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Sukie Matthews שׁוֹשַׁנָּה's avatar

My Brilliant Friend, I can take or leave. I don’t really get the hype on this potboiler. Tristram Shandy, on the other hand, is hilarious.

George Monaghan's avatar

Someone had to stick up for Tristram, Sukie! Thank you!

Megan Kenyon's avatar

GM, you MUST read my Brilliant Friend

George Monaghan's avatar

All right I will!

Megan Kenyon's avatar

i have a copy at home you can borrow

George Monaghan's avatar

I'll be kindlemaxxing thank you very much...

Alison Rosby's avatar

Tried My Brilliant Friend a couple of times because people told me I ‘MUST’, but it’s not for me. I love Middlemarch, and am a recent convert to Trollope, brilliant and hilarious…why does no one say how funny he is?! Just off to check the list.

George Monaghan's avatar

My friend told me this weekend: "I had to stop reading because it was too well written!" High praise! What is the best Trollope?

Alison Rosby's avatar

I love them all! I used to very sneery about audio books, but Timothy West reading these unabridged is just joyous. The think he’s funnier than Dickens. The 6 Barsetshire novels, especially the first two, (the Small House at Allington is my least favourite.)

The 6 Palliser novels, and ‘The Way We Live Now’ are brilliant. You know that if Trollope came back tomorrow, he might be momentarily distracted by cars and mobile phones, but he would skewer the politicians and mega rich in an instant.

Emma Hewitt's avatar

So cheering George. The Mill on the Floss ref made me laugh. Done that so many times myself. Also not read Middlemarch. You’ve inspired me.

Joseph Williams's avatar

George you are remarkably industrious. How do you do it?

Ben Sims's avatar

1000 this morning! blessings of insomnia! good luck on the walk

George Monaghan's avatar

Beast - I like those hours when all else is dreams... great for writing...

Ben Sims's avatar

Hemingway: When I am working on a book or a story I write every morning as soon after first light as possible. There is no one to disturb you and it is cool or cold and you come to your work and warm as you write. You read what you have written and, as you always stop when you know what is going to happen next, you go on from there. You write until you come to a place where you still have your juice and know what will happen next and you stop and try to live through until the next day when you hit it again. You have started at six in the morning, say, and may go on until noon or be through before that. When you stop you are as empty, and at the same time never empty but filling, as when you have made love to someone you love. Nothing can hurt you, nothing can happen, nothing means anything until the next day when you do it again. It is the wait until that next day that is hard to get through

George Monaghan's avatar

So goated, makes me so happy :)

Sam Mace's avatar

I hope you've enjoyed the Greek coast! I was wondering how you balance your reading habits between old and new? I find it quite difficult and end up reading in flurries. So, I've been on a spree and bought a few on the longlist for the International Booker and Brandon Taylor's new work (although described as masterful, I found it a little repetitive of what he'd done before).

But a few weeks ago, I was re-reading Dostoyevsky (for me, the true master) and leapt into a little bit of Dickens and Tolstoy as well (I remain sad about Oliver Twist). Yet, I can never seem to adequately mix my reading together.