It didn't take long for me to break down and join the Outmoded Authors challenge, which Imani has kindly organized. The idea behind the challenge is to read authors and their works, which have fallen out of popularity. Along with the help of other readers she came up with a list of 30-ish authors that we can choose from. This sounded intriguing--especially as there were several authors on the list whose books I own and have not yet cracked open to read. What convinced me that I might actually be able to take on this challenge are the easy-going rules. The challenge runs from September 1, 2007 through February 28, 2008, and we can read as many (or few) books we choose. Surely I can fit in a few books in that time span?
Although I love making lists, I am not always good at sticking to them (particularly when it comes to challenges). I thought it might be better to be general in what I would like to read and then choose serendipitously as I go. I do have a few interests and ideas, however. I am trying to only pick books I already own or can easily get from the library, by the way. I have a feeling that as I learn about what others are reading I will be induced to add more names/titles to my list. Here's my starting list:
The Rainbow and Women in Love by D.H. Lawrence. I have never read anything by him and have wanted to read something for a good part of this year. I've heard some curious things about him, and now he ends up on this list, so I think I am destined to read him soon!
The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy. Do you know I own the BBC adaptation of this, which I have put off watching as I want to read the book first?! Silly, I know. I have a feeling I will like this book very much, but the sheer size of it has put me off just picking it up and reading it on whim.
The Country of the Pointed Firs or A Country Doctor by Sarah Orne Jewett. I also have another book of short stories by her. A German friend received her degree in American Lit., and she gave me The Country of Pointed Firs to read ages ago. It's very bad of me not to have read her sooner. There is the added bonus that her books are set in Maine (one of my fantasy vacation spots).
A Favourite of the Gods by Sybille Bedford. I own all four of Bedford's novels. I'm not entirely sure where to start with her work as I think some of the novels are sequels. It sounds as though her books were somewhat autobiographical.
The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham. I read my first Maugham novel earlier this year and really liked it. I'd like to read more!
Dance Night by Dawn Powell. I had heard of this author but never considered reading her. When I started reading about her from the link on Imani's list, she sounded really interesting, however. Dance Night is one of her earlier Ohio novels. I don't own any of her work, but my public library owns the Library of America editions, which contain all her novels.
I don't expect to read all the titles or authors on this (above) list. I'll choose one to start with and then see where I feel like going next. Some of the authors on Imani's list I have never heard of, but I am looking foward to learning more about them. Elizabeth Bowen I have read (a few of her novels) and would like to read more of. And then there are authors like Anna Kavan and Christina Stead that I have heard very good things about, but I have never got around to searching out their books. This should be a fun challenge and I expect to discover some new authors along the way.
My reading plans don't stop there. I recently joined an Angela Thirkell discussion group. I still belong to Dovegreybooks as well and look forward to reading my daily email digests (this is a Yahoo Group). Actually some members were talking about Thirkell, which made me look her up. I have never read her work, but she seems like she would be right up my alley. She wrote about English country life in the 1930s through the War years. I find that I have a very large soft spot for this type of book (something Persephone Books might publish or perhaps like the Barbara Pym novel I just finished). While I like and read all sorts of novels, I keep coming back to this type. I plan to read the whole series, which is something like 30 novels. Obviously this is a long term sort of project. Has anyone read these? I'm looking forward to getting into the first book, High Rising, soon. I'd love to find copies of all the books to own, but as I am still in my 'no new books' mode, I had to settle for getting the book through ILL (thank heavens for ILL!).
I do have a few other plans in the works, but I will save those for another day!