Welcome to this week’s blog. Here’s a roundup of your comments and photos from last week.
Jenna Nicholas was reading Joyce Carol Oates’s short story collection Give Me Your Heart:
Examining, in the way that only Oates can, the dark, jealous, obsessive, hopeless side of ‘love’, some of the stories are genuinely uncomfortable to read – especially The First Husband – but, as with all of the Oates I’ve read, they are tightly plotted and brilliantly written. Not really light summer reading though.
tiojo is not only reading, but somehow recreating – in Manchester– London Orbital:
I’m having an enjoyable few weeks over the summer as I gradually amble my way through Iain Sinclair’s London Orbital whilst going out on the odd day here and there to stroll around the Greater Manchester Boundary Walk – a route around the boundary of the defunct county council. Mr Sinclair’s route followed the ever so physical and audible presence of the M25 motorway whereas I am following a definitive line but one that is invisible on the ground. His route was around London, mine is round Manchester but the words affect the view nevertheless. Pyschogeography in action. It turns out not to be just a pleasant stroll around the edgelands but an exploration. Looking for evidence of the boundary on the ground. What’s the difference between one side of the line and the other? Does Beetham Tower, the always visible tallest block in the city centre, exert a centrepetal force?
caminoamigo was deep into The Sweetness of Life, a nouvelle cuisine kind of choice:
The Laurie Lee talk continued. judgeDAmNation said:
Finished reading As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee – it’s as wonderfully written as you would expect, similar to Patrick Leigh Fermor as someone else here has previously compared the two – but without the rich vein of family history and local character that he ploughs so well in Cider With Rosie, having come straight from the latter book it couldn’t help but feel a little flatter. He ruminates again on the idea of ancient living and caves connecting the past and present, but it is still just a young man walking through Spain and describing what he sees – albeit done very, very well.
Thaizinred praised Kate Atkinson’s Life after Life:
The opening third is easily as horrific as any horror story. As a small child Ursula possess the memories of her previous lives, but doesn’t have the capacity to understand what they mean. Her fear and confusion prompt her to try to change things, but often the only solution is chance intervention from another person. Trying to tell other people what she experiences just further alienates her, and causes her parents to think she’s crazy.
ID4534331 has an interesting take on Caitlin Moran’s latest book, as a 34-year-old man:
If you would like to share a photo of the book you are reading, or film your own book review, please do. Click the blue button on this page to share your video or image. I’ll include some of your posts in next week’s blog.
And, as always, if you have any suggestions for topics you’d like to see us covering beyond TLS, do let us know.
