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

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

I discovered that I accidently reported my first 4 books of the year twice so that is my first entry.

<681> Correction
308 Julius
152 The Alienist and Other Stories of Nineteenth-Century Brazil
152 The Outsiders
248 The Shootist
285 Monday Starts on Saturday
157 Zazie in the Metro
245 Moonraker
208 Psycho
176 The Pigman
559 Giants in the Earth
128 Milky Way Railroad

1,937 My total pages read

Total Group Pages to-date: 502,888

I’m struggling w Transit also (on p. 76) and have been reading other books in the meantime. It just isn’t capturing my attention. Once I finish Green Mansions, probably this weekend, I’ll see if I can get back into it.

Thanks ForestGardenGal for sharing your story and your ideas! I’ve already decided on 10 books to set free. It’s a start and I feel better just making that decision! One thing that helps me is that I tell myself if I want to read the book, in the future, I can check it out of the library. I tend to read way more library books than books I own so I don’t know why I keep buying them. I already know what my New Years Resolution is going to be! 😂

ForestGardenGal - Theoretically, I think my idea of a TBR bookshelf sounds good but it hasn’t proven to be effective for me the last few years. I’m going to try it ONE more year (2024) and make an honest effort to read books on this bookshelf. I just set it up and have 60 books on it. If I read at least 35 of them, I will consider this method a success! I made sure to put a lot of short books on the top shelf since I’m more likely to read them.

I answered this question 2 years ago but I’m rethinking how to organize my books and planning to downsize again. I still have one shelf with just sci-fi and one with Russian language and Latin American books. In 2024, I’m planning to read my Australian and Canadian authors so I’m considering a shelf dedicated to just them. I have many more than I realized! I have ~50 books that I want to read next year so I’m thinking of putting all of them on one small bookshelf. As I read them, they will get moved to the donate/sell pile or kept as a favorite. I’m not sure how to organize the rest of them. I’m going to downsize first and see what’s left!

Michelle - I’m glad you found a copy! I’m enjoying it so far. One thing I find strange is why the 2 boys in a Japanese story have what sound like Italian names. (This might be explained in the introduction which I haven’t read yet.) My copy has illustrations, which I always appreciate. The idea of the Milky Way Railroad makes me think of the cat bus in My Neighbor Totoro. You might like that book also. It’s the same age level. The illustrations are done by Hayao Miyazaki and, naturally, are wonderful!

Lesle - You are lucky to see so much wildlife! My husband saw several coyotes on the putting green a few weeks ago! That was unusual. We had our first snowfall yesterday but it was too warm to stick so the snow melted before it hit the ground! Our trees are still colorful and haven’t lost their leaves yet. I’m hoping we stay in fall weather a little longer. I’m not ready for winter yet! Hope everyone enjoys the weekend!

Thanks Rosemarie!

Michelle - I found Milky Way Railroad on Hoopla. Based on what I’ve read, I think the reading level is age 10-12. Looks like there is a movie, also. I only found one other book, Once and Forever, by this author at my library. The description says it’s perfect for all ages. Thanks for mentioning this author! His books sound really interesting but not so easy to find.

I’m reading Milky Way Railroad, a classic Japanese fantasy novel by Kenji Miyazawa written around 1927. It’s been translated under several different titles but this is the only one I could find. I found it in Hoopla. Some one mentioned the book in another thread but I can’t find the thread now!

I thought that I would easily be able to read 10 of these authors but have only read 6 so far! I think I will finish at least 1 more this year, although I have 4 started.

I found this book on Hoopla and added it to my TBR for 2024. I don’t think I will have time to read it this year but I might! It sounds like one I would like. I just finished Witness Blanket: Truth, Art, and Reconciliation by Carey Newman. The Witness Blanket is a traveling art exhibition that recognizes the atrocities of the Indian Residential Schools era, honors the children and symbolizes ongoing reconciliation. It includes at least one item from each of the schools with more than 800 items from 77 communities. The book describes the process of creating the exhibit and includes some of the personal stories. I found it fascinating and would love to see the exhibit. I’ve also read the novel Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese. This book was my first exposure to the Indian Residential Schools. It’s one of my favorite books but so heart-breaking to learn this history and surprising how long it was allowed to continue!

Is anyone interested in reading The Guyana Quartet (or the first book in this set) by Wilson Harris? I’m going to wait until December and check it out. I found the book on Hoopla. The Quartet includes his first four novels:

1960: Palace of the Peacock
1961: The Far Journey of Oudin
1962: The Whole Armour
1963: The Secret Ladder

Hoopla has 3 other books by Harris but they are all outside the classic period. (I realize that not everyone has access to Hoopla and that different libraries have different selections. I’ve found a lot of books on Hoopla that are not on Libby or in the physical library stacks.)

Jen - I read Doña Bárbara by Venezuelan author Rómulo Gallegos. Several years ago, PBS had a show called The Great American Read and this was one of the 100 books they highlighted and people voted on. I had never heard of it so I decided to read it. I was surprised at how much I loved it and happy to discover this South American classic! I have Gallegos’s book Tierra bajo los pies (in Spanish) which I haven’t attempted yet. I don’t think there is an English translation. I had planned to read it this month but it’s frustrating for me because it takes me so much longer to read in Spanish. I know that the more I read in Spanish, the more vocab I will learn and the easier it will get so I should just do it. Maybe I’ll try a few pages a day.

Is anyone else familiar with the works of Rómulo Gallegos? Here’s some background info about him from Wiki:
Gallegos was also a politician and governed as the first freely elected president in Venezuela's history. The Rómulo Gallegos International Novel Prize was created in his honor on 6 August 1964. Rómulo Gallegos is considered the most relevant Venezuelan novelist of the 20th century.

Jen - I’m glad to see your interest in continuing the buddy read! I still have several books I want to read. Before this year, I had only read one Latin American classic so I have a lot of catching up to do! I think this is a good question for Lesle and Rosemarie whether we continue the buddy read or have a different avenue for discussion.

I’ve started Transit by Anna Seghers and am just starting ch. 3. So far, I like it. Her writing style reminds me a little of Russian author Teffi but maybe it’s more the story, which reminds me of her book Memories: From Moscow to the Black Sea. Interestingly enough, I started reading this book, which is set in France during the German Nazi occupation, the same day I watched the Netflix series All the Light You Cannot See, which is also set in occupied France. The timing wasn’t intentional but I feel like it was helpful in appreciating the book’s setting.

Kathy - I just finished ch 6, so he’s now met Rima. I’ve gone back to reading rather than listening.

Enjoy your vacation Luís!

I’m so happy that we are still having beautiful weather in November! High of 74 today. I’m thinking about either a day trip to Santa Fe tomorrow or a drive up to the Sandia Mountain crest to get in a relaxing fall hike! I feel like I want to get out of town, even if it’s only an hour away. I hope everyone else is enjoying their day!

Kathy - I didn’t know what Librivox was so I looked it up and found Green Mansions. I prefer that narrator, Mark F. Smith, to the one on the Libby edition, Stefan Rudnicki, who is actually a Grammy and Audie Award audiobook narrator. I just don’t like his deep baritone voice. I like a higher pitched voice. I’m struggling a little with the author’s writing style. I’ve finally reached the point where Abel meets Rima. I’m hoping the story picks up some momentum now.

Kathy - I’m glad you’ve started it. You’re further into it than I am. I have to get back to it. I’m almost finished w ch 3. I keep starting other books instead of finishing this one! I like his description of the environment. I think it’s easier for me to listen to than to read. I wish there was a different narrator, though.