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Certain Personal Matters

H. G. Wells

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Certain Personal Matters | H. G. Wells
3.39
59 ratings
Book Overview: 

Although best known for his works of science fiction, social commentary and history, H.G. Wells here gives us humorous and light-hearted pieces on a wide variety of intriguing topics from chess to death. Each essay is a gem of wit and delight.

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Book Excerpt: 
. . .mdash;it was a day school, for my aunt, who had an appetite for such things, knew that boarding-schools were sinks of iniquity—and returned, I had Mr. Sandsome at another phase. He had dined—for we were simple country folk. The figurative suggestions of that "phase" are irresistible—the lunar quality. May I say that Mr. Sandsome was at his full? We now stood up, thirty odd of us altogether, to read, reading out of books in a soothing monotone, and he sat with his reading-book before him, ruddy as the setting sun, and slowly, slowly settling down. But now and then he would jerk back suddenly into staring wakefulness as though he were fishing—with himself as bait—for schoolboy crimes in the waters of oblivion—and fancied a nibble. That was a dangerous time, full of anxiety. At last he went right under and slept, and the reading grew cheerful, full of quaint glosses and unexpected gaps, leaping playfully from boy to boy, instead of trav. . . Read More

Community Reviews

4.00
- Iain - Mar 15, 2014

Not an autobiography per se, but an enjoyable collection of essays. Particular favourites were his thoughts on chess, shopping (Ikea!) and countryside rambling.

4.00
- Steven - Jan 31, 2013

Some pretty witty stories, but most interestingly, his story entitled "From an Observatory" could well have inspired Arthur C Clarke's "Nightfall".

4.00
- Tell Tale - Dec 19, 2021

Not the sort of book Wells is typically known for, this collection of personal anecdotes and thoughts is still interesting for the light it sheds on Wells. A couple of the essays are speculative and can be seen to contain the seeds for many of the science fiction stories published in the thirties an

4.00
- Stephen - Jun 22, 2021

As Wells states in the Preface ,this book is made up of articles he published in Pall Mall Gazette, with a few in Saturday Review and New Budget.
Slight 2/3 page articles on all manner of topics, all taken in a light hearted,jovial way.
In some you can read the germ of what would appear in later novel

3.00
- William - Nov 04, 2018

Not an easy read, but interesting nonetheless. This is a collection of short essays, a 19th century version of a blog. It gives a glimpse into life so long ago, and also into the mind of H.G. Wells.

4.00
- River - Dec 31, 2018

I thought I didn't like HG Wells.
Turns out I love him, just not his novels. Some of these essays are absolutely hilarious, even after the test of time. They're insightful, witty, and intelligent. Often scientific, as one would expect from Wells. As in most collections, some are better than others ("

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