BillF Posted August 26, 2015 Report Share Posted August 26, 2015 (edited) ORWELL: THE AUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY - Michael Shelden.Overall, this seemed to me a "fair and balanced" approach to telling Orwell's life. Years ago I read Bernard Crick's biography of Orwell, which seemed OK.I believe the Crick is pretty good. It was the previous "authorized" bio, until Sonia Orwell decided to take legal action against it (and failed). Shelden was able to interview a few more people, and find a few more documents, than Crick, and most of all, didn't have to deal with Sonia Orwell. Mostly, I went with Shelden because I had a copy of the book handy. Yes, Sonia Orwell's "gold digging" stayed in my memory, as well as the extraordinary late-in-life phase on the remote Scottish island of Jura where 1984 was written. Another reason why I find these final years (1945-50) so fascinating is that, athough I was only aged from 5 to 10 at the time, I can remember the quality of life and day-to-day events in post-war Britain quite well. I found the last volume of Orwell's Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters really interesting for this reason. Edited August 26, 2015 by BillF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted August 26, 2015 Report Share Posted August 26, 2015 The Now Reading thread is fixed for me. Thanks for whatever was done. Please ignore the above quote headers. I tried a number of things to try and post here and the headers didn't go away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 Yes, it is fixed! I am just about to launch into Elizabeth Taylor's A View of the Harbour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 Yes, it is fixed! I am just about to launch into Elizabeth Taylor's A View of the Harbour.Recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 Russell Hoban: Turtle Diary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlhoots Posted August 28, 2015 Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 John Burdett: The Bangkok Asset Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted August 28, 2015 Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 Yes, it is fixed! I am just about to launch into Elizabeth Taylor's A View of the Harbour.Recommended.Enjoying it so far. I thought her A Game of Hide and Seek was well written from a technical perspective, but not actually particularly compelling, as I had no real interest or sympathy in the main characters. I like this one better.Through a weird glitch in the library reserve system, I am about to get 12 books all at once. The ones highest in demand (and thus that I can't renew) will be read first. That includes Urquhart's The Night Stages and Bulawayo's We need new names in addition to Neil Smith's Boo and Barbara Comyns' The Juniper Tree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted August 29, 2015 Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 Yes, it is fixed! I am just about to launch into Elizabeth Taylor's A View of the Harbour.Recommended.Enjoying it so far. I thought her A Game of Hide and Seek was well written from a technical perspective, but not actually particularly compelling, as I had no real interest or sympathy in the main characters. I like this one better. Always something there with Taylor - in her small-scale way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Lark Ascending Posted August 29, 2015 Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 Still sailing round the world with the British navy, imposing our will on everyone and nicking anything that comes to hand - just got to the American War of Independence. Alongside: Which is fascinating. I'm not sure how it was written but the style gives the impression of Richards yakking and ghost writer James Fox putting it together - I might be doing Richards a disservice there. Very good on the childhood years - the strength of family and the disappointments at school (some astonishing successes as a choir boy and boy scout patrol leader!!!!). Captures the change from the 50s into to the 60s very well. Have just got to 1963 + and the point where the madness kicked in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinuta Posted August 29, 2015 Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 Still sailing round the world with the British navy, imposing our will on everyone and nicking anything that comes to hand - just got to the American War of Independence. Alongside: Which is fascinating. I'm not sure how it was written but the style gives the impression of Richards yakking and ghost writer James Fox putting it together - I might be doing Richards a disservice there. Very good on the childhood years - the strength of family and the disappointments at school (some astonishing successes as a choir boy and boy scout patrol leader!!!!). Captures the change from the 50s into to the 60s very well. Have just got to 1963 + and the point where the madness kicked in. I liked it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlhoots Posted August 29, 2015 Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 Lisa Gornick: Louisa Meets Bear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret World War by Stephen Kinzer. Interesting read, and a despicable history of crimes committed in the name of freedom. The story of the Dulles brothers, the Congo, and Patrice Lumumba is about as low as you can get... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 Read this after seeing Atom Egoyan's film of it. I shall certainly read some more William Trevor novels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Lark Ascending Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 I read loads of William Trevor about 30 years ago during my 'Irish' phase. Excellent short stories - and I'm not a big one for short stories. Someone I've lost touch with. Remember reading a lot of Sean O'Faolain around that time too; from an earlier generation but very fragile short stories of disappointment and lost chances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeway Posted August 31, 2015 Report Share Posted August 31, 2015 BURMESE DAYS (1934) - Orwell's first novel and a very good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted August 31, 2015 Report Share Posted August 31, 2015 BURMESE DAYS (1934) - Orwell's first novel and a very good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted September 1, 2015 Report Share Posted September 1, 2015 Yes, it is fixed! I am just about to launch into Elizabeth Taylor's A View of the Harbour.Recommended.Enjoying it so far. I thought her A Game of Hide and Seek was well written from a technical perspective, but not actually particularly compelling, as I had no real interest or sympathy in the main characters. I like this one better.Through a weird glitch in the library reserve system, I am about to get 12 books all at once. The ones highest in demand (and thus that I can't renew) will be read first. That includes Urquhart's The Night Stages and Bulawayo's We need new names in addition to Neil Smith's Boo and Barbara Comyns' The Juniper Tree.I did enjoy the Taylor, though it is still hard to get over these quickie marriages. I think there was one in Bowen's To the North as well, though I am probably confusing it with another book. I would say Taylor is better in capturing wry ironies than deep passions... (Definitely more influenced by Austen than Bronte, whereas some critics felt that Bowen more successfully fused these two threads.)I also finished Comyns's The Juniper Tree. Quite interesting. Probably her least characteristic book. I don't think there was a single feckless character in the novel, perhaps because we met a handful of art dealers, but no artists... A lot of sadness throughout, but also some hopeful renewal here and there. I think this and The Skin Chairs have the happiest endings of all her books, if I am remembering correctly (well, perhaps The House of Dolls, though that is more of a farcical ending).Just starting Urquhart's The Night Stages. I've generally heard good things about it. Here's hoping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted September 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2015 (edited) John Burdett: The Bangkok AssetI've recently gotten interested in this series and hope to soon pick up the first couple of books in it. Right now I'm reading Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived In The Castle, as well as this: Edited September 3, 2015 by ghost of miles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted September 7, 2015 Report Share Posted September 7, 2015 Just starting Urquhart's The Night Stages. I've generally heard good things about it. Here's hoping.Actually I'm not really digging The Night Stages. I just can't quite understand the logic behind the book. It is mostly about this woman who gets fogged in at the airport, so she has lots of time to think over her childhood. But then the narrative keeps shifting to her lover's younger brother, when there is no reason for either the woman or her lover to be able to get into his mind (he vanished without a trace years ago, but here we go working through his childhood as well). And then we find out about the painter who painted the mural at the airport.There doesn't seem to be any logical correspondence between them. I'm finding it like watching one of those jugglers who juggles an apple, a wrench and a chainsaw. Ok, you can do it, awkwardly enough, but it's actually not as graceful or compelling as watching someone juggle 5 or 6 balls effortlessly. (It probably doesn't help that I am not a fan of novels that are almost entirely composed of flashbacks.)I'm kind of surprised at how positive the early reviews have been, though I will press on for a bit longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Lark Ascending Posted September 7, 2015 Report Share Posted September 7, 2015 I know this one it controversial here; but I liked his interpretation of how 'The Blues' were constructed out of a selective survey of the past. Interesting to read it alongside the Keith Richards bio where the latter is very much part of the process of popularising some of the mythology. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted September 7, 2015 Report Share Posted September 7, 2015 George Melly's account of the surrealist master: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeway Posted September 8, 2015 Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 It was good to take up another Murdoch after a while. THE SEA, THE SEA won the Booker Prize in 1978. The literary, philosophical and art allusions are as rich as ever, and the humor is as mordant, but there is also a tendency to prolixity. I thought Murdoch muddled the ending by adding a postscript that adds little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted September 8, 2015 Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 It was good to take up another Murdoch after a while. THE SEA, THE SEA won the Booker Prize in 1978. The literary, philosophical and art allusions are as rich as ever, and the humor is as mordant, but there is also a tendency to prolixity. I thought Murdoch muddled the ending by adding a postscript that adds little. Though not a fan of the later Murdoch, I found this very readable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted September 8, 2015 Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 Re-reading this tome. For me a fascinating work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted September 12, 2015 Report Share Posted September 12, 2015 (edited) A second early Bainbridge. Good - found it more compelling than The Bottle Factory Outing. Edited September 12, 2015 by BillF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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