Litsy

bibliothecarivs

Anglo-Saxon England | Lloyd Robert Laing, Jennifer Laing

Random book from our personal library.

#anglosaxon #england

8 likes

bibliothecarivs

English Cottages | Tony Evans, Candida Lycett Green, T Evans

Random book from our personal library.

7 likes

bibliothecarivs

The Cathedrals of Britain | David Lawrence Edwards

Recent acquisition for our personal library.

7 likes

Teresereading

Scotland's Forgotten Past: A History of the Mislaid, Misplaced and Misunderstood | Alistair Moffat

Reading this while heading to the Tropic of Capricorn. Worlds apart!

16 likes1 stack add

Teresereading

Scotland's Forgotten Past: A History of the Mislaid, Misplaced and Misunderstood | Alistair Moffat

Guess where?
#whereareyouMonday
@Cupcake12

20 likes1 stack add

bibliothecarivs

Britain, By John Osborne and the Editors of Life | John Osborne

Random book from our home library:

📖 Britain (LIFE World Library) by John Osborne

6 likes

bibliothecarivs

Treasures of Britain and Treasures of Ireland | Automobile Association (Great Britain)

Recent acquisition:

📖 Treasures of Britain and Treasures of Ireland by the Automobile Association

Bookwomble I used to have that one - not sure what happened to it. I still have the tagged book, which is in the same format as yours 😊

Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain

6mo

bibliothecarivs @Bookwomble wow... I need to find a copy! 6mo

Bookwomble @bibliothecarivs Yikes! For no good reason I can think of, as I'm sure it would have been published in quantities, it is selling at a rather high price on the second-hand market: about £200 / $250 😱💰💸 6mo

9 likes3 comments

Robotswithpersonality

Notes from a Small Island | Bill Bryson

pick

I am relieved to say that I felt a lot better about this book by the end then I did at the start. Bryson's journey begins with flashing back to areas he previously visited and lived and worked in, in the 70s, and there seems to be more of a cantankerous, cynical, judgemental attitude on display. There may be some cranky old guy 'when I was your age' deploring the changes time has wrought,and the bad choices by civic planning, at play. 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? Gradually, as he travels into areas with more pleasing architecture and scenery, and even to new places and experiences, the tone becomes less misanthropic-trying-to-be-funny, and his love for this 'small island' and his concern for the preservation of historic and natural features, his knowledge of underfunded institutions he wishes to bring to the reader's attention, and historical tidbits throughout, create a much more enjoyable reading 7mo

Robotswithpersonality 3/? experience. I suppose I could sum it up and say he's scrupulously honest, about the condition of his rooms, the food on offer, the architecture, the place as experience and even occasionally his own less than sterling behaviour, and when other people are both intolerable and lovely. There are a number of moments however, where I think he could have said things differently, and indeed, if this were written today, no doubt would have. 7mo

Robotswithpersonality 4/? I appreciate that when the accommodations/eateries are good the place is named, and when they are not, it is nameless, there's no specific attacks (libel concern?), beyond some very unflattering portraits of fellow anonymous travelers. There's a general shift from personal history to place history, which adds something to an account that would otherwise be solely 'I went here and saw this, did this', not to knock the framework of the tradition 7mo

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Robotswithpersonality 5/? travelogue! 😅
I am curious what this trip would have yielded if he had not traveled during the 'off season', evidently more things would be open, but he would probably also have been complaining volubly about the crush of crowds. Likewise, as 30 years have transpired since publication, I wonder both whether this book had an effect on tourism, increasing visits to less well known spots, and whether the passage of time 7mo

Robotswithpersonality 6/? means that certain places no longer bear much similarity to the way they are described. It is 'Notes', not a comprehensive look, at anything really, but a decent meander from someone with an overall positive perspective.
I think I will pick up his other books. Having started with A Walk in the Woods, I was not entirely sold, and maybe the difference here was knowing and loving a good portion of the area involved beforehand, 7mo

Robotswithpersonality 7/7 but I can see the potential for observational humour that's not quite as mean, and truly caring investigation of the places traveled, which I enjoy. I'm also very interested in travelogues where the majority if not the entirety of the rambling is on foot, and this definitely fit the bill. ⚠️ fatphobia 7mo

willaful His books have gotten very “get off my lawn“ in tone in recent years, unfortunately. 7mo

Robotswithpersonality @willaful 😬 I was afraid of that.... 7mo

13 likes8 comments

Robotswithpersonality

Notes from a Small Island | Bill Bryson

Hallelujah! 🙌🏻
(Of course, the important addendum is that such a realization should happen when you're in reach of public transit. 😩)

Singout OMG. That all-day hike through never ending cold Scottish drizzle on the West Highland Way. When I thought I knew how to dress for outdoor weather because I‘m Canadian. 7mo

8 likes1 comment

Robotswithpersonality

Notes from a Small Island | Bill Bryson

No idea whether these stats hold up nearly 30 years later, nonetheless I am envious of the walking potential, and horrified from a historical preservation perspective.

MariaW And presumably most Britons don‘t know about it. 🙈🙈🙈 I love Bryson‘s funny way of stating the facts. (edited) 7mo

10 likes1 comment

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