Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

I too would like to join in for the entire list. I've tried to read The Republic before, but somehow got strayed from it. I think doing a buddyread will help.

One selection every fortnight sounds good to me. That's time to both read and discuss. I will join in the entire list, possibly with the exception of the Republic. I have already read that back to back twice, and some of the individual "books" multiple times. And as much as I love Plato, parts of the Republic is a real slog. Although it has been a great many years, so maybe it's due another read. I'll have to see where I'm at when we get down the line.

For those who want to read the Symposium, can I suggest adding Phaedrus as well? The two are thematically linked.

Thank you Leni, I am altering my list.

I vote for starting no sooner than Feb 15th.

Hi everyone discussing Plato. I might be reading along your threads, but I doubt I will have the time to read it all thoroughly (again), especially as I still am dangling in three Plato projects myself. But I might join in here and there.

As for your reading pace, this is of course your own decision and none of my business, as I will only sometimes be joining you ... but if you really want to read Plato thoroughly, you might find that two weeks for each work is a real break-neck pace ... when discussing Plato in seminars we often only read about ten pages a week. It really takes time to think it all through. Apology is really by far an easier text than others, we did that in three weeks. ... Of course, it all depends on how deep you want to go into the content ...
Sorry to interpose like that, I'm only hoping to be helpful with your planning ...

Hi Lilly. You're quite right. But I think the idea was to read 20-30 pages at a time, and the question is how long to dedicate to that. I think two weeks is reasonable, as we're not looking at commentary literature etc. (And I'm not sure I'm up for a thorough academic study of the texts.) But we can also adjust the pace along the way. Your warning is timely; as one of my university professors was fond of saying: It is important to clearly define our terms so we know if we are talking about the same thing. So when Cynda says "one selection every two weeks" I guess the question is, does 'selection' refer to a whole work or a 20-30p section?

Can you put up a thread for The Street. Thanks!

Brina wrote: "For those reading The Street, I did not bring with me out of time. I am aiming for after the Súper bowl, the weekend of the 14-15. Feel free to start ahead of me."

It looks like this will be a slow read for me. I've started, but it will be small chunks at a time. Look forward to your thoughts.

Leni wrote: "Hi Lilly. You're quite right. But I think the idea was to read 20-30 pages at a time, and the question is how long to dedicate to that. I think two weeks is reasonable, as we're not looking at comm..."

Valid point, Leni. Two weeks for 20-30pp would be reasonable in my opinion. And as I said, Apology is one of the easier works, so your pace really could differ according to what you read.
I actually wasn't thinking about secondary literature; Plato's work is often very dense and it just takes a while to think through what he's talking about. Again depends on which work you are reading ...

Mods, can you start a thread for reading various works of Plato?

Brina wrote: "Can you put up a thread for The Street. Thanks!"

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Levi wrote: "Mods, can you start a thread for reading various works of Plato?"

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Thank you, Katy :)

Lilly wrote: "Thank you, Katy :)"

You are welcome.

Would anyone be interested in a buddy read of Trollope's Barchester Towers, the second book in his Barset series? Several people in the group read for The Warden mentioned wanting to read the next in the series.

Cozy_Pug wrote: "Would anyone be interested in a buddy read of Trollope's Barchester Towers, the second book in his Barset series? Several people in the group read for The Warden mention..."

I haven't finished the Warden yet, but I have the whole series and will happily move on to Barchester Towers in March.

Leni wrote: "Cozy_Pug wrote: "Would anyone be interested in a buddy read of Trollope's Barchester Towers, the second book in his Barset series? Several people in the group read for [book:The Warde..."

Wonderful! Next month is when I can begin the next in the series as well.

March is fine with me!

I am interested in reading Barchester Towers. I still have to finish The Warden this month.

March is fine with me as well.

I still have to read The Warden, but may join in afterwards.

I’ve already read it but it was so good, I'll see if I can join for a re-read (already got lots planned for March). Would definitely be interested in carrying on with the rest of the series.

I'm in as well for Barchester Towers.
There being a LibriVox recording sealed the deal for me.
https://librivox.org/barchester-tower...
I wouldn't have time for another paper book or Kindle read in March, but audio is fine.

Michaela, we're still reading American Indian Stories in March? I've acquired a Kindle edition and am looking forward to reading something totally different (my first Native American book).

Philina wrote: "Michaela, we're still reading American Indian Stories in March? I've acquired a Kindle edition and am looking forward to reading something totally different (my first Native American ..."

Yes, please! Just thought of it. I also got the Kindle edition. :)

Mods, could you please also set up a thread for the American Indian Stories? Thanks!

Moderators, could you please create a buddy read thread for Barchester Towers? Thank you so much!

Michaela wrote: "Mods, could you please also set up a thread for the American Indian Stories? Thanks!"

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Cozy_Pug wrote: "Moderators, could you please create a buddy read thread for Barchester Towers? Thank you so much!"

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Thanks Katy! :)

Michaela wrote: "Thanks Katy! :)"

You are welcome.

For those interested in reading Virginia Woolf. In the current Virginia Woolf buddy reads thread for The Waves, awe are voting for what we want to read next. Please ckme vote so you can help us by deciding on a selection and by reading with us. Votes will be counted March 1st.

Piyangie, Nidhi, and I will buddy read The Voyage Out from March 15th until April 15th. Anyone is welcome to join this our final read together and welcome to read from any format. . . .

Mods, will you please put on the schedule our VW buddy read of The Voyage Out.

Gini and I are aiming to read the entirety of The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio this year, starting around June or later. Everyone's free to join in on the tackling of this rather monumental text.

Since you are starting later in the year, I will plan to put it on my schedule. I have wanted to read it for a long, long time. Thanks, Aubrey.

I think I’ll try joining you too. It sounds interesting. I’ll try to finish up Dune before then which will free me up for another long read. ☺️ Have you thought about how long you’re going to spend reading it or are you just going to see how it goes?

Cheers, y'all. The group is looking great already!

Natalie, I see myself finishing this in around a month, which is hardly going to be the case for most folks. Two to three months would be a better estimate, going off the idea that getting through, say, ten stories a week finishes the work in two-and-a-half months. I'm thinking that checking in on everyone's progress on a weekly basis and having all the other commentary grow around that base structure would keep the motivation going. It's something I can do even after I've personally finished reading.

That sounds like a great plan Aubrey! Thanks for organizing everything!

Aubrey wrote: "Gini and I are aiming to read the entirety of The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio this year, starting around June or later. Everyone's free to join in on the tackling of..."

Hmmmm....interesting.....

Aubrey wrote: "Gini and I are aiming to read the entirety of The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio this year, starting around June or later. Everyone's free to join in on the tackling of..."

I may be in for The Decameron too. We should see if we can get it as a 3rd quarter long read as well.

Joooooin ussss, Allie :)

And Sue, that's certainly something we could try for, but I'm more interested in the fact that doing that would most likely attract more participants than in it actually winning.

Aubrey wrote: "Joooooin ussss, Allie :)

And Sue, that's certainly something we could try for, but I'm more interested in the fact that doing that would most likely attract more participants than in it actually w..."

We can't lose with that attitude Aubrey! We win even if we lose.

I was thinking the same, Sue. If we try for a long read and don't win it wouldn't affect the buddy read option. Let's go for it.

Count me in for The Decameron too please!

Sara wrote: "I was thinking the same, Sue. If we try for a long read and don't win it wouldn't affect the buddy read option. Let's go for it."

I know that I will probably read it over a couple of months either way. This one lends itself to being able to fit in a few stories during and between other reads.

When you get ready to read The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio, there is already a thread that you can use for your buddy read here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Thank you Katy! 👍🏻

The more the merrier, Kristen :)

And thanks, Katy. Looks like my thoughts that there was a thread already, but that this work hasn't been a group read yet, weren't so confused after all.

Have all a good time reading The Decameron!
I would love to join you; but I know I don't have the time right now ...

Is anybody interested in a buddy read of Passing by Nella Larsen? It has been nominated quite a few times and gets votes, but not enough to make it to a group read.