Vintage Tales discussion

Nice! I was thinking of reading Little Women next :)

It's pretty good Josefien. I'm enjoying it! ^_^

I got up to page 74 in In Cold Blood last night before I decided to try and sleep. No luck. I was too concerned that someone was going to break in and "pull a Clutter." I will freely admit that I am a wimp and my biggest fear is someone breaking in and just standing in the doorway (not even killing me; really, just the standing there part), and this book is not helping, haha. I love it, though. Being a little scared is good for the soul.

Holly wrote: "Laura, you'll have to let me know how you find Mrs Dalloway. It's a fabulous novel!"

Finished yesterday and LOVED it really. But I had read it some years ago and I didn't like it so much; I think that having LISTENED to it read by an actress has done the difference!

I finished In Cold Blood. I think I'm going to start The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne tonight.

Lissa, I hope you enjoy that! I personally have only read The Scarlett Letter, but it was written beautifully!

I really need to get back into reading...

I've read it before and I loved it. It gives The Scarlet Letter a run for its money. I think he had a more personal tie to Seven Gables than The Scarlet Letter and it really shows throughout the book.

I'm still reading The Child Thief by Brom which I am still enjoying and had to start on City of Bones since both books are both due back to the library soon. Wanted to wait and read city of bones for my readalong but my library got it in too early so had to pick it up. If I read them both, I can get them both finished in time.

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

Starting on krampus the yule lord by brom tomorrow but finished keepers of arden by lk evans today and it was a pretty good read for a ya fantasy.

Kathy wrote: "The Turn of the Screw by Henry James"

Kathy, that's one of the ones on the top of my to read list. I'm currently reading Mrs. Dalloway and I'm totally absorbed.

Kate, the story is really fascinating but Henry James has a convoluted writing style. He uses "he", "she", "him" and it isn't always clear who he is writing about. I also read Joyce Carol Oates' short story 'Accursed Inhabitants of the House of Bly' which tells the story from the ghosts' point of view. It is a really interesting psychological ghost story. They go well together.

Kathy wrote: "Kate, the story is really fascinating but Henry James has a convoluted writing style. He uses "he", "she", "him" and it isn't always clear who he is writing about. I also read Joyce Carol Oates'..."

Cool. I'll have to find the Oates story too. It sounds intriguing. I've heard how atmospheric James' story is and I love a good ghost story. I have so many on my shelves. Have you ever read any of M R James? He's great.

I haven't read anything by M R James. I will look him up. You can find the Oates short story at www.english.upenn.edu/~nauerbac/bly.html. I hear that another interesting rewrite is Florence and Giles by John Harding, written from the children's perspective. I keep adding to my reading list!

M R James is perfect to read over Christmas. Think of an English, understated Edgar Allan Poe; all the horror is in the suggestion.

Kathy wrote: "I haven't read anything by M R James. I will look him up. You can find the Oates short story at www.english.upenn.edu/~nauerbac/bly.html. I hear that another interesting rewrite is [book:Florenc..."

Great. Thanks for that link. I'll look it up later. I'm just at this minute sat in the Sydney Opera House waiting to watch The Messiah. It's exciting. :-)

Jean, he sounds right up my alley! He might be a good book club selection especially during these cold winter nights.

Kathy wrote: "Jean, he sounds right up my alley! He might be a good book club selection especially during these cold winter nights."

Kathy, here are two links to one of his short stories - http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/owhistle.htm and http://www.litgothic.com/Texts/alberi.... There's also a good excerpt of Canon Alberic's Scrapbook (the second link) on YouTube. The link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfNE9g.... I played it to my Year 9 students once. Their faces were a picture. LOL!

Enjoy!

Started today. Happy 170th birthday A Christmas Carol by Charles Dicken.

Here's to you Mr. Dickens! :D

Some novels -light one - on Christmas setting: Il ladro di Natale, Christmas Comes but Once A Year and Skipping Christmas: Christmas with The Kranks!

Read Nightmare Abbey . It was an interesting read to start 2014. It was good but the family were a depressing bunch. Lol.

Currently reading 2 books:
Twelve Years a Slave
The Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England

Awesome Connie. How is 12 years a slave? I heard there was a movie about it. :)

I'm now reading The Four Seasonsby Mary Alice Monroe. It is my second book by her and it is pretty good so far.

Amber wrote: "Awesome Connie. How is 12 years a slave? I heard there was a movie about it. :)"

I am finding it interesting so far. It is quite an easy read. I haven't seen the movie,yet. I usually prefer to read the book first.

Below by Ryan Lockwood

Awesome Connie and is below any good craig?

Just finished Quiet by Susan Cain, but I'm about to read Doctor Sleep by Stephen King. So excited :D

Gabriella wrote: "Just finished Quiet by Susan Cain, but I'm about to read Doctor Sleep by Stephen King. So excited :D"

I just started reading Quiet on the recommendation of my daughter. What did you think of it? I am also looking forward to reading Doctor Sleep but it won't be for awhile. Too many others on my list first!

Connie wrote: "Gabriella wrote: "Just finished Quiet by Susan Cain, but I'm about to read Doctor Sleep by Stephen King. So excited :D"

I just started reading Quiet on the recommendation of my daughter. What did ..."

Ehh I'm kind of iffy on it to be honest. I love that she talks about introverts and all that, but it kind of annoys me how onesided the book is (even though I know it's supposed to be about introverts). And Doctor Sleep is so good :D I totally recommend it even though I'm only a few chapters in!

Good luck on doctor sleep! :-)

Re-reading Jane Eyre then onto Wide Sargasso Sea which is the story about Mr. Rochester's first wife and how she ended up living in the attic!

For me, The Innocent...Almost finished.

Hello everyone. I am currently reading The Pickwick Papers alongside Jean and also The book of lost things which I will finish today. Then I have The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse.

Started yesterday The Golden Notebook which is leaving me a bit perplexed. On my bedside I've got my "second King": 11/22/63

I'm currently reading Fabrick which is pretty good so far. Will start either our group's group read or the group readalong today as both are on my tablet. Fabrick is from the overdrive ebooks library so I'm reading it there.

I'm currently reading As I Lay Dying and The Hound of the Baskervilles. I'm enjoying the second way more...

Currently finishedAngels Cry: A Novellaby Tina glasnek which was pretty good and am having to wait on Peter Pan because I got another read 4 review book called Seeking the storyteller to read next.

Lidiana wrote: "I'm currently reading As I Lay Dying and The Hound of the Baskervilles. I'm enjoying the second way more..."

I really loved "As I Lay Dying" but it's been years since I read it. Enjoy!

Roderick wrote: "Lidiana wrote: "I'm currently reading As I Lay Dying and The Hound of the Baskervilles. I'm enjoying the second way more..."

I really loved "As I Lay Dying" but it's been ..."

Read it last year and liked a lot, even if not as much as The Sound and the Fury

LauraT wrote: "Started yesterday The Golden Notebook which is leaving me a bit perplexed. On my bedside I've got my "second King": 11/22/63"

Ooh I love 11/22/63. You'll have to let me know what you think of it. It's one of my favorite ones by him!

I'm reading Wind in the willows which is pretty good so far but didn't know it was a YA book. I also hope to finish a dozen black roses soon too. Un Lun Dun by china Mieville was pretty good too.

I loved Crime and Punishment. Seriously, Raskolnikov is the most developed character I have ever had the pleasure of reading about.

I actually recently got The Idiot out the library. What did you think of it?

Hey Holly! Good to see you back :)

That's really interesting. I guess, after reading C&P, that all of Dostoevsky's books would have had really developed characters. Part of me is wary of The Idiot because I'm not 100% sure what the plot is.

Hi Jean!

I'm 150 pages into Ulysses. I thought I'd do something complex and long. Part of me is regretting it, considering how much I have to go. Will definitely have to read a shorter book alongside it just to feel accomplished :)

Good plan, Holly ;)

You know, I am really looking forward to reading some Dostoyevsky in the Summer with another group (All About Books), but part of me gets ever more nervous as the date gets closer... LOL

Currently reading Exit Ghost by Philip Roth. One of those books that makes you question your own existence... the main character has some non-ortodox ideas about the world that scare me how Roth was able to put into words feelings and concepts that I've been trying for so long but was never successful to express.

(PS: I am guilty of not having finished As I lay Dying yet)

I've just finished reading Mockingjay, to finish up my reading of the Hunger Games trilogy. While I wait to start the common read for February in one of my other groups, On Basilisk Station, I'm filling in the time with stories from the collection Sword and Sorceress XIX, and also reading Iron Bloom on my Kindle app. (I prefer paper books; the e-version of this one was free, but if I like it I plan to buy a print copy.)

Alas, none of these are classics; and I probably won't do much reading of classics for awhile. :-( Right now, I'm mainly trying to reduce the piles of unread books I already own that have accumulated over the years, and there aren't any classics there. (Since the college library where I work has most classics, or will get one if I want it --I'm in charge of book selection, among other things!-- I usually don't need to own copies, since my bookshelf space is finite.)

I'm currently reading two Young adult books that I want to review for the Kid zone reviews website when I finish: Ready Player One and Itch: The Explosive Adventures of an Element Hunterwhich are both pretty good reads so far. I'm also reading wind in the willows and will get back to it pretty soon. I will read Northanger Abbey next month with the Shining Girls so will read Peter Pan on my own time.