Sara's I said I wouldn't, but here I go

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Read for my 1940's decade, Laura, a lovely piece of noir fiction. I can imagine liking this at least one star more if I had not already seen the movie and remembered the twists.

[Erin]

Sara wrote: "Read for my 1940's decade, Laura, a lovely piece of noir fiction. I can imagine liking this at least one star more if I had not already seen the movie and remembered the twists."

I’m surprised I’d not heard of either the book or movie — added to my TBR shelf! :)
Looks like you’re off to a great start on your challenges! :D

[Sara, Old School Classics]

If you haven't seen the movie, Erin, I think you would enjoy the book. Of course, once you have read the book, you should definitely see the movie. Gene Tierney is terrific.

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Laura looks like a book that I would enjoy. As for Gene Tierney, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and from one of my favorite books, The Razor’s Edge, she played Isabel, not overly lovable, but an outstanding performance.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

I also loved The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. She was amazingly beautiful. I was just reading that she "slipped into paranoia and was suicidal for some years, requiring institutionalization to save her." How sad is that.

[Marilyn]

I saw Laura when I was a kid because my mom had a thing for Dana Andrews.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

I watched a lot of those old movies when I was a kid as well, although I don't have much of a memory of Dana Andrews beyond this one movie. I'm sorry I can't stream movies or I would go looking for some of the great movies that Tierney did.

[Lynn, New School Classics]

Sara wrote: "Read for my 1940's decade, Laura, a lovely piece of noir fiction. I can imagine liking this at least one star more if I had not already seen the movie and remembered the twists."

I saw your review come across the feed and had to mark it to-read. I just finished reading Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. I remember watching the Hitchcock "Rebecca" and the old Gene Tierney "Laura" on TV when I was very young. The two were somehow mixed together in my memory. I loved reading Rebecca and I remember how much I loved the movie "Laura". Gene Tierney was a voice actor for one of my favorite movies "Howl's Moving Castle". The movie is a Japanese anime production (2004) of a children's book. My children introduced me to the film. Her voice is one of the best things in the film.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

I found reading about Tierney was as interesting as reading the novel. There is a certain atmosphere about those old black & white movies that is not duplicated in today's fast-action cinema. Lovely to go revisit the best of them. On the other hand, I can remember thinking I loved a movie from back then and wondering why when I watched it now.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Oh my, I really like Elizabeth von Arnim. I just finished Mr Skeffington and it was delightful. I chuckled aloud at parts of it and yet found the subject so serious. I kept thinking about Oscar Wilde.

I had loved The Enchanted April last year, so I am now determined to read ALL of her books.

[Kathleen]

Loved your review, Sara. There is something wise and quirky about her writing that I fell for after reading my first of hers, All the Dogs of My Life. I'd love to get to all of them too!

[Sara, Old School Classics]

That is one that I just added, Kathleen. It sounds delightful. I could write that kind of book, I'd just need to substitute "cat" for "dog".

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Completed The Last of Summer by Kate O'Brien. A lovely piece set in Ireland on the verge of World War II.

One of the things I love about this challenge is that it has introduced me to writers and books that I doubt I would ever have encountered otherwise. Glad to have stumbled across this one.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Interesting take on 1940's marriages with At Mrs Lippincote's by Elizabeth Taylor.
That gives me four for my decade challenge.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

High Tide at Noon is a marvelous find, which makes me so glad I decided to do this challenge after all. I loved every vibrant moment of this book...I want to go stroll the beach of a cold Maine island and watch the lobstermen come and go.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

My first bad choice on this list Unnatural Death, dated and definitely not my style.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Want to know why I love this challenge? I put a book on it by an author I had never heard of -- High Tide at Noon. I ought to be reading some of the other books on this list, but I loved that book so much that I could not leave the characters there, so I have just completed book two in her trilogy, Storm Tide. I promise myself to read at least one book from the list before I go for book three!

[Rosemarie]

That sounds like a great book-another addition to my tbr list.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

I am really enjoying them, Rosemarie. I am often skeptical of series, but it is lovely when you meet characters that you want to continue visiting.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Read Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey, an old-time mystery that I found delightful. I figured out a major element of the mystery fairly early on, but that didn't matter at all. It was fun and a needed break.

Now I need to get busy and read all these other women's works!

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

I'm glad you found another enjoyable read. Your review assures me of a good read if I ever run across a copy. I remember The Scapegoat well.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

This one doesn't get to the quality of The Scapegoat, but quite enjoyable in its own right.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

I am not making any progress on this challenge and know that I will not finish it before the end of the year. I was behind already and with the time I have lost due to the move and Matt's surgery it is now quite impossible. I will plan to move the unread books over to next year.

[Annette]

Hey — no worries! Enjoy reading. Goals are great but I don’t think any of us are doing this for a grade.

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

You are way ahead of me, I had no confidence in my ability last December so I didn't do this challenge.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Annette wrote: "Hey — no worries! Enjoy reading. Goals are great but I don’t think any of us are doing this for a grade."

lol. Good thing I'm not being graded. I hate making C's.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Bob wrote: "You are way ahead of me, I had no confidence in my ability last December so I didn't do this challenge."

I truly intended to skip it, Bob, but I couldn't resist making the list. I think making lists is my second favorite thing in life.

[Laurie]

I get the equivalent of my eyes being bigger than my stomach syndrome when it comes to signing up for reading challenges. There is always next year.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

lol. Oh, there is a name for it, Laurie! Exactly what I suffer from.

[Kathleen]

Sara wrote: "I think making lists is my second favorite thing in life. "

Oh my, this is me too! So here's to it, and no problem if we don't finish them all--we had the fun of finding them. :-)

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Yep, the thrill of making the list and also the knowledge that these books and writers are out there. I don't regret doing this year's, because I found a terrific writer I would not have found otherwise and instead of reading the one book I put on the list, I read three. :)

Definitely have to keep in mind that the point is to read and not to finish.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Completed Five Chimneys: A Woman Survivor's True Story of Auschwitz. It was a very difficult read because you knew every page was truth and not invention. There is no moment of lightheartedness in this account, as there was none at Auschwitz. Not a fun read, but I dare say a necessary one.

[Cynda]

I like that: The goal is to read and not to finish.
I will remind myself as I work through The Divine Comedy.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Cynda wrote: "I like that: The goal is to read and not to finish.
I will remind myself as I work through The Divine Comedy."

Ah, The Divine Comedy is divine, but you might definitely need to keep the goal in mind. :)

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Finished The Heat of the Day for 1948. Ultimately gave it 3.5 stars, which I rounded down. It is a fairly deep look at how well we can know any other human being, but it was a bit stilted at times and not as tightly composed as I would have liked.

I might yet finish the Decade part of this challenge--2 more books to finish. However, the Century is for another day.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

So happy I didn't give up on the decade challenge. Just finished In This Our Life and gave it 5-stars. I would not have thought it was going to be that in the beginning. At halfway, I was thinking this might get 3.5, but Glasgow saves the best for last. A meaningful book that I am glad not to have missed. Sometimes I think our society is so screwed up that it has never been a worse or more confusing time...but then you read a book like this and realize the struggle has always been there and there have been times when society made even less sense than it does today.

This book has the ring of truth. I love that.

[Laurie]

It's great that you continued on and found a winner. I realize this is a Pulitzer winner but it's one I'd never heard of.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

I have found that every Pulitzer is not a winner for me, but this one certainly was. Thank you, Laurie.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

With the reading of Sisters By a River, I have completed the decade portion of this challenge. I'm not even sure what to say about this book...a strange one that sometimes made me think of I Capture the Castle, but with a darker side.

[Julie]

Sara wrote: "So happy I didn't give up on the decade challenge. Just finished In This Our Life and gave it 5-stars. I would not have thought it was going to be that in the beginning. At halfway, ..."

I really enjoyed this as well :)

[Sara, Old School Classics]

So glad, Julie! It was an unexpected gem for me.

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Looks like you enjoyed most of you choices. Congratulations on finishing your challenge!!

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Thanks, Bob. I did enjoy most of them. Had I not signed up for this challenge, I would not have read Strange Fruit, and that one alone would make the challenge more than worthwhile.

[Rosemarie]

Congrats on finishing your challenge, Sara!

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Thanks, Rosemarie. I cut it pretty close this year and had to give up on the Century portion, but enjoyed some very good reads and there is always 2020.

[Rosemarie]

I'm glad you enjoyed your books, Sara. That's what's good about challenges: we read books we wouldn't read otherwise.

[Candi]

Well done, Sara! I'm not finishing mine. I think if I participate next year, I'll go for the decades rather than the centuries challenge and see how I do :)

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Candi wrote: "Well done, Sara! I'm not finishing mine. I think if I participate next year, I'll go for the decades rather than the centuries challenge and see how I do :)"

I wrote both of them up for 2020, but I will concentrate on one and if I finish it with time left, I will begin the other. I always plan more than I can accomplish. :)

[Kathleen]

Congratulations, Sara! Excellent reading in a very interesting decade. Your challenge gave me a lot to think about and a lot of books to add!

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Thanks, Kathleen. You are always adding to my TBR as well!