Victorians! discussion

Paula wrote: "Scott wrote: "Paula wrote: "Scott wrote: I am reading His Dark Materials currently"

I just read this trilogy earlier this year - what do you think of it? I had a hard time putting it down.
"

..."

ya it is Chronicles for adults.

Hi,

I have read and enjoyed the below:

(didn't include the movies from the list cos I haven't read the original works)




Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

Complete Works of Shakespeare

Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

Emma - Jane Austen

Persuasion - Jane Austen

Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

Ulysses - James Joyce

Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle

The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

I've read 49 - so just under 50%, which was good for me, I do enjoy an eclectic bunch of reading.

Really must get around to reading His Dark Materials

I have them but I keep putting them off as I am not sure I really want to read childrens fiction.

Comments gratefully recieved!

Dark Materials is one of those books that kinda transcend its genre. When I first read the third novel Amber Spy Glass I was having difficulty keeping up with the concept. But bloody good.

Lindsay wrote: "Dark Materials is one of those books that kinda transcend its genre. When I first read the third novel Amber Spy Glass I was having difficulty keeping up with the concept. But bloody good. "

Ok,will dig through shelves and figure out when to read.Thank you for passing info along,greatly appreciated!

41, and I have between 5 and 10 more of them on my shelf that I haven't read yet.

Anna, I'm with you. I know that I have a problem with lists that I'm supposed to read my way through. There are other things I want to read more than those books.

I find it interesting to see how many on this list of "greats" that I have read.

As for The Kite Runner, it was the book that took me out of a local book club. I LOVE talking about books, but I found myself asking myself why I was reading something that was both boring and so sad. Like you I don't care for most contemporary novels. And I find that I'm not to happy with the whole "book club book" deal. There are a lot of books that stay on the best seller's list just because they are books that book clubs like to read.

Starling wrote: "Anna, I'm with you. I know that I have a problem with lists that I'm supposed to read my way through. There are other things I want to read more than those books.

I find it interesting to see how ..."

It's interesting that the topic of "Book Club" books should come up. I don't belong to a book club and tend to resist -- not really sure why -- the ones that all book clubs seem to read. They come in waves. All book clubs read "The Kite Runner". I remember "Stones from the River" was another one. (I did read that one.) More lately, "Water for Elephants". Can't think of any others, but for some reason it's like a virus -- certain books are communicated from book club to book club!

It may be that people are in more than one book club and try to only nominate the same book in all,to make their reading list simpler.
I have to confess that I myself have recently been attempting this with"The Shadow of the Wind"but my reason is purely so that it comes up somewhere as I am desperate to read it and think I would enjoy hearing other peoples perspectives on it.
Yours Ashamedly,
DJ.

Anna wrote: "DJ wrote: "It may be that people are in more than one book club and try to only nominate the same book in all,to make their reading list simpler.
I have to confess that I myself have recently been..."

Which Edith Wharton??

45 although I don't think The Complete Works of Shakespeare and then having Hamlet seperate makes any sense...

Annie wrote: "45 although I don't think The Complete Works of Shakespeare and then having Hamlet seperate makes any sense... "

Good Point!!
I didn`t notice that...

Nor The Chronicles of Narnia and then The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

I' ve got a few of hers including HOUSE OF MIRTH.Next time I read
any would you mind if I search you out to discuss.Don't worry it
wouldn't be until after february.

DJ wrote: "I' ve got a few of hers including HOUSE OF MIRTH.Next time I read
any would you mind if I search you out to discuss.Don't worry it
wouldn't be until after february."

Maybe we could have a side discussion set up? I think only one of her novels falls under the true Victorian time period, but there was a side read of Summer on here, appropriately, in the summertime.

I would be interested in reading more with others. I remember reading it and feeling like I was truly reading an American author. There's a unique feel to her books that capture something that I can't quite name.

By the way, here's a picture of the house she built in 1902: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia...

`

I think it's interesting to hear of other people's failed attempts in live book clubs. I have tried several of these myself, all ending in abysmal failure. I seem to continually find myself in groups where people are dying to read the next Jodi Picoult. Nothing against the taste, but I tried reading one of her books once and ended up throwing it across the room.

Paula wrote: ".. I seem to continually find myself in groups where people are dying to read the next Jodi Picoult. Nothing against the taste, but I tried reading one of her books once and ended up throwing it across the room...."

If others feel the same way, if they have time to spare from this group they might consider looking into Classics and the Western Canon. You and I will make sure that that group NEVER chooses a Picoult book. :)

Paula wrote: "DJ wrote: "I' ve got a few of hers including HOUSE OF MIRTH.Next time I read
any would you mind if I search you out to discuss.Don't worry it
wouldn't be until after february."

Maybe we coul..."

I've visited Edith Wharton's home -- "The Mount" -- several times, as it is near where my daughter went to college in Massachusetts. It is lovely. She actually wrote a book about decorating, called "The Decoration of Houses". She was one of the first ladies, born in the kitch of victorian decorating times, to move to a much simpler, less cluttered style. While her decorating is still very traditional, at the time it was considered almost modern because it was relatively spare.

"The Age of Innocence" takes place around the 1860s, I believe. Most of the other ones were later -- I think "The House of Mirth" (which is FANTASTIC, though very sad) is around 1905. Both deal with the restricting, not to say straight-jacketing, influences of Victorian society on women.

Amen about Jodi Piccoult. I read "Nineteen Minutes" because I've always been interested about the psychology of high school shooters (or teenagers who go on shooting rampages in their schools) and it was adequate, kept me reading, but I have no particular desire to read more by her.

Heidi wrote: :The Age of Innocence" takes place around the 1860s, I believe.

Would that qualify the book for nomination in a Neo-Victorian poll?

Peregrine wrote: "Heidi wrote: :The Age of Innocence" takes place around the 1860s, I believe.

Would that qualify the book for nomination in a Neo-Victorian poll?"

Yes - good call, Peregrine!

Set in the 1870s in New York, here is an excerpt:
“Then stay with me a little longer,” Madame Olenska said in a low tone, just touching his knee with her plumed fan. It was the lightest touch, but it thrilled him like a caress.

Interesting question. Edith Wharton was born into the Victorian era, and this book takes place in the Victorian era, but i guess it's still neo-victorian because she wrote it in the 1900s. So I guess that's the slot it WOULD qualify for.

And I even have a copy. Well then!

Speaking of lists of books - this woman is awesome:www.readallday.org. She's read a book a day since Oct 28, 2008 and reviewed them on her site. My TBR list just got considerably longer . . .

Fortuitous Date!!

Peregrine wrote: "And I even have a copy. Well then!"

I have a copy now, too! Actually, I couldn't decide between The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth so I got both.

I've read 47 from the list; with a few on my TBR pile. I will not EVER try to read James Joyce's "Ulysses" again. No way! I have given that book (if it can be called one) an honest effort far too many times over my life to count; and I am finally done trying. There are too many books out there to read to waste any more time on that one.

About Jodi Picoult and book clubs. Yes, we did read that one. And it was a book that made me mad as hell because the ending was a cheat, but compared to most of the books they read, it was almost a relief.

The group meets in my 55+ Community. We are all extremely educated, but I'm probably strange since I'm more self-educated than most of my neighbors. Lots of teachers in the group. They only read "serious" books. They only read contemporary books about serious subjects. They do not read for fun. And most of the books turned out to be very depressing.

The funny thing about the Jodi Picoult book is that even though it was about kids dying, it wasn't half as depressing as most of the books we read.

They also read The Red Tent and I think I might have been forced to lead that one. I complained that the history was off; that that putting a real place in the wrong time period drove me crazy. I was told it was "just a novel." Also the author didn't recognize that someone running a major craft for Egyptian royal burials would have been literate. Again "just a novel."

I went through The Red Tent as an audio-book last month and did not enjoy it at all. I wouldn't consider myself a history buff with that time period, but there were some blatant errors. I also thought the main character was extremely self-absorbed and saw herself as almost without fault.

I think what bugs me about JP is she seems to blatantly pander to the emotional side of readers. Each page contains lines that are clearly meant to jerk at heart strings, without regard to whether or not they fit into the story. I just can't do it. Made it through one, and won't do it again. I'd rather read an author who illicits an emotional response because of the quality of their writing.

Kate wrote: "this woman is awesome:www.readallday.org. She's read a book a day since Oct 28, 2008 and reviewed them on her site.."

It's an interesting gimmick, but she must not read the sort of books I do. It's not possible to read Hugo's Les Miserables, Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson, or Dickens Dombey and Son, all of which I'm currently reading, in a single day and get enough insight out of them to write any sort of meaningful review.

Sure, you can turn and scan the pages that fast, but IMO that's not reading. Nor is reading Plato's Republic, the Iliad, or the Odyssey in one day real reading.

A.J. Jacobs wrote The Know-It-All about his taking a full year to read the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica, and that's only 32 volumes.

I did visit the site, and what she calls "Great Books" is very different thing from what the term is generally understood to mean in the literary world. I didn't study the list in detail, but just skimming it I didn't find a single book that is included in the "Great Books of the Western World" series, nor in the "Harvard 5 foot shelf," and few if any which would be part of the Oxford World's Classics or the Penguin Classics series.

(Speaking of the Harvard Five Foot shelf, a slightly, IMO, saner approach to great books reading was the reading of the entire set, 51 volumes, in one year, one volume a week. You can read about it here.

I even wonder how many of her books are on the book list which is the topic of this thread.

One can sort of admire her in the same kind of way that one sort of admires those contestants in Nathan's 4th of July hot dog eating contest who can down 68 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. One can consider that eating, but not the kind I want to do.

Starling wrote: "The group meets in my 55+ Community. We are all extremely educated, but I'm probably strange since I'm more self-educated than most of my neighbors. Lots of teachers in the group. They only read "serious" books. They only read contemporary books about serious subjects. They do not read for fun. And most of the books turned out to be very depressing."

My mother-in-law, retired teacher, very well educated (Mt. Holyoke Phi Beta Kappa, Masters, etc.) belongs to such a group, and you're dead on target -- most of the books they read are depressing.

One reason why reading classic books is, IMO, preferable. They can deal with depressing themes, but they also usually contain messages of hope and affirmation. And they're a pleasure to read.

I've read 35 and I own 17 of them. This is a good list!

Everyman wrote: "One reason why reading classic books is, IMO, preferable. They can deal with depressing themes, but they also usually contain messages of hope and affirmation. And they're a pleasure to read.
..."

And they can often make one realize one's life is not too bad :)

Everyman, I just finished reading The Stand. 1100+ pages. It took me 9 days and I read fast. And although I was doing a lot of back and forth comment during the reading with another GoodReads group, it isn't classic literature.

My point being that I totally agree with you. I can read some books in one day. I can't read every book, or even most books, in one day.

Seriously, a book a day? Even some of my quicker books take more than a day to enjoy. My question, though, is how to get a year off from work, housecleaning, and life, to have all that time??? Even on a weekend day when I can set aside a "big" chunk of time it's only a few hours!

52. There were some funny surprises on the list. I was alarmed to see "The Wasp Factory" placed anywhere near "Winnie the Pooh"! Run for it Pooh!

I can't help it - it's a list of books so I am irresistably drawn to it; except my first attempt was The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Album. Let me just say - there's a reason I am a member of a Victorians group! This book was painful; I made it worse because I did it as an audio-book. Lengthy commutes in Chicago-land area and a bad book do not mix! Blech!

I do own Ulysses and would love to get through that some day, I think mostly because I want to be able to say to myself that I did. This book is an anomaly to me; always listed on a 'great book' list yet I can never seem to find someone who has actually read it...

Paula wrote: "I can't help it - it's a list of books so I am irresistably drawn to it; except my first attempt was The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Album. Let me just say - there's a reason I am a m..."

Paula, I have to say that always troubled me about Ulysses too. I'd keep reading about people who read AND enjoyed Ulysses; but then I never, ever, met anyone who had read it, or enjoyed it. One of those 'Hmmm' moments if you ask me. Finally, I developed the internal fortitude to jettison the damn thing; and I've taken a blood oath to never buy, or accept, another copy as long as I live. I will live in blissful ignorance. ;-) Cheers! Chris

Paula wrote: "I can't help it - it's a list of books so I am irresistably drawn to it; except my first attempt was The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Album. Let me just say - there's a reason I am a m..."

I agree about "The five people you meet in heaven". It was excrutiatingly treacle-y.

I read Ulysses once. Or rather I read more then 3/4 of it before I had to take it back to the library. I couldn't renew it and never got back to it.

It was OK. It truly is a weird book. You have to enjoy literary puzzles to enjoy it. I have no desire to try to read it again.

The thing about [Book: Ulysses] is that it is intensely Modernist. I don't think you can read and enjoy it if you read it in isolation - there is so much that needs to be understood about the Modernist movement before attempting it! Also – there are a few other 'ease-you-in-gently' texts that can make reading [Book: Ulysses] that bit easier and more enjoyable.

When I read it I had been studying the Modernist era and I did quite enjoy it (…its never going to be my favourite mind). If you WANT to enjoy Joyce I'd suggest reading a Biography of T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf or any of the 'Bloomsbury Set' or a history of Modernism and it’s aims and concerns.

The idea of a stream-of-consciousness narrative began (sort of) with [Author: Gustav Flaubert]’s [Book: Madame Bovary] (believe it or not) and went through [Author: Joseph Conrad]'s [Book: Heart of Darkness], [Author: Katherine Mansfield]'s [Book: Selected Stories] and [Author: Virginia Woolf]'s [Book: Mrs Dalloway] (among many many others). - It was after reading those that I attempted [Book: Dubliners] then [Book: Ulysses] and I did sort of enjoy the incredible 'project' Joyce had attempted (…but I think [Author: T. S. Eliot] hated it so you’re in refined company!).

But - unless you want to spend a year immersing yourself in Modernism I'd agree to steer quite clear! - Impenetrable is an understatement.

(...BUT - I'd still wholeheartedly recommend [Author: Katherine Mansfield]'s [Book: Selected Stories] (WOW – particularly [Book: Bliss] and [Book: Miss Brill]) and [Author: Woolf]'s [Book: Mrs Dalloway] – Virginia Woolf once remarked that Katherine Mansfield’s was the only writing she had ever been jealous of).

Ally

New Zealand Pride, Katherine Mansfield was born in NZ!

Thanks for that information, it is really interesting.

I have read Mrs Dalloway, and some of Mansfield's short stories (which would also recommend, amazing). But still don't know much the Bloomsbury set in general. I have had Ulysses sitting on my shelf for a long time. I would like to attempt it one day.

Wow - it sounds like you could set up an entire group just to muscle through Ulysses and all the books to get through as prerequisites! Sort of a support group for Joyce, if you will.

Thanks for the tips, Ally - I may need to find a book on Modernism before I tackle Joyce.

I actually had "Ulysses" on my modern english lit class in college. I read about twenty pages of it, then the movie came out. (Anybody remember the movie, I think it was with Milo O'Shea?) Went to see the movie. Anyway, the week after that, the prof asked, "How many of you read "Ulysses"? A few hands went up, a few (who had read part) went up and twittered at half mast. Then he said, "How many of you went to see the movie?" EVERY hand went up. So that was how I got my Ulysses.

However, I decided that since I must read SOME Joyce, I read "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" which ws short and enjoyable, and a couple of short stories, such as "Araby" which wasn't as modernistic as he later became.

40 from the list are read and probably another 7 or 8 are TBRs. What an odd collection of books! Out of those 40 I probably really enjoyed just over half and would probably only recommend half of those.

Thalia, that isn't strange at all. I've found that most lists like that one include a lot of books that no one really wants to read. This one is a bit better than most which is why so many of us have actually read some of them.

I was really surprised at how much fun I'm having with this group. I'm more of a history buff than I am a fan of Victorian literature, although I have read some. You are all a great bunch of people.

Ally wrote: "The thing about [Book: Ulysses] is that it is intensely Modernist...."

Very interesting and informative post, Ally. Thanks!

Anna wrote: "DJ wrote: "I' ve got a few of hers including HOUSE OF MIRTH.Next time I read
any would you mind if I search you out to discuss.Don't worry it
wouldn't be until after february."

I'd love to t..."

That would be great...Look forward to it

By the way - there is already a discussion thread for Age of Innocence under the "Not Strictly Victorian" folder. Seems this was a popular idea back in July as well :)

A heard a paper at a conference a while back, in which the author argued that the point of Ulysses is to put the reader to sleep. It was a pretty persuasive essay! ;)