Is it worth sticking with The Old Curiosity Shop?

[Anna]

This is excellent news, Annakins

Indeed it is Ammykins! The couple who will be opening already have one shop, in the nearest town, 10 miles away upriver, and this is what I like about their statement: "We want our bookshop to be a cultural focal point; a place that reflects its locality and enriches the cultural life of the town. One way of doing this is through a strong and diverse events programme"

And, looking through their current events, it does seem exciting and worth trudging out for to meet some authors and workshops that they do.

Off/On-topic. On Thursday, killing a bit of time during lunch, dived into charity shop and bought (no idea why) a massive tome. Bertolt Brecht: Poems 1913-1956. Metheun, NY, 1976. Looks like it's never been read! But, I may enjoy it. Who knows? £3.00 ain't a fortune even if you only enjoy a couple of pages.

[amateur51]

Indeed it is Ammykins! The couple who will be opening already have one shop, in the nearest town, 10 miles away upriver, and this is what I like about their statement: "We want our bookshop to be a cultural focal point; a place that reflects its locality and enriches the cultural life of the town. One way of doing this is through a strong and diverse events programme"

And, looking through their current events, it does seem exciting and worth trudging out for to meet some authors and workshops that they do.

Off/On-topic. On Thursday, killing a bit of time during lunch, dived into charity shop and bought (no idea why) a massive tome. Bertolt Brecht: Poems 1913-1956. Metheun, NY, 1976. Looks like it's never been read! But, I may enjoy it. Who knows? £3.00 ain't a fortune even if you only enjoy a couple of pages.

I had a big fat book of Brecht poetry Anna and jolly good it was too - full of stuff pertinent to our present situation, I'm afraid

[Anna]

One of my fave bedtime books is the Daily Express Great Stories of Love and Romance, no publication date, got to be around the 1920s.

I love the illustrations and the captions, here are just two:

"Aha" thought Carlotta "so this is the devasting Bertrand"

"Nathaniel Pipkin went down on his knees in the dewy grass"

Sometimes I dream of Bertrand!

[amateur51]

One of my fave bedtime books is the Daily Express Great Stories of Love and Romance, no publication date, got to be around the 1920s.

I love the illustrations and the captions, here are just two:

"Aha" thought Carlotta "so this is the devasting Bertrand"

"Nathaniel Pipkin went down on his knees in the dewy grass"

Sometimes I dream of Bertrand!

Who's this Dewi Grass feller, Annakins?!He's not from by yere, surely?

[french frank]

I love the illustrations and the captions, here are just two

Captions can be memorable:

"She whipped The Vicar of Wakefield out of her pocket."

"May I come in, or shall I be intruding?"

" ... struck Guy of Gisborne dead." (I've forgotten the beginning)

[Barbirollians]

Henry James - aargh The Ambassadors comes under the heading of cruel and unusual punishment.

Our Mutual Friend is magnificent .

[vinteuil]

Henry James - aargh The Ambassadors comes under the heading of cruel and unusual punishment.

.

... there was a time when I thought that The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove, and The Golden Bowl were the most wonderful novels in the English language. I'm not sure now that I am brave enough to consider re-reading them...

Our Mutual Friend is magnificent .

... it is indeed

[Sir Velo]

I've been plowing through The Old Curiosty Shop for a fortnight. I'm still only 200 pages in and I'm sorry to say that it's something of a chore; dreadfully rambling, low-powered, half-bakedand even rather repetitive. There are 300 pages still to go.

Does it improve?

The first 200 pages are undoubtedly the best; the character of Quilp, the malevolent dwarf with his scheming designs on Little Nell, and his unseemly treatment of his wife and mother-in-law are indelibly fresh; among the best of Dickens' inventions. The unscrupulous lawyer, Brass and his grotesquely unattractive sister, Sally, are also worth the entrance fee alone.

The last 200 pages are marred by increasing sentimentality over Little Nell's plight- Dickens' one irremediable, ubiquitous fault from which every one of his novels undeniably suffers.

[Mandryka]

I had a big fat book of Brecht poetry Anna and jolly good it was too - full of stuff pertinent to our present situation, I'm afraid

Brecht was one of the great cultural villains of the twentieth century. Anyone unwise enough to admire this charlatan would do well to read the chapter on him in Paul Johnon's excellent book, 'Intellectuals'.

[amateur51]

Brecht was one of the great cultural villains of the twentieth century. Anyone unwise enough to admire this charlatan would do well to read the chapter on him in Paul Johnon's excellent book, 'Intellectuals'.

Oddly enough, there's nothing by Mr Johnson in the library

[Flosshilde]

Brecht was one of the great cultural villains of the twentieth century. Anyone unwise enough to admire this charlatan would do well to read the chapter on him in Paul Johnon's excellent book, 'Intellectuals'.

Paul Johnson writing a book on intellectuals? Don't make me

[Flosshilde]

One of my fave bedtime books is the Daily Express Great Stories of Love and Romance, no publication date, got to be around the 1920s.

I love the illustrations and the captions, here are just two:

"Aha" thought Carlotta "so this is the devasting Bertrand"

"Nathaniel Pipkin went down on his knees in the dewy grass"

Sometimes I dream of Bertrand!

If you want over-heated romantic writing, try Elinor Glyn, who famously sinned on a tiger skin.

There are plenty to choose from - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elinor_Glyn#Bibliography

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

If you want over-heated romantic writing, try Elinor Glyn, who famously sinned on a tiger skin.

The tiger was furious!

[Flosshilde]

I think the tiger was no longer in it

But that does remind me of the young lady from Riga.

[Mandryka]

Paul Johnson writing a book on intellectuals? Don't make me

Paul Johnson's trenchant criticisms of left-wing boobies are all the more devastating for the fact that he was once left-wing (though not a booby) himself.

I'd advise everyone to get hold of Intellectuals: like most books by Johnson, it's a spanking good read.