Forgotten Classics and Other Lesser Known Books (or No One Has Read this but Me!) discussion

You yourself may not be well known, make yourself more visible by introducing yourself!

Hello, I'm Alexandra (18) from Germany and I'm here so I can talk/discuss (almost) unknown gems with others :)

Hi, Cheryl from Nevada, USA, rabid (way beyond 'avid') reader, less enthused about best-sellers than most. Favorite genres Science, SF, and Children's.

Age 54, homemaker, children nearly independent, husband supportive of my habit. :)

Hello, my name is Kandice <--- :-) and I am a rabid (great description Cheryl!) reader as well. I actually do end up liking a ton of what is popular, but I also love perusing thrift stores and old used books stores for titles I have never heard of. I find some wonderful books that way. I am the administrative assistant at a synagogue and religious school, mother of three, the youngest of whom is leaving for college in August.

I am about to have a LOT more reading time on my hands! Not only are my "little people" wandering off (my oldest just moved back east two weeks ago), but the religious school has summer break, so my hours will be more like a normal 40 a week than they are during the school year.

I'm Carol and I live in the US, in North Carolina. I'm an avid, eclectic reader -- my current top reading passions range from Jack Reacher to Anne of Green Gables to crime noir and stories written by native authors from Japan, Egypt, or Lebanon. I'm in-house counsel at a technology company, with two kids (15 and 21), and a spouse who has an irregular schedule because he's also in IT. Some weeks I fall asleep earlier and get little read. Others allow for consuming copious pages of forgotten classics, ignored female authors, gems, surprises and a wide range of literary fiction.

this is such an interesting idea! my name is ocean and i'm a 17 year old from the philippines. i found this group via the catch-up book club. looking forward to finding diamonds in the rough with this group!

I'm Kristin. I'm 33 from Fall River, Massachusetts where I have lived my entire life. I've been married for just over ten years and I have a nine year old son. I work as a Supervisor at a call center for a major hotel company. I am also a big pop culture nerd.

I've been an avid reader (don't have enough time to be rabid :) since middle school. My favorite genre is Fantasy, but I've been trying to branch out more.

I've tried three or four times to get a book club going with friends, but they always fizzle out. Then I found Goodreads! I'm excited to be able to fill my need for book discussion. (My usual reading companion just had a baby and has no time or brain power for reading at the moment.)

hi there! I love the idea of this group. I live in the philadelphia suburbs and am an in house attorney like Carol but I am in the field of investment management. I am a single mom with two girls, ages 5 and 8 and they are little spitfires who keep me smiling and quite busy. In my free time, I like reading most of all, but also running, hiking, camping, yoga, random road trips, and cooking. Looking forward to new discoveries with you all!

Hello, I like the idea of the group and know a few people here already. Whether I have time to take it seriously remains to be seen. but I'll follow it for now. I am a reader with no literary qualifications, and most of what I read is literary fiction. I have had a bookshelf for some time called little-known-gems which contains books I think deserve to be better known.

My name is Alisha! I'm 22 and I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am a sucker for classics: richer words, more social commentary, and a tendency toward foreshadowing and irony. I have a blog where I post about my cakes, my books, and my adventures!

My favorite books include 'The Book of Bebb' (Buechner), 'Z' (Fowler), 'Anna Karenina' (Tolstoy), and literally ANYTHING by Scott Fitzgerald <3 (I'm pretty obsessed...)

I'm so excited to see what you all have to say about awesome hidden pieces of literature!

http://thegreatcakeadventure.weebly.com/

My name is Connie. I'm a GoodReads newbie. I thought this sounded interesting. I like a variety of books, but generally not science fiction. I listen to audiobooks as well.
I've never been in a book club before (either real life or online) so I'm not sure what to expect.

Luella has asked me to help with moderation, so welcome to all of our new members - the more we have to start with the better the chances of the group surviving and by being here at the start you have the chance to influence how the group works.

We already have lurkers, too! The membership count is 22 right now. :grin:

Welcome Sandy

Cheryl wrote: "We already have lurkers, too! The membership count is 22 right now. :grin:"

Sorry, I didn't mean to "lurk." I like the idea of the group.

For a fairly mainstream forgotten classic, I would probably nominate The Green Carnation Roman a clef about Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas.

For completely forgotten, but nominated by John Cowper Powys for one of his

One Hundred Best Books With Commentary and an Essay on Books and Reading

a book called Round the Corner- got an e-book edition from the open library, and really liked it.

Sorry, I sincerely meant that *in my opinion* lurkers are great! It's a sign of a healthy group to have active members and less active members! :)

Cheryl wrote: "Sorry, I sincerely meant that *in my opinion* lurkers are great! It's a sign of a healthy group to have active members and less active members! :)"

Agreed! Welcome Christopher!

Hi everyone,
I'm Nina, 35 year-old German living in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. I love the concept of the group as I enjoy reading a lot, in particular classics. So, I hope to extend my knowledge about all those undiscovered gems!

Hello there! I'm Sarah from the Southern US and I love books of all types but especially little-known literary gems. I'm looking forward to discovering and discussing these forgotten books with all of you!

Welcome Nina and Snickers! Great to have you both!

Good afternoon!

I'm Jim from New Jersey USA, a federal government worker and avid reader who has no time to be rabid, especially if the cure involves needles in the belly. I read a lot of nonfiction, general fiction, classics, travel, and science fiction. I'm looking to discover these forgotten classics with the rest of the group.

Jim, who believes that the best compliment you can give people who are well-dressed is to tell them that they look sharp enough to draw blood. ;)

Hello Jim,

Nice to see you here! Hope you enjoy the group!

Hi all!
I am Joanna from Kansas. I came across this group through the polar opposite group. I like to read obscure novels, but I hope they are well-written. I should also note that I haven't done so in some time. Because of the craziness of my life in the last few years, I have stuck to quick, easy reads, but it is time to branch out. I grew up outside a tiny town, that had a tiny, not well-funded library. The vast majority of the books in this library were donated and were oftentimes the discards of bigger libraries. Needless to say, the classical section was well-stocked, and I was quite satisfied. Excited to get in this group with the first read!

Joanna wrote: "Hi all!
I am Joanna from Kansas. I came across this group through the polar opposite group. I like to read obscure novels, but I hope they are well-written. I should also note that I haven't done ..."

Welcome!

I hope you enjoy your this first read with us. :)

Hey, I also came upon Luella's group through the "Catch-up book club." As I am way behind on my classics (and have other books to read with other groups), I might not follow this group too seriously. The mention of Jane Austen in Belinda has me curious though.

Best of luck with your new group Luella.

Hi, my name is Laiba and I'm from Pakistan. I'm an avid reader. I am a huge fan of the famous as well as the underrated gems among the many classics.

Hello, I'm Susan from Kent UK. My last obscure read was Hardy's Trumpet Major, one of his lesser known novels said to be his only historical novel, set around time of the Napoleonic wars. My best loved obscure is Precious Bane by Mary Webb. She was a contemporary of Hemmingway and Fitzgerald, British author and her work is stunning.

No, not yet, Sandy. I thought retirement meant I would read lots and lots but I write as well and there are never enough hours in the day. I will see if I can get a copy from Amazon. As far as I know her work is not on Kindle. Thank you for the recommendation.

Laiba wrote: "Hi, my name is Laiba and I'm from Pakistan. I'm an avid reader. I am a huge fan of the famous as well as the underrated gems among the many classics."

It's all good :) I like to do catch-up challenges with my groups so you might be able to participate in those next year. Also the discussions will never be closed so if you do feel up to it feel free to participate at any time. :)

Glad to have you here!

Laiba wrote: "Hi, my name is Laiba and I'm from Pakistan. I'm an avid reader. I am a huge fan of the famous as well as the underrated gems among the many classics."

Welcome Laiba hope you like our little group :)

Susan wrote: "Hello, I'm Susan from Kent UK. My last obscure read was Hardy's Trumpet Major, one of his lesser known novels said to be his only historical novel, set around time of the Napoleonic wars. My best l..."

I will have to check those out. Welcome Susan! :)

Jim wrote: "Good afternoon!

I'm Jim from New Jersey USA, a federal government worker and avid reader who has no time to be rabid, especially if the cure involves needles in the belly. I read a lot of nonficti..."

Dad?

Just kidding, but only because my dad who you've just described (federal gov't worker named Jim who reads a lot of nonfiction, etc...) resides in AZ and to my knowledge, has never been 'from' NJ.

Hello all! I'm Trina and I currently reside in NW Louisiana, but I'm originally from Los Angeles and I think I'll always call that 'home'. I'm a single mom of 3 boys, the oldest lives in CA now and the younger two are in high school. None of them like to read. :(

Like many of you I came to this group from the Catch Up group, and I really like the idea of finding less popular or forgotten reads, although I can't think of ANY off the top of my head. For years, even before Goodreads, I would compile lists of books I wanted to read, sticky notes inside my wallet from articles about "The Best Summer Reads" or "Books You Must Read Before You Die" or "Books That Will Change Your Life" and I'd pull out these lists to look for anything on them whenever I found myself at a used bookstore or a thrift shop. The problem with that method is you only get popular books and bestsellers on your to-read list!! I'm very excited to discover what others have stumbled upon that might actually be the best book of the summer or the one book that will change my life!

Trina wrote: "Hello all! I'm Trina and I currently reside in NW Louisiana, but I'm originally from Los Angeles and I think I'll always call that 'home'. I'm a single mom of 3 boys, the oldest lives in CA now and..."

Welcome! I feel the same way. I have enjoyed some popular reads, but I find they are often over-hyped. I like reading lesser knowns because I go in with little or no preconceived notions, which is nice. It's more of a journey/adventure that way.

Hello everyone. I'm Iasa. This sounds like a great idea for a group. I'm sure I will find lots of new books to read.

Welcome to the group Iasa, Dawn and Trina

Hello, the name is Rafael, but please call me Rafa. I am 38, an omnivorous reader and glad to have found this group.

Welcome Rafa

Hi everybody!

I am also from the "Everyone has read this but me" group, seems there are a few of us! I was wondering about if I should join or not, but my nearest library (which has only had a non-audio copy of One book I have looked for so far) actually has a copy of next month's read. I looked it up out of curiosity if I would even be able to find the books recommended here. And then I realized that I have some books on my Read shelf that fit the criteria of this group.

And then I learned through lurking further that I am supposed to clean my dishwasher occasionally. Huh. So now I am here and I will try to participate, but I definitely tend more towards lurking around.

Hi, I am Kathy from GA. I love history and traveling when I can afford it! I am always on the lookout for interesting, new to me books. I plan to read the Bell Witch. For my birthday (weekend of Halloween), I plan to visit Cades Cove, TN. I think I'll check out how far it is to Adams, TN, home of the Bell Witch. Forget it -- 6 hr drive!

Welcome Kathy and Kerri

Hello, I just saw this group mentioned in 21 st Century Lit while looking for a thread to mention books other than the 21 century group reads. Hugh, I swear I'm not stalking you!

My name is Wendy. Im mid-50s with a big family, all grown now, except for grandkids who go home. I have no hobbies other than reading, but I do enjoy baking once in awhile. I love people, but prefer to never leave my house or socialize because it's takes time away from reading.

I like the idea of this group because I don't usually read new books. Not because I have anything against new books, but because I go through book phases. I was in an India phase for quite awhile, then WWII books, lately it's been books by British women-Hilary Mantel, Jane Gardham, A,S, Byatt, Anita Brookner.

As much as I love a brand new book I also love an older book with its own history.

Welcome, Wendy! I am also a newbie with the group. I started last month. I understand your book phase process. I have been drawn to gothic mysteries for the last couple of years -- Wilkie Collins, Daphne du Maurier.

Hi, I'm Andrey from a beautiful city with a terrible climate, Saint-Petersburg, Russia.

I tend to read books solely based on my taste, many of them happen to be not very well known at this time.

I'm also learning European Portuguese and love discussing everything and anything related to it.

People call me Em. I'm 14, I love classic books, and classical music, and anything from any time-period that's pre-60s. I love foreign languages, interesting people, cologne and writing. I love anything that's classy or elegant or epic, and when it comes to reading, I mostly read classics, fantasy, YA and historical fiction.

It is unusual to see an interest in classical music from someone so young. I developed that same interest mainly because my parents were both teachers at a music conservatory.

Any favorite composers? For me it is J.S. Bach, plus Brahms, and a lot of Bela Bartok too.

I don't really have any particular favorites, although I do love Bach. I mostly have favorite pieces rather than composers.

em~thatdemmedelusivemurderess~ wrote: "I don't really have any particular favorites, although I do love Bach. I mostly have favorite pieces rather than composers."

Such pieces as......? My own favorite pieces include all of the Bach trio sonatas, plus his Brandenburg concerti, and the 6 Bartok string quartets.

I really like Erik Satie's Gymnopedie no. 2, Bach's Cello Suite no. 1, and pretty much any of Chopin's Nocturnes. I do like Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, as well.

The Cello Suite No. 1 is hauntingly pretty, to me at least, because Bach uses the cello with its maximum tonal range and depth. Just beautiful!

If you ever develop a sense of the mathematics behind music, I also recommend the C Sharp Minor Fugue from Book I of his Well-Tempered Clavier. He devised that sucker to include five voices and three different subjects (making it a triple fugue, for God's sake). I sit there in awe of its complexity and the way he inverts every melody, slows it down, speeds it up, and then, worst of all, he overlaps them in strettos that force you to combine them in different ways. The complexity of this piece defies me to this day.