Women's Classic Literature Enthusiasts discussion
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What Are You Currently Reading?
I'm re reading the Anne of Green Gables Series.Plus making my way through Buzzfeed's list of 102 great books by women.
http://www.listchallenges.com/102grea...
Lisa wrote: "I'm re reading the Anne of Green Gables Series.Plus making my way through Buzzfeed's list of 102 great books by women.
http://www.listchallenges.com/102grea..."
An interesting list both what's on it and what's not. At least there was an effort to make it more inclusive of authors of color. I've read 20 and would like to read another 30+ at least. If you're interested in buddy reading any titles later this year, let us (me, lol) know.
☯Emily wrote: "I am currently reading Bread Givers by Anzia Yezierska. It features life with a terrorizing, lazy father."I got supremely lucky and found The Bread-Givers at my fave used book store. Score!
I'm reading:The Locust and the Bird: My Mother's Story by Hanan Al-Shaykh
Beautiful Animals by Lawrence Osborne
Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry,
And
Frontier by Can Xue
Hello everyone!Currently reading Frankenstein and The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett. I've read so much contemporary during the beginning of this month that I decided I should start with a classic spoopy!
Plus, there was a recent spooky story contest in my college in lieu of Frankenstein!
The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett was a Big Library Read that my Overdrive app suggested, so I went and borrowed it.
I'm reading Where the Devil Can't Go by Anya Lipska, a Londoner of Polish heritage, and the novel takes place in London's East End, and provides a wonderful amount of detail about Polish culture, including foods, common terms, et al. I'm delighted.
I'm reading Nowhere Is a Place by Bernice L. McFadden, The Quiet American by Graham Greene and After the Eclipse: A Mother's Murder, a Daughter's Search by Sarah Perry.
Carol, you truly are an eclectic reader! More Americans should read more 'internationally', as you do!
Mizzou wrote: "Carol, you truly are an eclectic reader! More Americans should read more 'internationally', as you do!"Thanks so much, mizzou! I've always been a tad out of step with reading norms, but at least here my eclecticism provides me entry into lots of different camps of organized and passionate purists. :)
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Charlene wrote: "I will be so glad to finish Angle of Repose tonight. I put Maud Martha on my nightstand this morning."I haven't made it through a Wallace Stegner yet, Charlene, but I have good friends who are passionate fans.
I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on Maud Martha. I was such a fan of Brooks' writing. That reminds me - are you setting up the discussion thread/ or do you want me to?
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I haven't made it through a Wallace Stegner yet,..."
Either way is fine. I haven't flipped through the book yet. From Goodreads it is listed as 180 pages.
If you want me to make them, please let me know what threads you want created.
Charlene wrote: "Carol wrote: "Charlene wrote: "I will be so glad to finish Angle of Repose tonight. I put Maud Martha on my nightstand this morning."I haven't made it through a Wallac..."
It's so short that I recommend we use two threads - one that bars spoilers (background and discussion with no spoilers or using spoiler tags to hide spoilers) and one that permits an open discussion without the use of spoiler tags, rather than setting up threads by portions of the book. It's easy to read in a sitting. I'll propose a two week schedule in the no-spoiler thread, with 90 pages each week, for those who want to participate at a slower rate.
I finished The Shooting Party by Isabel Colegate, which takes place in England in 1913, although it was first published in 1980. It was a 5-Star read for me.
After reading Mutual Aid, by Peter Kropotkin, and some more of the stories in Barbara Kingsolver's Homeland, I am now absorbed in All the Light We Cannot See, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Anthony Doerr. It is superb . . . .
Mizzou wrote: "After reading Mutual Aid, by Peter Kropotkin, and some more of the stories in Barbara Kingsolver's Homeland, I am now absorbed in All the Light We Cannot See, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by A..."
Good to see you here, Mizzou! I might give Doerr a shot with your endorsement.
I finished Fire in the Thatch: A Devon Mystery by E.C.R. Lorac and enjoyed it. Now I am reading Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster by Svetlana Alexievich. Both are superb.
I found an old copy of George Eliot’s Romola in a second hand book store. The book was printed in 1963, is quite small and cloth bound with an embossed cover and thin pages. It smells like an old book, musty and papery.My 3 year old daughter Arwen is very taken with this book. I think she loves how unusual it looks compared to her brightly colored books. We are currently reading 2 pages each night at bed time. She says it ‘sounds pretty’. My daughter’s first classic!
Lisa wrote: "I found an old copy of George Eliot’s Romola in a second hand book store. The book was printed in 1963, is quite small and cloth bound with an embossed cover and thin pages. It smells like an old b..."That is so cool, Lisa.
I’m reading Americanah (almost finished my buddy read of it), Laurus by Evgenij Vodolazkin, and The Doctor's Family by Margaret Oliphant.
I love that story, Lisa!I have three good books by women going at the moment. I'm about to finish Light, a very poetic and descriptive little book about a day in Monet's life. I'm slowly making my way through the very heavy poetry in The Essential Gwendolyn Brooks. And I'm half way through the second book of Emma Goldman's life, Living My Life, Vol. 2.
As well as The House of Mirth, I am reading A Strange Beautiful Excitement: Katherine Mansfield's Wellington I started my s-i-l's copy when we stayed with her in Wellington a couple of months ago & have just got back to it now. Library copy now.Also dipping into 100 Selected Stories by O Henry. The racism in one story got to me a bit so I put it aside for a couple of months, but I have just resumed reading.
Currently reading: Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck
The Black Spider by Jeremias Gotthelf
In Our Mad and Furious City by Guy Gunaratne, and
Quarterback: Inside the Most Important Position in the National Football League by John Feinstein
What’s everyone else enjoying?
Lots and lots - I always read too many books at once - but of particular interest in the context of this group:Elizabeth Bowen, A World of Love
Margaret Brew, Chronicles of Castle Cloyne
Anne Brontë, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Margaret Brew is probably unfamiliar. She was a late 19th Century Irish novelist who published two triple-deckers in the 1880s. Chronicles of Castle Cloyne is about the famine years in the Munster region, and is a charming and engaging novel. I am midway through the second volume.
Here is some more information about Margaret Brew:
http://www.ricorso.net/rx/az-data/aut...
I’m unsure where the best thread is to share this, so here it goes. There’s a wonderful new list of NYRB novels written by women. I highly recommend checking it out.https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
I'm currently reading, and loving, Middlemarch by George Eliot. <3
I haven't read anything that could qualify as classic for a while (the first of the year was devoted to classics challenges for a different group, and I'm trying to get some modern stuff in while I can), but I do have Astragal by Albertine Sarrazin marked out to read during this month of Women in Translation, which meets the 50+ year requirement at least.
I'm reading Black Narcissus by Rumer Godden . It was also made into a film starring Deborah Kerr. I'm going through an intense 1940s film fad at the moment! I'm probably really late to the party, but I'm really enjoying the Virago Modern Classics https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
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I'm prob..."
Our current book, Laura, was also a film in 1946. So be sure to check it out.
Charlene wrote: "Rebecca wrote: "I'm reading Black Narcissus by Rumer Godden . It was also made into a film starring Deborah Kerr. I'm going through an intense 1940s film fad at the mo..."Laura has been on my TBR pile for years! Unfortunately, my library doesn't have a copy and it's been difficult to track down!
Rebecca wrote: "Charlene wrote: "Rebecca wrote: "I'm reading Black Narcissus by Rumer Godden . It was also made into a film starring Deborah Kerr. I'm going through an intense 1940s f..."Used copies abound, but admittedly still are about $8 once you factor in shipping. I hope you luck upon an even greater bargain, like free.
Rebecca wrote: "I'm reading Black Narcissus by Rumer Godden . It was also made into a film starring Deborah Kerr. I'm going through an intense 1940s film fad at the moment! I'm prob..."
Are you liking Black Narcissus? I think of myself as a Godden fan, but have also tried a couple that I couldn’t get in to. I’ve been curious about BN for ages, though.
Just to let you all know-----I ain't dead yet! But I'm gonna have my 92nd birthday in early February, 2020. Yes, I've been reading while I've been absent from this Forum. Examples: Margaret Atwood finally realized she had to write a sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, and I bought a copy when I was in Canada in late September, 2019. It was an intriguing read, and I recommend it to you. Somebody gave me a copy of a book entitled "Grocery", and It was really informative about what foodstuffs we Americans shop for, and eat, and how U. S. grocers run their businesses, some with consciences and some, not so much so. The book was authoritative, really quite an exposé. I'm a lot shrewder shopper (and home cook) for having read it! I'm looking forward to hearing your comments about Selma Lagerlof's Gosta Berling. in February.
I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this question so moderators let me know if I should post it elsewhere instead. Does anyone have recommendations for books written by women before the 1800s (and that are actually readable)? So far I've read Evelina by Frances Burney, The Heptameron by Marguerite de Navarre, The Lais of Marie de France and The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon (thanks to a buddy read with Carol), with varying degrees of readability. Writings by Olympe de Gouges and Mary Wollestonecraft are next on my list. Any suggestions for fiction? Has anyone tackled The Tale of Genji?
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I know the group had troubles getting through Mary Wollestonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Here is the July 2018 nomination thread which theme was before 1800s.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
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I haven't read anything by her yet but Isabelle de Charrière wrote before 1800.
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I had to go through my list to see what I have marked but haven't read. I did find one I have read: Ann Radcliffe and would recommend it. I read the Italian.
Other suggestions which I haven't read are Sappho and Charlotte Turner Smith.
Cam wrote: "I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this question so moderators let me know if I should post it elsewhere instead. Does anyone have recommendations for books written by women before the ..."You've made a pretty amazing run at this era.
I haven't tackled Genji, but I hear universally positive reactions from friends here. And as Charlene notes, Vindication is a great example of a work that fails in every group (4 discussions in very different reader groups that I've observed, at last count) and people don't hesitate to say that it's dreadful.
I also haven't read Fantomina; or, Love in a Maze by Eliza Fowler Haywood but, in addition to Evelina, it's one I would like to read because I have seen good reviews for from friends whose tastes generally are discerning, e.g., they don't rate everything old 4 or 5 stars simply because they are "classics".
Thank you both for your suggestions! I'd completely forgotten that nomination thread as well (including Christine de Pizan!), thanks Charlene.I might leave Wollstonecraft aside then, since the other nominations seem much more likely candidates for an enjoyable read! I might even pluck up the courage to start The Tale of Genji over the summer...
Searching for Isabelle de Charrière's works I came across the Bibliothèque numérique romande https://ebooks-bnr.com/, which is similar to Project Gutenberg (free of right books + DRM-free ebooks) but focused on French-speaking Switzerland "and neighbours". A very useful resource if you read French.
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Charlene wrote: "Are there others whose library has closed because of Coronavirus concerns? Is that going to hinder anyone from participating in the next couple group reads?"Yes and yes! I was excited to read Red Pottage, but won't be able to get it now, and I don't have any of the May nominations. I'm a physical book only kind of person, so have a feeling I'll finally be getting to my personal shelves ...
I am enjoying The Greengage Summer though!
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Yes and yes! I was ex..."
What classic written by a woman are on your shelf that you haven't read? I know I have Charlotte Bronte's The Professor and Shirley, George Eliot's Mill on the Floss and Middlemarch.
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Charlene wrote: "Are there others whose library has closed because of Coronavirus concerns? Is that going to hinder anyone from participating in the next couple group reads?"Yes and yes.
I think Middlemarch is always an excellent choice, and perfect for right now.I have three I'm planning to read sometime soon, in case anyone is interested:
Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth
The Ballad of the Sad Café by Carson McCullers
and
Lamb in His Bosom by Caroline Miller
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☯Emily wrote: "We read Lamb in His Bosom several years ago and the link is here if you decide to read it: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/..."Great! Thank you so much, Emily.
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Women's Classic Literature Enthusiasts
Books mentioned in this topic
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms (other topics)Frankenstein: The 1818 Text (other topics)
The Ultimate Book of Useless Information: A Few Thousand More Things You Might Need to Know (other topics)
Martin Chuzzlewit (other topics)
Olive Kitteridge (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Seán Barrett (other topics)Virginia Woolf (other topics)
Mary Wollstonecraft (other topics)
John Ehle (other topics)
Geraldine Brooks (other topics)
More...
I'm very curious about this one. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it.