Fans of Norah Lofts discussion
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Books For Potential Group Discussion Archived 2019
I'm in on Bless this House - any time, any where, lol! Sorry for my long silence, I've been captivated by Edna Ferber but always ready to come home to NL.
Right then chaps , it looks like Bless This House with it's wonderful story and characters and moral ambiguities is a goer as we/they say here in Australia. So, now remains the questions
When shall we start?
Who shall moderate it?
I don't want to muddy the waters here but we should start something right away while everybody's interested. Either start Bless This House or pick something short, like "Hauntings" for October and then BTH in December.
Peggy, my vote would be for doing Bless This House in December; and I'll commit to taking part if we do it then. I'll be doing a common read in another group in October, but if others in this group want to read Hauntings at that time, I think it sounds like an excellent choice for the spooky season!
I have no preference for the order, but it would be great to have Werner's input in December, and back in July we were talking about doing a group discussion of Hauntings at some point. There are 12 stories in Hauntings (Is There Anybody There?). We could cover 3 stories a week in October to keep us in the mood for spook night!
December sounds fine to me . I don't want to moderate Hauntings, but if no-one else wants to do BTH I will. I'll take part in Hauntings whenever it's on.
I'll participate in BTH in December, but not the Oct. topic of hauntings.
Glad you'll be joining us in Dec. Donna. It occurs to me that we might need to comment on the nature of NL's book of short stories that she titled "Hauntings." I don't recall any of these stories being gruesome, or the type that might keep a sensitive person awake at night. Some of these stories are gentle, subtle, and just have an unusual twist, such as the traveler who took a country road and stopped at a hotel for the night, but later discovered that it hadn't been there for many years. I just wanted to say this in case anyone avoids ghosts, goblins, witches, etc. I don't think this particular collection deals with them at all. Maybe we should mark our October read as our Harvest Horkey. Isn't "horkey" what the farmers called their harvest celebration in "To See a Fine Lady"? The word isn't in the OED.
Good points Syb.
Thanks for the clarification, Sylvia. It's not the topic but the timing that is a conflict for me. I won't have time in Oct. to read this book for the 1st time because of other commitments.
Sylvia, I haven't read To See a Fine Lady, but "Harvest Horkey" is the term the countryfolk use in Afternoon of an Autocrat. I think it'd be a cute designation for an October common read! :-)
Thanks, Donna and Werner. I'm glad I remembered the term "horkey" at all. I wonder if the term "hokey" is a derivative? Maybe they danced the Hokey Pokey at the horkey! I'm getting silly, and it isn't even midnight. Let's see if we remember the term by next October, 2014!
Hi all are we reading bless this house in October?
No, I believe 'hokey' as in 'hokey pokey' is a corruption of 'hocus pocus', which in turn derives from a blasphemous parody on Latin words from the Mass 'Hoc est corpus'. It came in at the Reformation as a way of mocking Catholic beliefs that Protestants didn't share.I know the name of the party dance as 'hokey cokey'!
Very interesting, Jenny! The history and changes in words is fascinating. Hokey Pokey was my favorite song & dance as a child. We only had 5 records, and that was one of them!Tammy, I think we are awaiting poll results as to which book we are discussing in October.
I just checked the poll results; the voting closed on the stroke of midnight, Sept. 21, and the results are a tie, with two votes for reading BTH in October and 2 for reading it December. :-( Are there any plans for doing a run-off poll (which would be a little late for an October read, IMO!), or will we come to a decision some other way?
I'm not sure that I used the poll to indicate my preference. I instead posted a comment or reply saying that I'd prefer December.
So, shall we mark our calendars for December?
I guess I didn't respond to the poll. I still get confused what messages I a replying too ! I finished reading BTH a few weeks ago. So I guess it doesn't matter, but if more people can participate in December then I vote December.
I'm noting a Dec. discussion of BTH in my calendar. Since this will be my initial participation in an online group reading discussion, I welcome guidance re: how they're conducted and expectations of participants.
Donna, it is wonderful to have you joining in. I am waiting for a more knowledgeable member to give some guidelines, but I will "jump right in" and tell you that we just begin at the beginning of the book and post comments about whatever strikes us as important or interesting. Sometimes we have little debates about points, or someone gives some historical background. It is appreciated when we occasionally say where we are in our reading so that we move along together. Barbara has agreed to moderate the BTH discussion, so she will begin it. Hope this helps.
Sylvia wrote: "Donna, it is wonderful to have you joining in. I am waiting for a more knowledgeable member to give some guidelines, but I will "jump right in" and tell you that we just begin at the beginning of ..."Thanks, so much Sylvia.
Hi All, I am now a bit confused as to when we really want to do a group read of BTH. I can't find the comment this minute but somewhere Janice says she will be reading something else by December ( don't know if this means you can/will do BTH then or not Janice? ) If there are even three or four of us who do want to do it now, rather than have it peter out, shall we? It need not be a terribly lengthy or formal read.
I hate to do this to you, Barbara, but I will be happy to read BTH now or in December. I guess if we start now, we could take our time, and the December readers can join in and have their say later? Of course IMO we can always add our thoughts, even to old threads and discussions, since we all reread NL's books so many times and catch new thoughts.
If I don't read it along with the rest of you, that's no problem. I do plan to reread it later, so as Sylvia noted, the thread will still be here and I can post on it then.
Werner wrote: "If I don't read it along with the rest of you, that's no problem. I do plan to reread it later, so as Sylvia noted, the thread will still be here and I can post on it then."I echo Werner.
No problems everybody. Yes, let's start now and be leisurely as we like. I for one quite like it when some comment comes in ages after and makes me think again.I'll go and open the folder now.
Barbara, I hope you don't mind, I moved your thread to the Bless This House Folder; it is the very first thread. The system wouldn't let me do it any other way to get it listed as our Group read on the home page
Thank you Peggy, I ought to have realised that myself.
It is a time of new beginnings, January of 2014, a perfect time to announce a group discussion of one of Norah Lofts' masterpieces - her Knight's Acre Trilogy, aka The Suffolk Trilogy in some references. The Moderators discussed whether to take suggestions and vote, but because this epic tale has not been covered on our forum, we decided to set a date of February 1 (2014) to begin this three part discussion. Hopefully, those of you who do not have all three volumes will have the time and resources to obtain all three, beginning with "Knight's Acre," then part 2, which is "The Homecoming," and finally part 3, which is "The Lonely Furrow."Online shoppers might try used book sellers such as Alibris, ABE Books, and Amazon. I have seen many copies available for just a dollar plus shipping, as well as large print editions for very little.
Maggy, are you here? Has the Knight's Acre trilogy been reprinted yet? Wouldn't it be great fun, members, to read these books in clean, clear print? Maggy's Tree of Life Publishers make beautiful paperbacks.
Please post and let us know if you are able and interested in joining this discussion. To reiterate:
Discussion begins February 1, 2014
Knight's Acre
The Homecoming
The Lonely Furrow Thanks, All!
Alas, Sylvia, I have back-to-back common reads already scheduled in two other groups I'm in, coming up in February and March, and a planned buddy read with a friend in April. But I'm sure that a number of other members will be able to take part in this read; and it should be a wonderful discussion!
Yay, The Suffolk Trilogy, can't wait .............
I share your feelings Barbara! I received The Lonely Furrow for Christmas in 1977 and spent most of the day sunk in an armchair in a corner of my mother-in-law's living room with my nose in that book. (Dear Mom was very tolerant, and probably glad to have her older son all to herself for a while.)
Oh good Mary, that means we'll have you as a regular participant in the discussion, always a bonus.
I finished reading The Lonely Furrow the third in the trilogy last week. I hope I can remember all 3 books by the time we start the discussion!
Great, Robert! It seems like so many of us have to keep re-referencing to make comments, but it does get confusing when you've read so many NLs over and over, and so many characters are neighbors and relatives - it's as confusing as keeping your own family straight!I believe that 5 members have now expressed an interest in the Knight's Acre trilogy discussion beginning Feb. 1. Wonderful! I will post the Topic shortly with preliminary info.
Goodo Robert - get out the Post It notes and put your Suffolk Trilogy copy next to the computer to get ready eh? We need you, the best discussions are with plenty of participants I think, don't you? And this is quite an ambitious undertaking, the three books. I actually wish we could start right away!
Count me in as at least a reader and observer.
Wonderful, Karyl! Have you already read this trilogy?
Karyl wrote: "Count me in as at least a reader and observer."Oh and a participant too please Karyl, that would be lovely.
Sylvia wrote: "Wonderful, Karyl! Have you already read this trilogy?"Yes, a couple of times. And I love them. All the characters have such distinct personalities and are so fully realized.
I love these discussions. I've only read the first book in the Knight's Acre trilogy. Didn't know it was a trilogy. But don't fear spoiling it for me. Knowing what's coming next doesn't spoil it for me. I'm immune to spoiling :) You guys teach me so much. Rock on, all of you!!!
Well Cindy, you have a treat coming with the second two. To my mind , NL does not drop an inch in style or content or pace or anything throughout the three and I don't think that can be said for many authors , Usually I think the last one in series is bit disappointing some way, but in *The Suffolk Trilogy you are still left wishing for more...* The title, is a bit of a - if not mystery, then at least a conundrum. Some, (me included) think the original title was The Suffolk Trilogy, but there is some evidence that it was called the Knight's Acre Trilogy.
The House (Old Vine etc) trilogy is also sometimes called The Suffolk House Trilogy just to confuse more . Sylvia and I are seeing what we can find out, anyone else, please feel free also !
Karyl wrote: "Sylvia wrote: "Wonderful, Karyl! Have you already read this trilogy?"Yes, a couple of times. And I love them. All the characters have such distinct personalities and are so fully realized."
I do agree, it's a real trademark of NL I think.
Hi Cindy! Oh, I think this is going to be a fun discussion! Karyl is right about all the distinct characters. Once you read NL's books, those people become so real, they seem like your ancestors. This trilogy has the same impact as the exceptional "Town House" trilogy!Cindy, welcome to this read! It is so good of you to ease our minds about spoilers. Are you going to try to get books 2 and 3? If you, or any other member needs part 2, which is "The Homecoming," I have two extra copies and will gladly send them to whoever requests them first. No charge for the book, but maybe the cost of the postage, especially if out of the USA. I also have one extra copy of "Knight's Acre." If anyone wants one of these, just click on my name to get to my profile page, and leave me a message.
I also spotted many copies of book 3, "The Lonely Furrow" on the ABE Books site, as well as most of NL's books. Alibris and Amazon also carry her books.
Just two more weeks until we officially begin!
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Fans of Norah Lofts
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Barbara, I actually could do it in December (and read Mockingjay in January) --if you think people in the group wouldn't be too distracted by Christmas and other holidays in December to do a read? (Personally, I read all the time, in holiday seasons as well as non-holiday times!)
What do we think ? Welcome Karyl !
Somehow, I missed the posts Robert and others made above about becoming an NL fan - and very interesting they are now I have found them, thank you for sharing as "they" say.