Books For Potential Group Discussion Archived 2019

[Werner]

Sylvia, I appreciate your confidence! The concern I have would be the other way around; I'll probably be pretty much offline from Aug. 5 until evening on Aug. 10 (assuming our most likely travel schedule), and that would interfere with any discussion leading during that bloc of time. But I could certainly post comments and questions, etc., both before and after that time. It depends on how continuously active you folks want a discussion leader to be in the discussion.

[Peggy]

Werner, you would do a great job leading Wayside Tavern. We don't have to start August 1 on the dot.

Donna, we'll let you off the hook (this time, lol) but looking forward to a future read where you lead it.

[Werner]

Thanks for that vote of confidence, Peggy. :-) I'll plan on doing that in August, then!

[Donna]

Peggy wrote: "Werner, you would do a great job leading Wayside Tavern. We don't have to start August 1 on the dot.

Donna, we'll let you off the hook (this time, lol) but looking forward to a future read where ..."

Thanks, Peggy. Since Warner is being so flexible and accommodating, given what sounds like more rigorous summer travels than mine, I'll venture into the group leader role for Hester Roone in July. I do have the book but haven't started reading it yet. I just finished Wayside Tavern this week and look forward to reaquainting myself with it for the August group read.

[Peggy]

That's great, Donna. Just let me know what date you'd like to start in July and I'll post it on the home page so people can prepare. I haven't read Hester Roone either so it will be a treat.

[Sylvia]

What a great summer of reading ahead! Thank you both, Donna and Werner, for including our forum in your summer plans.

[Werner]

No problem, Sylvia! :-)

[Werner]

My copy of Hester Roon arrived via interlibrary loan yesterday. Since it has to be returned by July 21, and I'll be losing some reading time the week after the 4th when we're out of town on vacation, I went ahead and started reading it last evening.

[Peggy]

I put a start date of July 1 on our home page; hopefully we can get going the first week of July. Haven't read this one so I am looking forward to it. I also opened a discussion thread.

[Barbara]

Peggy wrote: "I put a start date of July 1 on our home page; hopefully we can get going the first week of July. Haven't read this one so I am looking forward to it. I also opened a discussion thread."

Goodo, anytime is fine by me.

[Jenny]

Right you are! It's been rather quiet here lately and it will be good to have a bit more chat.

[Werner]

Assuming my wife and I go up to Fulks Run again in early August, we plan to return on Aug. 10. My suggestion would be that we start our common read of A Wayside Tavern at that time --if that's all right with everyone?

[Donna]

That works for me.

[Barbara]

Fine by me Werner.

[Werner]

Thanks, ladies! That's what we'll plan on, then.

[Karyl]

Looking forward to this read--I remember it as a fascinating story with much historical detail. I have 2 extra copies of the book, one hardback and one paperback if anybody needs it.

[Barbara]

I have a pb copy of Wayside Tavern I am happy to give away to anyone who needs it, just send me your address.
Be warned though, it has one of those frightful bodice-ripper covers...

[Werner]

Barbara, a caveat: if you send the book to anyone outside of Australia, the parcel post postage to and from there will cost you an arm and a leg. (Or at least a hand and a foot.) :-(

I don't own a copy, and was planning to put in an ILL request today. Karyl, are either of those extra copies you mentioned still available?

[Cindy]

I hate to keep asking, but if anyone has a copy... I still am broke and can't repay... terribly sorry... my email is tricorvus@yahoo.com if someone wants my address and all...

[Barbara]

Cindy - see messages 266 and 267 above. If you don't have one of Karyl's, you are welcome to mine, as, of course , are you Werner. If you are all in the US postage will be less of course, but if it doesn't work out ,I am quite willing to do the Australian 'hand and foot' postage mentioned above!
Basically I will just wait to see who sends me their postal address postal address. Just click on my name on this post.

[Karyl]

Both my books have been requested, and I am happy they are going to good homes. I have been reading ahead a little bit--it is so hard to resist!

[Werner]

For the record, Karyl generously agreed to send me her hardcover copy, since I mentioned that when I'm done reading it, I plan to donate it to the Bluefield College library, so that we'll have one more of NL's excellent novels in our collection. The hardcover book will stand up to circulation better than the paperback would; and I hope it gets a lot of use!

[Cindy]

I thank Barbara, and I thank Karyl in advance for the book. Things in my personal life went from bad to worse, then have lately swung to miraculous(good). You guys are amazing and kind.

[Barbara]

A pleasure Cindy, hope Karyl's Wayside Tavern mitigates your past bad and adds to your present good!

[Sallie]

Hi, all! Am almost finished with Wayside. My book has this inside - copyright 1980 by Robert John Lofts and Richard James Downing, printed in the United State of America (Doubleday & Company). Was her son named Robert John? Sylvia, didn't you correspond with him?Will be there on 8/10! Hope you all are well and reading lots of NL. Sallie

[Cindy]

THANK YOU KARYL, the book just came in the mail! So pumped to read it. Big smiles, dancing, scaring cat...

[Sylvia]

Sallie, good to see you back on here. Those names are a mystery to me, too. NL's son's name in its entirety is Geoffrey St. Edmund Clive Lofts. Her last book, "Pargeters," was copyrighted by her "executors" in 1984. Grandsons maybe? She died in 1983. I'm clueless. Four more days to the group read!

[Sallie]

I'll be ready! Werner, you aren't far from Bridgewater. Stop by if you can.

[Werner]

Sallie, thanks for the invitation, but it looks like we won't be going up there this time after all, barring a miraculous recovery on my wife's part by tomorrow. She seems to have picked up a bit of a flu bug. :-(

Peggy, you seem to be coordinating the schedule; since I won't be traveling after all, is there any reason why I shouldn't go ahead and start the A Wayside Tavern discussion thread today?

[Werner]

An additional question that occurs to me: we already have a thread for A Wayside Tavern (www.goodreads.com/topic/show/440775-a... ), which has quite a bit of good material on it. Do we want to start an entirely new thread for our common read, or just make use of the existing one?

[Barbara]

Werner wrote: "An additional question that occurs to me: we already have a thread for A Wayside Tavern (www.goodreads.com/topic/show/440775-a... ), which has quite a bit of good material on it. Do we..."

Yes good thought Werner . I don't know - personally I don't mind as I have read it at last twice before, but if we use the old thread, will there be spoilers for new readers I wonder?

Oh and I have a genealogy I made for Wayside Tavern. A bit amateur but with a fair amount of detail. Any one who would like a copy is very welcome .

[Werner]

Barbara wrote: "...if we use the old thread, will there be spoilers for new readers...?" Barbara, good question! No; I've read over that thread, and it doesn't have significant spoilers for new readers, IMO. The content it has now is mostly historical and geographical background material.

[Sallie]

Barbara - I'd love a copy of the Wayside Genealogy - can you scan it and email it to me? salliemeff@msn.com Thanks!

[Peggy]

Werner, sorry for the late response. Miss a day or two logging in and you stop getting notices on new posts! I changed the start date to today, August 9. The existing thread has some fascinating background/history so I'm OK with using it to start the group discussion.

[Werner]

Sounds good, Peggy; will do! Thanks.

[[deleted user]]

Hi NL Friends. After 6 months of harassment at my old email address, I had to change my email, so Goodreads probably considers me a new member, but I'm the same old Sylvia who joined 4 years ago.

About a year and a half ago, some of us discussed doing group discussions on the 14 NL titles which have not yet been formally discussed. A list of those 14 titles is in this thread in Message 103. Mary suggested that she would enjoy reading them in chronological order. NL's first 4 novels are listed in order in Message 107.

It might be interesting to start with her first book, "Here Was a Man" (1936 - about the life of Sir Walter Raleigh) and compare her beginning writing skills with her later books. Is anyone interested?

[Sallie]

I am, Syl! Now.........if I can just figure out how to get back to posts 103 and 107! Can only get back to the top of this page - no "previous" posts available. Do you know how?

[Werner]

Interestingly, the library where I work recently added a copy of Here Was a Man. It was one of the few Lofts novels I could find that are currently in print.

However, I'm doing a common read in another group now and have another coming up next month. Two more of my groups do common reads in February and March. In the intervening time, I have three review books to read (counting one I recently won in a Goodreads giveaway).

Of course, the March common read is scheduled in the group Fans of British Writers --N.L., of course, is a British writer, and one that group hasn't read together. I can suggest Here Was a Man for the poll in that group, and if it wins, both groups could be reading the same book simultaneously (as we did some time ago with, I believe, Gad's Hall, which was read concurrently with the Supernatural Fiction Reader's group). Of course, that depends on whether you all would want to wait until March, especially considering that there's no guarantee this one would win the poll in my other group.

[Werner]

Sallie, the link(s) for pages of previous posts on this thread are near the bottom of the thread page, not the top (between the most recent post and the box for writing a new comment). Hope that helps!

[Sallie]

Found it, Werner! Thanks.

[Werner]

Glad to help, Sallie!

[[deleted user]]

Hi Sallie and Werner. Here is another possibility to consider. If we want to put off "Here Was a Man" until March when Werner's British Authors group might want to join in, maybe we could have a current discussion on one of NL's other "first" books, which are: Requiem for Idols - (1938), The Brittle Glass - (1943), and You're Best Alone - (1943).

Any preferences? I believe The Brittle Glass takes place in Bywater, a favorite NL locale.

To clarify, NL wrote (or copyrighted) 13 books between 1935 and 1944. I only listed the earliest titles that we have not yet discussed, or for which there is no thread.

[Sallie]

That would be fun! Don't think I have Brittle Glass - thought I had everything (almost) so I'll hit ebay or amazon.

[Robert]

Hi Sylvia, I'll start looking for those early books.

[MaryC]

My books are beginning to come to light, so anything the group chooses will probably work for me.

[[deleted user]]

Would all who want to discuss the earlier NL books, please report which of these books you already have?
The Brittle Glass
Requiem for Idols
You're Best Alone

You're Best Alone was written under the name, Peter Curtis. We have discussed several Astley and Curtis books, but not You're Best Alone. Under "Discussions" those threads are listed (in alphabetical order) under "Peter Curtis and Juliet Astley."

I think it will be fun, too, to try to analyze the development of NL's skills, but I know for a fact that all of you are much more analytical than me. Here's hoping we all have at least one of these books. I have them all, but all are in very small print, which really slows me down.

[Barbara]

Well, I have everything (even The Claw and Checkmate which I pretend she didn't write!) I wouldn't exactly enjoy a discussion on those, but would of course engage in one if others wanted to. Indeed, I will engage in a NL group read on anything !

I loved Brittle Glass and would be very happy with a discussion on that . Here Was a Man also - and if we combined our read with Werner's Britsh Writer's group in some way I think that would be excellent!

Speaking of her Peter Curtis oeuvre, I think I like You're Best Alone most. (view spoiler)[ a true tragedy , worth of Hardy to my mind, elegant and balanced. I believe I mourned Kit Shelfanger and Guess as if I had known them / spoiler> (hide spoiler)]

[Donna]

I have none of the four books. I did check Amazon for "Here Was a Man," which was available for purchase, but I'll wait to purchase anything until a choice is agreed upon.

[Karyl]

I have The Brittle Glass. I found a combination offer of the other two on Abebooks, and the one I ordered was not the only one there. Only $3 and change with FREE shipping.

[Sallie]

Thanks for the info, Karyl!