Reading the 20th Century discussion
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Laura
(last edited Jul 15, 2023 06:16AM)
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Jul 15, 2023 06:15AM
Hi - just posted my review of The Hours Before Dawn - Celia Fremlin - I saw Roman Clodia's post a while ago - and she said - there would be more Fremlin books on the reading list - so I'm just sticking my nose in, to see what there is of interest. Buddy reads - are always great fun!
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On Fremlin, we've done buddy reads on her first eight books:
The Hours Before Dawn (1958)
Uncle Paul (1959)
Seven Lean Years (1961)
aka Wait for the Wedding
Troublemakers (1963)
The Jealous One (1965)
Prisoner's Base (1967)
Possession (1969)
The Long Shadow (1975)
You can find the threads under our Buddy Reads folder and you're always welcome to re-active a discussion.
Upcoming, we have:
Appointment with Yesterday (1972)
Spider-orchid (1977)
As well as Fremlin, you'll find we're fans here of other writers like Elizabeth Taylor, Elizabeth Bowen, Barbara Pym and others so do explore.
You'll see our upcoming Group and Buddy Reads here, a sticky post which Nigeyb keeps updated with ruthless efficiency!
www.goodreads.com/topic/show/22506121
Hi - thanks RC and Nigey. Yes - delighted to go and see what people have said. I wasn't sure if I could just add on another comment or not. Thanks!
Hello Laura. Celia Fremlin is new to me as well. I wasnt aware of her until I joined this lovely group and now I adore Fremlin.
Hello all! I’m Elizabeth (Lisa) and I was once a school librarian but now a School Secretary in a UK school. My children are grown up now so have more time to read! Like heartwarming stories and classics but also I do love a “Who Dunnit”. My favourite book of all time is Jane Eyre. Lots of authors I haven’t read like Barbara Pym, Evelyn Waugh or EM Forster.
Mod
If you like a Who Dunnit, two of the mods do run a sister group, Reading the Detectives, which features mainly Golden Age crime, so pop over and take a look.
Hello everyone, I'm Claire. I live in Hertfordshire in the UK.I retired a few years ago now and now have much more valuable time to read. I belong to two in person book groups where we mostly read contemporary fiction, which I do love, but I've also been enjoying looking through the posts from this group and finding old favorites and books and authors I haven't heard of. I'm looking forward to joining in with reading and talking about some of these.
Mod
Hello everyone I’m Sue, though there are so many of us (such a common name mid-20th century) that I have added Lucie (one of my dogs’ names and also the name of the barge I once lived on). I live on the Moray coast, north east Scotland. I’m retired.
I recognise several group members’ names from spending years on goodreads.
I am trying to plug an enormous gap in my reading, that of women authors of the early 20th century - Elizabeth von Arnim, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Pym and Celia Fremlin are my favourites. I’ve also recently discovered E.M. Delafield. When I saw that you are reading all Celia Fremlin’s novels I realised I must join this group. I’ve read 10 of hers so far. I’ve just bought a copy of The Spider-Orchid and will make an effort to catch up with everyone if I’m not too late.
Mod
It's never too late to join discussions. I only started The Spider Orchid yesterday - and you're always free to revive old discussions. We keep all the threads open.
Mod
You've come to the right place
Yes, please do join in with The Spider-Orchid discussion. You're right on time. And also feel free to revive any older discussions. It often happens and we love it when it does
Thanks, both of you. Looking forward to the Celia Fremlin and also to checking out all your earlier threads (a quick glance tells me that could take some time!).
Hello everyone, I have recently joined this group and have started reading Winter in Madrid. It's going good so far. However, I don't understand the concept of buddy-reads. How is it different from group-reads? Could someone explain plz? Thanks.
Mod
Glad you are enjoying Winter in Madrid, do please add your thoughts and reactions to our discussion.
GROUP READS: Each month we nominate and then vote on a work of fiction or non-fiction linked to a monthly theme - that's the Group Read for that month. Group reads are written or set in the twentieth century
BUDDY READS: Anyone can suggest a buddy read at any time. You just need at least two people who want to do it and away you go. Buddy reads can be from any era
Thank you Nigeyb and Susan for the warm welcome. Just one question more: How and where (which particular thread) does one nominate books for buddy reads?
Mod
This is the link to the general buddy read thread. Feel free to nominate suggestions there.
Welcome Neer. We're a friendly group. Looking forward to your thoughts, votes and contributions.
Neer wrote: "Thank you Nigeyb and Susan for the warm welcome. Just one question more: How and where (which particular thread) does one nominate books for buddy reads?"Hey Neeru, good to see you here!
Ben wrote: "Welcome Neer. We're a friendly group. Looking forward to your thoughts, votes and contributions."Thank you so much, Ben for your warm welcome and kind words. Excited about the discussions.
Lady Clementina wrote: "Neer wrote: "Thank you Nigeyb and Susan for the warm welcome. Just one question more: How and where (which particular thread) does one nominate books for buddy reads?"Hey Neeru, good to see you h..."
Same here, Mallika. Reading any of the books this month? I have started Winter in Madrid.
Neer wrote: "Lady Clementina wrote: "Neer wrote: "Thank you Nigeyb and Susan for the warm welcome. Just one question more: How and where (which particular thread) does one nominate books for buddy reads?"Hey ..."
I'm planning to read Heavy Weather for next month!
Mod
"I'm planning to read Heavy Weather for next month"
👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼
Wonderful news
Hello group.I am rushing to join as I understand there is a group read starting on
A Dance for the Music of Time. I am barely started and hope that a group will help me read into it more deeply, and maybe make it through all 4 'movements'.
I just finished The Balkan's Trilogy so the Levant Trilogy in in my sights. This year being my year for Trilogies, I am also targeting the the Radlett and Montdore books by Nancy Mitford.
War and Peace is my most favorite book, but after that any book I might list might be swapped out by the next hour.
Mod
Mod
I loved the Balkan and the Levant Trilogy.
Hi folks. I am new here. I'm one of those inveterate readers who grew up reading the cereal box because there was nothing else to do at the breakfast table. The last ten years or so I have mostly focussed on contemporary (very late 20th century, but mostly 21st century) work, but I'm feeling more and more the need to go back to the 20th century. I'd say most of my lifetime reading has been works written in the 20th century, but I find myself at a stage of life where I am re-evaluating many things, including an awful lot of what I have previously read. It's interesting how one can think one understands a work, and then 20 or 40 years later one encounters the same work again and barely recognizes it. Also, I had a fairly sheltered upbringing and education through the end of college. There were a lot of early to mid-20th century writers who were left off the list of work I was introduced to. Some are still on my TBR list.
Some of my favorite authors are Sayers, Brecht, Woolf (Virginia), Undset, Brodsky, Heaney, Seghers, Tolkien, Le Carré, Wharton, Buechner, Byatt, and Bishop. I also adore the earlier children's literature of by Lloyd Alexander, especially the Chronicles of Prydain.
I mostly do audio books, owing to an injury that has made reading print somewhat challenging. That injury has also narrowed the scope of what I read, because if there is not a narrative thread I can follow, I find it difficult to make my way through the book.
I do have a question about the group: what is the difference between a "group read" and a "buddy read?"
Mod
Group reads are books which we nominate and vote on once a month: these are always twentieth century.
Buddy reads are more informal and are books where at least two people, often more, just want to read them. They sometimes fall outside the twentieth century. Anyone can suggest a buddy at any time and post it on the 'buddy reads' thread to see if there are any takers. Buddies often fall out of conversations on the various posts.
You'll find a thread at the top of our discussions which lists all the present and upcoming group and buddy reads already agreed, by month. You're also welcome to revive any old threads - they all remain open.
Nice list of favorite authors! Personally, I'm a huge Woolf fan, and also love Wharton and le Carre - you'll find discussions on all of them and individual books here.
Mod
Welcome to the Group, G. There are quite a few Woolf and le Carre fans here. I see you're reading Elizabeth Bowen, who I discovered through this group. I'm slowly working through her books and the Smiley series, as I try to keep up with the variety of Group and Buddy reads here.I look forward to seeing you in the discussions.
Hi to everyone.I'm a surveyor, I own a sea kayak, live within a stone's throw of the briny and luckily work in coastal surveying.
I yearn for fiction that asks me think: join-the-dots, figure what is happening, where the plot is taking me.
Mod
What are your favourite sea related books?
And what about more generally?
What are your favourite sea related books? - The Riddle of the Sands (the best book I've ever read).more generally - I looking for it.
Mod
You’ve come to the right place
Looking forward to your contributions
Welcome to the group, Mark. Notwithstanding the title, we read a great variety of books together, from Group Reads largely on topic to Buddy Reads that can be anything at all. Looking forward to sharing comments with you.
Hello Mark. I am quite new to the group and have been made very welcome. I’m not the most frequent poster as I can’t always read every book being discussed but enjoy following the conversations and contribute where I can. You’ll be hooked to this group very soon!
Hello. I'm Tina.I'm mew here. Please be kind.
Mod
Please tell us a bit more about your reading preferences and what attracted you to the group
Hi, all,I'm running (my passion) around like a mad thing (I would prefer to be running around a running track) and trying to read in my rest time.
Happy New Year everyone! I am joining the group primarily to join the Swann's Way start of the Proust read. I know many of you by posts in other groups and looking forward to the comments from those whom I have not yet met. I am not sure if my readling load will allow much participation, but I am going to give it a try. I am retired, USA, and have a fair background in 20th century literature.
Mod
Reading the 20th Century
Books mentioned in this topic
Baby Driver (other topics)Possession (other topics)
The Hours Before Dawn (other topics)
The Hours Before Dawn (other topics)
On Wings of Eagles (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Ben Macintyre (other topics)Ken Follett (other topics)
Mick Herron (other topics)
John Le Carré (other topics)
Wallace Stegner (other topics)
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