Saturday, January 13, 2007
Get Ready
January 12th. 20.23
I am having problems with the remote keyboard which for reasons I cannot understand, decides to omit some or all the letters of a word so I have to look at each word as I type. (I cannot touch type so I have to look at the keyboard) Why does this happen? Is it a virus or a worm? So I'm using an old keyboard and I suppose that means there's something wrong with the remote.
Numerocinco cannot be serious. Whether you like the Guardian or not, you are in need of treatment if you are satisfied with OK! Actually there is a lot in today's Guardian to amuse and irritate the reader.The entire front page of the Review section is given over to a silly picture yet again and the article inside( also illustrated with a silly picture) by Zadie Smith is concerned with what makes a good writer and even what is required of the reader. Reference is made to this article in two of the blogs mentioned on the penultimate page of the review, "fictionbitch.blogspot.com" and "fessingauthor.blogspot.com". I am deeply suspicious of the incestuous world of literary reviews, which, I am often reminded by stanandtel, is not the same thing as literary criticism. It often seems to be an opportunity for the reviewer to blow their own trumpet and advertise their own latest work, or to show off just how jolly clever they are. Furthermore, I often wonder what actual experience of life these full time writers actually have, other than their past lives or extensive reading or meeting other authors. Writing is necessarily a solitary occupation and its hard to think of any other professions that demand such an isolated life. With what authority can they therefore write about the human condition except from their limited perspective? Is it any wonder that Edward St Aubyn creates a character based on himself having been raped by his sadistic father in childhood and subsequenly becoming a heroin addict? I supposeI shall have to read Mother's Milk unless someone has a good reason to put me off.
The reviews often give a synopsis of the content of a novel but acually what I want is a reliable opinion on whether I will enjoy reading it, so if at the end of the review it isn't clear, I will probably leave that book well alone. I think I would enjoy "Beware of God" and probably "Let Me Eat Cake" but it isn't certain that I would like "Madeleines in Manhattan: A Memoir with Recipes". I therefore propose to get hold of all three and will report back in due course. I don't want to read "Cancer Vixen; ATrue Story" which is reviewed on the same page though its interesting to see the cost of treatment for similar stages of breast cancer in the US compared with the UK: $192,720/£o !
The Guardian is again very slow off the mark. "The Scent of the Night" by Andrea Camilleri has been available for months through Amazon (Penguin US $12) properly translated as "The Smell of the Night"- cheaper than the Picador price quoted by the Guardian, £12.99. A final whinge at the Guardian; why bother to quote the smart-arse Chapman in the article on Hogarth?
Books with a food content are obviously a major interest still. One of my favourites of all time for food/recipes is "The Debt to Pleasure" by John Lanchester which is also very funny. With only three weeks to go I am trying to get ready for the longest journey I have ever taken which mainly means trying to sort out my tax self assessment and pay those bills with the red bits threatening me with disconnection or court if I leave them until my return, but it also means choosing the right books for the flight and for while I am away. I can't spend the whole time in the relentless rush around geothermal phenomena and idyllic views. By chance I came across the "Get-Ready Man" in Thurber's "The Car We Had To Push". Odd how he has become rather neglected in recent years but I think he would be a good read for the journey. The cricket season will probably still be going on when I arrive but the fiasco of English cricket in Australia should be over. During my lifetime I have seen lots of cricket on television and unfortunately seen a lot of English teams humbled by much classier opposition. It isn't possible to always enjoy watching one's team being beaten but one can admire the quality and I therefore offer the following who have tormented England in recent years:-
181. Lillee
182. Thompson
183. Waqar Younis
184. Roberts
185. Holding
186. Marshall
187. Garner
188. Ambrose
189. McGrath
190. Donald
Of all these, the best to watch, most fluid and graceful was Michael Holding. What a shame that the only view they give on TV is from behind the bowler's arm. From the side he was a joy to watch.
I am having problems with the remote keyboard which for reasons I cannot understand, decides to omit some or all the letters of a word so I have to look at each word as I type. (I cannot touch type so I have to look at the keyboard) Why does this happen? Is it a virus or a worm? So I'm using an old keyboard and I suppose that means there's something wrong with the remote.
Numerocinco cannot be serious. Whether you like the Guardian or not, you are in need of treatment if you are satisfied with OK! Actually there is a lot in today's Guardian to amuse and irritate the reader.The entire front page of the Review section is given over to a silly picture yet again and the article inside( also illustrated with a silly picture) by Zadie Smith is concerned with what makes a good writer and even what is required of the reader. Reference is made to this article in two of the blogs mentioned on the penultimate page of the review, "fictionbitch.blogspot.com" and "fessingauthor.blogspot.com". I am deeply suspicious of the incestuous world of literary reviews, which, I am often reminded by stanandtel, is not the same thing as literary criticism. It often seems to be an opportunity for the reviewer to blow their own trumpet and advertise their own latest work, or to show off just how jolly clever they are. Furthermore, I often wonder what actual experience of life these full time writers actually have, other than their past lives or extensive reading or meeting other authors. Writing is necessarily a solitary occupation and its hard to think of any other professions that demand such an isolated life. With what authority can they therefore write about the human condition except from their limited perspective? Is it any wonder that Edward St Aubyn creates a character based on himself having been raped by his sadistic father in childhood and subsequenly becoming a heroin addict? I supposeI shall have to read Mother's Milk unless someone has a good reason to put me off.
The reviews often give a synopsis of the content of a novel but acually what I want is a reliable opinion on whether I will enjoy reading it, so if at the end of the review it isn't clear, I will probably leave that book well alone. I think I would enjoy "Beware of God" and probably "Let Me Eat Cake" but it isn't certain that I would like "Madeleines in Manhattan: A Memoir with Recipes". I therefore propose to get hold of all three and will report back in due course. I don't want to read "Cancer Vixen; ATrue Story" which is reviewed on the same page though its interesting to see the cost of treatment for similar stages of breast cancer in the US compared with the UK: $192,720/£o !
The Guardian is again very slow off the mark. "The Scent of the Night" by Andrea Camilleri has been available for months through Amazon (Penguin US $12) properly translated as "The Smell of the Night"- cheaper than the Picador price quoted by the Guardian, £12.99. A final whinge at the Guardian; why bother to quote the smart-arse Chapman in the article on Hogarth?
Books with a food content are obviously a major interest still. One of my favourites of all time for food/recipes is "The Debt to Pleasure" by John Lanchester which is also very funny. With only three weeks to go I am trying to get ready for the longest journey I have ever taken which mainly means trying to sort out my tax self assessment and pay those bills with the red bits threatening me with disconnection or court if I leave them until my return, but it also means choosing the right books for the flight and for while I am away. I can't spend the whole time in the relentless rush around geothermal phenomena and idyllic views. By chance I came across the "Get-Ready Man" in Thurber's "The Car We Had To Push". Odd how he has become rather neglected in recent years but I think he would be a good read for the journey. The cricket season will probably still be going on when I arrive but the fiasco of English cricket in Australia should be over. During my lifetime I have seen lots of cricket on television and unfortunately seen a lot of English teams humbled by much classier opposition. It isn't possible to always enjoy watching one's team being beaten but one can admire the quality and I therefore offer the following who have tormented England in recent years:-
181. Lillee
182. Thompson
183. Waqar Younis
184. Roberts
185. Holding
186. Marshall
187. Garner
188. Ambrose
189. McGrath
190. Donald
Of all these, the best to watch, most fluid and graceful was Michael Holding. What a shame that the only view they give on TV is from behind the bowler's arm. From the side he was a joy to watch.
# posted by Bob @ 12:23 pm 
