Should have read classics discussion

Hi, I'm Lisa!
I joined this group after my sister-in-law,Kerri, started it for a school project and rather took it over(hence the userper title). LOL
I LOVE to read and have an ever growing too read pile, which is almost ready to bury me!
I, also, am a stay at home mom to 5 kids and one crazy Irish setter. Can't wait to meet all of you!

Hi I'm Sharon

I joined this group to help me read the classics. I have loads of them on my Sony Reader all were free. And free is good!! I too love to read. I can get through 2-3 books a week. I am a stay at home wife, no kids, an American living in the UK (husband is British). Looking forward to getting to know all of you in this group.

Hi, I'm Amy,
I joined this group after being invited by Lisa. I live in a small town, work as a volunteer EMT, do hair, and have a small part time job. I love to read and try to get in a book or two when time allows. I really enjoy this group and hope all our new members will have fun with it too.

my name is penny. i live in florida and hate the heat, therefore, i read alot. i am a bead weaver and make lots of jewelry. i recently retired and totally love it. i try to keep busy with my hobbies and visit my daughter, kerri, and grandsons.

Hi Everyone,
I'm Kerri. I started this group as part of a class assignment. I really never appreciated classics in high school because I wasn't a big reader and I thought they were tough to read. Lisa and I had a lengthy discussion one day about what classics we "had" to read and which ones we actually liked and that sparked the idea that maybe we should give classics another chance. Thus, the purpose of this group. It has been a challenge for me, I'll have to admit...but a good one. I like that I can simply read the books without the pressure of a grade hanging over my head. I hope that all of you will enjoy reading these classics along with us.

On a personal note, I am married and have two boys. I am also an animal lover and have two dogs. I teach science part time,squeeze in reading and scrapbooking when I can, and my family and I love to go on adventurous vacations.

Thanks for joining our group and I look forward to getting to know each of you as we journey along through a sea of classic literature.

Hello all, I received an email today from Lisa after I bemoaned the fact that the cozy mystery group were almost finished Woman in White and I didn't even have a copy of the book. She didn't exactly " invite " me to join you all but I think it was implied. LOL
I am a retired high school science teacher who wanted to minor in English in college but was required to minor in chemistry. Have always loved to read but have not always loved the classics,however, the cover of this one looks interesting--judging by the cover--geesh! I also scrapbook, dabble in photography and various needlework in between books.

I am also married and have one daughter who graduated from Montana State and has just relocated to Bozeman, leaving us in Vermont. Fortunately, we take a two month xc trip every year so we will get to see her once in awhile.

Hi everyone! I'm Kaila (the "ai" is pronounced "eye" in Hawaiian). Since having my twin boys and becoming a stay at home mom, reading has helped keep my brain active. I was never a big reader but would read strange novels here and there from people like Chuck Palahniuk and Katherine Dunn. But in the last year or so I've fallen in love with reading, it keeps me sane.

I recently went back and read Pride and Prejudice since it was a free ebook on my Nook and really enjoyed it so I'd love to read more classics. I joined because you are reading Faulkner and I loved As I Lay Dying. I'm reading The Dark Tower series by Stephen King right now but need a little break soon. So I'd love to start in on some of your selections. This is the first group I've joined so I'm still learning how it works.

Nice to meet everyone and hope to have some great discussions!

I read Pride and Prejudice not to long ago, and just loved it! We also just finished reading Persuasion, as last month's read! I have become a Austen fan!

hello and welcome Kaila--I'm a newbie, too!

Hi Kaila,
Welcome to our group. Love the picture of you and your little guys. I have yet to read Pride and Prejudice. I know I should since it seems to be such a favorite. I did enjoy both the PBS and the shortened movie version of the novel. Even my husband liked them! But nothing like actually reading it I'm sure.

Kerri wrote: "Hi Kaila,
Welcome to our group. Love the picture of you and your little guys. I have yet to read Pride and Prejudice. I know I should since it seems to be such a favorite."

Thank you! My little men are my life. I found it easier reading Pride and Prejudice on my Nook. Although I had an actual book too, the dictionary and footnotes explained cultural aspects in context. So much of it is not practiced today but very interesting.

Kaila wrote: "Kerri wrote: "Hi Kaila,
Is a Nook like a Kindle? I think having all that background info sounds great...that is right up my alley since I love researching and learning all that background knowledge stuff. Thanks for the info.

The Nook is from Barnes and Noble. It took forever for me to finally decide which ereader I wanted to buy. I eventually decided on the Nook because it uses ePub format which is the most commonly used format for ebooks but the Kindle doesn't use ePub. Kindle has also pulled titles and automatically refunded the money. I like to feel like the books I buy are mine. I was torn between the Sony eReader and the Nook for a long time but I'm happy with my Nook (although, I still seem to read physical books more frequently).

Hi All: I'm super excited to be part of your group. I graduate in mid-December so will be able to start participating with 1984. Can't wait!

We are happy to have you join us! Congrats on graduating, that is exciting! What is your major?

Lisa wrote: "Hi, I'm Lisa!
I joined this group after my sister-in-law,Kerri, started it for a school project and rather took it over(hence the userper title). LOL
I LOVE to read and have an ever growin..."

Hi Lisa, I'm here, thanks for the invite. I LOVE the classics. I didn't know you had an Irish Setter-we have a big fat giant Golden Retriever who is really red so everyone thinks she's an Irish Setter. What's yours, girl or boy? (Ours is a girl)

Ours is a boy, but I just call him a knucklehead! Ha!He is technically an Irish red setter. There apparently is a huge brewhaha about hunting and show type setters. He is a hunting type, so no long flowy fur(Thank goodness)! Although he does LOVE to run and he will do so for miles!

Oh yes the long fur! Had I known how bad this dog would shed.....well, I won't think about that today.

Amazing how dog hair gets into everything!

Hey all :) I'm Kat, french-speakng Quebecoise, mom of 7, serious book-junkie. I got here through being friends with Kaila. My classics book case is looking a little unloved, so it's time to dust them off.

Kat, glad to meet you. Hope you enjoy our group and that you will finally be able to check some of those unread classics off of your "to read" list.

Hi Everyone, My name is Abby. I work full-time, am a wife, mother, and new grandmother.

I just stumbled across this website today, and was looking through the book clubs and found you. I have started reading the classics and find that I can appreciate them much more now that I am not in high school and being told I HAVE to read them.

I saw you are reading War & Peace. I won't be joining that one, because I just recently started Anna Karenina. But, once I finish this book I will join in with you all and I will keep tabs on W&P to see if that is one I want to tackle later.

Can't wait to get to know you all! :)

Abby,
Great to meet you! And congrats on the new grand baby. We are currently finishing up 1984 and a few brave souls are venturing into War and Peace as a "buddy read". We will be starting Watership Down in February, maybe you can read along with us on that one. Enjoy Anna Karenina.

Thank you! I actually am interested in reading Watership Down and am already looking for a copy.

I loved 1984 when I read it. I became immersed in the language, or lack thereof, in the story. It was fun to see everyones thoughts on it.

I am actually very excited that there are others like me, who find it fun to dust off the "classics" and read them.

Hi I am Andrea! I am a total book junkie. My husband sometimes pretends that he has book covers on his person so that I will pay attention to him! I love the classics, YA, children's lit, trade paperbacks, non-fiction etc. I do not read horror (I'd have nightmares)and I don't like science fiction. I teach reading part time at an Elementary school-hoping to impart my love for it to some of today's kids firmly entrenched in the video game world! I have my hubby, 1 teenaged son, 1 pre-teen daughter and 2 adorable dogs. Pleased to see Watership Down is the Feb read-it is one of my all time favorites!

My husband laughs at me because I won't watch horror movies, so I'm right there with you Andrea!

Hello all! I'm Tammy and I live in beautiful Tallahassee, Florida. I was previously a total book junkie, but I burned out a little over a year ago and am just now getting back to enjoying reading again. I love classic literature and am looking forward to reading some titles that I've missed.

Hi Tammy! I bet it is warmer in Florida than in Colorado right now. Our high today was -3 degrees.
How I wish I was in the sunny state of Florida today!

Hi! I'm Carolyn and I live in Chicago, IL. Right now my house is buried under 2 feel of snow, after "Snowprah" come through last night. I've been a bookworm most of my life, although I think it ebbed a bit a few years back (I co-authored a book and the effort diverted me). I've recently picked up again, largely thanks to my boyfriend who is an avid reader of both fiction and non-fiction.

I trended to horror, fantasy and sci fi through college and now trend more towards: Fiction - classics I've missed, suspense, speculative fiction, young adult like The Hunger Games; Non-Fiction - popular psychology (especially when related to technology, like "Alone Together" and Malcolm Gladwell), innovation, random things like body language.

All of the books you guys are talking about are great - Watership Down is one of my favorites, and I just read Jane Eyre for the first time a couple months ago! Good coincidences :)

Hi I'm Aylin and I live in Apex NC, a near suburb of Raleigh, all part of the Research Triangle Park area. I work at UNC in Chapel Hill and have a wonderful husband, an 11 (soon to be 12) year old son and a 10 year old daughter. Both of them also love to read and my son is on the Battle of the Books team at his school- yay!

I was drawn to this group since you are reading "War and Peace". I'm reading the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation of that book and am loving it.

I also noticed all the other great books on the group list. I've always loved reading but want to go back and read some of the classics I should have read!

I enjoy different types of books- but not horror (way too chicken). I also used to read a lot of science fiction but now tend to read mostly fiction and am also going back to the classics I missed. I also love the lost generation authors and their biographies.

I often listen to one book on my commute (downloaded from Overdrive which our library started subscribing to last year) while I read another.

( I also loved Watership Down.)

Hi everyone.

I've been participating in another classics group, but it slowly died, so I finally searched around and found this one. It looks like a really good group, so I'm excited to join you.

I live in Oregon, have a 4 yo daughter and an 8 yo son, I quilt, sew, and occasionally knit, and I can never seem to find enough time to read.

My favorite genres are Fantasy, YA, SF, and, of course, Classics. I also love audiobooks, because I can listen while I clean or quilt. It more than doubles my available reading time.

It is nice to meet you Suzanne! I'm the same way. I never read them(much), but they have hooked me big time! Thanks for joining the group, hope that you enjoy it. Good luck at university!

Hi - I'm Shannon. I joined this group to help keep me motivated to mix classics into my reading list. I generally find they are wonderful, but don't always jump to them first when looking for something new. I have a 21 month old daughter and work full time so my reading time is limited, but I just got a Nook and so am finding that a great way to fit in reading on the go. Looking forward to this group!

Welcome to the group Shannon! I hope that you enjoy it and finding time for reading with a 21 month old is quite a challenge.

Hi,
I am Laura M from around the Boston MA area. Love reading the classics. I read many in my youth and finding it exiting revisiting them. I am currently struggling through Victor HugoThe Hunchback of Notre Dame. Just received Watership Down and will start soon. I am looking forward to reading and discussing it.

Welcome to the group Laura! I hope that you enjoy the group and good luck with Hugo, I feel for you!

Hi Everyone!

I'm Kelly and actually coming back to the group after what I will call a long hiatus. I am married with no children, have a full-time job at our local college center, and am also a full-time student with about a year left to go (hopefully). I have two very large dogs and three Jeeps, one of which we are planning to take off road in the next few months (we haven't picked which one yet).

I joined this group after Lisa told me about it. I even picked a book for one month, which I personally never actually read (Faulkner). I am literally on my computer at work all day, answering around 500 emails a day, among other things. Usually, the last thing I want to do is fire up my computer after work. HOWEVER, I have entered the modern world and am now able to log on via my iPod (hopefully soon with my iPad as well) and should be able to enjoy being part of the group as I have always wanted.

I look forward to getting to know all of you and reading some of the classics which have always been on my list. On to Watership Down!

Welcome Kelly! It is sure nice to have you back! You forgot to mention that I have been pestering you every chance that I get! LOL!

Lisa wrote: "Welcome Kelly! It is sure nice to have you back! You forgot to mention that I have been pestering you every chance that I get! LOL!"

I would call it determinedly encouraging, not pestering, hehe.

Hey y'all! I didn't realize Goodreads had an app for my iPod. This is going to be so much fun, especially if I can find a wireless connection at work.

Just read everyone's introductions, and am delighted to meet each one of you! I am a 56 year old mother and grandmother, full time college student, part time sub-aide for 2 school districts, church secretary and choir director, and care-giver for a disabled husband (21 year Army veteran, has MS, probably from a blown up ammo dump in Iraq in 1991).

I have loved to read since I was a child, but for years I read basically easy to read books, all the same authors, light mysteries and Christian romances. Then my daughter (age 14 at the time) read Twilight to me out loud. Made me realize that if I could accept vampires, maybe some other book genres would be worth investigating. I have found lots of books in a variety of genres that have been wonderful ... and in my reading I've not yet read a book that I didn't think had some value, even if I didn't care for the book. I've found new life in the classics ... enjoyed some good biographies ... several best sellers ... and found a few real treasures. I'm looking for more, so eager to participate in some of the group reads. I just ordered Watership Down, and hope to finish it by the end of the month, I'm working on the New Year's Challenge, and eager to read future books together. In the meantime, I'm enjoying everyone comments on their favorites, non-favorites, and recommendations.

Joy, nice to meet you through your introduction. Hope you really enjoy our group.

Hi all,

I'm Bridget, from Regina, SK, Canada. I found this group when looking for groups that were reading books on my To-Read list. I was in French Immersion all through school, so I did miss out on reading some of these books, so I'm excited to read as many of them as I can, although I'm happy to say I've gotten over trying to force myself to finish books that I hate, which I did for a long time.

I have loved reading for as long as I can remember, so I'm happy to join a group of people who are interested in the same books as I am. I'm going to start with the New Year's challenge and see if I can cram 6 books into the next 2 1/2 months! Wish me luck!

~Bridget

Welcome to both of you and I hope that you enjoy the group!

Lacrima_Atra wrote: "Hi everyone! I'm Lacrima Atra from Innsbruck, Austria (not Australia!). I study Translation and Interpreting with French, Spanish and Russian (and German of course) and love to read books in foreig..."

Lacrima,
Do you speak all those languages as well...wow! Hope you enjoy our group. I would love to visit Innsbruck someday, I have only been through it on the overnight train on my way to Venice.

Lolabee wrote: "Hi all,

I'm Bridget, from Regina, SK, Canada. I found this group when looking for groups that were reading books on my To-Read list. I was in French Immersion all through school, so I did miss out..."

Bridget,
Welcome to our group. Hop right in and enjoy the challenge. Glad to meet you!

Welcome to the group, and good luck! I, too, got a late start, but I'm doing well, and I'm sure you will too. And your English is wonderful! One more thing ... I loved Austria ... it was my favorite place to visit when we lived in Germany (though we only went to Salzburg). Again, welcome to the group!

Hello, my name is Ashley. I'm from a small town in Tennessee. I have been a reader since I was 3 and majored in English in college because of it. I will try just about every type of book style there is just to see if I like it. I will probably join in with the Jane Eyre read. On the current reads you have, I haven't read War and Peace yet but I have read Watership Down. My senior thesis actually focused on that book. Anyhoo, I look forward to being a part of the group and reading all the classics.

Welcome, Ashley ... I hope you'll really enjoy this group. I haven't been part of it for long, but I've enjoyed the discussions greatly!

Welcome Ashley! It is nice to meet you. Were you an English Lit major in college? I really enjoyed Watership Down, it is now one of my favorite books. War and Peace was good too, just really long!