tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post1419564079609046554..comments2024-02-10T19:58:20.327+00:00Comments on Stuck in a Book: A.A. Milne and IStuckInABookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-35991604006958623522014-07-05T17:00:46.056+01:002014-07-05T17:00:46.056+01:00Thanks so much for commenting, it's lovely to ...Thanks so much for commenting, it's lovely to hear from you - and I'm thrilled that you've enjoyed those books!<br /><br />For funny, whimsical Milne, I recommend hunting down the collection Those Were The Days, or anything from it (The Day's Play, The Sunny Side, The Holiday Round and... another one I can't remember right now.) For more serious Milne, Two People was recently reprinted by Capuchin Classics.StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-37588417782137830292014-07-05T16:50:46.455+01:002014-07-05T16:50:46.455+01:00Simon, which books of Milne's would you recomm...Simon, which books of Milne's would you recommend to start with? <br /><br />I haven't commented before on your blog before but I wanted to let you know what an amazing resource its been, since I love exactly the same books you write about. Thanks for introducing Miss Hargreaves, Tove Jansson, Lolly Willowes and so many more.<br /><br />FaithFaithnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-7827728613178752462014-06-19T23:35:38.113+01:002014-06-19T23:35:38.113+01:00Only just discovered your blog and I'm so thri...Only just discovered your blog and I'm so thrilled about your love for A.A. Milne. I never even thought of him as more than a children's author (though really the WtheP stories are full of winks and nudges to adult readers), until I randomly discovered The Red House Mystery in a charity shop about a year ago - his only murder mystery, published in the 20s. As a fan of Agatha Christie style murder mysteries, and of Milne's writing style, I just had to buy it.. and I LOVED it! I think it might be one of my favourite books. Definitely worth a read if you haven't discovered it.<br /><br />This post has inspired me to read more of his works - thanks for a great post!<br /><br />Rachel<br />http://dashinggoodbooks.blogspot.com/ Rachel Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16877244475830606115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-5022592743526161182014-06-16T22:07:01.467+01:002014-06-16T22:07:01.467+01:00Someone almost asked this question - the answer be...Someone almost asked this question - the answer being that most of my books are in Somerset (maybe 3/4 of them), double-stacked in lots of bookcases. One day they will have to join me....StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-3408833985819517212014-06-16T22:05:54.206+01:002014-06-16T22:05:54.206+01:00In a slightly different way, Virginia Woolf was al...In a slightly different way, Virginia Woolf was also very life-changing for me - as it was through her (and Mrs Dalloway) that I discovered canonical literature could be truly wonderful, and I also found out how much I loved writing about books. But there's almost an overload of books by and about Woolf, nothing is at all rare!StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-25550477179857500632014-06-16T22:04:37.521+01:002014-06-16T22:04:37.521+01:00Thanks so much, Vicki! And that's interesting,...Thanks so much, Vicki! And that's interesting, about themes rather than individual authors - what sort of themes? I think I definitely had a general 1910s/20s/30s epiphany in my late teens.StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-13745512778846112042014-06-16T22:03:42.928+01:002014-06-16T22:03:42.928+01:00That does like a similarly formative experience - ...That does like a similarly formative experience - and something very special.StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-77957628530673248032014-06-16T22:03:11.590+01:002014-06-16T22:03:11.590+01:00Thanks! And how interesting - I've read some D...Thanks! And how interesting - I've read some Dahl (lots of children's books, some of the adult short stories) - are there scarce Dahls out there?StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-85335152282040096912014-06-16T22:02:31.597+01:002014-06-16T22:02:31.597+01:00Thanks Annabel! I think these sorts of authors/exp...Thanks Annabel! I think these sorts of authors/experiences can only really come right at the beginning of a reading life, but plenty of other authors can be significant later on - like Beryl!StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-88218714355905322062014-06-12T11:27:18.138+01:002014-06-12T11:27:18.138+01:00'Is there an expanding warehouse in the back o...'Is there an expanding warehouse in the back of the Vicar's Garden?'<br />I wish OVWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-74401274166706422422014-06-11T12:20:46.524+01:002014-06-11T12:20:46.524+01:00I spent an entire year (at about the same age) wis...I spent an entire year (at about the same age) wishing I knew Claudine ;-)Dark Pusshttp://morganas-cat.tumblr.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-61327518893105766582014-06-11T09:31:34.952+01:002014-06-11T09:31:34.952+01:00Yes I would - I was completely obsessed with them ...Yes I would - I was completely obsessed with them and their work for long periods of time, so much so that they took over my life and certainly changed me as a person. They still affect me now! After reading Woolf I became completely immersed in her life and work, and the other Bloomsberries - and in fact a recent mention of a piece on Carrington in a recent Slightly Foxed issue brought it all flooding back again. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-6865914480133781052014-06-11T00:45:30.008+01:002014-06-11T00:45:30.008+01:00Wonderful post, Simon. Though it makes me want to...Wonderful post, Simon. Though it makes me want to bring back your Questions-for-Simon post and ask you one more, which I don't think anybody did: Where do you put all your books? Is there an expanding warehouse in the back of the Vicar's Garden? As for Milne, I knew you loved him but had not an idea of what a major role he has played in your life. He has affected me profoundly too, but in a much narrower way, as I have read very little of his adult work (and must alter that). His children's books were among the first books I read, and although I read them to myself very young (three), my mother loved reading When We Were Very Young aloud. She attempted an English accent. I fell absolutely in love with the sound, my first taste of poetry, and the beautiful speech. It is what made me a passionate Anglophile, which you will have noticed I still am more than sixty years later. However, the author who has done most for me is Jane Austen, from whom I learned how to write, how to think and how to behave (while laughing), that's all! After her there are several other big ones but I will only echo Dark Puss in saying Colette was one of them...I remember I spent the entire year I was fifteen being Claudine.Diana Birchallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18291540900938654707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-81312031296539484592014-06-10T19:33:07.213+01:002014-06-10T19:33:07.213+01:00Would you go as far as I did and say any of them s...Would you go as far as I did and say any of them shaped your life (or some important aspects of it?)Dark Pusshttp://morganas-cat.tumblr.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-50454146473249630922014-06-10T19:24:20.739+01:002014-06-10T19:24:20.739+01:00Such a lovely piece, Simon, and thank you for shar...Such a lovely piece, Simon, and thank you for sharing the tale of how you came to love books. I would agree with Dark Puss about the Colette books - I had the same experience in my early twenties with her works, and also with Italo Calvino and Virginia Woolf - it would be hard to pick which one had the most influence (and indeed I was collecting books much earlier than that). But those are the three authors who have very much shaped the reader I am. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-66254034125297032472014-06-10T12:34:16.609+01:002014-06-10T12:34:16.609+01:00I love the way you've unpacked how you've ...I love the way you've unpacked how you've got to this point in your reading life - I don't think I could express so clearly what it was that lit - and sustained - the flame. I would tend to see more themes than individuals in my past reading history: one thing leads to another, so to speak. A lovely piece!skiourophilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08200877834536477400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-86931819596786483872014-06-10T11:51:32.635+01:002014-06-10T11:51:32.635+01:00Nobody in recent decades and that is to some exten...Nobody in recent decades and that is to some extent due to the lack of available space for books. However when I was a teenager (17-20 ish) I sought out every book written by Colette that had been translated into English. Some of course were easy to find and indeed I didn't have to buy them because my parents already had them but others were indeed more challenging to locate. There is no doubt that Colette has been a masive influence on my life (and still is).Dark Pusshttp://morganas-cat.tumblr.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-60934494257263805822014-06-10T09:46:12.224+01:002014-06-10T09:46:12.224+01:00A really insightful article! In the same vein, Roa...A really insightful article! In the same vein, Roald Dahl's adult works have been my biggest influence (as well as the children's books he is most famous for). As an avid reader and short story writer, Dahl's humour still makes me laugh every time I read his works.<br /><br />Julia Molloy (talkingchapter@wordpress.com)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-67009232956083188422014-06-10T09:15:15.196+01:002014-06-10T09:15:15.196+01:00What a lovely article Simon. Sadly I can't thi...What a lovely article Simon. Sadly I can't think of one single author who has had the same influence on me - although I have collected Beryl Bainbridge in a fairly serious way.Annabelhttp://gaskella.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-59158626928700283042014-06-10T08:30:34.921+01:002014-06-10T08:30:34.921+01:00And seeing you read them has been one of my greate...And seeing you read them has been one of my greatest blogging joys, as you know!<br /><br />I don't even know whether to tell you this... but I was reading an annotated bibliography of AAM in the Bodleian, and it seems that a fair number of Rabbits sketches (or at least similar ones) were never published in book form... my publishing house is going to have to delve into Punch!StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-91857288047440231112014-06-10T05:36:55.538+01:002014-06-10T05:36:55.538+01:00AAM could not have a better advocate, Simon. I am...AAM could not have a better advocate, Simon. I am so thankful that you introduced me to him properly. I've loved reading his books (still can't decide if his autobiography or <i>Peace with Honour</i> is my favourite) and long (fruitlessly, I suspect) for the day when I can see one of his plays staged. Should you ever open the dream publishing house we discussed recently, I vote for a complete collection of the Rabbits as one of your first books. Claire (The Captive Reader)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07430380065718826213noreply@blogger.com