Mr Wilder & Me, Jonathan Coe I wasn't mad about this. It passed the time pleasantly enough but at the end I wondered why I bothered reading it. I was attracted because of a positive review in the TLS and subliminally perhaps because I saw some Billy Wilder films - I thought last year - actually it was the year before! Whenever it was I had … [Read more...] about Books Read Early 2021
November Reading (plus an Overview of 2020 books read)
I’m still not typing because of my arm - also the reason I didn't write a blog in November. Very frustrating but it gave me time to do lots of reading and I really enjoyed all of the books I read over the month. Kiss Myself Goodbye, Ferdinand Mount I loved this book. It’s a detective story told with great verve and very suspenseful. The … [Read more...] about November Reading (plus an Overview of 2020 books read)
Latest Reading
I’m writing this blog via the dictaphone on my iPhone - who knew there were such things! It reminds me of my days as a young solicitor when I dictated everything that my secretary then typed up - those were the days! I'm out of practice and find it disconcerting ordering my thoughts in this way. So my comments on the books that I’ve been reading … [Read more...] about Latest Reading
Garden Update – October 2020
I'm not able to type as I am suffering from tendinopathy in my right arm. More of that when I am recovered - I'm trying acupuncture at the moment. Everyone I talk to - neighbours, former work colleagues, friends even the window cleaner this morning - gives me a dire prognosis! So it's mostly photos here, in my update since my last garden blog on 5 … [Read more...] about Garden Update – October 2020
Thomas Mann
I have loved Thomas Mann novels since first being are introduced to them, over thirty years ago, by Mr Tersch who I've talked about here. Although I’m not sure I understood them completely on a first reading. And given the passage of years I couldn't have said I really remembered them accurately. Hence the decision to re-read some. Royal … [Read more...] about Thomas Mann
Lockdown Reading
We’ve been in our second lockdown here in Melbourne since the 7th of July. It’s been harder than the first time in March-April, I suppose because we'd already done it once. As well, this time, the news has been terrible with lots of cases every day and lots of deaths, especially from aged care homes. So it's been pretty grim. We've now had the … [Read more...] about Lockdown Reading