Drislane
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Posts posted by Drislane
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Second the above! If you are going to lay down your bindle, this is a great place to do so.
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While I have yet to invent a travel machine that would take you from deepest Louisiana to darkest Angus once every four weeks, (I will continue to work on that, Pontalba
), the auction house in question puts its full catalogue online, detailed and photographed, some two weeks before each monthly auction. Though not up yet, the upcoming auction on the 4th May has a category relating solely to 'Sale of 19th & 20th-century natural history, fiction, historical, local and other books.' There can be anything from 400-1000 lots on offer. It is well worth a look, even if just for a half hour with a good cup of coffee, or tea or rooibos. The auction house in question is Taylors of Montrose and I would expect the catalogue to be up in a week or so.I would imagine, as you say, that estate sales may draw a blank more often than not. However, should you hit pay dirt on one, it's likely to be something special indeed. The auction house would generate a lot more competition!
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On Saturday last I was at a local auction house in Montrose on the trail of a first edition on behalf of a friend. With a guide price of £20 - £40 I secured it at £30. With commission it was £36.
It’s a monthly event with old books up every month but with a category of their own every second one. Reading is my passion but searching out old leather bound classics is another. I am fortunate to have such an auction house close by. I just wanted to ask if there are others on the forum who loves collecting old books at auction? It would be good to compare notes!
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Richard Overy's 20th Century is well worth a look given your requirement to lift the history off the page.
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Can anyone recommend a good work of fiction or non-fiction relating to the period of / the English Civil War?
Would be very much obliged.
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A very warm welcome from a fellow new member. Pull up a chair. It is a great find.
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As a new forum member and given that we have not yet shared a thread, I feel a little cheeky writing this. However, like a magpie attracted to shiny things, 'Librocubicularist' caught my attention. I have to say that describing yourself as a Librocubicularist is simply brilliant!
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A warm welcome to you. Nothing to be nervous about. Somersault right in to the deep end. The water is good!
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Book offered. Book passed on.
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I have a number of preferences when it come to selecting my reading material. I have come to live with mine.
I would be fascinated to hear of others on here?
One is to be much more excited at the prospect of reading a less acclaimed work from a much lauded author. The recently read 'Ablutions' is a classic example of this!
A second is the desire to read at length the generally acknowledged worst exponent of a particular genre of form.
Examples would be the recently topical reading test between Dickens and Bulwer-Lytton, one a titan of literature, the other a much ridiculed peer. My attention was immediately drawn to the work of Bulwer-Lytton! Several hours I intend to while away that I will never get back!
Another would be some of the great Scottish poets and one William Topaz McGonagall, recognised as probably the worst poet in British history. I should confess at the juncture to holding William in high esteem by virtue of two facts. The first is that he raised awfulness to an art form. Don't snigger. That is more difficult than you might think! The second and perhaps most commendable is that he cared not an iota for anyone's opinion of his own work apart from his good self!
To the second question of the post then. Can anyone point me in the direction of any other glorious examples of awfulness raised to an art form in any particular genre? -
REVIEW‘Ablutions’ by Patrick deWitt is a work of fiction. It is the older and less acclaimed sibling of ‘The Sisters Brothers’.
I like a work that sets out its stall from the outset and this one did. First lines intrigue me more than they should:‘Discuss the regulars. The sit in a line like ugly, huddled birds, eyes wet with alcohol.’
That worked for me.
This is a well written work to my eye but one that is also unremittingly grim. Spent bottles, fractured lives and diseased livers, such is the detritus you must pick your way through. A second person narrative, it charts the narrator’s descent into a world where alcoholism and madness compete on equal terms. Other characters spiral in to their own dark hole all the while.
The lines between what the main protagonist observes as real and as an illusion fray with time:‘The moon is full and low and shadows fall in such a way that you glimpse the silhouette of a man as tall as a single story building. He is leaning against the wall of a convenience store and you see his wide hat and dark clothing and know he could cross the street to your car in two long strides and you think of him following you home and crawling through your front door on his hands and knees.’
Intimacy is debased to furtive fumbles or cold hard commerce. This is skilfully done. It carries all the eroticism of the Krankies swinging on a golf course. (Please note that this is not a golfing reference.)
It is an edgy ride and one that is difficult to alight from once begun. It is not for the faint hearted. Did I want to get off? Absolutely not!‘Ablutions’ held me upside down by the ankles until I heard the change in my pockets fall to the ground.
Recommended? Without a doubt!
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Welcome Miss Mabel!
If you love books and are looking for somewhere to rest your bindle
on a daily basis, this is the place to do it! Enjoy the forum and see you around...
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‘Leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky.’ I could have that alone for lunch and not have anything until dinner.
Thank you for sharing.
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Halfway through. Amongst the spent bottles, fractured lives and cold vomit are sentences that alone make this worth the effort. From ‘Discuss the regulars.They sit in a line like ugly, huddled birds, eyes wet with alcohol.’ to ‘His fingers interlocking like puzzle pieces, a visual aid to some astrological peculiarity.’.......
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‘Ablutions’ by Patrick deWitt arrived today. First impressions count and it makes a good one. It feels like it belongs in my hand.
At first glance it isshorter than I thought given the length of its more acclaimed sibling.
The opening line reads ‘DISCUSS THE REGULARS. They sit in a line like ugly, huddled birds, eyes wet with alcohol.’ Yes, that catches my attention from the outset!
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Provided you feature both Donald Duck and a generous measure of superheroes in that comic strip, pretty sure I am with Athena in ordering my subscription Emelee!
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Poetry works for me. I am drawn to its shorter form. I like the cut of a good poem. Nice lines, well made, sta prest when you poke it!.I smile at words that have been chosen with care by the poet in question yet often have the appearance of being dropped from a great height in some haphazard fashion. The sound of those words when read aloud can often take you around a different corner.
Further, a poem I like most often speaks to me and me alone. A line will often offer up images far beyond the places I can reach. An example of this is from a favourite poem of mine ‘Death of an Irishwoman’ by Michael Hartnett. He is an Irish poet often lost amongst the booming drums of Irish poetry. ‘She was a summer dance at the crossroads, she was a card game where a nose was broken, she was a song that nobody sings.' Simple lines that paint beautifully to my mind someone I struggled for years to describe.
My love note to the poem is qualified however. And this is a point I feel that so often goes amiss when it comes to poetry and obstructs many looking for a way in. I don’t expect to like everything I read. While I read lots of poetry I dislike close to half of everything I read. A large proportion amongst this number sits unfinished in my hands. Of the remaining half perhaps 1 in 10 stays with me in thought for a period in time. Of those I will return to perhaps 1 in 3. The same could never be said for the books I read. Not even close.
A final question if I may? Are there any short lines from any poem that have captured something, anything in your life perfectly?
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A very warm welcome to you from a fellow new arrival. It is a wonderful resource and a welcome oasis to spend time with people who share your addiction.
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While books of all shapes and colour forever hold sway in my world, I do like the pick up and put down, delve in and delve back out attributes of a magazine in hard copy. I smiled when I read of the stack building dangers of just one subscription too many Pontalba. The key for me was to manage my subscriptions and somehow I did that.
At the moment my hard copy subscriptions are limited to The Economist (Work subscription), The Moth Magazine, The Stinging Fly, (both of which are quarterly and neither having anything to do with the world of entomology!) , The Scottish Mountaineer and History Ireland. Did I actually use the work limited? I am pretty sure now that the only thing missing from my listing is that Donald Duck magazine you mention Athena!
The business model the magazine industry has changed rapidly these last few years and left some old long established names high on the sandbar. Good or bad? A case can be made for both.
By the way I think I want to try a superhero comic now too!
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Hard on the sibling heels of 'The Sisters Brothers' I turn my vacuous gaze to Patrick deWitt's debut novel 'Ablutions' this coming week.
My preference is to read all works in chronological order where possible so not sure what awaits? Add that it was his second work not his first that secured such critical acclaim and my interest is truly piqued. Is 'Ablutions' high on any list of memorable reads here on the forum I wonder? -
A simple yet sincere thank you for making me feel welcome.
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I have just finished watching season 3 of 'In Treatment' from HBO. Highly recommended. Yet no one I have spoken to these past days has seen it. That surprised me. Have I taken the role of Robinson Crusoe on this one?
The workings of the conscious and subconscious mind form the stretched canvas on which the narrative unfolds. Unusual premise of one episode / one counselling session / one patient. Requests your time and attention but rewards it with chocolate bars at a regular interval. Personally I would have preferred ice cream but I can't fault it for that.
Would be very interested to hear what others thought of the series as all I see here at this moment in time is a tropical island!
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...comes John. Literary pugilist. Fascinated by individual words on an hourly basis. Can be found navigating across the ice caps of etymology. Also found on the Angus coast. Easily distracted by bright or unusual colours. Mountains, courage and the style of the 60's of great interest. Exiting to the left.....
Buying books at auction.
in Book Buying
Posted · Edited by Drislane
I understand well what you saying Miss Mabel! I like that one! That's interesting! That must be worth more than that! I add in the bidding on the auction floor and........Books anyone? Get your books here!
I like the idea of the travelling book sale by the way. Can you send them to Angus please?