2023: Hefty and Husky Planned Reads

[Liane]

4th quarter feels so far away. I vote for Joseph.

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Thanks, Liane. Updated.

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Hi everyone!

The clear winner for the 4th quarterly hefty according to the votes is Joseph and His Brothers by Thomas Mann. However, given that the German buddy read will be reading Thomas Mann for the last quarter of the year, and that some of you may read this work under both, I thought to accomodate the The Balkan Trilogy by Olivia Manning as well, having taken into account the enthusiasm some have shown to read the work. So, we'll be reading BOTH books for the 4th quarterly hefty.

Happy reading!

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

Great idea, Piyangie!

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Thanks, Rosemarie.

[Brian E]

Piyangie, you should change your screen name to Solomon, which would also be in keeping with Joseph's biblical theme.

I plan to read a bit of both sides of the baby: A Balkan Trilogy book each month and the second book of the Joseph series Young Joseph.

[John]

Piyangie wrote: "Hi everyone!

The clear winner for the 4th quarterly hefty according to the votes is Joseph and His Brothers by Thomas Mann. However, given that the German buddy read w..."

Thanks for an excellent solution, Piyangie.

[Kathy]

That's great, Piyangie.

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Thanks, Brian, John, and Kathy. I'm glad everyone is in agreement.

[Nidhi]

These two books can be read together , as they are very different. I voted for both of them so i will be reading ( and try finish) both.

[Gilbert]

For the second quarter, I am starting: Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset.
I read The Red And The Black by Stendhal last year, so I'm substituting The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu.

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Hi all. I was planning to open the threads for the new Hefty and Husky reads before the end of the month. But it looks like my plan will not work. I will certainly open them over the weekend, so please bear with me. :)

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

No worries!

[Gilbert]

Expecting Fortunata and Jacinta any day now for third quarter read along.

[Lesle, Appalachian Bibliophile]

Me too Piyangie, opening over the weekend!

[Gilbert]

I've been involved with several rather huge novels in this period, besides Fortunata and Jacinta, during what I call the JUne/JUly JUmbos: Sir Charles Grandison by Samuel Richardson - volume VI, letter XVIII, page 1230; and, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy - volume IV, part I, chapter 1, page 1062.
They should be done by the end of August.

[Lesle, Appalachian Bibliophile]

Gilbert
Ginormous reads. You do tend to love the rather heavy books!

[Gilbert]

I understand that many readers are intimidated by books this big, but if they can watch a program on TV episode after episode, week after week, month after month, then what's the big deal over really big books? One chapter after the other until finality.

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

I start reading big books a chapter a day, then two chapters, until I get towards the end and need to know what happens.

[Lesle, Appalachian Bibliophile]

I have only read a few huskys and only one hefty Lonesome Dove. I am hoping to read Joseph and His Brothers by Thomas Mann (over 1400 pages!!) in the last quarter.

You are totally correct Gilbert. I have watched TV series but I normally have to rewatch part of the show as I fall asleep watching Vera (Britbox) soft tones just lull me to lullabye land :)

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Rosemarie wrote: "I start reading big books a chapter a day, then two chapters, until I get towards the end and need to know what happens."

That's a great method, Rosemarie. It's easy to tackle the hefty's that way.

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Lesle wrote: "I have only read a few huskys and only one hefty Lonesome Dove. I am hoping to read Joseph and His Brothers by Thomas Mann (over 1400 pages!!) in the last ..."

That's one massive reading you're planning, Lesle. I wish you all the very best! I'm not too sure how my reading plans will go with my studies, but I'm hoping to do The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. The working-class and socialist concepts seem to be drawing me in. :)

[Lesle, Appalachian Bibliophile]

That sounds interesting Piyangie. I probably will do Joseph in small reads over my longer period of time. Kind of thinking like the Bible. Stretching it out over time so it sinks in as well.

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

Joseph is actually four books, Lesle. So you can take breaks in between each book.

[Lesle, Appalachian Bibliophile]

I did not realize Rosemarie! Good to know.

[Gilbert]

Finally finished the pair of JUmbos I've been at for awhile: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and Sir Charles Grandison by Samuel Richardson.
I can recommend War and Peace because it is the novel of novels. I could less say something positive about Sir Charles Grandison if you are interested in a study of manners and breeding in the mid-eighteenth century.

[Chrissie]

Who is or has read Deerbrook? Please tell me your thoughts on it.

[Kathy]

Chrissie wrote: "Who is or has read Deerbrook? Please tell me your thoughts on it."

I read Deerbrook, Chrissie. I enjoyed it although the LibriVox recording had multiple narrators. I could barely understand one narrator who read 2 chapters early in the book. One man had great expressivenes but he kept mispronouncing words. But I perservered and some narrators were good.

I like that the main characters were two intelligent sisters, Margaret and Hester. There's also the horrid Mrs. Rowland, and the society-conscious Mrs. Grey. Maria, a teacher who suffered an accident which caused a disability, is a wonderful friend.

I wish Harriet Martineau had written more novels. Did you read herThe Crofton Boys, Chrissie?

[Chrissie]

Kathy, thank you doe wxplaining WHY you liked the book. What you are saying is that it has good character portrayal and this will interest me.

Yes, I listened to the The Crofton Boys. I liked it but I would say its prime audience is directed toward kids, It is difficult for ne to write. When I write reviews I write them using a heavier font. Then I paste then in on GR, Here is my review; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... . I am thinking you are considering the book, so you'd want to know more.

[Kathy]

Thanks Chrissie. I enjoyed the review and will probably read this book sometime.

[Chrissie]

Kathy wrote: "Thanks Chrissie. I enjoyed the review and will probably read this book sometime."

Kathy, I am very restrictive with my stars. For ME, a three star book IS good. I dislike how so many give four or five stars to just about everything. For me, a to star book is in fact OK. A five star book must feel utterly amazing. My ratings are completely personal and they are no judgment of the boo per se. I am just one reader of many. I think our experiences affect how we view a book, Nice that we aren now GR friends.

[Gilbert]

Starting the jumbo: Jean-Christophe by Romain Rolland.

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

That's a wonderful book, Gilbert.

[Chrissie]

Rosemarie wrote: "That's a wonderful book, Gilbert."

I am thoroughly enjoying it.

Good prose and characters that I can relate to" I loved sharing the relationship between Christophe and his grandfather. This was very well done. The music C hears in nature I appreciate too.

[Brian E]

Romain Rolland is an author unknown to me until I joined Goodreads. He appears to be the French Nobel Prize winning author least known to the American public.
Yet from what I've learned on GR, especially from reading Stefan Zweig, he was greatly admired and looked up to by his fellow writers of the time, such as Zweig and Herman Hesse.
Jean-Christophe has intrigued me but its length has had me shy away from it. However, from what I've read and heard on GR, it's storytelling would likely appeal more to me than, for instance, reading In Search of Lost Time. But each book in the 10 volume series is relatively short so taking it one book at a time may make for a less daunting task.
So I think I shall plan a read of Jean-Christophe at a rate of one book a month, open to an acceleration or a cessation at any time. I will likely wait until 2025, or possibly late 2024, to do so as I have multi-volume reads of Patrick Hamilton, Henry Green, Rumer Godden and Patricia Highsmith already scheduled for the first part of 2024.

[Chrissie]

Brian, I'm rally enjoying it and it doesn't fee long. I am already in the third section. Personally, I wouldn't want to split Now in the third part he s still only 16! Music is in his soul. He hear nature more than seeing it, All the different sounds in nature are like an orchestra to him.

[Brian E]

Chrissie wrote: "Brian, I'm rally enjoying it and it doesn't fee long. I am already in the third section. Personally, I wouldn't want to split Now in the third part he s still only 16! Music is in his soul. He hear..."

Thanks, Chrissie. I'll keep your advice in mind. But it's better if I go into reading thinking of one book at a time and one a month. But getting in the flow is why I will leave myself the option of "acceleration" at any time.
I know that you prefer the one book at a time reading approach which makes you apt to finish all 10 of these in less than a month. That's an option for me too and does have the great advantage of getting one so "immersed" in the book.
Prior to joining Goodreads, I read only two books at a time: one fiction and one non-fiction. But my increased reading amount and the slow pace of so many of the Goodreads group reads has forced me to now become a 3 to 5 book at a time reader and I'm not sure I could even revert back to my old ways.

[Chrissie]

Brian, I read to be immersed in a book, in another existence. Hopping around leaves me feeling I haven't gotten the full depth of hat the author is trying to get across. Just explainging: I am not trying to convert you!

[Mo]

i plan on finally reading Joseph and his Brothers. i have started it a couple of times during the years, but really want to tackle it for good this time. if there were others reading it and we could talk about it once in a while that would be fun.

earlier this year i finally read war and peace and really liked it (didn't love it though.) what made it fun was reading a book alongside that collected responses from other readers (yiyun li: tolstoy together.) it was a really nice experience.

[John]

I'll be reading The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell in this last quarter. I first read it when I was about 14 or 15 and was a firm believer in socialism by the end.

[Lesle, Appalachian Bibliophile]

Mo wrote: "i plan on finally reading Joseph and his Brothers. i have started it a couple of times during the years, but really want to tackle it for good this time. if there were others reading it and we coul..."

I am hoping to read Joseph and His Brothers by Thomas Mann not sure I can finish it in one quarter.

[John]

Lesle wrote: "Mo wrote: "i plan on finally reading Joseph and his Brothers. i have started it a couple of times during the years, but really want to tackle it for good this time. if there were others reading it ..."

I hope to start this after The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, so it will probably be Spring, 24 before I finish!

[Lesle, Appalachian Bibliophile]

John wrote: "so it will probably be Spring, 24 before I finish!..."

It will probably be spring even if I start on time for me too!

[Mo]

this seems nice, to read it a doable pace into spring. i haven't looked at the chapters again so not sure how long they are and how to divide it up (kinda) to a daily portion. i like to read one of these big books during the day -- when i have a moment -- and before i go to bed. and then in bed something else (mysteries and such.)

:-)

[Gilbert]

Last year I read the very hefty The Mysteries of Paris by Eugène Sue at 1384 pages.
According to the introduction, this style of novel, a city story, was adopted by quite a few other writers of the time so the story appeared as a weekly feature in a variety of magazines. Among those so styled, I've come across: The Mysteries of London, Vol. I by George W.M. Reynolds.
This was written two years after The Mysteries of Paris in a similar style. The difference is in the length.
The Mysteries of London comes in a two volume set(I'm waiting for volume two), for a total of 2300 pages. Well, it's less than In Search of Lost Time.