Wot u readin'?

[OhDark30]

This was fun, and surprising

Anthems are far more diverse than you may have imagined, some being multilingual or even wordless

Not to mention the flamboyant South American anthems, many written at the height of a craze for Italian opera

He goes in search of the composers and poets who wrote them, and talks movingly with people about how well their anthem reflects their feelings for their country

Top fact: Kazakh athletes have to demonstrate familiarity with their national anthem before competing internationally, after embarrassing incidents when the Borat version and Living the Vida Loca were played instead

[OhDark30]

A lifetime collection of articles and essays by gardening writer and pioneering grower Larkcom

She explores distinctive ways of raising veg through Europe and East Asia, where she went on months long visits

She visits odd vegetable shows in English towns, the floating gardens of Amiens, the trial grounds of Japanese seed companies

Her enthusiasm glows from the page


She also wrote *the* book on oriental veg

And for practical advice on my new allotment using the backsaving no dig method, this has been an essential companion

[OhDark30]

I’ve mentioned the Martin Beck series before: detective books by Swedish couple Sjöwall and Wahlöö

This is my final one, the penultimate in the series (as I tend to get books secondhand, I read them out of order)

They’re seen as the grandparents of Scandi crime fiction, and it’s been a great reading experience following Beck and his team through the ten crimes, and their lives at home and work

Sharp visual writing, well drawn characters and varied plots throwing light into some of Sweden’s unexpected dark corners

[OhDark30]

As travel is off the agenda:


And this looks like the kind of calm read I need at the mo, a father builds a boat for his daughter

[hayday]

I'm reading Dracula, the original Bram Stroker version. It takes a bit to get going, and the non-contemporary writing style is a bit of a hassle, but it's a good read.

[is that my watch]

I'm reading Dracula, the original Bram Stroker version. It takes a bit to get going, and the non-contemporary writing style is a bit of a hassle, but it's a good read.

he had a few claims to fame to he worked for the actor sir Henry irving and died five days after the titanic sank from undisclosed medical condition .. well know for count dracula ..because of how many versions was made of it in both books and movies forms...

but he wrote one on his Irish roots and the whole chasing the snakes out of Ireland. the snakes pass ..

my fav was more the lair of the white worm he wrote shortly before he died

they say he wrote Dracula after meeting Ármin Vámbéry who was a Turkologist and a travel writer.

[timefleas]

I'm into bicycles, and have read several contemporary books on the subject, one of which, It's All About the Bike, got me interested in going back a bit further in time. All about the Bike was interesting in its own right (and there is a great companion video online), as it is about one guy's quest to build the perfect bike, and in doing so, discusses the history of the bicycle, and each of its many parts, from tires to saddles to frames and everything else. He also talks about some of the pioneers in cycling history, which led me to my present book, Around the World on a Bicycle, by Thomas Stevens, who back in the 1880s rode his bike (the large front wheel type) entirely around the world, by himself(!), from San Francisco to New York, shipped to London, rode from there all down through Europe, Middle East and beyond, into and out of India, China, over to Japan, shipped back to SF. A fascinating account, very well written, very interesting in terms of observations and experiences with other countries and cultures. Thomas also has a sense of humor, a dry wit, and a very keen eye for observation--obviously not quite "PC" (this was the 1880s, after all, and written by him while actually on his journey) but actually quite well-mannered and perhaps even heroic, and very honest to the times--reminds me at times of both Mark Twain (no, not THAT good, but still), and John James Audubon (there are lots of illustrations). It is quite long, at around 1,100 pages--I'm up to around 700 at the moment.

[OhDark30]

Fabulous, TF, I’ll look out for that!
(I enjoyed It’s All About the Bike too)

I also recommend:

Retired headteacher rides the world
She is alert and engaging

Irish cyclist Dervla Murphy best known for

A true teller of tales

and Alastair Humphreys’ 2 part account of his world tour, Moods of Future Joys and

(as usual buying secondhand, I’ve read the 2nd part first. I like his low tech, shoestring approach)

[OhDark30]

Update on my post #714

Coastlines:
Focussing on the National Trust’s Neptune sites this is all a bit tidy and curated for me
Plus his prose style frequently passes through ‘whimsical’ into ‘annoying’. Pass

Hills of Wales:
Reliable stuff from Perrin. Good on the actual grit on your feet, rain down your neck side of landscape, but also the lives and stories that have shaped the scene

How to Build a Boat:
Gah, another miss!
Reminds me of those 80s ‘Being Useless in Provence’ books, where impractical Londoners transplanted their lives to the French countryside. It’s not that hard


So, sorry folks, should have read them before touting them as a calming antedote to these tense times
Consider my wrist slapped

[rodia77]

Funny how associations go. Your mentions of cycling literature reminded me how I enjoyed reading Joe Haldeman's ongoig diary (back then published online somewhere, now I see something is still available through his website), part of which he was writing when on a cycling tour with his wife or life partner (can't remember, exactly) Gay. Which leads me to recommending two of his books that impressed me colossally: The Forever War and Forever Free. I got to those through a comic book based on the former.

He also writes poems, and with this one it's not difficult to draw a parallel with watches.

I wrote a poem yesterday for the _festschrift_ for our poetry leader, Ottone Riccio, who's
turning 80. The poem was supposed to be about his teaching and include the line "do not
give me things unbroken." I decided to do a light pantoum --



Mr. Fix-it

do not give me things unbroken
poems are things I like to fix
whether written down or spoken
this is how I get my kicks

poems are things I like to fix
put on work clothes, lay out tools
this is how I get my kicks
finding in the gravel, jewels

put on work clothes, lay out tools
sharpen pencil, mind, and tongue
finding in the gravel, jewels
working hard will keep you young

sharpen pencil, mind, and tongue
make you work to find your bliss
working hard will keep you young
hanging over the abyss

may you work to find your bliss
find the center of your poem
hanging over the abyss
maybe we can bring it home

find the center of your poem
every poem's a problem waiting
maybe we can bring it home
let me mess with your creating

every poem's a problem waiting
whether written down or spoken
let me mess with your creating
do not give me things unbroken