Marka Ragnos Posted January 26 VT Supporter Share Posted January 26 5 minutes ago, Dante_Lockhart said: I should read a lot more in my spare time rather than procrastinating and generally being a sloth. I'm pretty sure I can read. Where I work, we've got this initiative where we're trying to encourage young people to get into pleasure reading, and it's a very tricky thing. Wish I knew how to do it. I think it's sort of a contagion, when you see or hear about other people reading in your life, etc.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante_Lockhart Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 48 minutes ago, Marka Ragnos said: Where I work, we've got this initiative where we're trying to encourage young people to get into pleasure reading, and it's a very tricky thing. Wish I knew how to do it. I think it's sort of a contagion, when you see or hear about other people reading in your life, etc.? I play Candy Crush during my free time at work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MakemineVanilla Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 3 hours ago, Marka Ragnos said: Where I work, we've got this initiative where we're trying to encourage young people to get into pleasure reading, and it's a very tricky thing. Wish I knew how to do it. I think it's sort of a contagion, when you see or hear about other people reading in your life, etc.? Reading becomes a lot more enjoyable when you can share the pleasure with someone who is also reading the same book(s), and who you can share your favourite bits with, as well as your criticisms. Reading the classics is especially useful for chatting up posh girls, as long as you can bear the sound of their laughter, when you pronounce Guy de Maupassant in a brummie accent. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marka Ragnos Posted January 26 VT Supporter Share Posted January 26 3 hours ago, Dante_Lockhart said: I play Candy Crush during my free time at work. Probably wiser than whipping out a book in terms of "looking busy." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marka Ragnos Posted January 26 VT Supporter Share Posted January 26 10 minutes ago, MakemineVanilla said: Reading becomes a lot more enjoyable when you can share the pleasure with someone who is also reading the same book(s), and who you can share your favourite bits with, as well as your criticisms. Reading the classics is especially useful for chatting up posh girls, as long as you can bear the sound of their laughter, when you pronounce Guy de Maupassant in a brummie accent. I want to see a comedy sketch of this moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitvilla Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 Just finished The Darker Sides of Empathy by Fritz Breithaupt. Apparently, empathy is not all it's cracked up to be. The book is a little technical, but I let parts wash over me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 hardback, £3 waterstone’s sale shelf 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marka Ragnos Posted January 27 VT Supporter Share Posted January 27 On 26/01/2024 at 13:23, fruitvilla said: Just finished The Darker Sides of Empathy by Fritz Breithaupt. Apparently, empathy is not all it's cracked up to be. The book is a little technical, but I let parts wash over me. A friend of mine loved that book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitvilla Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 Just now, Marka Ragnos said: A friend of mine loved that book. It's OK ... I'd give it three stars, but if you're interested in that kind of thing then I understand. The general takeaway was there's more to empathy than just thinking one can feel what another is feeling in a given situation. It's when people enjoy empathizing or get hooked on it, it gets dark, especially in negative situations. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marka Ragnos Posted January 27 VT Supporter Share Posted January 27 31 minutes ago, fruitvilla said: It's OK ... I'd give it three stars, but if you're interested in that kind of thing then I understand. The general takeaway was there's more to empathy than just thinking one can feel what another is feeling in a given situation. It's when people enjoy empathizing or get hooked on it, it gets dark, especially in negative situations. That makes so much sense. My friend who liked it is a therapist who deals with seriously acting-out teenagers, but she seemed to be finding that empathy would sometimes get manipulated, sometimes by her clients, sometimes by their parents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VILLAMARV Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 Currently reading Why I Write by George Orwell - a collection (4) of short essays. Currently on the second one The Lion and the Unicorn, written in 1940 with the obvious backdrop of the second world war. Fascinating and I don't know why I haven't read any Orwell before last year (or the year before I can't remember when I finally got round to reading 1984). I suppose the quote on the cover sums it up well Quote Political Language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marka Ragnos Posted February 5 VT Supporter Share Posted February 5 (edited) 14 minutes ago, VILLAMARV said: Currently reading Why I Write by George Orwell - a collection (4) of short essays. Currently on the second one The Lion and the Unicorn, written in 1940 with the obvious backdrop of the second world war. Fascinating and I don't know why I haven't read any Orwell before last year (or the year before I can't remember when I finally got round to reading 1984). I suppose the quote on the cover sums it up well Personally, I find that his advice about writing holds up well over the decades. He must be thrashing in his tomb over the excesses of AI writing. He writes in such contemporary language when describing some of the reasons people write: Quote Sheer egoism. Desire to seem clever, to be talked about, to be remembered after death, to get your own back on grown-ups who snubbed you in childhood, etc., etc. It is humbug to pretend this is not a motive, and a strong one. Writers share this characteristic with scientists, artists, politicians, lawyers, soldiers, successful business men – in short, with the whole top crust of humanity. Yup. Thank heavens for egos. Edited February 5 by Marka Ragnos 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MakemineVanilla Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 (edited) On 27/01/2024 at 16:09, chrisp65 said: hardback, £3 waterstone’s sale shelf So who is your favourite - Bevan or Bevin? Edited February 5 by MakemineVanilla Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 9 hours ago, MakemineVanilla said: So who is your favourite - Bevan or Bevin? Both from a time where there was little money, the economy was in the bin, and yet they had the imagination and the drive to offer something substantially more inspiring than existing tory policies just with better admin.. They do rather make you wonder why the current crop are even in politics. Topically, you’d have to rank Bevan’s NHS above Bevin’s Palestine / Israel results. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marka Ragnos Posted February 26 VT Supporter Share Posted February 26 Enjoying Robert Pinsky's inspiring translation of Dante's Inferno. Been reading a lot of mid-career Seamus Heaney recently, too. Like a lot of fiction writers, I find poetry more nourishing than prose when I'm working on my own stuff, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted February 26 VT Supporter Share Posted February 26 58 minutes ago, Marka Ragnos said: Enjoying Robert Pinsky's inspiring translation of Dante's Inferno. Been reading a lot of mid-career Seamus Heaney recently, too. Like a lot of fiction writers, I find poetry more nourishing than prose when I'm working on my own stuff, too. I have the Clive James verse translation. I confess I found it hard going and gave up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marka Ragnos Posted February 26 VT Supporter Share Posted February 26 (edited) 4 hours ago, mjmooney said: I have the Clive James verse translation. I confess I found it hard going and gave up. I’ll have to check that one out sometime. I probably wouldn’t be reading this if I wasn’t already a fan of Robert Pinsky. I love his poetry. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47696/shirt “ Turned in a sweatshop by Koreans or Malaysians Gossiping over tea and noodles on their break Or talking money or politics while one fitted This armpiece with its overseam to the band Of cuff I button at my wrist. The presser, the cutter, The wringer, the mangle. The needle, the union, The treadle, the bobbin. The code. The infamous blaze” Edited February 26 by Marka Ragnos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MNVillan Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 13 hours ago, Marka Ragnos said: Enjoying Robert Pinsky's inspiring translation of Dante's Inferno. Been reading a lot of mid-career Seamus Heaney recently, too. Like a lot of fiction writers, I find poetry more nourishing than prose when I'm working on my own stuff, too. Mrs MNVillan and I named our dog Dante because of our adoration for the Divine Comedy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted February 27 VT Supporter Share Posted February 27 (edited) Funnily enough, although I struggled with The Divine Comedy itself, I really enjoyed this: Edited February 27 by mjmooney 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marka Ragnos Posted February 27 VT Supporter Share Posted February 27 10 hours ago, mjmooney said: Funnily enough, although I struggled with The Divine Comedy itself, I reall enjoyed this: Totally get that. I need this now, too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts