New Member from Sussex
Posted: Thu Aug 26, 2021 8:35 pm
Hello one and all. I'm aged 70 and a lifelong angler. My specialism is reading angling books. The emphasis is on reading them, rather than merely collecting and/or speculating in them. It saddens me to see how the standard of angling-book writing/publishing has dwindled over the years. I recently, for example re-read Bernard Venables' introduction to his 'Fishing' (British Sports Past & Present) where he writes:
"But each visit to the water, while he is there, will assuage him (the novice angler) A spellbound peace, though an elated one, will come upon him. His doubts and uncertainties will disperse and he will be utterly lost in his delight."
The whole introduction continues in that vein and very few angling writers seem, these days, to tap into these themes. Looking at the angling-book market (dread word!) today, it seems book sales are really struggling, so maybe almost no-one reads anyway now. Hopefully TFF is home to a few who still read merely for the sheer enjoyment of the well-chosen word...
"But each visit to the water, while he is there, will assuage him (the novice angler) A spellbound peace, though an elated one, will come upon him. His doubts and uncertainties will disperse and he will be utterly lost in his delight."
The whole introduction continues in that vein and very few angling writers seem, these days, to tap into these themes. Looking at the angling-book market (dread word!) today, it seems book sales are really struggling, so maybe almost no-one reads anyway now. Hopefully TFF is home to a few who still read merely for the sheer enjoyment of the well-chosen word...
to the forum 