Please introduce yourself~ Showing 1,201-1,250 of 1,672

[Rosemarie]

Hi, Jared, welcome to our group. Are there any 20th century American authors that you would consider essential reading. I tend to read more British authors and the classics in various languages. Modern authors are my weak point. You can reply on the tea room thread. There are some interesting conversations there. I have only been in this group a short time and am really enjoying it.

[Selena]

Hello my name is Selena. I am from New Zealand, a little cool little country.

I joined this group to show my interest to Classics. I chosen Classical Studies as a subject for 2 years in high school. I really thought it was one of those subjects that you could just gain boring history facts, when really it was not. I was hooked n the history of Greek mainly, and fell in love. I am currently in my second year at University majoring in Classics. Hoping to teach Classics , and the cycle of Classical Studies goes on.

[John]

Hi everyone,

I am, now, again, an attorney, approaching retirement, unless that approaching light is just another train. I read whenever possible and from many genre. I have been working my way through the 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list, I also read a fair amount of religious and spiritual works, am trying to keep up with nonfiction (history, economics, public policy, science, especially). Delighted to have found this group and had just started Herodotus when GR pointed me here.

Should be a hoot.

[Everyman]

Gillian wrote: "Thank you po! :) Do you have any suggestions to get me started?"

That depends on what you want to get started with! But you can't go wrong reading some of the literature of the 17th to 19th centuries.

For light but still very influential reading with much going on that doesn't meet the eye on first reading, try Jane Austen. Then move on to Dickens, though if you don't like him don't force it; you'll like him in ten or twenty years, but he takes some getting used to.

If you want a bit more serious reading, try Dante's Divine Comedy, Milton's Paradise Lost, Cervantes Don Quixote, or Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. All take a bit of effort, but are well worth it.

Of course, you should be reading Shakespeare, but not all at once. And use plenty of assisting material, at least at first: Epstein's The Friendly Shakespeare is both fun and informative.

And equally of course, reading the books we read here and participating in the discussions will give you a very good idea of how serious reading and discussion of these books works.

Good luck! Basically, read broadly, but if something isn't working for you don't force it but put it aside for awhile and move on; you can always go back to it.

[Everyman]

Selena wrote: "Hello my name is Selena. I am from New Zealand, a little cool little country.

I joined this group to show my interest to Classics. I chosen Classical Studies as a subject for 2 years in high sch..."

Welcome! New Zealand is indeed a cool little country, and was even before Lord of the Rings filmed there. I greatly enjoy Ngaio Marsh's mysteries set in New Zealand.

It's great to see somebody wanting to teach the classics. They are so worth it, but tend to get pushed aside, particularly in this country, in favor of high tech job related courses.

[Everyman]

John wrote: "Hi everyone,

I am, now, again, an attorney, approaching retirement, unless that approaching light is just another train. I read whenever possible and from many genre. I have been working my way th..."

Glad to have you join us. Retirement from law is indeed possible -- I know, I did it quite successfully a few years back -- even resigned from the bar so I wouldn't be tempted to go back for just one more case.

Herodotus should indeed be a hoot. Will be delighted to have you join in the discussion.

[Chris]

Everyman wrote: " New Zealand is indeed a cool little country, and was even before Lord of the Rings filmed there. I greatly enjoy Ngaio Marsh's mysteries set in New Zealand.

I also enjoyed visiting New Zealand, although my time was a way to short 10 days!! Very beautiful, indeed. Mysteries are some of my favorite "comfort" reading and Everyman, you have given me a new author to try!

[Jinn]

Hi everyone.
I am in my twenties and a graduate student at South Korea, majoring neurobiology.
I started reading books to study English, and found it really interesting, so ended up minoring english literature.
I especially like great women writers such as Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Edith Wharton, Kate Chopin, etc.
I joined this club through the recommendation of my friend, and mean to join the discussion of the histories.
I am really excited about reading classics.

[Rosemarie]

Hi, Ji, Welcome.
Have read anything by George Eliot? I really enjoy her books.

[Everyman]

Ji wrote: "Hi everyone.
I am in my twenties and a graduate student at South Korea, majoring neurobiology.
I started reading books to study English, and found it really interesting, so ended up minoring englis..."

Welcome. We're glad your friend brought you over here, and will be pleased to have you join in our discussion of Herodotus, starting in just two days.

Your list of favorite authors is very much in line with the works we read here. And I certainly second Rosemarie's suggestion that you check out George Eliot. Perhaps starting with something other than Middlemarch, which is a great but challenging book. You might want to jump into Eliot with Silas Marner (a book I hated when I was forced to read it in high school, but loved when I came back to it some years later) or The Mill on the Floss.

[Rosemarie]

Mill on the Floss is a wonderful introduction to George Eliot,especially if you like the Bronte sisters.

[Jinn]

Patrice wrote: "Ji wrote: "Hi everyone.
I am in my twenties and a graduate student at South Korea, majoring neurobiology.
I started reading books to study English, and found it really interesting, so ended up mino..."

I used to live in Seoul, but not now. I miss being there, such a 'plentiful' city

[Jinn]

Everyman wrote: "Ji wrote: "Hi everyone.
I am in my twenties and a graduate student at South Korea, majoring neurobiology.
I started reading books to study English, and found it really interesting, so ended up mino..."

actually, Lady Eliot is my on-going project, starting from Silas Marner and Brother Jacob as a warming-up. I plan to read Mill on the Floss in a few week. I feel like building up expectations for the moment of reading Middlemarch.

[Helena]

Hello all
I'm Helena and I come from Denmark. I'm a twenty year old senior in high school (we do high school rather late in Denmark).

I love literature and with that I think a love of the classics follow. When I go to university I am going to study science of literature, but right now in school my favourite class is Ancient Culture Studies. Right now we are actually reading Homer's Iliad, which I find extremely interesting and fascinating.

I like the more modern classics as a well, and find American literature from the 19th to early 20th century extremely fascinating.

Nice to meet you all

[Everyman]

Helena wrote: "Hello all
I'm Helena and I come from Denmark. I'm a twenty year old senior in high school (we do high school rather late in Denmark).

I love literature and with that I think a love of the classic..."

Glad that you found us!

Your interest in Ancient Cultural Studies is perfectly timed for our read of Herodotus's Histories starting tomorrow! I hope you have time to join that discussion -- perhaps you've already read Herodotus?

We read the Iliad some time back, and you might find it interesting to spend a few minutes browsing some of the posts from that discussion; there may be some ideas that would be usefully shared with your classmates. If you were interested, you can find the discussion threads here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...
there is a separate thread for each book, so you could perhaps find items of interest easily.

[Borum]

Ji wrote: "Hi everyone.
I am in my twenties and a graduate student at South Korea, majoring neurobiology.
I started reading books to study English, and found it really interesting, so ended up minoring englis..."

Hi, Ji! So glad to have you join us in reading Herodotus!
:-)

I would also like to read Geoge Eliot and all the authors you mentioned as well in this group.

[Borum]

Helena wrote: "Hello all
I'm Helena and I come from Denmark. I'm a twenty year old senior in high school (we do high school rather late in Denmark).

I love literature and with that I think a love of the classic..."

Hi, Helena! It'd be great to have someone who is into literature and ancient culture in our discussions . I'm quite benighted in both and would love others to enlighten me :-)

[MK]

MK wrote: "Hello everyone :) I have joined your group a few weeks ago, and planned (plan?) to mostly watch from the sidelines for a couple months, but your posts on Herodotus keep popping up in my feed, and c..."

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Hello everyone. I made my first post, sort of introduction as well, on your current read thread (above). I realize I should have posted here.

I found your group through a comment in another group, which led to a PM, which led me here. I'd like to someday take on Dante's Divine Comedy, and in furtherance of that goal, I realized I would appreciate it much more if I renewed my decades-removed Western Civ History knowledge.

I wish I had time right now to dive in head first with your Herodotus' Histories readings, but my time is crunched at the moment, and my reading desk is crowded, as well. I hope to clear some of that in a few weeks at least. I thought I'd join in another group's Iliad reading (late), but perhaps, really, this would be the best one ;-). It's sure catching my attention, from your many interesting posts!

Anyway, I thought I should recall my manners, and introduce myself, at least. And thank you for your posts. I'm enjoying them, even if I'm not participating. Yet. :)

[MK]

PS - May I ask, in your rules, you disallow spoilers. I am wondering, how do you reconcile that with discussing your group read books?

[Thomas]

Welcome to the group, MK. And thanks for the links in the other thread. Tom Holland is marvelous. The threads stay open indefinitely, so if you want to join in the Herodotus discussion please do so. We'll consider you fashionably late.

To answer your question about spoilers, the group reads follow a reading schedule. Discussion of the chapter or part scheduled for that week or any of the chapters or parts prior to the current week is fair game. Discussion of any part of the book that falls after the current week's chapter is strictly proscribed and will bring down upon you the unmitigated wrath of the moderators. Or perhaps I should just say that it is highly discouraged.

[Dianne]

Hi! I'm really looking forward to this group and greatly appreciate the adherence to true 'classics', I like reading other more contemporary classics also but it is great to find a group focused more on the philosophical works. I am an investment management attorney in the philly burbs, two little girls 4 and 6. Was a lit major at Claremont McKenna in California then went to duke law and ended up in this area rather randomly. My favorite genres are 19th century Russian literature and Latin American literature like Marquez, unamuno and Borges, but I'm really looking forward to returning to the texts I studied in college with this group. I'll join in on the May read, looking forward to it!

[MK]

Thomas wrote: "Welcome to the group, MK. And thanks for the links in the other thread. Tom Holland is marvelous. The threads stay open indefinitely, so if you want to join in the Herodotus discussion please do so..."

Hi Thomas :)
Thanks for the welcome! And, ahhh, okay, I get it now. Makes sense (on the 'no spoilers' question).

Looking forward to reading along with all.

Hi Diane, welcome, from a fellow newbie :)

[Thomas]

Dianne wrote: "Hi! I'm really looking forward to this group and greatly appreciate the adherence to true 'classics', I like reading other more contemporary classics also but it is great to find a group focused mo..."

Welcome to the group, Dianne. We seem to attract lawyers, librarians, and teachers in disproportionate numbers here. I'm not sure why, but the more the merrier!

Our next read may be Crime and Punishment, depending on how the voting goes. If that's how things shake out we'll be right in your wheelhouse. Glad to have you here.

[Dianne]

I suspect lawyers are often reader types that are type a but seek to avoid scientific careers. ;) Librarians/teachers, that's clear that they love books! Actually on the last poll I voted for James! I love c+p but have read it numerous times, not so with the other. I wish we could read both but it looks like c+p will win out . I got James from the library anyway! Very pleased to be here. :)

[Rosemarie]

Hi, Dianne, I also voted for James because I have C and P many times, the last time being less than one year ago. It will be interesting following the comments even if I don't reread the book.

[Everyman]

MK wrote: "MK wrote: "Hello everyone :) I have joined your group a few weeks ago, and planned (plan?) to mostly watch from the sidelines for a couple months, but your posts on Herodotus keep popping up in my ..."

Thanks for re-introducing yourself. Your challenge of reading over-commitment is a well known one in the members of this group! But somehow enough people find the time and energy to read the books to make for the great discussions you've noticed.
Whenever your schedule allows you to catch up and join in, we'd be delighted to hear your thoughts.

[Everyman]

Dianne wrote: "Hi! I'm really looking forward to this group and greatly appreciate the adherence to true 'classics', I like reading other more contemporary classics also but it is great to find a group focused mo..."

Welcome, and glad that you appreciate our commitment to the classics. We're pretty passionate about that, so it's great to have new members who share that passion.

[Glorious]

Hey everyone! If you don't really know me already, I am a current high school senior living in Beijing, China. In the fall I will (most likely) be attending Wellesley College in the Boston area. If any of you live there, and would like to meet up later this year, please send me a message and let me know! I would love to :)

[Everyman]

Gloria wrote: "Hey everyone! If you don't really know me already, I am a current high school senior living in Beijing, China. In the fall I will (most likely) be attending Wellesley College in the Boston area. If..."

Welcome! What are you planning to study at Wellesley, or aren't you sure yet?

[Glorious]

Hi, I actually introduced myself a few months ago, but I wasn't sure which thread to put this in. Thanks anyway for the second welcome! @Patrice: That sounds like a great idea, what age are they and what subject did you teach them? I actually grew up in the United States, I've only spent my high school education in China, but it would be nice to chat with someone :)
@Everyman: I'm thinking biochemistry or pre-med at the moment, with possibly a music double major or minor.

[Dan]

I'm Dan; 61 and semi-retired in Albuquerque, NM. Grew up in southern NM and lived in places from the West Coast to the East Coast and several in between for thirty-five years or so before settling here about thirteen years ago.

I'm an Acquisitions Editor for a small publisher. I get mostly the suspense/thriller and horror manuscripts with the occasional sci-fi, fantasy, or historical fiction thrown into the mix. To occupy my free time, I've recently started a self-directed course of study to expand my knowledge and experience base beyond that required to get a graduate degree in English.

My two favorite books are The Brothers K and House of Leaves.

I'm always open to chatting about books and to making new friends, so feel free to contact or add me.

[Rafael]

What a odd thing! I have not introduced me. I have joined some months ago.

I am Rafael, 28. I am from Brazil. English is not my mother tongue so if I make any mistakes I would appreciate if someone corrects me. I was not an aficionado for classics but recently I become a such thing. But I have not the depth of the members of this group at discussing classics, so I just read the threads. There's a lot of threads to read, I really enjoy the Divina Comedia's threads because the illustrations from Doré, Botticelli, Milton etc

[Everyman]

Rafael wrote: "What a odd thing! I have not introduced me. I have joined some months ago.

I am Rafael, 28. I am from Brazil. English is not my mother tongue so if I make any mistakes I would appreciate if someon..."

Glad you got around to saying hello! I noticed you posting a few times in Book 1 of Brothers, but not since. Are you reading it with us, or are you mostly working your way through the past comments?

And your English is just fine. No worries about that.

[Rafael]

Thank you, Everyman. I am not reading it. Just reading the comments. As soon as I could participate in the group reads I will. I am sure that I will enjoy it.

[Thomas]

Dan wrote: "I'm Dan; 61 and semi-retired in Albuquerque, NM. Grew up in southern NM and lived in places from the West Coast to the East Coast and several in between for thirty-five years or so before settling ..."

Welcome to the group, Dan. I spent some time in Santa Fe and my sister is a librarian in ABQ, so I know your neck of the woods a little. I'm not familiar with the Brothers K, but we're reading the Brothers Karamazov at the moment (I'm assuming there's some relation between the two?) so feel free to jump in!

[Mark]

Hi, I'm Mark and I'm new or this is a second time...? I was reading some Ulysses comments from March 2015 and wanted to salute a particularly excellent one, so i joined up.

[Everyman]

Mark wrote: "Hi, I'm Mark and I'm new or this is a second time...? I was reading some Ulysses comments from March 2015 and wanted to salute a particularly excellent one, so i joined up."

Welcome! Glad you found an excellent comment on Ulysses; I'm sure you'll also find some excellent comments on Brothers Karamazov if you decide to join the current discussion.

[Mark]

Everyman wrote: "Mark wrote: "Hi, I'm Mark and I'm new or this is a second time...? I was reading some Ulysses comments from March 2015 and wanted to salute a particularly excellent one, so i joined up."

Welcome! ..."
Thank you. Good to be here.

[Tamara]

Hi,
I'm Tamara. I'm having another sleepless night in Kansas and was browsing through the groups on Goodreads when I found you.
I'm a former professor of English (for 18 years), a former dean of Humanities and Fine Arts (for 4 years), a former Vice President for Academic Affairs (for 4 years). I retired 3 years ago and am loving it.
I have published 3 books, two of which are based on the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. I'm passionate about reading, love the classics, and look forward to the discussions.
Thanks.

[Rafael]

Welcome, Tamara!

[Tamara]

Rafael wrote: "Welcome, Tamara!"

Thanks, Rafael. I'm excited to be here.

[Thomas]

Tamara wrote: "I have published 3 books, two of which are based on the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. I'm passionate about reading, love the classics, and look forward to the discussions.."

Wow! Great to have you here, Tamara. We took a look at the Hymn to Demeter a few months ago; I wish you were here then! I found it rather difficult, myself, and looking back on the discussion I think we all struggled with it to a degree. I'd love to hear how you approach the hymn.

Here's a link to the discussion, for what it's worth:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Tamara]

Thomas wrote: "Tamara wrote: "I have published 3 books, two of which are based on the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. I'm passionate about reading, love the classics, and look forward to the discussions.."

Wow! Great t..."
Hi Thomas,
I read through the link to the discussion on the Hymn to Demeter. I would have loved to participate. But I am a relative newcomer to Goodreads (joined in Jan. 2016) and I'm still learning to navigate my way around.
I have so much I can say about the Hymn. My first book was a feminist analysis of the hymn (Demeter and Persephone: Lessons from a Myth) in which I interepreted the characters; events; symbolism of the narcissus, pomegranate, and veil; the meaning of the rape; why Persephone chooses to swallow the pomegranate seeds Hades slips into her mouth, etc. etc. I could go on and on, but I'll spare you.
I am so enamored of the myth that my second book on the subject is a novel (A Pomegranate and the Maiden) in which each of the characters speaks in the first person and interprets the events through his/her gendered lens.
I loved the discussion you had about the Hymn. I agree with some of what was said, but I have a slightly different take on some of the other interpretations.
I think one of the biggest things to keep in mind is that the Hymn was linked with the Eleusinian Mysteries, the ritual that took place at regular times of the year for several centuries until the Church fathers put a stop to it. It promised its participants a new vision of life and the life after death. (The city of Eleusis was known as the place of "happy arrival.") Scholars aren't sure which came first: if the Hymn was written to explain the Mysteries or if the Mysteries enacted the Hymn.
Thomas, I can say a lot more but I don't want to impose my gushing enthusiasm for the Hymn since you've already discussed it. I know the group has since moved on to other things. I'm looking forward to the Chekhov discussions because i love Russian authors. They are so substantial and weighty.
If you'd like to discuss the Hymn, feel free to personal message me unless you think others might be interested. I'd be happy to carry on a conversation as long as it doesn't interrupt the flow of what you are doing.
So, as I kick myself in the shin for not finding this group sooner, I'll say bye for now.

[Rafael]

Do not worry about the discussions. In this group the threads stays open forever so when a new member wants to post there he/she can.

I like this group for this feature, too.

[Everyman]

Tamara wrote: "Hi,
I'm Tamara. I'm having another sleepless night in Kansas and was browsing through the groups on Goodreads when I found you.
I'm a former professor of English (for 18 years), a former dean of H..."

Welcome to the group! Is Sleepless in Kansas any relation to Sleepless in Seattle? [g]

I see that you've already been "talking" with Thomas about the Hymn to Demeter which we read and discussed recently. I'm sorry we didn't have you with us then, but all our discussions stay open indefinitely, so if you're interested and there are members who want to continue to post on that discussion, that's what we're here for.

If you have any questions about navigating Goodreads, please don't hesitate to ask for help. It can be a confusing site to navigate for anybody who isn't a teenager.

[Tamara]

Everyman wrote: "Tamara wrote: "Hi,
I'm Tamara. I'm having another sleepless night in Kansas and was browsing through the groups on Goodreads when I found you.
I'm a former professor of English (for 18 years), a f..."

Hi Everyman,
Thanks for the welcome and offer to help.

[Coralie]

Hi everybody! My name is Lily, and I am 23 years old. I am from France, but I currently live in Poland as this is where I have met my (American) husband. I love reading classics, but I am always looking for recommendations as well as people to share my thoughts with! Also, I have read a good number of French and Russian classics, so now I am working on the English and American ones. I hope this group will give me ideas of more books to read!

[Rosemarie]

Hi, Lily. Welcome to the group.

[Everyman]

Lily wrote: "Hi everybody! My name is Lily, and I am 23 years old. I am from France, but I currently live in Poland as this is where I have met my (American) husband. I love reading classics, but I am always lo..."

Glad to have you with us.

As for ideas, we have plenty here! In addition to joining in our current read of Chekhov's short stories, one thing you might want to do is browse through the past discussions to see whether any of them arouse particular interest in those books. Also, you could look through our bookshelves for ideas. Or if you have any more specific questions, you are welcome to ask them in the Tea Shop.

[Theresa]

Tamara wrote: "Thomas wrote: "Tamara wrote: "I have published 3 books, two of which are based on the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. I'm passionate about reading, love the classics, and look forward to the discussions....."

Your books look very interesting! The myth of Demeter is among my favorites for many of the reasons you identify. It is hard to find stories within the western canon that I can use as guides in my own life as a female (and I search for them all the time). The hymn to Demeter is a good example of strong female bonds.