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Common reads
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Sarah
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Jun 25, 2018 09:56AM
Great! I will get a copy of it as well.
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Oksana, were you thinking of Lost Horizon as a suggestion for the annual group read in August? Or are you just interested in seeing if anyone would like to buddy read it with you? (In the latter case, you might want to post an invitation on this thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... .
I'll plan to put it in the poll, then! Thanks, Oksana.
Oksana and Werner, I just bought a copy too so if it doesn’t win I will buddy read with Oksana
Okay, the poll is up, and ready for voting on, at this link: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1... . I'll try to send a Goodreads message to all members about this, with the link, later today.
Today will be your last chance to vote in the poll! We've had strong participation (for this group) so far, with 23 votes. The top two nominees so far are just a vote apart, and the third one isn't far behind; so your vote does matter!
The votes are counted, and Lost Horizon edged out First Men in the Moon, nine votes to eight. (The Inimitable Jeeves came in a close third, with six votes.) So, starting Aug. 1, those who want to will be reading the winner together. (Since the book I'm reading now is a 672-page chunkster, I may start late, but I'll start eventually!) I'm ashamed to admit that the Bluefield College library doesn't have a copy, and neither do the public libraries in the area; but I don't think it'll be hard to borrow by interlibrary loan.
Fortunately, our public library system has a few copies, so I'm in for the common read.
Rosemarie wrote: "Fortunately, our public library system has a few copies, so I'm in for the common read."Sounds good, Rosemarie!
I just finished Lost Horizon! Are we to start a group discussion about it? I thought it was a wonderful book!
I think we usually wait until August to read the book. I have been itching to start reading it. I cannot wait to hear what you think about it, Sarah!
Ah! August! No problem, I can wait. I didn’t know what the date is and I didn’t realize I was going to read it all in a 24 hour period.
Sorry, Sarah; I guess I should have reminded everyone of the schedule in my post above! Yes, most Goodreads groups that do common reads schedule them to be concurrent with a calendar month. (In our case, the time lapse between the poll and the read itself gives people time to secure a copy, if they don't have immediate access.) But I'm really glad to hear that you liked the book so much!
Thanks Werner, had I paid better attention I might have known that it was for August. There are goldfish with better attention spans than myself. For once I am prepared in advance though which is a nice feeling. I’m looking forward to hear what everyone else has to say about the story.
Oh, and thank you Oksana, for suggesting this book!
Sarah wrote: "Oh, and thank you Oksana, for suggesting this book!"You are welcome, Sarah! Maybe we can buddy read something later. I just started From Cold War to Hot Peace and finishing up Natural Causes. I am planning to read Down and Out in Paris and London and Plato's Republic in September. What are you reading next?
Oksana wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Oh, and thank you Oksana, for suggesting this book!"You are welcome, Sarah! Maybe we can buddy read something later. I just started From Cold War to Hot Peace and finishing up Natura..."
I got Lost Horizon out from the library. I just love that the book has that little envelope they used to have in front to put the calling card. Oh, that envelope brings back wonderful memories of going to my local library!!!
Do others have this memory?
I love those little pockets for date due cards. That brings back memories.
I got my first library card, at the little branch library in the north end of my home town, in 1958 (I was six). So yes, I remember paper date cards and card pockets. :-) At the Bluefield College library, we still used those when I started working there in 1992. We have an automated circulation system now, created in the late 90s; but the books we already had before that still have their card pockets, and the ones that haven't been checked out since the new system was created still have date cards in them.
Werner wrote: "I got my first library card, at the little branch library in the north end of my home town, in 1958 (I was six). So yes, I remember paper date cards and card pockets. :-) At the Bluefield College l..."I was born in 1945, and my parents, coming out of the depression of the 30's, would not buy me books. They thought they were a waste of money when I could go to the library. In those days, a kid could just walk to the library on their own. I do read books on my iPad, but I love a physical book.
I grew up in a small town and loved going to the library. I would save up my allowance to buy books like The Bobbsey Twins and Trixie Belden(neither of which are British).
I remember I really wanted to read Nancy Drew, but my local library would not carry it, I guess they thought it was too low brow. So, I found another kid who had a set of them, and I traded some doll clothes I had!!!
I loved going to the library and bookstore as a kid though for some reason the library only let me chose from the kids section downstairs and not the adult section. My parents had to take out those books which I though a bit odd since that was where many of the classics etc were and other than sex , violence and language, what is to say that a story is or isn’t for kids? I was a precocious little twerp. Going to the library was like a candy store for stories I loved it; all those unheard tales waiting to be discovered. Every kid should have a library card and be allowed to go wild. TV shows far more risqué things than books, but maybe that depends upon the imagination of the reader.
ROSEMARIE, I recently, as in the last two weeks, started rereading the Trixie Belden books (the first three so far) that I so loved as a kid. True, they’re not British literature, but they were particularly great for American stories. They had a little of that indescribable flair that so attracts me to British writing. Reading them now brings me back to the time I originally read them though I don’t really remember the stories so well, but details of the stories and characters remained with me. It’s like reading them afresh with my dodgy memory. They are so wonderfully innocent and the kids are so helpful always offering to do chores and work, and they didn’t all have an iPhone in their hands the whole time (she bemoans while writing on her own that is always glued to her). Adventures and the like seem a thing of the past these days as kids aren’t allowed the freedom we had as kids. I am glad I was born in the 60s, the independence instilled in us was important.
OKSANA,
I’ve read Down and Out in London and Paris, by Orwell, but it’s been 25 years or so and I could read it again. Check out my “to read” section and see if there’s anything that interests you there, as well. I’d love to do a buddy read.
Just as a reminder that it's there, you can also use the "Buddy reads?" thread, here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... , to make contacts for buddy reads. (And members interested in doing those should probably check the posts there every so often--though we haven't had any comments there in a while.)Sarah wrote: "Adventures and the like seem a thing of the past these days as kids aren’t allowed the freedom we had as kids. I am glad I was born in the 60s, the independence instilled in us was important.""
I agree that it's important for kids to be able to gradually acquire an age-appropriate degree of independence, to be able to explore, to learn how to handle freedom, and to be given the message that their world and community is an exciting place, not a horrible, menacing place in which they have to huddle behind closed doors in fear, or have adult escorts if they venture beyond the portal. Yes, I get that there are dangers to this (there are also dangers to riding a bicycle, or to riding in a car, etc.), I get that our society is more ravaged by the drug epidemic and social/moral breakdown than it was in the 50s and 60s, and I'm not opposed to a wholesome balance of freedom and safety concerns. But I would not characterize living in a perpetual state of paranoia and inculcating the same in our kids as a "wholesome balance." (Now, I'll climb off my soap box, blush, and shut up. :-) )
The thread for discussing The Lost Horizon is now up, here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... . As always, participation is voluntary; but hopefully this will be a rewarding read for many people in the group, and spark some good discussion.I may or may not be able to take part this time. Usually, I try to do so each year. Right now, though, I'm involved, in another group, in a common read of a 672-page tome, and have read only 58% so far. (When I committed to it, it was scheduled for May, but subsequently had to be moved to July.) Barb and I will be taking some days early this month to visit family, during which I won't get any regular reading done; and in order to get a copy of The Lost Horizon, I'll have to use interlibrary loan, which takes time. But, we'll see what happens!
I started the Lost Horizon. It looks like the kind of book a person can read in an afternoon or two. The preface, written in 1936, affected me deeply, considering all that has happened since then. (The edition I have was published in 1957. ) I will never forget the movie I saw so long ago, so I am very interested to read this book.
Carol, my book does not have a preface. I am halfway through the book. What was it in the preface that affected you so deeply?
Oksana wrote: "Carol, my book does not have a preface. I am halfway through the book. What was it in the preface that affected you so deeply?"James Hilton writes that when his book was first published in 1933 he thought his message in it about the peril of war would become out of date. Then in the preface, written in 1936, he says it has become more terrifyingly up to date than ever. Little did he know in 1936 what the future would hold. It made me catch my breath.
The fear of what was happening in Europe and Germany in 1933 pointed to a very frightening and dangerous time ahead. The memory of the devastation of WWI was still relatively fresh in everyone’s mind and no one was eager for the horrors of that war to be revisited. The biological warfare of mustard gas was horrific and a generation of young men had been lost; recovery from that was slow or nonexistent for many. The author saw the harbingers and shared them in the words of those who had a long view of history. Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it, as they say. I thought the book was wonderful, I didn’t know there was a movie about it as well. I’d quite like to see that.
Some great, insightful comments here! Carol and Sarah, would you be interested in copying and pasting your comments onto the Lost Horizon thread, here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... ? I'd hate for anyone clicking on that thread to miss out on reading these, just for not knowing where to find them!
No problem, Werner... I am now halfway into the book, and it is such a page turner!!! Great writing, great descriptions. I had seen the movie years and years ago, and it left an indelible impression. And I wonder if the movie and book are responsible for the common usage of the words "Shangri-la"??? I had never read the book, so I am grateful to this common read!!
Sure! Will do when I get to work. My iPhone isn’t great for that.
Thanks, Carol and Sarah (and no hurry at all)! And yes, I'd guess that this is exactly where that popular usage comes from.
Folks seem to be talking about Lost Horizon over in the 'currently reading' section as well. The movie apparently was a big hit and I suppose I shall have to see it now to compare it to the book.
Yesterday, on another thread, I mentioned that I won't be having much reading time in August, since Barb and I are anticipating a visit then from our oldest daughter, with her husband and new baby. (We don't get to see them, other than on Skype, very often, since they live in Australia.) I'll be spending most of my free time with them, not reading or posting here.An idea struck me this morning: this year, why not do our common read in July? May is young; if we start brainstorming about what to read now, we could come up with our suggestions and get our poll up early in June. What do the rest of you think of that idea?
In any case, it won't hurt to start thinking now about what to read, whether we do the read in July or August! Right now, I'm on a bit of a Jane Austen kick in my reading; but we already did a common read of an Austen novel, Sense and Sensibility, back in 2016. However, I've got probably dozens of books by British writers (though I haven't actually counted them) on my "to read" and "to re-read" shelves; and I'm sure most of us can say the same.
I think it is an excellent idea. My August will be a rather busy month. But in July I will be in London. What a perfect place to read an English novel. This year I have been binging on Kate Atkinson. Is anyone interested in reading her first book Behind the Scenes at the Museum? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Werner, I think I read everything by Jane Austen but I don't mind rereading her novel.
Oksana, I'd actually never heard of Atkinson, nor of Behind the Scenes at the Museum. But I see that Rosemarie has read it (and rated it at four stars), so she's more knowledgeable about it.Thanks for the feedback on Austen! Given the sheer number of worthy authors to choose from, I can see where a case can be made for picking a different one each time. (However, I'm not dogmatic about that; in some of my other groups that do common reads, we've read more than one book by the same writer in a few instances --it's up to the group.)
When I commented, in my previous post, that I hadn't actually counted the books by British writers on my "to read" and "to re-read" shelves, I piqued my own curiosity. :-) It turns out that there are at least 131 books that fit that description (maybe more, since I'm not aware of the nationality of some writers). And, of course, that also doesn't count the "maybe to read shelf.... :-)
I am curious about other books on your to-read section. I have never read anything by Salman Rushdie or Joseph Conrad, although their work is probably too dark for a summer read-together. If you decide to read anything by Atkinson first, I would recommend God in Ruins and Life after Life.
I would be interested in reading either Behind the Scenes at the Museum or Life after Life.
Oksana wrote: "I am curious about other books on your to-read section. I have never read anything by Salman Rushdie or Joseph Conrad, although their work is probably too dark for a summer read-together. If you de..."Oksana, I've never read anything by Rushdie either, and actually don't have anything by him on my to-read or maybe-to-read shelves. (The latter shelf adds 11 more books by British writers, though!). I do have Conrad's Lord Jim and The Rescue on my to-read shelf; and I've read his Heart of Darkness and The Secret Agent and appreciated them (maybe "liked" isn't exactly the word one uses for those). But it's definitely true that those last two are dark reads.
As for the rest of what I've got on those shelves, it's mostly fiction, with some nonfiction and poetry. A lot of them are 19th-century or early 20th-century classics; books by Charles Dickens and C. S. Lewis show up a lot (twelve and six of them, respectively). (I'd just link to my to-read shelf; but it has 395 books on it and they're not separated by the author's nationality, so a person would have to comb through it.) When I get a chance, I'll do a "Compare books" with you, and see if there's any overlap of British writers in our to-read books!
Of course, I'm open to reading something that's not on my shelves, if the group chooses it. Both in this group and other groups, I've taken part in reading books that weren't on my radar at all, but most of which turned out to be things I rated positively, and sometimes even very highly. So being introduced to the unfamiliar can be a very enjoyable part of the Goodreads experience!
You mentioned C.S. Lewis on your To-Read shelf. One of my favourite books by him is Till We Have Faces. I read it twice but would not mind reading it again with our group.
Till We Have Faces is one that's actually on my to-read list, Oksana! We'll keep both that one and the Atkinson book(s) in mind.
I read it once but it didn’t make an impact at the time, I wouldn’t mind reading it again esp. with a group.
So far, we've had one favorable response to the idea of moving up our common read to July, and no expressed opposition. (In law, the ruling assumption is that "silence is consent." :-) ) So unless anyone objects, we'll go ahead with that plan.We have at least two suggestions for the poll so far. One is C. S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces. I'd suggest narrowing the Kate Atkinson suggestions down to one, so as not to dilute her voting strength. (Since I'm not familiar with her work at all, I can't be of any help with that myself.)
I think her best work was Life After Life.
Well, Behind the Scenes at the Museum and Life After Life seem to be the two Atkinson novels most mentioned. (The latter is treated by Goodreads as the first of a series, but it appears to be just as readily read as a stand-alone.) I don't have a preference; I've read the descriptions and a number of friend's reviews, and neither one sounds like it would be my personal cup of tea. Oksana, would you rather go with one you've already read and think highly of, or one that you want to read? (If the former is picked for the poll and wins, you can take part in the discussion based on your prior reading, if you don't want to invest the time to read it over again.)
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