Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

Challenge List 2016

1899 and earlier
1. Dracula, by Bram Stoker
2. Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo
3. Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

1900-1999
4. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
5. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
6. East of Eden, by John Steinbeck

My Wild Card Six
7. Fall of Giants, by Ken Follett
8. The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss
9. Under the Dome, by Stephen King
10. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, by Robert A. Heinlein
11. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson Finished: 9/JAN/2016; 4 stars
12. The Demolished Man, by Alfred Bester

Alternates:
A-1. A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway
A-2. Half a King, by Joe Abercrombie

1, 6, and 10 are really wonderful! Good luck to you.

Sarah wrote: "1, 6, and 10 are really wonderful! Good luck to you."

Thank you, I can't wait to read them.

Looks like a great list of reading in 2016.

Kathy wrote: "Looks like a great list of reading in 2016."

Thank you! I often feel slightly ashamed of the many classics I haven't read. Luckily, I also feel motivated to do something about it.

Nice list you have there. I've read all your 1899 and older book choices and also first two from your 1900-1999 list. From your wild cards I've read 8 (great book) and 10 (classic scifi, pretty interesting and entertaining, too) and also A-1 alternate. I still haven't read Abercrombies First Law -books, so I won't start Shattered Sea -series before I finish the other one. Also, good luck for your challenge!

I liked Dracula, loved LesMis and didn´t care C&P ;) I have Abercrombie (The Blade Itself) on my fantasy challenge list for next year! And I really want to read the Rothfuss book as well!

I’ve read half of your selections, all solid reads. Of the seven I’ve read Les Mis is the best. It’s a huge book that can drag unmercifully in sections, Waterloo and the sewers come to mind, but it is perhaps one of the best books ever written. A great story, remember to be patient it’s truly worth the effort

Maarit wrote: "Nice list you have there. I've read all your 1899 and older book choices and also first two from your 1900-1999 list."

Thank you! I'm especially interested in East of Eden from the new classics, the other two I chose mainly because of their shortness. I need some works to get me started. :)

Desertorum wrote: "I liked Dracula, loved LesMis and didn´t care C&P ;) I have Abercrombie (The Blade Itself) on my fantasy challenge list for next year! And I really want to read the Rothfuss book as well!"

I'm glad to hear that, I found the premise of C&P interesting, that's why I chose it, I hope that it will live up to my expectations. I've read many times that Rothfuss's novel is a future classic, so I must give it a try, being a fantasy fan.

Bob wrote: "I’ve read half of your selections, all solid reads. Of the seven I’ve read Les Mis is the best."

Luckily there are many great classics I still haven't read, my next reading year already seems to be a very promising one. I'm familiar with Les Mis's story and have one rather impatient friend who got through it and admires it ever since. It must be truly special.

I'm a big fan of Crime and Punishment and East of Eden is one of my favorite books ever. Of the six on your list that I have read, I think all of them are stellar. I will watch for your reviews of the others and see if they belong on my TBR. Looks like 2016 will be a fun reading year.

Sara wrote: "I'm a big fan of Crime and Punishment and East of Eden is one of my favorite books ever. Of the six on your list that I have read, I think all of them are stellar. I will watch for your reviews of ..."

I hope I will like them, too. I chose most of the books not only because they are must-read classics but also because I liked their premise. The movie East of Eden is one of my favourites with James Dean and I can't wait until I read the novel, it's been on my TBR for a very long time.

I liked Dracula and East of Eden, but loathed Crime and Punishment. I think you either love or hate it, there is no middle ground.

I've actually read Half a King and was well entertained, although after falling in love with the Song of Ice and Fire every other Fantasy seems a bit flat and predictable.

At the moment I'm reading Pillars of the Earth and have fallen in love with Follett. Fall of Giants is also in my challenge for next year. Maybe we could set up a buddy read!

Pillars of the Earth was great and also World without End. But I haven´t read others of him (because if I remember correctly those are situated in war time and I usually don´t like that era).

East of Eden was good but I think with C&P I go in the middle ground ;)

And I think that is true about the Song of Ice and Fire, I so hope some kind of closure to that saga!

I've read 2,3,4,8,11,A-1 and A-2 from your list, I liked all of them though to a different degree. Les Mis and Crime and Punishment are among my favourites. I haven't heard about Crime and Punishment being a love/hate book, or else I don't know many people who hated it. But my favourite by Dostoyevsky is The Brothers Karamazov. I want to read all of the remaining books on your list, maybe with the exception of King's book which is not on my TBR. Enjoy the next year's reading, I'm sure it will be excellent :).

I read Les Mis with this group early this year and loved it. Now I want to read Hugo's "Hunchback of Notre Dame."

You have some great choices on your list. I've read Dracula, C&P and East of Eden. I've never read any Stephen King but had toyed with adding Under the Dome or The Stand to my list and I chickened out.