Book Group

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Columba 7 Mar 9:42pm, 7 Mar 2024 22,448 posts	0 Columba Agreed, Chrisull, agreed.
Chrisull 11 Mar 7:30pm, 11 Mar 2024 21,220 posts	0 Chrisull Finished THH. Will talk about it over there -> when I get a spare moment.
Chrisull 12 Mar 3:49pm, 12 Mar 2024 21,225 posts	0 Chrisull Reviewed. Also speeding through the Cusk book, which I've warmed to. Tiny hints of Ali Smith at times (although I'm not sure why). And on my second Priest book (the Separation), also on another John Higgs (his William Blake - again some of it is great, some of it at times a bit undercooked, but I always like where he's coming from). And a Swedish UFO book for some light relief.
Little Nemo 12 Mar 4:26pm, 12 Mar 2024 14,463 posts	0 Little Nemo I meant to reply to your earlier post about Christopher Priest as I read 2 of his books recently - The Prestige and Inverted World. Both quite different from each other but I enjoyed them. I'll definitely be reading the others my library has.
Ocelot Spleens 18 Mar 2:24pm, 18 Mar 2024 38,760 posts	0 Ocelot Spleens Ready Player One on hols, now that we are sitting about!
LindsD 18 Mar 2:48pm, 18 Mar 2024 67,225 posts	0 LindsD I liked that. The film, too.
Ocelot Spleens 22 Mar 7:04am, 22 Mar 2024 38,763 posts	0 Ocelot Spleens It's a nostalgia fest even though I didn't play games much.
LindsD 22 Mar 7:09am, 22 Mar 2024 67,279 posts	0 LindsD Same here
Chrisull 22 Mar 10:32am, 22 Mar 2024 21,266 posts	0 Chrisull The Rachel Cusk book "Second Place" turned out to be surprisingly good in the end, reading it back to back with The High House which emphasized the ability Cusk has to write characters who convince, and are different to each other. It feels like it has something in common with Ali Smith's "The Accidental", the difference being here, the cuckoo is invited into the nest. Simple plot - she invites artist to come and take up residence in her second place, he ends up hating her and wanting to destroy her life. It helps Cusk though that many of the people in the novel have real analogs... Because it was actually inspired by an account of Mabel Dodge Luhan's time putting DH Lawrence up in her own home in New Mexico. Luhan was a wealthy patron of the arts and invited artists, writers etc over to expose them to Indian culture which she believed would help cure the Western condition/mindset. Other famous people who stayed at Luhan's were: Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O’Keeffe and Thomas Wolfe (who stayed one night drunk and decided he didn't like it). Luhan invited the Lawrence's and predictably fell out with them very quickly and shipped them off to a ranch 17 miles away, which she gifted to them. Lawrence lived there for about 11 months on and off, before heading back to Europe and dying not many years afterwards. The whole book seems to be a fictionalised version of Luhan and Lawrence, and the other people around them( In fact Mabel's partner Tony - a native American - seems to be mirrored by the narrator's partner Tony.) It actually turns out to be fascinating slice of psychodrama that has its basis/inspiration in real history and if you don't want to read the book (but only 200 pages), you can find an article on some of the real story here in a travel piece in the NY Times: nytimes.com I think Luhan also wrote her own account of Lawrence's time there too.
Diogenes 27 Mar 8:58am, 27 Mar 2024 85,224 posts	0 Diogenes It's quiet around here. I take my share of the the responsibility for that, especially as I haven't read the last two choices. Speaking of which, isn't it time that a new Choosinator was choosinated? I hope McGoohan won't mind me jumping in. Chrisull you have the following luminaries from which to select. Grepples Maclennane Hanneke Fetch The Scribbler Bint Dio Quimby McGoohan Westmoors As always, please shout if you want to be excused.