Literary Loot

So I decided to splurge a bit and hit our Friends of the Library Bookstore. I got a great stack of books, but only due to the fact they were getting too heavy did I stop.

Source: Karena Fagan

From left: William Shakespeare Complete Plays, Paradise Lost, The House of Mirth, The Moor's Last Sigh, The English Patient, One Hundred Years of Solitude, East of Eden, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Main Street, Middlesex, A Moveable Feast, and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

What literary loot did you find this weekend?

Kevin Smokler

Hey CWAtCers. We have got wonderful news and it actually fits the title of the blog (I know we confuse you with that one). If you've been with us from the start, you know we started as a book group on Goodreads that specializes in classic books, both traditional and contemporary. On the blog, we decided we wanted to cover a lot more of the literary world. It's still a big part of our goal, but there are so many books out there that it's hard to leave them out. 

This is one of those times we delve into our roots. We've gotten our first author booked for the podcast. Kevin Smokler, author of Practical Classics: 50 Reasons to Reread 50 Books You Haven't Touched Since High School  will be joining us for the mid-May episode. I have some questions of my own, but here's your chance to get a few in as well! Add your questions here and I'll try to get them in during the interview.

I'm really excited about this and hope you guys are as well. More info about Kevin and his book can be found here. 

P.S. while we were in SF on April 4th, we ran across this at Books, Inc on Van Ness. 

Literary Links: March 16th Edition

The next best thing to actually reading a book.

Philip Roth Discusses Obscenity: On PBS, March 29, Philip Roth, along with other authors and actors, discuss the history of obscenity in 20th century American Literature. I know I will be watching!

Source: www.technologytell.com

Lachrymose Barbarians, or Manly Books That Make Manly Men Cry Like Babies?: Too funny. Come on guys! Admit to the books that make you cry! I know you want to...

CPS tells schools to disregard order to pull graphic novel: Modern day book banning. I can't believe we are still having this conversation...I mean, really?? It's 2013, for crying out loud!

10 Classic High School Required Books That You Should Reread: How many do you remember hating in high school? Maybe now is the time to give them another shot!

Friday @ the Forums: March 8th

We are one week into our Sherlock Holmes reader's choice selection this month. Here's what else is going on around the forums this week.

Book Club Contest for Gadfly: Want to join me for a side read in June/July? - Our Shelftator Angie is gathering CWAtC'ers for a side read in July. Check it out for more info.

Strange Bedfellows - What are the strangest books grouped together on your bookshelves? Or what are the strangest books you read together or right after each other. 

Source: Karena Fagan

The Bad Girls of Literature - To be clear we're not looking for the "badass" girls (e.g. Lisbeth Salandar), but more like the Hatsumomo from Memoirs of a Geisha or Emma Bovary from Madame Bovary. 

Classic Books Mentioned in Other Classic Books - Recently we read The Age of Innocence and both Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life and the author Alphonse Daudet. Do you know of any?

I Managed to (Re-)Read it and I Liked it! - Anil on our forums started this one and it needs some love. Anyone else have a book you hated then tried again and loved?

Next week we look at the Sherlock Holmes discussions that are going on!