The Magician's Nephew is a wonderful book, one of my favourite books in the Chronicles of Narnia.
The idea of the entire series in one collection is excellent.
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Spoilers What Book Are You Reading?
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The idea of the entire series in one collection is excellent.
I've never read the series before, and was surprised that it was more than 3 books. I have always thought of it as
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Six books, I'm pretty sure, was my memory from childhood.
If memory serves, there are parts of The Magician's Nephew that are actually quite funny, in the way that would thrill children.
According to my all-in-one book, there are 7 books in the series...
The Magicians Nephew
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Horse and His Boy
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
The Last Battle
Ah, yes.
Thank you for the reminder.
I think that the book The Horse and His Boy may have been written (or published) some time later, but its place in the sequence of the series (as was the case with The Magician's Nephew) meant that it inserted into where it comes in the narrative some time after some of the original works had been published.
The Tough Guys (1969) by Mickey Spillane.
Mickey Spillane shines the most in short stories. The Tough Guys is a collection of three stories written in the early 1960’s and republished in this volume by Signet.
The first story, Kick It or Kill It, is a quite twisted tale of a guy arriving in a town that is terrorized by the mob.
The Seven Year Con is a violent story about vengeance and love as the main character is an ex-journalist that spend seven years in prison after being framed.
The Bastard Bannerman deals with cops, powerful families, and then syndicate. This is the weakest story in the book but still worth a read.
Ultimately, The Tough Guys is a fun collection in which Spillane is able to provide lots of fun action.
Mickey Spillane shines the most in short stories. The Tough Guys is a collection of three stories written in the early 1960’s and republished in this volume by Signet.
The first story, Kick It or Kill It, is a quite twisted tale of a guy arriving in a town that is terrorized by the mob.
The Seven Year Con is a violent story about vengeance and love as the main character is an ex-journalist that spend seven years in prison after being framed.
The Bastard Bannerman deals with cops, powerful families, and then syndicate. This is the weakest story in the book but still worth a read.
Ultimately, The Tough Guys is a fun collection in which Spillane is able to provide lots of fun action.
Well, I am reading lots of Mickey Spillane lately, and somehow this amazing picture ended up on my Facebook feed this morning:
That was an early still photo. Before Fonzie wore leather.
I’d be: don’t read stuff while dining at the table!
We lost both worlds: actual youth reading books for pleasure, and basic education of not doing other stuff (such as playing on a smartphone) while dining in company.
See this depressing article trying to defend the practice: https://cafemom.com/parenting/218114-mind-your-table
I better stop before I start looking like this:
Both of those worlds - reading a real book for pleasure, and not doing other stuff (such as playng on a smartphone), while dining in company, but, instead, giving your full attention to the meal and to the people with whom you are dining.
Dining together - seated at a table, with cutlery and crockery - is so civilised, and is - to my mind - the place where people get to know (and understand) each other best.
Oh, dear.
Both tone - how arrogant - and the ugly and unpleasant content of that article are deeply depressing.
Over a decade ago, I went for a late lunch with an Italian boy who manned one of the organic stalls in the weekly farmers' market.
Actually, if memory serves, he had decided to - or, rather, he had been asked to - run the best stall of organic produce for a year, as the German couple who normally run it - their children grown - had decided to take a year off to see the world.
That day, after closing the stall, the boy - he had an excellent economics degree from a top Italian university, had worked with the EU Commission before jettisoning that for a life based on alternative and Green values, was interested in politics, history and food - so, we had much to talk about - asked to bring along his partner and young child, who was about two or three.
Privately, I wasn't enthusiastic, (children in restaurants, wired by too much excitement, sugar, energy and the sheer strange novelty of dining formally somewhere are not something that usually appeals to me) but concurred, and we headed to one of my favourite Italian places where the food was excellent and much of it was sourced from Italy (subsequently, alas, a casualty of the crash of 2008 - it shut a few years after that; my mother had loved it, as well, and we frequently lunched there or had coffee there).
The reason I am writing about this, years later, is my recollection of how bowled over I was by their behaviour, their conduct, the way they related to that young boy.
The boy - he must have been close to, or around, three, - sat in a proper seat, at a place that was properly set, cutlery, crockery, condiments all laid out correctly, and he was expected to be able to deal with this. He was; this setting was not strange, or new, to him.
His parents cut up meat for him, - cut up food that he wouldn't have been able to cope with, he sat quietly, watching - but, other than that, - and holding a glass with both hands - he was expected to behave, and use the utensils placed in front of him.
What really struck me was the running commentary of polite, and quiet and caring instruction that both parents maintained, in Italian and French (the mother was French) while addressing me in English throughout that meal - for good parenting takes, work, and effort, and time, endless time, and repeating what you have done again and again and again.
They were quiet, and patient - explaining everything in three languages - and they helped him, and they encouraged him, they laughed with him as they instructed him - or prompted him - on how to behave. He was encouraged to ask questions and participate (but not dominate) in proceedings.
He had this on a daily basis, and already, at around three years of age, his table manners were exemplary.
When cakes appeared, the young boy made to reach for them and was quietly, (but firmly) instructed that it is considered polite to offer cakes to your guest first (that was me) and only then, when others have been served, are you to help yourself.
The boy, as instructed, offered me the cakes, (and was gravely thanked both by me and by his parents).
Anyway, as I say, I was absolutely blown away; this quiet, supportive instruction, explaining and praising, including while insisting that standards be met and maintained all made perfectly clear to me that this could be done.
It just takes time, - lots of time - and patience, and love and care and attention and yes, having both parents present meant that this teaching process worked even better.
And it is also necessary to normalise this - make the experience of dining properly - whether at home or when dining out - something normal, something usual, something that the child becomes used to doing on a regular basis.
That boy will have no difficulty when dining out anywhere or anytime when he becomes an adult, and will be an absolute pleasure to dine with.
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Arrogant is the perfect way to describe that article - and the not uncommon line of thought. I am also appalled by the “The times are changing” argument. There’s no logic to it. Since when the fact that something changes (which is always, as Heraclitus told us with his “Panta rhei”) means that we can’t extrapolate a logical argument either in favor or against the various elements of what is brought by such change? It’s just a sloppy, and arrogant (as you say) way of saying “I do what I want and you got no right to opinion.”
Wow! Thank you for sharing this beautiful memory. Sorry to read that the restaurant has closed, but such is the nature of that unmerciful business. As for the parenting, wow. Good parenting is definitely possible. I know that as a parent I made many mistakes, and my kids have always been on the “hyperactive” side. But never, ever I deprived them the opportunity to observe how adults interact (which is what most people like that blog writer miss). I always wanted them to see that I can argue, even strongly, about politics, sports, economy etc with friends and family, and still remain on friendly terms. I always wanted them to see what is proper behavior, even at the cost of having them cry because they wanted something. I’ll be honest that it caused some strong friction with their grandparents which in their role of grandparents always wanted to give in even on silly stuff, however just a couple of years ago they all admitted that my wife and I were right and that in the end we did an amazing job (I was so tempted to say “Told you so”). Again, I am sure and I know that I made many, many mistakes.
I think that one thing that people miss is the concept of context. Small kid at a hi scale restaurant? Tricky move, I’d recommend against it. Small kid at a family diner? Yep! Kid cries? So be it, it doesn’t really bother me as much as it bothers me seeing entire families not exchanging a word for an entire meal or, worse as it happened to me at a Cracker Barrel, multiple kids on multiple tables with multiple families on their tablets with high volume on the speakers. I wanted to die.
It was a beautiful restaurant, - the food was terrific - run by warm enthusiasts (who always made my mother welcome, and made any guest I ever took there welcome); and the front was a small store where they sold deli items, and Italian products.
Everything was not just good, but beautiful: The food (dried goods and preserved food were all imported from Italy; fresh vegetables and fruit were sourced, obviously, locally) and the crockery, glassware and utensils were all also beautiful.
Indeed, if you are not exposed to beauty - and encouraged to appreciate and enjoy it when young - taught to recognise it - how can you ever learn to love it and live with it?
When they were closing down, I bought some of their crockery (manufactured by the Italian Ancap company, gorgeous); I also have some of their beautiful (handmade) wooden salad bowls.
Everything was not just good, but beautiful: The food (dried goods and preserved food were all imported from Italy; fresh vegetables and fruit were sourced, obviously, locally) and the crockery, glassware and utensils were all also beautiful.
Indeed, if you are not exposed to beauty - and encouraged to appreciate and enjoy it when young - taught to recognise it - how can you ever learn to love it and live with it?
When they were closing down, I bought some of their crockery (manufactured by the Italian Ancap company, gorgeous); I also have some of their beautiful (handmade) wooden salad bowls.
It’s sad when a familiar place closes down as it’s a true loss. The restaurant where I went as a kid in Milan (well, for 20 years, since I was born to when I moved to the US) closed down about a decade ago. It felt like losing a friend. I understand what you mean, and I am very glad you were able to buy some mementos. Fond memories are all that remain, but at least you have them with you in your heart.
I am working my way on the last ~25% of 'A Day of Fallen Night' by Samantha Shannon. It is the prequel to 'Priory of the Orange Tree'.
It is interesting - with Priory I found the first ~25% or so to be a bit of a hot mess, just throwing stuff at the reader without any context ... then it settled into a nice groove for me that just built tension into a really engaging ending. With 'Fallen Night' I was locked in for the first half and then there were a few sections that felt like they needed to just be rewritten that bothered me, and now in the second half the pacing feels all over the place and overall flow has slowed ... will be interesting to see my final thoughts.
It is interesting - with Priory I found the first ~25% or so to be a bit of a hot mess, just throwing stuff at the reader without any context ... then it settled into a nice groove for me that just built tension into a really engaging ending. With 'Fallen Night' I was locked in for the first half and then there were a few sections that felt like they needed to just be rewritten that bothered me, and now in the second half the pacing feels all over the place and overall flow has slowed ... will be interesting to see my final thoughts.
Well, I shall always remember that restaurant with affection.
Their food, wine, utensils, crockery, glassware, were excellent, but, so, too, was their decency and professionalism.
Above all, the way they always warmly welcomed my mother; we used to head there frequently - at least, for coffee every week, and frequently, for a late lunch as well - in the years between the death of my father and the onset of my mother's dementia. I remember the place with great affection, and my mother loved it.
As for a small kid in a high scale restaurant (well, this place was more like an excellent - though city centre, off in an old medieval side street - trattoria), if the small kid has been brought up in a way where eating properly at table (my mother would never entertain the idea of eating in front of the TV; you ate dinner seated at the table, finished your meal, brought your own dishes to the sink - or dishwasher - excused yourself, and then left the room) is the norm, then, the experience of dining out in a good restaurant will not be such an unfamiliar shock to the child.
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Still reading (immersed in) The Making of the British Army (which is roughly a history of the BRitish Army from the time of the English Civil War in the 1640s until now, early in the 21st century).
I have reached the section that covers the period between Waterloo (1815) and the Crimean War (1850s), and will take the liberty of quoting from Mallinson about those who comprised much of the officer corps of the Army in those years: "The sons of the aristocracy and gentry were still propelled towards the army by an aversion to trade only too often accompanied by an incapacity for the learned professions."
I am in the midst of being absorbed in the world of Balanchine and the way he had an impact on Ballet, especially in America (New York, but spreading and reaching further beyond that). Fascinating man with a history and world view which shaped him as he in turn shaped young ballerinas to dance in the new and distinctly creative ballets and roles which he set on them.....