It doesn't bode well that, one week after I started it, I managed to not post a 'Weekly Wednesday Waffle', creating a feeling of doubt (and possibly derision?) around the first word of the phrase. 

Playing by the Rules: A Philosophical Examination of Rule-Based Decision-Making in Law and in Life (Clarendon Law Series)

Frederick Schauer

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Wilderness Tips

Margaret Atwood

It is a real testament to the power of Margaret Atwood's writing that she can create such compelling short stories, with barely a likeable character in sight.

The first and last short stories in this ten story collection, 'True Trash' and 'Hack Wednesday', are the only stories that seem to be missing adulterers, possible murderers, or just generally unlikeable characters; they are also two of my three favourite stories from the collection, along with 'Bog Man'.

Wilderness Tips is not a happy book, and, despite the lucid narratives, it is not an easy read. I took these stories one at a time, sometimes only reading a couple of pages at a time, and the book repaid this tenfold.

Short stories are often considered to be second-rate compared to longer fiction, and certainly a short story is much less forgiving of even the smallest mistakes in narrative or style, but Atwood's stories here are as intriguing, original, and as perfectly wrought as any one of her longer narratives.

Wilderness Tips is a book that's been on my bookshelf for a few years now, but I'm so glad that I read it, and the rest of the unread Atwood books in my library have definitely gone on my to read pile as of now.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

After having a browse through my books, on LibraryThing, I realised a couple of things. One is that I have quite a lot of books. Not as many as some, but I'm still 24, I've got time. The second thing that occurred to me is that I have a pretty good memory for when and where I acquired my books and the general stories behind me picking them up.

The Outsider

Albert Camus

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

And lo! It begins! I'd been thinking about reading a graphic novel for a while, partly because I loved the film of Persepolis and thought the book would be even better, and partly because there seemed to be a lot of people whose opinions I listen to who have enjoyed a graphic novel or two (or lots).

The Complete Maus

Art Spiegelman

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?: The novel which became ‘Blade Runner’ (S.F. Masterworks)

Philip K. Dick

This week has been taken up with reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, the book that became Blade Runner, as the cover proclaims. To start off, I'm not a massive fan of sci-fi books, and I generally get quite depressed when reading post-apocalyptic, dystopian texts, but I actually quite enjoyed this novel.

There are the usual elements of sci-fi within the book- the laser-guns, hovercars, and, obviously, the eponymous androids- but Dick actually poses some very serious philosophical questions about the nature of life, the idea of genetic "purity", and the purposes of religious faith.

The central protagonist, Rick Deckard, is not a simplistic, gun-toting cowboy figure, but someone who, at the beginning of the book, genuinely believes that he is morally justified in his "retiring" of renegade androids as a bounty hunter, but who is brought to question, through the events of the plot, whether his job is genuinely right, or even necessary to society. Despite this, Dick shies away from simplistic answers, and allows the reader to make up their own mind.

Electric Sheep isn't a long book, however, no matter how complicated the issues it deals with, and part of my spare time was spent watching Mark Lawson interview A. S. Byatt on BBC Four. I've previously read interviews with Byatt, but I had never seen her interviewed on television before, and it was incredibly interesting, not only in terms of what she was saying about her writing practices and her life, but also how she came across on camera.

Whether reading about her or watching her on television, it is clear that Byatt is a fiercely intellectual person, but what I think fails to come across on paper is Byatt's warmth and humour. I could never have imagined her laughing so regularly, and making jokes at her own expense, if I hadn't seen it for myself. She came across as a genuinely lovely person, and my interest in her writing has also been renewed. I'd recommend watching it if you get the chance; it's available here until the 18th of March.  

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

There were a couple of really interesting documentaries on BBC 4 last night. The first, which was actually the first of a three part documentary series, was 'Women+Libbers'. The programme focussed on "second-wave" feminists, now in their sixties and seventies, and it was really nice to see such a wide range of women chosen for the documentary; the only thing that most of them seemed to have in common was their joy in being alive, and their regular laughter. It was certainly nice to see someone breaking away from the TV prejudice of 'all feminists are joyless, dried up sticks'.

There was a nice mix of English and American feminists, showing how the movement developed in both countries, although they tended to be primarily heterosexual, and, as far as I could tell, mainly middle class, which was perhaps a little disappointing. Also, the documentary maker, Vanessa Engle, seemed to focus on a relatively small range of issues that the movement dealt with, such as women leaving the home environment, equality in the workplace, and sexual liberation, and I think that not dealing with issues of sexual or domestic violence in any significant way kind of limited the scope of the programme.

Still, it was nice to see some familiar names, such as Kate Millet, Sheila Rowbotham, and Susan Brownmiller, as well as being introduced to some new names, like Ann Oakley and Marilyn French.

The next programme in the series is about feminism and motherhood, and, I have to say, I'm not so sure that I will enjoy that so much; yes, I accept that, for some women, the issue of maternity pay, and how staying at home with their children, or not, as a feminist is a big decision, but, at the moment, I don't take a major interest in the issue, and I find the amount of backbiting stay-at-home mothers are subjected to within certain feminist circles really annoying, and counterproductive. However, the next documentary will hopefully introduce me to some of the issues I am not aware of, so I will definitely be watching it.

The other programme was a documentary on Greenham Common which was also really interesting, and again, the depiction of women activists and feminists within the documentary was really positive. It was also good to actually find out more about the protest itself, specifically how it began. Beyond that, though, I think it's really good that BBC4 is putting on these documentaries in the first place, and taking such a positive stance towards feminists into the bargain. Usually, feminism doesn't appear in the conventional media at all, unless it's someone declaring feminism dead, or too outdated to do any good.

It's good to see, therefore, that the BBC is willing to take a more upbeat, responsible stance to the feminist movement, and I hope this short women's season isn't the end of their good work on this issue.

Here's the link to the BBC blog, with more information on the programmes coming up, but don't look at the comments, because there's nothing good there.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Rebecca (Virago modern classics)

Daphne Du Maurier

I had to study this book as a text on my Twentieth Century Literature course, and if I hadn't been forced to read it, I really think Rebecca would have made it on to the small list of books that I have started and never finished.

It took me almost until the end of the book to finally identify what really annoyed me about Rebecca; initially I had thought that it was the slightly overblown narrative style, and the tautologies within the text, such as when the narrator refers to someone 'swaying on his two feet', or to her 'my two hands', as if the reader might have thought the narrator was living in a land populated by one-legged, three-armed people, and there was some clarification needed.

In the end, though, it was the singularly sappy, uninteresting narrator, and her complete stick of a husband, who really got on my nerves. I did enjoy some parts of the book, some of the description was beautiful, and the narrator becomes a little more interesting when she is not actually with her husband, but it really wasn't enough to sustain my interest all the way through the book.

Looking at the book in its contextual setting did increase my interest a little, in terms of seeing the parallels with Du Maurier's own life within the text, and the similarities between Rebecca and Jane Eyre. Still, it's not a book I would have chosen to read off my own back, and I doubt I shall ever reread it, but I also wouldn't entirely rule out reading more of Du Maurier's work in the future; I'll just be choosing much more carefully in future.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend