Constant Reader discussion

Our winners this time are:
Loon Feather
Palace Desire
The House Behind the Cedars



These next three books each received 3 votes, so we will need to break the tie to select one more book.


Here are the description of these books to help in making your decision. Please vote for one book by sending me an email message through our Goodreads system by Saturday, June 7. Perhaps Lynn can start with planning the dates each book should be read, then filling in with the last book.


Long Ships - “Bengtsson’s immersive storytelling and attention to historical detail bring the Viking Age to life, painting a vivid picture of the Norse way of life and their powerful longships. With its mix of action, drama, and even moments of humour, The Long Ships is an enthralling and memorable read for anyone fascinated by the Viking era.” —Kennie M, The Review Geek
c. 1957. 418 pgs.

Sophies Choice - Three stories are told: a young Southerner wants to become a writer; a turbulent love-hate affair between a brilliant Jew and a beautiful Polish woman; and of an awful wound in that woman's past--one that impels both Sophie and Nathan toward destruction. (GR blurb). 562 pls

Virgin Soil - Turgenev was the most liberal-spirited and unqualifiedly humane of all the great nineteenth-century Russian novelists, and in Virgin Soil, his biggest and most ambitious work, he sought to balance his deep affection for his country and his people, with his growing apprehensions about what their future held in store. At the heart of the book is the story of a young man and a young woman, torn between love and politics, who struggle to make headway against the complacency of the powerful, the inarticulate misery of the powerless, and the stifling conventions of provincial life. This rich and complex book, at once a love story, a devastating, and bitterly funny social satire, and, perhaps most movingly of all, a heartfelt celebration of the immense beauty of the Russian countryside, is a tragic masterpiece in which one of the world's finest novelists confronts the enduring question of the place of happiness in a political world. 435 pages (From the goodreads summary)

Our nonfiction book for the second half of the year is Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives.

Can you tell me the nominators of the three Classics winners and the Nonfiction selection? That will help me balance the schedule.

Lynn wrote: “Can you tell me the nominators of the three Classics winners and the Nonfiction selection? That will help me balance the schedule.”

House Behind the Cedars and Palace of Desire are me.

Thanks, spoko. I figured you had at least one in the mix :)

I'm basically going to spend the last half of the year leading CR discussions. 😁

Spoko, that’s hilarious! I’ve been in that position before. The good news is that your books won. The bad news is that you have some responsibility.

I actually nominated Palace of Desire too. I like your introductory notes better than mine so I’d love it if you would do one for it. But, I promise to be very present for the discussion.

Yeah, you two are usually the ones that make life interesting for me when I start scheduling :)

Barbara wrote: “I actually nominated Palace of Desire too. I like your introductory notes better than mine so I’d love it if you would do one for it. But, I promise to be very present for the discussion.”

That’s nice to hear! I actually like writing the introductions because it prompts me to think over the book a bit more, so I’m happy to do it. It’s funny that we both nominated it, especially with it being a sequel. I’m always hesitant to nominate those. But we had such a good discussion on the first one, and several people did mention that they were already reading/planning to read the second. I can’t wait to start it, honestly.

Ann nominated The Loon Feather and our non-fiction book, Cobalt Red. I've gotten votes already - thanks for sending them promptly everyone.

Ann also mentioned that we might want to ask again for nominations for nonfiction books. She said there was at least one member who said they didn't know there was the call was for both classics & non-fiction as they had some recommendations.

Her thought is that Cobalt Red might not interest readers and the discussion would be a dud like other titles she had moderated and she also wanted tips on how to engage our readers.

She thought it might be appropriate to open this up to a discussion that asks what the prompts are to inspire discussion?

Please give us your thoughts.

I’d love the discussion about how to prompt, and how to inspire/promote discussions. I have had to do it a number of times here, in other GR groups, and in an IRL book group, and I always feel like I could have done a better job.

Should that be its own discussion thread, though? Seems like it’s well beyond the scope of just Classics Corner.

That's a good idea, Gina, Ann and spoko. I'd like to see that as a separate discussion thread under the Constant Reader conference, since it's not isolated to any specific group (RL, CC or NF). I think there's too much potential that it might get lost here.

As for reopening the Nonfiction selection process, I'm worried that we are running short on time for that... unless we agree to schedule it later in the year.

Sophies Choice and Virgin Soil both won three votes in the runoff. Rather than try for another runoff, why don't we schedule both books, one for 2025 and one to start Classic Corner in 2026. And Cobalt Red will be our nonfiction book this year. Is this okay for everyone?

Sounds good to me, Gina.

Sounds fine to me too!

I'm fine with that. Could you please confer with the two nominators and decide which one to defer and which one to do this year? Thanks!

I just sent you a message about that, Gina.

spoko wrote: "I’d love the discussion about how to prompt, and how to inspire/promote discussions. I have had to do it a number of times here, in other GR groups, and in an IRL book group, and I always feel like..."

Did this get started in the new spot? I was curious as well....

I don't think anyone has done that yet, Molly. Feel free to start a thread under the Constant Reader conference if you'd like to kick it off.