Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

I only joined this group on January 26th, and just discovered the Challenge Buffet section. This sounds like fun! Here are the challenges I hope to try this year:

Challenges I planned to do
✅Challenge #1 - New & Old TBR
✅Challenge #3a - Century
✅Challenge #3b - Decade
✅Challenge #4 - Members Choice
✅Challenge #6 - Group Reads and/or Buddy Reads

Bonus Challenges
✅Challenge #2 - Second Place or Worse (see post 91)
✅Challenge #5 - Short Story Challenge (see post 92)
✅Challenge #7 - Expand Your Horizon With New Authors (see post 93)
✅Challenge #11 - Old and New Linked Categories (see post 94)
✅Challenge #12 - A-Z Author Challenge (see post 95)

Reserved: Challenge #1 - New & Old TBR

✅ Challenge Complete ✅

I'm going to try to use this challenge to finally read books that have been sitting on my physical bookshelves, that somehow always get superseded by the books I take out from the library! :) Since I'm basically a month into the year already, I'll make the challenge for 11 books rather than 12.

1899 and earlier/Old School
✅1. Candide - February, ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
✅2. Catherine and Other Writings - March, ⭐️⭐️½
✅3. The History of Emily Montague - May, ⭐️

1900-1999/New School
✅4. Hangman's Beach - April, ⭐️⭐️
❌5. Ox Bells and Fireflies - DNF
✅6. Cold Comfort Farm - July, ⭐️⭐️⭐️

My Wild Card Five
✅7. All the Seas of the World - August, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½
✅8. The Constant Gardener - September, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✅9. O, the Brave Music - October, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✅10. The Crofter and the Laird: Life on an Hebridean Island - July, ⭐️⭐️⭐️
✅11. Scaramouche - October, ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alternates
A-1. As Birds Bring Forth the Sun and Other Stories
✅A-2. The Aeneid - October, ⭐️⭐️
❌A-3. By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept - DNF

Hmm, I've just noticed that there's a bit of a regional bias in the books I own, that possibly gives away what country I'm from. :)

Reserved: Challenge #3 - Decade/Century/Millennium

✅ Challenge Complete ✅ Century Challenge
For this one, I'm planning to read 1 book per decade of the 20th century:

✅1900-1909: The Tale of Peter Rabbit ⭐️⭐️ and The Machine Stops ⭐️⭐️½ (I read two, since both were short) - February
✅1910-1919: Howards End - February, ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
✅1920-1929: The Velveteen Rabbit - March, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✅1930-1939: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - March, ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
✅1940-1949: Chess Story - March, ⭐️⭐️½
✅1950-1959: Twelve Angry Men - February, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✅1960-1969: Hangman's Beach - April, ⭐️⭐️
✅1970-1979: The Lathe of Heaven - May, ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
✅1980-1989: A Month in the Country - March, ⭐️⭐️⭐️
✅1990-1999:Bridget Jones's Diary - March, ⭐️⭐️

✅ Challenge Complete ✅ Decade Challenge
Breaking News! I'm adding in a Decade Challenge, for the 1910s:

✅1910: Kilmeny of the Orchard - June, ⭐️½
✅1911: Just Patty - August, ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
✅1912: The Melting of Molly - September, ⭐️⭐️
✅1913: The Little Nugget - October, ⭐️⭐️⭐️
✅1914: Kokoro - May, ⭐️⭐️⭐️
✅1915: The Valley of Fear - November, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✅1916: Mountain Interval - August, ⭐️⭐️½
✅1917: Summer - May, ⭐️⭐️
✅1918: The Land That Time Forgot - March, ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
✅1919: The Moon and Sixpence - May, ⭐️⭐️½

Reserved: Challenge #4 - Members Choice

✅ Challenge Complete ✅

✅1. 19th Century: The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice - February, ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
✅2. 20th Century: The Corinthian - January, ⭐️⭐️½
✅3. A book originally written in a language other than your own: Candide - February, ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
✅4. Current or Past Group Read: Chess Story - March, ⭐️⭐️½
✅5. An Author not read before: The Snow Child - January, ⭐️⭐️⭐️
✅6. Diversity Classic, read a book from a religion, culture, country, or race different than yours: Kokoro - May, ⭐️⭐️⭐️
✅7. Science Fiction/Fantasy: I, Robot - February, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✅8. Action/Adventure: Casino Royale - February, ⭐️
✅9. Childrens/Young Adult: The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street - January, ⭐️⭐️½
✅10. Nonfiction: As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride - March, ⭐️⭐️⭐️
✅11. Mystery/Thriller: Piranesi - May ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✅12. Horror or Humor: Belinda - An April Folly in Three Acts - January, ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Reserved: Challenge #6 - Group Reads and/or Buddy Reads

✅ Challenge Complete ✅

✅1. Twelve Angry Men - February, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✅2. The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice - February, ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
✅3. The Cider House Rules - February, ⭐️⭐️⭐️
✅4. Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont - March, ⭐️⭐️⭐️
✅5. The Dream of a Ridiculous Man - March, ⭐️⭐️½
✅6. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - March, ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
✅7. Treasure Island - March, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½
✅8. Summer - May, ⭐️⭐️
✅9. The Moon Is Down - May, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½
✅10. Peter Camenzind - May, ⭐️⭐️⭐️
✅11. How Much Land Does a Man Need? - July, ⭐️⭐️½
✅12. The Bear - August, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

I’m glad you have chosen to dine at our buffet. I can give a big thumbs up to The Machine Stops, Howards End. The Maltese Falcon, East of Eden, and Murder at the Vicarage. Enjoy your challenge, good luck!

Bob wrote: "I can give a big thumbs up to The Machine Stops, Howards End. The Maltese Falcon, East of Eden, and Murder at the Vicarage."

Thanks so much for the tips! Any and all advice is very welcome!

My end of January Challenge update:

These are the books I read this month towards my challenges:

- The Corinthian - ⭐️⭐️½ (a bit of a disappointment after last year's 4-star book by the same author: The Talisman Ring)

- The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street - ⭐️⭐️½ (I'd heard really good things about this one, and it was cute in places. But somehow it was a children's book that, for me at least, didn't translate super well to being read as an adult)

- Belinda - An April Folly in Three Acts - ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (fairly amusing, and Milne is never wasted time, though his play The Dover Road is wittier)

- The Snow Child - ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (the best this month, if not quite as literary or magical as I'd hoped)

So, a bit of a so-so start to the year. No standouts, but then no really bad clunkers either. And I've made a bit of progress on my challenges!

My end of February Challenge update:

I had kind of a ridiculously productive reading month (at least by my usual standards). These are the books I read this month towards my Buffet challenges:

- Candide ⭐️⭐️⭐️½: I don't know how I got the impression that this was a heavy classic about philosophy. Nope! It's a quite funny, biting romp of a satire, that reads very quickly. Still, it did paint quite a bleak picture of life at the time. I read the translation by François-Marie Arouet. (Also, I was happy to get a start on the New & Old TBR Challenge, which I find pretty intimidating...)

- The Tale of Peter Rabbit ⭐️⭐️: I was amazed to discover I'd never tried a Beatrix Potter. I guess I've been spoiled by the charming writing of A. A. Milne. I found this to be quite pedestrian.

- The Machine Stops ⭐️⭐️½: This was a really interesting story. I wasn't blown away by the writing, but some of the ideas were remarkably accurate for having been written 100 years ago! Sometimes with older sci-fi, I wonder whether they do quite a good job predicting the future, or whether instead technology gets ideas from them, so it's sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Certainly I think there's some interplay there; not all one-sided.

- Howards End ⭐️⭐️⭐️½: It's hard to know what to make of this one. For me, reading it felt like watching an author transform from one writer into a completely different writer. The first half was rather dull, while the second half was very engaging. The writing was often awkward at the beginning. As the book progressed, there would sometimes be very beautiful passages, often about the inner life of a home or the connection between humanity and nature, or else really astute observations about human relationships. By the end, the beautiful prose was fairly common and the awkward sections very rare, and I was quite involved in the story. I'd say the best parts are worth 4 stars and the dull parts 2 or 2½ stars. I'm rounding up the average to 3½ stars, because in the end it's the better parts that have stuck with me.

- I, Robot ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: From an inner-geek perspective, it's nice to have read the book that is the source of the Three Laws of Robotics. While Asimov is not a great writer (just in terms of the quality of the writing itself), this was fairly entertaining, with only one story that really didn't age well (perception of women). I found the stories creative, sometimes funny, and often compelling.

- G2: Casino Royale ⭐️: Not completely boring, but not all that exciting, and quite offensively misogynistic.

- The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice ⭐️⭐️⭐️½: Although not as satisfying as The Woman in White, it was enjoyable and well written. Actually, in a way it was like a shorter version of The Woman in White, with some of the same tropes. For me what made it less satisfying was simply that I became less involved in the story and characters, and the tension was lower. But still, I was engaged while reading it.

- The Cider House Rules ⭐️⭐️⭐️: I strongly disliked certain parts of this book, especially near the beginning. But in the end I was really invested in the story.

I guess I'm a bit stingy with stars. The book I most enjoyed this month was The First Violin, which I'm not currently using in my Buffet challenge. I'll discuss it in my update to my Bingo challenge.

Wobbley wrote: "My end of February Challenge update:

I had kind of a ridiculously productive reading month (at least by my usual standards). These are the books I read this month towards my Buffet challenges:

- ..."

Great reading selection! You're doing a great job on your challenges.

No kidding! That was a productive month. You had some really nice books on your list. I loved Candide. I thought it was really funny.

Wow!! Well done Wobbley! Amazing progress. I was glad that I pushed myself to read I, Robot last year. Very eye opening.

A great month of reading, Congrats.

Thanks everyone! I feel that joining this group and taking on the various challenges (such as the Buffet) has really helped inspire me to get back to more reading and older books. The last few years I was a bit sad to see that the average publication year of the books I'd read was so recent (in the 1990s). But I was having a hard time finding recommendations for older books -- people mostly talk about new books. So far this year my average is in the 1930s!

Lynn wrote: "No kidding! That was a productive month. You had some really nice books on your list. I loved Candide. I thought it was really funny."

My copy of Candide has a hilarious set of cartoons on the cover that summarize the beginning of the book. It was a fun bonus!

I've had a really varied couple of weeks, with a DNF, a 1-star, a 2-star, a 3-star, a 4-star, and a 5-star read.

I've also decided to add a new challenge, the Decade Challenge, as part of Challenge #2. When I was selecting books for my Century Challenge, I found that there were many books from the 1910s I was interested in, so I've added that decade as its own challenge. Who knows whether I'll have time to get to it, but it's good to have the inspiration!

Here are the ones I read/tried recently for my Buffet challenge:

Ox Bells and Fireflies DNF: My first DNF of the Buffet, and unfortunately it came in Challenge #1, where I have a limited number of substitutions. This was sad. I had previously read his novel The Mountain and the Valley. I enjoyed that one, and found the writing quite lovely. But in this memoir, it was the writing that totally turned me off. Intolerably florid, there were entire groups of paragraphs where every sentence had two or more similes!

A Month in the Country ⭐️⭐️⭐️: I liked this one. It is a quiet book, about healing, and the relationship between artists and art, with a poignant ending.

Bridget Jones's Diary ⭐️⭐️: Very so-so. It was easy to read and to finish, nothing awkward about the writing style. But I didn't really like the characters. The main character in particular wasn't likeable, and I couldn't understand why the great guy she ends up with is interested in her. Also, the get-together was unconvincing. In a book that is essentially chick lit (does anyone know if there's a more modern term for this genre?), I think the main character, the love interest, and the get-together all have to work. Still, it was light and sometimes fun.

Twelve Angry Men ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: My best read of the year so far. I found it very compelling. It explores some of the prejudices at the core of American culture, while still offering hope. It really captures how deaf some people are to any form of logic. Still, you can tell it was written in a less cynical time; my guess is that the ending would have been bleaker had the play been written today.

I've read a few more books towards my Buffet Challenge:

Catherine and Other Writings ⭐️⭐️½: The best was the title story, Catherine, which begins to show the writer she will become. For the rest, there are some amusing moments (particularly in Love and Friendship), but it mostly made me feel sorry for her, that just because she became a great writer, people insist on publishing the nonsense she wrote as a child, and there's nothing she can do to stop them. I'm certainly glad nobody can read the silly things I wrote in my youth!

The Velveteen Rabbit ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: I thought it was lovely, with some amusing lines. Although the ending appears happy, it made me feel sad. I think it's probably because I found the ending sad that the deus ex machina aspect of it didn't bother me.

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont ⭐️⭐️⭐️: A quietly depressing book about aging. I’d say I admired this book more than I enjoyed it. It is always nice to see an older protagonist.

Laughed at your comment about publishing Austen's youthful scribbling. I wrote some very, very bad poetry when I was young, so I know what you mean.

Congrats on finishing three more for the challenge.

Haha, yes, bad poetry seems in style at a certain age. Though I suppose we thought it was deep at the time...

Thanks Sara!

Sorry you had a DNF. Your progress is great.

Thanks very much, Bob! I'm really amazed at how much I've read this year -- way more than my normal pace. I think joining this group and these challenges has really done wonders for my reading!

I finished a few more in my Buffet this week:

Chess Story ⭐️⭐️½: Once again I'm reminded of how glad I am not to have lived in Europe during the 1940s...

The Land That Time Forgot ⭐️⭐️⭐️½: This was a quick, fun adventure story that reminded me of The Lost World. I don't think it was helped by the introduction of the romance, but I did quite enjoy it overall. Also, it's satisfying to check the first one off in my new Decade Challenge (the 1910s), which I added a couple of weeks ago!

As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride ⭐️⭐️⭐️: I can't actually say whether this book is particularly good. What I can say is that the entire book was spent saying nice things about one of my favourite movies, and therefore I enjoyed it. :)

Treasure Island ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½: It's hard to believe that I'd never read this one. I really enjoyed this classic adventure story. Very engaging. (I sort of wish I'd chosen this one for the Action/Adventure category of Members Choice, rather than that unfortunate James Bond book...)

All in all, some pretty good choices!

Just a mention of The Princess Bride makes me smile, and I too found Treasure Island a surprisingly engaging book. Congrats on all the progress.

Right? It's such a likeable film!

I too was surprised by Treasure Island. I don't know why I expected it to be slightly dull, but it was really entertaining!

Thanks for your encouragement, Sara! My trick this week is that two of the books I read were quite short. ;)

I've read a few more for my Buffet Challenge:

Hangman's Beach ⭐️⭐️: It had some engaging parts, but parts of this one were a bit of a slog. It wasn't without any value, but I felt it wasn't worth all the time I put into it. Still, I'm glad to be back on track with my New & Old TBR Challenge, having read one per month so far.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day ⭐️⭐️⭐️½: Despite a few misgivings (mainly about gender roles), I enjoyed this light book about a downtrodden woman finding her courage and some happiness.

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man ⭐️⭐️½: An interesting short story, and my first successfully completed Dostoyevsky! (I have a rather unsuccessful history with Crime and Punishment...)

I've also learned an important lesson about the New & Old TBR Challenge: I need to be okay with failing it. Normally, if I find a book as so-so and as slow going as Hangman's Beach was for me, I stop reading it. This time I pushed through, simply because it's part of my New & Old TBR Challenge, where few substitutions are allowed. Letting myself stop a book that isn't working for me is a relatively new thing for me, and I think it's been good for my reading life, so I don't want to pressure myself out of that. I guess for this challenge, I'll need to be satisfied as long as I've given a book an honest try, even if I decide to DNF it.

Plus, bonus: by that measure, I've now done 4 books in the challenge rather than 3! ;)

DNFing is a hard-won habit for me as well, Wobbley. You have exactly the right attitude. I had never not finished an Old and New, but last year I had simply not picked well and found myself with having to either finish a book that was unbearable or declare myself unfinished. I made the declaration and moved on--but this year I was very careful to pick my alternatives from books by authors I KNEW I would like. With three alternatives, I'm sure that is not going to happen to me ever again.

Thanks Sara. Your approach is really smart. When I made my New & Old TBR Challenge, I decided to fill it with books from my physical bookshelf that I've never read. This gave me a quite restricted set to choose from. I think your approach will lead to a much better chance of success. :)

I've recently read a few more for my Buffet Challenge. I've also completed my Century Challenge!!

Summer ⭐️⭐️: This had some good aspects, but for me it was a somewhat painful read, watching the main character make a series of poor, stubborn choices that dug her deeper and deeper into a hole. This is a known weakness for me with books: I find it a bit cringey to wait for something terrible that I know is going to happen. On the up side, I did enjoy the social commentary.

The Moon and Sixpence ⭐️⭐️½: This was fine, but for me it was a middle-of-the-road book from an author who is capable of writing great books. Also, he definitely didn't do Gauguin any favours with this book! The artist depicted was a pretty terrible person, with basically no conscience. But I understand he was trying to depict a type, and even today (over 100 years later) we have generally accepted as a culture that great artists are difficult people, who can be held to a different (lower) standard of behaviour.

Kokoro ⭐️⭐️⭐️: I often have success with Japanese literary fiction. This wasn't my favourite example of its type, but I did mainly enjoy it. This type of Japanese fiction has a calm, detatched writing style that I find oddly appealing. This is believed to be the best-selling novel in history in Japan (at least according to Wikipedia), and I can definitely see its influence on later Japanese novels I've read, both in style (as discussed) and also in theme (focus on honour, and the clash of old and new values). I read the translation by Meredith McKinney.

The Lathe of Heaven ⭐️⭐️⭐️½: A strange, creative book of ideas. But even though it struck me as more of an "ideas" book, it did have quite the plot, and it had me rooting for the main character, and hoping he could somehow turn around his bizarre situation and find some happiness. It's the kind of book that you finish, and it's hard to say quite what you thought of the experience. But in the end I think I liked it, and I certainly admired its creativity. I think it's the best novel by Ursula K. Le Guin that I've read so far.

So, no new favourites, but some decent choices, and I'm happy to have completed the first of my 2023 Buffet Challenges!

Congrats on the Century finish and for having some enjoyable reads in there. I like your mini-reviews. I have read Kokoro, but had no idea it held such a prestigious place in Japanese literature.

Thanks Sara!

Yes, to me Kokoro has a very modern feel to it, so it's surprising that it's over 100 years old, and has had time to be so influential.

Kokoro sounds like the sort of book I would like. I just got it for my kindle. Thank you. Isn't the cover beautiful?

Lynn wrote: "Kokoro sounds like the sort of book I would like. I just got it for my kindle. Thank you. Isn't the cover beautiful?"

Yes, that cover is stunning! I hope you'll enjoy the book. If you so, I recommend you try The Sound of the Mountain by Yasunari Kawabata, which is my favourite classic Japanese novel. Or for (somewhat) more modern options, you could try Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto, or An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro (wow, that's another beautiful cover!).

Happy reading!

Wobbley wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Kokoro sounds like the sort of book I would like. I just got it for my kindle. Thank you. Isn't the cover beautiful?"

Yes, that cover is stunning! I hope you'll enjoy th..."

Thank you. I tried Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata and still own a copy of it. I abandoned (DNF'd) the book. Maybe I will return to him later, but I had trouble connecting to that author.


The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro is currently one book in the stack on my nightstand. That one is moving along slowly LOL.

Lynn wrote: "I tried Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata and still own a copy of it. I abandoned (DNF'd) the book. Maybe I will return to him later, but I had trouble connecting to that author. The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro is currently one book in the stack on my nightstand. That one is moving along slowly LOL."

Lynn, while I haven't read either of those ones (The Unconsoled in particular has never appealed to me), funny enough, I too have DNFs from both these authors. I find both authors to be about 50-50 for me; sometimes they really pull off something special, and sometimes it falls flat (at least for me). From Yasunari Kawabata the one I really enjoyed was The Sound of the Mountain; from Kazuo Ishiguro, it's Never Let Me Go, The Remains of the Day, and An Artist of the Floating World.

I hope you find something that works for you!

Congratulations on finishing your Century Challenge. I too, just read The Moon and Sixpence. For me it rated 3.5 stars, I rounded up, it’s Maugham after all.

Bob wrote: "Congratulations on finishing your Century Challenge. I too, just read The Moon and Sixpence. For me it rated 3.5 stars, I rounded up, it’s Maugham after all."

Thanks Bob! Yes, Maugham has written some great stuff.

Congrats on completing your challenge!

So far whatever I've read by Japanese authors hasn't been very enjoyable. The calm, detached tone gets on my nerves. Which book would you suggest for a beginner? I've tried Natsume Soseki, Fumiko Enchi, Banana Yoshimoto, and Yasunari Kawabata.

Looks like you are making great progress in all of your challenges! Congrats on finishing the century!

Ila wrote: "So far whatever I've read by Japanese authors hasn't been very enjoyable. The calm, detached tone gets on my nerves. Which book would you suggest for a beginner?"

Hi Ila. This is a hard question for me to answer, because I enjoy the calm, detached tone. I guess I'd say your best bet might be to read a book of short stories by various Japanese authors. Then you can try a few different authors without much commitment, and see which authors you prefer, before committing to a longer book.

Good luck with your search!

Lori wrote: "Looks like you are making great progress in all of your challenges! Congrats on finishing the century!"

Thanks so much for the encouragement, Lori!

I've had a varied few weeks of reading, and I've completed my Members Choice Challenge!

The History of Emily Montague ⭐️: The New & Old TBR Challenge is not going that well for me this year. Also, I apparently haven't learned my lesson about stopping books I'm not enjoying. This challenge ought to have 3 DNFs by now (and thus be on the verge of failure), rather than the 1 DNF I've allowed it. As for this particular book, Wikipedia describes it as "a sentimental novel". It really, really is.

Peter Camenzind ⭐️⭐️⭐️: This is Hermann Hesse's first novel. I found the style a bit awkward compared to later books I've read, and the book was a bit up and down for me. But my overall impression is a positive one. A novel about a man trying to figure out how best to live, while stumbling along the way. The best parts are full of insight or touching remembrance. (I read the translation by Michael Roloff.)

The Moon Is Down ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½: I don't often really like war stories, so this one surprised me. I think it's the writing, and the decisions about which aspects to focus on. I was very impressed with this thoughtful, engaging book, and hope to read some more Steinbeck soon.

Piranesi ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: I loved the experience of reading this book: excellent writing, a strange dreamy tone, a creative premise and execution. I was impressed that the ending more or less resolved things without ruining it, a feat that seemed pretty unlikely given the premise. This book almost defies genre: a mix of literary, fantasy, and mystery/crime. If I had to choose, I'd say the writing and tone place it firmly in literary, but I'm sticking it in mystery, because that's the category I've got left to fill in my Members Choice Challenge. :)

One dud, but otherwise some pretty solid choices this time.

Congrats on some great reads and also on finishing the Reader's Choice. I had a year of poor Old & New choices, and I am extremely careful now to include books by authors I know I will love. Learning to dnf was a hard lesson for me, but I am better at it now, although not perfect. Even our reading is a work in progress. :p)

Congrats on finishing your Members Choice challenge. The Moon is Down, is a book I had no plans for. Until the group read thread took off, now it is a must. Maybe in a couple of months.

Congrats, Wobbley! I know just what you mean about the experience of reading Piranesi--I loved it too.

Thanks very much, Sara and Bob! Though Emily Montague was a bit of a slog, I'm happy with having so many satisfying reads this time.

Sara, I don't know how you do it -- I'm having trouble thinking of an author, even a favourite author, where I love everything I've read by them. I feel like that distinction is reserved for authors where I've only read 1 or 2 things, so they haven't really been tested. I'm really impressed with your powers of selection! (Or possibly my expectations are unreasonable, haha.)

It is just a handful, Wobbley, but I have yet to be disappointed by Elizabeth Taylor, so she is my latest go-to. I will be searching for another when I have exhausted her canon. Crossing my fingers that there isn't a bomb ahead.

Kathleen wrote: "Congrats, Wobbley! I know just what you mean about the experience of reading Piranesi--I loved it too."

Thanks Kathleen! I'm glad you enjoyed Piranesi too, it's always nice to find someone who agrees with you about something great. I'm having a discussion about it with a few people tomorrow, and I wonder how it will go. I feel it's the kind of book that could be divisive, especially if you go into it expecting a fantasy novel. But I was so impressed by it, and found it really enjoyable!

Sara wrote: "It is just a handful, Wobbley, but I have yet to be disappointed by Elizabeth Taylor, so she is my latest go-to. I will be searching for another when I have exhausted her canon."

If you're able to find writers like that, take the win. Books that remind you of why you love reading are one of the great joys in life!

I too enjoyed Piranesi and The Moon is Down for the exact same reasons you mentioned. Steinbeck always leaves me with so much food for thought and quite emotional.