Monday, May 28, 2018

Jacob's Room is Full of Books - May

I wonder if any readers are drawn to read either Howards End is on the Landing or Jacob's Room is Full of Books who are not familiar with the books in Susan Hill's titles. Just for fun I went to Facebook and typed in EM Forster, and was pleased to see that the page is "liked" by some 65,000 people! Now that is heartening! Of course the new film of Howards End must lead some viewers to the book. Forster is one of those authors whose books have been made into movies, so he may indeed be an older writer who is still read. I did a search for Virginia Woolf, too, and that page has over 900,000 "likes". Makes me very happy.

One of the joys in reading Susan Hill is all the different things she writes about. I find it delightful that she can go from PD James to Texas Hold'em poker in the blink of an eye.

This poker was quite a surprise to me!
I learned Texas Hold'em, teaching myself via an app, and then played a lot online. Too much. I had to stop, not because I was losing - I was breaking even overall and anyway, I never played for high stakes - but because it is very addictive and time-wasting. No, not 'wasting'. I enjoyed it, it was a mental challenge, and I was improving all the time. But time-consuming, certainly. I began to find myself playing every night until the early hours. Time to stop.
And then she continues
But knowing the game has made re-reading Casino Royale much more exciting.
She writes of Thomas Hardy
Hardy was a melancholic man, glass only a quarter full. He had no optimism, no hope for man or the universe. ... What a delineator of character he was. And people talk about Jane Austen. 
I loved Hardy when I was in college but I haven't read him since. I think the gloom may have been easier to take before I knew much of the world.

Soon after reading this sentence,
The cuckoo is driving me mad, from dawn, yet for several years he was barely heard here. I defy anyone to explain. 
we, too, had a bird return. The whip-poor-will is back! It has been gone from Windy Poplars Farm since the 1980s. They have been declining in the Northeast for decades, and the Audubon Society is trying to figure out how to bring them back. This is a most interesting article. The first night it was down the road, another night it was quite distant, but the past two nights and early mornings it has been close to the house. In other bird happenings, we have a red-eyed vireo for the first time. And the phoebe which has nested in the barn for years is gone, but at Margaret's house a phoebe came back to the very same nest it made last year on the porch. Susan Hill is right. Who knows? There is no real explanation about birds. Just magic.

She ends her May entry with a discussion of Gilbert White, my favorite writer whom I've never read. I've read snippets, I've read about him, but never sat down with his Natural History of Selborne. So I've finally bought a copy.
It is always a delight to read his Natural History of Selborne, at random or 'on this date' 250 years ago. He seems so close to us, with his weather and nature and gardening reports. So many things remain. He waits for the first hirundines, records when the swifts are very late, weighs the tortoise and seems to grow enough cucumbers to feed the county. He feels friendly to me as I read, cheerful, methodical, modest, inquisitive, a man in tune with the natural world around him as if it were part of him, ... White is useful, too, for correcting one's feeling that never was a July as hot as this, swallow so early, oak so late in leaf, winter so mild, tortoise so regular in its habits. The sun rises and sets and the moon waxes and wanes and the tides are high and then low and the Earth turns on its axis, for us as for Gilbert White. That is comforting.

21 comments:

  1. I recently purchased Susan Hill's Howard's End is on the Landing. I'd be interested in reading along with this title. Sounds like my house. I was doing a huge browse of the shelves today, because I was hankering for a good dog book, believe it or not.

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    1. A great and cheerful dog book is Elle & Coach. Really wonderful. I've read Howards End is on the Landing twice and I love it so much.

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  2. I seem to have moved off the page and lost my comment, so here goes again!
    Loved the post, found myself nodding to so much of it. Hardy - I read him when much younger, but still do love his work. "Tess" and the beautiful feeling of place. And "Jude the Obscure" as well.
    I too like reading the snippets of the Rev.Gilbert White and now think I may buy that book too! He is well represented in the wonderful UK Wildlife Trust seasonal anthologies edited by Melissa Harrison. I think you would love them - lovely nature writing from many different writers. I just finished "Spring - An anthology of the changing seasons" and am ready to start "Summer...". Check them out, Nan.
    And whip-poor-wills! I only heard them once, when I was visiting friends in North Carolina. A melancholy call that went on all night. I've never heard them here in Pennsylvania.
    Thanks for such a good read! I may need to read "Jacob's Room..." too.
    Mary

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    1. Always so happy to hear from you! Will, of course!, look into those anthologies. This is the edition of White that I bought:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0198737750/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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    2. Just bought the Anthologies from Book Depository! Thank you.

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    3. Thanks for the link! And I'm tickled that you bought the anthologies! I read Spring all Spring and plan to start Summer on June 1. Aren't the covers beautiful?
      Have a good week,
      Mary

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  3. Birds - they are interesting - we've got a lot around this year for some reason. They come and go, but I'm most happy that there is not a nest on top of the front porch light this year. Finally. Ha!

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    1. I wonder how many we have in common. I definitely don't have the one that was at the hotel and in the Domain - the great-tailed grackle! https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great-tailed_Grackle/id I like how they are described as "loud and social" perfect description.

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  4. I love Hardy and I've actually found his misery easier to bear as I've got older - I could not stand Jude when I read it in my 20s but when I did a readalong with Ali a few years back and could almost not face it ... I loved it!

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    1. Isn't that just so interesting!! Maybe I will give Jude a try!

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  5. My favorite words of yours were "my favorite writer whom I've never read". They reminded me of my long-time goal of actually reading the many books that I know enough about to discuss (at a cocktail party to which I never go??) but have never actually read. I've kind of forgotten about that lately .... must go back to my mental list and stop mindlessly ordering mysteries for a while.

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    1. My copy of White's book just arrived! Now to read it. Loved your comment!!

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  6. I have been introduced (by YOU) to a number of Authors I enjoy! (like Gladys Taber, Rachel Peden) ~ the only book of Susan Hill I had read was The Magic Apple Tree. I have recently acquired Howard's End is on the landing. So far, it is a delight. I think I quite like books where I get to peer into people's homes. (like driving by houses at dusk when the insides are lit up with a warm glow, and you can get a fleeting glimpse). I own, but have not read Howard's End, but naturally, I will now. Thanks for all your excellent book reviews ~ they are much enjoyed!

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    1. SO good to hear from you. I miss your blog. Thank you very much for your kind words. They mean a lot.

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  7. I have been debating whether or not to buy Jacob's Room, I have Howard's End already, I actually prefer reading the actual Howard's End but enjoy the slightly nosey journey into Susan Hill's world. I used to read her books as they were published way back, but stalled with the Simon Serrailler books, they are too violent for me. Have been having computer problems so am a bit out of date with your lovely blog. As ever a gorgeous header photograph, thank you.

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    1. So very good to hear from you, Carole. Sorry about your computer. I've read only those two books by her. I own The Magic Apple Tree but haven't read it yet. I like her nonfiction but I'm not inclined toward her fiction.

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  8. I must comment on your header! ... the most idyllic little road on the planet! I just love this and would feel like I were driving into a literal fairyland. It is perfect.

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    1. Aren't you just the sweetest thing! Margaret's house is just behind me on the R, and my house is just past where you can see as you continue up the road on the L. Really, what a nice, nice thing to say.

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  9. I'll echo Jill's comment and say how much I love your new header! Tree-lined roads (or hiking trails) make my heart sing. You live in such a beautiful area, Nan!

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  10. I just got my copy yesterday and her The Magic Apple Tree. Thank you, Nan, for all the great books you've pointed my way since I've known you! I'm hoping to stretch these two out longer than I did Howard's End Is On....

    But I can't promise anything!

    Dewena

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  11. I love the Magic Apple Tree, I was given it many years ago and it sustained me through a difficult time. A very comforting book indeed.

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