1ahef1963
I've just joined now, in May of 2024. I hope that's okay.
I usually read about 80 books a year. I've read 38 so far, which will get me to halfway through the books by halfway through the year. I'm free to read a lot as I'm unemployed, have been for two months. There's nothing interesting on Netflix, so I'm reading a lot and listening to a lot of audiobooks.
Currenly I'm listening to Independent People by Halldor Laxness. I tried to read it in book form before my 2019 trip to Iceland, but I found it dry and unreadable. On audiobook, with an excellent narrator, the book is a joy. Occasionally there's too much description of a bog or a hill, but otherwise I've no complaints. It's atmospheric, with characters brought fully into light, and it's darkly amusing. The parts of Iceland I've seen were pretty bleak, with their own sort of stark beauty, but I'm still shocked by how Iceland is being shown pre-WWI. No electricity, no running water, no heat except a fireplace, near starvation at the end of every winter; I can't imagine.
I'm about 20 pages into reading Gone with the Wind. It was my mother's favourite book. I've been meaning to read it since she died in August of 2021, but I find large books somewhat alarming, so I've been putting it off.
I usually read about 80 books a year. I've read 38 so far, which will get me to halfway through the books by halfway through the year. I'm free to read a lot as I'm unemployed, have been for two months. There's nothing interesting on Netflix, so I'm reading a lot and listening to a lot of audiobooks.
Currenly I'm listening to Independent People by Halldor Laxness. I tried to read it in book form before my 2019 trip to Iceland, but I found it dry and unreadable. On audiobook, with an excellent narrator, the book is a joy. Occasionally there's too much description of a bog or a hill, but otherwise I've no complaints. It's atmospheric, with characters brought fully into light, and it's darkly amusing. The parts of Iceland I've seen were pretty bleak, with their own sort of stark beauty, but I'm still shocked by how Iceland is being shown pre-WWI. No electricity, no running water, no heat except a fireplace, near starvation at the end of every winter; I can't imagine.
I'm about 20 pages into reading Gone with the Wind. It was my mother's favourite book. I've been meaning to read it since she died in August of 2021, but I find large books somewhat alarming, so I've been putting it off.
2japaul22
Welcome! Two good books, there. I read Independent People in print and really loved it, though I get what you mean about it being tough. That's fantastic that the audiobook is working so well for you!
Gone With the Wind is a book I read first as a teenager and LOVED. I reread it about five years ago as an adult. It's a complicated book for me, because I love the story and the book really sweeps you along. But, the idealized view of slavery and the South is more than troubling. I'll be interested to hear your take on it.
Gone With the Wind is a book I read first as a teenager and LOVED. I reread it about five years ago as an adult. It's a complicated book for me, because I love the story and the book really sweeps you along. But, the idealized view of slavery and the South is more than troubling. I'll be interested to hear your take on it.
3WelshBookworm
Welcome Allie! Both of your books are on my Want to Read list. I generally prefer audiobooks, so thanks for the recommend.
4labfs39
Welcome to Club Read, Allie! It's never to late to join in, I'm glad you did. I read Independent People several years ago and was so turned off by some of it, that I had a hard time appreciating it. I've been meaning to try something else by Laxness. Thanks for the reminder. Like Jennifer, I read Gone with the Wind as a young teen and was swept up in it and very proud of reading a 1000 page book! As an adult, I think I would have a hard time with it, so I am not going to reread it, but leave it as a lovely memory.
5SassyLassy
Two great and completely different books to start with here.
>4 labfs39: I just bought my 4th Laxness, and as a bonus, it's an Archipelago edition.
>4 labfs39: I just bought my 4th Laxness, and as a bonus, it's an Archipelago edition.
