Wow, what a lot of 1961 Club reviews we had! As always, I have zillions still to read, but I’m looking forward to keeping my exploring going beyond the week. My highlight, from my own reading, was probably The Chateau, but there were plenty of great reads (and the usual one or two duds).
And, of course, we’ll be back in October! Karen and I had a chat, and landed on *drum roll* the 1949 Club!
Your six months to prepare starts now…
Thank you again for the club week. I read 7 books and have added more than a few more. The Chateau and No Signposts in the Sea and The Ha Ha (in that order) were my top ones.
I was eagerly awaiting the announcement of the October club this morning. Based on my reading tastes I was very pleased with the choice of 1949. I’ve already started making a list and researching!
Thanks so much for hosting these, 1961 was a great year. My biggest discovery was Lionel White’s A Grave Undertaking.
And I always have so much fun looking at my shelves for the nexy club. 1949 is another major year, sounds like. I have already read at least 10, and I have 3 on my TBR.
Thanks for this year! I see 1949 is the year of my favourite Ellery Queen: The Cat of Many Tails…
Thank you both. Were it not for the 1961 Club nudge, I wouldn’t have read Robert Switzer’s I Was Going Anyway this year, and likely not the next.
I thought so much of the novel that I made a case that it be revived by Montreal’s Véhicule Press as the twentieth title in its Ricochet Books series. This is all to say that it is now scheduled as a February 2027 release.
So, thank you both again. And Simon, thank you for the passages from The Mighty and Their Fall. I do love novels with lots of dialogue, and this dialogue is so very clever. I feel I’m an Ivy Compton-Burnett fan without having read a book.
Thank you, Simon, for hosting #1961Club with Karen. You too are wonderful!
And now I can’t wait to browse and search for #1949Club candidates! ;)
Thanks so much to you and Karen for hosting another fantastic Club week! Having hosted the much smaller Jean Rhys Reading Week a decade ago, I have something an inkling of just how much work goes into preparing and running these events – so, huge thanks for everything you do in this respect!
I really enjoyed my two 1961 books, and my film viewing was great fun, too. (I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of this before as it seems to be a natural fit for me!)
1949 sounds like a terrific pick for the next Club. I’ve just realised that the dates will almost certainly clash with the London Film Festival, which might make it tricky for me to join, but I’ll see what I can do. :)
Thanks for that, Simon. It’s always interesting. I first had a problem finding a book from 1949 that I haven’t read, yet, and is still available. A lot of the old classics are out of print and if you look for a used edition, they cost you an arm and a leg. But I found and ordered one in the meantime.