Pam’s Comments (group member since Jul 12, 2018)

Pam’s comments from the Never too Late to Read Classics group.

Ayush wrote: "Hi guys! I have been wanting to read this classic piece of literature for a long time and would love to have someone read it along with me..."

Hi Ayush - Lesle is correct that we had talked about adding a Don Quixote thread under the Latin American Reads topic. However, I am fine with having the thread as a Buddy Read here, especially since Cervantes is a Spanish author. I do want to read the book this year but may not get started in May. Are you willing to start it in June or later? If not, I can squeeze in some reading this month.

Like Montse, I plan to read it in Spanish. But, I will more than likely alternate between English and Spanish since Spanish is not my first language. I know this will slow me down so I'm thinking I will need at least 3 months. I'm thinking May-August/Sept.

If you want to start reading now, I don't want to slow you down! Montse and I and other members can chime in once we get started. I can certainly start in May with the English edition (Edith Grossman translation) since that will be quicker for me to read, to keep up with you at the beginning, maybe through Part I. I suggest that, when we post, we state the page we are on and keep the public comments of a general nature (avoiding spoilers) and use the GR spoiler tags for anything that gives away the plot, since we will be at different places with our reading.

What are your thoughts?

I was at the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History this past Saturday and discovered the children's book Miss Pickerell and the Geiger Counter by Ellen MacGregor on display in the nuclear-themed toys section. I had never heard of this series, which was started in 1951, so I found it on the Hoopla app and checked out the Mega Pack (first 4 stories). I read the first one Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars which was like Amelia Bedelia starring in a 1950s sci-fi movie, with the tiny rocket (built in a month in her pasture) and the ladder to get in and out. The story was silly but, hopefully, it inspired children, especially girls, in the '50s to take an interest in studying science. The author did a good job of explaining basic science principles. I'm just starting the 2nd book, Miss Pickerell and the Geiger Counter. I think that I would've enjoyed these books as a kid (3rd grade?) They're kind of fun to read now, keeping in mind the times when they were written.

Luís wrote: "I've already read two authors from this thread. ..."

Muchas gracias Luis for kicking off the discussion with Julio Cortazar's first short story collection Bestiario (1951) and Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Big Mama's Funeral (1962). I couldn't find an English translation of Bestiario but found this info on Wiki:

"Bestiario is a book of eight short stories written by Julio Cortázar. All the stories (except "Cefalea" and "Circe") were translated to English by Paul Blackburn and included in the collection End of the Game and Other Stories (1967). The "Cefalea" ("Headache") was translated in English by Michael Cisco in 2014 and published online by tor.com."

I will be travelling by car (12 hrs roundtrip) this weekend and plan to do some short story reading and maybe even some book journaling. I will update message 2 on Sunday, if needed.

Short story collections (some options but not exclusive):
* Collected Stories by Gabriel García Márquez
* Blow-Up and Other Stories by Julio Cortázar
* The Alienist and Other Stories of Nineteenth-Century Brazil by Machado de Assis
* The Penguin Book of Latin American Short Stories Edited by Thomas Colchie
This book looks really interesting with 26 different authors, some of them never published in English before! Some of the stories are likely outside of the classics period, as we have defined it, but feel free to report it anyways and put the publication date in parenthesis. I have found that it is not always easy to discover the publication date of specific stories and a lot of these authors' writing spans several decades and crosses the 1974 cutoff.

Stories or Collections Read (as commented in this thread):
- Bestiario by Julio Cortázar
- Big Mama’s Funeral by Gabriel García Márquez

Happy May! This month is your opportunity to read and discuss short stories written by Latin American authors. There are lots to choose from! A few well know writers include Gabriel García Márquez, Carlos Fuentes, Julio Cortázar, and Jorge Luis Borges. Some of the authors are well known for their short stories and their collections are easy to find. Some authors are not as well known but their works can be found in a collection with other authors. I'll start a post (#2) to add some collections and update it with stories that members read in this thread. Let's see how many different stories and authors we can read! Happy reading everyone!

Glad to hear you are enjoying it Chad! I’m hoping to read a bit more of it today.

Welcome Ethan! A few classics (from the Americas) that I recommend are A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser, Masters of the Dew by Jacque Roumain, and Doña Barbara by Rómulo Gallegos. Two short European classics I loved are Anton Chekhov’s Kashtanka and The Metamorphosis by Frank Kafka. It sounds like you are off your a good start with reading classics!

Rosemarie - That’s awesome! My parents both grew up in a Polish-American community. My dad played the accordion as a kid. In NM, you’re more likely to hear Mexican polkas (norteño) rather than Polish or German, unless you are at an Oktoberfest or the German Club! It’s the same beat but really fast! It’s fun but exhausting. 😂

Thank you friends! My mom died 3 years ago but we couldn’t hold a gathering at the time because of Covid restrictions. Even afterwards, my father didn’t want to do anything. I think it was too emotional for him so now we’ll celebrate both of their lives. I think it will be easier since some time has passed, but will still be emotional. It’s never easy. I like Karin’s idea of giving guests 3 minutes to say something. My parents were polka champs in Brooklyn back in their youth so I’m thinking about playing some polka music. I don’t know who in the group, other than me, knows how to polka but it will be lively at least! 🪗

Welcome Parsa! That sounds like an awesome group you have going. How long have you been meeting? Do you have some favorites?

Karin - I’m so sorry to hear about your mom’s passing. ❤️ I’m glad the Celebration of Life went well! I just started planning a joint one in June for both of my parents.

Lesle - Great! I’m glad to hear that! No hurry. I had to renew my copy for 3 weeks so I will still be reading it in May, as others may be also.

That’s funny Chad but I have to admit I’ve done something similar with downloading the study guide and then realizing that’s all my library offers! I’m glad you will be joining us! I’m only on page 31. I’ve had a hard time getting into it but I think the story will start to pick up. It starts off with Artemio Cruz doing a lot of philosophizing on his deathbed. I’m impatient and just want to get into his life story.

Luís, I don’t know about courageous but my health is suffering likely from the apnea so it’s important to address. Hopefully, I will start feeling more energetic and less tired!

I hope everyone has a good weekend!

Luís, a CPAP includes a mask that covers your nose and mouth and is held secure by neck and head straps. The machine connects to your mask via an air hose and uses mild air pressure to keep breathing airways open while you sleep. During the test, they measure all kinds of body functions to determine what’s going on with your body, what’s causing the sleep apnea and the appropriate pressure that works for you. The technician monitors you all night. It’s an interesting process but not real comfortable. I needed 2 pills to finally fall asleep but then slept through the night!

Safe travels Karin and have fun and hopefully good weather!

I did an in-house sleep study last night. It was quite the experience trying to sleep for 6 hours wearing a CPAP and all kinds of electrodes, belts and monitors hooked up to my body. Thank goodness for sleeping pills!

Thank you Mbuye! Is this your first book by Fuentes? What do you think of his writing style? I’m holding off for a few more days so I can finish another library book. Hopefully, by Friday I can get back into it.

Welcome Corrine! Glad you found our group and hope you discover lots of great classics.

Unfortunately, I had to return the book before getting into it. I only read 1 or 2 chapters. I did read a line where one of the adults referred to the girl as “monkey”. It seemed like it was just a term referring to a little kid.

Mbuye - I think it’s good that you are reading in both languages, even if it’s only a few chapters. It seems that you will get a good sense of the author’s writing style. I like to do the opposite - read the Spanish first and see how much I understand and then compare it to the English. I agree with reading a page at a time, definitely not sentence by sentence or paragraph! I’m going to try to finish the first chapter today. I don’t have the Spanish edition for this one. Looks like we will be learning a lot about Mexico’s history.

Thank you for the eye suggestions. I’m definitely not reading too much, right now, but I think there are some other things going on. I have a new pair of glasses coming in. Maybe that will help!