2018 - The Classics We're Reading

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2018 - The Classics We're Reading

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1rocketjk
Modifié : Jan 14, 2018, 3:14 pm

I started out 2018 with a continuation of my tradition making my first book of the year a Joseph Conrad novel, thus eventually working through them all. Mostly they rereads for me, but this year I read The Shadow Line, which I hadn't read before. It was great to go back to sea with Conrad, even on this relatively short, but still entirely satisfying, journey.

2leslie.98
Jan 14, 2018, 12:16 pm

I thought that I posted here the other day but it must not have worked...

I am reading Jack London's Martin Eden - quite a change from his sea & wilderness stories!

3rocketjk
Jan 15, 2018, 12:52 pm

I've just started Voss by Patrick White, a classic of Australian literature.

4socialpages
Jan 15, 2018, 10:42 pm

>3 rocketjk: I've got Voss in my TBR pile. It's been there for a while as I find Patrick White a bit daunting. I'd be interested in your progress as you read.

5rocketjk
Modifié : Jan 16, 2018, 10:56 am

>4 socialpages: Well, I'm only on about page 38 so far (out of 440), but already I'm finding it to be a book where I often end up reading paragraphs or even pages over two or three times, not because I can't comprehend what I'm reading but because the language is so good that I want to savor things before moving on. So it's not going to be a book I move through quickly, but I am delighted to have found this author.

eta: Oh, I just checked your member profile and see you are Australian, so this book will resonate with you quite strongly, I would imagine.

6socialpages
Jan 17, 2018, 3:08 pm

We studied White at school in the 70s but he's since fallen out of favour. You've motivated me to rescue Voss from my dusty bookshelf and try again.

7bjbookman
Modifié : Jan 19, 2018, 11:20 am

I started the new year reading the books that thrilled me as a teen. She, the sequel Ayesha the return of She and She and Allan by H. Rider Haggard. now that I'm older, I realize that these novels are much more that just a adventure novel, they are also romances. I just remember the adventure part of the novels.

8Cecrow
Jan 19, 2018, 11:56 am

>7 bjbookman:, She is one of the TBR books on myself that just never seems to get its turn. I think I've had that for ten years now, unread. You're the first LTer I've seen mention it in all that time, lol. I've read King Solomon's Mines and read somewhere that She ranks among the books with the most published copies, so I thought I'd try it. Eventually!

Its publishing statistic has always seemed a bit suspect to me. Supposedly had sold 83 million copies by 1965, hmm. Haven't heard anywhere else about it being that big a phenomenon, but maybe it was the Da Vinci code of its time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_books

9thorold
Jan 19, 2018, 12:03 pm

I read hardly any classics last year. Trying to do a bit better in 2018, I read Phineas Redux and The hand of Ethelberta over the holiday period, and I've just finished La fortune des Rougon. So only two Palliser novels and 19 Rougon-Macquart novels to go :-)

>3 rocketjk: >6 socialpages: I love Patrick White, especially Voss and A fringe of leaves. I was very disappointed when I went to Australia in 1989 that no-one seemed to be more than vaguely aware of him (the books everyone wanted to talk about then were Songlines and The fatal shore).

10thorold
Jan 19, 2018, 12:10 pm

>7 bjbookman: >8 Cecrow: We had the sort of school library that had rows and rows of Rider Haggard and other "boys' books" from ca. 1900 (probably worth a fortune now, if they still have them), so I read them all when I was that age - I haven't really felt the need since. John Mortimer's fat old barrister, Horace Rumpole, must have been a fan - he always refers to Mrs R as "She who must be obeyed".

11leslie.98
Jan 19, 2018, 6:23 pm

>10 thorold: lol! I had to chuckle when I read She a few years ago to discover that was where Rumpole got that phrase.

12leslie.98
Jan 19, 2018, 6:27 pm

I have finished Martin Eden and recommend it to any who haven't read it. Excellent book!

I am not sure which classic to read next but I am considering of Manon Lescaut. Anyone have any thoughts about this book?

13socialpages
Jan 20, 2018, 11:12 pm

>3 rocketjk: >9 thorold: I found these quotes regarding Patrick White and Voss on a FB site listing the 12 books every Australian should read:
".... for decades it has been popular to dislike and exile him for what many viewed as his arrogance and elitism.
With a reputation for being difficult, one newspaper review declared White to be 'Australia's most unreadable novelist'.
White himself said "I am a dated novelist, whom hardly anybody reads, or if they do, most of them don't understand what I am on about. Certainly I wish I had never write Voss, which is going to be everybody's albatross".
He is also Australia's only Nobel Laureate in Literature.

>9 thorold: I read Germinal and The Ladies' Paradise before I realised they were part of a series of 20 novels. Now I'm annoyed with myself for reading them out of order. My goal for 2018/19 is to read the Rougon-Macquart series in the correct order.

14leslie.98
Jan 21, 2018, 1:31 am

I have recently discovered R. Austin Freeman's mysteries. I don't know how others feel about calling these classics but they certainly qualify in terms of age! I recently finished The Vanishing Man and last summer read The Red Thumb Mark & enjoyed both.

15leslie.98
Jan 21, 2018, 2:36 pm

I am rereading (via audiobook) Kafka's Metamorphosis. It has been so long since I read this that I find that, other than the central idea that Gregor wakes up to find himself a big bug, I don't remember any of it.

16Cecrow
Jan 22, 2018, 8:15 am

>13 socialpages:, that's an enormous goal, I salute you. I'm going to settle for some random picks but I'd be intrigued by what your approach turns up, whether there's an overarching message carrying through, etc.

17rocketjk
Jan 23, 2018, 1:35 pm

>13 socialpages: That's a great quote from White, although I am enjoying Voss. Thanks for posting that!

18leslie.98
Jan 24, 2018, 5:37 pm

I am reading Dumas' The Black Tulip. My Kindle edition doesn't give the translator (which I find a bit annoying) but I am enjoying it so far.

19leslie.98
Jan 28, 2018, 12:25 pm

Now onto another French classic -- Manon Lescaut. This public domain Kindle edition also doesn't give a translator...

20bjbookman
Jan 29, 2018, 11:26 am

I'm reading Ann Radcliffethird novel, The Romance of the Forest. A deserted Abbey, with a skeleton, a manuscript, a rusty dagger and concealed rooms. That's everything I need.

21leslie.98
Jan 29, 2018, 8:23 pm

>20 bjbookman: I have never heard of that one but sounds like a great Gothic!

22kac522
Jan 31, 2018, 1:35 am

Just finished The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington. Much of it excellent; some bits much too melodramatic.

23leslie.98
Fév 2, 2018, 1:47 pm

I have finished Manon Lescaut and have to say that I didn't care for it much. Maybe a more modern translation would have helped but I doubt it. The main character struck me as foolish and irritating.

24bjbookman
Fév 3, 2018, 10:26 am

>21 leslie.98: leslie.98: according to the introduction in the Oxford edition, many consider that it is her best novel. I enjoyed all her writings.

25leslie.98
Fév 3, 2018, 9:50 pm

>24 bjbookman: I have been avoiding reading The Mysteries of Udolpho as several people have told me it was hard to read. I take heart that you have enjoyed her writing and will stop avoiding it!

26.Monkey.
Fév 4, 2018, 3:40 am

>25 leslie.98: Never avoid something for that reason! Unless you're talking about Finnegan's Wake or some such, lol, people are all different and you certainly cannot rely on something so subjective like that. Radcliffe is highly enjoyable.

27Cecrow
Fév 5, 2018, 7:52 am

Just started Wuthering Heights for the first time. What I gather from the introduction is that it boasts exemplary plotting, and nearly all the critics hated it upon publication. Guess we'll see.

28.Monkey.
Fév 5, 2018, 8:32 am

>27 Cecrow: Oh it's great! Most of the Brontë's works are!

29leslie.98
Fév 10, 2018, 1:00 pm

I have started Tom Brown's Schooldays. A slow start but now that Tom has appeared, I think it will pick up. I was moved to put this on my TBR when I read Flashman last year (which I loved!) so I am eager to see him make his appearance in this. I know that he is a relatively minor character in this book but am interested to see what Fraser's inspiration was.

30bjbookman
Fév 12, 2018, 1:30 pm

I started reading The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist by Robert Tressell (1870-1911). A novel about "survival on the Edwardian Twilight, about exploitative employment when the only safety nets are charity, workhouse, and grave. It could of been written by George Gissing.

31leslie.98
Fév 13, 2018, 10:50 am

>30 bjbookman: I just read that in December. Black humor... I loved the names of the various employers such as Mr. Oyley Sweater!

32bjbookman
Fév 15, 2018, 1:04 pm

>31 leslie.98: leslie.98: About halfway though Tressell's book, it really is a fantastic read. Are you going to tackle Tom Brown at Oxford?

33leslie.98
Fév 15, 2018, 9:27 pm

Probably not right away -- as with Louisa May Alcott, it was a tad moralizing for my taste, but overall enjoyable.

I am now tackling book 6 of Proust's series, The Sweet Cheat Gone (aka The Fugitive). I am glad I persevered with this series -- I found the first book extremely boring but each book has become more interesting (plus I now let the long sentences flow over me without worrying too much about it if I get to a dull section).

34Sandydog1
Mar 6, 2018, 8:15 pm

I'm currently reading The Republic and will be until the end of the Anthropocene...

35leslie.98
Mar 6, 2018, 8:26 pm

I have been relaxing with some Wodehouse -- this year I have decided to finally read all the Psmith books (I had only read the 4th one before). So in January I read Mike, in Feb. Psmith in the City and yesterday Psmith, Journalist. Each one is better than the previous one :)

Next up for me will be Fathers and Sons, after I finish up some library books.

36leslie.98
Mar 12, 2018, 12:44 pm

Well, I still haven't started Fathers and Sons, having detoured into reading Howard Pyle's The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood.

37sparemethecensor
Mar 12, 2018, 5:02 pm

I'm finally reading The House of Mirth. I loved The Age of Innocence but hated Ethan Frome so this will be a bit of a Wharton tie breaker for me.

38rolandperkins
Mar 12, 2018, 6:38 pm

I also hated Ethan Frome and thought I was alone in that! The House of Mirth has been on my TBR list* for decades now.

*My TBR s don't exist as a physical pile, or even on paper -- only in my mind.

39sparemethecensor
Mar 12, 2018, 7:42 pm

>38 rolandperkins: Yes, Ethan Frome is definitely not her best work. I actually avoided her for a couple years because of it! But I absolutely loved The Age of Innocence last year. Highly recommended if you want to give Wharton a second chance.

40ALWINN
Mar 14, 2018, 2:37 pm

Loved The House of Mirth and I also put it off for a while but loved it.

41Zumbanista
Mar 18, 2018, 12:21 am

Haven't read Ethan Fromme and may not based on the comments here. I thought House of Mirth was very good.

42ALWINN
Mar 20, 2018, 4:41 pm

For what it is worth at least Ethan Fromme is a very short read.

43rolandperkins
Mar 20, 2018, 4:48 pm

"(E F) . . a very short read"

Yes, and possibly worthy of Samuel Johnsonʻs
comment on Paradise Lost: "... a book that no one has ever wished were longer."

44Cecrow
Mar 29, 2018, 11:51 am

Getting all gothic with A Sicilian Romance

45sparemethecensor
Mar 29, 2018, 12:39 pm

I finished House of Mirth. I liked it though I think The Age of Innocence is a more complete and a more satisfying read.

46leslie.98
Mar 29, 2018, 7:17 pm

>43 rolandperkins: lol!

I have finished Fathers and Sons by Turgenev. A fairly short book and remarkably easy to read. It has some similar themes to Tolstoy (I guess that is not surprising as they were contemporaries).

47sparemethecensor
Mar 29, 2018, 8:22 pm

>46 leslie.98: Fathers and Sons is a wonderful novel. I'm a Turgenev fan anyway and that's his best work.

48bjbookman
Mar 30, 2018, 1:25 pm

Just finished Arthur Morrison's Victorian novel of slum life, A Child of The Jago. A cross between Oliver Twist and The Nether World.I am now reading Sir Walter ScottSt. Ronan's Well. Quite a departure from his historical romances, this is a more of a satire on the novels of manners from the late 1700 and early 1800's.

49MissWatson
Juin 12, 2018, 3:23 am

>46 leslie.98: >47 sparemethecensor: I have also started this Turgenev classic, interestingly in a German translation authorised by the man himself. I am finding it very relaxing. So much easier to enjoy than Dostoyevsky.

50leslie.98
Juin 17, 2018, 12:02 pm

>49 MissWatson: Much much easier than Dostoyevsky!! LOL!

51leslie.98
Juin 17, 2018, 12:06 pm

I recently reread via audiobook The History of Tom Jones by Henry Fielding. I read this years and years ago so while I remembered the basic outline of the story, it was almost like reading it fresh. I had forgotten the chapters in which Fielding railed about critics and talked about writing -- I suspect that my younger self found these boring and skimmed over them but now I found them amusing and interesting. The main story I enjoyed as much as I had before (or perhaps even more).

52bjbookman
Juin 18, 2018, 10:34 am

Finished reading William Makepeace Thackeray wonderful essays from Cornhill magazine, Roundabout Papers.

53Cecrow
Modifié : Juin 18, 2018, 2:52 pm

>51 leslie.98:, I've been looking forward to reading that one ever since discovering how scandalized Samuel Johnson was by it.

>52 bjbookman:, coincidentally I'll be reading his Vanity Fair in a matter of days for the first time.

54leslie.98
Juin 18, 2018, 5:08 pm

>53 Cecrow: I love Vanity Fair! I hope that you enjoy it too (and Tom Jones when you get to it).

55leslie.98
Juin 22, 2018, 1:08 pm

I am currently working on Germinal by Zola but it's grim so I have to read it in small portions.

56Darth-Heather
Juin 23, 2018, 10:36 am

I finally got around to a deep cut from Daphne Du Maurier's catalogue - The Progress of Julius is amazing. The main character is basically a sociopath, and while it's not possible to like him, his is an interesting life that only a master author could draw so successfully. An impressive showing of her skillful writing.

57kac522
Modifié : Juin 23, 2018, 4:26 pm

I just finished listening (again!) to Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. Earlier this year I read Camilla by Fanny Burney, and so this "re-reading" showed me how much Austen was influenced by Burney. Puts the Austen novel in a whole new light this time around.

58bjbookman
Juin 23, 2018, 5:33 pm

>kac522: I started re-reading The Wanderer by Fanny Burney.

59kac522
Juin 23, 2018, 6:00 pm

>58 bjbookman: I know Liz (lyzard) is planning a group read of The Wanderer, maybe in August? Here's her post in the group read of Camilla: https://www.librarything.com/topic/289474#6479601

60kac522
Juin 27, 2018, 9:39 pm

>58 bjbookman: Liz will be announcing the August group read of The Wanderer here:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/180408#6513572

61rocketjk
Juil 30, 2018, 2:33 pm

I'm reading N.K. Sandars' prose translation of The Epic of Gilgamesh. Well, really I'm still reading her introduction, which fills in the background of the discovery of the tablets that contain the story, plus the mythological and cultural background. The introduction in itself takes up the first half of this Penguin paperback edition's 120 pages, but it's all quite interesting, so no complaints. My edition was printed in 1972, at which point it already contained two revisions as new information arose with new research. I don't know how much new information has been discovered since that time. According to wikipedia, though, the most recent revised edition came out in 1987, so I guess that means my copy is somewhat out of date. Sandars died in 2015 at the age of 101. Seems she had a fascinating life: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Sandars

62kac522
Modifié : Août 2, 2018, 11:12 am

Liz's group read of Frances (Fanny) Burney's The Wanderer is now up: https://www.librarything.com/topic/294385#6542364

63Cecrow
Août 2, 2018, 11:24 am

>61 rocketjk:, Gilgamesh is a great read, I hadn't realized before the intro how recently (relatively speaking) it was rediscovered. I think some mystery still remains about how far it reached and influenced other ancient writers among the Greeks, etc.

64rocketjk
Modifié : Août 2, 2018, 1:46 pm

>63 Cecrow: "I think some mystery still remains about how far it reached and influenced other ancient writers among the Greeks, etc.

Certainly and Sandars refers to that in her introduction. As of the 1972 edition I'm reading, Sandars represents that mystery was a profound one and not really likely ever to be definitively solved. As I mentioned above, Sandars published one more revision in 1987, but I would imagine there have been more archeological discoveries made that have filled in some of the blanks since then. I'm about halfway Sandars' prose translation of the story itself now.

65rocketjk
Oct 12, 2018, 9:05 pm

Today I started The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot. See you in a month!

66kac522
Oct 13, 2018, 2:00 am

I'm almost done with The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. Want to get it finished before it airs on PBS in a couple of weeks.

67Cecrow
Oct 13, 2018, 6:58 am

David Copperfield, my latest Dickens read.

68Betelgeuse
Modifié : Oct 13, 2018, 9:26 am

Almost done with As I Lay Dying.

>66 kac522: My wife and I loved The Woman in White and we've looked in vain for a good TV / movie treatment of it. Thank you for the information about the PBS mini-series, we are looking forward to it!
>67 Cecrow: One of my favorite novels.

69leslie.98
Oct 23, 2018, 10:22 pm

>67 Cecrow: & >68 Betelgeuse: One of my favorites too!

70rocketjk
Oct 25, 2018, 2:42 pm

I finished The Mill on the Floss last week. A bit slow in parts, but all in all wonderful and I'm very glad I took the time.

71bjbookman
Oct 26, 2018, 11:53 am

I’m reading The son of Porthos by Alexandre Dumas. It might of been written by someone else, but it reads like a Dumas.