Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion
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Welcome to the Group - Introductions
Francesca wrote: "Ciao Sono Francesca e scrivo da Roma."
Hi and Welcome, Francesca. :) I am learning Italian. :)
I've actually been a member on and off for a while, but I just started participating more recently. I love that this group is active and that everyone here is so thoughtful!I've gone through numerous waves of interest over my years of reading . . . for a while I read mostly poetry, then another period I read almost all sci-fi/fantasy, and yet another period I yet almost exclusively older classics. Anything with beautiful writing and some depth I'll generally enjoy, no matter what genre or type of book.
The only thing I rarely read is non-fiction, other than Woolf or Jung or something like that. I work as an engineer, and after a daytime of math models and programming and technical documents, I generally prefer to steer clear of anything too dry or practical. What I want on my free time is some wonder and the human heart in all of its messy glory, whether for the good, bad, or the ugly. But I'm a softie; so stories of redemption (if they're honest and complex) are always a special plus!
You certainly add to the depth of conversation here, Greg and I am always delighted when you participate!
Sara wrote: "You certainly add to the depth of conversation here, Greg and I am always delighted when you participate!"Thanks Sara! :)
Welcome to the group, Francesca. And we are glad to have you reading & discussing with us, Greg.
Welcome Francesca and and official welcome to Greg whose thoughts I have already read and appreciated. : )
Ciao LynnGrazie per il messaggio, è sempre piacevole incontrare persone che condividono le tue stesse passioni
Katy wrote: "Welcome to the group, Francesca. And we are glad to have you reading & discussing with us, Greg."Ciao Greg
è un piacere per me far parte del vostro gruppo.
Hi all! I'm Alex from Australia and my experience with the classics is quite limited. I read (and loved) an abridged version of Little Women as a child; I also read Anne of Green Gables, Heidi, and The Secret Garden to completion, if those count. As an adolescent, I started and abandoned Wuthering Heights, and I think I gave up there. I've purchased many a classic with the best of intentions, but I'm still looking for that one gateway book to get me hooked! I work two jobs, am studying for a diploma, and read in my (limited) spare time. I am excited to participate in this group when and where I can, and hopefully develop a love of, alongside my existing academic/literary appreciation for, the classics!
Francesca wrote: "Ciao Greg. Tu dove vivi? Io sono di Roma"
Francesca, I live in Long Beach, California, USA. :)
Alexandrine, all those books count! I hope you find more than one classic to love here. You just have to find your niche.
Alexandrine wrote: "Hi all! I'm Alex from Australia and my experience with the classics is quite limited. I read (and loved) an abridged version of Little Women as a child; I also read Anne of Green Gables, Heidi, and..."Hey! Read some short stories buy Guy de Maupassant or Nikolai Gogol or anyone else in the “classic” time period. Short stories give you a lot about an author without taking up a bunch of your personal time.
Hello! I joined a few days ago and already got some very nice feedback to a question I had, so thank you very much! I am from Germany, in my 40s and love all sorts of genres, classics have always been part of my bookshelf, but I enjoy them a lot more in a group read, when there is discussing going on, even if it is just a 2 people buddy read. I remember Jane Eyre totally stunning me many years ago, I picked it up, not thinking I would finish it, but I was utterly enthralled by it.
I fell out of my reading habit for about a year and to lure myself back into it I thought I would start with short stories, which I loved about ten years ago, my boyfriend at the time introduced me to Salinger and I was hooked.
Right now I am inhaling the classic short stories, some are rereads, we read some at school and I am curious to see how my perception differs some years or even decades later.
Yesterday I read The Machine Stops and was stunned, he described our lives, especially during covid distancing.
I love Roald Dahl, Oscar Wilde, Poe, PG Wodehouse.
I also like to read up on the background of the authors a bit. In that light stories like The yellow wallpaper seem differently. (The author had been confined to extended resting after her child was born)
I also love that many of these classics are available on youtube in audiobook format, so I can paint or clean up and listen.
Sara wrote: "Alexandrine, all those books count! I hope you find more than one classic to love here. You just have to find your niche."Thank you Sara! I hope so too :) (Also, good to know those books count - thank you!)
Nadine wrote: "Hello! I joined a few days ago and already got some very nice feedback to a question I had, so thank you very much! I am from Germany, in my 40s and love all sorts of genres, classics have always b..."
Welcome to the group, glad to have you here reading with us.
Welcome to the group, glad to have you here reading with us.
alexandrine wrote: "Hi all! I'm Alex from Australia and my experience with the classics is quite limited. I read (and loved) an abridged version of Little Women as a child; I also read Anne of Green Gables, Heidi, and..."
Hello Alex. I am so glad you choice to join our group. I hope you find many books you love here.
Hello Alex. I am so glad you choice to join our group. I hope you find many books you love here.
Welcome Alex and Nadine! We're happy to have you here. Nadine - I just adore Jeeves and Wooster. They make me so happy.
Alex - I hope you find that one book! :D This is a great place to start. Lots of friendly people with lots of good recs!
Welcome Lisa! I’ve discovered so many great classics here that I’d never even heard of or considered reading. It’s a great place to explore. :)
Lisa welcome to the group. Join in to any discussion you like or just read and vote. We are happy you chose this group.
Joseph wrote: "Hello, my name is Joseph, I'm 19, and I live in Michigan. I have a passion for all things classics and am joining this group in the hopes that I can discuss and share that love with like-minded rea..."Welcome Joseph!
In addition to the monthly group reads, there are some fun challenges that have really pushed me to read more books.
The challenge buffet offers 13 different challenges to choose from, one of which is a challenge to read 12 books from our 2022 Group Reads Challenge.
The 2022 BINGO challenge is lots of fun, and you can duplicate books you've used in other challenges.
For Personal Challenges you can create your own page off of the main page (add new topic) and include links to any of your other challenges, plus you can create your own challenges, book categories and topics or authors you've been wanting to read. I love this because it has all of my challenges (or links to them) in one place.
This group is wonderful. I joined recently and it's gotten me to read more, and finish more, and take on challenges more. Have fun!
Welcome, Joseph, and a thank you to Klowey for making some great suggestions. You will find a lot of support here, Joseph...jump right in!
Hi! My name is Miranda and I come from NY. I used to be such a voracious reader and fell into a looong slump post-college. The last year or so I've finally started reading a lot again and while I read a good amount of classics for my degree, I've missed out on the vast majority of those "everyone has read them" books and more. Hoping to challenge myself to change that!
Hi, Miranda. I think many of us find those periods in life when we slip away from the reading and then back into it again. Welcome back to the joy of books. You have come to the right place to find the books you missed and some you haven't discovered yet. See you in the threads.
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I want to explore more classic books.
My reading goal for this year is 2 books 📚 per month.
Happy reading to everyone!