Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

Jim wrote: "Got the following:
May 1, 2022
Live from New York: An Oral History of Saturday Night Live by [author:Tom S..."

I enjoyed reading Twelve Years a Slave, Jim. It was a difficult book but it was so worth it to read.

Just received in anticipation of fourth quarter husky(hefty) read:
Demons by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Mr Harrison's Confessions by Elizabeth Gaskell

Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph by T.E. Lawrence

Some of my book mail arrived. They were supposed to come in April or May... but anyway.

I just got:
Persuasion by Jane Austen
No Name by Wilkie Collins
Jezebel's Daughter by Wilkie Collins
What Maisie Knew by Henry James
The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle

I have some more books coming... such as some Dumas and more of Wilkie Collins and Henry James, but they haven't arrived yet. I am most impatient for the Dumas books.

Also, sorry about not linking to Jezebel's Daughter. I couldn't find the book and... uh, well... let's leave it at that, shall we?

Nice list, Tiffany!

Today's shipment of eligible books from a 3 for 2 Amazon sale included:

1) Miss Buncle Married by D.E. Stevenson
since I so enjoyed Miss Buncle's Book as part of our guided-by-John year of Scottish reads.
2) Minor Characters: A Beat Memoir by Joyce Johnson
since I enjoyed the author's first novel Come and Join the Dance thanks to Chrissie's recommendation.
3) Fair Land, Fair Land by A.B. Guthrie Jr.
to give me all three books of the Big Sky trilogy for a planned late 2022 or early 2023 read, after I finish The Awakening Land trilogy

Rosemarie wrote: "Nice list, Tiffany!"

Thanks! I am a little nervous about Jezebel's Daughter even though I was really excited after reading the summary of the book. People say it isn't Collins' best work. :/

Persuasion is a bit daunting as well, since I usually have such a hard time with English writers of the late 18th and early 19th centuries- but I heard that this book is really good.

Persuasion is my favourite Jane Austen book,Tiffany.

Probably the last thing we all need in this group is someone giving us access to a list of free books, but Pluto Press as part of their Super Summer Sale, and in collaboration with some Open Access platforms, have made a number of their books available for free download in digital form.

The list, of about 70+ books, can be accessed on this link - https://www.plutobooks.com/open-acces...

These are from Pluto Press, and therefore are predominantly Radical, left-of-centre, etc, so won't be of interest to everyone. I already own a number of them but can see quite a few more which I'll be downloading (and others I'll be buying in the sale.)

I'm glad I broke my "Don't buy so many books" resolution back at the beginning of January, so don't need to feel guilty now!

Tiffany wrote: "Some of my book mail arrived. I just got


I really enjoyed No Name and of course anything by Jane Austen!

FYI: Jezebel's Daughter sometimes when I have a hard time finding a book in the "add book/author" it helps if you put the title in and follow it with "by Wilkie Collins" that how I got it to come up.

John wrote: "I'm glad I broke my "Don't buy so many books" resolution back at the beginning of January, so don't need to feel guilty now!..."

John I try so hard not to buy books. My little library room is already mostly bookshelves! I have to blame it on everyone in this group who bring up new to me books that are a need to add!
My pledge usually only works for the first month easily and after that.....😉📘📗📕

Just received from BetterWorld Books on a 30% off 10 sale:
E.M. Forster:Where Angels Fear To Tread; A Room With A View; and, Howards End.
D.H. Lawrence: Sons and Lovers; The Rainbow; The Plumed Serpent; and, Lady Chatterley's Lover.
Virginia Woolf: Mrs. Dalloway, and The Voyage Out.

I haven't read anything from the twentieth century lately and these three authors should give me an update on what I have been missing

Sounds like a great collection to start on Gilbert!

Just received: A Passage to India by E.M. Forster.

Just received A Serpente Emplumada by D.H. Lawrence

Just received:
The Egoist by George Meredith;
The Damned by Joris-Karl Huysmans; and,
Mysteries of Paris by Eugène Sue.

Gilbert wrote: "Just received in anticipation of fourth quarter husky(hefty) read:
Demons by Fyodor Dostoevsky"

Who is doing a fourth quarter read of this book? I had it slated to read in October.

Check the Hefty Classics Husky reads for the fourth quarter this year

Cosmic
You and Gilbert are both right!
Demons is scheduled to be read under the Hefty/Husky reads for the fourth quarter which starts in October!

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

Lesle wrote: "Cosmic
You and Gilbert are both right!
Demons is scheduled to be read under the Hefty/Husky reads for the fourth quarter which starts in October!

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

Thank you!!

I have read Dead Man's Ransom by Ellis Peters. It is one of the Cadfael series.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I have also completed a short story --The Old Nurse's Story by Elizabeth Gaskell.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I am glad to have read both.

This morning I began The Bell by Iris Murdoch. This is one of hers I have wanted to read for a very long time. I think this is going to be a very good one.

I have The Bell sitting on my bookshelf but haven't read it yet. I look forward to reading your review, Chrissie.

I bought Crime and Punishment two days ago and it is Mcduff's translation.

For those who have read Crime and Punishment, which translation did read?

Kevin wrote: "For those who have read Crime and Punishment, which translation did read?"
Constance Garnett.

Humildes - Contos by Raul Ribeiro

I haven’t heard of The Bell but it looks good. I’ll be interested in reading your review too, Christie!

I enjoyed both the characters and story of The Bell when I read it about 15 years ago. I also learned practical knowledge from the story.
My recollection is that I didn't know what a 'causeway' was until I had to look the term up when it was used several times in The Bell. I have recently been reminded of this fact when various news sources reported that Hurricane Ian washed away "the Causeway connecting the Florida mainland to Sanabel island." Thanks to Iris Murdoch, I can understand what they are talking about.

Kevin wrote: "I bought Crime and Punishment two days ago and it is Mcduff's translation."

A friend whose opinion I respect liked it a lot which bodes good. I fell into the story immediately.

Rosemarie wrote: "I have The Bell sitting on my bookshelf but haven't read it yet. I look forward to reading your review, Chrissie."

A friend whose opinion I respect liked it a lot which bodes good. I fell into the story immediately."

Melanie wrote: "I haven’t heard of The Bell but it looks good. I’ll be interested in reading your review too, Christie!"

I have not liked all of Murdoch's books but many. She is perhaps best well known for The Sea, the Sea, but I found it inferior.

I loved Crime and Punishment. I love the complicatedness of Dostoyevsky's characters. This is how people really, really are!

I just bought and started to read (in German translation) the Dutch classic Max Havelaar, or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company.

That book has a lot more humour than I expected, Peter. I read it in German as well.

Peter wrote: "I just bought and started to read (in German translation) the Dutch classic Max Havelaar, or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company."

We talked about this when I took Dutch in college. Mostly we watched the Rutger Hauer movie adaption which we discussed for however many weeks it took to get through it. What I remember about the book was that we expressed an interest in reading it but our teachers said it was written in a 19th style of Dutch that would be very difficult to get through.

Kevin wrote: "I bought Crime and Punishment two days ago and it is Mcduff's translation."

I read McDuff's translation last year and thoroughly enjoyed it - happy reading!

I purchased several books for next year. Authors:

Elizabeth Goudge
Elizabeth Taylor
V.S. Naipaul
Carlos Fuentes

I also purchased another Elmer Kelton
The Time It Never Rained

I like to collect leather bound classics and just added to my collection :

The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
Frankenstein: The 1818 Text by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

I've recently acquired The Lair of the White Worm as a free ebook.

I found a copy of Conversation in the Cathedral by Mario Vargas Llosa on my library’s sale shelf ($2) so I snagged it! It’s a bit long at 601 pages but oh well, I’m going to try to read it in 2023 for the Latin American buddy read. This is the first book I’ve been able to find by Llosa. Although, after checking the catalogue, our library system has lots of his books in Spanish and a few in English but only 5 of his novels fall in our classics time frame. None of them are at my branch which is why I never see them.

My latest book addition:

by Francis Bacon

I found another $2 classic at my library (a different branch I’ve never been to!)- Bend Sinister by Vladimir Nabokov, pub in 1947. I didn’t realize Nabokov wrote any dystopian novels so I’m excited about this one!

Pam wrote: "I found another $2 classic at my library (a different branch I’ve never been to!)- Bend Sinister by Vladimir Nabokov, pub in 1947. I didn’t realize Nabokov wrote any dystopian novels so I’m excited..."

Bend Sinister is one of Nabokov's I haven't read. I am ready for another now--it's been a while! I read somewhere that it is to be taken as a spoof. I quite simply like his writing. Your head keeps thinking! His wordplays are marvelous.

Chrissie wrote: "Pam wrote: "I found another $2 classic at my library (a different branch I’ve never been to!)- Bend Sinister by Vladimir Nabokov, pub in 1947. I didn’t realize Nabokov wrote any dystopian novels so..."

Chrissie - I look forward to reading your review! I have only read one of his books Pnin and have been wanting to read some more. I like dystopian novels so this one appeals to me! Do you have a favorite?

Pam, keep in mind that readers react differently! I do not like dystopian novels, so probably what I like may differ widely from what you like! Herre you can see how I have rated different Nabokov books: Lolita is definitely my favorite.

**************

*Lolita 5 stars
*Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle 5 stars
*Speak, Memory 5 stars
*Mary 4 stars
*Laughter in the Dark 4 stars
*Glory 4 stars
*The Real Life of Sebastian Knight 4 stars
*The Gift 3 stars
*King, Queen, Knave 3 stars
*Pale Fire 2 stars
*Pnin 1 star
*Despair 1 star
*Transparent Things 1 star

I got a pristine (very close to it--there is a note inside when it was given to someone) of my favourite edition of this novel that I started when I was visiting my parents. I really like this one Oxford series where they have a section at the end listing characters, what books they appear in in the series, etc and the one in my library networkwas off for mending and then suddenly disappeared--they kept sending me different editions but I got hooked on those reading the Palliser books. At this point I may start the entire book again or at least skim most of the first volume which is what I read there.

Just received: The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu

I made a trip to an excellent used bookstore near me this afternoon and picked up a local history hardcover and a small stack of $1.00 paperbacks, including a Rex Stout. I’ve been meaning to dig into Rex Stout’s mysteries and If I enjoy it I know that I can go back and get 20 more for a twenty dollar bill.

Chad wrote: "I made a trip to an excellent used bookstore near me this afternoon and picked up a local history hardcover and a small stack of $1.00 paperbacks, including a Rex Stout. I’ve been meaning to dig in..."

I can't remember when I last read a Rex Stout book, Chad, but you've motivated me to download one.

The Nero Wolfe mysteries are fun.