RandomClassics

The Robe | Lloyd C. Douglas

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I really enjoyed this compelling historical novel about the conversion of the Roman soldier who won Jesus‘ mystical robe in a dice game at the crucifixion. What helped make the insanely long chapters more palatable & the story more inspiring? 1. Being already familiar with the film & 2. Sharing the experience with the #RandomClassics buddy read group. Now I need to watch the movie again & its sequel about Demetrius. Thx Sarah!🤗
@TheAromaofBooks

TheBookDream Oh memory unlocked. We read this as a family when I was a kid 3d

UwannaPublishme @TheBookDream Cool! I remember watching the movies when I was younger. So glad I finally read the book. 14h

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TheAromaofBooks

The Robe | Lloyd C. Douglas

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Oof, what an ending! Did you find it satisfying? I wish I had gotten more details on what happens to Demetrius next, but at least he's safe for now. I really enjoyed this book and found it more gripping than I anticipated. I felt like Douglas was respectful of Jesus and His followers while still writing a compelling story. Any final thoughts?

@BarkingMadRead @julieclair @Lcsmcat @UwannaPublishme #RandomClassics

BarkingMadRead The ending felt so abrupt! I hated not knowing what happened to Demetrius but I loved this book! 4d

UwannaPublishme I thought it was a powerful ending and I was happy that Marcellus and Diana stood together in their faith. I also loved that they ended with the Robe headed into the hands of the Big Fisherman. I‘m wondering if the story of Demetrius may continue in the next book about the Big Fisherman. I hope so! 3d

UwannaPublishme Thanks so much for hosting #RandomClassics and choosing this book, Sarah. Despite the loooong chapters, I really enjoyed reading it with you and @BarkingMadRead ! 3d

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TheAromaofBooks @BarkingMadRead @UwannaPublishme - I'm hoping to pick up The Big Fisherman sometime - I think I've never gone on to read it because it feels a little weirder to write an entire fictional book completely focused on such an important church father, if that makes any sense haha But now I'm wondering if there will actually be more about Demetrius and his life, so I'm curious!!! 3d

TheAromaofBooks @BarkingMadRead @UwannaPublishme - Actually, after I typed that, I was like, “I should just go LOOK at my copy of The Big Fisherman and flip through it so see if Demetrius is mentioned. And would you believe that it goes backwards in time?! It's actually about Peter before and during his time with Jesus! Which is fine, but not really a SEQUEL haha So Demetrius's future remains unknown... 3d

UwannaPublishme Ha! I‘m surprised that Douglas left us hanging about the future of Demetrius. Good news though: There are the 2 movies to check out. The sequel to The Robe is Demetrius and the Gladiators. I‘ll be watching both DVDs so I‘ll keep you posted. I can even pass them along to you. I haven‘t seen Demetrius yet, but The Robe is a great film. 3d

UwannaPublishme I just Googled Demetrius to see if there were other books about him. There‘s one called Demetrius: Sacker of Cities. Too bad Douglas didn‘t devote a book to him. 🤔 3d

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TheAromaofBooks

East of Eden | J. Steinbeck

(thru ch 6) I think this is the part of the program where I remind all of you that I'm just a random person reading a random book, and actually know nothing about this book or its cultural impact, so these will literally just be my opinions, not, like, insightful commentary from a literature professor haha

So, disclaimer out of the way - what do you all think? I feel like the first six chapters have literally just been introductions! I finally ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) got out a piece of paper and wrote down all the Hamiltons, goodness. And found it quite interesting to discover that our narrator is Samuel and Liza's grandchild. I didn't realize that this was going to be a more personal story, rather than just a straight third-person account.

As always, Steinbeck's writing is beautiful and depressing. The entire (LONG) chapter recounting Adam's childhood, whew.

I don't know why, but I loved this ⬇ 4d

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) line about Samuel's son, Tom - “He was born in fury and he lived in lightning.“ What a description.

I feel like Steinbeck always presents religious people has being dour, repressed, hateful, etc. and it does annoy me. “Idleness was a sin ... she was suspicious of fun whether it involved dancing or singing or even laughter. She felt that people having a good time were wide open to the devil.“ I just... yes, many religious people are ⬇ 4d

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) strict/grim, but many are also full of joy, love, kindness, and generosity, and it would be nice to get some of that representation on the page as well.

So, let me know any of your thoughts!! I feel like we don't have much of a story yet, just lots of character sketches. Does anyone jump out at you? I honestly don't even know who the main character is supposed to be at this point haha And literally still have no idea what this book is ⬇ 4d

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TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) about, so that's fun. We'll see how the next week goes.

Also, is a chapter a day too much reading? Let me know if we need to cut back to five chapters a week instead.

#RandomClassics @BarbaraJean @BarkingMadRead @Bklover @Librarybelle @Read4life @SaceReads @SamAnne @TheBookHippie 4d

Librarybelle I‘m fine with a chapter a day! Adam‘s childhood chapter was so sad. It is beautiful writing. 4d

BarkingMadRead It‘s working so well, I think k a chapter a day is great. I saw the movie as a teen in my James Dean obsession days and I still don‘t know what this book is about. I barely remember the movie! I‘m loving it so far, though! 4d

TheBookHippie The evangelical religious people here are hateful, spiteful, repressed, rigid and legalistic so that read true. My experience and of course that isn‘t all people - just the ones I know and experience, I hear it is different in other parts of the country/world. Chapter a day is good. The writing is better than I remember from this author and I can‘t really remember the movie either. 4d

TheAromaofBooks @Librarybelle @BarkingMadRead @TheBookHippie - We'll probably stick with the chapter a day pace for now then. We may take a break around Memorial Day weekend depending on life 😂 May have to look the movie up when we're done if it means James Dean!! 😁 4d

TheAromaofBooks @TheBookHippie - Well, I would consider myself to be an evangelical Christian, so I would hope that being a dreadful person is not a universal requirement lol 4d

SamAnne I‘m slow starting but very much looking forward to finally reading this classic. 4d

TheBookHippie @TheAromaofBooks One would hope😵‍💫 I work with many Protestants in Chicago in a charity that I support that are very kind and loving. But in my town there‘s no hate like Christian love is a daily occurrence. It‘s generational and they don‘t know another way. It‘s sad. Look at the joy they‘re missing. 4d

BarbaraJean @TheBookHippie @TheAromaofBooks It's SO interesting to note the “joyless“ depiction of anyone religious. I hadn't clocked that; maybe because I'm used to seeing that depiction of “religious“ Christianity without much faith or heart behind it. I've also met a lot of those joyless people (both when I was in evangelical churches and at my (Episcopal) church now!), so in many ways it rang true for me as well. It's sad--there's so much more to faith. ⬇ 4d

BarbaraJean Honestly, it's a lot easier to depict any religion based on negatives: narrow-minded, rule-following, repressed, etc. It would be nice to see some nuance instead of that stereotype. But Steinbeck isn't usually about joy, so...😂 What stuck out to me was how the women receive very little page time, and those he does focus on are in that negative, joyless (religious!) category.

I'm interested to get into the story as we get out of “intro“ mode. 4d

BarbaraJean I remember so little of the story from reading this before, so I don't know who the main character is, either!! When Steinbeck went back to the Hamiltons after the Charles and Adam chapter, I said: “Wait, who are the Hamiltons again??“ 😂 Adam definitely sticks out as a main character, but the grandchild comment and the return to the Hamiltons threw me off, and I'm not sure where the focus will land. 4d

TheBookHippie @BarbaraJean Is he following the I write what I know? Or are women supposed to be background 😬 I agree joy not a word for this author😅 I usually get in trouble with my stance on religion and religiosity -I‘ve never met anyone that is kind or joyful. Faith and spirituality an entirely different thing -lots of hope generally and joy. I can‘t wait to see the rest of this story panned out. It‘s intriguing. 4d

TheAromaofBooks @BarbaraJean @theBookHippie - He does seem to use “religion“ as a shorthand for letting you know someone is a grump 😂 I hadn't thought about the correlation between that and all the female characters so far. His women are all very “small,“ very narrow-minded, very uninterested in life outside their own four walls. It will be interesting to see if all the women characters stay that way as the story progresses, or if that will be a continuous theme 3d

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BarkingMadRead

East of Eden | J. Steinbeck

Starting this today for #randomclassics I‘m a couple of chapters behind, I‘m hoping to catch up!

KathyWheeler This may be my favorite Steinbeck book. I read it for a buddy read a few years ago. 6d

dabbe @KathyWheeler It's definitely mine! 🤩🤩🤩 6d

5feet.of.fury Power to you! 6d

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KathyWheeler @dabbe For me, it‘s between this and The Grapes of Wrath. I also recently reread Travels with Charley, which is read and liked in the 7th grade, and found I also still liked it a lot too. 6d

dabbe @KathyWheeler My order would be: 1. EDEN; 2. MICE & MEN; 3. CHARLEY; 4. GRAPES; and 5. CANNERY ROW. What an incredible author. 🤩 6d

KathyWheeler @dabbe I love all of those. 6d

dabbe @KathyWheeler 💙🩵💙 6d

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BarbaraJean

East of Eden | John Steinbeck

Ohhh, I love this.

“Well, here‘s your box. Nearly everything I have is in it, and it is not full. Pain and excitement are in it, and feeling good or bad and evil thoughts and good thoughts—the pleasure of design and some despair and the indescribable joy of creation.

And on top of these are all the gratitude and love I have for you.

And still the box is not full.”

#RandomClassics @TheAromaofBooks

dabbe And so it begins. 💙🩵💙 1w

TheAromaofBooks ❤ ❤ ❤ 1w

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TheAromaofBooks

The Robe | Lloyd C. Douglas

This post contains spoilers

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(thru ch25) - Sorry I missed my Monday post, friends! This week has been a bit more chaotic than I initially anticipated haha

So much happened in these chapters!!!! Demetrius and Marcellus both become Christians. Marcellus is very reluctant, but watching Stephen be martyred changes his entire perspective. I found it so interesting that watching someone die for his faith is what made Marcellus believe, instead of turning him off of it completely.⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) Now Marcellus is back with the emperor, and is receiving an intense test of his new faith.

I'm genuinely impressed by the way Douglas has handled many of the scenes from the early church. I love how he doesn't gloss over their struggles, but while he makes people like Peter seem human, I never feel like he trivializes their importance, or has them act in a way that conflicts with how they are recorded Scripturally.

My hope is to ⬇ 1w

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) finish this week and have a final post on Monday. Any thoughts from any of you on this week's chapters? How do you feel about the book/story on the whole?

#RandomClassics @BarkingMadRead @julieclair @Lcsmcat @UwannaPublishme 1w

UwannaPublishme I was also fascinated by Marcellus‘ conversion. By watching the expression on Stephen‘s face at the moment of his death, Marcellus seemed to somehow know in his heart that his friend was in the presence of Jesus. Very powerful! 1w

UwannaPublishme I‘m still anxious to see how Marcellus‘ relationship with Diana will unfold. Will she become a believer? And what‘s in store for Demetrius‘ future? Really looking forward to these last chapters. 1w

TheAromaofBooks @UwannaPublishme - Yes!! I'm worried about Diana!! I don't think she's going to understand, and she's in a bad position with the emperor right now. 7d

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BarbaraJean

East of Eden | John Steinbeck

I just pulled my battered old copy of East of Eden off the shelf, ready to start chapter 1 for the #RandomClassics buddy read tomorrow—and the front cover stayed on the shelf. 😆 I either need to read very gently, or maybe check out a library copy…

TheAromaofBooks

tpixie A well loved book 1w

TheAromaofBooks Oh dear! I definitely have some books in similar situations. I finally broke down and bought a new copy of The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler since my old copy was literally missing both covers and in about three parts... but still didn't throw the old one away 😂 1w

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Hahaha—I‘ve done that so many times: I buy a nice new copy and then can‘t bear to get rid of the old, falling-apart one! 1w

Ruthiella Oops! 😂 1w

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LitsyEvents

East of Eden | John Steinbeck

repost for @TheAromaofBooks:

I have a kind of love/hate relationship with Steinbeck's writing, so we'll see what happens 😂 Some of the chapters are long, but some are really short, so I think we're going to go with a chapter a day and hope it averages out. There are 55 chapters, so this one will carry into June. #RandomClassics

original post:
https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2726913

dabbe This one's my favorite Steinbeck. 💙🩵💙 2w

TheAromaofBooks Thank you for the repost!! 2w

TheAromaofBooks Good to know @dabbe - I'm going in without any real foreknowledge, so I'm interested to see how it unwinds. 2w

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TheAromaofBooks

The Robe | Lloyd C. Douglas

(thru ch15) - I'm really enjoying Marcellus's journey as he learns different stories and tales of Jesus. I love the way he is coming up with “practical“ explanations for the miracles he is hearing about - but as the reader we know that at some point he is going to have to decide whether or not to take a leap of faith.

I'm anxious to find out what is happening with some of the other characters, though! Diana, Demetrius, and Marcellus's family!!

TheAromaofBooks #RandomClassics

@BarkingMadRead @julieclair @Lcsmcat @UwannaPublishme 3w

BarkingMadRead I can‘t wait until he realizes he can‘t explain it all away. I feel like it‘s going to happen sooner rather than later! 3w

UwannaPublishme I think if I were living in this time period and heard some of these stories, I‘d be a Doubting Thomas too! Without faith, they do seem very far-fetched. 2w

TheAromaofBooks @BarkingMadRead @UwannaPublishme - I feel like Marcellus's explanations for many of the miracles make sense, and I love his efforts to rationalize them. But now he is starting to hear stories that can't just be explained away and I'm SO intrigued to see how he takes it! 2w

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