Just Talking Showing 1,651-1,700 of 3,141

[Emerson]

Thank you so much Melanti, Squire is right! I got and read the - very short indeed - Beaumont story, I will complete this with the bit in Les Métamorphoses by Ovide also cited as a probable much earlier version.

For the nursing home sources, I believe I will have to search for newspaper articles instead, as I didn't manage to find anything either.

[Nente]

Emerson, I'm sure the book Melanti references (with versions around the world) would have included this one, but just to remind you: there's The Little Scarlet Flower (Аленький цветочек) for everyone who reads Russian.
Yes, I'm promoting Russian lit everywhere I can 0.o

[Andrea]

Hey guys :) Has anyone watched the 2016 BBC miniseries "War and Peace" with Lily James (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3910804/?...)? I finally managed to find the DVD on sale (unfortunately none of the libraries around here have it...) and I was wondering if it's worth it :)

[Hilary]

Hi Andrea, I saw all but the final episode as I still haven't read the last part of 'War and Peace'. I loved it. The rest of my family watched the whole thing and loved it too. As a side note, my younger daughter met Lily James after a Westend play she was in. She (my daughter) thought that the actress was very friendly and down to earth!

[Andrea]

Thanks Hilary :) Lucky her! I liked everything I've seen her in so far, so I figured I might as well finally give War and Peace a try :) by now, I've looked at some trailers online and decided to buy it. It looks really good. And €9 for the whole series... That's not bad. I will try to finish the book before watching it, but sometimes I find it easier to have a face to connect to a name (*coughs*Game of Thrones*coughs* ^^).

[Hilary]

Haha! You're most welcome, Andrea! Hope you enjoy! :)

[Andrea]

Thanks :)

[Wreade1872]

Found a new book source, seems mostly childrens stuff but havn't explored it fully. Its the Ontario virtual library. http://www.virtualreferencelibrary.ca...

It has all the Bertha Upton Golliwogg books, i've been looking for some more of them link (delightful reading, fascinating to analyse) .

Also found Orphan Island which i'd also been looking for and i'm sure there will be others.

[Katy, Quarterly Long Reads]

Cool, thank you Wreade1872

[Wreade1872]

I've been perusing some more on my new find, they have some interesting ones in their science fiction section.

Including an unofficial follow up to Flatland, which i know some are reading just now, its An Episode of Flatland (1907).

[Christine]

Melanti wrote: "No clue on the nursing homes, but for Beauty and the Beast, I do know a bit about that.

There's two main "original" versions.

There's a long novella by [author:Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villene..."

Speaking of Beauty and the Beast... Has anyone seen the new live action film? I went to see it tonight and absolutely loved it!!!

[Brina]

I checked and there is a new version of Beauty and the Beast available in English. Does this version hold true to the original or a Disneyfied version of the 50 page story? It says ~200 pages but I'm not interested in reading a Disney princess tale.

[Melanti]

Brina, do you have a link?

[Brina]

Melanti, this version: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

[Melanti]

The Beauty and the Beast

It's the J.R Planché translation per the copyright page. I haven't read it yet, but I understand Planche made some changes. So, it's not 100% Villenueve's story but it's probably as good as you're going to get unless you're going to seek out Zipes' modern translation.

It's one of the two translations Ms. Heiner included in her anthology.

Definitely not Disneyfied, though! It was published in the mid-19th century.

[Brina]

Yes, that one. I'm taking my girls to the movie next Sunday to avoid opening weekend crowds so I hope to read this in advance. Glad to see the modern one doesn't change to much. Now, would it still be considered classic 18th century or earlier for bingo?

[Melanti]

Yes, I would count it as 18th century. Most of it is still Villenueve's prose, even if the translator changed a couple of details.

[Brina]

Excellent. I hope line at the library isn't too long.

[MKay]

My granddaughter and I went this weekend to see the live action Beauty and the Beast. We loved it!

[Brina]

MKay- how old is your granddaughter? My 9 1/2 year old and 6 year old want to see it next weekend and I'd like to go with them.

[MKay]

Brina wrote: "MKay- how old is your granddaughter? My 9 1/2 year old and 6 year old want to see it next weekend and I'd like to go with them."

She is six. Her cousin went with us and is 8. The parts being thrown out there as "gay moments' went right over their heads and are very short. They sang the songs, as did every other little girl in the theater. It really was a great show. We didn't see it in 3D.

[Brina]

Great. I hope it goes over their heads. My older daughter is excited to see Emma Watson so most likely she'll ignore the other stuff.

[Susie]

FYI...Audible's daily sale is Mrs. Dalloway for $2.95.
Great deal!

[Katy, Quarterly Long Reads]

Love the deals. Thanks Susie.

[Doreen]

Very overcast and cool rainy day here in Boston, MA. Due to get a heating oil delivery and it's a wonderful day to enjoy my day reading. Hope you all are well.

[Loretta]

Doreen wrote: "Very overcast and cool rainy day here in Boston, MA. Due to get a heating oil delivery and it's a wonderful day to enjoy my day reading. Hope you all are well."

It's pretty dismal here today too Doreen. Wish I could curl up on my couch with a blanket and read but I have to work at church this afternoon. Hope you're okay too.

[Katy, Quarterly Long Reads]

March the month with all seasons here. Rained like crazy last night and sunning and clear this morning. Too muddy and wet to go outside to garden. Happy reading!

[Lars Martin]

Kathy wrote: "March the month with all seasons here. Rained like crazy last night and sunning and clear this morning. Too muddy and wet to go outside to garden. Happy reading!"

I know what you mean Kathy. You never know what you'll get.

Yesterday it was 22 degrees celsius. I got my shorts and t-shirt out. Tied my running shoes and drove to one of my favourite recreational areas and started running. When I got to the first hill the temperature plummeted. I ran into slush snow. Then I got to the top. The sun had melted all the snow. With renewed optimism I ran further into the woods. Then I got to the shady parts of the tracks and the temperature plummeted again. The path was covered in ice.

Welcome to march.

I just cleaned my road bike. I hope the weather will allow me to ride it to work tomorrow.

[Pink]

The past couple of days we've had pleasant spring sunshine here in England. Yesterday was Mother's Day and it was warm enough to sit in the garden for afternoon tea, which was lovely. Plus the clocks went forward an hour, so it's still light this evening at 7.15pm which means summer is on the way!

[Susan O]

I know not everyone likes Daylight savings time, but I love longer evenings. (At least once I've adjusted to the change.) :))

[Loretta]

Pink wrote: "The past couple of days we've had pleasant spring sunshine here in England. Yesterday was Mother's Day and it was warm enough to sit in the garden for afternoon tea, which was lovely. Plus the cloc..."

Wow Pink! You just painted an idyllic scene! Thanks! Lovely indeed! :)

[Nente]

Huh, we were just going around admiring the new leaves, then this morning wham! - everything covered in snow...

[Loretta]

Nente wrote: "Huh, we were just going around admiring the new leaves, then this morning wham! - everything covered in snow..."

Oh my! :)

[Katy, Quarterly Long Reads]

Pink wrote: "The past couple of days we've had pleasant spring sunshine here in England. Yesterday was Mother's Day and it was warm enough to sit in the garden for afternoon tea, which was lovely. Plus the cloc..."

Oh I just love the idea of afternoon tea in the garden. I so need to learn a few more things from my British friends.

[Katy, Quarterly Long Reads]

Lars Martin wrote: "...I just cleaned my road bike. I hope the weather will allow me to ride it to work tomorrow. ."

I just cleaned up my bikes to get ready to ride here also -- then poring rain! Here I usually get enough sunny days that I am a fair weather rider.

[Doreen]

Maybe it's just me and if it is I sincerely apologize to all but I've lots of members who belong to this group who have never contributed any comments. I think when you join a group although you may not make as many comments as others you should at least make an effort to make some else why are you in the group.

[Nente]

Lots of people feel comfortable as "lurkers": they read the others' discussions but are shy of contributing. This group is so large and active that frequently someone has been there before and stated the opinions one largely agrees with - and put them into better words. If we had "likes" for comments those people would vote for comments they agreed with, and that would have been a meaningful contribution already, to my mind.
And after all, it's totally possible to join a group and then forget about it, or just have no spare time to spend on Goodreads.
Let's not condemn outright, shall we?

[Doreen]

Nente wrote: "Lots of people feel comfortable as "lurkers": they read the others' discussions but are shy of contributing. This group is so large and active that frequently someone has been there before and stat..."
My intention was not to condemn it was rather just as observation. Perhaps I was in error in posting my thoughts.

[Pink]

Doreen, that's always the case with groups on Goodreads. Some people join and stop visiting groups altogether, others lurk and read posts but don't contribute themselves, others post from time to time. I find that most groups stay active due to a number of core members that keep up with day to day posts, then other people drift in and out over time. We now have 5500 members, which keeps things ticking over. I've been a member of numerous groups with over 1000 members that barely get one post a week, which must be so frustrating for the people that run it, but that's just the way it goes I'm afraid. Besides, it only takes two people to have a book conversation that can make a worthwhile contribution to each other and the group as a whole :)

[Renee]

Doreen wrote: "Nente wrote: "Lots of people feel comfortable as "lurkers": they read the others' discussions but are shy of contributing. This group is so large and active that frequently someone has been there b..."

Please don't feel you shouldn't post your thoughts. That's what the group is for. I think many people join because they like the idea of a group/group read for a book of the month read, but don't necessarily feel comfortable posting their thoughts even if they read the book. Many people would rather read others' thoughts because they are afraid to post their own. I know I'm trying to get over my fear of posting. I usually (but not always) end up reading the book by the end of the month, but usually there are already many posts in the threads, so sometimes I think I might not post just because they won't be as well thought out as others who have already posted. I think it really depends on the person.

[Sarah]

Doreen wrote: "Maybe it's just me and if it is I sincerely apologize to all but I've lots of members who belong to this group who have never contributed any comments. I think when you join a group although you ma..."

I was a long time lurker in the group up until a few months ago. For me, it was largely a time issue. I kept meaning to do a group read, but could never make it work, since most of that time I was in grad school and didn't have a lot of time for outside reading. I liked the idea of the group, but just didn't have the time to dedicate to it until recently.

[Melanti]

Doreen wrote: "Maybe it's just me and if it is I sincerely apologize to all but I've lots of members who belong to this group who have never contributed any comments. I think when you join a group although you ma..."

That's a topic that crops up on Goodreads quite a bit, so don't feel bad for bringing it up.


There's lots of different reasons to belong to a group even if you don't talk.

Some people feel more comfortable lurking than chatting.

Others are interested in a topic and want to read a discussion but don't necessarily have much they want to say.

Still more don't have much time to participate - I know at least a couple of people who don't even have time to log into GR at all but still enjoy browsing through the email digest for interesting discussions. And of course, Group Reads take more time than just the time it takes to post a comment or two.



Speaking for myself, I was a member of Goodreads and a lurker for years before I made my first comment in a group. Even now that I talk & participate in group reads in some groups, there's others I lurk in to read the occasional interesting thread, and others I don't really even read at all - I just am a member so I can use the group bookshelf as a resource.

[Loretta]

Doreen wrote: "Maybe it's just me and if it is I sincerely apologize to all but I've lots of members who belong to this group who have never contributed any comments. I think when you join a group although you ma..."

Doreen, I loved the fact that you opened up some dialogue here on Let's Chat about something as simple as the weather! You did actually get some members to respond, myself included and I for one applaud that! As Renee said, please feel free to continue to being open and post whatever you want because I for one read all posts, some I respond to, some I don't, yours I did because it was just "hey guys, how the weather on your end today"! Look at the responses you did get! Dialogue was open! Don't let Nente take away your freedom of speech, because I for one will always respond. :)

[Loretta]

Nente wrote: "Lots of people feel comfortable as "lurkers": they read the others' discussions but are shy of contributing. This group is so large and active that frequently someone has been there before and stat..."

Nente, condemn is a pretty harsh word and I take offense to your last comment that you made to Doreen and I think you owe her an apology.

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

People have different motivations when deciding to join a group. Some may only be interested in occasionally watching and never plan on making a comment. Others are very interested and quietly learning about different classics, they also never plan on making comments. Others may have joined on the spur of the moment and for whatever reason never choose participate. All members whatever they're reason for joining are welcome. Fortunately for us we have a good many members who take an active role in our discussions. This excellence in participation in my opinion is what makes us a great group. It also helps grow our group, which is always good.

Increasing participation is one of the highest priorities moderators have. It is why our group has what some people think is an outrageous number of monthly reads. We have long reads, short reads, newer reads, older reads, and rereading of past selections members might have missed. We also have discussion threads, Buddy Reads and challenges, these all help build participation.

A while back I did some unscientific math concerning group participation. I looked at our group and a group that at the time was five times bigger. Both groups were doing the same type of challenge and I found the participation rate for both groups was about 2% of membership. I see nothing wrong with this percentage. While 2% of members are participating the other 98% are able, if they desire, to observe and learn about what interests us all, and that is classic books.

Doreen, who has decided to leave us, brought up a valid question and I am sad that she left us. I along with her would be happy to see group participation increase. Discussing participation can't hurt and could help current nonparticipants decide to write a post. But given the hectic realities of life, it’s understandable that people can’t, don’t or won’t participate. One example, my son in a member of Goodreads and used to read a fair amount. He now has two children and his reading time for the next few years is all but gone.

Our group’s main goal is to support our members. Both those who participate and those who don’t, by providing a forum that gives them a place to learn, read, observe, discuss, and have fun reading classic books. If you are an observer and have been thinking about joining in with the discussions, by all means do so. I can’t promise that you won’t have differing opinions in response to your posts, but I can promise swift reaction should a member become personally rude or abusive. About the only rule we have, is that members can have spirited discussions and differing opinions, but attacking members personally with rudeness or abuse will not be tolerated. So feel free to hop off the fence and join in a discussion, you may like it.

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Oh, I also like Nente's idea about a like button, wouldn't that be great.

[Sarah]

Regarding Bob's comment...

"Increasing participation is one of the highest priorities moderators have. It is why our group has what some people think is an outrageous number of monthly reads. We have long reads, short reads, newer reads, older reads, and rereading of past selections members might have missed. We also have discussion threads, Buddy Reads and challenges, these all help build participation."

I'm in a few other GR groups and have tried out others, but this one is my favorite thus far, in large part for the things listed above. There are so many opportunities to chime in and discuss. If the group reads don't appeal to me one month, there are always buddy reads or challenges. Something for everyone, it seems. The groups that didn't stick for me were those that had more limited opportunities for discussion (a monthly group read but few other threads).

[Brina]

I loved the weather comment, too. In any group, sometimes people comment and sometimes they don't. Things like how is the weather is a great way to get people talking even if they aren't currently reading a book in the group. I think we should continue having conversations like this so we can participate in the group more, especially in months when the group reads aren't our tastes.

[Loretta]

Bob wrote: "People have different motivations when deciding to join a group. Some may only be interested in occasionally watching and never plan on making a comment. Others are very interested and quietly lear..."

I'm sorry Bob, but did I miss a post? Where does it say that Doreen left our group?

[Loretta]

Loretta wrote: "Bob wrote: "People have different motivations when deciding to join a group. Some may only be interested in occasionally watching and never plan on making a comment. Others are very interested and ..."

Brina wrote: "I loved the weather comment, too. In any group, sometimes people comment and sometimes they don't. Things like how is the weather is a great way to get people talking even if they aren't currently ..."

Amen to that Brina!