From one thing to another

[Ice, Pilgrim]

Is it me or is there a dearth of new ideas ? I am reading a new author Mark Charan Newton whose books seem to be a mash up of other stories from the genre.

[Magdelanye, Senior Flight Attendant]

gee, that's disappointing!
not that ive heard of him before, but I just looked him up, and he has such great credentials. The series sounds exciting. I will have to investigate.

you may like Miss Peregrines home for peculiar children... its delightful.

[Magdelanye, Senior Flight Attendant]

just now, before settling in for my morning reading, I peeked into GR and noted that the cover of a book being discussed, by gaslight, is a reproduction of a painting featured in the mindfulness book I begin each day with. in effect, the picture I meditated on this morning, appeared again an hour later. in the meantime, having finished my first Jess Walters, a book of his short stories, I pulled off my library shelf a big book by Nick Hornby, Ten Years in the Tub, nonfiction, about reading. Lo and behold, the intro was by Jess walters! thats two synchronicities before breakfast!

[Magdelanye, Senior Flight Attendant]

Today I had to return a set of books to the library that were such a part of my life over the last month that I hated to give them up, especially The Bad-ads Librarians of Timbuktu and Age of Anger. Those books really complemented each other.
Hard reading but crucial.

[Magdelanye, Senior Flight Attendant]

lol ! I guess spellchecker didn't like Bad-Ass!

[Magdelanye, Senior Flight Attendant]

stumbling just now on this group i have to admit that even though I never heard the term before, i am one.
yup, the hardy boys started it, but i had more luck with Enid Blytons Adventure series before tackling Dickens which may have been a poor choice for my age at the time.
I also attempted to read all of Iris Murdoch, Doris Lessing and Isak Denison and Byatt. One or two reserved for later.
As for Virginia, after the novels, journals and essays i found myself still wanting more, and so i read her friends books and her husbands journals....
All of Dostoevsky came next i believe, and a few years later it was Foucault which i have a couple more to explore.
Marge Piercey and Audre Lorde, essays poetry and fiction
More recently i have read all the J Cortazar i can find, have one left.
Thats not even getting into science fiction.
It took years to collect but
i finally got to read the entire MZB Darkover series and everything by China Mieville.
This year i discovered Dara Horn and Elif Shafak and am almost caught up with their many great titles.
all this is off the top of my head but a fun way to pass an awkward pre dawn hour

[Magdelanye, Senior Flight Attendant]

the above comment was inspired by a group i just discovered but found one needs to be a member to comment so i copied it here for us to play with...that is the idea of completing all of an authors published work.
its true i have been far more intent on reading for my own edification than to meet any goal, but i do get these crushes and compulsions. This is by no means a complete list. Richard Wagamese Louise Erdrich and Thomas King belong there with only one of each of those 3 held back for later. James Baldwin another early favorite and also Herman Hesse.
anybody else on flight paths relating?

[Magdelanye, Senior Flight Attendant]

maybe not, but i dont think that any of us are getting notifications for this group, so Ill put it out again because i do think that most of you do something like this already

[Petra]

I do have favorite authors whose complete works I'd like to read. However, I don't find myself binge reading them but instead read a book here and there.

I've read 2 books by Virginia Woolf and loved them both. Same goes for William Faulkner. I've only read one book by Joyce but consider him a favorite, too. No one was more surprised than me that I liked stream of consciousness writing. It's one of the big surprises of my reading life.

Other favorite authors that I love delving into are:
Charles Dickens
Robertson Davies
Neil Gaiman
Christopher Moore
Louise Penny (not sure if she counts since she's only writing one series)

I'm sure there are more but only those are coming to mind right now.

One of my big goals (at which I'm failing at) is to read the books I own at home. I've collected a number over the years by finding used cheap copies, attending book sales, etc that I haven't gotten around to reading. They are taking up all my bookshelf space so that I feel guilty buying more books (yet I still do) when I'm not reading the ones I have.

[Magdelanye, Senior Flight Attendant]

O Petra i love how you put that "one of the big surprises of my reading life". And wouldnt that be a great title for a collection My reading life.
it has such marvelous connotations.
My method is quite the opposite than your carefull selecting. when i am galvanized by an author i tend to dive in, immerse myself in their work. With Virginia after the epiphany of The waves, i spent the next couple of years reading everything she wrote starting with her fiction, in the order she wrote them. Next her diaries, then the essays and then: Leonards diaries and her friends diaries and literary works and biographies of course.
Still, as close as that brought me, I failed from being able to stop her from putting those stones in her pockets and wading away from the world.

[Petra]

I loved, loved, loved The Waves. I don't think it will get better than that. It was my first read of Virginia Woolf.
Yes, I think of her and those rocks, too, whenever I read her brilliant works. How sad that she suffered so.

[Magdelanye, Senior Flight Attendant]

I was sure that we had a thread on the process of deciding on the next book but this will do.
What to read after a masterpiece like On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong which Ellie loved so much she wrote two reviews!
So after a long deliberation among my library books, I am reading Sara Stridsberg Valerie: or, The Faculty of Dreams and viola! quite a masterpiece, a very good choice.

Hope this will be found by those who may be interested!

[Magdelanye, Senior Flight Attendant]

I just read through this thread because I was considering adding a comment. After I got over my dismay that one of our most esteemed members who we lost when she dropped out of GR and deleted her comments so it looks like I am posting off the wall, I came to Ellies hilarious statement and I just cracked up. I do find it amusing to read some of these old threads.

My announcement: I found a place-actually it found me and I have grabbed it. It's in Roberts Creek and I will be sad to leave my treehouse despite it's challenges, but I will have a real kitchen and room to cook, and a bathtub, and the grounds are wonderful with gardens. Just so tired of the landlord who plans on staying here till the place is sold. Petra, I planned such a lovely walk for us, I totally visualized you up here but I can bring my collection with me for your inspection.
The biggest bonus, I get my stuff out of storage. My library!
I'm still in shock but at least I'm not in limbo

[Petra]

I'm so happy you found a place, Magdelanye! …….but Robert's Creek??!!! That is (I think) 2 ferry rides away!! We're going to have to find a way of making it happen somehow, perhaps next Spring when Covid & travelling settles down.

I do want to make it happen, if possible.

I think it's great that you'll be surrounded by your things again. No more storage! LOL.

[Magdelanye, Senior Flight Attendant]

roberts creek is actually closer to van.
Its where I lived before
you would be fine on the ferry, especially in a car.
Its true I am still a bit nervous about it, but there are lots of people coming to visit. I think people have do do what they feel comfortable doing. Like my neighbour just really wanted to be tested, She tested negative thankfully but it was her fear that tormented her into taking it,,

[Megan]

Hi Magdelanye,

That's great news!! How lovely to have your library back. :)

[Magdelanye, Senior Flight Attendant]

thanks Megan
it will a lot of work but so satisfying

[Blixa]

Finished reading Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett today. Felt far more like a Pratchett book than anything Gaiman's written; the footnotes and comedic sensibilities were straight out of Discworld. The villains were very Gaiman, though, because they're the sort of villains who revel in evil and the misery of others. Quite enjoyed it on the whole, and I'd also happily recommend the Amazon miniseries, it's a rather faithful adaptation.

[Ellen]

Malcolm wrote: "Finished reading Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett today. Felt far more like a Pratchett book than anything Gaiman's written; the footnotes and comedic sensibilities were straight out o..."

I've been wondering about reading and watching this one. Thanks! And good to hear from you. :)

[Petra]

I'm currently watching the mini series of Good Omens. It's quite funny and we're enjoying it.

[Magdelanye, Senior Flight Attendant]

gee, I still havent seen that Petra
I am posting this observation here because its not exactly whine and cheese nor synchronicity, but something in between.
I mean, who would figure picking up a new book written a decade apart by very different authors, that it would be a version of the last? This really shades my reading.
Actually, I was amazed at how much I love The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker, considering how much I disliked the other two I read by him. Ellie, you might know of this one because of the poetic theme.

I would have waited to start Red Pill by Hari Kunzru as soon as I realized what it was about but its due on Saturday.
It also is actually very good.