Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

Maarit's "Classics I should read" and then some 2016 challenge


Old School
1. Kauppa-Lopo; Agnes by Minna Canth (published 1889 & 1892) Read 29/01/2016
2. Neito vanhassa linnassa (Northanger Abbey) by Jane Austen (1817) Read 31/07/2016
3. Haudantakaisia by Markku Sadelehto (short story collection, will use Charlotte Perkins Gilmans The Yellow Wallpaper (1899) for this challenge) Read 03/01/2016

New School
4. Orjattaresi (Handmaid's Tale) by Margaret Atwood (1985)
5. Tohtori Živago (Doctor Zhivago) by Boris Pasternak (1957)
6. Sinuhe Egyptiläinen, part 1 and part 2 (The Egyptian) by Mika Waltari (1945)

My Wild Card Six
7. Kiduttajan varjo (The Shadow of the Torturer) by Gene Wolfe (1980)
8. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham (1951)
9. Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier (1935) Read 09/03/2016
10. Minun kansani, minun rakkaani (Beloved) by Toni Morrison (1987)
11. Sotilaspoika (Johnny Got His Gun) by Dalton Trumbo (1939) Read 08/06/2016
12. Pikku Heidi : kertomus Alpeilta (Heidi) by Johanna Spyri (1880) Read 10/01/2016

Alternates
A-1. Alastalon salissa by Volter Kilpi (1933)
A-2. Makiokan sisarukset (The Makioka Sisters) by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1943)

I may edit this post after 31/12/2015 due to the fact that I like to make my editions match the ones I've read. I will not change any books from this list after 31/12/2015 mark!

This will be my first year doing this challenge...I stole your template...thanks!

Well, here are my choices this time for this challenge. I made it a bit easier than the last one, which I still haven't finished (but will do it soon). Old & New School choices are pretty solid ones, Wild Cards may change due to the fact that I'm not sure if I want to read some of them or not. And alternates, well let's say the choices for them are purely there for the fact that they force me to finish my original choices :D.

Technically speaking I'm actually reading 13 books instead of 12, just because the Canth book is two books in one cover, but I will still count it only one book for this challenge.

Alastalon salissa, hehe...

Yes I was also wondering about the Alastalon salissa but now I understand your reasoning :D
Interesting list! Doctor Zhivago was on my TBR list but I think I deleted it...but I´m interested to hear what your thoughts are about it.

Day of the Triffids and Johnny Got His Gun continue to elude me, both are on my TBR I just never seem to get around to them, maybe this year.

. Heidi by Johanna Spyri (1880)

Day of the Triffids is absolutely awesome!

I actually tried to mix this up with some other challenges I know I will participate in next year. That's why there are so many scifi/fantasy (classic) books on the list as well as some books that I can use in the bingo, if I decide to participate in it and also in the Women's Century challenge as well. I was actually tempted to fill my wild cards solely on fantasy/scifi books, but restricted myself in the end as I really need to read some other books as well:D.

Sinuhe and Alastalon Salissa have been on my to get list for a while, haven't seen proper hardcover ones on the 2nd hand bookstores I visit. So maybe I add them for myself in next years challenge. Actually read Herodes by Asko Sahlberg few weeks ago... that book was said to be similar to historical fiction of Mika Waltari, which instantly got me interested in Waltari's work. I was not forced to read him in high school or college, though I am under the impressions some people are?

Anyway nice to see finnish authors and classics mixed in with the newer sci-fi!

I actually have "Herod", I found it on sale as a hardcover (5 euros if I am not mistaken), and I've heard the same. But I think both of the books you mentioned are difficult to find 2nd hand. I also heard that they gave out "Alastalos" as paperbacks at the Turku book fair.

But I haven't heard of anyone being forced to read him, maybe in some schools but it depends on a teacher. I think it's rare anyway, unless you study literature or something.

Found my "Herod" on a sale at "Akateeminen Kirjakauppa", hardcover and similar price :P. Bought it solely on the basis of price and backcover, turned out to be an excellent purchase. Haven't read much historical fiction yet, but definitely have to read more.

Quality books are kind of hard to find 2nd hand at times, but I know couple of places that get former library books and where relatives dump their inheritance books occasionally. Have found some real gems in there, there is hope for finding them someday :). Generally I have noticed its the smaller towns and cities where you make real finds, in centre of Oulu good 2nd hand books tend to be as expensive as new ones.

I had to google if I have any bookfairs near me, and it seems there is one small one in Oulu... or at least used to be. Do they give free books often in them? Never been to one.

Both my brother and couple of friends had to read Sinuhe in upper secondary school. Maybe it is different here in the north or maybe it was just that strict old lady :P.

I knew that my parents had Sinuhe in their bookshelf, so last time I visited them, I took the books (it's divided in two parts) with me and also a bunch of other books as well, like a Valitut Palat series of classics (including Kim, Aarresaari, Prinssi ja Kerjäläispoika and few others), Lady Chatterly's Lover and A Suitable Boy + a few more. Still need to raid the shelves better though, as they are so full of stuff and I didn't have that much time to look at it last time (and I simply can't remember all the books it cointains).

Maarit wrote: "I knew that my parents had Sinuhe in their bookshelf, so last time I visited them, I took the books (it's divided in two parts) with me and also a bunch of other books as well, like a Valitut Palat..."

I really need to check my parents bookshelf as well, I know there is books I want to read...but I have plenty to read on my own bookshelf as well :D

It was probably the same sale. :-) The same place for me, too, and it was the last copy. I am interested in history so I have been interested in it since it was a Finlandia nominee.

I have found some good ones free from the library swap cart, though not always in prime condition or the right edition. I think you should try searching them online, if there is some book you really want. And I don't think fairs do, this might have been a special case for some reason.

My Sinuhe has been staring at me for some time, it was already looking at me at home, Someday... We don't really have that many books at home, probably a combination of not having a bookstore in the village and having a library VERY close.

I made a few changes to my challenge. Instead of reading 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, I chose to read The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1899). The only book I found in my area that includes The Yellow Wallpaper is a short story collection which includes short stories from timeline 1872-1924. I hope this is an OK choice, but if it isn't I will change the book back to Verne or think something else.

I also switched Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny to Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier, so that I don't put so much stress on myself next year with all my challenges, so I try to make them match with each other a bit more.

The short story collection sounds exciting. I would love to hear if there are any of the other short stories that you recommend (after you have read them of course) :)

Thanks for the English translations of your challenge Maarit (for those of us who speak English anyway). Looks like a nice list that you have put together and your recent swaps are just fine. It is after all -- Your challenge. Happy reading.

I'm interested in reading Waltari's"The Egyptian." It was a bestseller in the US.

I don't read nearly as much historical fiction as I'd like, but a novel set in ancient Egypt looks intriguing.

Andrea (Catsos Person) is a Compulsive eBook Hoarder wrote: "I'm interested in reading Waltari's"The Egyptian." It was a bestseller in the US.

I don't read nearly as much historical fiction as I'd like, but a novel set in ancient Egypt looks intriguing."

Yes, I have that one on my TBR shelf, but didn't put it into any of my challenges. Looks really good.

@Andrea: The Egyptian is supposed to be a good book and also historically accurate as well, because Waltari spend a lot of time researching and background checking. It's also made a Hollywood movie, but I haven't seen it so this will be my first attempt to try it on any form.

Thanks for the notice Kathy. I like to use English names of the books whenever I can if I'm reading in Finnish, so that it's easier for everyone to see what I read. Though I also read books in English as well whenever I can get my hands on them and when I'm in the mood for them.

EDIT: Autocorrect mistake corrections.

Well, I got my copy of Heidi from other library today as my library had only the second part of the series avaiable, and oh my gosh this book is old and has seen a lot of usage over the years (it's printed in year 1932). I'm actually slightly scared to read it, as the cover has started to fall down from the pages already and the wear and tear is very visible. The book is also smallish compared to modern books, but the font is readable and it has a few small B&W pictures in it, too.

The reason for me to request this copy was that it seemed to be almost the only non-abridged version I could find (but I'm still not sure of this fact). Though if I had seen the year it had been printed from the library system and also the condition of the book, I would have chosen some other (abridged) version of it. But I'll try to read this copy of Heidi and if it starts to break down in my hands, I just order some other copy of it (possibly abridged one then) from some other library.

Yes, for some reason the abridged versions of Heidi are easier to find. I had to do a bit of searching to find an unabridged copy myself.

Happy Reading Maarit!! We will be reading a couple of the same books this year. Look forward to seeing your thoughts.

This is something I haven´t even considered, I have checked that my library have a copy of Heidi but I don´t have any idea if its abridged or not :/ Do you have your copy in finnish? And any ideas how to find non-abridged version?

Desertorum: My copy is in Finnish. I'm actually not sure, how to find a non-abridged version, but atleast in my library most of the newer editions were clearly marked as abridged/adapted versions (not all, though, but number of pages gave a clear idea, that the edition might be an adaption). The older editions were more trickier, though, but I just thought that the edition with most pages is more likely to be non-abridged one than edition with less amount of pages.

But I solved this problem by asking a question about this edition thing in "Kysy kirjastonhoitajalta" -service. Now I'm just waiting for answer (and I think should know these myself, I'm a librarian after all, but some problems are better to be left for someone with more knowledge about these sort of things) :D.

Well, I got my answer and it seems my edition is in fact a non-abridged one, so I was lucky.

@Desertorum: Sain vastaukseksi, että Sirkka Rapolan kääntämä Heidi olisi mitä suurimmalla todennäköisyydellä alkuperäistä vastaava eli jos kirjastosta löytyy hänen suomentamansa teos, voit olla huoleti. Esim. tämä kirja Pikku Heidi on hänen suomentamansa ja sisältää sekä ykkös- että kakkososat tuosta sarjasta. Sivunumero on tosin merkitty väärin toisen osan mukaan, oikeasti pituudet ovat 209 sivua ensimmäiselle kirjalle ja tuo 141 toiselle kirjalle, eli pituus on oikeasti 350 sivua.

I finished my first book for this challenge, Haudantakaisia (Old School, specifically used The Yellow Wallpaper to avoid any confusion). The collection was on OK read. I had read two of the stories before, so I kinda skimmed them through, since I remembered what had happened in them. The other stories were mostly fine, though The Yellow Wallpaper made me slightly confused about what I had just read, because the ending and also the whole story was a bit odd. Here's the list of short stories the book included (English original names were provided in the book as well as the publication years), I've marked the ones I've read before with a *-mark:

• Robert Louis Stevenson: The Body Snatcher (1884)
• Arthur Machen: The Novel of the White Powder (1895)
• J. Sheridan Le Fanu: Carmilla (1872)*
• Charlotte Perkins Gilman: The Yellow Wall Paper (1899)
• Robert W. Chambers: The Yellow Sign (1895)
• E. F. Benson: The Room in the Tower (1912)
• Bram Stoker: The Burial of the Rats (1914)*
• Ambrose Bierce: The Middle Toe of the Right Foot (1891)
• William Hope Hodgson: The Voice in the Night (1907)
• H. P. Lovecraft: Arthur Jermyn / The White Ape (1924)

I'm also currently reading Heidi, I think I will finish it soon enough, because it's an easy read.

Maarit wrote: "Well, I got my answer and it seems my edition is in fact a non-abridged one, so I was lucky.

@Desertorum: Sain vastaukseksi, että Sirkka Rapolan kääntämä Heidi olisi mitä suurimmalla todennäköisy..."

Hei ja kiitos infosta! Olenkin juuri huomenna menossa kirjastoon metsästämään haaste-kirjoja! :)

good i m haapy for you Maarit ... me too I finished my first book for this challenge, B3: Classic of Africa Il Était Une Fois Un Vieux Couple Heureux

my challenge for 2016 ..B1: Written by Nobel Laureate Cent ans de solitude
B2:Sci-fi or Fantasy Classic The War of the Worlds
O1: Literary Prize of Your Country/Region - morocco /agadir Les enfants des rues étroites
B3: Classic of Africa Il Était Une Fois Un Vieux Couple Heureux
O5: Prize-Winning Female Author :Mrs. Dalloway
G5: Published in the 1800's :Wuthering Heights
G4: Classic from School Père Goriot
O4: Mystery or Crime Classic :The Clocks
N1: Classic of the Americas:The Parsifal Mosaic
G2: Book from Le Monde’s 100 Books of the Century -:The Grapes of Wrath
N5: Classic of Europe :Une vie
I2: New-to-You Author -:Vous revoir
B4: Children's Classic:The Latchkey Kid
N2: Short Story Collection:Jane Austen Juvenilia and Short Stories: Lady Suzan, The Watsons, Sandition, Plan of a Novel, Sir Charles Grandison and Juvenilia in Three Volumes
B2: Sci-fi or Fantasy Classic :Le mystère Frontenac
N3: FREE SPACE Traitement de choc
I1: Published/Written Before 1600’s :رباعيات جلال الدين الرومي
T 1: thriller La maison assassinéeBook
I4: Banned Book :Guide du câblage universel and Late Capitalism
O3: Classic of Asia or Oceania كيف نختلف
i will add the other ,

Desertorum wrote: "Hei ja kiitos infosta! Olenkin juuri huomenna menossa kirjastoon metsästämään haaste-kirjoja! :) "

Ole hyvä ja onnea kirjojen metsästykseen! :)

Well done on completing your first book!

I very interested about the Minna Canth book! I would like to read something from her in the future. And Kauppa-Lopo is so finnish.

Well, I finished Heidi today and turns out that my copy wasn't complete after all. That's why I had to read the last 9 chapters (15-23) that were missing from my edition from Project Guttenberg -site. Since my book missed so much, I ended up giving it only three stars, because I didn't want to include the Project Guttenberg part in my review. Had the book been complete, four stars would have been my choice, since I enjoyed the story a lot, even if it was a bit naiive and silly at times. And the religious stuff at the end (or rather the middle if the book had been complete) was a bit too heavy for my tastes, though not annoyingly so. The real ending was a lot better than the stubby one in chapter 14, even if I didn't really believe the (view spoiler)[miraculous healing Klara had while getting into Alpine air and stuff like that (hide spoiler)].

So overall a four star read in a three star edition. If I read the complete Finnish translation someday, I'm pretty sure I'll give it the four stars that this edition didn't deserve.

It is kind of annoying how hard it is to get an non-abridged copy of these children´s classics. Must see what happens with my copy of the Heidi (I didn´t get it last time).
Now I´m reading the Black Beauty and I´m almost done. But now I noticed that it is abridged version even though I thought I had the original one. But I don´t have energy to try to find the original version and read the book "again".

Well, now I noticed it. The Finnish translation of Heidi is splitted into two parts and I only read the first book, even if it's name is a bit misleading. The second book is called Heidi osaa käyttää oppiansa (Heidi makes use of what she has learned) and it includes chapters 15-23. So I need to read it as well to get the whole story.

@Desertorum: Jos siis lainaat tämän painoksen kirjasta Pikku Heidi ; ja Heidi osaa käyttää oppiaan niin saat koko tarinan samoissa kansissa ilman erillistä vaivannäköä. Harmittaa, että tuo ensimmäisen osan nimi on noissa yksittäisissä kirjoissa melkoisen harhaan johtava.

Maarit wrote: "Well, now I noticed it. The Finnish translation of Heidi is splitted into two parts and I only read the first book, even if it's name is a bit misleading. The second book is called [book:Heidi osaa..."

Okei, en tiennytkään että ne ovat alkuperäisessä samassa kirjassa. Oletin että toinen on myöhemmin tullut jatko-osa!

I finished Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier today and I must say I didn't like it that much at all. The beginning of the book was promising, but then the story just fell apart for me and I struckled to finish the book. Here is my review of it, my thoughts maybe a bit clearly explained.

The only thing the I liked about "Jamaica In " were the descriptive word-pictures of the outdoor scenery whenever Mary took a walk out on the moors.

Maarit - I read your review and that's very similar to how I felt about Jamaica Inn too.

I too read and enjoyed your review. The story faired a little better for me (3 stars) and like Andrea, what I remember most is the descriptions of the house and the surroundings. I like Daphne du Maurier writing and I'm currently reading The House on the Strand, which will be my fourth du Maurier book.

I'm willing to give du Maurier more chances, as I usually don't abandon authors after only a one bad book read, unless author has only written that one book or I don't see a point in his/her other works. As an example, I've read more than one book from Bradbury and Philip K. Dick, even if I've ended up hating all (Bradbury) or some (Dick) of the works read. I've heard Rebecca is a better and more known book from Du Maurier so I might read it someday, but not yet, I just need to digest Jamaica Inn first.

I'll probably try something else by DuMaurier as well.

My recommendation for you both is Rebecca, an excellent mystery/suspense read.

Bob wrote: "My recommendation for you both is Rebecca, an excellent mystery/suspense read."

Agreed, or My Cousin Rachel, both of which are much, much better than Jamaica Inn.

I'll have to try "My Cousin Rachel."

I've read "Rebecca" several times, but Bob and Pink, thank you for suggestions.

I agree also.
I've read three novels and an anthology by her and Rebecca was my favorite. The House on the Strand was good but not on the same level. The anthology was hit or miss.

My Cousin Rachel will the the next one I try since I keep hearing good things about it.

Finally some progress with this challenge after a while. I finished Sotilaspoika (Johnny Got His Gun) by Dalton Trumbo and it was an interesting read indeed. Very anti-war and actually not much about the life in the lines but more about how it affects to a person who should have died in the gutters but is instead so seriously injured that he can't do anything anymore except think about everything. I recommend the book but only if you can stand the fact that the past and the "what is present?" mix together a lot.

I'm also reading Tohtori Živago (Doctor Zhivago) which I've read around 30% or so now. So I think I'll finish it next, unless I start something shorter and faster to read from my remaining books.

Nice going Maarit!
Would love to try Dr Zhivago one of these days and Philip K Dick.
Years ago, I went throuh a phase and read many of DuMaurier's books. Jamaica Inn is very different to the others in tone and subject. Actually most of her books are quite different come to think if it.