The Obscure Reading Group discussion

There are a LOT of great choices this time.

Just felt like a book vote until I popped over here and found out I was saving world democracy. Whew. Now I can check that one off my to-do list. 😁

World (hell, U.S. for that matter) democracy is in deep doo-doo, so I thank you, Sara!

Never fear, Leon Musk is coming in to save free speech at least. Deep doo doo is right!

Thank goodness we have our little bastion to hang out in.

Yes, definitely a hard choice. I saw a lot of books I would like to read but...I sorta pre-made my choice so I will stick to it. Regardless of what our little democracy decides the end result looks like it will be a good read.

A definite book rec for anyone interested is Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro. It is on the International Booker shortlist right now.

Every time a read something new, at least for me, that is outside of the envelope of books I used to read, I realize how much good writing has to teach me.

Darrin wrote: "A definite book rec for anyone interested is Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro. It is on the International Booker shortlist right now.

Every time a read something new..."

What a good point, Darrin, and reminder to step outside of our reading comfort zones. Thanks for the intriguing recommendation.

Democracy is alive and well here at the ORG! We have three finalists to vote on today and tomorrow, and should have a winner by Sunday.

Vote here: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/1...

And a bonus: lots of good titles to add to our worthy but didn't win thread!

I’m just pleasant surprised how well read you all are!!

Whew , these books are so obscure my crappy library system has none of them. Some won’t come until middle of June …..Sooooo I don’t know. I did vote though and they all sound great. Haha the one author , I am leading a discussion in July about another of their books. So if it wins that would prove interesting.

Well, the Tockarczuk book is fairly new and only in hardcover, so I imagine there'll be competition for library copies. (And I'm assuming, Carol, this is the author of the "other book" you're discussing in July.)

Bufalino? Obscure!

Turgenev? Who knows. Maybe he's not considered famous enough for libraries to carry him any more. Compared to other Russkies of the Golden Era, his star may have set a bit (thought I still thought it was above the horizon).

Also, rumor has it that bookshop.org, which gives proceeds to local bookstores and always sells books at 10% off, will be featuring free shipping this weekend in honor of Independent Bookstore Day, which is tomorrow (check your calendar!).

In fact, many indy bookstores are doing something in honor of themselves too. Check it out if you live near one.

Nope !
Olga

I am anticipating buying whatever book is selected so I will keep this in mind. Whatever we select it will be an airplane read for me, though, when we hit the ground in Korea on May 22, I don't know how much reading time I am going to have and how much I will be able to participate...not that I am much of a participater (not a word, I know) but I do read all the books!

Ken wrote: "Well, the Tockarczuk book is fairly new and only in hardcover, so I imagine there'll be competition for library copies. (And I'm assuming, Carol, this is the author of the "other book" you're discu..."

I noticed that my library does not have a stand-alone volume of Home of the Gentry but it does have it as part of a compilation called The Essential Turgenev so this might be a way of obtaining the book.

Also, the title seems to be translated variously as A Nest of the Gentry, A Nest of the Gentlefolk and Home of the Gentry. Something else to keep in mind as you are searching for this book in your local library catalog.

Darrin wrote: "Ken wrote: "Well, the Tockarczuk book is fairly new and only in hardcover, so I imagine there'll be competition for library copies. (And I'm assuming, Carol, this is the author of the "other book" ..."

Also Night’s Lies has another title. Lies of the Night.

Carol wrote: "Darrin wrote: "Ken wrote: "Well, the Tockarczuk book is fairly new and only in hardcover, so I imagine there'll be competition for library copies. (And I'm assuming, Carol, this is the author of th..."

I searched for the Bufalino book by author name but came up empty-handed. I should also do an inter-library loan search to see if that comes up with better results. It does seem to be available on Amazon used for quite a cheap price in paperback.

Darrin wrote: "Carol wrote: "Darrin wrote: "Ken wrote: "Well, the Tockarczuk book is fairly new and only in hardcover, so I imagine there'll be competition for library copies. (And I'm assuming, Carol, this is th..."

Sue posted another resource Bookfinder.com

I ended up purchasing used copies of both the Turgenev and the Bufalino books and I purchased a used copy of Remarque's No Time to Love, No Time to Die, just because I have wanted to read it for so long. I am also admitting here that I am the one who had submitted that book for the poll.

These will be my in-flight reads on the way to Korea.

Darrin wrote: "I ended up purchasing used copies of both the Turgenev and the Bufalino books and I purchased a used copy of Remarque's No Time to Love, No Time to Die, just because I have wanted to read it for so..."

This turned out to be a great selection of traveling reads, Darrin, and glad to hear you're all set. I'm also hoping to read No Time to Love (I voted for it in the first round).

Have a safe trip, Darrin, and enjoy the reads!

Thank you. We don't leave until the 21st so I will be hanging around here a little while yet chatting.

I already own two of the three finalists and just ordered the third, so I'll eventually be reading all three -- one with y'all and two in obscurity.

I’ve ordered one so far. One is available from the library. Unsure about the third though I do want to read it eventually.

At long last, a winner!

And the winner is??????

Oh, you just hit POLL on the group page to see results.

Kathleen will be along to announce... I'm just up 3 hours earlier (east coast vs. west).

Sorry, thought everyone knew how to see polls when they completed!

We just want to keep up the suspense as long as possible, Diane (as if it wasn't long enough!). But the message is out now, and you can go to our pre-discussion thread here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I'm looking forward to everyone's reactions, and to digging into this one.

I'll be joining in. The 1000 pager was very iffy for me, but this I can handle.

I would like to read The Book of Jacob. I downloaded it to my kindle,

And I got Home of the Gentry on the kindle too. It was .99 cents, couldn’t beat the price.

Just requested from the library. Looks like it may be a 1930 edition. Hopefully it will be readable!

I have often found that earlier translations are actually better, so it might be just fine, Sue.

I will check it out and if it’s a problem, I’ll get it for kindle.

Thanks Sara.

I've really been itching to reread Oblomov by Goncharov, which I loved a lot about 30 years ago. Anyone interested in joining me?

I have an unread copy of Oblomov from 10 years ago (sorry it cannot match your book for being indignant with its owner), but have a few book commitments to meet before I can get to it. Maybe mid- to late July or early August?

But if you're ready and the moment is calling, jump in! We'll cheer you on (and I'll get to see your reaction).

Happy Father's Day to all you hopefully-not-obscure fathers out there!

Happy Father’s Day!

Or is it Happy Fathers' Day collectively? I get sloppy with punctuation sometimes.

Darrin, are you back home from Korea?

Ken wrote: "I have an unread copy of Oblomov from 10 years ago (sorry it cannot match your book for being indignant with its owner), but have a few book commitments to meet before I can get to it. Maybe mid- t..."
Hi Ken, I can wait. I'm finding I love chatting with a fellow reader! Who knew? :)

Ken wrote: "Or is it Happy Fathers' Day collectively? I get sloppy with punctuation sometimes.

Darrin, are you back home from Korea?"
Yes, I am back. We got back on June 5. I am sorry to have ghosted the Turgenev discussion and will try to comment soon, it has been on my mind. I finished the book in the last days prior to our departure and didn't have a lot of time to comment and then of course we returned and I have been totally sidetracked by getting back into normal life again.

Hypothetically, I am interested in joining you with 'Oblomov'! Whether I can really do it or not will depend on what else goes on in my life. But for now, late July or early August sound good! So please let me know when you decide to start. This is just the kind of book, I think, that is better read with others :)

I think I prefer his The Same Old Story, but who knows, maybe I'll change my mind :)

Plateresca wrote: "Hypothetically, I am interested in joining you with 'Oblomov'! Whether I can really do it or not will depend on what else goes on in my life. But for now, late July or early August sound good! So p..."
Great! I'll post when I start reading, probably late July.

Sotto voce: From what I've read, Oblomov himself would HATE having to be ready for late July or any other time! (Ha-ha)

Ha ha ha ha ha, Ken!

Cherisa, excellent, thank you!

Ken, haha that's brilliant :)

Hi! What about Oblomov, are we going to read it in August?

I’m gonna finish up Thais of Athens then pick up Oblomov next, later this week!

I just started a big-bopper (Crossroads), so it depends how quickly I finish that (which in turn depends on how good it is).