Ok, further to this suggestion, let’s get The Anti Room Bookclub off the ground. Vote for one (just one for the moment to make it less messy) from any of the following reads that were initially suggested. Bung your vote in the comments and we’ll tot them up and picka date to discuss it online.
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Braddon
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
One of the Booker shortlisted books
Anthea McTeirnan
Croí na Duibhlinn
Aoife Barry
Aoife McLysaght
Arlene Hunt
Attracta McCarthy-McKenna
clairehennessy
Ann Cronin
Amanda Brown
Eleanor Fitzsimons
Edel Coffey
Anna Carey
Lauren Murphy
Jennie Ridyard
Jude Leavy
Hazel Katherine Larkin
Léan Ní Chuilleanáin
Leigh
Lisa McInerney
Laura Slattery
Maman Poulet
Megan McGurk
Clare Kleinedler
Molly
Rosita Boland
Catherine Crichton
Sinéad Gleeson
sarahefranklin
siobhandowling
Susan Daly
theantiroom
Nuala Ní Chonchúir
I’m gonna go with Jane Eyre.
Lady Audley’s Secret.
The Lady in White gets my vote.
And Honoria pushes Elizabeth Gaskell into the lead!
Neck n’ neck it is so, The Woman in White and North and South tied, Jane Eyre coming up on the outside track….
Sorry this commentary could be annoying
Honoria, you do a mean Micháel O’Muircheartaigh or whatever that RTE dude is called.
I’d opt for Wilkie Collins too. Please don’t hold it on a Monday though because every second one of those I’m tied up with “Dreadful Thoughts”!
http://www.fustar.info/category/dreadful-thoughts/
Any other day and I’m there…er…here.
Ooh, tough choice. Lady Audley’s Secret sounds like it was the Jackie Collins novel of its day, so I’ll go with that.
Must. Resist. Urge to leave anonymous comments voting for The Woman in White.
I’m glad y’all are back. I’m now going to pee in your shoe like my cat did when I used to leave him alone for a night.
I vote for Jane Eyre. I’ve never read it.
Woman in White FTW!
Jane Eyre
Right, so far we’ve got the following votes:
Four for The Woman in White (thenationallottie, Sinéad, fústar, Stellanova)
Three for Jane Eyre (Me, Q, Women Rule Writer)
Two for Lady Audley’s Secret (Aishwarya, Martina)
Two for North and South (Edel Coffey, Honoria)
So it looks like The Woman in White – how long does everyone need to read it? Is it a big book? (*crosses fingers in the hope it isn’t*) and what night of the week would suit to discuss it?
It’s enormous! Over 700 pages in the Penguin Classics ed I think. That might count against it alright. I tend to read s-l-o-w because I usually have a stack of books on the go at the same time. I’ll give this my undivided (or not as divided) attention though. If Wilkie is too big I’ll happily read Jane Eyre.
As I said above, any day except Monday is ok for me. Weekdays are probably better I reckon.
The Woman in White isn’t that big! I’m in work so I can’t check but my edition’s only about an inch thick! It’s much shorter than the “big” 19th century novels like Middlemarch or Little Dorrit. Also, it’s a seriously fast read – I tore through it.
My copy is just under 600 pages long. I have exams till Friday so will dig in any time after that. I am so looking forward to reading a book without “the guilt”
K, so are we going to brazen it out with The Woman in White then?
Go with Woman in White. I was being alarmist (and a wuss) about its size! As Penny said, it’s an easy read.
I’d love to make a suggestion but I’m quite a slow if a dogged reader and I’d still be on page 87 when you’d all be finished.
Gray, please go ahead and make a suggestion anyway. I’m a slow reader too (mainly because I read in bed and fall asleep after one page). I imagine that there will be times where we will have extended periods between book clubs – I’m thinking perhaps over the Christmas holidays?
OK then, The Woman In White it is.
I can but try.
Is it The Woman in White then?
I need to go to the library or the shop if it is.