Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

I'm in!
Although I do not like the poetry corner!!!

Goal: 24/24 (full blackout 4/13/16)

B1: Written by Nobel Laureate DONE
The Stranger (finished 2/4/16)
B2: Sci-fi or Fantasy Classic DONE
The Hobbit (finished 1/9/16)
B3: Classic of Africa DONE
Americanah (finished 1/23/16)
B4: Children's Classic DONE
Heidi (finished 1/9/16)
B5: Winner of a Foreign Literary Prize DONE
March (Pulitzer 2006) (finished 3/28/16)

I1: Published/Written Before 1600’s DONE
Germania (published in the year 98) (finished 1/20/16)
I2: New-to-You Author DONE
A Farewell to Arms (finished 2/11/16)
I3: Classic Play DONE
A Doll's House (finished 4/13/16)
I4: Banned Book DONE
The Hunger Games (finished 4/5/16)
I5: Published in the 1700's DONE
Moll Flanders (finished 2/27/16)

N1: Classic of the Americas DONE
The Man in the High Castle (finished 2/25/16)
N2: Short Story Collection DONE
Poirot Investigates (finished 1/12/16)
N3: FREE SPACE
N4: Poetry Collection DONE
Lieblingsgedichte der Deutschen - Die 101 beliebtesten und schönsten Gedichte aller Zeiten (Illustrierte Ausgabe) (finished 2/6/16)
N5: Classic of Europe DONE
Mansfield Park (finished 1/25/16)

G1: Published in the 1600's DONE
A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy (finished 2/3/16)
G2: Book from Le Monde’s 100 Books of the Century DONE
The Little Prince (finished 1/13/16)
G3: Classic Non-fiction DONE
The Diary of a Young Girl (finished 2/1/16)
G4: Classic from School DONE
Effi Briest (finished 4/11/16)
G5: Published in the 1800's DONE
Middlemarch (1872) (finished 1/19/16)

O1: Literary Prize of Your Country/Region DONE
Der Vorleser (WELT Literaturpreis 1999, Evangelischer Buchpreis 2000) (finished 2/20/16)
O2: Gothic Classic DONE
The Woman in White (finished 2/12/16)
O3: Classic of Asia or Oceania DONE
The Good Earth (finished 4/1/16)
O4: Mystery or Crime Classic DONE
The Sign of Four (finished 1/26/16)
O5: Prize-Winning Female Author DONE
The Mists of Avalon (Locus Award 1984) (buddy read) (finished 3/25/16)

Phil wrote: "I'm in!
Although I do not like the poetry corner!!!"

Well -- that will make it a true challenge! Welcome and hope you have fun.

Indeed it will. Thank you, for setting everything up, Kathy!
I see you accepted my idea with the classic from school.

Phil wrote: "Indeed it will. Thank you, for setting everything up, Kathy!
I see you accepted my idea with the classic from school."

Yes, it is a great idea. Thank you for the suggestion.

Haha, so no poetry corner for you! For me, I think plays are more out of my comfort zone, or fantasy, but I can just read sci-fi for that square. Good luck with your challenge.

Yes, plays are my number two problem, followed by non-fiction.

Yesterday I browsed the free Kindle poetry collections and I might settle for Robert Burns or Shakespeare's Sonnets.

I'm going to do Seamus Heaney for poetry - he won the Nobel Prize, which means he counts towards my 'personal' challenge of reading more Nobel Prize winners - I read 12 'new' Nobel Laureates in 2015, and plan to do the same in 2016. There are lots of poetry writers among the Nobel Prize winners :-)

(And I'm reading George Bernard Shaw for Play - also a Nobel Laureate...)

That sounds quite ambitious, Julie!

Have you read anything by Salvatore Quasimodo or Luigi Pirandello yet? After visiting their birthplaces and the museums there last year I decided to read some of their works, but haven't yet.

Phil wrote: "That sounds quite ambitious, Julie!

Have you read anything by Salvatore Quasimodo or Luigi Pirandello yet? After visiting their birthplaces and the museums there last year I decided to read some ..."

No I haven't :-) so far I've only read 18 of 112 Nobel Laureates, which is why I wanted to read more

Possibilities

B1: Written by Nobel Laureate
The Good Earth, Of Mice and Men, Cannery Row, The View from Castle Rock, The Bluest Eye, Blindness
B2: Sci-fi or Fantasy Classic
The Hobbit
B3: Classic of Africa
Heart of Darkness, Out of Africa, The Four Feathers
B4: Children's Classic
Heidi
B5: Winner of a Foreign Literary Prize
The Goldfinch(Pulitzer 2014), March(Pulitzer 2006), Middlesex(Pulitzer 2003), A Thousand Acres(Pulitzer 1992), Beloved(Pulitzer 1988), The Blind Assassin(Man Booker 2000)

I1: Published/Written Before 1600’s
The Prince(1532), The Canterbury Tales(1390), The Art of War(512 BC), The Decameron(1348), Ilias(762 BC), De Bello Gallico I(51 BC), Le Morte d'Arthur, Vol. 1(1485)
I2: New-to-You Author
The Three Musketeers, Cavalleria Rusticana
I3: Classic Play
Waiting for Godot, A Doll's House, Die Dreigroschenoper, The Importance of Being Earnest, Our Town
I4: Banned Book
Animal Farm, Fahrenheit 451, Lord of the Flies, The Hunger Games, Slaughterhouse-Five, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, The Bluest Eye, Beloved
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/censor...
I5: Published in the 1700's
Robinson Crusoe(1719), Gulliver's Travels (1726), Moll Flanders (1721), The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1759), The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1749), The Castle of Otranto (1764), The Mysteries of Udolpho(1794), Fanny Hill, or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (1748), The Vicar of Wakefield (1766), Manon Lescaut (1731), Lady Susan (1794)

N1: Classic of the Americas
N2: Short Story Collection
Poirot Investigates
N3: FREE SPACE
N4: Poetry Collection
Poems and Songs of Robert Burns, Shakespeare's Sonnets
N5: Classic of Europe
Three Musketeers, Mayor of Casterbridge, Hard Times, The Professor, Villette, Little Lord, David Copperfield

G1: Published in the 1600's
Paradise Lost(1667), The Pilgrim's Progress(1678), A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy(1642)
G2: Book from Le Monde’s 100 Books of the Century
The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The Lord of the Rings, The War of the Worlds, The Name of the Rose, The Little Prince
G3: Classic Non-fiction
The Communist Manifesto, The Diary of a Young Girl, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, A Brief History of Time, The Second Sex, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, A People's History of the United States, The Bramble Bush: The Classic Lectures on the Law and Law School
G4: Classic from School
Irrungen, Wirrungen, Die Physiker, Der Sandmann
G5: Published in the 1800's
The Three Musketeers (1844), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), Hard Times (1854), The Professor (1857), Villette (1853), The Woman in White (1860), Little Lord Fauntleroy (1877), Mansfield Park (1814), David Copperfield(1849)

O1: Literary Prize of Your Country/Region
Deutscher Buchpreis: Gehen, ging, gegangen, Kruso, Der Turm: Geschichte aus einem versunkenen Land
O2: Gothic Classic
Jane Eyre, The Castle of Otranto, The Mysteries of Udolpho, A Sicilian Romance, Die Räuber, The Italian,The Grey Woman, Lois the Witch, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, The Vampyre: A Tale, The Thirteenth Tale, Interview with the Vampire, Carmilla, Jamaica Inn, Villette, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The Historian, The Woman in White
O3: Classic of Asia or Oceania
The Good Earth, A Town Like Alice, The Thorn Birds, Battle Royale, Snow Country, Memoirs of a Geisha
O4: Mystery or Crime Classic
Whose Body?, The Woman in White, A Study in Scarlet
O5: Prize-Winning Female Author
The Good Earth(Nobel), March(Pulitzer 2006), The Goldfinch(Pulitzer 2014), A Thousand Acres(Pulitzer 1992),Beloved(Pulitzer 1988), The Blind Assassin(Man Booker 2000), Year of Wonders

Thanks for posting your possibilities...it gives me ideas for some squares that are new areas for me...like Classics from Africa and Asia or Oceania.

I guess that's the idea for the challenge...to stretch ourselves and our brains!

You're very welcome, Susie!

For some squares I've already got some definite ideas (like I really want to read Heidi and The Hobbit), for others I'm far from finished.
And in squares like Classic of Europe or Classic of the Americas you can put basically anything. I participated last year and gave the chosen group reads priority and filled in the other squares with my personal favourites. That way I had finished in summer.

I FOUND A POETRY COLLECTION!
It's called something like "The most beautiful German love poems" and contains some old friends I had to recite at school and actually really liked.
That's the best possible outcome for me!

Phil wrote: "Yes, plays are my number two problem, followed by non-fiction.

Yesterday I browsed the free Kindle poetry collections and I might settle for Robert Burns or Shakespeare's Sonnets."

I have already picked a choice for poetry for this year but Shakespeare's Sonnets are a good choice for future challenges. Thanks for the idea.

Phil wrote: "I FOUND A POETRY COLLECTION!
It's called something like "The most beautiful German love poems" and contains some old friends I had to recite at school and actually really liked.
That's the best p..."

Good luck! Personally I get on much better with newer poetry, a lot of the old stuff goes over my head. I'm not even much of a fan of Shakespeare! Hope you get on well with your choice.

I like the old stuff when the poem conveys a story. I'm just not the type for only emotional poetry.
An exception would be poetry which has such a beautiful linguistic melody that it's practically music.

Love your possibilities listing!

Kathy wrote: "Love your possibilities listing!"

THANK YOU!

4/24... a good start into the new year!

Good call on Sherman Alexie. I should read that one of these years.

5/24.... A very good month so far and a great start for the challenge. Gives me a huge motivation boost to continue ;) !

HALF-TIME!
Looks like I'm faster this year than last.

Phil wrote: "HALF-TIME!
Looks like I'm faster this year than last."

What a great way to start off the year. Awesome.

Thank you, Kathy!

Wow! I don't think I have read more than 3 or 4 of my bingo titles.

You're on a roll!

Andrea (Catsos Person) is a Compulsive eBook Hoarder wrote: "Wow! I don't think I have read more than 3 or 4 of my bingo titles.

You're on a roll!"

I'm really focusing on it at the moment basically reading nothing else. Well, with the exceptions of the other group reads...

Wow...you're fast...good job!

Susie wrote: "Wow...you're fast...good job!"

THANK YOU!

Your progress is really impressive!

I noticed you read "Mansfield Park." What did you think of it?
The reason why I ask is that I find some present-day readers really seem to like this possibly least of JAs completed novels because of Fanny Price. I on the other hand, really like it possibly ranking in top two of her completed novels.

Wow!!! Congratz!!!

I did not like Mansfield Park much.but I do think Fanny Price was judged oo harshly.

While I enjoyed Mansfield Park a lot as a whole (4 stars), I did not enjoy it as much as Austens other works. My initial feelings were simply general, so I didn't know exactly why I didn't like it as much. Pride and Prejudice is my favourite and I think it was just more dramatic.
Now that you've started the topic, I'm more conscious of Fanny being very passive and shy. However, she has so many good qualities (empathy, kindness, not being egoistic, being able to be truely thankful, not using others for your own gain...) which in my opinion outweigh the passiveness. Mary Crawford is not passive at all and it's very entertaining to have a woman who is e.g. energetic on horseback, but she cares way too much about material things putting them even over love and is thus, in comparison to Fanny, quite rotten inside.
What do people exactly criticize about Fanny?
Of course, she's not the image of modern feminism, but the book was written long ago and as I said, for me she's kindness made flesh and has a good moral compass.

Phil, I think a lot of casual readers of JA and perhaps don't understand the place of someone who is a dependent "charity case" of that time period. Find her woefully lacking in any spirit.

It would have been unacceptable among her adult relatives for her to show "personality" by expressing her wishes, preferences, opinions etc. She was expected to be passively grateful for being allowed to live among them--not to make any waves.

Your possibilities list is AMAZING! This has helped me figure out some things that I will use to complete my challenge. I am honestly upset that I have read Moll Flanders recently, because I could have used that for one of my squares (or one of several squares, actually). I loved that book!

Wow i loved both your views on Fanny and agree.i love JAs pride and prejudice , persuasion and northamger abbey.
And i think Marys kindness to Fanny was for show...and she was too materialistic too...
And yeah it must have been hard to not belong anywhere.to be dependent on relatives who did not rwspect like or care for you.and some of them always critisizing and making her feel inferior...less of a person....
The H definotely did not deserve her.i wish she jad got someone who appreciated her more....for who she is and not for who she wasnt...

I totally agree with you, Andrea and Siriusedward!

@Paula: THANK YOU! It's my second year of Bingo, so I could use parts of my possibility list from last year. This list, is not my full one, though. I posted it last December and since then I've added to my private offline list.
Now I'm even more looking forward to Moll Flanders! I've already acquired the audio book. I'll finish the Woman in White first, though, and Agnes Grey (group-read only) is also scheduled for listening.

Your doing great, half way finished and have even finished the poetry square. Poetry maybe my undoing, a blacked out card with one glowing unfinished square.

Moll Flanders hasn't been on my radar, now I've added it to my list.

Bob wrote: "Your doing great, half way finished and have even finished the poetry square. Poetry maybe my undoing, a blacked out card with one glowing unfinished square."

I thought I would be my undoing as well. Then, I found this lovely collection of "the Germans' favouritve poems", leafed through it and found some old favourites from school time I had totally forgotton about. I put it on my nightstand and had a poem or two every night before sleeping. Quite a cozy habit!
I guess it's all about the difficult task to find the right poetry for you. I'm not a fan of abstract poetry, non rhythmical modern poetry, poetry which has no story only atmosphere, nor love poetry (so I'm basically not a fan at all). However, I found my niche in Schiller and Fontane's beautifully rhymed stories of things that actually happened (Tay Bridge, John Maynard, Dionysus the Tyrant) and Joseph von Eichendorff's beautifully rhymed Romantic (the period, not about love; in Germany that was about nature and longing) poems. All of those have rhythm like a song. My favourite is only four lines long:
"Schläft ein Lied in allen Dingen
Die da träumen fort und fort,
Und die Welt hebt an zu singen,
Triffst du nur das Zauberwort. "
More or less literally translated (by me) that means:
Sleeps a song in all things 'round you
which are dreaming on and on.
But the world will start resounding,
if you know the magic word.
For me this magic word means creativity and imagination which open up everything. Like seeing a very old tree on a walk and imagining what it has witnessed throughout its life.
For my mother it's love. I don't know why. Maybe, because you see everything differntly - like through rosy glasses - when in love...

Such wonderful thoughts. I look forward to reading Mists of Avalon with you.

Tay Bridge????? Are you also a fan of James McIntyre? Or Irene Iddesleigh?

Phil wrote: "Such wonderful thoughts. I look forward to reading Mists of Avalon with you.

Tay Bridge????? Are you also a fan of James McIntyre? Or Irene Iddesleigh?"

Looking forward to Mists, too! I cannot promise any wonderful thoughts, though.... They come and go as they please ;) ...
I've honestly never heard of those authors, please pardon my ignorance! I'll remedy that immediately!
Yes, the Tay Bridge collaps. Fontane made a poem out of it. Here is an English translation I found:
http://johnmaynard.net/TayEnglish.pdf

Phil wrote: "Phil wrote: "Such wonderful thoughts. I look forward to reading Mists of Avalon with you.

Tay Bridge????? Are you also a fan of James McIntyre? Or Irene Iddesleigh?..."

Oh, I was confused. I thought you were referring to "The Tay Bridge Disaster" by William McGonagall, widely held to be the worst poem ever written. The other two names I mentioned are also notoriously bad works from the late 1800s.

Only one more to go, yay!

Wow! Wait, what?! Well done, you! I feel like such a slowpoke!

And you've saved a really good one for last! I love Ibsen. I even loved Ibsen when he was presented to me as mandatory reading in school. Loved reading him, reading about him, watching the stage plays. Et Dukkehjem (A Doll's House) is my favourite of his plays, alongside Peer Gynt (but Nora is worth ten of Peer, egotistical maniac that he is.)

Only 1? Oh my goodness you've done amazingly well. Congrats and good luck with your last book :)

Thank you, Leni and Pink!
Yes, I'm very much looking forward to Ibsen. I'll start tomorrow. I've never read anything by him, so I'm quite curious.
So, Peer Gynt, what is it about? I only now Grieg's music. I've always thought it was an ancient tale, far older than Ibsen.

WOW!!! This is truly astonishing - and it's only April. What to do the rest of the year?!?!? ;-)
You are an inspiration to us all! Well done and congratulations!!!

Oh, uh... what is Peer Gynt about... Peer Gynt is... complicated. lol! Grieg wrote the music for the play, and the play is based in part on Norwegian folk tales. But it also has a bit of the Odyssey in it.

It is surreal social criticism. It was something quite new and different at the time. Most stage performances cut bits out, because it is long and confusing. Peer is a bit of a layabout and a total bastard to women. He's an adventurer and a lier. He lies so well he believes his own crazy stories. And he goes on a long journey where it becomes anyone's guess what actually happens, and how much of it is just made up by Peer. It's a magnificent play with so many layers. At one point he is fighting through something invisible that he calls "Bøygen", and I don't even know how to translate that. I'm still, after all these years, confused as to whether it is meant to symbolise society, some inner barrier in Peer himself, or if it is just an excuse Peer uses, something unidentified that he can blame for his own shortcomings. Oh, and the whole play is written as poetry. With rhymes. It must be the most insanely difficult job to translate.

A Doll's House is easier. That's feminist critique. Bourgeois feminist critique, and can in return be critiqued as such. The most interesting question for me there has always been, "what happened afterwards?" I also frequently felt like shaking Nora and punching her husband in the face. 19th century upper/middle class characters have that effect on me some times. ;)

Wow, THANK YOU soooo much for the super long summary, Leni!
Rhymes...well, that would be my number one reason not to read it. On the other hand...it does sound very interesting.

I've read 25 pages of A Doll's House for breakfast and I've noticed wthe feminist critique. Now I Want to find out how it's going to play out. I've just recently read The Mists of Avalon and this seems to be a whole different kind of feminism. It's also interesting to see a male writer write about feminism.

What I will read, Bat-Cat? All my non-classics (historical novels, action adventures, crime...) which feel very lonely and unloved. But you gotta focus when you wanna achieve something^^!