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Welcome to 2024!


Here's hoping that things take a more positive turn and wishing you all health, happiness and good reading.

Its raining in the Shires, which is always welcome and i hope we all have a good 2024

Reading is the following:
After The Nazis by Michael H Kater
Futility by William Gerhardie (1922)
Black Robe by Brian Moore (1985)
Selected Journalism by Charles Dickens 1850-70

Xmas and NY seemed to fly by, suddenly its 2024...

AB76 wrote: "Its raining in the Shires, which is always welcome

Black Robe by Brian Moore (1985)..."

Raining here, too � not so welcome!

I've been re-reading some Brian Moore lately, took them down from a top shelf to re-visit:
The Doctor's Wife and Cold Heaven. I've got 2 others.

incessant rain here in the East Midlands too, there has been some local flooding- a good day to stay in and read.

What a depressing fortnight in the west coast of Scotland - reading Andrew Miller’s ‘Pure� and rather fear the somber theme is not helping my mood - a book about clearing a Paris cemetery where everyone and everything seems infected with a malaise. Have loved his other books but not this one I am afraid

Greenfairy wrote: "incessant rain here in the East Midlands too, there has been some local flooding- a good day to stay in and read."

Absolutely right, drove through low floodwater this morning. River Trent well over its banks and surrounding fields under water.

AB76 wrote: "Its raining in the Shires, which is always welcome and i hope we all have a good 2024
"

Not so welcome when it is never ending AB. Happy New Year.

It seems I read 114 books in 2023. I have set myself 100 this year (as opposed to the pessimistic 50 in 2023) in the hope that I will shortly be able to get out and about more. 🤞

AB76 wrote: "Its raining in the Shires, which is always welcome and i hope we all have a good 2024."

I agree with the second part, but not about rain being "always welcome"! Two members of the family suffer to a degree with SAD and the dark days and incessant rain don't help. The fields are sodden and I suspect the only reason we don't get more flooding here is because the sea is so near...

giveusaclue wrote: "It seems I read 114 books in 2023. I have set myself 100 this year (as opposed to the pessimistic 50 in 2023) in the hope that I will shortly be able to get out and about more. 🤞"

I just barely made 60., Last year 160+. I'll try for 100 and hope for half to be worth my time.
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Dear Virtuous One (MK)--Finished the Canadian TV mini-series Little Bird last night--about The Scoop when in the 60s and 70s (maybe 80s) First Nation children were dragged, literally, from their birth families. Given your interest, maybe you will like this. Mother, Father, 4 kids and what happens to them.

scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Its raining in the Shires, which is always welcome and i hope we all have a good 2024."

I agree with the second part, but not about rain being "always welcome"! Two members of the fam..."

visited my parents as the neices/nephews are on last day of their xmas visit and the lanes where i grew up were flooded, which is normal but some of the flooding and low lying land was much wetter than usual, Nothing still matches Autumn 2000 but this has been a wet Oct-Dec in the UK.

giveusaclue wrote: "It seems I read 114 books in 2023. I have set myself 100 this year (as opposed to the pessimistic 50 in 2023) in the hope that I will shortly be able to get out and about more. 🤞"

you beat me easily, i managed 75, lowest number since 2020 but not quite sure why, maybe i read a bit more slowly, i certainly pace most books i read more than many other erssatzers which could be the reason

i dont always record everything i read on here though, not sure why, some get left off or i forget to add them

AB76 wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "It seems I read 114 books in 2023. I have set myself 100 this year (as opposed to the pessimistic 50 in 2023) in the hope that I will shortly be able to get out and about more. ..."

Yes AB, but you read a lot more serious books than I do so it isn't too surprising that I get through them more quickly. And you probably remember what you have read more than I do!

giveusaclue wrote: "AB76 wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "It seems I read 114 books in 2023. I have set myself 100 this year (as opposed to the pessimistic 50 in 2023) in the hope that I will shortly be able to get out and..."

not sure if either is true lol.....as i get nearer to my half century, i find bits of me get more diseased, icnluding the mind!

scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Its raining in the Shires, which is always welcome and i hope we all have a good 2024."

I agree with the second part, but not about rain being "always welcome"! Two members of the fam..."

i really feel for people in northern europe who get SAD, it must make the winter quite forbidding and as any really consistent hot,sunny weather would be June to Sept, it leaves a lot of months with little sun and lots of damp

Ruby wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "It seems I read 114 books in 2023. I have set myself 100 this year (as opposed to the pessimistic 50 in 2023) in the hope that I will shortly be able to get out and about more. ..."

Sorry - a pass here. I'm having more difficulty than usual getting through grey, drippy days this year than I usually do. I'm staying clear of anything that might add a depressing note.

Here's one for Clue (another fan of those happy Dutch paintings). A proviso, though, as the piece falls into the current, ever popular rabbit hole of - wait for it! - climate change. But the picture is still great.

I have put finding out more about El Nino on my To Do list. I know it affects the West Coast, but what about the rest of the globe?

I am having a mildly entertaining time in the company of Werner Herzog. I much prefer him writing about his films to his family. It's a motley collection of chapters. I think that a good memoir is actually far harder to achieve than most people think it is, as most would think, well who better to tell my own story than my own good self? And there in lies the problem, some cool distance, or the perception of an outsider is needed, perhaps, to bring the whole thing into focus?...

I have postponed my bigger biopsy until the 17th. Not because of the covid effects on me. Apparently I was most welcome to still attend the one on the 4th, as long as I wore a mask!... I was surprised, but on reflection Dave has had symptoms that I have not had, like wobbly legs and feeling faint. But I don't think that he's fit enough yet to drive a car, and I'm not allowed to, after a local anaesthetic, so postponement seemed the best idea.

And finally when you realise that your extended family has launched itself into believing that what the youngest new member should be, is a clothes horse for impersonating 'other' animals... mythical ones included!... This was from a great uncle and aunt...

Tam wrote: "And finally when you realise that your extended family has launched itself into believing that what the youngest new member should be, is a clothes horse for impersonating 'other' animals... mythical ones included!..."

That is a lovely photo, Tam!

MK wrote: "Here's one for Clue (another fan of those happy Dutch paintings). A proviso, though, as the piece falls into the current, ever popular rabbit hole of - wait for it! - climate change. But the pictur..."

Thanks MK, love the photo. Though I am amazed that anyone remembers what I like from a while back. I have a problem remembering who recommended a book to me!

Tam wrote: "I am having a mildly entertaining time in the company of Werner Herzog. I much prefer him writing about his films to his family. It's a motley collection of chapters. I think that a good memoir is ..."

Great photo of the kiddie. And best of luck for your biopsy.

giveusaclue wrote: "MK wrote: "Here's one for Clue (another fan of those happy Dutch paintings). A proviso, though, as the piece falls into the current, ever popular rabbit hole of - wait for it! - climate change. But..."

Actualy, it's because I like them too, but no bubble-bursting allowed here. I'm with you, too, on who recommended what - all that ever sticks with me is ' that sounds good'.

OMG - at this rate I'll use up my gift articles PDQ. However, it is beyond me how the Tories can stomach this. Of course, meeting demands would mean somebody with £££; i.e, Tories, needs to pay more taxes, or maybe they'd just want to deport those who depend on the NHS along with the other undesirables.

I've just read a piece about what to read if you're in a reading rut. The first two books recommended were Yellowface by RF Kuang which I couldn't finish, and The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett which was honestly the most painful reading experience I've had in years. Safe to say, I think, that there's no such thing as a foolproof tip to get out of a reading rut.

Tam wrote: "I am having a mildly entertaining time in the company of Werner Herzog. I much prefer him writing about his films to his family. It's a motley collection of chapters. I think that a good memoir is ..."

cute pic tam. for most of xmas, my 7 yo neice Margot has been wearing a furry unicorn hat with ears that tweak, it seemed to become attached to her and was rarely off her head

Anne wrote: "I've just read a piece about what to read if you're in a reading rut. The first two books recommended were Yellowface by RF Kuang which I couldn't finish, and [book:The Twyford Code..."

i am yet to hit a reading rut of any length in 24 years of serious reading, so i dont have much advice but when i have had a mini-rut i find short stories do the trick, as the variety and locations kill off the apathy that can set in when books arent going down well

i;ve probably cursed myself now and a serious rut will follow...

short stories are often just the thing .

Greenfairy wrote: "short stories are often just the thing ."

I tend to find them rather irritating, I'm just getting into them and they end!

giveusaclue wrote: "Greenfairy wrote: "short stories are often just the thing ."

I tend to find them rather irritating, I'm just getting into them and they end!"

some collections have longer stories, some dont, its luck of the draw i find!

@AB - an update - the whole "village" is still on flood alert and the road I will be travelling on to get to hospital next Thursday is closed due to flooding. In addition the town's park, which covers a big area and is used as flood relief, has water as high up as 4 inches from the top of the benches. So I am hoping that the forecast for drier weather for the next few days is accurate.

Back onto books I am currently reading

These definitely come under cozy mysteries now and I know Lass isn't keen. I also am getting the impression that the writer is running out of ideas. How often can a policeman in a rather quaint, everyone knows everyone, area of the Dordogne get himself involved in global conspiracies needing the Secret Service from Paris to coming wading into every book, and also get himself shot again without being invalided out? And of course he always saves the day fairly single handedly.

Anne wrote: "I've just read a piece about what to read if you're in a reading rut. The first two books recommended were Yellowface by RF Kuang which I couldn't finish, and The Twyford Code..."</i>
I remember all the who-ra over Janice Hallett's first book - and I bit. What a 'aren't I smart book'. I did finish it, but she went on my very short "Dont read anything by this author again' list.

Anne, I don't know if you are a mystery fan, much less a police procedural one, but I am in spades. In fact, I'm in the midst of a re-read of book one of a favorite series by [author:Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. The title is .

Perhaps your local library or ILL there (if there is one) might be able to find you a copy as keeping book costs low is also a good thing.

giveusaclue wrote: "Back onto books I am currently reading A Chateau Under Siege by Martin Walker ..."

Yes, although I've enjoyed them, I agree with what you say here. I was dubious at first about his activities considering that he belongs to the police municipale, not the police nationale or the gendarmerie. I supposed that it was different in the small towns in the provinces and looked it up. I guess it is OK, but all the dramatic events are getting over the top. They're not usually armed, though they can be. I doubt if Bruno would be :).

giveusaclue wrote: "@AB - an update - the whole "village" is still on flood alert and the road I will be travelling on to get to hospital next Thursday is closed due to flooding. In addition the town's park, which cov..."

oh dear! its been raining here since 2, i timed my walk well as i was indoors before it got heavy. no flooding where i am but in the rural locations and on the flood plains its all water, thankfully round here no idiot builders have made flood plains into housing estates

i hope your hospital visit is ok, i think it should be drier and colder in next 10 days generally

Gpfr wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "Back onto books I am currently reading A Chateau Under Siege by Martin Walker ..."

Yes, although I've enjoyed them, I agree with what you say here. I was dubious at first about..."

Oh, I hadn't thought about him not being armed, I thought all French police were!

MK wrote: " Perhaps your local library or ILL there (if there is one) might be able to find you a copy as keeping book costs low is also a good thing....

I'm more a thriller and spy stories fan, although I do like a bit of cosy Christmas crime in December. I'm working my way through those Cecily Gayford (dunno if I've remembered the name right) anthologies of short stories: Murder on Christmas Eve, Murder on a Winter's Night etc. Now that Christmas is over I'm not so much in a rut but a bit weary and looking for easy and entertaining. I think I may have solved my problem though. I recently finished watching the newest TV Slow Horses adaptation (this was the third book) and that prompted me to reread the fourth in the series, Spook Street, and then I kept going to reread the fifth, London Rules. It's interesting reading them in a streak and I'm going to continue. You get to see how Herron has an idea of where he's going overall. And, really, he gets top marks for 'easy and entertaining'. Right now I'm feeling a very devoted fan, the way he's smoothing my entry into a new year.

Anne wrote: "MK wrote: " Perhaps your local library or ILL there (if there is one) might be able to find you a copy as keeping book costs low is also a good thing....

I'm more a thriller and spy stories fan, a..."

Spies? Have you ever picked up David Downing's Berlin in WW2 books? Zoo Station is the first - only after your affair with Mick Herron ends, of course.

Floods update, my folks small village-y area has flooded, the house opposite getting water in the ground floor via the fields, my folks house dry but their barn full of water (which last happened in Autumn 2000). Barn is used to park cars and store things so not as serious as it sounds. water all receding now but mum and dad and my middle brother have been busy with sandbags, clearing out stuff from the freezers and helping the young mother opposite who was on her own

So while its been very wet here, i'm not flooded. It rained non stop from 2pm to 9pm

i hope any other of us Britishers are dry and not flooded too

AB76 wrote: "Floods update, my folks small village-y area has flooded, the house opposite getting water in the ground floor via the fields, my folks house dry but their barn full of water (which last happened i..."

Think its been raining here from December to 4 January!

Futility by William Gerhardie(1922) is described as a comedy but i think as it get older, i tend to read comic novels too "straight" and look for the deeper meaning, which sometimes isnt there

Thats not to say Gerhardie is like that, i love his light style with a Russian influence(he was educated in St Petersburg, son of an ex-pat British merchant). The world of St Petersburg in the 1914-17 period is fascinating too, the imperial capital

Just posted a short appreciation of Brian Moore on the G and its gone missing....ridiculous

Interesting in After The Nazi's by Michael Kater , where the author looks at the significant number of cultural figures in West Germany who had tainted Nazi pasts, including quite a few composers and conductors of which Von Karajan i was aware of. I didnt realise Carl Orff had a pleasent Nazi period, though Kater stresses that Carmina Burana was not played in the Nazi period as much as other forgotten pieces

Kater has quite a few of his own anecdotes as a young man in 1945-49 where he heard anti-semitic comments from unrepentant Nazi's and a general fustration at the refugee problem(slave labourers and jews) who the germans despised and referred to in derogotary terms. I am under no illusions that many Nazi's found an anti-communist West Germany easy to fit back into but the petty, vicious approach towards people who had been through hell still jars. A father of a friend remarks to the young Kater that "they should have finished the job with the Jews" only weeks after he exited a POW camp

This is all very human though however, the Germans living in ruins, starving and occupied now became victims in their own minds. Though i'm sure most just wanted to get their heads down and get through that post-war hell and werent vicious or unpleasent. (It should not be forgotten that the Poles conducted violent pogroms of their own on Jews, just after the war)

Gpfr wrote: "Welcome to 2024!


Here's hoping that things take a more positive turn and wishing you all health, happiness and good reading."

Happy New Year to you.

Have started Gorky Park and realize I must have read this before or am remembering the movie. The ice skates toggled my memory. It is so outdated forensically and that is so fascinating to me; and the pay grades, status perks, modes of this and that.
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Thinking about crying . . . . when I was about 4-1/2 I guess (three would have been too young because I wasn't running and playing around outdoors) my dad spanked me. I was forewarned, he told me and had a paddle. I'm sure it was the shock value that had me wailing, not pain.

But this is what stays with me forever. He was crying, too. "I have to make you look both ways when you run across the street."

AB76 wrote: "Futility by William Gerhardie(1922) ...

Just posted a short appreciation of Brian Moore on the G and its gone missing....ridiculous."

I have Gerhardie on my list - or had, until I accidentally deleted it the other day.

What are your favourite Bria Moore books? I've been planning to make a belated start on his novels with The Luck of Ginger Coffey but I'm willing to consider changing if you (or anyone) recommends something else, especially of his earlier books.

MK wrote: "Ruby wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "It seems I read 114 books in 2023. I have set myself 100 this year (as opposed to the pessimistic 50 in 2023) in the hope that I will shortly be able to get out and..."

totally get it.

Berkley wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Futility by William Gerhardie(1922) ...

Just posted a short appreciation of Brian Moore on the G and its gone missing....ridiculous."

I have Gerhardie on my list - or had, until I ac..."

Apollo Classics are an imprint worth exploring (the Gerhardie novel is published by them) a range of novels in brilliant covers and presentation from some neglected authors. They dont seem to be producing any new volumes but i have read about six of their catalogue in last 5 years.

i think with Moore, the starting point should be The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, though the later novels like The Statement and The Revolution Script are also briliiant. I havent read "Coffey" yet, though it is on my pile

My efforts over the last 3 years to minimise amazon book purchases has gone well, though a stubborn core remains, generally rarer books which only amazon could supply and older books on piles

So in 2021, of all books read that year 88% were Amazon
In 2022 it was 62%
In 2023 it was 27%

The main source of purchases in that period was Blackwells(23%),Waterstones(10%),BW Books(9%)
Overall Amazon was still 58% of all purchases between 2021-23

Reading the Quirke books by John Banville writing as Benjamin Black has been a joy over the festive season. Not that the books are joyful, their content at times so awful that one’s stomach churns thinking of the sufferings of the girls bereft of their babies in the laundries, the babies sold to rich Americans. The power, this abused power of the Catholic Church in times past is painful. It envelops the books with menace.
It is even sadder to know that these tragedies really happened and that Ireland had more asylum usage than anywhere else in the world, a rate of 710 per 100,000. People could be committed for reasons other than mental illness, family disputes, homelessness, moral issues, jealousy to name a few. It would not be right to blame the Church although their influence was great as the State must bear responsibility.

The seventh book Even the Dead is written as beautifully as the preceding six but it has the feel that Banville was making it the last of the series as he rounds off earlier tales and Quirke finds some happiness.
But, of course, now there are more to read.

CCCubbon wrote: "Reading the Quirke books by John Banville writing as Benjamin Black has been a joy over the festive season. Not that the books are joyful, their content at times so awful that one’s stomach churns ..."

do you read a lot of books by the same author in succession often CCC?

AB76 wrote: "My efforts over the last 3 years to minimise amazon book purchases has gone well, though a stubborn core remains, generally rarer books which only amazon could supply and older books on piles

So i..."

love your stats! if I were doing it, it would be pencil and paper and basic arithmetic, maybe your method of choice, too.

I do library and Ebay and thrift stores. Cant afford retail or even retail on sale usually. i think my 'rut' is ending. Longest ever in my life. I agree that short stories can bridge that gap and also long form journalism online.

AB76 wrote: "My efforts over the last 3 years to minimise amazon book purchases has gone well, though a stubborn core remains, generally rarer books which only amazon could supply and older books on piles

So i..."

I'd love to do that Amazon weaning as well, but living in a non-English speaking country its tough to manage. I can generally find a lot of decent books in the few bookstores that sell foreign novels, but I either have to get lucky of remain patient if there is something I particularly want. It also tends to skew my reading towards newer books which tends to not be stimulating.

In the past few years, my patience has waned and I've ordered a lot of the weird, obscure old books that are at the top of my list via Amazon. Almost always used copies from booksellers and warehousers that use Amazon as their store front.