John’s Comments (group member since Dec 08, 2021)

John’s comments from the On The Same Page group.

Lea wrote: "Nice! I loved The Count of Monte Cristo, East of Eden and One Hundred Years of Solitude. I hope to read James this year, and also a Dickens novel...this year I picked [book:The Pickwick Papers|2294..."

Pickwick Papers is one I haven't read. I think the last Dickens I made it all the way through was Bleak House and that was years ago.

Interesting list!

Once again, we are trying to do a "challenge" (really just a list of things we both want to read) and this year have specific titles rather than categories:

1. The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism January 2025
2. The Count of Monte Cristo
3. East of Eden
4. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
5. One Hundred Years of Solitude
6. A Dickens Novel (or really any Victorian Brit Lit)
7. James
8. Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly, and the Making of the Modern Middle East

My 12+4 in no particular order and with far too many repeat appearances.

1. The Iliad Finished 2/27/2025
2. Oryx and Crake
3. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
4. Veiller sur elle
5. The Need to Be Whole: Patriotism and the History of Prejudice
6. The Calculating Stars
7. Lamentation Finshed 5/7/2025
8. The Count of Monte Cristo
9. Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas
10. Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring
11. The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X
12. Baumgartner

And the plus four:

13. All the Pretty Horses (a re-read)
14. Rabbit, Run (a re-read)
15. After 1177 B.C.: The Survival of Civilizations
16. The Shadow Speaker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu

I have heard good things about Circe and Say Nothing. Great list

Once again, John and Mary are attempting to hit some categories of books on our reading journey. The 2024 categories are:

1. A book that would be on a Reed College syllabus.

2. A book from or about each continent.

3. A book that takes place somewhere you'd like to visit, but haven't yet.

4. A book that has been made into a movie

5. A biography.

6. Read one from the other person's to read list.

I finished Parable of the Talents yesterday. If you enjoyed the first one (Parable of the Sower), the second one will not disappoint.

Odyssey for 1, Columbine for 2, Coriolanus for 5 (not sure one Shakespeare play really counts), The Road for 8.

Looks terrific!

Thanks all!

Having trouble posting. I apologize if my list shows up multiple times.

1. The Iliad
2. Discourses and Selected Writings
3. A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World
4. Oryx and Crake
5. ***read 8/29/2024*** Revelation
6. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
7. Veiller sur elle
8. ***read 3/11/2024*** How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy
9. The Need to Be Whole: Patriotism and the History of Prejudice
10. The Calculating Stars
11. How Long 'til Black Future Month?
12. ***Read 1/25/24*** City of Trees City of Shadows

And the plus four:
1. The Practice of the Wild
2. Need Blind Ambition
3. How to Read Now
4. A Field Guide to Getting Lost

Hidden Valley Road was incredible.

"Like." Isn't the right word exactly. I found it deeply sad and bleak, but hard to put down. I'm still thinking about it.

8. A book made into a movie or television program. The Road

Finally got around to one on the list and finished The Road

1. A book Reed College would have on a syllabus. I've finished The Odyssey

2087 The Atlas Six
2088 Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets
2089 Dissolution
2090Into the Wild
2091 The Passenger

2102 Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

Looks great! Glad you are continuing with the Inheritance trilogy.

In 2022, John read #2, 3, 6, and 8 and as of 12/23 is working on #1. Mary barreled through and read #1, 2, 3, 5, 7, and 8 and is working on #4.

Mary - I'm going to suggest we replace #5 with "A book written before 1800"