Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

I recently added two classics to my shelves, and while I am excited to get to them... I am absolutely terrified to get to them as they were written/published in the late 18th century.

The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis
The Nun by Denis Diderot

Both of them seemed to have interesting plot lines, and while they both seem to be excellent in terms of their writing and themes- I am terrified of reading them as I feel with Lewis, that he's an English author of the Romantic Era and Diderot is of the Age of Enlightenment.

Has anyone read the books I have mentioned above? Someone on another group I am part of alerted me to the fact that Lewis' work is more Gothic than a horror novel... and my stint with Gothic novels (more notably The Romance of the Forest by Ann Radcliffe) makes me nervous about the writing.

Dave wrote: "Cosmic wrote: "Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman
Japanese Farm Food
East of Eden
On kindle

In audible i bought the following:
[book:Operation Gla..."

I loved a Distant Mirror. When I first started my love for French medieval history, I started with this book. The information helped me narrow down more interests like medieval warfare and the Black Death.

Though, I already knew a lot about the Black Death (or Plague) due to it being one of my intellectual interests within both history and science.

Dave wrote: "In addition to being a full-time reader in retirement I was a professional planner in my career. It’s a good thing I have a reading plan in place and know what I want to read far out on the horizon..."

You got a lot of interesting books, Dave! I haven't heard of many of these, but a lot of the authors are familiar to me. For example, Wilkie Collins, Stephen Crane, and Ursula Le Guin. I've read Jules Verne's works and hope you enjoy Around the World in 80 Days.

I've read both The Monk and The Nun. I don't remember anything about The Nun!
I read The Monk when I first started reading Gothic novels and found it wasn't as bad as I expected-but it has just about every gothic novel feature. Not to give a spoiler, I did find the ending satisfying and am glad I read it.

Dave wrote: "in addition to the three books listed a few posts back I got: . . .
2. The Texasville trilogy by Larry McMurtry (“The Last Picture Show”, “Leaving Cheyenne”, and “Rhino Ranch”).."

I can get confused by McMurtry's book series involving The Last Picture Show I had known it was the third volume in his Thalia: A Texas Trilogy, consisting of his first three novels, all set in the north Texas town of Thalia after World War II, and the first volume is his 5 book series called the Duane Moore series on Wikipedia and The Last Picture Show series on GR.
Now they've put it in a Texasville trilogy too, one that doesn't even include his novel Texasville. Publishers must think Book series help books sell better.

Tiffany wrote: "Dave wrote: "In addition to being a full-time reader in retirement I was a professional planner in my career. It’s a good thing I have a reading plan in place and know what I want to read far out o..."

Thank you Tiffany. I am reading “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”, This is the first book of Jules Verne that I have read that was not a classic comic book. I have seen the movie and, yet again, find that the book is much different from the movie and that I enjoy the book more. I look forward to reading “Around the World in 80 Days.”

I have read the “Woman in White” and “The Moonstone” by Wilkie Collins and really liked them both. I never realized how many books he has written but there are a lot of them out there that look interesting.

The series by Ursula Le Guin are part of my resolve to read more science fiction.

I enjoyed Around the World in 80 Days more than 20 000 Leagues under the Sea, which was fun but had way too much information about undersea creatures. But it did have a terrific ending.

Brian wrote: "Dave wrote: "in addition to the three books listed a few posts back I got: . . .
2. The Texasville trilogy by Larry McMurtry (“The Last Picture Show”, “Leaving Cheyenne”, and “Rhino Ranch”).."

Thank you Brian for putting me onto the confusion that is the various series by Larry McMurtry. I gave up trying to sort it out on Amazon and went to Wikipedia under the author’s name.

There I found that “Thalia: a Texas Trilogy” included “Horseman Pass by” (made into the movie “Hud”), is the first, “Leaving Cheyenne” (made into the movie “Lovin’ Molly”), the second, And “The Last Picture Show” (made into the movie of the same name) as the third volume.

Then the character Duane Moore from the Thalia series is carried over into a five series of novels known as The Dune Moore series in which “The Last Picture Show” is considered the first of that series.

Very confusing!

I just spent the last six months reading the Lonesome Dove quartet, which I loved. I never saw the TV series of that. “The Last Picture Show” is one of my favorite movies because I too grew up in a small town in Texas. “Hud” is another of my favorite movies. I never heard of “Lovin’ Molly”.

Since I only listen to audiobooks anymore the fact that not all of these books have been turned into audiobooks complicates the situation for me.

So now I own the first, third, and fifth of the Dwayne Moore serious and the first and last of the Duane Moore series (“Texasville” is listed as the second in that series and involves characters from “The Last Picture Show 34 years later.) Two of those books are not produced as Audiobooks yet.

But I do own all the Thalia series, so I can start on that.

As an aside, I have been to Archer City and looked in the window of the book store McMurtry owned there. It was a Sunday and store was closed.

He died last March 25th in Archer City. He was married to the widow of Ken Kesey.

Rosemarie wrote: "I enjoyed Around the World in 80 Days more than 20 000 Leagues under the Sea, which was fun but had way too much information about undersea creatures. But it did have a terrific ending."

I am sort of passing over the latin names of the sea creatures Rosemarie, but find myself humbled that I didn’t realize so many of them were known and named at the time Verne wrote the novel.

Dave wrote: ".So now I own the first, third, and fifth of the Dwayne Moore serious and the first and last of the Duane Moore series (“Texasville” is listed as the second in that series and involves characters from “The Last Picture Show 34 years later.) Two of those books are not produced as Audiobooks yet..."

Surprising that they don't have an audiobook of Texasville. I have read that book and seen the movie and thought they were just OK.
I think when you get to that point in your McMurtry series reads, if they still don't have the audiobook, you can get by with just seeing the movie of Texasville which should give you any plot developments to set you up for the audiobook of the 3rd book of the Duane series, Duane's Depressed

Looking at when the Duane series were written, it was 21 years between The Last Picture Show (1966) and Texasville 1987, and then years gaps between until the last in 2009. I will read the Thalia Trio and go from there.

When I got interested in Lonesome Dove, I found it was the first written but the third of four in story chronology. I read them chronologically. The first, “Dead Man Walk” was little more than a script of the beginning of the TV series. I watched a couple of episodes on tv, established that the book was just the script and pushed on through. I found Commanche Moon a much better novel with multiple story lines. I enjoyed Lonesome Dove, but did not like the novel’s ending (I don’t know how the tv series finished out the cattle drive). I wasn’t going to read Streets of Laredo, but my wife told me the issue that bugged me about Lonesome Dove would be resolved in Streets of Laredo. It was in about a sentence, but I went on and finished the series.

I know a lot about Texas history, life on the frontier, and the Indian wars. As the novels recede in my memory, I have decided they are a great read, even if there were story lines that did not suit me.

Dave wrote: "I enjoyed Lonesome Dove, but did not like the novel’s ending (I don’t know how the tv series finished out the cattle drive)..."

Lonesome Dove is one of my favorites over all.
Call giving Newt the horse was a close as Call would ever get to claiming Newt.
Ending: is loss, regret and finally a full circle.

TV Series follows the Classic very closely.

I’ve always wanted to watch the Lonesome Dove TV series. I loved the book. It’s a good rainy day here and maybe I’ll start watching it.

Lesle wrote: "Dave wrote: "I enjoyed Lonesome Dove, but did not like the novel’s ending (I don’t know how the tv series finished out the cattle drive)..."

Lonesome Dove is one of my favorites over all.
Call gi..."

I agree.

Chad wrote: "I’ve always wanted to watch the Lonesome Dove TV series. I loved the book. It’s a good rainy day here and maybe I’ll start watching it."

Enjoy Chad.

Robert Duvall is one of my favorite actors, he does a splendid job as Gus!

Enjoy Chad!

I have acquired and started “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society”. I just love reading books about reading books. Marvelous.

I have also gotten The Collected Stories of Winnie the Pooh, Volume 1.

Both books are for my 2022 reading challenge here.

Just received: Germaine de Staël and Benjamin Constant: A Dual Biography.
Currently reading de Stael's "Corinne, or Italy".

Dave wrote: "I have also gotten The Collected Stories of Winnie the Pooh, Volume 1...."


Nice Dave!

I was trying very hard to not purchase any books this year but I had a huge fail yesterday and purchased 7 books between Goodwill and the library. Somebody donated a bunch of books in Spanish so I grabbed a few. I've been wanting to expand my Spanish learning to something beyond Duolingo and children's books. I'm excited to get started on one but not sure which yet!
Two of the books are published by Salvat Editores, S. A. (in Spain):
1) a French classic Tartarin de Tarascon by Alphonse Daudet. I can't find the exact edition in Goodreads so I may need to add it. The book also includes Tartarin en Los Alpes. I believe there are 3 books in this series. This one sounds really interesting and if I like it, I may try to find the English copy to read along.

2) Tierra bajo los pies by Venezuelan author Rómulo Gallegos. There doesn't seem to be any translations. I can't even find this work on Wiki! The publish date on the book is 1973 but the author died in 1969 so I feel like it should count as a classic. I don't know if it was ever published earlier than 1973.

I also bought 2 Readers Digest Editions in Spanish. (Who knew there were Spanish editions??) These 2 had excerpts from: Jaws, The Riders by Joseph Kessel, a James Herriot book (not sure which one it is), Winds of War (one of my favorite books) by Herman Wouk, The White Dawn by James Houston, and The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman.

I also picked up some classics in English - Lost Horizon by James Hilton and O Pioneers! by Willa Cather. These books are also Reader's Digest editions. I love that they both have illustrations, which is one reason that I bought them!

Pam The publish date on the book is 1973 but the author died in 1969 so I feel like it should count as a classic. I don't know if it was ever published earlier than 1973.

Posthumously reads are fine if the Author passed before our timeframe.

Congratulations on your haul!

I love Winnie the Pooh, Dave! You're in for a treat.

Rosemarie wrote: "I love Winnie the Pooh, Dave! You're in for a treat."

I am looking forward to working my way through all the volumes of this collections.

THE BEGGAR'S OPERA by John Grey

MAN and SUPERMAN by Bernard Shaw

ATHURIAN ROMANCE by Chrétrien De Troyes

EARLY AMERICAN WRITING

Alicia wrote: "THE BEGGAR'S OPERA by John Grey
MAN and SUPERMAN by Bernard Shaw
ATHURIAN ROMANCE by Chrétrien De Troyes
EARLY AMERICAN WRITING"

A nice variety Alicia!

Just received:
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky;
Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell;
Felix Holt: The Radical by George Eliot;
The Beetle by Richard Marsh; and,
Thyrza by George Gissing.

Nice grouping Gilbert! (Well maybe not The Beetle for me)

Gilbert, while The Brothers K is top shelf Dosty, it is interesting that you are reading some of the less popular works of Eliot, Gaskell and Gissing. On Goodreads, Felix Holt is Eliot's 7th most popular novel, Ruth is Gaskell's 5th most popular and Thryza is Gissing's 12th most popular, although it is also his most highly rated.
Congratulations on your efforts in reading so many classics that you are now digging deep into these authors' bodies of work. But one can find gold nuggets or hidden gems buried down there.

Ever since I could read (that's a few centuries back) I've always gone for trying to read the complete works of any author I'm interested in. So general popularity doesn't cut it for me.
But, of course, so much to read, so little time.

Gilbert, I took notice of your list because I have copies of both Felix Holt: The Radicaland Ruth on my Kindle ready to be read as my 7th and last Eliot novel and my 7th Gaskell. As to Gissing, I've only read his 2 most popular. I hope to read some more Gissing someday but I'll probably choose something like The Nether World, but maybe not until I finish some more Zolas since reading too much naturalism seems unnatural to me.

I started a goodreads shelf on my page of "recent purchases".
It now had 23 books on it because I tend to buy things and do not read them right away... or if I do, I do not know how to consider them "finished". The list is peppered with older SF/F books. But the two major themes so far seem to be Middle English and mediaeval lit among the older titles I bought early in the year. And the more recent titles are mostly 19th/early to mid 20th c poetry books.

Sounds like a good plan Stuart. I have the same issue. Purchase books to read and end up just tucking them away on a shelf!

I sold ~20 books (at our indie bookstore) and bought 2, one is a classic- The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov. I couldn’t resist! I’ve only read one Nabokov book - Pnin, which was written in English. Amazing that he was such a good writer in both Russian and English! I really need to stop buying books, though, and read the ones I own. This is my goal for the next 8 months! It feels like an addiction.

Robert Falconer, The Marquis of Lossie, and Phantastes by George MacDonald. (I'm slowly collecting all of his works.)

Brianna I do not think I have read any of his.

Pam good job on only buying 2. I have a hard time not coming out with an armload full!

Lesle wrote: "I have the same issue. Purchase books to read and end up just tucking them away on a shelf!"

I guess I buy them so I have easy access when the time presents itself. Also as I often say I read things in a very non linear fashion.

Bhagavad Gita

The Vicar of Bullhampton by Anthony Trollope

Just received:
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra; and,
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

Giants in the Earth: A Saga of the Prairie by O.E. Rølvaag

Brianna - I remember reading Giants in the Earth in high school and loving it! Hope you enjoy it!

Pam wrote: "Brianna - I remember reading Giants in the Earth in high school and loving it! Hope you enjoy it!"

Thank you! I'm looking forward to reading it. I found it while looking for books similar to Vilhelm Moberg's Emigrants series.

Got the following:
May 1, 2022
Live from New York: An Oral History of Saturday Night Live by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller hardcover, at the Goodwill Store, $2.49 USD.

Yesterday, May 27, 2022, all from Google Play Books:
Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey.

Today, May 28, 2022:

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew J. Sullivan. Judging a book by its title.

Anne of Green Gables: The Complete Collection by L.M. Montgomery

A Little Bit of Everything For Dummies by John Wiley & Sons

Just received:
The Blazing World and Other Writings by Margaret Cavendish; and,
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Just downloaded An Historical Mystery (Une ténébreuse Affaire) - La Comédie Humaine #59) by Honoré de Balzac as audiobook.

I bought Daniel Deronda by George Eliot for my husband for his birthday. It was part of a Jeopardy! clue recently and he had never heard of the book. But, he loved Middlemarch so hopefully he likes this one, too. Maybe I will read it, too!

I really liked Daniel Deronda, Pam.

I recently obtained The Vicar of Bullhampton by Anthony Trollope in ebook form.

I bought Rebecca, The Great Gatsby and The bell jar and currently reading The bell jar 🥰

I went to the local charity shop in my town and was only there to get some items for my new apartment... but walked out with a whole bunch of books.

I got a few collections of Canadian poetry including:
Canadian Poetry from the Beginnings through the First World War by Gwendolyn Davies and Poets of the Confederation by Malcolm Ross

I also got a boxset of the first three Anne of Green Gables series. I've been wanting to get a matching set to collect for my shelves, but since they are expensive brand new, I decided to collect the old paperback editions even though I am not happy that the words disappear into the spines.

I found a vintage edition of What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge. It was fairly cheap but the cover is a little tatty (a few tears) but it is in good condition otherwise.