finrod

Lafcadio Wluiki the picaresque hero of The Vatican Cellars (Andr

Hello Kate, I'm sure you'll enjoy it here.

I have noticed that sometimes I frighten people; what they really fear is themselves. They think it is I who scare them, but it is the dwarf within them, the ape-faced manlike being who sticks up his head from the depths of their souls. Set in a renaissance Italy of warring city-states. Piccoline (the protagonist) comments upon the court's prurience and political intrigue as the city is besieged. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dwarf

Welcome JustMe I think you'll enjoy it here!

No pretence that this is a definitive list, my recommendations include (I try not to repeat suggestions already made): Peloponnesian War (431 - 404 BC, Athens v Sparta) Goat Song, Frank Yerby The Last of the Wine,Mary Renault Arthur The Great Captains, Henry Treece Sword at Sunset, Rosemary Sutcliffe Alfred The King of Athelney,Alfred Duggan Athelstan The Half Brothers (cannot remember author) Clontarf (1014, Ireland) The Kings in Winter, Cecelia Holland (Vikings and irish) 1066 The Firedrake, Cecelia Holland The Crusades History: The Crusades (Vols I-IV), Sir Steven Runciman, vivid, gripping history Literature: The Alexiad, Anna Comnena (but also used as a history source being largely contemporary Count Bohemond, Alfred Duggan (imho his finest, it also draws directly from Alexiad) Seven Years War/Indian wars (1756-1763) The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, James Fenimore Cooper Northwest Passage, Kenneth Roberts (first half made into an excellent 1940 film) American War of Independence Sergeant Lamb of the Ninth, Robert Graves Drums Along the Mohawk, Walter D Edmonds (made into a great film by John Ford, the film is even better, showing different balanced viewpoints (both patriot and loyalist). American Civil War History: The Civil War, Ken Burns (some may remember the excellent TV series, the war is told via contemporary photographs, and extracts from diarists, letters, with annotations from historians. Literature: The March E L Doctorow (Sherman's 600 mile march to the sea) The Great War (& Russian Civil War) History : Facing Armageddon, various, edited by Hugh Cecil & Peter Liddle - 64 scholars from all over the globe examine the experience of the First World War from many perspectives (including military, home front, occupation etc) - The First World War, Hew Strachan The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T E Lawrence Tommy, Richard Holmes anything by Gary Sheffield Literature : The Middle Parts of Fortune, Frederic Manning (esteemed by military historians as an authentic account, as the author saw front-line service in the war), bowdlerised version Her Privates We. Slow Approach of Thunder, Konstantin Paustovsky (part of autobiographical work, rejected for military service due to short-sightedness, author became a medical orderly) With the Armies of the Tsar, A Nurse at the Russian Front in War and Revolution, 1914-1918,Frances Farmborough Doctor Zhivago, Boris Pasternak And Quiet Flows the Don and The Don Flows Home to the Sea, Mikhail Sholokhov, beautiful sweeping account of various Don Cossacks, men and women, rich and poor, bolsheviks and whites.Second World War Life and Fate, Vasily Grossman, Stalingrad and account of Jewish nuclear scientists in Soviet Russia, German POW camp etc

Eddie: there's little need to wait. All three are stand-alone stories. It's true that Cities of the Plain brings together the two protagonists from Pretty Horses and The Crossing, but they do not need to be read in sequence.

This book by Kilgore Trout aka Philip Jos

My favourite poem is Jabberwocky, but someone's already had that one. Next in line is The Jumblies, by Edward Lear (and I won't have a word said against him!) They went to sea in a Sieve, they did, In a Sieve they went to sea: In spite of all their friends could say, On a winter's morn, on a stormy day, In a Sieve they went to sea! And when the Sieve turned round and round, And every one cried, 'You'll all be drowned!' They called aloud, 'Our Sieve ain't big, But we don't care a button! we don't care a fig! In a Sieve we'll go to sea!' Far and few, far and few, Are the lands where the Jumblies live; Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve. They sailed away in a Sieve, they did, In a Sieve they sailed so fast, With only a beautiful pea-green veil Tied with a riband by way of a sail, To a small tobacco-pipe mast; And every one said, who saw them go, 'O won't they be soon upset, you know! For the sky is dark, and the voyage is long, And happen what may, it's extremely wrong In a Sieve to sail so fast!' Far and few, far and few, Are the lands where the Jumblies live; Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve. The water it soon came in, it did, The water it soon came in; So to keep them dry, they wrapped their feet In a pinky paper all folded neat, And they fastened it down with a pin. And they passed the night in a crockery-jar, And each of them said, 'How wise we are! Though the sky be dark, and the voyage be long, Yet we never can think we were rash or wrong, While round in our Sieve we spin!' Far and few, far and few, Are the lands where the Jumblies live; Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve. And all night long they sailed away; And when the sun went down, They whistled and warbled a moony song To the echoing sound of a coppery gong, In the shade of the mountains brown. 'O Timballo! How happy we are, When we live in a Sieve and a crockery-jar, And all night long in the moonlight pale, We sail away with a pea-green sail, In the shade of the mountains brown!' Far and few, far and few, Are the lands where the Jumblies live; Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve. They sailed to the Western Sea, they did, To a land all covered with trees, And they bought an Owl, and a useful Cart, And a pound of Rice, and a Cranberry Tart, And a hive of silvery Bees. And they bought a Pig, and some green Jack-daws, And a lovely Monkey with lollipop paws, And forty bottles of Ring-Bo-Ree, And no end of Stilton Cheese. Far and few, far and few, Are the lands where the Jumblies live; Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve. And in twenty years they all came back, In twenty years or more, And every one said, 'How tall they've grown! For they've been to the Lakes, and the Torrible Zone, And the hills of the Chankly Bore!' And they drank their health, and gave them a feast Of dumplings made of beautiful yeast; And every one said, 'If we only live, We too will go to sea in a Sieve,--- To the hills of the Chankly Bore!' Far and few, far and few, Are the lands where the Jumblies live; Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve

You are welcome, just remember I'm not responsible when you come down with food poisoning.

Have you ever read a book, and thought, how come no-one else knows about this? To get the ball rolling: Grendel, 1971 by John Gardner (not the James Bond thriller-writer), 1933-1882. The American author is listed as an academic (Old and Middle English) who taught at Southern Illinois University. He has since written Jason and Medea which I am trying to track down(I like the Greek myth and already own Robert Graves' The Golden Fleece and used to have Henry Treece's Jason (before a close relative made off with it). Beowulf, but from the "monster's" perpective. No short precis of this remarkable novel could suggest the complexity of thought, richness of imagery and the wonder of language which make it the perfect work of art that it is. Derek Stanford, The Scotsman I first read this when I was fourteen or fifteen and it knocked my socks off. I read it again recently, over thirty years later and my feet are chilly even now. With the release of the 'Beowulf' film, and Seamus Heaney's excellent re-interpretation, I thought it apposite to draw attention to this neglected masterpiece. Incidentally, I particular enjoyed Seamus Heaney's return to the narrative form of the Beowulf epic, as narrated on BBC Radio Four. After all, the tale stems from a largely pre-literate age.

I shall certainly try. Are you having a giraffe?

Thanks for this O Steelclaw.

Thank you Adam - my family and friends tend to like them, apart from when I overdo the heat (not often). I also did the risotto (which is distinctly vegetarian) and a carnivore friend commented Yeah, but it could do with some meat in it!.

I spent some time in Spain earlier this year, and when the weather was bad (as it often was), retreated to the library, Here I discovered an Italian artist Hugo Pratt and his creation 'Corto Maltese', a "rogue with a heart of gold, ...tolerant and sympathetic to the underdog.. ". The type of illustration harks back (a bit) to the 1950s - kind of Dan Darish (it's certainly retro, and no worse for that). I believe a French film has recently been made. The hero has various adventures, many with adult (though not obscene) themes set in various locations around the world before, during and after the First World War. I enclose two links, one to the author, the other to some examples of the artwork: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Pratt http://mapage.noos.fr/dardelf3/Corto.html There are many others, some of which take an age to load During my sojourn, I found the series to be well-researched and illustrated with great finesse and fidelity - I hope some may find this of interest if you are not yet familiar with HP or CM.

Ingredients (big bowl - for a barbecue or for 4-6 people) Two or three 200g tins of tuna Roughly equal volume of chick peas (soaked & cooked or tinned) Lettuce Tomatoes (unfortunately UK dominated by watery tasteless variety - elsewhere you might get greeny-red mouth-watering types) Cucumber Anything else you fancy Pesto sauce - don't use the poor expensive lifeless imitation that comes in jars, you can buy sachets in Aldi (in Europe) or sometimes supermarkets do freshly-made stuff in plastic tubs which are much better or it's quite easy to make your own, but be warned, once you have, you will become a pesto addict. Pesto sauce Basil leaves (say two cups) 100g pine kernels Two or three cloves of garlic Two walnuts Salt 40g parmesan 40g pecorino Extra virgin olive oil You can subsistute extra quantities of parmesan or pine kernels for the pecorino and walnuts. Preparation: Take a large handful of basil leaves and put them in the blender together with the pine kernels, garlic, walnuts, a pinch of salt and enough oil to moisten everything. Stir at least twice (but remember to switch the blender off first). If necessary, add some more oil. When the ingredients have reached a soft even consistency pour in the grated parmesan pecorino. Put the pesto in a jar, with cap and put in the refrigerator. It should last a week or two (or all of five minutes chez moi).

Thanks for the warm welcome, and apologies for my delay in replying. Which KV to read next? Hmmmm My favorite is his first : Player Piano - set in the future (written in 1952) the third world war and the second industrial revolution have taken place - leading to a two-tier human society of technicians and bureaucrats and a majority of grossly under-employed helots, I think you get the real Kurt Vonnegut here - the subtlest of humour and vision. Second: The Sirens of Titan (1959) Mars, an Earth colony, invades Earth, and i'll leave it at that as any other attempt at synopsis defeats me. If you like these, then plesae get back to me.

Sword at Sunset (Rosemary Sutcliffe) is decent, if the characters are a bit too dimensional (and black and white) - I guess it's a bit dated. The Great Captains (Henry Treece) is a more timeless (and my favourite) rendition of the legends. Treece's protagonists tend to stumble through their (mis)adventures, rather than to master their own destinies. The author attempts to put warts and all human flesh upon the bare bones of old stories which is one of the reasons why I like him so much. These are adult books by writers who are perhaps better known for children's fiction. Both of the above shy away from the middle ages interpretation, and return to the transitional period after the Romans had departed and the Celts mounted a resistance movement against Saxon incursions. So if you particularly enjoy the chivalry and court atmosphere, they may not be your cup of tea, however I would agree with the back cover blurb: Henry Treece sets his story against the wild and forbidding landscape of ancient Britain, and tells it with both a bitter realism and a dark understanding of the link between power, magic and blood.

Ingredients Pasta (fresh or home-made is great) Thick-cut smoked back bacon equal volume of cr

Thanks for your comments - this recipe, on a gentle heat, should not need constant stirring. As with all recipes, it is not a tablet of stone - you can basically add whatever takes your fancy. I think you can substitute turmeric for the rather expensive saffron. Good hard mature cheeses are best. The quality of the stock is also important.

The basics were given to me by an Italian girl in Brighton about twenty years ago. Ingredients Italian short grain brown rice Vegetable stock white or red wine (up to ½ pint) peppers (any colour - a variety makes for an attractive presentation) mushrooms (chestnut, or closed cap are good) any other appropriate fresh veg - peas, courgettes, etc onions oregano (quite a bit, say half a lorry-load) basil (and any other herbs, according to taste) chilli powder (a hint, or according to taste) saffron (hint) fresh black pepper cheese (say 2 oz per person) olive oil (preferably extra virgin) You are at liberty to put in whatever you wish, just don't sue me. Chop onions, fry gently in olive oil in a deep pan. In the meantime, boil a kettle and dissolve stock in a jug. When the onions are cooked, add rice and mix well with oil and onions (yes that's right, before you add the stock). Then add stock gradually as you go. Add wine, herbs and spices. Chop peppers and add. Likewise with mushrooms and other veg. Grate cheese and put to one side. Cook gently so that the rice absorbs the flavour of the stock, herbs etc. Gradually add liquid as required. When the risotto is done, add the cheese and mix in well. You may also add some olive oil at this point. Eat and then sigh contentedly. Or alternatively, when on one occasion I under-estimated the strength of the chilli, my girlfriend went to the chip shop.

The Boiling Bayou Cajun Band (from Sweden!, but they've won awards and played in the USA and UK)

IMHO Cormac McCarthy is a very good writer indeed. I endorse the comments made, but would draw your attention to the title Suttree, said to his most autobiographical. The Blood Meridian and The Road are not for the squeamish, but the ability to convey the sheer horror of the subject matter testifies to the power and quality of the writing. The Border Trilogy, Suttree and No Country For Old Men are perhaps more accessible if you are put off by the gory element. One of my favourite passages of prose is the Chapter 'The Matrix' from The Blood Meridian, but I'm not going to spoil it for you by saying why. I understand the recent film of NCfOM has done some justice to the writing, and expect sales will burgeon once the film has achieved wider exposure. There won't be a need for me to bore you at such length. To balance this (just so you don't think I'm a complete horror-merchant) other frequently read chapters include Riddles in the Dark from The Hobbit, and The Lay of Beren and Luthien from The Silmarillion.

Yes, that's exactly right. It's one of my favourite books.

Hi, I've just joined. My reading interests are varied - one of my preferred contemporary writers is Cormac McCarthy, who I'd rate as one of the foremost authors in the English language. I also like James Fenimore Cooper, and historical novelists such as Henry Treece, Robert Graves, Alfred Duggan, Mary Renault, Walter D Edmonds, Kenneth Roberts and Cecelia Holland. I like some Science Ficton, including Kurt Vonnegut (especially the earlier stuff), Dune and the recent prequels, and also Venus on the Half-Shell by Kilgore Trout aka Philip Jos