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Unknown Books? - Let's Read Them Club! discussion

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message 2: by Ice (new)
Apr 11, 2011 06:19AM

Ice Bear (neilar) Stone Angels
There appears to be only one review - mine ! and even that is short. 12 others had it listed - so for Goodreads, definitely in the minority.


message 3: by Ronyell (new)
Apr 11, 2011 09:05AM

Ronyell (rabbitearsblog) | 492 comments Mod
That sounds like a great book Ice! I'll add it to the bookshelf!


message 6: by Ronyell (new)
Apr 12, 2011 08:35PM

Ronyell (rabbitearsblog) | 492 comments Mod
Thanks Ellie!! I'll add that!


message 11: by [deleted user] (new)
Apr 15, 2011 01:56AM

Coffeehouse Angel


message 12: by Ronyell (new)
Apr 15, 2011 02:23AM

Ronyell (rabbitearsblog) | 492 comments Mod
Thanks Ellen!


message 13: by Ronyell (new)
Apr 17, 2011 09:32AM

Ronyell (rabbitearsblog) | 492 comments Mod
Here are some audiobooks:

Rabbit Ears Treasury of World Tales: Volume 2: The White Cat, Fool and the Flying Ship

Rabbit Ears Treasury of Storybook Classics: Volume 2: Goldilocks, Little Red Riding Hood, Three Little Pigs, Three Billy Goats Gruff

Rabbit Ears Treasury of Brer Rabbit: Brer Rabbit and the Wonderful Tar Baby, Brer Rabbit & Boss Lion

Rabbit Ears Treasury of Christmas Stories: Volume 1: A Gingerbread Christmas, The Steadfast Tin Soldier

Rabbit Ears Treasury of Tall Tales: Volume 2: Mose the Fireman, Stormalong

Rabbit Ears Treasury of World Tales: Volume 1: Aladdin, Anansi, East of the Sun/West of the Moon, The Five Chinese Brothers

Rabbit Ears Treasury of Fairy Tales and Other Stories: Thumbelina, The Talking Eggs, The Fisherman and His Wife, The Emperor and the Nightingale

Rabbit Ears Treasury of Animal Stories: How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin, How the Camel Got His Hump, How the Leopard Got His Spots, Monkey People

Rabbit Ears Treasury of World Tales: Volume 4: The Firebird, The Emperor's New Clothes

Rabbit Ears Treasury of Christmas Stories: Volume Two: Gingham Dog and Calico Cat, Lion and Lamb

Rabbit Ears Treasury of Fables and Other Stories: The Three Little Pigs/The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Rumpelstiltskin, The Tiger and the Brahmin, The Ugly Duckling

Rabbit Ears Treasury of Heroines: Annie Oakley, Song of Sacajawea, Finn McCoul, Princess Scargo and The Birthday Pumpkin

Rabbit Ears Treasury of Holiday Stories: Volume 1: Squanto & The First Thanksgiving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow


message 14: by Irene (new)
Apr 19, 2011 11:48AM

Irene (ladyraven) | 28 comments I believe I read somewhere that writers are allowed to suggest their own books? If not - please delete me! However, if it's okay, here we go.

I have been published in years gone by, when I wasn't quite so ancient, and I have also edited all sorts of things. A year and a half ago I decided to go mad and re-publish one of my books and publish some others for the first time. I took the independent route . . . which, sadly, means that some people write me off as "unreadable", without even having a quick look first.

All my books have had very enthusiastic responses via e-mail, but there are almost no reviews posted in places where they matter to other browsers! So if anybody would like to try me out, you can download sample chapters of these, before committing yourself any further.

Flowers for Alys

A Day to Go Gently

Wild Honey

St James the Less, Penicuik 1882 - 1982

Thanks for reading this far! ;-)


message 15: by Ronyell (new)
Apr 19, 2011 09:29PM

Ronyell (rabbitearsblog) | 492 comments Mod
Yes Irene, it's alright for authors to suggest their own books to the bookshelf as long as it is below 150 ratings/reviews. I saw your books and I'm definitely adding them to the shelf! :D I was wondering, are all your books for adults? Just so I know what category to put these books in.


message 16: by Irene (new)
Apr 20, 2011 10:40AM

Irene (ladyraven) | 28 comments Thanks for your permission! 8-)

Yes, it is important to make sure which books are suitable for adults and which aren't, I agree.

I would say that "A Day to Go Gently" and "Wild Honey" are not suitable for children. They are about adult relationships, so they do have some adult content. I wouldn't think children would be interested in those anyway, although they might be suitable for older teens.

In "Gently" the relationship begins while the couple are themselves in their teens, and the narrator is looking back on her life from old age, so it might be of interest to a mature Young Adult.

"Flowers for Alys" was also written with adults in mind, but readers have commented that it would be suitable for the YA age group - the leading characters are quite young, and there are no love scenes. My only doubt about this one would be the fact that the beginning tells of a birth in some detail, but I don't suppose it's worse than some other books they might read!

"St James the Less" is a history book, suitable for anybody with an interest. In fact I have given copies to local primary schools, so that one can be regarded as "safe".

But if anyone isn't sure, I hope they would read the sample chapters first to be on the safe side.


message 17: by Ronyell (new)
Apr 20, 2011 03:00PM

Ronyell (rabbitearsblog) | 492 comments Mod
Alright, thanks Irene!


message 19: by Chris (new)
Apr 23, 2011 04:10PM

Chris Stanley (christinelstanley) I would like to add The Redemption of Alexander Seaton by Shona Maclean. Set in 17th century Scotland. The writing is exceptional


message 20: by Ronyell (new)
Apr 23, 2011 05:21PM

Ronyell (rabbitearsblog) | 492 comments Mod
Thanks Chris!! I'll add it to the shelf!


message 21: by Angela (new)
Apr 24, 2011 01:04AM

Angela (bookangel2) Another by Shona Maclean is A Game of Sorrows - excellent book.


message 22: by Ronyell (new)
Apr 24, 2011 01:16AM

Ronyell (rabbitearsblog) | 492 comments Mod
Thanks Angela!!


message 23: by Manybooks (new)
Apr 26, 2011 07:27AM

Manybooks I will be adding a whole slew of books from my own bookshelves later today or tomorrow, I will try to separate between children's/young adult books, picture books, adult novels and non-fiction.


message 24: by Manybooks (new)
Apr 26, 2011 01:54PM

Manybooks PICTURE BOOKS:

Brave Jack and the Unicorn

Up Home

Viola Desmond Won't Be Budged

Shannon: An Ojibway Dancer

Qu'Appelle

A Log's Life

Paris in the Spring with Picasso

Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot

The Mud Pony

Roy Makes a Car

The Flying Canoe

Applesauce Season

Slop!: A Welsh Folktale

Casper and Catherine Move to America: An Immigrant Family's Adventures, 1849-1850

Andrew's Angry Words

A Tale of Two Brothers

Pitschi : The Kitten Who Always Wanted to Be Something Else

Henri, Egg Artiste

The Big Question

Grandpa's Angel

Ininatig's Gift of Sugar: Traditional Native Sugarmaking

Sugarbush Spring

Sugaring

At Grandpa's Sugar Bush

The Sugaring Off Party

Is Grandpa Wearing a Suit?

Oma's Quilt

Esterhazy the Rabbit Prince

Fine Print: A Story About Johann Gutenberg

Benno and the Night of Broken Glass

An Eye for Color: The Story of Josef Albers

Leopold, the Liar of Leipzig

Florian and Tractor Max

Tree of Life: The Incredible Biodiversity of Life on Earth

Mr. Goethe's Garden

I Love Saturdays y Domingos

The Canine Kalevala

A Library for Juana: The World of Sor Juana Ines

Gathering the Sun: An Alphabet In Spanish And English

Powwow Summer: A Family Celebrates the Circle of Life

Under Alaska's Midnight Sun

The People Who Hugged the Trees: An Environmental Folk Tale

Tell Me, Tree: All About Trees for Kids

The Gift of the Tree

A Tree for Emmy

The Man Who Made Parks: The Story of Parkbuilder Frederick Law Olmstead

Salmon Forest

There's a Barnyard in My Bedroom

Northern Refuge: A Story of a Canadian Boreal Forest

She's Wearing a Dead Bird on Her Head!

The Queen's Progress

Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon

Stone Girl, Bone Girl: The Story of Mary Anning

The Little Piano Girl: The Story of Mary Lou Williams, Jazz Legend

Ophelia's Shadow Theatre

The Drum Calls Softly

Nokum Is My Teacher


message 28: by Ronyell (new)
Apr 26, 2011 03:16PM

Ronyell (rabbitearsblog) | 492 comments Mod
Thank you so much Gundula!! Now' we'll be able to have enough books to read! Thank you!!! :D


message 29: by Manybooks (new)
Apr 26, 2011 03:45PM

Manybooks Ronyell wrote: "Thank you so much Gundula!! Now' we'll be able to have enough books to read! Thank you!!! :D"

Lucky I have huge amounts of books on my bookshelves and that many are unknown or little known books (being book obsessed does have its good points, ha, ha, ha).


message 30: by Ronyell (new)
Apr 26, 2011 03:57PM

Ronyell (rabbitearsblog) | 492 comments Mod
Yep!! I'm a huge book lover myself, so I always find a book that is not well known! LOL!!


message 31: by Manybooks (last edited Apr 26, 2011 04:12PM) (new)
Apr 26, 2011 04:11PM

Manybooks Part of the problem with reading "unknown" or little known books is that the reading selections might not be all that readily available at local libraries. I am wondering wether we should make the group reads two months, instead of one month, as some members might have to try to get the book selections through Interlibrary Loans. Also, for picture books, I wonder if it were better to read more than just one book (maybe a selection of three or four books, like we do in the Children's Literature Group for the Picture Book Club).


message 32: by Ronyell (new)
Apr 26, 2011 09:37PM

Ronyell (rabbitearsblog) | 492 comments Mod
I totally agree with you Gundula!! I think we should extend the adult and young adult books to two months instead of one, especially if most of them are not available through the library. As for the picture book monthly reads, I also agree with you that we should read more than one book per month for the monthly reads because there are just so many picture books that are not well known by the public and it would also allow us to explore various picture books instead of one. I was wondering if we go with the idea of having maybe about 5 picture books read per month, should I just list them in the discussion board since putting the picture book selections through the polls might be difficult since we are only allowed to choose one book for the polls?


message 33: by Manybooks (new)
Apr 27, 2011 05:04AM

Manybooks Ronyell wrote: "I totally agree with you Gundula!! I think we should extend the adult and young adult books to two months instead of one, especially if most of them are not available through the library. As for th..."

Polling for picture books might be a bit of a problem if we have more than three or four. However, if we decide to maybe just read two or three (five is a lot especially since we are dealing with unknown or little known books), you could have a poll which listed three choices and we would choose the one we want (maybe separated thematically)

Like this:

1. Ron's Big Mission, A Sweet Smell of Roses, Freedom Summer
2. Sugaring, Ininatig's Gift of Sugar, The Sugaring Off Party
3. Qu'Apelle, Brave Jack and the Unicorn, The Flying Canoe

The first choice is an African-American theme, the second a sugaring theme and the third a North American Folklore theme.

Or (although I think you should discuss this with the group as a whole), you poll the theme and then list a choice of about five or six picture books that might work. I don't really know, though. This is a bit different than the picture book club in the children's literature group because it is not simply a case of nominating titles, the titles have to have the criteria of having less than 150 reviews. It might be easier to pick from two or three titles per theme from the book suggestions and have a vote (a poll on them) on that.


message 34: by Ronyell (last edited Apr 27, 2011 10:00PM) (new)
Apr 27, 2011 09:51PM

Ronyell (rabbitearsblog) | 492 comments Mod
Thank you so much for the suggestion Gundula! I'm going to go with the first suggestion about having a poll for picture books themes.

Or, another option I was thinking about was that I would list 10 picture books in the discussions board entitled "Choose three picture books to read for June 2011" and have everyone choose the three picture books they wish to discuss in that month. Would that be a better option or would the themes option be better?


message 35: by Jimmy (new)
May 03, 2011 06:18PM

Jimmy (jimmylorunning) I have a feeling that this group is directed towards newer books (published in last 10 years)... but if this is not the case, then I would highly recommend these websites as a starting place for some unknown and neglected books of the previous generations...

http://neglectedbooks.com/

http://writersnoonereads.tumblr.com/


message 36: by Ronyell (new)
May 03, 2011 09:03PM

Ronyell (rabbitearsblog) | 492 comments Mod
Thanks Jimmy!! No, this group is not only directed towards newer books, but it is also directed towards older books, so these sites are really helpful! I'll add these books to the bookshelf!


message 37: by Ellen (new)
May 04, 2011 02:32AM

Ellen (elliearcher) I want to say that I have read (& liked) the following books mentioned in the opening page of neglectedbooks.com:

The Tartar Steppeby Dino Buzzati
Zazie Dans Le Metrecrit, Exercises in Style, The Last Days, We Always Treat Women Too Well, The Sunday of Life, Zazie in the Metro - fun in both languages!, Stories and Remarks, The Flight of Icarusall by Raymond Queneau
you may have guessed, I really like Queneau's work!
Another author I really, really like:
Edmond Jabes, The Book of Questions
Which reminded me of another favorite author, Maurice Blanchot: The Space of Literature, Awaiting Oblivion,
Thomas the Obscure, The InfiniteConversation, Vicious Circles: Two Fictions & After the Fact, The One Who Was Standing Apart from Me,
And a very favorite of his: The Step Not Beyond

Also mentioned that I've read & liked:
Lanark by Alasdair Gray

Just my 2 cents. But fun: I never thought of them as "neglected" since I love them! :D

I'll see if I've know any of the others. Just if personal recommendations help.


message 38: by Ellen (new)
May 04, 2011 02:36AM

Ellen (elliearcher) I personally didn't "love" Patrick White's Voss but it's been years since I read it. I believe I own it (at least I did at one time) & if I can find it, I'll read it again. I do remember the writing as being excellent.

Also loved Mary Webb's Precious Bane


message 39: by Ellen (new)
May 04, 2011 02:38AM

Ellen (elliearcher) The one book I've read of William March is not one of his "great" works but was extremely popular & I adored it. It was made into a wonderful "B" movie in the 1950s. I still re-read this book & enjoy it every time: The Bad Seed


message 40: by Ellen (new)
May 04, 2011 02:58AM

Ellen (elliearcher) And for some reason I'm assuming everyone reads one of my top, most favorite writers of all time, Clarice Lispector. If not *gasp*, some of her best are:
The Foreign Legion: Stories and Chronicles,
The Hour of the Star, Near to the Wild Heart, The Stream of Life,
The Apple in the Dark love that one!
Soulstorm: Stories, & the very great The Passion According to G.H.

Another great (but I hope not little known but must read writer:
Ingeborg Bachmann
Some of her very best:
Franza Case and Requiem for Fan, Malina - probably her most famous & a wonderful work
In the Storm of Roses: Selected Poems by Ingeborg Bachman
The Thirtieth Year- another wonderful, must-read absolute favorites of mine
Three Paths to the Lake
The Book of Franza & Requiem for Fanny Goldmann
Darkness Spoken: Collected Poems of Ingeborg Bachmann
Paul Celan is another must-read author (probably everyone does read him. Mostly his poetry but also his correspondence is very moving. He survived the Holocaust but was left deeply scarred & ended by committing suicide, drowning himself in the Seine. For anyone interested I think some of his most remarkable work includes: Prose writings & selected poems, A voice--: Translations of Paul Celan, Nineteen Poems, Poems of Paul Celan, and
the truly wonderful Paul Celan, Nelly Sachs: Correspondence. Nelly Sachs died the day Celan was buried & their relationship was fascinating.
Also, if anyone is interested, Nelly Sachs was a great writer. I recommend O the Chimneys: Selected Poems, Including the Verse Play, Eli, probably her best known (translation of her poems)


message 41: by Ellen (new)
May 04, 2011 03:01AM

Ellen (elliearcher) The site also mentions Bruno Schulz. I hope that is not true. He was shot & killed in the square outside his home towards the beginning of the Nazi reign of terror. His 2 great works are: The Street of Crocodiles & Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass. Everyone really owes it to themselves to read these 2 works.


message 42: by Ellen (new)
May 04, 2011 03:05AM

Ellen (elliearcher) Also mentioned in the site is another favorite of mine, Michel de Ghelderode. I love his Seven Plays


message 43: by Jimmy (last edited May 04, 2011 08:20AM) (new)
May 04, 2011 06:06AM

Jimmy (jimmylorunning) haha Ellie, yes, it's true... no-one reads these authors. I've only become acquainted with several of the ones you mentioned (Bruno Schulz, Clarice Lispector, Raymond Queneau, Dino Buzzati) in the past few years thanks to Goodreads and sites like those I linked to...

On the other hand, some books that I loved that not many seems to have read (based on the 'number of ratings' in Goodreads):

Sun City by Tove Jansson
The Story of Mary Maclane by Mary Maclane
anything by Francis Ponge
Selected Prose of Heinrich von Kleist
The Ship by Hans Henny Jahnn
A Splendid Conspiracy by Albert Cossery
The Bun Field by Amanda Vahamaki
The Carbonel trilogy (for children, but so fun! and good!) by Barbara Sleigh
The Atoms of Language: The Mind's Hidden Rules of Grammar (nonfiction)
The Romance of Happy Workers (poetry) by Anne Boyer
Frances Johnson by Stacey Levine
The Ten Thousand Things by Maria Dermout
Broadsides From the Other Orders (nonfiction) by Sue Hubbell
Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead by Barbara Comyns
Recollections of Things to Come by Elena Garro (one of my FAVORITE books ever)
Kabloona by Gontran de Poncis (another favorite!)
Visitation by Jenny Erpenbeck
Death Tractates (poetry) by Brenda Hillman
Skylark by Dezső Kosztolányi
Autonauts of the Cosmoroute by Cortazar (and 62: A Model Kit by him also, one of my favorite writers)
Anything by Thomas Bernhard
I Love Dick by Chris Kraus (so good)
An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter by Cesar Aira (really great writer)
The Time of the Doves by Mercè Rodoreda (so great!)
Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles (Paul Bowles's oft-overlooked wife of immense talent)

Well I should stop there, I could go on though haha


message 44: by Ellen (new)
May 04, 2011 08:02AM

Ellen (elliearcher) Great list:
I feel especially strongly about
Anything by Thomas Bernhard Such a great writer!
Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles
Julio Cortazar, both the ones you mention but also my favorite, Hopscotch
Von Kleist & Ponge, also

How will we decide on something to read?
I'm hoping that in addition to collecting fabulous titles we'll also read some of them as a group.


message 45: by Jimmy (last edited May 04, 2011 08:24AM) (new)
May 04, 2011 08:10AM

Jimmy (jimmylorunning) I love Hopscotch, but it's got 2000+ ratings already, so I decided not to mention it in this Unknown Books group ;)

PS - Thanks for recommending Ingeborg Bachmann... looking at some excerpts now and it looks really good.


message 46: by Manybooks (new)
May 04, 2011 08:29AM

Manybooks Jimmy wrote: "I love Hopscotch, but it's got 2000+ ratings already, so I decided not to mention it in this Unknown Books group ;)"

If we are going to read Heinrich von Kleist, let's also read some of his plays. It would be great to included translated German literature besides Goethe, Schiller, Thomas Mann and Günther Grass. Let me do some research and I'll come up with a nice, big list of potential ideas (and with German, I mean German language, so Swiss and Austrian would be included).


message 47: by Jimmy (last edited May 04, 2011 08:44AM) (new)
May 04, 2011 08:40AM

Jimmy (jimmylorunning) As far as German lit, don't forget

Robert Walser
Robert Musil
Hermann Broch
Joseph Roth
WG Sebald
Jenny Erpenbeck (more recent)
Alexander Von Humboldt
Adalbart Stifter
Peter Handke
Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Max Frisch
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
Siegfried Lenz
Rainer Maria Rilke
Holderlin
Gregor von Rezzori
Ernst Weiss

Some of these aren't unknown, but I still listed them anyway cause I want to read them.


message 48: by Manybooks (new)
May 04, 2011 09:47AM

Manybooks Jimmy wrote: "As far as German lit, don't forget

Robert Walser
Robert Musil
Hermann Broch
Joseph Roth
WG Sebald
Jenny Erpenbeck (more recent)
Alexander Von Humboldt
Adalbart Stifter
Peter Handke
Hugo von Hofm..."

If we read Robert Musil or Hermann Broch, we should have a two, even three month read, the books are huge.


message 49: by Jimmy (last edited May 04, 2011 12:05PM) (new)
May 04, 2011 09:54AM

Jimmy (jimmylorunning) I'm actually in the middle of Man Without Qualities right now. A great book.


message 50: by Manybooks (new)
May 04, 2011 10:21AM

Manybooks Jimmy wrote: "I'm actually in the middle of Man Without Questions right now. A great book."

I had to read it for university and they did not give us nearly enough time, as I had other courses and other books to read as well. I probably should reread it, but I cannot find my copy and I would feel guilty not reading it in German (might be easier though).


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