of English literature - shows that readers are preferring
the comfort of more optimistic novels with happy endings,
like those by Dickens and Austen. Another factor behind
the popularity of classic books appears to be whether or
not they have been made into recent movie or
television adaptation. Novels by Thomas Hardy, George
Eliot and EM. Forster have seen their popularity plummet
over the last 2 decades.
The movie A Room with a View was released in 1985, James Ivory was the director. The stellar cast
featured Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter, Judi Dench & Daniel Day Lewis. The classic book was
remade into a PBS television movie in 2007, and released into the US from the UK.
- The work to see the biggest fall in popularity is The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling - sinking from 3rd place
- in the 1990s to 36th. With the release of the new 2016 adaptation, I imagine the interest in the book will
- be renewed. Oh the power of movies! But if movies bring us back to books I say YES!
- When we meet in February, we will begin the selection process for our 2016-2017 Discussion Year.
- Next week I will highlight some possible books for discussion in the following categories:
- Classic or Banned Book (may be both)
- Mystery
May you have a wonderful weekend, and may that include a warm cup of tea in a sunny corner with a book.