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Angury's Reading & Writing Log 2019


Angury

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On 16/09/2019 at 5:56 PM, itsmeagain said:

Exercise is key here Willoyd.

I refer to child obesity.

Less TV and join a gym I say.

 

Exercise is vital, agreed, but diet is a major factor. There is, for instance, a very close correlation between the  placement of carbohydrates at the centre of government dietary recommendations, and the massive increase in obesity and diabetes.

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I've just finished reading two books one after the other. The first is Ducks, Newbury Port by Lucy Ellman which is a one thousand-page book consisting of about six sentences. It's written as a stream-of-consciousness from the perspective of an American mother & wife living in present-day America. It is a clever insight into today's world and how our otherwise mundane thoughts reflect the society that we live in (the media-obsession, the changes in politics, relationship worries, fears of violence etc). 

 

The second book is 'Why I'm no longer talking to white people about race' by Reni Eddo-Lodge. A short book with an emotive title that stemmed from Reni's blog post she wrote a number of years before (with the same title) that resulted in a wider conversation on race and 'white privilege.' I initially chose this book after I moved jobs and noticed the disparity in income, class and its links with race and wanted to read more into it. This book made me realise just how ignorant I have been of Britains past in terms of race. When I hear about race issues in the news it is rarely about the UK - it just doesn't seem to be in the media as much as in other countries. This book was an excellent start to educate myself on these issues and how the issues of race are more than just individual - they are part of the wider system in which we all live in. Definitely a topic I want to read about further.

 

For now though I'm not sure if I should start reading something fictional or non-fiction. I'm not too bothered about what I read next so I may just randomly pick a book off my TBR shelf and see where that takes me..

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Did you enjoy reading Ducks, Newbury Port all the way through? I've only ever read short examples of stream-of consciousness novels and I don't know whether I'd start to lose focus with such a long book in that style. Especially when it barely ever uses a full stop.

 

I hope you enjoy your next book, whatever it is!

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7 hours ago, Hayley said:

Did you enjoy reading Ducks, Newbury Port all the way through? I've only ever read short examples of stream-of consciousness novels and I don't know whether I'd start to lose focus with such a long book in that style. Especially when it barely ever uses a full stop.

 

I hope you enjoy your next book, whatever it is!

 

It is an easy book to read - which I know isn't often true of stream-of-consciousness novels. You're right that you can lose focus at times but the novel is interspersed with a parallel story of a lioness which reads more like a 'normal' story and helps break it up a bit. It's also easy to get caught up in the story despite the lack of punctuation so I don't think that would stop you. The main obstacle imo is continuing with such a long book when there isn't really much of a plot (but again, this is where the story of the lioness helps). 

 

It was an enjoyable read through and worth it. I'd recommend giving it a go. :) 

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4 hours ago, Angury said:

 

It is an easy book to read - which I know isn't often true of stream-of-consciousness novels. You're right that you can lose focus at times but the novel is interspersed with a parallel story of a lioness which reads more like a 'normal' story and helps break it up a bit. It's also easy to get caught up in the story despite the lack of punctuation so I don't think that would stop you. The main obstacle imo is continuing with such a long book when there isn't really much of a plot (but again, this is where the story of the lioness helps). 

 

It was an enjoyable read through and worth it. I'd recommend giving it a go. :) 

Oooh I haven't heard anybody else mention the lioness story. I do think that would help.

 

I did remember to send you the link to that article the publisher wrote didn't I? It really made me wish it had won the Booker prize, without even having read the book! 

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20 hours ago, Hayley said:

You might have seen this already @Angury, but I thought you'd find this controversial interview with Lucy Ellman interesting, especially her views on having children! 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/dec/07/lucy-ellmann-ducks-newburyport-interview 

 

What an interesting interview! Thanks for that.

 

I tried reading the sample of Ducks, Newburyport, but I don't think the writing style is for me.

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On 12/10/2019 at 12:28 PM, Hayley said:

You might have seen this already @Angury, but I thought you'd find this controversial interview with Lucy Ellman interesting, especially her views on having children! 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/dec/07/lucy-ellmann-ducks-newburyport-interview 

 

 

"People don’t talk enough about how tiring, boring, enraging, time-consuming, expensive and thankless parenthood is. Why must we keep pretending it’s a joy?



[..]

You watch people get pregnant and know they’ll be emotionally and intellectually absent for 20 years. Thought, knowledge, adult conversation and vital political action are all put on hold while this needless perpetuation of the species is prioritised. Having babies is a strong impulse, a forgivable one, but it’s also just a habit, a tradition, like weddings or putting butter on popcorn."

 

<3

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Well, they represent one viewpoint, presumably from her experience. Can't say I agree with them, or that our experience matches hers.  Our conversations throughout parenthood (offspring now adult) were often about these subjects, and we had it relatively easy - although the thanklessness rarely came up as we wanted to be parents, so had our rewards that way; a bonus is that whilst we never had thanks at the time, we have since.  As for being emotionally and intellectually absent for 20 years - Ellmann might be speaking for herself, but, comparing notes with family and friends, can't say she's speaking for everybody, by a very long way. 

Edited by willoyd
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