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Been rereading his Charlotte's Web with a younger child=)... Memories...I'm reading a book of compiled essays by E.B. White, famous children's author. It is surprising! I always loved his children's books, and his essays are actually funny and interesting, more like short-stories than scholarly essays. Multi-talented man![]()
I finished reading The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler by Robert Payne. I learned some things I did not know. I started reading Mary Anne by Daphne du Maurier. It is not as good as her other books and stories. It lacks atmosphere. The book is about her great grandmother who was a courtesan to the Duke of York during the Napoleonic wars. She got in trouble for taking money from soldiers and officers who wanted preferment. I think part of the problem with the book is du Maurier is attempting to paint her great grandmother as a victim and put her in a very sympathetic light, and it just doesn’t ring true. It seems to me the lady knew that she was doing something unethical, if not illegal, by taking bribes.
I have read a number of Du Maurier’s works. Her most famous is probably Rebecca. Her short stories are better than her novels, in my opinion. Two of her short stories were made into movies “The Birds” and “Don’t Look Back”. The Birds does not resemble the story very much, but Hitchcock was not one to respect source material.I have actually read a novel by Daphne du Maurier but it has been too many years to remember what the title was. Read some Agatha Christie too. Currently my favorite author is David Baldacci, but also have read many books by Clive Cussler and James Patterson. I have read the entire series of the Rabbi books by Harry Kemelman. Read a lot of Robert Ludlum also. My mother encouraged me to read when I was very young and that was a good thing on her part. I estimate that I have read over a 1000 books, mostly fiction but occasional non-fiction depending on the topic and author. Reading is one of life's simple pleasures and you might learn something as well. I certainly have.