place but the end result is often the same.

171PaulCranswick
Modifié : Fév 1, 2023, 2:06 am

BOOK 22



Foster by Claire Keegan
Date of Publication : 2010
Origin of Author : Ireland
Pages : 88 pp

"I want more.........I want the rest.........ok it is enough............it is close to perfect"

Claire Keegan's art is in sublime distillation. She nurtures words, phrases and sentences as lovingly and painstakingly as the most nefarious keg of potcheen.

She has a knack of creating strong and essentially warm hearted white-nights in plaid shirts and corduroy pants. She finds sympathy in the basic goodness of people and sorrow in the petty cruelties and slights and tragedies of small town Ireland and its scattered communities.

A short work full of powerful scenes which will live on in the memory more than its 88 pages would generally warrant.

I wanted more. I wanted the rest. It was enough. It was close to perfect.

172thornton37814
Jan 30, 2023, 6:43 pm

>171 PaulCranswick: I see you liked it as much as I did.

173witchyrichy
Jan 30, 2023, 7:06 pm

>146 PaulCranswick: I was going to mention the biography of Donne that >156 Caroline_McElwee: recommended. It came recommended on at least one other thread and added to my TBR.

174PaulCranswick
Jan 30, 2023, 7:12 pm

>172 thornton37814: Wonderful little book, Lori. I think that she does a similar thing even better with Small Things Like These but I really cannot fault it. She goes right to the top echelon of my favourite contemporary writers.

>173 witchyrichy: I will seek it out for sure, Karen. I loved his poetry but he also had a very interesting life.

175PaulCranswick
Modifié : Jan 31, 2023, 11:08 pm

BRITISH POETRY SINCE THE BARD

2. Ben Johnson (1572-1637)

Yesterday @ >149 PaulCranswick: I briefly introduced one of my favourite post Shakespearean poets in John Donne. Today and of the same birth year of 1572 we will take a peek at Ben Jonson brilliant playwright and Jacobean poet.



I studied his play Volpone for my A Levels and it included this poem "To Celia" which was adapted from traditional song by all accounts. The opening is as famous and memorable as anything he had written:

Drink to me only with thine eyes,
And I will pledge with mine;
Or leave a kiss within the cup,
And I'll not look for wine.
The thirst that from the soul doth rise
Doth ask a drink divine;
But might I of Jove's nectar sup,
I would not change for thine.

I sent thee late a rosy wreath,
Not so much honoring thee
As giving it a hope, that there
It could not withered be.
But thou thereon didst only breathe,
And sent'st it back to me;
Since when it grows, and smells, I swear,
Not of itself, but thee.

176m.belljackson
Jan 30, 2023, 8:14 pm

Ben Jonson might well have enjoyed Mario Lanza's version in the Student Prince - 4 minutes on Youtube.

177PaulCranswick
Jan 30, 2023, 8:18 pm

>176 m.belljackson: Let me go and see whether I enjoy it, never mind poor old Ben Jonson!
Thank you Marianne.

178figsfromthistle
Jan 30, 2023, 8:43 pm

>129 PaulCranswick: So if Belle keeps on changing her mind about her degree you will have plenty more excuses ( I mean opportunities) to buy books. You would only be partially to blame :)

>171 PaulCranswick: I just picked that one up from the library.

179PaulCranswick
Jan 30, 2023, 8:59 pm

>178 figsfromthistle: That is a good point on Belle, but she is a stubborn kid and very unlikely she will change her mind!

I don't see how you avoid reading that in just one sitting. I couldn't put it down.

180alcottacre
Jan 30, 2023, 10:06 pm

I am 40+ posts behind (again!) and not even trying to catch up, Paul. Have a happy whatever!

181PaulCranswick
Jan 30, 2023, 10:09 pm

>180 alcottacre: Always welcome, Stasia.

I am trying to finish the Knausgaard book by the month end. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

182thornton37814
Jan 31, 2023, 8:28 am

>174 PaulCranswick: I noticed my hold on Small Things Like These is getting closer. It will probably still be about 6 weeks (and up to 9 or 10) until I get it unless some of the ones ahead of me don't take advantage of it when it is their turn.

183PaulCranswick
Jan 31, 2023, 9:42 am

>182 thornton37814: It is an absolute gem, Lori. You have a treat in store.

184PaulCranswick
Jan 31, 2023, 4:58 pm

Wordle 592 3/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟨🟨⬜🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Third guess was a good one but I did take seven key letters out in the first two.

185PaulCranswick
Jan 31, 2023, 4:59 pm

I'm not going to finish the Knausgaard by the month end as it is as heavy-going as it is good. I will slowly work my way through it, without time pressure.

I will start Angle of Repose shortly.

186SandDune
Jan 31, 2023, 5:01 pm

>171 PaulCranswick: It's a wonderful book, Foster, isn't it. Small but perfectly formed.

187cbl_tn
Jan 31, 2023, 5:09 pm

Hi Paul! >149 PaulCranswick: John Donne has been one of my favorite poets ever since I was introduced to him in high school. I have a collection of his complete poetry and selected prose on my wishlist!

188cbl_tn
Jan 31, 2023, 5:10 pm

>185 PaulCranswick: I'll be interested in your comments on Angle of Repose. I thought it was stunning!

189PaulCranswick
Jan 31, 2023, 5:47 pm

>186 SandDune: It is indeed, Rhian. As I say in my review you want there to be more but find yourself thinking that she got it right by distilling the story as she did.

>187 cbl_tn: I chose to take Shakespeare as a watershed in featuring poets, Carrie, as he is often looked to as the primary source for quotes and so on these days. I started with John Donne and it doesn't get much better than his beautifully formed verses.

190PaulCranswick
Jan 31, 2023, 5:48 pm

>188 cbl_tn: It has been on my shelves for far too long, Carrie, and I am looking forward to it.

191PaulCranswick
Jan 31, 2023, 11:06 pm

BRITISH POETRY SINCE THE BARD

3. Robert Herrick (1594-1674)



Robert Herrick is next up and was considered one of the "Sons of Ben" on account of his admiration for yesterday's poet, Ben Jonson. Very long lived for his day, he wrote and published more than 2,500 and was considered of the "carpe diem" school in that he was at pains to emphasize the fleeting beauty of life. Quite ironically despite his most famous poem below he remained a bachelor all his life.

To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time

Gather ye rose-buds while ye may:
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles to-day,
To-morrow will be dying.

The glorious lamp of heaven, the Sun,
The higher he's a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he's to setting.

That age is best, which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times, still succeed the former.

- Then be not coy, but use your time,
And while ye may, go marry;
For having lost but once your prime,
You may for ever tarry.

192PaulCranswick
Modifié : Fév 28, 2023, 10:24 pm

JANUARY REVIEW

World
A month sadly of violence and killing. We had the storming of the Brazilian parliament on 8 January, the Israeli raid on Jenin which left nine Palestinians dead, the deadly shooting of seven worshipers in an East Jerusalem Synagogue on 27 January and a suicide bombing of a mosque in Peshawar in which at least 95 are already confirmed dead on 30 January.
In the USA we had announcements that Joe Biden had stashed or forgotten about classified documents left in several locations including in the garage next to his corvette (Don't worry I keep my Corvette safe seemed to be his attitude) and also somehow (which should not be possible) having classified documents dating back to his time as a Senator. Compounding things further is that Mike Pence also announced that he had 'found' classified documents in his home too! The month ended with the awful beating to death of a young man in Memphis by a gang of police officers.

Politics
In UK the Tory Chairman was sacked after it was revealed that he had been caught cheating on his taxes and Nicola Sturgeon was forced in Scotland to backtrack when a rapist (very conveniently now identifying as a woman) was allowed to be moved to a female prison where sexual assaults then proceeded and acknowledge that trans-women convicted of sex crimes against women should not in future be placed in female prisons, without surgical reassignment at least.
In New Zealand Jacinda Ardern resigned to the regret of some and the relief of others as Prime Minister and was replaced by Chris Hipkins.

Deaths

Literary
Russell Banks, Ted Bell, Ronald Blythe, Paul Johnson, Edith Pearlman Jonathan Raban, Charles Simic & Fay Weldon (I have books by all of them on my shelves)

Others
Music - Jeff Beck, David Crosby, Tom Verlaine
Entertainment - Gina Lollobrigida, Lisa Marie Presley
Sports - Gianluca Vialli (Football), David Duckham (Rugby)
Others - George Pell, Constantine II, Lucile Randon (the previous oldest human)

Books

Read : 22 books
Pages Read : 5,702 pages
Average Per day : 183.94
Longest Book : The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov 663 pp
Shortest Book : Foster by Claire Keegan 88 pp
Average Length : 259.18 pp

Books by Men : 12
Books by Woman : 9
Various : 1

9 : UK authors
2 : Ireland
1 : Albania, Algeria, Egypt, Guyana, Libya, Morocco, Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, Tunisia, USA

13 : Fiction
2 : Thrillers
3 : Non-Fiction
3 : Poetry
1 : Short Stories

Published in 21st C : 13
1990s : 2
1960s : 1
1950s : 2
1930s : 2
1920s : 1
2nd C : 1

Books Added in January 24
Change in TBR ( +2)

BOOK OF THE MONTH

Very tough because I have had a good reading month but I have to plump for the less than plump Foster which is simply a delight.



193PaulCranswick
Fév 1, 2023, 2:45 am

End of January Posting Update

Top 75 threads

1 PaulCranswick 945
2 CrazyMamie 787
3 katiekrug 777
4 msf59 572
5 scaifea 550
6 richardderus 462
7 Berly 413
8 laurelkeet 368
9 alcottacre 337
10 karenmarie 330
11 bell7 328
12 figsfromthistle 303
13 Familyhistorian 266
14 jnwelch 257
15 FAMeulstee 238
16 curioussquared 233
17 MickyFine 232
18 RebaRelishesReading 229
19 Carmenere 223
20 BLBera 220
21 lyzard 213
22 SandDune 204
23 drneutron 203
24 jessibud2 172
25 quondame 166
26 foggidawn 148
27 johnsimpson 147
28 klobrien2 145
29 thornton37814 136
30 Whisper1 135
31 SandyMacpherson 128
32 Caroline_McElwee 124
33 humouress 123
34 laytonwoman3rd 121
35 weird_O 120
36 SirThomas 118
37 ursula 118
38 ronincats 117
39 streamsong 116
40 chelle 112
41 avatiakh 111
42 storeettlr 110
43 witchyrichy 110
44 cbl_tn 109
45 Donna828 108
46 ffortsa 107
47 mahsdad 107
48 The_Hibernator 107
49 norabelle414 106
50 LizzieD 102
51 EBT1002 97
52 copperskye 95
53 mdoris 93
54 kristelh 90
55 mstrust 90
56 Ella Tim 89
57 DianaNL 85
58 ArlieS 83
59 Whiteraven.17 81
60 Dreamweaver 78
61 Squeaky_Chu 78
62 AMQS 76
63 PersephonesLibrary 73
64 kgodey 71
65 sibylline 67
66 Chatterbox 66
67 Ravenswoodwitch 65
68 LovingLit 61
69 banjo123 57
70 brenzi 56
71 amanda4242 55
72 CDVicarage 55
73 swynn 55
74 vivians 49
75 kac522 48
76 souloftherose 48

194PaulCranswick
Modifié : Fév 1, 2023, 3:17 am

By Residence

Asia Pacific
1 Paul (1)
2 Liz (21)
3 Nina (33)
4 Kerry (41)
5 Megan (68)
6 Adrienne (83)

USA
1 Mamie (2)
2 Katie (3)
3 Mark (4)
4 Amber (5)
5 Richard (6)
6 Kim (7)

Canada
1 Anita (12)
2 Meg (13)
3 Micky (17)
4 Shelley (24)
5 Sandy (31)
6 Chelle (40)

Europe
1 Anita (15)
2 Thomas (36)
3 Ursula (37)
4 Ella (56)
5 Diana (57)
6 Kathe (63)

UK
1 Rhian (22)
2 John (27)
3 Caroline (32)
4 Kerry (73)
5 Heather (76)
6 Stephen (87)

195SirThomas
Fév 1, 2023, 3:02 am

>192 PaulCranswick: I love your January review, Paul - even though it's sad at times - but the books help.
A book by Claire keegan is also available to borrow from my library, looking forward to it.

>193 PaulCranswick: And I have kept my position and am still in the TOP 50 - the month is starting well ;-)

>194 PaulCranswick: One seems to be missing in Europe...

196PaulCranswick
Modifié : Fév 1, 2023, 3:17 am

>195 SirThomas: Hahaha that is unusually careless of me, Thomas.

The month has been a pretty sad one internationally and I didn't even mention Ukraine, energy issues and inflation!

ETA Amended already

197Kristelh
Fév 1, 2023, 6:21 am

Paul, I appreciated your summing up of January. Thank you for sharing. May February be less dramatic and filled with great reading.

198FAMeulstee
Fév 1, 2023, 6:27 am

>192 PaulCranswick: Your favorite of the month is on my list, Paul.

>193 PaulCranswick: I see that I am slowly getting back towards my usual place.

>194 PaulCranswick: And leading European ;-)

199bell7
Fév 1, 2023, 7:00 am

>193 PaulCranswick: I am not surprised at all to see Stasia in the top 10 after a slower start to the year :) Boy, there's a collection of us in the 9-12 spots very close in posting numbers. It'll be interesting to see how (if) things shift over the course of the year. So far I'm definitely keeping pace with my own threads last year.

200figsfromthistle
Fév 1, 2023, 7:20 am

Thanks for the stats, Paul. I think 12th is the best I have ever been at. Who knows, perhaps I will be able to crack in the top ten one day ;)

I think if it were to come down to books read that the stats would be quite similar.

Anyhow, happy Wednesday!

201PaulCranswick
Fév 1, 2023, 9:40 am

>197 Kristelh: Certainly let's pray for less violence, Kristel. More reading will always be good.

>198 FAMeulstee: Comfortably leading European too, Anita. Your reading numbers will see you well up in that list too.

202PaulCranswick
Fév 1, 2023, 9:42 am

>199 bell7: There is quite a consistency of posting this year even allowing for a slight fall overall in numbers, the depth is impressive.

>200 figsfromthistle: You are not too far away from being in the top ten, Anita. I hope to get the books read stats up soon too.

203Carmenere
Fév 1, 2023, 10:02 am

Happy February, Paul!
I'm loving your poetry posts!

204witchyrichy
Fév 1, 2023, 10:02 am

If I had only stayed up late last night and finished my book rather than lazily sleeping and waiting until this morning to finish, I would have matched your 22 books!

I wasn't able to find my copy of Angle of Repose so another one is on its way from Better World Books. Hoping it gets here by Friday so I can carry it along on next week's trip.

As for the monthly review, it has been a challenging start to 2023 to say the least. I can barely get through the 10 minute NPR morning update anymore. Thank goodness for LT and reading!

205PaulCranswick
Fév 1, 2023, 10:13 am

>203 Carmenere: Same to you dear Lynda.

I plan to try to do one a day for about 50 poets bringing things up to date. I hope they make a few of our friends revise their antipathy to verse!

>204 witchyrichy: OK then I will wait for you Karen. No sweat as I have plenty of reading to go at in the meantime!

206PaulCranswick
Fév 1, 2023, 4:57 pm

Wordle 593 2/6

⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

That is the day off to a great start!

207figsfromthistle
Fév 1, 2023, 5:11 pm

>206 PaulCranswick: Excellent wordling

208PaulCranswick
Fév 1, 2023, 5:40 pm

>207 figsfromthistle: The book that I am reading can take the credit, Anita, as it was due to the first word of the title that I got my good start.

209EllaTim
Fév 1, 2023, 6:38 pm

>205 PaulCranswick: Good plan, Paul.
I liked the John Donne, and it was interesting, I knew the first line and the last, but not the poem! So thanks.

210PaulCranswick
Fév 1, 2023, 7:13 pm

>209 EllaTim: Thanks Ella. I am also trying to choose from amongst the poets' best and most representative work while at the same time not putting up anything that is too long or complicated!

211ArlieS
Fév 1, 2023, 7:50 pm

>192 PaulCranswick: Your January review is a better summary of news I'd find important than I expect from any so-called news service.

212PaulCranswick
Fév 1, 2023, 9:57 pm

>211 ArlieS: Hahaha why thank you Arlie. I was mainly doing it so if I look back in a couple of years it will help remind me of what I was doing and what was going on at that time.
World events are such a drag at the minute and the various news agencies are so biased that dishonesty is almost expected.
One of the things that is bothering me at the moment is the fact that the West have made no attempt whatsoever to broker peace in Ukraine and seem committed instead to arming Ukraine to maintain their fight and prolong the conflict. I'm not saying we shouldn't take sides or help the one being attacked but what good is served by people dying?

213PaulCranswick
Fév 2, 2023, 12:30 am

BRITISH POETRY SINCE THE BARD

4. John Milton (1608-1674)



Famed particularly for the timeless Paradise Lost which was an epic poem about the fall of man in blank verse, Milton was a republican in the sense that he supported the commonwealth over the royalists in the Civil War.
By 1652 Milton was already blind due it is believed to glaucoma and in 1660 he went into hiding on the restoration of Charles II. Later he resurfaced as a result of a general amnesty but he died in 1674 in penury.

This poem is on the loss of his sight:

On His Blindness

When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodg'd with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide,
"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies: "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts: who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed
And post o'er land and ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait."

214SirThomas
Fév 2, 2023, 3:14 am

>206 PaulCranswick: Congratulations, Paul and enjoy the day.
Happy Febraury!

215LovingLit
Fév 2, 2023, 4:14 am

>97 PaulCranswick: I love a competent Wordle day!

Also, Foundation : The History of England Volume 1 by Peter Ackroyd sounds like a chunkster....how many volumes are there!!

216PaulCranswick
Fév 2, 2023, 5:53 am

>214 SirThomas: Thanks Thomas. It promises to be a good month.

>215 LovingLit: I have been doing pretty well with wordle recently, Meghan.
There are six volumes in Ackroyd's series and I have them all lined up on the shelves awaiting their turn.

217msf59
Fév 2, 2023, 8:34 am

Sweet Thursday, Paul. The Shining might be King's best book. Of course, that is saying a lot. I loved Tom Verlaine and his band Televison. I did not discover them until the 90s. They didn't get much play or recognition in the 70s. Much better than your Foreigners, Journey or Boston. A shame really.

218jnwelch
Modifié : Fév 2, 2023, 11:16 am

Hiya, Paul. I’m impressed by the Ackroyd reading project. Any gems you’ve uncovered along the way?

Have you read “The Poet of the Yukon”, Robert Service? “ The Shooting of Dan NcGrew” poet? I was reading a collection of his and thought he was one both you and Mark would enjoy. Jack London in verse? Something like that.

219alcottacre
Modifié : Fév 2, 2023, 11:57 am

>185 PaulCranswick: I hope you enjoy Angle of Repose, Paul. It is a good one!

>192 PaulCranswick: I have really got to get to Foster soon!

>213 PaulCranswick: That brings back memories. I memorized 'On His Blindness' when I was in high school.

Happy whatever, Paul!

220atozgrl
Modifié : Fév 2, 2023, 1:01 pm

Hello, Paul! I've been meaning to visit your thread since you have so kindly stopped by my newbie thread several times. When I finally got to it this week, I found you're already on your 4th thread of the year! I don't know how you find the time to do all the reading along with the prolific posting on both your own and others' threads. I can't keep up, even being in retirement now.

>149 PaulCranswick: This is perhaps my favorite poem of all time (Rime of the Ancient Mariner being the other contender--quite a contrast in length!), so thanks for posting it. It brightened my day!

221SilverWolf28
Fév 2, 2023, 1:16 pm

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/348237

222PaulCranswick
Fév 2, 2023, 1:53 pm

>217 msf59: I have seen quite a number of rankings of King's books, Mark, and it does normally figure quite highly. I don't suppose he will ever be a favourite author of mine but he is a good storyteller for sure. Tom Verlaine wasn't so huge in the UK but I really liked some of his/Television's stuff especially Marquee Moon.

>218 jnwelch: I have read plenty of Robert Service in general anthologies, Joe. Usually the war stuff. Not too bad and I do get that Jack London comparison.

223PaulCranswick
Fév 2, 2023, 1:58 pm

>219 alcottacre: I am impressed by that, Stasia, as Milton was someone I always avoided as his main works seemed to be overtly religious and forbidding.

>220 atozgrl: Lovely to have you visit, Irene. I think the trick is not to necessarily try to keep up but go with the flow so to speak and you'll find that your own pace will carry you along to where you are comfortable to be. Believe it or not I used to be much more active around the threads than now but I do enjoy visiting my friends threads and return visits are always a thrill. x

224PaulCranswick
Fév 2, 2023, 1:58 pm

>221 SilverWolf28: Thank you dear Silver.

225PaulCranswick
Fév 2, 2023, 3:37 pm

Wordle 594 3/6

🟨🟩⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Decent run continues

226alcottacre
Fév 2, 2023, 3:46 pm

>223 PaulCranswick: If it makes you feel any better, it is the only thing Milton wrote that I ever read - and probably would not have done so then except I had to memorize the poem for some reason that escapes me now.

227PaulCranswick
Fév 2, 2023, 3:58 pm

>226 alcottacre: I remember learning to recite Blake, some of Shakespeare and Kipling but I am impressed by Milton, Stasia.

228atozgrl
Fév 2, 2023, 5:07 pm

>223 PaulCranswick: Even more active! I can't imagine! Thanks for the encouragement, Paul, I will try to just go with the flow as you suggest and fall into my own pace. I am glad to have found the group.

229PaulCranswick
Fév 2, 2023, 6:13 pm

>228 atozgrl: I'm glad you found us, Irene. It is always a buzz to make new friends in the group.

230PaulCranswick
Fév 3, 2023, 4:27 am

BRITISH POETRY SINCE THE BARD

5. Andrew Marvell (1621-1678)



Politician, preserver of Milton (he persuaded Charles II to spare the old man), Yorkshireman and teacher, Marvell wrote in four languages and most of his famous work is on the longish side.

This is a slightly shorter poem - An Epitaph

Enough; and leave the rest to Fame!
'Tis to commend her, but to name.
Courtship which, living, she declined,
When dead, to offer were unkind:
Nor can the truest wit, or friend,
Without detracting, her commend.

To say--she lived a virgin chaste
In this age loose and all unlaced;
Nor was, when vice is so allowed,
Of virtue or ashamed or proud;
That her soul was on Heaven so bent,
No minute but it came and went;
That, ready her last debt to pay,
She summ'd her life up every day;
Modest as morn, as mid-day bright,
Gentle as evening, cool as night:
--'Tis true; but all too weakly said.
'Twas more significant, she's dead.

231PaulCranswick
Modifié : Fév 3, 2023, 7:03 am

Friday Weekly Book Addition Part 5

25. Green Girl by Kate Zambreno

This is based on Bonnie's recommendation of the author from two reads (although not this one) last month. If the Queen of Reviews is so enthusiastic she must be worth reading.

232PaulCranswick
Modifié : Fév 3, 2023, 7:52 am

I have been enjoying distilling my Friday choices generally this month and it has helped curb my excesses a bit. Not though when Book Depository keep luring me with one of their deliveries.

I got this pleasant surprise on reaching home:

26. Loving by Henry Green
27. Living by Henry Green
28. Party Going by Henry Green
29. The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne
30. Eva Trout by Elizabeth Bowen
31. Promise at Dawn by Romain Gary
32. The German Lesson by Siegfried Lenz
33. Ruth Pitter : Collected Poems by Ruth Pitter
34. Collected Later Poems by Anthony Hecht

233witchyrichy
Fév 3, 2023, 3:38 pm

>206 PaulCranswick: At the post office...I will pick it up tomorrow :-)

234avatiakh
Fév 3, 2023, 3:58 pm

>232 PaulCranswick: I'm hoping to finally get back to Romain Gary this year. I have challenged myself to read a variety of French authors.

235PaulCranswick
Fév 3, 2023, 5:10 pm

>233 witchyrichy: Great news. So I will start it on Sunday.

>234 avatiakh: I do generally like the French authors over the German authors when it comes to translated fiction. Zola and Balzac would feature in any of my lists of favourite authors.

236PaulCranswick
Fév 3, 2023, 5:17 pm

Wordle 595 3/6

🟨🟨⬜⬜🟩
⬜🟨🟨🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

I seem to be getting better at this game.

237humouress
Fév 4, 2023, 12:28 am

>236 PaulCranswick: I've been fairly consistent with 3 guesses recently, but today was a 4.

Hope to see you here soon!

238banjo123
Fév 4, 2023, 12:30 am

Thanks for the poetry, Paul, it's fun to read. And happy weekend!

239PaulCranswick
Fév 4, 2023, 12:32 am

>237 humouress: I do hope that I will be able to make it, Nina. Samsung will definitely not let me away for the day if the court date is not vacated as there is a sum of RM20.3 million in the balance.

I don't know why I seem to have hit a fairly lucky groove with wordle.

240PaulCranswick
Fév 4, 2023, 12:33 am

>238 banjo123: Lovely to see you as always, Rhonda.

The poetry is fun to research and put up too and I am glad that you like it.

241WhiteRaven.17
Fév 4, 2023, 1:25 am

Hi Paul, just wishing you a well weekend as I'm doing my Friday evening catch-up on threads.

242PaulCranswick
Fév 4, 2023, 1:28 am

>241 WhiteRaven.17: That is funny because as you arrived here I was busy catching up over at yours!

I am updating stats for the books read which will be up shortly.

243PaulCranswick
Modifié : Fév 4, 2023, 1:46 am

JANUARY BOOK READING LEAGUE

Top 75 threads in terms of posts (and ties) are included only due to the time that goes into preparing this.

Apologies in advance for any misinterpretations or mistakes.

Most books read in January that I have noticed is SILVER with 43 books but the number of posts keep that total off this list. I will try to expand it at least to the top 100 threads in time for February:

1 Chatterbox 35
2 karenmarie 33
3 quondame 32
4 amanda4242 27
5 alcottacre 26
6 avatiakh 24
7 FAMeulstee 23
8 klobrien2 23
9 Dreamweaver 22
10 PaulCranswick 22
11 Familyhistorian 21
12 witchyrichy 21
13 CrazyMamie 19
14 foggidawn 18
15 SirThomas 18
16 Berly 17
17 katiekrug 17
18 kristelh 17
19 scaifea 17
20 vivians 17
21 curioussquared 16
22 The_Hibernator 16
23 thornton37814 16
24 Whisper1 16
25 BLBera 15
26 figsfromthistle 15
27 jnwelch 15
28 MickyFine 14
29 kac522 13
30 kgodey 13
31 weird_O 13
32 brenzi 12
33 cbl_tn 12
34 lyzard 12
35 SandyMacpherson 12
36 streamsong 12
37 ArlieS 11
38 bell7 11
39 CDVicarage 11
40 msf59 11
41 PersephonesLibrary 11
42 storeettlr 11
43 swynn 11
44 laytonwoman3rd 10
45 jessibud2 9
46 mdoris 9
47 mstrust 9
48 ronincats 9
49 SandDune 9
50 AMQS 8
51 Donna828 8
52 drneutron 8
53 mahsdad 8
54 Carmenere 7
55 copperskye 7
56 Ella Tim 7
57 ffortsa 7
58 Squeaky_Chu 7
59 chelle 6
60 EBT1002 6
61 laurelkeet 6
62 sibylline 6
63 souloftherose 6
64 ursula 6
65 Whiteraven.17 6
66 banjo123 5
67 Caroline_McElwee 5
68 richardderus 5
69 humouress 4
70 LovingLit 4
71 DianaNL 3
72 LizzieD 3
73 johnsimpson 2
74 norabelle414 2
75 RebaRelishesReading 2
76 Ravenswoodwitch 1

244WhiteRaven.17
Fév 4, 2023, 1:56 am

>242 PaulCranswick: Yes, that was quite the timing on our parts! As always, love the stats updates.

245PaulCranswick
Fév 4, 2023, 2:09 am

>244 WhiteRaven.17: It is a amazing how often such things happen, Kro.

I will struggle to stay in the top ten as I slowly expand the list and don't have my January mojo to support me.

246PaulCranswick
Fév 4, 2023, 2:12 am

I must heartily thank the seventy of so members of the group who have stopped by here and posted this year on my threads.

The last post above was the 1,000th of the year. Slightly slower than last year but I am always astonished and joyful every time I open the site and see posts waiting.

247Berly
Modifié : Fév 4, 2023, 2:32 am

>245 PaulCranswick: Congrats on the 1,000th post!! You are a foundation of the 75ers and one not to be missed. : )

248PaulCranswick
Fév 4, 2023, 2:57 am

>247 Berly: Pot. Kettle. Black. Kimmers. xxxx

249SirThomas
Fév 4, 2023, 4:31 am

>243 PaulCranswick: Thank You for the stats - I am curious to see how my position will change over the course of the year.
>245 PaulCranswick: And congratulations for the first 1,000!
Have a wonderful weekend my friend.

250PaulCranswick
Fév 4, 2023, 4:40 am

>249 SirThomas: Your place in the stats continues to blossom, Thomas. Top forty in posts and top twenty in books read. Let's see how things end up.

251FAMeulstee
Fév 4, 2023, 4:51 am

>243 PaulCranswick: Thanks for the group reading stats, Paul.
It is amazing, 12 have read over 20 books, and 44 did read 10 or more in January!
And most of us are on track for 75 (6.25 a month).

252PaulCranswick
Fév 4, 2023, 5:01 am

>251 FAMeulstee: The reading stats are really impressive this year, Anita.

20 of the top 75 threads are on course to reach 200 books.
Ce sujet est poursuivi sur PAUL C IN 23 (5).