Reading the 20th Century discussion

Second RC the recent version's worth watching but liked the film too. Makes a good double-bill with the film of The Getting of Wisdom

Ooh, was there a film of The Getting of Wisdom? Another school book I loved.

Roman Clodia wrote:


"....yes there was the recent (2018) TV series (of Picnic at Hanging Rock) - it's on Prime if you have that? I loved it"

Thanks RC - I do have Prime, for now anyway, and will try to fit it in. So much to view so little time

Roman Clodia wrote: "Ooh, was there a film of The Getting of Wisdom? Another school book I loved."

Me too, the film dates from the 70s, I watched it online not long ago think it was either on Amazon or YouTube? I paired it with the film of My Brilliant Career which is free to watch here: https://archive.org/details/my-brilli...

There's an article about the film of the Henry Handel Richardson you might like here:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015...

Great double bill Alwynne

And making me yearn to reread Wisdom and Brilliant Career.

I'm planning to reread the Franklin soon, was waiting to pick up a copy of the sequel 'My Career Goes Bung' and recently found it in an old Virago edition.

Thank you RC, I'm around again as I now have internet - I had been offline due to an outage! When would suit people for a buddy read? Autumn sounds good to me.

Just cross-posting from the Abigail thread: Glad to see so much enthusiasm for Picnic: how about September as we don't have any buddy reads that month?

Fine for me. Back to school time too :)

Sounds ideal.

Haha, new pencil cases for everyone!

Sounds great - nice to have you back Judy!

Roman Clodia wrote: "Haha, new pencil cases for everyone!"

My daughter will tell you, RC, that new pencil cases are a very serious thing ;)

Thank you RC, Susan and Alwynne! I'll look forward to this one.

I've added it to our group bookshelves, Nigeyb when you have a minute could you add it to our forthcoming reads thread? - thanks!

Roman Clodia wrote: "I've added it to our group bookshelves, Nigeyb when you have a minute could you add it to our forthcoming reads thread? - thanks!"
✓

Judy and I have decided to do a buddy read of Gentlemen & Players by
Joanne Harris

The sequel Different Class is currently 99p and there is a third book coming out A Narrow Door in August.

Anyway, back to Gentlemen & Players

The place is St Oswald's, an old and long-established boys' grammar school in the north of England. A new year has just begun, and for the staff and boys of the School, a wind of unwelcome change is blowing. Suits, paperwork and Information Technology rule the world; and Roy Straitley, Latin master, eccentric, and veteran of St Oswald's, is finally - reluctantly - contemplating retirement. But beneath the little rivalries, petty disputes and everyday crises of the School, a darker undercurrent stirs. And a bitter grudge, hidden and carefully nurtured for thirteen years, is about to erupt.

Who is Mole, the mysterious insider, whose cruel practical jokes are gradually escalating towards violence - and perhaps, murder? And how can an old and half-forgotten scandal become the stone that brings down a giant?

We haven't chosen a month yet. Is anyone else interested and, if so, do you have a particular month that works for you?

I’d be interested, any time after July would work for me.

Sounds good, Pamela.

How about August?

I think August sounds good.

OK, excellent. In case it goes well and anyone wants to read on, the sequel is 99p at the moment.

Would anyone else be interested in a buddy read of Billie Holiday's Lady Sings the Blues? Let me know if so and I'll set it up.

I would RC

Hurrah, and Tania too.

How about October as we don't have any buddy reads scheduled then? If that works I'll set up a thread and add the book to our shelf.

October is good for me, thanks.

I can do anytime - so Oct works

Would anyone be interested to do a buddy read for this month runner-up, A Fine Balance? I was planning to read it this year and it would be so much better to have company.

Hi Adina, I would definitely be interested. When are you looking to start?

Anytime from September onwards. When it will be ok for you?

September would work well for me.

I'd like to read A Fine Balance too but am wary of over-committing myself at the moment but will see closer to the time.

Adina, I'm happy to set up a thread for you: I'll put the usual buddy start date as 15 September but can change that easily if you need me to.

Roman Clodia wrote: "I'd like to read A Fine Balance too but am wary of over-committing myself at the moment but will see closer to the time.

Adina, I'm happy to set up a thread for you: I'll put the usual buddy start..." We can change to a later date if you want to join. If you have another month you prefer let us know.

No, don't wait for me, Adina - I'm over-committed already and am having an especially busy time at work - thanks for the offer, though :))

Adina wrote:


"Would anyone be interested to do a buddy read for this month runner-up, A Fine Balance? I was planning to read it this year and it would be so much better to have company."

I'm not interested however, given you have one taker, with maybe more to come, do you want me to add it to the schedule and the bookshelf?

I'll leave you to set up the discussion when you're ready

I suspect Jonathan might be keen too

Thank you Nigeyb, i will need your help with the schedule. I also sent a message to Jonathan to ask him if he is interested.

Ok, Jonathan is also in. Please help me set it up for September. Thank you.

That's done for you, Adina: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I've left the topic open so you can use it to chat with your buddies as you wish.

Roman Clodia wrote: "That's done for you, Adina: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I've left the topic open so you can use it to chat with your budd..."Thank you! It will be the first time I run any read so I am a bit nervous :))

Adina wrote: "It will be the first time I run any read so I am a bit nervous :))"

Aw, no need, everyone's very friendly here, as you know :)

Roman Clodia wrote:


"That's done for you, Adina:

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

I've left the topic open..."

Thanks for doing that RC

And I have added it to our...

A Complete Overview of All RTTC Books (Group Reads, Challenge Books and Buddy Reads)

And added a blurb and photo for you too to RC's discussion thread

Ah, thanks Nigeyb!

I'm a maybe for both A Fine Balance and Lady Sings the Blues - hope to join in if time allows.

Susan, Judy and I have agreed we'd like to buddy read A Night to Remember, the classic account of the sinking of the Titanic. We'll be starting in mid-November and everyone is welcome to join, as usual.

I haven't read anything about this catastrophe before so am looking forward to it! I'm going to cross-post this on the Midnight Bell thread as well.

The other buddy read that Susan and I have agreed is Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann, starting mid-January 2022.

I've had this on my bookshelves for literally years and as Susan is reading The Magician at the moment, a fictional biography of Mann by Colm Tóibín, it prompted us to set this up.

Some of you may remember that we had an enjoyable buddy read of Mann's The Magic Mountain a few years ago now so we hope others will be joining us on another Mann epic.

Cross-posting to the Midnight Bell thread as well.

I am suggesting a buddy read of Celia Fremlin's The Jealous One for mid-February because:
1) the GR blurb made it look interesting;
2) at 4.11 stars it had the highest rating of Fremlin's more popular books, if 90 ratings counts as popular;
3) as we last read a Fremlin back in December 2020 with her The Long Shadow, I was kind of 'jonesin' for another Fremlin read;
4) her books are a bit creepy at times so I feel better reading them with company;
5) with busy Buddy Read months ahead, and the book a relatively short 198 pages, February seemed a good month for it.

There seems to be some interest shown on the Celia Fremlin thread. As I've never suggested a Buddy Read anywhere before, do I need to do anything else?

No, it's fine, Brian. I have set up a thread and Nigeyb has kindly added it to the book list. Great suggestion!

Susan and I (and Tania?) are planning to follow up our buddy about the sinking of the Titanic with Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania because yes, we're all keen to get on another sinking ocean liner! We'll be discussing in November, everyone welcome to join us on board :)

RC, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to join, but can you just confirm the timing for A Night to Remember is still mid-November? I assume the Lusitania will follow on from that?