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Currently reading anything by a British writer?
message 901:
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Rosemarie
(new)
Nov 10, 2019 10:55AM
I'm reading The War Poems by Siegfried Sassoon.
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Pam, I really enjoyed Vanity Fair.I am reading The End of the Affair by Graham Greene and am enjoying it less than his other books I have read. He has successfully created a very unpleasant main character-so unpleasant that I don't care what happens to him, but I will keep reading.
Apropos of the season, I've just started on an Agatha Christie mystery,
Hercule Poirot's Christmas (1938). It's a common read (multi-person buddy read) this month in another group, and given its date, fits into a thread dealing with classic Christmas writings in another, classic-themed group. But despite the Christmas connection, this isn't the sort of read that's apt to be adapted as a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie anytime soon.... :-)
I will be reading that book soon, Werner. Right now I am reading The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay.
I am still reading British mysteries. I finished two by Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot's Christmas and The Body in the Library. I am currently reading Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon.But the best mystery so far in December is The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay.
One month later, and I’m only half-way through Vanity Fair! I started watching the movie which stars Reese Witherspoon. It’s not very good, in my opinion. I don’t picture Becky looking like Reese. They condensed ~300 pages to 15 minutes! There’s too much left out of the movie. It might have been better as a mini-series. I’m still on a mission to finish the book by Dec 31st midnight! 😀
The action in Vanity Fair really picks up near the end.I like Reese Witherspoon but I cannot picture her as Becky Sharp. What were they thinking?
IMO, any serious attempt to dramatize Vanity Fair should definitely be as a miniseries. It wouldn't really be possible to do it justice with anything less.For me, Reese Witherspoon wouldn't be my first choice to portray Becky Sharp, either (though, to be fair, I've only seen her in Legally Blonde and its sequel). Of course, some actors and actresses have the ability to play roles well outside their "type," but it remains to be seen whether or not she does.
Recently I enjoyed watching Glenda Jackson playing the role of Maud, an old woman suffering from dementia in Elizabeth Is Missing on BBC One, so I decided to read the novel on which the drama was based. Elizabeth Is Missing by Emma Healey is a well written, absorbing novel, well worth reading.Elizabeth Is Missing
I have just finished reading The Notting Hill Mystery by Charles Warren Adams, first published in book form in 1865. It was an intriguing read, creepy at times.
For January, several members of our group are going to read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's historical novel of the Hundred Years War,
The White Company together, and I'm joining in. Since Jan. 1 is tomorrow (and it usually takes me longer than most people to finish a book), I've started it already. I count Doyle as a favorite author, so I'm excited about this one! For me, it will also finish up some "unfinished business" --I started reading it from the school library near the end of my last year of junior high school. But after I graduated, my plans to get another copy and continue the read fell through; as I recall, the public library didn't have it, and in those days I don't think I'd even ever heard of interlibrary loans (and would have been too timid to request one even if I had). So this will tie up a long-neglected "loose end." :-)
Better late than never!I didn't realize that Doyle wrote other works than Sherlock Holmes until I joined goodreads in 2016.
Rosemarie wrote: "Better late than never!I didn't realize that Doyle wrote other works than Sherlock Holmes until I joined goodreads in 2016."
The Holmes canon made his fame and fortune as a writer, but he regarded his historical fiction as his best and "serious" writing. He also wrote science fiction novels and stories, supernatural fiction, and nonfiction.
Rosemarie wrote: "I really enjoyed The Lost World."I liked that one too, Rosemarie.
I finally finished Vanity Fair, squeaking it in for the end of 2019!
I am now reading Paradise Lost by John Milton! Such a memorable reading it has been for me, so far
I read Paradise Lost a long time ago and it is time for a re-read, for sure.Milton's poetry is impresive.
I have just started Swan Song by Edmund Crispin, another book in the Gervase Fen detective series. They are a lot of fun and well written.
Rita wrote: "I have just started listening to American Gods 
by Neil Gaiman"How do you like it? My kids and I listened to all of his children books and loved them, but I never sampled his writings for adults.
Rita, I really liked Midnight Riot and plan to read more of his work. I hope you like it. Sorry The White Company was a bust for you. I’m only about 8-9 chapters in on that one.
Rose Marie, Congratulations! I was supposed to read Paradise Lost at university, but never finished it. Now it’s on my list of books I NEED to read. It’s getting around to the wanting I’m struggling with. Did you enjoy it? I’m worried that there will to many allusions to things I’m ignorant of. I might try listening and reading at the same time. I found that helped with Shakespeare. If not too personal, what was your motivation for reading it?
Erivaldo, are you studying the classics?
I read Paradise Lost over 30 years ago, so it really is time for a reread. I love poetry so I do hope to make time to read it this year.As to why I read it--I love poetry.
Rosemarie, a love of poetry is an excellent reason. I should give it a chance again purely because I love words and what is poetry but the celebration of the word used to convey ideas and emotions. Rita, so glad you’re enjoying Midnight Riot! I thought it was a kick as well. Without checking, I’m not sure if I’ve read the second book in the series, but if not it’s definitely on my to be read list.
Sarah wrote: "Erivaldo, are you studying the classics?"I am reading Paradise Lost now. I am not only passing through the pages with my eyes, but really reading it - to the fullest sense of this verb. I am reading this work with my Collins' edition thereof and a 19th century copy of it with copious notes which I got on the Internet Archive. Afterwards, I am plaining to read The Odyssey and then Aeneid - or even the Iliad. I also plan to re-read The Lusiads ( or Os Lusíadas, in portuguese. It is an epic poem like The Odyssey published in the 16th century; it tells about the voyage of the Portuguese fleet led by Vasco da Gama who found the -sea-route to India ). I have no specific course of reading classics now. These are just books that I have decided to read :)
Rosemarie wrote: "I read Paradise Lost a long time ago and it is time for a re-read, for sure.Milton's poetry is impresive."
Nice! I am reading Paradise Lost and Milton's paraphrases of the Psalms
I want to read The Lusiads some time in the future. I know it's not a British book, but it is an important book.I read The Faerie Queene years ago, and also Canterbury Tales.
I'm taking part this month in a common read of
The Ghost of Thomas Kempe by Penelope Lively in another group.
Thank you Werner for the suggestion. I need a ghost story, something I rarely read, for a challenge so I’ve added this book to my 2020 TBR. Hope it’s good! I’ve only read one book by Penelope Lively.
Hope it's good too, Pam! (I'm enjoying it so far.)
I'm reading The Toys of Peace and Other Papers by Saki and am almost finished Life's Little Ironies by Thomas Hardy. Both are books of short stories. I have just started The Big Bow Mystery by Israel Zangwill.
Erivaldo wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Erivaldo, are you studying the classics?"I am reading Paradise Lost now. I am not only passing through the pages with my eyes, but really reading it - to the fullest sense of this v..."
The classics are classic for a reason. They're epic stories that touch all who read them and are timeless. It sounds like you're really studying the works. Everyone can find some value reading them and the more you read them, the more you get out of them. I admire your devotion to really study them. I hope to have the same drive one day.
Sarah wrote: "Erivaldo wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Erivaldo, are you studying the classics?"I am reading Paradise Lost now. I am not only passing through the pages with my eyes, but really reading it - to the fulles..."
Thank you, Sarah :)
I finally started reading American Gods.
Rita wrote: "I just finished listening to the full cast production of the Tenth Anniversary Edition of American Gods by Neil Gaimanhttps://w..."
That's what I am listening to now.
Rita wrote: "Oksana wrote: "Rita wrote: "I just finished listening to the full cast production of the Tenth Anniversary Edition of American Gods by [author:Nei..."I am taking it slowly (Shadow has just left the funeral home,) but it is because his writing is not my cup of tea. I am distracted by reading The Overstory and The Rules of Civility. I find the language of these two books more appealing to me than the writing of American Gods.
Rita wrote: "I have The Overstory on my to-read list. I read Rules of Civility and found it kind of boring."I decided to read The Rules of Civility after listening to A Gentleman in Moscow. I loved this book.
I finished a non-fiction on mental illness, “Reasons to Stay Alive” by Matt Haig. Working my way through “Middle England” by Jonathan Coe. I don’t like it as much as “The Rotter’s Club”. (I skipped the 2nd book in the series since it wasn’t available.) Maybe it’s too contemporary for me? It’s ok, though, and is getting better as I go. I’m interested in the upcoming Brexit section since I don’t really understand the issues.
I'm reading The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie and The Pursuit of the Well-Beloved by Thomas Hardy.
I'm reading The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope. It's a long one.
In one of my other groups, a common read of
The Casebook of Carnacki the Ghost Finder by William Hope Hodgson starts today, and I'm joining in that. (Some editions use the shortened title Carnacki, the Ghost Finder, but it's the same book.) Since I've long considered this one to be a must-read, I'm excited to have finally started it! (Although, as a long-ago appetizer for the main course, I read one of the stories, "The Whistling Room," in an anthology back when I was a kid.)
I am reading that one too, Werner. I read the first story yesterday and it was good and creepy!
Rosemarie wrote: "I'm reading The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope. It's a long one."Rosemarie, I have that one on my list. I look forward to reading your review of it. My 1st intro to Trollope was Can You Forgive Her?
. I loved it! I hope you enjoy The Way We Live.And the question for me should be "What books on your CR list are NOT by a British author?" LOL. Of the 10, only 4 are NOT by British authors.
The Way We Live Now was a very worthwhile and entertaining read. I highly recommend it. I think it is one of his best books, and I have read 12 others so far.
Rosemarie wrote: "I am reading that one too, Werner. I read the first story yesterday and it was good and creepy!"I started the first one yesterday, but haven't finished it yet. :-)
Rosemarie wrote: "The Way We Live Now was a very worthwhile and entertaining read. I highly recommend it. I think it is one of his best books, and I have read 12 others so far."Wow! That's high praise indeed. I just checked my 'owned books' list and realize that I purchased this book
in January. I will start on it soon.
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