Currently reading anything by a British writer? Showing 201-250 of 1,160

[Carol]

hmmm sorry, bear with me while I practice. Shadowlands I put the forward slash, this is my last try. I see what happened, I forgot the i.

[Rosemarie]

I have finished reading Great Morning by Osbert Sitwell. It is the third part of,his autobiography and ends in August 1914. He is 21 years old. It described an end of an era. I am going to read an Agatha Christie next--The Secret Adversary, which I read decades ago.
I really enjoy 20th century British writers. Do any of you like H.E. Bates (especially his memoirs)? I also like the non-fiction of V.S. Pritchett and the novels of Howard Spring for a relaxing read.

[Carol]

I do not know H E Bates, but I love E F Benson. (at first I thought that is who you meant, so I looked the name up to be sure) I have read the Lucia books several times. I love the humor. And although these books were written in the 20's I think, they are totally relevant characterizations of people I know today.

[Rosemarie]

H.E Bates has many novels in rural settings. I grew up in a small town, so can relate to his bucolic humor. Some of his novels have more serious themes. One of my favourite novels is Fair Stood the Wind for France, a bittersweet love story set during the war.(I think WWI?).

[Carol]

I just talked about H E Bates on another thread. I hope you got it. I am finding Goodreads confusing, just like Wordpress. Each computer program seems to be so different, with varying rules. Also I have two email addresses, and I am getting messages at different ones. At any rate, I found out I just love H E Bates. Thanks for mentioning him.

[Werner]

Rosemarie and Carol, don't forget to add the H. E. Bates books you've read to our group bookshelf, if you haven't done that already!

[Rosemarie]

I found your comment on the other thread also. My Ipad has a message/update board. I got it for my birthday in October and am still finding new things it can do. My younger daughter told me about Goodreads at Christmas and I love it.

[Rosemarie]

Werner, how do I access the group bookshelf? Over the course of 40 years I have read more than 5000 books. And yes, I also worked, raised two daughters and had fun.

[Carol]

Yes, Werner, I have the same question.

[Werner]

Ladies, good question! At the top of this page (or any other page connected to this group), on your right side as you face the screen, you'll see the group's logo and name. Right below it are a number of links. "Bookshelf" is the second one. When you click on it and go to the bookshelf, that page has an "add books" feature (with a search function) at the top; it's very user-friendly to use.

This is a standard lay-out for all Goodreads groups, so it will be the same in any other groups you belong to. Hope that helps!

[Mike (the Paladin)]

I'm reading The Quick. I don't often stop and ask where the writer is from, LOL. But Lauren Owen is English.

[Rosemarie]

Hi, Werner. I have the Goodreads app on my Ipad so the logo is not there. Eventually I will figure it out, but I would appreciate any suggestions. There is no hurry. Thanks.

[Carol]

Rosemarie, I have discovered that things work very differently on the iPad than on my laptop. For example, I wanted to play a meditative Taize music piece (Ubi Caritas) over and over to go to sleep. Apple changed their lay-out, and I could not do "repeat song" on the iPad but I could do it on the laptop. Carol

[Rosemarie]

Thanks, Carol.

Has anyone read anything by Kate Atkinson? Her first novel is Behind the Scenes at the Museum.

[Carol]

Werner, I found the "bookshelf". Is this the place we put only books we have read by British authors? Is it only for current books we are reading, or for past favorites we would like to note. I also found with the general Goodreads site a place to put any of the books I ordered from Amazon and rate them. I often forget what I have read, and I see how it would be nice to have a list of old favorites. For example, when I saw the title The Dark Horse I was happy to remember reading it, and had totally forgotten about it.

[Werner]

Carol, glad you found the bookshelf! Rosemarie, sorry I can't help you with iPad navigation; I don't own one! But maybe someone else in the group can help...?

Carol, different groups use their bookshelves in different ways. (In some, only the moderators can add books, but we've never had that restriction.) Here, it's for any book you've read in the past by a British author, and that you think is worth bringing to the notice of other readers. It's sort of a bibliography of what group members have read (within the group's focus).

Like most Goodreads groups, we use the "Currently Reading" shelf ONLY for books we're currently reading together as a group common read (and the Goodreads program is set up to treat books on that shelf in that way). So don't list the books you're currently reading there (wait until you finish, and then add them to the "Read" shelf, which is the default). Hope that helps!

[Carol]

Rosemarie, I will try to look for the bookshelf on my iPad.
Werner, thank you for this information. I really like Barbara Pym, should I put the title of my favorite book of hers?
I got an email from Goodreads for a science fiction book. Is this someone in our group? I used to read a lot of sci fi in the past and was thinking it might be interesting to try again. ( So many books, and so little time.)

[Werner]

Yes, Carol, you can definitely list any Barbara Pym book(s) that you've read, if you want to.

To answer your question about whether the author of the sci-fi book is in our group, I'll need to know his/her name, or the book title. :-) You can also check this yourself by scrolling down (waay down) on the group's home page, where there's a list of members.

[Carol]

Right now I am with my iPad so cannot type too well. But I am exploring goodreads, and, let me tell you, it is completely different on this iPad than it is on my computer at home. Rosemarie, I cannot find the bookshelf at all! I installed the Goodreads app. Then I went to "more" and I found groups and then "fans of British writers". I really wanted to list "The Third Man ". By Graham Greene. I just finished it and I think thus book is amazing.

[Rosemarie]

Thanks for trying. I will manage without the list. What I enjoy learning about is what the group members are reading now or have just read recently. And yes, typing is a challenge! I have not read The Third Man, but I have seen the movie. Would you say that the book is better than the movie?

[Carol]

Actually, I listened to it on audible. I highly reccomed you to listen to it! But I had to listen to the first part several times to get the characters straight.

Reading would be a bit different than listening.

[Werner]

Carol, I added the Third Man to the group bookshelf just now.

[Rosemarie]

I have started reading two more British books in addition to the Christie.
The first is Undertones of War by Edmund Blunden.
The second is a light read by Lillian Beckwith, one of her books about the Hebrides. This one is called Bruach Blend.
Am also reading A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy for the classics book group.

[Carol]

I was so impressed with The Third Man, I started listening to Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana!! So far, fantastic.

The sci fi author is named Paul Clayton, but I do not remember how I got on his list. Here is the email I got:

Blog posts by Paul Clayton

"Strange Worlds"... Freebie Day!

Published on February 16, 2016 12:27 | 0 comments

[Carol]

Rosemarie, I would be interested in A Pair of Blue Eyes . I have read many Thomas Hardy books, but not that one. I especially likedThe Return of the Native However, I read it many years ago and forget what part impressed me so much. I would have to look at a synopsis and it would probably come back to me. Of course, a person has to be feeling emotionally quite strong to be able to take many of Thomas Hardy's books!! I recall reading one that was much lighter and did not have a catastrophic ending.

[Werner]

Carol wrote: "I recall reading one that was much lighter and did not have a catastrophic ending." Carol, would that one have been Far from the Madding Crowd? Personally, that's my favorite Hardy novel.

[Carol]

Yes, it may have been that one, also there was one that was not as well written but called Two on a Tower Like I said, I should go to the Thomas Hardy page on Goodreads to familiarize myself again. I even read two different biographies of Hardy. I see them on my bookshelf. I can only remember two things: #1 he suffered from an unhappy marriage. #2 He was so angry by the reviews of Jude the Obscure that he ever wrote another novel, but went on to poetry. Oh, just remembered a third fact: as a child, he took very long country walks to get to school every day, and the reviewer thought it was a factor in his ability to write such detailed descriptions, so that the reader really feels like he or she is right there.

[Rosemarie]

I reread Return of the Native last summer and thoroughly enjoyed it--despite its catastrophic ending. I have always been a big Hardy fan. The only major novel I have yet to read is Jude the Obscure. My favourite is The Woodlanders, which is very moving, but also very sad. A Pair of Blue Eyes is not a heavy read, although fairly long. His writing style is much better than in Two on a Tower. For a very early Hardy, there is the novel Desperate Remedies.

[Werner]

I've read all five of his major novels (though so far I've only ever reviewed one, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, here on Goodreads), as well as the short story collection Wessex Tales. Personally, I like him as a writer, and officially include him as a "favorite;" but I'm not nearly as fascinated with him as one of my friends, who's a retired literature professor, and rates him as his absolutely TOP favorite fiction author.

[Carol]

Yes, Werner and Rosemarie, a person can just become fascinated. That happened to me with Thomas Hardy. I put most of Hardy's books on my iPad to re-read because they are free now with the Gutenberg project (I think it is called.) I have read most of his books twice. As far as British authors go, I really love P.G. Wodehouse, and I own almost all of his books. I was utterly fascinated with him for awhile. I guess now I am on to Graham Greene. ha ha

[Rosemarie]

A very interesting book by Graham Greene is calle: It's a Battlefield.

[Rosemarie]

Please excuse the typo, it should have been called.

[Werner]

Rosemarie, here's a tip: if you discover that you made a typo in a comment, there's a little "edit" link underneath each of your comments that you can click on to fix it. (I discovered that function early on, since I make a LOT of typos myself, even if I proofread!)

The only novel by Greene that I've read is The Heart of the Matter, which I liked, though I haven't reviewed it. But I've never read anything by Wodehouse; though I've had him recommended to me (and I think I have one of his books on my "to read" or my "maybe" shelf).

[Rosemarie]

PBS did a wonderful series of Jeeves and Wooster quite a few years ago, starring Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry. They are really funny. The casting was perfect.

[Werner]

Rosemarie, I'll have to keep an eye out for that series if they ever rerun it (provided I actually have the free time to watch it!).

[Carol]

Jeeves and Wooster are on DVD, you can get them from the library. The humor is very, very British and very, very silly. I became entranced with the series about 20 years ago, and that is why I bought my first Wodehouse book. His writing is totally amazing, his use of metaphor and simile, and the stories are simply hilarious. Every now and then, if I am feeling down, I pick up a Wodehouse, and my mood changes. One of my favorites is not even a Jeeves, it is called Pigs Have Wings

[Werner]

Thanks for the tip about the DVD, Carol!

[Rosemarie]

After finishing a Thomas Hardy novel, I need to read something short. So I am reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for the fourth time. I am also reading The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, noting all the classics mention and planning to read them all, over an extended period of time. I'm only two chapters in and have already come to one I haven't read-- Martin Chuzzlewit by Dickens.

Regarding all things British, two of my favourite comedy series are Keeping Up Appearances and The Vicar of Dibley.

[Carol]

Rosemarie, Yes, I really like to re-read certain books. I probably have read the Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe four times too!! Right now I am re-reading Kim by Rudyard Kipling.

[Werner]

Both The Eyre Affair and Kim are on my to-read shelf. Ladies, I'll be interested in your reviews!

[Carol]

Have to tell you, I do not care for The Human Factor<?i> by Graham Greene, and so I think I will stop reading. All these authors that are great and British, well, they do have some flops!! It may be good and I need to continue, but my M.O. is to stop reading at a certain point. I mean, there are so many other great books!! (someone let me know if you read it and I should persevere)

[Carol]

I see I did the html incorrectly.

[Barbara]

Rosemarie wrote: "H.E Bates has many novels in rural settings. I grew up in a small town, so can relate to his bucolic humor. Some of his novels have more serious themes. One of my favourite novels is Fair Stood the..."

Oh yay! somebody else reads and loves HE Bates (and his Flying Officer X stories too, Fair Stood The Winds For France is just so wonderful)
Have you read The Distant Horns of Summer? Beautiful .

I have always likened HE Bates to Hardy , the beauty and a touch of savagery of the countryside ..........

[Rosemarie]

Carol, what is The Human Factor about? I don't know that one. I used to make myself finish everu book I started,but not any more. Sometimes people praise a book and I agree. At other times my opinion differs from everyone else's! I ask myself, will the effort be worth it?
There are two books which I started, and was in a quandary whether to coninue reading.
The first one was Blindness by Saramago. I put it aside for awhile. My son-in-law told me it was reading, and he was right. It was a difficult read due to the grim content but totally worth it.
In the second case, I didn't finish the book. I did peak at the ending and my guesses were correct. It was A Thousand Splendid Suns by Hosseini. I enjoyed The Kite Runner, but this one not at all.

[Rosemarie]

Barbara, yes I have read most of H.E. Bates' books, including The Distant Horns of Summer. It is time to read some of them again. His autobiographies, The Blossomimg World, The World in Ripeness and The Vanishing World are a delight.

[Carol]

Rosemarie, This synopsis is from Amazon, so I may go back to The Human Factor I just had a hard time getting into it, whereas Our Man in Havanahas me totally intrigued. Evidently, Graham Greene himself worked for the secret service.
"The Human Factor is an exciting novel of espionage drawn from Greene’s own experiences in MI6 during World War II, and ultimately a deeply humanistic examination of the very nature of loyalty."

[Werner]

Yes, Greene definitely worked for British intelligence during the Second World War. He draws on that experience in other novels as well, such as The Heart of the Matter, where one character is an M16 agent.

[Rosemarie]

I have just finished reading Undertones of War by Edmund Blunden. Blunden is known primarily as a poet. This book describes his personal experiences in the trenches of Flanders in WWI. He took part in the battle at Ypres. He only tells us what he experienced himself or witnessed first hand. His experiences speak for themselves.

[Barbara]

Rosemarie wrote: "Barbara, yes I have read most of H.E. Bates' books, including The Distant Horns of Summer. It is time to read some of them again. His autobiographies, The Blossomimg World, The World in Ripeness an..."

Me too, I think I'll start a re-read tonight. Pity my HEB paperbacks are of the old tiny font yellowed pages version , so hard to read even with reading specs !
And I don't possess any of his autobiographical works tho I think I have read at least one . Thank you for reminding me of their existence Rosemarie, I must go on an online hunt.

[Rosemarie]

I have just finished Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, I'm reading The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde and Villette by Charlotte Bronte.