Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

Another thread that has gotten very long: Please Introduce Yourself will be closed and this one will replace it with a place for new members to let us get to know them better.

Welcome to the group.

Hi all! My name is Veronica and I am in California. I've lurked around for the past year or so and thought it was time for me to really join the group this year. I'm trying to get more into reading classics so hoping this group keeps me on track. I'm only doing the classic bingo to start with to get my feet wet.
For 2021, I am also participating in the Around the Year in 52 Books challenge and possibly the Popsugar one ( I haven't completely decided on that one yet). When I'm not reading, I like watching football, soccer and Hallmark movies as well as doing crossword puzzles.

Hi Veronica. It's nice to speak to you. I really like Bingo. I am sure you will, too.

Hello, I'm not quite comfortable to share my name but you can call me original. I am a high-school age teen who happens to just have recently joined good reads.

Favorite books: I haven't really explored much of the "classics genre" I do love what I have experienced so far.

Welcome to the group Veronica & Original. Glad to have you both here.

Welcome Veronica and Original.

Original wrote: "Hello, I'm not quite comfortable to share my name but you can call me original. I am a high-school age teen who happens to just have recently joined good reads.

Favorite books: I haven't really e..."

Welcome Original. I hope you find many books here that you like.

Kaitlin wrote: "Hi all!
My name is Kaitlin, I’m 19, and I’m new to the group and Goodreads in general!
I was a really avid reader when I was younger and still absolutely love it but since I’ve started college it’s..."

Welcome. We are glad to have you join the conversation! Your plan sounds like what a lot of us do - work through our physical bookshelf. I just get distracted often by new shiny books too! Join in any conversation you like. Even if a book is not one of the featured books for a month, the thread will stay open.

Welcome Kaitlin.

Hi Kaitlin and welcome to the group. Happy reading.

Hey I’m Emma. My favorite book is Dracula 🧛‍♂️. Also, feel free to message and add me so we can talk. One should never read in a vacuum.

Hello Emma. Welcome to the group. In addition to the books that we are currently reading, all the older book threads stay open. Feel free to join in any discussion you like. They are open for both reading and commenting. We have an entire folder of discussion of Jane Austen works. There is even a discussion folder where people have discussed Dracula

Welcome to the group, Emma. I loved Dracula by Bram Stoker when I was younger and read it several times then. It has been a while since I last read it. Perhaps it is time.

Welcome to the group Emma!

Hi everyone - I'm Jun from Canada; I'm new to Goodreads. The pandemic has made me re-discover my love for classics. Some of my favourites are the Brothers Karamazov, Jane Eyre (which I just read last year), Divine Comedy, and To Kill A Mockingbird.

Welcome Jun, glad you found at least one positive during the pandemic.

Hi everybody. My name is Bridget, and I'm a college student who loves to read. I've always really enjoyed classics, and want to read more, so definitely looking forward to getting the chance to do so.

Welcome Jun and Bridget, glad you are with us.

Hi all, Wayne Jordaan, 55 year-old South African living in a coastal town called Mossel Bay. Health concerns prevent me from working full-time (at one job that is), so I do a number of different things on a part-time basis. And I read a lot.

I have been a member of Goodreads since 2015, but only really started participating in Challenges last year. Lots of books on the shelf so maybe I can tick some of it off being part of this group.

Thanks for having me, and looking forward to some great reading and interaction with group members.

Jun, Wayne and Bridget I hope you find many books you enjoy. Welcome to the conversation.

Welcome to the group, Bridget and Wayne. Happy reading.

Katy wrote: "Welcome to the group, Bridget and Wayne. Happy reading."

Thank you Katy

Lynn wrote: "Jun, Wayne and Bridget I hope you find many books you enjoy. Welcome to the conversation."

Thank you Lynn

Wayne, welcome!

Bob wrote: "Wayne, welcome!"

Thank you Bob

Thank you, Bob, Lynn, & Katy :) So glad I found this group.

Hi everyone, I'm new to Goodreads, I have a library diploma and live in Australia. I like to read a variety of books, including classics. I look forward to seeing your recommendations. Donna.

Welcome to the group, Donna. I'm looking forward to discussing books with you.

Welcome to the group Donna!

Welcome to the group Donna.

Thank you Katy, Bob and Lynn.

Hello everyone. I'm Avinash from India. I don't usually participate in groups, but I made a new year resolution that I will do it. I love to talk about books, though I don't have a lot of friends who are inclined towards reading. Looking forward to sharing my thoughts and enjoying the opinions of veteran readers like some people here.

We are glad that you have joined us, Avinash. Welcome to the group. I look forward to discussing books with you.

Welcome Avinash. Join any discussion that you like.

Welcome Avinash, glad you are with us.

Hello, Cozy Pug here, 50 y.o. housewife living in the Deep South, U.S. Feeling drawn to classics this year, although my favorite genre is (cozy) mysteries. All time favorite author is Agatha Christie. Looking forward to the monthly selections in this group, happy to have found you all :D

Edit: corrected my age, just realized I'd added 5 years to myself lol

Hello, nice to meet y’all! I’m Ambra, 27, from Italy. I have just created my account on Goodreads, and I look forward to finding inspiration in this group!

Welcome Cozy-Pug and Ambra. I am glad that you chose to read with us. There are four books each month that we are currently reading. Check out the polls for voting on future books: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/4.... There will also be Buddy Reads in addition to the three monthly books and one quarter read. Finally, we have fun challenges to try. All threads stay open so join in any discussion you like!

Cozy_Pug and Ambra, welcome to the group!

Glad to have you join us, CozyPug and Ambra. Welcome.

Hi everyone! I'm Marika and I've been reading ever since I was a little girl. I love reading classics and I haven't got a friend who loves classics as much as I do so here I am.

Welcome to the group, Marika. I am sure you will make friends here who love the classics. Enjoy.

Hello Marika, I am glad you decided to read with us!

Welcome, Marika.

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome :)

Hello everyone! I am looking forward to joining this group. I picked up reading for fun again last year after I graduated college. As I was reading, I noticed I hadn't read hardily and of the classics! *gasp!* What I soon learned is I didn't really know anyone else who was reading the classics and no one was quite as excited as I was with these ~new~ discoveries. So, here I am hoping to make some friends and pick up more ideas for classic books. Please feel free to add me as a friend and reach out if you are reading the same book or have read it and want to join in on my commentary!

Sara Marshall wrote: "Hello everyone! I am looking forward to joining this group. I picked up reading for fun again last year after I graduated college. As I was reading, I noticed I hadn't read hardily and of the class..."

Hello, Sara, welcome! My daughter is the same age as you, she graduated in 2019 with a degree in English. I was shocked that even in an English program, so few of what I consider true classics were read in her coursework. (She did take an entire class on Dickens, so that was something at least.). I was also shocked when in high school, her classes skipped over the old classics. I wonder if they're not taught as often anymore, but it's a shame. There's so much great literature that students aren't being exposed to.

Cozy_Pug wrote: "Sara Marshall wrote: "Hello everyone! I am looking forward to joining this group. I picked up reading for fun again last year after I graduated college. As I was reading, I noticed I hadn't read ha..."

Wow, I am surprised! I thought it was just my education programs that missed out on the classics. It sounds like you may be right though. In college we did not read one classic (finance/business major..... so not too many English literature classes), and in my K-12 education I read only two or three. In high school we would read passages, but never the entire book which even then I found surprising. I have already found so much enjoyment in them and I wish I had had the exposure earlier. If you have any recommendations please let me know, I would gladly take them!

Welcome to the group Sara, I think you will enjoy your reading of the classics.

Sara Marshall wrote: "Hello everyone! I am looking forward to joining this group. I picked up reading for fun again last year after I graduated college. As I was reading, I noticed I hadn't read hardily and of the class..."

Welcome Sara! I was in your shoes after I graduated college too, but long ago. I graduated in 1984 and 1985 was my year of Tolstoy! I read War and Peace and Anna Karenina. After that I read four H. G. Wells books and then the first seven books in the Dune series. It was such a sense of freedom to get to pick the books I wanted, and there was just an overwhelming number of books I wanted to read. Have fun! Hopefully you will learn about many new books here that interest you.

A good place to start for recommendations would be the group bookshelf. Also, there is a monthly thread about reading plans. Finally, I spend a lot of time reading other members' Challenge threads. There are so many good ideas there, plus reviews.