Read by Theme discussion

Polling for August's theme has ended, and the winner is Set in England! That means it's time to choose a book for you to read the upcoming month; if you're going to comply with the theme, you can browse other members' choices below as they are posted thread for this month. Or, you can browse a large list of English-set books here.

If you want to discuss the book with others who have chosen it, remember to create a new thread and attach the book to it!

If you simply can't stand the thought of reading a book that deals with England, head on over to the Theme Rebels folder and tell us about what you're reading instead.

And don't forget to vote on September's theme.

Happy reading, everyone!

I'm trying to decide between Agnes Grey and Wives and Daughters

I'm going to read Stardust and Animal Farm :)

I'm going to read .

Quick response! ;)

I'll be re-reading , and after that... I've a shelf full of other ideas here.

This theme is too easy.....I think 90% of the books I read are set in England! Love British authors. :)

Two books I know I'll be reading in August are:

...

Tipping The Velvet and The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

I'm thinking of and

My plan is to try to read , and for this shelf. They're all books I've had in my TBR piles of books for quite a while. I also want to re-read an Agatha Christie or two.

I'm going to start with and then try to work my way up to some Jane Austen. Perhaps, I'll finally read

LisNoir wrote: "I'm going to read ."

I really enjoyed this book!

Tiffani wrote: "I'm going to start with and then try to work my way up to some Jane Austen. Perhaps, I'll finally read "

Oh, yes, Jane Austen, too. I want to get read. Somehow I've never gotten to that one.

definetly starting with but im going to try to do 3. wanna look at what some others are reading before I decide.

LynnB wrote: "Tiffani wrote: "I'm going to start with and then try to work my way up to some Jane Austen. Perhaps, I'll finally read "

Oh, yes, Jane Austen..."

Emma is also on my list, those are the 2 I haven't quite gotten to yet. I have them both on the ereader though, so I have very little excuse not to read at least one of them in August.. haha

Trying to decide what to read... Does Alternative England count? When we say England is it specifically the country, or could Scotland count as it is on the same island and run by the same government?

As for the first question, a definite yes.

As for the second, that's up to you. :)

So, are we counting all of Great Britain - Scotland, Ireland, Wales, islands - and not just England? Or am I geographically confused? :)

Going through my shelves right now to find a suitable book. Does Peter Pan count? It's not strictly set in a England...

I'm just doing England, not all of Great Britain. I think here are plenty of books for just that one country.

I think I'll set on Seasons of Darkness. Has anyone something to say about this one?
For those who's searching for YA ideas I can suggest to look at Jackdaw Summer(14+) or Un Lun Dun (12-)

Tiffani wrote: "Perhaps, I'll finally read "
You might also enjoy watching the 1995 screen version with C. Firth as Mr. Darcy. It's very close to the book and has great cast (Emilia Fox is playing Darcy's sister, for example)

Reading and

Her Royal Orangeness wrote: "So, are we counting all of Great Britain - Scotland, Ireland, Wales, islands - and not just England? Or am I geographically confused? :)"

Ireland is not in Great Britain. Northern Ireland is in Great Britain, but the Republic of Ireland is completely independent from Great Britain. Just letting you know. :)

I'm planning on reading . This will help me in knocking out reading for the Orange Prize Challenge, too.

Does the newest Artemis Fowl book count??

Ooooo, Elsa, I didn't realise it was out. Must get a copy. I would suspect it counts. Very sad it is the finale though...

Definitely reading:

I'm not sure what else I'll decide to read during the month. I will also be reading books for school, so I won't get much free-reading time.

Helen wrote: "Ireland is not in Great Britain. Northern Ireland is in Great Britain, but the Republic of Ireland is completely independent from Great Britain. Just letting you know. :) "

Thanks Helen! I admit I've just always assumed that "all of that" north of France is Great Britain and I've never studied to see if I was right or not. :)

Her Royal Orangeness wrote: "Helen wrote: "Ireland is not in Great Britain. Northern Ireland is in Great Britain, but the Republic of Ireland is completely independent from Great Britain. Just letting you know. :) "

Thanks He..."

France?! I'm glad I helped clear that up for you. :)

This one is a delight for me as most of my favorite authors are British. The first one that came to mind is , but I've already read it a dozen times and I'm trying to read only new things. I highly recommend it!!!!
The second one that came to me is , which I've heard is very similar to Neverwhere.
This one also:
I am going to break my new books rule for this one, though: because it's one of my favorite books ever written.

Helen wrote: "I'm going to read Stardust and Animal Farm :)"

I can't wait to read your thoughts on Stardust! It's in my top favorites. :)

Easy. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

Just got The Line of Beauty from the library so my first Set in England choice was easy.

Helen wrote: "France?! I'm glad I helped clear that up for you. :) "

North of France. Not France itself. :)

Bren wrote: "Easy. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand"

I look forward to hearing what you think of this one. It's been on my TBR for ages.

Jayme wrote: "I'm planning on reading The Road Home. This will help me in knocking out reading for the Orange Prize Challenge, too."

I love the Orange Prize books! I haven't read this one yet though.

Her Royal Orangeness wrote: "Helen wrote: "France?! I'm glad I helped clear that up for you. :) "

North of France. Not France itself. :)"

Oh right sorry! haha I totally misunderstood what you were saying! I get it now. :) Yeah, England, Whales, Scotland and Northern Ireland make up Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland(everyone just calls it Ireland, technically it's Éire) is totally seperate. Ireland used to be just one country, but England invaded and now Northern Ireland is part of Great Britain. So many people get confused about it because it's all the one island. :)

Un Lun Dun is a great read - It was the first China Miéville book I came across and whilst I really don't get on with quite a bit of writing his Urban Fantasy easily equals Gaiman at his best. I hope you enjoy it.

My current plan includes
Neverwhere (loving Gaiman at the moment),
Nicholas Nickleby (audiobook for the daily commute),
Insurrection (I'm counting Scotland cos I love it so much!!)
Brave New World (BoM at another group) and
Un Lun Dun (author of the month at another group).

I may also get to
The Last Guardian (if I can get hold of a copy, not sure it has been released in SA yet) and
Kraken (if I have time)!

Her Royal Orangeness wrote: "So, are we counting all of Great Britain - Scotland, Ireland, Wales, islands - and not just England? Or am I geographically confused? :)"

It's up to you. I'll be sticking strictly to England for my choices, but if anyone wants to interpret the theme a little more broadly--UK, British Empire--I'm not going to complain.

Varla Fiona wrote: "My current plan includes
Neverwhere (loving Gaiman at the moment)"

That's one of my favourite books ever! Unfortunately it appears to not be on my shelves at the moment (some of my books are in storage). Hope you love it!

I'm going to be reading

Total reread, but this month is crazy & I just need something familiar & funny. & technically it takes place in England (when on Earth, ha ha).

Excellent choice, Bevin! Love those books, they are some of my absolute favorite!

I'm pretty sure that I will be reading and probably some Sherlock Holmes-don't know which stories yet though. Besides the Mists of Avalon, I have a lot of other Arthurian fiction on my to read shelf, so we will have to see how many books I can get to this month

Books I Definitley Plan on Reading (unless something goes horribly wrong):


Books I wish I had time to read but probably won't:
All the tons of 19th century British lit I want to read (too many to list)



There are more but my brain went dead.

I think I'm being a bit ambitious with the books I plan to read, but I'm an ambitious gal.

Bevin, I adore that series... Enjoy!

I just started this book and all I can say is its amazing... I can't stop laughing or put it down. I'm sure I'll finish it the first day since its that funny. So don't be surprised if I add more books to my English book pile. :)

I will be starting with
Will also see if I can get my hands on the last 2 of the Artemis Fowl series... I seem to have fallen behind.
I think I will also reread

I've chosen for this month. If I have some extra time on my hands I might try to get to as a reread.

My current plan is to finish up A Discovery of Witches and then move onto Bloodline.

I forgot about . This is high priority for me since if I don't finish it in August, I will have been reading it for a whole year. Which is ridiculous.

So that's eight books I definitely plan on reading, during the month I start back to school and teaching? Lord, I am crazy. Luckily, only three on them are of substantial size (I think).

I believe I won't finish till the end of July, so it will be my second read for August!