Reading the 20th Century discussion

Ben wrote: "I would like to revisit I Claudius too. I always find rereads tell me as much about how my perceptions have changed as about the books themselves."

Absolutely, Ben - I never really understand people who don't re-read.

Sounds good to me. I did check the library for the other book, but no go. I'm trying to cut down on book buying at the mo, and read more of the books I own. I say this every year, but it seems I have been prepping for the time I will have 75 years to do nothing else but read; I mean, you never know...

Oh, count me in on Virginia and Vanessa and I, Claudius!

I just finished The World Broke in Two: Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, D.H. Lawrence, E.M. Forster and the Year that Changed Literature and Jacob's Room, so I can't wait to read Virginia and Vanessa.

I'm fine for those dates, RC. No rush, but looking forward to both proposed buddies.

I've updated the forthcoming reads thread with...


June 2023
Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell: A Very Close Conspiracy by Jane Dunn (Buddy Read)

July 2023
I, Claudius by Robert Graves (Buddy Read)


Easy to change if you decide you'd prefer different months

Thanks all - and to Nigeyb for being his usual super-efficient self :))

Lots of goodies to look forward to.

Debra wrote: "I just finished The World Broke in Two: Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, D.H. Lawrence, E.M. Forster and the Year that Changed Literature and Jacob's Room"

I'm reading The Hyacinth Girl: T.S. Eliot's Hidden Muse about T.S. Eliot and his very strange yet fascinating long-term relationship with Emily Hale. One of the highlights so far is when she writes a letter back to a friend in the US describing a tea party she went to with Eliot at the Woolfs' for Leonard's birthday.

Roman Clodia wrote: "I'm reading The Hyacinth Girl: T.S. Eliot's Hidden Muse about T.S. Eliot and his very strange yet fascinating long-term relationship with Emily Hale. "

Ooh, that looks good!

Thanks, Nigeyb.

Talking of Eliot, this looks good too The Waste Land: A Biography of a Poem

I recently read The World Broke in Two also. I was a bit disappointed in it, but it was still interesting. I preferred Constellation of Genius which goes chronologically through 1922.

Looks great, Bronwyn. I love that period, I am currently enjoying Hellfire: Evelyn Waugh and the Hypocrites Club

I have that one on my wishlist! :) Anything Waugh and I’m sold.

I also came across this, which I thought Nigeyb would love:

Tales from the Colony Room: Soho's Lost Bohemia

This is the definitive history of London's most notorious drinking den, the Colony Room Club in Soho. It’s a hair-raising romp through the underbelly of the post-war scene: during its sixty-year history, more romances, more deaths, more horrors and more sex scandals took place in the Colony than anywhere else.

Tales from the Colony Room is an oral biography, consisting of previously unpublished and long-lost interviews with the characters who were central to the scene, giving the reader a flavour of what it was like to frequent the Club. With a glass in hand you’ll move through the decades listening to personal reminiscences, opinions and vitriol, from the authentic voices of those who were actually there.

On your voyage through Soho’s lost bohemia, you’ll be served a drink by James Bond, sip champagne with Francis Bacon, queue for the loo with Christine Keeler, go racing with Jeffrey Bernard, get laid with Lucian Freud, kill time with Doctor Who, pick a fight with Frank Norman and pass out with Peter Langan. All with a stellar supporting cast including Peter O’Toole, George Melly, Suggs, Lisa Stansfield, Dylan Thomas, Jay Landesman, Sarah Lucas, Damien Hirst and many, many more.

Bronwyn wrote: "I have that one on my wishlist! :) Anything Waugh and I’m sold."

We should find a lesser known Waugh to buddy read. Perhaps one of his non-fiction works.

A Little Order: Selected Journalism or
A Little Learning: The First Volume of an Autobiography

I like his brother, Alec's books too.
My Brother Evelyn & Other Profiles is fun.

Ooh I do have A Little Learning. Also his son’s (or grandsons?) Fathers and Sons and one of Alec’s, but I’m blanking on the name right now.

I have Fathers and Sons too. I would be happy with any you want to read - I love Waugh.

Roman Clodia wrote: "I'm very tempted by I, Claudius as it was a teenage favourite of mine :)"

I am also tempted to join the group for this book!

I’ll join the I, Claudius buddy read.

Excellent news. I, Claudius is so popular, it's surprising it didn't win the vote!

I was thinking the same, Susan! Cassandra must be even more popular.

Thanks so much for setting up the threads. I'll put them on our bookshelf as well.

Some great choices this month, as always.

I’d definitely be up for a Waugh buddy read if more people are interested. I’m not always the best at buddy reads so wouldn’t want it dependent on me, lol.

Does anyone fancy reading....


The Godfather by Mario Puzo

...in August 2023?


RC mentioned it in passing when we were discussing and nominating books about families.

I've never read it but have watched the first two films many times and would like to read the source novel. Needless to say, discussing it with some of the most erudite and insightful readers in the world would add even more to what I'm expecting to be a very enjoyable experience.

Are you tempted?

Sign up here


Coincidentally I am currently reading Midnight Cowboy by James Leo Herlihy, another novel which has been overshadowed by the incredibly successful film adaptation. It's striking how it's structured very differently and goes into far more detail about Joe Buck's life before he arrives in New York. It's also superb. It makes me suspect there's possibly a plethora of books that inspired films that really stand up in their own right. Possibly a future Group Reads theme eh?

Nigeyb wrote: "Does anyone fancy reading....


The Godfather by Mario Puzo

...in August"

Count me in!

And yes, great idea for a monthly theme... though I'm rubbish at watching films!

I love the film. I've seen it three times at least. But I'm not sure I want to read the book. I struggle often with translating a work I love in one form to appreciating it in another.

I've seen very few films in my life. I've seen the beginning of a few over Christmas but I get bored.

However, would love to read The Godfather again. It is currently in the Audible 2 for 1 sale if anyone is interested.

Hurrah


Thanks Susan, thanks RC

Who else is in?

Agatha Christie and The Godfather. Some great suggestions for buddy reads - you're on a roll, Nigeyb!

Thanks Susan 🫶🏻


And thanks also for being so receptive 👏🏻

You always have such great ideas, you make it very easy.

Would anyone like to join a Buddy read of The Makioka Sisters?

In Osaka in the years immediately before World War II, four aristocratic women try to preserve a way of life that is vanishing. As told by Junichiro Tanizaki, the story of the Makioka sisters forms what is arguably the greatest Japanese novel of the twentieth century, a poignant yet unsparing portrait of a family–and an entire society–sliding into the abyss of modernity.

I've wanted to read it for some time. I'm very flexible about timing. Any time after March.

I'd like to read that, Ben - but it would have to be the second half of the year for me looking at what else I've committed to: July? August? But I'd also understand if you don't want to wait that long.

I don’t mind waiting until the second half of the year.

It looks good, but is quite long. July is a busy month for me. I'd be in if we went for August, but, again, understand that might be too far away.

August would work for me, Susan, and it would be great to have your company, as always!

Wonderful! Let’s schedule it for August then!

I'll set up the thread...

Thank you.

Mooted as the Japanese P&P. Intriguing.

Yes, I've also seen some comparisons with Jane Austen - intriguing indeed!

Roman Clodia wrote: "Nigeyb wrote: "Does anyone fancy reading....

The Godfather by Mario Puzo

...in August"

Count me in!"

I had scheduled The Godfather for an August read in my calendar. After The Makioka Sisters was also scheduled for August, I checked the "All current and forthcoming reads" thread and saw that The Godfather has not been scheduled for August or any month I could see. I presume its scheduling was never completed. The last comment on it was Nige's reply in message 630 which I had mistakenly interpreted as implicity confirming the book's schedule as a Buddy Read in August:

Nigeyb wrote: "Hurrah

Thanks Susan, thanks RC

Who else is in?"

I won't be joining The Makioka Sisters read as I had read it a few years back. I really liked it but I'm a sucker for good family sagas, especially ones that put me into the center of a foreign culture such as the Makioka sibs and Palace Walk do. There's value in just learning about the cultural traditions so also getting a great story is an especially pleasing bonus.

Thanks Brian - I'll add it now

I do want to read The Makioka Sisters, but don’t have easy access right now. Maybe by the time the group read us I’ll have figured something out. :)

Nigeyb wrote: "Thanks Brian - I'll add it now"

Great. Even without the Makiokas, I'll have three RTTC books that month with Bad Actors, the Godfather and The House in Paris. At first glance, that seemed like a lot but then I saw that I have 4 RTTC books scheduled for both March and April. But, since I average about 9 books read a month, that's not really that much of an overproportion of RTTC books

Impressive Brian. I’m delighted you’re finding so much that appeals

I loved Palace Walk too, but for some reason never got the 2nd and 3rd in the trilogy. At this point I’d have to red Palace Walk again.

Like Brian I enjoy a family saga and I have The Makioka Sisters so I hope to join the group read.

These buddy reads are so tempting!! I have The Makioka Sisters too, and have been meaning to read it for years.

And I read The Godfather decades ago, after seeing the movies once. Since then, I've seen them countless times. It's really a story that never gets old, and I'd love to read the book again.

So I'll try to join both too.

WndyJW wrote: "I loved Palace Walk too, but for some reason never got the 2nd and 3rd in the trilogy. At this point I’d have to red Palace Walk again. ..."

I didn't read the 2nd and 3rd in the trilogy either but I know why. Here's why: (in explaining it I reveal a MAJOR Palace Walk spoiler) (view spoiler)[ The death of the 2nd son, the one character I very much identified and empathized with, made me not want to read further volumes. If he had lived, I definitely would have picked up volume 2, but I had no interest in continuing a story that would center more on the remaining male characters; the disgusting father and eldest son. Their stories were interesting and definitely enlightening, but one book about of those two creeps was enough and I really didn't want to read books where they had expanded roles. A few years later, I read that the 3rd son, a minor character in the 1st book, had a central role in the next two volumes. His character is the one that Mahfouz based on himself. If I had known that when I had finished Palace Walk, I probably would have gone on with the series to see if the 3rd son's tale would engage me. (hide spoiler)]