The Obscure Reading Group discussion

I’ve been wondering about Klara and the Sun, Diane. I’ll be curious what you think of it in the end.

Darrin wrote: "Sandra wrote: "I loved The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle! I haven’t read Chekhov for ages, but I loved my Russian Literature class in college. Dostoevsky was my favorite though."
I would not have thought ..."


My Top 3 Russkies:

1. Tolstoy

2. Chekhov

3. Turgenev


After that, it gets messy. Maybe Pushkin or maybe Lermontov or possibly Gogol. I never fully warmed to Dostoevsky, though I may reread Crime & Punishment one of these years.

When we settled on a "three books a year" policy in this group, I figured it would be long, restful stretches of reading your own choices between shared reads.

And yes, it's that. But it's also amazing how quickly the reading months of October, February, and June come round!

Meaning: In just over two weeks, we will begin the process of nominating books for our October Obscurity.

All of which is my way of saying, at your leisure, get your thinking caps on, because tempus has a way of fugit-ing around here.

I'm already having some thoughts about this. Last time, I clearly didn't understand how the reading schedule went and was just beginning the book when everyone else was finishing! Duh me.....

AJ wrote: "I'm already having some thoughts about this. Last time, I clearly didn't understand how the reading schedule went and was just beginning the book when everyone else was finishing! Duh me....."

Not to worry, AJ. "The hard way" is the best teacher, they say.

And me, I misspoke earlier, claiming October was "Classics month." Nope. Wrong. FEBRUARY is "Classics month," so when I put out a call for October nominations in but a few short days (we'll neeed 3 for nominations and 3 for the poll with a selection ready to go by Sept. 1st), it'll be for ANY ole obscurity (even if the author is well known).

Clarity. It's a wonderful thing. Sorry if I created confusion.

Hokay! No worries, as we downunderans say. I wait with bated (baited?) breath.

We go to the Bard for the spelling. Specifically, the oft-taught (when I was young) and never taught (now I am old) Merchant of Venice:

Shylock:
Go to then, you come to me, and you say,
"Shylock, we would have moneys," you say so. . . .
Shall I bend low and in a bondman's key,
With bated breath and whisp'ring humbleness,
Say this:
"Fair sir, you spet on me Wednesday last,
You spurn'd me such a day, another time
You call'd me dog; and for these courtesies
I'll lend you thus much moneys"?

I abate my breath, lest in its baited state, it causes offence. #munches on garlic

That's it! I think "bated" is a shortening-bread version of "abated." And it's too early (on the east coast of Maine) to be munching on garlic or hashtags, so I hope you enjoy the clove (or bulb)!

FYI: This is Day 2 of 3 for nominating a book for our October discussion. Thanks to those who have already sent in a title!

I'm seeing what everyone else has this time :)

One, No One, and One Hundred Thousand by Luigi Pirandello because I like books that take 15+ years to write!

Last day for nominations. Tomorrow a.m. I'll send out the poll. As usual, some neat little picks to choose from.



P.S. Mason, I'll try to remember to include your nomination. Threw me a bit, placing it here vs. the messaging system. ;-)

Sorry, Ken! Maybe I should read directions-something that I’m always yelling at my students to do! 😳

We teachers (me, the retired wing thereof) are always the worst offenders. I think of those "welcome back" assemblies in the auditorium around this time each year, where the admins talk endlessly up front and the teachers in the audience just chat away or devote themselves totally to their phones.

Ah, memories!

Spot on, Ken! I just sat through one of those said meetings. I get somewhat embarrassed by my colleagues and instead try to compensate their lack of attention by locking laser eyes on the Principal which, I’m sure, has the undesirable effect of making him more uncomfortable than the original talking! School can be so Kafkaesque!

Love reading these teacher comments. During inservice(yawn), I sometimes acted like one of my incorrigible students. Or I sat in the back of the room and read. I’m sure my administration sighed with relief when I retired.

I have no ideas for nominations, and I'm bad at following through anyway, but I'm going to attempt to read Dante's Divine Comedy for the first time since my son has to read it for school. I've been reading a lot, but mostly just whatever strikes my fancy at any moment. I will probably hit some Daphne du Maurier in October. She's really grown on me.

Danielle wrote: "I have no ideas for nominations, and I'm bad at following through anyway, but I'm going to attempt to read Dante's Divine Comedy for the first time since my son has to read it for school. I've been..."

Good luck with the Dante, Danielle. That's pretty cool you're reading along with your son!

Sandra wrote: "Love reading these teacher comments. During inservice(yawn), I sometimes acted like one of my incorrigible students. Or I sat in the back of the room and read. I’m sure my administration sighed wit..."

Sigh of relief, losing a good teacher? Somehow I doubt it!

The October poll is up!

I hope I have everyone's nomination in there, but if you nominated a title and it's missing, please let me know IPSO FASTO so I can amend the poll.

Happy voting! You have till the end of the 29th, so mull it over, if you wish -- or vote today if you're sure as sunrises in the east.

Golly. How are we supposed to choose between all of these great options?

So many choices but I found one rather quickly, one I really want to read.

So many interesting books -- my choosing process is under way.

Yup, many good choices, some of which I have added to my to-read list if they were not already there.

It took me five seconds to choose. Well, almost.

Here we are, then: Day 2 of the 3-day voting period.

I will mass-message all group members tomorrow that Sunday is not only their day of rest, it is also their last chance to vote.

Wonderful range of books! Several niches to choose from.

Paul wrote: "Wonderful range of books! Several niches to choose from."


Several riches to choose from!

Anyone heard from Ken?

I hear from him every day, often in stanzas.

Okay Mr. Smarty Pants, what book will we be reading in October. I can’t find the results. Nevermind I found it now. Duh!

Ah, memories! It's been a long time since I've been called "Mr. Smarty Pants." Especially considering my SAT scores, which I've instructed my lawyer and my university not to reveal under penalty of law, á la Fordham and a Certain Someone -thing.

😇

This morning saw Jim F.'s review of Lost Classics: Writers on Books Loved and Lost, Overlooked, Under-read, Unavailable, Stolen, Extinct, or Otherwise Out of Commission and said to myself, "Hmn. This might be a good reference book for the ORG, given the subtitle, assuming, as I am, that these writers -- if they were members of our group -- would nominate these very same titles."

Sure enough, thanks to Amazon's "Look Inside" feature, you can see the entire Table of Contents, featuring each writer's choice for a long lost, overlooked, under-read, unavailable, etc. book on the list.

They're not kidding, either. I found many of these titles in GR's database, but some did not appear at all. Although I scanned the list, I did not see a single title I'd heard of, much less read.

Et tu?

Ken wrote: "This morning saw Jim F.'s review of Lost Classics: Writers on Books Loved and Lost, Overlooked, Under-read, Unavailable, Stolen, Extinct, or Otherwise Out of Commission and said to my..."

I heard of a few but haven't read any. I happily jotted down all the titles and authors, if available.

Thanks, Ken!

It’s an interesting list. I think I have read a couple and was surprised to see a couple like Lost Horizon which I think was on reading lists when I was in school. Probably not any more since it was older even then.

Very interesting, Ken. I had read five or them and have two of them on the TBR...not a very hefty number out of so many. I read Atwood's essay and thought this book itself would be an interesting one to sit down with.

Ken wrote: "This morning saw Jim F.'s review of Lost Classics: Writers on Books Loved and Lost, Overlooked, Under-read, Unavailable, Stolen, Extinct, or Otherwise Out of Commission and said to my..."

My local library has a copy. I've put a hold on it. Thanks for letting us know about it. Ideas for our next read.

Believe it or not, while you've been distracted by the holidays and those pesky Greek-lettered variants, it's fast coming time to nominate books for our February CLASSICS WRITTEN BEFORE 1900 read.

That's right: The all-call for nominations goes out on 26 December. And on the Fourth Day of Christmas you'll NOT see four calling birds but a poll.

Remember that February is set aside for reading a classic, but you'll want to be thinking about a less-known or appreciated or read classic. Not one you've already read, but have been tempted to read. Not one many of us have already read (if you're GR friends, check our reading lists), but one many of us have NOT read.

Tall order? I consider it a fun order.

Anyway, we're going to try a new wrinkle for this polling period. As past winners have only mustered a few votes due to the wide spreading of votes, we thought we'd try a first wave poll followed by a final, Top Three Vote-Getters poll, meaning your second vote will hold special weight and help determine the winner. I like this idea because people often vote for their own nomination, and if their nominee doesn't make the Top Three, they will be less distracted by a book they personally want to read (or reread).

My hope is we'll have a selection by New Year's Day so people can get it read for the Feb. 1st start.

One good thing? Classics are usually easy to find at your local library. Lonely, even. Looking for a temporary home and the warmth of two hands.

Until then, have yourself a merry little Christmas (or whatever winter date you mark for special celebration)....

I love the two-tier voting idea, Ken. Merry Christmas to you!

Good idea. Ranked-choice voting is democracy at work! I may sit out the nominating process on this one but will still participate in the voting and the reading part.

Then again I may surprise you with a nomination to your inbox...we'll see.

Looking forward to this! Season's Greeting to all :)

I think that's a great idea to narrow it down a bit. Merry Delta Omicron Festivus to you and Maine.

Great idea, Ken, and Have a Merry and Happy and Festive and all!

Oh boy--just around the corner. Looking forward to whatever we end up with this time!

Diane, I love your Festivus greeting. Someday there will be a Covid Carol commemorating our crisis ... maybe to the tune of My Favorite Things? When there's Delta, and Om-i-cron, and I'm feeling sad, I simply make sure that I'm triple dose vaxed, and then I won't feeeeeel soooo bad.

I like it, Kathleen!

Kathleen, you have a winner there! And I like the Festivus too.

A Festivus for the rest-of-us. Considering how 2021 went, we should none of us have any trouble making our list of grievances.

2020 is like the Wicked Witch of the East. Killed by a falling calendar last Dec. 31st, then someone said of 2021, "She's worse than her sister!"

Yep. We need a bucket of water, sooner rather than later.

You in, 2022?

Looking forward to another Obscure read, Merry Christmas all.