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What Are You Reading Wednesday
Jan. 15th, 2014 04:35 pmWhat Are You Reading (Actually On A!) Wednesday:
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?
What are you currently reading?
I haven't added much since last time. In Of Arthoure and Merlin, Merlin fixed Vortigern's dragon problem and the narrative has trundled along as per usual since then EXCEPT WITH MORE SARACENS. Uther and Aurelius had to fight some Saracens (from Denmark!) to get control of England. As you do.
I stared on Firth-Green 'A Crisis of Truth: Literature and Law in Ricardian England', but am currently without a copy as I was using the Birmingham U copy at Jon's place. It seems pretty convincing to me but every time I made some comment to Jon about something historical, eg, Green's points about changing definitions of treason, Jon had grumpy things to disapprove about it. Not sure how much of this is valid and how much is Jon's knee-jerk 'nothing about the high middle ages is new, the carolingians did it all better' responses.
What did you recently finish reading?
I actually didn't finish either of these, but I just returned 'The Oxford Book of Canadian Verse' and 'Eighteenth Century Women: An Anthology'. The latter might have been worth finishing, but I lack time right now.
I also didn't finish The Complete Yes Minister at Dr J's place. I might like the TV series better? IDEK. As a former public servant, lowly though I was in the great machine, I found the running premise very aggravating. Most of the public servants I knew really cared about public policy and administration, y'know? I'm not sure where people get the idea that this isn't the case. It *is* true that the public service runs along happily despite the government and changes therein, and I snickered at many parts of Yes Minister which played on that factor. But I don't buy the basic assumption that the public service is bloated and opposed to any and all efficiencies. I said as much to my English informant and he muttered darkly about Australia possibly being different, but I don't see why we're supposed to take that for granted vis-a-vis the UK civil service.
What do you think you'll read next?
Still got a small pile of articles on Ywain and Gawain to trudge through...
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?
What are you currently reading?
I haven't added much since last time. In Of Arthoure and Merlin, Merlin fixed Vortigern's dragon problem and the narrative has trundled along as per usual since then EXCEPT WITH MORE SARACENS. Uther and Aurelius had to fight some Saracens (from Denmark!) to get control of England. As you do.
I stared on Firth-Green 'A Crisis of Truth: Literature and Law in Ricardian England', but am currently without a copy as I was using the Birmingham U copy at Jon's place. It seems pretty convincing to me but every time I made some comment to Jon about something historical, eg, Green's points about changing definitions of treason, Jon had grumpy things to disapprove about it. Not sure how much of this is valid and how much is Jon's knee-jerk 'nothing about the high middle ages is new, the carolingians did it all better' responses.
What did you recently finish reading?
I actually didn't finish either of these, but I just returned 'The Oxford Book of Canadian Verse' and 'Eighteenth Century Women: An Anthology'. The latter might have been worth finishing, but I lack time right now.
I also didn't finish The Complete Yes Minister at Dr J's place. I might like the TV series better? IDEK. As a former public servant, lowly though I was in the great machine, I found the running premise very aggravating. Most of the public servants I knew really cared about public policy and administration, y'know? I'm not sure where people get the idea that this isn't the case. It *is* true that the public service runs along happily despite the government and changes therein, and I snickered at many parts of Yes Minister which played on that factor. But I don't buy the basic assumption that the public service is bloated and opposed to any and all efficiencies. I said as much to my English informant and he muttered darkly about Australia possibly being different, but I don't see why we're supposed to take that for granted vis-a-vis the UK civil service.
What do you think you'll read next?
Still got a small pile of articles on Ywain and Gawain to trudge through...