[ebooktalk] Desert Island Books
- From: Pele West <pele.west@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: ebooktalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 30 Jun 2013 17:56:34 +0100
Hi Everyone
I thought I would change the subject line as we had had lots of messages
all going different ways.
I have been thinking of my five favourite books today. It might be
different tomorrow, but here goes. Actually, people on the list will
already know about some of them. These are books that have stayed with
me from the time I either first read them or heard them on the radio. I
have put them in alphabetical order.
"The Cone Gatherers" by Robert Jenkins. I heard this as a play on Radio
4, then a Book at Bedtime, and then I managed to get the book. It is
about two brothers sent to work on a Scottish estate in the Second World
War. One of the brothers is severely disabled, and it is about the way
they are treated. When I was on this list before I chose this book for
everyone to read.
"Far from the Madding Crowd" by Thomas Hardy. I came late to Thomas
Hardy, but I really love his writing now. This was the first unabbridged
book I listened to on cassette, beautifully read by Stephen Thorne. I
love the descriptions of agricultural life in Victorian times.
"South Riding" by Winifred Holtby. Trish has already mentioned this one,
about life in Yorkshire in the 1930s. I heard it on Book at Bedtime,
then a radio dramatisation in the 1970s and I have read the book a
number of times. When my brother was doing Economics A Level they were
given it as background reading. I love the descriptions of life at that
time.
"Strumpet City" by James Plunkett. This is about life in Dublin at the
time of the Dublin Lockout in 1913. I love the way it was written and
was quite surprised when I found it was written in the 1960s.
"A Town Like Alice" by Nevil Shute. I first read this when I lived in
Singapore, so the parts about Malaya struck a chord with me. While I was
reading it we went camping on a small island off the east coast of
Malaysia, and I had to take a volume with me to read. I have read it
many times since and it still works for me.
Sorry, this message is a bit long.
--
Pele West <pele.west@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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