What Are You Currently Reading?

[Charlene]

☯Emily wrote: "There is definitely more time to read, but unless you have your own library, it is hard to find the books needed."

I have a few on my bookshelf at home and I have several on my e-reader. Plus I have the one I checked out of the library last month that was extended for me.

[Elizabeth]

☯Emily wrote: "There is definitely more time to read, but unless you have your own library, it is hard to find the books needed."

check if your local public library is allowing membership via phone number if you don't already have a library card. most library's offer a fantastic selection of ebooks you can access from a personal computer and will likely have classics. you can read them for free on your browser

[☯Emily , The First]

Elizabeth wrote: "☯Emily wrote: "There is definitely more time to read, but unless you have your own library, it is hard to find the books needed."

check if your local public library is allowing membership via phon..."

Thanks for the suggestion. I hope that suggestion will help others. I find it difficult to read ebooks or books on my computer.

[Charlene]

I was going to start Adam Bede but the library notice for The Trail of the Serpent came in so I changed to that instead.

[☯Emily , The First]

I am taking an online literature class at NYU, so I am reading some heavy books right now. July is probably better for me.

[Carol]

☯Emily wrote: "I am taking an online literature class at NYU, so I am reading some heavy books right now. July is probably better for me."

What’s on your syllabus, Emily?

[☯Emily , The First]

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, Toni Morrison's Paradise and Viet Thanh Nguyen's The Sympathizer. I have finished Invisible Man and almost done with Paradise, which I am reading with The Bluest Eye.

[Carol]

A stunning and demanding lineup. Thanks.

[[deleted user]]

I recently read 'Northanger Abbey' and loved it. What is your favourite Jane Austen novel? Mine is probably 'Pride and Prejudice'.

[☯Emily , The First]

Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice. Are you a member of the Jane Austen Society of North America - better known as JASPA?

[[deleted user]]

No. Are you?

[☯Emily , The First]

If you are interested, let me know and I can give you details. Their meetings discuss everything about Jane Austen and their in-person meeting will have occasions to dress up as the people in the Regency would have dressed.

[Quinn Smells Books]

@Emily - I love Persuasion too! I find it a little more mature than the others.

[CindySR]

Hello, I'm new! Right now I'm reading

A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott

Quite the pot boiler! Has anyone else read this?

[[deleted user]]

CindySR#snowday! wrote: "Hello, I'm new! Right now I'm reading

A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott

Quite the pot boiler! Has anyone else read this?"

Hi! I have not read A Long Fatal Love Chase. It's not even on my to-read list. Would you recommend it?

[Abigail]

Currently reading Much Dithering by Dorothy Lambert, one of the Furrowed Middlebrow reprints of British fiction from the first half of the 20th century. That era is my favorite for lighter reading (think Angela Thirkell, Margery Sharp, Stella Gibbons, Elizabeth Goudge) but this one is not doing it for me. The intro says it was originally a play that Lambert reworked into a short novel; I can see how it would have worked as a play, a sort of cross between She Stoops to Conquer and Noises Off, but as a novel it seems trite and awkward.

[[deleted user]]

Abigail wrote: "Currently reading Much Dithering by Dorothy Lambert, one of the Furrowed Middlebrow reprints of British fiction from the first half of the 20th century. That era is my favorite for ..."

What is it about, Abigail?
Was the storyline interesting?

[CindySR]

Florence wrote: " Would you recommend it?"

I'm only about a quarter through, but it's an old fashioned gothic romance, the kind Jane Austen made fun of in Northanger Abbey.
Evil man, naive girl, stalking, etc. The fact that LMA wrote it was enough for me to pick it up. It's proving to be a quick read. (Well, a quick read for me, I'm a slow reader!)

[Abigail]

It’s a village-life wedding-plot story published just before WW II about a young widow who is stuck on a round of good works in the community, told what to do by her aunt and mother-in-law. She is naive and sheltered to a ridiculous degree, and being courted by a bore decades her senior. Two younger men arrive, one the son of a wealthy nouveau riche family that has recently settled in town, one a mysterious drifter (though I figured out the mystery immediately). The heroine finds her sheltered little world turned upside-down. There’s lots of village gossip, drawing-room comedy, and instalove.

It’s the sort of story I tend to enjoy, but in this case I’m underwhelmed by the execution.

[Charlene]

Abigail wrote: "It’s a village-life wedding-plot story published just before WW II about a young widow who is stuck on a round of good works in the community, told what to do by her aunt and mother-in-law. She is ..."

I have this one pegged to be read but haven't gotten around to it yet. If the PBS documentary is right, LMA enjoyed writing the thriller/ gothic type works but did the children's work more because she made more money from it.

[[deleted user]]

CindySR#snowday! wrote:

I'm only about a quarter through, but it's an old fashioned gothic romance, the kind Jane Austen made fun of in Northanger Abbey.
Evil man, naive girl, ..."

Nice. I love Louisa May Alcott as well so I might enjoy it. Is it proving to be as riveting as her other novels yet?

[[deleted user]]

Abigail wrote: "It’s a village-life wedding-plot story published just before WW II about a young widow who is stuck on a round of good works in the community, told what to do by her aunt and mother-in-law. She is ..."

That sounds entertaining. Would you recommend any other books of this genre?

[Abigail]

Certainly! Just about anything by Angela Thirkell (the first is High Rising, published in 1933, which I believe has been nominated for March in this group); Margery Sharp’s first novel, Rhododendron Pie; Nightingale Wood by Stella Gibbons; much of D. E. Stevenson (Miss Buncle's Book is a classic and a favorite, and I also liked Vittoria Cottage). Elizabeth Cadell is a later practitioner of this genre; I like her earlier books best. If you like comfy books with a more serious spiritual undertone (but not evangelical), Elizabeth Goudge is an excellent author—The Scent of Water is where many people start with her work.

[Abigail]

Starting a reread of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë for another group. Sigh; I am not a lover of the Brontës.

[Charlene]

Abigail wrote: "Starting a reread of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë for another group. Sigh; I am not a lover of the Brontës."

I haven't read all of Charlotte's work yet, but from what I read, Tenant of Wildfell Hall is my favorite.

[Abigail]

Me too, but sadly, that’s not saying much. At least Charlotte and Emily gave rise to Jasper Fforde’s hilarious book The Eyre Affair!

[☯Emily , The First]

I loved The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Anne is my favorite Bronte writer. Emily, alas, is my least favorite, despite her first name.

[[deleted user]]

Abigail wrote: "Certainly! Just about anything by Angela Thirkell (the first is High Rising, published in 1933, which I believe has been nominated for March in this group); Margery Sharp’s first nove..."

Wow! Thank you Abigail. I've not read any of Elizabeth Goudge's work before, so I will probably give The Scent of Water a read. Thank you for the recommendations. I will add them to my to-read list, definitely.

[[deleted user]]

I have not yet read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, but hopefully will find time to soon, as I really enjoyed Anne Brontë's Agnes Grey.

[Abigail]

Buzzed through Lady Susan this morning so I’ll be ready for next month, and now starting The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion.

[Elizabeth]

☯Emily wrote: "I loved The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Anne is my favorite Bronte writer. Emily, alas, is my least favorite, despite her first name."

Same. Although I don't have the same issue over names.

I regularly wax lyrical about Anne to . . . pretty much anyone who will listen.

[CindySR]

Florence wrote: "Is it proving to be as riveting as her other novels yet?"
It's riveting, really holds your attention but I admit chuckling at the over-wrought dramatic speech.

[[deleted user]]

CindySR#snowday! wrote: "Florence wrote: "Is it proving to be as riveting as her other novels yet?"
It's riveting, really holds your attention but I admit chuckling at the over-wrought dramatic speech."

I think I will read it then! Thank you for the recommendation - I love a novel that you just can't put down.

[Carol]

I’m reading Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston — one of those novels I read on undergrad in two days and don’t remember a bit if it. What a treat to spend time with Janie.

[☯Emily , The First]

Love that book. The hurricane at the end of the book was an actual event that is still remembered by the old folks living near Lake Okeechobee.

[Laura]

I'm reading Fumiko Enchi - Japanese. She was born 1905. This book is set in late 19thC corresponds to Meiji period - The Waiting Years - written from female perspective about the prerogative of high-status or rich men to take concubines into their household. In this case Tomo - Shirikawa's wife is given the task of finding an innocent, young girl to please her husband.

[Abigail]

Just finished Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende and taking a break from serious subjects with Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse.

[[deleted user]]

I am reading The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave. It is not a classic but I still cannot take my eyes off it. It is so riveting.

[Abigail]

Oh, I’ve been very curious about that book, Florence! Hope to hear your final thoughts after you finish.

[Janice]

I am rereading Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery and Cider with Rosie: A Memoir by Laurie Lee.

[Abigail]

Do you like Cider with Rosie? I read another Laurie Lee book that I didn’t enjoy but have been curious to try Cider with Rosie.

[Laura]

Just finished Taylor's At Mrs Lippincotte's - totally brilliant. I keep getting this in my notifications - so I'm adding my tuppence bit to the dialogue.

[Laura]

Yes - Cider With Rosie - all time favourite. Read in school - 2nd year - 12. So 43 years ago. Loved it still when last read about 6/7 years ago.

[Marilyn]

Laura Anne wrote: "Just finished Taylor's At Mrs Lippincotte's - totally brilliant. I keep getting this in my notifications - so I'm adding my tuppence bit to the dialogue."

Last year, upon finishing Taylor's A View of the Harbour, I put all of her books on my TBR. I plan to read at least one Taylor and one Pym every year.

[Charlene]

Marilyn wrote: "Laura Anne wrote: "Just finished Taylor's At Mrs Lippincotte's - totally brilliant. I keep getting this in my notifications - so I'm adding my tuppence bit to the dialogue."

Last year, upon finish..."

I have enjoyed the two book from Taylor that I read too.

[Laura]

Hi folks - nice to see your responses. I've just replied to Chrystal - I don't know if she is in the group - but she is rationing her Taylor's - and that's what I'm doing. So nice to see how many love Taylor's books.

[Abigail]

Thanks, Laura Anne, for the recco on Cider with Rosie. I’ll make sure I get to it!

And I’m soon to join the ranks of Elizabeth Taylor fans—waiting for my first of her books to arrive in the mail; taking an inordinate amount of time. Seems to have been dropped in a snowdrift.

[Janice]

Abigail wrote: "Do you like Cider with Rosie? I read another Laurie Lee book that I didn’t enjoy but have been curious to try Cider with Rosie."

I actually dnf'd it today. I tried getting into it and enjoying it but it wasn't happening especially when I started reading a certain chapter. That was it for me.

[Abigail]

Hmm, intriguing! Two widely different views. Thanks for letting me know!

[Laura]

Hi Abigail - what is the Taylor you are waiting for?