[ebooktalk] Re: MY BOOKS OF MY LIFE TODAY
- From: "Tar Barrels" <tar.barrels@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <ebooktalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 1 Jul 2013 15:29:56 +0100
Steve,
Ackroyd's London is something of a tour de force, but like you I really
enjoyed it. I liked the idea that it was a kind of biography of the place,
and it stayed with me for a long time afterwards. I really like the rest of
your selection, particularly Diary of a Nobody - it's very cleverly done,
and I find myself thinking of quite often when someone else's pettiness irks
me - never my own, of course!!!! ;-)
June
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From: ebooktalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ebooktalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Steven Bingham
Sent: 01 July 2013 10:58
To: ebooktalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ebooktalk] MY BOOKS OF MY LIFE TODAY
Hi
It has been a difficult task to isolate five books and, I am afraid that
most of them have already been selected by others.
1. Peter Ackroyd - London: the Autobiography. This is about the
history of London but not quite a history of London. It is a book that
captures the spirit of the city.
2. Thomas Hardy - Far from the Madding Crowd. I wanted to include a
Hardy and I think that this one contains some of his best writing on English
rural life. I particularly like the section about Georgie's Son even though
it is rather sad.
3. Len Deighton - Bomber. In my opinion one of the best books about
the Second World War. I enjoy the way it tells the story from both the
allies and the German points of view. I have been trying to get hold of the
BBC's dramatization for some time but every time I think I've found it
something goes wrong.
4. G and W Grossmith's - Diary of a Nobody. It exposes the triviality
of life - the kind of issues that become important but don't really matter
at all. It is also worth reading Keith Waterhouse's Mrs Pooter's Diary.
5. John Seinbeck - Cannery Row. I wanted to include a Steinbeck. Found
it difficult to exclude several of his including Of Mice and Men and East of
Eden. Cannery Row gets the feel and atmosphere of its time and place.
I know that they will be totally different tomorrow. There's not a good
crime novel in their but I spend an awful lot of time reading crime fiction.
I have gone for books that make an impression and that is something
different from entertaining you. Nevertheless the book has to be enjoyable.
Steve
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