As a reader and book blogger, it’s easy to get a little bogged down in all the lovely books that surround you; and a new project is sometimes just what you need to focus the reading. So when Simon at Stuck-in-a-Book asked if I’d like to be involved in a new idea of his, I was delighted! The project is called “The 1924 Club” (as you can see from the rather snazzy button that Simon’s designed) and basically the idea is to focus on books published in that year.
I think Simon’s chosen a rather wonderful year, as there appears to be a wide range of fascinating books published in 1924. Basically, we’ll be asking other readers/bloggers to read, review, suggest and discuss books from the year in question, and thereby build up an overview of the literature of the day. It would be great if as many of you as possible can join in, and the fun will come from discovering the new and the unusual, books we haven’t heard of or hadn’t realised were written in 1924, and also revisiting some classics!
There’s a list on Wikipedia that Simon found here which gives a starting point, and Goodreads also has a useful “Most Popular Books Published in 1924” entry (though do check your actual books, as there are plenty of volumes incorrectly labelled!) These lists give plenty to choose from – Agatha Christie published two of her early classics “Poirot Investigates” and “The Man in the Brown Suit”; Russian writer Zamyatin’s “We” appeared, prefiguring much of Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty Four”; Forster’s “A Passage to India” came out; plus there are *lots* of Viragos from the year. And that’s just scratching the surface!
Personally, I’m toying with Michael Arlen’s “The Green Hat”, a classic Bright-Young-Things novel; and I’d like to re-read one of the Christies. In fact, when I started looking through the lists, I realised that the first book I ever reviewed on the Ramblings was from 1924 – not the most brilliant of write-ups, but it was my first post!!
So if you want to join in, do put the button on your blog and get reading and researching! We’ll be posting from October 19-31st and we’d love to hear from you! Simon’s introductory post is here for more info – so let’s get reading! 🙂
The 1924 Club | Stuck in a Book
Oct 01, 2015 @ 08:01:24
Tina
Oct 01, 2015 @ 08:18:58
THE UNLIT LAMP by Radclyffe Hall was 1924 and one of my favourites.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 01, 2015 @ 08:21:52
A great suggestion – thanks! 🙂
Simon T (StuckinaBook)
Oct 01, 2015 @ 09:11:35
So exciting, Karen! And how funny that your first ever blog review was a 1924 contender – it’s like it was meant to be 🙂
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 01, 2015 @ 09:31:33
Definitely – I was quite surprised when I notice the connection! It’s obviously the year for me! 🙂
JacquiWine
Oct 01, 2015 @ 09:49:25
Your new project sounds fun – I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. I’m still reading from my TBR right now – not sure if it includes anything published in 1924, but I’ll take a look. 🙂
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 01, 2015 @ 09:55:28
Hope there’s something you can find so you can join in with us! 🙂
Jonathan
Oct 01, 2015 @ 11:11:20
A Passage to India & The Magic Mountain are two books that have been on my TBR list for ages. It would be a good excuse to read those but my eye has already started wandering to other books, other authors.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 01, 2015 @ 11:29:57
🙂 There are a *lot* of appealing books for 1924 – it’s very hard to choose!
winstonsdad
Oct 01, 2015 @ 12:22:39
Always amazed how many books christie wrote was going through the wiki of books published each year a while ago she seemed to average three a year
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 01, 2015 @ 13:29:14
She was incredibly productive, wasn’t she?
heavenali
Oct 01, 2015 @ 12:55:44
I will be checking my shelves later I am bound to have something. I love things published in this era. Great project.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 01, 2015 @ 13:28:28
I’m sure you’ll have plenty of books to join in with Ali! 🙂
Liz Dexter
Oct 01, 2015 @ 13:01:24
Exciting! I’m bound to have something (I thought I had the Rector’s Daughter TBR but it’s the Vicar’s – which means I have at least read and reviewed one at some point) and if I don’t have one TBR I know I’ll have one or two on the shelves to revisit. Hooray!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 01, 2015 @ 13:28:13
Excellent! The more the merrier!
Liz Dexter
Oct 07, 2015 @ 09:38:24
Ha – and I went and ordered Seducers in Ecuador. Oh well!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 07, 2015 @ 09:47:08
Excellent! Vita’s wonderful!
Amateur Reader (Tom)
Oct 01, 2015 @ 14:39:54
Wow, a dose of literary history. Book blogs could use way, way more literary history. What fun.
I first thought that there is no way I’m getting anything read by Oct. 31 – but maybe I’ll try Pirandello’s play Each in His Own Way.
Simon has a number of short books on the list at his post. Here are a few more: Lord Dunsany’s The King of Elfland’s Daughter, Saki’s The Square Egg, Kafka’s A Hunger Artist (an actual book, not just the story), and Neruda’s Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 01, 2015 @ 14:52:55
Slim ones are good – and I can read an Agatha in one sitting, so I’m sure Poirot will get my vote. Saki’s a good one too!
Anokatony
Oct 01, 2015 @ 14:41:54
I notice one of the books on Simon’s list is ‘Seducers in Ecuador’ by Vita Sackville-West. Who could resist a novel with that name? 🙂
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 01, 2015 @ 14:51:54
🙂 Indeed! The Goodreads site gives her book Challenge for 1924 but Wikipedia says 1923 – I can foresee plenty of heated discussions about years of publication!!
camilledefleurville
Oct 01, 2015 @ 15:36:11
I have already answered on “Stuck in a book” blog but I HAD TO answer YOU, of course! I said:
1) do we have to put the button somewhere on our blogs or to signal it anywhere?
2) I shall look on my shelves but I will surely review “Pink Sugar” and “The Rector’s Daughter” as I have them available and at hand – you know that finding English books in France when a village in the middle of the countryside is difficult…)
3) I have to look for Chritie as they may be some, somewhere in the house, and per chance those of 1924!
4) I have asked whether you would accept reviews of French books available in English that were published in 1924. That woud really be a contribution from “Sketches and Vignettes from the Dordogne”! (In fact Thomas Mann is German and will be translation 🙂 )
5) Of course they must be other books published in 1924 about I may not have thought right now.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 01, 2015 @ 15:55:37
Hi Camille, please do join in! You can put the button on your site, or just the image, or just do a post to say you’re joining in. Christie is wonderful and my go-to author if I need comfort. French books I’m sure will be fine – after all, I’m contemplating Colette myself! And please come up with as many suggestions as you can – that’s going to be the fun of this! 🙂
camilledefleurville
Oct 01, 2015 @ 16:45:03
Thank you! Ishall look what was published and read in 1924 in France and see what I can think about or find in the library at home!
argumentativeoldgit
Oct 01, 2015 @ 15:46:05
It’s interesting to see that Melvile’s “Billy Budd, Sailor”, though written in the 1890s, was first published in 1924, at the height of the modernist movement. I don’t know if its publication was regarded then as a major literary event, but it would be fascinating, I think, to try to see Melville’s work through amodernist lens.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 01, 2015 @ 15:52:36
Indeed – some works don’t sit comfortably in their own age but fit seamlessly into a later one. So many 1924 books to choose from…..
Amateur Reader (Tom)
Oct 01, 2015 @ 15:58:40
Yes, a major literary event! The publication of “Billy Budd” was a big part of the Melville Revival of the 1920s.
roughghosts
Oct 01, 2015 @ 20:14:06
Skylark by Dezső Kosztolányi is the title that catches my eye. And my local indie bookshop has it. If I take leave of my senses and decide to squeeze it in to my burgeoning reading agenda, that’s the one I’ll go for.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 01, 2015 @ 20:27:15
I know that Simon rates Skylark very highly – I’ve been contemplating that one myself, and I’ll be interested to hear what you think of it if you read it!
themodernnovel
Oct 01, 2015 @ 20:17:18
A few not mentioned by Wikipedia:
Leonid Leonov:The Badgers
Boris Pilnyak: Mother Earth
José Eustasio Rivera: La vorágine (The Vortex)
Jun’ichiro Tanizaki:Naomi
Ionel Teodoreanu: One Moldavian Summer
Henry Williamson: The Dream of Fair Women
All dates are date of first publication in original language
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 01, 2015 @ 20:38:00
Excellent suggestions! Thank you!
datz
Oct 01, 2015 @ 20:47:52
A great idea and I have chosen three titles. BTW the 1924 button top right links to a WIT page not 1924..
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 01, 2015 @ 21:30:11
Excellent! Look forward to hearing about your choices. And thanks for the heads-up about the widget – comes of doing a post in a rush before work this morning!!
Helen
Oct 01, 2015 @ 21:33:40
What a great idea! October is already going to be a busy month for me, but I’ll see if I have any 1924 books on my TBR and try to join in.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 01, 2015 @ 21:50:08
Excellent! The more the merrier!
State of the TBR – October 2015 | Adventures in reading, writing and working from home
Oct 01, 2015 @ 21:49:37
Harriet Devine
Oct 02, 2015 @ 08:02:15
I’m definitely joining in and will put the button my my blog this morning. I’ve been meaning to read some more Agatha Christie and was so taken with your photo on here that I rushed over to Amazon and have ordered an omnibus edition with both of them in it. I’ve also got old reviews of some of the books Simon listed — I guess it’s re-post and send you the links?
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 02, 2015 @ 08:57:07
Wonderful! Yes, early Agathas are fabulous. My copies are such battered old things, from when I used to pick up second hand copies from jumble sales and the like in my teens. But they have lovely covers and plenty of character. Yes, I imagine it’s re-post and send us the links – I’ll be doing posts referring to older reviews of mine too.
Annabel Gaskell (@gaskella)
Oct 02, 2015 @ 08:35:02
This’ll be such fun. I have some books in mind!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 02, 2015 @ 08:53:54
Excellent! Look forward to hearing what they are! 🙂
Christine Harding
Oct 02, 2015 @ 14:38:07
Goodness, I have no idea about the publication dates of anything I’ve read – I can never remember dates. But looking at the lists, and other people’s suggestions, I’ve read Pink Sugar and written about it on the blog, and I’ve got The Rector’s Daughter, The Constant Nymph and The Crowded Street on the Virago shelves, so I can come up with something to join in.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 02, 2015 @ 14:45:08
I don’t always look that closely, so this was an interesting exercise from the start, trying to suss out what fitted into the year. There are some good ones! Glad you can join in!
Introducing the 1924 Club: reading the year | Other formats are available
Oct 02, 2015 @ 15:29:59
Kat
Oct 02, 2015 @ 20:13:37
A very cute idea! and I recommend Michael Arlen’s book. I’m still doing my Galsworthy challenge, though, and my Virago for August. If I do read a 1924 book, I’ll post about it, though.:) I just finished Mrs. Dalloway and had high hopes that it would be the right year, but it’s ’25. Oh well!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 02, 2015 @ 22:03:35
I was vaguely annoyed about Dalloway too – but there are plenty of others, and I shall most definitely try to read the Arlen!
Peter S
Oct 03, 2015 @ 03:36:51
My wife is suggesting Edgar Wallace, whose ‘The Sinister Man’ was published that year.
A popular New England author from that period was Joseph Lincoln, who had ‘Rugged Water’ published that year.
Anyone mention ‘Beau Geste’ yet?
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 03, 2015 @ 06:44:23
Thanks Peter – I don’t think any of those ideas have turned up yet!
nctyler
Oct 03, 2015 @ 23:58:04
I don’t maintain a blog but I am planning to seek out 1924 poetry. Wallace Stevens. Yeats. Cummings. Williams. Sitwell. There will be others, of course. T.S. Eliot’s letters to Virginia Woolf.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 04, 2015 @ 10:44:37
Poetry! Wonderful – I must search some out – the names you suggest as definitely worth reading! 🙂
helen
Oct 04, 2015 @ 08:43:49
This is such a brilliant idea! I’ll join in too, I think. It will be fascinating to have a slice of 1924 across the interwebs…
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 04, 2015 @ 10:44:02
Excellent! Glad you can join in!
Get ready – the 1924 club is coming | heavenali
Oct 04, 2015 @ 11:01:10
The 1924 Club and the 24 Hour Readathon | ravenscroftcloud
Oct 04, 2015 @ 22:31:38
Cavershamragu
Oct 05, 2015 @ 14:06:34
Will be very curious to read about THE GREEN HAT if you revisit this one – I have only ever seen the bowdlerised movie version, A WOMAN OF AFFAIRS (which despite everything is pretty good).
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 05, 2015 @ 14:26:11
It’s one I’ve been keen to read for a long time so this is the perfect excuse! 🙂
Peggy Ann
Oct 06, 2015 @ 12:58:02
Joining up! Reading Pink Sugar by O. Douglas. One of my favorite authors and it will also count for my Read Scotland 2015! I have a lovely fifth edition printed in 1924. How I love holding old books in my hands! Thanks!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 06, 2015 @ 13:38:46
Excellent! The more the merrier. Pink Sugar seems to be turning up on a lot of people’s lists!
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Oct 23, 2015 @ 20:11:11
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Oct 26, 2015 @ 18:28:50
Harriet Devine
Oct 27, 2015 @ 09:50:23
Here’s a review by me, though maybe I’m putting it in the wrong place? http://harrietdevine.typepad.com/harriet_devines_blog/2015/10/poirot-investigates-1924-by-agatha-christie.html
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 27, 2015 @ 10:18:27
That’s fine! I’ve got it and added it!
October in review | heavenali
Nov 01, 2015 @ 08:00:23
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Dec 06, 2015 @ 17:58:03