Vintage Tales discussion

From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way by Jesse Thistle for my in-person book club.

Given my Swedish background and interest in all things Scandinavian, I've long been interested in reading The Prose Edda: Tales from Norse Mythology by the medieval Icelandic poet and scholar Snorri Sturluson. It's been in my physical TBR piles for quite a while; so yesterday, since I was looking for a short book before starting a group read next month, I finally pulled it out and began reading it!

The excellent Goodreads group Works of Thomas Hardy (https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/... ) often features discussions of individual poems by Hardy. I've not read many of these; but the comments there whetted my interest, so I've begun intermittently reading (when I'm between other books) The Complete Poems of the author. (In this edition, the text itself has 954 pages; so this will definitely be a long read!)

This month, I'm joining in our group's common read of The Mabinogion. I started it today!

Well, I gave The Mabinogion an honest try, but bailed on it after 44 pages. This note explains why: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... .

Now, I've begun reading To Calm a Storm, the concluding book of the Tavland Vikings duology by Heather Day Gilbert and Jen Cudmore, newly published this past summer. (It's not a review book, but rather one that I purchased because I liked the series opener.) I'm a fan of historical fiction, and the medieval period is one of my favorite settings, so this is right up my alley!

Having finished Spilled Milk, the fifth book in the Barks and Beans Cafe' cozy mystery series by Heather Day Gilbert, Barb and I are continuing right along with the sixth installment, Trouble Brewing!

A couple of days ago (although I didn't get around to posting about it until now), I started reading the text of the play A Man for All Seasons (1960), by British playwright Robert Bolt. I've seen the 1988 movie production starring Charlton Heston, and have the impression that it's more faithful to Bolt's original than the better known 1966 movie version starring Paul Scofield (which I haven't seen, but have some information about). So I wanted to check out my impression by going back to the source! :-)

Werner wrote: "A couple of days ago (although I didn't get around to posting about it until now), I started reading the text of the play [book:A Man for All Seasons|567728..."

In the 80s Charlton Heston made several very faithful to the source movie adaptations of what he considered "Great Plays".
There's also a really good version of 'Treasure Island' with Heston as Long John Silver from 89... I think.

Katherine wrote: "There's also a really good version of 'Treasure Island' with Heston as Long John Silver from 89... I think"

Thanks, Katherine! I'll have to keep an eye open for that one.

For October, The Ghosts (1969) by Antonia Barber is a common read in another group; I'm joining in, and it worked out best for me to start a day early. It was originally recommended to me by my library colleague Paula Beasley (who has kindly loaned me her copy) and was actually written for younger readers; but that's not necessarily any problem for me. :-) (Some of my most enjoyable and rewarding reads have been children's or YA books!)

Backli's Ford: An A'lle Chronicles Mystery by Emma Faraday

G.K. Werner is a long-standing Goodreads friend of mine. Though I've never read any of his work, I've long been intrigued by the descriptions of his retelling of the Robin Hood legends, The Clerk of Copmanhurst's Tales trilogy, and the three books (all of them purchased) have been sitting in my TBR piles for years. Yesterday, I finally started on the first book, Robert of Wakefield: Robin Hood's Father.

I'm always reading several books. One of them is Adults (2020) - Emma Jane Unsworth which I was attracted to as the lass on the cover reminds me of Philomena Cunk on Cunk on Earth which is super funny and i wonder what my neighbours thought listening to me laugh and laugh when I watched it.

Right. Now I have to read this:

Cunk on Everything: The Encyclopedia Philomena (2018) - Philomena Cunk

"FOREWORD
By Professor Rupert Delgado, MBE

I’m rather afraid to say that I do not know the author to whom you refer, since I seldom look at the television, but these samples you have sent me are an absolute disgrace. I shall not be contributing a foreword to this book and I am happy for you to quote me on that.

Never contact me again.”

I just finished reading Backli's Ford: An A'lle Chronicles Mystery by Michelle Dube and tomorrow I will begin The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins.

So far this year, although I've read parts of a couple of poetry books, I haven't read a whole one. To remedy that, I've started reading Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (although I'm reading the undated Grosset and Dunlap printing, not the one pictured here. Longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha only got two stars from me, but I thought that his long poetry deserved another chance.

To complete a challenge in another group, I need to read a book "from Africa" (that is, written by an African writer). Although I wouldn't force myself to read a book I didn't think would be rewarding just for a challenge, the classic South African novel Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton has been on my to-read shelf for a long time. So I'm finally seizing the opportunity to read it.

The Lady of the Shroud by Bram Stoker is a long-standing "loose end" in my reading; I started reading it as a kid, but didn't get to finish it at the time (long story!). I always intended to eventually get back to someday, but have never gotten around to it until now. But an unexpected window of opportunity having opened up in my reading schedule, I've finally seized on the opportunity to start it again. (I know a bit more about it from secondary sources than I did back then, but I'm still interested!)

Barb and I read Through the Ice by Piers Anthony and Robert Kornwise sometime back in the 90s, after buying a copy at a flea market; but I've never reviewed it, and it's been on my "to-reread" shelf for quite a while, since I need a refresher read to do it justice. We both liked it at the time: and since Barb has even less memory of it than I do, so that for her it can be essentially a new read, we've started reading it again. (We've also read and liked a number of Anthony's Xanth novels.)

One way to not have as many ongoing, "dangling" series on one's literary plate as I once had is, once you start reading one, to follow up with the sequels quickly. :-) So, having embarked on The Clerk of Copmanhurst's Tales trilogy by G.K. Werner earlier this year with the series opener, Robert of Wakefield, I've now started on the second book, Robin of Locksley: Tales of Robin and Marian.

Hello! Sorry I've not been around here lately:/

Werner, glad you are giving Longfellow another chance :)

I'm currently reading this middle grade novel, the 2nd book in the series: Ghosts of Greenglass House by Kate Milford.

Gia wrote: "Werner, glad you are giving Longfellow another chance :) "

Me too --Evangeline got five stars from me! :-)

Werner, excellent! Good to hear:) I have Evangeline on my shelf (I have yet to read it though) and I love Longfellow! <3

Whenever you read it, Gia, we'll be interested in what you think of it!

I am currently reading Lion of Babylon by Davis Bunn

And The Red Battle Flyer by Manfred von Richthofen

With the end of the year approaching, I wanted to start a fairly quick read; so I went with one that's been on my to-read shelf for a long time, the nonfiction book The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton (180 p.). (However, I've already discovered that due to the author's style, the small print, and the complexity of the thought, it's not really likely to be a quick read after all. I'm in it for the long haul, though!)

Well, I still want to read a correctly printed copy of The Everlasting Man sometime, but I gave up on the copy I had because it turned out to be very poorly digitized. :-( Still wanting a quick read before I start my Christmas season reading, I've begun on one of the many books in my physical TBR piles, The Ginger Star by Leigh Brackett. Her Black Amazon of Mars got five stars from me when I read it back in 2016.

As a kid, although I was something of a fan of the Hardy Boys mystery series, I never discovered the Nancy Drew books, and only heard about them much later. I've often regretted that, and have been curious enough to have had The Secret of the Old Clock (1930), the series opener, on my to-read shelf for some time. Having time to work in one more short book before the end of the year, I decided to finally give it a read! :-)

While I'm waiting to start a buddy read in another group on Jan 1, I'm dipping into Irish Fairy and Folk Tales (1920), a collection of traditional Irish legends retold by James Stephens. This one is on my "being read intermittently" shelf.

In another group, my Goodreads friend Deb Atwood and I (and perhaps others who might join us) are taking part this month in a buddy read of The Hacienda (2022) by Mexican-born writer Isabel Cañas. This is a Gothic tale set in the Mexico of 1823, and is the author's first novel.

Back in 2020, I first encountered Shiela Crerar, the heroine of a short story cycle by British author Ella M. Scrymsour (whose full name was Ella Mary Scrymsour-Nichol) published in 1920, through the story "The Werewolf of Rannoch." The Adventures of Shiela Crerar, Psychic Detective collects all six of the stories; and having gotten a copy for Christmas, I was able to start reading it yesterday!

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles and I am really enjoying it! I bought it during Covid and I don't know why it has taken me so long to read it!

A few years ago, my friend Andrew M. Seddon, finding that he had gotten an extra copy of the 2009 reprint edition of Weird Stories (1882) by Victorian ghost-story writer Charlotte Riddell, kindly passed it on to me. I've finally begun dipping into it while I wait for a couple of review books I'm expecting by mail (so, for now, it's on my "being read intermittently" shelf).

I'm jumping back into one of my new favorites - Daphne du Maurier. I'm reading My Cousin Rachel.

A couple of days ago, I got my review copy (technically it's a contributors copy, but I'm treating it as a review copy) of Wolf Wanderings, an anthology of both older and newer wolf-friendly short fiction edited by my friend Andrew M. Seddon, and was finally able to start reading it today. (All profits from the sale of this book go to wolf conservation organizations and sanctuaries.)

Barb and I started on a new book (I'm reading it aloud to her) today, Cold Drip. It's the sixth book (in the main series numbering) in the Barks and Beans Cafe' mystery series by my Goodreads friend Heather Day Gilbert, which we're planning to stick with until we get caught up (there will be at least nine books in the series, although the ninth one isn't scheduled to be published until November of this year).

Meanwhile, for my individual reading, I'm about to start a review book from another Goodreads friend, Liane Zane. It's the second volume of her Unsanctioned Guardians series, , The Harlequin Protocol, a prequel trilogy to her earlier series, the Elioud Legacy. Barring anything unexpected, I should begin reading this book tomorrow.

I'm currently reading Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by the late great Robert Louis Stevenson.

And The Heart of the Chronicles of Narnia: Knowing God Here by Finding Him There Thomas Williams.

Earlier this week, I started on the next review book in my queue, Dr. Andrew's Curious and Quirky Compendium: Hints, Helps, Perils, Pitfalls, Constructive Comments and (Hopefully) Awesome Advice for Aspiring Authors, by my Goodreads friend Andrew M. Seddon.

Like my previous read, the book I'm reading now, Ranger's First Call: More Short Stories & Memories of German Shepherds is a review book I was given by the author, my friend Andrew M. Seddon. It's a sequel to his earlier collection, Bonds of Affection: Short Stories and Memories of German Shepherds.

I'm reading Wuthering Heights, and good grief, I need to take notes or do a character map!🤪🤯

Vickie, I've read and liked Wuthering Heights (though my three-star rating falls in the middle of spectrum). I'll be interested in your take on it, when you're finished!

Yeah, currently that's how I'm feeling, but we'll see if it improves.

Hello! Sorry I've been away for a time. And I've been in a reading slump lately too. But now I'm slowly starting to tiptoe back into some fun middle grade reads, starting with Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo.

Since my grandson Philip gave me a copy of Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein this past Christmas, I've wanted to prioritize it as much as possible. Having now completed all of the scheduled reading and review books that I wanted to finish first, I've now started on this novel, which will be my first experience with the author's long fiction. (Although I'm a science fiction fan, my taste doesn't typically run primarily to hard or military SF.)

Gia, we're glad to have you back, and to see you easing back into the pleasures of reading!

@Werner Good job completing all the books you wanted to finish first; that is such an accomplishment! At least for me it would be:) Will be interesting to see what you think of the book Phillip gave you... it's fun to read something completely different sometimes. I haven't read that particular genre either, but it looks good. Thanks for the warm welcome back!

Thanks, Gia. Yes, it's definitely good to try some reading that's off our beaten track once in awhile!

So I finally finished Wuthering Heights. Boy, it was a struggle at times, especially with trying to keep all the characters straight. I'm glad I finally read it, though, and it stayed a 3☆ read for me. I didn't really care for many of the characters, and my goodness, I've never seen so many teenagers/young adults cry so much.😆

Vickie, I rated Wuthering Heights at three stars as well, and my dislike of most of the characters was a big factor in why I didn't go any higher than that.

Just realised that I'd yet to comment in this group!

Completed Title: The Wind Changes

I loved the Balkan and Levant trilogy which I devoured a while ago.

This was an earlier work I suspect

Right now, I'm taking part in another group's common read of Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy. This is a reread for me, but my only prior read was over 50 years ago, and there's a fair amount that I've forgotten.