I Read Therefore I Am discussion

My A-Z list of Classics I've not yet read but ought to have! Not all letters of the alphabet are included so there's less that 26. It will probably take me into 2015 as well. Some are on the Guardian 100 list but most are my own choice.

All Quiet on the Western Front
Bleak House
Call of the Wild
Don Quixote
Eyeless in Gaza
Fall of the House of Usher
Gullivers Travels
Hunchback of Notre-Dame
Island of Dr. Moreau
Jamaica Inn
Brothers Karamazov
Lolita
Moby Dick
Nicholas Nickleby
Pilgrims Progress
Robinson Crusoe
The Scarlet Letter
Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Vicar of Wakefield
Wizard of Oz

My A-Z list of Contemporary Authors I've Heard Of But Not Yet Tried:

Kate Atkinson
Iain Banks
Tracy Chevalier
Philip K. Dick
Gillian Flynn
John Green
Victoria Hislop
John Irving
Tove Jansson
Barbara Kingsolver
John Lanchester
Kate Morton
R K Narayan
Philip Pullman
Veronica Roth
Lionel Shriver
Donna Tartt
Kurt Vonnegut
Jeanette Winterton
Markus Zusak

I like this idea :0)

Hi Anna. Clever idea. Kate Morton has become one of my favourite authors. Would be interested to know what you think when you get to 'M'!

Thanks. Glad you like it. It was a system I used ages ago in large public libraries when I had limited time to browse. I picked a different letter each week and looked just for authors beginning with that. Never got all the way to Z (X and Q were pretty difficult).

Nowadays I can spend hours browsing online on Amazon, Waterstones, Goodreads etc. (time I could be reading), so I hope my A-Z lists will keep me focussed.

I know what you mean - it's so easy to spend more time choosing books that it is actually reading them.

Good Luck Anna - hope you discover some new favourites!

@Tracy - I might be reading Kate Morton sooner than expected. She's also on the reading list of another local book group I belong to. Just waiting for Norfolk Library services to get 6 copies for us!

@anna. Which book are you reading?

Who is the lovely lady (or gentleman) in the photo Anna?

@Lee - he's my Papillon dog, called Bijou. (I also have a cat who looks very like yours). He's gets a bit jealous if i read for too long - he puts a paw on my arm and gives me that reproachful doggie look!

@Tracey. Not sure yet as the group leader has the book list. I think it will be the House at Riverton. I hope so as I've already 'sampled' the first few pages on Amazon and it looks good.

Actually it's Kate Atkinson (not Morton) we've got on order, since before Xmas. So I'll suggest at the next meeting to put in an advance order for the Kate Morton, given that she's popular as well.

Bless him :0)

A-Z Classics I Ought to Read progress:

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Charming, innocent fairy tale. Pretty much the same as the film.

Robinson Crusoe - Pretty long-winded for a modern reader but full of interesting philosophical, cultural and religious debates. Gives an insight into the attitudes and world-view of the early 1700's period.

The Fall of the House of Usher - Archetypal gloomy, spooky, sinister atmosphere but didn't think the plot was as good as expected.

A-Z Authors Not Yet Tried progress so far

Kurt Vonnegut - Breakfast of Champions - Total Rubbish (IMO). Worst book I've ever read.

Oh dear - better luck next time :0)

A-Z Lists progress so far:

Classics Not Yet Read But Ought to Have:

Just started Hunchback of Notre-Dame
Have changed Moby Dick to Middlemarch

Authors I've Heard of But Not Yet Tried:

Victoria Hislop - The Island
Marcus Zusak - The Book Thief

Both really good writers and will read more of their works.

Still plodding through!!!

Classics Not Read But Ought to Have

Finished Hunchback of Notre-Dame
Started All Quiet on the Western Front

Authors Heard of But Not Tried Yet

Kate Atkinson - Case Histories
Slightly disappointed in this but had to read it for my local U3A book club. Have read sample of Life After Life so will read this in full before deciding if I like her books or not.

Tracy Chevalier - Girl With a Pearl Earring
Enjoying this but keep putting it down for other reads.

Tove Jansson - Thanks to the monthly Boxall read I can cross this name off my list! Will probably read another - maybe The True Deceiver

I love Kate Atkinson but am not so keen on her Jackson Brodie books - my favourites are Behind The Scenes at the Museum, Human Croquet and Emotionally Weird.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm sure those books will be better as they have won prizes or been highly rated.

Classics Not Read But Ought to Have:
Progress so far:

Out goes - All Quiet on the Western Front, Fall of the House of Usher, Hunchback of Notre-Dame, Robinson Crusoe, Wizard of Oz.

In comes - Middlemarch instead of Moby Dick - Joseph Andrews instead of Jamaica Inn - North and South instead of Nicholas Nickleby

Aims for next few months: Bleak House, Call of the Wild, Uncle Tom's Cabin

Authors Heard of But Not Yet Tried
Progess so far:

Out goes: Kate Atkinson, Victoria Hislop, Tove Jansson, Kurt Vonnegut, Markus Zusak

In Comes: Michele Roberts instead of Virginia Roth, Sylvia Plath instead of Philip Pullman

Aims for next reads: Michele Roberts, Iain Banks, Lionel Shriver