It’s been quite a week of reading, hasn’t it? I thought when Simon and I plumped for 1956 that it would be a good year, but I hadn’t realised at the time just how many wonderful books we would have to choose from; and I think this may well have been the most popular Club so far! Thanks so much to everyone who’s joined in – I hope you’ve enjoyed it too! Do keep commenting with your links – I have had a week of the most awful IT issues, so I am struggling at times to keep these up to date but will do my best! 😀
I started off the week with a big pile of potential reads – here is the initial stash!
Some possible reads for 1956…
And here is what I actually read!
The actual reads!
As you can see, there were a *lot* of books on the original pile which didn’t get read, and I think this is the club which has given me the most problems choosing. I’m really happy with what I *did* read, but I think 1956 definitely deserved a fortnight to do it justice!
Anyway, of the ones which got away, I think these are the three I regret most not getting to:
The ones which got away…
“Zama” was a late entrant to the field; it’s a review copy I’ve had for a while and it sounds fascinating. The Brophy is again one I’ve really wanted to read and as I missed out for All Virago/All August I had hoped to get to it here – nope. As for Beverley – well, you can never have enough Beverley as far as I’m concerned, but time got me again. A busy and stressful working environment at the moment is impacting a bit on my reading, so I am trying not to pressure myself and *enjoy* what I choose to spend time with. And I loved spending time with the books I *did* pick up during our club week, so that’s a success! Here’s to the next one in six months’ time! 😀
Oct 12, 2020 @ 08:38:20
It’s been a great week Kaggsy, thanks so much to you and Simon for hosting! Here’s hoping work gets easier for you soon.
Oct 12, 2020 @ 11:02:38
It has, and there have been some marvellous books featured – what a bumped year!
Oct 12, 2020 @ 08:46:41
I only managed one title, but I really enjoyed it so thanks for hosting!
(And so many other 1956 book reviews popping up in my email, what a feast of reading!)
Oct 12, 2020 @ 11:02:20
Happy to host, and glad you enjoyed your read! There have been so many interesting books for this club – lovely!
Oct 12, 2020 @ 11:18:58
Yes, such a popular week and so many fascinating titles!
Oct 12, 2020 @ 13:29:27
Hasn’t it been? I think this is possibly the busiest week with the widest range of books!
Oct 12, 2020 @ 11:21:49
You did very well what with having to work. I used to always say the job jnterferes with the lifestyle. Well done. 🤠🐧☕
Oct 12, 2020 @ 13:29:02
Thank you and LOL, I often feel like that about my work – roll on retirement!
Oct 12, 2020 @ 13:15:19
I knew I would manage only one book but at least I ,managed to join in this time. It’s great seeing what everyone else chose to read though of course it is having the inevitable effect on my TBR….
Oct 12, 2020 @ 13:27:23
I know – there are so many great books from this year, and I feel we’ve only scratched the surface. The TBR has definitely increased… ;D
Oct 12, 2020 @ 14:18:53
It was a great choice by you and Simon and thank you to you both. You’ve done an amazing job this week with such a cornucopia of books and IT problems to deal with.
Oct 12, 2020 @ 14:50:24
It’s turned out to be a wonderful choice of year – such wonderful books! 😀
Oct 12, 2020 @ 14:24:05
I was delighted to manage two reads for the first time in one of the Clubs and I really enjoyed reading everyone’s posts. Many thanks to you and Simon for hosting once again!
Oct 12, 2020 @ 14:50:02
Thank you! It’s been fun – such a good year and I’m so glad you could join in! 😀
Oct 12, 2020 @ 15:15:18
There was such breadth this time, and I’m really glad I was able to take part and read the same book as a couple of other people!
Oct 12, 2020 @ 16:00:09
There was, wasn’t there? Such a good year and I’m so glad you could take part! 😀
Oct 12, 2020 @ 15:36:21
Congratulations on another hugely successful Club! You certainly picked a stupendous year, characterised by a wide range of literary styles and themes. Thank you both for all your sterling efforts over the course of the week – and in your preparations beforehand. I have a sense of just how much prep goes into these things in the run-up to the events themselves.
Will you be asking for suggestions for the next Club year at some point? I’ve lost track of which years have been covered thus far, so it might be useful to have a reminder especially if you’re seeking input…
Oct 12, 2020 @ 15:59:48
Thank you! There’s always a lot of work in these things (and this was complicated a bit this time by how busy work is and PC disasters!) But it’s always enjoyable and I think this was a particularly strong year – such a varied range of books to choose from!
As for next time, I was chatting with Simon this morning and I think we will be opening the field up to suggestions for next time – so watch this space! 😀 There’s a handy list of the clubs in the links to my individual pages, but it wouldn’t hurt to reiterate it….
Oct 12, 2020 @ 17:26:29
Thank you for a great club week. You did brilliantly with your reading. I wish I could have read more, because it really was a very good year.
Oct 13, 2020 @ 09:42:23
It’s been fun and I’m glad you could join in!
Oct 12, 2020 @ 19:18:09
It’s been really interesting and entertaining just being a reader of reviews, especially the Cocteau. I am intrigued by that Beverley Nichols though!
Oct 13, 2020 @ 09:42:02
Cocteau is marvellous, as is Beverley (though in very different ways.) I can recommend them both!
Oct 12, 2020 @ 20:43:50
Thanks for hosting again – Karen and Simon. I managed two, and I only managed that as I’d got ahead for once; just before the ‘week’ began I had a trip to A&E and after-effects are still ongoing. I had hoped to also read Anglo-Saxon Attitudes by Angus Wilson and had even hoped for a re-read of an old favourite, A Walk on the Wild Side. Still, the fun is just as much in checking out what books to read and seeing what everyone else read—I still have a lot of other bloggers’ reviews to read.
Oct 13, 2020 @ 09:41:26
It’s been great fun. Sorry about your A&E issues but I’m so pleased you could join in. There have been some wonderful books covered this week!
Oct 12, 2020 @ 22:39:48
It was a great week and I think the reviews were all excellent – such fun to read!
Oct 13, 2020 @ 09:37:34
It’s a fun event, particularly when there’s such a wide range of books. Glad you enjoyed it! 😀
Oct 12, 2020 @ 22:45:10
Thanks for organising it all, I really enjoyed it although I only managed to read one book.
Oct 13, 2020 @ 09:37:02
It was great fun, and one book is fine! So glad you could join in!
Oct 16, 2020 @ 20:31:52
Congrats on another successful hosting venture! I’m still reading my Iris Murdoch novel. With the libraries reopen now, I’ve been struggling more with duedates than usual, and I was overwhelming in the earlier days of this month, but I’m still enjoying my reading choice.
Oct 16, 2020 @ 20:55:52
Thank you! As long as you’re enjoying the book, that’s all that matters! 😀
Oct 17, 2020 @ 06:28:40
I’ve tried posting a few times at ST’s blog, bu WordPress might be blocking me for some reason (that has happened with a couple of other WP blogs)…my contribution involved Damon Knight’s 1956 publications.
Thanks for the roundelay and for the fine blogs!
https://socialistjazz.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-short-stories-by-damon-knight-he.html
Oct 17, 2020 @ 09:04:45
Sorry to hear about the posting issues! And thanks for taking part in the 1956 Club – I’ll link to your post later! 😁
Oct 18, 2020 @ 12:50:09
Congratulations on making these clubs so popular! I am sorry that I wasn´t able to participate with more books and more time. It had been an extraordinarily busy week for me too – I would just fall asleep early almost every night.
But I am glad that I managed to finish Sagan at least. It´s always exciting to be a part of a reading group. And the idea to have us gather around a particular year and explore what had been published is a marvelous one.
Oct 18, 2020 @ 13:10:41
Thank you! It’s great fun to co-host them and I think the whole concept was a brilliant idea of Simon’s. It means we can all read together but choose a work which suits us – which is wonderfully low pressure! And I’m glad you could take part – the Sagan was a good choice and I’ll be interested to see what you choose for 1936! 😀