Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion
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⭐️ COMPLETE ⭐️ Wobbley's 2024 Buffet Sampler
You're making great progress, Wobbley! It looks like you're enjoying Bradbury.I notice you have North and South on your list. That's tied with Pride and Prejudice for my all-time favorite novel. I hope you really like it, too.
Thanks Teri-K. That's great to hear about North and South. I really love Pride and Prejudice, so hopefully I'll love North and South as well. :)
Great progress!So pleased you enjoyed The Moonstone :O)
Really want to get to Whipple and I shall read at least one of hers this year.
Thanks Veronique! Yes, everyone seems to really like Whipple, even though we're all reading different books by her!
Definitely need to read Whipple soon. She's been on my TBR shelf for years now.
I just read Someone at a Distance and really enjoyed it. Whipple is a wonderful writer, and good storyteller :)
Oh, that's really good to hear! Someone at a Distance is actually the only one my local library has a copy of. I didn't read it first because it was published 20 years too late for my Decade challenge, haha!
I highly recommend Whipple. I read High Wages last year, my first Whipple, and it was so good I gave it 5 stars. This year, I read Someone at a Distance and liked it too. If you read anything by her, I would be interested to know your thoughts.
Thanks so much, Dave!Shaina, I read Greenbanks, and enjoyed it.
Some more progress on my Buffet ChallengesLittle Women - DNF: Alright, I'll begin by saying that I know a lot of people love this book, and I actually do feel badly for writing negatively about it. But I really disliked it. At first I thought the characters were just too wholesome. But that's not it. Molly Gibson in Wives and Daughters is wholly good and pure, and is portrayed as such, but I liked her and rooted for her and loved the book. It's the way it's portrayed in Little Women: the goodness of the characters is just too smug and preachy for me. I have a theory that this book is best enjoyed if you first read it as a child, and then your affection for it as an adult can include a healthy dose of nostalgia. At least, I think that would have worked better for me. Now, off to find another book from 1867 for my Decade Challenge!
Books 9 through 11 of the Yotsuba&! series, all ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Some more progress on my reread of this fun, happy graphic novel series from Japan. These books always make me smile.
The Whale Rider ⭐️⭐️⭐️: A Maori chief is looking for the next leader of his people, ignoring his granddaughter because he thinks leaders must be male. I enjoyed this well enough, but it really hammered its points home. Like, it has a pod of whales making a decision by having a rational conversation in the same way people might; I know that would fit into some books, but it felt like it didn't fit here. I guess if you think of it as a fable the lack of subtlety is more fitting. Honestly, I thought the movie was better, and handled things in a more mature way.
A Jury of Her Peers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Two women solve a murder in a farmhouse, then they need to decide whether to pass on what they've learned to the authorities. I quite liked this one. It's considered an early feminist novel, apparently because the women solve the crime where the men can't. But what I liked best was the compassion of the women. The story addresses the struggle of being a woman at that time, and the kinship in their shared suffering (but without being as depressing as that makes it sound). Thanks to Veronique for the nudge to read this one!
Under the Greenwood Tree ⭐️⭐️⭐️: A pastoral novel about a village romance and the conflict between old and new traditions. I liked it in general, and the male characters were pretty easy to relate to. Hardy didn't think much of women though, and his portrayal of the female lead as pretty flighty sort of turned me off. I did find the conflict between the old and new musical traditions to be a sad side story (although I think that sadness may have come more from me than from the text). This is lighter fare from an author known for his tragedies.
I'm starting to feel like I'm making some steady progress. My reading this year hasn't been at last year's pace, but it's moving forward.
Wobbley, you are making some great progress. I have to agree with you about the preachy quality of Little Women. I didn't read it until a few years ago, and that aspect was the one thing that got on my nerves. I suspect it should be read by children because many readers I've come across who read it when young were much less enthusiastic about it as an adult.
Wobbley, I agree with you and Laurie. I first read Little Women in fifth or sixth grade, and re-read it just a few years ago in book club. Of course, on my second reading, as an adult, I had the same pictures in my mind, and original feelings of a 10-year-old. I had certain memories and expectations. I can see that you would have a whole different reading experience with a "first read" of this book as an adult. I say, don't feel bad about it. At least now, you've read it (or at least started it & met all the characters), and you know what all the "talk" is about when it comes up. Keep Reading and read books you enjoy! :)
Thank you very much, Laurie and Terris. That's reassuring to hear.
I agree that what you say about Little Women is absolutely true, Wobbley, and like what Terris says, that now you know, and that's enough. :-) You're making great progress! I'll be reading Under the Greenwood Tree soon and am intrigued about the musical stuff.
Nice and steady progress :O)Same experience with me - ish. I first read Little Women in my early 20s and loved it. My English was in its infancy then, having just moved to England after finishing uni. I read it again in 2009 and had problems with it, namely all the ‘preachy’ elements. It does use Pilgrim’s Journey after all. Tempted to give it another go, or not. I do remember having loved Gaskell’s Wives and Daughters.
Happy you enjoyed A Jury :O)
Kathleen wrote: "I agree that what you say about Little Women is absolutely true, Wobbley, and like what Terris says, that now you know, and that's enough. :-) You're making great progress! I'll be reading Under the Greenwood Tree soon and am intrigued about the musical stuff."Thanks Kathleen! I'll be curious to hear what you think of Under the Greenwood Tree. I'm from a family of musicians, so I wonder whether that musical theme hit me harder than the writing would justify. :)
Veronique wrote: "Nice and steady progress :O)Same experience with me - ish. I first read Little Women in my early 20s and loved it. My English was in its infancy then, having just moved to England after finishing..."
Thank you Veronique. Yes, I appreciate you pointing me to Jury of her Peers. It's so easy to never hear of shorter stories like this, but I really thought it was well worth reading!
Shame about Little Women. I think it has sentimental value for me because I read it avidly as a child. But as an adult, I would probably hate it. A Jury of her Peers is wonderful, just the way I remember it. Great work!
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Ila wrote: "Shame about Little Women. I think it has sentimental value for me because I read it avidly as a child. But as an adult, I would probably hate it. A Jury of her Peers is wonderful, just the way I remember it. Great work!"Thanks Ila. Yeah, I actually feel badly about disliking Little Women, because so many people love it -- although I know it doesn't make sense for me to feel that way. I wish I had read it as a child instead.
Bob wrote: "After your mention of Jury of Her Peers, I just had to reread it. It is truly a great story."I'm glad! Rereading a great story is always worthwhile. :)
I've made some more progress on my Buffet Challenges:Books 12 and 13 of the Yotsuba&! series ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Some more progress through my reread of this fun Japanese graphic novel series about a young girl who is always happy. In this set, she makes a necklaces from pine cones and discovers that you can't wash paint off with water. Silly and wonderful! Only 2 more to go in the series.
The Six Deaths of the Saint ⭐️⭐️⭐️½: An interesting sci-fi/fantasy premise, and a decent execution, though I didn't become as attached to the characters as I think I could have.
The Grand Sophy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ : This one was a lot of fun, with an unusually engaging heroine. Light and entertaining, and even though you can see the end coming from pretty far off, it's fun to watch it get there!
Timequake ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Wow. This book is pretty hard to explain. I guess I'd say it's mostly a memoir of anecdotes, with every once in a while a sort of sci-fi story sprinkled in. It's mainly about how hard it is to live in the world, and that we need to do better for each other. It was his last novel, and there is a strong sense of a man looking back and measuring what has been lost. By turns sad, angry, and nostalgic, it's full of his trademark sarcastic humour and fury, and yet his writing has a light touch. It's pretty indescribable, and I don't think it's for everyone. I loved it. I recently read a quote about Vonnegut to the effect that he looked the world straight in the eye and never flinched. I'd say that's about right.
Such a strong set this time!
I loved The Grand Sophy. It was my first book by the author, and you are absolutely right about the unusually engaging heroine.
A great bunch, Wobbley. I'm adding Timequake to the tbr. Vonnegut is so unique, and it's been such a long time since I read him. Thanks!
I also, surprisingly, loved The Grand Sophy. For some reason I didn't have high expectations, and ended up liking it a lot! Glad you did, too :)
Shaina wrote: "I loved The Grand Sophy. It was my first book by the author, and you are absolutely right about the unusually engaging heroine."Shaina, it sounds like you've read a few by Heyer. Can you recommend another I'm quite likely to enjoy?
Kathleen wrote: "A great bunch, Wobbley. I'm adding Timequake to the tbr. Vonnegut is so unique, and it's been such a long time since I read him. Thanks!"That's great Kathleen! As I mentioned, I'm not sure the book is for everyone; it's somewhat less focused than his more plot-driven books. But something in the mixture worked for me a lot, and I hope it will for you too!
Terris wrote: "I also, surprisingly, loved The Grand Sophy. For some reason I didn't have high expectations, and ended up liking it a lot! Glad you did, too :)"Thanks so much Terris, I'm glad you loved it too! It's always nice to be surprised in this way. :)
A few more completed, and I've completed my first of the challenges: Challenge #12 - Series Books
Books 14 and 15 of the Yotsuba&! series ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: This completes my reread of this fun Japanese graphic novel series about a young girl who finds joy in everything!
The Comedy of Errors ⭐️⭐️: I didn't find it really worked for me to read Shakespeare silently from a book. Next time I'll try for a more performance-based experience of the bard.
The Importance of Being Earnest ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ : Funny from start to finish. Wilde was a master at this sort of witty comedy. There are jokes every few lines, and some great one-liners, such as:
I am not in favour of long engagements. They give people the opportunity of finding out each other’s character before marriage, which I think is never advisable.
Moving steadily forward...
Wow--one challenge down and a bunch more close! Fantastic progress, Wobbley. I really love Wilde, and am glad you enjoyed that one.
Mod
Wobbley wrote: "Shaina wrote: "I loved The Grand Sophy. It was my first book by the author, and you are absolutely right about the unusually engaging heroine."Shaina, it sounds like you've read a few by Heyer. C..."
I have two of her books with 4 stars, Frederica and Cotillion. Hope one of them interests you. Enjoy!
Shaina wrote: "Wobbley wrote: "Shaina wrote: "I loved The Grand Sophy. It was my first book by the author, and you are absolutely right about the unusually engaging heroine."Shaina, it sounds like you've read a..."
I'm going to add one other one of Heyer's that was recommended to me (though I haven't read it yet): The Unknown Ajax.
I need to read another one by her sometime to get to know her writing better :)
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Wobbley I can understand not loving Little Women. My mother had the whole series and I tried to read it as a child, but just couldn't get into it. (But I did love Mom's Nancy Drew books.) I still have her hardback Little Women copies published in the 1930s. I only in the last five years read the first one. I might someday read more in the series, but that is not a high priority.
If I had simply read Little Women as a novel I might not like it so much. I read it as a love letter Louisa wrote to her family. We see the sentimentality but I could forgive it. A little reading between the lines and it's possible to see that things were probably less sweet than written. I think in particular she was trying to bring out a happy memoir of her sister written in a way that would not hurt anyone in the family.
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I'm with you there Bob and Wobbley. I think Wilde is at his best in his plays. I really like those.
Kathleen wrote: "Wow--one challenge down and a bunch more close! Fantastic progress, Wobbley. I really love Wilde, and am glad you enjoyed that one."Thank you Kathleen. I'm happy with my progress, especially considering the slow start I got to reading this year. But actually, this update was really easy: all plays and graphic novels, so all really fast reads.
Bob wrote: "Congrats on finishing challenge #12 and I agree with you about Wilde, truly gifted."Thank you Bob. Yes, the Wilde was pretty spectacular!
Terris wrote: "Shaina wrote: "Wobbley wrote: "Shaina wrote: "I loved The Grand Sophy. It was my first book by the author, and you are absolutely right about the unusually engaging heroine."Thanks very much for the suggestions, Shaina and Terris. I've looked at the descriptions of the books, and I'm absolutely adding Cotillion and The Unknown Ajax to my TBR -- they look like a lot of fun!
Lynn wrote: "Wobbley wrote: "Ila wrote: "Shame about Little Women. I think it has sentimental value for me because I read it avidly as a child. But as an adult, I would probably hate it."Thanks Lynn. Haha, yes, I loved the Nancy Drew books as a kid too! It's great that you found a way of really enjoying Little Women. That's a unique perspective, and you're right, things are much more difficult if you are writing based on real life and trying not to get anyone's back up...
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Thanks Sara!Yeah, I have a feeling that if we tried to read the Nancy Drew books as adults, they wouldn't hold up well. But I haven't tried either.
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Warning on the modern Nancy Drew. They are MODERN. They have a very different feel from the ones we read. The vocabulary, relationship dynamics, etc. I tried 20 years ago to read one and the nostalgia just wasn't there.
Wobbley wrote: "A few more completed, and I've completed my first of the challenges: Challenge #12 - Series Books
Books 14 and 15 of the Yotsuba&! series ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: This completes my reread of this ..."
Congrats on your progress Wobbly, I Love Comedy of Errors and have always found The Importance of Being Ernest roll around on the floor hilarious
Thanks very much, Dave! Yes, I agree about the Importance of Being Earnest -- it was really hilarious.
Wobbley wrote: "A few more completed, and I've completed my first of the challenges: Challenge #12 - Series Books
Books 14 and 15 of the Yotsuba&! series ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: This completes my reread of this ..."
Congrats on completing a challenge. Ah, Oscar Wilde, he's the wittiest of them all. But The Importance of Being Earnest remains his best.
Thanks Ila! Yes, that one was so enjoyable!
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There seem to be so many good books by her that people in this group have read. That's actually how I came up with one of my Old/New Linked Categories (for Challenge 11): "An author I've never read, but have heard a lot of good things about lately." The Dorothy Whipple I read fit that category perfectly!