Jump to content

Recommended Posts

I think Saturday is one of the most extraordinary and marvellous books I've read in a long time. Would have thrown John Banville's The Sea to the bottom of the briney though.


Recently read The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Egenides. It was ok but kind of petered out. I re-read the end a couple of times becasue I couldn't quite remember if I'd finished it.

I too thought Saturday was tedious in the extreme- loads of pages of playing squash (yawn) and buying fish (snore) . Ludicrous story line (zzzzzzz). Mind you my partner thinks it's one of the best books ever. I just don't get it. My idea of hell would be having to watch it as a film with Richard E Grant in the lead role.....
Yes, the squash game was horrendous. I thought Saturday had none of the universality and immediacy that made Atonement so moving - it just seemed like a smug posh man from West London writing for other smug posh men from West London, kind of revelling in its own insularity. I found it cynical and detached, not involving at all. I hope I am not disappearing up my own arse.

I've just finished reading a book, borrowed from a friend and reluctantly given back, entitled 'Departures and Arrivals', which was published by the TCCA (Turkish Cypriot Community Association) and is part of the Turkish Cypriot Heritage Organisation's documentation of the Turkish Cypriots who came to England between 1934 and 1963. This book is only one part of a project, which includes a film - "I Used To Live In Cyprus", and a booklet/film entitled 'Wartime Life', which I believe is accessible through www.tcca.org, under the past projects. Photographs and information can be found at www.turkishcypriotheritage.org, but I think you may be able to purchase copies of the book and access information from the

T.C.C.A? Someone said that these books were distributed to libraries, so there may be copies in Southwark? Anyway, back to the book, it is an informing piece of social history and anyone who comes from an ethnic background will relate to the

experiences and feelings of the people who relay their stories. I was very fortunate enough to have been to one of the exhibitions, last year, and - also - saw the film. That was excellent. Most of the people who took part in this project hail from Southwark and have links to our area, so it is extra interesting and I love the introduction by Dr Tuncer, who used to work at Kings College Hospital. Also, one of the participants, Mr Suha Faiz, is a writer who has translated the works of Yunus Emre.

Ah capt_birdseye. not only do you make smashing fishfingers but you have great discerning taste in authors. I am a fellow loather of Ian McEwan and think 'painfully contrived' an excellent way to sum him up. Reading his books I feel as though he's sat there with a thesaurus and looked up the most complicated word possible to drop in every other sentence in order to make the reader feel humble 'oh I'll never be as clever as you Mr McEwan' arh!

The best (worst!) example was, I think, in A Child In Time and rather than saying something about his drink being half empty had some ridiculous phrase about the meniscus in the glass being too prominent or something.

Is anyone here a re-reader? Are there any books you've enjoyed so much that you've returned to them again and again? Or do you feel life is too short as there are so many other books out there to be enjoyed? I can only think of a dozen or so books I've read more than once and they are...off the top of my head: -


Saturday Night And Sunday Morning - Alan Silitoe

Billy Liar - Keith Waterhouse

A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess

The Master And Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov

Crime And Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The Strange Life Of Ivan Osokin - P D Ouspensky

The Scarlet And Black - Stendhal

The Beautiful And The Damned - F Scott Fitzgerald

Down And Out In Paris And London - George Orwell

Animal Farm - George Orwell

Lord Of The Flies - William Golding

Keith Richards, The Unauthorised Biograghy - Victor Bockris


I'm sure there's a few more but can't think of them at the moment.

Anyway, anyone else a re-reader?

I've re-read a few, but usually because I've finished a book, and need something quickly to read on the bus.


No harm in it at all though.... You could spend your whole life watching film after film, but we've all got favourites that we've seen a few times... Why should books be different. :))

I certainly am Jah. Here's a few of mine:-


Sebastian Faulks - Birdsong / Audrey Niffenegger - Time Travellers Wife / Jeannette Winterson - Powerbook / Boccaccio - The Decamoron / Jane Austen - Emma


And many many more. I actually really like to reread. Like visiting an old forgotten friend.

A couple of mine..... Bit of a mix bag! :-S


Magician - Raymond E Fiest

(and probably others of his... I think Magician is one of the best Fantasy books ever, and the early ones that followed it were very good. His more recent stuff is getting a bit stale I think).

Red Dragon - Thomas Harris

Lord Of The Flies - William Golding - Did it for GCSE, and liked it, so reread it a few years back, and still liked it.

1984 - George Orwell - Did this for GCSE, and found it incredibly dull!!!!! Reread it about the same time as LOTF, but to be honest, still found it pretty dull...

Much ado about nothing - WS - My favourite WS (that I've read.... I've read a fair few though).

Mr Commitment ? Mike Gayle ? His books have been described as the male answer to Bridget Jones? Nice easy reading and nice stories that I found myself smiling about in a relating kind of way. Again though, he?s done 5 or 6 now, and the formula is starting to get rather tired!


Mrs Keef is a huge reader, and a big believer in re-reading things! Think she?s currently re-working her way through lots of Dickens.

Some of my favourites:


To Kill a Mockingbird (did it for 'O' level and have read it loads of times since)

Bridget Jones' Diary and The Edge of Reason (seem to be able to relate to a lot of stuff Bridget does!)

Diary of a Nobody - by G Grossmith / W. Grossmith - (very funny and recommended)

Pride and Prejudice

Tend to read a lot of crime stuff - Martina Cole, PJ Tracy etc. Raj is getting very worried and has hidden the kitchen knives...

I also love To Kill a Mockingbird.

And Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited which is just beautiful, evocative and heartbreaking.

Julian Barnes Talking it Over and Zoe Heller's Notes on a Scandal are terrific too.

And War Crimes for the Home by Liz Jensen

Adn Dan Rhodes - Timolean Vieta come home- is wonderful too.

I could go on...


Great to hear some anti-Ian McEwan sentiment - I don't know what all the fuss is about him, and have always felt a little guilty for not liking him.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • Per Cllr McAsh, as quoted above: “We are currently updating our Enforcement Policy and changes will allow for the issuing of civil penalties ranging from £175 to £300 for visible smoke emissions, replacing the previous reliance on criminal prosecution. " Is anyone au fait with the Clean Air Act 1993, and  particularly with the state of 'Smoke Control' law and practice generally?  I've just been looking  through some of it for the first time and, afaics, the civil penalties mentioned  were introduced into the Clean Air Act, at Schedule 1A, in May 2022.  So it seems that, in this particular,  it's a matter of the enforcement policy trailing well behind the legislation.  I'm not criticising that at all, but am curious.  
    • Here's the part of march46's linked-to Southwark News article pertaining to Southwark Council. "Southwark Council were also contacted for a response. "Councillor James McAsh, Cabinet Member for Clean Air, Streets & Waste said: “One of Southwark’s key priorities is to create a healthy environment for our residents. “To achieve this we closely monitor legislation and measures that influence air pollution – our entire borough apart from inland waterways is designated as a Smoke Control Area, and we also offer substantial provision for electric vehicles to promote alternative fuel travel options and our Streets for People strategy. “We as a council support the work of Mums for Lungs and recognise the health and environmental impacts of domestic solid fuel burning, particularly from wood-burning appliances. “We are currently updating our Enforcement Policy and changes will allow for the issuing of civil penalties ranging from £175 to £300 for visible smoke emissions, replacing the previous reliance on criminal prosecution.  “This work is being undertaken in collaboration with other London boroughs as part of the pan-London Wood Burning Project, which aims to harmonise enforcement approaches and share best practice across the capital.” ETA: And here's a post I made a few years ago, with tangential relevance.  https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/278140-early-morning-drone-flying/?do=findComment&comment=1493274  
    • The solicitor is also the Executor. Big mistake, but my Aunt was very old, and this was the Covid years and shortly after so impossible to intervene and get a couple of close relatives to do this.  She had no children so this is the nephews and nieces. He is a single practitioner, and most at his age would have long since retired - there is a question over his competence Two letters have already gone essentially complaining - batted off and 'amusingly' one put the blame on us. There are five on our side, all speaking to each other, and ideally would work as a single point of contact.  But he has said that this is not allowed - we've all given approval to act on each others behalf. There are five on her late husband's side, who have not engaged with us despite the suggestion to work as a team, There is one other, who get's the lion's share, the typicical 'friend', but we are long since challenging the will. I would like to put another complaint together that he has not used modern collective communication (I expect that he is incapable) which had seriously delayed the execution of the will.   I know many in their 80s very adept with smart phones so that is not an ageist comment. The house has deteriorated very badly, with cold, damp and a serious leak.  PM me if you want to see the dreadful condition that it is now in. I would also question why if the five of us are happy to work together why all of us need to confirm in writing.             The house was lived in until Feb 23, and has been allowed to get like this.
    • Isn’t a five yearly electricity safety certificate one of the things the landlord must give for a legal tenancy?
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...