I have been quite reckless this afternoon. As you would expect it has to do with buying books I don't need.
I think it stems from my trip to Paris. I was greatly looking forward to visiting the Shakespeare and Co bookshop, and I managed to search it out, only to find that it was not entirely what I had expected. The lower floor was far more ordered and actually full of new books .... new books? I thought it was supposed to be a second hand shop. Well, in part it is, as can be seen by the picture above, complete with piano playing shop-goer! The upper floor was full of old and wonderful books, but they weren't for sale. You could read them, but not take away, which was such a pity. Therefore I came away with two small trifles, and not the hoard that I had anticipated!
So - therefore, out I went today, and came home with err 4 Agathe Christie's; 2 Jean Plaidy's; a Georgette Heyer, whom I've never read; a Gertrude Stein and the latest Philippa Gregory, which was being sold half price.
It's a never ending cycle, although one which I don't intend to break anytime soon!
I'd just like to take this chance to point you all in the direction of a new(ish) blog. It's all my fault she's started up again, for I have laid down the reading gauntlet and challenged her to read the Telegraph's top 100 books in a year ... Huge promises of cake have been offered as a reason to carry on.
Go seek Gemma out - her comments are usually thought provoking!
I've been a bit lax with the poem of the week, so here is one, right now, to make up for it.
Maurice Maeterlinck was born today in 1862, so it's only fitting we should have one of his:
STAGNANT HOURS
ERE are the old desires that pass, - The dreams of weary men, that die,
- The dreams that faint and fail, alas!
- And there the days of hope gone by!
-
- Where to fly shall we find a place?
- Never a star shines late or soon:
- Weariness only with frozen face,
- And sheets of blue in the icy moon.
-
- Behold the fireless sick, and lo!
- The sobbing victims of the snare!
- Lambs whose pasture is only snow!
- Pity them all, O Lord, my prayer!
-
- For me, I wait the awakening call:
- I pray that slumber leave me soon.
- I wait until the sunlight fall
- On hands yet frozen by the moon.
Also - Ingrid Bergman was born on this date in 1915, and concluded that like Shakespeare it was best to die on a date your family could remember, and so passed away on this date in 1982. She was a lady of class and talent and has long been one of my favourite actresses.
ETA: Oh! And also, William Spooner, originator of spoonerisms died on this date in 1930 .... Now, who can give me the best spoonerism?
Je suis tres fatigue ... I am back from Paris, where I have pounded the streets, seen a great amount of art work and eaten some good food. I shall post some pictures soon, but I need to select the best, and when one has taken over 700, it might take a while!
Hope everyone has had a good few days, what have you all been up to?
We have 41 medals! I laughed when I heard that the London committee had set that as their target. Now I would like to apologise to those wonderful athletes out there who have given their all and achieved some great things. And also thrown a broken hand into the mix, poor Shanaze!
Fear not - I am not about to launch into a great ream of French ... although I suppose it might be a good idea if I spoke a bit more than I actually do. I am off to Paris for Bank Holiday, and I'm slightly nervous, as I will be on my own, but I'm looking forward to walking along the banks of the Seine, prowling around the Louvre and spending at least a couple of hours in the Shakespeare and Co bookshop!
What have I been doing with myself that has meant that I havn't posted at all in the last week or so? Well, apart from seeing a couple of films and having high tea at the Randolph (an experince I will repeat as long as my bank balance permits), I have of course been reading.
I finished The Behaviour of Moths on Wednesday, which I loved. It's a fantastically woven story, although I did feel that the description of moth procedure was slightly overdone in parts, but that is a big part of the narrator, so it does fit well.
I am usually loath to liken books to others, because I feel it detracts from the authors achievements, and might even in some cases put others of reading it, if they have not liked the other book. However, I had an underlying feeling as I was reading this that it was quite similar, in tone at least, to Engleby.
I'm now reading A Long Long Way, which is good, but isn't really grabbing me.
I must go pack. Apart from not knowing what clothes to take, I am again struggling over books. I have decided upon The Phantom of the Opera, but need to decide on one or two more, as I'll probably finish Phantom on the train!
Au revoir for now!
Sorry for the long gap in posting. It's a combination of reading too much (can there ever be such a thing?), watching the olympics (Ooh, we've actually won some medals) and having an Australian cousin of my Mum's staying with us.
Normal service should be resumed by Sunday evening, but it's the Rowing finals tomorrow morning and then I'm having a film weekend (as opposed to my normal book weekend).
Prize draw will be done tonight, which shouldn't be a surprise, because only two people have entered and they've both asked for different books!
Some of you may remember that my father issued me a challenge to read 100 books this year.
I am very proud to announce that today I went over the half way point. So now I have four more months to read 49 books. Here is what I have read so far:
Andrews, Julie: The Great American Mousical
Auster, Paul: The Book of Illusions
Brookes, Geraldine: March*
Christie, Agatha: The Body in the Library
Delafield, E.M.: The Diary of a Provincial Lady*
Delaney, Frank: Ireland*"Denny, Joanna: Anne Boleyn
Diamant, Anita: The Red Tent
Diliberto, Gioia: I am Madame X*"
Du Maurier, Daphne: Jamaica Inn
Du Maurier, Daphne: The Rebecca Notebook
Du Maurier, Daphne: My Cousin Rachel*"
Faulks, Sebastian: Human Traces*"
Faulks, Sebastian: Engleby*"Ferguson, Rachel: The Brontes went to Woolworths*
Fforde, Jasper: The Well of Lost Plots
Fforde, Jasper: Lost in a good book
Fforde, Jasper: Something Rotten
Gardam, Jane: A Long way from Verona
Garfield, Simon: Mauve
Garner, Helen: The Spare Room*
Graeme Evans, Posie: The Innocent
Greene, Grahame: The End of the Affair*
Gregory, Philippa: Earthly Joys
Gregory, Philippa: The Boleyn Inheritance
Harris, Joanne: Chocolat
James, Henry: The turn of the screw
Joews, Miriam: A Boy of Good Breeding
Jones, Lloyd: The Book of Fame*
Jones, Lloyd: Mister Pip
Lewis, C.S.: Surprised by JoyLong, James: Ferney*
Lovell, Mary S.: A Scandalous Life
Lustig, Arnost: Lovely Green Eyes
Mills, Mark: The Savage Garden*
Mitford, Jessica: Hons and Rebels
Nabokov,Vladimir: Lolita
Ondaatje, Michael: The English Patient
Picardie, Justine: If the Spirit Moves You*
Picardie, Justine: Daphne*"
Picardie, Justine: My Mother's Wedding dress*"
Picardie, Ruth: Before I Say Goodbye*
Rappaport, Helen: Ekaterinberg*
Rilke, Rainer Maria: Letters to a Young Poet
Suskind, Patrick: Perfume*"
Taylor, Elizabeth: Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont
Treves, Sir Frederick: The Elephant Man
Weir, Alison: Innocent Traitor
Weldon, Fay: Letters to Alice*
Williams, Kate: England's Mistress*So, there we go. The ones with * are the ones I've really loved, and the ones with " are ones I intend to write about soon. I am currently reading 'The Behaviour of Moths', The collected letters of Nicholas and Alexandra Romanov, 'Growing Pains' by Daphne du Maurier and 'The Decameron' by Boccaccio, which my Father declares I must read or my education will be lacking. Hmm.
Think I can make it to 100 by December 31st?
