SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...

@pedant   I watched An Inspector Calls last night and agree that it was a very good adaptation and that David Thewlis was impressive in it.  My only criticism concerns the ending, which I felt that they could have left as written, rather than signposting the final twist in such an obvious way.  When the original was written the Welfare State was j…[Read more]

@Arbutus   Yes, I was thinking of the way that traditional fairy stories in particular are generally illustrated.  But there is, as you say, another class of wonderfully illustrated children’s books. Your comment prompted me to look out one, a copy of which I gave to my one of my nephews and which was one of his favourites when he was littl…[Read more]

@ichabod   I’m sorry to learn about your sister, and glad to know that she is bouncing back in fine style.  As @Bluesqueakpip says and I can testify personally, stents are wonderful.  I had one installed three years ago, after I started having angina attacks, and have had no problems since then in the cardiac department, even if I am crumb…[Read more]

@Arbutus

the visual look and feel to a beautifully illustrated children’s book

Not as in my copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. The illustrations in that are the stuff of nightmares – although, to be fair, I don’t think that particular edition was intended for children; my great uncle who gave it to me just had a very robust idea of what a six year ol…[Read more]

@Whisht

I think the disc the Doctor handed over is something important that could unlock the Timelords from wherever they are.

This – bringing them back – is the Doctor’s “destruction”. But this is what he wants to do.

That sounds distinctly plausible; it fits the scenario and the Doctor’s character. But the variety of possible interpret…[Read more]

@purofilion  @Arbutus

On the subject of critics in general, I tend not to read reviews of fiction unless, as in the case of The Bone Clocks, it is after I have read the book, out of curiosity to see what others have made of it.  I tend to choose on the basis of recommendations by family or friends, or because I have liked previous works by tha…[Read more]

My computer glitched before I was able to edit the above.  The second to last paragraph should read:

In the Sydney Review of Books Julian Novitz discusses The Bone Clocks in relation to all of Mitchell’s previous novels. Each is a stand-alone work, but the reappearance of characters from one to another, creates loose inter-textual links. Novitz…[Read more]

@purofilion  @ichabod  @Arbutus

In reading through my last post just now I spotted a slip which I failed to pick up yesterday evening when I read it through before hitting Submit.    ‘  because an artist does speak to you personally is no reason to dismiss him or her …’ should, of course, read  ‘  because an artist does not speak to you persona…[Read more]

@Arbutus  @ichabod  @purofilion     I suppose Jonathan Jones redeems himself slightly, in that after the response to his initial piece he did bother to actually read one of Pratchett’s books, but he still comes across as a condescending intellectual snob.  People like him seem to have a very narrow definition of what constitutes art or ‘liter…[Read more]

@ichabod    If you click on ‘Forums’ at the top of the Home Page you will find all the series/episodes which have been discussed listed under the Doctor concerned.  So if you want to access the discussion of any episode in S8, just click on ’12th Doctor’

@Bluesqueakpip   My sentiments exactly!

On the other hand, we have to allow for the fact that the technology is improving very rapidly.  I still recall with a shudder the computer I was issued with when I started a new job in 1991.  It was a Toshiba portable, with programs running on DOS and with only about 20MB of memory;  and the dedic…[Read more]

I was itching to join in the conversation about Dickens etc. but alas, I have had to spend the better part of the last few days dealing with the aftermath of a Trojan which had managed to sneak past my firewalls.

Resetting my computer to factory default and then re-installing various bits of soft ware and reloading my documents from backup was…[Read more]

@Craig   I sent you an email a short while ago regarding difficulties I was having logging in.  Then it occurred to me to run a full system scan, which seems to have resolved matters.  It looks as if I had acquired a Trojan, which may have been the source of the problem.  Sorry to have bothered you.

Reverting to the subject of Mieville’s novels, word is that BBC 2 have commissioned an adaptation of The City and the City.

@Miapatrick   Well put.   It is one thing to say, ‘I’ve read the reviews and decided on that basis that this book is probably not to my taste, and another to conclude that ‘not to my taste’ necessarily equals ‘poor; of no literary merit’, especially if many highly respected writers and critics consider it excellent.   It goes even a step furth…[Read more]

Pause to answer the door bell; then check the link, which appears to be broken.  Try again .

The door bell was the postman with a parcel which proved to contain a gorgeous sari from my sister-in-law, who has just returned from visiting family in India.  Goodness knows when or even if I will have an opportunity/excuse to wear it in public, but it…[Read more]