Common reads

[Oksana]

I would rather read the one I have not read yet! Shall we come up with a third book for the vote? Is there anything you want to read?

[Werner]

Okay, we'll put Behind the Scenes at the Museum (which was Atkinson's first novel) in the poll. I'm hoping to post it by Friday, so it can run through two weekends. (That should give everyone who wants to enough time to vote.)

As long as we have two books in the poll, we don't have to have a third one, but there's still time to suggest one if anyone wants to. There are quite a few books I want to read, but Till We Have Faces is one that I'd be very content to read this July.

[Werner]

Okay, the poll is up, at this link: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1... . It will run through June 9. I'll send out a general message to all group members shortly, inviting them to vote.

[K.]

Sort of a lurker, but I voted! It looks like Lewis is in the lead right now. Hope everyone has a wonderful day.

[Werner]

Hope you have a great day too, E.L.!

[Rosemarie]

Thanks, E.L. 😊

[Werner]

With 22 votes cast, the poll results are in, and by a vote of 14-8, our choice is Till We Have Faces. The read/discussion will start on July 1, and I'll plan to have a discussion thread up by then. Thanks to everyone who took part in the poll! I'm hoping for a good level of participation in the read this year.

[K.]

Ordering my copy now.

[Werner]

Sounds good, E.L.! (I'll be able to check a copy out from the college library where I work.)

[Rosemarie]

I'm getting mine from the library.

[Werner]

Rosemarie wrote: "I'm getting mine from the library."

A librarian is always glad to hear from a reader who uses his/her local library, Rosemarie! :-)

[K.]

I should start using my library. I have a bad habit of hoarding books! Oops.

[Werner]

Book hoarder here, too, E.L.; you should see my bookcases at home and at the office, and my physical to-read stacks! I use the library quite a bit, AND read books I own as well; it's kind of a juggling act. :-)

[K.]

I know the feeling! I need another bookcase but I thought of all the books I could buy with that money instead. Now they’re just lying around everywhere.

[Rosemarie]

My older daughter works for the public library.

[Sarah]

I am a book hoarder who just built two more book cases and I use my library. I definitely have a book problem.

[Werner]

It's early days to start thinking about next year's common read; but over on one of our other threads, some interest has been expressed in possibly reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1891 historical novel The White Company together. So that's definitely one we should put in next year's poll!

[Rosemarie]

Good idea, Werner.

[K.]

I agree.

[Oksana]

I am in.

[Werner]

Thanks, Rosemarie, E.L., and Oksana! Of course, it hasn't won next year's poll yet. :-)

For those who don't want to wait until Aug. of 2020, when we'd normally do the common read --this year's read, of course, is coming up next month, and we already have our book picked for that one, Till We Have Faces-- another option would be using our group's Buddy Reads thread (https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... ) to arrange something. With all the other reading plans and commitments I have already, though, the earliest I could plan to join in would be in January; but that's earlier than August 2020.

[Rosemarie]

I would be able to do a buddy read in January too.

[Werner]

Sounds good, Rosemarie! I posted about this in the Buddy Reads thread, too.

[Bruce]

Hello everyone. Since I started July with a vacation, I thought I'd be jumping into the midst of a discussion of Till We Have Faces. No comments yet, or am I in the wrong thread? Even though I read the novel some years ago, I felt at the time that I didn't really "get it," so I'm glad for the opportunity to try again.

[Rosemarie]

Hi, Bruce. The thread is in The Discussion of Individual Books folder (heading). It is the first one under there,

[Werner]

Yes, Bruce, Rosemarie is correct. Here's the actual link to that thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... .

This thread is strictly for news about the common read polls, and for brainstorming together about what books to put in the polls. Each book we pick as a common read gets its own discussion thread. IMO, that system keeps this thread from being prohibitively long, and makes the book discussions easier to find on the group homepage.

[Bruce]

Thanks Rosemarie and Werner!

[Rosemarie]

You're welcome!

[Werner]

We normally have our group's annual common read in August, so this is around the time we usually begin seriously brainstorming about what to read. (Some discussion of this actually has begun on another thread, but I suggested moving it here, since this thread is the more usual venue for it.) I'll hope to put a poll up around the beginning of July, so we can vote on our suggestions.

A couple of contemporary novels were originally suggested. However, due to the current widespread disruption in interlibrary loan services (because so many libraries are currently closed), it might be practical to pick something that's old enough to be in the public domain, so that it would be available online or as a free e-book. Of course, more libraries might be open by the time we get closer to August; it's hard to plan ahead, because the situation is so fluid. But even if more choices are available by then, it won't hurt to have picked an older title, many of which are very worthy!

I broached the idea of picking a poetry book, since we've never done one, to my knowledge. Several people have indicated that they're open to that. Alfred Lord Tennyson's In Memoriam has been mentioned a couple of times. It's one of his major works, and is centrally concerned with the meaning of death and the question of life after death, and so of course is very religion-related. If the group would be more comfortable with a choice that's more secular in theme, Sir Walter Scott's Lochinvar could be a possibility. (I just mention it because it's also on my to-read shelf, like the Tennyson poem; but in truth, I'm open to most anything the group wants to suggest, as others have said as well!)

Just by way of background on how copyright/public domain works (I'm a librarian, so being aware of that kind of thing goes with my occupational territory. :-) ), original writings published up through 1922, under U.S. copyright law, are in the public domain. Introductions to books, critical notes and other added material, if written from 1923 on, are still copyrighted even if the original material they're commenting on isn't. So, to make up a hypothetical example, a collection of Tennyson poems published last year, with a lot of added material, wouldn't itself be in the public domain. But if we pick the collected works of any British poet who wrote from 1500-1922, or any individual poem that can be read as a free-standing book or any partial collection he/she published or somebody else made before 1923, the original content WILL have public domain editions. (Sometimes a whole lot of editions!)

Modern (1923- ) translations of older works are also under copyright (the translators or their heirs/assigns are the copyright holders). Before 1500, British poetry was composed in Old or Middle English. So, while the original-language texts of things like Beowulf or the works of Chaucer are in the public domain, post-1922 translations into Modern English are not (nor, or course, are any added explanatory materials). But again, there will be lots of Modern English and other editions of these works that were published before 1923!

[Sarah]

Werner wrote: "We normally have our group's annual common read in August, so this is around the time we usually begin seriously brainstorming about what to read. (Some discussion of this actually has begun on ano..."
Don't forget library apps like Libby where you can put in your city or zip code and access all your local library's ebooks. You may not be able to get the physical addition from your library right now, but you can get many of their books in digital form during this shut down. Even Amazon has some of its books at reduced prices or even free. Check out your app store for free books or greatly reduced books as well. There are quite a few discount sites for digital books, though the names escape me currently, which offer lots of books at greatly reduced prices and even have current books reduced for a short period of time. The emails can be annoying but you can also find some stuff you want that you weren't willing to pay full price for.

[Werner]

Thanks for those helpful tips, Sarah!

[Oksana]

Another suggestion- Paradise Lost by Milton.

[Werner]

I've read Paradise Lost, but if the group picks it, I'd actually be game to reread it. (it's almost 30 years since I read it.)

[Rosemarie]

I read Paradise Lost more than 40 years ago and would consider reading it again, since I own a copy.

[Elizabeth A.G.]

Another suggestion: Beowulf

[Werner]

The Bluefield College library has the Seamus Heaney translation of Beowulf, which is the edition shown in the cover image in Elizabeth's post. (That's the edition which Goodreads shows first for this title, apparently because it's the one shelved by the most people.) But there are also a LOT of older editions, in Old English, Modern English, or both! (This one is actually on my to-read shelf as well.)

My idea of doing a poetry book seems to have struck a responsive chord! Still, it's a suggestion, not a command; anyone who has a prose book to suggest should feel free to do so.

[Oksana]

I have four different translations of Beowulf and will be happy to reread it. Translating it from Old English into Middle English was part of my thesis!

[Werner]

Oksana wrote: "I have four different translations of Beowulf and will be happy to reread it. Translating it from Old English into Middle English was part of my thesis!"

Cool! If we pick that poem as our read, we'll definitely count on you for linguistic insights. :-) (I suspect that most of us can't even read Old English with much fluency, much less translate it --I know that I can't!)

[Elizabeth A.G.]

That's quite an accomplishment, Oksana - I took a look at the Old English and I thought - NO WAY!! So glad that people like Seamus Heany have translated into modern English!!

[Werner]

I've been thinking outside the box a bit, and came up with an idea, which I'll bounce off the rest of you. We've done our annual common read in August for a few years now, but would it work as well for everyone else to do it in July instead? In another group I'm in, I've been asked to take charge of a themed common read that takes place three times a year; and it would work out well for me if I had August free to slot one of them then. But I don't want to inconvenience anyone else!

If we decided to go that route, we already have several suggestions. I could put up a poll tomorrow, which would let it run for two weekends as usual, and still provide the usual amount of lead time for everyone to secure a copy of the winning choice. That does require us to make a decision on very short notice, though. Does anybody feel like that's rushing things too much?

[Oksana]

I am taking a class until July 12th. If you decide to start in July, I can catch up with you after my final exam.

[Werner]

Oksana wrote: "I am taking a class until July 12th. If you decide to start in July, I can catch up with you after my final exam."

True --none of these poems will be so long they'll take all month to read! (I'd need to start late myself, since I have a prior commitment to buddy read a short book with a friend starting on July 1.)

[Rosemarie]

July is fine for me.

[Werner]

Thanks, Rosemarie! Having looked at the calendar more carefully, I've seen that if I post the poll on June 12, it can still run for two weekends and finish up on the 21st, leaving everyone plenty of time to acquire the book. So we have until then to finalize our decision about the schedule change. If anyone's against the idea, you still have time to speak up!

[Elizabeth A.G.]

July date is fine, Werner

[Werner]

Well, all the responses to the idea of switching our group read to July so far have been favorable, so I'd say we have a consensus! I'll plan to get the poll up tomorrow.

Our suggestions so far are (in alphabetical order): Beowulf, In Memoriam, Lochinvar, and Paradise Lost. Is everybody happy with that line-up of nominees? Do we need any additions (or deletions)?

[Werner]

The poll is up and ready for voting, at this link: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2... . I'll try to send out a general message later today, inviting all members in the group to vote. (Since I'll be happy with any choice the group makes, I might not vote this time myself, unless I need to beak a tie!)

[Werner]

We had 21 votes on the poll this time. With the results in, Beowulf edged Paradise Lost for the top spot, with nine votes to eight. (In Memoriam and Lochinvar tied for third place, with two votes apiece.) So Beowulf will be our common read for 2020, starting on July 1. I'll undertake to get the discussion thread up on that day (if no one else posts it first).

[Werner]

It's again the time of year when, looking ahead to our annual group read in July, we should start brainstorming about what book to pick. Last year, because of the pandemic (which disrupted library services and interlibrary loan in particular), I suggested limiting our choices to books that are in the public domain, and so usually available online or as free e-books. Since November, though, several groups I'm in have done common reads of books not in the public domain, and to my knowledge nobody --or, in some cases, at least not many people-- who wanted to take part had trouble in getting the books. (I took part in a couple of them myself, and have gotten several books by interlibrary loan during that time.) So it appears that, while this might still be a consideration, we wouldn't necessarily have to take it as an iron-clad rule. (In the one group where there were problems, it was readers in the UK who had them, because of the total closure of libraries there; but I understand that British public libraries have reopened since then.)

[Oksana]

All the pandemic I have been ordering books from a famous book barge “Word on the Water” from London. Sometimes they would send me a subscription bundle. You would not know what in the bundle until it arrives. I got a couple of books by Hilary Mantel. I was curious about them. So I suggest Wolf Hall unless everyone already read this one.