Women of Words, Episode 5

Added: 2026-05-10

[00:00:03]Okay, I think we're live.

[00:00:06]Hello everybody.

[00:00:08]>> Hi everyone.

[00:00:09]>> Welcome.

[00:00:10]>> Welcome to episode five of Women of Words. I'm Angelia and I am here with >> I'm Pat and I'm Deb.

[00:00:23]And uh today we're going to talk about books, current books, contemporary books post 1990 that we think are destined to be classics. And we have some to share with you and we want to hear your thoughts as well.

[00:00:40]And should we should we go through the the comments that are already here first or should we jump into our topic? What do you think?

[00:00:50]Oh, go to the comments otherwise we'll completely lose track of them, won't we?

[00:00:54]>> Yeah, probably. Okay, let's see if I can do this correctly.

[00:01:00]Um, all right, let me go back to [laughter] let me try to go up to the top. All right, so this is mostly people uh greeting.

[00:01:15]We have Abigail.

[00:01:18]>> Abigail. Okay. Yeah, it's really small on my screen. Hi, Abigail. And Julie is here.

[00:01:26]>> Hey, Julie.

[00:01:28]>> Diane.

[00:01:29]>> Hi.

[00:01:30]>> Hi, Diane.

[00:01:30]>> Hi.

[00:01:31]>> Hi, Diane.

[00:01:33]>> Bear with me.

[00:01:36]Ros.

[00:01:36]>> Ros. Yay.

[00:01:42]>> Greg.

[00:01:43]>> Hello, Greg.

[00:01:47]Old Boom's books. Old Baboom's Books.

[00:01:50]Welcome, >> Hannah.

[00:01:53]>> Hi, Hannah.

[00:01:54]>> Hi, Hannah.

[00:01:56]>> Better late than never. We're glad you're here today.

[00:02:02]>> Julie and Greg are chitchatting.

[00:02:08]>> Marsha, hello.

[00:02:09]>> Marca.

[00:02:09]>> Hi, Mara.

[00:02:10]>> Made it to a live. [laughter] Congratulations, Ally.

[00:02:15]>> Hi, Ally.

[00:02:16]>> Hi, Ally.

[00:02:18]Say Rebecca.

[00:02:24]>> Hello.

[00:02:26]>> And Heidi.

[00:02:27]>> Heidi.

[00:02:27]>> Heidi.

[00:02:30]>> Susan.

[00:02:31]>> Susan.

[00:02:32]>> Hi Susan.

[00:02:34]>> I like that name. Susan be kind.

[00:02:36]>> Yeah.

[00:02:37]>> Yes.

[00:02:38]>> Dallas and Dragons. Welcome.

[00:02:40]>> Now that's a good name as well.

[00:02:41]>> Oh, that's a great name. I [clears throat] know. I know who that is.

[00:02:46]Reading like breathing is here.

[00:02:48]>> Hey >> Patricia.

[00:02:51]>> Patricia.

[00:02:52]>> Hello. Can't have too many Patricia.

[00:02:57]>> Abigail greeting people. Nina is here. Hi Nina.

[00:03:03]>> Hi Nina.

[00:03:05]>> Alan.

[00:03:06]>> Hi Alan.

[00:03:07]>> Hi Alan.

[00:03:10]>> And Rebecca.

[00:03:11]>> Rebecca.

[00:03:12]>> Lots of people.

[00:03:13]>> Okay. All right. Great to see everybody.

[00:03:17]>> All right, so like I said, we're talking about books that we either imagine will be classics or we strongly think they should be classics in the future. So there's an element of well the whole thing is opinion but there's an element I don't know I thought about a little bit about um I don't know like imagining if people would study this in high school and college but then also just my personal feelings of what should be a classic.

[00:03:45]>> So uh if you you can if you had certain criteria I guess you can throw that in when you talk. But we're going to do what we've done before and go around and each present one and then give people a chance to chime in and then we'll go with another one. So, uh, Pat, do you want to go first?

[00:04:02]>> Sure. So, my first one is Tim O'Brien, The Things They Carried.

[00:04:11]>> Yeah.

[00:04:11]>> And this was written in 1990.

[00:04:15]Um, this is a collection of linked short stories. Uh, but if you read them all together, they really make a novel because they feature all of the same characters. Um, all of the characters are young American soldiers in a particular platoon during the Vietnam War. Um, Tim O'Brien himself was in the Vietnam War. Um, so the stories are semi-autobiographical.

[00:04:49]There's a character in the stories called Tim O'Brien. Um, [clears throat] but some of the things that the character does are not things that the actual Tim O'Brien actually did. So, it's a a fictionalized version of the Vietnam War experience. And he said that he wrote this in response to his frustration with people's lack of understanding about the Vietnam War. you know, after he came home. Um, and I I think that this is already a classic. I mean, it was written in 1990, so it may be too soon to call it a classic, but it certainly is a book that is taught. It's taught at the high school level. It's taught at the college level. So, >> that's my first >> Okay, >> right. I'm going to let Debs go before I comment on either one of them.

[00:05:47]>> Okay. Okay. I am going to go for Jacqueline Hartman. I who have never known men and I just think this is brilliant.

[00:06:02]Again, it's an early 1990s. Um, it was written in French and it is about a community of women who have been imprisoned.

[00:06:18]>> They've got no idea where they are and they've got no idea how they got to where they are, but they are definitely underground. They are in a large cage.

[00:06:32]The only men are the people who are guarding them and the narrator is the only one who is a child. All the rest are adult women.

[00:06:42]They're fed. Um, every so often a guard will come in and drag out someone if they've died.

[00:06:52]And then all of a sudden there's a great commotion and all the men run upstairs and they don't come back and they've left the door of the cell open.

[00:07:13]So they venture out these women and they go up to the top of to to the level surface level and there's nothing. The guards have gone. There's no vehicles, no buildings, nothing that they can see and they're just left there.

[00:07:39]And it's about how they make their own community. It's a bit like a grownup Lord of the Flies with women instead of boys. They behave a lot better in this.

[00:07:54]Um but yeah, it it's the the idea of building a community when they've got no idea how to fend for themselves. They've got no idea where they are and they don't see anyone. And it's just an incredible read. I loved it.

[00:08:10]>> Great.

[00:08:11]>> Okay. Well, I love both of those choices. I've read both of those and now right now I want to just I'm going to turn this off and go read I have never known. [laughter] Yeah, that was And then I read the things I carried only last year because my band book club >> Oh, great.

[00:08:27]>> was reading that one and it was it was it was tough. That was a tough one.

[00:08:32]Yeah.

[00:08:32]>> But those are great. Okay. my first one and I lifted this because Pat did the video that has been going around on this topic. So, she has picked completely different books for this discussion, but I stole one of her previous picks because I feel like it has to be here today. And that is James by Perl Everett.

[00:08:52]>> And if if he hadn't written James, I probably would have put in The Trees by Perl Everett because I think that's also really important. But this one I think has the most the the the kind of power that would it would be read again and again and maybe start to be presented in school in conjunction with Huckleberry Finn.

[00:09:11]>> Absolutely. And u it's commonly referred to as a retelling but that's not exactly what it is >> because it is uh in the voice of Jim who chooses to go by his full name James in the course of the story from Huckleberry Finn who was an enslaved man who runs away in Huckleberry Finn with Huck because uh he's trying to escape being sold >> and he wants to he wants to what he really wants to do is get back with his family and prevent them from being separated and sold >> and he's, you know, now he's stuck on this journey with this kid who's has his own reasons for running away. So, um, if you look in the back of the book, he actually makes a comment. I mean, it's really more of a companion than a retelling because there's a lot of points in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn where we as readers are with Huck and what he is doing and Jim has been left. He's supposed to be in hiding so that he doesn't get caught and we don't really know what Jim is doing when Huck is doing these other things. Well, now we know because that's what this story is. And there's also all of these really great Percal Everett layers about um the the people James and his family and his community and the the the coded language and the language switchings, how they their demeanor and their language that they present in the presence of white people versus when they are not. He's secretly very literate and >> he he discovers fiction and he's reading I think he's reading Candid and he he's he's he's an intellectual but it's all it's all in the background and and and stifled down and it it's an adventure story and it's just an an amazing character but he says something in Everett says something in the back of the book about um in his acknowledgements he says finally a nod to Mark Twain. His humor and humanity affected me long before I became a writer. Heaven for the climate, hell for my long awaited lunch with Mark Twain.

[00:11:25]So, I really liked that acknowledgement that this is a piece to go beside. It's not a rebuttal. It's not a trying to upstage it. It is a companion and it fills in important things about the American experience and history for all of these other people that it's just not there in the original story.

[00:11:53]>> Jim has developed to a certain point and he's an important character, but there's just so much more.

[00:11:58]>> So, that's my first one.

[00:12:00]>> Great.

[00:12:02]>> Should we stop and now that we each presented, let's catch up on the comments? Sure.

[00:12:08]>> Um, let me see if I can Okay, wait. I'm trying to find the cursor.

[00:12:20]Okay, here we go. Um, all right. Let's see.

[00:12:28]Trying to find where we left off.

[00:12:30]>> We were with Rebecca.

[00:12:35]Okay, sorry I'm slow.

[00:12:39]All right, here we go.

[00:12:43]Heidi [clears throat] is H. Keep that one in mind, Heidi.

[00:12:48]>> Yes, [laughter] >> Susan is coming to us from Maine.

[00:12:55]Okay, the cursor keeps Okay. All right, I'm going to skip some where everyone's just greeting one another.

[00:13:03]Yeah.

[00:13:06]>> Um Oops.

[00:13:10]All right. Greg says he posted his list this morning.

[00:13:15]Interested to see if there's a crossover.

[00:13:17]All right. Well, we will find out.

[00:13:20]>> Yes, we will.

[00:13:23]Ros um ah has the thing things they carried has been on my long-term TBR since I first found book and Kelly of books I'm not reading told me I should read it >> yes you should but it's also not for the faint of heart >> me too I haven't read it either >> but I don't think there's any book about war that's going to be wee [laughter] >> no no >> all Right. Heidi, gentlemen of Moscow, Clara and the Sun, The Time Traveler's Wife, The Lions of Al Rasan and Bode Bodica, >> the Eagle. I don't know that one. And most recently, Glorious Exploits. That one's been on my TBR for a little while.

[00:14:07]>> Yeah.

[00:14:09]>> Um, I'm enjoying some of these ones.

[00:14:16][laughter] >> Thank you, Rose.

[00:14:20]Yes.

[00:14:23]All right.

[00:14:24]Ally says, "Three brilliant choices."

[00:14:28]Mar, >> thank you.

[00:14:29]>> Yes. Marca is adding cutting for stone.

[00:14:34]>> Oh, yeah. That was >> Yeah, that was a good one.

[00:14:36]>> I did. I liked that one.

[00:14:38]>> I haven't read that.

[00:14:41]>> All right, Ros. I think all three of these, but particularly um women who have never known men is that they have a resonance wider than the time they are written. Right? That book doesn't there's no feel of time in there at all.

[00:14:56]>> It's quite an interesting point, isn't it? Because if things are going to date, they might not be seen as classics.

[00:15:06]>> The only the only time sense at all is that they're There were vehicles. They're not there anymore. Like there's a point where she comes across a bus and >> yeah, >> what was inside the bus? So, we know it's at least somewhere in a time where there would be motorized vehicles.

[00:15:25]That's it. That's all you got. It could be 200 years in the future. It could be 50 years in the past. We just we don't know.

[00:15:34]>> Might not even be on the planet Earth because we don't know.

[00:15:37]>> No.

[00:15:38]>> All right, Rebecca. My first one would be Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead.

[00:15:44]>> That is one that's been on my list for a while.

[00:15:49]>> Hannah, I will suggest a couple of throwbacks from the 80s. Okay, so good.

[00:15:53]The cheating has begun.

[00:15:54]>> Yes, [laughter] >> Tony Morrison's Beloved. Yes, >> I wanted to put Beloved on my list.

[00:16:01]>> Marilyn Robinson's Housekeeping and Janette Winerson's The Passion. Three favorites from those years that I still love. Yeah, >> those good choices. Yes, if we were expanding, I would have put Beloved again in there, too.

[00:16:16]>> Yeah, me too.

[00:16:17]>> I think I have a copy of Housekeeping, but I I have not read that Winerson book.

[00:16:23]>> No, me neither.

[00:16:25]>> Um, Marca agrees with Beloved Hannah.

[00:16:28]>> Yeah, >> my first one, uh, Uba Boom's book says, "My first one would be Rohitten Mysteries, A Fine Balance." Is that like super long?

[00:16:39]>> Yeah, I've got that sitting on my bookshelf and I keep looking [laughter] at it thinking >> how much time have I got.

[00:16:46]>> I've I've heard it's really good, but I haven't read it.

[00:16:51]Probably because my first thought was ah super long.

[00:16:54]>> It's like 1,400 pages or something.

[00:16:56]>> Oh dear. Okay.

[00:17:00]Meen says, "I can't say I enjoyed The Trees, but I thought it was a better book, but James showed the classic because of the backstory." Okay. Do >> you know what? I thought The Trees was brilliant.

[00:17:12]>> I saw something just yesterday that they I don't know how they're going to do this, but they're going to do an adaptation of The Trees.

[00:17:21]>> Oh, really?

[00:17:22]>> For a movie or TV? Yeah.

[00:17:25]>> I'm thinking that's that's gonna be a tough one. I know they're doing James, too. James is in the works, but they also picked up the trees.

[00:17:34]I think I skipped one. Hold on. Loved cutting for stone.

[00:17:40]Um, yes, with regards to a fine balance.

[00:17:43]I guess that a big >> chunkster.

[00:17:47]Uh, Ros picks Wolf Hall by Hillary.

[00:17:52]>> I really enjoyed that.

[00:17:54]>> That's a good one. I haven't read that, but I I don't dispute it because I I mean I just know how people feel.

[00:18:02]>> Yeah, I read that last year. I haven't read the other two yet.

[00:18:05]>> Hamnit.

[00:18:07]>> Interesting.

[00:18:08]>> On to your pontalones.

[00:18:11][laughter] >> Uh, okay. That we're still talking about. My god.

[00:18:16]>> Oh, okay. It's not the one I'm thinking of then if it was 614.

[00:18:21]>> Um, the first book. Okay. Rebecca says, uh, she first thought of Marilyn Robinson's >> Gilead.

[00:18:28]>> Gilead.

[00:18:29]>> Yes. Intertwines America's racial history, family dynamics, and multiple ethical decisions.

[00:18:36]>> There's another one sitting on red on my shelves.

[00:18:39]>> Yes, I read that a long time ago.

[00:18:43]And I think I read I read that and I read something else that I feel like might have been a companion book to that, but I can't remember now.

[00:18:53]um reading like breathing loved wolf hall and the Olga Takars book the the plow is that the end of the comments let's see a fine balance is good but too depressing for me yeah I mean that's that's a factor like you have to be in the right you know mind frame sometimes it's just too you know those really Good ones can be so heavy.

[00:19:23]>> Yeah.

[00:19:25]Yeah.

[00:19:26]>> All right. Are we ready for round two?

[00:19:30]>> Here we go.

[00:19:32]>> Okay.

[00:19:33]>> Um I need >> My round two pick is Maggie O. Farrell's Hamnet, a novel of >> Did someone mention that?

[00:19:46]>> Wow.

[00:19:47]>> This was my introduction to Maggie O Farrell. This was the first of her books that I read and that started me on this incredible journey. Uh, and she quickly became one of my favorite contemporaries. Um, so this was written in 2020.

[00:20:06]Um, it's set in England of the 1580s.

[00:20:13]So it's set during the Black Death. Uh, it's the the it's really the portrait of a marriage. Um, it's the story of Agnes, someone we know of as Agnes, who is um an herbalist and a natural healer and a free spirit, and she's married to a young playwright, you know, who's off at Stratford on Avon, uh, trying to make it make it big. Uh, and she's also a very protective mother. And it's the story of their loss of their son, Hamnet. Um, [snorts] so it is it's fiction. It's definitely a fictional account, but it's a fictional account of the Shakespeare's uh their their loss of of their son. And it's a portrait of grief and and loss.

[00:21:15]Okay.

[00:21:16]>> Yeah.

[00:21:17]>> My number two, >> Ishmail Khadar, The Fall of Stone City, >> but I'm cheating slightly because I've also got Ishmael Kadar, the successor, because I couldn't decide between the two. Oh, no, not the successor. Chronicle in Stone. Ishmael Gdari is Albanian and I first came across him about 2003 2004.

[00:21:53]He went on to win the very first international man booker prize.

[00:21:59]>> Oh. um for his body of work and he writes very often about Albania or about areas of the Balkans and he's got a very spare writing style which I enjoy but he often portrays um corrupt regimes and how people manage under those corrupt regimes.

[00:22:36]>> And this one, these this one, which is the fall of the stone city, is set in 1943 and German troops roll into this ancient town and cause absolute chaos. and then the very next day they're gone.

[00:23:01]And it's about um it's about resistance in a dictatorship, but it ties in Albanian folklore with it, and I just think it's wonderful.

[00:23:15]This one has a young Albanian as um the narrator and he reflects on his hometown but also sort of makes things up as kids do. So, he's a bit unreliable as a narrator. And again, it ties in politics and Albanian folklore and uh the brutality of the Second World War again. But I just love his work. I love all his work. But these two are utterly brilliant.

[00:24:00]Needless to say, he didn't live in Albania for a long time because they wouldn't publish his work. So, I think I think he spent the rest of his life in Paris. Um, but he's a great writer.

[00:24:16]Absolutely superb.

[00:24:18]>> Wonderful.

[00:24:19]>> Okay. Well, I haven't read this author at all. So, that's one from my list. And I'm glad there's you put in some international flavor into the into the lineup here.

[00:24:31]>> All right. My second one is Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan >> and um well, it's it's an Irish book. It's a novela. I think most of us are probably familiar with it. Uh Claire Keegan has not put out a large body of work. She has a couple of short story collections and a couple of noavellas and she I've read interviews with her and she basically just says I write what I write. It's whatever length it is. It's finished when it's finished. She doesn't have a timet. It's so it could be 10 years and then it's six short stories. You just don't know.

[00:25:14]And um she's kind of an interesting person in interviews. But this particular story takes place in the 1980s in a small town in Ireland. But it feels the first time I read it, it feels like you're maybe in the 1940s or 50s because it's a it's not a upto-date [laughter] modern kind of 1980s town. And this uh man named Bill, I think it's Bill Furlong is his name.

[00:25:42]He's a he delivers coal around town. He has a wife and a whole bunch of daughters. and it's the week before Christmas. And while he is making his deliveries, one of the places he stops is the local convent, which is also a girls school and also uh supposed to be kind of a sanctuary for troubled girls.

[00:26:06]But what he finds is a lot more troubling than a troubled girl when he stops by and he becomes aware that there well I don't want to give too much away becomes aware that there's there's something a miss at the convent >> and it's really weighing on him and it's causing him to reflect on his own upbringing as the child of a single mother and the the care and the opportunities that he got in in his upbringing. ing >> and it's it's a very slim story with a lot of emotional heft and somebody at a reckoning between the status quo and the comfort of their life and the fine tightroppe balance of this very Catholic town that he lives in with what he knows is right. And it's also about the Magdaleneies.

[00:27:03]>> Yes. that ran for decades and dec I couldn't believe how long it ran. Um >> oh such a long time.

[00:27:11]>> So I have the first time I read it I had to stop and research that >> and then I read it a couple of times.

[00:27:16]It's become sort of a Christmas read for me even though it's it's in the category of Christmas set books that are not about Christmas.

[00:27:24]>> [laughter] >> not about Christmas.

[00:27:25]>> I don't have Christmasy feelings in them, but I like to read it at Christmas time. And um and that the movie was really good, too. And I I am a I am not easy to please with movie adaptations and I thought that they did a really a really nice job with >> I haven't seen it.

[00:27:43]>> It's good. Um Killian Murphy plays Bill. He plays it with a lot of soul.

[00:27:51]>> Yeah. So that is my number two pick.

[00:27:54]>> That is a brilliant choice as well.

[00:27:56]>> It's excellent. Excellent.

[00:27:57]>> Yeah.

[00:27:58]>> Such a good book. And Foster was >> that was one of mine in my video. We had >> that well could be the choice also.

[00:28:08]>> I felt like Well, no. They both They both are. I feel pretty strongly about both of them.

[00:28:13]>> Yeah.

[00:28:13]>> Foster also I had the same reaction with Foster. you. It feels much older than it is, but it's also set in the 1980s and it feels like a long time ago.

[00:28:23]>> Yeah, >> I'm having trouble >> comments.

[00:28:29]>> I'm having trouble scrolling. Uh >> oh.

[00:28:32]>> It's Well, I'm working on it. Okay. Um talk amongst yourselves.

[00:28:43]I think I'm gonna have to hop up here and then maybe try to Oh, wait. Here it goes.

[00:28:50]>> It just moved. I don't know if that was >> Yeah, it's >> Oh, I went too far. I'm sorry. I'm a bad scroller. It's doing that thing where it sticks and then all of a sudden it jumps.

[00:29:01]>> Yeah.

[00:29:02]>> So, now I'm too far up.

[00:29:06]I'm getting there.

[00:29:09]Okay, here we go. So this is back to the question about Gilead. It's first in the quartet with also home, Laya and Jack. I think I read Home and then for a long time I was confused because I had Home and I had housekeeping.

[00:29:23]>> Those were two different ones.

[00:29:24][laughter] >> Two different books. Yeah.

[00:29:26]>> Yeah.

[00:29:28]>> Okay, Marsha. Okay. It's about the length of a fine balance.

[00:29:33]And then let's see.

[00:29:39]Ally, they did a great job with the movie of small things like these because I I thought it I I was worried about it because there's a lot in there. It's very spare. So, you have to be able to read between the lines, which doesn't always translate that well, but it did.

[00:29:56]>> You've gone right down to the bottom of the comments.

[00:29:59]>> What did I skip?

[00:30:02]>> You skipped loads.

[00:30:04]Oh, it's >> we should be on Rebecca Reader 7:20 p.m. She says, "My second pick is The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker."

[00:30:17]>> Well, I've got um Fine Balance is too depressing that we already did. And then the next one was The Trees.

[00:30:26]It maybe it's not appearing in >> Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, you need to go down a few. Well, I haven't I haven't hit all the ones before that yet.

[00:30:35]>> No, you've done the ones before that.

[00:30:37]It's the ones are Are yours in a in a different order?

[00:30:40]>> I maybe mine are in a different order.

[00:30:42]I'm going >> maybe. Yeah, because Yeah, the next one after Marcia talking about a fine balance is the one above what you're on.

[00:30:52]So, it's Rebecca.

[00:30:53]>> Okay.

[00:30:53]>> Saying her second pick is Silence of Girls.

[00:30:59]>> Silence of the Girls.

[00:31:01]I like that bar. Actually, I don't think I've read the silence of the girls.

[00:31:07]>> I was talking in another forum about how I spent a long time some for some reason I had combined in my mind Pat Barker and Joe was it Joe Walton?

[00:31:22]>> Oh, right.

[00:31:23]>> Like I can combine two writers in my mind.

[00:31:28]>> Yeah. And then historical fiction and science fiction and all these I'm like wow and it's two different people and I'd read a couple [laughter] [gasps] but anyway okay Susan says perhaps the LGBT plus Q community needs to be represented within the classics. I'm not sure what I would choose. Does anyone else agree what my others select?

[00:31:51]>> That's a very good point.

[00:31:53]>> Yes. Um, yeah, I think that that is valid. And um, I don't, as far as I know, the authors I picked today don't qualify for that, but I do agree.

[00:32:07]>> I was thinking of I was thinking of including um Alice W's novel in Memoriam, >> which is a World War I setting. Uh, and that is really about um the the loving relationship between two men. Um, and I was thinking of that as one of my possible picks. Um, I don't have that book that that was a library book, I think. Um, but that was certainly on on on my radar as one that would be I I think I think classic potential and certainly deals with LGBTQ issues.

[00:32:47]Um Pat Barker's Regeneration Trilogy touches on um homosexuality in soldiers in the First World War as well, but it isn't a main theme of the book. Um but certainly it introduces it.

[00:33:07]>> Um Colin Toybean is one of my favorite authors who could have put him in here somewhere. Um, >> right.

[00:33:16]>> Possibly Sarah Waters.

[00:33:18]>> I thought about her, too.

[00:33:20]>> Yeah, I'm mad at her because she's been too long since she put out a new book, but [laughter] >> I could have put in um Binger Smith or >> Yep.

[00:33:28]>> Night Watch or >> And I did have column toy Bean in my last goround on this.

[00:33:35]>> True. Yeah, you have master in there.

[00:33:38]>> Y >> All right, let's see what else we have here. Um, sometimes I click it and it doesn't really All right. The Wolf Hall adaptation with Damen Lewis. So good. I plan to watch two Anthony Trollet BBC adaptations. Got the DVDs from the library.

[00:33:54]>> I see.

[00:33:55]>> I really liked um The Way We Live Now's adaptation. I watched that on I don't know Roku or somewhere, but it was good.

[00:34:04]>> I haven't seen that, but the book's great.

[00:34:07]>> That one also had Killian Murphy in it.

[00:34:09]>> Oh, really? That was my first interview.

[00:34:12]>> Well, it's old. It's about 20 years old, so younger. But >> yeah.

[00:34:18]>> Um, I started my list in 2000. From the 1990s, I would have chosen train spotting.

[00:34:23]>> Oh, I thought you might.

[00:34:25]>> Yeah.

[00:34:28]>> Yeah.

[00:34:30]>> Het would definitely be a pick for me, says Rebecca. Pat, I love that one.

[00:34:38]What is happening?

[00:34:40]Dysfunctional comment person. All right.

[00:34:43]Hi. I'm supposed Oh, it's Helen. I'm supposed to be reading. So, pop. Say hi.

[00:34:47]And I'll have to catch the rerun. All right. You're here for posterity. Ellen duly noted.

[00:34:58]>> I'm really in Whoops. Sorry. There it goes. Uh, Rebecca, I'm really interested in Ishmael Khadari. Hope to read something by him soon. Well, I am now, too. He is a great writer.

[00:35:10]>> Allan really liked Hamnet. The chapter about the flea [laughter] fiction I've ever read.

[00:35:16]>> I agree.

[00:35:16]>> Yes, that one. Okay, that one had the flea chapter and then um Northwoods had the whole chapter about it had a chapter about a bug, too. Something about >> a beetle. A beetle.

[00:35:28]>> The beetle and the and the the beetle sex.

[00:35:31]>> Y >> Ross, I really admire Qatari. My second is My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk.

[00:35:40]>> Oh, that's brilliant. I love that book.

[00:35:43]And Snow >> Snow >> by Oran Pan. Really good.

[00:35:50]>> Um Kay is in southeast Virginia joining later. Life happened.

[00:35:57]>> Yeah, >> doesn't it always? Life happened right before this started because my Wi-Fi was completely out three minutes before we met up to get ready and I was unplugging and replugging boxes and doing dances.

[00:36:16]All right. Ellen says, "I'll nominate Homegoing by Ya Jasi. I never know how to say her last name." Um, Women Talking by Marian Taves and Beartown by Frederick Bachman. Oh, I really want to read Bear Town.

[00:36:31]>> Yes. On Earth as it is beneath. That's That's a pretty new. Isn't that one on the international book right now?

[00:36:38]>> Um by Anna Paula Maya is also read like a classic to me.

[00:36:43]>> Those are great choices.

[00:36:45]>> Yeah, those are great. I haven't read Bear Town, but um Homegoing is the one I infamously had on my shelf for 10 years and finally read it last month. [laughter] Um Diane is reminding people to click hit the like. Thank you Diane.

[00:37:06]>> Thanks Diane.

[00:37:08]>> Marsha um round two commenters edition Europe Central by William T. Vulman.

[00:37:14]>> Not read that.

[00:37:20]>> My second is Carrie Stavy's West. Oh that was good. That was good. I didn't even think about that one either.

[00:37:27]Oh yeah, >> I'm just getting into her and I've only read I've read a couple of short stories and I read West and I read Clear and I really like her.

[00:37:39]>> Ally says, "Oh yes, Angelia, absolutely love this book together with Foster."

[00:37:44]>> Yep.

[00:37:45]>> Um Allan, Small Things Like These is my favorite Christmas book.

[00:37:50]Well, it's one of mine, but you know what my favorite Christmas book is?

[00:37:54]>> I know. I know. Catch her in the ride.

[00:37:58]>> Why did I know you were gonna say that?

[00:38:02]>> I He stepped right into it, didn't he?

[00:38:04]>> Yeah.

[00:38:05]>> Set me up. Okay, Hannah says that we are coming up with lovely choices. Thank you, Hannah.

[00:38:14]>> Got some applause there. [laughter] Um, Heidi Kite Kiterunner and the graphic novel Procepilus, both coming of age during the Iranian Revolution. Yes, >> I loved Procepilus.

[00:38:28]>> We taught both of those. We >> Yeah, >> that's great.

[00:38:33]>> And if we're going graphic novel, I also loved Mouse.

[00:38:36]>> Yes, mouse. Okay, I still Oh, sorry.

[00:38:41]>> Pardon me.

[00:38:42]>> Amazing, isn't it? all the things that you've forgotten until someone else mention I bought a copy of Mouse. Um, well, now it's been like two years. I was going to say recently. It's not recently. I was like, "Okay, finally going to read it. Here it is. Have I read it?" No.

[00:38:59]All right. Uh, reading is like reading says, "So far I read one Ishmael Khadari book in Dutch. The title in Dutch is A Fatal Dinner." Oh, I love that. Not sure if it has been translated into English yet, but several of the books are definitely on my TBR.

[00:39:15]>> He's really good. Really >> has that has potential.

[00:39:21]Okay, I'm working on this.

[00:39:24]>> All right. Um, Procepilus is another good one. That's another one also that had a pretty good movie. Um, Susan says, "I have two books on my TBR to read. I think they may be contenders. on Earth were briefly gorgeous and a little life.

[00:39:43]>> Yeah, >> a little life. I did enjoy a little life.

[00:39:48]>> You did not.

[00:39:49]>> No, I did. I did.

[00:39:56]>> Sorry. It keeps like, you know, I had cursor problems the last time and I I'm using a different device and I'm still having issues.

[00:40:06]>> Okay. I apologize.

[00:40:12]All right. Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe is a contender for the LGBTQ plus classic choice. Now, Marca, is that a YA book? I think I feel like I have had that down on my list for a while. And is it a YA book? I think I I've heard of that. And then there's a sequel, maybe.

[00:40:35]I feel like Greg um has talked about that on his channel.

[00:40:40]>> Oh, maybe that's where I got it from.

[00:40:45]>> I'm not sure. I'm not sure if that's >> your comments have jumped again.

[00:40:48]Angelia, >> what?

[00:40:50]>> We need to go back up to Susan.

[00:40:58]>> I wonder if I can. Ah, here. I found a better method here.

[00:41:01]>> And then Daleks and Dragons.

[00:41:04]>> Okay. Time stamp 7:30.

[00:41:07]>> This is [sighs] okay. I think I found I think I'm back.

[00:41:20]All right. I think we are here.

[00:41:25]>> Yeah.

[00:41:26]>> Blanking on every book I've read. That always that happens. I finished Project Hail Mary last week and I'm still thinking about it. I wouldn't be mad if that was considered a sci-fi classic one day.

[00:41:38]>> That would be a whole fun category is to do just um speculative.

[00:41:43]>> Yep.

[00:41:44]>> Yeah.

[00:41:44]>> No crossovers yet, but we have eight to go. [laughter] >> Yeah. Second nomination, The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

[00:41:54]>> Yeah.

[00:41:54]>> Yeah, that was that was good. I read that a long time ago.

[00:41:57]>> Yeah, that was good.

[00:42:00]Um, I have two or three LGBTQ plus on my list. Okay, that's always Save those for June, too, if you haven't if you don't have time to get to them in May.

[00:42:13]>> Oh, another date for Project Hail Mary.

[00:42:16]>> Um, technologically advanced times, I'd argue sci-fi belongs in any cate. Well, I'd agree, too. And >> I agree.

[00:42:23]>> Yeah. Spoiler alert, my next one is [laughter] um and nominating project Hail Mary or The Martian.

[00:42:35]>> Girl, woman, other for >> Yeah, >> Bernardine Everistto.

[00:42:41]That's a great great choice, Nina.

[00:42:43]>> Yeah.

[00:42:44]>> In memoriam, girl, woman, others. Wonderful.

[00:42:51]>> Yes, it is.

[00:42:53]They Both Die at the End by Adam S. Vera is for LGBTQ classic for a book with that title. There's so much hope and life in it. Oh, that's >> all right.

[00:43:03]>> That's awesome.

[00:43:06]>> Let's see. The only book I could come up with is The Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster BJ 1999. Part of her Vorzian series.

[00:43:18]>> I don't know it.

[00:43:19]>> I do not know it either. I hope I didn't. butcher that that name. Second nomination. The Oh, wait. We already How is that there again? Didn't we just No, I think that was someone else.

[00:43:33]>> Oh, okay. So, sec Oh, second. Okay.

[00:43:38]Fingermith is on my list. Still no direct crossover, but lots of similar thoughts. Yeah, Fingermith was terrific.

[00:43:45]>> Yep.

[00:43:47]I agree with Bear Town.

[00:43:52]Allan and I are indistinguishable.

[00:44:00]Did I call Greg Allen?

[00:44:04]>> I don't know.

[00:44:06]>> Um, Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe. Okay, I'm I'm Some of these are popping up more than once. I'm so confused how this is happening.

[00:44:18]The Dutch >> that one. Yay. We're in agreement.

[00:44:21]>> The Stone City. Okay, we've got a match.

[00:44:24]Homegoing finishing it. It's awesome.

[00:44:27]Yes. Very good.

[00:44:29]>> Then there's The Book Thief and Shadow of the Wind. Oh boy.

[00:44:32]>> Yeah.

[00:44:34]>> So many.

[00:44:35]>> People are bringing up things that I didn't think of, but now I'm wondering why I didn't think of them. [laughter] >> Yeah, absolutely.

[00:44:41]>> We could do this all year. We could have a lot of episodes on this.

[00:44:44]>> I think I got to the bottom of it. No, I didn't.

[00:44:47]>> Nope. Almost.

[00:44:50]>> Yes. Why a book Aristotle and Dante?

[00:44:54]>> Uh Aristotle and Dante dive into the waters of the world is the sequel.

[00:44:59]>> Okay.

[00:45:01]>> Yes. You called me Allan twice. I'm sorry, Greg.

[00:45:04]>> There's a lot of Gregs and a lot of Allens.

[00:45:07]>> There are. There are. Yeah.

[00:45:09]>> They're all very nice gentlemen.

[00:45:10]>> Yes. They're all wonderful people.

[00:45:13]>> So, I'm sorry, but I guess it could be worse.

[00:45:18]>> Um, yes. Yes. Do the book thief. Okay.

[00:45:21]Is that the end of them?

[00:45:23]>> Yes.

[00:45:23]>> Yeah.

[00:45:23]>> Okay. Just making sure since mine is uh Diane says it's endless because people keep commenting. [laughter] >> All right.

[00:45:34]>> Do round three. Are we gonna do round three?

[00:45:36]>> No. Round three.

[00:45:37]>> Hit it.

[00:45:38]>> All right. So I discovered amore tools with the Lincoln Highway. I was very late to the party with regard to him and then I went back and I read everything that he had written. So I would definitely have at least one of his books um on on the list. I chose for today A Gentleman in Moscow.

[00:46:06]Um, I could have put Lincoln Highway, but this one might have a more universal appeal. I don't know. This was his second novel. It was written in 2016, published in 2016. It's about a man um a count Alexander Rosttoff uh who is uh deemed uh an unrepentant aristocrat and and he's condemned to um house arrest in um in a hotel uh near the Kremlin in in Moscow. Uh and and we really just follow his relationships with people in in the hotel. Um and his just his his thinking and and his philosophy about things and and in particular a very special relationship that he develops with um [snorts] uh a a young a young girl uh Sophia kind of a a wise child. Uh a very beautiful book.

[00:47:16]Sounds good.

[00:47:18]>> Yes, that's a good one.

[00:47:20]>> I'm going with a book. I think it's not very old. I think it's either last year or the year before. And it is a book by Lisa Ridson called When the Cranes Fly South.

[00:47:34]>> And this is her debut novel. Now, I was a bit unsure about this one because I'm not sure whether it would only appeal to people of a certain age. This book is about a man who [clears throat] is elderly.

[00:47:52]He's becoming less able to do things for himself.

[00:47:57]He lives on the outskirts of a town in a pretty remote area with his dog. His wife is in a care home and she has Alzheimer's.

[00:48:08]>> Um, he has carers coming in to look after him. He has a son and a granddaughter and he has a great friend that they've had many adventures together but he is of a similar age and in the same sort of physical state. So they keep in touch by phone and all of a sudden everybody's trying to run his life. his son thinks he isn't able to look after the dog and that isn't helped by the fact that the dog runs away and he has a fall while chasing him. Um, [clears throat] and I just thought for a debut novel, it was really beautifully written and apparently she wrote it from the care notes that carers gave her after her grandfather had died.

[00:49:02]Um, but it's about how this man feels he isn't in control of his own life anymore >> and how everybody is trying to take over and do the best for him, but they're not considering what he actually wants. And I don't know whether it resonated with me because I have a mother of a certain age and my sister and I are constantly at loggerheads about the best thing to do for her.

[00:49:39]>> But I feel my sister doesn't ever take her wishes into consideration. But it just really struck a chord with me, this book, and I thought it was a very accomplished first novel, and it made me think, >> yeah, I haven't read that, but just the description strikes a chord with me just being of that certain age and being >> Yeah. having been for several years and still in in the helping the elderly parents phase of life.

[00:50:17]>> Yeah.

[00:50:17]>> Yeah. Exactly. I think for people our age, it does strike a chord because either you've been through that or you're going through that when you have an elderly relative that needs possibly more care than they think they do.

[00:50:36]>> Oh, yes.

[00:50:37]>> Yeah.

[00:50:38]>> Yes. Yeah.

[00:50:41]Okay. Well, my third one is is a speculative novel and it's by one of my favorite contemporary authors who does have a new book coming out this fall and I'm so excited. And it is Station 11 by Emily St. John Mandel. I love this author. And not all of her books are speculative, but some of them are. And this one is a post-apocalyptic novel. And [snorts] it's I'll try to describe it, but it's not going to sound as good as it is because the structure is so exquisite in this book.

[00:51:17]>> But it and it and you have to keep in mind that this book came out right before COVID. She did not know about that when she was writing it. And then it came out >> wait I can't remember what year but it's it was right before um well no it wasn't. It was in 2014. I lied. But um so in this book, a flu type pandemic sweeps the earth and it gets everywhere because it's very fast and it it people go on flights and then it it it's everywhere. And so within a matter of just a few weeks, >> something like 90% of the population is gone. Everybody's gone. And so the very beginning of the story uh takes place during a performance of King Lear that and we have someone in the audience who's watching and there was a medical emergency on the stage. It's not related to the flu. But then we see the beginnings of this pandemic with this this man who was at the performance and he's getting texts and phone calls from someone he knows that works at a hospital telling him about something bad that's going down and he has a disabled brother that he needs to go and check on. So we have that and then we jump ahead 20 years and we have the story of the traveling symphony symphony which is a a troop of players. They're all survivors and a couple of young people that were born since this happened. And they travel in a circuit. It's Canadian.

[00:52:48]Uh even though the TV show was set like in the Great Lakes area, but it's Canadian in the book. They traveled this circuit of of little villages where people survivors live and they put on Shakespeare productions and symphonies with what the instruments that they have. And their motto is because survival is insufficient. And there's a big theme in this book about how simply being alive is not all there is. And just this idea about u keeping keeping art and beauty alive in the world. And it just goes back and forth in time and and the unexpected connections between different people that have survived or not. And and that's just kind of the rough bare bones of it. But it is I read a lot of books that fit into this genre.

[00:53:39]And this is the just the most beautifully written pros. And even for people who don't usually read these kind of books, give it a shot. It's it's just remarkable.

[00:53:51]>> And that's my that's my pitch for Station 11.

[00:53:55]>> Very good.

[00:53:56]>> Very good.

[00:54:00]>> All right. Yeah. I forgot I'm in charge here. Um [laughter] I'm like, "Okay, now what? It's me. It's me again. It is.

[00:54:09]>> Did we all did our number three, right?

[00:54:12]>> We're gonna check the comments and then we might have a couple minutes to just flash our backup choices at the end.

[00:54:19]>> Yeah.

[00:54:20]>> All right, let's try to >> I've added another one to mine while we've been on air. [laughter] >> Where did we leave off here? Um, >> we left off with Diane. Time stamp 7:45.

[00:54:36]Okay. Um, here here here's where we my cursor was still on it. All right. Hannah says there's two possibilities of Okay, that's she's trying to give me some technical help [laughter] and I'm I'm beyond help but Greg does not mind being confused with Allan.

[00:55:00]Uh, round three.

[00:55:02]All right, Ellen. Ellen, I thought you had to go somewhere, but I'm sure she's coming back. I love it. I love Ellen.

[00:55:09]>> And another thing, [laughter] >> uh, she's trying to squeeze in Paracy by Susanna Clark. I couldn't leave. This is such a great source of Rex. Thank you, Alan.

[00:55:22]>> All right. K says, "Bues sci-fi and fantasy. A civil campaign campaign combines sci-fi, Regency, romance, political, and diplomatic themes." That sounds You see?

[00:55:34]>> Wow.

[00:55:35]>> Oops. Well, that wasn't it.

[00:55:39]Okay. Uh, yes. Yes. To all of Aar Tol's novels. I love him. I do, too. I think I like uh Lincoln Highway the best, but >> I do love that novel.

[00:55:51]>> I liked Gentleman of Moscow, too. Susan likes Gentleman of Moscow the best.

[00:55:57]Um, PK Swappard. I almost skipped a gentleman in Moscow because I couldn't get into the rules of civility. Well, he gets better and better as he goes, I think.

[00:56:08]>> Um, all right. Nina, I have only read and loved Rules of Civility by Tols. I'm a slacker. Well, then no, you have a lot to look forward to.

[00:56:16]>> Nina is no slacker. [laughter] >> Lot to look forward to. Gentlemen of Moscow was on my list, too. All right.

[00:56:23]Ally, great minds think alike.

[00:56:25]>> Yep. Yep. Ali's >> Lauren Grath Matrix. Okay, that is on my shelf unread.

[00:56:32]>> And number four choice. Yes, I'm cheating. Claudia Pinro Cathedrals, >> which we haven't read yet because it hasn't come out.

[00:56:41]>> That's coming out and we're we are going to read that.

[00:56:46]>> We're reading that in June.

[00:56:48]>> Mine is arriving on June the 5th, I think.

[00:56:51]>> Very good.

[00:56:51]>> I think I don't know. June was something. I can't remember.

[00:56:55]Uh, Rebecca, my third choice would be Claraara and the Sun by Kazurro Ishaguro.

[00:57:00]>> Good. That's a good one.

[00:57:01]>> Yeah. Which is also about to be a movie.

[00:57:04]I would have also said The Remains of the Dave, but it was published in 1989, so a year too early.

[00:57:10]>> You left something out. Maybe I'll get a chance to flash my backup choice.

[00:57:14][laughter] >> Uh, gentleman of Moscow is a delight. If it's on your list, start now. [laughter] Okay. Lots of shout outs for gentlemen in Moscow.

[00:57:25]>> Good.

[00:57:27]>> Um I was very lucky to read cathedrals in German. You can really look forward to it. That's great to hear.

[00:57:33]>> That is good.

[00:57:34]>> I did have Pinero on my in my video that I did on this. So >> yeah.

[00:57:39]>> All right. That's a comment to Dallas.

[00:57:44]Oops. I think I'll add a few to the top that we haven't discussed. Young Suggie Bane, Life After Life. Oh, I thought about putting that one in. And Lincoln and the Bardau. Those those two I I were on my consideration. And the milkman. Um, yeah.

[00:58:01]Yeah, those are all really good.

[00:58:03][laughter] >> Very good.

[00:58:05]>> Are we down at the bottom again?

[00:58:08]>> No, I've got a really >> Oh, no. No, there's more.

[00:58:12]>> Okay.

[00:58:12]>> Yeah, >> I got it. Uh, also Anthony. Oh. Oh. Oh.

[00:58:17]All the light we cannot see. Yeah.

[00:58:20]>> You know what? I I could have done Cloud Cuckoo Land, too. I really love that one.

[00:58:25]>> Yeah.

[00:58:25]>> Charles Frasier's Cold Mountain.

[00:58:27]>> Love hearing the suggestions. Could we do this another day for non-fiction and biography and memoir?

[00:58:33]>> Sure.

[00:58:34]>> Why not?

[00:58:36]>> We'll just >> We could do another episode of this, too. I mean, we've got plenty to talk about.

[00:58:41]>> I know. Now I'm thinking, "Oh, I'm glad I didn't think of all these things when I was making the list because >> I'd never have made a decision if I had." I know. I know.

[00:58:49]>> I'd have a stack like this.

[00:58:51]>> I'm stuck. Okay.

[00:58:56]Oops.

[00:58:57]>> Okay.

[00:58:58]Um, we did that one.

[00:59:02]>> Yes, please. The non.

[00:59:07]>> Okay.

[00:59:09]It's showing me at the bottom again.

[00:59:12]>> Yeah, I think there's a chunk been missed. Well, I am dreadfully sorry, but um >> No, I mean you you can't keep up with all of them. You can't >> if I left I skipped over you. Dreadful sorrows. I'm very sorry. Um but we do have a few minutes left and we did pick out some backups. So, should we just flash them by here in our last minute or two?

[00:59:36]>> Okay.

[00:59:37]>> And then we'll see if there's any uh roundup uh comments. It says you skip loads. It's It's hopping and skipping. When I go up the side, it it jumps up and down and then >> Oh, >> I am not meaning to skip loads.

[00:59:57]Now it's not um it's not Whoops. It's not allowing me to scroll back up again.

[01:00:08]Um >> should we just get on with our >> Yeah.

[01:00:12]I don't see any. I mean, I'm going up and down and all the ones I see, I have um I've done them. So, if something if there's something else, I'm not getting it in my stream. It's It's >> It's weird, isn't it?

[01:00:27]>> It could be related to my previous Wi-Fi problem.

[01:00:31]>> Could be.

[01:00:33]>> Or it could be related to the person operating all these problems.

[01:00:37]>> Nah, >> a >> definitely not. All right, Pat, what are your >> also?

[01:00:44]I was also going to talk about Louise Erdrich. Um, I could have picked any number of hers. I chose the Night Watchmen.

[01:00:55]Um, I wanted to pick a Barbara Kingolver.

[01:01:00]I'm not sure that this is the one that I wanted to pick, but I didn't have or I couldn't find Poison Wood Bible. So, I have uh Demon Copperhead and my last one goes back into 1989. So, I won't show that one. So, [laughter] I'll stop. I'll I'll stay on up above board. Okay.

[01:01:21]>> Okay.

[01:01:22]>> Okay. My wild card, which I don't have a copy of because I only thought of it since we've been on air, is David dott's at night or blood is black, which is brilliant.

[01:01:32]>> Oh.

[01:01:34]um not for the faint-hearted. And the the other one I've got is complete opposite. It's called a whole life and it's by an author called Robert Seat Taylor and it is about this guy who lives up a mountain and he lives a very gentle life and it's just a beautiful book in the same way as a month in the country is a beautiful book.

[01:01:58]>> That's a that's a great endorsement.

[01:02:00]>> Yeah. How about you? Okay. My leftover ones were Never Let Me Go by Kazurro Ishiguro.

[01:02:07]>> Yes.

[01:02:08]>> But I think the other ones that were mentioned also any like I just feel like he has to be in there somewhere. Yeah.

[01:02:14]>> And I I just this one's particularly close to my heart.

[01:02:17]>> And then I also wanted to include Coulson Whitehead and I'm showing the Nickel Boys because I don't have a copy of the Underground Railroad and I couldn't decide between them. So I'm going with the one that I happen to have on hand.

[01:02:30]>> Good. So, those those were my two extras, but now I have about 25 more extras because people reminded me of all these really good ones that I didn't think of. So, and then I have another load of ones that I never read that I now I need to read.

[01:02:44]>> Yeah. So, >> yep.

[01:02:48]>> Um, so, um, now there's a bunch of, um, comments again. And I know, I'm sorry I've been such an unreliable, uh, comment shower.

[01:03:04]>> You can't help it if it's jumping up and down all over you.

[01:03:07]>> There's just something, uh, going kind of wonky. But, I think I'm going to start here and just scroll down through them. I know we're kind of at the end of our time, but if you want to hang around with us while we check the comments. Um, I would that would be great. All right.

[01:03:23]Ross says, "Parony is wonderful. I loved when the cranes fly south." Debs, but I'm that certain age, so it doesn't answer your question.

[01:03:32]>> Uh, my third nomination is Human Axe by Han Kang. Yeah, [clears throat] she'd be a good >> Oh, that was so good.

[01:03:39]>> Yeah.

[01:03:40]When the cranes fly south is a beautiful book. Great choice.

[01:03:46]Um, loved Ponyia. My friend just read uh gentleman of Moscow. Would agree with it being a classic.

[01:04:01]Um, okay. See, it did it again. Like I just saw it jump out.

[01:04:09]Um, this has been so much fun. I just I saw a comment about station 11 and then it like disappeared.

[01:04:15]>> Yeah, mine's jumping around too now.

[01:04:18]>> Yeah. Is it?

[01:04:20]>> Yeah, >> there's like comments that are >> Oh, Daleks and Dragons said, "Station 11 is incredible. I finally started the show and it's wild that it was filmed just before 2020, but the first episode really feels like March 2020."

[01:04:34]>> They changed it a lot in that show. Um, and I kind of like the show, but it was it was it was a lot it was quite different, but I like the book better.

[01:04:46]I'm just kind of a purist, but um >> yeah, >> it it's it's it's a lot different.

[01:04:55]>> Alli nominated my next um A Suitable Boy, Vic Ramos. Maybe that's the one that's 1400 pages long and >> that's a big book. Yes. Wait, who wrote that?

[01:05:07]>> Vicram Seth.

[01:05:08]>> Okay. I think I think that might be the one I was thinking that is so incredibly long.

[01:05:14]>> Yeah, >> because the other one's just normal long.

[01:05:22]>> Well, we have some final comments. I know I missed some. I'm very sorry.

[01:05:29]I'm I'm the host with the least, but uh I tried. [laughter] Oh, >> Greg. Greg has said added in here Young Shuggy Bane, Life After Life, Lincoln in the Bardo, and Milkman.

[01:05:43]>> Yes, good.

[01:05:44]>> Yes, I I considered Life After Life >> and I didn't I forgot about Lincoln and the Bardau, but yeah, for sure.

[01:05:55]And Susan before you go is saying, "As long as you're taking requests, I would love to do a buddy read of Catcher in the Right if anyone is interested." Yes, I'm looking at you Pat and Angelia.

[01:06:09][laughter] >> And that's Susan. A be kind.

[01:06:16]>> Yes. Maybe in December.

[01:06:19][laughter] That's when I usually catch her in the rye.

[01:06:23]So, uh, >> we could do a little group read >> posted. I do see this, yeah, the book better for station 11.

[01:06:37]>> And I see one above that I didn't see before, but now I'm clicking on now I'm clicking on it and it's not.

[01:06:46]>> Yeah, Diane saying she took notes.

[01:06:48][laughter] >> Dutch house. Oh, yeah. The Dutch house.

[01:06:51]A patchet. Yep. [snorts] >> I thought about her. I thought about her, too.

[01:06:58]>> Yeah. If it had been 20 books, that would have been easier to put together.

[01:07:02]>> It would have been a much longer live stream.

[01:07:05]>> Oh, yeah. It took us an hour to discuss three each. So, [laughter] >> yeah, probably. It's good. We We employed some restraint. Well, thank you everyone. Oh, good. Susan. All right.

[01:07:17]I'll put it on my calendar. [laughter] And what? Oh, I wrote down over here on the side when we were I had a late breaking when we were talking about LGBTQ. I I thought, wait a minute, I forgot Alli Smith.

[01:07:32]>> I recently discovered Ali Smith and surely she needs to be in the conversation.

[01:07:37]>> Yep.

[01:07:40]>> Yeah.

[01:07:41]>> Well, thank you all. This was really fun.

[01:07:44]>> Thank you so much everybody for coming and having so many great ideas and comments. Uh we really appreciate uh you spending this time with us today. Thank you Pat Debs for being here with me. And again, apologies for my uh klutzy handling of the >> Oh, all you did fine.

[01:08:09]>> You did.

[01:08:12]>> It's not my It's not my strong suit.

[01:08:16]We're on Pat's channel next month, lovely people.

[01:08:20]>> Not decided what we're talking about yet.

[01:08:22]>> Yes. Topic to be determined. We'll let you know. We'll let you know in advance.

[01:08:27]So, >> yeah.

[01:08:28]>> Yes.

[01:08:28]>> And somebody asked in the comments, I think it was Julie, is this going to be our new time going forward? So, I think we are right. We're going to stay with this hourly.

[01:08:38]>> I think so. We certainly had a number of people who hadn't been able to join us before and we don't appear to have lost people who were coming before. So, yeah, I'm happy with that.

[01:08:50]>> Good.

[01:08:53]>> Cool.

[01:08:53]>> All right.

[01:08:54]>> All right.

[01:08:54]>> Well, have a lovely day, evening, whatever time it is, and we'll see you soon. Bye.

[01:09:00]>> Bye.

[01:09:00]>> Bye.

[01:09:04]>> [snorts]