Archive of July 2010
Sirens of Titan
Bubble theatre were putting this on in th park - they came to a reading group and I really wanted to go but could not tell anyone (my responsibility) but I'd like to reread the book and post on the subject anyway
05:28 AM | 0 CommentsThe feeling of discovery
and intellectual snobbery
cf An attic full of promising books
I assume some form of regret attends every round of Booker judging, even if you feel very happy with the list you produce. But a regret unique to the first round of judging is the disappearance of promising books by first-time authors. It isn't that you think any of these books have been unjustly excluded... and there's nothing dishonourable in their not having made it against such strong competition. It's only that established authors who miss out can fall back on a support system they won't always have. More than once I had the judges equivalent of that dream in which you discover an unused room in your house which solves all your storage problems. I fantasised about an imaginary Booker attic which was reserved solely for the accommodation of promising talent. If we had been able to award a Don't Stop Now special prize I would have been making a case for The Breaking of Eggs by Jim Powell, The Spider Truces by Tom Connolly, The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman, Ruby's Spoon by Anna Lawrence Pietroni and The Still Point by Amy Sackville. Do keep writing. I'd like to read that difficult second novel.
t.sutcliffe@independent.co.uk
illustrate this with Surface versus White Tiger
05:18 AM | 0 CommentsUnexpected humour
I am not sure if these are really funny, particularly as the first is something of an "in" joke, but being aware of the absence of any June posts and being the last day of July I wanted to make another. Also I wanted to broaden from the literary theme of the blog a little and am even thinking maybe there should be a humourous category, except that it makes me want to add a "serious" one to balance things out!
I well remember this post from the past (2008 in fact, which amazes me when it feels really quite recent) where I made some longer jokes and wondered which would inform me best if someone were likely to be spiritually along similar lines to myself. I have now come up with one of my own - if you can call it a joke when it is a bit self-referential
Anyway - the jokes, if they can be called that:-
q. How many Quakers does it take to change a lightbulb?
a1. They're very discerning, and all have to stand in the light.... but any one can do it
a2. "God Knows!"
And I am wondering at this point how to refine the joke with a play on light and god (small G). If you have any ideas to improve on this then please comment, by all means (And what the hey, add your own "lightbulb joke" if you wish).
05:04 AM | 0 Comments | Tags: Quaker, humour, God