Short & Sweet Treats discussion

Polls are up!



April Selections


In honor of Shakespeare’s Birthday this month, we will read a Play. Nominate a book from our
Play Shelf and tell us why you would like to read it with the group.

Nominations end on the 10th at which point the poll goes up.

Please refer to our Books Already Read shelf so that we don't nominate previous selections.

Let the nominations begin...

I'll nominate Suddenly Last Summer by Tennessee Williams.

I read Kiernan's The Red Tree earlier this week and this was listed in the acknowledgements as part of a long list of books that she pulled inspiration (and quotes) from.

I'd like to honor Shakespeare by reading one of his most fun and accessible plays, A Midsummer Night's Dream.

I nominate Death of a Salesman.

We read that last summer, Laurie.

When you're looking at the shelf, if there's dates listed in the started/stopped column, that means it's already been a group read.

I think I'll nominate Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. I've never read any of Shakespeare's history plays and this one looks the most interesting as its set in Rome.

I nominate Betrayal

How about Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Two minor characters from Hamlet take centre stage. So a modern play with a Shakespearean link.

Melanti wrote: "We read that last summer, Laurie.

When you're looking at the shelf, if there's dates listed in the started/stopped column, that means it's already been a group read."

Oops! Yes, I understand about the dates being written in the started/stopped column. I must not of been paying close attention.

I will change my nomination to Arsenic and Old Lace

Katie wrote: "How about Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Two minor characters from Hamlet take centre stage. So a modern play with a Shakespearean link."

Great idea, Katie--I love the play and the film version with Tim Roth and Gary Oldman :-) However, when I showed it to my students, they had just read Hamlet, so they "got" all the references. Wondering if it's possible to "get" the play without having read HAMLET?

I have heard it said before that Tim Roth and Gary Oldman's Hamlet is wonderful, I shall have to look for it.

Hi Julia
Ah I am being a klutz today and just sent half a post!
You are probably right about R & G, I am just reading Hamlet now so I can appreciate both plays, but not everyone has time.
I love reading drama, but often forget that I do and find myself reading only novels. That's just another reason I like this group, it pushes me to try some new things.
Happy reading everyone.

Well said, Katie--for me, plays are a challenge just to read, since they're meant to be seen. You'll really enjoy the Roth/Oldman film version of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, and many scenes are available on youtube :-)

Polls are up!



April Selections

It's funny, there are a lot more votes (total) for play than for fiction?! I thought if you're in that page voting, you'll vote for both. It seems like a lot of people care more about the play, while I sort of expected the other way round.

Lext wrote: "It's funny, there are a lot more votes (total) for play than for fiction?! I thought if you're in that page voting, you'll vote for both. It seems like a lot of people care more about the play, whi..."

It might just be what is in the polls. I'm guessing a lot of people haven't read any of the plays nominated, but the classics this month are things that a lot of people have read (Anne, Sid) or random enough not be of much interest. (EG which I can call random because I was my nomination ;) )
Plus we read a classic every month, while it will be months until plays come up again.

Yeah, that's what I thought too, that maybe people look at the fictions and feel they're too blasé. I was a bit surprised that "Anne" currently leads the interest. It's so well-known and well-read (not to minimize its value though). If I may put in a word of solicitation, I'd strongly recommend people to take a hard look at Eugenie Grandet. It has one of the most memorable characters not just for Balzac or French lit, but classic literature as a whole. I've heard about it since I was a kid, and was pleasantly surprised to see someone mentioned it here.

Oh wait.

I was too hasty in my reply. I just reread your message more carefully and it looks like you're the one who suggested Eugenie Grandet, amber. Well, now it looks like a conflict of interest for me to plug that novel, since it can easily be construed that I'm trying to get in your grace at the expense of my very own nomination :)

But really, no, I didn't see that when I typed my reply. To clear up my conscience, let me tell a little anecdote: when I was a kid, I constantly heard my parents making reference about Grandet (I guess it's a male character in that book). It's half-jokingly of course, but it's frequently enough that the name "Grandet" has stuck in my mind. I never even knew where the reference came from, until much much later when I realized it was from a book by Balzac. I've always told myself one day I should read it although it's always slipped my mind.

The voting is over, anyway, so you're not influencing anyone at this point.

But I remember there being a lot more voters on the theme-of-the-month poll most months - though I don't know why that happens.

I'm sure name recognition does play a part. The 250 page limit often mean that quite a few of the the nominees tend to be more obscure, but in general it's the well-known nominees that win.

Regarding Anne of Green Gables, I'd originally voted for my own nomination, but when I went back later, Siddartha was winning and since I've already read it and don't want to discuss it, I switched votes to Anne in hopes that something that I hadn't read yet would win.

Lext wrote: "Oh wait.

I was too hasty in my reply. I just reread your message more carefully and it looks like you're the one who suggested Eugenie Grandet, amber. Well, now it looks like a conflict of interes..."

LOL Yep I was the one who nominated Eugenie, and was her sole voter as well. I'm going to a lecture on generosity where the father in Eugenie is going to be used as a case study, and thought I'd try and read the book ahead of time. Based on the lecture materials I'm guessing calling someone a Grandet is akin to calling them a Scrooge. :)