New member introductions and group read planning Showing 951-1,000 of 1,039

[Susan in Perthshire]

Teri-k - I can’t find them either!

[Abigail]

Hi, Teri, they were buried on the third page of the Buddy Reads category. I have added nonsense comments to each thread to move them up closer to the top of that section. If you don’t see them when you go to this group’s main Topics page, click on “Buddy Reads” and it will show you a longer list (at least on my iPad).

[Susan in Perthshire]

Thanks Abigail.

[Teri-K]

Abigail wrote: "Hi, Teri, they were buried on the third page of the Buddy Reads category. I have added nonsense comments to each thread to move them up closer to the top of that section. If you don’t see them when..."

Thanks, Abigail. I thought they'd be pinned to the front, or something. I'm glad to know where they're hiding! I expect to reread this one soon.

[Abigail]

As we get close to April, the next work on the list is The Wind of the Small Isles (1968).

I wanted to consult the preference of the group: this is really a long short story, not even a novelette. In its most current edition, The Wind Off the Small Isles and The Lost One, it is paired with another short story, “The Lost One.” “The Lost One” is last on my list of her works in order because it wasn’t discovered and published till after her death, but it turns out it was written in 1960 and has the same heroine (at least they have the same name) as “The Wind off the Small Isles.”

Considering this connection, do we want to read them together in April? The two put together are shorter than a novel. Would love to hear from the Stewart fans out there.

[Linda]

I'd like to read both. Thanks for suggesting it.

[Elizabeth]

Linda wrote: "I'd like to read both. Thanks for suggesting it."

Ooh, I don't know The Lost One at all!

[Abigail]

I haven't read it yet either! Looking forward to it. Unless I hear differently, let's plan on reading both in April.

[Abigail]

It’s April, and I’ll try to bump up the threads for The Wind Off the Small Isles and The Lost One.

[Abigail]

Okay, there are two threads (non-spoiler and spoiler) for The Wind off the Small Isles and one thread for “The Lost One.” I put comments in all to bump them up; if you go to the Buddy Reads section and click on “Showing 5 of 111 topics,” you will get to the first page of book threads and these threads appear some way down on the first page.

[Linda]

Thanks Abigail - I'd better start reading! I have the Kindle version this time.

[Abigail]

Neither one takes long.

[Abigail]

If anyone besides me and Linda is out there, according to publication order our May read will be The Crystal Cave. Hooray! I love the first two Merlin books.

[Peggy]

Abigail wrote: "If anyone besides me and Linda is out there, according to publication order our May read will be The Crystal Cave. Hooray! I love the first two Merlin books."

I’m going to try to join in on this one. I’m currently rereading The Once and Future King, so it will be interesting to compare.

[Abigail]

Definitely fun to read those two back-to-back!

[Abigail]

Okay, it’s May and time to read The Crystal Cave. We’re leaving behind romantic thrillers and heading to the early Middle Ages. I’ll try to bump up the threads.

[Abigail]

Don’t know whether anyone is still following this thread, but just in case:

Reading in chronological order, the book for June would be one of Stewart’s children’s stories, The Little Broomstick. But it is short—127 pages in my mass-market paperback copy—and the book after is the sequel to our May book—The Hollow Hills.

We’ve had a request to skip The Little Broomstick and go straight on to The Hollow Hills. Does anyone have strong feelings about it one way or the other?

I had an alternative thought, and that was to read both in June, so anyone who is still participating can read either or both, as suits their inclination. If this idea is popular, then we might do the same in July with Ludo and the Star Horse and Touch Not the Cat.

If you’re out there, please do weigh in.

[Jackie]

I get a notification for this thread and I'm glad you posted, Abigail, even though I don't plan on reading Stewart in June.

I have not been participating well in most of the GR groups I'm in, but Touch Not the Cat is a book I haven't ever read and want to. knowing it's coming up in July makes it much more likely I can participate.

[Abigail]

Great! I understand, it’s impossible for me to keep up with all my groups too.

[Linda]

I'm still planning to participate but skipped this month as I just read The Crystal Cave last year.

[Abigail]

Excellent!

[Abigail]

Although this group seems to have gone dead I’m slogging on with the plan. The books for July will be Ludo and the Star Horse and Touch Not the Cat.

[Galowa]

Abigail wrote: "Although this group seems to have gone dead I’m slogging on with the plan. The books for July will be Ludo and the Star Horse and Touch Not the Cat."

Not dead yet. Though unable to participate, I'm still following...

[Linda]

I'll be reading Touch Not the Cat.

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

Hi Abigail
I haven't participated in this group for a while but I own & have never read A Walk in Wolf Wood & The Prince and the Pilgrim If they come up for a read I will try to participate. :)

Other than my beloved Georgette Heyer I'm not doing much rereading these days. :)

[Teri-K]

Still following, I just don't care to reread the King Arthur books right now, and I don't have access to the shorter ones. Thanks for posting and keeping us up to date, though. Will probably revisit TNTC with you in July.

[Abigail]

Galowa wrote: "Abigail wrote: "Although this group seems to have gone dead I’m slogging on with the plan. The books for July will be Ludo and the Star Horse and Touch Not the Cat."

Not..."

Good to hear, Galowa! ❤️

[Abigail]

Great to hear from folks!

Yes, Carol, we will get to A Walk in Wolf Wood and The Prince and the Pilgrim before long! We’re moving chronologically. I haven’t read them either.

Look forward to chatting with you about Touch Not the Cat, Teri.

[Abigail]

For those who like to plan ahead, here’s the remaining sked:

August: The Last Enchantment
September: A Walk in Wolf Wood
October: The Wicked Day
November: Thornyhold
December: The Stormy Petrel
January: The Prince and the Pilgrim
February: Rose Cottage

[Mumu]

I've actually just finished reading Touch Not the Cat, since I've been binge-reading a lot of Mary Stewart's books. looking forward to the discussion!

[Lynnie]

Abigail, I think you're doing a grand job here! Thank you!

I am woefully behind but I have been noting the order of rereading. I'm definitely going to join in with Touch Not the Cat, it was my first Mary Stewart and I've read it a couple of times.

I also want to to read her Arthurian books and hope to catch up.

[Abigail]

Thanks for the kind words, Lynnie! Was I sounding a trifle forlorn? The Arthurian books read quickly and are fun for bingeing so you should be able to catch up.

I have zero recollection of Touch Not the Cat so I’m curious about it. The title reminds me of the heroine’s cat phobia in The Gabriel Hounds.

[Abigail]

Just as a reminder to anyone in a Mary Stewart humor, the book for September is one of her middle-grade children’s stories, A Walk in Wolf Wood. October will be the last in her Merlin/Arthur series, The Wicked Day. Then a return in November to more romantic fare with Thornyhold.

[Linda]

I'm still reading (slowly) The Last Enchantment. I really am not a fan of the Arthurian Saga... just not my thing. So I've paused several times through this novel. I'm somewhere in "book 3" at this time - and there are 4 books in the novel. I really only wanted to read the romantic suspense novels, but I'm trying to keep up with the group expectations anyway. Sorry I'm not on track, and I haven't read any of the children's stories yet. I think eventually I will.

[Abigail]

I hate to think you struggling on out of a sense of duty, Linda! This group is supposed to be fun, not an obligation. I can’t at this point persuade myself that it is even a group, much less a group with expectations. The November read, Thornyhold, may be more to your taste (though I haven’t read it since it first came out so my memory is of the dimmest). I hereby wave my not-really-a-moderator wand and release you from The Last Enchantment! 🎉🎉🎉

[Linda]

Thank you! But seriously, I will finish the book because I'm not a quitter. I just wanted to take a brief vacation in the middle of the book a few times. haha ... I'm enjoying other fiction while vacationing. I confess, I'm just not a fan of fantasy novels, usually. Also not a fan of male dominated novels. I've had a overdose of male dominated novels this year. Sad, but true.

[Abigail]

I hear you! Though I don’t find Merlin himself an aggressively masculine figure, the series does come to be more about battles and warfare as it goes along. I recently DNFed a book that had mostly male characters and was full of animal cruelty; in my old age I’ve come around to the idea that life’s too short to plod my way through a book that’s making me miserable.

[Linda]

Absolutely agree... we need to read what gives us joy. Mary Stewart's romantic suspense novels do give me joy...... that's why I'm here. Merlin is okay... but some of the other men in the Arthurian novels are obnoxious. (Who can deny it?)

[Abigail]

I certainly can’t! I am not looking forward to rereading The Wicked Day next month, I confess.

[Linda]

We will survive this, although "The Wicked Day" is an ominous title.

[Abigail]

It’s time: I’ll set up the threads for The Wicked Day.

[Abigail]

Well, we’ve made it through the Merlin/Arthur series, so maybe we’ll get a few readers back with Thornyhold? Our November read.

[Susan in Perthshire]

Haven’t read this for years - so I may join you. 😉

[Abigail]

Yay! A live body. 😊 I haven’t read it since it first came out, so it will be fresh for both of us.

[Teri-K]

I'll join you if I can get a copy from the library in time. I like it but it's not a top favorite, so I don't own a copy myself.

What's up for December, so I can plan ahead?

[Abigail]

December is The Stormy Petrel.

[Teri-K]

Thanks! I haven't read that one. I'll see if I can track a copy down.

[Abigail]

We are nearing the end of the list and February will see the end of our series. See message 979 above for the remaining books.

[Teri-K]

Abigail wrote: "We are nearing the end of the list and February will see the end of our series. See message 979 above for the remaining books."

Thanks, I will look there.

[Katinka]

Hi everyone! I just joined this group because this morning, I read an article in the newspaper about a dissertation about Lipizzaners. Of course this made me think of "Airs above the Ground". I will post the link in the appropriate conversation. I am afraid it is in German, but I assume that there are some German speakers in this group.