Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

Perhaps legendary is a little strong since I don't have any selections yet.

I've been sand bagging getting ideas from other lists. Some may call this cheating, I call it research.


New School
1. Ashenden by W. Somerset Maugham, 1927 5/1/15
2. Burning Daylight by Jack London, 1910 5/23/15
3. An Old Captivity by Nevil Shute, 1940 (4/27/15)
Old School
4. Gulliver's Travels byJonathan Swift, 1726 (1/28/15)
5. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, 1869
6. Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola, 1867 5/26/15
Six Legendary Women Authors
7. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë,1848 6/4/15
8. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, 1813 (1/13/15)
9. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell, 1851 (1/6/15)
10. Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier, 1935 (3/21/15)
11. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, 1920 (3/10/15)
12. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, 1925 (2/22/15)

Alternates
A1. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, 1961 10/25/15
A2. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov,, 1955 6/24/15

haha. i love Legendary! =)

LOL it will be!

Bob -- your posts are always fun to read.

I now have two picked thanks to Pink and Julie.

Ashendon was good. I'm browsing now for more inspiration to fill in my final spots!

Bob wrote: "I've been sand bagging getting ideas from other lists. Some may call this cheating, I call is research. "

Haha! Well Bob, I might just have to wait until you complete your Legendary list so I can research all your choices. ;-)

I have my New School and Old School selected. Based on feedback I may make changes. Except for Ashenden I have a copy of all my first 6 selections, either as a DTB or E-read form. Only one trip to the library so far.

Yeah, glad to see 4 and 5 on your list

Can't wait to see what the Amazing Six are!

My list is complete. I may still make an adjustment or two, Ashenden may prove a little difficult to find a copy. If I need to substitute it I will use the same author, I have not read Cakes and Ale or The Moon and Sixpence. The only other two books I don't already have a copy of are Catch-22, which I know is in my local library and Lolita. This is not a book I wish to purchase so I need to check my library system.

Good research, Bob. We can use your list for nomination for club monthly reads.

Bob wrote: "My list is complete. I may still make an adjustment or two, Ashenden may prove a little difficult to find a copy. If I need to substitute it I will use the same author, I have not read [book:Cake..."

Bob - You can easily borrow an ebook on open library. They do have Ashenden.

Janet wrote: "Bob - You can easily borrow an ebook on open library. They do have Ashenden.
..."


My Kryptonite is just about any kind of technology. I have a kindle, but have never attempted a library borrow. I will have to look into this.

Bob, I'm not that great with technology either, but I have borrowed kindle books from the library. It's an intuitive process. When you decide to try it, it will be pretty clear what you should do to get on your kindle.

It's not confusing at all.

Thanks!

Go to openlibrary.org on your computer/tablet and follow the directions there. For many of the ebooks you can get 3 different formats so one is sure to work for you.

I just had to use the Overdrive app to hook it up to my library. I put it off for almost a year and then it was so easy I felt a bit silly. And it was definitely worth it.

I almost put Lolita on my list but I honestly don't know if I could tolerate it. We have quite a few people reading Catch 22.

I got on here to tell you that I'll be reading Requiem from a Wren for an Aussie challenge I'm doing. It looked so good that I had to get it in somewhere!

I downloaded adobe digital editions and then it was easy to use open library.

Sarah wrote: "I almost put Lolita on my list but I honestly don't know if I could tolerate it. We have quite a few people reading Catch 22.
..."

Lolita and Catch-22 are my alternates and that may be a mistake. The alternates are there to help complete the goal if one of my first picks turns out to be a poor choice. These are the only two I not completely comfortable with, Lolita for the subject matter and Catch-22 because I have heard it can be difficult. Both are on the group bookshelf and I am actively working to read as many as I can. Enough people have been cautiously positive about both books that I'm going to give them a try.

I think you will like Requien for a Wren/The Breaking Wave. It's beautifully written and at times sad, but that's the true nature of war and it's after effects. Nevil Shute is one of the finest authors I've ever read, I do hope you enjoy the book. I look forward to hearing about it.

Janet, Andrea, & Sarah thanks for the tech help. No promises for success, but I will give your suggestions a try. Thanks!

Good luck!

I'm not sure what type of Kindle you have, Bob, but I don't believe that Open Library is compatible with e-ink Kindles - only with the Kindle Fires. At least not without jumping through a few hoops in between.

Borrowing from my local library's e-book catalog is MUCH easier, though it just has a fraction of the selection.


I loved Lolita, but despite 3 or 4 attempts I've only made midway through chapter 2 of Catch-22, so responses on those books certainly do vary!

I'd thought about putting Cranford on my list since it's an upcoming group read, but I had a really hard time getting into her North and South so I didn't want to set my self up for failure.

I'm also reading Catch 22. I hope I can get into it because I've really wanted to read it for a long time.

Bob wrote: "Lolita and Catch-22 are my alternates and that may be a mistake."

I think they're both good choices!

When you read Lolita, I recommend getting the annotated version. Not that you need to read all the footnotes to understand the book, but there are lots of allusions, anagrams and other interesting details. Having a key to the hidden treasures of the novel made it a much better experience for me.

It's one of the best books I've ever read.

If you do annotated on Lolita, I'd recommend the paper version over the Kindle version. The footnotes on the Kindle version aren't formatted properly, so it's difficult to flip back and forth. (Links back to the text from the footnotes but no link from the text TO the footnotes.)

Melanti wrote: "I'm not sure what type of Kindle you have, Bob, but I don't believe that Open Library is compatible with e-ink Kindles - only with the Kindle Fires. At least not without jumping through a few hoop..."

I have an older E-ink Kindle. So the old adage, If it ain't broke, don't fix it may mean I will have to jump a few hoops. There is only three books on my list I don't already own. Lolita and Ashenden are the two I am hoping to attain via ebook. Catch-22 is at my local library, I've had it my hands twice and chickened out both times, this year for sure.

I picked Cranford because it was next months group read. I actually wanted my next book from Gaskell to be Ruth. Sorry you did not like North and South, that was the book that sold me on reading more by Gaskell.

Sarah wrote: "I'm also reading Catch 22. I hope I can get into it because I've really wanted to read it for a long time."

Me too, for years I've been thinking about reading it.

Nathan wrote: "Bob wrote: "Lolita and Catch-22 are my alternates and that may be a mistake."

I think they're both good choices!

When you read Lolita, I recommend getting the annotated version. Not that you need..."

Thanks Nathan, my goal is to find a copy for the ereader, I don't know what versions maybe available, but I'll keep the annotated version in mind.

Melanti wrote: "If you do annotated on Lolita, I'd recommend the paper version over the Kindle version. The footnotes on the Kindle version aren't formatted properly, so it's difficult to flip back and forth. (L..."

Good to know, Thank you.

I definitely recommend Catch 22 Bob. It took a little while to get into the story, as there are different time frames at work and so you have to keep going before things totally make sense, but it's so worth it! One of my favourite books from last year and one that I look forward to reading again.

Pink wrote: "I definitely recommend Catch 22 Bob. It took a little while to get into the story, as there are different time frames at work and so you have to keep going before things totally make sense, but it'..."

I took some time with the family over Christmas and have been absent. Thanks for the recommendation on Catch-22. with all the feed back I have received I feel comfortable with my list.

That's a great list indeed, great books and amazing authors!!
i read Thèrese Ranquin, Emile Zola is my favourite author so i hope you'll like it!
also Pride and Prejudice and The age of the innocence and they're among my favourite books!! Charlotte Bronté and Elizabeth Gaskell are unique, i think you'll enjoy their style (iread other books by both of them)
Good luck with your reading

Bob, I hope you've enjoyed your Christmas family time, I agree your list looks great :)

Great list! Mrs. Dalloway is one of my all time favorites. I re-read it every few years. I'm also reading The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

It's time to decide which book will be first my first read in the new year. From where I sit there's a little less thirteen hours left in 2014. Let the challenge begin.

I can't believe you haven't picked yet! For Whom the Bell Tolls has been taunting me for a week!

Well, I suppose it would make sense to start with Cranford. I'll be reading this for our January group read, though it isn't on my challenge list!

I'm hoping to get to that one, too.

Cranford has been my top thought for book #1, but I have been known to grab one that catches my eye at last minute.

Bob this is my biggest problem when setting myself lists!

There is another challenge that would require to start from your home country. At the moment I am thinking of The Canine Kalevala or Tom of Finland... I want something light anyway.

#1 Cranford 3 Stars, I finished this morning before going to work. I ended up liking this much better than I thought I would. For me it was a very slow to start. I was somewhat lost as to how all the character fit together. I even considered abandoning it, I am glad I used a little patience and stuck with to the end. It was the humor that kept me going until I caught up with the characters and their relationship to one another.

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

I had very similar feelings to you about this one Bob.

I am about half way through with my fourth book of this challenge (Mrs. Dalloway) and I am very disappointed so far. There's always the second half, fingers crossed.

Bob wrote: "I am about half way through with my fourth book of this challenge (Mrs. Dalloway) and I am very disappointed so far. There's always the second half, fingers crossed."

Oh no... I'm hoping to start that one next week. I hope it gets better!

I was planning to read Mrs Dalloway as well.

Bob wrote: "I am about half way through with my fourth book of this challenge (Mrs. Dalloway) and I am very disappointed so far. There's always the second half, fingers crossed."

I felt much the same. I've actually just read To the lighthouse, which I was more prepared, as I knew what I was letting myself in for, but the story probably wasn't as captivating as Mrs Dalloway! I don't think stream of consciousness writing is for me, even though there were parts that I appreciated by the end, I found it painful to read.

Stopped in a used book store last night and came across a hardback copy of Ashenden that looks like it has never been opened. For the outrageous price of $4.25 including sales tax. It's nice to get lucky.