Kaseadillla’s Comments (group member since May 04, 2016)

Kaseadillla’s comments from the EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club group.

Hi Melanie,

I guess it's a little open ended. I figured more "modern" classics would be anything written in the last 20-30 years that became really popular and is constantly recommended; very recently published books can/should also be included. I think Luella's list above really nails it - lots of best-sellers, critically acclaimed books that seem to have high read counts and lots of positive feedback. There are so many of those books that I have on a very long to-read list...

to April does feral sometimes - I have to say I completely agree on recognizing the "layers of human condition". I feel like it I had read this when I was 16, I would have really missed the sarcasm and the genius of some of the personalities of the characters until my English teacher pointed them out to me... and then I wouldn't have appreciated them b/c it would have felt like a test I failed.

I only acted out one play in my entire grade school career - I was Ms. Frizzle of the Magic School Bus in 2nd grade. Yikes.

As for seeing the play acted versus being read, I totally agree that seeing the play probably has a lot more power than reading it, especially during the love/action scenes. Reading it felt rushed and, therefore, made it seem... I don't know, silly? Unbelievable? I found myself purposefully reading slow in those parts in order to try and imagine better what it would actually be like to see it.

I totally agree, Ashley. I really felt something when I read this, and it seemed like I was looking through a window into a different world that's been so skimmed over in the media. That, I think, is why I was most moved by reading it.

Starting a spoiler-friendly discussion for Romeo and Juliet as well. I think almost everyone has already read this. Just finished it!

Love all the Stephen King suggestions!!! I feel like his books are all popular and I've only read one (and loved it).

Hello all!

I've picked books for the first two months to get us started, but would love to poll the group and get some ideas for reads in the "Modern Classics/Popular Reads" category. Starting for the month of July, I can set up a poll so we all can vote on what we'd most like to read.

Some books I was thinking about for this category:
The Book Thief Markus Zusak
The Shining Stephen King
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Stieg Larsson
Tuesdays with Morrie Mitch Albom
Cloud Atlas David Mitchell
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams
A Game of Thrones George R.R. Martin

This category is a leeetle more free-form than the other, so would love feedback on what people are most interested in reading. Let me know if you all have any more ideas!

Best,
Kasey

Hi Loretta - so glad you could join us! Would love any suggestions on classics you have in your tbr pipeline for future months. Also, I've been to Ocean City in NJ many times with the family. Love the boardwalk.

Camilla - a PhD!!! That's amazingly impressive. I can barely speak English and it's my first language so... anyways. I have a feeling a number of books will overlap with things you have already read, and we welcome your expertise!

Hi Sarah - so glad you could join! Let me know of any suggestions you have as well, especially with some of the more modern books. I feel like I have some names in mind but, admittedly, my view of the literature world is pretty narrow to the window displays at Barnes & Noble so would love to know what other people are hearing about and interested in reading!

Brina - we have family friends who are from Chicago, have lived all over the country, but never leave the house without their two vintage Bears jackets. I love it. And NON-FICTION YES I was hoping someone would say they've read a lot of it. Would love ideas here.

Luella - another Boston fan, yes! And my obsession with Dunkin' Donuts is unhealthy, at best. I used to live right next to Fenway Park, back in 2012 during their no-so-great season (before they won the World Series in 2013 - go figure) so we'd always scalp cheap tickets in the Grandstand on weeknights. Best place to sit IMHO since everyone there is on the same page - beer in one hand, Fenway Frank in the other, and lots of unnecessary yelling.

Thanks, again, to all for joining, and invite anyone/everyone you think would be interested in reading along!

Per the suggestion of a friend, I am starting two discussions per book - one with and one without spoilers - especially for the newer ones (aka what I've deemed the "modern" classics or just plain old won-the-popularity-contest books). More likely that many of us haven't read these books as opposed to the classics where, even if we haven't read it, we probably have general idea of what happens.

Thanks again, all, for joining and hope you enjoy reading along!

Will definitely appreciate the commentary from an expert like yourself! Can you believe I never read this in high school?!? It seems absurd.

Starting up the discussion on the Kite Runner - I actually have read this but years ago and kind of forget it so planning on rereading it. Hope you all can join!

Starting the discussion on Romeo and Juliet here! Just starting it myself so not much to add... yet.

Hello all!

Name is Kasey. Born and bred in Boston - big sports fan and now also (hopefully) an avid reader.

Relatively new to Goodreads and quickly realized that I'm WAYYYYYYY behind when it comes to popular/classic/best-selling books, so I decided to start this group in the event that others would want to join in on the fun of what I've deemed "getting caught up".

Goal is to catch up on the classics (the ones we never read in high school, the ones that people re-write a million different ways, the ones that authors quote at the beginning of chapters in their books, etc.) and to read what everyone else is reading these days (aka what I've deemed the "modern" classic and anything else best-selling that everyone and their brother is talking about).
Really, the goal is to be able to talk about books the way everyone else talks about books, to discover the best of the best and, most importantly, uncover some books that truly mean something to us. I have read a few books that I can truly say have changed my life, mostly because they've changed my outlook on life, and sometimes perspective is everything, right?

Hope you can join me - introduce yourself here!

Best,
Kasey