2021 Reading efforts of PGMCC - Second instalment.

Read in 2021

I start the year with four in-progress reads.

Title; Author; Status; Start/end date; Number of pages

It was the best of sentences, it was the worst of sentences. by June Casagrande 17/02/2020 -
The Dragon Waiting by John M. Ford 26/10/2020 -
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel 17/12/2020 - 03/01/2021 333 pages
Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely 20/12/2020 -

Books started in 2021:

Title; Author; Status; Start/end date; Number of pages

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 04/01/2021 - 07/01/2021 pages
Reynard the Fox by Anne Louise Avery 07/01/2021 - 17/01/2021 479 pages
Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth 17/01/2021 - 31/01/2021 170 pages
The Lusitania Waits by Alfred Noyes 28/01/2021 - 28/01/2021 5 pages (Short story)
Call for the Dead by John Le Carré 31/01/2021 - 04/02/2021 156 pages
London Centric edited by Ian Whates 04/02/2021 - 15/02/2021 278 pages (Short stories)
"The House of Asterion" by Jorge Luis Borge 06/02/2021 - 06/02/2021 3pages (short story)
Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut 21/02/2021 - 01/03/2021 256 pages
The Dark Frontier by Eric Ambler 01/03/2021 - 07/03/2021 258 pages
Orlando by Virginia Woolf 08/03/2021 - 20/03/2021 Abandoned after 118 pages of 235 pages
The Hand by Guy de Maupassant 14/03/2021 - 14/03/2021 12 pages
Uncommon Danger by Eric Ambler 20/03/2021 - 26/03/2021 256 pages
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler 29/03/2021 - 02/04/2021 193 pages
Africa's Top Geological Sites by Richard Viljoen 02/04/2021 - 290 pages
Cause for Alarm by Eric Ambler 03/04/2021 - 05/04/2021 267 pages
Actress by Anne Enright 05/04/2021 - 224 pages ROA*
Epitaph for a Spy by Eric Ambler 07/04/2021 - 11/04/2021 240 pages
"I Spy" by Graham Greene Short story published in 1930. 11/04/2021 - 11/04/2021 4 pages
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke 11/04/2021 - 21/04/2021 ? pages
Red Harvest by Dashell Hammett 16/04/2021 - 185 pages

*ROA: Risk Of Abandonment due to lack of interest or pure boredom.

This post deliberately left blank. ;-)

>2 pgmcc:
It's not empty. Someone wrote about it being blank

In regards to your books in the previous thread, what bothers my ATDS* is not that the book heights are all mixed up, but that the genres are all mixed up...

*Attention to Detail Syndrome

>4 fuzzi: You're not alone. I was wondering how on earth Peter ever finds what he wants.

>5 Jim53: I love diversity and surprise.

>6 pgmcc: I have been known to shelve books together simply because I thought they might enjoy being next to each other. They have never complained.

>7 MrsLee: I like the way you think.

>7 MrsLee: That’s kind of the theory that all books, of all times, are part of a Great Conversation. I can’t imagine what Pride and Prejudice might have to say to Altered Carbon, or either of them to The Epic of Gilgamesh, but there you go.

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions is a book I started in 2020 but did not finish before the year end. In fact, I only got about three quarters of the way through the Introduction. This was due to RL issues and much fun with family at Christmas time, not to mention a couple of ER reads I had to finish and review.

I have just returned to Predictably Irrational and am enjoying it. It is very interesting in itself, but I am working with some world renowned Pricing Consultants and it is great entertainment to poke fun at their approaches to pricing based on what I have read in Predictably Irrational and also a book on pricing published by one of their founders some years ago.

>10 pgmcc: That one is in my wishlist already. Good to hear a positive view.

>11 Narilka: I even found the Introduction interesting. So far I am three chapters in, but there is so much in it that I can relate to, either as a victim or potential victim of the tactics involved, or as someone who could have had a better outcome to a transaction if I had read this book previously. :-)

>10 pgmcc: Ooh, that sounds interesting. My younger son is a pricing specialist on huge grants; I'll have to see if it looks like something he'd enjoy.

>13 Jim53: Pricing is a fantastic subject. It can play with your mind.

>10 pgmcc: I read that one a while ago, and remember it as being very interesting.

>15 NorthernStar: It is written in a nice conversational tone which adds to its appeal. He give plenty of examples so the reader can usually find at least one that strikes home.

>9 haydninvienna: Altered Carbon, hmm. Might be a BB there.

I'm likely to ponder the conversation between P&P and Gilgamesh--an interesting question.

I do regard any book as a dialogue between the author and me, and I often reply, usually in the margins.

>1 pgmcc: You didn't find Station Eleven compelling enough to stay with?

>18 Meredy: I did eventually finish it. My complaints about it probably relate to my own little phobia about coincidences in books. Some coincidences in books are necessary to create and sustain the story, but I felt Station Eleven had too many for my total comfort.

It struck me that my objections related to something that disrupted my reading of the book and thus affected my overall reaction to the story. My reaction reminded me of how the use of the word "millennia" when it should have been "millennium" in A Gentleman in Moscow was the trip wire that coloured your enjoyment of the book.

We had our Lockdown Book Club session last Thursday evening. The books up for discussion were, Call for the Dead by John Le Carré and There Are Little Kingdoms, a collection of short stories by Kevin Barry. Both books had been suggested by the residents of this house, my wife recommending Call for the Dead and the Kevin Barry book proposed by me.





Apart from my wife and me no one had read Le Carré before and they were all impressed with his writing. Apart from his use of language and his unexpected, but very apt, approach to describing people (see below for description of Peter Guillam), most people were surprised at the philosophising about how people in the intelligence/espionage community are loyal to a construct that does not exist while they are constantly betraying individuals who do.

Peter Guillam:
A polished and thoughtful man who had specialized in Satellite espionage, the kind of friendly spirit who always has a timetable and a penknife.

In terms of the Kevin Barry collection, few people had read all the stories, but everyone acclaimed him as a great writer, but that he took them places that they did not necessarily want to go. They also found the stories full of humour, as well as reality.

The two books for the March session are:

Orlando by Virginia Woolf and Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford, author of Golden Hill, a previous book club read and one that, having checked my review, prompted me to say I was not inclined to read any other books by this author. We have acquired the Woolf but we both agreed that Light Perpetual might slip through the cracks in the floorboards. We are such rebels.

-pilgrim- will be pleased to know I have started reading Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut.



I am finding this interesting and am keen to see where it goes.

>21 pgmcc: Hmm, why?

I have only read one novel by Kurt Vonnegut, and that was not it.

You have intrigued me though...

>22 -pilgrim-: I thought it was you said I should read it. I must trawl the threads to see who fired that particular bullet.

ETA: MrsLee was the marksperson. Her shots hit me several times and as I lay there on the ground, admitting she had hit me fair and square, she came over to me and hit me again.

>23 pgmcc: You have been remarkably immune to my recent volleys.

>23 pgmcc: MrsLee is a thorough craftsperson.

>25 Sakerfalcon: My code name is Ruthless. or Random. I'm not sure which. I do hope you find it interesting, but if not, at least it isn't long.

>20 pgmcc: Love that bookcover. I have yet to read a Virginia Wolfe novel. Some day that will be remedied.

Confession time. I bought another book. It arrived about and hour ago.

The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King



This is the third book by Thomas King that I acquired I read The Truth About Stories some years ago and subsequently bought One Good Story, That One. The first book impressed me enough to seek out more. I have not read the second book yet, but I am still under the influence of the first on to go for my latest purchase with confidence that it will be good.

>23 pgmcc: MrsLee has done that to me as well. :)

>28 fuzzi:
What can we do? She just keeps shooting and shooting.

You know, I think she enjoys it.

>29 pgmcc: call the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms)?

I think she enjoys shooting us.

>23 pgmcc: If we had a Golden Arrow, I expect she'd win it. She got me once with a whole series.

>31 Meredy:
She is a real Annie Oakley with any weapon.

>30 fuzzi:
Do you think the ATF could contain her?

>20 pgmcc: I am very curious to hear what you think of Orlando. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

>33 clamairy: That means I will have to read it now.

:-)

>34 pgmcc: Yes, but you won't be judged (that much) on whether or not you also enjoy it. ;o)

>35 clamairy: As if I am not under enough pressure.
:-)

*blushes* golly!

*evil chortle as she puts more notches in her library shelf.*

On haydninvienna's thread, Richard, '-pilgrim- and I have been talking about The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek and The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin by Valdimir Voinovich. As it happens I took today off work and had a wonderful time in my study making space and rearranging books on my shelves. During this progress I came across my copies of the Švejk and Chonkin books.



The Švejk and Chonkin books are well worth tracking down and reading, as are their sequels.

Švejk is a soldier in the WWI and he is portrayed as a simpleton, but when you see how he manages to get through the war without coming to any harm you might ask yourself if he is so simple after all.

Chonkin is about Soviet soldier and the story starts before the USSR has joined in the war against Nazi Germany in WWII. Again, Chonkin is portrayed as a bit challenged, but again his actions demonstrate a logic that is flawless and protects him from harm.

>38 pgmcc: Hrmmm... sounds as though the creators of Forrest Gump may have borrowed some aspects from these works. Although Forrest did not get away completely unscathed. I am thinking of the "mosquito bite" on the buttocks that he put on public display for President Johnson.

>38 pgmcc: There Is a resolution problem with your photograph image again

And I really, really want to be able to read what the other titles on that shelf are.

>39 ScoLgo: I never watched Forrest Gump, so cannot comment.

I seem to detect a lot of Voinovich there. How do they compare?

>40 -pilgrim-:
From left to right:

By Valdimir Voinovich*
- The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of private Ivan Chonkin
- In Plain Russian
- In Plain Russian (Yes, a duplicate.)
- The Fur Hat
- The Anti-Soviet Soviet Union
- Moscow 2042
- Moscow 2042 (Yes, another duplicate, but a different edition.)
- The Ivankiad
- The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of private Ivan Chonkin (A duplicate, but also a different edition.)
- The Further Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin (A sequel)
- Monumental Propaganda
- A Displaced Person (This is about Private Ivan Chonkin living in the USA. I have not read this on yet.)

By Jaroslav Hašek
- The Good Soldier Švejk
- The Red Commissar (Sequel to "The Good Soldier Švejk")

*I am not sure if I mentioned that Vladimir Voinovich was exiled from the USSR for the criticism in his writing. After the fall of the USSR he was invited back and given the State Prize of the Russian Federation for 2000, for his book "Monumental propaganda" about Soviet Neo-Stalinist legacy sitting in the subconscious of almost every citizen of the "free Russia". There is a picture of President Putin presenting the award to him which I think funny as it was probably Putin in his KGB days who kicked him out of the country.

>43 pgmcc: I haven't run across Vladimir Voinovich before. If you can recommend a starting point, you'll get a fresh notch on your BB stunner.

>44 Meredy:
Gladly.

The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin is where I suggest you begin.

>43 pgmcc: I have the first two Chonkins. (And finding a copy in the early eighties was not easy.) What do you recommend that I try next of his?

>46 -pilgrim-: The only other one I have read so far is The Fur Hat.

The Displaced Person is the sequel to the first two Chonkins.

>47 pgmcc: Having read the summary of the plot, and the importance of the type of fur one's hat is made of, I wonder whether Voinovich had read L. Lagin's short story A Glass of Water, which tells of the crucial effect on a conference delegate's career of the catering staff running out of supplies so that what he receives is different to everyone else.

Do you recommend? Your review sounded sightly lukewarm.

>48 -pilgrim-:
I enjoyed it and found it worth reading.

As an awkward kind of segue away from Russian literature, may I just note that, in an earlier thread, you had commented on the short story by Alfred Noyes The Lusitania Waits. I was sufficiently intrigued to go rummage about a bit and found the full text over on Project Gutenberg. Quite striking. (The Lusitania, Christmas hymns, wartime, etc.) I knew of Noyes from my mother reading us The Highwayman when I was a child, but I hadn't been aware that he wrote short stories. Have you read him extensively?

>48 -pilgrim-:
I have just read my review. Three stars is a rating I give a good book. Three and a half, which I gave The Fur Hat, is what I give a good book which provides more than just a story. Also, my last paragraph states that on the basis of this book I will continue to read the works of Vladimir Voinovich. That is praise indeed coming from me.

>51 pgmcc: Ok, your follow-up thrust has got me. One copy of The Fur Hat duly ordered.

>52 -pilgrim-:
:-)

>45 pgmcc: Bracing for a hit: which translation do you recommend?

I suppose I might as well just be helpful and fall over now.

Not doubting that even then I wouldn't be out of range for our >37 MrsLee:.

>54 Meredy:
Richard Laurie is the only translation I am aware of. I hope you do not injure yourself as you tumble. :-)

MrsLee is merciless.

>50 jillmwo:
I think The Lusitania Waits is the only thing written by Noyes that I have read. It was a group read in "The Weird Tradition" group. I think it was Gutenberg where I got it too.

I decided to read it because I worked for a company based in Cobh (pronounced "cove"), County Cork, and the company office building was used as a temporary mortuary for some of the bodies recovered from the Lusitania. Cobh is also the last port of call for the Titanic.

ETA: The link to the discussion thread for "The Lusitania Waits" discussion in The Weird Tradition Group: https://www.librarything.com/topic/328997#n7412320

>55 pgmcc: Ok, take your notch.

Egad, more than $20 for a paperback.

>54 Meredy: which translation do you recommend?

Very clever. The purpose of your question only struck me last evening; you were trying to see if I read it in the original Russian.

I will have to watch you.

Wow!

This was a BB from MrsLee. It certainly packs a punch. I got to the end of it and was floored.

Thank you, MrsLee, for your tenacity in insisting that I read this book. It is one of those books that had you told me what it was about I may not have gotten round to it for some time, or ever. I read Vonnegutt's Slaughter House 5 and was bowled over by that too.

There are many quotes from the book that I enjoyed. These were examples of the author's philosophy, observation, and humour. An example is a character describing the Abstract Expressionist shool of art:


“It’s the work of swindlers and lunatics and degenerates,” he said, “and the fact that many people are now taking it seriously proves to me that the world has gone mad. I hope you agree.”



Vonnegutt's writing never bored me. His narrator's voice never put me off. I was carried on in the story and found myself associating closely with the main character.

I had been feeling the book would be a 4 star as I read it, but when I read the last line I knew the impact it had on me meant I have to give it five stars.

>59 pgmcc: So glad that you enjoyed it. I read so much Vonnegut in my 20s and 30s, but my mind is turning to swiss cheese, and I believe it's time to revisit some of these.

>60 clamairy: I have several Vonneguts that I have not read yet. Bluebeard and Slaughter House 5 contain plenty of material Vonnegut was eminently qualified to write about having fought in WWII and returned home after his dreadful experience in Dresden. I must attempt some of his other books soon.

After what turned out to be quite a powerful book I need something to settle my nerves. I have chosen Eric Amblers first novel, The Dark Frontier. It appears to be about a physicist who was working on a major secret weapons project for the British government in the 1930s. He goes on holiday and the last thing he remembers is dozing off to sleep after a drink of sherry before he disappears for several weeks. The next thing he knows is he is waking up being questioned by British intelligence officers who are telling him what he has been doing for the past few weeks, activities he has absolutely no recollection of.

Is this a case of abduction, has he a split personality, was his mind manipulated by enemies of the state, or is he a spy trying to spin an unusual cover story?

These are questions I expect to be answered as I proceed deeper into the world of intrigue created by Eric Ambler.

>56 pgmcc:

Wow, you were in a book group with Gutenberg?

>62 suitable1: Don't be jealous. It does not suit you.

>63 pgmcc: *snork*

>59 pgmcc: So glad you enjoyed it!

I am just looking at my book acquisitions in 2021. I would have thought I had bought about six books. Apparently it is thirteen with another three on order. With my fifteenth thingaversary coming up next month it looks like I have made the prerequisite target to avoid a visit from the enforcers.

>66 pgmcc: We'll have to get a ruling on whether those acquisitions are within the appropriate number of days of your thingaversary.

>67 Jim53: I’ll see you in court.

I finished The Dark Frontier this evening. It was Eric Ambler's first novel. He did not shy from presenting his philosophical arguments about weapons of war and war itself. He started writing his novels in the 1930s and he uses the turmoil of Europe as a key element of his inter-war year stories. It is very educational to read his books from this period. At that time Europe was still recovering from WWI and the forces that triggered WWII were growing.

As I have mentioned before, John Le Carré regarded Ambler as an inspiration for his writing. I can see elements of Ambler's writing that worked their way into le Carré's stories. I refer to the characters' introspecion and questioning of their roles, motivation and loyalties. Ambler's way of describing people in a few short comments was a technique Le Carré honed to perfection.

Having read four of Ambler's later novels I was wondering if I would find his first work a disappointment. I did not. I must admit I thought the premise a little juvenile when I first realised what it was, but then I went with the flow and found it more humorous than problematic.

Would I read more by Eric Ambler? Most definitely yes!

Would I recommend The Dark Frontier to anyone? Yes!

Who would I recommend it to? Anyone who enjoys espionage stories. If you have seen the original film of The Lady Vanishes then you know the type of atmosphere created in The Dark Frontier. If you enjoyed it and films of its ilk, then you will enjoy The Dark Frontier.

Having mentioned my 2021 purchases I thought I would analyse why I bought them. In the listing below (e) indicates an e-book.

The Eric Ambler novels are easy to explain. Regulars here will remember I was smitten by Eric Ambler's The Mask of Dmitrios when I picked it as the third book in a three-for-the-price-of-two deal at Birmingham airport. I had two books I positively wanted and was looking for something else I might like. When I saw The Mask of Dmitrios on the shelf I had a vague recollection of someone in The Green Dragon discussing it in favourable terms and decided to give it a chance on the basis of its maybe having been mentioned favourably and its being free. I cannot remember who mentioned it but they can claim a book bullet (BB) hit. Given that it has led me to seek out Ambler's other works I suppose they can claim mutiple hits.

At this stage I have read five of Ambler's books and am determined to read them all. The six below complet my collection of his novels and represent anticipated hours of pleasant reading time.

Passage of Arms by Eric Ambler
Send No More Roses by Eric Ambler (e)
Dirty Story by Eric Ambler (e)
Judgement On Deltchev by Eric Ambler (e)
To Catch a Spy by Eric Ambler
The Levanter by Eric Ambler

Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut (e)
This is a BB fired by MrsLee. She not only fired the shot at me but emptied her BB gun into me and ran up to my prostrate body and proceeded to batter me with it.

Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake
Meredy is the person who fired this BB. She was relentless in her pursuit of a hit. I believe she hit several other GD members before I succumbed to the relentless fire. She was much more subtle than MrsLee in her approach. She just laid down a pattern of quotes from the book and let the author's words do the damage.

Other Minds: The Octopus and the Evolution of Intelligent Life by Peter Godfrey-Smith
This is a book that I remember being talked about enthusiastically in The Green Dragon some time ago. When I was ordering Entangled Life this book popped up and I was suckered into an impulse buy. I should, therefore be considered another GD BB. I cannot remember the people involved but I am sure you know who you are.

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (e)
Another GD BB. I suspect jillmwo, clamairy and Sakerfalcon as the culprits. There may have been one or two others taking pot-shots with this one.

The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King
I have read Thomas King's short stories before and when I came across this collection I thought it was time I read some more. His Native North American view of the world is refreshing and helps present a different way of looking at things. I have found the other stories of his that I have read very rewarding and thought provoking.

Orlando by Virginia Woolf
This is one of our current Lockdown Bookclub books and that is why I got it. I have only just started reading it. Maybe I am tired but the first eight pages have not bowled me over.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
While I was always inclined to buy this because it was a Susanna Clarke book I had decided not to, not for a while anyway. Haydninvienna and Sakerfalcon launched what can only be described as a pincer movement and attacked my flanks. Their constant praise for Piranesi left me wounded on the battlefield. They can claim BB notches for this one.

The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke (e)
I read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell when if first cam out and have always intended picking up this book. When I was ordering Piranesi The Ladies of Grace Adieu popped up. I decided to pick up the e-text edition. Why the e-text? Economic reasons. :-) Yes, Haydninvienna and Sakerfalcon can probably claim some credit for this one as I would probably not have bought it just yet if I had not been ordering Piranesi.

Quiller: The Striker Porfolio by Adam Hall (e)
The Quiller Memorandum film is a comfort watch for me. A while ago I decided to investigate the origins of the story and realised there was a whole series of books about Quiller by Adam Hall. I dipped my toe in with The Quiller Memorandum, the first in the series, read the second, The 9th Directive, and have decided to work my way through them one by one. This is the third.

The Gothic Tales of Sheridan Le Fanu edited by Xavier Aldana Reye
i am a great fan of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's stories and this was a guilty pleasure purchase. I have his complete works in Sony e-reader format, but decided I would treat myself to this lovely edition for my birthday.

Mindset by Dr Carol Dweck
This was recommended on a development programme I am enrolled on for work. It looks good.

I may have missed several BB snipers who aided and abetted in the above acquisitions but I thank you nonetheless. :-)

>70 pgmcc: MrsLee is my role model for marksmanship in the BB category.

>71 Meredy: yep. To borrow a phrase from Louis L'Amour: "He was shot to doll rags" (meaning pgmcc). 😂

Great line! Meanwhile, I'm somewhat chagrined to admit that Blue Beard, by Kurt Vonnegut, seems to have ricocheted off him.

>73 Meredy:
Hee! Hee! Hee!
Little victories.

>71 Meredy:
The two of you make a formidable team.

>72 fuzzi:
Me thinks you take too much pleasure from my being shot to doll rags.

>70 pgmcc: I think I may have been responsible for The Mask of Dimitrios BB - I remember discussing the film with you. If so, I have been hit by the ricochet, since I recently bought a copy myself from the Kindle store, as a result of your enthusiasm for his writing.

>77 -pilgrim-:
I see our discussion here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/309135#6932563

>78 pgmcc: Indeed. And that is fortuitous. Since last week I managed to retrieve my copy of Grace O'Malley from the packing crate.

>79 -pilgrim-:
I will be interested in your opinion. Not many people in Ireland know of her actions at Kinsale.

>70 pgmcc: I saw a discussion of Mindset in an interview of Erik Spoelstra, who is the head coach of the Miami Heat in the NBA. I consider him one of the most thoughtful and innovative coaches in the league, so after hearing him speak highly of it, it was a no-brainer for me to pick up a copy. I read it in bits and pieces (this was when I was working on Watson and was incredibly busy) and was quite impressed by some parts. I might visit it again and see how I can apply it to retirement, or to some particular undertaking.

>81 Jim53: I did not know you worked on Watson. That must have been fascinating. Does he keep in touch? I am sure he keeps tabs on you. :-) Were you teaching him how to play chess?

>81 Jim53: When you say worked on Watson, do you mean at IBM Research, or one of the spin-off groups like Watson Health?

>70 pgmcc: & >71 Meredy: Honestly, you both make it very easy. You WILL keep jumping in front of the bullets.

One of these days Entangled Life will probably make its way into my home, but I am feeling very compelled to read the hundreds of books in my house that I've collected over the years, and having a slow time of it due to lack of concentration, so I'm not tempted to shop for anything at the moment.

>84 MrsLee:

so I'm not tempted to shop for anything at the moment.

Meredy, obvious signs of denial. She is weakening. Send in the fungi!

>85 pgmcc: pshaw!

I have started reading Orlando by Virginia Woolf. It is one of the book club books that will be discussed at our session on the evening of 18th. It has taken me a bit of time to get into it and I am not totally convinced that it will be something I enjoy. I know that clamairy will be watching my reaction to the book and deciding what level of judgement she will pass upon me if I do not like it.

>87 pgmcc: I'm not sure enjoy is the word I would use. I found it fascinating.

>87 pgmcc: I seem to recall that you had a different reaction than I to Mrs. Dalloway. That was a book that did not really engage me. I had a better time with Orlando but, like >88 clamairy:, I found it more fascinating than enjoyable. Those two books are the extent of my Virginia Woolf experience to date. I have it in mind to perhaps attempt To the Lighthouse one of these days. Have either of you read that one?

>89 ScoLgo: I haven't read Mrs. Dalloway...yet. Orlando is my first Virginia Woolf so it may influence whether or not I read Mrs. Dalloway.

>88 clamairy: That makes me feel a little better. Or maybe not. I have reached the part where he has just recovered from his one week in a coma after having abandoned his fiancé at court and been humiliated by the Russian lady.. I am finding it easier to read than the first thirty pages.

>90 pgmcc: Whoops! I apologize for my mistaken recollection.

>91 ScoLgo: No problem. If I had a penny for every time I had a mistaken recollection I would be...

>90 pgmcc: I have! To The Lighthouse was very good. I liked Mrs. Dalloway even more. Remember I went to grad school for Literature, so chewy books don't always bother me the way they bother some people.

>84 MrsLee: Oh, you don't have to shop at all. Let me help:

Order from Sheldrake's site
Order from Amazon
Preorder paperback from publisher
Order from me*

See? You're welcome.

>85 pgmcc: Thanks. That was fun.

-----
*Just kidding.

It is interesting to see how one BB Sharp-Shooter, >94 Meredy:, takes on another, >84 MrsLee:.

Is this the challenging overtures leading up to a title fight for Champion BB Sniper of The Year? Is this the sparing at the press conference? Or is it the trial jabs of the first round where the contestants are probing one another's defences and gathering intelligence for the long rounds ahead?

Whatever stage this challenge is at I hope you will tune in to watch developments as >94 Meredy: and >84 MrsLee: slug it out and settle into what promises to be an exciting competition. Who will be the 2021 Champion BB Sniper of The Year?

This is your ringside commentator signing off for PGMCC Radio. Until the next time, keep safe!

>95 pgmcc: I think the winner might have to go up against sakerfalcon. She's been hitting me right and left.

>83 Karlstar: not research. I worked on a couple of the applications, mostly the conversation service, which was in its infancy at the time.

>96 Jim53: We will have to set up a scoring mechanism and league table.

>97 pgmcc: But are the best snipers also the most often hit?

Will your league table this absolute or relative values (i.e. hits-wounds)?

Haha, you guys.

Come on, MrsLee, let's go have lunch and then spend the afternoon prowling bookstores.

>95 pgmcc: I have to agree with >96 Jim53: because I think I've taken the most bullets from Claire the last few years. Also, Peter, you do a fair amount of spraying those BBs yourself!

Honestly, I think I am receiving marksmanship honors above and beyond what I deserve, but ya'll have to wait for the result because >99 Meredy: Meredy and I are out to lunch!

>101 MrsLee: I may have mentioned this before, but it is relevant in terms of you and >99 Meredy: going out to lunch together.

In the Pre-COVID days there was a small coffee-shop/sandwich bar near where I work. It was call "Cahoots!" Of course when I met friends there for lunch or a coffee we were, in Cahoots. I thought it appropriate to bring this up at this juncture.

>:D That is my devil face you are seeing right there.

>103 MrsLee: It all makes sense now that I remember that you and Meredy live in California.

I am definitely not in the same league as Meredy and Lee! They are the masters, I am a mere apprentice!

>102 pgmcc: That is a great name!

>105 Sakerfalcon: I think you are being very modest.

>106 pgmcc: Think about it, though. It is lot easier to nail unsuspecting people with a hail of rapid fire BBs. It's in her best interest to feign modesty. Yours too, I might add. No one has mentioned YouKneek. She has some marksmanship! Karlstar and ScoLgo are no slouches, either.

And I have been hit several times by our dear clamairy and pgmcc, though I notice they quietly leave themselves off the list, pretending to be martyrs.

>108 MrsLee: My specialty the last few years seems to be sharing BBs I was already hit with myself. I spread those things around... like typhoid.

>107 clamairy: Yours too, I might add.

I know not what you mean.

Now that I think about it the person who has hit me more than anyone else is jillmwo.

>109 clamairy: Be they ricochets or not, "Typhoid 'mairy" has definitely shot me on numerous occasions.

This pub is filled with a regular murderers row of sharp shooters!

>112 ScoLgo: That’s part of why it’s such a fun place. I never cease to be amazed also at the variety of BBs.

>113 haydninvienna: Definitely! I have put many books on my TBR that I would never have considered - or even heard of - were it not for the Green Dragoneers.

>112 ScoLgo: I like the sound of that nickname.

>113 haydninvienna: & >114 ScoLgo: Agreed. I've read many a gem thanks to the denizens of this pub, both past and present.

>115 clamairy: Me too. So--our projectiles are actually diamonds and rubies, then, with an occasional lump of coal just for contrast. Pelt me with sapphires, my friends. I can take it.

>116 Meredy: You might want to reconsider your last comment. The sapphire we found in Scotland was very small, but it was also an object with very sharp points. Being pelted with sapphires might require you to have a thick pelt to prevent injury.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY EVERYONE!

Have a great day.

We have watched a few films over the past few days. We have been lucky to find films that were not rubbish. They included:

The Intern with Robert de Niro, Anne Hathaway and Rene Russo. It was the cast that drew us to the film and it was a pleasant and rewarding watch. Robert de Niro's character is a recently retired widower who has grown weary of his freedom and what he sees as lack of structure to his day. He happens to see an advertisement for a "Senior Intern" programme at a start-up internet company. It is worth a watch.

I Care A Lot Cast includes Rosamund Pike, Eiza González, Dianne Wiest and Peter Dinklage. I had never heard of Rosamund Pike or Eiza González and only discovered Dianne Wiest and Peter Dinklage were in it once I started watching the film. I have loved Dianne Wiest's work whenever I have seen her. I loved her portrayal of Louise Keeley in "The Bird Cage". It was the plot description that brought me to watch this film. It is not giving anything away to tell you what the premise is as it is in the streaming site's description of the film. Rosamund Pike's character is a court appointed guardian for elderly people whom the court deems incapable of looking after themselves. While this may appear to be a worthy profession it takes on a less caring image when you realise that Rosamund Pike is bribing people, primarily doctors, to declare these wealthy older citizens unfit to look after their own affairs. The guardian is duly appointed and proceeds to commit them to a home where they are deprived of any contace with their family, and begins to sell off their property supposedly to pay the care home fees. She is a robber. One day she has another victim appointed to her care an shipped off to the home. She was under the impression that this lady had not family connections. It turns out she does have FAMILY connections. Clever plot.

The Accountant starring Anna Kendrick, Ben Afffleck, John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor. Another clever plot. It involves a forensic accountant digging into the books of companies to investigate any potential fraudulant activity. It appears accounting and auditing is not as boring as I thought. :-) This is the first film in which I have seen Anna Kendrick. I thought she played her character perfectly. I must watch out for her in other films. One think I could not get out of my head was how like the young Carie Fisher she looked.

You are correct, watching these films has taken up valuable reading time but it meant I got to spend time with my dear wife.

>118 pgmcc: And a happy St. Paddy's Day to you, too!

Happy St Patrick's Day Peter! I hope you can celebrate somehow.

>120 hfglen: >121 Sakerfalcon: What they said! Although I never participated in St Patrick's day in ints full dubious glory, there was still something special about being in Dublin for it.

>118 pgmcc: Happy St Patrick's Day! ☘️

>118 pgmcc: Happy St. Patrick's Day!

>119 pgmcc: We really enjoyed The Intern. Not a bad thing to say about it.

>112 ScoLgo: If we're handing out nicknames, should >108 MrsLee: be 'Pat Benatar'?

>119 pgmcc: Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I liked The Accountant quite a bit more than expected when going into it.

The Intern is on my TBW list. Good to hear that it's worthwhile. Hadn't heard of I Care A Lot but you have convinced me to seek it out.

It's probably safe to say that Peter Dinklage is most famous for playing Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones, (a show I have not yet watched). I have seen him in a couple of other things and was blown away by his work in The Station Agent. Bobby Cannavale and Patricia Clarkson are also great. It's a movie that relies less on action - or plot - than it does on characterization. It's a quiet little film that explores the foibles of human relationships and is well worth a watch for anyone that hasn't seen it. Should also be a good one for train buffs.

>125 Karlstar: Haha!

>126 ScoLgo: "It's a movie..." Which movie are you talking about in your last paragraph?

>127 Meredy: The Station Agent

Peter's been a bit quiet today ...

Thank you everyone for the St. Patrick's Day Wishes. I have been quiet on LT and in the GD today because I was doing things in the garden and about the house; mostly relaxing. For the past three hours I have been working and am popping in here for a quick one now that I have sent off the document I was preparing.

Very little reading done today. The weather was beautiful but chilling here. We did have our first cup of tea in the garden for this year. If you stayed in the sun it was warm enough to sip the tea.

Keep well and enjoy the rest of the day wherever you are.

>125 Karlstar: I didn't know Lee had a pet shark.

pgmcc My uncle used to say something like, "It's the saint's day, God be good to him and keep his eyes off us for a bit."

>58 pgmcc: I've just started The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin. So. Keep claiming innocence, do.

>132 Meredy: I do not know what you are talking about.

Ambles off down the road, hands behind back, whistling tunelessly, while trying to look nonchalant.

>133 pgmcc: I'll bet you're trundling.

Happy St. Patrick's day - I'm having a Guinness in honour of the occasion!

Whew! Just in time to wish you a Happy St. Patrick's Day.

I wore a green ribbon in my hair all day. It clashed with the turquoise I was wearing otherwise, but somehow that didn't seem wrong.

>125 Karlstar: I confess I had to go to my husband to figure that out, the name was familiar, but no ring-a-ling until he sang the song. lol

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all, and to all a good night!

>138 MrsLee: So would you please explain it to me, then?

>139 Meredy: I had never heard of this singer before this conversation, but after learning from >138 MrsLee: that this was a song reference, I assume the relevance is the chorus "Hit me with your best shot..."

>125 Karlstar: I got the reference, though I never was a huge fan of Pat Benatar. She was everywhere on the airwaves in the 1980s.

Even though I wasn't a fan, I loved her "Love is a Battlefield" video. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGVZOLV9SPo)

The video showed that while Pat can sing the walls down, she can't dance. Too funny.

>119 pgmcc:

The Accountant is one of the few movies that I've enjoyed multiple times. I guessed the plot twist about half-way through.

There's talk of a sequel and that kinda worries me.

>138 MrsLee: >140 -pilgrim-: >141 fuzzi: I appreciate you folks allowing me to indulge my love of music references!

>144 Karlstar: I like it when we go "off topic", as long as pgmcc is okay with it...

>145 fuzzi:
I have it on good authority that pgmcc is okay with it. He is up to his oxters with work so is not in the GD as much as he would like but enjoys all the posts when he drops in.

I have started Eric Ambler's Uncommon Danger. It is set in the late 1930s and is an espionage thriller involving the smuggling of secrets across borders and the players include Russian intelligence, Nazis, and a freelance journalist. Like many of Ambler's works it is about an ordinary person getting tangled up in the affairs of those involved in espionage.

Uncommon Danger is the first Eric Ambler I ever bought. At the time of purchase, June 2013, I selected it from the blurb; the author's name was not familiar to me. Those of you who have read my introduction to Ambler might recall that I picked up The Mask of Dimitrios in an airport bookshop to make up the last book in a three for price of two offer, and that I picked it up because I had remembered someone mentioning Eric Ambler in a favourable light. That was 2019. It was when I was cataloguing The Mask of Dimitrios that I realised I had another Ambler book, namely Uncommon Danger. I am only getting round to reading it now.

Last week I was prompted to buy another Ambler book entitled, Background to Danger. I have drawn up a list of Ambler's novels and this was not on it. I quickly acquired the Kindle edition of Background to Danger for £2.94. It was only afterwards that I realised that Background to Danger and Uncommon Danger are the same book. My physical book has the title Uncommon Danger while the Kindle is Background to Danger. I have also learned that a film of the story was made and it was called "Background to Danger" which explains the two book titles.



One thing I noticed is that the physical book contains a prologue that sets some farily important context and this prologue is not in the Kindle edition. Curiouser and curiouser!

I have abandoned Orlando at page 118. I have been having to drag myself to the book rather than the book grabbing me and pulling me through the story.

Those of you familiar with the book will know that it is more of a biography rather than a story. I found the first half of the book quite a drag. Why did I find it a drag? The main character in the first half is a hateful character who is totally absorbed in themselves. He has everthing handed to him on a plate and considers himself the most put-upon person in the world. He is mysogynistic, selfish, and is prown to bouts of depression during which he concludes nothing is worth anything.

Given Virginia Woolf's own history of depression, her suicide attempts and ultimate success in this regard, she was obviously very knowledgeable of the thinking process that was demonstrated in Orlando's case. I did not find it fulfilling reading about someone's depression when I know the author ultimately killed herself. That I did not find enriching. Mental illness and depression are dreadful things but I do not need to read about them to become aware of them and how deadful they are. I know plenty of people who suffer from them in real life and do not need to read about them when I am reading to relax.

I have also found the language tiresome. Woolf's studies equipped her to write about the period her book is set in. She obviously knew a lot about the dress, the customs, foods, the aristocracy and their habits, but I found it quite boring as she brought us through the priveliged world of the royal court and described the total selfishness and self-centred behaviour of Orlando.

I have reached the part of the book where Orlando has tranformed into a woman and has returned to England. It is an interesting mechanism to give descriptions of the awful inequailities suffered by women from the viewpoint of a woman who has grown up a man. It is poynant that many of the same inequailities and abuses still exist, but it does not make for entertaining reading. My wife is repulsed by the book for this very reason. She does not want to read a book that demonstrates a problem that is still with us. She does not see it as serving a purpose today, but would rather see action taken to rectify the issues. She feels the book has served its purpose but action is needed now.

I see this as an important book in highlighting the injustices against and abuse of women but it is not an entertaining book. There is nothing uplifting in it. I have little enough reading time to spend it reading something that is ultimately depressing.



This is one of our book club reads and I find that the only reason I am reading the book is because it is a book club read. Today I snapped and put it aside. I have started another Eric Ambler, an espionage novel set in the years between WWI and WWII. Much more uplifting. :-)

Thank you all for the St Patrick's Day wishes. Work has been pretty busy this week, hence my limited time in the pub.

>144 Karlstar: By the way, thanks for the ear worm. :/

In the twelve days I spent reading Orlando I reached page 118. In under twenty-four hours reading Uncommon Danger I have reached page seventy-five. I think this proves I made tge right decision in abandoning Orlando.

Currently sitting in the garden reading with a blackbird and a wren providing the musical background.

Very peaceful and relaxing.

>151 pgmcc: Definitely not worth the time and effort if you're feeling as though you have to force yourself to read it. I've been bailing on books that leave me feeling uneasy or depressed right and left these days. I think the pandemic and shutdown have a lot to do with this. It's been almost 20 years since I read Orlando, and I'm not sure I could get through it now.

>150 MrsLee: Oops, sorry?

Hi Peter! Thanks for reaching out to me via messaging. An extremely belated Happy New Year.

From your first thread of this year:

I just snagged a free Kindle copy of Castle Rackrent. I only read perhaps 5-10% of books on my Kindle each year, and free is a great enticement.

Lovely, marvelous bookcases.

Genres are simply book marketeers' categories to help them simplify their customer segmentation and sales targetting efforts. Down with genres. Come the revolution books will be free to sit side be side with any other book, no matter what that book is. To the barricades bookcases.

I agree – down with genres, side by side no matter what the genre is. With 5000+ books on my shelves, I keep track of them with location tags. My goal is to maximize shelf space, and my current estimate of inventory accuracy is 98.99% (books tagged 'misshelved'/total books). My wish list is kept in a separate LT account.

I love your Kindle bookshelf.

>59 pgmcc: Onto the wish list it goes.

Happy almost Thingaversary.

>148 pgmcc: I reluctantly finished Orlando in 2012 and then systematically deaccessioned everything else by Wolfe from my shelves except for A Room of One’s Own, which I still haven’t read. I should have abandoned Orlando, as it left me with a sense of Life Wasted While Reading This Book.

>152 clamairy: I have reached the point in life were I do not want to be doing things I do not want to be doing if I can avoid it. I read for pleasure or interest. I do not need books to depress me or tell me what is wrong with the world. I have the world to show me that.

>154 karenmarie:
Likewise, extremely belated HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope you get some interest and entertainment from Castle Rackrent. Like yourself I tend to read only a fraction of the books on my Kindle. I have started consciously looking at what in on the Kindle when deciding what to read next. It is so easy to pick up a title on Kindle when it is only for a few points, or pence, or, as you say, FREE.

I am glad you like the bookcases. It was fun putting them together and then converting the stacks of boxes into books on shelves. Now i have all these empty boxes that I will probably start filling with books as I have no room for new books on the shelves I have just filled. :-) I could have worse vices.

Delighted to hear you concurr with my feelings on genres.

Having worked in manufacturing and distribution I am very familiar with inventory record accuracy. Your 98.99% is very impressive. The key to having good inventory accuracy is good procedures and good people following those procedures. You obviously have both.

I remember a Materials Manager at a client site who only ever checked the stock locations that reported 100% inventory record accuracy after stock checks. He reckoned, correctly, that it is virtually impossible to attaing 100% accuracy and when he saw 100% accuracy he went looking for stock adjustment transactions put into the system after an audit. :-)

It pleases me that you like the Kindle bookcase. It had to be done.

...a sense of Life Wasted While Reading This Book.

Perfectly put. I think this is such a perfect phrase it should be immortalised in an acronym: ASOLWWRTB. With your permission I will be using this for some books in the future. I may even go back to books I have read in the past and add this as a tag to the books that deserve it.

>155 pgmcc: Exactly.

>155 pgmcc: hear, hear!

(or is it "Here, here!" ??)

>158 fuzzi:
I used to think it was Here! Here! meaning “I agree here”. Then I read an explanation of its origins and apparently it was an exhortation for people to listen, hence, “Hear! Hear!” meaning, “Hear what is being said.” Modern equivalent could be “Listen!”

>151 pgmcc:

How fast does the blackbird read?

>160 suitable1: Flies through the material.

>161 pgmcc:

I can picture you reading to the birds.

>162 suitable1: He is instructing them in the craft.

>163 MrsLee: You are very perceptive.

I finished Uncommon Danger last night. I really enjoy the Eric Ambler stories. Having read a couple randomly I am trying to read them in order of publication. This one was published in 1937 and gives a glimpse of Europe in the years shortly before WWII.

The Touchstone brings you to the title Background to Danger. Apparently the publisher did not like the word "Background" and changed it to Uncommon Danger. This resulted in the book coming out in all English speaking countries except the USA as Uncommon Danger, while it came out as Background to Danger in the US and the film based on the story has the US title.

Because of the two titles I have ended up owning a physical copy of Uncommon Danger and a Kindle version of Background to Danger. The only difference I have spotted so far, apart from the obvious physical difference, is that the Kindle edition does not include the Prologue that is in the physical copy and adds a significant weight to the messages Ambler was giving in this book.

Enough of the factual publication stuff. Did I enjoy it?

Yes, I enjoyed it very much. I find his books have the atmosphere of old black & white movies; things appear to quaint compared to present days, and the actions come across as very old school. The atmosphere is similar to that in films like The Maltese Falcon.

Graham Greene and John Le Carré both said Ambler's work influenced them and I can see pre-echos of Le Carré's style in some of the stories, especially of his short, pithy introductions of characters. The introduction of Frau Bastaki is a case in point:

"Frau Bastaki was a silent, middle-aged woman with untidy greying hair and a parched, unhealthy complexion. She sat stiffly in a high backed chair and stared at her clasped hands. It was obvious that she found her husband's guests as uncongenial as they found her."

Ambler was obviously very familiar with the countries and cities he set his story in. This one visited London, Prague, Vienna, and other smaller locations. I also love the historic backdrop he provides and the glimpses you get of society in the various locales.

The Ambler stories I have read so far are all about some normal person going about their normal business and then getting embroiled in some espionage scheme, a bit like Roger Thornhill in Hitchcock's film, North by North-West, one of my favourite movies.

One think I learned about Ambler is that he wrote a number of film scripts, including the script for A Night to Remember, the first film made about the sinking of the Titanic.

Would I be inclined to read more by this author?

Definitely.

Would I recommend this book to other people?

Yes!

Who would I recommend it to?

Anyone who enjoys espionage, or even noir detective stories.

I have returned to my stalled 2020 read. This is a fascinating book about Behavioural Economics; the behaviours marketeers love to use to get us to spend more.

My reading this books was interupted by my wife starting to read it. I made the mistake of reading bits from the book to her and she, being an economatrician (an economist who does hard sums), asked if she could read it. I proffered the book and picked up something else in the meantime. Now I am returning to finish it.

I have started reading The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. It is one of the book club books for our April meeting. Unlike the majority of books picked by the book club members it is great fun and totally unpretentious. (Oops! Did I say that out loud?)

The other book club book for April is Actress by Anne Enright. I suspect I might not be able to say the same for this book.

LOVE Chandler. TBS is the weakest of the novels, but it's the first and most well known. I hope you enjoy it. I have the complete Folio Society set and will do a group read of any of them anytime.

>168 Bookmarque:
I have seen some of the films based on Chandler’s stories but have never read the books. I bought a three volume paperback set for my wife years ago and now I am getting to read them. TBS is the first novel in Volume 1. I must check if they are all chronologically presented.

I love the genre and am really enjoying this one. I was reading in the garden and when I came back into the house my wife told me I was laughing away.

The language is the best. Sometimes I open a book at random just to find a prize snippet of dialogue or a description of someone from Marlowe's perspective. It's priceless.

>170 Bookmarque:
That is my favourite element of his stories too.

>167 pgmcc: The Big Sleep is one of my all-time favorite movies, and I did read the book at one point. I don't recall much except how the screenwriters and Howard Hawks pussy-footed around elements of the story to get past the censors...

Just finished work for the long weekend. Having a nice gin & tonic while I wait for our Chinese food to be delivered. Life is good.

I might finish Chandler's The Big Sleep this evening. Then again, I might not.

Long weekends are nice.

>173 pgmcc: Enjoy your weekend, Peter. Hey, what kind of gin?

>174 clamairy: The Hendrick's was empty so I had a cheapo called, "Corley's".

Today I finished Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep, a classic amongst Noir Detective novels. This is the first Chandler I have read and I enjoyed it a great deal. Having seen two version of this on the screen, and having watched the Humphrey Bogart/Lauren Bacall version I was well aware of the story, but this did not affect my enjoyment of reading the book. It meant, of course, the Bogart and Bacall were in my mind's eye as I read. That was no bad thing, if you know what I mean, shshweetheart.

Will I read more Chandler?
Yes!

Would I recommend this book?
Yes!

Who would I recommend it to?
Anyone who likes old private detective movies and stories.



hfglen will be glad to know I have started reading Africa's Top Geological Sites by Richard Viljoen. Hugh hit me fair and square between the eyes with this one and I am enjoying the geological history, the maps and the photographs. This is a beautiful book and I will take my time enjying it. I will probably not read it cover to cover, but will read one or two chapters at a time. There is a chapter for each of the 44 sites covered. I am currently enjoying the Introduction which provides an overview of the main gelogical regions in Africa and the primary processes that have affected, and are currently affected, these areas.

>176 pgmcc: Probably the best way to enjoy Africa's Top Geological Sites, indeed! By the way, not every chapter is a specific site: one is about gemstones, another about early hominins, and so on. But most are specific places.

>177 hfglen:
It is a lovely book. Thank you for shooting me.

>175 pgmcc: If you haven't tried this one yet please sample it when you can.

>179 clamairy: I recall my son having this. I will try it when I get the chance. We are still on a 5km limited travel lockdown with pubs closed as they are considered non-essential. Pubs non-essential in Ireland. Sure isn’t it enough to drive a person to drink?

>180 pgmcc: They are open with limited capacity here, but I don't go in. One of my favorite wine & spirits shops is still curbside pick-up or delivery only. I like to browse, so I am going elsewhere.

Cases are picking up again here sadly. It's that damned UK variant. :o(

>181 clamairy: It's that damned UK variant. :o(

No politics now! :-)

There is a pub near my work called The Gin Palace. You will never guess what they specialise in. :-) Growing up I associated the term "Gin Palace" with the Victorian and earlier eras in London as a place where the less well off went to get drunk on cheap gin.

Well, they have an amazing range of gins and have been going strong since before the recent craze in gin and the creation of so many gin brands started. I read a report a year or two ago that explained the suddent explosion in the gin brands. The explanation given was that many companies, entrepreneurs and the such, are launching new brands of whiskey. This has led to multiple gin brands because whiskey has to be aged for ten or more years. Gin, however, can be made in a still and bottled and sold immediatley. These new enterprises have been installing their distillation equipment and producing gin to sell in the short-term and hence fund their enterprises while waiting for their whiskeys to age. They both use the same distillation equipment so they are having it generate cash while the whiskey sits in kege for 10 or 12 or 15 or 50 years to age.

>182 pgmcc: I wonder if that is the same reason it's booming here? I thought it was because people have been trying to cut back on carbs so beer (and to some extent wine) have been replaced with gin & vodka. LOL

I have been making myself very low alcohol drinks made with a splash of Campari, an even smaller splash of gin and then about 10 ounces of seltzer. It looks very pretty and tastes like something, but doesn't hit me at all.

>182 pgmcc: That would explain some of the breweries around here I've seen specializing in gin and whiskey then. I spelled that with a "ey" since I am in your thread. :)

Also, great minds think alike because though I hadn't seen this thread until now, I came home from work today and had a gin and tonic whilst waiting for my beloved to bring home Chinese food for dinner.

>184 MrsLee: I am beginning to think we have a lot in common. :-)

I spelled that with a "ey" since I am in your thread. :)

Your respect for the superior beverage is noted and appreciated. :-)

>You are disrespecting the uisge beatha, Peter? :-o

>185 pgmcc: >186 -pilgrim-: I thought >184 MrsLee: was talking about bourbon.

>187 haydninvienna: LOL

In an effort to put off starting Actress by Anne Enright for the book club I have turned to Eric Ambler to give me a sense of calm and am reading "Cause for Alarm". The story takes place in pre-WWII Italy and the central character is an Englishman who has been posted to Italy to look after the interests of a British industrial machine manufacturer in that market. This is the late 1930s and the machines this company makes are used to make shells, i.e. the casings for shells, the type of shells fired from tanks, fixed guns, anti-aricraft guns, etc... The machines have no other use.

This will be a most relaxing read and will calm me before reading a supposedly literary novel.

>189 pgmcc:

The fact that I read Cause for Alarm by Eric Ambler in less than three days indicates my enjoyment of it. It was first published in 1938 and is set in Italy. Mussolini is in power and the country is building its armaments. Italy has an alignment with Nazis Germany and the rest of Europe is aprehensive about the Rome-Berlin Axis. Nicholas Marlow takes the job as Italian representative for an English machine manufacturer that supplies equipment for the production of large bore shells. You might say business is booming.

Naturally, Marlow, an engineer recently made redundant by the closure of his former employer, is new to the world of sales and is unaccustomed to the prevailing habits and practices of business in Italy. This innocent becomes embroiled in matters of corruption and international espionage.

I find the stories from the years between WWI and WWII very interesting. They give a picture of what was happening in Europe in the years before WWII. People are aware of the horrors of WWI and are pre-occupied by the risk of a future war.

Both Graham Greene and John Le Carré said they had been inspired by Eric Ambler's works, and I can see why.

Will I read more works by Eric Ambler?
Most definitely.

Would I recommend this book to others?
Yes.

To whom would I recommend?
Anyone who likes espionage adventure stories. If you like the atmosphere present in Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes, also released in 1938, or Hammett's The Maltese Falcon, chances are you will like this.

Fans of Graham Greene's work and the stories of John Le Carré should find Ambler's works interesting, albeit slightly less complex than today's tales of espionage.

"The only difference between our obsessions and Beronelli’s is that we share ours with the other citizens of Europe. We’re still listening sympathetically to guys telling us that you can only secure peace and justice with war and injustice, that the patch of earth on which one nation lives is mystically superior to the patch their neighbours live on, that a man who uses a different set of noises to praise God is your natural born enemy. We escape into lies. We don’t even bother to make them good lies. If you say a thing often enough, if you like to believe it, it must be true. That’s the way it works. No need for thinking. Let’s follow our bellies. Down with intelligence. You can’t change human nature, buddy." (from "Cause for Alarm (1938)" by Eric Ambler)

I have started reading Actress by Anne Enright. It is the second lockdown book club book for April, the first being The Big Sleep, by Raymond Chandler.

I am only a few pages in and it appears well written and I was thinking it was an easy read. It is now starting to get into the maudlin description of the main character's live in the 1970s. I may have "thougt" too soon.

It had been my intention to read Piranesi by Susanna Clarke next but I thought Actress was likely to be a slow, boring read, so I thought I had better get started and get it over with. (No pre-conceptions here.)

>190 pgmcc: "You might say business is booming."

Hah! I see what you did there...

"The only difference between our obsessions and Beronelli’s is that we share ours with the other citizens of Europe. We’re still listening sympathetically to guys telling us that you can only secure peace and justice with war and injustice, that the patch of earth on which one nation lives is mystically superior to the patch their neighbours live on, that a man who uses a different set of noises to praise God is your natural born enemy. We escape into lies. We don’t even bother to make them good lies. If you say a thing often enough, if you like to believe it, it must be true. That’s the way it works. No need for thinking. Let’s follow our bellies. Down with intelligence. You can’t change human nature, buddy." (from "Cause for Alarm (1938)" by Eric Ambler)

Oof! Sadly still true today as we close in on 100 years since Ambler wrote that. Those who refuse to learn from history, etc, etc...

I have only read The Care of Time by Ambler so far. I liked it well enough to try more at some point. I have an unread e-copy of Doctor Frigo that was part of the publisher give-away. Have you read that one yet?

>192 ScoLgo: I have not read either The Care of Time or Doctor Frigo yet. They are 1981 and 1974 publications and apart from The Schirmer Inheritance and The Intercom Conspiracy I have not reached 1940.

adly still true today as we close in on 100 years since Ambler wrote that.

This is a feature I am finding in all his books.

>190 pgmcc: That sounds like something I'd really enjoy, thanks for the review.

>193 pgmcc: Thanks. I notice that Cause For Alarm is available via Overdrive. Have just added it to my library wish list.

>195 ScoLgo: I hope you like it.

I have set aside Actress for the moment. This book has prompted me to use a TLA that I have not used before. This book is at ROA*, Risk Of Abandonment due to lack of interest or pure boredom.

That being the case, I have picked up Epitaph for a Spy by Eric Ambler. I believe this is the only pre-WWII novel of his that I have not read. I am enjoying it so far. As is usual for Ambler's novels it is about an ordinary person getting unintentionally embroiled in the world of espionage and counter-espionage.



* I suppose if I were really "Hip!" and Modern I would write that as, "'@'ROA".

>197 pgmcc: I like "risk of abandonment" as a category. ROA is better than my awkward "suspended, but not quite abandoned."

Does anything ever come back from that detention?

(If you were really "Hip!" and Modern, I wouldn't know what you were talking about.)

>198 Meredy: I fear the probability of anything ever coming back from that detention might tend towards zero.

I also suspect that ROA is a euphemism for something more dramatic. Perhaps I have a sense of a purgatory for such books, but in reality I have flung them down into Hell.

I know that is unfair to the books. The real culprits are the authors and publishers who brought these books into the world without any soul, purpose or ounce of interesting content.

I have "in abeyance" as a category. It either means
(I) this book is somewhere I can't currently get at (in storage, at a library etc.)
(II) I just can't face this at the moment, but it's actually quite a good book
(III) I might get back to this, I am not prepared to definitively say goodbye to this.

It saves a lot of guilt regarding putting a book down.

>200 -pilgrim-: That's a good description of how I feel about Seveneves - "in abeyance".

Richard (haydninvienna) mentioned synchronicity in his thread and jogged my memory regarding a recent experience I had within the past two months. This story involves my ignorance of the world of Art, painting in particular, and abstract art, or, as is the specific case, American Abstract Expressionist Art.

It all started with a Book Bullet from MrsLee. Through her posts about Kurt Vonnegut's Bluebeard I was prompted to acquire the book (well, the Kindle electronic immitation) and read it. I see from my index at the start of this thread that I started reading the book in February and finished it in March of this year. I really enjoyed the book and learned about American Abstract Expressionist Art from Mr. Vonnegut's writing. I also found the name Jackson Pollock for the first time. I may have heard the name before but it never registered with me and if anyone had mentioned it I would not know who they were referring to.

A few weeks ago my wife and I watched several, about five, good films in a row. This was remarkable for us because we have great difficulty finding films on Nerflix or Amazon Prime that interest us at all. One of those films was The Accountant starring Ben Affleck and Anna Kendrick. It has a great story and is well told.

Well, Ben Affleck's character, the eponymous Accountant, owns a Jackson Pollock. "Ding!" went my mind. I know who he is. He is a very famous American Abstract Exprssinist painter that I had never known until I read Kurt Vonnegut's Bluebeard, a book bullet from MrsLee.

If that were the only thing that happened I would think it were an interesting coincidence.

Two days later, I was watching a Ted Talk on Youtube that was recommended on a leadership course I am doing. It was about the power of vulnerability and the person giving the talk is Brené Brown. It is well worth watching and you can view it here.

At one point in the talk she is telling the audience about four days of intensive research she was doing and that her husband took the kids out of town because when she is in the zone she goes all "Jackson Pollock".

There, friends, is my recent tale of synchronicity. it has firmly embedded Jackson Pollock, and images of some of his work, in my mind.

Thank you, MrsLee, for pushing me to Bluebeard and educating me on American Abstract Expressionist Art.

>202 pgmcc: love it.

I have just finished Epitaph for a Spy by Eric Ambler. Once again Mr. Ambler has amused me and convinced me that I will continue reading works by him.

As in all the Ambler stories I have read to date, with one possible exception now that I think about it, this story involves an innocent member of the public getting inadvertently involved in dark events not of his making. In this book we are talking about espionage in late 1930s France. The action takes place on the south coast, not far from Toulon.

It is easy to see how Ambler's work influenced Greene and Le Carré. When I read an extract to my wife she said it reminded her of Raymond Chandler's writing.

I have said it before and I will see it again, I enjoy how Amblers stories between WWI and WWII present the Europe of the time and the international tensions that existed.

Will I read more works by Eric Ambler?
Most definitely.

Would I recommend this book to anyone?é
Yes.

Who would I recommend it to?
Anyone who enjoys a spy story or even a detective novel.

>203 fuzzi: I am glad you like it. I couldn't believe Jackson Pollock popping up so often in a short period of time.

I actually quite liked the Pollock painting in The Accountant.

>205 pgmcc: I find that when one reads a story that has more to give than plot, that teaches you (not in a purposeful way, but in the way you might learn about something while talking with a friend about one of their hobbies or loves) something you hadn't thought much about before, you frequently see it referenced again. I suspect that the references have been there all along, but they never had a peg to hang their clothes on before.

>202 pgmcc: There's also this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollock_(film)

It's a movie, not a biography, but still.

My favorite line: an interviewer asks Pollock how he knows when he's finished with a painting, and he replies: "How do you know when you're finished making love?"

https://www.quotes.net/mquote/1052701

>207 Meredy:

I am aware of the fish. It is being pushed here as a substitute for cod, but I have eaten pollock and found it nothing like cod. I found it very bony and was not taken by the taste.

The quote is very interesting.

>206 MrsLee:
I agree with your comments, especially the bit at the end where you give the references somewhere to hang their clothes and they get naked. I suppose up to that point they were just passing by wearing clothes and they never came to my attention.

>208 pgmcc: Bah. I posted the correct link, but this interface truncated it before the underscore and parenthetical. If you copy and paste it, it'll to take you to the right page.

Not that coming back around to food is in any way out of order around here.

>210 Meredy: Like you, I always blame the parentheticals.

>210 Meredy:
I read the film article and was amused by the following statement:

...in North America in a limited release in 2 theaters and grossed $44,244 with an average of $22,122 per theater...

I am glad the entry included that difficult calculation. :-)

Some of you may remember my reporting on The Price You Pay by Aidan Truhen and how much I enjoyed it.

You may also remember that I said the name Aidan Truhen was a cover name for a famous author.



Well, Aidan Truhen has a new book coming out on both sides of the Atlantic in May. The new book is called, Seven Demons. What's more, there will be a digital launch event for the book in the US. If I can get the link I will share it. See post 216 for link.

Apparently Aidan Truhen's true identity will be revealed by the author themselves at the launch.

>213 pgmcc: I never heard of Aidan Truhen, but his name anagrams to Naiad Hunter and Haunted Rain.

>214 Meredy: Interesting anagrams. I am not sure Haunted Rain's books would be your cup of tea. They have only published one to date, but it is totally different from anything they have written before. The first one was about a drug dealer who found that someone was encroaching on his territory and trying to kill him. He defended himself. Think Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels played for laughs and with unusual use of technology.

I found the link for Aidan Truhen’s virtual book launch on Star Wars Day! https://powerhousearena.com/events/virtual-book-launch-seven-demons-by-aidan-tru....

Having enjoyed Raymond Chanlder's "The Big Sleep" I am trying Dashell Hammett's "Red Harvest". My copy is in a volume called, The Four Great Novels which contains, "The Dain Curse", "The Glass Key", "The Maltese Falcon", and "Red Harvest".

"Red Harvest" is good, but is less witty than Chandler's style. I am still enjoying the genre.

19th April appears to be a very prestigious day to die.

Died today
1824 Lord Byron, author of Don Juan
1882 Charles Darwin, author of On the Origin of Species
1914 Charles S. Peirce, author of Philosophical Writings of Peirce
1918 William Hope Hodgson, author of The House on the Borderland
1985 Bruce R. McConkie, author of Mormon Doctrine
1989 Daphne du Maurier, author of Rebecca
1998 Octavio Paz, author of The Labyrinth of Solitude
2004 Norris McWhirter, author of The Guinness Book of Records 1993
2009 J. G. Ballard, author of Empire of the Sun
2013 E. L. Konigsburg, author of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

I have highlighted the ones I would consider famous. I suspect Bruce R. McConkie is famous too but I have not been familiar with his name.

I would say Octavio Paz was/is reasonably famous, too, but that might be me and the company I keep: I admit to not having read him.

I suspect our American friends would also add E. L. Konigsberg to the most famous list. From the mixed-up files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler is a children's classic in the US.

>217 pgmcc: My copy is in a volume called, The Four Great Novels which contains, "The Dain Curse", "The Glass Key", "The Maltese Falcon", and "Red Harvest".

I've read all of these, but TGK only once. The others several times. It's odd that Hammett didn't continue with Spade beyond Falcon. Instead he persisted with a nameless character styled as the Continental Op(erative). He works for a big detective agency, styled after Pinkerton where Hammett himself worked, and is sent on various missions. I think in The Dain Curse it's at the behest of an insurance company. In Harvest I think the old arch criminal hires him himself then changes his mind only to have the Continental Op change it back for him. That one is called The Red Harvest for a reason. A higher body count is a rare thing indeed.

Hammett is less witty or ironic than Chandler for sure, but I haven't read the Thin Man series, so maybe he saves it for that. I love the movies though and recently watched the Bogart version of Falcon. Fabulous. Sidney Greenstreet is priceless.

Have you read any Ross MacDonald? His Lew Archer series is pretty good. Archer is more like Marlowe in the fact that he has a private business and gets hired by a lot of dames.

>221 Bookmarque:
That one is called The Red Harvest for a reason. A higher body count is a rare thing indeed.

I suspected the title related to a lot of blood. I am only about 30 pages in, but the atmosphere in the town gives the impression that a high body count would be a normal weekend for the locals.

The Chandler and Hammett books have been in the house for a long time; since the 1980s I think. I bought them for my wife and have not read them myself until now. I did read "the Maltese Falcon" a few years back. I love the film, and I agree, Sidney Greenstreet is great. Peter Lorré is a favourite of mine, probably from the old horror movies with Vincent Price.

Speaking of Sidney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorré for that matter, he is in the film of Eric Ambler's The Mask of Dimitrios. I believe that book was published in the US as A Coffin for Dimitrios.

We watched the movie of Graham Greene's This Gun for Hire with Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake last night. I had not seen it before and we really enjoyed it.

Growing up in the 1960s we only had two TV channels and a small black and white set. We used to all (all eight of us) pile into the living room on Sunday to watch whatever old movie was on. It was often one of the Detective Noirs or a Western. I was surprised to see Alan Ladd play a bady in This Gun for Hire, he was normally the good guy in those Sunday movies.

In October 2019 I read my first Eric Ambler, The Mask of Dimitrios as it happens, and was hooked. That drew me into 1930s/40s/50s stories and I started getting interested in other authors of the time. Ambler's stories are mostly about espionage, but it is not that far from Detective Noir. Our book club selected The Big Sleep and that, as well as having the three Chandler volumes in the house, as well as the Hammett omnibus, plunged me into these stories. Between the Detective Noir and Ambler's espionage stories I am having a ball.

I have not read any Ross MacDonald but I suspect you have opened a gaping wound in my BB defences. I will investigate. Thank you for the pointer.

>222 pgmcc: "I believe that book was published in the US as A Coffin for Dimitrios."

Thank you for mentioning that. I was wondering why my library had 'A Coffin for Dimitrios' but not 'The Mask of Dimitrios'...?

Mystery solved. Added to wish list. Nice ricochet shot!

>223 ScoLgo: Happy to be of assistance. :-)

There are a few Eric Ambler books published under more than one title. I must put up a list when I make the time.

His first novel was published under two titles: Background to Danger and Uncommon Danger. They each bring up a different Touchstone but with the same title. I ended up buying the book under both titles. One was a physical book while the other was a Kindle edition. The Kindle edition was missing a Prologue that was present in the printed edition. The Prologue was, in my opinion, fairly important to the overall message the book was giving. The Kindle edition had the title "Background to Danger" which is the title used for the film, something I have yet to track down and watch. I put the missing prologue down to two possibilities. One, the film did not include the prologue and this edition was brought out to match the film. Two, someone messed up in the production of the Kindle edition. I have no evidence to support either hypothesis. This could be a mystery for the rest of my life. It will not, however, cost me any lost sleep. :-)

I hope you enjoy any of the Ambler books you try.

I have finished Piranesi. It was a slow start for me. The story heated up as we had a few glimpses and realisations of what was going on.

I haven't read Noir detective novels for some time, but when I was reading them, I think I preferred Chandler and Archer to Hammett. I remember having a complete works of Hammett and getting rid of it when I finished because it didn't resonate with me. I think Bookmarque hit the nail on the head with her description. Less witty and ironic.

Of course my favorite is Rex Stout. His mysteries aren't really "Noir." They have elements of both Noir and Golden Age. Archie Goodwin fits the detective of the Noir and Nero Wolfe is the classic genius detective. They are like my Volvo S40, a perfect blend of comfort like a Buick and sporty like... I don't know. Something sporty. Anyway.

>226 MrsLee:
I have not read any Rex Stout and I have only heard of him from threads here, mostly in your posts if my memory serves me correctly.

By the way, I can see what you are doing here. I can see how you are maneuvering into an angle where you fire stealth bullets at me. Yes, I have checked out Rex Stout information. Yes, you are probably going to succeed to have me read some of his work. For the moment I am putting Rex Stout on the back shelf with the Murderbot books and am totally ignoring them for a little while. I suspect they will still be there when I next go to clean that shelf.

>227 pgmcc: Well, sure, if you think you can get away with that. Uh huh. By the way, I am not the only one in here who is addicted. I believe Meredy and tardis, and several others would agree. In the other hand, YMMV. They are dated to their times in many ways and very "American." Archie is almost offensively so, although Wolfe tempers him. Enough said.

PPS Maybe just one thing more, they are very quick reads.

>228 MrsLee: is correct - I am very fond of Rex Stout's books, and Nero and Archie. A couple of times I've been brought up short by language or attitudes that are no longer acceptable, but it's actually fairly rare, given the age of the books. And Wolfe's vocabulary is a joy - I've learned all kinds of new words from him. My favourite is apodictical, although flummery, contumelious, and puerile are good, too.

>229 tardis: Puerile I know from my failed Latin days. I believe I recall flummery being discussed somewhere in the pub a while ago.

Do not think I have not noticed your teaming up with MrsLee regarding the Rex Stout BBs.

>228 MrsLee: I see your call-to-action broadcast to your co-conspirators. tardis has already answered the call with post #229. You are calling up some pretty hefty fire-power. The only thing I have on my side is the mass of books I want to read before diverging into pastures new.

>226 MrsLee: I would agree with you and Bookmarque in relation to Chandler being a more humourous read than Hammett, but Hammett does has a few moments with witty remarks, such as, "...into another room that it was less easy to funnel bullets into." (Paraphrased as I do not have the book to hand.) Such remarks are, however, less frequent than the occurrences of wit in Chandler's stories.

I might provide some backup for MrsLee and tardis as well, Peter. I think Wolfe & Goodwin are a pretty fun operation as well.

>232 haydninvienna: *Fistbump*

CONSPIRACY!

I do not need to be paranoid to know that you are all after me.

At 234 posts I think it is time I started another exciting instalment of my 2021 reading thread. Also, with a gang of expert BB markspeople firing at me from all directions I need to run somewhere to hide, not that starting a new thread will provide any protection from the rat-tat-tat of BBs against every surface around me. Still, if gives me the illusion of a fresh start.

>213 pgmcc: So, I had my suspicions but had not fully put it together...

Aidan Truhen and Nick Harkaway Discuss the Morality of Fiction, the Descent of the World, and the Addams Family

>214 Meredy: From the 'article': " “Aidan Truhen” is an anagram of “Diana Hunter”, who is a central character in a book called Gnomon."

>236 ScoLgo: So I was close with Naiad Hunter. I often suspect anagrams when I see an oddly spelled author's name.

And of course the goddess Diana was a hunter.