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They’re the ones.
Stanley Bagshaw and the Short Sighted Football Trainer
"so far he’d only got three, his Auntie Ann, the insurance man and a lady he met in Torquay" – the contents of his autograph book
I quite liked the stories of its mice and men and the old man and the sea, think they were both by john steinbeck, and moonfleet was a good story aswell, and by recollection I actually chose to read the twits and the foxbusters, think I was about 12 or 13 when I had to read a tale of two cities, that was the only one I went and got a summary book for. Most of my mates went to a different school and didnt have to sit in and read books, so whilst I would always rather be out doing something else, I resented having to read.
I actually enjoy reading more these days but tend to read more factual books than fictional ones, the hardest book I have tried to read was The Seven Pillars Of Wisdom by TE Lawrence but just gave up about 40 pages into it, as was sat with a dictionary in one hand and the book in the other.
The Old Man and the Sea is by Ernest Hemingway
Moonfleet is a good yarn
…talking of which, yarns don’t get much better than Treasure Island – Long John Silver, Blind Pew, Ben Gunn and co.
they talked at great length about Treasure Island in the programme…there was also an interview with Quentin Blake in which he he said something to the effect of ‘I write books for adults’;I write about 2 solicitors in London having an affair’…’I write books for children..I write about life and death and the meaning of everything’…..I’ve got a load of books in the loft by Angus Macvicar..Return to the Lost Planet and next to it is a very old copy of Treasure Island described the the foreword as a ‘penny dreadful’..there’s a bookmark in page 187….
I wasn’t a great reader as a child, I read more as a teenager and then I used to have just two or three absolute favourite books that I cherished and adored and read over and over again. In fact one I loved so much I used to borrow it continually from the school library, and just kept it in the end. I still have it 35 years later. It’s MINE and it’s very precious. It’s an American translation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I loved the way it was written so much I didn’t want to buy an English translation, so I hung on to that copy as if it were made of gold. It was such a romantic story.
Three other books moved me in a similar way: again, Of Mice and Men which is mindbogglingly moving and well written. Another was called "Masha" I remember nothing whatsoever about it, who it was by (I think it was Russian) but I just remember cherishing it and reading it till I knew it almost by heart. The third I had to read for school but I fell in love with it and read it again and again: Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.we’re moving into the region of great books as opposed to children’s but while Of Mice and Men is excellent, The Grapes Of Wrath is far better.
Of recent, The Kite Runner nearly brought me to tears and at the risk oif sounding like a woman; the time travellers wife is a great book
it’s not exactly…a bundle of fun….being a goldfish……..
funny..she said that without moving her lips
I don’t really read much these days, but The Kite Runner was the last book that I couldn’t put down..haven’t seen the film yet.
The Grapes Of Wrath is far better.
…unless you’re using it as a euphemism to describe your haemorrhoids.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
which considering the amount of time they spent on that beaten old truck, you’d expect the Joad family to be spending their meagre earnings entirely on Preparation H.but eh, they were made of sterner stuff in them days.
The Grapes Of Wrath is far better.
…unless you’re using it as a euphemism to describe your haemorrhoids.
gc
Loved the Grapes of Wrath too, and no I’m not using it as a euphemism
I read all the Enid Blyton adventue books, Famous 5, Adventure series etc loved them!
All the Arthur Ransome’s as well, I so wanted to have a boat and live in the Lake District!This one is the latest Philippa Pearce one Moehat ( in case you haven’t seen it!)
A Finder’s Magic
(2008)A beautifully crafted fantastical mystery about a little boy called Till who loses his dog Bess.A mysterious stranger called Mr Finder offers to help Till find his dog, and they interview various witnesses including a heron, a mole, a riddling cat – and Miss Mousey, whose sketch of a peaceful riverbank offers a vital clue. The quest to find Bess is full of magic but Till begins to mistrust his supposed ally Mr Finder – until at last he realizes the truth, and they track down the real culprit,a finder who likes to keep what he finds. At the end of this enchanting story Till is reunited with his beloved Bess and a new book – of the story – will be born.
which considering the amount of time they spent on that beaten old truck, you’d expect the Joad family to be spending their meagre earnings entirely on Preparation H.
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