Paula’s Comments (group member since Jun 18, 2025)

Paula’s comments from the Reading the Chunksters group.

I’m a huge fan of the classics; however, we tend to see the same authors sprinkled over a number of book groups. Dickens, Dumas, Hugo, Austen…they seem to pop up frequently. I’m indifferent to Dumas and Hugo. I’ve read them of course, but I don’t find much to talk about, so I wouldn’t revisit them and would bow out of the discussion, if chosen, which is fine. :) Dickens is incredible, one of my favorites, but there are a number of groups devoted to his works and it’s ground well covered.

I do tend more toward classics, but I have a couple of contemporary works I’d like to throw out there because I haven’t read them yet (they are on my bookshelves). They are: “The Book of Form and Emptiness” by Ozeki and “The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois” by Jeffers. Both sound really interesting.

Not sure if anyone else would be?

Like others, this is one of the first groups I joined, back when Zulfiya was a moderator (she was excellent]. Then later, Dianne became moderator, who also was excellent.

I have since found that good moderators who post engaging, insightful, and thought-provoking questions spawn the same in responses…and a discussion really takes off. Hugh, I already know that you and Linda have those talents in abundance, and I would love for this group to be resurrected - and to be active in this group again.

Christopher wrote: "I would like to renominate Cryptonomicon."

I second this!

Drew wrote: "Paula wrote: "I wanted to give a shout out to Ami and JG. We are reading Miss MacIntosh, My Darling and the discussion is so excellent! I mean, we are doing an amazing deep dive into ..."

It's a demanding book. Young has a lot to say, but she doesn't make it easy to discover. Chapters have to be read carefully and several times in order to delve through all the gossamer layers. We are taking our time thank goodness. Each discussions opens up new angles and layers. It's hard work, but fascinatingly awesome.

I wanted to give a shout out to Ami and JG. We are reading Miss MacIntosh, My Darling and the discussion is so excellent! I mean, we are doing an amazing deep dive into that book. I'd only be scratching the surface without them.

Dianne wrote: "Ok people who else is being impacted by this storm in the ne us? I just spent 90 minutes shoveling heavy wet snow and it’s still coming down! Phew! I need an award or a glass of wine."

You need an award and a glass of wine for each hand. Why leave one hand with nothing to do? Or, use that hand to hold a big chocolate bar.

I moved to Utah after living on the East Coast all my life. I don't miss that heavy wet snow. We get that fluffy stuff you can blow off your car windshield. Sending hugs your way!

Dianne wrote: "I’m good with 50, I want to keep you all with us! I’ll post a reading schedule soon. Will be a fun saga with you guys! I think the leisurely approach should work well for this one."

I won't be joining in on this one because I've read it twice and don't have a third in me. I felt it was an easy read, a real potboiler, so you guys can always adjust the speed later. That's a lot of months for this book. 😳

Dianne wrote: "Paula wrote: "I didn't read anything for a couple of days after I finished. I tried to, but nothing clicked. Anything I tried to read...well, I had to go back and read again. I was just so immersed..."

So much business travel, I've been dead tired. House is a great book but I couldn't keep up with the schedule 😞.

How about a wild card? People nominate whatever they want?

I always check in 🙃

Hugh wrote: "Dianne wrote: "did shostakovich's music change after stalin's death?"
Yes, but it changed plenty of times during Stalin's lifetime too."

As Hugh said, it changed greatly. Having his genius stifled for so many years, and then finally having his creativity unleashed, it was huge.

It changed during Stalin's lifetime, but as a result of directives, and trying to figure out which way the wind was blowing. Which, with Stalin, could change every five minutes.

Dianne wrote: "Paula wrote: "Biblio wrote: "Musings on Music:
I have Scriabin on my Spotify! I just discovered him last year when digging around to discover more about Russian music to go with my huge fascination..."

After 10 years of touring and wondering where my next engagement would be coming from, i wasn't getting much joy from it. Worrying about what would happen if my performance didn't go well. After all, people are paying to see you. And I was so young when I got started. Then later, having to leave my little daughter to go on the road. I needed to make a change.

Isn't it ironic...the intent of prison and exile was to punish them; however, in many cases, it served to provide a venue and opportunity for further study, and in solidifying relationships with like-minded people. It certainly seemed like a collegial atmosphere, at least for the inmates from more priviledged families.

But, exile above the Arctic Circle? Where it's night for months out of the year? And bitter cold? No thank you.

I thought it was interesting that, even while in Exile, revolutionaries had a plethora of reading material...sent free by publishers.

Dianne wrote: "Literature name dropping in chapter 2- which of these, if any, have you read?

- Baudelaire
- Maeterlinck
- Rodenbach
- Solovyov
- Nietzsche
- Oscar Wilde
- Pisarev
- Dobroliubov
- Shchedrin"

I was intrigued by these passages. These young Bolsheviks were voracious readers. It defies what we would normally think of as an aspect of extremist behavior, that is, individuals who vehemently subscribe to literature that support their own set of personal ideals, while discarding the rest, or declaring it evil.

But that's not what we see here. In preparation for the "Real Day" that was to come, these Bolsheviks believed that all knowledge was good...essential. They believed "it helped enlist all things for the good of the cause. The more one knew, the easier it was to perceive the "moving forces" behind people and all things..."

Sverdlov:,"I put books to the test of life,band life to the test of books."

Ironic that Stalin's rule was the antitheses of this concept.

Hugh wrote: "Dianne wrote: "Literature name dropping in chapter 2- which of these, if any, have you read?

- Baudelaire
- Maeterlinck
- Rodenbach
- Solovyov
- Nietzsche
- Oscar Wilde
- Pisarev
- Dobroliubov
-..."

I'm surprised as well if there is no mention of Shostakovich. He and his music suffered under Stalin's rule, narrowly avoiding the Great Purge (when so many of his friends were sent to labor camps or were executed). He experienced such an epiphany after Stalin's death.

Rachmaninoff left immediately after the 1917 Revolution, so he did not experience what existence was like under the iron fist of Stalin. But...Rachmaninoff suffered from deep depression, so it can be said that he carried his personal Hell wherever he went. But his music is sublime. Such emotion...longing, suffering, joy.

But longing most of all.

I can tell I'm falling down a rabbit hole again. You know, where you start reading a book, it makes reference to someone who catches your attention, you look him up, you see he was a writer, you look into that, you find you want to read his work...and your TBR stack grows...again.

Alexsandr Voronsky has me hooked. I want to read more about his ideas on aesthetic evaluation (views in complete opposition to Stalin, of course). I'm connecting with quotes/extracts taken from some of his essays.

Biblio wrote: "Musings on Music:
I have Scriabin on my Spotify! I just discovered him last year when digging around to discover more about Russian music to go with my huge fascination with their literature. I've ..."

I have the wrong Scriabin for this book's references though. I saw the name and immediately my head went to the Scriabin I know of. 🙃🙃🙃.

I was a professional opera singer for a number of years. The piano was an absolute advantage for me when learning roles. And working as a piano accompanist for singers in studio helped pay the bills.

I didn't read anything for a couple of days after I finished. I tried to, but nothing clicked. Anything I tried to read...well, I had to go back and read again. I was just so immersed in MD, it was hard to come to surface again.

I'm hoping House of Government will get me back in the swing of things.

Dianne wrote: "Chapter 1 refers to Rachmaninoff - is anyone very familiar with him? Did you know that he was a teacher?

From wiki:

Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff[a][b] (1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1873 – 28 March..."

I latched onto Rachmaninoff as well! As a classical musician, I know his works very well. While I am an above average pianist, I don't have the skills to play his works for piano. He was an incredible pianist as well as an extraordinary composer.

My ex-husband was a concert pianist, and he played a lot of Rachmaninoff. My personal favorite is his Piano Concerto Number 3, although most listeners gravitate toward his Second Concerto.

A lot of the old black and white movies used his music. His works are lush, emotional, and really beautiful

Scriabin is also a well-known composer, pianist, and violinist. I've always found his music less accessible. But he was a huge talent. His works for piano are fiendishly difficult. I can't play them either. 😀


I was so excited to see how they figured into Russian history.