tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post6967845956006440331..comments2024-02-10T19:58:20.327+00:00Comments on Stuck in a Book: To See OurselvesStuckInABookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-60464991359036249572011-03-08T09:53:35.119+00:002011-03-08T09:53:35.119+00:00Mary - Consequences is definitely the most gloomy ...<b>Mary</b> - Consequences is definitely the most gloomy of the ones I've read! The War Workers is great, but I agree - I wouldn't read it online. I also don't want one of those nasty POD editions... well, I have an early War Workers, but have refused to get other EMDs because they're uninspiring PODs.StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-11080351129740927772011-03-04T23:44:46.778+00:002011-03-04T23:44:46.778+00:00Other than Late and Soon, I've only read the o...Other than Late and Soon, I've only read the obvious ones. Simon. Consequences ( so gloomy I had to give up Persephones for a while to recover!) and The Way Things Are and Thank Heaven Fasting (seem to recall that I far preferred the latter). Oh, and that memoir of her convent days that's in the Violet Powell biography. I keep meaning to read War Workers but don't like reading online, do enough of that for work!maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13955194101659665925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-62633438537504420612011-03-04T13:05:27.570+00:002011-03-04T13:05:27.570+00:00Donna - I don't know if you've read conseq...<b>Donna</b> - I don't know if you've read consequences, the one that Persephone publish, but that is probably the gloomiest of all the ones I've read - Persephone do love gloomy books over funny ones, don't they?! But yes, for the most part that strand of her brilliant comic touch always fights its way in.<br /><br /><b>Harriet</b> - ah, but when you find an author you love for the first time, aged 18 or so, you have time to read loads, and not much else to tempt you! Now I love too many authors to splurge... Although you MUST read some soon, Harriet. I think you'd like Faster! Faster! a lot, if you could track it down. Plus, it has a quotation from Alice as a title.<br /><br /><b>Darlene</b> - did your library have any of her novels? Good look hunting them down through ILL! Maybe you'll get the copy Danielle read?<br /><br /><b>Susan</b> - oo, which are on the tbr shelf? I'm sure you'll love the Provincial Lady, for starters.<br /><br /><b>Rachel</b> - Thanks Rachel - and sorry! I tend not to write reviews of books I've read that are impossible to find, because it might just frustrate people - but I thought I'd encourage people to try out their libraries ILLs! Yes, sitting in New York Public Library for hours isn't really an option, is it... maybe an ILL? But any you can find will be great! Do you have more to read on your shelves? And I love the first paragraph of your comment - so, so true.<br /><br /><b>seagreen reader</b> - (sorry, don't know your name!) how irksome, re:Delafield absence in the library. Hope you come across something by her - although I can't remember ever finding non-Provincial Lady titles in shops, I've had to buy them all online.<br /><br /><b>Sakura</b> - another one you'll have to try! (Do Comyns first, might be more up your street, I think ;-)) Happy hunting for the Delafield, though!<br /><br /><b>Mary</b> - you get a gold star :) General Impressions is great fun - a series of sketches and things. A Reversion to Type is one of those I don't even have on my shelves, but sounds very intriguing! Which four non-PLs have you read, do tell?! <br />As for my 19 - most of those were before I came to Oxford, I think, helped by lovely Elaine (of Random Jottings, but before she started her blog) lending me her EMDs through the post.<br /><br /><b>Dainelle</b> - thanks so much for encouraging me to read this, it's been good fun! It's always great to get other people's insight - I just wish we could have been in the same room, chatting about it over tea and cake. Let's do another before too long...StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-49328509589761075342011-03-04T05:00:30.403+00:002011-03-04T05:00:30.403+00:00What I love about reading along is getting another...What I love about reading along is getting another person's perspectives on a book and added insight as you've read a fair few of her other books so can talk about her work more widely--it always makes me see even more than I did when I was reading, so thank you! It's really interesting to think about the themes that run through all her works, which I expect I will see as I read more of her books (and I fully intend to). She did very well in this book when it comes to people's lack of self-awareness--Denis was particularly well done. I wonder if Chrissie wanted to fall in love with every man she was attracted to and seemed slightly disappointed when it didn't happen with Denis. I wouldn't expect her to take too long to find another possible love interest either. If this is lagging towards the end of her works I am in for even better reads! I'll email you about perhaps reading along again sometime soon. And I'll be digging out the one or two other PL novels I have (didn't realize the names had been changed over here)...but it's a bit too late to shift books now...something to look forward to over the weekend. Wonderful post!Daniellehttp://www.danitorres.typepad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-40982336641467823292011-03-04T01:17:22.035+00:002011-03-04T01:17:22.035+00:00You can't say I don't jump to it and do wh...You can't say I don't jump to it and do what I'm told! And to my surprise and delight, it seems there are three Delafields in library storage that I haven't read, or even heard of. Gay Life; General Impressions, from Time and Tide; and A Reversion to Type. Wait for it ... "A bad hat from a country family marries Rose, a girl he meets on a voyage to Ceylon. After he dies of drink, she makes her life in his family house, finally managing to escape her guilt over her degenerate son.' (That's Wikipedia) Well, that'd give the Provincial Lady something to talk about at the WI. <br />Can see I'm going to have to get up to the library.<br />But Simon, 19 ... of course, you do have the advantage of living in Oxford. I think I've read four apart from the PL. (Have a soft spot for Late and Soon which might be described as Provincial Lady's daughter goes off the rails!)maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13955194101659665925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-3761254111313733052011-03-03T17:18:35.599+00:002011-03-03T17:18:35.599+00:00I still haven't read any books by Delafield al...I still haven't read any books by Delafield although I think I have one somewhere. Gah, too many books and not enough time!!!Sakurahttp://chasingbawa.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-68161814184797222642011-03-03T14:21:16.430+00:002011-03-03T14:21:16.430+00:00No Delafield at all in any of my local libraries I...No Delafield at all in any of my local libraries I'm afraid. I haven't read any of her work, I'll keep my eyes peeled in charity shops for her books.seagreen readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17110080707348277166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-48691129334501117162011-03-03T14:20:04.339+00:002011-03-03T14:20:04.339+00:00I LOVE the sound of this. I adore E M Delafield an...I LOVE the sound of this. I adore E M Delafield and think she is an incredibly diverse and fascinating author. She can write comedy and tragedy equally well, and those that think of her as 'just' the writer of the Provincial Lady series are really missing out!<br /><br />The New York Public Library has all of her novels - but only in the reference library. Not very useful for those of us who don't have the leisure time to spend 8 hours at a stretch in the library!<br /><br />Fantastic review Simon, though I am cross that you've made me want to read a book I can't get hold of!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-10835660802545282822011-03-03T14:06:53.045+00:002011-03-03T14:06:53.045+00:00I have a few of E.M. Delafield's books on my T...I have a few of E.M. Delafield's books on my TBR shelf (thanks to your previous high praise) but I still have yet to get to her -- that's the problem with having an over-abundance of good books at hand! Soon...soon...<br />Of course, my library doesn't have anything by her - of the five I checked, 2 have a couple of Provincial Lady books. So, I'll stick to the TBR shelf for now.Susan in TXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09550766549670690646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-52529454035017133382011-03-03T13:16:11.959+00:002011-03-03T13:16:11.959+00:00Your quote regarding Denis made me laugh. You hav...Your quote regarding Denis made me laugh. You have to savour Delafield's books don't you...she paints such a picture in just a few words that you don't want to miss a thing!<br /><br />Checking the library catalogue I see that we don't have this but I'm going to try an inter-library loan and see where that gets me. Thanks for the riveting review!Darlenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07415316482631852565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-76601849555772565252011-03-03T08:55:13.130+00:002011-03-03T08:55:13.130+00:00Good heavens -- you've read 19! and I've r...Good heavens -- you've read 19! and I've read -- none. Shameful. I have got the War Workers downloaded as an ebook, but haven't got around to it yet. Clearly I need to get my act together.harriethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04470091985662379182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-53085008788142673472011-03-03T06:37:34.098+00:002011-03-03T06:37:34.098+00:00I've found this a very helpful review Simon. I...I've found this a very helpful review Simon. I'd been under the misapprehension somehow that apart from the marvellous Provincial Lady books the others were all terribly gloomy, so I've looked at them on the shelves and avoided reading them! Knowing there's touches of her comic genius throughout makes me want to explore the rest now. Thank you!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com