I’ve been engrossed in looking up authors for the Outmoded Authors challenge I’ve joined. This is the first challenge I’ve actually joined, so it’s exciting too.
Imani has set up the challenge, which will last for six months ending on February 28th 2008. During that time the challenge is to read however many books by however many authors you like from a good long list. I’ve never heard of some of them, so that’s another opportunity to broaden my reading. I decided to limit my choice to books I already have or can borrow from my local library.
So far I think I’d like to read:
G K Chesterton, The Complete Father Brown
I’ve read some of Chesterton’s books before, but none of the Father Brown books. There’s a copy in my local library – in the Reserve Stock.
Walter Scott, Ivanhoe
I’ve never read any Scott and as I have a copy of Ivanhoe, I’ll start with this. My copy is an old hardback book, one of a set of classic books published by Odhams Press that belonged to my father-in-law. I also fancy reading Scott’s Waverley.
Somerset Maugham, Books and You & The Moon and Sixpence
I used to love watching Maugham’s plays, when they used to show them on TV, but have never read anything by him. The library has copies of both of these. Books and You sounds intriguing from its title.
John Galsworthy, The Forsyte Saga
I’m surprised to find that I’ve never read any Galsworthy either, but as The Forsyte Saga was recently serialised on TV I know the story. I’ll be interested to see how faithful the series was to the book. Sometimes, I don’t like a film or TV dramatisation if I’ve read the book first, but it’s usually ok the other way round.
Olivia Manning, The Balkan Trilogy
I know nothing about Manning’s books. The on-line catalogue of my local library lists this one volume book comprising The Great Fortune ; The Spoilt City ; Friends and Heroes.
Italo Svevo, As a Man Grows Older
I know absolutely nothing about this author and have never heard of him before, so this may or may not be a good choice. The library has a copy of this.
D H Lawrence, Sons and Lovers
I have read Women in Love and The Virgin and the Gypsy, but not Sons and Lovers. I’ve had a battered secondhand copy of Sons and Lovers sitting in a bookcase for years, so now is the time to read it.
I don’t know whether I’ll manage all these but I’m looking forward to alternating them with other books I’d like to read.
BooksPlease 
If you choose just one of these (and some of your choices are very exrtensive) then do read the Olivia Manning. And then go on and finish the series by reading the Levant Trilogy which completes the story. These six books kept me company for an entire summer about twenty-five years ago and I would love the time to go back and read them again. Then get hold of the TV version, which was one of the few instances of a wonderful book(s) getting due justice done.
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You mention a fair few that I intend to read at *some* point, though I probably shan’t be joining the challenge, as I’m currently revelling in completely unguided reading. Always doubtful that I’ll like Scott, but one day must try – and definitely want to read the Galsworthy at some point. I think I have volume two somewhere…
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I’ve just looked at the list of ‘outmoded authors’ and it’s nice to see some of those I’ve personally been looking to try but never getting round to on there, namely Svevo, Cendrars, and Kavan. And good luck with reading The Forsyte Saga. Given that it’s nine novels in all, it’s not one I would have picked for such a challenge.
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I’d also like to read the Galsworthy. It sits in my stack of books, but the sheer size of it has scared me off a bit. I have a feeling the print is tiny, too. Of course it could be that once you start reading it is hard to put down. I have a list of possibilities, but I am not sure where I will start. Maybe something really short? (that’s my problem–too many books that are short and easy…).
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Ann, thanks for the Manning recommendation. It sounds something to get lost in.Stuckinabook, enjoy the freedom of your reading. I know the feeling of “having” to read a book, but this challenge suits me as it’s so open and wide-ranging that you can read as many as you want to, or just read one.Stewart, welcome to my blog. I’ll just have to read Galsworthy – as this challenge doesn’t require to read them all by February (and I certainly won’t do that), I can carry on until I finish.Danielle,I don’t know where to start either. It may be one I own, or it may be “Books and You”, which is a short book. I like to have a change from long books sometimes -I was in the library last week and was only looking for short books, not by a particular author or genre – just a short book!
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