jackanory

[Bullet Magnet]

I wou,d like to see a creative writing or story telling forum.

Maybe we are feeding caviar to swine, but who knows....

5 likes, and hopefully Keefy will Make it so...

Do not expect perfect grammar from this 11 + kid,
There does seem to be some idol litterary talent on this forum, and maybe
IP Freely will come back and contribute....

[Winged Isis]

No need for a new location, that's what the Literary Corner forum is for, in the General section of the Board Index:

"LITERARY CORNER
The Literary Corner is a place to discuss your favourite books and authors and to add your own poems and stories."

We used to get some, back in the day.

[Bullet Magnet]

I was waiting for that..... but i wont pounce just yet...

[Scottishtourist]

No need for a new location, that's what the Literary Corner forum is for, in the General section of the Board Index:

"LITERARY CORNER
The Literary Corner is a place to discuss your favourite books and authors and to add your own poems and stories."

We used to get some, back in the day.

My whole problem with "Literary Corner"was that most of the folk on it just talked about bloody boring Egyptian stories and obscure novels that they had read!
No-one discussed the humourous authors of present day.Terry Pratchett?(RIP)Just ignored!Jodi Picoult?Just ignored!Christopher Brookmyre?Just ignored!
I know we don't all have same taste in books...but..whatever happened to Who2's autobiography?Has it died a death?
As for "Television Street?"
Why was there no discussion about it?

Was it just dismissed as "nonsense?"

Am sure myself and others would have welcomed some comments on it.
Alas..we waited..and waited..but very few comments were received!And it supposedly referred to modern day Luxor!

Just finished a book."Whispers in the Sand"by Barbara Erskine.Story about Luxor and a Nile Cruise?Utter crap!!

Give me Terry or Christopher any day!
At least they can tell a tale!!!

[Bullet Magnet]

Another legenday post ST, thank you, you brighten my day with your plain speaking and no feelings spared approach.
I am a Yorkshire man, and as such, i too like to call a spade a spade..

To be Honest, I cant see why anyone would want to live in that god forsaken hell hole, they must be serving a pennance or something, or have extreme masochistic tendancies. But hey, each to thier own.
Dante probaly got much inspiration from there, and i hear that even the Devil himself is eyeing the place up as an annex to his domain. The only thing stopping old Nick, is that the locals drive a harder bargain than he does, and are twice if not three times more cunning.

[A-Four]

Going off subject for a moment, if you don't mind here BM but, just to answer ST's remark about the book Television Street. I was in Luxor at the time when this was big news, apparently I learnt that a number of ex-pats there were being identified quite clearly as characters in this book. Who knows, perhaps some of those characters are members of this forum, and being that some are quite 'clicky',........well you know the rest.

Interesting subject from BM here,will come back to it.

[A-Four]

I have to admit, I have not sat down and read a true novel for many a year, I know that is sad, but have read loads of biographies, admittedly mainly political, probably because of my great interest in this subject. They usually write these by the time they are about to die or get elevated to the House of Lords, so same thing really. As a rule they are honest and stripped of all political diversities, as though from the shadows appears the real person.

When you buy the 'talking book' versions, these can be really funny, the most hysterical was by Margaret Thatcher, The Downing Street Years, this woman must have had so much venom in her for so many of her own colleagues. You only really get this though when she is actually reading her own recollections herself, which you certainly do not pick up on from simply reading her book.

Probably the best book I have ever read was Tolkien's The Hobbit, followed of course by The Lord Of The Rings. Why when they brought this to the cinema did they produce this in reverse. So all these years I have waited until the complete set of DVD's has now become available, now will watch them all in the correct order, as I am sure Tolkien would have wanted us to see it. I just hope I will not be disappointed by how modern day interprets the central characters.

With regards to 'jackanory' here, you could write a 20,000 word essay on here about the very secret history of life in say, Luxor, you might get three 'like's' or even a three word comment from a couple of others, and the rest would be out discovering these such secrets, then telling others it was there own find.

I am surprised this forum has not died of death long before now, when so many such fantastic writers of the past, have blown out their candles, like as happened else where recently,........LLL will understand my meaning here if others do not.

[carrie]

Just read a biography of the Kray Brothers, fascinating stuff they really were "bad uns". Reading one called Exile by James Patterson at the moment but finding it hard going and I usually like his books.
Next on my list is a Frederick Forsyth novel.

[Scottishtourist]

Going off subject for a moment, if you don't mind here BM but, just to answer ST's remark about the book Television Street. I was in Luxor at the time when this was big news, apparently I learnt that a number of ex-pats there were being identified quite clearly as characters in this book. Who knows, perhaps some of those characters are members of this forum, and being that some are quite 'clicky',........well you know the rest.

Interesting subject from BM here,will come back to it.

I reckon that was the whole disappointment with the forum A-Four!
If in fact,some recognised themselves..then that would have introduced a whole new dimension to "Literary Corner."
And would probably have made it more dynamic,entertaining..and interesting!

Such a shame that all we got were the "whingers"who thought it was appalling!

But then again..everyone's brave in a crowd!

[LovelyLadyLux]

I read the book in one night. It was not a literary tome that will carry down through the ages. Will hardly carry beyond this forum. While there were "characters" that supported the story line (which was pretty (ahem) 'boring') in the book none of them were very well developed. If anybody was 'guessing' that such and such a character was them - IMO - they were definitely reading LOTS into whichever character they perceived to be them. Definitely not a book I'd ever recommend anybody waste their time reading.

[Dusak]

Being in one of my sad times I bought the Luxor book, all I was missing was a four inch nail in the wall of the outside loo to hang it on. The reason that the Hobbit was filmed after the Rings was that there was a dispute within the family holding rights, so no permission to film it first was given, hence the Ring first.

[Bullet Magnet]

I am a firm believer that everything happens when it should, and not before, and never too late.

I read 2 James Herbert books in the wrong order, but in retrospect, it was in the right order.

One being The Ghosts Of Sleath....

I have The Hobbit here on DvD to watch when i get home...

[Scottishtourist]

I often wonder if my autobiography would be a "best seller!"

Have to think of a title for it though."Boring and Dull"would probably be the best one for it!

But,I guess it would have all the constituents of a good tale!

A life in a household of 7.No family abuse,4 siblings,Lithuanian and Scottish heritage.No deprivation(as far as I can see)..just different times..and different standards!No police intervention,no trouble whatsoever!

A working class family..living a working class life!

Has anyone ever written about this before?NO..cos it's unexciting!
Such a shame that those with the deep,dark secrets,heartache,etc,will always win!

Utterly fed up reading tales of woe and deprivation.Scandal and abuse.

What the world needs is an honest story of a happy family told in realistic terms.
It's only now that many of us can look back and realise that we had a wonderful childhood!

[Scottishtourist]

P.s.I wish the "old"Dusak would come back!
Some of his stories were wonderful!

I remember days gone past when he wrote a cracking tale about a "troll"..and seemed to dedicate the story to me!

This forum is a peculiar place.It's only place I know where you can actually anticipate an answer to your post.

We learn about personalities on here.I used to get a bit offended..does no-one LIKE me?
But,then I found out how to read the posts.Cos,everyone here has a unique style.Some are straight-talking,some are cheeky,some are superior to others...but all are unique in their own way.

We do have some great story-tellers here on this site.But,alas,their tales are ridiculed and ignored..all because the upper echelons don't think they're worthy of a position in "Literary Corner!"

Who says that a great story has to be published in paperback or hardback to make it worthy of criticism or comment?

I've read enough "trash"novels to recognise the difference between a fantasy and reality!

And let's face facts here.If you're gonna approve of fantasy.i.e boring Egyptian tales written by unknown authors and classed as "brilliant"...then go do some other research,and pay homage to the Master of Discworld..Sir Terry(RIP)

[Dusak]

Thank you ST, but unfortunately I have absolutely nothing in me at the moment. I used to create spontaneously, but now zilch. I put it down to being tiered due to the work and my mind being full of a large personnel design project that I've been working on for the past year. Besides all that, I think that many benefited one way or another from a quieter Dusak.

[Bullet Magnet]

Thank you ST, but unfortunately I have absolutely nothing in me at the moment. I used to create spontaneously, but now zilch. I put it down to being tiered due to the work and my mind being full of a large personnel design project that I've been working on for the past year. Besides all that, I think that many benefited one way or another from a quieter Dusak.

A bit like my posts, only I am a bit too dry and wicked for most people...
Plus, like a songwriter, I condense my lines down to a few words, and use metaphor’s a lot..
You may also if wise, detect the sarcasm.. or not...

A performer needs an audience for encouragement and nutrition, but there is a fine balance the performer needs when it comes to EGO....

You REALLY think I believe in Aliens ? Spare me.....
The Egyptians were seen as Aliens in their day to outsiders, as are the Mexicans to the Yanks, infact anyone who thinks outside of the Yanks mentality is Alien...

I was hoping that You will be one of the contributors and maybe a few others will take the plunge too.
Winter is coming, and the nights are drawing in here in the UK, in the summer the reverse is applicable in Egypt when it is too hot to venture outside...

Mad Dogs and Englishmen and all that....

[Dusak]

You may just tempt me when you decide to pull the veil of secrecy away from your proposal, exposing it for all to ponder. I was, in the past, quite easily tempted, but now age and experience has taught me to tread more carefully and always read the small print.

As for believing in aliens, if you truly believe in yourself, then there is very little or of no consequence that you have to add to your list.

[HEPZIBAH]

I'm a little surprised at some of the criticisms of Literary Corner that have come up in this thread. As someone who has contributed a great deal to that section over the years, I find I'm also a little disappointed in the reaction.

Why, whensome thing is posted, e.g a book review, should it be expected that there will be lots of comments or discussion about it ( even if the book is tentatively linked to Luxor!)? Everyone is different, has different reading interests, and is free to comment or not as they choose. Equally, everyone's opinion should be valid and valued, whether others agrees with it or not. An opinion is just that, something that is held personally and sometimes shared.

Picking up on some comments of books mentioned in a post above...

I read Barbara Erskine's book Whispers in the Sand just prior to my first ever visit to Egypt which was a Nile Cruise from Luxor to Aswan and back. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and have reviewed it here, (although I fear that may have been culled now in one of server space saving exercises), and in other places where I join in with Literary conversations.

I have also read a number of Jodi Picoult's books and find her a master of the art of making people think about huge moral dilemma's. I can't always say I've enjoyed her books but they have always left me with a lot to think about once I have finished reading. I have a number of her books in my never decreasing 'to read' pile and I hope to get round to them eventually.

As for Terry Pratchett... not for me thank you. I have tried and just do not get the appeal.

I have heard say that there is a book waiting to be written in all of us. Some people with the best stories - be it from their life experience or imagination - just have no interest in sharing to a wider audience, for whatever reason. On the other hand there are those that seem to think they are literary geniuses, write and publish however they can, but in fact really do not have the knack or gift. Somewhere in the middle are those who do enjoy creative writing in one or all its forms, are happy to share but know they are never going to make their fortune at it because it is the enjoyment of writing that is more important to them than any other gains.

I urge and encourage you all to make more use of Literary Corner. Share your book reviews, share your personal creativity. We don't need another section, we just need to make more use of the one we already have.