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Lost classics? Wonderful books almost no one has heard of?

Lost classics? Wonderful books almost no one has heard of?

Bobbi #recommend #classics

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744 Answers

Jerene

Kings Row by Harry Bellaman

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Jamie

Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog!) by Jerome K. Jerome. Really funny.

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Heather

Just downloaded this one. Thanks!

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Eliza

One of the funniest books I have ever read. Connie Willis did homage in her hilarious novel Bishops Bird Stump

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Jamie

@Eliza Thanks! I just added that one to my list!

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Eliza

@Jamie full title is “to say nothing of the dog, or how I found the bishop’s bird stump at last”

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Ericka

A Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder

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Sandra

Both that and his book Sophie’s World!

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Ericka

@Sandra I loved both books! So good!

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Barbara

Styron for Sophie’s

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Sophia

I love by those books. I read Sophie’s World when I was in 7th grade. It’s still one of my favorites. Then I got A Solitaire Mystery in college and really liked it.

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Natalie

I love books by Sinclair Lewis, Edna Ferber, Upton Sinclair, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Pym, J.P. Marquand, R.C. Hutchinson. They were very well-regarded in their time and some of them are strangely neglected today.

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Ghillian

I loved So Big by Edna Ferber!

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BobbiQuestion author

Love these writers!

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Elizabeth

Glorious Barbara Pym! A ‘dull’ life is never dull at all.

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Anne

Joy Street Frances Parkinson Keyes
Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

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Linda

Upton Sinclair, yes, interesting he is not on the list.

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Ghillian

The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye!

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Mary

Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher. It’s available to read free online.

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Sally

That one taught me everything as a young girl.

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Sheri

I like that book! I read it as an adult and still enjoy it. ?

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Stephanie

The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett – the first in a great series that most people have never heard of…

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Jody

I adore Dorothy Dunnett’s work. All of it. Such detail!

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Stephanie

Me too. And the Lymond series is my favorite.

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Jody

Anything by Rumer Godden.

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Jody

Anything by Rumer Godden

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Sandra

One of our book club members chose Tarzan of the Apes and we all were very surprised and liked it a lot.

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Jamie

I haven’t read that since I was a child! I’m adding it to my list! Thanks for the reminder!

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Becky

I enjoyed it years ago.

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BobbiQuestion author

I nominate Carolyn Parkhurst’s The Dogs of Babel. A woman falls out of a tree and dies. Her widower, a gentle linguistics professor, is shattered. The only witness was the couple’s dog. The professor/narrator is a very logical and analytical person, and he has a very logical and analytical nervous breakdown. He believes if he can teach the dog to talk, she will tell him what happened. That’s the first chapter or so.

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Lynn

I found that book very disturbing, and I am not easily disturbed.

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Kelly

@Lynn Agree with you. Although this was quite readable it made me very uneasy.

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BobbiQuestion author

Agreed. The ending was not entirely happy.

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Marie

Much good lit is disturbing.

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Mary-Ellen

Night Circus

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Heather

Not lost, but definitely under read…
Watership Down
Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Woman in White

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Sally

I love Watership Down!

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Margaret

Tenant of wildfell Hall is one of my absolute favorites!!

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Lisa

I really liked Woman in White.

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Eliza

All fabulous but Woman in White is spectacular gothic thriller

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Tonia

@Eliza Yes! I agree!

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Tonia

Anyone read Ann Radcliffe?

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Eliza

Tonia Susko I read the Italian and then got part way through the mysteries of udolpho. Unfortunately, the copy I have had tiny print that I just can’t handle any more so I have to get another copy or kindle it. The first part of the book is a dull travelogue but then it gets exciting as you meet villains. Right now I am reading Uncle Silas by Lefanu, a fabulous gothic thriller!

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Marie

Anne Brontë!!!

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Tonia

@Eliza Loved Renaissance of the Forest. Uncle Silas is on my TBR list. ?

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Tonia

Love the early Gothic and Romances. Gives you a great appreciation of later Gothic novels, such as Daphne DuMaurier.

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Eliza

Tonia I think we are of like tastes. You’ve read The Haunting of Hill House? Scariest book ever written.

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Andrea

Lucy Maude Montgomery’s only adult book: The Blue Castle which WAS free on Project Gutenberg when I read about it

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Jamie

A Long Fatal Love Chase, by Louisa May Alcott (romantic thriller)

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Roberta

Look Homeward Angel, You Can Never Go Home Again, Heart Is a Lonely Hunter,

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BobbiQuestion author

Absolutely!

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Marie

I’m glad to see a mention of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Superb.

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Mary

Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson.

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Michael
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Regina

Five Smooth Stones by Ann Fairbairn.

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Janie

Loved that book, I had forgotten about it but will definitely find a copy to reread.

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Charles

The education of Hyman Kaplan, Leo Rosten.

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Richard

oh yes!

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Ellen

I loved Mrs. Overtheway’s Remembrances, by Juliana Horatia Ewing, as a child (still do!). Originally published in 1869. My copy dates from 1914 or 1915 and has lovely color illustrations.

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Michael
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Michael

The main characters in Tender Is The Night were inspired by Sara and Gerald Murphy….Wealthy expatriates living on the French Riviera in the 1920s who entertained famous authors (Hemingway and Fitzgerald) and artists (such as Picasso)….this book tells the story….its an excellent read….

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Michael

Another good book….A novel based on the lives of Sara and Gerald Murphy….

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Sally

The Black Rose by Thomas B. Costain.

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Anne

Below the Salt by Costain and The Tontine

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Michele

I loved this book as a girl “From the mixed up files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler

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Sheri

Good one!

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Agatha

I so loved Claudia when I was young!

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Barb

Read this to my 5th graders every year.

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Abbie

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

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Becky

Reading Salt to the Sea now!

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Janie

Night Circus was amazing.

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Kristin

The Thorn Birds

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Mary

Til We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

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Susan

Two books I’ve loved but seldom hear about or see on lists: Beautiful Joe, by Marshall Saunders was a favorite in my childhood; and Turtle Diary, by Russell Hoban, which was also a wonderful movie.

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Michelle

Beautiful Joe <3

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Ginger

An American Tragedy by Dreiser. Read it for extra credit my jr. year of HS. Rarely ever see it mentioned.

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Susan

Wrote a book report on An American Tragedy in high school. I enjoyed it but found it a little creepy, too.

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Pam

I just read it this year and enjoyed it. I liked the movie too!

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Beverly

Sister Carrie, by Dreiser.

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Kathy

Mr Owitas Garden

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Bonnie

Please add to your list: A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra. It is definitely added to my all-time top five.

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Mary

Love, love loved this book!

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Anne

A wonderful book! Take a leap and read a book that takes place in Chechnya!

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Anne

I also love Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Madonnas of Leningrad – Debra Dean

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Delilah

@Anne I loved Shadow of the Wind too!

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Julie

YES! I loved, loved, LOVED this book.

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Margaret

REQUIEM FOR A PRINCESS by Ruth Arthur. It’s young adult but definitely a lost classic.

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Amy

Someone else has heard of it! Creepy but very good.

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Anne

Omg, i loved this book!

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Kenneth

Pudd’nhead Wilson.

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Pam

The German classic Buddenbrooks

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Sallie

Been on my shelf for years but haven’t tackled it yet!

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Pam

@Sallie Its really good! I just read it this year.

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Sallie

@Pam , okay, I’m moving it up to my next one to read nightstand!

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Diana

A nod to 1984, “Little Brother” https://craphound.com/littlebrother/download/

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Christine

I cannot recommend this book enough! Plus it’s free!

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Kenna

Lorna Doone

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Alisa

There is a show on Amazon!

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Kenna

@Alisa I did not know that. Thank you

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Pam

Giants in the Earth – one of the few required readings in high school that I loved!

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Anne

Definitely an overlooked classic.

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Pam

@Anne I forgot about it until I read this post!

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Janie

Love, love, love that book.

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Angela

The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher

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Ruth

“With” by Donald Harington.

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Barbara

Great Read

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Katie

Long Man by Amy Greene, News of the World by Paulette Jiles, The Rings of Saturn by W. G. Sebald

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Denise

Long Man and also Bloodroot. I just love Amy Greene. ?

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Toni

Awakening by kate Chopin

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Karen

Yes! I though I was the only one who had read it.

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Jennifer

Another cautionary tale where a woman finds herself and then isn’t allowed to be happy. Tired of those stories!!

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Amy

I read it in college, but remember nothing about it. I keep thinking I need to re-read that one!

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Carole

Yes!! This book spoke to me. Love, love love this book! And her short stories!

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Toni

@Amy yes read it again

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Tami

Girl of the Limberlost

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Deborah

Anything by James Fenimore Cooper

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Anne

A Canticle for Leibowitz.

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Karen

Another yes! I LOVE this GAR!

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Carolyn

A Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks.

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Judy

Loved Awakening. Love Chopin.

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Julie

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins.

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Jessica

I love wilkie Collins and am always recommending him

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Betsie

Dust by E. Haldeman-Julius and Marcet Haldeman-Julius http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/945 … Dust is an overlooked classic that, while published in 1921, remains relevant to the 21st century reader. The essence of the relationship between the main characters, Rose and Martin, is not unlike that of modern couples who seek to fill the emptiness in their relationships by working harder. A melancholy tale, indeed, but this is a story that needs to be told to remind us of our humanity.

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Anne

Ivanhoe. I loved it as a kid. It used to be fairly common in the high school English curriculum but hardly anyone seems to read it anymore. In the same medieval vein, The Black Arrow. I loved that book too.

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Brian

Novels by George Eliot.

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Virginia

Dials Marner…one of my favors from my high school years in the early 1960s!

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Virginia

@Virginia Silas…sorry…Get autocorrect!

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Brian

Middlemarch, The Mill on the Floss by Mary Anne Evans aka George Eliot

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Graciela

All of them!!!!

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Graciela

Daniel Deronda, Adam Bede!!! She was a great writer!!!!!

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Beverly

I loved Lost Horizon by James Hilton (1933) when I read it years ago, about finding Shangri-La in Tibet.

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Beverly

And also his Good-bye, Mr Chips!

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Michael

I loved the old movie with Ronald Colman….saw a revival at the movies when I was a kid….I need to see that again….

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Beverly

@Michael Grew up with all those B&W films!

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Michael

I still love to watch old movies….I recently discovered an awesome streaming service owned by Turner Classic Movies….I watch it constantly….http://www.filmstruck.com/…

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Robyn

I have an older volume of James Hilton which includes Random Harvest, Lost Horizon, and Goodbye Mr. Chips in one – it’s one of my most precious books, and I love the movie versions of each. I love to read the books which are made into great films, TCM is my favorite channel 🙂

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Michael

You should check out FilmStruck….it has an enormous library of old films and seems to complement the TCM channel on TV….

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Robyn

I’ve thought about it, it sounds wonderful. We have recently discovered many Criterion films, they are really interesting.

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Michael

Robyn Knopf Needel….”Don’t Even Get Me Started”….I subscribe to a streaming service called http://filmstruck.com/…I’m totally addicted, it’s an enormous collection of Turner Classic Movies and The Criterion Collection….

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Michael

Sorry that I repeated myself….I thought I was responding to another thread….

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Robyn

no problem – I’m a movie fanatic too, I understand

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Erika

Katherine by Anya Seton

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Ryan

“The Romance of Alexander.” (Originally written in 1440 and translated to English in 1926).

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Jennifer

Margaret Atwood’s Cat Eye; Murukami’s Norwegian Wood; Samuel Johnson’s The History of Rasselas, Abyssinian Prince.

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Carol

I loved Norwegian Wood.

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Mary

“ Red Badge of Courage” by Stephen Crane

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Linda

Yes!

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Monica

“A Sense of Values” by Sloan Wilson and “Winter” by Len

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Monica

Deighton.

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Deb

“In Lucia’s Eyes” by Arthur Japin…. the story of Casanova’s first love; and “Heart Mountain” by Gretel Erlich… a story about a Japanese internment camp near a small Montana town during WWII. Both lovely, beautifully written books.

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Linda

Enchanted April by Elizabeth von arnim

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Linda

The Castle Of Otranto.

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Prachi

Oh my goodness! I was scrolling thru my feed and your comment threw me back to such a specific time. I found a copy of this book as a child visiting family in India and desperate for something in English. I loved this book!

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Sue

All of brilliant Irish writer Molly Keane,

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Anne

“Random Harvest.” Not sure if it is considered a classic but it is a great read (and a movie.)

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Judy

Read it twice. Can’t remember what happened to my copy. Probably not a class I but I agree a great read.

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Robyn

The Ronald Colman/Greer Garson movie is wonderful too

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Judy

@Robyn
Oh, that is great news. Does it follow the wonderful book.

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Robyn

@Judy It is exactly like the book 🙂

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Kathy

“The Awakening Land” by Conrad Richter (The Trees, the Field and the Town) and as someone else mentioned “Katherine” by Anya Seton.

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Jule

I loved that trilogy. And The Light on the Forest. Read them in 7th grade. Need to reread. Seem to have lost The Fields.

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Janet

The Plague. It gives you history as well as an understanding of the horror of the times, through the eyes of someone living it.

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Laura

So Big by Edna Ferber and A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich.

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Anne

I loved A Lantern in Her Hand!!!

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Laura

It was a favorite of my mothers. I’ve read it several times in my life and get something different out of it each time.

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Merla

The Foxes of Harrow by Frank Yerby

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Laura

Also I love authors Anya Seton and Gene Stratton Porter and I’m glad to see them mentioned here.

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Joey

Anthony Adverse

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Robyn

My mom gave this to me when I was in junior high school, it became a favorite

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Lynn

Aurora Leigh by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

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Sally

Follow

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Louanne

Precious Bane by Mary Webb

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Eliza

Read it decades ago. Liked!

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Ronda

Falling in the books no one’s heard of category, The Ladies of Missalonghi by Colleen McCullough. It’s been a long time since I read it, but it certainly charmed me enough to read it twice and keep it on my very selective book shelf each time I’ve purged over the years. I decided to share because I looked it up on Goodreads and was surprised by the 1 star reviews. Apparently it’s controversial because many believe it to be plagiarized from L.M. Montgomery’s The Blue Castle which I recently added to my “to read” list from an earlier discussion in this group.

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Janie

I really liked that book.

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Carol

1972 Pulitzer winner The Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner

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Tamara

Quo Vadis

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Andrea

I have never met another person who read Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon. I read it in the early 1990’s and read it every few years. It’s magical. It really makes you feel like a kid again and tackles everything from river monsters, Nazi guards, and a mysterious murder. I really recommend it to anyone. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/boys-life-robert-r-mccammon/1100181389/2694171924937?st=PLA&sid=BNB_DRS_Core+Catch-All%2C+Low_00000000&2sid=Google_&sourceId=PLGoP79700&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3djkkNmw2wIVjoCfCh1EWQHBEAkYASABEgITJPD_BwE

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Carolyn

My best friend just gave me her copy of Boy’s Life. It’s on my TBR stack. Her opinion is it’s McCammon’s best.

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Andrea

@Carolyn I agree. I was scared, I laughed, and it is one of the few books that actually made me cry.

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Linda

I really liked it.

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Merla

Stranger in a Strange Land –

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Lynne

Conrad Richter’s trilogy about the Ohio Frontier: The Awakening Land. The books in it are: The Trees, The Field, The Town…back in the 1970s I think there was a mini series starring Elizabeth Montgomery and Hal Holbrook but I think the film quality wasn’t preserved well so you rarely see if rerun…

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Valerie

Scavengers Daughter’s series by Kay Bratt and Bregdan Chronicles series by Ginny Dye

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Nicole

The Yellow Wallpaper, The Hangman’s Daughter, and Lady Chatterly’s Lover all come to mind.

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Eliza

The Yellow Wallpaper- truly terrifying

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Nicole

@Eliza agreed- and not a real far cry from how we treat people today

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Jean

Do you mean The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter by Sharyn McCrumb? It’s fantastic

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Jean

A Single Light by Maia Wojciechowska.

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Ginger

I don’t believe I’ve seen Winds of War by Wouk mentioned anywhere as yet. One of my top three fav books of all time! hmmmm, I need to read again, perhaps right now!

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Boat

I remember watching the “Wind” series on TV. Wouk is one of my favorite authors. He also wrote “The Caine Mutiny” which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction but I only saw the movie for that. The book I really loved was “Marjorie Morningstar” (the movie with Natalie Wood did not do it justice). By the way, Wouk graduated from Columbia University, Class of 1934.

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Ginger

Today is his birthday btw. I believe he is 106!

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Sallie

Read Winds of War and War and Remembrance earlier this year. Have also read the Caine Mutiny and Marjorie Morningstar so I guess that officially makes me a Herman Wouk fan.

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Jean

Giants in the Earth by Rolvag

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Karen

so many great titles!
Thanks for sharing☺

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Anne

ikr? I’ve been sneaking peeks during work (don’t tell my supervisor) and scribbling down titles as fast as I can.

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Jane

Carl Sandburg’s Remembrance Rock

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Tracy

Clarissa by Samuel Richardson and The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless by Eliza Haywood

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Keri

Pilgrim’s Inn by Elizabeth Goudge. I found it in an antique store and have read it multiple times. Such wonderful writing!

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Susan

Everything by Elizabeth Goudge! City of Bells, The Dean’s Watch, Bird in the Tree, The Heart of the Family. There is a beauty in her writing that is truly remarkable.

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Nan

Elizabeth is my “comfort read” every time. The Damrosehay trilogy is my favorite.

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Lucy

And The Scent of Water

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Keri

@Nan that’s a great description. When I need to relax or have been feeling stressed it’s perfect!

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Keri

@Susan I will have to try some of her others.

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Nan

Keri Stoffel did you know that Pilgrim’s Inn is actually the middle book in the trilogy? The Bird in the Tree and The Heart of the Family are the others. I love the others mentioned as well. The City of Bells has a sequel called These (the?) Blue Hills. … I’m a diehard junky for her!

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Anne

The Pavilion of Women by Pearl S. Buck

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Natalie

The Mapp and Lucia series by EF Benson; books by sisters Margaret Drabble and AS Byatt; Anthony Trollope; books by Rumer Godden; Gore Vidal’s historical novels; “Diary of a Nobody,” and so much poetry that deserves to be read wide and far.

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Sue

I love the Mapp and Lucia books! Georgie is so much fun!

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Maya

I love the Mapp and Lucia books! And Rumee Godden, her books are lovely!

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Sandy

Raintree County, Ross Lockridge, Jr.

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Maya

Miss Read’s books. So sweet and lovely. Also Elizabeth Jane Howard’s books, especially The Cazalet Chronicles.

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Deanna

The five little peppers and how they grew

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Ruth

I had totally forgotten that one.

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Cora

My father used to read that book to my brother and me!

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Marion

I remember the title FIVE LITTLE PEPPERS but not much else.

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Deanna

Marion Coro me too. But I remember it was a treasured book of my mothers and the first one she trusted me to handle and read. Even though I don’t remember the particulars, I do remember it made me happy ?

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Katherine

The Bobsey Twins

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Joan

Was a huge fan. Always hoped for twins!

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Pam

I was in a used book store yesterday and they had almost the whole run!

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Graciela

Out Steeling Horses!!!!

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Graciela

Not a classic but has anyone read it??? Beautiful book!!

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Louanne

Street of Sparrows by Rumer Godden.

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Shelley

Following!

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Kathleen

Cheaper By The Dozen by Frank Gilbreth and Earnestine Gilbreth Carey

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Stephanie

My family knew the Gilbreths growing up! Great book!

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Kathleen

@Stephanie How cool is that! That book was a big influence on my life, I was fascinated by efficiency after reading it, and inspired by the love expressed in that family.

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Robyn

Loved that book, and the idea that they were the first efficiency experts

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KeriBear

The Life & Opinions of Tristram Shandy

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Tricia

The little Book by Selden Edward’s my book club read it and we all loved it@

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Patty

The Story of Edgar Sawtell . Fantastic

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Becky

Do. Not. Mention Edgar Sawtell!! Loved that doorstop but the ending!!!! Oh !still to this day am not over the ending….!

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Rebecca

The Boys in the @Boat

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Cheryl

Nobody’s Girl by Hector Malot. It’s out of print, but I read it one summer in my early teens and loved it.

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Mary

Hardy Boy mysteries. I was obsessed!

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Linda

As I was with Nancy Drew!

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Tonia

Wide Sargasso Sea, Sheppard Lee Written by Himself, any Ann Radcliffe, Charles Brockden Brown (Arthur Mervyn and also Edgar Huntley), Washington Irving’s Sketchbook, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Poe

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Tonia

Waverly by Walter Scott, Lenora Sansay’s novels, Charlotte Temple by Susanna Rowson …

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Yvette

Papa’s Wife by Thyra Ferre Bjorn I love this question

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Becky

Cold Sassy Tree
The Scent of Water Elizabeth Gouge
How Green Was my Valley
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
A Rose for the Crown Anne Easter Smith
The Mark of the Lion Trilogy Francine Rivers
House at Riverton Kate Morton

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Sheryl

I read How Green Was My Valley in high school. So sad! I didn’t think I would ever get over it.

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Jean

I loved the Francine Rivers trilogy Mark of the Lion and several of her others too

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Heather

I thought Cold Sassy Tree was hilarious!

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Marion

Sheryl Oldham I picked the name Bronwen out of it as one I would name a daughter if I ever had one. 20 years later I started seeing it everywhere.

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Linda

How Green Was My Valley. Read for lit class. Then read it again later. It haunts me.

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Jerry

“The Good Earth” by Pearl S Buck. I have read this book 3 times since 7th grade.

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Cindy

What a great book.

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Janie

I loved that book, reread it last summer. I actually like all of her books.

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Jerry

@Janie
Me too, Bucks’s books take you you on a journey!

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Linda

Georgette Heyer books

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Tonia

I have 3 of them that I bought at my local book shop, waiting to be read. Never read her. ?

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Julie

She has wrote mysteries which I didn’t know bought one last Christmas!

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Mary

Sigrid Unset’s series…Kristin Lavrensdatter

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Valerie

The Wind in the Willows…and anything by Ruyard Kipling…

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Yvette

I loved this story as a child and it stays with me even today Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” is a short story in The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling about the adventures of a valiant young mongoose. The story has often been anthologized, and has been published more than once as a short book in its own right.

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi – Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.

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Valerie

Love them….everythin by Kipling!!!!!

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Jerry

Love them

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Andrea

All Kate Morton books are great.

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Melanie

Trail of the Lonesome Pine.

0
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Tanta

Runner for the King by Rowena Bastin Bennett – sparked my interest in archeology long before Indiana Jones

1
Reply
Tanta

Loved this book from my elementary days!

1
Harry

Germinal – EmilZola’s masterpiece

1
Reply
Linda

The velvet room

0
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Linda

Johnny tremain. Voices in the night.

5
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Sue

Love Johnny Tremain!

1
Maureen

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls.

4
Reply
Terri

Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon

6
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Susan

One of my favorites.

1
Deborah

Oh, I LOVED his book, “The Other”!!!

0
Juliette

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald (or anything else by him)

1
Reply
Kathy

Daddy long legs. Hated the movie, even with wonderful stars, but the book is a gem.

2
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Sheri

I don’t know if it’s a classic, but Imperial Woman by Pearl S. Buck.

1
Reply
Elizabeth

The Green Glass Sea

0
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Melissa

Wide Sargasso Sea is a favorite of mine, but I bet people have heard of it.

4
Reply
Kathleen

James Michner – lots to choose from

2
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Sallie

Hawaii is the BEST Michener book

1
Stephanie

Heidi. The Scottish Chiefs.

1
Reply
Christopher

“Aransas” by Stephen Harrington

0
Reply
Anne

Farewell to Manzinar.

1
Reply
Carol

The Man of Property (The Forsyte Chronicles, #1) by John
Galsworthy

0
Reply
Christopher

“A Summons to Memphis” Peter Taylor

1
Reply
Judy

Chicken Every Sunday by Rosemary Taylor. My copy was published in 1943. Made me love to read!

0
Reply
Cindy

The Poisoned Chocolates Case, Berkeley

0
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Marge

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

3
Reply
Elizabeth

Moss back Amelia

0
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Mary

Mrs. Mike

6
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Kit

Totally loved Mrs. Mike. I read it as a “young reader” and again in my 50s. I think there might be a sequel.

3
Sandra

It was absolutely my favoritr book when I was about 15

1
Angie

Clue for Treason, Geoffrey Trease. Published 1940, out of print and I loved it as a child! Very well written. I got a “copy” off of Amazon.

0
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Patricia

https://www.amazon.com/Captain-Kings-Taylor-Caldwell/dp/B001EUBIBK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1527802784&sr=8-3&keywords=captains+and+the+kings

3
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AnnMarie

So. Be. It. read it. It is wonderful.

1
Reply
Codie

Anything by Elizabeth Gaskell

2
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Irene

The Mirror

1
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Diana

Yes! This one stuck with me from when I was a teen and I re-read it a few years ago.

0
Jeannine

Omgosh I loved that book, read it twice. No one else, besides my aunt who first lent it to me, has ever heard of it!

0
Sheree

Swiss Family Robinson, The Secret Garden , Christy, anything by John Jakes or James Michner

2
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Linda

Ah, The Secret Garden.

1
Deborah

The Spoon River Anthology, by Edgar Lee Masters, All Faulkner, All Wharton, esp. House of Mirth, Stories by Flannery O’Connor, The Dubliner’s (esp. The Dead), by James Joyce, McTeague by Frank Norris, The Clown by Heinrich Boll, anything by Marquerite Duras, esp. The War, & The Lover; The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera…omg, TOO MANY!!!

4
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Teresa

We share many loves!

1
Deborah

There are SO many to share, & love!♡♡♡

1
Charlotte

Treasure Island

3
Reply
Jacob

The book that invented pirates!

1
Melissa

Deborah Kemp: so many good ones on your list!

1
Reply
Deborah

Thank you!!

1
Deborah

Native Son, by Richard Wright; Giovanni’s Room, by James Baldwin; A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest Gaines; The Women of Brewster Place, by Gloria Naylor; every short story by Grace Paley; The Tin Drum, by Gunter Grass…I can’t stop,lol!!!!

2
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Julie

I have the Gunter Grass novel, but feel a little intimidated. Any suggestions before jumping on?

0
Deborah

Just be ready for serious & unusual; lot’s of fodder for thought…

0
Stefanie

The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston Leroux. (I suggest the audiobook narrated by Simon Vance if you don’t know how to pronounce French words.) Loved it!

1
Reply
Nancy

My Antonia by Willa Cather

15
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Jennifer

Not lost. There is a big event in Red Cloud, NE that celebrates Cather and her novels. It is actually today. Check out this site:https://www.willacather.org/

2
Janie

This is my absolute favorite book. I read it every summer and have for years. Cather is my favorite author.

0
Linda

Great book.

0
Deborah

Everything is Illuminated, by Jonathan Saffron Foer

3
Reply
Deborah

The White Hotel, by D.M. Thomas

1
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Anne

Agree.

1
Teresa

House of Mirth is one of my favorites as is Spoon River Anthology

3
Reply
Deborah

One of my cats is named Lily Bart! The other one is Esme’, from the J.D. Salinger story…

3
Liz

A woman of Independent means

3
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Deborah

Everything by J.D.Salinger…

0
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Virginia

The Prophet, On Waldens Pond, The Leaves if Grass

2
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Tanta

The Chosen and My Name Is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok

6
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Erma

Chaim Potok was a wonderful writer. I loved The Chosen.

0
Kim

Alex Bledsoe’s Tufa series.

0
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Beverly

A.J. Cronin: The Silver Chalice. Upton Sinclair: The Jungle.

1
Reply
Callie

Books by Edna Ferber

3
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Frank

One of my favorite books is memoirs found in a bathtub

0
Reply
Michelle

The Silver Nutmeg and Beyond the PawPaw Trees (children’s books)

0
Reply
Suzan

The Woman in White and Moonstone by Wilkie Collins.

7
Reply
Jen

Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray. It’s a Newberry winner about a young minstrel boy who gets separated from his father. It’s charming and a fun read! Also, Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott.

2
Reply
Callie

I’m surprised Sylvia Plath’s “The Bell Jar” isn’t mentioned much here in the book club.

8
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Deborah

A book that changed my life as a teen, & I still read it decades later♡

2
Sue

read it and loved it- stayed with me for years- but dont think that I could reread it-

2
Cheryl

Here is a wonderful novel I found at a used book sale: The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope, by Rhonda Riley.

0
Reply
Kristine

Girl of the Limberlost

6
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Shirley

One of my favorites!

0
Jennifer

Mine too!

0
Callie

“The Virgin Suicides” by Jeff Eugenides

2
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Ti

Oh, I watched that years ago ?

1
Callie

The book is much better than the movie!

0
Ti

I can quite believe it. I have only ever come across 2 books where the films were better…The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Devil’s Advocate. X

1
Barbi

@Callie as always!

1
Linda

THE PAINTER by peter heller…visual prose…wonderful writing style which appeals to all readers…made me want to paint!

0
Reply
Christine

Nostromo by Joseph Conrad and Persuasion by Jane Austen come immediately to my mind. Great question! I bet I can think of more

1
Reply
Chrissy

The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall.

0
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Christine

Hard Times by Dickens.

2
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Cheryl

I read that as a freshman English major.

0
Ti

Dickens is my absolute fave! Nothing beats Great Expectations for me, but most people have heard of that one if they’ve heard of Dickens himself. ?

1
Susie

Stuff I loved when I was younger…. “From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler” by EL Konigsburg and the “Great Brain” books!

6
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Amy

The Wanderer by Alain-Fournier!

0
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Karen

https://neglectedbooks.com/?page_id=68

0
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Mary

Maybe not a classic, but Men of Company K is a book written by a commanding officer from Company K 84th Infantry. This is the story of the Battle of the Bulge from a boots on the ground view.

2
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Nita

In this current political climate, no matter which party you’re affiliated with The Great American Read has brought us together by a common love, BOOKS. We are purposely being divided by religion, region, the 1st and 2nd amendment, race and so many other topics. Let us continue these wonderful conversations as we well know, A House Divided Cannot Stand!

15
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Nicole

Well stated!!!

2
Judy

Great points.

2
Rebecca

Lovely sentiment & I totally agree

0
Betty

The copper sun

0
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Susie

https://smile.amazon.com/Cairo-Trilogy-Palace-Everymans-Library/dp/0375413316/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527811820&sr=8-1&keywords=cairo+trilogy

3
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Gerard

Children’s book ,Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey from 1946

0
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Judy

Forgotten about this title, thanks Gerald, for reminding me.

0
Judith

Children’s books…Mrs. Piggle Wiggle series.

5
Reply
Judy

Never got this read.

0
Dana

A wrinkle in time

4
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Carol

There was just a movie made from this.

0
Jean

The movie wasn’t terrible but as Disney always does, a wonderful story was made kind of bland. The good thing is that renewed attention has been brought to this amazing book series

1
Ti

Now we have a movie, I don’t think it can be classified as ‘forgotten’.

0
Judy

Right. So right. Fantastic. Did you see the movie? I couldn’t do it. Already had this treasure cast and costumed and couldn’t stand to have my heart broken.

1
Reply
Dana

I liked the movie and I even have the graphics novel about wrinkle in time

1
Reply
Frances

Friendly Persuasion by Jessamyn West, Mistress of Mellyn by Victoria Holt, From The Terrace by John O’Hara

1
Reply
Marianne

Random Harvest — fantastic book which is, unfortunately, out of print!

4
Reply
Trish

Fabulous movie, too!

2
Denise

Elsie Dinsmore series

0
Reply
Barbara

Far from the maddening crowd by Thomas Hardy

6
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Cindy

I read this for a masters class many years ago and was riveted.

0
Lois

I always surprised how many people think The Scarlet Pimpernel was just a movie. They need “to seek him here, seek him there, seek him everywhere.”

4
Reply
Jean

The movie with Anthony Andrews is so much better than the book, which I just found silly. Mr. Andrews in the tight pants fencing, on the other hand . . .

0
Heather

This is the book where I learned the word “fop”.

1
Ann

I have to lock my eyeballs in place whenever someone, when discussing a movie comments “oh, that’s a book, too?” ?

1
Rita

A Thanksgiving Memory by Truman Capote

4
Reply
Deborah

Love his writing

1
Rita

The first Capote book I read was In Cold Blood when I was a Criminal Justice major in college. When I read a Christmas Memory it was such diversion from the first book I read that I couldn’t believe it was the same writer. Of course I went on to read many of his books and found him to be as complex in his writing as in his life.

3
Bobbie

A Christmas in Wales.

2
Reply
Cheryl

Yes! By Dylan Thomas!

1
Vicki

Yes.

0
Reply
Karla

Tess from Thomas Hardy

5
Reply
Deborah

Loved it, but wow, Tess could NOT catch a break!! Also, Jude the Obsure.

2
BobbiQuestion author

Hardy is amazing.

2
Stacey

The American by Henry James

0
Reply
Deborah

Also, Washington Square, by Henry James

0
Reply
Vicki

Henry James, elegant writer.

1
Erma

And, Portrait of a Lady.

1
Shirley

I read Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore last year.

4
Reply
Terri

I cannot remember any title but I read some wonderful books by Maurice shadbolt. Took place in New Zealand and Australia. Have never seen them since

0
Reply
Sallie

Strumpet City by James Plunkett. I love, love, love this one. Set in Dublin shortly before WWI.

2
Reply
Rita

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Denisovich by Alexander Solzenitzen a dissident writer from Russsia who wrote this small book about a Gulag prision in Russian Siberia.

7
Reply
Jean

Read that in high school. It was good

0
Rita

Have you read any of his other books?

0
Jean

@Rita no. Russian literature is not my favorite but I did like Anna karenina

1
Ginseng

Legit classic- also read it in HS!

0
Erma

I read The First Circle. Just an amazing book. About being a political prisoner in one of the “better” Soviet prisons, which he compared to being in Dante’s “First Circle of Hell.”

1
Rita

These are so well written that even though the subject matter is complicated they are easy to read

0
Rita

@Jean i loved anna karenia

1
Anne

I read Cancer Ward when I was in high school. Of all his books, this one had the most impact for me.

0
Rita

I agree it was powerful. No wonder Russia regarded him as an enrmy of the state. He told the truth.

0
Darby

Albert Payson Terhune , Lad A Dog.

2
Reply
Nan

And Bruce. Love A.P. Terhune and all the Sunnybank stories!

2
Darby

@Nan my mom loved this author . As a child, she wrote to him and she received a hand written letter from his wife. He had passed , but how beautiful that she wrote back. I have the letter . My mom died in 2014 at 82 years of age. When my daughter was born in 1990, my mom gave her all of the Terhune books. ?♥️

2
Linda

I read Lad A Dog as a child. I was so involved in that book that when I finished, I went through terrible withdrawal.

0
Cheryl

The Forsyth Saga-Galsworthy

5
Reply
Sandra

I do not see James Michener being read very much on book sites. I loved The Source by him. It is about an archeological dig. With each new level that is excavated,you are taken to that time period for a story within the story. I think I have read it 3 times

19
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Sandy

Love Michener! Plan on rereading The Source this summer.

1
Christine

My all time favorite!

1
Joey

Centennial

0
Sue

I had to read the source for a history class in college and fell in love with Michener- the Drifters is one of my favorite books!

1
Sandra

Glad to meet fellow Michener fans!

1
Betty

He is my favorite historical author, will definitely read. I read Chesapeake in 2 days minus 3 hours sleep. Had a whopper of a headache. I love books that goes back and forth in time

2
Rita

I loved Chesapeake because it followed our history exactly

3
Molly

The Source is in my top 3. It’s like a short history of the world!

1
Cheryl

Sometimes a Great Notion, by Ken Kesey, is another of my favorites.

3
Reply
Janet

I loved this book!

0
Beth

Everything James Herriot wrote.

10
Reply
Shel

Anything by Wendell Berry but particularly Hannah Coulter. I loved that book.

2
Reply
Melissa

Alas Babylon by Pat Frank. Anything by Sue Townsend or David Lodge. Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House by Eric Hodgins.

0
Reply
Barbara

Yes, Lad a Dog was wonderful!

5
Reply
Kristin

The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe

2
Reply
Kathleen

Adela Cathcart by George MacDonald

0
Reply
Laura

Main Street by Sinclair Lewis

3
Reply
Ruth

Main Street left me feeling unsettled. Good book when you remember this many years later.

1
Mirtha

And Ladies of the Club by Helen Hooven Santmyer

2
Reply
Cassandra

The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

2
Reply
Laura

I LOVE that book!!

0
Cassandra

Laura Arlt Gerold Me too, but I don’t know many people that have heard of it. Anne and Emily get all of the attention! lol

1
Laura

They do. I loved it as a teen, but just reread it a couple of years ago and feel in love again.

1
Agatha

What a fantastic book!

0
Lars

The History of Mister Polly by H. G. Wells.

0
Reply
Anna

The Chestry Oak by Kate Seredy

1
Reply
Carol

Love her!

1
Stacey

I love Chestry Oak! Kate Seredy is the best!

Have you read Brand New Uncle?

0
Monica