Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

May's featured author is Nevil Shute , a British/Australian author.
We read The Pied Piper in a high school English class and it was one of the books I truly enjoyed reading. I also read On the Beach the following year as independent reading, which was a more harrowing read.
Since then I have gone on to read many more of his works and enjoyed them all-some very much, my most recent reads-The Far Country and A Town Like Alice. In total, I've read 14 of his books.

Which novel will you be reading?

I plan on reading An Old Captivity.

Pastoral. I just started.

I am hoping to join you for this. I think I’ll read requiem for a wren, but may opt for on the beach. I have both on my shelf waiting to be read :)

I've just started reading A Town Like Alice.

I have downloaded Pastoral & So Disdained.

I've read A Town Like Alice and On the Beach (and recently watched the movie of that). His stories stick with you, and though I can't commit to anymore books this month, I will be watching the discussion.

I plan to read A Town Like Alice. Waiting for my library hold to come in.

I will also read A Town like Alice.

I just finished Pastoral and enjoyed it very much!

Now I'm in a dilemma. I've got one credit in audible and can get one audiobook. I'm wondering whether I should read another Nevil Shute or joining in with the buddy read for The Citadel by A.J. Cronin.

That is a dilemma, Piyangie!

Piyangie wrote: "Now I'm in a dilemma. I've got one credit in audible and can get one audiobook. I'm wondering whether I should read another Nevil Shute or joining in with the buddy read for [book:The Citadel|63474..."

Decisions! Perhaps check the cost of the ebooks, see if you can get one of them free or very cheap. Then get the audiobook for the other. I’ve borrowed the ebook of The Citadel free from Kindle Unlimited, so you may be lucky. It depends on your Amazon membership details.

Trisha wrote: "Piyangie wrote: "Now I'm in a dilemma. I've got one credit in audible and can get one audiobook. I'm wondering whether I should read another Nevil Shute or joining in with the buddy read for [book:..."

Thanks, Trisha. I'll check. I prefer audio at present since I have some other books also in stow. Perhaps I could get the audio for the longer book and read the other.

Rosemarie wrote: "That is a dilemma, Piyangie!"

Yes, Rosemarie. I was thinking of reading Pied Piper if I'm to choose another Nevil Shute. Between that and The Citadel, what would you recommend to try first?

I’m reading The Citadel right now and really enjoying it, so I would say that should be your first choice.

Rosemarie wrote: "I’m reading The Citadel right now and really enjoying it, so I would say that should be your first choice."

Decided. Thanks, Rosemarie. :)

You can comment on any Shute novel throughout the year. I hope I manage to read at least one in May!

Rosemarie wrote: "You can comment on any Shute novel throughout the year. I hope I manage to read at least one in May!"

That'll be great. Anyway, I hope I'd be able to read another Shute this month.

I put a Shute quote on the Masthead for this month!!

I noticed! Looks good.

I liked it as you can take it different ways! Im glad you noticed Rosemarie.

ALL 24 NEVIL SHUTE NOVELS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

NAME OF NOVEL--YEAR—AVG. GR RATING--RANK IN # OF RATINGS
• Stephen Morris (1923, pub. 1961) 3.75 (22)
• Pilotage (1924, pub. 1961) 3.65 (24)
• Marazan (1926) 3.53 (21)
• So Disdained (1928) 3.70 (19)
• Lonely Road (1932) 3.80 (20)
• Ruined City (1938) 4.05 (14)
• What Happened to the Corbetts (1938) 3.98 (18)
• An Old Captivity (1940) 3.97 (13)
• Landfall: A Channel Story (1940) 3.96 (17)
• Pied Piper (1942) 4.24 (4)
• Most Secret (1942, published 1945) 3.95 (12)
• Pastoral (1944) 4.04 (9)
• The Seafarers (1946–7, pub. 2002) 4.17 (23)
• The Chequer Board (1947) 4.04 (10)
• No Highway (1948) 3.97 (7)
• A Town Like Alice (1950) 4.14 (1)
• Round the Bend (1951) 4.10 (8)
• The Far Country (1952) 4.01 (6)
• In the Wet (1953) 3.87 (11)
• Requiem for a Wren (1955) 4.04 (5)
• Beyond the Black Stump (1956) 3.90 (15)
• On the Beach (1957) 3.95 (2)
• The Rainbow and the Rose (1958) 3.93 (16)
• Trustee from the Toolroom (1960) 4.27 (3)
ONE SCREENPLAY/FILM TREATMENT
• Vinland the Good (film script, 1946) 3.71
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY
• Shute, Nevil (1954). Slide Rule: Autobiography of an Engineer. London: William Heinemann Ltd. (1964: Ballantine, New York) 3.95

I have read Shute's 2 most popular novels On the Beach and A Town Like Alice.
I own #3 Trustee from the Toolroom and today bought #4 Pied Piper and will read one of the 2 later this month after I read A.J. Cronin's The Citadel.
I may read the Shute novel that I don't read this month later this year, possibly the same month I read the other Cronin novel I bought, The Keys to the Kingdom.

Thank you for the list, Brian!

Piyangie wrote: "Rosemarie wrote: "I’m reading The Citadel right now and really enjoying it, so I would say that should be your first choice."

Decided. Thanks, Rosemarie. :)"

I am reading The Citadel also.
I also chose Pastoral

Hi Brian, I have The Keys of the Kingdom and hope to read it this year.

I am reading The Citadel but not yet started A Town Like Alice.

I am enjoying The Citadel.

Nidhi wrote: "I am reading The Citadel but not yet started A Town Like Alice.

I am enjoying The Citadel."

A Town Like Alice was the first Shute book I read and I loved it. I have read a few other Shute books and have not been disappointed.

I found the kindle for The Citadel on Scribd and decided to read. The audiobook is of poor quality as it's an old recording. So I bought audio book of Shute's Requiem for a Wren. The summary of that book interested me more than Pied Piper (which I earlier planned to read). I also bought the kindle of the Trustee from the Toolroom. I'll try to do one of them later the month.

Piyangie wrote: "I found the kindle for The Citadel on Scribd and decided to read. The audiobook is of poor quality as it's an old recording. So I bought audio book of Shute's Requiem for a Wren. The summary of tha..."

I’m also listening to Requiem for a Wren and enjoying it tremendously. It’s my first audiobook by shute and it’s a great listen! I loved [Pied Piper]—maybe you’ll read it later. Actually I haven’t read anything by Shute that I haven’t liked, though I’ll say that my least favorite so far has been Chequer Board. NS is just a great story teller. Hoping to also get to Ordeal, a.k.a. What Happened to the Corbetts, this month.

Finished A Town Like Alice - a pleasant read and a touching ending. I must read some more from Shute.

Diane wrote: "Piyangie wrote: "I found the kindle for The Citadel on Scribd and decided to read. The audiobook is of poor quality as it's an old recording. So I bought audio book of Shute's Requiem for a Wren. T..."

I'm glad you're enjoying the audiobook of Requiem for a Wren. It made me decide that it'll be my next Shute read. Hopefully, I'd be able to get to it before the end of the month.

I received Pied Piper today, a bit too late since I finished the Citadel and started Trustee from the Toolroom yesterday.
It worked out great though, as I think Trustee will fit my needs better. After reading South Riding, which I loved and The Citadel, which I liked, I could stand a bit less melodrama.
So far Trustee fits the bill, at least after 90 pages. It is a creative story set-up with some mundane, but likeable central characters. Right now it has me smiling a lot with the main character and his legion of middle-aged male mechanical geek fans and their excitement over engines and mechanical things.
Yes, there has been drama too but, while Shute has been able to activate my tear ducts in the past, right now he's activated my smile muscles. So far, so good, maybe even so great.

I'm about a third of the way into An Old Captivity, a book about a pilot who is taking a professor and his daughter on an expedition to Greenland. It's good so far-the main character had been a pilot in the first world war and then a bush pilot in northern Canada.

Rosemarie wrote: "I plan on reading An Old Captivity."
Rosemarie wrote: "I'm about a third of the way into An Old Captivity,."

Every time you mention the title of this book, I momentarily think you're referencing a Walter Scott novel before I find my bearings.
Every time is only twice, but still...

The main character is a Scot.

Finished Requiem for a Wren a week or so ago—another great story from NS. This one is very sad, though.

I agree,Diane, it is sad. It has also been published as The Breaking Wave instead of Requiem for a Wren.

Diane wrote: "Finished Requiem for a Wren a week or so ago—another great story from NS. This one is very sad, though."

It does have Requiem in the title. Even if sad, it seems like a good Shute to include in my TBR list. If I avoided sad, I'd rarely be able to read a Thomas Hardy, who's a favorite of mine.
Diane, since you read it, go use this book in the "Classic Book with a "animal / name" in the Title" thread.

I started on Requiem for a Wren and so far enjoying it.

I've just finished An Old Captivity, which deals with an aerial survey of an archeological site in Greenland. It's good but there are a lot of details about the preparations for the trip, but once they're under way it's less slow moving. We don't learn the reason for the title until the second last chapter of the book.

I have finished Trustee from the Toolroom and it was a very rewarding and pleasant read. Like some of his others, it centers on mechanics/machines and on an expedition somewhere.
This was a very creative plot that had me smiling often, with one eye-watering moment at the end. A 4+ star, almost 5 star read for me. Here's my review.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read Pastoral - another excellent book!

Trisha wrote: "I read Pastoral - another excellent book!"

Glad you enjoyed it, Trisha. I did too.

Piyangie wrote: "Trisha wrote: "I read Pastoral - another excellent book!"

Glad you enjoyed it, Trisha. I did too."

Thank you, Piyangie. He is one of the authors I only discovered from Goodreads & I have enjoyed each of his books that I read so far. Until this month I hadn’t realised how many there are - I still have a lot to read!

Trisha wrote: "Piyangie wrote: "Trisha wrote: "I read Pastoral - another excellent book!"

Glad you enjoyed it, Trisha. I did too."

Thank you, Piyangie. He is one of the authors I only discovered..."

Me too, Trisha. I've only read one, so, I've got a long way to go! :)

I finished Requiem for a Wren by Nevil Shute. It was alright, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as Pastoral.🙁

I felt the same way about those two books, Piyangie.

That's a comfort, Rosemarie. Now I'm thinking what next? I must choose carefully this time. 😊