Start the week #52
Start the week #52
Holiday reading, my year in review in one sentence, other stuff, persiflage
Greetings!
I think this might be the last Start the Week of the year. After all, next week is Christmas, and I think I’d like a bit of a rest, for reading and cogitating. If I don’t “see” you, have a great Christmas and New Year.
But enough of this persiflage! On with the newsletter.
Terry
Christmas
It’s a time for getting together with family, a time in which we remember the wise words of Oscar Wilde:
After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations.
And it’s a time that people just pop round, unannounced, bringing gifts, comestibles and good cheer. At times such as these I like to recall those uplifting words from Henry VI part 1:
Unbidden guests are often welcomest when they are gone.
But don’t take any notice of an old curmudgeon like me, someone who wears his apanthropy with a degree of pride. If you or someone you know is going to be lonely this Christmas and doesn’t wish to be, I suggest reading this post by
— What To Do When You Hate the Holidays (2023)There’s a brilliant Christmas tree in St Pancras Station in London, made up of books. I haven’t seen it myself yet, but hope to very soon. In the meantime, here’s a photo by Matt Brown:
According to the St Pancras Station website, the tree is 12 metres tall, and…
… features a whimsical design with a winding staircase and 270 shelves adorned with over 3,800 hand-painted books, including timeless classics like Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" and C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe."
Within this majestic tree are eight cosy nooks where visitors, young and old, can immerse themselves in the magic of Christmas, figuratively and literally. Each booth is equipped with speakers that allow you to select a five-minute excerpt from an audiobook, exclusively provided by Penguin Books. You can choose from a selection of sixteen different audios, featuring authors like Charles Dickens, Beatrix Potter, Zadie Smith, and more. It's the perfect free attraction for families or a relaxing stop on your journey through St. Pancras.
It sounds brilliant to me.
And while we’re on the subject of Christmas, here are a couple of suggestions for your reading pleasure. They are not Christmas books, but big hefty tomes that need a bit of time to wade into.
The Life of Crime is a 700+ pages volume covering all kinds of crime novel, tracing the genre from its beginnings in the 18th century right up to almost the present day. Mind you, despite its comprehensiveness it doesn’t appear to include the Cormoran Strike novels by Galbraith, at least not judging by the indexes. Note that plural. There’s an index of titles, index of names and a subject index, plus a select bibliography. I love all the cross-referencing, and the little known (by myself at any rate) facts.
For example, David Goodis wrote noir fiction that apparently was so bleak that another novellist, Ed Gorman, said of Goodis that:
He didn’t write novels, he wrote suicide notes.
What a recommendation!
Like all the best books, this can be read chronologically or dipped into. It will keep you engaged for a long time.
The other book, Retroland, looks at a wide variety of novels published over the last fifty years. Again, there’s tons of detail and cross-referencing. What I especially like is that the book is divided into categories, and within those categories the works and approach of different authors are compared. For example, there is some overlap between the books of Rushdie and Naipaul in terms of the time and place they cover, but with very different perspectives.
Retroland is good for gaining a sort of Reader’s Digest overview of the literature of the last fifty years, and also serves to suggest books that should be added to one’s reading list. My only quibble is that some books are covered in barely a sentence, which can be a little frustrating.
Either (or both!) of these books would make a delightful, if unseasonable, present. I should mention, of course, that the links to the books are Amazon affiliate links, and that buying these books through those links will enable me to feed the three feline parasites who reside in Freedman Towers.
The year in review
I wrote, and I read, then I wrote and read a bit more. The big milestone for me, and possibly a millstone for her, is having corresponded with
for a whole year. On Wednesday I will be responding to her latest missive, and the week after she will be publishing what she calls a letterospective, which ought to be fun. And for a refreshingly non-bragging and also humorous account of his year, see this post in : Field Research’s 2023 Year in Review.Bragging and non-bragging
I mentioned bragging above because last week I was, it seemed to me, bombarded by people jostling each other out of the way to remind me of how wonderful they are. I used to rail against so-called humble bragging, but now even the humble bit has been dispensed with. There’s not even a pretence of humility. Thus, in addition to the usual “I gained 200,000 subscribers overnight” and “I started this newsletter a year ago and now have five million subscribers” nonsense, I also received emails telling me of all the awards the writer has gained. There was even one which began with the somewhat unpromising “Dear [NAME]”, which then went on to tell me how delighted the person was to have been given an Honour in the New Year’s Honours list.
Thus it was a sheer joy to be reminded of what true greatness and humility look like, in the person of Nicholas Winton, about whom a film has been made (out in January).
You may be aware that Winton saved over 660 children from the Nazis. He didn’t think it was enough, and didn’t even tell his wife about it.
The story did come to light eventually, however, and a programme called That’s Life surprised him — twice. It takes a lot to make me well up (the name is Tough — Johnny Tough) — but this gets me every time. The lip sync is a bit out, but you can put up with it I’m sure. Grab a tissue, or a box of them:
As it happens, Nicholas Winton was not the only unsung hero. The book below recounts the stories of 22 men and women who went to extraordinary lengths to rescue children — including a rabbi who designed a uniform, had it made, and then wore it to meetings with various people to convey an air of authority.
It’s a very inspiring book.
On a lighter note, enjoy this video of Joe Cocker singing Unchain My Heart. The premise is bonkers, but it’s good fun. “You ain’t got to sing, just play.”
Photos of London
These were taken at the Barbican. I think that walkway in the picture on the right looks a bit dangerous!
Articles to check out
First, a great discussion of Vonnegut’s story, Harrison Bergeron, by
.And a couple of mine:
How to repurpose old articles, a must-read if you’re a bit stumped as to what to write next.
Also, a disco version of my story about banging my head against the wall.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this. I will be publishing my reply to Rebecca on Wednesday, and a look at how I went about the disco version on Friday (for paying subscribers). I’m not sure yet whether I’ll publish another ‘experiment in style’ on Sunday. I’ve published 58 already (see the index). In addition, I have two unpublished ones, and one that, so far, resides only in my head. But I’m not entirely happy with them, and now seems as good a time as any to evaluate progress so far.
I chuckled out loud with the quote from Henry VI part 1: "Unbidden guests are often welcomest when they are gone." Some of the men in my extended family seem to be from Henry's camp, and most of the women are gifted hostesses who can accommodate any visitor, invited or unexpected. Great to read the Cliff Notes version of your year. Merry Christmas to you!
Have a happy Christmas, Terry.