tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-926347286766677626.post5058218794657472358..comments2024-03-17T23:08:28.960-07:00Comments on Raybeard: 'Great' novelists whom I just don't 'get'.Raybeardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424095016313843883noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-926347286766677626.post-32055060737525133482011-07-21T01:29:06.334-07:002011-07-21T01:29:06.334-07:00Yes, Spo, it's a very subjective subject. The ...Yes, Spo, it's a very subjective subject. The big problem is that people tend to think that THEY alone have the best tastes (and I plead guilty myself to some things along these lines I've said in the past) and that anyone who doesn't share their own particular values is therefore inferior in intelligence or lacking in discernment.<br /> <br />As for Austen, as I say above, I was mystified for many years why she was praised to the heavens by so many readers. I'd read maybe two or three of her novels, starting, unwisely perhaps, with 'Persuasion'. Then after much persistence, I finally got it. My fault had been to read her too quickly. Her prose needs to be allowed to 'breathe' itself into one's mind. <br />Of course the whole Austen reputation has been called into question recently by the revelation (which I tend to think was probably correct) that a very significant part of the quality of her style and prose is due more to the grammar and syntactical corrections and re-writings of her publisher than to her own talents. Pity, but if that's the case then so it is. But best of luck with the novel you are starting with, whichever of the 6 it is. If it hits you first time, which I hope it does, you're one lucky fella.Raybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12424095016313843883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-926347286766677626.post-78958841304455874692011-07-20T20:36:43.532-07:002011-07-20T20:36:43.532-07:00nothing gets people going who are book lovers shar...nothing gets people going who are book lovers sharing their authors, and hearing another say 'sorry, I don't care for that one". WHAT DO YOU MEAN??? hohoho<br /><br />I am going to read my first Jane Austen this summer- I want to know what all the fuss is about.Ur-spohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04237644452200889946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-926347286766677626.post-90786100646177991712011-07-19T23:22:33.508-07:002011-07-19T23:22:33.508-07:00Every one has his own priorities, Tai. Books don&#...Every one has his own priorities, Tai. Books don't give the same pleasures to everyone - and anyway since I retired I have time for reading.<br />I tend to read paperback books which, if I don't think I want to read again, I give to charity shops to sell on to other readers cheaply.Raybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12424095016313843883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-926347286766677626.post-2540613945340917222011-07-19T15:59:22.850-07:002011-07-19T15:59:22.850-07:00Wow your house might be full of books and books I ...Wow your house might be full of books and books I guess. I've srarted to read books on my iPhone but it seems I'm really distracted by other things LOL. Beside books for my career, I haven't touched a real book this year :)Vương Tử Trựchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09822722828908621992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-926347286766677626.post-43832029305855517472011-07-19T05:13:51.881-07:002011-07-19T05:13:51.881-07:00Ah, John LeCarre! Have to admit I've only read...Ah, John LeCarre! Have to admit I've only read 'Spy...Came in..Cold' (which I liked a lot), which is a shameful admission. When the Smiley books started being televised in the 70s and 80s, that put me off reading more of his, which is unfair, though I really ought to go back. But I take your warning.<br />Another author I always have problems with, in vaguely the same area, even though I have read 5 or 6 of his books, is Len Deighton. He's one of those writers who makes me feel I'm not clever enough to keep up with him.Raybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12424095016313843883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-926347286766677626.post-88327808624328552362011-07-19T00:32:39.489-07:002011-07-19T00:32:39.489-07:00This is an interesting perspective Ray. I could ne...This is an interesting perspective Ray. I could never get into John LeCarre books. I always felt as if I should like them because they were so well loved and reviewed but I couldn't get past a couple of chapters!Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14034726832462755283noreply@blogger.com