Retro Reads discussion

& this is a new idea for us, so this is it's trial year!

The discussion for 2026 is in this thread. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

The Author Pool idea is very simple.

Choose two authors where you own or have access to quite a few of a retro author's books.

Read as many as you can during 2026 & report back here. As this is a new idea we will still be refining this challenge, but personally I think it doesn't matter if two or more people choose the same author.

Please make your choices by noon on the 20th of December PST. The reads will start on the first of January & finish on the 31st of December.

This is still a retro challenge so it should just before books the authors wrote between 1900-2000.

Everyone will be given a number which they should use when they discuss the books. I'll put up to number 10 if people have a particular lucky number they want to choose.

So, everyone get their thinking caps on! :)

#1 Carol
#2 Tania
#3 Barb in Maryland
#4 Susan in NC
#5 Mela
#6 Lisa
#7 Lesley
#8 Amanda
#9 Neer
#10 Sarah B

(Cindy & Barb comment here or message me if you don't want to take part in this challenge & I'll remove your names from this list)

Neer wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Thank you! I was able to read one of his books (Nichols) years ago, probably through Everand when I had a subscription. I’d like to read him again, but my library hasn’t got any..."

Author Names

#1 Isabel Allende
#2 Evelyn Anthony
#3 David McCullough
#4 D.E. Stevenson
#5 Patricia Wentworth
#6 Elizabeth Daly
#7 Rose Macaulay
#8 Beverley Nichols
#9 Angela Thirkell
#10 Olivia Manning
#11 Rutherford G. Montgomery
#12 Anne McCaffrey
#13 Rumer Godden
#14 Helene Hanff
#15 R.H. Mottram
#16 Sheila Kaye-Smith
#17 Maeve Binchy
#18 Terry Pratchett
#19 Iris Bromige
#20 Rosamunde Pilcher

& I don't have that many Allende's but I have owned them for a very long time, so I want to get them read.

Evelyn Anthony, on the other hand, I have 12 of her books that I haven't read - even though I loved the ones I have read.

#3
Author Names

#1 David McCullough
--biographer, historian, US focus (I have a number of his books, maybe this will prod me to actually read one or more of them :)
#2 D.E. Stevenson
--Oh, my, do I have unread books by her!! Trying to whittle down that particular TBR.

#4

Author Names:
George Bellairs:
British Golden Age mystery writer; wrote the Inspector Littlejohn series; I’ve read a few and very much enjoyed them, want to carry on, and several currently free through Kindle Unlimited in U.S.

Elizabeth Daly:
American GA mystery writer, said to be an Agatha Christie favorite; I’ve read a few of her Henry Gamadge mysteries and enjoyed them, picked up several years ago at a used book fair, also currently available on KU free. Henry is a rare books expert, living in New York City in the interwar years; series carries through WWII.

I’m not sure if I’ll do a third author, if so it might be another GA mystery writer (ECR Lorac - extensive backlist, but only being republished in dribs and drabs; one of my favorites of last few years). Or, someone like Wodehouse, whom I love! I have several of his books, but a few would be rereads, not sure if that’s allowed!

Added for you Susan & Barb!

Barb: D.E. Stevenson
--Oh, my, do I have unread books by her!! Trying to whittle down that particular TBR.

Funnily enough, I nearly put her down as I have some of her books as well!

Susan in NC: I do have a couple of Bellair books - me & Book Fairs!
This might motivate me to read one!

& we were just going to do two authors - but if there isn't much interest I might open it up a bit more! :)

Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "Added for you Susan & Barb!

Barb: D.E. Stevenson
--Oh, my, do I have unread books by her!! Trying to whittle down that particular TBR.

Funnily enough, I nearly put her down as I have some of her..."

Right, thanks - I wanted to read more Dorothy Whipple - I really enjoyed the pool offering this year, I’d never read her before! Hopefully someone will throw her in the pool!

I like Bellairs’ low-key style and detective, reminds me of Lorac, but a bit more easy-going!

Carol, you can take me off. I have such a mish mash of a collection that I doubt I have more than one of any author.

CindySR wrote: "Carol, you can take me off. I have such a mish mash of a collection that I doubt I have more than one of any author."
Sure thing Cindy!

The highly sought after #2 is now up for grabs! 😅

So excited about this. Any dates for the authors?

Susan in NC wrote: "Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "Added for you Susan & Barb!

Barb: D.E. Stevenson
--Oh, my, do I have unread books by her!! Trying to whittle down that particular TBR.

Funnily enough, I nearly put..."

FYI

The Persephone group is reading The Priory in Nov.

I love Whipple and had a buying splurge on Ebay sourcing her work not too long ago.

I really enjoyed High Wages

Neer wrote: "So excited about this. Any dates for the authors?"

Hi Neer

I forgot to add that. I have put 1st January- 30th of November, but what does everyone think? This is more a diy challenge so would everyone like it to continue right through December?

(The Book Pool stops on the 30th of November as we do Christmas reads in December)

I am sorry I didn't make myself clear. What I wanted to know was whether these authors should be from the 20th century or can they be from other centuries too. I guess the former but just wanted to confirm.

Neer wrote: "I am sorry I didn't make myself clear. What I wanted to know was whether these authors should be from the 20th century or can they be from other centuries too. I guess the former but just wanted to..."

No this is a reading group for 20th century authors only. We have just extended the time period from 1900-1980 to 1900-2000 though. :)

Thanks. I have already decided on one author, thinking of the second one.

Cphe wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "Added for you Susan & Barb!

Barb: D.E. Stevenson
--Oh, my, do I have unread books by her!! Trying to whittle down that particular TBR.

Funnily ..."

Me, too! ‘High Wages’ was my first Whipple, definitely wanted to read more - thanks for the tip on the group. I can’t get Persephone books here, and my library seems to have cleared out older titles. I have found some reasonable Kindle versions of her books, labeled ‘illustrated’ on Amazon, but just totally unrelated pencil drawings randomly stuck in - almost like risqué drawings from the 1920s or something! No nudity or sex, just scantily clad Betty Boop types…Only publication info is Kyiv 2025 in my ‘illustrated’ copy of High Wages.

Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "Neer wrote: "So excited about this. Any dates for the authors?"

Hi Neer

I forgot to add that. I have put 1st January- 30th of November, but what does everyone think? This is more a diy challenge ..."

Yes, please - I sometimes can’t get the Christmas reads, or have books of my own to finish.

my library has the audio version of High Wages so I might listen to that in ...late Nov or Dec, but I realized I've been put off by the weird picture on the library webpage. Which seems silly, now that I think of it.

I would be more than happy to throw Dorothy Whipple into the mix, if that's not cheating as I have read them all. I eeked them out as there weren't too many of them, but it would be interesting to reread them without those gaps. She does have a few titles available on Audible and LibroFM for those struggling to get hold of her books, and The Priory is available on Internet Archive. I would have to pick a second author; at the moment, it is a toss up between Rose Macaulay and Beverley Nichols.

Thanks, Tania, but you choose whoever you want to read! Or not, if you’re booked up, reading-wise…I’ll get to her eventually;o)

Tania wrote: "I would be more than happy to throw Dorothy Whipple into the mix, if that's not cheating as I have read them all. I eeked them out as there weren't too many of them, but it would be..."

Hi Tania the idea of the challenge is if you have a lot of books by one or two authors, (or if you have access to a lot of books by a particular author - at your local library, for example) to make a dent in them. Its not really aimed at people who want to reread a particular author, but there is no reason why we can't extend the challenge to that!

The main thing is just to choose one or two authors & start reading them next year.

Edit; I've added Dorothy Whipple for you - its no problem to change though!

Tania wrote: "I would be more than happy to throw Dorothy Whipple into the mix, if that's not cheating as I have read them all. I eeked them out as there weren't too many of them, but it would be..."

@Tania,

I've read a few Rose Macauley over the years. The Towers of Trebizond has one of the best opening lines.......

"Take my camel dear........"

Cphe wrote: "I've read a few Rose Macauley over the years. The Towers of Trebizond has one of the best opening lines...... "

That is one of the ones I have.

As Cphe has added a few Whipples to the book pool, I shall change her and add Rose Macaulay and Beverley Nichols

Tania wrote: "

As Cphe has added a few Whipples to th..."

I've made you #2 Tania. & I have changed your authors. :)

#5

I would like to finally read all the novels of Angela Thirkell's series that I haven't read yet.

And I want to explore Olivia Manning. I have read only one book (The Doves of Venus) by her, and it was great.

Mela wrote: "#5

I would like to finally read all the novels of Angela Thirkell's series that I haven't read yet.

And I want to explore Olivia Manning. I have read only one book..."

Same here, I want to finish as many of the Thirkell books as I can get-I’ve already reread some of her earliest Barsetshire novels with various GR groups.

The contrast between her earliest, sharpest (as in humor) books and the later ones I’ve gotten to read is marked. Her cast of regular characters had become vast, and I think she had trouble keeping them straight! Still, if I can be patient, I’d like to finish the series, I think I only have 4-5 books to go. We’ll see!

Mela wrote: "#5

I would like to finally read all the novels of Angela Thirkell's series that I haven't read yet.

And I want to explore Olivia Manning. I have read only one book..."
Added for you, Mela.

I've never read Manning, but I do own one of her books The Great Fortune

Susan in NC wrote: "Same here, I want to finish as many of the Thirkell books as I can get (...).
The contrast between her earliest, sharpest (as in humor) books and the later ones I’ve gotten to read is marked. (...) I’d like to finish the series, I think I only have 4-5 books to go...

I see the difference too. It is one of the reasons I slowed down around the middle of the series. I have to catch up on a few, which copies I couldn't find earlier. And then read the last ones. In total, it is 10 novels. I am not sure I will be able to read all of them in 2026, but I will try.

Good luck! I’m not sure I can get all the last ones

Beverley Nichols is one that looked challenging for me, but some of his works are on Project Gutenberg.

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/sear...

One looks like it is free on Amazon but not available in my country (NZ)
https://www.amazon.com/Book-Old-Balla...

I was sure last time I checked that Elizabeth Daly wasn't available at a price I wanted to pay (free or nearly free) but some of her books are showing as very reasonable on Amazon for me.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=elizabeth+...

I'm pretty sure I have a Macaulay on my Kindle.

But I'm most likely to read a Stevenson or Bellairs where I have physical copies of their work.

Thank you! I was able to read one of his books (Nichols) years ago, probably through Everand when I had a subscription. I’d like to read him again, but my library hasn’t got any of his books.

I wasn’t sure - with author pool, do we read other people’s choices as well?

Susan in NC wrote: "Thank you! I was able to read one of his books (Nichols) years ago, probably through Everand when I had a subscription. I’d like to read him again, but my library hasn’t got any of his books.

I wa..."

I wasn’t sure - with author pool, do we read other people’s choices as well?

I hope that's allowed if our own selected authors don't turn out to be too interesting.

I will take #10 if that is ok...

I have books by:

Rutherford G. Montgomery

Anne McCaffrey

The first one doesn't even have an author picture! 😔 Good luck
finding his picture! Oh his picture is available online.

Neer wrote: "I wasn’t sure - with author pool, do we read other people’s choices as well?

I hope that's allowed if our own selected authors don't turn out to be too interesting."

Yes we can. There is no obligation to though. For example, I never warmed to Angela Thirkell the way many in this group did, so I won't be reading her books, but I own some books by some of the other authors, so will try to get to them. :)

Sarah wrote: "I will take #10 if that is ok...

I have books by:

Rutherford G. Montgomery

Anne McCaffrey

The first one doesn't even have an author picture! 😔 Good luck
finding h..."

Welcome Sarah & #10 is yours.

I have added your authors for you & you are in luck - I am a Goodreads librarian & found a Public Domain photo of Montgomery on Wikipedia, so have added that & expanded his Goodreads bio a bit. :)

Thanks. In case you didn't guess he writes lots of horse books .. 🐎

Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "Beverley Nichols is one that looked challenging for me, but some of his works are on Project Gutenberg.

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/sear...

One looks like it is free o..."

He was pretty prolific, and as you say, a lot of his books are available online. I bought someones collection a while back on ebay, so I still have about 30 of his books unread. It would be good to make a dent in them.

Sarah wrote: "Thanks. In case you didn't guess he writes lots of horse books .. 🐎"

I may need advice about what genre he fits into for his bio. I have a busy morning ahead of me, so I'll try to get back to this later on today.

Tania wrote: 'He was pretty prolific, and as you say, a lot of his books are available online. "

I remember a lot of his books being still in NZ libraries in the 70s, but haven't seen any for a while. We have a lot of op (charity) shops in my town, so i'll keep an eye out for him.

Neer wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Thank you! I was able to read one of his books (Nichols) years ago, probably through Everand when I had a subscription. I’d like to read him again, but my library hasn’t got any..."

Good point, you never know! Or we may enjoy one or two of our author’s books, but sometimes a series can lag…my two authors are Golden Age mystery writers, I’ll be reading their series detectives. You never know with a series.

Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "Neer wrote: "I wasn’t sure - with author pool, do we read other people’s choices as well?

I hope that's allowed if our own selected authors don't turn out to be too interesting."

Yes we can. Ther..."

Thanks for the clarification, Carol!

can I add two? Rumer Godden (I know nothing about her but someone gave me a bunch of her books) & Helene Hanff - because I love her and want to read her.

To make sure I understand - I read books by them & report here?

Lisa wrote: "can I add two? Rumer Godden (I know nothing about her but someone gave me a bunch of her books) & Helene Hanff - because I love her and want to read her.

To make sure I understand - I read books ..."

Hi Lisa

This is a new challenge here, but that is how I see it working. The books have to have been first published between 1900 -2000.

Rumer Godden is a favourite author of mine - in fact she wrote my favourite children's book of all time Miss Happiness and Miss Flower & we have had discussions of her books here.

Edit; So you are #6
& your authors are #s13 &14. :)

Just checking Lisa - did you mean Helen Hanff (wrote a book about JFK) or Helene Hanff (wrote 84, Charing Cross Road)

Just as with the Book Pool, I intend taking part in the inaugural Authors Pool, but haven't decided who my authors will be.

I shall return soon - I hope.

ETA: QQ - does it matter if one of my chosen authors is the same as someone else has picked?

Lesley wrote: "
ETA: QQ - does it matter if one of my chosen..."

hi Lesley,
I don't think so as it is a personal challenge. & you are #7.

Hi, here are mine:

Vicki Baum

Sheila Kaye-Smith

Could I be #9 plz?

Neer wrote: "Hi, here are mine:

Vicki Baum

Sheila Kaye-Smith

Could I be #9 plz?"

You are #9 & I have added your authors. I will look at your book requests when I get back from the museum.

I own a Baum Grand opéra

Carol She's So Novel,

Helene Hanff - of 84 & Duchess fame. (also "underfoot in show business" & "Q's Legacy" and a couple of others!)
I haven't read her in a couple of years, but would love an excuse to do so again.