itsmeagain Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 (edited) On 08/11/2018 at 11:08 AM, Onion Budgie said: I've just 30 pages left of Murder is Easy by Agatha Christie. I'm enjoying the story, but NOT AC's apparent homophobia. It makes me want to tweak her nose and put runs in her tights. No idea what I'm going to read next, but I have a few good things lined up for December. Remarkable how very dated literature is seeping homophobia from every pore, as well as racist. W Somerset Maugham routinely derided Chinese and Malay people as Chinks, of course he got away with it...it looked clever 100 years ago, which just about sums it up. Edited November 15, 2018 by itsmeagain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onion Budgie Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 2 hours ago, itsmeagain said: Remarkable how very dated literature is seeping homophobia from every pore, as well as racist. W Somerset Maugham routinely derided Chinese and Malay people as Chinks, of course he got away with it...it looked clever 100 years ago, which just about sums it up. Yes, it gets a bit wearing. Christie's possible racism is a whole other barrel of bananas! She's made my jaw drop more than once on the subject of "foreigners" in both narration and character dialogue. She may not have even thought twice about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsmeagain Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 On 08/11/2018 at 11:08 AM, Onion Budgie said: I've just 30 pages left of Murder is Easy by Agatha Christie. I'm enjoying the story, but NOT AC's apparent homophobia. It makes me want to tweak her nose and put runs in her tights. No idea what I'm going to read next, but I have a few good things lined up for December.My phone is not letting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsmeagain Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 My phone is displaying the reply box all wrong, sorry OB. I think the racism was casual, even amusing, to the literary types who perused Somerset Maugham in days gone by. Now things have largely changed but bigotry was an amusing pastime for the wealthy a hundred years ago. Maugham was gay and I've read a story about a gay relationship in his book so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted November 15, 2018 Author Share Posted November 15, 2018 Racism, homophobia and similar attitudes in older books are very revealing of how general attitudes have changed. I have no real issue with it in books as long as it fits with the time frame in which the book was written and it isn't unnecessarily gratuitous. I hit across this in a big way with the Ian Fleming Bond series of books. There was a word which shocked me but in a way I was glad they shocked me, it shows how much times have chnaged. It makes me wonder what ways of thinking will be seen as archaic and unacceptable in 50+ years time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 I think the racism and homophobia in older books would bother me to be honest. But time will tell, I haven't read any more Agatha Christie yet (though I have few other old books/authors on my TBR). I'm currently reading Het Idee M/V by Asha ten Broeke. It's a non-fiction read I picked up at a library sale, but it's actually turning out to be very interesting and food for thought. It's about gender ideas and gender norms and where these ideas come from etc. I'm just over halfway through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasei Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 Thanks for bringing it back! I could not get into Game of Thrones, I just found the entire premise so dreary and everyone was terrible. I couldn't find much to enjoy and so never bothered with the TV show either, even though it's wildly popular. I'm currently reading The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis and I gotta say, it's a surprisingly fun read for such an old book. Fairly humorous story told from the perspective of demons writing to one another as they try to figure out how to corrupt a human man. I've never read anything by Agatha Christie, but I do enjoy reading old books/classic lit. I have rarely come across any commentary so outrageous that it made me put the book down, though I've certainly slogged through some outdated written word. Mostly it seems to me to be an interesting look into how people thought in the past and what society was like. I don't take offense because, well, these people are no longer around and society is completely changed, so what's the point in getting upset? Unless it's depicting discriminatory violence I usually just press through those bits and enjoy the rest of the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eliot Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 Currently reading Martina Cole 'Get Even'. I really like her books and how easy they are to dip in and out of. Before this I was reading He Said / She Said which was good too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie H Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 (edited) Finished manga Laid-Back Camp (Laid-Back Camp #1) by Afro. It was a sweet manga, very cute characters and illustrations; very much "armchair travelling/camping", for me . So I( bought the Kindle 2nd of the series. EDIT and #3 and #4 later on... Edited November 16, 2018 by Marie H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted November 16, 2018 Author Share Posted November 16, 2018 Finished with The Troubled Man and decided to start The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche. It’s a book that has fantastic reviews but I’m having second thoughts about carrying on as I discovered the author has been disgraced in a sexual abuse scandal. The book was written well before the scandal emerged and is considered a bit of a classic spiritual text but I still feel a bit icky reading it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 2 hours ago, Brian. said: Finished with The Troubled Man and decided to start The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche. It’s a book that has fantastic reviews but I’m having second thoughts about carrying on as I discovered the author has been disgraced in a sexual abuse scandal. The book was written well before the scandal emerged and is considered a bit of a classic spiritual text but I still feel a bit icky reading it. I read that years ago ! No idea about the scandal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 I finished Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty yesterday. Today I got The Rise and Fall of Becky Sharp from the library, I think I will read it next! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 How was Nine Perfect Strangers, Frankie? Any good? Last night I finished listening to The Silk Roads, and also finished reading Children of Time. The former was a monumental struggle and I was glad it was finally over. The latter, I really enjoyed though I feel the middle was maybe a tad long. Next up for me is to read Picking Up The Pieces by Paul Britton and also to read/listen to The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (I have the Kindle and Audible versions). Yesterday on Audible I bought I Can't Make This Up: Life Lessons by Kevin Hart which has been very highly rated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 I've started The Luminaries (Audio and reading), and I'm enjoying it a lot. It's had a lot of mixed reviews, with most critics saying it's too slow, but so far I'm liking it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted November 19, 2018 Author Share Posted November 19, 2018 Ive decided to stick with The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying but I am taking it slowly as its packed with good stuff and it’s a book I want to digest. I’ve picked up something lighter to go along with it, Eating Smoke a non-fiction book by Chris Thrall about his time spent in Hong Kong and his spiral into drug addiction. I’m also about half way through the audiobook of Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie H Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 Trying to finish reading Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angury Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 6 hours ago, bobblybear said: I've started The Luminaries (Audio and reading), and I'm enjoying it a lot. It's had a lot of mixed reviews, with most critics saying it's too slow, but so far I'm liking it. I quite enjoyed The Luminaries. Not the best book I've read or the most exciting of plots, but I thought it was well written with an interesting concept. Looking forward to hear what you think of it - it does seem to divide opinions. I just started reading Moby Dick by Herman Melville a few days ago. It caught my eye after I saw a Youtube Video about how it's not as hard as people make it out to be and is in fact very deep, covering matters such as philosophy, spirituality and religion. I'm enjoying it so far. The writing is lovely but I can tell it's not for everyone. Just waiting on the dreaded chapters on the Encyclopaedia of the Whale that everyone seems to hate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 I have Moby Dick on Audible, as I've heard it can be a hard slog. I'm hoping listening to it will be easier than reading it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookmonkey Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 I finished The Woman Who Ran by Sam Baker last night and should finish Five by Ursula Archer tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie H Posted November 20, 2018 Share Posted November 20, 2018 Finished Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa. Loved it! Definitely a bittersweet novel, and it actually made me cry........which is an unusual experience with reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopeanha Posted November 20, 2018 Share Posted November 20, 2018 finished Every Day by David Levithan yesterday (loved it, definately want to read the rest of the series) and started Leah on the off beat by Becky Albertalli today (my third Albertalli this month ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted November 20, 2018 Share Posted November 20, 2018 (edited) Finished O Pioneer by Willa Cather. A writer who is growing on me book by book. Edited November 20, 2018 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie H Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 Finished Company for the Evening by Ursula Orange last night. Well, the ending was such a disappointment! . I’m miffed, as the book was really good, but then the narrator changed her character dramatically, in such a silly way... . Finished Flying Witch Vol. 3 - another enjoyable slice-of-life manga, of young witches in rural Japan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 (edited) Making good progress with The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton. Enjoying it a lot. There were quite a few audiobook deals on Audible today, so I bought: Pale Blue Dot - Carl Sagan (£1.99) Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier Middlemarch - George Eliot Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami The Godfather - Mario Puzo The Humans - Matt Haig The last 5 were only £2.50 each. Fantastic bargain, I reckon! Edited November 23, 2018 by bobblybear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie H Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 I bought Kafka on the shore - Haruki Murakami and My Family and Other Animals - Gerald Durrell in the Audible black Friday offer, £2.50 each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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