Reading the 20th Century discussion

Gosh, Christmas reading already! It does sound interesting but I think I'm going to have to pass. Look forward to hearing what you learn though :)

Not a problem everyone. I think we are all a tad over-committed.

Susan wrote: "Talking of buddies, I was wondering whether anyone fancies a festive, December buddy read of:
Dickens and Christmas by Lucinda Hawksley"

I just ordered a copy to arrive by mid-November. That means I'm in for the December Buddy. It is a time of year when I fancy festivity fairly frequently.
Truthfully, it's the information rather than the festivity that piques my interest.

I don't even like Dickens that much. I've read 7 of his works and rated them all 3 stars except for one at 4 stars. But that one was A Christmas Carol which I thought was really well-done. And, as I said, I like the subject and look forward to the information.

I've added it to our master list but not set up the thread or added it to our bookshelf

Oh, excellent. Good to hear, Brian. Judy is a huge Dickens fan, although she may be too busy.

Judy has messaged me that she is in, so hurrah! There will be three of us. Anyone else is very welcome to comment though, either about the book, Dickens or Christmas!

I have added the book to the bookshelf, Nigeyb and I will set up a discussion thread.

Earlier in the summer we agreed some buddy reads with members who don't seem to be participating actively at the moment: can I check if anyone is still interested in these otherwise I'll take them off our schedule?

Bridge of Beyond: Lorraine, Ben, Wendy - November
Kiss of the Spider Woman - December
Ventriloquist's Tale: RC, Ben, David - January
Book of Night Women: RC, Wendy?, Kathleen? David - March
Pedro Paramo - April

Thanks!

I'm full up at the moment and although I still have an interest in the two listed under my name I would be happy with a deferral.

Roman Clodia wrote: "Earlier in the summer we agreed some buddy reads with members who don't seem to be participating actively at the moment: can I check if anyone is still interested in these otherwise I'll take them ..."

Thank you for checking! I have been wanting to read Book of Night Women, but I don't have access to it now, so will have to bow out of that one.

I am looking forward to A Spell of Winter though, and my book should be arriving in a week or so. Hope that one is still on, but I do know how over-extended we all get.

I bought a copy of The Bridge of Beyond and planned to join in the Group read of it sometime in November. While I would like to read it with the Group sometime, I'm open to do another month if that is what others want to do.

EDIT: I see that Ben would still like to read this but is fairly full up right now. I would be open to kicking the Buddy Read of The Bridge of Beyond into a better month for Ben. Perhaps January with the The Ventriloquist's Tale or March with the The Book of Night Women should be avoided so two Caribbean reads don't conflict with each other. This December and February are fine as is April. I am also fine with it remaining in November as planned

I have a Spell of Winter, Kathleen and intend to start it after I have finished The Little Girls. Hopefully, mid-month. So, yes, that one is definitely on.

Brian E wrote: "I bought a copy of The Bridge of Beyond and planned to join in the Group read of it sometime in November. While I would like to read it with the Group sometime, I'm open to do anoth..."


Thanks Brian. I've reserved it at my library and should be able to read it in December or January.

Thanks everyone. So it seems that only The Bridge of Beyond is going ahead and I'll take the others off our shelves - Nigeyb, when you have a moment could you also update our schedule please?

Ben, Brian: no mods are planning to read Bridge, I think, but that's not a problem. I'll set up a thread for you for December but it's not a problem if you push it into January.

Susan wrote: "I have a Spell of Winter, Kathleen and intend to start it after I have finished The Little Girls. Hopefully, mid-month. So, yes, that one is definitely on."

Me too - can't wait for more Dunmore!

Thanks RC

Roman Clodia wrote:


"So it seems that only The Bridge of Beyond is going ahead and I'll take the others off our shelves - Nigeyb, when you have a moment could you also update our schedule please?"

Done.

In other buddy reads news, I am fully committed to and eagerly anticipatoing the Patrick Hamilton, Anthony Powell, and Anthony Trollope reads in 2024. I can't remember who else is participating but hope we get much participation as they're all fab.

I also plan to read the first in the Henry Green Loving, Living, & Party Going trilogy and, if that goes well, the other two as well.

I am participating in all six books of both the Patrick Hamilton & Henry Green trilogies. I'll pass on Anthony Powell

While I recommend reading A Dance to the Music of Time. Complete 12 volume set, I read it about 15 years ago and I don't feel up for a re-read yet. However, I do have a DVD of the miniseries that I have never watched and have thought about watching it over the course of the read so I can then follow the discussion and fully appreciate Nigeyb's fascinating insights.

Ben wrote: "I've reserved it at my library and should be able to read it in December or January.."

Roman Clodia wrote: "Ben, Brian: no mods are planning to read Bridge, I think, but that's not a problem. I'll set up a thread for you for December but it's not a problem if you push it into January."

Ben, I would appreciate it if sometime in December you would post in the The Bridge of Beyond thread that RC creates when you anticipate reading it. I'm flexible about when to read it, except for around Christmas when I will do a seasonal read. Thanks.

Will do.

Thanks Brian


It's been 10 years since I read A Dance To The Music Of Time but that's enough of a gap for me to have forgotten much of the detail, but not how much I loved it

Brian, Ben, the thread for The Bridge of Beyond is here: www.goodreads.com/topic/show/22648224...

I didn't care much for Dandelion Wine but I would like to give Bradbury another try. I very much enjoyed watching a TV dramatisation of Martian Chronicles with my flat mates while in Law School. Would anyone like to do a Buddy Read? I'm completely flexible on when.

I would do a buddy read of The Martian Chronicles. Pretty busy in January as I will be catching up on what I expected to read this month, and in March I try to join in every readathon known to woman. So February or April would be good for me.

That's great Sonia!

Moderators, can we put it on the list for February, subject to someone else joining and expressing a preference for a later month?

I’ll do it later today

I just snapped up...



Cahokia Jazz (2023)

by the marvellous

Francis Spufford


for a mere 99 pence 🤠


Heard great things about it


Can't wait to get stuck in



If anyone fancies a buddy read then I'm all in



A thrilling tale of murder and mystery in a city where history has run a little differently -- from the bestselling author of Golden Hill .In a city that never was, in an America that never was, on a snowy night at the end of winter, two detectives find a body on the roof of a skyscraper.It's 1922, and Americans are drinking in speakeasies, dancing to jazz, stepping quickly to the tempo of modern times. Beside the Mississippi, the ancient city of Cahokia lives on - a teeming industrial metropolis, containing every race and creed. Among them, peace holds. Just about. But that body on the roof is about to spark off a week that will spill the city's secrets, and bring it, against a soundtrack of wailing clarinets and gunfire, either to destruction or rebirth.The multiple-award-winning Francis Spufford returns, with a lovingly created, richly pleasure-giving, epically scaled tale set in the golden age of wicked entertainments.

Nigeyb and I are planning to buddy read more Patrick Hamilton later in the year - would anyone else like to join us with The Slaves of Solitude and Hangover Square?

🫶🏻

I'm in!

And then there were three

I know it's a long way off but I'd say June and July would be good months for these two wonderful novels

I might be able to join in, but don’t want to commit yet. I have wanted to read them for a while, but have some yearlong buddy reads that I want to get to first. I’ll try though!

Roman Clodia wrote: "Nigeyb and I are planning to buddy read more Patrick Hamilton later in the year - would anyone else like to join us with The Slaves of Solitude and Hangover Square?"

Not I, as I read Hangover Square in October of 2019 and The Slaves of Solitude in November of 2021, too recent for rereads. I gave both 4 stars.

However, I missed out on the RTTC's Buddy Read of Hamilton's first novel Craven House back in August of 2019. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
I skipped it because I was too new to this group, was as yet unaware of Mr. Hamilton's talents and perhaps, sublimely thinking of "Wes," thought "Craven House" was a horror story collection, not that I didn't enjoy the The Haunting of Hill House.

So, RC, when you are done with those two Hamilton books and wish to continue on with your Hamiltonian study, I would gladly join in on a read of Craven House sometime in the latter part of this year, say sometime August through December. As an additional attraction, GR describes the book's setting as "among the shifting uncertain world of the ENGLISH BOARDING HOUSE!!!" (emphasis supplied to attract RTTC members who previously expressed an interest in boarding house stories)

Then, perhaps in 2025 we could plan on reading his The Gorse Trilogy: The West Pier, Mr Stimpson and Mr Gorse, Unknown Assailant, or at least the first 2/3 thereof over 3 consecutive months. And possibly a Gaslight/Rope: A Play month.

Nigeyb wrote: "I know it's a long way off but I'd say June and July would be good months for these two wonderful novels"

Not such "a long way off" compared to my suggestions!
It may seem silly to some to plan for 2025 while still in January of 2024 but, at 70 years old, I find it quite uplifting to make plans for a future year. Besides, as I'm still desiring to fit the Ripliad in during 2024, and am reading In Search of Lost Time, hopefully Manning's "The Levant Trilogy", along with my current 3 book reads each of Hamilton, Greene and Godden, I'm trying to leave some flexibility in my 2024 schedule.

Also, I couldn't find a thread for the February Buddy Read of Loving by Henry Green.

I many have missed it, but it also may not yet exist. It's not February yet, but the threads are usually up early. This group is very good at that.
No hurry.

I will check and put up the Loving thread if it isn't there, Brian.

I have added the thread.

I am interested in continuing with the Patrick Hamilton books. I have on order The Gorse Trilogy and I think a few others are on Kindle US.

June and July for Slaves and Hangover is great. I'm not sure I want to commit to Craven House and Gorse though - the former sounds a bit more upbeat than I like my Hamilton! I'm not a completist and am happy to cherry-pick.

How are you enjoying Proust, Brian?

I hope to join the PH buddy reads in June and July.

Roman Clodia wrote: "June and July for Slaves and Hangover is great. I'm not sure I want to commit to Craven House and Gorse though - the former sounds a bit more upbeat than I like my Hamilton! I'm not a completist..."

That's fine. Since I was talking about the latter part of the year at the earliest, it's probably better to wait until after the "July Hangover" to see if more PH is in demand at that time.

I'll check back in toward the end of July. If the PH indicator registers acidic red then it's time for more PH!!

The pile of books on my nightstand is ever growing, both inside and outside my Kindle, but I can't resist all this enthusiasm, so I will plan to join the Buddy Read of Hangover Square, whenever you schedule it.

Roman Clodia wrote: ".How are you enjoying Proust, Brian?"

Much more than I thought. For some reason, the flowing, flowery descriptive prose style seems to suit me right now and I'm finding it a surprisingly pleasurable experience. It helps that I have had some concurrent reads with contrasting prose styles and plotting, such as PH, and especially my Wodehouse, as I am my third of his 'Mike and Psmith' books this month.

I had initially planned on only reading the first volume The Swann Way but now that I've found it quite readable, I will likely go ahead and try to finish this year. If I do tire of the dreamy prose, over-reflection and lack of narrative action, I'll set it aside and finish sometime in the future, perhaps in the afterlife. It's ethereal style would suit that setting. As I recently indicated, I do like to plan ahead.

Brian E wrote: "Roman Clodia wrote: "Nigeyb and I are planning to buddy read more Patrick Hamilton later in the year - would anyone else like to join us with The Slaves of Solitude and [book:Hangove..."

Did you say boarding house? Yes, I am interested!
Got to get myself through the current PH books on the roster first though..

Brian, thanks to Judy's inspiration, Proust was my Covid year read and I adored it - and him. It seemed perfectly suited for that time. I will re-read, but not sure when. It is definitely a project.

I'll probably be up for Craven and Gorse in the Autumn but I am not ready to commit just yet

I've read them both and both are enjoyable reads

Ben wrote: "The pile of books on my nightstand is ever growing, both inside and outside my Kindle, but I can't resist all this enthusiasm, so I will plan to join the Buddy Read of Hangover Square, whenever you..."

Hurrah! Will that be your first Hamilton?

Susan wrote: "Brian, thanks to Judy's inspiration, Proust was my Covid year read and I adored it - and him. It seemed perfectly suited for that time. I will re-read, but not sure when. It is definitely a project."

Exactly the same for me! I started Proust when I actually had covid so that dreamy unreal atmosphere was in book and real life. I'd love to reread it too but it's a big commitment.

Incidentally, Proust isn't flowery in the original French, much of that comes from Scot Moncrieff - the new Penguin translation (first volume by Lydia Davis) pares it back beautifully to give a more accurate sense of the original.

Roman Clodia wrote: "Hurrah! Will that be your first Hamilton?"

Yes, it will be.

I've also added 20,000 Streets under the Sky to my Open Library Want to Read list, thanks to your review, but I'll see how I like Hangover Square first.