Common reads

[Carol]

I will read anything by Graham Greene. And if you pick a book I have read, I will be glad to re-read it. His writing is so superb that I often re-read paragraphs just for the pleasure of experiencing good writing. Personally, I will not read any dystopian books. I do not need to put any more fear into my head than is already there from current events.

[Rosemarie]

Has anyone read Our Man in Havana? I like spy stories, especially for the summer.

[Carol]

I watched the movie first, then read the book. It was fun to have the image of Alec Guinness in my mind while reading. I would love to re-read it for a group read.

[Werner]

Earlier, I wrote: "Except for his essay "Shooting an Elephant," 1984 is the only one of Orwell's writings that I've ever read. "

Actually, that isn't true --I've read Animal Farm, too! DUH! I don't know how I could have forgotten to mention that one, given that it's one of the genuine classics of modern literature. :-( Since I've been absent-minded from childhood, I can't use the "senior moment" excuse; but in this case, there really is no excuse for that.

[Alicia]

AF is an amazing story.

[Rosemarie]

Animal Farm is one of those deceptively simple books that resonate years later.

[Werner]

Animal Farm is another book I'd be able to join in discussing, if it were picked as a group read. Although, given Carol's preference not to get into a dystopian read right now, I don't know whether or not it would be the optimum choice. (It's not usually classified as "dystopian" by list makers; but being an allegorical depiction of Stalin's Russia, it's not exactly presenting a social system that's brimming with sweetness and light.)

[Bill]

Hi folks!

I'm interested in the British summer read, so I thought I'd put in my tuppence.

I think Orwell's nonfiction is generally better than his fiction. I'd like to read The road to Wigan Pier. Great descriptions of coal mining. Catalonia and Down and Out are great too, but don't think I'm ready to read them again.

I'd love to do Greene too. Our Man in Havana or The Power and the Glory are books I have been thinking of re-reading lately.

[Rosemarie]

I prefer Orwell's non-fiction, too. I have never read Greene's Our Man in Havana and think it would make a great summer read, since it is hot in Cuba and will be hot here too.

[Oksana]

I have not read The Road to Wigan Pier or Our Man in Havana. Great suggestions, Bill!

[Werner]

Our Man in Havana seems to be the consensus favorite for our Graham Greene nomination; so, if no one objects, I'll put that one in the poll. The two most suggested Orwell titles are Keep the Aspidistra Flying and The Road to Wigan Pier. What thoughts do we have on narrowing those down to one for the poll (assuming that we want to narrow them down to one)?

How much interest is there in including Kipling's The Light That Failed in the poll? (Personally, the description of that one doesn't really appeal to me, though that doesn't mean it wouldn't to others.)

[Carol]

One of my all time favorite books is Kipling's Kim, which I have read and re-read several times, understanding it better each time, and sometimes just reading passages for their beauty the way you look at a flower over and over for its beauty. I would be open to trying another one of his books, but I really would like to do Our Man in Havana as a common read, because I have read it, would like to re-read it, and would be interested in other people's comments on it. It is light reading, yet it gets under your skin.

[Werner]

Carol, Kim was actually the Kipling book that I would have suggested for this time around! How would you feel about putting it in the poll? If it's selected, group members like you who've read it already would be perfectly welcome to join in the discussion, without rereading it unless you want to.

[Oksana]

I read Kim a couple of months ago, and will be happy to discuss it!
Our Man In Havana looks really interesting!

[Rosemarie]

I read Kim a year or so ago and enjoyed it more than I thought I would, since I abandoned Stalky and Co by Kipling after 2 chapters. But I have not read Our Man in Havana--yet.

[Werner]

Okay, Kim and Our Man in Havana will be on the poll, which I hope to have up by tomorrow. Shall I just pick one of the two most-mentioned Orwell titles, or include both of them? I don't want to unfairly dilute his voting strength by scattering his support; but maybe that's not an overriding consideration.

[Carol]

I think Kim would be more interesting to discuss than Our Man in Havana, and I would like having a reason to re-read it. I was so fascinated by it I even read a book called The Search for Kim, based on the real "Kim". (Sadly, I forgot how to make the italics)

[Oksana]

Werner wrote: "Okay, Kim and Our Man in Havana will be on the poll, which I hope to have up by tomorrow. Shall I just pick one of the two most-mentioned Orwell titles, or include both of them? I don't want to unf..."
I think you should include both titles by Orwell to gauge the interest.

[Werner]

Thanks, Oksana! The poll (with both Orwell titles on it) is now up and ready for voting, at this link: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1... . It will run through July 23.

Carol, for instructions on how to do the italics, click the "some html is okay" link above the comment box, and scroll down until you come to it. They explain it there better than I can.

[Carol]

Thanks, Werner---I am reading The Merry Wives of Windsor right now because I will be seeing this play at the Ashland Shakespeare Festival next month. But I will be able to do the group read too. Carol

[Werner]

Carol wrote: "Thanks, Werner---I am reading The Merry Wives of Windsor right now because I will be seeing this play at the Ashland Shakespeare Festival next month. But I will be able to do the group read too. Carol"

Great, Carol --we'll be glad to have you taking part!

[Werner]

We have a clear poll winner: it's Our Man in Havana, with 18 votes. Kim came in second with 11 votes, and 11 votes were cast for the Orwell selections, too --but only two of them for Keep the Aspidistra Flying; The Road to Wigan Pier garnered the other nine. (So it would not have won the poll even had both the other Orwell votes been cast for it.) We'll be starting our read on Aug. 1, and I'll try to post the discussion thread on that day if not before. Thanks to everyone who voted, and I'm looking forward to a fun read and lively discussion!

[Werner]

After some discussion among the moderators, occasioned by experiences in a couple of other groups, a new policy has been set for our group's common reads. Books written by group members will not be considered for these, and will not be put in the polls. Author promotions in the appropriate folder are fine and encouraged (I'm an author myself, as is LeAnn!); but involving group-member authors in the common reads process opens the door to too many abuses and problems. (There's never been such an occasion in this group, but we'd like to prevent the possibility.)

If authors want to offer free electronic or paper copies of their books to group members, that's fine! However, those who do this should handle the distribution of these copies themselves. (The group moderators will not take on the responsibility.) It's also fine for authors, as well as other group members, to use the new "Buddy reads?" thread, here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... , to suggest and arrange buddy reads of books, whether they're written by group members or not.

[Werner]

If we keep to our practice of doing our annual (voluntary) group common read in August, it will be upon us pretty soon! So, it isn't too early to begin seriously brainstorming about what book we might read this time. (I hope to get the poll up early in July.) Does anyone have any suggestions?

On Monday morning, I'll be leaving for a few days of vacation, with limited Internet access, so I'll be out of the discussion during that time. But I expect to be back home sometime on Thursday.

[Rosemarie]

Maybe a book by H.G. Wells?

[Sarah]

20,000 Leagues Beneath the Sea would be my choice for HG Wells if you pick him. I’d have to think of other books that might be good choices too.

[Werner]

Actually, Sarah, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea was written by Jules Verne, who was a French writer. (Verne and Wells were partly contemporary, though, although Wells was 38 years younger.)

Wells is a writer who I think would probably evoke a good deal of discussion, so might be a good choice! Did you have any particular book by him in mind, Rosemarie? I've read all of his major novels (The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, The Island of Dr. Moreau, and The First Men in the Moon), so could join in discussing any of those.

[Sarah]

There is a “Duh” moment! Whoops! I get those two confused sometimes. Had I read him in the original French maybe I would have remembered but I am not that literate in the language. Thanks for the heads up. I’m going to go crawl under a rock now. :-).

[Werner]

Nah, Sarah, you don't need to crawl under a rock; we've all had our share of memory lapses! :-)

[Rosemarie]

I have not read The First Men in the Moon or The Island of Doctor Moreau. I would prefer the The First Men in the Moon.

[Alicia]

Werner wrote: "Nah, Sarah, you don't need to crawl under a rock; we've all had our share of memory lapses! :-)"

I didn't even catch that one, but it did feel funny when I read it, so my brain must have been partly on.

[Werner]

Rosemarie wrote: "I have not read The First Men in the Moon or The Island of Doctor Moreau. I would prefer the The First Men in the Moon."

We'll plan to put The First Men in the Moon in the poll, then, unless there's a groundswell of support for some other Wells novel.

[Werner]

So far, we have one book for the poll; but a poll with only one choice is something of a contradiction in terms. I'm hoping we can come up with at least one more suggestion.

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emma (Emmuska) Orczy is a British classic that's been high on my to-read list forever. But although I've suggested it for a common read (in another group) before, I sometimes worry that it might be too controversial for a group read. Like A Tale of Two Cities, it's set during the French Revolution, and takes a definite position on that subject. The French Revolution, of course, was the defining historical moment that created the whole Left vs. Right political schema that's dominated Western thought ever since; so discussing it inspires the same fierce partisan division and passions that our current politics does.

[Rosemarie]

I know I have already suggested one book, but how about something by P.G. Wodehouse?

[Werner]

Rosemarie, Wodehouse remains (over 40 years after his death) a very popular author; so I don't doubt that one of his books would be an excellent choice! (I've never read any of his work myself, but I've heard good things about it.

His most popular books seem to be those of the Jeeves series. How about the series opener, My Man Jeeves? The libraries here in the BIuefields don't have it, but it shouldn't be hard to get by interlibrary loan.

[Sarah]

Werner,

The book is old enough that you can usually download them for free from the many free digital book sites like the Gutenberg project. Or iBooks etc. I believe the P. G Wodehouse books are on there.

[Werner]

Sarah, thanks for the tip! I actually prefer to read in paper format; but that information will be useful for group members who do more of their reading in the electronic format.

[Sarah]

I do as well, paperback works best on the subway!

[Sarah]

I’ve found that I prefer reading paperbacks to hard cover books so I can fold them back and underline them. I have some kind of hesitancy underlining hard cover books for some reason. Maybe I should do it in pencil so I don’t have so many qualms about it. I am fascinated by books that other people have written in. I guess it has to do with a poem by Billy Collins about people writing in the margins. It’s like reading other people’s hidden thoughts and I am a curious/nosy bugger! Yes, I probably do need to get a life, ha!

[Werner]

Personally, I've never underlined or highlighted books myself (paperback or hardcover), except that I do it very occasionally in my Bible, to mark verses that are theologically significant, in case I want to find them quickly without messing around with a concordance. But I agree that, with used books, it can be interesting and even fascinating to see the underlinings and notes that previous readers have left; it's a way of sharing, to a small degree, in their experience.!

[Rosemarie]

My Man Jeeves is not as good as the others in the series because it is a compilation of four stories and only one is about Jeeves. The later books are all better than that one.

[Werner]

Thanks for that insight, Rosemarie! The two Jeeves books we have here at the BC library are The Inimitable Jeeves (which is the second installment in the series) and the fifth one, Thank You, Jeeves. Are you familiar with either of these?

[Sarah]

I believe it was Right Oh, Jeeves! which I read where Gussie Finknottle falls in love. I just love the names! Finknottle! It’s wonderful, I actually gave my cat that last name years ago. He had all English names because T.S. Elliot wrote that poem about cats having three names and the concept stuck with me.
It’s not a bad poem but the Broadway play didn’t know when to pack it up and call it a run. Now Phantom of the Opera wont go away.
There is nothing like British humor!

[Rosemarie]

Those are both great choices.

[Werner]

I'm thinking it might be best to go with The Inimitable Jeeves for the poll --I'd like to keep as close to the series beginning as possible. Does that sound okay to you, Sarah?

[Sarah]

Works for me, I’m easy.

[Rosemarie]

That sounds good to me too.

[Oksana]

My friend just brought me a copy of Lost Horizon by James Hilton. Is anyone interested in reading it with me?

[Sarah]

Oksana, I might be but It would be in August or September if you can wait or we could do it for the next group read, I would vote for it then.

[Oksana]

Sarah, I can wait. I am finishing another book right now, and eyeing the next one already.