Wednesday 29 January 2014

Mainly about books




 Anna Rose Bain - The perfect evening

For some reason my Word document that I use to draft my blog posts has decided to make its dictionary French.   I do use the French dictionary when writing to a couple of friends but why this particular document has become Francophile I cannot imagine.

Bed
I seem to have spent an inordinate amount of time in bed this last week.  Actually, change the expression ‘seem to’ to ‘have’.   There are times when fighting pain just gets too much and I have to head for bed and try to sleep.  If I can’t sleep I can at least try to get as comfortable as possible and float my body as if it were in the Dead Sea (a good trick if you can do it).  The problem is that I feel so guilty at taking time out and doing nothing, especially when Partner-who-loves-tea is working so hard – and such long hours.  So there I am, lying in bed half-watching a football match to take my mind off pain and there she is still working at nine o’clock at night.  Well, that’s my moan for the month completed!

A blog to visit
Every now and then I recommend a blog I have come across. And anyone who reads my blog will know that I post on a rather eclectic (wide-ranging, wide, broad, broad-ranging, broad-based, extensive, comprehensive, encyclopaedic, general, universal, varied, diverse, diversified, catholic, liberal, all-embracing, non-exclusive, inclusive, indiscriminate, many-sided, multifaceted, multifarious, heterogeneous, miscellaneous, assorted) mix of subjects.  But, so far as I can recall, I have never posted about people with unusual names.  That task has now been more than adequately undertaken by Jenny aka Fenifur.  If you enjoy family history, true stories, good writing, and a sense of humour, please visit her blog – I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

Books, books, books…
Having virtually killed off my book blog and said I would do some reviews here I have largely failed to do so.  There is a huge list of books I’ve read that I haven’t commented on.  (It’s 3.02 a.m. as I write this –I’ll obviously have to get up a bit earlier if I’m to do all I’ve promised to do…)


At the moment I’m in the middle of Edmund Crispin’s wonderful ‘Love Lies Bleeding’ (1948) an intelligently written piece of cosy crime.  I’ve read it before but the ending is escaping me at the moment so it’s almost like the first time around.  I would suggest it’s an ideal book for people whose second (third or fourth) language is English because there will be novel words every couple of pages.  (Whatever happened to my Word blog????)  I find Crispin’s characterisation leaves a little to be desired at times but his story-telling and style of writing more than make up for that.
I’ve just finished ‘Glaciers’ a debut novel by Alexis Smith (2012). 
Smith’s debut novel’s main character, Isabel, is a cute, introspective young woman who works with damaged books at the city library and shops almost entirely at vintage/thrift stores, collecting remnants, things cast off or left behind by others.  The plot moves through a day in Isabel’s life of working in her basement office at the library, strolling the streets of Portland, Oregon, daydreaming of distant places, and lusting after her co-worker, Spoke.   But tucked between the chapters of the present day are stories detailing Isabel’s childhood—discovering her first thrift store when she was 4, watching the calving glaciers while growing up in Alaska...  I thoroughly enjoyed it.
On the non-fiction front I’m reading “Quiet; the power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking” by Susan Cain (2013).  I’m only a third of the way through it but already I’m fascinated by the study of the cult of character which dominated in the Nineteenth Century and the cult of Personality that gradually took over in the 20th Century. A change that I don’t think has been for the better.
For Christmas a friend in Nebraska gave me a wonderfully illustrated book by Mike Whye – “Omaha Impressions” (2008).  It’s definitely a keeper despite my attempts to cut down on book space.
Ambrose BierceThe Monk and the Hangman’s Daughter  (1892) was another recent read.  I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it but I thoroughly enjoyed it and am glad to have read my first Ambrose Bierce novel.  I have been quoting little gems from his satirical lexicon “The Devil's Dictionary” since I was a teenager.
From "Perfumes: The guide" by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez.

As usual I’m also reading half a dozen other books at the same time.  One which is keeping me amused and from which I shall share little snippets in a future post is ‘Aunt Epp’s Guide for Life’ by Elspeth Marr (edited by Christopher Rush) (2009).  Covering all manner of subjects from chastity to copper kettles these musings of a 3woman who lived from 1871 to 1947 are sometimes old-fashioned, sometimes sensible, and sometimes downright hilarious.  This is the entry for Diaries:-
Maintain a diary all your days. A diary is a doorway to a second life, running parallel to the one you live, and produces even a third life, for by recording the day's events, you preserve the days like berries. You may return to that day, taste it, and live it over again, but without that act of preservation the day has gone; it is nothing. More than this, by preserving your days, you will allow others to live that day for themselves, that hour, that afternoon, should they read your record, a day culled from the past, perhaps even hundreds of years from now; and this indeed is the aim and enjoyment of all writing, however humble, to seize the day, and to store it away on a secret shelf, out of reach of the Reaper and his swinging scythe.

21 comments:

  1. My goodness, for someone who is not feeling very well, your brain seems to be working just fine! So much in this post, I will have to go back and read it when my brain is less foggy. Hmmm, I wonder if THAT will ever happen. HA!

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  2. It's not just you that randomly finds Word switching to the French dictionary. It happens to Bryony quite frequently for no apparent reason, and it used to happen to me when I used to use Word. I always assumed my problems were related to getting documents from numerous countries through work projects, but it only ever switched into French, not German or Italian. With Bryony's computer we have no idea why it happens as she almost never opens a document she didn't create herself.

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    1. I blame the word café! I think every time Word sees it the blessed thing concludes my laptop and I are on a Paris sidewalk (I should be so lucky).

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  3. Oh, I love that entry from the diary. That's exactly why I keep one and why I love mail so much.

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  4. Hope you are feeling better. I can relate. I was just feeling guilty myself about doing nothing while Justin is out there working overtime. He worked about 15 hours yesterday. :( I know you nor I should feel guilty. Sometimes autoimmune diseases just makes us plain tired and when the pain shows up it's even worse.

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    1. Thanks, JarieLyn. Your lovely letter is on my notice board awaiting a reply in the near future.

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  5. So sorry that you've had such a painful week. I kind of thought you might have, when the posts here got fewer and farther between. I do hope things are going better now. Sending love and hugs because I can't send tea and aspirin, xoxox Carol

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    1. Tea and aspirin help but I'm sure love and virtual hugs are even more effective, thanks Carol.

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  6. That diary entry puts into words what i've felt about writing for a long time!

    Be nice to yourself when you are in pain. It's no easier dealing with pain than it is dealing with hard work, each takes a lot out of a person.

    Why a computer would suddenly use a different dictionary i have no clue, but as Douglas Adams put it, "We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works."

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  7. Certainly nobody blames you for being in bed "doing nothing" (which is not true: you are dealing with pain) while PWLT works hard, and long hours, but I do understand your feeling guilty about it; guilt is one of the most unreasonable emotions.
    Thank you for that glimpse into your reading, the books all sound like something I'd enjoy.

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  8. A lovely varied post as always and I enjoyed its every word. I have jotted down some book titles. The final quotation could be applied to blogging as blogs are a little like diaries aren't they? Quiet by Susan Cain is an outstanding book, I bought a copy for my daughter. Have you seen Susan Cain's TED talk - it is a must! It is online.

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    1. No, Cait. I haven't seen Susan Cain's TED talk and didn't even know it existed on-line. I shall take a look, thanks.

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  9. One problem with keeping a diary is that sometimes it feels like writing down everything you do takes up time that you could be doing other things, in turn also worth writing down... ("Dear Diary. Today I spent most of the day catching up with You. No time left for anything else!") Same thing with book reviews. I've settled for only writing reviews of some of the books I read - or reading (not to mention reviewing) might soon come to feel like a Task rather than something I do for fun.

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    1. Yes, it is so important to remember that blogging - of whatever sort - is for fun, not a Task.

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  10. Am going to ask husband to pick up "Glaciers" from the library today! 8-)

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  11. Thanks for the mention! :)
    You have reminded me I've had 'Love Lies Bleeding' on my bookshelf for around 7 years and have never read it - I may put it as my 'to read next' after my current book. :) Aunt Epp's guide for life sounds great, I have a friend who I think may enjoy her musings too.
    I hope you're feeling a little better - I used to do something similar to the 'floating' trick, I got it from the beginning of a 'Past Lives' meditation(!), imagining you're somewhere you love with the sun shining on each part of your body in turn, healing it - was a good way of relaxing, and sometimes the only way I could get to sleep (needless to say I never did get to the 'past lives' bit ;p).

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  12. I'm so sorry you are in pain and hope you are feeling better soon. I appreciate the book reviews. I think "Glaciers" is one I would really enjoy and I'm going to get it ASAP. My blog is my mini diary. I don't post daily, but try and catch what I think will amuse my posterity...or myself in the future! I've met such great folks near and far while blogging...folks like you!...so that makes it all worth it. Even on the days that I have to rush to finish catching up. Take care John.

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  13. I don't know how you do it CJ.....reading more than one book at a time would surely mess with my head.
    Feel better soon.

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    1. That could explain why Inspector Faro didn't appear in the last two chapters of 'Quiet'....

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  14. The problem with pain, (no reference to the book of the same name) is that no-one else knows what it feels like and then I wonder, do others believe me or do they think I'm just complaining. I have pain killers but I try not to take them because they mess up other parts of my system. For me it's not just the pain but the lack of mental energy that goes with it. Thinking of you, Scriptor. By the way, Moth is /was an Everton supporter. Sorry. We lived in Everton the first year we were married.

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  15. I am sure you need those times in bed and it would be worse for she who loves tea if you did not get that rest.

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