Art Lovers discussion
Monthly Book Challenge
>
Question and Answer Section
date
newest »
newest »
It might be interesting to read something other than fiction, since there are so many other book groups on Goodreads that would only consider reading fiction and nothing else.
Dvora wrote: "One art-related novel I enjoyed a lot was Susan Vreeland's The Luncheon of the Boating Party -- a story based around Renoir, his painting, and the people portrayed in it."Oh, this sounds like a good book. I love anything about Renoir.
Have you already doneThe Judgment of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade that Gave the World Impressionism? It's a great read
Thanks, Ed. I added it to the list. Looks like a good one!
Dvora wrote: "One art-related novel I enjoyed a lot was Susan Vreeland's The Luncheon of the Boating Party -- a story based around Renoir, his painting, and the people portrayed in it." I too have read that book and enjoyed it immensely. Even if there is a lot of literary license employed, the flavor of the times comes through vividly.
I have read this novel by Susan Vreeland also. I just finished her latest on Tiffany glass called "Clara and Mr. Tiffany". I actually enjoyed that one even more.
I hope everyone gets this...I could only post two polls today and only half of our members got the invitation to vote for the second poll. I am only allowed to send so many messages/day and our group is getting so large! Upon thinking about it, I don't think I will post a third poll tomorrow.
It has come to my attention that we have a part of the group that is interested in the historical fiction such as The Agony and the Ecstasy. But there is another part of the group that wants to focus more on the non-fiction. What do we think of reading two separate books for the month of April (and maybe beyond)? I would love your feedback!
Or you could start a book on historical fiction on the 1st and the non-fiction on the 15th. I do think that it would be good to periodically have a shorter book within the larger readings to avoid being overwhelmed by reading 400+ pages all the time..
Ruth wrote: "I wouldn't care to read the Agony and the Ecstasy, but if you want novels with an art theme, there seem to have been a plethora of them lately, starting with Girl With a Pearl Earring, which is qui..."Instead of Agony how about Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling, which covers much the same territory, but as non-fiction?
Personally, I'm not too concerned about avoiding historical fiction if I'm still learning about art. For example, I learned a good deal about Renoir from the Boating Party even though it was clear Vreeland took a great deal of artistic license with the work.I know your goal, Heather, is to come up with something everyone (or as close to everyone as possible) will want to read, but I think alternating or including as much variety as possible and whomever is interested participates may be the best way to go.
Would Carol's idea of two books in one month be too much for you to keep up with as a moderator? (Of course, I feel like I talk to you at least once a day, but have no clue what you do with the majority of your time. Isn't that funny?) If so I'm sure you could call in some reinforcements.
I'm a little behind with Tom and Jack, but still planning on finishing it and still really enjoying the thread. And I wasn't even excited when it was chosen as this month's read!
Isn't part of the problem though, Divvy, that when you're reading fiction, you don't know where the history stops and the author's imagination begins? It seems like you'd need to thoroughly know about the subject to be able to discern between the two.
See what you're saying, but not sure I would totally discount the work on that basis. Again a good reason to include variety in the works we explore.
These are all good points and suggestions. I will continue to think about it all and hopefully by the time Sunday comes around I will have a decision. Maybe the results of the polls will help in that choice? John has a point. But that is one reason I like Carol's idea of two books. I don't know if everyone can read even a fiction in those 15 days (if I am understanding your suggestion correctly, Carol). I think people can choose between the two books and participate in that book's discussion, or if they feel ambitious, they can read both! And we will start them both the beginning of the month.
You're right, Divvy, I will probably need some reinforcements since in two weeks I will hopefully be employed again (yay!!!). If anyone wonders why I'm always on here, that's why! Depending on what two books we choose, I will take volunteers from anyone who wants to lead the discussions on that book thread.
I'm still open to more comments and suggestions, you guys are great!
Hey, congratulations Heather. Anyone who can get their hands on a new job in this market really has something to brag about!
Thank you for your confidence Dvora and Divvy, I really appreciate your sentiments!
I was thinking of at least 30 days for each book. Book group "A":
1. Discussion from 4/1 to 4/30
2. always a shorter book
Book group "B":
1. Discussion from 4/15 to 4/19 (or longer)
2. Larger book
I think that each book would require a moderator. I think there are a lot of people here that if they really liked a specific book, they would do a great job. That way if someone wasn't interested in the longer read, then there would always be a monthly short read available to join.
Just an idea . . .
Thank you for your suggestions, Carol. I like your idea of the two books starting at different times. I think, by looking at the polls, we can pretty much tell which books we are going to be reading. The Agony and the Ecstasy has about 776 pages and would require more time to read. But, since it is fiction, the reading should be much easier and more pages can be required to read at a time. The other book, But is it Art? is 256 pages and should only take a month to read. We could begin the shorter book, like you said, on April 1, 2011 and the longer one on April 15, 2011.As for the moderators, I don't really think we need to assign moderators to lead the discussions. So far in our experience with the book reads of the past, people have been able to post what and when they want and the discussion kind of goes from there. But, if I do think the discussions need a 'leader', I will address that as it comes up.
Thank you for your input everyone! This is going to be great! I will send out another message as April arrives to specify the details. And BTW, there won't be another poll after these two on Sunday since it is rather obvious what the majority has chosen for our two books.
Thanks again!
What we've done in Constant Reader is to ask the person who nominated the book to get the discussion started, perhaps with some background and/or interesting questions. Then the discussion proceeds without a nominal leader.
Sorry Heather -- I meant leader not moderator. I chose the wrong word.
That's a great idea, Ruth! No problem, Carol!Oh, and it looks like there have been some more votes since I last looked at the polls. It might be a close one, I'm not completely discounting the thought of doing a 'tie-breaker' poll. We'll see Sunday which is the last day for voting.
Well, I don't think we need another poll. The votes were somewhat close between But is it Art?, and The Private Lives of Impressionists. I believe the book But is it Art? was preferred, at least for the next book read. Maybe the book read following April's will include the Lives of Impressionists.For the fiction book read, The Agony and the Ecstasy held the most votes.
I like Ruth's suggestion:
"What we've done in Constant Reader is to ask the person who nominated the book to get the discussion started, perhaps with some background and/or interesting questions. Then the discussion proceeds without a nominal leader."
I forgot who nominated the book But is it Art? Is there anyone who would like to come forward to instigate the discussion? Please let me know, either send me a personal message or post your comments here.
I will send a group message when April comes closer with all the details of the April book read. For now we have decided on the above books and we can have some time to get our hands on them before April.
If anyone else has comments, I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you all for participating!
Heather, I was the one who suggested But is it Art? I've never tried to lead a group discussion, but one of the reasons I suggested the book is (if I'm remembering correctly) the chapters are divided thematically. I think this should make leading and discussing it easier. I'm willing to give it a shot. Now if I can only remember which of the numerous banker's box labeled "art books" I packed it in when we started preparing for home renovations...
That's great, Divvy, that you are willing to try to lead the discussion! I guess I need to take a look at the book to see how the chapters are divided. It sounds easy enough. Good luck finding that book! Thank you again!
I just picked it up from the library. There are 7 chapters that run about 30 pages each (including photo images).
Regarding the next read, But is it Art?, are we discussing the book on Friday, April 1st?
I think next Friday, April 1 we will begin reading the book (if there are those of us who haven't started yet). We will begin the discussion about the book on April 8, the following Friday. So if there are 7 chapters at 30pgs each, we can read about 2-3 chapters per week and discuss them at the end of the week. I will begin a thread so we can begin posting our comments.
Upcoming short read starting on May 1st (Sunday).Since the weather is nice and people are busy outside, how about a very short read (like under 200 pages)?
192 pp. (this is in our state's libraries)--
Michael Sweerts: 1618-1664
by Guido Jansen, Rijksmuseum (Netherlands), Peter C. Sutton
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13...
Or since we have many here who like van Gogh, is it possible to do a 351 pp. read, maybe over a longer period?
The Yellow House: Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Nine Turbulent Weeks in Arles
by Martin Gayford
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10...
Any comments/suggestions?
I've read The Yellow House by Gayford and thought it was excellent.Maybe this is the wrong thread for this, but I want to say that I would hesitate to go out and buy and then read another book for this group. I bought The Agony and the Ecstasy and started wading through it, but the only discussion of it so far has been that the Ross King book about Michaelangelo is good.
Dvora, I'm sorry to hear that you are disappointed with your purchase.I get all my books from the library. (Where I live, you can go online to the portal page to search all state public libraries to locate either a physical book or download one to your phone.) I used to buy books but I was spending too much money. Now, I only buy books that I really like (after I read the library version). Even then I buy online at discount prices.
Are you interested in reading/discussing The Yellow House? Do you own that one?
(I bought a hard cover version awhile ago for $3 at BargainBookStores.com)
Carol, I've already read The Yellow House and I own a copy, so I could read it again. I buy almost all of the books I read in English because I live in Spain, near a small village, and the library in the village is small and has no books in English.
Sorry, I did not know your situation. I do not know how libraries operate in other countries.
No problem Carol. It's only a problem for me because I almost always have to invest money in order to read a book. So I'm careful about what I buy and always more disappointed when I don't like a book than I would be if I had simply checked it out from a library.
FYI --I think Simon Schama's book, Power of Art, would make a good group read.After Monica posted the DVD, I borrowed the book from the library. Although it's 440 pages, it's divided into 8 chapters by artists (Caravaggio, Bernini, Rembrandt, David, Turner, Van Gogh, Picasso & Rothko), subtract the full page color plates and it's about 40-45 pages per chapter.
Just an idea . .
Carol wrote: "FYI --I think Simon Schama's book, Power of Art, would make a good group read.After Monica posted the DVD, I borrowed the book from the library. Although it's 440 pages, it's divided into 8 chapt..."
Not a bad suggestion. I saw a little of the series on PBS, I have been meaning to read that book. It's in our libary.
Because of recent activity in Pakistan I started reading Howard Zinn -better late than never- but I may try to read two books at once to participate.
Maybe fall is a better time to read it as a group since most people are outside enjoying the beautiful weather?
If anyone's still out there and wants to group/buddy read ... Renewed my local library card today, and brought home the following:
Time Life Books - World of Vermeer 1632-1675
Time Life Books - World of Bernini 1598-1680
Frida Kahlo The Paintings by Hayden Herrera
Speed Sketching by William T. Lent
I already have, from the university library, The Persistence of Craft, edited by Paul Greenhalgh.
I am debating on buying the book Creative Artist by Nita Leland - found it at a bookstore sale, but I have also gotten it at the university library.
My Great Uncle Andy (Mom's Uncle) had fantastic drawing/art talent, and my Grandfather (Mom's Dad) was good at drawing as well. After reading some of The Priceless Gift (Cornelius Hirschberg - one of my most favorite books)- and Julia Cameron's Artist Way, and some posts on the latter's Yahoogroups, I think that maybe learning to draw will help me with imagery and my writing.
Sadly, my knowledge of art is pretty much nil. I was/am more of a reading/writing/singing person, never into sports and art got shoved out of the way.
Anyone interested in reading/working through any of these? The local books have to be back in 2 weeks, the university I can keep for a month and renew twice, if necessary.
I don't want to lead a formal discussion; I am painfully behind on one in another group that I am supposed to be heading up. But I would like to hear/see what others think.
Thanks
Theresa
I've read the top three on your list. I'd be more than happy to discuss.
Thanks Ed - and hi :). Is there one in particular that you'd like to discuss first?
Since the rest of this thread is so old, I'm going to contact Heather and see if this discussion can be moved to a new thread, to make it more visible.
Theresa
Ed wrote: "I've read the top three on your list. I'd be more than happy to discuss."
Art Lovers
Books mentioned in this topic
Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling (other topics)The Judgment of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade That Gave the World Impressionism (other topics)
American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America (other topics)
The Story of Art (other topics)
Still Life with Oysters and Lemon: On Objects and Intimacy (other topics)
More...
The Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre: A Novel
by Dominic Smith
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12...
Don't know if I could find the time to do something as big as The Story Of Art, but I'd give it a shot