Public Domain Readers discussion

On this thread, we'll make all the arrangements for this challenge.

Remember, when you've been 'tagged', you have 14 days to pick your letter and book and report back here. Then you'll 'tag' the next person.

The rules and info thread has the alphabet and list of participants.

Okay, let's get this challenge rolling.

I'm going to take the letter O and I'll read Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.
I have up until February 28th to post my review.

What? You get to use the O from Oscar?? That broadens the field...and is not a bad thing :)

JenniferFour wrote: "What? You get to use the O from Oscar?? That broadens the field...and is not a bad thing :)"

*grin* You had me second guessing myself. I had to go and look at the rules: read a book whose title or author's first or last name begins with that letter. You can use or ignore the articles at the beginning of the title.

See! I should do more than read the short hand version of the rules: You can use or ignore articles (a, an, the) at the beginning of the title

I listened to The Picture of Dorian Gray yesterday while I was working on a quilt.

Oscar Wilde's only novel is fascinating, in my opinion. Wikipedia labels it as a "...philosophical novel..." and I completely agree. It had me thinking about all kinds of morals and ethics.

I actually found the character of Lord Harry more interesting than Dorian Gray. Lord Harry was the instigator and true villain of the story. Dorian was just a weak and impressionable young man.

4 solid stars.

JenniferFour, I 'tag' you. You have 14 days to pick your letter and book and then report back here. If you are interested, I can open a thread in the Group Book Discussions and we can read the book with you. Or you are welcome to read it on your own like I did.

I am in! Going with a short book...The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald ...using the letter C.

JenniferFour wrote: "I am in! Going with a short book...The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald ...using the letter C."

Ooo, interesting choice. I can't wait to see what you think of the story.

Finished The Curious Case of Benjamin Button a few days ago. Rather a sad story overall. I haven’t seen the movie which I thought was a romance, or at least had a big element of romance. Not sure where that came from because it certainly is not really a part of the story. I also used this to test Serial Reader....an app that delivers small chunks of the book each day. Interesting concept and it worked fine.

Sawako - it’s your turn! You are tagged :)

JenniferFour wrote: "Sawako - it’s your turn! You are tagged :)"

Okay! I'm going to read A Voice in the Wilderness, using the letter V.

I guess I have up until March 20th to post my review.

Sawako wrote: "Okay! I'm going to read A Voice in the Wilderness, using the letter V.

I guess I have up until March 20th to post my..."

I know you've read some Grace Livingston Hill books in the past. Have you read this one before?

Jennifer didn't take the full 14 days to read and report. March 20 will work, but if you need the extra time, technically you have until March 27.

Lanelle wrote: "Have you read this one before?""

Nope, it's the first time reading it. Have you read it?

Lanelle wrote: "technically you have until March 27"

I'm happy to hear that. As I have 3 Heyer's books on Open Library.

Sawako wrote: "Nope, it's the first time reading it. Have you read it?"

The only Grace Livingston Hill book I've read is The Enchanted Barn. I tried The Girl from Montana, but I stopped after a couple of chapters.

Lanelle wrote: "The only Grace Livingston Hill book I've read is The Enchanted Barn. I tried The Girl from Montana, but I stopped after a couple of chapters."

I've also read The Enchanted Barn.

Why did you stop reading The Girl from Montana? I enjoyed reading it, to be honest.

Sawako wrote: "Why did you stop reading The Girl From Montana?"

If I remember correctly, it was because there wasn't much dialogue and I got bored.

Lanelle wrote: "If I remember correctly, it was because there wasn't much dialogue and I got bored."

I see. I liked it because the Heroine knew how to handle a gun and was taking the lead when they were in the desert.

This book is similar to The Man of the Desert and The Girl from Montana.

Even though there are some similarities, I'm surprised that Grace made one of the Ministers to be slightly a bad guy (I guess not all the ministers are good, which means that we are humans). To be honest, I wanted to punch him, and I was glad that someone did punish him.

As for the Hero, he has done something bad (I didn't know what was it. Because I was listening to the audiobook most of the time). Don't you worry, deep down, he is a good guy.

Forsythe reminded me of Wickham and Rosa of Lydia.

I finished this book because of the game (Heyer's books are hard to leave). Anyway, the book was enjoyable in its one way.

3 solid stars.

Library, I 'tag' you.

Not sure what I'm going to read yet, 'll decide in the next couple of days. :)

Library wrote: "Not sure what I'm going to read yet, 'll decide in the next couple of days. :)"

Jada, did you decide which story you'll read?

I think I'm going to read Great Expectations for G.

Library wrote: "I think I'm going to read Great Expectations for G."

That's ambitious. Good luck! Remember you have until the April 10 to report back here.

It;s a bit slow so far, but it's good! A bit sad though.

I finished it!

I really had no expectations going into this. (ba dum tiss) I didn't really know what it was about, I just knew that I had liked the other Dickens books I'd read and that this one was supposed to be one of his best.

Despite not liking the hero, who is supposed to be more of an anti-hero anyway, I really see why this is supposed to be one of his best. It sucked me in and made me invested in this boy/man. 4 stars.

JenniferFour, I tag you!

Coincidentally I just started The Leavenworth Case by Anna Katherine Green so that will work nicely for L.

JenniferFour wrote: "Coincidentally I just started The Leavenworth Case by Anna Katherine Green so that will work nicely for L."

Perfect timing!

That book sounds super interesting. I might check it out.

Same here! I may read it.

I finished The Leavenworth Case. It was good but I have liked some other Anna Katherine a Green books more. I think there was a little too much of men thinking “a woman couldn’t possibly do that” to suit me. I can take some of that but there was a lot in this book.

Lanelle, I think it is time for you :). Tag, you’re it!

I think I'll read a book by one of favorite author's, The King of Diamonds A Tale of Mystery and Adventure. It's by Louis Tracy.

It will be for the letter 'K'.

I have until April 24th to report.

Well, I tried reading The King of Diamonds A Tale of Mystery and Adventure. I just couldn't get into it. Which is odd, because I usually love Louis Tracy stories. I gave up.

And then I tried looking for other 'K' books. Couldn't find one that I was interested in reading.

I gave up again and re-read The Daring Twins by L. Frank Baum. Yes, the Wizard of Oz Baum. The story has a range of themes: from poor orphans, morality, a bit of mystery, to the importance of family, and greed. I enjoyed reading it the second time as much as the first. There is a sequel, Phoebe Daring: A Story for Young Folk.

Leslie, I 'tag' you. You have 14 days (May 8) to pick your letter and book and then report back here.

I have a question. We have been reading Around the World in 80 days as a family. We should finish it in the next 2 weeks. Can I count that book for this challenge? If that bothers anyone, I can try to read Pinocchio or The Book of Dragons by May 8th

I'm fine with it. Are you asking for Leslie??

Haha oops, I guess we didn't sign Lanelle off of our computer. That was me asking.

Leslie wrote: "Haha oops, I guess we didn't sign Lanelle off of our computer. That was me asking."

Wow. I was completely confused for a few minutes. Maybe I should have signed out of my account before I left Texas a few weeks ago :)

I'm okay with you using Around the World in 80 Days. Do you want to take the 'A', or the 'J' (for Jules)?

Ah, ok. If this is too nosy, totally tell me to mind my own business, but are you 2 mother/daughter?

Library wrote: "Ah, ok. If this is too nosy, totally tell me to mind my own business, but are you 2 mother/daughter?"

Not too nosy. Yep, Leslie is my oldest daughter.

Oh, ok, cool! Nice that you both are readers. My mom and I are both readers, she just doesn't have a Goodreads.

Library wrote: "Oh, ok, cool! Nice that you both are readers. My mom and I are both readers, she just doesn't have a Goodreads."

My son is also a member of Public Domain Readers, but he's hasn't caved to pressure to join in. Leslie, any ideas how we can get Rick to participate?

Well J is a hard letter, so I will use that one.
Rick? Bribe them with babysitting?

Leslie wrote: "Rick? Bribe them with babysitting?"

Not a bad idea!

Good morning everyone! We finished "Around the World in Eighty Days" yesterday. As you can imagine, my boys were all excited to be done finally.
The author's vocab was pretty impressive, which is what made it difficult for the younger audience. There were quite a few words in there that I, as an adult reader, had never heard of.
The storyline was easy enough to follow and rather fun in some places. The reader does have to suspend his disbelief several times. There was a chapter where they meet the "Mormons" in Utah, and as a member of that church, a lot of this info on the people is incorrect or interpreted incorrectly. That make me wonder about some of the other stuff in the book. Are some of the other cultures misrepresented? Considering when it was written, I can understand that he couldn't exactly google it.
I had a hard time liking the main character, Phileas Fogg. He was so stoic that it was difficult to get a feel for him. He seemed cold and uncaring, but he did redeem himself by the end of the book. We got to see more of his feeling/personality and wished him well. However, I enjoyed his servant, Passporteau, his emotions that he wore on his sleeve and his loyalty.
I am proud of myself for reading it.

It says Tim can start in May. Can I tag you next? Are you ready to start Tim?

Tim, you've been 'tagged' :)

I'll take the letter R and will be reading The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne . It's been on my radar for a few years and back in January I decided that I'd read it this year. Now is a good time to read it.

Tim wrote: "I'll take the letter R and will be reading The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne . It's been on my radar for a few years and back in January I decided that I'd read it t..."

I hope you enjoy The Red House Mystery, Tim. It took me three attempts to get past the first chapter. When I finally did, I loved it. I've read the book twice since then.

Do you think you'll be able to finish by May 22 or will you need more time?

Lanelle wrote: "Tim wrote: "I'll take the letter R and will be reading The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne . It's been on my radar for a few years and back in January I decided that I..."

I should be done by then as long as my health problems don't flare up bad.

I finished reading The Red House Mystery. I gave it a rating of four arrows (the rating system for my blog) and at the lower end of a four star rating. You can read my review at https://tims-reviews.blogspot.com/202...

By what I'm seeing it looks like Library is the only person available for tagging, so I tag you.

I just read The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner, the original one from 1924. It was delightful! A lovely children's book. I'll use the W.

Lanelle, I'll tag you!

Library wrote: "I just read The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner, the original one from 1924. It was delightful! A lovely children's book. I'll use the W.

Lanelle, I'll tag you!"

What???? You're supposed to take two weeks!!! Okay, it's my turn. Give me a bit to think about what I want to read.

I didn't realize that the The Boxcar Children was now in the public domain. That's cool. And it is a great story.