Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion
Archived Chit Chat & All That
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What Are You Reading Now?
Cynda wrote: "I have just finished The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
The last time I read this as a teenager I did not understand the science o..."
"I'm sorry," says the barman, "we don't serve time-travellers in here."
A time traveller walks into a bar.
Cynda wrote: "I have just finished The Time Machine by H.G. WellsThe last time I read this as a teenager I did not understand the science o..."
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it Cynda. I'm going to be re-reading it myself as part of the The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two A collection of great classic Science-Fiction novellas which I just started.
If you enjoyed it, you might also enjoy the authorized sequel: The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter which delves much deeper into time travel concepts. The sequel starts right where the first book ends and is written in the same first-person style.
I finished the third book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "trilogy" 
Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
and I started reading a classic Science-Fiction space opera
Triplanetary by E.E. "Doc" Smith
Richard wrote: "Cynda wrote: "I have just finished The Time Machine by H.G. WellsThe last time I read this as a teenager I did not understand..."
Ha Ha! :D
I finished the sixth (publication order) book in the Discworld series
Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
and I started reading the final installment in the Books of Babel series
The Fall of Babel by Josiah Bancroft
I´ve just finished The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate which I really enjoyed. It is similar to The Whistling Season or To Kill a Mockingbird (which are really good books). I am not comparing Calpurnia to To Kill a Mockingbird, nevertheless the scent is the same. If you want to read something beautiful, fast-reading, then this is your book!
Now I am currently reading Sin noticias de Gurb, which is really funny! I cannot stop laughing!
I have just finished rereading Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde and am now rereading Persuasion by Jane Austen.
RJ discworld series has been my bucket list for years since joining GR. Good to know it holds its charm.
I have finished the fifth tale of T.Hardy 's Wessex Tales ..... The Interloper at the Knap . Interesting story .... such a rapid succession of curious events and a curious play of fate 🤔 . ☆☆ Beware Spoilers (view spoiler) ☆☆ 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ for this one .
Cynda wrote: "RJ discworld series has been my bucket list for years since joining GR. Good to know it holds its charm."I read one every year or so in publication order. I haven't found any that I love yet, but the third one Equal Rites is probably my favorite so far, along with the first half of the first one The Color of Magic. Reading them in publication order gives me the advantage of seeing how Pratchett progresses through the development of his world, adding mew characters along the way.
I finished Doctor Thorne for the first time and reread Cranford. Both were great. I'm not sure if I thought Dr. T was quite as good as Barchester Towers, but I really liked it, and I thought if anything it got stronger as it went along. 
I'm reading Otto of the Silver Hand for the first time, rereading The Scarlet Pimpernel and A Tale of Two Cities.
I'll throw in my two cents about Pratchett - I think some of his books are wonderful, some are good, and some I can't get through. (Color of Magic is one of the latter for me.) But it would be a pity not to try them out and see what you think.
Savita wrote: "I have finished the fifth tale of T.Hardy 's Wessex Tales ..... The Interloper at the Knap . Interesting story .... such a rapid succession of curious events and a curious play of fate 🤔 . ☆☆ Bewar..."I am reading a story from Wessex Tales, too -- "An Imaginative Woman!" That one is currently a read with the Works of Thomas Hardy group.
"An Imaginative Woman" includes a quotation from Percy Bysshe Shelley's Prometheus Unbound. That's too big to tackle quickly (though it's now on my TBR list). I started looking at the connections between Hardy and Shelley, and ended up reading Shelley's "To a Skylark" and Hardy's "Shelley's Skylark."
Other items I am reading include The Layton Court Mystery, a delightfully whimsical mystery, and The Old Curiosity Shop, which is a page-turner.
A copy of The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman just arrived today, and I am about to start that.
Yes. That is my plan too. I am reading Dr Suess like that. I read two every 24-hour Readathon I participate in--3 maybe 4--this year. I plan to continue on.
JenniferAustin wrote: "Savita wrote: "I have finished the fifth tale of T.Hardy 's Wessex Tales ..... The Interloper at the Knap . Interesting story .... such a rapid succession of curious events and a curious play of fa..."good to see Anthony Berkeley still being read - I can also recommend The Poisoned Chocolates Case and Malice Aforethought
Darren wrote: "good to see Anthony Berkeley still being read - I can also recommend The Poisoned Chocolates Case and Malice Aforethought"Thank you! I added those titles to my list of books to look into!
JenniferAustin wrote: "Savita wrote: "I have finished the fifth tale of T.Hardy 's Wessex Tales ..... The Interloper at the Knap . Interesting story .... such a rapid succession of curious events and a curious play of fa..."Wessex Tales by T . Hardy is a lovely collection of short stories . The stories are so well crafted, the characters so interesting and the message thought provoking..... it is a pleasure to read T. Hardy .
I looked up Google. P B Shelley was T . Hardy 's predecessor : Shelley - 1792 to 1822 , T . Hardy - 1840 to 1928 . Shelley 's Skylark must be an interesting read .
I have put The Old Curiosity Shop in my TBR list . Thanks for the recommendation .
Happy reading , Jennifer !
Darren wrote: "JenniferAustin wrote: "Savita wrote: "I have finished the fifth tale of T.Hardy 's Wessex Tales ..... The Interloper at the Knap . Interesting story .... such a rapid succession of curious events a..."The Poisoned Chocolates Case has an interesting blurb . Thanks for the recommendation , Darren !
Mod
I also thought the Wessex Tales were excellent. I may still have one or two left, but "An Imaginative Woman" was the story I thought was best.
I agree , Lynn , " An Imaginative Woman " was the best , but I liked the others too . I have to still read the last story " The Distracted Preacher " . It's a longish story - about 40 pages .
I just reread Macbeth. It hit me in new ways. More powerful than ever.Link to my reviewhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Lynn wrote: "Savita wrote: "JenniferAustin wrote: "Savita wrote: "I have finished the fifth tale of T.Hardy 's Wessex Tales ..... The Interloper at the Knap . Interesting story .... such a rapid succession of c..."Savita and Lynn, Thomas Hardy agreed with you!
"the best piece of prose fiction I ever wrote."
-- Thomas Hardy on An Imaginative Woman, in a conversation with Walter Peirce, Max Gate, 1909
Georgia wrote: "I just reread Macbeth. It hit me in new ways. More powerful than ever.Link to my reviewhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
I so agree. I usually call it my favorite Shakespeare play, because every time I come back to it I find myself caught up again in wondering where Macbeth went wrong, if it all was inevitable, and so many other questions that WS gets us to ask but doesn't answer. He's a sneaky genius.
Teri-K wrote: "Georgia wrote: "I just reread Macbeth. It hit me in new ways. More powerful than ever.Link to my reviewhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
I so agree. ..." It's the questions the play raises for me, too Teri-K. And the picture of a marriage.
Terry wrote: "I finished Hiroshima by John Hersey and will start Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote next."Now there's a jump! I did something similar, finished This Sporting Life by David Storey (hard hitting working class/desperately sad love story) and now I'm reading Hartley's A Perfect Woman (a seemingly light romance in 50s Britain but in the hands of the creator of The Go-Between something more).
JenniferAustin wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Savita wrote: "JenniferAustin wrote: "Savita wrote: "I have finished the fifth tale of T.Hardy 's Wessex Tales ..... The Interloper at the Knap . Interesting story .... such a rapid su..."Oh , I see ! That's interesting ! Thanks , Jennifer , for the information !
Recently finished Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. A fascinating look into this life especially pre-WWII.
I have just finished Framley Parsonage, from Trollope's Chronicles of Barsetshire series. Not quite as good as the first three, but still excellent. I'm mid-way through East of Eden and about to take on Othello (by audio book)
Stoner has been on my TBR for a long time now. I plan to pick it up soon. I am starting The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Anulekha wrote: "Stoner has been on my TBR for a long time now. I plan to pick it up soon. I am starting The Picture of Dorian Gray."That's a good one. And I am enjoying Stoner so far.
I've been reading a number of things lately which arn't very well written so i want to make sure with my next read, i'll be starting Jerusalem
by Alan Moore .I have an ecopy i eh... borrowed... but a physical copy is being relayed to my local library so i'll switch to that soon.
As i understand it, its like his version of Ulysses by Joyce but i could be wrong.
I have justed finished reading Erewhon by Samuel Butler. An entertaining book. All the adventure of a Jules Verne novel with a little bit of pseudo philosophy at the end.
I finished the Cold War-era espionage thriller 
Triple by Ken Follett
Rating: 2 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
and I started reading
The Bottoms by Joe R. Lansdale
I have finished the sixth tale of T.Hardy 's Wessex Tales: The Distracted Preacher . I gave it 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ because T.Hardy 's writing is so clean and clear , the story continues to hold the keen interest of the reader , and because the end is appealing to me . ☆☆Beware Spoilers (view spoiler) ☆☆ The church minister is truly well suited and deserving of the noble post he's holding . Ralph Emerson says :
Treat a man as he is , and he will remain as he is . Treat a man as he could be, and he will become what he should be .
. Of course , this takes some courage, confidence , faith and nobility to apply .
I finished my reread of A Tale of Two Cities yesterday. It was still wonderful, and I still teared up at the end. Next I'll be beginning Frankenstein, for the first time.
I’ve just finished Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting Of Hill House” which was very creepy. Now on to Stephen King’s “Christine.”
I just started The Spy by James Fenimore Cooper. I've read Cooper's Leatherstocking books several times, but only recently heard of this one. I think it's going to be a fun tale of spies and adventure during the American Revolution. 
I'm reading (re-reading) Frankenstein: The 1818 Text with my students-- this is my second year with that book in the curriculum. I am fascinated all over again with Mary Shelley's life and genius! And though the story can drag and have overly wordy parts, it does speak to teens who feel misunderstood, alienated or rejected by mainstream society, many of whom I teach.I stalled out in the middle of Paradise Lost, but might try to go back and finish it this week along with Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
I finished the acclaimed campus novel
Stoner by John Williams
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
and I started reading the epic poem
The Aeneid by Virgil
Quick update to add that I listened to Sir Ian McKellan read Rime of the Ancient Mariner on Youtube, and then I looked back at it in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. D: The Romantic Period and realized I did read it years ago in college but I didn't really recall much of that experience. I also listened to and reviewed the lyrics of the Iron Maiden song based on the poem, and was surprised by how straightforward/literal of an adaptation it seemed to be.
Amyjzed wrote: "I'm reading (re-reading) Frankenstein: The 1818 Text with my students-- this is my second year with that book in the curriculum. I am fascinated all over again with Mary Shelley's l..."I didn't realize Frankenstein was a framed story. I even checked the cover once to be sure I was reading the right book when the narrator kept talking about his expedition to the Arctic. Everyone warns me it not like the movies, but I've never seen any of the movies, so I think I'm good there.
I love being able to watch people read great poetry or give Shakespeare's speeches on YouTube. It really is a super resource sometimes!
Just picked up The Spy by James Fenimore Cooper. I've read his Leatherstocking books several times, but I do have to overlook his portrayals of Native Americans and women there. This one is set during the American Revolution, about a man who is trying to stay neutral to protect his land and family.His only son is fighting for the British, his oldest daughter is half in love with a British officer while his youngest hides her love for a family friend fighting for the colonies. Throw in a neighbor who may or may not be spying for somebody, and a mysterious aristocratic stranger - all of them sneaking around, confronting, capturing, escaping, or fighting in the neighborhood where the man lives.
There aren't enough good adventure novels in the world, I don't think. This one seems to be panning out really well so far; I’m 1/3 of the way through and having a blast reading it!
I finished the excellent Science-Fiction short story collection 
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever by James Tiptree Jr.
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
and I started reading
A Curtain of Green and Other Stories by Eudora Welty
I just finished reading Red Harvest and really enjoyed it (almost as much as The Maltese Falcon), so I've decided to read Hammett's The Thin Man.
Gulli wrote: "I just finished reading Red Harvest and really enjoyed it (almost as much as The Maltese Falcon), so I've decided to read Hammett's The Thin Man."I really liked Red Harvest too, Gulli. In a couple months I'm going to read The Dain Curse which also features the Continental Op.
Catching up on Classics (and lots more!)
Books mentioned in this topic
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The Mysterious Affair at Styles (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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Anthony Trollope (other topics)
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The last time I read this as a teenager I did not understand the science o..."
I always liked this one and remember the 1960 film . I thought Time and Again was one of the best time travel books I've read and it reminds me of The Time Machine.