tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post3660324152784607639..comments2024-03-27T10:21:58.236-07:00Comments on FURROWED MIDDLEBROW: True confessionsFurrowed Middlebrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-20474970927526444362014-05-16T14:39:23.311-07:002014-05-16T14:39:23.311-07:00Yes, overwrought might have been the word I was gr...Yes, overwrought might have been the word I was grasping for to describe Rebecca. But I know so many other people love the novel, maybe for that very quality! I love Whipple and Taylor (in fact I have a Taylor review coming up soon), but then, I do love a nicely-upholstered wall! :-)Furrowed Middlebrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-72057272829612155182014-05-16T14:30:00.889-07:002014-05-16T14:30:00.889-07:00I love that even just in the comments here there a...I love that even just in the comments here there are readers who love Dickens and those who can't abide him! I agree with you. There's far too much wonderful stuff to read in one lifetime anyway, so go your own way and enjoy the discoveries you stumble across!Furrowed Middlebrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-70417640006212960502014-05-16T03:41:40.151-07:002014-05-16T03:41:40.151-07:00Oh Scott, I'm so with you on all three. I coul...Oh Scott, I'm so with you on all three. I couldn't finish any of them. Though I did enjoy Jenkins' Harriet. I think the characters in T&H weren't terribly interesting and Rebecca was just too overwrought. I've also had a hard time with La Whipple. Reading her, so far, has been like banging my head against a nicely-upholstered wall. Chintzy. Elizabeth Taylor is another one I'm just not into. Oh well.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08513124547314305248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-46364747014251647102014-05-15T18:39:55.755-07:002014-05-15T18:39:55.755-07:00HA! I was forced to read Great Expectations as a ...HA! I was forced to read Great Expectations as a high school freshman and haven't willingly read another of Dickens' works since. Can't abide him. <br /><br />Life is too short (and my TBR list too long!) to bother with authors or specific books that whatever their appeal to other people, don't appeal to me. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-3088434716224446312014-05-14T21:13:33.308-07:002014-05-14T21:13:33.308-07:00Just forget that such a man as Charles Dickens eve...Just forget that such a man as Charles Dickens ever existed - that's my advice! Life's too short to read authors you're not attracted to.lynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04509400868331534237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-56595238461891477102014-05-14T21:12:41.011-07:002014-05-14T21:12:41.011-07:00Foyle's War is wonderful, I loved it. I also e...Foyle's War is wonderful, I loved it. I also enjoyed Series 1 of the Bletchley Circle (haven't seen Series 2 in Australia yet) although I thought the plot was a bit far fetched by the end. Great cast, though.lynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04509400868331534237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-39447354356108677102014-05-14T07:02:20.290-07:002014-05-14T07:02:20.290-07:00Never seen Foyle's War? Oh my goodness, Scott...Never seen Foyle's War? Oh my goodness, Scott. You must. Totally. Hands up everyone who agrees.<br /><br />If you can get the series at your library or wherever, you can go back to 1940 and all the way up to post-war austerity Britain.Susan Dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-5498599642630120272014-05-13T18:15:26.428-07:002014-05-13T18:15:26.428-07:00Uh-oh, we still have three episodes left. Season ...Uh-oh, we still have three episodes left. Season 1's final show was making us fidget in our seats, so we'll have to brace ourselves for the remaining episodes of season 2.<br /><br />Another confession: Have never seen Foyle's War. Yikes!Furrowed Middlebrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-27129855754678502312014-05-13T14:50:38.901-07:002014-05-13T14:50:38.901-07:00I'm so sorry to say that while I am very impre...I'm so sorry to say that while I am very impressed with Bletchley Circle (and the sets and clothes and lovely knitwear) as it has gone on, I found it too intensely nerve-wracking for me, and I regretfully had to stop watching by the penultimate episode (Season 2 just finished on Buffalo's PBS, which we get in Toronto).<br /><br />On the other hand, I can never never get enough of Foyle's War. The Cold War episodes are brilliant.Susan Dhttp://www.destevenson.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-44148156558846442192014-05-13T11:28:59.982-07:002014-05-13T11:28:59.982-07:00No, I think you said it very well, Kristi. I'...No, I think you said it very well, Kristi. I'm often somewhat conflicted in reading novels of this period, between identifying with the characters and therefore with their servant woes, and remembering that no one I know has servants and somehow we all still muddle along!<br /><br />I grew up in the Midwest, so I know all about those sleepless nights. Hope things calm down soon and give you some peace!Furrowed Middlebrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-13392142944646734792014-05-13T11:13:36.944-07:002014-05-13T11:13:36.944-07:00Wonderful, Cestina. I am so enjoying encouraging ...Wonderful, Cestina. I am so enjoying encouraging people to confess their literary dislikes! Oddly, I kind of liked Wuthering Heights. Somehow the doom there seems a bit craggier, tougher, even more realistic in some strange way, while the doom is Rebecca seems to be too soft and padded with soft, silken pillows. Not sure those descriptions make any sense whatsoever, but that was my impression.<br /><br />Oh, dear, now I don't know whether to read Great Expectations or not! :-)Furrowed Middlebrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-80378251927402791412014-05-13T09:51:56.216-07:002014-05-13T09:51:56.216-07:00I liked One Fine Day, and at the same time when I ...I liked One Fine Day, and at the same time when I realized it was, on a basic level, about how life without servants would never be the same as it had been with them, I couldn't take it seriously. But I could empathize with the main characters feelings about life....I'm not articulating this too well. (We had tornado warnings all last night, slight flooding in the basement, and other difficulties due to weather which are still filling my thoughts and emotions). I've read Rebecca. I liked it. I will never reread it.Thickethouse.wordpresshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17187303460677067276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-12697353429807171572014-05-12T23:41:31.226-07:002014-05-12T23:41:31.226-07:00I don't like Rebecca much either but then I do...I don't like Rebecca much either but then I don't like any books where the over-whelmingly atmosphere is doom and gloom-laden. Cue Wuthering Heights....<br /><br />Great Expectations was ruined for me by the terrifying film which was dished up to us, aged 11, at boarding school. I don't think I ever got over the first scene, nor seeing Miss Havisham mouldering amidst her wedding feast. It then wasn't helped by doing it for GCE O Level. In fact I can only now, fifty years on, read any Dickens with enjoyment.<br /><br />I detest Gone with the Wind.<br /><br />I shall now retreat and hide behind the potted palms......Cestinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03050699324845479257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-4125978051528625762014-05-12T19:19:05.082-07:002014-05-12T19:19:05.082-07:00I know! This is why it was part of my shameful se...I know! This is why it was part of my shameful secret. So many people love it, and it seems like I should too, but alas. Although I didn't dislike it nearly as much as Jenkins' book, I did feel rather like I was wading through molasses. Portentous molasses, no less!Furrowed Middlebrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-78993807255903259032014-05-12T18:59:10.311-07:002014-05-12T18:59:10.311-07:00Oh, thank you, Darlene, this makes me feel better!...Oh, thank you, Darlene, this makes me feel better! The other two I thought I would like, didn't, and just moved on. But One Fine Day just seems so right for me. All the pieces are there and I want them to fit together. Perhaps my fourth attempt will be the one where everything falls into place!Furrowed Middlebrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-78702602022668795272014-05-12T18:55:56.905-07:002014-05-12T18:55:56.905-07:00But Susan, have you watched The Bletchley Circle? ...But Susan, have you watched The Bletchley Circle? We're only now watching season 2 (no spoilers, please!), and it's weaker than season 1, but I just love the whole milieu and the attention to women's lives in the postwar years. But apparently there won't be a season 3... :-(Furrowed Middlebrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-66419173924642721392014-05-12T18:53:57.464-07:002014-05-12T18:53:57.464-07:00On the one hand, Lyn, your support has made me fee...On the one hand, Lyn, your support has made me feel better. On the other hand, now I feel bad for not having read Great Expectations, if it's one of your favorites. It's a vicious circle!Furrowed Middlebrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-84380178051593890202014-05-12T09:57:29.629-07:002014-05-12T09:57:29.629-07:00You. Don't. Like. Rebecca.
Oh Scott.... Word...You. Don't. Like. Rebecca.<br /><br />Oh Scott.... Words fail me.Susan Dhttp://www.destevenson.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-21683996105499847132014-05-12T07:37:10.255-07:002014-05-12T07:37:10.255-07:00A kindred spirit! I groaned my way through One Fi...A kindred spirit! I groaned my way through One Fine Day and wanted to smack the main characters in the book...quite hard, if I'm honest. Since Nicola Beauman thinks highly of it there just might have to be a second attempt at some point but I'm not holding out much hope of changing my mind.Cosy Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17818379449207007470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-66577304392023814082014-05-12T04:55:48.626-07:002014-05-12T04:55:48.626-07:00Have to run off this morning, so I haven't tim...Have to run off this morning, so I haven't time to read this whole posting (though of course I SHOULD) but I'll just mention now, in full confessional mode: I DON'T LIKE DOWNTON ABBEYSusan Dhttp://www.destevenson.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-47471436499114494322014-05-11T15:02:41.446-07:002014-05-11T15:02:41.446-07:00Thank you for confessing all that, I hope you feel...Thank you for confessing all that, I hope you feel lighter in spirit. I love Rebecca, enjoyed One Fine Day & am lukewarm about Tortoise & the Hare (& still haven't read Harriet). I don't think penance is in order but Great Expectations is one of my favourite books & a wonderful introduction to Dickens if you've never managed to read him. It's one of his most restrained books & I think you'd enjoy it if that's any encouragement!lynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04509400868331534237noreply@blogger.com