Vintage Tales discussion

Gia wrote: "Werner, that's simply outstanding! That must be so much fun for you to do...."

Thanks, Gia! It is, indeed. :-)

Gia wrote: "Janice wrote: "Gia wrote: "Janice wrote: "Gia wrote: "Janice wrote: "Reading two books now, which should be read by the end of this month for Victober, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte..."

There is no failing in finding time to read! :) Maybe you should try taking even 15 minutes of your day to read with a timer. :) Honestly, I don't remember how I came up with the idea, but it works for me. I like having a book to listen to when I am ironing etc, and a book to read. :)

Janice wrote: "Gia wrote: "Janice wrote: "Gia wrote: "Janice wrote: "Gia wrote: "Janice wrote: "Reading two books now, which should be read by the end of this month for Victober, Jane Eyre by Char..."

Janice, excellent idea to set a timer! I'll try that:) I'm so glad that is working for you!

I do my reading during my exercise sessions on the stationary bike (typically for half an hour, but I double up sessions if I have to miss a day), and I set a timer for those. (If I'm very close to finishing a book or story, though, I'll keep pedaling until I finish. :-) ) That system has worked well for me for over 30 years now.

Yes, Werner, I read while working out too! It's the only way I can get through 30-45 minutes of the elliptical, bike, or treadmill. 😉😏

Wow, Werner, 30 years! Makes me smile:) That is a super idea as well! Thank you for sharing that!

You're welcome, Gia! :-)

Vickie, they say that, "Great minds think alike." :-)

Werner wrote: "I do my reading during my exercise sessions on the stationary bike (typically for half an hour, but I double up sessions if I have to miss a day), and I set a timer for those. (If I'm very close to..."

Great idea! :)

Vickie wrote: "Yes, Werner, I read while working out too! It's the only way I can get through 30-45 minutes of the elliptical, bike, or treadmill. 😉😏"

Also, a great idea! :)

Gia wrote: "Janice wrote: "Gia wrote: "Janice wrote: "Gia wrote: "Janice wrote: "Gia wrote: "Janice wrote: "Reading two books now, which should be read by the end of this month for Victober, [book: Jane Eyre|6..."

If you do try it, let me know how you get along. :) If, you want to. :)

Janice wrote: "Gia wrote: "Janice wrote: "Gia wrote: "Janice wrote: "Gia wrote: "Janice wrote: "Gia wrote: "Janice wrote: "Reading two books now, which should be read by the end of this month for Victober, [book:..."

Hi Janice, I do want to try that and I'll be sure to keep you posted! :)

Gia wrote: "Janice wrote: "Gia wrote: "Janice wrote: "Gia wrote: "Janice wrote: "Gia wrote: "Janice wrote: "Gia wrote: "Janice wrote: "Reading two books now, which should be read by the end of this month for V..."

I hope it works for you, Gia. :) Any way to find time to read is a good way. :)

I'm continuing my reading of K. W. Jeter's Kim Oh series with the next installment, Real Dangerous Place.

I am rereading one of my favourite Spring classics, The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim.

Janice wrote: "I am rereading one of my favourite Spring classics, The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim."

I haven't read any of her stuff so I might have to give her a try. Sounds good!

Vickie wrote: "Janice wrote: "I am rereading one of my favourite Spring classics, The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim."

I haven't read any of her stuff so I might have to give her a try. Soun..."

I love it! <3 It is so delightful and I feel like I am whisked to Italy as I read it. I hope you enjoy it if you read it. :)

Janice wrote: "I am rereading one of my favourite Spring classics, The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim."

I love this book!

Today I started reading Across the River and into the Trees. Getting back to my favorite classic author - Hemingway.🥰

I'm reading Daphne du Maurier's The Birds and Other Stories and enjoying it so far.😊

Rosemarie wrote: "Janice wrote: "I am rereading one of my favourite Spring classics, The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim."

I love this book!"

Isn't it such a wonderful book! <3

I am rereading one of my favourite novels, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I had a bad case of Covid last week and am taking it easy. :)

Nothing better than reading a favorite book when under the weather. Hope you feel better soon, Janice!

The book I started reading in electronic format last night, House Blend, a short (11-chapter) novel in my Goodreads friend Heather Day Gilbert's Barks and Beans "cozy' mystery series, isn't in the Goodreads database yet, since it's not expected to be published until October. Heather kindly shared an advance e-copy with me earlier this year, in a format compatible with my Kindle app; and since my Internet access was messed up for some reason last night, I got a good start on reading it.

Vickie wrote: "Nothing better than reading a favorite book when under the weather. Hope you feel better soon, Janice!"

I agree, and thank you, Vickie. :)

Even though Mexico is a contiguous country to my own, until now I've never read any book set in Mexico, nor by a Mexican author. But now that I'm joining in another group's common read of Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, that lapse is being corrected. (The author has lived in Canada since 2004; but she was born and raised in Mexico and sets her fiction there, so I think I can fairly count her as a Mexican writer.)

I have just finished my reread of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and have just begun Venetia by Georgette Heyer. :)

I've just added The Complete Poetry by John Milton to my "currently reading" shelf, but that's a bit misleading. The edition of his collected poetry that I'm actually reading from is the one edited by James Holly Hanford (Ronald Press, 1953); and besides Handford's introductory matter, I only plan to read Paradise Lost. But once I finish that, I will have read Milton's entire poetic corpus (spread over a 56-year period).

Having invested so much time and effort over the years in reading Milton, and having a lot of will power, on this final read I stuck with the collection for five days. But at the age of 70, my tolerance for sinking time into eye-glazingly tedious books just because they're touted as "Great Classics That Everyone Must Read!" is no longer what it once was; so I finally bailed. I won't presume to rate his poetry; but I do have some thoughts on it that might be of interest to some readers, and I hope to post them this coming weekend.

What I'm reading now is a marked change of pace: Real Dangerous Fun by K.W. Jeter, the fourth book in his Kim Oh series. When I finish it, I'll be caught up with all of the series volumes that are currently available in paper format.

Moving from fiction to nonfiction, I've just started reading Highbrow/Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America by Lawrence W. Levine. Last year, I realized that I've never made a serious study of the history and ideology of so-called "high" culture, to give substance and context to my impressionistic observations; so that's what put this book on my radar.

I am rereading Mansfield Park by Jane Austen.

This afternoon, Barb and I started on the second book of the Barks and Beans "cozy" mystery series, Iced Over, by my Goodreads friend Heather Day Gilbert. (I've mentioned the series before on this thread.) We're both fans of the author, though my favorite part of her work is actually her Viking-themed historical fiction (which is a genre that Barb doesn't get into). This particular series will particularly appeal to dog lovers.

I'm reading Folktales of Ireland by Sean O'Sullivan.

It's unusual for me to start reading four different books within days of each other. But last week was such a time!

Last Monday evening, I wasn't able to log on to Goodreads because the site was down. I decided to read on my Kindle app instead, but had nothing new to read at the time; so I went looking for a promising freebie to download. The one I picked, after reading the teaser, was Assassin's Vow: An Espionage Thriller Novella by the team of David Bruns and J.R. Olson. So I'll be reading that one sporadically, as I get time to do so. :-)

Barb and I are now continuing our read of the Barks and Beans Cafe' mystery series, by Heather Day Gilbert, with the third book, Fair Trade.

Although Behind a Mask: The Unknown Thrillers of Louisa May Alcott didn't win the poll to become a common read this year in a group where I nominated it, it was still high on my agenda to reread. When I discovered a copy of it in the public library in Harrisonburg, VA earlier this week, while passing time there, I realized that (since it's a relatively short read), I could get a good start on it there and then finish it fairly quickly by checking out the BU library's copy here in Bluefield. So I'm in the process of doing that!

Finally, I'm also taking part this month in another group's common read of a short collection of stories by G.K. Chesterton, The Club of Queer Trades. (I'm expecting the last three books on this list to be fairly quick reads.

I've recently started reading Middlemarch. I'm not sure what I think of it yet. I'm only 25 pages in, so not very far.

Gia wrote: "I've recently started reading Middlemarch. I'm not sure what I think of it yet. I'm only 25 pages in, so not very far."

I hope you will like it, Gia. :) I found that I enjoyed reading it more the second time around. :)

I am rereading Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. :)

Janice wrote: "Gia wrote: "I've recently started reading Middlemarch. I'm not sure what I think of it yet. I'm only 25 pages in, so not very far."

I hope you will like it, Gia. :) I found that I e..."

Thanks, Janice, for the inspiration and for telling me that:) I wish I was reading it the second time around. I'm going to hang in there though, at least for now.

Gia wrote: "Janice wrote: "Gia wrote: "I've recently started reading Middlemarch. I'm not sure what I think of it yet. I'm only 25 pages in, so not very far."

I hope you will like it, Gia. :) I..."

You're welcome, Gia. :)

I'm reading Oh Pioneers! by Willa Cather.

I need to get to some of her stuff. I haven't read any yet.

Vickie wrote: "I need to get to some of her stuff. I haven't read any yet."

I highly recommend both O Pioneers! and My Ántonia to all readers of classic fiction!

The Covert Guardian: The Unsanctioned Guardians #1, by Liane Zane, is the opening novel of a projected prequel trilogy that spins off from her Elioud Legacy series. She's a Goodreads friend of mine (whom I've mentioned here before) and recently gifted me with a paperback ARC; I started on it yesterday. The book is a short one (155 p.), so I'm expecting it to be a relatively quick read.

I just bought her collection from Amazon yesterday...😁

https://www.amazon.com/Willa-Cather-C...

I hope to read some in the very near future!

Vickie wrote: "I just bought her collection from Amazon yesterday...😁

https://www.amazon.com/Willa-Cather-C......"

I'll be interested in what you think, Vickie!

Emma by Jane Austen

Francine Rivers is an evangelical author of serious Christian fiction, about whom I've been hearing good things for decades; but though I've had titles by her on my to-read shelf for as long as I've had one, I've never read any of her work until now. This morning, Barb and I started on her historical novel Redeeming Love, a retelling of the biblical book of Hosea in the context of the 19th-century U.S. (mainly California). I'm excited at finally encountering this new-to-me author!

Well, Barb bailed fairly quickly (in the Prologue) on our joint read of Redeeming Love, and I understood why. Rivers chose to start the story with the female protagonist's unhappy very young childhood, as an out-of-wedlock daughter to a married father who doesn't love her and never wanted her, and who made her feel that she has to compete with him for her mother's love. That makes the beginning of the book unremittingly bleak and painful. However, I intend to continue reading it on my own.

As out next book to read together, Barb and I are trying out Girls of Silver Spur Ranch (1913), by the writing team of Grace MacGowan Cooke and Anne McQueen. This is a novel for younger readers, set in Texas in the time of the Spanish-American War; it's a reread for me (although I was just a kid when I read it), but a brand-new read for Barb.

Just a little note that I'm still reading the same book I posted here before (Middlemarch). And this is the ONLY book I'm reading right now, which is a first for me and newsworthy, lol! A little over 300 pages in, I'm thoroughly rapt with attention and completely engaged in everyone's lives described. I love character-driven novels ...how exciting to have discovered this book is one of those!

Barb and I have gotten a good start on reading Spilled Milk the fourth novel in the Barks and Beans Cafe Mystery series, by Heather Day Gilbert (whom I've often mentioned before on this and other threads), We've previously read and liked the first three books (and I've also read an ARC of House Blend, which isn't in the Goodreads database yet); but so far, I'm liking this volume the best of those that I've read.

While passing time earlier this week in the public library in Harrisonburg, Virginia, I started reading The Best Short Stories of Bret Harte, which goes onto my "being read intermittently" shelf for the present. This is actually my third read of that collection; but the most recent one was around 20 years ago, so I've largely forgotten most of the stories and it's almost like a new read.

Gia wrote: "Just a little note that I'm still reading the same book I posted here before (Middlemarch). And this is the ONLY book I'm reading right now, which is a first for me and newsworthy, lol! A little ov..."

I love that you are enjoying Middlemarch so much, Gia! :)