Very much looking forward to next year's slow reads! I love a Place of Greater Safety so an in-depth dive into it will be lovely. Having had to change my plans regarding the course I should be starting in November so we can get our son to appointments etc, I will be focusing on more creative endeavours next year to keep me grounded. Therefore I be able to read all books on the read along and as I have not read the others it will be an entirely new experience.
Much love for you, your family and your son – I hope you find the right balance for everything next year. I am thoroughly looking forward to re-visiting APOGS. The others will be more of a delve into the unknown – second time reads for each one. I reckon it will make it more of an adventure!
Thank you. Returned from hospital Friday night so now just about getting into new routine with medication and appointments but so grateful for our NHS staff. Definitely an adventure with the new reads for me and looking forward to reading them with yourself and others.
Oh well, looks like I’ll have to give up my day job as I want to read them all 😅 I’m so glad you’re re-running W&P as that feel like a must. And I really want to read APOGS after enjoying the #wolfcrawl this year. But then the Siege has been on my list since forever and I’d love to relook at Things Fall Apart because I read it as a youngster and struggled. This really is a surfeit of riches and I can’t wait. Very glad to be a subscriber - it’s honestly the best money I spend all year.
I'm really looking forward to APOGS and will also join the Blue Flower group, as I've never read it and am intrigued. I've read both of the others but may revisit, depending on timings and other commitments, but both are great choices too. Thanks as ever for all your hard work on managing the groups Simon. It's been, and continues to be, the biggest highlight of my year so far.
APOGS because I’ve so far read a third of it at least three times and then somehow stalled.
Things Fall Apart which I read for an OU Lit degree years ago and remember loving it.
The Siege of Krishnapur because on that same course we read Empire of the Sun, haven’t read this one but loved his writing…and didn’t this win the Booker in the early days?
And The Blue Flower by one of my most beloved writers. I’ve read it several times but probably missed so much which I know you’ll find!
Thank you again Simon for creating this brilliant community of readers, and now back to Cromwell.
Great Grace! All the non-Mantels will only be a second read for me and I have so much to learn, so we will be learning together – and I hope other seasoned re-readers will help along the way. The Siege won the Booker and both that one and The Blue Flower are enigmas it will be interesting to crack.
I knew I retired for a reason!!!😁😁 looking forward to joining the W&P repeat, and as many of the new books for 2025 as I can. Really love the WH trilogy but never read APOGS so especially excited for that! Thank you Simon
Looking forward to A Place of Greater Safety!! I love Seige of Krishnapur. It’s part of the Empire trilogy. Why not read all three! Troubles and The Singapore Grip are the other two. I am also interested in a yearlong slow read of the Seasonal Quartet by Ali Smith. I loved them and feel like I missed alot. Look at me giving you more work!! Plus I’m loving reading The Mirror and The Light with you.
I'd love to do the Ali Smith Quartet one day, and also Ishiguro's variations. For now I'm sticking to historical fiction and if The Siege goes well we may explore the other two in future years.
It's my shorthand for his eight novels, because they are so interconnected, like musical variations on a theme. Since Ishiguro is also a musician I feel like he'd appreciate the musical reference!
I am thrilled you’re going to do War and Peace again! I might join in. I was a Russian literature major but it’s been over two decades now since I’ve read Tolstoy. Looking forward to this, Simon.
I’m going to join you for all the books as have never read any of them and have thoroughly enjoyed the readings this year. So you have definitely got a full subscriber here! Will APOGS be a daily read or weekly? I have definitely preferred the daily W&P as love the chat and daily insights from others, more than the weekly Mantel. But I trust in you👍
Brilliant! I'm afraid War and Peace is the odd one out in these slow reads: very few books are so well suited for daily installments, and certainly no Mantel works well like that. So it will be weekly posts from me, but hopefully we'll use chat to share our thoughts and research as we go.
I’m delighted with these choices. Thank you, Simon! The only one I haven’t read is The Siege of Krishnapur: I hope to join readalongs for all the four new-to-this-group titles, and look forward to seeing how different it is to slow-read a book at my first reading…. And I do agree at what excellent value my subscription is.
Thanks for keeping me on the list! I'm mulling a two-month read along in 2025 called "My Two Novels, There Were Two," inspired by Cather's reference to "Alexander's Bridge" and "O Pioneers!"
Achebe, of course! :) For a variety of reasons - for example, it would be interesting to unpack and think around possible ways in which Mantell was impacted by the trilogy's take on the relation between nationalism and the tragic hero.
I have been gulping down War and Peace, trying to catch up but now I can let loose a sigh of relief and go back to one chapter/day knowing it will still be there.
Looking forward to reading all four books next year, Simon. I love your guided book club. Thank you again for all your hard work. All books are new to me.
Very much looking forward to next year's slow reads! I love a Place of Greater Safety so an in-depth dive into it will be lovely. Having had to change my plans regarding the course I should be starting in November so we can get our son to appointments etc, I will be focusing on more creative endeavours next year to keep me grounded. Therefore I be able to read all books on the read along and as I have not read the others it will be an entirely new experience.
Much love for you, your family and your son – I hope you find the right balance for everything next year. I am thoroughly looking forward to re-visiting APOGS. The others will be more of a delve into the unknown – second time reads for each one. I reckon it will make it more of an adventure!
Thank you. Returned from hospital Friday night so now just about getting into new routine with medication and appointments but so grateful for our NHS staff. Definitely an adventure with the new reads for me and looking forward to reading them with yourself and others.
All the best. We've never felt more grateful to anyone than when the NHS has been there when we needed it.
Oh well, looks like I’ll have to give up my day job as I want to read them all 😅 I’m so glad you’re re-running W&P as that feel like a must. And I really want to read APOGS after enjoying the #wolfcrawl this year. But then the Siege has been on my list since forever and I’d love to relook at Things Fall Apart because I read it as a youngster and struggled. This really is a surfeit of riches and I can’t wait. Very glad to be a subscriber - it’s honestly the best money I spend all year.
Thanks Sharon! Spoilt for choice – it's going to very interesting exploring all these books with everyone.
I agree with the being a subscriber. Such a lovely thing to be part of.
I'm really looking forward to APOGS and will also join the Blue Flower group, as I've never read it and am intrigued. I've read both of the others but may revisit, depending on timings and other commitments, but both are great choices too. Thanks as ever for all your hard work on managing the groups Simon. It's been, and continues to be, the biggest highlight of my year so far.
Thank you! Next year will be very interesting, with a great mix of books and people dipping in and out. Looking forward to it.
Really looking forward to all of these…
APOGS because I’ve so far read a third of it at least three times and then somehow stalled.
Things Fall Apart which I read for an OU Lit degree years ago and remember loving it.
The Siege of Krishnapur because on that same course we read Empire of the Sun, haven’t read this one but loved his writing…and didn’t this win the Booker in the early days?
And The Blue Flower by one of my most beloved writers. I’ve read it several times but probably missed so much which I know you’ll find!
Thank you again Simon for creating this brilliant community of readers, and now back to Cromwell.
Great Grace! All the non-Mantels will only be a second read for me and I have so much to learn, so we will be learning together – and I hope other seasoned re-readers will help along the way. The Siege won the Booker and both that one and The Blue Flower are enigmas it will be interesting to crack.
Empire of the Sun is JG Ballard not JG Farrell (but it's also great).
Sorry, my mistake!
I knew I retired for a reason!!!😁😁 looking forward to joining the W&P repeat, and as many of the new books for 2025 as I can. Really love the WH trilogy but never read APOGS so especially excited for that! Thank you Simon
Great, Susan. Glad to be part of your retirement plan!
Looks like Susan and I are on the same retirement plan, minus WH Trilogy on my part 💕
Looking forward to A Place of Greater Safety!! I love Seige of Krishnapur. It’s part of the Empire trilogy. Why not read all three! Troubles and The Singapore Grip are the other two. I am also interested in a yearlong slow read of the Seasonal Quartet by Ali Smith. I loved them and feel like I missed alot. Look at me giving you more work!! Plus I’m loving reading The Mirror and The Light with you.
I'd love to do the Ali Smith Quartet one day, and also Ishiguro's variations. For now I'm sticking to historical fiction and if The Siege goes well we may explore the other two in future years.
I haven’t heard of the Ishiguro (Kazuo?) variations. Which are they?
It's my shorthand for his eight novels, because they are so interconnected, like musical variations on a theme. Since Ishiguro is also a musician I feel like he'd appreciate the musical reference!
I’ve read 3/8 of Ishiguro’s and I’m slowly parceling out the rest. The Buried Giant is next for me.
I am thrilled you’re going to do War and Peace again! I might join in. I was a Russian literature major but it’s been over two decades now since I’ve read Tolstoy. Looking forward to this, Simon.
Great! It will be my third year running the readalong. It is now something of a mainstay.
Is anyone else already hunting down bargains for the 2025 books? Just got Things Fall Apart for $2.50 😁
Me!
👏👏👏
I’m going to join you for all the books as have never read any of them and have thoroughly enjoyed the readings this year. So you have definitely got a full subscriber here! Will APOGS be a daily read or weekly? I have definitely preferred the daily W&P as love the chat and daily insights from others, more than the weekly Mantel. But I trust in you👍
Brilliant! I'm afraid War and Peace is the odd one out in these slow reads: very few books are so well suited for daily installments, and certainly no Mantel works well like that. So it will be weekly posts from me, but hopefully we'll use chat to share our thoughts and research as we go.
I’m delighted with these choices. Thank you, Simon! The only one I haven’t read is The Siege of Krishnapur: I hope to join readalongs for all the four new-to-this-group titles, and look forward to seeing how different it is to slow-read a book at my first reading…. And I do agree at what excellent value my subscription is.
Thank you, Susan!
Thanks for keeping me on the list! I'm mulling a two-month read along in 2025 called "My Two Novels, There Were Two," inspired by Cather's reference to "Alexander's Bridge" and "O Pioneers!"
Fantastic. Let us know when you have something confirmed.
I’m down for Place of Greater Safety
Brilliant. Looking forward to joining one of the groups in 2025.
Fantastic. Is there a particular book you're looking forward to reading?
Achebe, of course! :) For a variety of reasons - for example, it would be interesting to unpack and think around possible ways in which Mantell was impacted by the trilogy's take on the relation between nationalism and the tragic hero.
Brilliant. I think that will be very interesting.
Thank you for introducing me to The Common Reader and Reading Revisited.
I have been gulping down War and Peace, trying to catch up but now I can let loose a sigh of relief and go back to one chapter/day knowing it will still be there.
I’m definitely interested in Krishnapur!
Looking forward to reading all four books next year, Simon. I love your guided book club. Thank you again for all your hard work. All books are new to me.
Fabulous.