Reading with Style discussion

Use this thread to post any questions or discussions about one of our most diabolical challenges.

You may have a good strategy for finding your books, but I'll tell you what I did. First I copied the spreadsheet so I could have one to mark up, cross out, "pencil" in options.

I thought I would have the most books for the 2008-2022 dates, so I wanted to leave it for last. In fact, I decided to fill in from the oldest dates first. You can sort your shelves by date published. OR you can sort your shelves by page count. Don't be afraid to sort your shelves and resort so that you are getting a good look at the section where you have blanks.

Always remember that the book you have shelved might not be the MPE. I went back and forth to the book page to verify that I was fitting things in the way I wanted.

In the end - haha - I came down to the 2008-2022 and couldn't find a book. We have members who have thousands of books on their shelves - and you probably have GR friends who do too. Kate was a lifesaver for me!

Guy de Maupassant

D or M for last initial?

Denise wrote: "Guy de Maupassant

D or M for last initial?"

I definitely had to double check this one!

M. He is listed at libraries as Mauppasant, Guy, de

Thanks! I tried to figure it out online, but wanted to make sure I followed RWS rules. And thank you for the tips on searching for books. It didn't take me long to hit a roadblock, and looking at your books bailed me out!

Haha! Glad I could help!

Is there a way we can "lock in" page numbers in case the MPE changes during the season?

Rosemary wrote: "Is there a way we can "lock in" page numbers in case the MPE changes during the season?"

Absolutely. I'll open a separate thread, give me a moment.

Lilian Jackson Braun is a B?

Rosemary wrote: "Lilian Jackson Braun is a B?"

Yes

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Rosemary wrote: "Lilian Jackson Braun is a B?"

Yes"

Phew! And thank you for the page count thread :)

Rosemary wrote: "
Phew! And thank you for the page count thread :)"

You're welcome. It's a lot easier to check and verify when they're all in one place.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I thought I would have the most books for the 2008-2022 dates, so I wanted to leave it for last. In fact, I decided to fill in from the oldest dates first. ....

That's what I'm going to do also :) great minds think alike

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Denise wrote: "Guy de Maupassant

D or M for last initial?"

I definitely had to double check this one!

M. He is listed at libraries as Mauppasant, Guy, de"

Two more similar authors:

(asking)
Charles de Lint -- "L"
Ursula K. Le Guin -- "G"

Deedee wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Denise wrote: "Guy de Maupassant

D or M for last initial?"

I definitely had to double check this one!

M. He is listed at libraries as Mauppasant, Guy, d..."

Charles de Lint is D - De Lint, Charles
Ursula K. Le Guin is L - Le Guin, Ursula K.

I'm glad you asked. Not sure why things aren't consistent.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Deedee wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Denise wrote: "Guy de Maupassant

D or M for last initial?"

I definitely had to double check this one!

M. He is listed at libraries as Mau..."

Thanks for answering! If I come across any more I'll ask here, especially because not consistent.

And, variations on my question :)
Are these all "S"?

Kassia St. Clair
Margaret St. Clair
Judith St. George
Dorothy St. James

And this I would guess "A" (but I'm far from sure):
Matthew De Abaitua (who wrote If Then for publisher Angry Robot)

D or C?
Sebastien de Castell

D or M?
Daphne du Maurier

and ... the van and von names like
Elizabeth von Arnim

thanks

Deedee wrote: "And, variations on my question :)
Are these all "S"?

Kassia St. Clair
Margaret St. Clair
Judith St. George

And this I would guess "A" (but I'm fa..."

The St.s are all S

Matthew De Abaitua is D

Sebastien de Castell is also D

Daphne du Maurier is also D

I just want to make sure I understand the page counts.... there are two ranges for each option?

That is correct, Ed.

D or Q?

Eça de Queirós

Ed wrote: "D or Q?

Eça de Queirós"

Brooklyn Public Library has him listed as
Queiros, Eca de.

So, it looks like a Q to me.

Kate S wrote: "Ed wrote: "D or Q?

Eça de Queirós"

Brooklyn Public Library has him listed as
Queiros, Eca de.

So, it looks like a Q to me."

Thanks

Lagullande wrote: "I have a plan, but I'm not sure I like it. I have two others where I'm struggling to find the last book. So does anyone have any suggestions for:

1. 421-460/821-860, 1963-1977, I-J-K

2. 101-140/..."

You may have already read this, but for the second one, A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf might work. Published 1929, and the most popular edition is 112 pages.

Lagullande wrote: "I have a plan, but I'm not sure I like it. I have two others where I'm struggling to find the last book. So does anyone have any suggestions for:

1. 421-460/821-860, 1963-1977, I-J-K

2. 101-140/..."

I looked through my TBR and found some authors for those letters and the years needed:

P.D. James
Ismail Kadare
Stephen King
Milan Kundera

However, I had no luck with the page range. Maybe you can switch something around to make it work?

Lagullande wrote: "I have a plan, but I'm not sure I like it. I have two others where I'm struggling to find the last book. So does anyone have any suggestions for:

1. 421-460/821-860, 1963-1977, I-J-K

2. 101-140/..."

Here's another suggestion:

The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West 1918 112 pages

Good luck with your search!

The Return of the Soldier is very good!

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "The Return of the Soldier is very good!"

Thanks so much for your suggestions, Valerie, Bryony, Connie and Elizabeth. I have already read A Room of One's Own and The Return of the Soldier, but they would definitely be worth a re-read.

I actually just came on to delete my earlier post, as it suddenly dawned on me that it might not be in the spirit of the game to ask for this sort of help. I realised that part of the challenge is to find the right books, not just read them. So apologies - it wasn't my intention to dodge any of the work!

Lagullande wrote: "I actually just came on to delete my earlier post, as it suddenly dawned on me that it might not be in the spirit of the game to ask for this sort of help. I realised that part of the challenge is to find the right books, not just read them. So apologies - it wasn't my intention to dodge any of the work!"

Asking for help is encouraged, not frowned upon! Finding titles that work is part of the fun! If as a group, we can help another member find an excellent book to read, we will happily do so! Please ask for help and recommendations as often as you like!

And, I see The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran with 127 pages and published in 1923 might fit your criteria as well.

Yeah, what Kate says!.... :)

I often seem to be asking for help! Plus, sometimes it's more fun to help someone else with their plan than struggle with your own! ha, ha....

Thank you, ladies, for your kindness and your suggestions. I haven't read The Prophet yet, so that might be the way to go. I now have lots of excellent ideas...bring on December!!

The Firedrake came in at the library, yeah! And, surprise -- it was published in 1966, not 1960. I checked online and most sites say 1966, plus Cecelia Holland was born in 1943. In 1960 she was 17; in 1966 she was 23, a more reasonable age for a first novel. So I've reshuffled my list a bit to accommodate the 1966 date.

My question: The Mystic Masseur is 215 pages. Enlarging the cover, it says that this book has two novels included,
'The Mystic Masseur' and 'Miguel Street'. The second most common edition is The Mystic Masseur, 208 pages, only 'The Mystic Masseur', no 'Miguel Street' included. I have the 208 page edition in my house (thanks to a pre-Covid Library sale). Can I use the solo 'The Mystic Masseur' for {N-O} {181-220/581-620} {1948-1962}?? Thanks.

Deedee wrote: "The Firedrake came in at the library, yeah! And, surprise -- it was published in 1966, not 1960. I checked online and most sites say 1966, plus Cecelia Holland was born..."

I'm glad you were able to nimbly change your plan. Yes, as to the Naipaul. This has editions that need to be separated, but I'm not up to it and I'll post in the librarian group to see if anyone else is interested.

Please remind us of this answer when you post.

I would like to make sure I don’t have an issue with the book that will be hardest to get on my CiV list!

I have locked in The Awakening by Kate Roberts on my CiV list as P-Q-R 261-300/661-700 1948-1962 with 286 pages.

It appears that this is a translation from Welsh of Y Byw Sy'n Cysgu (Cam at Y Cewri) and is the MPE.

An earlier translation had a different title: The Living Sleep: A Novel with a different number of pages (there appears to be a page count problem).

I would like to confirm that I can read either The Awakening or The Living Sleep: A Novel and claim the locked in 262 page count.

This will probably be the last book I can find and I can see all sorts of trouble redoing CiV if I get the earlier translation and it doesn’t work.

Thanks for the help!

Mary wrote: "I would like to make sure I don’t have an issue with the book that will be hardest to get on my CiV list!

I have locked in The Awakening by Kate Roberts on my CiV li..."

The MPE is this edition with 280 pages: The Awakening. We accept that page count, as I can foresee it changing. Please note this reply when posting.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Mary wrote: "I would like to make sure I don’t have an issue with the book that will be hardest to get on my CiV list!

I have locked in The Awakening by Kate Roberts..."

Thanks! Just wanted to be sure everything was squared away. This Subchallenge has so many moving parts, I don’t want to go wrong! (But it is a great idea!).

I would like to use 13 White Tulips for the 221-260/621-660 page range. There is no page count listed on the GR page, but there is a copy at Amazon (https://www.amazon.co.uk/WHITE-TULIPS...) which looks to be the same edition and is listed as 246 pages. Is that ok?

Lagullande wrote: "I would like to use 13 White Tulips for the 221-260/621-660 page range. There is no page count listed on the GR page, but there is a copy at Amazon (https://www.amazon.co.uk/WHITE-T..."

Worldcat is a more reliable source for page counts, but it happens that they also list 246 for that edition. I have edited the GR record accordingly. Enjoy the read!

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Lagullande wrote: "I would like to use 13 White Tulips for the 221-260/621-660 page range. There is no page count listed on the GR page, but there is a copy at Amazon (https://www.a..."

Thanks, Elizabeth.
I've just finished it. I'm not entirely sure the whodunnit held together, but I really enjoyed the sense of time and place.

I have a question. If I'm considering a book but it falls outside the *earliest* publication year (originally published in 1845), is it still acceptable or do I need to pick something else? Ditto goes for books that exceed the highest page number. If I have a book that fits my categories but *exceeds* the 900pg upper limit, do i need to pick something else? I'm looking at a few books in particular to fit that last slot.

Heather wrote: "I have a question. If I'm considering a book but it falls outside the *earliest* publication year (originally published in 1845), is it still acceptable or do I need to pick something else? Ditto g..."

No, sorry, you'll need stay within the stated ranges. We did adjust the pub years this time which ended up requiring some earlier books. I do remember the discussion the first time we did this and the page counts didn't go beyond 500. At that time, we extended page counts in case people wanted to read jumbos.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Heather wrote: "I have a question. If I'm considering a book but it falls outside the *earliest* publication year (originally published in 1845), is it still acceptable or do I need to pick somethi..."

Ok then, I'm stuck on my last slot. I'm trying to find something for E-F or P-Q-R, 381-420/781-820 OR 421-460/821-860, and 1873-1887 or 1888-1902.

Deleted. I missed the page count accuracy. I'll keep looking.

E-F, 381-420/781-820, 1888-1902

The Damnation of Theron Ware: Or Illumination by Harold Frederic, E-F, 384 pgs, pub'd 1896

This appears to be available free on the Kindle. The free Kindle edition shows only 230 pages by the way, and what extra the Penguin MPE has to offer I certainly cannot say.

That leaves you with

P-Q-R, 421-460/821-860, 1873-1887

P-Q-R, 421-460/821-860, 1873-1887

Noli Me Tángere (Touch Me Not) by José Rizal, 444 pgs, pub'd 1887

This has a free Kindle edition titled The Social Cancer and I don't pretend to understand why the title has that translation as the edition I linked above is also an English edition.

Hope this helps, Heather. And if anyone else has other titles that fit, please feel free to post them!

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "P-Q-R, 421-460/821-860, 1873-1887

Noli Me Tángere (Touch Me Not) by José Rizal, 444 pgs, pub'd 1887

This has a free Kindle edition titled The Social Cancer and I don..."

I've read that one already! However, my boyfriend found one for me that looked interesting. A Struggle for Fame by Charlotte Riddell 407pg, P-Q-R, published 1883.

Heather wrote: "I've read that one already! ."

Ha! Well, I admit to not having looking at your shelves. Did you like it? I added it to my wish list this morning.

If you use the Charlotte Riddell one, then you'll still need to find one for E-F, as the one I posted uses the same page range.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Heather wrote: "I've read that one already! ."

Ha! Well, I admit to not having looking at your shelves. Did you like it? I added it to my wish list this morning.

If you use the Charlotte Riddell ..."

I honestly don't remember much of it, which should tell you something. It was just... meh. Anyway, I see my mistake - I skipped a number on my list. I thought I was done! I still need E-F 421-460 1888-1902.

I've just read The Secret of Chimneys (Superintendent Battle #1) by Agatha Christie for which I've counted on the MPE being 400 however casting my eye over other editions, 400 pages seems out (others are in 250-320 range). Could you please confirm if I can use the 400p MPE? Thanks!

Tien wrote: "I've just read The Secret of Chimneys (Superintendent Battle #1) by Agatha Christie for which I've counted on the MPE being 400 however casting my eye over other editio..."

Yep, 400 it is!