TBR thread (2023)

[Katie]

A place to discuss your TBRs this year!

[Lisa]

This year is that many decades, lol, since British Novel class, so I'm rereading most of the curriculum--Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, The Moonstone, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, Hard Times, Jude the Obscure, and Tess of the D'Urbervilles...and I'll have to look at the bookshelf to see if I've forgotten anything, lol.

[Alan]

When I was at university forty years ago I really didn’t know much so I signed up for an 18th century novel class. The professor was very stuffy and dull but we started with Moll Flanders and worked our way to..I can’t remember now. The following year I took nineteenth century novel-we started with Jane Austin and ended with Thomas Hardy. To read the novels in the succession they were written is fascinating-especially when we got to Bleak House. I’ve wanted to follow this journey since then.A female friend wanted to do an honours paper ,this was the eighties-so she said are there any women writers in the 18th century? The professor begrudgingly said,well you can try Fanny Burney. How times have changed. We read an abridged version of Clarissa and I loved it.

[Lindenblatt]

I have been planning (love that part!) my Victober TBR for months now, so I am very glad that 1) October is finally almost here and 2) the books I selected happen to match the challenges! That's great as it saves me a lot of debating with myself about whether to change or add to my TBR ;) So, I'll be trying to read:
- Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë (Kate's & Petra's)
- Adam Bede by George Eliot (Ros')
- No Name by Wilkie Collins
- The Odd Women by George Gissing (Katie's & Marissa's)
- Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim
Big thanks to the organisers for the helpful and enjoyable YouTube videos!

[Theresa]

Lindenblatt wrote: "I have been planning (love that part!) my Victober TBR for months now, so I am very glad that 1) October is finally almost here and 2) the books I selected happen to match the challenges! That's gr..."

You have picked some good books! I was thinking about rereading Agnes Grey or maybe reading No Name or Moonstone but haven't decided yet.

[Jassmine]

Lindenblatt wrote: "- Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë (Kate's & Petra's)"

Can I ask how you are interpreting Agnes Grey as featuring outsider? I didn't read that one yet and am considering it, but I would like to know how it fits first...

[Lindenblatt]

Jassmine wrote: "Lindenblatt wrote: "- Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë (Kate's & Petra's)"

Can I ask how you are interpreting Agnes Grey as featuring outsider? I didn't read that one yet and am considering it, but I wou..."

Hi Jassmine, I agree with you that 'Agnes Grey' does not come to mind immediately for this prompt. I was thinking about a mysterious stranger or a foreigner first. But as Kate explained in her video, it can be anyone that "doesn't fit in". Not sure which were her exact words, but she actually recommends 'Agnes Grey' for her prompt as Agnes in her position as governess does not belong to either the family nor the servants of the house. I also remember (it's a re-read) that Agnes feels quite isolated. Hope you'll like it, if you decide for it.

[Lindenblatt]

Theresa wrote: "Lindenblatt wrote: "I have been planning (love that part!) my Victober TBR for months now, so I am very glad that 1) October is finally almost here and 2) the books I selected happen to match the c..."

Thanks, Theresa :) I can also recommend The Moonstone, which was my first book by Wilkie Collins and I LOVED it. So enjoyable!

[Jassmine]

Lindenblatt wrote: "Hi Jassmine, I agree with you that 'Agnes Grey' does not come to mind immediately for this prompt. I was thinking about a mysterious stranger or a foreigner first."

Hmmm, yeah, I think I'll put it in for now since it ticks of several of the boxes for me, but I really hoped for a "real stranger". I like books that feature cultural clashes and misunderstandings. We'll see if I'll manage to find some closer fit to what I'm imagining, but I guess I won't have time to read it anyway 🤭

[Jassmine]

Alright, so last year I was very ambition with my tbr and then ended up finishing only one book (Mr. Harrison's Confessions) in October. But in the end it actually turned out into a success because I was drawing out from my Victober tbr the whole year and actually finished quite a bit of the books, so... I'm choosing to be ambitious again this year, but with a clear focus on what books I want to get to first. I don't count on finishing all of these in October since October tends to be a busy month for me, but these are the books that I would like to get to sooner or later.
You may notice that I try to focus on woman authors.
Also, if you wanted to BR some book, I would love to do that. I don't plan to join the group BR this year (the book is just too big for me at this point), but I always prefer BRing over reading alone, so... I would be open to that!

Priority TBR:
- Mary Barton is going to be the main book for me this Victober. I own it for a few years and now that I finished the whole of Cranford Chronicles (well, I still have one short-story left) I think I'll finally can start on this one. I really like Elizabeth Gaskell's work even if she punches me in the gut every time. This book is especially good fit for Ros's challenge, but Kate also mentioned it as featuring outsider (so we shall see...).

- Agnes Grey is also a book that has been on my tbr for ages with the distinction that I didn't read anything by Anne Brontë yet. So this would tick Marissa's challenge for me, but also Petra's (and also Ros's and Kate's apparently... this book seems to be really versatile 🤭).
There are several versions of this book on LibriVox (free public domain audiobooks platform, if you don't know it), this one seems the best to me: https://librivox.org/agnes-grey-versi...
(I prefer solo narrations, but there is also dramatic narration if you are interested in that...)

- This leaves me with Katie's challenge that is my favourite, but also makes me add new books to my tbr! I found several books she mentions on LibriVox as well, so I'll probably do some (or all 😂) of those. I mean, I love old feminist fiction, this prompt is a gold mine for me! (All of these authors are also new for me, so double strike!)
> Gloriana, or the Revolution of 1900 - Florence Dixie, this is probably the one I would focus on first because it's not too long and by woman author and the premise seems intriguing to me. https://librivox.org/gloriana-or-the-...)
> The Story of a Modern Woman - Ella Hepworth Dixon: https://librivox.org/story-of-a-moder...)
> The Odd Women - George Gissing (male author): https://librivox.org/the-odd-women-by...)
>The Woman Who Did - Grant Allen (male author): https://librivox.org/the-woman-who-di...
> Women Who Did: Stories by Men and Women, 1890-1914 looks amazing to me! I think I'll be buying this one... don't know if I get to it in October though....

So, my main three books are Mary Barton, Agnes Grey and Gloriana, or the Revolution of 1900, but I can't help but include some of the books that have been on my TBR for a while, especially the books that I own, because I'm trying to get through these.

Wishing I had time for these:
- The Squire's Story - the last bit of Cranford that I'm missing, I might try to read this one before Victober starts. I also really want to watch the adaptation now that I have read all the pieces (so I could close up Petra's last year challenge, lol).

-Great Expectations - I own a copy of this book for ages and could you believe I didn't read Dickens yet? So... yeah, I would like to do this sometimes in foreseeable future, I had this on my last year's tbr as well...

- A Tangled Tale - Once again, I own this and it's pretty short and I meant to read more Lewis Carroll since loving Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass, but... it doesn't seem to be happening.

- Aurora Leigh - I bought a Norton Edition copy of this one for last years Victober, but didn't get to it. I really want to read it, because Norton Editions are amazing and I'm really interested in the book, but I don't think I'll make it this year.

- Dracula - I'm considering that it might fit the stranger trope better. It has been on my radar for a while and we were on vacation in Romania this year, so... I kind of feel like it's time to give this one a try?
This LibriVox recording seems promising: https://librivox.org/dracula-version-...

- I also have The Canterville Ghost and Treasure Island (already read this one as a kid) on my shelves for a while, but those are lower priority. I remembered about them mostly because they fit some of the prompts.

- I also found collections of Oscar Wilde's letters on LibriVox, which I thought was interesting, so I might dive into that as well.
This is the first one: https://librivox.org/letters-of-oscar...

[Janice]

Jassmine wrote: "Alright, so last year I was very ambition with my tbr and then ended up finishing only one book (Mr. Harrison's Confessions) in October. But in the end it actually turned out into a ..."

Thank you, Jassmine, for all the links to Librivox! I use it as well. :)

[Jassmine]

Janice wrote: "Thank you, Jassmine, for all the links to Librivox! I use it as well. :)"

I thought someone might find them useful 😊 I'm always surprised how obscure books I'm able to find there...

[Michelle Hyland]

Hello everyone,

Michelle from Ireland here.
This is my second Victober.
I haven't decided what to read as yet, it may be a reread of North and South. I may also read Agnes Grey as it has been much recommended.

I am on Discord but I am not 100% sure of it yet.

[Michelle Hyland]

Alan wrote: "When I was at university forty years ago I really didn’t know much so I signed up for an 18th century novel class. The professor was very stuffy and dull but we started with Moll Flanders and worke..."

Hi Alan,
Do try Evelina by Frances Burney. It is very enjoyable, written in the form of letters.

[Michelle Hyland]

Jassmine wrote: "Alright, so last year I was very ambition with my tbr and then ended up finishing only one book (Mr. Harrison's Confessions) in October. But in the end it actually turned out into a ..."

Hi Jassmine,

Wow fair dues you have quite the ambitious plans unlike me. 😳😂.

Mary Barton is excellent, I hope to read Agnes Grey too. Wuthering Heights is not for me, I tried to read it before and gave up.

[Michelle Hyland]

Lindenblatt wrote: "I have been planning (love that part!) my Victober TBR for months now, so I am very glad that 1) October is finally almost here and 2) the books I selected happen to match the challenges! That's gr..."

Hello,

Elizabeth Van Arnim is great. I have read two of her books and enjoyed both. Beautiful nature writing.

[Jassmine]

Michelle Hyland wrote: "Wow fair dues you have quite the ambitious plans unlike me. 😳😂."

Not really 🤭 The "hard" tbr are 3 books which I think... is realistic (even though I just finished one last Victober 😂) and the rest are more like an options to reach for since I'm very much a mood reader...

[Betty]

is there a booklist yet 🤓

[Theresa]

Maybe we should do a Agnes Grey group read?

[Lisa]

That would be good.

[Michelle Hyland]

Theresa wrote: "Maybe we should do a Agnes Grey group read?"

Hi Theresa,

Yes please. Great idea.

[Michelle Hyland]

Michelle Hyland wrote: "Lindenblatt wrote: "I have been planning (love that part!) my Victober TBR for months now, so I am very glad that 1) October is finally almost here and 2) the books I selected happen to match the c..."

Oh thank you.
I feel a little less lazy now.

[Jassmine]

Theresa wrote: "Maybe we should do a Agnes Grey group read?"

That's great idea! I think it shouldn't be a problem to set up a thread for it... I'm just going to look if I can figure out how to do that 😊

[Jassmine]

Okay, so I *think* that I was successful in the endeavor! I hope it's alright like this 😊

[Lindenblatt]

Theresa wrote: "Maybe we should do a Agnes Grey group read?"

What a wonderful idea, Theresa! This will be my first ever BR (blush) and I am looking forward to this new experience.

Thanks for setting up the group, Jassmine. Looks perfect :)

[Lindenblatt]

Betty wrote: "is there a booklist yet 🤓"

Betty, do you mean the recommendations for each challenge? If so, you can watch the Youtube videos of the organisers linked in the group description. All of them have kindly added the books mentioned in the video in the video's description, so you can also save some time, if needed. But the videos are as always very enjoyable and worth the time!

[Theresa]

Jassmine wrote: "Okay, so I *think* that I was successful in the endeavor! I hope it's alright like this 😊"

Thanks for setting that up! It will be a reread for me but I have been wanting to reread it for a year or two.

[Janice]

Jassmine wrote: "Janice wrote: "Thank you, Jassmine, for all the links to Librivox! I use it as well. :)"

I thought someone might find them useful 😊 I'm always surprised how obscure books I'm able to find there..."

I agree! :)

[Janice]

I am sort of embarrassed to write all the books I want to read, but I know it will be impossible for me, maybe I can use it as a future Victober TBR. :)

Group Read: The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope *fits Ros's, Kate's, and Marissa's challenges (for me).

Katie's Challenge: Read a piece of Victorian "New Woman" fiction.

A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde (Own it)

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (Own it) by Anne Bronte *also fits Ros's, Kate's, and Petra's challenges.

The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James (Own it) *fits Marissa's challenge (for me).

Ros's Challenge: Read a Victorian work in which class features strongly.

The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope *also fits Kate's and Marissa's challenges (for me).

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte *fits Kate's, Petra's, and Marissa's challenges (for me).

Agnes Gray by Anne Bronte *fits Kate's and Petra's challenges.

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens * fits Kate's challenge.

Bleak House by Charles Dickens

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell * fits Kate's and Marissa's (for me) challenges.

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell *fits Kate's and Marissa's (for me) challenges.

Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy (Own it) *fits Marissa's challenge (for me).

Tess of the d'Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy *fits Marissa's challenge (for me).

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (Own it)

**I watched the 1952 movie, which is just as funny as the play. It's on YouTube, and it's free! :)

Kate's Challenge: Read a Victorian work with a stranger/outsider.

The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope * group read and fits Ros's and Marissa's challenges (for me).

Romola by George Eliot

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (Own it) *also fits Marissa's challenge (for me).

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell *fits Marissa's challenge for me.

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell * fits Marissa's challenge for me.

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell *fits Ros's and Marissa's challenges for me.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte (Own it) * fits Ros's and Petra's challenges.

Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte *fits Ros's and Petra's challenges.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte *fits Ros's, Petra's, and Marissa's challenges.

Daniel Deronda by George Eliot

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens *fits Ros's and Petra's challenges.

The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde

Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon *fits Marissa's challenge for me.

Petra's Challenge: Read a Victorian first-person narrative

Agnes Gray by Anne Bronte *fits Ros's and Kate's challenges.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte (Own it) *fits Kate's challenge.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte *fits Ros's, Kate's, and Marissa's challenges.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins *fits Marissa's challenge.

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens *fits Ros's and Kate's challenges.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome *fits Marissa's challenge (for me).

Marissa's Challenge: Read a Victorian work by an author new to you.

The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope (group read) *fits Ros's and Kate's challenges.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte *fits Ros's, Kate's, and Petra's challenges.

Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon *fits Kate's challenge.

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (Own it) *fits Kate's challenge.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins *fits Petra's challenge.

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome *fits Petra's challenge.

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell *fits Ros's and Kate's challenges.

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell *fits Ros's and Kate's challenges.

Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy (Own it) *fits Ros's challenge.

Tess of the d'Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy *fits Ros's challenge.

The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James (Own it) *fits Katie's challenge.

I watched the hosts' videos and received so many excellent book recommendations!!! (sorry, my list is so long.)

[Janice]

I may choose books that I own and/or cover more than one challenge, but I'm not sure yet. :)

[Jassmine]

Janice wrote: "I am sort of embarrassed to write all the books I want to read, but I know it will be impossible for me, maybe I can use it as a future Victober TBR. :)."

Haha, what a list! Though, I have to say that having a pool of possibilities to choose from is sometimes nicer that having fixed tbr, so I approve :D

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (Own it)

Oooh, I LOVE The Importance of Being Earnest I saw it acted out multiple times and it's just one of the funniest things ever...
I really should read some Wilde again soon...

[Mamatigerj]

I have two books that were already on my TBR: Hard Times by Charles Dickens and Shirley by Charlotte Bronte. I am hoping that these will plug into Kate's and Ros's challenges. Does anybody know more about them?

I will be reading along with The Way We Live Now

For Katie's Challenge: Mrs. Warren's Profession by George Bernard Shaw and some of the The Yellow Book stories at Victorian Short Fiction Project

For Marissa's Challenge: I would like to read some George Eliot and some Wilkie Collins, but i am looking for something on the shorter side, so perhaps some essays by Eliot and some short stories by Collins.

For Petra's Challenge: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, which is a reread, but it's been more than 40 years! I may do it on audio at LibriVox.

And i will definitely be reading some Victorian Poetry.

[Lisa]

Shirley takes in illness, foreignness, women's roles, employer-worker tension, and it is very good.

[Mamatigerj]

Lisa wrote: "Shirley takes in illness, foreignness, women's roles, employer-worker tension, and it is very good."

Thank you, Lisa!

[Lisa]

You're welcome, Mamatiger :).

[Janice]

Jassmine wrote: "Janice wrote: "I am sort of embarrassed to write all the books I want to read, but I know it will be impossible for me, maybe I can use it as a future Victober TBR. :)."

Haha, what a list! Though,..."

Thanks Jassmine! :) I have narrowed that huge list down to 5 books which I probably won't be able to read in one month! :)

Oh you should read some more Wilder! I agree The Importance of Being Earnest is very funny!!!

[Janice]

Mamatigerj wrote: "I have two books that were already on my TBR: Hard Times by Charles Dickens and Shirley by Charlotte Bronte. I am hoping that these will plug into Kate's and Ros's challenges. Does anybody know mor..."

I have never read Wuthering Heights and maybe I will listen to it next month on Librivox as well. :) I think Librivox is great! :)

[Janice]

Ok, I have shortened my very, very long TBR list to 5 books. I doubt I will be able to read these in one month, though.

Group Read, and Ros's, Kate's, and Marissa's challenges. The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope

Katie's challenge: A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde

Kate's and Marissa's challenges. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Petra's challenge. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

[Jassmine]

Janice wrote: "I have narrowed that huge list down to 5 books which I probably won't be able to read in one month! :)."

Haha, yeah, same strategies!
Great list! I read none of those books (yet) but they are all on my radar 🙈

[Theresa]

Janice wrote: "Ok, I have shortened my very, very long TBR list to 5 books. I doubt I will be able to read these in one month, though.

Group Read, and Ros's, Kate's, and Marissa's challenges. [book: The Way We L..."

The Woman in White is so good! I really hope you enjoy it as much as me. Kate Howe said it will go fast and it did. I can't wait to reread it soon, but not this year.

[Jassmine]

Yeah, I think I'm going to read The Woman in White next year... it's really high on my tbr and I didn't try Wilkie Collins yet...

[Tenzin]

I plan to reread The Woman in White.
Also, got a copy of David Copperfield for this victober.

[Michelle Hyland]

Hi Tenzin,

"The Woman in White" is brilliant.

Enjoy.

[Angela]

I'd like to add some poetry to my TBR. Any suggestions?

[Lisa]

Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Emily Brontë.

[Jassmine]

Angela wrote: "I'd like to add some poetry to my TBR. Any suggestions?"

I tried Christina Rossetti (Rossetti: Poems) last year. I thought the collection was overall okay, but Goblin Market was especially interesting. What I mean to say is, I don't think Rossetti is a good fit for me, but her stuff is good and interesting.

I also really like Oscar Wilde's The Ballad of Reading Gaol.

[Lindenblatt]

Angela wrote: "I'd like to add some poetry to my TBR. Any suggestions?"

I read a collection of poems by Thomas Hardy last year:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

As usual with Hardy, these are on the sad side dealing with loss, but also love, nature and memories. I really like the selection.

[PaulaJA]

My list is made up of some books I haven’t read before and some that I read a long, long time ago. I think between them they cover all the challenges, except reading an author new to me. However, the last time I read a George Gissing book must have been around 50 years ago, so maybe that counts as a ‘renewing’!

The Way We Live Now: Anthony Trollope (Group read)

The Canterville Ghost: Oscar Wilde
The Return of the Native: Thomas Hardy

Jude the Obscure: Thomas Hardy (my copy cost 35p and has a picture of a very young Robert Powell from the 1971 TV series!)

The Odd Women: George Gissing

[PaulaJA]

Theresa wrote: "Janice wrote: "Ok, I have shortened my very, very long TBR list to 5 books. I doubt I will be able to read these in one month, though.

Group Read, and Ros's, Kate's, and Marissa's challenges. [boo..."

I read Woman in White last year and loved it.

[Kathy]

I'm so excited about Victober that I've already started!

My firm commitment reads are:

Started yesterday: Dombey and Son, Charles Dickens (1848); on audiobook read by David Timson; meets challenge 5
Agnes Grey, Anne Bronte (1847) meets challenges 1, 4 and 5; a re-read
The Odd Woman, George Gissing (1893) meets challenges 2 and 3
Ruth, Elizabeth Gaskell (1853) meets challenge 5
A Child of the Jago, Arthur Morrison (1896) meets challenges 3 and 5

Other Victorian works that are possibilities, but don't necessarily meet the challenges:

Jessie Phillips, Mrs Fanny Trollope (1843)
The Golden Lion of Granpère, Anthony Trollope (1867)
Ralph the Heir, Anthony Trollope (1871)
Essays by Robert Louis Stevenson, collected essays from 1874 to 1888
Anna of the Five Towns, Arnold Bennett (1902)--just misses the cut-off year, but has the "New Woman" theme

And two nonfiction works about the Victorians:

The Ghost Map, Steven Johnson (2006); about the cholera epidemic in 1854 London
Benjamin Disraeli, Adam Kirsch (2008); biography

Finally, I'm on the waitlist at my library for:

Praying With Jane Eyre: Reflections on Reading as A Sacred Practice by Vanessa Zoltan, which I gather isa memoir about reading and "spiritual self-healing." A little out of my comfort zone, but I'm open....if anyone's read this book, I'd love to hear your reaction.

I won't be participating in the Group Read; I'm currently reading Trollope in publication order and I still have a couple to read before I get to The Way We Live Now.