Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

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message 2051: by Brina (new)

Brina I just took 25 books off of my to read list. It is down to 130 and manageable for year. Less books than last year subject to change with a lot more long reads. I admit long reads intimidate me but I think I'm up for the challenge.


message 2052: by GW (new)

GW | 167 comments I took down 20 books of my TBR list and added 10. I'm trying to reflect on my current interests more so the list is subject to revising throughout the year. Right now, I'm reading Ulysses and the Professor's House. I just finished a business book that seemed not with standing a total retake on leadership a little naive. It is; The Ten Golden Rules of Leadership: Classical Wisdom for Modern Leaders. I read it to enhance my Greatest Courses class, Mathematics, Philosophy, and the "Real World" which I'm half way through.


message 2053: by Luke (new)

Luke (korrick) Rest in peace, Ursula K. Le Guin. You were, and always will be, a classic.


message 2054: by Laurie (new)

Laurie | 1895 comments Aubrey wrote: "Rest in peace, Ursula K. Le Guin. You were, and always will be, a classic."

I hadn't seen this news. She left the world such a legacy of work. She will be missed.


message 2055: by Kathleen (new)

Kathleen | 5487 comments Aubrey wrote: "Rest in peace, Ursula K. Le Guin. You were, and always will be, a classic."

A nice tribute, Aubrey. I hadn't heard either. Very sad--and I was just starting to explore her work!


message 2056: by [deleted user] (new)

I've never read Ursula K. Le Guin's work yet. As a matter of fact, I've never even heard of her. Which I definitely feel is very sad because from what I've seen in the excerpts of her books, they are definitely amazing books.


message 2057: by GW (last edited Jan 24, 2018 11:45PM) (new)

GW | 167 comments I've finished 8 books so far this year with 3 on the way. Today I'm reading In the Heat of the Night by John Ball. I'm steady enough in challenging my own biases to read some books with heavy stereotypes. I figure if I can read Faulkner and Hughes I can handle the racism in this book. It was a long time ago I saw Sydney Poitier in the movie and the problems regarding racism are getting the attention they deserve, Nobody should be judged by the color of their skin. It's a classic.


message 2058: by Rosemarie (new)

Rosemarie | 1568 comments I am reading Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin, in which the journalist changes the colour of his skin to experience what life was like in the south in the 60s, when the above books were written.


message 2059: by Darren (new)

Darren (dazburns) | 2169 comments another group I'm in just made a snap (and pretty much unanimous) decision to read A Wizard of Earthsea for February :o)


message 2060: by Renee (last edited Jan 25, 2018 01:55PM) (new)

Renee | 727 comments Darren wrote: "another group I'm in just made a snap (and pretty much unanimous) decision to read A Wizard of Earthsea for February :o)"

I want to read that one. I haven't read any of her books yet. Have you read it before?


message 2061: by Darren (new)

Darren (dazburns) | 2169 comments I read the Earthsea trilogy (as it was) back when I was a teenager (so many years ago)
The Dispossessed is my fave of hers


message 2062: by Renee (new)

Renee | 727 comments Darren wrote: "I read the Earthsea trilogy (as it was) back when I was a teenager (so many years ago)
The Dispossessed is my fave of hers"


Sounds interesting. I've added it to my to read list.


message 2063: by Laurie (new)

Laurie | 1895 comments Darren wrote: "I read the Earthsea trilogy (as it was) back when I was a teenager (so many years ago)
The Dispossessed is my fave of hers"


I've been meaning to read The Dispossessed. And now I feel the sudden urgency to read it much like your group suddenly feels the need to read AWoE. Weird how the death of an author can make us feel a greater need to read their books. I guess it's because we know that her canon is complete.


message 2064: by Sara, Old School Classics (new)

Sara (phantomswife) | 9492 comments Mod
I also have had The Dispossessed on my TBR for a long while and suddenly feel that it is urgent to read it. I expect there will be group/buddy reads of her works now that she is gone. That seems to happen.


message 2065: by Melanti (new)

Melanti | 1894 comments Laurie wrote: " I guess it's because we know that her canon is complete. ..."

I always tend to think of it as sort of akin to a eulogy. Honoring them by listening to them speak to us.


message 2066: by siriusedward (new)

siriusedward (elenaraphael) | 2005 comments It does make sense.


message 2067: by Francisca (new)

Francisca | 281 comments So an odd observation: the group reads over the next two months are recreating my sophomore year of high school English: we've got Catcher in the Rye, Macbeth, and Tale of Two Cities! If we were to read Pride and Prejudice and Grendel (and the odd Emily Dickinson poem) it'd be a perfect match!


message 2068: by Katy, Quarterly Long Reads (new)

Katy (kathy_h) | 9553 comments Mod
LOL, Francisca. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing for you. Personally I'd hate to be in HS again!


message 2069: by Francisca (new)

Francisca | 281 comments I was mostly entertained by the coincidence. I'd hate to be in HS again too... but it's a pretty good selection of books! Especially when you don't have to write essays on them! :D


message 2070: by Brina (new)

Brina I wouldn't want to be in high school again. My English teachers didn't like me and it turned me off to classics for years. I just starting returning to classics a few years ago when I joined this group so needless to say high school is not an experience I'd like to repeat.


message 2071: by Melanti (new)

Melanti | 1894 comments Francisca wrote: "I was mostly entertained by the coincidence. I'd hate to be in HS again too... but it's a pretty good selection of books! Especially when you don't have to write essays on them! :D"

Oh, yes! I generally liked the books we read even when I was bored stiff during the actual classes.

Brina wrote: "My English teachers didn't like me and it turned me off to classics .."

Same! Well, one particular teacher, at least, and I still find it hard to read some of the authors she taught. (Which is why I generally skip group reads for Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Hawthorne, etc. )


message 2072: by Pillsonista (last edited Feb 02, 2018 10:54AM) (new)

Pillsonista | 362 comments I used to drive my English teachers nuts in middle school and high school.

When I was in eighth grade I helped lead a student walkout to protest the inadequacy of our English teacher's instructions (I seem to remember we had gotten into an argument about how to properly use footnotes in our end-of-term paper... and yes, I wish I was kidding, but that's the truth of it). During my junior year of high school, I refused to finish The Color Purple because I hated it so much, and then said so in front of the class when our teacher called on me to answer questions about it (she flunked me for that assignment, as she should have).

A whole variety of petty, ridiculous nonsense like that. Eventually they even had to call a conference with my parents, because if I didn't want to read what they assigned, I simply wouldn't.


message 2073: by Francisca (new)

Francisca | 281 comments Ahaha, you sound like an English teacher's worst nightmare!

I largely lucked out; my biggest "problem" was that I usually read ahead of the class, and therefore was bored during some of the discussions. The worst trouble I ever got in was in 8th grade for passing notes on how numbingly boring our discussion of Jonathan Livingston Seagull was (I think we were were also irritated that our teacher refused to admit there was an allegory because she didn't want to talk about religion... begging the question of why she chose to assign the book in the first place!). My biggest pet peeve though was when teachers would ruin perfectly good books by over-analyzing them for symbols: we even did a "symbol brainstorm" on the board for the Awakening and the Great Gatsby which explains a lot of my ambivalence to both books.


message 2074: by Pillsonista (last edited Feb 02, 2018 12:08PM) (new)

Pillsonista | 362 comments OMG... a "symbolism brainstorm"? Seriously?

Teachers (especially English teachers) who love the sound of their own voices were/are the worst.

EDIT: I don't know how you handled that situation, but clearly, you handled it better than I would have.


message 2075: by Melanti (new)

Melanti | 1894 comments Pillsonista wrote: "I used to drive my English teachers nuts in middle school and high school.

When I was in eighth grade I helped lead a student walkout to protest the inadequacy of our English teacher's instruction..."


The teacher I hated had a disdain for all things sci-fi and fantasy and eventually called my parents in for a conference to tell them that I was reading "trash" instead of "real" books. She also started flunking me on any writing assignment where I mentioned anything vaguely resembling ghosts or space ships.

And when it came to literature, she also would insist whatever Lit-Crit essay she was working off of was 100% correct, the one and only answer, and that there was no other possible way to interpret the situation. It was so annoying. You just weren't allowed to think for yourself in her class. You could only parrot back what she said.



In a different class I had to read Jane Eyre which I absolutely hated. We were given the option between writing an essay about the book or writing an extension/missing scene/alternate ending etc. for the book using the same writing style... I double checked that Gothic Horror was acceptable, and then wrote an alternate ending where Bertha was a vampire and killed everyone. It was quite cathartic.

Several of my teachers used this approach - where you had an option between a standard essay, or a creative writing assignment that was somewhat related to the book in question. The creative writing options generally took a lot more time and effort but if you just couldn't stand the book, it was great to have an alternative option.


message 2076: by Pillsonista (last edited Feb 02, 2018 11:45AM) (new)

Pillsonista | 362 comments Melanti wrote: "Pillsonista wrote: "And when it came to literature, she also would insist whatever Lit-Crit essay she was working off of was 100% correct, the one and only answer, and that there was no other possible way to interpret the situation. It was so annoying. You just weren't allowed to think for yourself in her class. You could only parrot back what she said.
"


OMG, it sounds like your high school teacher was the spiritual clone of one my college professors. And she was an absolute nightmare.

The very first thing this woman said to the class, on the very first day of class, was to announce that she was "a New Historicist, in the great tradition of T.S. Eliot and F.R. Leavis."

I mean... when we found out later that she hand-sewed all of her own pant suits, none of us were surprised.


message 2077: by Francisca (last edited Feb 02, 2018 12:04PM) (new)

Francisca | 281 comments Pillsonista wrote: "I mean... when we found out later that she hand-sewed all of her own pant suits, none of us were surprised. "

HAHAHAHA

The worst part of the symbolism brainstorm was the our Great Gatsby essay prompt was to discuss a symbol we hadn't discussed in class. I mean, Fitzgerald is a bit heavy on the symbolism but that's just too about a galaxy too far. This was the moment I renounced any desire to major in English in college. (I think I wrote about the weather because I was too much of a rule-follower to do much more than complain.)

On a more positive note, 8th grade and 11th grade were the exception. I had awesome English teachers most of the time, who really wanted to have real discussions, inspire love of literature, and definitely helped me appreciate some books I wouldn't have gotten as much out of alone. (Tale of Two Cities is my favorite Dickens in large part due to my sophomore English teacher!)


message 2078: by Melanti (new)

Melanti | 1894 comments Francisca wrote: "My biggest pet peeve though was when teachers would ruin perfectly good books by over-analyzing them for symbols: ..."

This is part of why I always finished up the book as soon as I could - in the first day or two, usually. That way I got to have my own experience with it first instead of being forced to look for all the symbolism and such that the teachers always wanted you to look for. It made the classes a bit more boring, sure, but the books were the important part.

Pillsonista wrote: "The very first thing this woman said to the class, on the very first day of class, was to announce that she was "a New Historicist, in the great tradition of T.S. Eliot and F.R. Leavis."..."
Wow... I've taken quite a few English classes and I still have no clue what she's talking about... Or who F.R. Leavis is, for that matter.


message 2079: by Katy, Quarterly Long Reads (new)

Katy (kathy_h) | 9553 comments Mod
I had a wonderful 8th grade English teacher who encouraged me to try to read a variety of books, but never criticized what I chose to read. At this time I was still struggling with dyslexia, so reading was a chore.


message 2080: by Pillsonista (last edited Feb 02, 2018 02:45PM) (new)

Pillsonista | 362 comments I think for me, my love of books was cultivated at home and from a very early age.

I literally don't remember a time where books were not a part of my life. My earliest memory of my father was of him reading on the sofa, and my mother says that when I was an infant I would fall asleep on his chest as he read.

For my father's family, especially, books and reading were more than an expectation, they were a birthright. And the kind of birthright nobody could take from you unless you let them. My great-grandfather, my father's paternal grandfather, immigrated to the United States from what was then the Russian empire, and what is now Poland, around the turn of the 20th century.

Ethnically, he was Polish and Ashkenazi. He must have at least witnessed, if not experienced, some truly, utterly horrific things, because he was willing to leave the shtetl, where our extensive family had lived for generations, and literally walk across an entire continent to get on a boat to move, permanently, to a country whose language he did not speak (according to my grandfather he never lost his heavy accent, although he spoke nothing but English to his sons) and whose culture he could not have known. Eventually, two of his brothers would emigrate as well, on the eve of the Great War. The rest of the family did not, and a generation later they suffered a fate unimaginable.

Books, reading, gave dignity to my great-grandfather's life. It was the one thing he could give to his sons that connected them with a past that they could not know; a past he did not want them to know, or else he would never have stepped foot outside his home to leave it, but never wanted them to forget. Because if my great-grandfather had not left when he did, essentially sacrificing his hopes and all that he knew for the future of his children yet to be born, there's a very good chance that my family, and consequently, myself, would have ceased to exist or would never have existed at all.

That's what books mean to me. And that can't be taught in school.


message 2081: by Katy, Quarterly Long Reads (new)

Katy (kathy_h) | 9553 comments Mod
I would beg my mom to buy me those Little Golden Books as a small child. She would read to me (and my siblings) daily. I learned my love of stories and illustrations from those good memories.


message 2082: by Rosemarie (new)

Rosemarie | 1568 comments Pillsonista wrote: "I think for me, my love of books was cultivated at home and from a very early age.

I literally don't remember a time where books were not a part of my life. My earliest memory of my father was of ..."


Your family set a wonderful example for you.


message 2083: by Loretta (new)

Loretta | 2200 comments Katy wrote: "I would beg my mom to buy me those Little Golden Books as a small child. She would read to me (and my siblings) daily. I learned my love of stories and illustrations from those good memories."

Oh Katy! The Golden Books!! My mom would read them to me too. I'm so happy I have a few of them still, with all the colorings and scribblings I adorned them with!! 😁


message 2084: by Katy, Quarterly Long Reads (new)

Katy (kathy_h) | 9553 comments Mod
I have a few of mine too. They are treasures to me. And I have a few of my children's too. No grandkids to hand them to yet.


message 2085: by Gabriela (new)

Gabriela | 2 comments Hello! I am deeply sorry if I am intruding in any way, but does anyone happen to have an annotated kindle version of Paradise Lost by John Milton that they are willing to share, please? Thank you and sorry for the trouble!


message 2086: by Loretta (new)

Loretta | 2200 comments Katy wrote: "I have a few of mine too. They are treasures to me. And I have a few of my children's too. No grandkids to hand them to yet."

😊


message 2087: by Luke (new)

Luke (korrick) Anyone going to a book sale in the next few weeks? I use this site to plan out mine: http://www.booksalefinder.com/index.html

The one in Palo Alto next weekend is my go to treasure hunt.


message 2088: by Terris (new)

Terris | 4414 comments I'm in charge of selecting the book for our Library Book Club read for March, and I think I'm am going to have them read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury! I think everyone should read that one :)


message 2089: by siriusedward (new)

siriusedward (elenaraphael) | 2005 comments Katy wrote: "I had a wonderful 8th grade English teacher who encouraged me to try to read a variety of books, but never criticized what I chose to read. At this time I was still struggling with dyslexia, so rea..."

Me too... I had four teachers teaching English, at different stages of school and they were awesome.esp. the one during our high school...she was very supportive and encouraging. .she made the classes interesting...she was one of our favourite teachers..


message 2090: by Erin (last edited Mar 03, 2018 09:22AM) (new)

Erin Green | 158 comments Does anyone else get annoyed with themselves for starting too many books at one time? I then fight my way through finishing them, which is decreasing my enjoyment. I seriously don't know why I've developed this habit but now, I have so many 'started' books I need to finish them before starting others. Shame on me!


message 2091: by Rosemarie (new)

Rosemarie | 1568 comments You are not alone. Today I am finishing a book that I have been reading for far too long. Only three pages to go!


message 2092: by Muriel (new)

Muriel McIvor (mdm46) | 1 comments Every few months I have to take a step back and review my reading habit. I feel your pain! But once I remove myself from the self induced pressure and discipline myself not to lift another book until the chosen ONE is completed, I can breathe fully again. But by month 6 I have to review and restart again as I slip into my old ways of bookly overexcitement! It's as if I am involved in too many conversations at once. I can truly only listen to one properly, the rest are just background noise. My concentration level really does not extend beyond the one read and therefore need to stop kidding myself than I am capable for any more than that. I invest in the book far better if I dont keep addong any more until one is finished. Empathy shared!


message 2093: by Katy, Quarterly Long Reads (new)

Katy (kathy_h) | 9553 comments Mod
Erin wrote: "Does anyone else get annoyed with themselves for starting too many books at one time? I then fight my way through finishing them, which is decreasing my enjoyment. I seriously don't know why I've d..."

Unfortunately, yes. I finally made a "Pick it up again later" list for some of these books so that I can concentrate on one or two.


message 2094: by Kathleen (new)

Kathleen | 5487 comments Oh, yes. And I think you're right about not enjoying them as much when this happens. I used to read one fiction and one non-fiction, but Goodreads changed all that. I'm like a spoiled child who wants it all and then goes to bed with a tummy ache. :-/


message 2095: by Terris (new)

Terris | 4414 comments You guys make me feel so much better about myself! I am not alone! I have been starting so many books lately, as you said you have been also. After I have started them I begin to feel guilty about reading too many. So then I make up schedule of how many pages I need to read per day of each of them to finish in a timely manner (weirdly, I kind of like the planning). And I often like the variety of switching to different books, especially if some of them are not as compelling as I'd like. However, like you, I start to get overwhelmed with all the different books and I just pick one to finish. Then try to clear them off one at a time.
It makes the reading a little hectic at times, but after I've finished a few, I feel a sense of accomplishment. And then I start all over again!
Glad to know I'm not the only one! ;)


message 2096: by Pink (new)

Pink | 5491 comments Same here! I often have too many books on the go and flit between them, but also feel frustrated not to be finishing any. When a book really captures my attention then I stick with it until I'm finished, doesn't happen too often though.


message 2097: by Luke (new)

Luke (korrick) I keep my limit at four currently reading works at the moment. It gets a bit much if I have too many longer works going, but I can usually fix that by forcing myself to have at least one really short work going so I don't feel like I'm stagnating. The trouble with that, of course, is that it's so much easier to finish the shorter than the longer. It's incentive to stick with truly interesting longer works, I suppose.


message 2098: by Pillsonista (last edited Mar 03, 2018 12:07PM) (new)

Pillsonista | 362 comments Rosemarie wrote: "You are not alone. Today I am finishing a book that I have been reading for far too long. Only three pages to go!"

I do the same exact thing, except it doesn't affect my enjoyment. If anything, the more books I'm reading, the more enjoyment I get out of what I'm reading.

But my reading habits are such a vortex of chaos that it's a stretch to even call them 'habits'. Thankfully, this Goodreads account has helped me to at least keep track of what I'm reading at any one time, because the worse thing that happens with reading so many books at once is that from time to time I actually forget what I've started (although that doesn't happen as often as it probably should). None of that has occurred since I actively started using my account.


message 2099: by Rosemarie (new)

Rosemarie | 1568 comments I prefer reading more than one book at once, since it helps me focus more on what I am reading instead of tearing through a book too quickly. There are some books I like to savour, but the book I just finished, The Confessions of Nat Turner by Styron wasn't one of them.
I do try read a variety of books, of different genres, so that I can read to suit my mood.


message 2100: by Erin (new)

Erin Green | 158 comments Seriously, I rarely have one book on the go. I have numerous around the house and at work and on my Kindle... then feel it's a task to complete rather than the enjoyment I should feel.


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