Thanks for the suggestions so far. I particularly like the photography and bugs expeditions. I should have made it clear that activities need to be away from the house and the garden (this is for my benefit - if I'm there I'm tempted to start doing my own stuff) and that it's the four year-old who's demanding new things. I'm quite happy to do the same stuff again - and I'm sure we will carry on repeating things that have been hits - but she likes a bit of novelty, possibly because she has quite... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 7:10 AM on May 25, 2008

Elizabeth Enright. Wikipedia. Children's books - the first three books of her quartet about the Melendys starts within your time frame. The Saturdays is the first - New York, 1941. In The Four-Storey Mistake the family move to the ocuntry and there are details about the war effort.

You might also like Erich Kastner's children's book The Flying Classroom, 1933. I can't speak for how accurate it is about children's lives in Germany in the early nineteen-thirties, but it's... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 2:49 AM on May 25, 2008

Born in the early 70s. My mother sang all the time too and with us - music hall songs, folk songs, nursery rhymes, protest songs, hymns. She, my sister and I sing a lot to my baby/toddler nieces. I can't sing but they don't care and I've stopped being self-conscious about it. Some things, such as rocking a heavy small child to sleep, are much more bearable when singing.

(Late, found via podcast.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 7:20 AM on May 11, 2008

Larkin's "Born Yesterday"?

Born Yesterday
for Sally Amis

Tightly-folded bud,
I have wished you something
None of the others would:
Not the usual stuff
About being beautiful,
Or running off a spring
Of innocence and love -
They will all wish you that,
And should it prove possible,
Well, you're a lucky girl.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 10:28 AM on May 8, 2008

This sounds like an utterly unbearable situation. I am silghtly confused by the financial/housing detials as I don't live in your country, but it sounds as if you are completely supporting your family financially and getting a huge amound of emotional abuse from them. (Does your mother not have a job or any savings either?)

Being physically present but emotionally absent is a tough one. When I'm trying to do something similar I escape into books, work, running, craft or... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 12:40 AM on April 21, 2008

I found Freud's Women particularly useful in understanding the social and intellectual context of his ideas. It's also very readable.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 4:55 AM on April 13, 2008

Thanks to all of you for this - my father says you have solved his problem. Here's his response:

Your correspondents have solved the problem, and I now have a new email account with Gmail.

It seems that my Vodafone mobile link does work like an ISP in connecting me to the net (or newt as I first typed), although the email address has to come from another provider.

Those of you who said we were... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 1:58 AM on March 27, 2008

Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kijé suite. It helps to know something of the plot of the story, I think - Wikipedia.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 4:29 PM on March 16, 2008

Louis de Bernières, Captain Corelli's Mandolin (second world war). Recommended without prejudice - I didn't like it much, but it fits your criteria.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 6:20 AM on March 13, 2008

I could answer this in the UK, but not in the US. I assume, however, that "Nick" has some sort of learning disability and would suggest that The Learning Disabilities Association of Oregon might be able to offer advice. Nick might benefit from an advocate. I would think that it partly depends how long it is since "Ken" and Nick have met - if Ken can't suggest that Nick will remember him and there is a bond between them, professionals and courts might suggest that it's not in... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 1:20 PM on February 27, 2008

You may find it useful to test your listening ability at The Listening Test.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 1:15 PM on February 27, 2008

Thanks for the replies so far. Wordpress blogs seem to work ok, so I'm surprised by this. Proxy access, unfortunately, is definitely blocked.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 2:53 AM on February 22, 2008

Yes, linking directly to http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/ gives me this message:


The site you are trying to connect to conflicts with the Websense access control rules set by xx's Internet Usage Policies

Reason:
The Websense category "Social Networking and Personal Sites" is filtered.


Guess this means I'm stuck unless I contact IT, though I will contact... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 7:09 AM on February 22, 2008

Antonia Forrest's children's books about the Marlow family. The first was published in 1948 and the last in 1982. Wikipedia. Obituary. Website. I find the books emotionally involving, well-written and funny.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 1:22 AM on February 13, 2008

Try searching for -ly and removing all the adverbs.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 4:36 PM on January 26, 2008

Is it normal for someone 3 months into a new relationship to avoid people they were friends with before?

Yes, I think it is, though what you descibe is rude, particularly when you say he suggested you meet up and then didn't get back in touch. New relationships are partily about re-inventing/re-discovering oneself and I think people often take a break from the people they knew, and who knew them, before.

Is my... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 10:35 AM on January 24, 2008

I tried it, but cancelled it because it means (in the UK - this may not apply elsewhere) that items are sent by Special Delivery, and therefore someone has to be at the delivery address to sign for the parcel. As I work and my work address won't accept parcels this was no good for me. In the week or so I was a member I also found it frustrating because marketplace items are often cheaper so it was a close call whether to buy a more expensive copy using Prime or a less expensive copy from... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 1:28 PM on January 20, 2008

The hardback pocket World's Classics series are good for this - I think they are 16mo/sextodecimo size, about 15-17cm high. You've probably seen them in second-hand bookshops - they have blue cloth covers, if there's no dustjacket. You can search for sextodecimo or 16mo as a key word on abebooks - here's what looks like a good copy of Barchester Towers. Although Trollope is usually lengthy, these editions have pretty thin paper (though not onion-skin).

You might also try I... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 3:17 PM on January 1, 2008

Try "history of childhood" as a search term. That led me to this page, which looks good. I've read Phillipe Aries's Centuries of Childhood, which is seminal, though I understand some of his conclusions are now disputed. Colin Heywood's History of Childhood may be more up to date, though I haven't read it yet. I may have some more references when I am at work tomorrow.

If you're interested in fiction describing different ways of childreading, Jean Webster's Dear... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 1:16 PM on December 27, 2007 marked best answer

Got it! Ann Dally, "Inventing Motherhood" - another classic. Searching for "invention of motherhood" also gives some interesting references
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 8:19 AM on December 28, 2007

And this one I know nothing about, just got an email alert from which this is a quote.

Mothers and Children: Jewish Family Life in Medieval Europe, Elisheva Baumgarten.

To read the entire book description or the introduction, please visit: http://press.princeton.edu/titles/7735.html

This book presents a synthetic history of the family--the most basic building block of medieval Jewish communities--in Germany and northern France during... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 1:08 PM on December 30, 2007

You might find Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies and Why interesting. I haven't read it, just bought it for someone for Christmas. Lots of stories and analysis of survival. If nothing else, would probably direct you to other survival accounts.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 4:56 AM on December 30, 2007

Amy Wilensky's Passing for Normal: A Memoir of Compulsion might be worth looking at. The author has Tourette's and OCD. There's a particularly interesting bit where she talks about walking down the road and seeing another young woman coming towards her; they start to share a moment of recognition of shared identity, and then Wilensky twitches and sees (or believes she sees) the other woman thinking that Wilensky is not like her after all. I think it's a fascinating book - very well-written and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 12:16 PM on December 29, 2007 marked best answer

Jackie Kay's novel Trumpet, about a jazz trumpeter who, on his death, is found to have been a woman rather than a man. Explores the effect on his son.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 6:03 PM on December 29, 2007

Plant a tree for them? No links as I'm not sure what organisation would do this in the US - the Woodland Trust does it in the UK.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 5:54 PM on December 29, 2007

Thanks for all this. It looks as if I was fortunate to find one out of the three (journal/book) editors actually interested in my paper!
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 1:06 PM on December 29, 2007

Do you remember if it was a British book? There are two I vaguely remember that sound a bit like this (I think one was called "The Battle of * Street" or "The War of * Street"), both by women, both British. If it was British I'll go on trying to remember what these were.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 2:55 AM on December 29, 2007

My father's just written a novel about luck, and used a lot of philosophical references about the ideas of luck and chance. Probably not what you want, but if it might be any good, MeFi mail me.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 5:39 AM on December 27, 2007

Thirding Trollope. The first of the Barchester series, The Warden, is relatively short, so you could give that a go and see if you like it. It's online at Gutenberg if you want to try the style.

Bleak House rocks.

Seconding Robertson Davies, although I'd probably suggest starting with Tempest-Tost, the second of the Salterton Trilogy, which has one of the best ever party descriptions.

And have you thought of biography? The best... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 1:30 AM on December 18, 2007

Rosemary Sutcliff's The Armourer's House has a lovely Christmas episode.

Noel Streatfeild's Curtain Up also has a touching Christmas scene.
I actually find the Holmes goose story quite depressing - doesn't the man whose goose it is have a hat that shows that his wife doesn't love him?... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 12:32 PM on December 3, 2007

You could try Nigel's Eco Store (UK).
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 3:36 AM on December 2, 2007

Re the access to computers thing - in the UK there's been a govt initiative to ensure foster carers have computers that children/young people in their care can use.

And in response to evariste, lots of places in the UK have schemes like this - I don't know where you're based but it's worth contacting your local council or social services department and saying you're interested in buying gifts for children in need. If nothing else, they may well accept cash to be spent on presents.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 3:33 AM on December 2, 2007

Zwemmer?
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 7:17 AM on October 7, 2007

Brown Trout? Never seen them myself but if you put mountains + photographs and lighthouses + photographs into Amazon they come up.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 7:25 AM on October 7, 2007

Will Self's novels and stories. Great Apes: premise, humans and chimpanzees switch places. How the Dead Live: premise, the dead live in North London. Some of Ian Banks - The Wasp Factory (can't describe this one). Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series, starting with The Eyre Affair: premise, literary detective who can jump in and out of fiction, set in a parallel Swindon where dodos exist and the Crimean War's still going in, although it's 1985. Self is always dark; Banks sometimes is (and the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 11:14 AM on September 21, 2007 marked best answer

Keeping the World Away by Margaret Forster, about Gwen John and what happens to one of her paintings.

Not quite the last century, but interesting: Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper, by Harriet Scott Chessman, about Mary Cassatt and her sister.

Interesting question.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 1:33 PM on September 14, 2007 marked best answer

Oh, and I didn't care for The Hours, but that has Virginia Woolf in it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 1:35 PM on September 14, 2007

That reminds me, mochapickle, there's Author! Author! too - also about James, by David Lodge. I haven't read it, but there's a small chunk of it here.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 1:55 PM on September 14, 2007

Two more Beryl Bainbridges - Every Man for Himself (which I haven't read) and The Birthday Boys. First is about the Titanic, second about Scott's expedition to the South Pole.

Are you asking because you want to read more books like this, or are you working on something?... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 12:44 AM on September 15, 2007

Eight Days of Luke - one of Diana Wynne Jones's best. Gaiman talks about her influence on American Gods
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 11:50 AM on September 14, 2007

How can I answer the questions they raise in ways that are basically honest but don't make me look like a deadbeat?

I think this is tricky to answer based on the little information you've given. If there's any way at all you can put a positive spin on it, such as talking about something you've done in the time, that would clearly help. The problem is with depression that is often unlikely, and also if you are still feeling low at least some of the time you... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 7:07 AM on September 9, 2007

This book may have relevant information (I haven't read it) - A Natural History of Latin.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 8:35 AM on September 2, 2007

There is a dragon in my bed / Il y a un dragon dans mon lit, by Sesyle Joslin. Review towards the end of the page here.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 3:07 PM on August 29, 2007

This comment on do-nothingism might be useful to you.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 2:39 PM on August 27, 2007

Saying so in the interview may not be the end of the world. I walked out during an interview (yes, I shouldn't have done it, it was rude), then a year later applied for a post in the same organisation, was interviewed by the same people and offered the post. As Gable Oak says, I think it would be worth trying to have a discussion with them in the interview if you're still interested in working there - for one thing, they may have given you the wrong impression of what the post involves.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 12:43 AM on August 27, 2007

Some space opera novels might fit the bill, depending on your tolerance for science fiction. These do tend to have violent incidents but it's often romanticised and distant. For instance, Mutineer, by Mike Shepherd, or The Warrior's Apprentice, by Lois McMaster Bujold. Watch out, as some of these series eventually get to romance. I'm not saying they are necessarily good books (Mike Shepherd's are not), but a lot of people want comfort reading as well as good books. For the latter, you might want... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 3:16 PM on August 24, 2007

Inconsistency is a problem. Would he consider reading stuff about parenting? Tanya Byron's work has been useful to me.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 2:22 PM on August 20, 2007

You might find this old MetaFilter discussion of Boston marriages interesting.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 2:07 PM on August 20, 2007

In a rather similar situation I found Is Your Boss Mad? useful. Best of luck.
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 1:41 PM on August 20, 2007

Couldn't you ask your manager whether there are any other tasks you can take on? Bit tricky without knowing the type of company and the job you're filling, but I'd have thought in most cases managers' responses aren't going to be "ok, let's get rid of this post," but "here's someone honest, skilled, works faster [presumably] than other people we've had in this role - this is someone it's worth finding more work for". Said with absolutely no knowledge of the conditions of your... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by paduasoy at 6:42 PM on August 18, 2007