Published on 12, July, 2020
So I'm on the spectrum, it seems, and this might explain why I've struggled to make and keep friends all my life. In 55 and happily married but my NT wife, love her to bits, finds me hard going and it's good to talk to others who have similar brains. She calls me her "weirdo" sometimes and she's not wrong, I guess ND is a kind of weirdness and I don't mind the label. I guess I get intense at times, and I'm aloof at other times. I can be grumpy but mostly I'm very optimistic.
I like books, art, films, writing and reading. I have no time for bigots or people who use the phrase "common sense '. I hope to get my novel finished this year. Lefty, parent of two teens, LGBT ally. Would love to chat if you're similarly weird.
Oh yes, 'common sense' and 'I'm only telling the truth' are the biggest verbal travesties of our time.
I've had weird things happen to me for ages, I once fell down a rabbit hole whilst thinking about Lewis Carroll. I have lots of totally weird dreams, like the one about a red paisley cat that lived in the cat litter tray and wouldn't let my other cats use it?
I'm more of an academic than an artist, I can barely draw a bath, let alone anything else, I love reading, mostly crime fiction and historical fiction. I find I don't understand most maiinstream fiction and family sagas, to NT for me I think. I love my ancient and medieval history and read loads about that.
Oh I struggle with complicated plots in books and films. Bond films these days are baffling to me, what even was Skyfall about? I don't read enough historical fiction so would like to get into it, would you recommend Wolf Hall?
Thanks for replying, I have now turned on notifications for this forum, hopefully I won't rapidly silence them and forget what they were for :)
I wouldn't start with Wolf Hall, I'd watch it on TV, the book is hard going and takes a page or so to convey what takes a few seconds of the tv production. The tv production is TV at it's best, the cast, the sets and the faithfulness to both the book and the times.
I'd start with something like Lindsey Davis's Falco novels, they're a crime series set in Rome at the time of Emporer Vespasian (70 CE). The first one's a bit of a struggle, but the series soon hits it's stride.
I'd suggest Phillipa Gregory's The White Queen series, but there was a brilliant TV adaption of that which is almost word for word faithful to the books.
You could try Jack Hight's Saladin trilogy, which is a fictionalised biography of Saladin and the 2nd and 3rd crusades, it stays true to as many real events as possible and is one of those books you can fall into and be transported to a different time and place.
Lots of people love the CJ Sansome's Shardlake series, personally I don't get on with it, but it's made the best seller lists.
Not knowing your real taste in books and what grabs you, it's hard to recomend anything. If you like something a bit cosy or something more blood thirsty.
I can't remember the last film I watched, I read and watch a lot of series and find a story, (if there is one) truncated and feel theres so much more that could of been done with it, either that or why did they bother at all?
You know this conversation has already paid off, I've realised that I don't like complex, multi-layered plots, and therefore don't have to keep trying to read the booker prize nominees and other literary masterpieces... I've been struggling with The Book Thief and Cloud Cuckoo Land and I've just decided to DNF them! I like thought-provoking prose but if the plot's all over the place I'm not going to follow it.
I hadn't actually realised this, not consciously, and this is good to know!
Yay, another woke liberal! I don't mind a certain amount of gore, if it's in context and not excessive.
If you like LOTR, then you may like David Eddings Belgariad series, Brian Bates, The Way of Wyrd.
Have you read any of Iain Banks's Sci Fi? I really loved The Player of Games.
You may like Phil Rickmans, Merilly Watkins series too.