tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post8509500507693147628..comments2023-07-10T01:17:13.383+10:00Comments on Brona's Books: The Conquest of Plassans | Émile Zola #FRAclassicBronahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11110584237325026052noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-68960507259631270002020-05-02T09:09:01.617+10:002020-05-02T09:09:01.617+10:00I hope you find something immersive (other than ne...I hope you find something immersive (other than news) soon Nancy! <br />Restrictions are easing in NSW this weekend. We can do short distance trips again & plan to visit our house in the mountains to make sure it is okay, mow the lawns etc. It will be interesting to see how this works for all of us over the next month or so as we head into the winter months. <br /><br />A new site devised by one of the uni's allows us to search by suburb to see how we all fared. My suburb only had 9 recorded cases of Covid. The last one being 29 days ago. We certainly feel like we might be over the worst of it....even though, as you say, it is still out there. And until a vaccine is developed it will be something we have to carefully manage. I suspect international travellers to Australia will be a long time coming. Shutting our borders fairly early certainly seems to have protected us for now.Bronahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11110584237325026052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-51564253235961454722020-05-01T18:58:23.769+10:002020-05-01T18:58:23.769+10:00My biggest problem is…I find myself getting swept ...My biggest problem is…I find myself getting swept into the news cycle rather than a book.<br />It is the FOMO-syndrome…”fear of missing out’ …of something. The news will draw me in more than a book…and I can’t fight it. Now I am going to try: keeping a journal of the interesting articles I’ve read by excellent journalists (New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, The New Yorker). My next project will try to start a book in French today. I spent the last 5 years reading French books (…completed the Zola Rogoun-Marquart series), so it shouldn’t be too hard to start again. The ‘interactive’ part of reading (…looking up words and expressions I don’t know)..should help me stay focused on the book. I’ll just have to give it the old college try! "...The virus is still out there"...sounds like a line from a SF book....but it is reality! Some people have a mild reaction to the virus but others are brought to death's door and even pass through it! Just awful times....NancyElinhttps://nancyelin.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-89130392690550886422020-05-01T07:53:12.965+10:002020-05-01T07:53:12.965+10:00Given how visual and descriptive Zola was in so ma...Given how visual and descriptive Zola was in so many passages, getting the cover art right must be hard. Which scene to pick?Bronahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11110584237325026052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-22531194516327898892020-05-01T05:56:51.442+10:002020-05-01T05:56:51.442+10:00I really enjoyed this one, though politics are not...I really enjoyed this one, though politics are not my favorite. I really know very little of the history of France and find it somewhat confusing -- so many Napoleons! So many kings named Louis! Multiple revolutions! I really should study it harder. <br /><br />I have seen the painting on the cover, it's at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. I love the paintings OUP have chosen for the Zola reprints, they're spot-on. Karen K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13483190930383406559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-66815308870013605822020-04-30T18:07:15.234+10:002020-04-30T18:07:15.234+10:00I decided when we went into lockdown a month ago, ...I decided when we went into lockdown a month ago, to minimise my news updates. For a few weeks I was absorbed/obsessed by everything Covid related, but it was stopping me from doing anything else productive. And now I'm back at work, I once again don't have the time for anything but the nightly news!!<br />I'm beginning to think that Sydney-siders have forgotten that the virus is still out there & just because we've had a relatively easy time of it, doesn't mean it won't go round again, as we relax restrictions. But I can't worry about that right now...I still have 4 reviews to write :-)Bronahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11110584237325026052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-46401025825131303882020-04-30T17:40:52.718+10:002020-04-30T17:40:52.718+10:00Zola captures your attention in first chapters by ...Zola captures your attention in first chapters by describing a very likeable, happy family. He wants the reader to connect with these characters. When this family is torn apart, Zola wants you to feel the pain. I loved this book! Congrats finishing another Zola!<br />Today I hope to get back to my previous reading schedule. Corona crisis will continue for months...and I just have to turn off the news and open some classic books! NancyElinhttps://nancyelin.wordpress.com/2020/04/29/corona-update-29-03-2020/noreply@blogger.com