What are you reading tonight?

[thebish]

At least The Mayor of Sodor had the good grace to add tank engines. Which is also acceptable.

[Prufrock]

I read the even-numbered pages of The Mayor of Casterbridge for GCSE and did fine. Don't think I missed anything. 7 pages describing a wardrobe? On yer fecking bike. Hardy is bobbins.

[Worthy4England]

I read the even-numbered pages of The Mayor of Casterbridge for GCSE and did fine. Don't think I missed anything. 7 pages describing a wardrobe? On yer fecking bike. Hardy is bobbins.

I read Chapter 1. And guessed. Unfortunately, I had to read the same Chapter 1 every fcking lesson, to make it look like I was studying. No one so much as mentioned showing their butt cheeks on his Town Hall steps!

[thebish]

I read the even-numbered pages of The Mayor of Casterbridge for GCSE and did fine. Don't think I missed anything. 7 pages describing a wardrobe? On yer fecking bike. Hardy is bobbins.

if 7 even numbered pages described a wardrobe - does that mean that (actually) there were 14 pages of wardrobe description??

[Prufrock]

The seven page description of the wardrobe was what prompted me to only read the even-numbered pages from then on.

Seven pages is an exaggeration - it was about two - but it was just a wardrobe, and of no consequence whatsoever. It's not like there was a zombie in the damn thing or anything. Reading Hardy is like watching TV with that audio description on. Get a filter, man. No one cares what wood the chair in the corner of the room is made of. Hemingway used to only write novels from stories he couldn't fit into a short story. It's an idea I wish someone had mentioned to TH.

[TANGODANCER]

I've got ten mint condition paperbacks of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I'm not a zombie man, but a few of these might benefit from a vampire or two.

[Gary the Enfield]

I've got ten mint condition paperbacks of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I'm not a zombie man, but a few of these might benefit from a vampire or two.

I did the banana books offer too TD. one book read in about 4 years?

[Prufrock]

I'm not entirely convinced WtW hasn't just returned from a round the world cruise funded be the bump his Banana Books shares received not so long ago .

I enjoyed A Hundred Years of Solitude tbf, but not enough that I've picked up any more since.

Currently 3/4s of the way through Neel Mukherjee's The Lives of Others. Really enjoying it, still no idea what's going to happen, but I'm interested to find out.

[TANGODANCER]

I'm not entirely convinced WtW hasn't just returned from a round the world cruise funded be the bump his Banana Books shares received not so long ago .
I enjoyed A Hundred Years of Solitude tbf, but not enough that I've picked up any more since.

I struggled through El Coronel no tiene quien le escriba in Spanish class homeork, but enjoyed the challenge of translating and the book. ( I remember I was puzzled by "El Doctor vino" for a while till I realised vino is third person past tense of Venir) I just couldn't be enthralled by A Hundred Years of Solitude despite its good reputation. Just couldn't.

[William the White]

I'm not entirely convinced WtW hasn't just returned from a round the world cruise funded be the bump his Banana Books shares received not so long ago .
I enjoyed A Hundred Years of Solitude tbf, but not enough that I've picked up any more since.

I struggled through El Coronel no tiene quien le escriba in Spanish class homeork, but enjoyed the challenge of translating and the book. ( I remember I was puzzled by "El Doctor vino" for a while till I realised vino is third person past tense of Venir) I just couldn't be enthralled by A Hundred Years of Solitude despite its good reputation. Just couldn't.

Listen you two... One Hundred Years of Solitude just happens to be the greatest novel of the 20th century...

So, feckin behave yourselves...

[Gary the Enfield]

I'm not entirely convinced WtW hasn't just returned from a round the world cruise funded be the bump his Banana Books shares received not so long ago .
I enjoyed A Hundred Years of Solitude tbf, but not enough that I've picked up any more since.

I struggled through El Coronel no tiene quien le escriba in Spanish class homeork, but enjoyed the challenge of translating and the book. ( I remember I was puzzled by "El Doctor vino" for a while till I realised vino is third person past tense of Venir) I just couldn't be enthralled by A Hundred Years of Solitude despite its good reputation. Just couldn't.

Listen you two... One Hundred Years of Solitude just happens to be the greatest novel of the 20th century...

So, feckin behave yourselves...

Think you're on your own there Billy. (See what I did? Comedy genius)

[thebish]

I think the key is to pick a novel that pretty much nobody else has read and then declare it to be the greatest - that way, not many people can disagree with you, and you don't even have to have read it yourself!

[LeverEnd]

I gave up halfway through ...Solitude about 20 years ago and gave up. Some bollocks about a flying carpet or something. Keep meNing to try again as my American professor friend loves it as much as Will. Or maybe I'll try Love In The Time of Cholera.
Sounds sexier.

[KeyserSoze]

Never give up on giving up, LeverEnd.

[LeverEnd]

Never give up on giving up, LeverEnd.

Ooops! Just highlights my negative mindset

[thebish]

is there not a Readers Digest version? just a thought...

[Bruce Rioja]

I'm not entirely convinced WtW hasn't just returned from a round the world cruise funded be the bump his Banana Books shares received not so long ago .
I enjoyed A Hundred Years of Solitude tbf, but not enough that I've picked up any more since.

I struggled through El Coronel no tiene quien le escriba in Spanish class homeork, but enjoyed the challenge of translating and the book. ( I remember I was puzzled by "El Doctor vino" for a while till I realised vino is third person past tense of Venir) I just couldn't be enthralled by A Hundred Years of Solitude despite its good reputation. Just couldn't.

Listen you two... One Hundred Years of Solitude just happens to be the greatest novel of the 20th century...

So, feckin behave yourselves...

I read this review of it once It was clearly meant in a pejorative manner. A cold jag with no heart or soul, told from an omniscient distance. Quite appeals to me, actually. I have a copy on the bookshelf. I'll let you know.

[thebish]

Thanks for the up-date, thebish. I have read but a few books from Ye Olden days. Among them were Henry Esmond and Tom Jones. Those two I have yet to finish as they are, to me, difficult to follow. Henry Esmond in particular was a right proper pain as it was a required reading in my final school year. Thackery's style was weird to my brain cells. I tried H.E. again during my adult life on a couple of occasions but the result was the same - numbness. Tom Jones is a different kettle of fish. Fielding must have been paid by the word for this work as it's worthy of the noun "tome" - even in the paperback version. Young Tom seems to spend all his time chasing skirt and, when caught out, doing his best to protected the 'innocent' Miss or Mrs involved.

I digress. Both the books mentioned were of course written long after Chaucer's much vaunted 'Tales' and were published unexpurgated.

I hope the nest two-thirds keeps your attention riveted to the page.

spoke too soon! just slogged my way doggedly (over several days) through dozens of pages of the utter turge (the noun associated with "turgid", right? ) going by the name of "the Tale of Melibius" in which Dame Prudence drones on for repetitive page after page trying to counsel Melebius to seek peace rather than revenge on his enemies... and there isn't even a twist in the tail - this being one of the tales that Chaucer attributes to the "I" of his book... incidentally - the first tale to abandon rhyming couplets for prose - such that I am gagging for the simplicity and "rompiness" of the couplets again!!

[Harry Genshaw]

For Bill Bryson fans on here - 1927 (his latest? ). Typical Bryson - incredible research with some amazing anecdotes. Bloody ruddy brilliant

[clapton is god]

^ I think it is his latest, but its a couple of years old now, I think. Anyway, I have read it and I loved it as I do with most Bryson books. Just been through A Short History of Everything again. Brilliant book and my wife's Desert Island choice.