Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion
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What Are You Reading Now?
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Wreade1872
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Jul 30, 2024 11:46AM



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Impressive.


YESSSSS. Chun the Unavoidable! (By the way, if you don't love the first book, the 2nd and 3rd are my personal favorites in the series....)


..."
Sam wrote: "...I wish we were reading that as a monthly selection."
Have your read it before, Sam? If not, I highly recommend it.
Rora wrote: "...I remember reading that years ago. Book of the New Sun is a very good and complex series."
It really is. I don't know what I was expecting but it surpassed my expectations. I think this could be a five-star read if I re-read it. There's just so much to take in!


Total Chaos by Jean-Claude Izzo
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
and I started reading the Cold War classic

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré


..."
Sam wrote: "...I wish we were reading that as a month..."
I had read the first volume years ago but never returned to Wolfe. I have recently returned to reading him but was saving Book of the New Sun for a group read if one comes up. Wolfe is a great writer, very thought provoking.


The Other by Thomas Tryon
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
and I finished the Children's classic

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
and I finished this short collection of non-fiction articles and stories written by Steinbeck about Depression-era migrant labor

Their Blood is Strong by John Steinbeck
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
and I started reading a Science-Fiction novel that I understand was adapted as a film

Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle

by Emily Brontë
5 stars
#classic #lovestory #hatestory #greatstory
My review here - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


Ghea wrote: "Just finished reading Pride & Prejudice. Recently has started reading "Heidi by Johanna Spyri"."
Those are both wonderful books.
Those are both wonderful books.

I have Pride and Prejudice to read for next month! Lol
I am reading Whose Body?. I downloaded a collection of her Lord Peter Whimsey detective stories. I am also listening to an audiobook as I read. I always make better progress when using the two formats.




The Iliad by Homer, Emily Wilson's translation this time.
Our Riches by Kaouther Adimi, also published as A Bookshop in Algiers, novelization of the life of a real Algerian publisher and bookseller between the wars.
A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter by William Deresiewicz, I'd prefer more info about Austen and less about the author, but that's not what this book is. Still interesting.
First Love by Ivan Turgenev

That's also my current non-fiction read. I'm nearly done. Today I started "Navigators" the 15th of 16 Chapters, and read the section on Christopher Columbus.

That's also my current non-fiction read. I'm nearly done. ..."
Neat! What do you think of it? I just started Barbarians. I really like his writing style so far.
I recently did a dive into Ancient Lit and as part of that I read The Rise of the Roman Empire by Polybius, then I went to The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic by Mike Duncan. So when I saw this, I thought what a perfect book to follow those up! I have one on the Plague to go after this. lol

Brian E wrote: "That's also my current non-fiction read."
Teri-K wrote: "Neat! What do you think of it? I just started Barbarians. I really like his writing style so far. .."
I too like his writing style. Jones provides sufficient and accurate information and insightful commentary in an interesting manner without being either overly scholarly or 'history for dummies." I especially like that he accomplishes this in a manageable page length avoiding the excessive page lengths of many such histories.
I had previously read and enjoyed two other Dan Jones histories:
The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England &
The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors
aka The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses and the Rise of the Tudors



I chose these books as I thought they would give me a better understanding of British history that would then help me better appreciate the dialogue, events and character motivations in the many British novels I like to read.


The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Gone with the Wind
The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story
A Confederacy of Dunces
Justine
The Agatha Christie Collection: PREMIUM
The Fool's Progress


My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
and I started reading the whimsical fantasy novel

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

one has an ark in the title (Redemption Ark)
and the other 3 contain animals (The Bird's Nest, Grey Bees, The Worm Ouroboros)
just saying like...
:oD


I love both the Stephen Fry books! I can't wait for his Odyssey to finally come out this fall.

Its my first Stephen Fry book, enjoying it so far. It's like a refresher course of Greek mythology : )

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I managed to find Infinite Jest (another doorstop) at the library so I might start that one early for next month.

Dickens has just introduced a young couple and used the word "new" 14 times, plus "newly" once, in the first paragraph. Everything about them looks good, but we get the feeling it's all polish and no substance. Then we learn their names - Mr. and Mrs. Veneering! LOL

Dickens has just introduced a young couple and used the word "new" 14 times, plus "..."
Dickens can be quite witty and his humor is spot on when he is on his game. This is why he is one of my favorite classic authors.

Dickens has just introduced a young couple and used the word "new" 1..."
I agree! I have to be in the mood for him, but when he works for me I end up loving his books. I'm hoping I love this one.
I just finished St. Peter's Fair by Ellis Peters. I've read this series many times over the years, and this one one of personal favorites - it was so fun.
I was delighted to see how much history I've learned from this series. I'm reading a book about the Middle Ages, and I found the chapter on monks less interesting than any others so far. When I wondered why I realized I already knew almost everything in it, because of Brother Cadfael. lol Not to mention these books helped me finally figure out the Stephen/Maud conflict. These books work on so many levels!
For those who like Science Fiction I have been reading The Best of Cordwainer Smith this year. It is a short story/novella collection. You can read one selection then pick it up again after any length of time and start the next novella. The entire collection reads well together. He developed the "Instrumentality of Man", a cohesive future history, so the selections are in chronological order and tell a loosely connected story. Most of the selections are between 60 pages and 100 pages long. My favorites so far are The Game of Rat and Dragon and The Dead Lady of Clown Town.
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