You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

It's great Judy! I'm going to start thinking about books to read for this one today.

I love it!!

Love it! Heather and I are doing a buddy read, hopefully with two more of her friends :-) We are going to read The House of Mirth

I'm open to a Buddy Read if anyone wants to check out my Mt TBR owned shelf (or the ones with 'library' in the title).

Kate wrote: "Love it! Heather and I are doing a buddy read, hopefully with two more of her friends :-) We are going to read The House of Mirth"


I just ordered House of Mirth from paperbackswap. Going to go through my classic this weekend and make of list of what I have in my TBR pile. Would love to get through at least 2.

Just a wondering - what makes a classic a classic - how is it defined?

This definition is from the Goodread's Classic Genre section:

A classic stands the test of time. The work is usually considered to be a representation of the period in which it was written; and the work merits lasting recognition. In other words, if the book was published in the recent past, the work is not a classic.
A classic has a certain universal appeal. Great works of literature touch us to our very core beings--partly because they integrate themes that are understood by readers from a wide range of backgrounds and levels of experience. Themes of love, hate, death, life, and faith touch upon some of our most basic emotional responses.

For a list of books considered to be classics, you will find a listopia here: http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/34...

No problem, it's exactly what I needed. Now I can make my selections!

Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "I'm open to a Buddy Read if anyone wants to check out my Mt TBR owned shelf (or the ones with 'library' in the title)."

Wow Cheryl, you have amazing shelves! I particularly love your Asimov collection.

The only 'classic' we have in common is Emma. Lots of others though!

Hmm... I'm sure some of the Asimov is more than 50 years old and could be considered as classic.... Btw, I have read all those, long long time ago. I just *know* they're good enough for a re-read, despite my huge to-read shelves. :)

I have a whole stack of classics sitting in my library room... If anyone wants to do a buddy read I'm open to anything classics wise other than Jane Austen's works.

Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "Hmm... I'm sure some of the Asimov is more than 50 years old and could be considered as classic.... Btw, I have read all those, long long time ago. I just *know* they're good enough for a re-read..."

Or we could just deem them classics for our own purposes!

Exactly! I have *lots* of valuable (as in, worth reading and influential etc.) books that are at least 50 years old. I want to re-read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, for example, but that almost seems too easy. Lots of sf, not just Asimov. This theme is not at all onerous... :)

Oh I am so in for this one!!!

Judy wrote: "Any ideas what you are going to read, Sam? February isn't that far away now. :-)"

I know, I'm going to have to start planning, although it could all change depending what Santa brings me :-)

Well, I did give Santa a rather long list of books I'd like (over 450 if I remember rightly) so who knows what will be sitting under the tree...luckily not long to wait now but I have made a list of all the classics I already own in preparation (got about 30 odd to choose from!) :-)

Sam wrote: "Well, I did give Santa a rather long list of books I'd like (over 450 if I remember rightly) so who knows what will be sitting under the tree...luckily not long to wait now but I have made a list o..."

Wow that's one big sack Santa will need to squish down your chimney!

Sam wrote: "Well, I did give Santa a rather long list of books I'd like (over 450 if I remember rightly) so who knows what will be sitting under the tree...luckily not long to wait now but I have made a list o..."

That gives me an idea! I should print off my wishlist and give it to my family as my Christmas wishlist. I almost picked up Still Alice for myself when I was out shopping at lunch.

Oh you just reminded me about that book Janice. Somehow the ebook version just appeared on my Sony! A miracle!

Somehow? Hmmmm... a Christmas elf?

The Christmas Fairy must be smiling on me. Not the bank manager however!

Kat wrote: "Sam wrote: "Well, I did give Santa a rather long list of books I'd like (over 450 if I remember rightly) so who knows what will be sitting under the tree...luckily not long to wait now but I have m..."

It would be if I get them all...uhmmm I wonder!

Janice wrote: "Sam wrote: "Well, I did give Santa a rather long list of books I'd like (over 450 if I remember rightly) so who knows what will be sitting under the tree...luckily not long to wait now but I have m..."

That's basically what I did Janice (but I included my tempted list too just in case the wish list wasn't enough inspiration for them lol)!

Judy wrote: "Hey, Sam, I just whispered in the Santa's ear to give you all 450 books and to tell you that you have to read them before next Christmas. Now wouldn't that be funny? hehe"

Hey, thanks Judy, I promise to read every single one before next Christmas if I do get them all...wonder if I can take a sabbatical from work?

Would the Laura Ingalls Wilder series fulfill #4? I would start with Little House in the Big Woods and work through as many as I can. I have the whole series.

Amber wrote: "Would anyone like to read Jane Eyre with me as a buddy read for the February Toppler?"

I will read Jane Eyre with you Amber...I have it downloaded to my kindle : ) I have never read this but would like too...thanks for asking : )

Amber wrote: "Would anyone like to read Jane Eyre with me as a buddy read for the February Toppler?"

I might get on that too. I read most of it a few years ago this will be awesome to read and finish up.

Kimberly wrote: "Amber wrote: "Would anyone like to read Jane Eyre with me as a buddy read for the February Toppler?"

I might get on that too. I read most of it a few years ago this will be awesome ..."

: ) I think I might have started it a long long time ago but don't remember a thing about it lol

Amber wrote: "I've added Jane Eyre to the Buddy Reads folder for the February Toppler."

Yes it will be fun : ) I am excited too knowing someone else is reading what I am lol

Help please...I am confused about #6. I understand the part about finishing 3 or more classics that were previously started. It is the OR part I am confused about. I have Little Women started from last year that I never finished...so I would have to read 2 more cover to cover with less than 500 pages in each book or less than 500 pages combined?

Judy wrote: "Robin, you would finish the book you started then you would have three choices:

1) finish two more books that you've started and not completed OR
2) finish one more book started but not completed ..."

Yes it does...thank you so much...I will have to go look through my shelves and see what else I can find for this one..I am sure there are some other unfinished classics as I am bad about starting and then pick something else that catches my attention before I finish the ones I have started

I have got my books picked for toppler week - I am going to do Challenge #4 - The Wilbur - reading classic children's books that total 500 pages or more when added together and the two books i am reading are:
The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge - first published 1946
and
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder - first published 1933

both of these add up to 510 pages.

my problem is - I can get them both read in a week - not the prolem - but I am going away for the weekend on the 10th and don't return until the 13th, so I may not post my success until late on the 13th. of course I may have them both finished before I leave on the 10th - but just in case I thought I'd say up front :)

Will there be a place to post out results or will we do it on this post?

Allright! Thank you Judy.

I'm going to do the one with three different centuries, because I own The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (and plenty of choices for the 19th and 20th). We'll see if I have time for anything after those.

So I could use some help. I'm not sure what to read! I'd like keep on my science fiction kick and read some classic scifi. Some I've been wanting to read are borderline on the 50 years - like Fahrenheit 451 published in 1953 and the early stuff of Asimov. I'd also like to read Brave New World and any Jules Verne. Is Fahrenheit 451 acceptable? Does anyone have any recommendations? Or would anyone like to read any of those with me - that would help narrow it down for me! Thanks!

Judy wrote: "Sally, just send me a PM with the info on what you read when you get back and I will post your badge. Thanks for letting me know ahead of time. I'm glad you will be joining us. :-)"


OK will do. The way I read I will probably have them both read before the Friday - but forwarned is forarmed :)

Anna Marie, I have lots of SciFi on my 'to read for Mt TBR challenge' shelf (or whatever I call it). Including quite a bit of early Asimov. If you want set up a buddy read for something I own I'd be delighted to join you during the Toppler.

Thanks, Cheryl. You have alot of great books on your list, but you may know better which are "classics." The two I spotted are The Martian Chronicles and The End of Eternity. Are there others that are over 50 years? Which would you like to read more?

Please set up a Buddy Read (I don't know how) for The Martian Chronicles. It's slightly older, widely available, and I've been really wanting to read it soon.

Thanks!

Great, The Martian Chronicles is actually easier for me to get from my local library!

Is there a minimum number of pages required? Some classics that I'd like to catch up on are short. Do I need to combine them for a total number of pages?

Let's see - I've started Out of Africa and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. If I finish those and read The Woman in Black, I could qualify for the Grandfather award. Can I do it?

Janice wrote: "Let's see - I've started Out of Africa and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. If I finish those and read The Woman in Black, I could qualify for the Grandfat..."

You can do it..: ) I am in your corner cheering you on lol

Thanks for the vote of confidence. :)

Can someone help me/us find the Buddy Reads thread?

Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "I'm open to a Buddy Read if anyone wants to check out my Mt TBR owned shelf (or the ones with 'library' in the title)."

Why not join Debra and I in reading The Water Babies?

Almeta, I will, if my library gets WB to me in time! Or maybe I'll be brave and read it on gutenberg - but we'll see. :)

Janice, I may have asked this already, but right now I'm having a senior moment. Are we supposed to set up individual threads and post comments to it for updates.

Judy wrote: "Karendenice, I hope you don't mind me answering your question :-), but no, you don't need to set up a separate thread to track your personal reading. There only needs to be a separate thread for your discussion of your buddy read with Almeta. :-)
..."

Karendenice, I have started the buddy reads thread for Rebecca. See you there?

Judy I don';t mind at all. I just saw her last comment and put Janice's name in. I could probably have addressed it to anyone who knew. :)

Almeta I did see our new thread. Thanks for setting it up! Happy reading!@