Welcome

As booksellers, we often overhear customers lamenting that they've always meant to read “that other Jane Austen novel,” or Graham Greene, or Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but just never found the time. We've tried to remedy that with our Classics I Forgot to Read Book Club by providing motivation and a welcoming space to share your thoughts.

In choosing our ‘classics’ over the past few years, we've tried to select titles that had some visibility among readers, but were not necessarily included in the standard high school English class. We've also sampled a range of genres, from mystery (The Long Goodbye) to comedy (Cold Comfort Farm) to stream-of-consciousness (To the Lighthouse). So, whether our picks are already gathering dust on your bookshelves or this is your first encounter with the literary canon, we encourage you to join us on the last Wednesday evening of every month for conversation about the classics.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

March 2007--To the Lighthouse


by Virginia Woolf

To the Lighthouse is arguably the most challenging of the classics we've read so far. With sparse dialogue and no conventional plot, the novel is set upon the Isle of Skye in the early 1900s and follows the fortunes of the Ramsey family and their friends. The discursive narrative allows the readers into the inner lives of the characters, shifting from child to mother to outsider and back again in just a few pages. Like James Joyce, Woolf explores consciousness and the passing of time with effortless artistry. Haunting and transcendent, this novel argues that only art will endure the impermanence of life.

--Corrie

No comments: