Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

I hope you can join us Savita and Terris!

Sue...we will need to carry each other. :o) Faulkner is never an "easy" read.

Cynda, since there are a number of books in the series, maybe you could double up and catch us? I don't think I would be able to start them until May.

Regarding Updike's Rabbit Angstrom series: I read it a couple of years ago. I certainly understand why anyone might DNF these books (it also took me a couple of tries to get going, but they were on so many lists I kind of pushed myself!). And even after I read the first one I wondered if I wanted to go on, but I decided to. I'm glad I went all the way through the series, but I will say that the books are what I would call "raw." There may be (several) things that you don't like in these books. But they do feel pretty authentic, especially how people get themselves into life situations that they are not happy with and cause them further trouble in their lives.

Again, you may not love this series, but I think you, "the well read," will appreciate it :)

Anne wrote: "Sam wrote: "I would like to join Marie France, Abélard, and Mrs. Palfrey and will consider others as we get closer. Any interest in Manon Lescault or [book:Gargantua and Pantagruel|..."

Sorry I missed this. I was just checking for any interest in Rabelais. I am in no rush to get to it and will probably try again toward autumn. It isn't really a summer read.

I will be interested in a book or two by Updike.

Sue wrote: "Hey Pulitzer Challengers and any others interested - would anyone be up for tackling John Updike's Rabbit Angstrom series (1st 4 since #3 & 4 are Pulitzers and then do #5 if we feel compelled)? I n..."

I am interested reading the Rabbit series. Starting in May or June would be great.

Terris wrote: "Regarding Updike's Rabbit Angstrom series: I read it a couple of years ago. I certainly understand why anyone might DNF these books (it also took me a couple of tries to get going, but they were on..."

Thanks for your thoughts, Terris. Spring/Summer will be a good time to read these when we aren't already depressed by Winter! Your comments make me all the more sure that these are best read with the support of a group.

Sam - It will be great to have you join us!

I see Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont won for a group read in February (by only a few votes!).

Sue wrote: "I see Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont won for a group read in February (by only a few votes!)."

Yay! Can't wait to read this one :)

Sara,
I think May is when buddy readers will read the first of the Rabbit series? That will work for me.

Cynda wrote: "Sara,
I think May is when buddy readers will read the first of the Rabbit series? That will work for me."

Great, Cynda!

Sue wrote: "I hope you can join us Savita and Terris!"

Sue , I read the blurb and liked it . The Salvation ...... ruler's edge . remark made me think fleetingly of the razor's edge . It's got me curious 🤔.
But some members DNF it , so I hope the language / story is not wearisome . Still , I would like to try this book . I have confirmed that a kindle version is available on Amazon .
I will only be able to join in June . Is that too late ?

Savita wrote: "Sue wrote: "I hope you can join us Savita and Terris!"

Sue , I read the blurb and liked it . The Salvation ...... ruler's edge . remark made me think fleetingly of the razor's edge . It's got..."

I'm sure there will be some of us finishing in June and regardless we will check back, so no problem Savita.

I am removing Mrs. Palfrey from the Buddy Reads Schedule. I will see everyone at the New School Group Read!

Sara wrote: "I am removing Mrs. Palfrey from the Buddy Reads Schedule. I will see everyone at the New School Group Read!"

Yay! I'm looking forward to this.

Sue wrote: "Savita wrote: "Sue wrote: "I hope you can join us Savita and Terris!"

Sue , I read the blurb and liked it . The Salvation ...... ruler's edge . remark made me think fleetingly of the razor's edge..."

Thanks , Sue ! So I will mark this book for June . In case I finish the remaining part of Can you forgive her ? in early May ( reading with Sara and Lorraine ) , I will be able to start Rabbit Run in May itself . Looking forward to this Buddy Read 😊 .

Savita wrote: "Sue wrote: "Savita wrote: "Sue wrote: "I hope you can join us Savita and Terris!"

Sue , I read the blurb and liked it . The Salvation ...... ruler's edge . remark made me think fleetingly of the ..."

I will likely be starting it in the 2nd week of May or later so you won't be far behind me, Savita.

That's great , Sue ! 👍

Hello Sara. Can you add me to the group for Parable of the Sower in March. Thank you

Absolutely, Lorraine. Anyone is allowed to join, all you need do is check in to the thread, which I will set up next month. I try not to open the threads too early but also to give people plenty of time to join the read before it begins.

Sara wrote: "Absolutely, Lorraine. Anyone is allowed to join, all you need do is check in to the thread, which I will set up next month. I try not to open the threads too early but also to give people plenty of..."

Great! Thank you Sara.

we had a bit of interest in Carol a while back
I could do it in February if this fits in with others' plans...?

Darren wrote: "we had a bit of interest in Carol a while back
I could do it in February if this fits in with others' plans...?"

I´d be in for this, though later would be better for me. :)

The current buddy read of The Ox-Bow Incident, along with the marvelous introduction by Wallace Stegner, has convinced me that I need to read more of Walter Van Tilburg Clark. I wonder if others might be up for reading The City Of Trembling Leaves around mid-year (June or July).

Sara, yes, most definitely I would join the buddy read for The City Of Trembling Leaves.

I am trying not to plan too much this year, but this may entice me later.

Same with me, Terry, only one commitment per month, which is why I need to push this out to June/July.

I would definitely do The City of Trembling. I've added almost all his books to my tbr. Any chance of moving it to Sept since it's a long one and many of us are doing the Rabbit Angstrom series May-Aug? I will try and fit it in no matter what is picked. I also wouldn't mind doing Rabbit every other month and doing this in June. I'll try to go with the flow, what ever it is.

Either way will work for me, Sue. I know I am going to read this one anyway, so either month or schedule will work for me. Happy to go with whatever works best for the group.

Sara wrote: "Either way will work for me, Sue. I know I am going to read this one anyway, so either month or schedule will work for me. Happy to go with whatever works best for the group."

Great, Sara! We'll see what others think. I already ordered my copy so I'll read it one way or another too! I also ordered The Watchful Gods And Other Stories and The Track Of The Cat because my library doesn't carry any of his books.

Sara wrote: "The current buddy read of The Ox-Bow Incident, along with the marvelous introduction by Wallace Stegner, has convinced me that I need to read more of [author:Walter Van Tilburg Clark|2..."

Sara , surprisingly , no blurb is available , I wonder why ? The other problem is that it is available only in the paperback version on Amazon. in . Bad luck for me 🤨 !

Sue, I added both those books as well. He an author worth reading much more of.

Savita--I am so sorry you have such a difficult time getting access to books! I take the easy availability of most of them so for granted. My decision to read this one next comes mostly from the praise for it from Wallace Stegner in the introduction he wrote to The Ox-Bow Incident.

Sara wrote: "Sue, I added both those books as well. He an author worth reading much more of.

Savita--I am so sorry you have such a difficult time getting access to books! I take the easy availability of most o..."

I would have liked to read this book with you all , Sara . It's such a treat to read a good book .
The Amazon.in scene seems to be like this : Old Classic authors ' ebooks are freely available . They are very reasonably priced . In fact , some of them are totally free ! ; most contemporary authors ' ebooks are available , and are quite reasonably priced - about Rs 200 ( $ 2.4 ) . I think about 20% are unavailable as ebooks . Their paperback and hardcover copies are fearfully expensive 🤨 .
I used to be connected to a good library , but it is too far away from my house , so I have left off going there . There , you could keep a book for 2 weeks , renew it ( on phone ) for another 2 weeks , but after that you have to return it . Further , on your next visit to the library , you can borrow it again if someone else has not borrowed it meanwhile . For a slow reader like me this was quite problematic . I like to take my own time reading a good book .
I suppose Conrad Richter and Walter Clark belong to the New School Classics . I will have to look up on Google to confirm .

Yes , I was right .
Conrad Richter - 1890 - 1968
Walter Van Tilburg Clark - 1909 - 1971

Sara, I would love to read The City Of Trembling Leaves together, but like Terry, I am trying not to overcommit myself this year. I've set a goal to read some of the long read classics that I have been wanting to tackle, so I really need to read those before committing to another long read (other than the Dickensians! Group Read we will do this year). But I am reading The Ox-Bow Incident and enjoying Walter Van Tilburg Clark's style. I look forward to jumping into the discussion now that I'm further into the book.

Savita, I don't know if you enjoy reading ebooks, but I was looking into this last year, and there are several libraries in the US who, for an annual fee, will allow people around the world to check out ebooks. Here is one link I found to a list of some of those libraries, but there are other websites that have other list of libraries. I hope this helps.

https://www.9thstreetbooks.com/how-to...

Shirley (stampartiste) wrote: "Sara, I would love to read The City Of Trembling Leaves together, but like Terry, I am trying not to overcommit myself this year. I've set a goal to read some of the long read classic..."

Thank you so much for your helpful suggestion , Shirley ! It's really very sweet of you . Actually , I am very comfortable with ebooks . The brightness can be adjusted , words / sentences can be highlighted , there is a bookmark , and you can go forward and backward easily . Also , storing doesn't require a physical space .
I will go through the list that you have so kindly posted . The annual fee is quite reasonable - $50 ( Rs 4000 ) . This would be approximately the same amount required to get books from Amazon in a year . The only advantage Amazon has is that the books don't have to be returned , so I can take my own time to read the book / books .
Thanks once again , Shirley ! 😊

Savita wrote: "Shirley (stampartiste) wrote: "Sara, I would love to read The City Of Trembling Leaves together, but like Terry, I am trying not to overcommit myself this year. I've set a goal to rea..."

You're very welcome, Savita! I hope you find a library that is easy for you to work with. You might want to compare their check-out times. I go to two libraries here locally. One allows me to keep the books for 3 weeks with 3 renewals, while the other one allows me to keep the books for 2 weeks with 5 renewals. They both use the Libby app for their online books.

I agree with you about spending that much money buying books, and like you, I do like to own my books, but it is nice to have a cheaper option. Good luck!

Shirley (stampartiste) wrote: "Savita wrote: "Shirley (stampartiste) wrote: "Sara, I would love to read The City Of Trembling Leaves together, but like Terry, I am trying not to overcommit myself this year. I've se..."

Gosh , Shirley , 3 weeks plus 3-5 renewals are really comfortable . At the library , where I used to go previously , after 2 weeks only one renewal was allowed .
Thanks 🙏😊

Savita wrote: "The brightness can be adjusted"

Hello Savita. I see that you are probably reading from a tablet of sorts. May I recommend you an e-ink reader, with a screen that optionally can be viewed without any backlight. I have been reading on e-ink screens since 2011, and now I cannot do without them. Hope this enhances your reading experience, because e-ink replicates physical book reading as closely as possible. Search them on YouTube and you can see the screens for yourself.

PS - I now have a sense of deja vu, so forgive me if I have written as such to you before.

Luffy wrote: "Savita wrote: "The brightness can be adjusted"

Hello Savita. I see that you are probably reading from a tablet of sorts. May I recommend you an e-ink reader, with a screen that optionally can be v..."

Hello , Luffy ! This is the first time I am hearing of an e-ink reader . Will Amazon send ebooks to my e-ink reader the same way as it does to my android smartphone kindle app ? I will have to do some research on YouTube . It sounds good . Thanks for mentioning , Luffy !

Savita wrote: "Luffy wrote: "Savita wrote: "The brightness can be adjusted"

Hello Savita. I see that you are probably reading from a tablet of sorts. May I recommend you an e-ink reader, with a screen that optio..."

Kindle apps are just a doppelganger of the real Kindle device, which is one among many brands of e-readers. You can buy e-books on Kindles and they will appear on your device instantly, the requisite being a wifi connection, and having your own Amazon account etc. Good luck!

@ Luffy : Oh I see .... hmm .
Thanks , Luffy !

Savita wrote: "@ Luffy : Oh I see .... hmm .
Thanks , Luffy !"

You're welcome!

Around the World in Eighty Days. I would like to read this in April or May to fill my “adventure” space on the classic bingo challenge. Or “published before 1900”. Would anyone like to read with me? I have never read this, but it has been described to me as Amazing Race in the 1800s.

Paula W wrote: "Around the World in Eighty Days. I would like to read this in April or May to fill my “adventure” space on the classic bingo challenge. Or “published before 1900”. Would anyone like to..."

This is on my tbr list too, so I´d like to join. :)

Lori and Sue, I am adding The City Of Trembling Leaves to the schedule for September. Anyone is welcomed to join.

Paula W wrote: "Around the World in Eighty Days. I would like to read this in April or May to fill my “adventure” space on the classic bingo challenge. Or “published before 1900”. Would anyone like to..."

This sounds great with me, too, Paula. I have it down for the "Classic of Asia" on my Bingo card (from the description, a lot of the action takes place in Asia), but it's amazing how many other squares it would fit. April or May would be fine with me.

Paula W wrote: "Around the World in Eighty Days. I would like to read this in April or May to fill my “adventure” space on the classic bingo challenge. Or “published before 1900”. Would anyone like to..."

Paula and Shirley - I'd like to accompany you on this one if that's ok? I've made a reading plan for the whole year (a bit scary) and I've planned to read this book during week 13. I'm pursuing the Around the Year in 52 Books where every week has got a prompt and week 13 ought to be in the beginning of April. I've also planned to read it for Classic Bingo G2 Adventure.

Cool! Michaela, Shirley, and Nike, let’s plan for April then. And of course, anyone else who wants to join!

I would like to join you for Around the World in 80 Days.