Who Doesn't Love a Classic? discussion

I'm reading a nonfiction classic, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. I bought it in 1999, when I thought I was finished having children after having two girls (I had a son in 2000, so it turns out I wasn't!) and have started it twice. This time I started where I left off last time and am reading it for a challenge and am 31 percent of the way through (a record; this book is over 1100 pages and is a scholarly tome) but am skipping most of the footnotes (hard for me to do, but it makes it faster to get through).

Lara wrote: "So I'm reading Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo and something happened that I don't think has ever happened to me while reading before...

I was so horrified and upset after reading..."

Yes pretty devastating. It's been a long time but I still remember it.

Summer by Edith Wharton, 3***s
A sweet, sad story of a young girl in a small town who gets herself into a bad position and then just has to live with it. Nothing unexpected or surprising, really. Just Wharton's beautiful writing to take you through it. I liked it. But I'm not sure that I'd recommend it, unless you're just a big Wharton fan and want to read all that she's written.

I just finished The Moon and Sixpence by Somerset Maugham, 4****s,
Goodreads: "Based on the life of Paul Gauguin, The Moon and Sixpence is W. Somerset Maugham's ode to the powerful forces behind creative genius." I really enjoyed this.
Also, I listened on LibriVox and the reader, Termin Dyan, was very good!

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, 4****s
Such a cute little book of Sara Crewe, whose father, stationed in India, sends her to boarding school in England. When she starts there she has lots of income which satisfies the insecure, jealous matron of the school. However, when things go downhill for Sara's father and his fortune, Sara's daily life takes a landslide downward. However, she is a very mature child and tries to act like she thinks a princess would act, with a fortune or without. And therein lays the story of her reaction to her situation and her encouragement of others. There is also an ongoing search for a mystery child which culminates at the end of the book. I enjoyed this children's book very much, and think it would be a wonderful book to read along with a child and discuss how he/she might react in a similar situation. I highly recommend this book :)

Dec 04 - Currently Reading

TEXT – Summer by Edith Wharton
AUDIO in the car - Money, Money, Money by Ed McBain
Portable AUDIO - Long Man by Amy Greene

I'm almost done with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. It's so beautiful. Totally nothing like I had believed the book to be.

Amie wrote: "I'm almost done with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. It's so beautiful. Totally nothing like I had believed the book to be."

Yes, it's a good one!!

Currently reading:

Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture ,
The Lost Girls , and listening to (re-read for book club) Landline . Enjoying them all!

Terris wrote: "A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, 4****s
Such a cute little book of Sara Crewe, whose father, stationed in India, sends her to boarding sc..."

That's a favorite of mine from childhood! I keep meaning to reread it (*glances in shame at Mt. TBR*).

I'm reading Richard II. I loved seeing it performed at the Stratford Festival this year and I'm enjoying the slower pace of reading it too.

By the way, I find it intriguing that when I searched Goodreads for the work above, the top four choices in order are: Richard II by Shakespeare, Richard II by Nigel Saul, Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare and... Little Women. What?!

Megan wrote: "Terris wrote: "A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, 4****s
Such a cute little book of Sara Crewe, whose father, stationed in India, sends her..."

I know exactly what you mean!! ;)

Megan wrote: "I'm reading Richard II. I loved seeing it performed at the Stratford Festival this year and I'm enjoying the slower pace of reading it too.

By the way, I find it intriguing that when ..."

--- I got nothin' :o

Jan 03 - Currently Reading

TEXT - The Shooting / James Boice
AUDIO in the car - Portrait in Sepia / Isabel Allende
MP3 Player AUDIO - A Constellation of Vital Phenomena / Anthony Marra

I am currently rereading (listening to this time), Jane Eyre and when done am going to listen to Don Quixote (unabridged)

Karin wrote: "Aack, I haven't been here!

I'm currently reading two classics, on audiobook while driving and in print.

Plus, slowly rea..."
What did you think of the Josephine Tey argument in favour of Richard III?

I just finished A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce, 1*
All I can say is: Thank goodness that's over!!
I'm sure I really didn't understand it, but it doesn't make me even halfway interested in trying to understand it. At least I know what it's about, and I can mark it off the list!

Vicky wrote: "Karin wrote: "Aack, I haven't been here!

I'm currently reading two classics, on audiobook while driving and in print.

Pl..."

Knowing little of that history (just bits and pieces), I didn't really have an opinion on that. I just enjoyed the book and the process, etc. I found it interesting, but don't have any opinion on the subject.

Lara wrote: "Please post what you're currently reading here! Not just the classics, anything!"
Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants

Currently reading: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

I actually have never listened to an audiobook (I tend to spend my audio time with podcasts)...I may try one out sometime.

RW wrote: "Currently reading: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

I actually have never listened to an audiobook (I tend to spend my audio time with podcasts)...I may try one out sometime."

What are you thinking of IQ84? I can't decide whether to read it or not.

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, 4****s
I really am glad that I finally got to this book that has been on my list for years. It was really eye-opening about the meat packing industry and the Chicago "machine" that was in charge of everything in Chicago in the early 1900's. The poor people and immigrants that lived and worked there during that era were under the thumbs of the people in charge, and there was no way for them to get ahead -- almost no way for them to stay alive! The back of my book says "Published in 1906, The Jungle aroused the indignation of the public and forced a government investigation which led to the passage of the pure food laws." So, thank goodness, we may thank this book and author for helping to regulate the purity of the food we eat today, because you sure wouldn't have wanted to eat anything that came out of those places back then!
Not a happy story, but very educational, and surprisingly, it was hard for me to put it down!

I just finished The Jungle, which I enjoyed so much more than I expected to!
I am also reading The Tempest, Giovanni's Room, and The Lilies of the Field. I just like a variety!

Frankenstein
First Love
Roughing It
and Consider Her Ways and Others