Bob’s Comments (group member since Jun 22, 2011)

Bob’s comments from the Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) group.

Welcome, Milja!

Hello and welcome, Pati.

Bob wrote: "Can't go wrong with science fiction/time travel, I nominate The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, 118 pages, published 1895, Goodreads rating 3.9, last read by the group Septe..."

Sara, please drop this nomination. It's a long shot for seconding or winning. Besides, I couldn't help myself and started rereading tonight.

I nominate Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener, 384 pages, published 1947, Goodreads rated 4.04, Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1948)

I also second The Caine Mutiny, an outstanding story.

Like Franky, for most of my life, I did not DNF a book. That said, I am sure there were times that I unconsciously abandoned a few. I simply bookmarked it, set it aside, and forgot about it. Thanks to some good group friends I realized that life is too short to spend time with a book that does not grab me between 50 and 100 pages.

Lynn's question has caused me to go back through last year's reading. I did not have any DNF's. I also didn't have any 1-star reads and only 4 two-star reads. I had a very good year!

I agree this is an excellent story and I can't wait to see what others think about it.

Can't go wrong with science fiction/time travel, I nominate The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, 118 pages, published 1895, Goodreads rating 3.9, last read by the group September 2015

I feel like reading some science fiction, I nominate Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven, 629 pages, published 1977, Goodreads rating 4.00

Welcome, Michael.

Hooray! For short stories, I plan to read all 61 from beginning to end. Fingers crossed. The only thing I have read by Cheever is The Wapshot Chronicle.

The Queen of Spades by Alexander Pushkin is our Febryary 2025 Short Story/Novella Read.

This discussion will open on March 1

Beware Short Story Discussions will have Spoilers

Welcome, Kate.

Welcome, Alex, Paul, and Samara! Glad you are with us.

Welcome, Kirill

Welcome Yana, glad you are with us.

Franche and Mary, welcome!

Beda wrote: "I am new to the group and would like to read this, but have been unable to find a copy. I’ve not gone to the library yet, but have searched Amazon and even Audible without success. It’s tricky some..."

Your library may have a copy of Roman Fever and Other Stories, it is also available at Project Gutenburg, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/7516/.... It may also be avaliable on other internet sites.

Teri-K wrote: "Bob wrote: "One of my Buffet picks for this year is Roman Fever and Other Stories. It contains eight stories by Wharton one being, The Angel at the Grave. As I said earlier this is a ..."

I agree completely, Edith Wharton is not a sunshine and rainbows author. Several of her books that I have read have less than happily ever after endings. The characters in Ethan Frome, The House of Mirth, and Summer all lack fairytale endings. My using Xingu as a comparison to Angel wasn’t the best choice. It just happened that I read both on the same evening. Of the novels and short stories by Whorton I have read, Angel is my least enjoyed. My second reading gave me a better appreciation for the story, thanks to the group's discussion but I will not read it a third time.

Also in haste I closed my post by saying that I feel good when I finish a Wharton book, the better adjective is reflective. Finishing a Wharton book leaves me wondering, sometimes for days, about what-ifs in the ending, but I am always glad to have read it and hope to read more.

One of my Buffet picks for this year is Roman Fever and Other Stories. It contains eight stories by Wharton one being, The Angel at the Grave. As I said earlier this is a reread, having first read it five years ago. After my first reading, the story just left me flat, it just wasn’t what I expected from Wharton. One reason as several people have already pointed out, the writing is not easy to read. It is a vocabulist nightmare, which I did not appreciate.

Before my reread, I read most of our current discussion comments. The discussion thoughts and insights gave me a better understanding of the story and made this reread much better than my first time. I will still hold to my opinion that this was not what I want or expect when I read Wharton. Even though it is a solid well put together story, by a favorite author. Coincidentally, another story in Roman Fever is Xingu, which I have read several times. Xingu is exactly what I love most about Wharton. I can’t articulate why, other than it just leaves me feeling good when I’m finished. Angel just left me feeling, huh.

Nike wrote: "I noticed that the group hasn't read the books about Narnia so I nominate the chronologically first The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis 1955, 162 pages."

Seconded