Vintage Tales discussion

This is a place where you can introduce yourself!

Howdy. My name is Holly, I'm the creator of this group and I'm currently studying my A-Levels. I'm hoping to go onto do an English Literature degree. My favourite book is The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood! Seriously, I gush about it too much!

I hope everyone enjoys themselves here. Hopefully we can all make it a really awesome group!

Hiya, I'm Liân. I read most genres, and tend to flit between them depending on my mood!

My favourite classic would probably be Pride and Prejudice. I think I was around 15 when I first read it, and it's one I still find myself picking up to reread every now and then, many years later!

My all-time favourite book is much harder to pin down - there are just too many really great books. At some point I might compile a list. (Your choice, Holly, is one that would be on my list definitely - I think The Handmaid's Tale is superb - so gush away!).

Having said that, the book I read most recently ( S. ) is a serious contender for becoming an all-time favourite - time will tell!

Hi I am Amber, age 26 from Tennessee, USA. I haven't read many classics but I read more fiction than nonfiction and that includes young adult, regular fiction, horror, scifi, romance, paranormal romance, mystery, and other genres. Of the Classics I have read so far I have read A Christmas Carol, The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The Bat, The Mask of Capistrano, The most dangerous game, and The Enchanted Castle. I have added Wind in the willows to my tablet recently so that will be on my to-read list for next year. I am also currently reading Little Women which I am enjoying so far too. I hope to read other classics soon as I will put them on my list with my many fiction books I am going to read in the future. I also liked Phantom of the Opera too. My favorite books by Stephen King is Cycle of the Werewolfand The Stand. I also like all the dark hunter series, league series, dream hunter and Chronicles of Nick series by Sherrilyn Kenyon too and the virals series by Kathy Reichs. The first classic book I ever read when I was younger was Little House in the Big Woodsby Laura Ingalls Wilder. I enjoyed it and my mom has the whole Laura Ingalls Wilder series so I will have to check them out too. Anything else please ask. I am an avid reader who loves to read for pleasure. Thanks for the invite Holly. ^_^

Liân, that's a wonderful name, I've never heard of it before. Don't tempt me in gushing about The Handmaid's Tale. Believe me, I won't stop!

You have a really lovely collection of classics there, Amber, a lot I really should get round to reading. I love how you have such a wide range of genres too, I'm becoming increasingly narrow in my choices of reads: everything must be classic!

Thanks Holly! :)

Amber wrote: "Hi I am Amber, age 26 from Tennessee, USA. I haven't read many classics but I read more fiction than nonfiction and that includes young adult, regular fiction, horror, scifi, romance, paranormal ro..."
My mom got my name from the Little House on the Prairie television series and the first set of "real" (as in, not Dr. Seuss or Eric Carle) books was the Little House series. It's been almost 17 years since then and I still pick them up every once in a while to go back and read them. You should read the rest! They're obviously more geared toward children, but still good.

Thanks Lissa and that is so cool. I will do that. ^_^

btw welcome all new members! ^_^

Geoff, you live a life I would love to lead. The idea of talking about literature, all day every day...

Nice to meet you Geoff. ^_^ I hope you enjoy the tattered tales classic book club.

That's why I was so grateful when I got to the stage in school where English wasn't compulsory. I got sick of people sitting there saying Frankenstein was 'crap' and a 'waste of their time'... We only had to read extracts as well. I brought the book and read it all, while they barely read half of the extracts... I weep for my generation...

That's a really interesting selection of books to teach! I feel slightly sorry for the students having to learn Catch-22, considering how tough I'm finding it to read. Then again, maybe I haven't hit that 'click point' yet. Bearing in mind, I am only on Chapter 2...

In the US, the majority of the states are going to start drastically reducing the amount of literary fiction in English classrooms to 30% by the senior year of high school and 70% government-issued "informative texts." Apparently they are preparing the students for careers and literary fiction (including Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye, etc.) just does not do that. Makes me happy I got to be there in the "good old days" before all this stuff starts. The new curriculum is supposed to be in place by the end of 2014.

I'm glad I'm not in the US! The UK are actually doing the complete opposite, which I'm not actually sure is any better. They're going to be making Romanticism compulsory for GCSE students (14-16), which I think is completely wrong. Don't get me wrong, I love the Romantic poets, but honestly, kids who aren't interested in literature aren't going to fully appreciate the beauty of those poets, and it's going to put them off classics and 'literary fiction' for life. I remember in GCSE, people were struggling with Frankenstein, and I don't know how they would have coped with the Romantics...

I think there needs to be a balance, perhaps 50% literary fiction and 50% more modern texts. I like the A-Level (16-18) syllabus so much, because it accounts for that. You can read 'contemporary' classics, and 'old' classics. Like we're studying Blake poetry, while studying Arcadia, which was written in 1993. A mix is far better in my mind, than going either one way or another...

In the US, it's always kind of been literary fiction or nonfiction, but the nonfiction was interesting. I think one year most of our nonfiction came from diaries or witness accounts of WWII, the Dust Bowl (I don't even know if you know what that is, haha; most of the reason I know it was because I lived in an area that was hit by it while students on the east coast only vaguely knew about it), and things like that. These "informational texts," from what I hear, are really just technical manuals about the most boring jobs imaginable. I believe one of them had something to do with insulation manuals and another was a plant inventory and just... not good stuff, haha. I can't say I'm horribly surprised, but it still just makes me cringe to think about.
I also don't think they should be forcing students to read Romantic poets if they don't want to. Part of understanding the text is being interested in it and connecting with it and that's not something you normally get when you are being forced to read something.

I studied Of Mice and Men in GCSE, and part of that led us to research about the Dust Bowl. That whole era is amazingly interesting though! Just discussing the use of those 'insulation manuals' and 'plant inventory' are making me fall to sleep just now! I feel awfully sorry for the students that are going to have to study them!

I don't see how they're going to help students learn though. Literature is perhaps the only subject where a passion so strong can be created through reading, and I feel like they're trying to squeeze that out of students nowadays...

They are kind of sucking the life out of English class. I always thought I wanted to be an English teacher, but not if I'm going to be providing teenagers with plant inventories. I wanted to provide them with Poe and Steinbeck and Salinger. I know very few Americans my age who read more than magazines or whatever book is being made into a movie next for pleasure. And that number is dwindling in a lot of areas. It is more than a little disheartening to see. It makes me happy to be in Europe where people seem to appreciate literature and history more.

Hey Lissa where are you from anyway? was just curious I'm from TN, USA.

From California originally. I have always wanted to see Tennessee, though. It appears looks so pretty in pictures.

It is. I've been to Cumberland Caverns there and the general Jackson showboat and other places. I live in the middle part of the state. Cool. I've always wanted to see California, Lissa. I got a few friends that live up there that I'd like to go up and meet one day.

Hey, I'm Michael, I'm trying to read the entire 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list so plenty of classics for me. I'm a book blogger and a goodread addict (9 groups joined now).

Awesome! It's nice to meet you michael. Enjoy the club! :-)

Hello everyone! My name is Lynn and I am currently traveling the U.S. fulltime. I live with my husband, dog and 2 cats in a 32 foot RV logging about 10,000 miles this past year. Part of our journey had us passing through Sinclair Lewis' hometown (and inspiration for his novel Main Street)...and, of course, I am a Lewis fan. I love the classics and have been adding more to my library to either read (for the first time) or to re-read.

I love to read and am open to all genres. And I love hearing recommendations from other readers. Looking forward to learning about some good reads from this group.

Awesome! Welcome to the book club lynn! It's nice to meet you. Happy reading and r'ving! :-)

Amber wrote: "It is. I've been to Cumberland Caverns there and the general Jackson showboat and other places. I live in the middle part of the state. Cool. I've always wanted to see California, Lissa. I got a fe..."
You'd love it. The northern half is very different from the southern half, though. I loved going up north for vacations in San Francisco or Sacramento or Yosemite. If you do go, you have to bring a big book and read it on a quiet bit of beach somewhere. It's better in the northern part where the water is colder and nobody wants to get in it, so there are relatively few people around to accidentally smack you in the head with a beach ball or frisbee.

Hi I'm Laura from Italy.
I love classics in general and victorian literature in particular - Trollope, Collins, Dickens, Gaskell, Eliot my favourite authors.
In this period I haven't much time to spend in internet, but I hope that, when I'm finished with my moving, I'll have time to spare, and be more present, here as elsewhere!!!

Welcome to the group, Laura. It's lovely to have you here! The December group read nominations thread is up, if you wish to have a look. We're only doing stories under 200 pages (I've been a bit lenient) as I know Christmas is a busy time!

You'll have to let me know your favourite Victorian novels. I need to get some more under my belt! Feel free to make a thread concerning Victorian literature if you so wish. I've made a '1700-1900' folder to hold most of the Victorian stuff!

I hope you enjoy yourself :)

Geoffll63 wrote: "Lissa wrote: "In the US, the majority of the states are going to start drastically reducing the amount of literary fiction in English classrooms to 30% by the senior year of high school and 70% gov..."
I wish I could say America would listen. Honestly, the No Child Left Behind crap is starting to really hurt kids. The US has stopped caring about individuals and started to look at what they believe would benefit the government. Reading literary fiction is great for teaching teenagers morals and new ideas and encouraging them to ask new questions, but because that does not stimulate the economy right that second, it's deemed unnecessary. You don't even really need to learn how to spell because computers have spell check. Eventually, there will be consequences and I shudder to think of what they might be.

Hey LauraT! ^_^ welcome to the book club. ^_^

Hi everyone I'm Jean! Got the invite yesterday from my great GR pal Holly and thought, great group but I mustn't join yet another. Kept nosying at the posts...such a great balance straightaway... such a professional set-up...Woke up this morning thinking it's no use, I can't resist! So here I am!

Hope you'll get to know me. Lots of us are friends already. And may I start by challenging Geoffll63 for his claim to be the group's "old lag", as I'm nearer in age to his last 2 digits than I am to his actual age. Although maybe I should google old lag to make sure it's not something too disreputable...

Serious stuff! Hmm. I love reading, and like a broad variety. Classics, yes, good modern novels and non-fiction, yes. Anything really except commercial genre stuff which bores me. Oh, except for a good mystery which I'll read if I need a light pick-me-up. From Yorkshire originally, now near Epping Forest. Musical. Arty. Ex-deputy Head Teacher. Animal-mad - dogs,cats, guinea pigs but all wildlife too. Errr. Married to author Chris for nearly 40 years. (I was a "child bride.") Oh, and I may have a tendency to be flippant now and then :)

Welcome Jean! It's good to see you here girlie. I hope you have fun at this classic book club. reading for pleasure rocks! :)

Welcome Jean. It's nice to see another fellow survivor of the teaching profession! Glad you joined us. :)

Hi. I'm Katy. I'm an English major that went to law school. I live in the southern part of the United States but am originally from the midwest. I like to travel and have the good sense to be in a long term relationship with a pilot. Sydney is one of my favorite places, Geoff. I also love Yosemite.

Looking forward to fun conversation

Hey katy! Welcome to the club. :-) it's good to see u.

Hey altin welcome to the book club. I hope you have a great time here. Holly did a great job with this group. I've read great gatsby before ( had to read it in school) and wasn't a fan of it. I got bored reading it. I like romance too. Do u like debbie macomber? I read her book christmas letters and it was a pretty good read for a romance novel. Hey elizabeth. Welcome to the club. Have fun! :-)

Hi Everyone,
I'm Diana from Texas.
I just finished reading Lord of the Flies. Its still disturbing but a very good book!

Hey diana! Welcome to the club! Have fun. :-)

Hello everyone. My name is Michael, and I'm from Australia. I don't have much to say, but I'm looking forward to reading some of your discussions and getting to know a few of you.

hey michaelx. It's nice to meet you. welcome to the club! I hope you have fun here at the tattered tales classic book club and be sure to vote for which book you'd like to read for our first group read next month too and be sure to say hi to holly too since she's the founder of this club. ^_^

Hi Amber. Nice to meet you too.
Thanks :)

No problem. ^_^ Have a great time and I'll see you around the club.

Altin wrote: "Hey guys, how's it going?
My name is Altin and I'm from Kosovo(just google it :D)

I've recently started using the goodreads app on my tablet so I decided that I should join a group and to tell you..."
I have noticed that a lot of people here are not Gatsby fans. I, however, love Gatsby, haha. How are you liking it?

So many new people :D Welcome everyone!

If you haven't seen already, we have the poll up for the December Group Read, which is coming along fabulously. It's wonderful seeing so many votes! There is also talk of doing a 'A Christmas Carol' readalong/official group read.

I hope everyone enjoys themselves. As always, please feel free to make your own threads about certain classics, or perhaps your favourite genre, or anything really. If you love it, want to discuss it, or even hate it, feel free to make a thread!

Hello, everyone! I am new here. My name is Anuar. I am from Kazakhstan. I am a postgraduate student and my major is Two foreign languages: English and German, though I am not good at German. I have decided to signed in this group to have a discusion about a book group will choose. I am a fan of American Literature, but recently I've set out to read Engls literature. I have read Charles Dickens Great Expactations. And now I am reading The Canterbury Tales in Middle English. Honestly, it is so hard. In short, I want to find so friends here and share opinions for it will help to increase my English skills. Thank you ))))

Welcome Anuar! I congratulate on doing a language all the way up to degree level! I dropped French and Spanish as soon as I could (it was compulsory up to like 14). Part of me wishes I hadn't, because I'd love to learn one. They just don't sit well with me and I'm not sure I'd have the patience!

We've got a December group read poll up, which is focused on short stories, so shouldn't take too long. We've also got an 'A Christmas Carol' readalong starting nearer Christmas. Middle English is tough for everyone, regardless of whether English is their first language or not.

Good luck, and I hope you enjoy yourself here :)

Coo - what a lot of new members! Welcome to Lian, Katy, Elizabeth, (I love SF too!) Altin, Diana, Michael and Anuar. I hope to get to know everybody.

Anuar - I am amazed that you're attempting that! It's hard enough to decipher Middle English if you're an native English speaker.

Thank you for your kindness!

And it is great that we are going to read Charles Dickens. Actually, I wanted to start reading some of his works after I am done with Chaucer. )))

I am looking forward to discussing the great books

I've only just started Dickens myself, Anuar. I read A Tale of Two Cities last week and loved it. If you want to do any Dickens readalongs, I'm sure people would be very interested!

That'd be great!!! Before I started reading Chaucer I had read Great Expectations. I cannot say I like it but I cannot say I dislike it. It is due to I had been reading for a long time because Dickens has very hard books to read in terms of language. So many unknown words. Anyway, I like the plot. This novel was much better than Oliver Twist.

Holly wrote: "The December group read nominations thread is up, if you wish to have a look. We're only doing stories under 200 pages (I've been a bit lenient) as I know Christmas is a busy time!"
I'll have to look for it then!

Glad to see so many "known" faces here around!

Altin, you're around a very mixed bag when it comes to feelings on Gatsby. Some of us (me included) hate it, which some love it, and some are in between!

Perhaps we should set up a topic for it...