A Village Affair by Joanna Trollope

An Aga-saga where the moral of the tale might be that not even an Aga can bring you happiness ... this book has the author's usual perfectly-observed children and clever characterisation where your opinion of the characters can change as the book goes on. Beautifully-written and one you won't want to put down.

Day 249; book 237

No books read but scrapbook finished

It took me until midnight last night, frantically cutting and sticking. Why did I leave it till the last minute? Human nature I suppose. I was pleased with it in the end, although I've just thought of something I have to amend before I hand it over tonight ...

I'm a bad book-a-dayer ...

at the moment, because I've got a scrapbook to finish for my local roller hockey club before tomorrow night. I love deadlines; they are very motivating! I got three pages done last night and had a lot of fun illustrating the coaches' page with Cartman from South Park in his "Respect my authorit-ay" phase. Then I listed the committee members under the heading "You can't get the staff these days". I thought it was funny - hope they don't think it's too cheeky! My third page was a bit of a disappointment so I might have to change it if I have time. Three or so pages to go tonight and then it's done.

So what with decorating the bathroom (still ongoing and not a stroke of paint applied yet), my books have slipped recently. Must get back on track, especially as I feature in our staff magazine today ...

The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowieki

I've just started this but it seems like a fascinating book (with lots of case studies which I like). Here's a quote from the website about the book:

"In this endlessly fascinating book, New Yorker columnist James Surowiecki explores a deceptively simple idea that has profound implications: large groups of people are smarter than an elite few, no matter how brilliant—better at solving problems, fostering innovation, coming to wise decisions, even predicting the future".

I don't quite understand how this would be, but perhaps somebody mathematically-minded will be along to explain it (if it can be explained by maths). I'm prepared to be convinced by examples though.

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

Woof! Or more like snarl, in this tale of nature red in tooth and claw. Written at the end of the 19th century, this had surprisingly-modern mystical elements. Sixties-like, but definitely without the peace and love (except Buck's adoration for the man who rescues him). The Alaskan gold-rush and the Alaskan wilderness are evocatively described. I thought I had read this before but didn't recognise it, so I think it must have been London's White Fang that I read before.

Day 243; Book 236

The Weekend of Short Novels

I finished Assassination Day in the end. Ho hum.

I went back to Sherston's Progress, and the book does move away from the hospital setting and back to the war. Sassoon's style is surprisingly modern. Psychologically he is honest and complex. Despite hating the war he ends up going back. It's refreshing to read of his ambivalent attitude, as too often nowadays the First World War is seen only through the eyes of war poets like Wilfred Owen as just a misguided and simplistic sacrifice of millions, whereas to many of the participants it must have been more complex than that.

Hothouse by the East River had a surprising and satisfying ending.

Gigi by Colette was tres charmant (or should that be charmante?) Here is a link to the musical version which I'd now like to see.

Death in Venice by Thomas Mann was atmospheric but slow. Mr F has warned me off the film as the ultimate in tedium, but then he did have to watch it night after night when he was working at the New Picture House. Here is a link to an image of Bjorn Andresen who played Tadjio the beautiful object of desire in the film.

Finally I read the script of Amadeus by Peter Shaffer. Again there's a film which I haven't seen. It has a clever tagline which pretty well sums up the plot: Amadeus. The man. The music. The magic. The madness. The murder. The mystery. The motion picture!

Day 242; Book 235

False starts

I started a thriller two days ago. It's Assassination Day by Oliver Jacks. It was published in 1976 and is a bit dated so I've hardly made any progress. So I picked up Sherston's Progress by Siegfried Sassoon. This is the third volume of a fictionalised memoir by the poet about his life before and during the First World War. This volume is about his time in Craiglockhart Hospital. Pat Barker's Regenaration partly covers the same subject (featuring the poet and soldier Wilfred Owen) so unfortunately the whole thing seemed too similar to that work and I got fed up reading it. After that confession I must try again, particularly as Sassoon's book came first (Regeneration wasn't written until the 1990s)!

So I have no completed books to report at all. Now I'm in the middle of The Hothouse by the East River by Muriel Spark, and after an unpromising start this has really drawn me in. What is reality here and what is fantasy? Who is insane and who isn't? Is the character from the past really who he seems?