Discussion Forum

I've just finished reading Plain Tales From The Raj, a very interesting book by Charles Allen about the British Raj in India.

It contained many accounts from people who were in India at the time, and was illuminating, to say the least. When I go home, I'll seek out some of the funny anecdotes from the book, and post them on here.

to read is to follow to write is madness!

I am currently reading Sapiens, a brilliant snapshot of humans.

On the lighter side I just finished The Guernsey Potato Peel Pie Literary Society. I love tales of charming folk on small islands.

Just read Bleak House. Now reading David Copperfield.

Also in the midst of "Eternity's Sunrise: The Imaginative World of William Blake" by Leo Damrosch.

Anyone who aspires to write should read a lot. As well as writing a lot. If you don't read, how can you know how to write properly?

Not that I aspire to be able to write or anything. But I do read a lot.

I've just finished All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

Before that, it was American Gods by Neil Gaiman and Secondhand Souls by Christopher Moore.

Ellie

I don't usually read books but I did read one about a shark terrorising a community on Long Island.

Can't remember what it was called though.

---

Quote: Erskin Quint

Just read Bleak House. Now reading David Copperfield.

---

Have you read Hard Times, EQ?

I thought it was a brilliant read. I can't say I'd ever bothered too much with Dickens, but I enjoyed the way he seemed to be chipping away at Mr Gradgrind's beliefs on 'education', and the divorce law of the times.

The only thing which got on my nerves, slightly, was his love of trying to reproduce the local dialects of the folks in his stories.

Apparently, he visited the Preston area before he wrote this book to get a feel for the working and living conditions the people experienced.

Quite a reformer.

I've just finished Reading For Beginners.

I'll be moving on to the Ladybird collection next. Or maybe the Mr. Men saga.

No, MW, I have not read Hard Times. There's a lot of Dickens about and as you say there are lots of things that are a bit wearing, but he had great characters, so true to life, and he had enormous indignation about the tyrannies of society. Dunno where he got his energy from. I bet he was a bugger to live with.

Do people even read anymore? They now make movies about comic books.

Just started in on a great one. "Shooting for the Stars". It's a fictionalised account of the Eskimo mission to get a man on the moon. Their biggest issue was food. Whale blubber was off, due to the air pressures. The struggle of the hero, Atkanartok, to convince the Eskimo Prime Minister Ilialuiktok to let him take an aquarium up so they could have fresh fish, fills 2500 riveting pages. Can Atkanartok make it to the moon and back before the dastardly Deniogii steals his girl Yakone? Who will feed his seal while he is away? Will it ever stop snowing? These and a host of other dilemmas make "Shooting for the Stars" the best Eskimo moon landing novel I have ever read.

Your Rockhopper Penguin mention in the other thread reminded me about the biography of Shackleton by Roland Huntford.

A book I couldn't put down. Seriously.

Shackleton, not a trained explorer, often set off on his Antarctic explorations totally unprepared for what was to follow, but, somehow, survived along with ALL of his men.

So, at a time when the Norwegians were setting of with packs of dogs and sleds, Shackleton and his men alighted from the ship and set off walking, and, indeed, almost made it to the South Pole.

Then, on the way back to 'civilisation', he had to leave a large group of men on an island along with a lot of penguins, whilst he sought help. Adventures at sea in what amounted to a piece of wood, are described in detail. There are some great descriptions of the various characters involved, too, and personal anecdotes and diary entries.

Captain Scott was better prepared, having the support of the Admiralty, but fared notably less well, and their rivalry is documented. Mentions of Amundsen, too.

Seek it out.

---

Quote: Monkey Woods

Your Rockhopper Penguin mention in the other thread reminded me about the biography of Shackleton by Roland Huntford.

A book I couldn't put down. Seriously.

Shackleton, not a trained explorer, often set off on his Antarctic explorations totally unprepared for what was to follow, but, somehow, survived along with ALL of his men.

So, at a time when the Norwegians were setting of with packs of dogs and sleds, Shackleton and his men alighted from the ship and set off walking, and, indeed, almost made it to the South Pole.

Then, on the way back to 'civilisation', he had to leave a large group of men on an island along with a lot of penguins, whilst he sought help. Adventures at sea in what amounted to a piece of wood, are described in detail. There are some great descriptions of the various characters involved, too, and personal anecdotes and diary entries.

Captain Scott was better prepared, having the support of the Admiralty, but fared notably less well, and their rivalry is documented. Mentions of Amundsen, too.

Seek it out.

---

Shackleton's survival can be directly attributed to his fisherman's friend addiction. Kept him lovely and warm.

The last book I read was an epic Chinese novel in 180 chapters. It was an unusual book, as each chapter described a single item of food and a price. I realise that Chinese people might have a different concept of literature to us, but I found it a mouth watering read.

I forget the title now but I think it was called Peking Palace by an author with the unlikely name of 32 Acacia Road.

I read the same book and wanted to read it again an hour later.

I feel that this thread is not being taken as seriously as it might.

Don't blame me - I read Hard Times, Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Roy Keane's autobiography, The Dice Man, American Psycho, The Henry Root Letters, Confessions Of A Window Cleaner and the scripts of Michael Palin's Ripping Yarns.

And A Stone For Danny Fisher and Papillon.

It's not me...it's them....

So fuck off.

Beasts Royal by Patrick O'Brian is a nice collection of adventure tales.

What did you think to The Dice Man, Skoobus?

Hello MW. In response to your question: Really enjoyed it. Was a long time ago that I read it but it stuck with me. Changing tack slightly Stephen King's 'Gerald's Game' made me feel slightly sick towards the end. The denouement was great, but the run up to it was very unpleasant.

The Fan Man was good - quirky and hugely enjoyable. Penned by William Kotzwinkel if memory serves.