Retro Reads discussion

Barb in Maryland wrote: "Jenn--Thanks for listing a Helen MacInnes book. I'm with Abigail--she was a 'must read' author for me. Nice to have an excuse to revisit her."

I'm happy to help out! I've only read some of her books but have greatly enjoyed them all and thought this would be a good way to get back into her.

Although I didn't know it was particular intense! I'll be prepared : )

Abigail wrote: "Ooh, I love Helen MacInnes! As I recall, that’s her most intense novel."

I have a little pile of Helen MacInnes novels but don't have this one. But her books turn up all the time in op (charity) shops, so I should be able to get it.

I have found Show Boat on Faded Pages - you just have to make sure your country's copyright laws are the same as Canada's. But it is showing as very cheap on Amazon for me.

In other words - added for you Jenn.

Jenn wrote: "Okay, here are my choices!

The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
Show Boat by Edna Ferber
While Still We Live by Helen MacInnes
[book:The Winthrop Woman|3625..."

Oooh, a Margery Sharp I haven’t read. And I love Showboat.

and the Margery Sharp is the first is a trilogy!

The pool is getting bigger, yay!

It was a hard decision, and I changed my mind several times but I think I'd like my final book to be Chloe Marr by A.A. Milne.

Tania wrote: "It was a hard decision, and I changed my mind several times but I think I'd like my final book to be Chloe Marr by A.A. Milne."

Wow, sounds very intriguing, Tania- and definitely not in Winnie the Pooh territory! ;o)

Tania wrote: "It was a hard decision, and I changed my mind several times but I think I'd like my final book to be Chloe Marr by A.A. Milne."

Added for you, Tania (I've placed it with your other books)

Susan in NC wrote: "Wow, sounds very intriguing, Tania- and definitely not in Winnie the Pooh territory! ;o)"

I have read some of his adult books and I think you would enjoy them, they are in the same vein as P.G. Wodehouse and Denis Mackail, the three were great friends.

Thanks Carol.

Tania
Thanks for that info on the Milne book. I'm another who is intrigued by it,

Tania wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Wow, sounds very intriguing, Tania- and definitely not in Winnie the Pooh territory! ;o)"

I have read some of his adult books and I think you would enjoy them, they are in the ..."

You know me so well already, thank you! ;o)

The world already gives us so much pain and sadness, just turn on the news - I read for entertainment, amusement and edification. Sounds like Milne, along with giving us the great gift of Pooh, also had good taste in friends!

Oh, Tania, thanks for Denis Mackail as well - I knew the name from Angela Thirkell’s bio on GR, but didn’t catch that he was a writer, also. Clearly, a clever family!

You're both very welcome. Susan, I completely agree, and if you can get a copy, Greenery Street would fit that bill perfectly. It's absolutely delightful.

Tania wrote: "You're both very welcome. Susan, I completely agree, and if you can get a copy, Greenery Street would fit that bill perfectly. It's absolutely delightful."

Thank you!

I would like to join again this year, please, and here are my five selections:

1. Claudia, Rose Franken
2. Angle of Repose, Wallace Stegner
3. The Hills is Lonely, Lillian Beckwith
4. Christmas Pudding and Pigeon Pie, Nancy Mitford
5. The Strength of the Hills, Elspeth Thane

Elinor wrote: "I would like to join again this year, please, and here are my five selections:

1. Claudia, Rose Franken
2. Angle of Repose, Wallace Stegner
3. The Hills is Lonely, Lillian Beckwith
4. Christmas Pu..."

Elinor--you mean Elswyth Thane for the author of your book 5, right? Anyway, that book sounds charming. I'm a sucker for 'living in an old house' stories, and she is a favorite author.

Elinor wrote: "I would like to join again this year, please, and here are my five selections:

1. Claudia, Rose Franken
2. Angle of Repose, Wallace Stegner
3. The Hills is Lonely, Lillian Beckwith
4. Christmas Pu..."

You're #12 Elinor & I have added your books!

I'm a big Nancy Mitford fan, but I haven't read that one.

Elinor wrote: "I would like to join again this year, please, and here are my five selections:

1. Claudia, Rose Franken
2. Angle of Repose, Wallace Stegner
3. The Hills is Lonely, Lillian Beckwith
4. Christmas Pu..."

I love the Claudia books.

This will be my first time diving into the book pool. My selections are:
1. Desert Solitaire/Edward Abbey (1968)
2. All The Little Live Things/Wallace Steiner (1967)
3. Crewe Train/Rose Macauley(1928)
4. Their Eyes Were Watching God/Nora Neale Hurston (1937)
5. Letters Of A Woman Homesteader/Elinore Pruitt Stewart (1913)
I hope I've done this correctly.
I'm reading my own shelves this year and keeping very little. These titles have made it through significant downsizing of my home library and its time to read them

Darlene wrote: "This will be my first time diving into the book pool. My selections are:
1. Desert Solitaire/Edward Abbey (1968)
2. All The Little Live Things/Wallace Steiner (1967)
3. Crewe Train/Rose Macauley(19..."

Wonderful plan, Darlene, I’m trying to do that as well, each year. I’ve accumulated books over years of browsing used book stores and sales, I must have chosen them for a reason, time to read them or pass them on to someone who will.

Darlene wrote: "This will be my first time diving into the book pool. My selections are:
1. Desert Solitaire/Edward Abbey (1968)
2. All The Little Live Things/Wallace Steiner (1967)
3. Crewe Train/Rose Macauley(19..."

Nice to meet you, Darlene. You are #13 & I have added your books to the pool. :)

Of course, I am in! I will start with:

The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett (it will be a great motivation to start the series, finally)
The Parasites by Daphne du Maurier
Christmas Pudding and Pigeon Pie by Nancy Mitford
Crewe Train by Rose Macaulay
Nancy of Paradise Cottage by Shirley Watkins

Hey, Carol, sorry to switch on you, but since Mela is putting The Game of Kings in the pool (for same reason I was, thank you Mela!), can I swap it out of my list and sub in The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman? Very different vibe, but I’ve been meaning to read on in this series which I started in the late 80s, and lost track of! Don’t remember a thing about it, so I figured start from the beginning again - published in 1970. Thanks!

Oh dear it looks like there has been some confusion!

Mela, you get to choose 5 books of your own, as well as reading other books from the pool - just the same as last year. If you just read Rule #6 in the first post. :)

I've made you #14 though. (See message 2)

Susan I won't change your book just yet as there was a lot of interest in reading it from the group.

Oh, ok - I want to read it also! Thanks Carol.

Susan in NC wrote: "Oh, ok - I want to read it also!"

If I can get hold of it, I would like to read it as well. I have some Dunnett books but not this one.

Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "Oh dear it looks like there has been some confusion!

Mela, you get to choose 5 books of your own, as well as reading other books from the pool - just the same as last year. If you just read Rule #..."

Oh, I am sorry. Perhaps you explained it enough, I didn't read the intro to the thread - thinking it was the same as the previous year. But then, I was late (for adding). Sorry, Carol.

Still, I am not sure if I understand the rules correctly.

Now is the time to add books, let's call it nominations, until the 20th of December. After this date, everyone can only choose (from a closed list) which book she/he is going to read in 2024. Those who added nominations will read (at least) her/his own nominations. Am I correct?

And I have two choices now:

Since I want to read 5 from the third message (other people's nominations) I can omit my own nominations.

Or, I can add my own suggestions (max. 5 books) and change my list or simply have a longer list to-read with the group.

Do I understand it now properly?

So, if I can add "nominations" it would be:

The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol by William John Locke (1912)
Monday or Tuesday by Virginia Woolf (1921)
The Ballad of the Sad Café and Other Stories by Carson McCullers (1951)
Voltaire in Love by Nancy Mitford (1957)
Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro (1971)

Oh Mela--those look very interesting...

BTW, you can read as many books from the pool as you can find time for.

Mela wrote: "So, if I can add "nominations" it would be:

The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol by William John Locke (1912)
Monday or Tuesday by Virginia Woolf (1921)
[book:The Ba..."

Intriguing choices, Mela, and you’ve got it - you add 5, read as many as you like!

& your books added for you.

I have found The Joyous Adventures & Monday or Tuesday have free versions on Amazon.

& a reminder for everyone that the difference this year is that you can only change your selections till the 20th of December.

Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "& your books added for you.

I have found The Joyous Adventures & Monday or Tuesday have free versions on Amazon.

& a reminder for everyone that the difference this year is that you can only chang..."
Thanks, Carol!

Mela wrote: "So, if I can add "nominations" it would be:

The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol by William John Locke (1912)
Monday or Tuesday by Virginia Woolf (1921)
[book:The Ba..."

Ballad of the Sad Cafe is such an amazing story. You make me want to go back and re-read Carson McCullers, followed by some Flannery O"Connor, especially A Good Man is Hard to Find and Wise Blood.

There is definitely room for a couple more participants! :)

& a reminder to those who have already listed that you can only change your books until the 20th of December.

Thanks, Carol! To other members who might be contemplating a dip in the Book Pool, come on in, the water is fine! ;o)

Susan in NC wrote: "I’ve been looking forward to this, compiling a list with titles I’ve been hearing about, and wanted to read!

1. Troubles by J.G. Farrell
2..."

Hey Carol, looking at last year’s pool, I realize EF Benson and ‘Lucia’ were highlights for me! Looking at my 5 choices, I realize I want more humor, so may I please substitute FREAKS OF MAYFAIR by E.F. Benson for The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridgeby David McCullough? Thank you, in advance!

A year without Benson is a year without sunshine (and next year is an election year in the US, we’ll need all the sunshine we can get…;o) )!

Carol
Oh please, I would also like to make a substitution. I want to drop Men Against the Sea and replace it with
The Covered Wagon by Emerson Hough. This one is on my keeper shelf, as it was a favorite when I was a teen.

Thank you.

Susan & Barb, I have made the changes for you!

Thank you, dearest!

Thank you, Carol.

I'm in the pool:

1. Cheerfulness Breaks In

2. Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont

3. Who Killed the Curate?

4. The Innocents

5. Uncle Dynamite

Yay, Jackie!

Susan in NC wrote: "Yay, Jackie!"

Ditto!

You are #15 Jackie & I will add your books tomorrow!

& your books are added, Jackie. I really would like to read Mrs Palfrey.

I'll keep looking.

Mrs Palfrey is truely excellent, and is available to borrow free here https://archive.org/details/mrspalfre...

It's free to sign up and there are loads of hard to find books available. Always worth a look.

I agree about "Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont" and add that all of Elizabeth Taylor's novels are worth reading.

Tania wrote: "Mrs Palfrey is truely excellent, and is available to borrow free here https://archive.org/details/mrspalfre...

It's free to sign up and there are loads of hard to find books available...."

I found “uncle dynamite” on internet archive, also!

excellent! my library has the ebook.

Lucky!

I would like to change a book.: I want to read The Portrait of Jennie by Robert Nathan, instead of Bramton Wick by Elizabeth Fair.