Dear Foxy,
I only wish I had time to read for pleasure.
Poirot appears to have bolted. Have you read Nancy Mitford's "In Pursuit of Love"? One of the characters is known to the family as "The Bolter". She doesn't seem to realise that marriage is a state of bliss. She ought to have had someone like Allan Carlson to advise her. I can't be bothered with the fool, though I tried a few times to respond to his garbage. I bet he's never had an original thought in his life (not of course prompting you to comment). I wonder if Poirot's been suspended? ..These are dark times...

Dear Squeers,

I wouldn't bolt.The truth is that when the link didn't appear like it usually does, I didn't know how to get to your document. (I've only been using a computer for about eighteen months - I used to write everything by hand) So, being a Luddite, when my daughter came for lunch I asked for assistance and she hit key, cut and pasted and voila! there was your story, which I might add I'm enjoying very much (haven't finished it yet, but it's just the sort of thing I like to read. give me a bit longer and I'll get back to you (busy day and young master has a bit of a tummy bug).

Dear Foxy,

I read quite a bit of Thomas Hardy years ago and short stories of James Joyce - I have Ulysses but haven't really read it properly.

Dear Squeers,

Nancy Mitford's , "Love in a Cold Climate,"
is a favourite.
Don't feel bad about not having the time
to read for pleasure. She claimed that
she only read one book in her life, "White Fang,"
and it was so good, she didn't read any other.

As for Mr Carlson - he's on the same
level as Dr Phil - only religious.
Anyone who's for "natural marriage,"
is a bit of a worry.

I agree these are problematic times we seem to be
going through currently on the Forum. I trust that
they'll soon be over though.

Dear Poirot,

Ulysses is rather heavy going. I was forced to read
it as part of my studies. The same as T.S. Eliot's
"Wasteland," and Milton's, "Paradise Lost."

Today, I'd much rather curl up with something that makes me
laugh out loud, like - David Niven's, "The Moon's A Balloon."

Dear Squeers,

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the few chapters that you provided. Your usual style and eloquence was in evidence. I thought you handled the emotional gravity of your character's situation with insight - the whole thing was very realistically portrayed and very "human" in its translation to the reader. I empathized with the lead character and his predicament. The other characters were well formed and the story flowed well from one scene to another.
It seems to me that your writing and storyline were of high-quality - wish I had your rhythm, not to mention your eloquence. Keep working at it - it deserves publication.

Dear Foxy,

"The Moon is a Balloon" is superb. I read it about twenty years ago - David Niven was born writer and it was so informative and funny.
Another actor who had an innate talent for writing was Dirk Bogarde. He wrote six volumes of autobiography. Have you read any - especially about his life in Provence?
Also, have you read any books by Paul Theroux?
And Bill Bryson is a special talent.

Dear Poirot,

I've read Theroux, Bryson, and Bogarde as well.
Loved them all.

If you like Bryson, you'd like David Smiedt's,
"From Russia With Lunch," which Adam Hills described
as "A cross between Bill Bryson and Robin Williams,
but in a good way!"

I highly recommend the book, (if you haven't read it).

Dear Foxy,
sorry I've been a while getting back to you. I've also read "Love in a Clod Climate", in fact I couldn't quite remember whether "the Bolter" was in it or "The pursuit of Love". Of course the Mitfords were rather eccentric, not to mention dubious politically. And what about poor old "Plum" (Wodehouse, I'm sure you know); didn't he get into an awful mess manning the radio for the Germans? Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I think we should think twice before we condemn anyone for where their allegiances lie in the volatile present. Though I believe Plum's defence, that he was the cat's paw. Reading his novels it's hard to see him as anything but an innocent. I imagine we've all seen "Gosford Park" (the last film my first wife saw, when she knew the end was nigh)? Splendid film, spoiled a little by Stephen Fry, whose comic cameo was at odds with the more sober, facetious and ironic tragicomedy that dominated. The Master of the house (I forget his name) was also an innocent victim of the ideology he fell prey to. Hopkins's character of course was preserved from the right or the left with his preoccupation with the eminence of his comparatively humble station. There's nothing so humble that human's won't seek to monopolise it.
But back to great reads. Has anyone read "Life: A User's Manuel", by someone Perec, I think? A compilation of splendid vignettes. My favourite, since I'm on an upper-class theme, is the one about the rich Lord who decides to spend his idle life painting watercolours of the world's great ports. He sends them back to a master jigsaw carver, who mounts them and goes to work carving them into impossibly intricate pieces. The Lord then spends the second half of his life trying to piece them together again. Perec is another Borges.