compo 5,952 Posted July 4, 2020 Share Posted July 4, 2020 (edited) Wrong thread Edited July 4, 2020 by compo 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzo79 13,349 Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 I've finally got round to reading Hemingway's For Whom The Bell Tolls and I'm very glad I did - it deserves its status as a classic. I also recently read some short stories by Danilo Kis and was impressed by those too. His father was a Hungarian Jew who moved to Yugoslavia and married his mother, a Montenegrin, before being carted off to Auschwitz - Kis certainly knew about the darker side of life. The Lute And The Scars and Encyclopedia Of The Dead are highly recommended. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill 13,687 Posted August 13, 2020 Author Share Posted August 13, 2020 1 minute ago, Gonzo79 said: I've finally got round to reading Hemingway's For Whom The Bell Tolls and I'm very glad I did - it deserves its status as a classic. Absolute masterpiece 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSocksRedTops 3,428 Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 On 13/08/2020 at 17:09, Gonzo79 said: I've finally got round to reading Hemingway's For Whom The Bell Tolls and I'm very glad I did - it deserves its status as a classic. I also recently read some short stories by Danilo Kis and was impressed by those too. His father was a Hungarian Jew who moved to Yugoslavia and married his mother, a Montenegrin, before being carted off to Auschwitz - Kis certainly knew about the darker side of life. The Lute And The Scars and Encyclopedia Of The Dead are highly recommended. Still got a well thumbed copy of The Old Man and the Sea from my youth which makes an appearance every 2/3 years. Its amazing how the simplicity of the written word can vividly transport you back to certain times of your (past) life. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranger_syntax 3,715 Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Finished The once and future King at the weekend. I found the first part, The sword in the stone, hard to get into but it was worth persevering. The rest of it was good. I think I'd like to read an alternative interpretation where Merlyn is a more cynical tutor. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott7 5,009 Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Try Bernard Cornwell’s Arthurian trilogy. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzo79 13,349 Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 That's Dostoevsky's Crime And Punishment now ticked off the list. Deserves all the praise it gets and shares thematic similarities with one of my favourite novels, The Private Memoirs And Confessions Of A Justified Sinner by James Hogg. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill 13,687 Posted November 10, 2020 Author Share Posted November 10, 2020 Just finished re-reading Apocalypse Never by Michael Shellenberger, a lifelong environmental activist who blows the whistle on some of the bullshit that is obscuring real environmental need and diverting resources away from credible actions. A useful re-balancing of the environmental argument that has been hijacked and weaponised by over-politicised fanatics. Perhaps the best recommendation for Shellenberger's book is the spluttering indignation-filled reviews of leftist agitators, who fairly stampede to repair this breach of the hive's defences. Shellenberger's audacity in introducing objective truth into the religious dogma of environmentalism is clearly the ultimate sin. The guardian's review is a particularly desperate character assassination. Anyway, you won't read this book without at least questioning some of the propaganda story - and that can't be a bad thing for anyone. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChelseaBoy 2,196 Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 1 hour ago, Bill said: Just finished re-reading Apocalypse Never by Michael Shellenberger, a lifelong environmental activist who blows the whistle on some of the bullshit that is obscuring real environmental need and diverting resources away from credible actions. A useful re-balancing of the environmental argument that has been hijacked and weaponised by over-politicised fanatics. Perhaps the best recommendation for Shellenberger's book is the spluttering indignation-filled reviews of leftist agitators, who fairly stampede to repair this breach of the hive's defences. Shellenberger's audacity in introducing objective truth into the religious dogma of environmentalism is clearly the ultimate sin. The guardian's review is a particularly desperate character assassination. Anyway, you won't read this book without at least questioning some of the propaganda story - and that can't be a bad thing for anyone. I'm surprised he hasn't been cancelled. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzo79 13,349 Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Just finished Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath. Not as enjoyable as East Of Eden (the only other novel of his I've read) but a very worthwhile read. The end is harrowing. It's amazing to think that 'Okie' dust bowl migration and lifestyle provided us with some of America's greatest songwriters. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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