tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post3342054886969750133..comments2023-12-30T17:31:11.883+00:00Comments on The Solitary Walker: The Books In My Life (3)The Solitary Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-63635394365554383242011-12-30T10:43:05.799+00:002011-12-30T10:43:05.799+00:00Ah - nosing through other peoples bookshelves (or ...Ah - nosing through other peoples bookshelves (or record/CD collections) is one of lives unacknowledged pleasures. As with other respondents, there are many things here which I already know and love, some that I haven't read but have being wanting to, and some which are new for me to seek out. I'm interested in your view of 'Wild Places'. I enjoyed the writing but didn't trust the trajectory of the book. Could an intelligent fellow like McFarlane really have such a naive conception of wilderness as the one he professes at the start of the book? Mabey's 'Unofficial Countryside' is referenced in the bibliography but never acknowledged in the text. I thought that MacFarlane was being disingenuous in not referring to the nuanced understanding of wilderness in that book, and I couldn't believe, given his interests, that he hadn't read the book before embarking on his own.<br />Oops - that's turned into a bit of a rant, sorry.<br />Happy New Year, BTW.Markhttp://www.beatingthebounds.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-65620167091216521232011-11-29T14:30:43.294+00:002011-11-29T14:30:43.294+00:00I enjoyed this look at some of your walking books....I enjoyed this look at some of your walking books. I have maybe twenty-five percent of them on my own shelves, and have a read a few others. The rest are unfamiliar, and I look forward to making new acquaintances. Good books on specific walks are not as common as you might think, but I love reading one when I find a new volume. <br /><br />I also liked your library/workroom post a few posts back, and apologize for not commenting. You and George are enviable examples when it comes to lack of clutter, compared to my own room. I keep adding shelves, and boxing up books for storage elsewhere, but neither seems to make an appreciable dent in the overflow.Grizz…………https://www.blogger.com/profile/04828454689578685330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-57275593847002936962011-11-29T13:27:18.716+00:002011-11-29T13:27:18.716+00:00Though a bit late getting here, I enjoyed this lit...Though a bit late getting here, I enjoyed this little romp through your travel and walking books. There are several of these volumes—Fermor's, for example—which hope to purchase and read in the coming months. So many books, so little time.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03959953035812596907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-10872806355646437372011-11-29T13:10:07.114+00:002011-11-29T13:10:07.114+00:00Thanks so much for you comment, Susan. Your linke...Thanks so much for you comment, Susan. Your linked post looks really interesting - I'll return to read it in depth and at my leisure.The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-8696035582670080982011-11-29T03:34:45.992+00:002011-11-29T03:34:45.992+00:00I was only recently introduced to Leigh Fermor'...I was only recently introduced to Leigh Fermor's books, by Friko. His ability to describe, to set you right in the frame, was astounding to me. The passage in A Time of Gifts where he's about to cross a bridge into Hungary was pure magic. Set me off on writing a post about description (not to burden your post, but it can be found <a href="http://prufrocksdilemma.blogspot.com/2011/10/description.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>, if of interest).<br /><br />One book I don't see on your shelves is Claudio Magris's Danube. Spectacular book, which I recently re-read and was bowled over all over again. Here's a quote I loved (one among thousands):<br /><br />A journey is always a rescue operation, the documentation and harvesting of something that is becoming extinct and will soon disappear, the last landing on an island that is sinking beneath the waves.<br /><br />Wrote about that too, <a href="http://prufrocksdilemma.blogspot.com/2011/10/description.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>.<br /><br />Apologies for not just one, but two links, but, see what your bookshelf did? Got me racing back to mine! There is nothing better than a book, is there?Susan Scheidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09250142489341777926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-40488089292800957652011-11-28T20:57:29.943+00:002011-11-28T20:57:29.943+00:00thanks so much for sharing this. It's wonderf...thanks so much for sharing this. It's wonderful to enjoy books I've read and to anticipate those I haven't.<br /><br />Readying myself to read The South Country<br /><br />AndyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-80653428360051727902011-11-28T15:20:57.332+00:002011-11-28T15:20:57.332+00:00I suppose they are a bit serious. Trouble is, thos...I suppose they are a bit serious. Trouble is, those light-hearted Bill Bryson-ish travel memoirs (with titles like 'How I Circumnavigated Iceland In A Morris Minor With A Pet Baboon') - well, I can't stand them!<br /><br />Fermor is just fantastic, though he does show off at times. I had to keep a dictionary close by me when reading "A Time Of Gifts' and its sequel.<br /><br />Ah, Dickens! Wonderful.The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-67663078734381348432011-11-28T13:58:49.736+00:002011-11-28T13:58:49.736+00:00These are serious shelves for a serious walker.
I...These are serious shelves for a serious walker.<br /><br />I've left poor Fermor just inside Germany for the Christmas season. I'm trying to get into the spirit with Dickens' Christmas tales. Reading "Chimes" now. I'll get back on the road with Leigh post haste.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-28870267166820406712011-11-28T08:52:20.859+00:002011-11-28T08:52:20.859+00:00My Mum had every book about E Thomas - she loved a...My Mum had every book about E Thomas - she loved a tragic poetry tale (though couldn't be bothered with poetry!).<br />xRachel Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11803852725693518924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-81098951668145457332011-11-27T22:00:56.919+00:002011-11-27T22:00:56.919+00:00Great stuff. I've got a few similar shelves, b...Great stuff. I've got a few similar shelves, but you've given me a few titles to check. Many thanks.Mark Alvarezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11270585272042104685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-17092664051005547572011-11-27T19:32:02.896+00:002011-11-27T19:32:02.896+00:00Some great books there, SW, and several ideas for ...Some great books there, SW, and several ideas for further (literary) exploration for yours truly.<br /><br />Have you read Newby's 'Stranger in the Forest' about Borneo? It's one of the best 'travel' - and WALKING - books I've read. It left me conflicted - I sort of wanted to go there after reading it, but also no longer felt I had to.GOAThttp://thegoatthatwrote.net/noreply@blogger.com