WINESBURG, OHIO Group Read beginning in March

Get your edition of Winesburg, Ohio lined up for a group read of Sherwood Anderson's "Tales of Ohio Small Town Life" and let us know you're joining in. Winesburg, Ohio can be found through most library systems - you may also read it at no charge thru Project Gutenburg - https://www.gutenberg.org/. Kindle has it for .99 and you can check out your favorite used bookstores too.

This group read came about when it was discovered, during a read of Martian Chronicles last fall, that Ray Bradbury found his inspiration for Chronicles thru Anderson's collection of short stories.

If you'd like to decide for yourself how Anderson influenced Bradbury drop a star here and we'll discover it together.

According to wikipedia: Sherwood Anderson, (born September 13, 1876, Camden, Ohio, U.S.—died March 8, 1941, Colon, Panama), author who strongly influenced American writing between World Wars I and II, particularly the technique of the short story.

I'm in!

I am in as well, but I will be out of town the first two weeks of March, so I will probably be behind everyone else.

I'm packing for our trip to Winesburg!

Winesburg, here I come!

Hi, I'd like to join in. I read Winesburg long ago but look forward to a reread.

I put it down on my "dance card" for March.

I've penciled it in for March.

Have to find my copy, but I'm in!!

Hi Mamie, Stasia, Jennifer, Tess, Luanne, Lori, Carrie and Kim! I'm so glad you all found your way here!

While we're waiting for March 1st and for books to be received, I'll pop in occasionally to share little fun facts....like this one.

Although, there is a little town in mid-Ohio called Winesburg, it is not the town which Anderson writes. In a letter to a Waldo Frank of Seven Arts Magazine he states this book is "a series of intense studies of people of my home town, Clyde, Ohio."
Clyde is actually located in Sandusky County which places it in the area of Cedar Point Amusement Park - on the shores of Lake Erie and a little east of Toledo, Ohio

I've placed my star here and I have a kindle copy of the book ready to go!

Yay, Judy! Nice to have you on the train to Winesburg. See you soon.

14 days to go.
Anderson wrote Winesburg, Ohio while he was living in a flophouse in Chicago which was occupied with other artsy types; writers, musicians, painters and actors. He credits them for giving him "a new confidence".

Loving the fun facts and the countdown!!

I likely will not start the book until around March 14th (my birthday, lol) as I will be out of town from February 28 until around March 10th. I am really looking forward to reading it though!

>14 Berly: Hi Kim, I'm happy to know that.

>15 alcottacre: That's fine, Stasia, jump in whenever you are able. I'm a notoriously slow reader and the text of Winesburg looks pretty dense so I'm fairly sure I'll be reading it all 31 days of March.
My b-day is on the 22nd. Hmmm, I wonder what delicacies we can celebrate with out of Clyde/Winesburg, Ohio. Probs maple syrup but I need to take a deeper dive.

I would really like to join in on the group read. Winesburg, Ohio has been on my radar for a long time. I share a September 13th birthday with the author.

Welcome, Kristel! Nice to have you on board and learn of your connection to Anderson. See you in March :0)

>16 Carmenere: As promised, I discovered this regarding the delicacies of Clyde, Ohio. This from touringohio.com:
"That great soil and the climate typically associated with this area has made it an ideal location for growing not only fruit trees, but all types of berries. Today many of those old orchards established long ago are being updated with new and improved horticultural practices that yield more fruit per acre of land than ever before. And surprisingly, it is also ideal for growing cabbage. Cabbage has also been a big cash crop here for more than a 100 years and is the reason several sauerkraut plants are located in Sandusky County and in nearby Fremont."

Going to eat a jar of sauerkraut for your birthday?

Hahaha, I can't speak for Stasia but I'll go with the berries

Seeing as how the book is called WINEsburg, Ohio perhaps a glass or two of wine for the birthday girls!

>22 DeltaQueen50: hahaha, I for one will never refuse a reason to partake in a glass or two of wine. Especially, when I'm not driving and just stretched out on my sofa reading.
Perhaps, even non-birthday participates may want to join in with their favorite reading beverages.

Oooh, wine discussion? One of my favorites is The Walking Dead Blood Red Blend. Of course I first bought it for the label, thinking the wine itself would be lousy, but it's very smooth and I've been buying it for a few years now. It's made by The Last Wine Co., Sonoma.
I also like the various reds by 14 Hands Winery in Wa. And Kirkland's Malbec is very good.
I also want to admit that I've dipped into the book already, just to see what the writing was like, having never read Anderson. The stories are pretty modern in style and subject.

>24 mstrust: Ahh, you have a nice selection of go to beverages. It might be run of the mill but I've never been disappointed with Concha y Toro's Casillero del Diablo.
In the past, I have not been impressed with wine along the shores of Lake Erie. They always seemed a bit too concordy to me, of which, I'm not a fan. Lately though, many Northern Ohio wineries are having grapes shipped in to expand their wine lists and that is making me very happy. I love shopping local!!

Here is my thought regarding our read of Winesburg:
Everyone can read at their own pace and
1)when you post a remark PLEASE TYPE "SPOILER" if you're giving something away (although as these seem to be short stories I don't think that will often be the case).
2)site the chapter you're commenting about and lastly
3)for general comments - there is no need to site anything, just speak, we are listening :0)

If this sounds good, great! If you have other suggestions, bring them on!

>25 Carmenere: I tried this one from the Finger Lakes once and didn't care for it. I recall it having a too tart taste, to me anyway.

For those of us who like to fit their books into the TIOLI Challenges, March's challenge #11 works for Winesburg, Ohio. :)

>27 mstrust: I’m not surprised. What did surprise me, however, is a wine tasting we attended near Niagara Falls, Canada. I do not like sweet wine so when I refused the ice wine the sommelier instructed me how one can enjoy it. Now, I never refuse it.

>28 DeltaQueen50: Thanks for the heads up, Judy! I’m on my way!

I'm going to join this read, assuming the library comes through with a copy for me.
I was reading A Tale of Love and Darkness this month and Amos Oz credits Winesburg, Ohio with freeing him to become a writer and to write about what was around him--because Anderson wrote about trivial, everyday happenings and ordinary people, it redefined Oz's understanding of literature. I can't resist picking up that thread and following it.

>30 AnneDC: Great to have you on board Anne! Your reason for coming here is similar to those who are here for the Ray Bradbury connection. It's incredible how Sherwood Anderson's little book would influence future authors.
Jump in whenever your book arrives.

In anticipation of tomorrow's kick off, here's a little background from cliffsnotes.com:

"Anderson's book was the first work of fiction to expose the hypocrisy, frustration, and inhibition behind the typical small town's facade of gentility."
".....generally, Americans still had a rather romantic conception of the charm, warmth, and innocence of small-town life. Anderson, however, showed the people of Winesburg, Ohio, population 1800, as agonizingly lonely, alienated from one another, and unable to communicate their need for love and understanding."

Bumping this up as it's lost in a mass of threads.

I'm on the story titled "Godliness".

>33 Carmenere: You could always post a link on the 75's pinned Message Board for better visibility.

I'm joining this read, too! Read the first two stories yesterday.

I've read through Mother. I assume that the unnamed writer in "The Book of the Grotesque" is Anderson?

So far there has been a lot of attention paid to hands. I'll be curious to see if that continues throughout the book.

I've only read the intro and a couple stories so far. Hoping to get more read later this week/weekend.

I've read through to the end of "Mother". I have to admit I was expecting a more folksy small town vibe, but so far the stories are about people who seem to be quite unhappy and emotionally disturbed, I guess the alternative title of "Book of the Grotesque" should have clued me in!

I think Anderson makes good use of adjectives. He paints a picture with his words.

>34 mstrust: Thoughts, so far?

>35 Majel-Susan: Welcome, Janet! Thanks for the idea, I just posted the link.

>36 cbl_tn: Yes, I think we are to assume that, Carrie. Cliffs Notes noted this, "It is interesting that Anderson himself had his bed raised so that he could look out at the Loop in Chicago." It appears, he's talking of his own experience.

>37 thornton37814: I'm taking my time with it too, Lori. I'm halfway through Godliness.

>38 DeltaQueen50: You've got that right, Judy! In this way, it reminds me of the quaint little towns on Mars in Martian Chronicles. Things are not always as they appear to be.

>39 thornton37814: Totally agree, Lori.

I found "Hands" particularly relevant in that we see cancel culture is nothing new.

>40 Carmenere: Loneliness runs through every story so far, that and a theme of people trying and failing to connect. The style of writing is more modern than I'd expected, there is little formality or stiffness that can be found in some of Anderson's contemporaries.

I've started reading and listening to the stories. I see this work as maybe a forerunner of connected short stories of the contemporary times. I see the themes of loneliness and isolation even though living in this preindustrial small town. I also note the "hands" that are a recurrent symbol?

>32 Carmenere: >43 Kristelh: "...agonizingly lonely, alienated from one another, and unable to communicate their need for love and understanding." That description of the characters is spot on so far...I am about 5 stories in. And I also noticed the frequent mention of hands: hands that are flawed, hands that are empty. Again, another symbolism of emptiness, loneliness?

>42 mstrust: Hmm, that's interesting. Maybe his writing style is rather groundbreaking along with his short story format. Anderson's lifestyle seemed to be rather bohemian, maybe that had something to do with it.

Thought this was kind of interesting:I checked Goodreads to compare the other books published in 1919. The 10 most popular were:
#1 Rainbow Valley Anne of Green Gables #7
#2 My Man Jeeves Jeeves #1
#3 Winesburg, Ohio
#4 The Moon and Sixpence
#5 In the Penal Colony
#6 Night and Day
#7 The Warlord of Mars Barsroom #3
#8 My Inventions
#9 10 days that Shook the World
#10 South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition

>43 Kristelh: >44 Berly: This, from Cliffsnotes:
The central symbol of this powerful story is, of course, hands, an image that will be important in other stories in Winesburg. Consistently Anderson seems to suggest that hands are made for creative impulses, for communication. Whitman, one of Anderson's favorite authors, said, "What is more or less than a touch?" By the end of the nineteenth century, however, industrialization was crowding out the creative handcraftsmen, and Anderson looked with nostalgia at the good old days. Thus, he makes of Wing Biddlebaum "an imprisoned bird," an image reinforced not only by his nickname but by the reader's last glance of him, picking up bread crumbs from the floor.

Besides hands, I also see Anderson's use of windows in many of his stories.
It seems the distressed characters gaze out windows to a world they do not participate in.

In the forward of my copy, it is noted that Anderson influenced Hemmingway, Faulkner, and Steinbeck. (Penguin edition)

There is a debate about whether Winesburg is a novel or a book of short stories? What think ye?

Can somebody give me the link to how you create the spoiler feature?

I think it is a book of interconnected short stories. Which can make it both I guess. Another example of interconnected stories Olive Kitteridge, A Visit From the Goon Squad.

>49 Tess_W:

At the top of the group, for link to wiki’s there is a link to How to do fancy things. It has it there.

>51 Kristelh: TY!

I read this book last year - one of my new acquisitions for my Limited Editions Club collection. The article linked below has some good photos (better than I could do, hence the link) of that wonderful edition. Enjoy the read, everyone!

https://booksandvines.com/2013/12/28/winesburg-ohio-by-sherwood-anderson-limited...

>54 ChrisG1: Beautiful edition! Are there more color plates besides the one shown in the link?

I have completed my read of Winesburg, Ohio and although I can certainly admire Anderson's writing style and ability, I found the stories a little depressing. I am glad that I finally got around to reading this classic and thanks to Lynda for organizing this group read.

I finished as well. I also found the stories depressing. Also glad to have read them as it has been on my want to read list for a long time.

I read this book the last week of February, as that's when it was available from my library. I am not a fan of short stories. I find most of them plotless or plot thin. Although these stories were somewhat connected, I still feel the same. I did not care for the book, but am glad to be able to say I read it.

I think I'm liking it better than most people. Yes, it is depressing, but I love the descriptions. I may read some of it, but I need to work on Shylock Is My Name which will expire before I finish it if I don't get around to reading it. (There's a wait list for it.)

>55 Carmenere: No, the frontispiece is the only color plate. The rest of the illustrations are black & white.

I just started this last night, and I agree with everyone that it is depressing - not at all what I was expecting. I do love interlinked short stories, and it really works well the way he has written it.

>46 Carmenere: This is so interesting. Of course, now I want to read the Shakleton book. Heh.

>56 DeltaQueen50: >57 Kristelh: >58 Tess_W: Congratulations! Thanks for joining in and posting your honest opinions.

I'm half way through, so still on the fence.

>59 thornton37814: Good luck with Shylock, Lori. I read it awhile back and looked back at my 10 word review. Hmmm. I'll check your thread for your thoughts.
Yes, the consensus is definitely favoring "depressing". I'm continuing to read just to see how the character of George Willard develops.

>60 ChrisG1: Aah, thank you.

>61 Crazymamie: I agree not the small town I imagined either. haha makes me want to take a closer look at the people in my development. ;0)
Yeah, I bet Shakleton is a good one. I love those crazy adventurers doing things that I would never dream of doing.

Here's a little Winesburg quiz I grabbed from Cliffnotes.com. Enjoy!
Link to Winesburg Quiz

I'm about 65% of the way through. While the majority of the stories have a character who is depressed, many have a single depressed character surrounded by others who aren't. And there's some mental instability. But the stories aren't making me depressed and there are brief touches of humor.

>67 mstrust: Thanks for mentioning that, Jennifer. Good points. I see a little humor in it as well. I hope readers don't give up on it too soon.

>63 Carmenere: It's the only Hogarth Shakespeare title I had not read. It fit ShakespeareCAT this month so I thought I'd try to knock it out. I may regret it, but I can say I'm done with the series when I finish it.

>67 mstrust: I understand about the depressed characters, but like you, I'm enjoying it.

I just started last night so I am behind the curve on this one. It will be interesting to see how the book turns out for me.

I am happy to have read the #3 most popular book published in 1919!! I did enjoy the small interconnections between the stories and the interesting symbolic use of hands and windows. Not my favorite, but I am glad to have it under my belt. And, of course, I enjoyed reading it with all of you!! Thank you to Carmenere! : )

If I don't finish it today, I'll probably finish it tomorrow. I've got a lot of books in progress.

I will finally be starting Winesburg, Ohio, either later today or tomorrow. It seems like I am in for a depressing read. Yippee!! Actually, I do like "dark" books so this could end up being a good fit for me.

I'm finished and liked it. So many "slice of life" scenarios of mostly unhappy people longing for something they won't get. I wouldn't list it as a favorite book, but well done. And lot more sex than I'd anticipated, ha!

I just finished reading the story arc with Jesse Bentley and David Hardy. I thought it interesting that both Jesse and David ("David, son of Jesse" in I Samuel) had Old Testament names, but David's father, John, had a New Testament one. I also found it interesting that, just as in the Old Testament, Jesse was a farmer. I think the Biblical allusions abound in this particular story arc.

>69 thornton37814: I've always wanted to get into the Hogarth series but whenever I tried something else always seemed to thwart my plans. It's still on my to do list.

>70 alcottacre: haha, knowing you, Stasia, you'll be in front of the curve in no time.

>71 Berly: I'm so glad you were able to bookhorn Winesburge, Kim! This was a re-read for me but I must have read it before joining LT in '08 so no review to look back on. I seem to remember having a lukewarm feeling about it back then but this time it's much more enjoyable with everyone's perspective.

>72 thornton37814: Me too, Lori, so many books asking no demanding my attention but I'll definitely finish Winesburg over the weekend.

>73 msf59: Yay! It's all in how you look at it, Mark. But, I suggest you read it on a bright sunny day ;0)

>74 mstrust: Jennifer, Don't you love a book with surprises! Great review you posted on your thread. Thanks for joining in.

>75 alcottacre: Great observation, Stasia!!!