Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

My reading plan for 2024 includes reading Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Killer Angels at the beginning of July to coincide with the 160th anniversary of its subject, The Battle of Gettysburg, fought from July 1st to 3rd, 1863. I thought it an appropriate time to finally get around to reading this classic.

Sorry about the late notice but I hadn't thought about turning my solo read into a buddy read until now when it occurred to me there might be others here interested in a timely read of this Pulitzer winner. For me, it will be another notch on my Pulitzer belt.

And apologies to Michaela for bringing up another possible July buddy read right after you just mentioned one, but I can't change my read to another month and I didn't want to remain silent in case others were truly interested. On the positive side, July's a long month.

Not a problem, Brian. An entirely different group of people might be interested in the two reads and there is still some time to plan for July. I read The Killer Angels when it was released and remember it as a superb book.

Brian E wrote: "My reading plan for 2023 includes reading Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Killer Angels at the beginning of July to coincide with the 160th anniversar..."

I might just need to read it in July too.

I would like to join the reading of the Killer Angels.

As my post fell onto the previous site, here something we don´t have to but want to read, so I copy the post:

Aprilleigh and I want to read The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel in July. Anyone else interested? :)

Brian and Sue, I ordered the whole Civil War Trilogy, so I am definitely ready for The Killer Angels in July. When I did this, I didn’t realize that the other two books were written by Michael Shaara’s son, Jeff Shaara.

The books by Jeff Shaara:
Gods and Generals
The Last Full Measure

The chronological order of the historical events puts Gods and General first, then the Killer Angels and then The Last Full Measure. But The Killer Angels was written first, then Gods and Generals, and The Last Full Measure was last. I propose to read them in the order written, because we are starting in the middle of the events.

This is a subject that interests me so I will probably get to these next two afterwards. They also have good reviews, but not Pulitzers. I am not sure what the schedule would be, but if anyone wants to continue the series as Buddy Reads, I am game.

Sara, Can you put The Killer Angels on the schedule for July?

My post to Brian and Sue should have been to Brian and Katy! Sorry about that!

I have added it, Terry.

Thanks, Terry. I'm reading Killer Angels first because it was the Pulitzer winner and I hadn't actually considered reading the other two. But I haven't ruled out reading them so, if I really enjoy my time in the Civil War, I may have to try and squeeze them in somehow.
With both The Way West and The Town, it made sense to read the whole trilogy as they were, respectively, the second and third books in their trilogies. Here the Pulitzer winner was written first and by a different Shaara, (changed from the original Italian name Sciarra) than the two successors.

I watched the TV miniseries version of the first two Shaara in the same order as they were written, which is how they were made.:
1993 - Gettysburg (the Killer Angels)
2003 - Gods and Generals
I was going to say that Ted Turner thought viewing Killer Angels first was preferred since he made its miniseries first but then I saw that Gods and Generals wasn't written until 1996, after he had already made Gettysburg

At the request of Lorraine and Luffy, I have added Phineas Finn by Anthony Trollope to the buddy read schedule for June. Posting this to make aware anyone who might wish to join.

Sara wrote: "At the request of Lorraine and Luffy, I have added Phineas Finn by Anthony Trollope to the buddy read schedule for June. Posting this to make aware anyone who might wis..."

Thanks for the prompt action, Sara :)

Sara wrote: "At the request of Lorraine and Luffy, I have added Phineas Finn by Anthony Trollope to the buddy read schedule for June. Posting this to make aware anyone who might wis..."

Thanks Sara! Really appreciated.

I may be able to join this buddy read in July , but I am unable to commit for sure . I like this author's writing style and storytelling ability , but the size of the book is a bit of a deterrent for a slow reader like me . Probably , if do join in July and Sara joins sometime later , I will still be reading the book long after she has come ... finished the book... left a review ... and gone on to other books 😅 !!
I will put in a comment in the concerned thread , so l can get the messages regularly when posted .

No problem!

Savita, LOL. These books go faster than you expect once you get started. I will keep up with the thread also...so I will meet you there eventually.

Sara wrote: "No problem!

Savita, LOL. These books go faster than you expect once you get started. I will keep up with the thread also...so I will meet you there eventually."

Delighted , Sara ! 😊

Terry wrote: "Brian and Katy, I ordered the whole Civil War Trilogy, so I am definitely ready for The Killer Angels in July. When I did this, I didn’t realize that the other two books were written by Michael Shaa..."

I read The Killer Angels several years ago and still count it as one of the best historical fiction books ever written. I have also bought Gods and Generals but haven't read it yet. I didn't know about The Last Full Measure, Terry, until now.

I'm finishing up Howard Bahr's Civil War series this month, The Judas Field: A Novel of the Civil War, in another Buddy Read, and I'm not quite ready to leave the Civil War arena. So, I would like to re-read The Killer Angels with you all this July. Terry, if you would like to continue the series with Jeff Shaara's books, I would love to join in that Buddy Read as well. Just let me know what works for you.

Great, Shirley! I have ordered The Judas Field, but it hasn’t yet arrived. I will start that when it gets here. After reading The Year of Jubilo, I am ready to stay with the Civil War for a while and always appreciate your comments when we read together. So I am glad that you will join in the Shaara’s trilogy.

Faith N. wrote: "Any interest in reading one or more works by Rumer Gooden. I am open to any of her work, and particularly interested in A Fugue in Time..."

The Greengage Summer was my first Godden book and then I wanted to read all of her books. For the next few months I am waaaayyy over committed. In September I could join you for A Fugue in Time. Kingfishers Catch Fire is in my decade challenge if you are interested in also reading that one.

If you wait until September, I would be able to join the Gooden read. I have only read The Greengage Summer, so any of the others would work for me.

Faith, Marilyn, and Sara, I would be interested in reading some of Rumer Gooden's works. I've already read In This House of Brede and Black Narcissus.

This is a BR request for Phineas Finn.

In the Can You Forgive Her thread :-

{Lorraine wrote: "Hello everyone. I hope to start book 2 around June 4th (after vacation). I was wondering if others want to join and if yes, do we keep this place to discuss the book or need to open a new one under..."

Sara wrote: "Lorraine, let me know when you have another person committed to the read. You might also post in the buddy request thread in case others do not see it here."}

So I am just throwing Phineas Finn in the mix. Let anyone interested show their um interest. I am open to any schedule, provided it is not too far in the future.

Luffy, Phineas Finn is already on the schedule for June.

Sara wrote: "Luffy, Phineas Finn is already on the schedule for June."

Thank you!

Sara wrote: "Luffy, Phineas Finn is already on the schedule for June."

Luffy , I may be joining you all for Phineas Finn in late July and continuing into August .... September , because it's a long read .

Savita wrote: "Sara wrote: "Luffy, Phineas Finn is already on the schedule for June."

Luffy , I may be joining you all for Phineas Finn in late July and continuing into August .... September , bec..."

Understandable, Savita. I'm really curious how will I interpret PF. Haven't read a classic since book 1.

Luffy wrote: "Savita wrote: "Sara wrote: "Luffy, Phineas Finn is already on the schedule for June."

Luffy , I may be joining you all for Phineas Finn in late July and continuing into August .... ..."

Hmm ....

Marilyn, Sara, and Connie - September or later works for me. And me too, Marilyn, I want to read all of Rumer Godden's books.

I suggest starting with Kingfishers Catch Fire, A Fugue in Time, or The Dark Horse.

September works for me too. I could get "The Dark Horse" or "Kingfishers Catch Fire" through inter-library loan. I would be willing to buy "A Fugue in Time" because I really enjoyed her writing in the past.

The link provided for A Fugue in Time reports 0 GR ratings. I didn't want to go that far deep into Ms. Godden's catalogue as, while I have read The Greengage Summer and Bl;ack Narcissus, I really should finally read my TBR copy o her most popular novel In this House of Brede. But Brede is so long and I think I may just dread spending so much time with nuns.

However, 0 ratings is too low for even a 2nd tier Godden so I checked and found out that the novel has two names and that the main listing for it on GR is as Take Three Tenses: A Fugue in Timewhich shows 276 GR ratings, still not many but better than 0. The edition of the novel that is the same as my editions of Brede and Narcissus is this one A Fugue in Time ]whiich reflects the GR link with 276 ratings even though it has only the Fugue title and not the American title of Take Three Tenses.

So the novel actually has more than the 0 GR ratings the link showed. The novel is early Godden from 1945 and, while it may have few GR ratings it was important enough to warrant its own Wikipedia page and a 1948 movie version of the book. The following Wikipedia article explains the two titles and describes the 1948 film version.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Fugue...

Here's iIMDb and Wikipedia on the movie, which is called Enchantment starring David Niven and Teresa Wright.:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040321/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enchant...

Brian E wrote: "The link provided for A Fugue in Time reports 0 GR ratings. I didn't want to go that far deep into Ms. Godden's catalogue as, while I have read The Greengage Summer and Bl;ack Narc..."

It's been a decade since I read In This House of Brede. And I'm open to reading it again.

Another possibility is: China Court: The Hours of a Country House

I would happilly join in a Buddy Read of a Godden in September, But after reading Faith's posts and the posts of those willing to read some Goddens, such as Connie, Sara and Marilyn, I would propose a more thorough reading schedule of the suggested books.

I propose the following Godden Buddy Read (the GBR) to take place over the next year, 2022 into 2023. This will help plan our calendars. My suggestion is to read the following five Goddens in publication year order.

September - 1945 - A Fugue in Time
November - 1953 - Kingfishers Catch Fire
January - 1961 - China Court
March - 1969 - In this House of Brede
May - 1981 - The Dark Horse



The five are all available in affordable Virago editions shown above whcih are priced between $8.66 to $10.58 on Blackwells, except for Brede which is $12.25, still a bargain for a 400 page novel.

Readers can then choose to join for one or more Goddens at any time as long as we have two readers committed to read each novel. After these five are finished, those still wanting to read more Godden can continue on with other Godden titles in buddy read format.

I'm 100% committed to read the first two Goddens and Brede. While I plan to read all five of them, in the event that I need a Godden break, I' would appreciate it if others would commit to read China Court and/or the Dark Horse novels. I am presuming Faith would read them all.. If no one else does, I would be willing to up my commitment to 100% to keep the schedule.
(EDIT: I am now 100% committed to read all five)

Any thoughts on the GBR from anyone, especially Faith, who first suggested treading more Godden?

Brian, most copies of In this House of Brede run under 400 pages, except for a small paperback. I just don't want anyone to think it's a huge commitment of time.

Your timetable according to pub dates sounds like a good way to read them. It's fine with me, as long as it's OK with the others.

Connie wrote: "Brian, most copies of In this House of Brede run under 400 pages, except for a small paperback. I just don't want anyone to think it's a huge commitment of time..."

The 672 page edition is the one Goodreads uses as the avatar for their link to it but, you are right, it is an outlier at 672 pages. The first 6 non-Kindles listed on GR have the following page amounts 672(Loyola), 506 (Virago), 376, (Viking), 424 & 428 (Macmillans) and 390 (Cuny). The Macmillans are about the average and 428 is so much more doable and less intimidating. than a 672 page book,
So, even though my edition is the 506 page one, the book is more of a 400 pager and at most about 2/3 the length that I feared it was. That makes it much more appropriate for a one month read, so thanks for pointing it out. I feel relief at seeing those numbers.

In this House of Brede, A Fugue in Time, China Court and Dark Horse are available on hoopla if you have access through your public library.

Brian E wrote: "I would happilly join in a Buddy Read of a Godden in September, But after reading Faith's posts and the posts of those willing to read some Goddens, such as Connie, Sara and Marilyn, I would propos..."

I second the proposed reading order and schedule, and will commit to reading all five books. Thank you Brian for organizing a schedule and suggesting reading in publication order. It will be interesting to see how her writing evolved.

I will commit to A Fugue in Time in September but cannot commit to the rest of the schedule. I am disciplining myself from promising too much and too far ahead. I also have In This House of Brede on my challenge and will finish it before the end of this year.

I will commit to reading all five Godden so we can get this scheduled. As Brede is most often closer to 400 than 600 pages I have amended my Message 532 schedule to reflect the one-month option.
With Faith and myself committed, we now have a buddy read to read all five Goddens, So Sara, I would formally ask that the GBR be put on the calendar for the months indicated in Message 532

I have set up threads for all the June reads, linked them on the schedule, and have added the Godden books to the schedule. Happy reading everyone.

Sara wrote: "I have set up threads for all the June reads, linked them on the schedule, and have added the Godden books to the schedule. Happy reading everyone."

Thank you.

Sara wrote: "I have set up threads for all the June reads, linked them on the schedule, and have added the Godden books to the schedule.."

Thanks, Sara


Sara wrote: " Happy reading everyone."

It's going to be a GREAT reading year, Rumer has it.

Brian E wrote: "It's going to be a GREAT reading year, Rumer has it."

Clever!

Too cute, Brian!

Luffy wrote: "This is a BR request for Phineas Finn.

In the Can You Forgive Her thread :-

{Lorraine wrote: "Hello everyone. I hope to start book 2 around June 4th (after vacation). I was wonderin..."
I am up for Phineas.

Sam wrote: "Luffy wrote: "This is a BR request for Phineas Finn.

In the Can You Forgive Her thread :-

{Lorraine wrote: "Hello everyone. I hope to start book 2 around June 4th (after vacation). ..."

Great! Sara has already created the threads.

I said I would nominate Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil for a group read, and I did. It only has one second so far, so I’m okay with removing this from the august buddy read. There just doesn’t seem to be enough interest. I will try again in a few months.

Are there others who are planning to read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil in August? If there are still two people who want to buddy read it, I will leave it on the schedule, otherwise I will remove it as Paula has requested.

Sara wrote: "Are there others who are planning to read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil in August? If there are still two people who want to buddy read it, I will leave it on the schedule, ..."

Well I could read it in August, but I could also wait. I think Paula wants to try later hoping to maybe get a bigger group.

Sara wrote: "Are there others who are planning to read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil in August? If there are still two people who want to buddy read it, I will leave it on the schedule, ..."

I'm interested in reading it. I can wait.

My friend, Megan, and I are reading Crossing to Safety starting on July 15th. Just in case anyone might want to join us.