The Library

[BarbStAubrey]

Well for heaven's sake - Thursday night PBS here has been Brit Coms and tonight they are starting with one of my favorites I have not seen in a few yers - 'Shakespeare and Hathaway' - Don't know if it will be a repeat or a new series but whatever I will enjoy...

There are only a couple of books I ever re-read - with so many new stories and new authors, I have been wanting to gobble them up more than re-read. I've always been caught in my idea to learn how to speed read or not - so many books and authors I would like to know but then anything I've learned about speed reading seems more like skimming and I really like reading the sentences - some are just glorious

Finally started to read again - could not pass up an inexpensive kindle version and downloaded Penelope Fitzgerald's The Beginning of Spring 1908 Russia - only just started the book and so far no dialogue of what is to come that was the explosive change in Russia that year - starts by describing family life in what appears to be upper middle class business owner, his English wife, who unexpectedly goes back to England with their 3 children - Haven't read much of Penelope Fitzgerald but her reputation as a writer is Stella -

Spent hours in the dentist today and so this is perfect along with PBS tonight since too worn out to do much else - plus it is cold - really cold and will be cold it appears for a whole week - shocked scooting from Dentist office to Paul's vehicle just how cold the wind is...today sun but for the next few days overcast and rain... house is toasty, I've lots of soup and yogurt and so reading my be my treat for the next few days...

I've also been reading a fascinating book The Invention of Power - Popes, Kings, and the Birth of the West - I had never realized the Holy Roman Empire had NOTHING to do with the Vatican - in fact they were at odds with each other - Charlemagne was the king pin that involved other nations and who were infringing on what the Church believed was their prerogative to select and place Bishops.

The power of Bishops become strong since the 2nd century - since most Bishops in having to have a place to live were deeded land and then to maintain  their household had to have land which involved power, a voice that they already had, their land ownership was free from taxes and in return the king's wishes were catered to, on and on all separate from the Pope - this all comes to a head in the eleventh century with a Conclave in Worms Germany and that Conclave is the beginning of not only the church in Rome entering the political scene rather than first being a center of theology, prayer, practices and tradition, now first is using and increasing power, negotiating toe to toe with the kings of the 'Holy Roman Empire' - 

To my amazement learning how it all comes down in the various European nations set the stage for wages to this day so that those who worked for the King and then were made Bishops by the Vatican had created a relationship that assured greater income compared to those European nations where the Pope chose from the ranks of priests and who never worked directly for the king - all sorts of direct correlations are included showing the affect through the centuries - I'm fascinated and to realize much of what Union workers fight over today as well as agreements worked out within the European Union is based on what came from this Conclave in Worms to me is astounding. The Conclave took place over a thousand years ago! 

[PatH]

Barb, we're reading about the same things, but first I can't resist a bit of humor about the Conclave of Worms.  The book I've been reading, and the one I remember from school don't use the word "Conclave" they use a synonym for such an assemblage, "Diet."  Schoolkids can get a lot of fun out of a "Diet of Worms."

[BarbStAubrey]

Pat the Diet of Worms was some 400 years later when it was all about Luther - this one is earlier in the early 12th century - actually I miss labeled it - the official is the Concordat - the Concordat is a Conclave since major meeting with secular power (Kings, rulers not of the church) and the Church usually the Vatican in Rome but also the Eastern Catholic churches is considered a Conclave.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concordat_of_Worms

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_of_Worms

A meeting of all inside the Church Bishops is called a Synod and a meeting of all Roman Catholic Cardinals is called a consistory - Vatican I and Vatican II were Ecumenical Councils since they were gathering of Cardinals, Bishops and other Church officials (usually referring to those in attendance from the Eastern Catholic Churches - they do not have Cardinals - Cardinals are advisors to the Pope in Rome much as we in our government have a cabinet that advises and handles the work of a defined area within the President's responsibility) to define the church's doctrine and discipline. Before Vatican I and II there were 7 Ecumenical Councils the first being in Nicaea, the year 325 -  your taking me back to religion class in Sophomore year High School.

[Frybabe]

I am currently reading one of the British  Library Crime Classics series called The Body in the Dumb River by George Bellairs. It is simply written without a lot of extraneous descriptive or emotional content. Light reading. Most of the over 50 books Bellairs (pen name for Harold Blundell) wrote in his writing career (1941 to 1980) were the Thomas Littlejohn detective series. Blundell's regular job was as a banker. I have one other of his books on my library wish list from this series. The other books from this series that are currently on my library wish list are two written by Michael Gilbert, and one each by Carter Dixon and Sebastian Farr. I managed to find the British Library series books after someone mentioned Sebastian Farr.

Amazon is discontinuing its "Download and Transfer" function. I am not sure, but I suspect it is trying to stop people from downloading their books and stripping their DRM (and newer restrictive coding) from e-Books and Audio books so that they can read/listen on non-Amazon devices and not have to worry about Amazon disappearing or altering a book after you pay good money for it. I don't know if you noticed, but Amazon has started posting a notice that you are not buying the book, but buying only the right to download and read or listen. Okay, so if you do not outright own the books but only the use of, why bother "buying" them when you can still use the online library systems for free or buy the print book?

[ginny]

Oh I really like Penelope Fitzgerald,  Barbara!  I’ve got all her books or I thought I did but I don’t remember that one.   Let us know how you like it. She’s very understated. Didn’t start writing till she was in her 80s I think —-something like that. Love her books. 


Are you were right,  Pat,  it does look like we did Bleak House here—- I can hardly believe it ——most people can’t get through the book!   At any rate there’s a lot of discussion on it with those sites where  people give their opinions of books and most of them  say they couldn’t get through it. It’s the book’s fault, of course. IT didn’t hold their interest.   I find that I didn’t get through the movie!!!  So I’m remedying that now, or trying to.  Charles Dance really does a performance there….

Poor Dickens. What a life he led and tried to expose.  Does anybody even read David Copperfield anymore? That is  one great book.  I remember visiting the Dickens  home— his home— in London. Man must have had  the legs of a mountain goat ——-stairs stairs stairs!

I’ve been very disappointed in some of the newer authors —-half of them grammatically are a mess to start with… All those free Amazon books, or extremely cheap  ones,  takes on BF Benson, for instance. Just because you can take a character and put it on the paper doesn’t mean that you are on a par with the master who conceived it and wrote about it first. 

Speaking of Conclave  which just won best picture at BAFTA,  have any of you seen the movie? Or more to the point,  have any of you read the book by Robert Harris?

I’m afraid Harris is not my favorite author…..but wait a minute!   Have I got him confused with another author? Who wrote the DaVinci Code? Oh!  Dan Brown!!! 

I haven’t read Conclave the book, and I didn’t get too far watching the movie on pay-per-view but I really do like Ralph- how  do you spell it  Fiennes?

In fact on The  DaVinci Code books  I recall being in a line an x-ray line to get on a plane in Rome and I had bought  a book in Greece when we had a very perilous bus ride, frightening cliff hugging ride,  and I asked the people behind me how they could stand it, and the wife said I’m reading The DaVinci Code  and it gets my mind off it. So I bought the paperback,  and  when the x ray attendant at the airport  saw it coming through he looked at it and looked at me and shook his head no. I agreed with him actually.

[Frybabe]

My sister, believe it or not, read David Copperfield long ago when she wasn't much of a reader. She has really gotten into reading since Jim died. She recently finished up all the Carol Goodman books I lent her and last year, she devoured the Daniel Silva books I had. The read she just finished, was a biography of Van Gogh. Now, that was a surprise. She wants to read a bio of another painter, Monet, I think.

I had intended on reading Bleak House but, as I recall, I didn't have enough time to spend on it then. Never did read it. I do remember the discussion of we had on Great Expectations though. Some of memorable discussions included Geraldine Brooks' People of The Book, our ongoing discussions of Story of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant with Robbie as moderator, several Greek tragedies,  and our extended reading of the entire Raj Quartet by Paul Davis.

Conclave is in my very short movie watchlist on Peacock. I should watch it before it goes away.

[BarbStAubrey]

Looks like there are two books entitled Conclave - the one by Harris and another by Davis - both sound full of intrigue and on the edge of your chair reading. Never heard of Harris - hmm he is a a columnist and a TV commentator for the BBC - which says to me he should be able to write a nice clear sentence. Whoops found yet another Conclave by Greg Tobin - looks like Tobin wrote a whole group of novels that involve the Catholic Church.

For me the best about the DaVinci Code was a documentary on PBS where they went to the church, was it in England or Scotland anyhow an old church full of all sorts of sculpture that they saw featured in the book and other places like some natural spring featured in the book - forgot now all that was included but I do remember really enjoying the documentary - I did get the second book Brown wrote but frankly I have no memory of reading it and since I moved I still can't lay my hands on any book knowing exactly where it is located

My thinking is that when the DaVinci Code was published so much in the book seemed at minimum over the top and for some blasphemous - since  then much has unfolded more and more it feels like a schism in the works unless a new Pope can pull it together however, what still goes on because of the Vatican Bank is going to take far more than a return to the Tridentine Mass and other traditions.

Frybabe interesting that we do not buy a book but only the right to read a book - wow - like it or not I'm thinking at the price they are charging now for a Kindle copy of a book written by a good and current author I'd be better off spending a couple of more dollars and getting a hardback - at least with hardbacks when I cull books I can recoup a bit of money.

Did we read Bleak House at the same time PBS did that wonderful series of Bleak House - I'm sorta remembering reading it with those characters played in the series pictured in my head - I still picture that scene of the stormy night and Lady Dedlock dressed in black at Hawdon's burial ground, dead

Like bellamarie I think one of my favorites was A Gentleman in Moscow - during the pandemic so many scenes from that book came to mind and still do now that I've aged and no longer gallivanting all over driving hither and neigh. 

Well extensive dental work - just shy of 3 hours yesterday and where soup is easy it was not filling and so I've a grocery order coming any minute now with all sorts of frozen pasta dishes and more juices - till later...

[Frybabe]

I've read Harris's Imperium and An Officer and a Spy. The last must have been a library book because I don't see it on my shelves anywhere (sure I would not have given that away in the move). What I do have on my shelf is The Affair: The Case of Alfred Dreyfus by Jean-Denis Bredin. It is a thick book with plenty of photos and an index with plenty of notes and bibliographical references. And, of course, the whole book is in tiny print. Regarding Dan Brown's books,  It turns out that Angels and Demons is the first of a series of six books, and Da Vinci Code is the second. I read those two in reverse, but none of the rest of the series. The other two Dan Brown books I read are set in the US, Deception Point and Digital Fortress.

I was just thinking about Amazon and what they did to their book division last(?) year in England. What happened to all those E-books that the Kindle customers over there bought? I am just nosy enough to try and find out.