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

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

Sandy - I absolutely would be interested in a Buddy read of Huxley! I don’t own any of his books but I found over 20 digital and audiobooks on Hoopla. Also, my library has a decent collection of print books. After reading some of his novels, I might be interested in his essays. I’ve been reading a lot of Russian classics the last 2 years and am ready for something different!

Has anyone read anything by Aldous Huxley besides Brave New World? I just started Island, his final novel. I also have his first 2 novels, Crome Yellow and Antic Hay, downloaded, one on SimplyE and the other on the Serial App. I also want to find a copy of the children’s book The Crows of Pearblossom.

If we don’t finish the book by Dec 31, can we report the pages read this year?? I have a few that I won’t finish until 2023.

I’m so sorry Chrissie for your loss and wish you peace during the holiday season.

That sounds like a lovely tradition Sandy!

Welcome Lisa! NZ is the one place I absolutely want to visit some day. I had a co-worker years ago who was from there and it sounded beautiful!

Our daughter decorated both trees (hers and ours) and put out all the decorations the weekend before Thanksgiving, since we were going out of town the Saturday after Thanksgiving. That’s the earliest we’ve ever decorated! All of the presents are already wrapped and under the tree.

Annette - No. Only the original work needs to meet the 50 year criteria.

Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson 151 pp
The Nose by Nikolai Gogol 53 pp
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie 33 pp

Group total: 663,952

I've updated post 1 to include some possible authors, based on our Planning thread plus a little more research. You are not limited, though, to the list or to reading in order. It's great to see so much interest! I've only read 2 Latin American classics, so I have a lot of catching up to do!

I will be starting January with The Lost Steps by Cuban author Alejo Carpentier. I have Carpentier's The Kingdom of This World (Spanish edition ebook) checked out from Hoopla, which I'm going to try reading and see how far I get without an English translation. I anticipate having to check it out numerous times.

Welcome to the 2023 Latin American Author Buddy Read which Luis and I will be co-moderating. There are lots of authors and countries to choose from. The "plan" is to read what you like, when you like, and discuss as you go. If you prefer a structured reading schedule, we have created a monthly schedule by country(ies), with some suggested (but not limited to) authors. I have included some authors whose works may not be translated into English. Those names are at the end of the lists. For those of you reading in the original language, please let us know and, if you like, fill us in on any specific nuances about the author’s use of the language. Any other authors, who have works published before 1974, anyone would like added?

Jan-Feb: Caribbean Islands (including but not limited to Cuba, Trinidad, Dominica, Jamaica, Barbados, Martinique, Haiti)
Alejo Carpentier, Jean Rhys, Guillermo Cabrera Infante, V.S. Naipaul, George Lamming, Juan Bosch; Jacques Roumain, Léon Laleau, Jean-François Brière, René Depestre

March: Mexico
Carlos Fuentes, Octavio Paz, Elena Garro, Rosario Castellanos, Juan Rulfo

April: Columbia & Ecuador
Gabriel García Márquez, Eduardo Caballero Calderón, Jorge Icaza

May-June: Brazil
Machado de Assis, Jorge Amado, Clarice Lispector, Carlos Drummond de Andrade, José Lins do Rego, Fernando Sabino, Dalton Trevisan, Erico Verissimo, Álvares de Azevedo, Graciliano Ramos

July: Peru & Uruguay
Mario Vargas Llosa, Juan Carlos Onetti, Julio Ramón Ribeyro, Mario Benedetti, José María Arguedas, Teresa de la Parra

Aug-Sept: Argentina
Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, Manuel Puig, Ernesto Sabato, Adolfo Bioy Casares, Guillermo Enrique Hudson, Silvina Ocampo, Oliverio Girondo

October: Chile
José Donoso, Pablo Neruda, María Luisa Bombal, Gabriela Mistral

November: Venezuela & Ecuador
Rómulo Gallegos, Jorge Icaza

December: Other - What did we miss? Who do we want to revisit?
Guyana: Wilson Harris
Panama: Rogelio Sinán, Mario Augusto Rodriguez

I love non-fiction but don’t read too much of it. My favorites are modern history, science (mostly medical), and the occasional biography. I like reading mid-grade non-fiction for information because I get the high level info without the minutiae, there are illustrations and photographs, and they are quick reads. (I remember that Jeopardy! super champ James Holzhauer said that was one of his strategies for preparing for Jeopardy.) I also like True Crime books like American Kingpin, American Heiress (the Patty Hearst story), and Killer of the Flower Moon. Usually, I hear about non-fiction on podcasts. True crime, to me, is interesting because usually we know something about it from the news or another source but not the whole story. And, we find out that truth is often stranger than fiction!

We had a really nice time in Scottsdale. If any of you go to the Phoenix area and you like nature hikes, I highly recommend the Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior. It’s an hour southeast of Phoenix but well worth the drive. Mid to late November, much later than other parts of the US, is when the fall colors are the best. The pistachio trees were absolutely beautiful! And, the temps in November are perfect for hiking. Trips like this make me want to be a “snowbird”.

Chad - if you are referring to the 1995 movie about Crumb, I remember watching that also! Crumb is the artist who made the Keep on Truckin’ image, which some of us remember from the ‘70s. I think the book will be great! After reading “The Metamorphosis” recently, I was wondering how an artist would depict Gregor Samsa as a giant bug. I pictured him less grotesque as a beetle with the bright blue spot on his back, rather than a disgusting cock roach!

I just realized that with my bag of books purchase, I have another classic which I thought was contemporary. It is “I Am a Cat” (part 1 - first 3 chapters) by Natsume Soseki, published in 1905 in Japanese. The English edition was published in 1972. I read 2 Japanese books this year featuring cats and really enjoyed both which is why I picked up this one. I think it might be my first read of the new year. 🐈

Welcome Jaye, Bruce, and Julie! It’s great to see so many new members.

Well. no sooner did I say no more books than I went to Bookman's, a HUGE used bookstore (plus other media) in Phoenix. I picked up 3 classics- Oblamov by Ivan Goncharov and 2 by Daphne du Maurier - Julius and The King's General and 1 non-classic, but about an author of classics, Kafka, part narrative and part illustrated by Comic artist Robert Crumb.

I finished The Enchanted Wanderer by Leskov. I liked the story and the writing but I think it could've been shorter. The monk Ivan (sometimes called Ivan Bighead or my half-respected friend) is telling his crazy life story, with unbelievable adventures before becoming a monk, to a group of travelers. I felt like he probably added to his story every time he told it and the whole thing was just a big fish story. One thing I've noticed in his stories is that there is a lot of whipping of people (even a whipping contest) and animals (horses and a cat), which I found disturbing. I think there was some cultural humor and play on words in the story that I may have missed. One that I picked up on was the ship officer that Ivan referred to as the Thirsty-mate (probably a play on third mate) whom Ivan got in a drinking contest with. I need a little time to process this one before moving on to the next story. I feel like I would have to re-read the story to really appreciate the humor but, overall, I enjoyed it.

I plan to read the Q1-Q4 authors plus Hans Fallada and possibly Zweig. I recommend Chess Story and plan to read The World of Yesterday or The Post-Office Girl. Knowing Zweig's action, after mailing his manuscript of Chess Story to his publisher, made it that more impactful.

For Kafka, I want to finish The Trial and read The Castle. I just bought a used copy of Kafka, which is a "part illustrated biography and part comics adaptation" by David Zane Mairowitz and well-known comics illustrator Robert Crumb. I want to read Kafka's books first before diving into this illustrated presentation!

I’m totally in! Expanding Horizons "should be" doable.

Relaxed Reader - 5 books:
1. Masters of the Dew by Jacques Roumain (French)
2. House of Mist: A Novel by María Luisa Bombal (Spanish)
3. Monday Starts on Saturday by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky (Russian)
4. The Alienist and Other Stories of Nineteenth-Century Brazil by Machado de Assis (Spanish)
5. Zazie in the Metro by Raymond Queneau (French)

Expanding Horizons- 10 books
6. Giants in the Earth by O.E. Rølvaag (Norwegian)
7. How Do You Live? by Genzaburo Yoshino (Japanese)
8.
9.
10.

I plan on reading Nabokov and Leonard Cohen (Canadian). I didn’t realize, until recently, that Cohen was also a novelist! I had only heard of him for his songwriting. His books look really interesting! Nice list Lesle!