READ ANY GOOD BOOKS LATELY?

[Stanley]

I've come to the conclusion that reading for pleasure is off the menu until (if and when) things improve. It's just such a pain and no pleasure in it. So I'll be absent from this topic for the foreseeable future. I'm hoping for gradual improvement and change and better glasses in about a year... Ah well.....

[Stanley]

Did anyone watch the interview with Hilary Mantel on BBC2 last night? Fascinating woman but she was never asked about the follow on to Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. Grrrr!!
I shall get that and struggle with it despite my eyes!

[plaques]

Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty. Now on Amazon at £11. I know I'm a bit slow off the mark but the dark nights are on us and it makes a change from computer screens. Should be here on Tuesday.

[Stanley]

I think you'll like it P. He's very good at treating his research with respect and doesn't jump to conclusions. Get Stiglitz on Inequality as well. Plemty HERE for about £7.

[Stanley]

Not books but Private Eye. I note that I am now two editions behind due to my eye problems.... Must try harder!

[Stanley]

I'm persevering with my Private Eyes. I need a bigger magnifying glass!

[Tripps]

It's not just you Stanley I've been using a magnifier for the Eye for a while now. they asked if they should increase the size of the font - recognising the age group which I guess they cater for, but don't seem to have taken any action. I sometimes wonder if it is worth the effort. it seems out of touch these days. I think its days are numbered.

[Tizer]

I find it hard to read too, not just font size but because the text blocks are dense. Publishers often seem to be oblivious to the needs of those with impaired site, probably because they are all bright-eyed youngsters! And yet the advice for how to design text to help those with difficulties has been around for ages. Here's an example from `Action for Blind People' (it's a 12-page PDF). It's aimed at helping people with more impairment than we have but the principles are the same:
http://www.actionforblindpeople.org.uk/ ... ur-690.pdf

[Stanley]

PE still worth the effort. They give me the facts that the other media shy away from in case they are taken to court.... PE are less inhibited about that and it's rare these days...

[plaques]

Piketty finished, Well worth the effort but there again I like books with plenty of charts and logical progression.
Stiglitz on order.
Second reading of 'End of Time'. (Julian Barbour) Struggled from beginning to end. Good for insomnia.

[Stanley]

Good Lad! Thomas Piketty is reported to have refused the Legion d'Honneur (LINK) on the grounds that the government is not a valid arbiter of honour. What a good man!
PS. My reading is still zero......

[Stanley]

The unread Private Eyes pile up! I shan't cancel the subscription because I want to support them and am ecpecting an improvement shortly when I get my left eye implant laser cleaned! Hope springs eternal.....

[Wendyf]

Isn't there an on-line version of Private Eye?

[Stanley]

Never looked Wendy. I suspect the ability to read the paper version is what is most important to me. My left eye is almost useless now and I think it may be that I am ready for the laser treatment. Must call in at James Bontoft;s establishment and make the enquiry....

[Wendyf]

Col checked it out for me (I got him a subscription to PE for his birthday last year), and there isn't a complete on-line version, though there are bits & pieces on the website and the Special Reports are available to download. He downloaded the "Shady Arabia and the Desert Fix" this morning so happy to pass that on via email if you haven't read it.
Link to the website HERE

[Stanley]

Wendy, this discussion has made up my mind. I shall ask James Bontoft if I can have the laser clean on my left implant, it's just about useless now....

[Stanley]

Despite the difficulties, thinking ahead to Wolf Hall on the TV and having a bit of spare time yesterday after visiting the doctor... Instead of going into the shed for half an hour I got my copy of Wolf Hall out and read the first few chapters to remind me of how Hilary Mantel started the story. I shall be making a judgement about how closely the adapters are keeping to the story.....

[Tripps]

Quite by coincidence, and before I knew it was to be dramatised - I bought a copy of Wolf Hall a few weeks ago at the local stately home second hand book stall. I think I'll wait for the TV before I read it. It looks very complicated. I'll be better if I have faces to put to the names.

[Stanley]

It and 'Bring up the Bodies' are good reads David . I am waiting for the third volume of the trilogy about Thomas Cromwell....

[Tripps]

I'm posting quite a lot today - tell me when you've had enough.
I've just done an audit of my book collection, with a view to reducing it. I made a list of them all, (mild OCD), and was quite surprised at the total number. Unfortunately I've been quite unable to part with any of them. I've parked the list on a site called 'Evernote'
Here's a link to the list for anyone who might be interested in viewing it.

Trippslibrary

[Stanley]

David, your ;posts are always welcome! I've looked at the list, very impressed by the number of mine you have.... I can see why we get on so well together. Greyhounds and gambling eh?
I'm persevering with Wolf Hall and have got in front of the series.....

[plaques]

The Ancestor's Tale. by Richard Dawkins. 'A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life'. Written in an easy to read style with touches of humour. To cover all the various aspects of evolution is never going to be easy. Be prepared for a rather long read.

[Stanley]

P. I'd enjoy a long read.... I go to the eye clinic 0on April 14th. I'm hoping they can do the window cleaning then but that might be expecting a bot too much... Roll on the day!

[Stanley]

Despite the difficulty I've been reading a volume of Model Engineers from 1924. Fascinating insight into not only model engineering at the time but society as well.

[plaques]

The Mythology of Richard III. by John Ashdown-Hill. (2015). Following the discovery Richard III's body in Leicester he gives a full explanation of all the myths attributed to Richard III. I personally could have done with brushing up on this period of history to be more acquainted with the names being referenced. The book is now in the Lancashire libraries.