General Chat

Ann, I have them all Little Women, Good Wives, Little Men and Jo's Boys, they are very dog-eared now, not unlike their owner lolol

Lol Rose yes you are probably right and they are not deep reads either, more evening/bedtime reads.

Oh Little Women I read the whole series when I was about 10, may have been younger but I think not because Mum bought them for me for Christmas. I can see the cover now with the picture on. I have not liked any production I have seen although I do have a vague memory of seeing the film of Little Women (only) when I was also about 10 or 11 I will have to check. I think the picture on my original copy might have been from the film. I don't like the fact that they try and make it into one story:- Little women, Little Men, Jo's Boys. Were there more than three?

Ann, " I have almost 100 unread books on those shelves, so tell me why I bought two more this morning!!!"

answer: because they were there! :-)

Regarding works of fiction turned into films.

There have been several versions made of "Little Women" one of my favourite books when I was young, first read when I was about 9 I think. The films have been fairly awful imho, trying to compress "Little Women" and "Good Wives" (the next book in the series) into one. I believe there's a new adaptation out at Christmas with Emma Watson playing Jo. Might give it a whirl :-)

I agree (I think) with Rollo. I have been disappointed in the past when books have been made into TV serial drama or films. What you see is often not what you imagined. I did enjoy the first series of Poldark (I mean the very first series some years ago.) The first episodes of the more modern series I also quite enjoyed. But then they were off on an imagined new series that never ever appeared in the books (I read them all) and I just couldn't really watch.

I have a Kindle and I have books and I read both. I can enjoy books on Kindle, not just easy reads as after a while you concentrate on the story and forget what is in your hand. But I will never give up reading books. One thing the kindle does have over books, besides size, is the ability to increase the size of the print. Useful sometimes when reading in bed with tired eyes.

I have just cast my eyes over the book shelves in this, my craft room. I have almost 100 unread books on those shelves, so tell me why I bought two more this morning!!!

A book can be a friend. A good read can be a good friend too. Somebody casual with their books could be casual with their friends as well.

However well made a work of fiction translated into movie or radio program is one person's interpretation of the work and can never be more than one shade viewed of infinite possibilities. That is why a lot of people ( who read their friends more than once, sometimes often ) tend to dislike movie and radio adaptations. They interrupt upon a world that the reader has built up in his or her mind and is protective of. Ever been to one of the cat fights that tend to erupt from Jane Austen seminars?

One persons Harper Lee, Nancy Blacket, Gandalf, Voldemort or Rebus is not another's. That is why some well known authors have either refused or been extremely reluctant to have their work adapted notably J D Salinger.

The best of theatre, tv, movie and radio tends to be when the work was made for the medium in the first place and was not an adaptation.

“Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.”

I'm not sure I've ever read a book more than once!
I read a lot of Steinbeck at primary school, having been entranced by 'The Red Pony'.
I've also just realised, I spent my youth sitting in trees reading the likes of, Wyndham, Kafka and Bradbury - but would deny being a Science Fiction lover!
I certainly wouldn't bother watching the films. I prefer my own 'take' on science fiction, though I have heard some of the stories on the radio, since reading the books.

Just listened to 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' read by the marvellous Martin Jarvis, for about the third time, on the radio.
I should imagine, much better/more depth than reading it!

Agree with Rollo re electronic devices, OK for 'read once' type books but I don't tend to go for those, and love the feel and smell of books :-)

When I was in my early teens, I read all of Anya Seton's books, always at the library looking for another one. They are so tied up with my memories of that time, I've collected hardbacks of them all over the last few years, some 1st editions. I've re-read them all, a few are, imho, not so good, but some I love still and have read many times.

I have read and enjoyed books by Piccoult (Chocolat), Childs and Hyslop like You AnnG, and Cry the Beloved Country too. I enjoyed reading some of the Lady Detective (Africa) books as well as one of his set in Scotland.

I have never read a Harry Potter book nor any Tolkien's books.

Chatting to Gndtr this lunchtime, she said she had a first edition Harry Potter book signed by the author - I did not ask which story.

I have tried and tried with electronic books but they just do not work for me. They are great at work for technical reference especially as they can include media and links.

When it comes to fiction look, feel and context count for a lot.
For instance I treasure my battered 1970 paperback copy of the LOTR because it connects me with being young. My hardback set of Arthur Ransome "Swallows & Amazons" ( in various degrees of decrepitude ) mean you need to take some time and space, that reading is a pleasure and they connect me to when I was even younger. I have a first edition of M R James "Collected Ghost Stories" which my father won as a prize when a scholar at Rugby. Reading it with its old fashioned font and bindings and connotations is miles and miles from paperbacks and Kindle.
Not having paid much attention at home I was a bit stuck at uni when I found my budget and cooking skills were wildly at odds with each other. So for a few shillings I picked up a copy of Len Deighton's "Action Cook Book / ou est le garlic." Ace, not at all the same thing on a screen which doesn't like pasta sauce on it. And the Kindle has no memory.

I suppose if I could get comfy with a Kindle or use it in the bath I might take these devices more seriously. The latest technology suggest a long wait.
https://goodereader.com/blog/e-paper/electronic-paper-and-e-paper-trends-and-statistics-for-2019

Yes , I appreciate the advantages of eReaders when traveling esp flying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg1o46QRLP0

Ann, It is hardback but a slim one, shame it's not on kindle for you, you may find it also on Ebay? I picked mine up at the charity shop, which is where I get most of my books at 10p a time, the local library being small and with a very limited selection of non fiction.

Just checked Rose, it is available on Amazon, unfortunately not on Kindle and it is hard backed I will keep a note of it and see. I don't usually buy hardbacks. The books are cheap because they are not new.

Ann, if you ignore the fantasy element of hobbits, elves, dwarves etc then it is a story about loyalty, friendship, courage, greed, the battle between good and evil (but with the shades of grey that go with that). And of course Samwise Gamgee is a gardener so for that alone I like him :-)

Speaking of which, I like books about gardens, and if you can find a copy of it "Gardening Down a Rabbit Hole"by Josephine Saxton is a nice light read.

I read a lot of Jean Plaidy's books when I was young and we lived in Cornwall, She had a cottage at nearby Plaidy beach so the local library in Looe ( it was small but very good) had all her books up to that date.

Oh dear, I have never read Tolkein. I don't really know why but I think it may be because of the hype that surrounded it. And I have not seen the films either.

I am a fairly light reader most of the time when left to my own choices, with the deceased book club I did read quite a few that I would not have chosen for myself and enjoyed them. I do enjoy historical novels such as those by Philippa Gregory, Elizabeth Chadwick, Jean Plaidy (an older author). On holiday I read a lot of lightish books, sometimes rubbish as I pick them up from the book shelves in the resorts. At home I get books from Charity shops etc and they tend to be lighter reading as I can't ready anything heavy in bed. I do like Jo Jo Moyes, Barbara Erskine, Victoria Hislop, Judith Lennox, dorothy Koomson, Santa Montefiore, Kate Moss, Gervaise Phinn, Jodi Piccoult. Lee childs. You get the picture, a real mixture.

Rollo you said 'In the end I guess the pen is mightier than the camera.' Now there is a quote for a whole new discussion thread. Is it?

Rollo, yes it is like an old friend and even though I have read it so often there are still little nuances that are missed first time round. I didn't discover Tolkien until my late 20s when someone insisted I read The Hobbit before lending me LOTR.

I enjoyed the films, but too much was missed out and certain liberties with characters still rile me lol, but it was a triumph to make a film of it at all I think given the scale. I did find Sean Astin a perfect Sam though. :-)

Just a PS on my earlier posting:-

An elderly aunt borrowed one of the volumes in c.1980. Unfortunately, she left it behind on a London Underground train.

In 1991, I was browsing through a charity shop in Exeter - lo & behold, I spotted the missing item on a shelf, all on its own.

Believe it or believe it not - but I'm glad to say I still have the complete set.

A happy ending! :-D

J R R Tolkien was always emphatic that LOTR should not be read as an allegory despite it being published a few years after the end of the second world war with the cold war a hard new fact of life. He is mostly ignored of course. One of the things I love about LOTR is that like an old friend you can always pick up with it even after a long time away.

I doubt that the present interest in Beowulf. his adversary Grendel and all things Saxon and Viking would be so great without LOTR. Edith Pretty was a friend of JRRT and he took a keen interest in the excavations at Sutton Hoo.

Jackson's brilliant movies were vastly entertaining but never got to grips with the question "why?". The BBC had a similar failure with "Gormenghast" a few years ago though I enjoyed the short series.

In the end I guess the pen is mightier than the camera.

Thanks for replies :-)

Of the books mentioned I haven't read them all, but LOTR has to be my favourite, ever lol. I read it probably every year, there is much more to it than elves and wizards ;-)

I do find ( maybe an age thing?!) that of the fiction books I read I do prefer those which have a happy ending :-)

Since my mid teens I have always had Doris Lessing's "Martha Quest" series on my bookshelf along with "On Cats" of course. The series sits beside Alan Paton's "Cry the Beloved Country".

Martha Quest, A Proper Marriage, Children of Violence, A Ripple from the Storm, Landlocked, and The Four-Gated City

I can’t get on with George Eliot’s books I find her books hard to get into. I do however enjoy books like Wild Swans by Jung Chang which is biographical and autobiographical as it starts with her grandmothers life during the time of the foot binding and goes through her own life and the rise of Mao Tse Tung.