lunababymoonchild

The Woman in White, Wilkie Collins. Victorian, Gothic and suitably spooky in the spookiest month

The Nobel Prize for literature, 2025 has been awarded to László Krasznahorkai, one of my favourite authors.

I’m in. Now to choose …………

The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame I’ve never read this before and my mother didn’t read it to me when I was a child. In her defence she did say that it was physically impossible for her to read absolutely every piece of children’s literature available at the time and I had to agree with her and agree with the fact that she did read a great deal to me, even after I had learnt to read by myself. I did see the TV programme starring Mark Gatiss as Rat, Bob Hoskins as Badger and Matt Lucas as Toad. Lee Ingleby was Mole. I thoroughly enjoyed it and vowed, as you do, to read it ‘some day’. So, I was somewhat familiar with the story before I started it and wondered if I would be disappointed with the book. Far from it. The story was absolutely wonderful. The characters that Grahame came up with were completely believable and I was thoroughly charmed all the way through. I found myself immersed in their world when I was reading it and wondering what was happening to them when I wasn't, and that doesn't happen often. I am so very pleased that I chose to read this and feel certain that I’ll go back to it in the future. Highly recommended

The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame.

I was under the impression that the Unitarian Church welcomed all, pagans included.

Absolutely! You’re more than welcome.

Currently reading The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame (because I’ve never read it and I forgot that I had it)

The Natural World it is. By Natural World I mean you can read Brer Rabbit if you want. Or The Jungle Book etc. However you want to interpret it.

The only thing I can come up with is : the natural world

The Abstract in this link goes a little way to explain: Origins of Beowulf

There’s an idea!

I’m opening nominations for the subject for the last group read of the year. Nominations?

Further to the scariest thing you’ve ever seen, what is the funniest? For me the funniest man ever would be Billy Connolly, but the funniest thing I think I’ve ever seen was a sketch on a long ago TV show called Not The Nine O’clock News (anybody remember that?). It was a spoof advertisement for a product for deaf people. Rowan Atkinson was playing the deaf person and the product was a headband with a thing coming from the back of it, over the head, with a light on it. The light flashed to indicate that the phone was ringing. I was just young enough at the time to wonder what the punchline was. Atkinson was moving about the room ‘proving that he was deaf’ and then the phone rang. Naturally he couldn’t hear it and then the light flashed. He didn’t see it at first then he did. He picked up the phone and the audience heard the other person talking but Atkinson didn’t. I was completely taken in and laughed long and loud. So, what’s the funniest thing you’ve ever seen?

Daughter of the Otherworld, Shauna Lewis

I've never watched either of those. When Alien came out I saw the trailers and decided against it. I did go to the cinema as a teenager - before video recording and Sky TV - and lied my way into an over 18 film (some zombie apocalypse film which was popular at the time), which scared the livin' daylights out of me so much that I was too scared to get up out of my seat in the dark to go to the toilet. It put me off lying about my age for life!

I’ve just finished reading The Monkey which is 50 pages (in my copy) from Skeleton Crew. Different Seasons contains four very good novellas including the now famous Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.

Inspired by @France ‘s horror of clowns, what have you seen or read that scared you the most? Mine is, without doubt, the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Even now, as an adult I cannot watch the parts of the film with him in it. Played by Sir Robert Helpmann at the very end of his career as a classical ballet dancer (well practiced in the art of non-verbal communication, he didn’t need to have lines to speak) he gives me the shivers every time. As a child I had to leave the room, as an adult I turn it over or leave the room. The most horrific thing I ever read was Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Hit far too close to home for me.

Stephen King has some short stories and novellas if you don't want to commit to a long novel right away.

You’re probably right. I’ll give it a go

I was totally smitten the first time I read Faulkner (The Sound and the Fury) in a group read on BGO and have been ever since. Except for The Mansion. I intend to pick it up at a later date and it won’t put be off reading him again. I thought Of Mice and Men was a towering work of brilliance and still do but I’m never going to read it again. I have very much enjoyed everything else I’ve read by Steinbeck, though.

Hello and welcome

I have now finished my scarf and it’s a dog’s breakfast of mistakes so I’m not photographing it let alone posting it, but it is finished. Can’t decide what to do next.

I enjoyed it. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by Steinbeck except for Of Mice and Men which we did at school and positively horrified me because it struck far too close to home (four of my mother’s siblings were mentally and physically disabled). I am a little sad that I had to give up on Faulkner. I don’t mind not understanding him I still manage to enjoy it but this time I just couldn’t get interested. I’ll pick it up at a later date and see how I get on.

Yes, @muggle not I thoroughly enjoyed the Le Guin but had to put the Faulkner down as I wasn’t enjoying it at all. This has me disappointed as I usually do enjoy Faulkner. I might pick up later and see How I get on.