All About Books discussion

October is almost upon us. Share your reading plans with us! Do you think you will be reading lots of spooky books in honor of Halloween or are you ignoring it and continuing with your normal books or something in between?

I may read a spooky book or two but mostly I will be just reading as normal. Here is what I would like to read in October:

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Waverley by Sir Walter Scott
Death on an Autumn River by I.J. Parker
'Art' by Yasmina Reza
Red Sorghum by Mo Yan
Moo by Jane Smiley
The Wapshot Chronicle
The History of Mr. Polly by H.G. Wells
The Woman in White {reread via audiobook}
Snow Country and/or Beauty and Sadness

but some of those may have to wait until November!

Crikey, almost October!

I have a few planned reads, some of which I might start before. Some I won't get through at all.

AAB group reads/ seasonal authors/ buddy reads -
Housekeeping 3 stars
'Art' 3 stars
The History of Mr. Polly 3 stars

Other group/ buddy reads -
Invisible Man
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 2.5 stars

Personal challenges -
War and Peace (currently reading)

Maybe -
The Vampyre: A Tale 3 stars
The Last Man
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald

And...
Another Day in the Death of America 5 stars
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 3.5 stars
George Orwell: A Life in Letters (currently reading)
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City 4.5 stars
Chekhov (currently reading)

This coming month, I intend to read:
The Bell
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
The Conservationist
The Collected Stories of Katherine Mansfield
The Persian Boy
Orlando
War and Peace
and Invisible Man

Pink wrote: "Crikey, almost October!

I have a few planned reads, some of which I might start before. Some I won't get through at all.

AAB group reads/ seasonal authors/ buddy reads -
Housekeeping and War and Peace this month! I would be very happy to discuss both books with you while and after we read.

Raul wrote: "This coming month, I intend to read:
The Bell
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
The Conservationist
The Collected Stories of Katherine Mansfield
[book..."

Are you reading The Persian Boy b/c you have already read [book:Fire from Heaven|67697]. I am debating whether to read that or not. I don't enjoy descriptions of battles. I am into understanding the personality of a person. Should I read it? I have read nothing by Renault!

Also Raul, I too plan on reading a book by Nadine Gordimer too. i thought I would choose July's People, but I have had a hard time choosing.

Chrissie, I have read Fire From Heaven, it was good but nothing compared to The Charioteer by the same author. I heard that it wasn't necessary to read Fire From Heaven prior to reading The Persian Boy so I don't believe you have to read the former just to read the latter. Renault is a good storyteller and descriptions are more in line with characters and their relations than battle ones though maybe someone else may see it differently. But The Charioteer is the book I most recommend by the writer.

On Nadine, a friend highly recommended The Conservationist, I haven't really read any of her work yet I might start reading the book next week so I will let you know how I find it.

Do tell me about the Consevationist. I like to try and pick the best book by an author first; I may never try another if I am disappointed. I had narrowed down my selection between July's People and Burger's Daughter, now maybe I should add a third. I have asked friends but they all have different opinions.

I have been interested in reading about Alexander I. I figure if I don't like the writing I have at least learned about someone I am curious about.

Catchup:
The Merchant of Venice
The Odyssey
Immortal Nights (new release that didn't appear in a library yet)

On Track
Cell
Host

New Releases:
Undead and Done
Without Mercy
Crimson Death

Read-a-longs:
The Invisible Man

Raul wrote: "Housekeeping and War and Peace this month! I would be very happy to discuss both books with you while and after we read..."

That would be great! I'm looking forward to the group read of Housekeeping. I'm taking War and Peace a lot slower, but we'll see how I get on.

Leslie wrote: "I may read a spooky book or two but mostly I will be just reading as normal. Here is what I would like to read in October:..."

Hi Leslie, I love Cheever's short stories, but I found The Wapshot Chronicle excruciatingly boring. I hope you have better luck with it! One day I maybe want to try Falconer. He's an excellent writer in general, and I was very surprised to hate The Wapshot Chronicle as much as I did.

I'm ignoring Halloween as usual, although I will grumpily buy whatever treats the rest of my family insist on giving out.

I have a few, but the pile is at home so I will have to come back and update this. Here are a few I remember:

Guards! Guards!
Girl Waits with Gun
Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges
Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them

Three Complete Novels: The Servants of Twilight / Darkfall / Phantoms
Further Chronicles of Avonlea
Contact
The Complete Stories and Poems (only half of it or so)
Kingdom

Raul wrote: "This coming month, I intend to read:
The Bell
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
The Conservationist
The Collected Stories of Katherine Mansfield..."


A superb group of books Raul!

I'm a big fan of Katherine Mansfield - her story "Bliss" is a masterpiece, but several other stories are equally perceptive.

And Orlando is great fun too! - I think there's a strong chance you'll enjoy it since you read so much literature. If you know who the literary figures are that she describes, I think it's even more amusing.

I liked The Bridge of San Luis Rey too.

Pink wrote: "Crikey, almost October!

I have a few planned reads, some of which I might start before. Some I won't get through at all.

AAB group reads/ seasonal authors/ buddy reads -
Housekeeping

Have you read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn before Pink? I love that book; there's more sharpness behind the humor, a much more "adult" book than The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

I haven't read anything by Twain except The Diary of Adam and Eve so I'm looking forward to trying more. Good to hear you liked this one.

I have some books planned for October, though as usual more are definitely going to come up during the month. So far I've planned to read:

The Woman in White (I decided to join in the Group Read in the end)
The Bay is Not Naples
Dracula's Guest - I might have to wait for this last one, though, as it is at my parents' and I'm not sure when I'll be able to visit

Greg wrote: "Leslie wrote: "I may read a spooky book or two but mostly I will be just reading as normal. Here is what I would like to read in October:..."

Hi Leslie, I love Cheever's short stories, but I found..."

I am a bit trepidatious about it so I am not sure I will actually read it but if I never put it on this sort of list, I will never get to it!

I rarely stick to what I plan!

Current intentions are:
Sanctuary for my personal challenge
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay for my face to face book group (at the library, I dip into it occasionally)
Beauty and Sadness for another GR group
The Book of Disquiet because I'm going to Lisbon (flying visit, 1 day!)
Dance on the Volcano, an ARC from Netgalley
Love in the Time of Cholera for a readalong, if I get the rest sorted!

I'm not reading so much at the moment, but I am looking forward to Housekeeping!

I will start with these:


Non-Fiction:
Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds 4 stars read
The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris 4 stars
Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill 4 stars
The Fairy Mythology maybe.....

Fiction:
July's People 3 stars read
Missing Person 3 stars read
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox 3 star read
The Go-Between 2 star read
The Painted Bird 1 star read
Fire from Heaven 3 stars read

For other books read this month see messages 23, 39 and 45.

I have just started
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

My plans for the rest of the month - which may change:
Horus Rising - for a challenge and from an author I like.
Disciple - I beta read this about a decade ago and was very sad to lose my copy in a computer crash. I am interested how the final version turned out.
Lightless - an impulse buy following some good reviews

Will also read In the Country of Men
__--:Sanctuary|18789] with Gill and whoever else joins us.
Days Without End
The Angel of History
Conclave
The Graveyard Apartment: A Novel
Many others I am sure.

Non fiction

Alfred Hitchcock
Trials of the Earth: The True Story of a Pioneer Woman
The Clancys of Queens: A Memoir
My nightly short story essay book Slipping: Stories, Essays, & Other Writing
Delta Lady: A Memoir


Eleanor and Hick: The Love Affair That Shaped a First Lady.
1917: Stories and Poems from the Russian Revolution

My tentative plans:

Readalongs:

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez
The History of Mr. Polly by H.G. Wells

Group Reads:

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

AAB French Drama Theme:

'Art' by Yasmina Reza
The Maids & Deathwatch by Jean Genet
Five Plays: Antigone, Eurydice, The Ermine, The Rehearsal, Romeo and Jeannette by Jean Anouilh (finish)

Leftover From Prior Months:

Amoris Laetitia-- The Joy of Love: On Love in the Family by Pope Francis (finish)

Free Reads

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

My September was not great and have a few left to get to... Work has been a bear.

Tentative October plans to be updated.

AAB group read
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson - very excited!

Classic Group read continued
Emma by Jane Austen

Fiction
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Non-fiction
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
Courageous Faith by Charles F. Stanley
Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life by John Calvin

Real live group read
Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples by Francis Chan

A slow crawl Reading with my Daughter - between her books for school.
Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate

Again working list so may change.

October is a super busy month for me, so my tentative list is pretty short:

The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins
Haunted Asheville by Joshua P. Warren
Headless Brides and Devil Dogs, by David Alan Scott
Liquidation of the UFO Investigators by Otto Binder
Firestarter, by Stephen King

I guess it tends to favor on the spooky side, but that's just my normal reading habits and not really a Halloween thing, lol.

@ Greg, finishing The Bridgr of San Luis Rey and it was good! This year has been great for me, most of the books I have read were good which I think I can attribute to the good recommendations from friends I have had.

I wish I had time for Love in The Time of Cholera, I would have loved a group read.

Raul wrote: "@ Greg, finishing The Bridgr of San Luis Rey and it was good! This year has been great for me, most of the books I have read were good which I think I can attribute to the good recommendations from..."

I feel the same Raul, and I really appreciated your recommendation for So Long a Letter - a great book! It's one of the best things about 카지노싸이트, finding authors that I might not have heard of otherwise through my 카지노싸이트 friends. :)

@ Greg, I am glad you liked it! And I do agree, goodreads is one of my most cherished discoveries! :)

The blood mirror by Brent weeks,i've been waiting for a long time for this one...

Leslie wrote: "I may read a spooky book or two but mostly I will be just reading as normal. Here is what I would like to read in October"

I'm going to find a Chinese version of Mo Yan's Red Sorghum when I'm in Hong Kong next month. While I'm at it, I'll also look for Chinese versions of The Art of War, The Peony Pavilion: Mudan ting (by a Ming playwright), The Peach Blossom Fan (by a Qing playwright) and some poetry collections.

Alice wrote: "Leslie wrote: "I may read a spooky book or two but mostly I will be just reading as normal. Here is what I would like to read in October"

I'm going to find a Chinese version of Mo Yan's [book:Red ..."

So you decided to give Mo Yan a try? What was it that made you change idea? Of course I'm glad about this and I hope you will like his book.

dely wrote: "Alice wrote: "Leslie wrote: "I may read a spooky book or two but mostly I will be just reading as normal. Here is what I would like to read in October"

I'm going to find a Chinese version of Mo Ya..."

Yes dely. A GR friend from another group had read it and told me that she thought Mo Yan might be trying to criticize something vile that's prevalent in society in a symbolic way (given the government censorship that is at work). So I decided to find out myself if this may be true.

If I don't go wrong I have this book too at home. Or is it "The secret of the red chamber"? I have to look, these are my son's books.
Looking forward to your thoughts about it! It's always good to find out by ourselves and maybe also change opinion about an author.

Alice wrote: "dely wrote: "Alice wrote: "Leslie wrote: "I may read a spooky book or two but mostly I will be just reading as normal. Here is what I would like to read in October"

I'm going to find a Chinese ver..."

I will be interested in comparing notes with you once you have read it Alice!

dely & Leslie, sure thing! I'll let you guys know my thoughts on the novel when I've read it.

I've recently read a very illuminating article on Mo Yan's works and on works by authors from his generation titled The Diseased Language of Mo Yan and would like to share the link. The article writer has pointed out the reasons why I've always held a skeptical attitude towards Chinese authors who "write for the masses".

And the new literary language promoted by the socialist cultural bureaucracy – pedestrian, crude, hyperbolic, affected, full of clichéd political phrases – was about to become the source of an ailment that affected generations of Chinese writers.

......his language is a language that survived the Cultural Revolution, when the state deliberately administered a radical break with China’s literary past. Mo Yan’s prose is an example of a prevailing disease that has been plaguing writers who came of age in what can be called the era of “Mao-ti,” a particular language and sensibility of writing promoted by Mao in the beginning of the revolution. The burden of this heritage can be seen not only in Mo Yan’s work, but also in the work of many other esteemed literary writers today,.....This is perhaps the ultimate tragedy of the fate of contemporary Chinese writers: too many of them can no longer speak truth to power in a language free of the scars of the revolution itself.

Why does language matter in literary art? In “Politics and the English Language” (1946), Orwell warns us: “But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.” It is important to be aware of the ways language carries moral implications, for a diseased language can make it difficult for people to think with precision and truthfulness. And it spreads almost against our will: “A bad usage can spread by tradition and imitation, even among people who should and do know better.” “A debased language” is convenient, and it allows us to think wantonly, without conscious efforts to achieve moral clarity.

Here's the link to the full article:-

I need more books. This is what I have chosen:

(See messages 23, 39 and 45 for all books read this month.)

Housekeeping 1 star read
In the Country of Men 4 star read
Cider With Rosie 4 stars read
An Unfinished Life 1 star read
The Light Years 3 stars
Only Time Will Tell 2 stars read

Somebody else was going to read In the Country of Men this month..... Did you like it as much as I did?

That would be me, Chrissie but haven't read it yet. Did read his Anatomy of a Disappearance, though.

Diane S ☔ wrote: "That would be me, Chrissie but haven't read it yet. Did read his Anatomy of a Disappearance, though."
I think I will read that too just b/c I know I like the way Hisham Matar writes, even if the book description doesn't sound like a perfect fit for me. I bet he manages to make it good. He writes with such feeling, don't you think?

It seems to be his fictional telling of The Return, so it might surprise you and yes I love his writing.

Diane S ☔ wrote: "It seems to be his fictional telling of The Return, so it might surprise you."

I am confused. I have read The Return: Fathers, Sons, and the Land in Between, so if Anatomy of a Disappearance is the same story in fictional form why will I be surprised? Do you mean surprising b/c the fictional story is different than what really happened to him?

I have to add another book:

Sister of Mine: A Novel 3 stars read

See messages 23, 39 and 45 for all books read this month.

I've only finished two books this month - Homegoing - (Loved) and Housekeeping (Liked).

In the middle of a couple others. Cant get into Emma - perhaps Ill finish some day.

Just no time anymore it seems. I may finish one more today. It is very short and about halfway through.

I completed 5 of my planned October reads, still reading another 3, finished 3 that weren't planned at all and didn't get around to 3 more on the list. So lots of swapping around and partial achievement!

Last update to October - Three whole books plus parts of Emma and Multiply. So long October you was a busy one... sheesh.