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Happy June! It's Pride Month (in the US at any rate). What will you all be reading? I'm chugging along with challenge reading as per usual, but I have a couple of reads that I can represent my community with (as well as some more queercoded ones) this time of year.

Quest for Women
Ourika - Claire de Duras (completed 6/10/22)
Desert of the Heart - Jane Rule (completed 6/18/22)
Castle Rackrent - Maria Edgeworth

People of Color Old & New
Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali - Mamadou Kouyaté (completed 6/16/22)
Portrait of a Turkish Family - Irfan Orga (Currently Reading)
Complete Prose Fiction - Alexander Pushkin

Bingo
To Live - Yu Hua (completed 6/2/22)
Babette's Feast and Other Anecdotes of Destiny - Karen Blixen (completed 6/4/22)
The Ambassadors - Henry James (completed 6/9/22)
Personal History - Katharine Graham (completed 6/12/22)
Mumbo Jumbo - Ishmael Reed (completed 6/11/22)
Women, Race & Class - Angela Y. Davis (completed 6/22/22)
The Innocents Abroad - Mark Twain (Currently Reading)
The Tragedy of Mariam - Elizabeth Cary (Currently Reading)
Praisesong for the Widow - Paule Marshall (Currently Reading)
The Promised Land - Mary Antin
War with the Newts - Karel Čapek

For this month I am not going to plan long term. I hope to begin Master of the Senate, but it is a major delicacy that needs savouring and commitment too. I can see myself begin The Complete Works of Virginia Woolf, but that too needs to be taken seriously.

So far, nothing is set in stone. I have tried not to overload my Kindle PW4 with books galore. I have read the 1st chapter of Age of Myth. I plan to go on reading this. We'll see. There are a couple of middle grade books in French, one translated, one in original, that I would like to read. These are quick. And therefore, are attractive prospects.

Will play it by the ear. Wish everyone good luck.

declaring my "Core 8" for June:

Tropic Of Cancer Miller, Henry 1934
Alberta And Freedom (Alberta#2) Sandel, Cora 1931
Frost In May White, Antonia 1933
Manservant and Maidservant Compton-Burnett, Ivy 1947
Murder At The Vicarage (Miss Marple #1) Christie, Agatha 1930
Betrothed, The Manzoni, Alessandro 1840 (first half)
Mrs Dalloway Woolf, Virginia 1925 (group read)
Untouchable Anand, Mulk Raj 1935

Right now, I just have four on my list:

- Sometimes a Great Notion, Ken Kesey. (Buddy Read)
- The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek, Kim Michele Richardson (audiobook for commuting)
- Lincoln Highway, Amor Towles. (Book Club)
- Stormy Weather, Paulette Jiles. (Buddy Read)

I am in the middle of the first two, so pretty sure they will be finished. I hope to do more than four, but what next? There are so many books on my TBR shelf �� we’ll see what suits my fancy. I will need another audiobook soon.

It's June already, huh?

Will be finishing soon:
The Rainbow by D.H. Lawrence (absolutely loving this)
Love Poems and Sonnets by William Shakespeare (not really loving this)

Group and buddy reads:
Sometimes a Great Notion
Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970
The House of the Dead

Then I need to get to some challenge books, maybe:
Bailey's Café
Between the Acts
Alias Grace
A Bookshop in Berlin
Train Dreams

We'll see how it goes!

I am starting with Mrs. Dalloway a group read and a personal reread. This is the one I will probably spend the most time with.

I have made a stack of fifteen possible books for this summer. I have exactly 56 days until school resumes... LOL Let's see how many of them I read. Possible books are

The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
On the Beach by Nevil Shute
City by Clifford D. Simak
Babette’s Feast by Isak Dinesen
Stormy Weather by Paulette Jiles
Christy by Catherine Marshall

I have already added another book to my list �� The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett, added for the group On the Southern Literary Trail.

I see some of my reading friends are reading Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey. I have access to the audiobook. I will do my best to participate. Great writer. Good company. Good opportunity.

Lynn wrote: "I am starting with Mrs. Dalloway a group read and a personal reread. This is the one I will probably spend the most time with.

I have made a stack of fifteen possible books for this ..."

Oh, Lynn, you have some really good ones there!
I recommend reading them in this order:

1)The Blue Castle -start with a nice, easy, sweet one :)
2)Stormy Weather - I haven't read it, but I really like Paulette Jiles! ;)
3)Babette's Feast - because it's very short & interesting, kind of a palette cleanser, haha!
4)City - I know you love Simak -- I really need to read one of his!
5)On the Beach - because you can't go wrong with Nevil Shute! Though this is kind of a heavy one (I'm reading Pied Piper right now & loving it!)
6)Christy - Ending with a real "feel good" book to start your school year!

Any questions? Not that I'm trying to tell you what to do or anything! haha!
Enjoy your summer and your reading :)

My list seems to have grown since starting to compile it. I may be overly ambitious this month. We'll see. Here's what I'm planning:

Buddy reads and group reads:
☑️Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey
☑️Stormy Weather by Paulette Jiles
☑️Walking Across Egypt by Clyde Edgerton (On the Southern Literary Trail)
The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett (On the Southern Literary Trail)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (Women's Classic Literature Enthusiasts)

Personal Challenges: The Black Moon by Winston Graham

Bingo: The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather
☑️Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Sophie's Choice by William Styron
Reading now

Maybe: Sex, Economy, Freedom, and Community: Eight Essays by Wendell Berry

Cynda wrote: "I see some of my reading friends are reading Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey. I have access to the audiobook. I will do my best to participate. Great writer. Good ..."

Cynda, I don't usually do audio - never do audio actually - and I am listening to this as well as reading along with my print copy as I listen. It is working out very nicely. I hope you can join us in the Buddy Read!

Cynda, yes, join us!

Thanks Lori. Thanks Terry. I will call library tomorrow to request a print copy through ILL. I agree that having the support of the printed text helps. . . .See you there.

Lynn, I hope you like Babette's Feast. The difference between liking and not liking seems to be about acceptance level of fantasy and the fantastical.

Cynda wrote: "Thanks Lori. I will call library tomorrow to request a print copy through ILL. I agree that having the support if the printed text helps. . . .See you there."

Yay! Glad you'll be joining, Cynda.

Here are altered and expanded list of reading possibilities for June.Read
1959The Landlady by Roald Dahl
1971/traditional The Ox of the Wonderful Horns and Other African Folktales by Ashley Bryan June 11
1939 Arsenic and Old Lace June 12
1992 Dolores Claiborne June 17
1964 Sometimes a Great Notion June 18
1963Eichmann in Jerusalem by Hannah Arendt
1987 The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the Prajñaparamita Heart Sutra

2013On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes by Alexandra Horowitz
2007 Get Out of That Pit!: Straight Talk about God's Deliverance by Beth Moore
2016 All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation by Rebecca Traister by Thich Nhat Hanh

Nonfiction
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest by Suzanne Simard

Fiction
Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief by Maurice Leblanc
Green Tea by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
The Songs of Distant Earth by Arthur C. Clarke

Thanks Kathleen! See you there too. I did see some of our more familiar peeps there.

My June list at the moment :
The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye by A.S. Byatt
Pot Luck by Émile Zola
Modeste Mignon by Honoré de Balzac
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
The Brightest Star by Emma Harcourt
Short works:
The Landlady by Roald Dahl
The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy
The Real Thing by Henry James

We posted at the same time Terry. Just letting you kn9ow I saw your message and acknowledged it too. Looking forward!

My plans right now are:

Classics
The Cross by Sigrid Undset currently reading
The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith
Jill by Amy Dillwyn
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard

Contemporary
Cantoras by Carolina De Robertis
Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily R. Austin
Spellbound: A Graphic Memoir by Bishakh Kumar Som
Fascism: A Warning by Madeleine K. Albright

Lynn wrote: "I am starting with Mrs. Dalloway a group read and a personal reread. This is the one I will probably spend the most time with.

I have made a stack of fifteen possible books for this ..."

I have read The Blue Castle twice so far and absolutely love it!!! I hope you enjoy it. :)

Janice wrote: "Lynn wrote: "I am starting with Mrs. Dalloway a group read and a personal reread. This is the one I will probably spend the most time with.

I have made a stack of fifteen possible bo..."

Thank you Janice. So many people have recommended it. I look forward to it.

Terris wrote: "Lynn wrote: "I am starting with Mrs. Dalloway a group read and a personal reread. This is the one I will probably spend the most time with.

I have made a stack of fifteen possible bo..."

Oh I messed up the order already LOL.. I started City and Mrs. Dalloway first.

Lynn wrote: "Terris wrote: "Lynn wrote: "I am starting with Mrs. Dalloway a group read and a personal reread. This is the one I will probably spend the most time with.

I have made a stack of fift..."

Oh, you are going to need The Blue Castle and Christy to cool down from those!!! ;)

how on earth do people commit to these plans? just crazily ambitious. :p

very, very, VERY roughly, i plan to read
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Weary Sons of Freud by Catherine Clement (on pg 78 of 114)
Bertold Brecht's Fear and Misery of the Third Reich (pg. 44 of 124)
The Beggars Opera by John Gay (p. 70 of 122)
In Theory by Ajiaz Ahmad (p.266 of 343)
Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu

Hard maybes:
A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian by Marina Lewycka
Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson

those last three are 99.7% not going to happen. the first 6 are 50/50. I will probably end up finishing the three small ones and nothing else, leaving me with about 10% completion.

I hate life

Less of a plan this month.

Almost finished:
In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B. Hughes

Challenge reads:
Buffet: Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil by Hannah Arendt
Buffet: Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
Bingo: Cheese by Willem Elsschot

Re-Reads:
Vineland by Thomas Pynchon (reading now)
Light in August by William Faulkner

New June Reading Plan
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (Completed)
The Dialogic Imagination: Four Essays by Mikhail Bakhtin (reading now)
Blinding by Mircea Cărtărescu
Possession by A.S. Byatt
Theory of the Novel by Guido Mazzoni

Group Read/Long Read
Ulysses by James Joyce

Andrew wrote: "how on earth do people commit to these plans? just crazily ambitious. :p

very, very, VERY roughly, i plan to read
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Weary Sons of Freud by Catherine Clemen..."

Years of practice from being on this site. I also give myself a pool to pick from rather than one specific read at a time. Flexibility with commitment.

Slowing things down in June. Only committing myself to two challenge reads and one fun read -

The Black Arrow (Century Challenge)

A Few Quick Ones (Monthly challenge, Back to the Clasisics)

Charles Dickens A Life Defined by Writing (fun read!)

Gerard wrote: "Re-Reads:
Vineland by Thomas Pynchon (reading now)..."

I haven't read any Pynchon, I see that you are rereading this one. Do you have a recommendation for my first of the author to read?

Katy wrote: "Gerard wrote: "Re-Reads:
Vineland by Thomas Pynchon (reading now)..."

I haven't read any Pynchon, I see that you are rereading this one. Do you have a recommendation for ..."

Pynchon's catalog is typically divided between his California novels (Inherent Vice, Vineland and The Crying of Lot 49), which tend to be easier, more accessible reads. Then he has novels that are very experimental, almost Joycean in nature and in length, like Gravity's Rainbow, V, Mason & Dixon, Against the Day. I would recommend Inherent Vice as a good starting point. It has a lot of typical Pynchon humor and zaniness, but it remains an accessible read. If you enjoyed that, I would try The Crying of Lot 49, and then V. After those three, I think you get a strong sense of Pynchon's oeuvre to tackle the rest, despite them being pretty challenging.

Andrew, I know! That’s why my list tends to be shorter than everyone else’s list! And even then, i het overwhelmed! But good luck to all! I hope they achieve their dreams.

Thanks, Gerard! I have added Inherent Vice to my list!

Gerard wrote: "... I would recommend Inherent Vice as a good starting point. ..."

Thank you

Hello fellow readers!

RJ's JUNE READS

I should finish:
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
Delusion's Master by Tanith Lee
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
The Snow Was Dirty by Georges Simenon
Wasp by Eric Frank Russell
With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by Eugene B. Sledge
This Thing of Darkness by Harry Thompson

I will be reading but won't finish:
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Anatomy of a Murder by Robert Traver
The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice
Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honour of Jack Vance edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
They Call Me Coach by John Wooden
Fair Land, Fair Land by A.B. Guthrie Jr.
Green Tea and Other Weird Stories by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu

Gerard wrote: "...I would recommend Inherent Vice as a good starting point. It has a lot of typical Pynchon humor and zaniness, but it remains an accessible read. If you enjoyed that, I would try The Crying of Lot 49, and then V. After those three, I think you get a strong sense of Pynchon's oeuvre to tackle the rest, despite them being pretty challenging."

Appreciate this advice. I read Inherent Vice a few years ago and loved it. Looking forward to trying some more Pynchon.

2022 JUNE

Catching up on American classics
5/5 The Sound and the Fury
4/5 Sister Carrie
5/5 Main Street
3/5 The Great Gatsby
3/5 Babbitt
5/5 Brave New World

Fed wrote: "JUNE
catching up on American classics:

5/5 The Sound and the Fury
4/5 Sister Carrie
5/5 Main Street
3/5 The Great Gatsby
Babbitt r..."

Wow Fed that's quite a lot so far this month. You have some impressive titles.

Fed wrote: "JUNE
catching up on American classics:

5/5 The Sound and the Fury
4/5 Sister Carrie
5/5 Main Street
3/5 The Great Gatsby
Babbitt r..."

What a fabulous reading month. You have two 5 star books this month alone and I only have one so far this year.

Lynn wrote: "Wow Fed that's quite a lot so far this month. You have some impressive titles."

Laurie wrote: "What a fabulous reading month. You have two 5 star books this month alone and I only have one so far this year"

I rely on my local libraries, so the choice of less-than-recent titles in their original language is limited. Still, there's plenty for people like myself, who neglected non-European literature for most of their life.

Lynn, Laurie, any recommendation for pre-1930 American novels? What are your favourites?

The start of Babbitt (1922) seems to flow less smoothly compared to Main Street (1920). Wondering why, I realised the different point of view in the two novels: Carol a curious inquisitive girl in her early 20s, Babbitt a 'conformist' in his late 40s (a bit like Carol's husband). Perhaps, the subtle sense of heaviness in Babbitt, the novel, is fitting. Also, while in Washington, Carol notices the many little Gopher Prairies hidden within the city, and Babbitt explores that: Zenith, a city 100 times Gopher Prairie.

Laurie, you must have read all the good ones at the start?! :)

My favorite American authors from that time period would be Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott, Mark Twain or Jack London.

I read Twice-Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne this year and enjoyed it.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Call of the Wild by Jack London

My favorite Mark Twain is The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg. Most people like
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Another favorite author of mine is John Steinbeck, but he wrote during the 1930s. I hope you find something you like.

Lynn wrote: "My favorite American authors from that time period would be..."

Thank you, Lynn �� added to my list!

I also noticed Frank Norris, Stephen Crane and Edith Wharton. 'Babbitt' bears a dedication to the third.

I DNFed Age of Myth, and will postpone Master of the Senate for a month at least. I am discovering one or two very good books based on a Reading Challenge from another group.

I am reading The Missing American. Haven't read such a refreshing thriller since the early GR days when I would binge on Baldacci's books. The Missing American can result in a 3 star read and I will still be satisfied because it started out so promisingly. More later.

Fed wrote: "Lynn wrote: "My favorite American authors from that time period would be..."

Thank you, Lynn �� added to my list!

I also noticed Frank Norris, Stephen Crane and [auth..."


Oh I forgot about Edith Wharton. Ethan Frome is very powerful and is a staple text in High School and College Literature classes. Personally, she is not one of my favorites, but many many people like her writing.

Lynn wrote: "...Oh I forgot about Edith Wharton. 'Ethan Frome' is very powerful..."

Thank you, Lynn! I'm picking it up at the library tomorrow, and plan to devote July to female authors, before reading 'The Magic Mountain' around August.

I finished Babbitt this morning (3/5), then opened Brave New World / Brave New World Revisited, starting from "Brave New World Revisited" (1958) �� terribly soporific essay; I'm sure "Brave New World" (1932) will be much better.

June reading plan completed -


The Black Arrow ��

A Few Quick Ones ��

Charles Dickens A Life Defined by Writing ��

I had much more reading time this month than I expected, so I read through my July books and started on my August books. Making good progress on my challenges now.

Three Men in a Boat ��

The Picture of Dorian Gray ��

Salvation of a Forsyte ��

The War of the Worlds ��

The Collected Poetry of William Butler Yeats ��

Endymion: A Poetic Romance ��

King Lear ��

The Hound of the Baskervilles ��

The House of Mirth ��

Xingu ��

The Scarlet Pimpernel ��

Howards End ��

Mrs. Dalloway ��

Cozy_Pug wrote: "June reading plan completed -


The Black Arrow ��

A Few Quick Ones ��

Charles Dickens A Life Defined by Writing ��

I had much more reading time this ..."



Amazing amount of reading Cozy-Pug. Very nice.

except for falling a few pages short of half-way in The Betrothed, I did complete my "Core 8" for June:

Tropic Of Cancer Miller, Henry - DNF
Alberta And Freedom (Alberta#2) Sandel, Cora - 3 Stars
Frost In May White, Antonia - 3.5
Manservant and Maidservant Compton-Burnett, Ivy - 3.5
Murder At The Vicarage (Miss Marple #1) Christie, Agatha - 3.5
Betrothed, The Manzoni, Alessandro (first half) - going well so far, shaping up to be 4-4.5
Mrs Dalloway Woolf, Virginia - 5
Untouchable Anand, Mulk Raj - 3.5

Darren wrote: "except for falling a few pages short of half-way in The Betrothed, I did complete my "Core 8" for June:

Tropic Of Cancer Miller, Henry - DNF
Alberta And Freedom (Alberta#2) Sandel, Cora - 3 Stars
..."

Very nice Darren!!

I tend to read on average two books from the Group shelf each month, plus a few more things. So I read:

From the Group bookshelf:
how the poor die by George Orwell 4*
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote 5*

Recent Children's Books:
My Name Is Yoon by Helen Recorvits

Two classic books:
City by Clifford D. Simak
Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery

And a recent Self-Help book:
Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World by William H. McRaven