My apologies for anyone I've forgotten to thank for explaining all of this to me. I've been doing this and fretting over the weather. Januarya in Alaska and we just had a warm spell with rain and thunder and melting snow and ice under fivers of water after a long severe cold snap of temperatures down to -35 degrees.

I slipped on the ice twice already and today banged my head against the step of the SUV (believe me, this is one part of the country where you need them.)

I'm discombobulated. So if I drop out for the weekend it is not in a snit or a feeling of embarassment or shame. I'm just going to rest my head and finish this novel. (Oh that poor horse! - and is this a leif motif for the relaitonship with anna and Bronsky? It's been long enough i can't remember. Tune in till next time . . . . )

Thanks Yoby for the question and Philip for the explanation. We also only read 4 Classics selections in the 6 months as opposed to 6 on the Reading List. Sometimes we have long discussions on what constitutes a Classics nomination and what a Reading List nomination especially with regards to semi-old works. This last time there was one book nominated on both lists and it won on the Reading List. This rarely happens (nominations of the same book for both). Hope to see you joining in on some of the discussions and also nominating 2 books for the next list. We'll put up a new topic when it is time to ask for nominations, by the way.

Yoby, yes it can be confusing, especially since the categories can at times overlap. Basically people read whatever they feel like reading or can manage with their own schedules -- but if you look at Sherry's original post in this thread you'll see that the Classics Corner list for the first half of 2009 involves older works that people voted to read and discuss together, while the Reading List has books published perhaps as long as 25 years ago (Rushdie?) right up to the present day (Wroblewski). And I'm told that sometimes older works are voted onto the Reading List as well.

But in practical terms, whatever their names, the Reading List involves books we start to discuss on the 15th of the month, and the Classics Corner those we start discussing on the 1st.

Sherry our Doyenne has a very helpful post about this and the whole process called "Orientation." It is permanently in the first spot in the category called "Welcome." Personally I found it a lot of help when trying to figure out the customs of this amazing group of readers.

Excuse me, I must not understand - What is the difference between the Classic and the Reading list?

I could probably figure it out, but I'd rather someone just clue me in so I know what are the most important ones to get read.

I've read more than half of those books and will look forward to discussions on them.

It's ok Jonathan, I've not started yet and I intend to be on time for this one, too.

Welcome home, Jonathan. I haven't started AK yet, but it will be a reread for me, so I'll keep up with the discussion.

I'm finally back from a LONG holiday vacation with the family, in which I just read whatever they had in the house. So I'm glad to be back and reading Anna Karenina once again. I'm about half-way through it and feel confident that I will be able to finish it during the discussion period... that might be a first for me on CR!

Just catching up - I read Anna Karenina when away and have an audoio version which I might find time to reread in Feb. I do have My Name is Red and will definitely join in for that one. And I am sure I have the Henry James somewhere although I can't see it on the shelf. Others will depend on library availability.

Isn't that a great line up, Diane, Edgar Sawtelle and then Anna Karenina? I'm glad you'll be able to join in.

Welcome, Diane. We're glad you found Constant Reader. I'm looking forward to discussing books with you.

Hi everyone - I'm new to this thread and would love to discuss Edgar Sawtelle in January and Anna Karenina in February (or Feb and March) with all of you. I love the Orientation section, and was able to learn how it all will work. Actually, I had posted a question here before reading Orientation, so thank goodness for the "Edit" button. Wouldn't want to make a bad impression as a new member :)
Looking forward to being a part.

Thanks, Ricki!

Robt

You're right! I think I know what happened. I will change it right now.

umm- yes.

Sorry, I hate to be that person, but I am...Shouldn't the title of this thread be "Schedule for January-June 2009?"

But I do really appreciate you guys taking the time to do all of this.

Great, I have a big head start on Tolstoy! :-) I'm excited about Tarzan, too.

Hooray! This schedule works out perfectly for me! Thanks from me too, Sherry and Ricki.

Printing it out right now, so I can stick it on the fridge.

Thanks Sherry and Ricki. It's great that you two do this.

January
Classics - none
Reading List - The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

February
Classics - Anna Karenina (translated by Pevear and Volokhonsky if possible)
Reading List - Evidence of Things Unseen by Marianne Wiggins

March
Classics - Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Reading List - Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa

April
Classics - Giovanni's Roomby James Baldwin
Reading List - Out by Natsuo Kirino

May
Classics - none
Reading List - Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

June
Classics - Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
Reading List - My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk