Heaven: Ship of Fools Book Group - the 2021 Edition

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  • BelisariusBelisarius Admin Emeritus
    edited October 2021
    Mili wrote: »
    I tend to see the Bronte sisters as interchangeable, which I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate...
    Charlotte Bronte's friend Mary Taylor had an interesting set of opinions:
    You are very different from me in having no doctrine to preach. It is impossible for me to squeeze a moral out of your production...Emily seems to have ["a large and respectable class of readers"] in her eye when she wrote that strange thing Wuthering Heights. Anne, too, stops repeatedly to preach commonplace truths. She has had a still lower class in her mind's eye...
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    To get back to Christmas, I was wondering about an anthology of Christmas poetry. There seem to be loads out there. Does anyone think it's a good idea, and if you do, any suggestions as to which one to go for.
  • U A Fanthorpe has a Christmas collection of poems, but it looks to be Amazon only. Or there's this collection - A Literary Christmas, which sounds quite fun.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    Any appetite for a Canadian author/Canadian classic?
  • Lamb ChoppedLamb Chopped Shipmate
    edited October 2021
    For what it's worth, Sharon Shinn has a sci-fi retelling of Jane Eyre called Jenna Starborn. Quite good, and I'm re-reading it right now.
  • MooMoo Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Dylan Thomas's A Child's Christmas in Wales is very nice.
  • TrudyTrudy Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Caissa wrote: »
    Any appetite for a Canadian author/Canadian classic?

    I'm always up for a Canadian book!
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    Would any of these interest people? https://qwiklit.com/2013/05/25/the-great-write-north-25-classic-canadian-novels/

    I am happy to take the lead on any Canadian book we choose.
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    What Canadian classic do you fancy @Caissa. I too would be interested.
    Like the idea of a sci-fi Jane Eyre. Anyone else interested. Also A Child's Christmas in Wales seems like a good idea. Anyone else agree. Thanks for the suggestion @Moo.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    See my post immediately above your post, Sarasa
  • TrudyTrudy Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Caissa wrote: »

    From that list, most though not all of which I've read in the process of being Canadian, getting an MA in English, and teaching English in Canadian schools, my personal votes would be for
    1. The Diviners
    2. Green Grass, Running Water
    3. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams
    4. No Great Mischief
    5. Life of Pi

  • TrudyTrudy Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    edited October 2021
    I meant to go for bullet points rather than a numbered list but messed up the formatting -- I didn't mean to suggest that those were ranked in any particular order, just that those were five books from that list of 25 that I would enjoy discussing with people here.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    I have read 1,3 and 5 at different points in my life.
  • MiliMili Shipmate
    I tried and failed to read Life of Pi. Happy to give any of the others a read.
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    I was wondering about Life of Pi as I didn't particularly enjoy it when I read it, but feel I ought to give it a second go. However I'm happy to go with whatever anyone else fancies with the proviso it'll be easy for those that want to read it can track down a copy
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    I remember finding Life of Pi to be a big yawn. Read it only because I am a Canuck. ;^)
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    edited October 2021
    Maybe not Life of Pi then. I quite like the sound of The Colony of Unrequited Dreams. What does everyone else think and would you be happy to lead that @Caissa?
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    I would be happy to lead the discussion. That said, I would be pleased to defer to Trudy, if she was interested in leading the discussion.
  • TrudyTrudy Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    As I'm already leading two discussions next year I'm quite happy for you to lead that one, Caissa. I will have lots to add as, like every Newfoundlander (at least every one who reads literary fiction) I have many many opinions about The Colony of Unrequited Dreams! But I'm quite happy to be just a participant in the discussion.
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    What month would suit you @Caissa? The programme so far is:

    January
    February The Dry led by @Tukai
    March Transcendent Kingdom led by @Trudy
    April
    May
    June
    July
    August
    September The Girl with the Louding Voice led by @Trudy
    October
    November
    December

    So pick a month and I'll slot you in. I'm about to go out now for a literary afternoon, visit to the library followed by my shift in a charity bookshop. I'll start a new thread for next year either tonight or sometime over the weekend and draw together some of the ideas we already have.

  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    How about May?
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    Sounds good. I was thinking Jane Eyre for Janaury as we always seem to get a good turn out for classics. Anyone fancy leading on it? I'm thinking Piranesi in May and am happy to lead that.
    Would you like to lead on The White Witch @Curiosity killed and any particular month?
    @Mili I'm very tempted to put East Lynne down somewhere. Not a classic in the traditional sense, but probably much more like the books most people read in the 19th century.

    2022
    January Jane Eyre led by?
    February The Dry led by @Tukai
    March Transcendent Kingdom led by @Trudy
    April Piranesi led by @Sarasa
    May The Colony of Unrequited Dreams led by @Caissa
    June
    July
    August
    September The Girl with the Louding Voice led by @Trudy
    October
    November
    December
  • Not bothered when, but yes put me down for the White Witch. It's very much Elizabeth Goudge, but writing about the English Civil War and how it divided families, which I don't think she does elsewhere.
  • MiliMili Shipmate
    I can lead East Lynne if we put it down.
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    Thank you @mili and @Curiosity killed . I'm now living somewhere that was on the front line in the civil war and still has lots of reminders of it about the place, so a book set in that period will be very interesting.

    Let me know if the months I've put you down for don't suit.

    2022
    January Jane Eyre led by?
    February The Dry led by @Tukai
    March Transcendent Kingdom led by @Trudy
    April Piranesi led by @Sarasa
    May The Colony of Unrequited Dreams led by @Caissa
    June The White Witch led by @Curiosity killed
    July
    August
    September The Girl with the Louding Voice led by @Trudy
    October East Lynne led by Mili
    November
    December

    I'll start a new thread for next year over the weekend. In the meantime shall we go with A Child's Christmas in Wales for December?
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    November's Book thread can be found here., but we've yet to decide on our December book, though I'm assuming no one has any strong objections to A Child's Christmas in Wales?
  • jedijudyjedijudy Heaven Host
    Thank you, Sarasa for starting the new thread!
    Closing this one.
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