|
Post by Gentile on Aug 31, 2021 9:17:18 GMT -5
I enjoy literature that allows me to drop out of modern day settings, and be transported to a different time and place.
When I was young, it was Tom Swift and the Hardy Boys - but it was also CS Forester's "Hornblower" series and the wonderful tongue-in-cheek Don Camillo novels of Giovanni Guareschi. There was also Mickey Spillane and Ian Fleming, but when my mother caught me with that stuff, I was stuck with reading only the Bible for long stretches of time.
Recently, I've been reading part four of EM Delafield's "The Provincial Lady" series - "The Provincial Lady in Wartime" - where Delafield (real name Edmee Elizabeth Monica Dashwood) chronicles (journal-style) the day to day experiences of an upper middle class Englishwoman during the early years of WW2. Droll, humorous, slightly sarcastic with a raised eyebrow towards entrenched English ways - written in 1940, it's a nice escape for me to an era I've always been interested in.
I haven't quite finished it yet, and I'm very curious how the poor woman finishes the journal when I'm aware she died while the war was still raging.
Since I'm already in the era, I'll probably read William Cooper's "Scenes from a Provincial Life" next. It's set in the same time-frame (1939-1940) and in the same place (England) while the country is on the brink of WW2. Hopefully the social satire won't be too far above my head...
|
|
|
Post by msmaggie on Sept 15, 2021 17:13:03 GMT -5
I enjoy literature that allows me to drop out of modern day settings, and be transported to a different time and place.
When I was young, it was Tom Swift and the Hardy Boys - but it was also CS Forester's "Hornblower" series and the wonderful tongue-in-cheek Don Camillo novels of Giovanni Guareschi. There was also Mickey Spillane and Ian Fleming, but when my mother caught me with that stuff, I was stuck with reading only the Bible for long stretches of time.
Recently, I've been reading part four of EM Delafield's "The Provincial Lady" series - "The Provincial Lady in Wartime" - where Delafield (real name Edmee Elizabeth Monica Dashwood) chronicles (journal-style) the day to day experiences of an upper middle class Englishwoman during the early years of WW2. Droll, humorous, slightly sarcastic with a raised eyebrow towards entrenched English ways - written in 1940, it's a nice escape for me to an era I've always been interested in.
I haven't quite finished it yet, and I'm very curious how the poor woman finishes the journal when I'm aware she died while the war was still raging.
Since I'm already in the era, I'll probably read William Cooper's "Scenes from a Provincial Life" next. It's set in the same time-frame (1939-1940) and in the same place (England) while the country is on the brink of WW2. Hopefully the social satire won't be too far above my head...
Have you ever seen the movie "Mrs. Miniver"? Wonderful movie set in WW2 England. Believe based on a book?
|
|
|
Post by Gentile on Sept 16, 2021 11:49:08 GMT -5
I enjoy literature that allows me to drop out of modern day settings, and be transported to a different time and place.
When I was young, it was Tom Swift and the Hardy Boys - but it was also CS Forester's "Hornblower" series and the wonderful tongue-in-cheek Don Camillo novels of Giovanni Guareschi. There was also Mickey Spillane and Ian Fleming, but when my mother caught me with that stuff, I was stuck with reading only the Bible for long stretches of time.
Recently, I've been reading part four of EM Delafield's "The Provincial Lady" series - "The Provincial Lady in Wartime" - where Delafield (real name Edmee Elizabeth Monica Dashwood) chronicles (journal-style) the day to day experiences of an upper middle class Englishwoman during the early years of WW2. Droll, humorous, slightly sarcastic with a raised eyebrow towards entrenched English ways - written in 1940, it's a nice escape for me to an era I've always been interested in.
I haven't quite finished it yet, and I'm very curious how the poor woman finishes the journal when I'm aware she died while the war was still raging.
Since I'm already in the era, I'll probably read William Cooper's "Scenes from a Provincial Life" next. It's set in the same time-frame (1939-1940) and in the same place (England) while the country is on the brink of WW2. Hopefully the social satire won't be too far above my head...
Have you ever seen the movie "Mrs. Miniver"? Wonderful movie set in WW2 England. Believe based on a book? I have not, but I'm a sucker for movies set in England during WW2. Give me just about any old-time movie where spies/Nazis and good guys are battling it out, and I'm in.
I feel the same way about Phillip Kerr's "Berlin Noir" book series, where German ex-police officer Bernie Gunther goes up against a rising Nazi tide in mid-1930s Berlin. I still enjoy going places I've never been before - even if it's only in my mind.
Almost finished with "The PL in Wartime" - I have just loved her understated humor, but I've been holding up that 600+ page high-quality paperback for the past couple of weeks, and it's time to hunt for a slimmer, less weighty next book - I'm figurin' "Lonesome Dove"...
|
|
|
Post by WKDWZD on Sept 16, 2021 18:20:05 GMT -5
Have you ever seen the movie "Mrs. Miniver"? Wonderful movie set in WW2 England. Believe based on a book? I have not, but I'm a sucker for movies set in England during WW2. Give me just about any old-time movie where spies/Nazis and good guys are battling it out, and I'm in.
I feel the same way about Phillip Kerr's "Berlin Noir" book series, where German ex-police officer Bernie Gunther goes up against a rising Nazi tide in mid-1930s Berlin. I still enjoy going places I've never been before - even if it's only in my mind.
Almost finished with "The PL in Wartime" - I have just loved her understated humor, but I've been holding up that 600+ page high-quality paperback for the past couple of weeks, and it's time to hunt for a slimmer, less weighty next book - I'm figurin' "Lonesome Dove"...
Ever thought of a Kindle?
|
|
|
Post by Gentile on Sept 17, 2021 9:07:20 GMT -5
I have not, but I'm a sucker for movies set in England during WW2. Give me just about any old-time movie where spies/Nazis and good guys are battling it out, and I'm in.
I feel the same way about Phillip Kerr's "Berlin Noir" book series, where German ex-police officer Bernie Gunther goes up against a rising Nazi tide in mid-1930s Berlin. I still enjoy going places I've never been before - even if it's only in my mind.
Almost finished with "The PL in Wartime" - I have just loved her understated humor, but I've been holding up that 600+ page high-quality paperback for the past couple of weeks, and it's time to hunt for a slimmer, less weighty next book - I'm figurin' "Lonesome Dove"...
Ever thought of a Kindle? I have one but rarely use it. I'm old fashioned and pretty much set in my ways...
|
|
|
Post by WKDWZD on Sept 17, 2021 10:20:14 GMT -5
Ever thought of a Kindle? I have one but rarely use it. I'm old fashioned and pretty much set in my ways... There are few more old fashioned than me, and I wouldn't be without my kindle. Now give me vinyl over a download, any day.
|
|