Bright Young Things discussion

So far as I can discern the earliest posts on Bright Young Things were made on 28 November 2009 which means in two days time it's our...

FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY

* 28 Nov 2009 - 28 Nov 2014 *

Here's to the next five!

And, for anyone who feels inclined, let's share some memories...

Most enjoyable discussions?

Favourite books read?

Something you've learnt?

Writers you've discovered through BYT?

And indeed anything else you want to say.

Congratulations to Ally and other founder members for setting up a group that is still lively, active and attracting new members after five years.

^ Yes indeed Val - and seconded.


Ally is keeping a very low profile this year. I hope she's OK.

Wow! Time flies when you're having fun.

Has she resolved her computer problems?

^ I thought she'd resolved the computer issues some time back.

Real life getting in the way I expect.

In answer to my own questions above...



Most enjoyable discussions?

So many. I loved the WW1 challenge.

Sword of Honour from earlier this year also sticks in my mind - a superb book and a lively and interesting discussion too.

Being inspired to read the entire A Dance To The Music Of Time series following a discussion of the first volume was another high point. indeed, one of the literary high points of my life - just stunning.

Favourite books read?

The two above: Sword of Honour + A Dance To The Music Of Time

+

The World of Yesterday
All the Waugh stuff we've read - fiction and non-fiction
Alone in Berlin
Hangover Square
A Month in the Country
In Search Of England

and many more that don't spring to mind right now.

Something you've learnt?

I'm not too keen on Modernism and experimental writing generally but love good historical studies about the interwar period

Writers you've discovered through BYT?

So many great books and writers - If I had to narrow it down to just one writer I've not mentioned yet it would be W. Somerset Maugham - I'm still working my way through his bibliography

Anything else you want to say.

Thanks to all the BYTers who regularly debate and discuss - without you the group is nothing but old discussion threads.

Here's to the next five years.

I don't think I could pin it down to one favourite discussion or book. I have enjoyed more of the fiction than the non-fiction, but that is to be expected as nobody is going to be interested in all the subjects covered in the non-fiction choices and there are therefore going to be times when the review reads 'This book told me more than I wanted to know about...'.
(My lowest ratings are reserved for books which were about something I might have found interesting if the author could have managed to make it so however, not for those where I was just not very interested in the subject in the first place.)

I joined the group because I had already enjoyed reading several authors from this time period, but one I had never heard of and enjoyed very much was J.L. Carr and his lovely A Month In The Country. I also did not know that Leonard Woolf wrote fiction (The Village in the Jungle in the 2013 'Empire' challenge).

Val wrote: "...one I had never heard of and enjoyed very much was J.L. Carr and his lovely A Month In The Country."


Seconded. I adored that book - and it rocketed straight into my All Time Favourite Books list. I'd probably still be blissfully unaware of it were it not for BYT.

I appreciate finding Maugham. I probably would never have picked him up otherwise.

I like the diversity of opinion expressed here.

Even though I am not as active as most of the folks here, let me say that this is a great club....the enthusiastic members, the time period covered (which is my favorite era) and the good will. Congratulations on five years and here's to many more!!!!!!!

Today's the day.



Happy anniversary BYTers - here's to the next five years



BYT FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY

* 28 Nov 2009 - 28 Nov 2014 *

Great photo, Nigeyb. Who are all these people?

The BYT five year anniversary---congratulations to those who came up with the idea and all who have sustained it through the past 5 years.

I've only been a member since August 2013, but it has really enriched my reading life. I'd been a Goodreads member since Feb 2008, but mostly used the site just to keep track of my reading. One day I was doing some exploring and discovered BYT and immediately thought, wow, that is the group for me. And so it has been. I love the selections we come up with and the interesting people I've "met".

One of our most interesting discussions was the recent uproar over what constitutes an acceptable book, what Nigeyb called the "great schism of 2014." That discussion certainly got people involved!

I've loved our WWI challenge. I've learned a lot about the Great War and have gotten some great tips for further learning. Thanks to fellow members, I've completed three FutureLearn courses on the war and am signed up for two more.

Some of my favorite books have been Every Man Dies Alone, Testament of Youth, All Quiet on the Western Front, A Time of Gifts, and The World of Yesterday. I've also loved the 5 books I've read in the Dance to the Music of Time series. Still planning on finishing the others.

The group has introduced me to the short stories of Maugham, the novels of Greene, and the humor of Wodehouse.

I'm looking forward to many more great reads and discussions.

^ What a wonderful post Barbara. Thank you. I really enjoy your contributions.

You asked about the photo. I am not sure exactly who they all are however I will doubtless have read about most of them. The photo accompanies this article...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books...

...which is typical of the newspaper it appears in.

It refers to a book called Bright Young People: The Rise and Fall of a Generation 1918-1940 by D.J. Taylor which we first read in 2011 (before my time) and which didn't get much comment so we ressurected in 2013.

Here is the Bright Young People: The Rise and Fall of a Generation 1918-1940 thread...
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I'm sure the photo is in the book but alas I read a copy from my local library so cannot go and check. I'll post on the thread to see if anyone else can remember - or perhaps someone can check in the book if they have their own copy.

I know the photo but don't remember who the people are. I know most of the ladies are men though. And I think I recognize Nancy Cunard. I'd have to check my book/s too. If no one else does it first I'll check when I get off work. :) Happy five years, all!

I'll reach 5 years in the group on 12/12. Ally discovered that I was reading Lost Horizon and it had been nominated for a group read. Sounded like a good group so I joined. Also, it was my first group.

I actually own that book, though I have yet to read it. It sounded so interesting when it was mentioned here--I just HAD to buy it. Anyway, yes, the photo does appear there. The people are:
back row Cecil Beaton, Elizabeth Ponsonby, two unidentified people. Middle row from left to right-Stephen Tennant, George Sitwell, Inez Holden, Harold Acton. Front-Tallulah Bankhead.

^ Hurrah. Thanks Barbara

That's funny it doesn't have the end people from the back row. I wonder who they were!

I wonder too, Bronwyn. The caption in the book didn't even call them unidentified, it just acted like they weren't there at all.

I noticed that as well! Too weird.

Hello again all! I am happy to report I survived my month of writing and can now resume my life on goodreads (and in many other areas that had to be sacrificed as well)!

Most enjoyable discussions? I really enjoyed our children's book discussions of Wizard of OZ and Peter Pan.

Favourite books read? The Gift of Rain and The Painted Veil have to be the best books I've read from this group. I also discovered Three Day Road, which I read independently of the group, but takes place in WWI. Perhaps I will nominate it as a group read... hmmm.

Something you've learnt? Too much to name!

Writers you've discovered through BYT? Rebecca West, Christopher Isherwood, many of the non-fiction writers we've read I'd never heard of before.

And indeed anything else you want to say. I joined this group because I knew Ally from elsewhere on goodreads. I knew next to nothing about this time period. Very few of even the most well known writers were authors I had read (Hemingway, Fitzgerald, etc). I enjoy this group so much because it encourages me to expand my reading comfort zone. I enjoy our discussions as they make me really think about what I am reading.

Thank you all. It is wonderful!

^ Lovely - thanks Jennifer, and thanks for all you do

How did I manage to miss this one! 5 years really fly by...wow!

I've loved so many of our reads...the Painted Veil is the one that started us off and it's still my favourite. I'm a traditionalist so it's Maugham and Waugh that I've loved most on the fiction side.

I think I love the non-fiction section most, as Jennifer has said it expands your reading horizons. Thunderstruck is not one I would have picked up without this group, nor The Secret Gift but I enjoyed them. My favourite by far was Midnight in Peking.

But my favourite thing of all about this group is the wonderful people in it. The intelligence and inclusiveness of our reading discussions make it a really interesting place to be...the fact that you all notice that I've had a low profile this year makes me feel missed (...and really guilty!). My computer problems are not solved as I just can't afford to replace it (yet... The money I'd saved has been spent on Christmas gifts! But I'll keep going!). I do always keep an eye on the group even if I don't always have time for much reading.

Thank you for making the group a continued success and I hope we keep attracting lots of new members!

Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you all enjoy the holiday period however you choose to spend it!

^ Thanks Ally. I hope you get a reliable computer sorted soon. I miss you.

It's good to hear from you when you can get online Ally.
Have a good Christmas.

Belated congratulations to the founders on the group's five years - Ally, I hope your computer problems are solved soon, and I hope everyone is having a great Christmas break.

I've only been joining in here for a little over a year, and have thoroughly enjoyed it! I think my favourite reads and discussions so far have been A Moveable Feast By Ernest Hemingway, Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada and the whole World War One challenge. I've also loved various others, so it is hard to choose.


Fallada is a writer I've discovered through BYT and Stefan Zweig is one I've rediscovered here, after reading one or two short stories of his at school years ago.

Here's to the next five years, and Merry Christmas, all!

^ Thanks Judy. I second your wish for Ally's ongoing computer problems to be resolved. It's not the same without Ally's regular comments and thoughts.

Thanks also for your answers above.

I love reading your posts and think you bring a lot of original thinking and passion to the group. Thanks for all your posts and reviews.

Many thanks, Nigeyb, very kind of you to say so. Thanks in return for all your passion and hard work in this group.

You do so much to inspire me and others to take part in various reads and pick up books we might not have thought about otherwise.