tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3721849362193631885.post1388856015191238424..comments2023-06-30T13:27:03.997+01:00Comments on 75 going on 40: Retirement 1Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13955685309961367399noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3721849362193631885.post-64113389800221534472009-04-06T20:39:00.000+01:002009-04-06T20:39:00.000+01:00Decadent, no, not at all. As a professional reader...Decadent, no, not at all. As a professional reader of the kind of worthy and erudite literature you have been trying to avoid, Liz, I have to admit that rereading my favourite books is one of the greatest pleasures of life. Jane Austen, Margaret Atwood, Balzac, Flaubert, again and again, oh, and Tolstoy, of course. Yes, I'm sorry. But also John Le Carré, Batya Gur and, dare I say it, Georges Simenon - wonderful stuff. There is nothing as satisfactory as meeting old friends again, unchanged. As recognising the clever turns of the plot and sinking into the delightful prose one knows so well. And rediscovering the sharp edges of thought. So, if this is decadence, I'm all for it. But of course, I'm also for leaping into new books and finding new friends. As I get older I am discovering whole new countries on God's earth - through novels. (My mother used to turn up her nose and say, "Oh, you're reading a novel!" with a disdainful emphasis on the first syllable. Little did she understand). At the moment I am reading "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi, a poignant,beautifully written novel about Nigeria and the founding of Biafra which I realise I knew absolutely nothing about. How insular I am. But through my novels I can expand my knowledge. Here's to reading and rereading!<BR/>PS I couldn't get on with "The Lay of the Land", either!Biancahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14036373098720981620noreply@blogger.com