Times Books

[caddyman]

I never did manage to get a copy of Murders on the Rue Morgue that the Times was giving away last Monday, though I did manage to get the other four titles.

Murdoch’s boys are clearly on a roll. Today I went to get my sandwiches and paper to find that another five books are being given away this week:

The Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith;
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde;
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer;
Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome; and
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift.

I’m not sure what the theme is this time, three are comedies, but despite some humour and much bawdiness, you couldn’t really say that about Geoff Chaucer’s stuff, could you, or could you? Gulliver’s Travels is more of a fantasy adventure as far as I can recall.

Comments

[keresaspa.livejournal.com]

To the best of my recollection the Canterbury Tales is meant to be a comedy but I suppose humour doesn't really travel over 600 years. I also think Gulliver's Travels is meant to be a satire so it just about counts. Again however time means that any funniness is lost.

[caddyman.livejournal.com]

That would account for it; I've never thought of the Canterbury Tales as humour - probably because the untranslated version is so bloody hard going, though the modern English versions can be a bit er, ripe.

It's a long time since I even thought about Gulliver's Travels, so you may well be right about that, too.

[kathbad]

Interesting - I meant to say that when I found The Times locally there was no mention of the free books!

Hmmmmmmmm.

[caddyman.livejournal.com]

Try one of the big supermarket chains rather than a newsagent.

[failing-angel.livejournal.com]

I was going to be inclined to be very superficial and suggest that these were stories about travel - and then realised that the first two wouldn't work.
How about satires of contemporary life?

I may try and pick up Gulliver; Earnest may be worth reading, but I've read Nobody & 3 Men and neither of those did a great deal for me.


Thanks for flagging these up.

[thalinoviel.livejournal.com]

I think the theme is "Books Jane likes" although they do slightly lose on the marketing as I already own 4 out of 5.