Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion
Archived Chit Chat & All That
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Patty wrote: "I’ve seen the list, which has been given on a couple of the posts. However, the ability to vote is not on that link."Hi Patty, I used the link in message 2255: by Darren and there's a "Vote for this book" button under each book listed. I almost didn't notice, since I didn't know what I was looking for.
Bob wrote: "I wish we could get more members to vote....cast your vote, I swear it won't hurt"OK, so I voted, and it did hurt a little. Tell ya why?
First, I'm a word nerd, and "favorite" - the ONE preferred above all other, means I can only have one favorite (A Tale of Two Cities, btw), but I know the INTENT is to vote for multiple favorites. So, out of respect and camaraderie with all the lovely souls in the group, I cringed and voted for any that I have given 5 stars to.
But that was the second pain point. I had to make some cutoff, and went with 5 stars. On my blog, I give 4 1/2 stars, and it hurt a little not to vote for them. But...we gotta have standards...or we descend into chaos.
Now to the original question in this thread (I think), favorite Jane Austen. I've only read P&P and Emma, and give a slight edge to P&P. Here's why: http://100greatestnovelsofalltimeques...
and http://100greatestnovelsofalltimeques...
I am not clear which Witness for the Prosecution the group is reading next month. I reserved from my library and was given a play in three acts so that is what I read. Interesting to see Agatha Christie branching out into other genres.
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The read is the short story, it's about 25 pages. I'm not aware of the play, but after reading the story, the play sounds good. Maybe I can find a copy.
The play is 106 pages. It technically fits under the parameters of the group read. I am glad that I read it.
Brina, some of Agatha Christie's plays were "novelized" by other authors, and I really don't recommend reading those short stories (Spider's Web is one, as far as I remember). But Wikipedia says this one really did start life as a short story and was then made into play by Christie herself, so it's a winner either way =)I really recommend the Marlene Dietrich film, as well.
Can anyone tell me which translation of "Iliad" is best to read?PS: The one that is closest to being unabridged
For me, the best translation is the Rieu one. It's closest to modern prose as I'd ever want. I have yet to read it though. It's sitting on my e-reader gathering dust. So yeah, if it wasn't for this translation, I wouldn't have wanted to read the Iliad. But that's only my choice.
Tanvi wrote: "Can anyone tell me which translation of "Iliad" is best to read?PS: The one that is closest to being unabridged"
Lattimore is the closest to a line by line translation.
The Iliad of Homer
Hi everybody, I'm MK from Maine. I almost didn't know if I should use Introduce Yourself, or Just Talking. I used to visit this group daily, I loved this group :). The challenges and the wonderful members, the conversations always interested me. I haven't a lot of time the last few years for reading, or for browsing on my desktop, so I fell away from Goodreads. I finally made time in my life for reading again, by listening to Audibles. Which is funny for me, because I really had a hard time with Audible listening when I first started. I used the "Whispersync" method on Amazon of reading along with a kindle and listening at the same time, back when I first started listening to Audibles (I think it was this group that inspired me - Frankenstein was among one of the first. I had a hard time reading the text, it was dry or something, so I tried listening. But my mind kept wandering, and the story wasn't sinking in. So I tried reading AND listening, and it was perfect, the story came alive, and I ended up loving the novel. In any event, developing 'listening skills' has been a process that I've worked on hard the last couple years, and it finally took. A series of Irish fairy myth inspired books, then Angela's Ashes, I think, were what flipped a switch for me, with being able to absorb a story just by listening. And eventually I found time for my eyes to be able to read too, and not just 'read' during times when my eyes were busy with other things.
The last month I've had time on my desktop, and revisited Goodreads to log/update some reading, and notices and chatter from the group, or group members keep popping up on my feed. So many times I wanted to pop in, but I know I have no time for a group read still right now, probably won't for several months, at the earliest. Finally, I couldn't resist, wanted to pop in to say 'hello'. And maybe join a challenge thread (oh, I love those challenge threads! With only 2 months to go, maybe can't finish, but those A-Z always tickled me. And the Group Bingo is enticing, too!
I'm hoping for 2019 I can get back to catching up on reading my classics (with the exception of Dickens and Austen ... sorry, I just don't like them! (heresy! lol ...). And to a Teen Challenge book group that I also loved. Found some great books in that group, too.
My 'bucket list' read is Dante's The Divine Comedy, but I realized my memory of history from when I was a wee one, was a handicap, so I've put it off, and sort of started circling history, in historical fiction and myth/folklare form, because ... well, I'm reading for pleasure and not for an exam *grin*. I hope within the next 2 or 3 years to actually READ The Divine Comedy.
At the moment, I'm wrapped up in the AMAZING BOOK The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan, and a dozen+ 'offshoot' reads it inspired me. I'm going back for a re-read of The Gray House as soon as I finish all the reads I wanted to do first before a re-read.
Anyway, cheers to all. Nice to 'see' everyone, old faces and new :).
- mk :)
MK wrote: "Hi everybody, I'm MK from Maine...At the moment, I'm wrapped up in the AMAZING BOOK The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan..."
oooh The Gray House! - I read it earlier this year and if ever a book deserves the epithet "AMAZING" it's that one - enjoy!
MK wrote: "Hi everybody, I'm MK from Maine. I almost didn't know if I should use Introduce Yourself, or Just Talking. I used to visit this group daily, I loved this group :). The challenges and the wonderful ..."Hi MK,
The Divine Comedy is also on my to read list, I have no idea when I will get round to it but I'm sure reading along side someone else would really help!
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Welcome back!
Darren wrote: "oooh The Gray House! - I read it earlier this year and if ever a book deserves the epithet "AMAZING" it's that one - enjoy! "Ahhh, a kindred soul! The House let you in, too *grin*. Nice to meet you, Darren :)
Rachel wrote: "Hi MK,
The Divine Comedy is also on my to read list, I have no idea when I will get round to it but I'm sure reading along side someone else would really help! "
It's on a multi-year radar for me, but if you haven't read it by the time I get to it, I would love company to read it together, Rachel!
Bob wrote: "Welcome back! "
Thankyou, Bob! ♥
Hi, MK. THE APP for reading while listening sounds like something that I’d like. Especially when reading Henry James. My mind wanders when reading him.
Patty wrote: "Hi, MK. THE APP for reading while listening sounds like something that I’d like. Especially when reading Henry James. My mind wanders when reading him."
*nods head* ... it was really helpful to me, Patty. Some kindle books have whispersync options available. Maybe some of James' are available with that option.
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Katy wrote: "So glad to see you back here MK. I've missed you."Thankyou, Katy! I've missed you as well! ♥
Helen wrote: "Hello MK. Nice to meet you. I I joined July 2018, so it's a first time to meet you, but I'm glad you came back."*waves* nice to meet you, Helen!
Jim wrote: "Welcome back, MK (Magic Kingdom?)"
lol ... no, MaryKatharine :)
The Impractical Practical Mind at Work; or how to use logic and reason on completely meaningless tasks :) . So i'm reading Broad Arrow Jack which is listed as 270 pages, but those are double-columned A4 pages.
Given how long its taking me to read i wanted to add an extra theoretical edition to goodreads with a more appropriate page count.
My first thought was that average books are about 300 words a page (according to random people on the net), so scanning a few random pages Broad Arrow averaged 1300 words per page!
Which would be 1170 pages. However my mind was too practical to let me type that somewhat suspect number in :lol.
So second attempt, i looked up the similar Varney the Vampire at the british library, published in a similar format, its 470 pages. So Broad Arrow is 57.45% of Varney.
Then i looked up reprints and the wordsworth addition of Varney seemed nice at 1166 pages, so (multiply.. divide.. carry the one :P) i concluded that a modern reprint of Broad Arrow Jack would be 669.8 pages, lets round that up to 670 :) .
So thats why there's a new 670 page edition of Broad Arrow Jack around, and also why i didn't get much work done today ;) .
I was sorry to read that William Goldman, the author of The Princess Bride has died. I haven't read the book yet, but I plan to someday.
I haven't been active in this group in the past few months - too many GR groups, I guess ;) I want to start participating again, though, so I've jumped in in some of the new threads :)
Welcome back. I've been less talkative too. Finally got access to a keyboard where the S, D, G, Q, and 3 are working.
Hi Kirsten, Marina, hey everyone. I haven't been active here at all and haven't been reading much, but I want to read more and hopefully joining a reading group will help. I'm looking forward to reading Shirley, I'm in the perfect mood for it.
Out of curiosity, how many hours per day on average do you boys and girls spend reading?
Out of curiosity, how many hours per day on average do you boys and girls spend reading?
Kristina wrote: "Out of curiosity, how many hours per day on average do you boys and girls spend reading? "It depends on the amount of work I have for the day. Being a freelancer, it's not always the same - so I might need to work 12 hours one day and only 3 the next. Obviously, in the first instance I might not read more than 10 minutes. On average though, I would say an hour, give or take.
I read on my morning commute, evening commute, in bed, and sometimes on lunch break. I listen to audiobooks on my walk to work from the commuter train, back to the train after work, dog walks, if I take a lunchtime walk, and during household chores. On a good day this all adds up to 2-3 hours per day. It's usually less on the weekends due to lack of commuting.
Kristina wrote: "Out of curiosity, how many hours per day on average do you boys and girls spend reading? "I'd say about an hour/hour and a half, usually 2 chapters from different books with maybe another 3 or 4 hours snatched here and there over a week. And i average 60 books or 16,000 pages a year.
Yeah,depending on the Real Life ,I squeeze in reading between work and.I can't read in any moving vehicles except train,motion sickness.*sigh.I esp love to read after putting my kids to bed.Uninterrupted reading and I am a nightowl .So the best time.
I would say about 2 to 3 hours too.
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You would think that an English teacher would get to read more. We read a few selections each year, but mostly time is spent on everything in the world other than reading literature: discipline, entering grades, too much student writing, meetings, planning, and not enough reading. I read student writing, but that does not count.
My daily average is probably an hour of reading. More if I’m listening to audiobooks.
I'm like Helen. I try ro squeze in some books, but sometimes I have to go weeks without them, then, on good luck, I get a full weekend read and go through a book in one piece. (Just talking about my personl readings, novels, excluding my readings for university, of course. )
I just wanted to ask if anyone else had any books disappear off their shelves this past week? Up until a few days ago, my 2018 Reading Challenge was showing the correct amount of books read (42). Then two days ago, it dropped to 28 (that's a third of my books lost). The books do not show that I have ever read/shelved them. What's worse is that all of the reviews are also gone!I've been working with Monique at Support, but as she asked me for keywords from my reviews in order to try to retrieve them (which I had not saved anywhere else), I'm afraid all of my missing reviews may be gone forever!
Has anyone else checked their shelves to see if all of their books read/reviewed in 2018 are accounted for?
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What a yucky thing to happen. Mine are all still intact with reviews & all.
Shirley, I just checked my bookshelves and they’re all in tact, but I did notice that I now live in New York and my profile is a link for sexy pics that looks like it’s written in Russian! 😳 Think I’ll need to get on to support about that.
Katy wrote: "Shirley (stampartiste) wrote: "I just wanted to ask if anyone else had any books disappear off their shelves this past week? Up until a few days ago, my 2018 Reading Challenge was showing the corre..."That's great, Katy! Glad to hear this glitch didn't affect you.
Pink wrote: "Shirley, I just checked my bookshelves and they’re all in tact, but I did notice that I now live in New York and my profile is a link for sexy pics that looks like it’s written in Russian! 😳 Think ..."That's too funny! I just checked your profile.
This incident happened right after Goodreads added the "Year in Books 2018" widget at the top of their home page. I hope they can get my data back!
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LOL
Shirley (stampartiste) wrote: "I just wanted to ask if anyone else had any books disappear off their shelves this past week? Up until a few days ago, my 2018 Reading Challenge was showing the correct amount of books read (42). T..."Pink wrote: "Shirley, I just checked my bookshelves and they’re all in tact, but I did notice that I now live in New York and my profile is a link for sexy pics that looks like it’s written in Russian! 😳 Think ..."
Oh wow .... that's awful. Do they say if they think it's hackers? Or a site glitch?
Shirley, hope they find your stuff !! :-(
While reading Thomas Mann’s Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family this morning, I came across this observation:“But Tony had the lovely knack of being able to adapt readily to any situation in life simply by tackling its new possibilities.”
Isn’t that great? That’s how I want to be and how I try to be. It has been so helpful in adjusting to life in new countries (first South Korea and then Mexico).
Patrick wrote: "...Isn’t that great? That’s how I want to be and how I try to be. It has been so helpful in adjusting to life in new countries (first South Korea and then Mexico). "Yes, it is! and your quote is the part that makes it great ^-^. What a great way to run through life. I admire your spirit.
The context of the quotation is that Tony (Antoinette, a young woman) is newly divorced in an unforgiving mid-19th Century German culture. But she is unflappable. She embraces her new status and finds satisfaction in it. The emphasis is on the word “new”. Every altered situation in life affords new possibilities, if we will only see them. “One door closes, another opens.”
I have never felt homesick abroad because I try to focus on what IS in front of me, not what isn’t. I think that is what Mann is getting at.
The daughter of a friend of mine has this trait. Since young, she just goes with the flow of events and adapts on the turn of a dime. Nothing phases her, she merely naturally adapts to changes in her situation. It's amazing to watch. I really enjoyed Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family. It's always fun to see it mentioned as being read.
Update on my hacking! Goodreads emailed back, but essentially just told me to change my password 🤷♀️ I think this is a known problem, usually with dormant accounts. It’s a shame that I’ve lost my profile information, as I can’t remember what I’d written, but I’ve changed my password and deleted the hacked info, so I’m no longer 19 and sexy from New York!
Petra wrote: "The daughter of a friend of mine has this trait. Since young, she just goes with the flow of events and adapts on the turn of a dime. Nothing phases her, she merely naturally adapts to changes in h..."Buddenbrooks is a great novel. I strongly recommend it to one and all.
Lol Pink, what a shame not to be a 19 year old sexy chick from NY anymore 😂 Fun while it lasted (well, not the hacking part).
Herman Melville turns 200 in 2019. Not a big fan myself, but some here might want to mark the occasion with a hornpipe or something.
Catching up on Classics (and lots more!)
Books mentioned in this topic
They Were Sisters (other topics)The Wind in the Willows (other topics)
The Wind In The Willows (other topics)
The Consequence of Anna (other topics)
The Consequence of Anna (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Kate Birkin (other topics)Robert Coover (other topics)
Ray Bradbury (other topics)
Kate Birkin (other topics)
Kate Birkin (other topics)
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https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
Rank is the same as on the Classics list. (I think)