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

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

Supposed to have our first triple digit degree day tomorrow! It’s just too hot! 🥵 I’m planning an outdoor event on Sunday afternoon. It cools down to 88, but that is still warm! I hope it goes well. I still have to prepare my speech and put together some pictures. The food, flowers, music, and venue are all done.

Last month we read short stories by your choice of author. In June, we will read a specific short story collection The Burning Plain and Other Stories (original title El llano en llamas) by Juan Rulfo (1917-1986), a Mexican writer, screenwriter and photographer. The stories are realistic and set in rural Mexico around the time of the Mexican Revolution and the Cristero War. Rulfo is best known for this short story collection and the novel Pedro Paramo. Who is joining us this month?

That sounds awesome Luís! Enjoy!

Welcome to the group Dave! The 2 books you mentioned are favorites of mine from the last few years!

Natalie - I’m glad you enjoyed it! I still plan to get back to it. I renewed my librarian for a 2nd time. I feel more encouraged after reading your comments!

And are you going to the concert Luís? My daughter saw her in AZ and loved the show!

I’m off to the Biopark this morning with my grandson and his other grandma. They have a brand new electric train made in Portugal (only a few in the US, is my understanding) which we are going to ride. It goes between the Zoo and the Aquarium/Botanic Garden. Should be a beautiful day!

I just started El llano en llamas (The Plain in Flames) by Mexican author Juan Rulfo. I have the Spanish edition checked out from Hoopla (no English copy available at my library) but I found the English edition online at Internet Archive. I've never used this service before. It looks like you can check a book out for an hour at a time.

Book Nerd - I think that another reason that Americans may not be familiar with Don Quixote (the book) is that it’s not a classic covered in school. US schools, from my experience and my kids, focus primarily on American and British authors. The exposure that many of us have had is through the musical or a movie.

Thank you Ayush for changing the title to include spoilers. I think that’s a good idea.

I don’t know that we really need to use spoiler tags, especially if we state the chapter we are on. What do you all think??

I’ve read through Part One (ch 8). I had previously read up to ch. 14 so this is a good refresher. It’s been a few years but it’s coming back to me. I think it will really help me having a reading schedule! I’m notorious for not finishing long classics. I’m enjoying it so far!

Montse- I think a lot of Americans aren’t that familiar with Don Quixote. The battle with the windmills is probably the scene most people are familiar with. I have a friend/neighbor who is a direct descendant of Cervantes. She asked me one day if I had heard of Don Quixote and I told her yes, of course! She was shocked because I was the first person she had asked that had said yes! That’s hard for me to believe but she’s probably talking with a younger generation. There were a lot of special exhibits here in Albuquerque in late 2016- early 2017 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Cervantes’ death. I remember seeing a few of them at museums and the library.

I finally finished a 500+ page book I was reading for a read-a-thon in another group so I am now free to get back to Don Quixote! (I’m trying to read too many books at the same time.) I’ll try to have some comments tomorrow.

Feliz aniversário Luís!

Piyangie - The Library of Babel sounds really interesting! I’ve not heard of that one.

Rosemarie - How bizarre that they have a statue of Freddie Mercury! I like it, though. I’m sure there is a story behind it!

Karin- Congrats to your son! 👨‍🎓 🎶

I just restarted the book. I had previously, a few years ago, paused at page 106 and didn't pick it back up, despite good intentions! I just finished the prologue and Ch 1. I had forgotten the meaning behind his horse's name Rocinante. The footnote was helpful in this case. I'm looking forward to diving back into the adventures!

I posted this comment in the "What Classics are you reading" thread but will repost here, where I meant to post it!

I’ve returned to reading Collected Stories by Gabriel García Márquez. I read a few of the stories last year. I’m now reading Part II titled Big Mama’s Funeral and have finished the first 5 out of 8 stories. Big Mama's Funeral is the last of the 8 stories. I believe the stories are all set in the Kingdom of Macondo, the same setting as One Hundred Years of Solitude. I will add some comments once I finish. It looks like all of the stories in Part II are included in No One Writes to the Colonel and Other Stories but this collection doesn’t include the title story/novella. It is available in PDF format on line.

My understanding is that we include (as classics) non-fiction with a topic of at least 50 years ago. In that light, I’m reading The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larsen. It’s really good and I’m learning a lot!

Rosemarie - Sounds like a wonderful trip! Enjoy the rest of your travels!

I went to see the Beetlejuice musical yesterday. It was really interesting and entertaining (and impossible to fall asleep during)! I have never seen the movie and only watched the first half of it 2 days before the show. Now, I see that there is a Beetlejuice movie sequel, with 3 of the original actors, coming out in September. I’ll have to see that one!

I actually meant to add my comment on the Latin American thread and will move it once I get back home! Still traveling.

I’ve returned to reading Collected Stories by Gabriel García Márquez. I read a few of the stories last year. I’m now reading Part II titled Big Mama’s Funeral and have finished the first 5 out of 8 stories. Big Mama's Funeral is the last of the 8 stories. I believe the stories are all set in the Kingdom of Macondo, the same setting as One Hundred Years of Solitude. I will add some comments once I finish. It looks like all of the stories in Part II are included in No One Writes to the Colonel and Other Stories but this collection doesn’t include the title story/novella.