GenreLand discussion

I believe the idea here was to read a book older than yourself, but if you want to interpret this as featuring a protagonist older than yourself, I think that would work just fine, too. I was literally born with a TBR, so this is a gimme category for me.

Some of us have to stretch WAAAAAY back.🤣

Oh, trust me and my arthritic hips, I am well aware of this.

Oh yes, "Arthur," the Uninvited Guest" who moves in and refuses to ever depart.

Hmm, not sure what I have on hand for this. Maybe a Wodehouse! Any time I can work a Wodehouse in, I'm happy to do that!

I have been trying to alternate fiction and nonfiction from my TBR to clear out the shelves while doing Stina's challenges. I literally have only one nonfiction that is older than I am. (Several classic mysteries, including one of the early Ngaio Marsh and a Margery Allingham and an Anna Katherine Green plus the classics that I haven't read mean I am well set-up for fiction.) I am considering going with some biographies of people who were widely known before I was born (as opposed to just being older than I am) such as Tony Bennett and Dick Van Dyke.

Found a tiny one that works -- On Love and Barley -- the Haiku of Basho. Basho died in 1667. Definitely older than me.

Book #2 -- The Land that Sleeps by G.M. Glaskin -- illustrates the problems that one faces in reading nonfiction from pre-1971. The author has casual bits of racism here and there in the book until the Afterword, where he explains that he took the trip to Western Australia and Northwest Territory and wrote the book in order to be able to encourage the government to put in the money necessary make the land a productive homeland for the white race, seeing as Africa was throwing off colonial rule, South America was becoming more independent, and Asia was a little unfriendly -- leaving "only North America, Europe -- and Australasia" for the poor white man. UGH!

I needed a pick me up after the previous book so naturally I read something that is half set in Auschwitz. Actually, though, Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl was a change for the better and proved to be an excellent choice.

This month, I read my first Agatha Christie; And Then There Were None. First published in 1939, it definitely fits the category. I had a few issues with it, but I will be reading more Christie in the future.

I also read most of Our Hearts Were Young and Gay: An Unforgettable Comic Chronicle of Innocents Abroad in the 1920s in June, though I didn't quite finish it in time.

Yes, that one has a few issues -- including some of the alternate names it was originally published under -- but it is still a classic.

Personally, I prefer Miss Marple books to Hercule Poirot for re-reading, but I enjoyed almost all of her stuff.

I read How Do You Live? by Genzaburo Yoshino, originally published in 1937. I read this one because Studio Ghibli is apparently soon to release a film based upon this book and it's one of Hiyao Miyazaki's favorite books. I think the intended audience is children, but I did enjoy it and will naturally see the movie when I can!

Speaking of classic mysteries that have issues, I read Died in the Wool by Ngaio Marsh. It is set during World War II and most of the problems deal with racial prejudices against Japanese people.

I have also crossed off A Little Princess, which counts for Stina's Challenge 2023 as well.

I wasn't intending to read any more, but the book I picked up was originally published in 1938, although the edition I had was from 1989. It was a really well-written and quick mystery (Murder on Safari by Elspeth Huxley) but did carry the social attitudes of the time, made even more problematic by a setting in British Imperial Africa on a big game hunt.

Cheryl wrote: "Yes, that one has a few issues -- including some of the alternate names it was originally published under -- but it is still a classic.

Yes, I saw in one of my FB groups someone posted a picture of one of the first editions of that and it was a shock. I knew it had that original title, but it was crazy to see it like that.

I'm planning to check out some Poirot stories and maybe some Miss Marple as well.

Amy wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "Yes, that one has a few issues -- including some of the alternate names it was originally published under -- but it is still a classic.

Yes, I saw in one of my FB groups someone pos..."

Wow, I don't think I have ever seen even a photo of that original cover!

I wound up with four books in June:
Betty Zane - A fictionalized account of Zane Grey's great-aunt(?) (some sources say grandmother or great-grandmother) and her role in the Revolutionary War. It also has a frontier romance story line. I didn't know what to expect, but it was pretty engaging and explored a setting I was unfamiliar with.

The Rider of Lost Creek - Another June on the Range selection, but not nearly as interesting. I don't remember much at all about it.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - I also counted this for June on the Range. It's set in the American West. There is gunplay. There are fugitives. There's a ghost town. There's even livestock!

The Light Princess - This was a very strange fairytale about a princess cursed by a bitter aunt to have no gravity. In any sense of the word.

Stina wrote Wow, I don't think I have ever seen even a photo of that original cover!

I know I hadn't! It was really uncomfortable. I recently saw that a movie made of it in the 40s was called the other title that we also don't use anymore, so I know the original was changed before the 40s!

Yeah, I think even then, her American publisher was pushing back on a lot of stuff. To Christie's credit, she never tried to double-down on anything problematic. Her attitude seemed very cooperative. As I go through my chronological re-read, I'm trying to pay attention to variations in the different editions I can find, and sometimes it's just weird what does and doesn't get changed.

BTW, do be prepared for And Then There Were None to be not typical of her mysteries. The other extreme would probably be the short story collection that introduced Miss Marple: The Tuesday Club Murders. Mysteries? I forget. And I'm not in a position to look it up right now. And it probably has an alternate title as well.

The Tuesday Club Murders is probably my favorite -- Miss Marple would be so much nicer to hang out with than the Belgian.