Retro Reads discussion
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What would you like to read with some friends?
I am interested in reading Madeline Brent. I have a few of his books. But I'm swamped right now with other commitments. I'll have to wait. Glad we are adding Brent tho!
Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ wrote: "How could I have forgotten about Madeleine Brent? Her (actually his) books are a little later than most of the ones we're reading in this group (70s and 80s), but their vibe fits right in. I've jus..."I didn't know she was a he! I'll check my new library full of great old books this weekend and see if I can find Tregaron's Daughter.
Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ wrote: "How could I have forgotten about Madeleine Brent? Her (actually his) books are a little later than most of the ones we're reading in this group (70s and 80s), but their vibe fits right in. I've jus..."Tadiana, I just special-ordered the Tregaron book through our library system. Should be in for pick up in a couple days : ) let me know if you guys are going to do a buddy read!
Well, when I raised Tregaron's Daughter in another thread other people were more interested in reading Merlin's Keep than Tregaron, so that's the one I've scheduled for a buddy read. How long will you be able to keep Tregaron once you get it? Maybe I can squeeze that one in too...
It's ok don't worry about it... if I wait until the end of next week to pick it up I can renew it twice so that gives me until end of May. So if you can't fit it in I will just read it anyway and join a discussion at a later date if you decide to do it (how *do* you guys fit in all these buddy reads and keep up with the conversations too? my head is spinning : ) : ) I only joined three (? I think) goodreads groups but am having trouble juggling them.
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Let me try to tempt you with atmospheric descriptions of Europe on the brink of WW2--Oxford, Paris, Innsbruck. The protagonists are a very likable young couple, Oxford don, Richard Myles, and his wife Frances. At the request of a Foreign Office friend they agree to serve as messengers to determine the fate of a missing man who has been involved in rescue work and anti-Nazi espionage. Their qualifications? Next to nothing except for Richard's superb memory and the fact that they look so very innocent. Lots of suspense, clever spy craft, snappy dialog and unexpected humor.
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Lol, and I've been sitting on a copy of her book The Venetian Affair for several months, waiting for the right moment to read it! If anyone is interested in buddy reading that one sometime, let me know.
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Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ , She's a mod, yeah, yeah, yeah!
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Might have to leave until May, so maybe you could press on with Above Suspicion. :) I've committed to a few reads this month & because I've got rocks in my head, I've decided I'm going to read Simon The Coldheart again.
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Francis and Richard Myles in Above Suspicion may be the MacInnes protagonists that stand out most in my memory--very likeable and they have a great relationship.
That sounds very tempting. Let me check into whether I can find a cheapo copy of Above Suspicion. Because my reading schedule isn't overstuffed enough yet. ;)Done and ordered! Abebooks had several copies for $3.48, so it was an easy call since your description sounded so good. I should get it in a couple of weeks, so let's do both this and the Venetian Affair as buddy reads sometime.
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Yeah, I know. [everyone from the Georgette Heyer Group can tune out now. I've mentioned this once or twice!] It was my Dad's favourite book as a boy & he tried for years in the 60s & 70s to find a copy. When it was reprinted I got a copy at great expense. When Dad reread it he was so disappointed! When I tried I could see why! But there must have been something there for his original love.
Give me something I can get on audible and I'm in. Otherwise, as much as hate it, I have to pass on til maybe June. I do love BR with you guys
Life is just too busy right now to hold a book and read with the exception of the few I've already committed to.
I have all three of the MacInnes books you guys have mentioned (the girls and I went to a library sale last summer : ) so count me in when you do the buddy read (maybe in May?) I loved "While Still We Live" and haven't read that one in a long time. Liked the "Suspicion" one also, and I don't remember reading "The Venetian Affair" or the "Delphi" one, so those might be good for me to read (knowing me and my memory I probably read them and maybe even reviewed them already! nice thing about getting older is a book seems fresh every time! : )
Hi, Hana, I haven’t read any Helen MacInnes in years and would love to do so again. Downside: I think I “de-accessioned” my complete set when I had to do a big downsize about five years ago—one of many painful literary sacrifices. I’ll see if I have any of her books around, and if I don’t, I’ll buy a new one of whatever we decide to read.
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Is anyone else interested?
I'm interested in reading "Katherine" but I'm not yet sure if I can read it then.Unfortunately, I only have it in hard copy rather than eBook. These take much longer to read.
I know I have some Helen MacInnes floating around somewhere. Which one are we looking at reading first?
Carol ♔Type, Oh Queen!♕ wrote: "& I'm still as keen as mustard to read Katherine I was thinking around a 12th of May start. Is anyone else interested?"
I'm going to put Katherine down for May and keep fingers crossed that I can read it.
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I'm going to put Katherine..."
Awesome!
I just checked the library systems that I use for digital materials and one has eAudio for "Katherine!"I'll be listening instead of reading.
My Madeleine Brent books have arrived: Merlin's Keep and Tregaron's Daughter. I'm still waiting for Above Suspicion by Helen MacInnes. I'd better pass on Katherine even though it's on my TBR. Too busy! :(
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Can't read everything!
Carol ♔Type, Oh Queen!♕ wrote: "Can't read everything!"But one can try! :D
I've just tried The House on the Strand and I hate it. I don't know where else to post about it. My infatuation with Daphne is over I think. :-(Anyone read it? I was listening while on a road trip. But, I could not finish. I'd like to know how it ends...I'm pretty sensitive to animal cruelty. After he killed the monkey I had to stop listening. IF you have read it you will know. Of course I know it happens in experiments. I just don't want to hear it going out of town to a funeral. It disturbed me too much. Maybe things are just too heavy for that kind of book right now. I do want to know (view spoiler)
And there was just SO MUCH about slaughter!!! I just couldn't listen anymore.
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Anyone read it? I was listening while on a road tri..."
I love, love, love Rebecca & My Cousin Rachel but never finished Frenchman's Creek or Jamaica Inn - too long ago to remember why. I would like to check out Not After Midnight. Annoyingly, the title flashed up when I tried to search for it & I now can't find it. Maybe it has another title.
I just read Jamaica Inn over the weekend and enjoyed it. It's kind of classic gothic, but more dark than the usual gothic romance fare. No animals were harmed in this book, at least that I recall, but several people are! And the romance is a frustrating one, at least for me, but I did actually appreciate du Maurier's existential take on it, even though I'm a die-hard romantic at heart.
Thanks for chatting with me. I'm so down about it. I adored The Scapegoat earlier this year and then My Cousin Rachel recently. I just figured I couldn't go wrong with any titles. I did read Jamaica Inn a couple of years ago. I liked it but didn't love it. Tadiana...I am totally good with the people harmed as opposed to animals. EEK. That makes me sound so bad. PPL often deserve in some of the tales. Oh..that is worse isn't it? Well...ya know, animals are helpless and I cannot stand for them to suffer, let alone be tortured. And that was going on a lot it seemed in this novel. I just can't stomach it. I do agree JI is classic gothic. I am not familiar with Not After Midnight.
I think I should go back to MS for awhile. She always had a love for animals that came thru in her stories. ;-)
Oh, Debbicat, I’m with you about animal cruelty! I had to read Old Yeller as a child (was from a family of all boys, and my guardian insisted) and never forgot the horror. I am the same about people being harmed, in most situations.May I suggest that you not go see the current movie The Zookeeper’s Wife? I went unwarily to a screening with my sweetie on Sunday night, and it was horrible—graphic bombing and shooting of animals, and just when you thought you were safe, another shooting! Over and over. A lot of human tragedy as well, but the animal violence seemed so gratuitous.
Debbicat,I'm the same way in that I can tolerate human cruelty to other humans, but not cruelty to animals.
I'm not saying cruelty is good in any form is good, but something just gets to me when animals are mistreated.
Abigail wrote: "Oh, Debbicat, I’m with you about animal cruelty! I had to read Old Yeller as a child (was from a family of all boys, and my guardian insisted) and never forgot the horror. I am the same about peopl..."Thank you, Abigail. I was curious about the Zookeeper's wife. UGH! Now I will know to stay away! I never saw Old Yeller, but I know the horrible thing that happens. I would not be able to get thru it.
Andrea-exactly!!!! I can tolerate it human to human in books and tv sometimes. Tho lately, I find I am unable to watch Criminal Minds...one of my husband's favorite shows. Animal cruelty is just not something I can read about and certainly never watch. I was very surprised about how much it was mentioned in this du Maurier book. I kept thinking it will get better....yes, they slaughtered sheep, goats, pigs, cattle in the 1400's. But, do we really have to keep hearing about it and how it is done??? Then the experiments....it was just too much. And I did not expect it, obviously, or I wouldn't have chosen to try it.
Andrea (Catsos Person) is a Compulsive eBook Hoarder wrote: "I just checked the library systems that I use for digital materials and one has eAudio for "Katherine!"I'll be listening instead of reading."
audio??? Hmmm...I will check to see it that is available to me. Audio is my best friend for the next 2 months. ;-)
Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ wrote: "My Madeleine Brent books have arrived: Merlin's Keep and Tregaron's Daughter. I'm still waiting for Above Suspicion by Helen MacInnes. I'd better pass on Katherine even though it's on my TBR. Too b..."oh goodie!
Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ wrote: "I just read Jamaica Inn over the weekend and enjoyed it. It's kind of classic gothic, but more dark than the usual gothic romance fare. No animals were harmed in this book, at least that I recall, ..."I am also thinking of re-reading this one Tadiana..as I have no clue now,about it.Thank you for reminding me about it:)
I started a fairly recent TV version of Jamaica Inn but haven't had time to finish it yet. I have read the book at least twice and it is one of my Daphne favorites.
I'd be interested in participating in a buddy read. I'm not sure if the Helen MacInnes buddy read ever happened, but I already own most of her reissues from Titan Press. If there's still interest in reading one of her spy novels, I'm game.I have a few Mary Stewarts on my shelf that I've never read: The Moonspinners and The Gabriel Hounds. I also bought Dragonwyck by Seton at some point or another, so I'd be up for that one!
In terms of gothics, I have some random Holts that I picked up at a library sale that I've not read: The Spring of the Tiger, Snare of Serpents, The Black Opal, and The Legend of the Seventh Virgin. I also snagged a few of the new Open Road Phyllis Whitney reissues, The Turquoise Mask, Blue Fire, and Domino, if any of those look good.
Let me know if anything looks intriguing!
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Hana wrote: "Do you have a favorite you'd like to re-read? I have Pray for a Brave Heart on order from the library.Hana - I am pretty flexible. I'd be interested in Pray for a Brave Heart - I think I've probably read that one, but I can't be sure. As I mentioned, I've bought most of the Titan Press kindle re-issues, and that is one of the books that I already own. I could also reread Above Suspicion, and The Salzburg Connection is a personal favorite of mine. One of the things that I love about Macinnes is her ability to make a setting really come alive!
I started reading Macinnes in the 1970's, and have returned to her books many times throughout my life. While her romantic subplots occasionally drive me nuts with their retrograde elements, I still enjoy her books tremendously.
I ordered a copy of Above Suspicion several months ago and still haven't read that one, and would love to do a buddy read for it one of these times. If there are others here who are interested in that one, let's choose a date to start it and I'll add a thread (or two) to the buddy reads folder for it. :)
Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ wrote: "I ordered a copy of Above Suspicion several months ago and still haven't read that one, and would love to do a buddy read for it one of these times. If there are others here who are interested in t..."I think that Above Suspicion is a good one to start with - it is quite charming and a nice intro to Macinnes.
So just to keep this discussion rolling, I'll throw out a proposed start date for Above Suspicion of September 1. It's not a very long book and looks like a reasonably quick read. If anyone here is interested in joining this buddy read, please either confirm if that's a date you're okay with, or propose a different start date. Thanks!
Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ wrote: "So just to keep this discussion rolling, I'll throw out a proposed start date for Above Suspicion of September 1. It's not a very long book and looks like a reasonably quick read. I..."
That will work well for me. I already own the book, so all I have to do is download it!
Retro Reads
Books mentioned in this topic
I Capture the Castle (other topics)I Capture the Castle (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Helen MacInnes (other topics)Helen MacInnes (other topics)
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Helen MacInnes (other topics)
P.S. I highly recommend Golden Urchin.