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Sunshine On My Shoulders - John Denver

reading is a great

Funny how you can change your mind - I tried Slow Horses by Mick Herron a couple of years ago and it just didn't appeal. Then after having read his latest book after fervent recommendations I gave Slow Horses another go and really enjoyed it. For those who haven't seen the tv series (and I haven't) it's about a group of apparently washed up spies who for policy reasons haven't been sacked and have been exiled to a building called Slough House to do boring stuff in the hope they'll be driven to resign. It's twisty, clever, has unexpected but satisfying plot twists and doesn't take itself too seriously. I'm certainly going to read more in the series. It's been 10 years since Shades of Grey by Jasper fforde came out. It was startlingly inventive even for fforde, about an England where ever since Something Happened people have only been able to see one colour and your status in society is governed by which colour you can see and how much of it. The Greys, who have no colour vision, are the labourers and have very few rights. It was very witty, very funny and full of wonderfully daft ideas such as the rule that once something was declared apocryphal you literally could not see it, so the Apocryphal Man was able to walk around with impunity with no clothes on, stealing food off plates in the communal dining hall. A sequel was promised and Red Side Story finally arrived this year. It's worth the wait. Shades of Grey had a serious undercurrent, Red Side Story is a lot darker but it's still witty, funny and a crashing good read. I'm really sorry to have finished it.

Ain't no sunshine - Bill Withers

Because....

Most French libraries have a small selection of English books in paper (most of it donated) but digital books are in French mostly and my French isn't up to reading a book.

A friend of mine is going to attend the "Christening" of a ship in Bath, Maine. The ship will be named after a close relative of his. He sent me a link showing wonderful photos of the ship and a letter explaining why the ship is named after his relative. Please read in its entirety the "reason". It is what real patriotism is. DDG-127 USS Patrick Gallagher Guided Missile Destroyer AEGIS ddg-127 uss patrick gallagher arleigh burke class guided missile destroyer aegis us navy gdbiw www.seaforces.org Quote Reply Select for moderation Report Edit Delete

I Ain't Ever Satisfied - Steve Earle

what does cos mean

noir

had been a bad idea. I sneaked out and left Rosalyn to face the music. My way down Fallioian avenue, on to Herpes Square, took me by Frankee and...

Burntcoat by Sarah Hall “I'm the wood in the fire. I've experienced, altered in nature. I am burnt, damaged, more resilient. A life is a bead of water on the black surface, so frail, so strong, its world incredibly held.” This is a novel about a virus and a lockdown, not uncommon these days. The quote indicates that this will also produce a fair number of profound aphorisms and truisms. Sometimes I cope well with these and appreciate them. Increasingly these days they just irritate me! The protagonist is Edith Harkness and artist and sculptor, famous for some large statement pieces around the country. Burntcoat is the name of her home. A large old factory space adapted for her work needs: a lot of space required for large sculpture. The virus in this is much more potent than Covid. It kills a much higher percentage of the population (up to a million dead). For those who do survive it there is the knowledge that it will return and get you the next time. So it’s all pretty cheerful and apocalyptic. The novel jumps around a bit as Hall outlines some of her protagonists’ chaotic upbringing. We also looks back on a love affair that Edith had during the beginning part of lockdown. This has led to the inevitable review quotes: “love under lockdown” And “sex on the eve of destruction” There is a minimalist feel to it all and of course, you get to use words like liminal. Hall also paints a picture of a society that is close to disintegration; anarchy and riot, health services overwhelmed, the dead unburied. The only safe place was inside. ‘Do you remember? Is that even possible? The dark, burning river. The turning tide; everything loosening beneath tight forces. None of it was happening and it was all unstoppable. Closing the door when we got back, and promising each other we would be all right. All we had was love, its useless currency, its powerful denial.’ I felt there was a lack of coherence in the whole, it is made up of short to medium sized paragraphs, so it is easy to read, but that also makes it disjointed. Also because Hall’s focus is on the personal level, the depiction on the larger canvas didn’t really work. The three distinct parts of the novel did not hang together well either. The prose is good and there is certainly a central message: ‘The world doesn’t come back as it was before. The seas and mountains remain, the cities slowly fill up again, jets take off over ochre and turquoise aprons. Finance begins to move. Children are allowed to play together. Humanity is re-established. There is grief, its long cortège; the whole world joins and walks. Such shock is both disabling and enlivening; everything before was a mistake. We will do it differently; we’ll repent. Consume less, conserve more, make sense of our punishment. It’s been said the virus reached levels of superiority other pathogens never have. Like the vastation of ice ages, and condensed gene pools, language, blood and milk, it will evolve us. Of course, the old ways return. Our substance is the same; even with improving agents. We are our worst tendencies. We remain in our cast.’ I am not sure about the decision to make the virus not Covid, it just confused the issue. The sex was also somewhat cringemaking as well. So, mixed reactions. 5 and a half out of 10 Starting Under the Rock by Benjamin Myers

― Terry Pratchett ― Terry Pratchett, Hogfather ― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky. Got to love Pratchett. Also one of my all-time favourite writers: ― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning Some powerful messages there.

I also use Goodreads to keep track of books I'd love to read but it has now become pointless because the list is so long and filled with books I am no longer interested in reading that it just becomes overwhelming looking at it (which I rarely do anyway). I also have a document on Google Drive with a shorter list of books I'd like to read which is divided into themes which I found much more manageable.

I've just finished a couple of books in the last two months but they have mainly been around work and recovery, focusing on trauma and addiction. I'm currently reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tart as more of a relaxing read. It's quite a hefty book and I haven't quite gotten into it yet but I've heard good things about it. I'm quite eager to get back into fun and chilled reading rather than reading for a set purpose. I find it takes me a while to get into it but once I'm in I'm in!

will be investigating further. As we had the incorrect name previously, we were unable to pursue complaints. However, now you have made yourself known to us, and we have your caller details, you will be receiving a visit from us shortly.' Well that just put the icing on the cake! Maybe ringing the cops ...

film

I Remember You ~ Nat King Cole

Hi there, me again asking if anyone has read this book so I can go and find it again to read, again a needle in a haystack as I don't know the title or the author. This was way back before I kept a reading log of books, and I have read at east 52 books a year for the last ????? years. Here goes.... Set in 1800's England, houses set around courtyards. Girl called Rory lives with drunk mother and her and her many siblings often go hungry, Rory's mother often sells rags at the market and sometimes sends Rory to sell, which Rory hates to do. She has a good friend in her court whose mother often feeds her. Rory has a brother who is sold to the chimmey sweep (he comes back near the end of the book to find Rory, he crawls in to the court on his hands and knees as he is so weak he can not walk and has escape from the chimmeny sweep. This bit is hazy,, but somehow Rory gets to sell better clothes, sets up a shop and raises above and earns lots of money and really betters herself. There is a sequal which has the title something like Mothers and Daughter, 2 ladies on front and the book I had had a blue cover, tells the story of Rory and her daughter when they are rich and her daughter doesn't really have any idea how Rory used to live. Anyone read these books? Thank you for reading and hope you all have a good Bank Holiday weekend

Shorts

boxer

fight (an odious thing I know, but my other word is probably not suitable!)

Bull

Moments to Remember - The Four Lads

frogs