Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

Brina wrote: "Same here. But then I start contemplating and juggling and it becomes a chore to fit everything in. I was going to play bingo next year but I'm wondering if I should scale back on challenges altoge..."

I'm asking myself about my attitude toward challenges. Do I feel too much guilt when I fail to meet them? I'm also thinking of scaling back, but maybe the real solution is thinking about them differently.

If you're doing multiple challenges, picking books that can fill slots in more than one challenge helps a lot - though it does put further constraints on your choices.

I agree, Phil. How you think about them makes all the difference. I don't let them dictate to me, but I do love having a little prod and I make sure that all the books I put on the challenge are books I truly WANT to read. Also, I love puzzles and something like the bingo--fitting the books into the slots--is a bit of fun.

The challenges I have not enjoyed and will not do again are the alphabet challenge for authors and titles. I find I don't want to read a book JUST because it begins with the right letter and I need that letter to fill in a blank.

Loretta wrote: "Sara wrote: "To those who are feeling intimidated by War & Peace, I just want to say that it reads well. Not a chore at all.

I love the challenges because they force me to read books that I keep ..."

Me too....
I like to lose myself in bookshops...browsing books..
There are so many to read and reread....
But i am a mood reader..and i get distracted by other books too....

Melanti wrote: "If you're doing multiple challenges, picking books that can fill slots in more than one challenge helps a lot - though it does put further constraints on your choices."

Definitely this! War and Peace is on my Old and New classics challenge for this year, so I definitely plan on getting to that one.

The Divine Comedy will be on next year's challenge lists for me. Although if it wins Nov polls, I might reconsider!

Melanti wrote: "Phil wrote: "I created a thread in the personal challenges folder, and that's the challenge I take most seriously. Filling it in has caused me to think more about why I choose the books that I do, ..."

Exactly.and as long as it doesn't become a chore its ok.the main thing is to enjoy the book ....the reading....
I like challenges...in that I like a push to read and it opens up more choices to read....but i don't get stressed to finish it...within this period ..i like to be flexible too..
This year was the first time i did the Bingo...and my first choices were not what ended up being read....and these choices i do want to read still..someday...

Sara wrote: "The challenges I have not enjoyed and will not do again are the alphabet challenge for authors and titles. I find I don't want to read a book JUST because it begins with the right letter and I need that letter to fill in a blank. .."

Alphabet challenges are my least favorite too.
It seems I'm always hunting for Q's, Z's and X's and the rest will eventually fill itself out, given enough time.


I was really busy last fall/winter so I didn't join the Bingo challenge for this year, but I probably will for next year.


Regarding the Old and New challenge - I already read the two longest books (Don Quixote and Three Musketeers) and the one I put on to force myself to read it (Blindness), so as long as I read at least one (or hopefully both) of the Shakespeare plays, I'll have completed my main goal even if I don't finish the entire challenge.

siriusedward wrote: "Melanti wrote: "Phil wrote: "I created a thread in the personal challenges folder, and that's the challenge I take most seriously. Filling it in has caused me to think more about why I choose the b..."

I started the year just putting books I read into the bingo slots as they would fit. Now, closer to the finish, I have picked books that will fit the slots that are left...so you might say I am now reading for the challenge, but not really because the books I picked are ones that I knew I wanted to read all along.

Phil wrote: "
Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars changed my life,..."

He is the sole resident of the genre of "Sci fi bildungsroman based on Zen Buddhism." Some fans describe him as "The YA Thomas Pynchon," but I would lean more toward Douglas Adams.

Ok, that I have to read! I'm also starting to feel the lack of sci-fi and fantasy on my reading list lately. Those are my go-to genres, and they've been pretty much pushed aside by my project catching up on old and modern classics and trying out different genres of contemporary fiction. I might have to make next year in part a Catching up on Sci-Fi Classics Challenge.

Sara wrote: "siriusedward wrote: "Melanti wrote: "Phil wrote: "I created a thread in the personal challenges folder, and that's the challenge I take most seriously. Filling it in has caused me to think more abo..."

That's kind of where I am too.

For my classics challenge, I picked books I knew I wanted to read but for some reason I'm struggling to actually read them.

For bingo, I started by just putting books in when I finished. Now I'm trying to sort what where I want to read could go and what books I would need to fill the rest.

I had also signed up for a challenge in another group. That one is going to be maybe half completed. I knew going in to that one I wouldn't complete the whole thing, but I should hit the actual goal I set for myself for it.

Would anyone be interested in a buddy read for "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston? Maybe for November ...
It's the kind of novel that draws you in right away - it's one of those on my rereading list ...

I also remember us discussing some buddy read options for October in the Revisit the Shelf nomination thread. As "Frankenstein" made it, I think that concerns "A Hundred Years of Solitude" and "The Woman in White", right? Anyone still up to that?

Lily I would love to read 100 years of solitude but not until December or January if you are still interested then.

Sure ;)
Winter term starts in mid-October, so I'll have plenty on my reading list anyway ...

I'd be up for a Buddy Read of One Hundred Years of Solitude...

Does January work for you, Darren?

Lily I can read Their Eyes Were Watching G-D in November.

Brina wrote: "Lily I can read Their Eyes Were Watching G-D in November."

November is fine with me as well.

I'd be interested in reading TEWWG in november as well.

Brina - January would be fine for me for One Hundred Years of Solitude

(although I currently still have it down for 2016, I am waaaaay overloaded [blush_smiley], so need to start booting some to 2017 anyway!)

November is fine with me as well :)

Lilly- good we have a group for November looking forward. Darren- since I joined this group I became way too ambitious about what to read so I am trying to space out longer classics to 1 a month and filling in the rest of my books accordingly. Looking forward to Marquez in January.

:)

Hi Pink! A few of us are looking to read Anne of Green Gables in mid October. I'm not sure if there's a thread for this book already and I'm not really sure how to put one up. Can you please help me out? Thanks!

Loretta wrote: "Hi Pink! A few of us are looking to read Anne of Green Gables in mid October. I'm not sure if there's a thread for this book already and I'm not really sure how to put one up. Can you p..."

Oh me too! I was thinking of recommending this one. Can I join in? :)

Yes, we read Anne of Green Gables in December 2015. You can find the existing threads for the book in our New School Classics folder. Please use those for your buddy read.

Anne No Spoilers
Anne Spoilers

woo hoo! we're scheduled for Ann of Green Gables. I noticed there is an audible version that sounds nice with whispersync. I haven't been able to figure out witch Kindle version it goes with. I hate that.

Definitely Susan. We are planning on you joining in.

Susan wrote: "Loretta wrote: "Hi Pink! A few of us are looking to read Anne of Green Gables in mid October. I'm not sure if there's a thread for this book already and I'm not really sure how to put o..."

Susan, I'm sorry, I thought you were in already! Absolutely! Please join in! :)

Kathy wrote: "Yes, we read Anne of Green Gables in December 2015. You can find the existing threads for the book in our New School Classics folder. Please use those for your buddy read.

Anne No Spoi..."

Thank you so much Kathy for all your help! I'm horrible with all this computer stuff! You just made everything so much easier for me!! :) Really, thank you! :)

Loretta I may have just missed it. Seems like we had buddy read info on a couple of threads. But I really am looking forward to reading this one with you. So - mid October?

Kathy wrote: "Yes, we read Anne of Green Gables in December 2015. You can find the existing threads for the book in our New School Classics folder. Please use those for your buddy read.

Anne No Spoi..."

Thanks Kathy!

Susan wrote: "Loretta I may have just missed it. Seems like we had buddy read info on a couple of threads. But I really am looking forward to reading this one with you. So - mid October?"

Yes! Yes! Thank you Susan!! :)

Loretta, I'll add Anne of Green Gables to the schedule list as well, with the links that Kathy posted above :)

It looks like we have a few more buddy reads planned for Nov onwards, but I know some of these are in the process of being nominated for Nov polls, so I'll wait and see what makes it through for group reads first.

Pink it seems like a lot of new school books from Nov if they don't win , they are being planned as buddy reads. List might get long.

Brina wrote: "Pink it seems like a lot of new school books from Nov if they don't win , they are being planned as buddy reads. List might get long."

It definitely might! That's fine, as long as everyone finds time to read them :)

I literally had to write which books I want to read between now and the end of the year. I'm still on for The Count in Jan/Feb.

I'm not doing so bad with planning, I have 3 books left for my women's classics challenge and 3 for the Old and New classics challenge. War and Peace is one of them, which I'll post my thoughts on the existing discussion threads once I start. I don't think I'm planning any other buddy reads, even though I want to, I just know that I'll end up having to pull out.

Yep still in for the Count in Jan/Feb, but I'm still not ready to compile an actual January list yet...things are looking busy enough for the rest of this year!

Sue wrote: "woo hoo! we're scheduled for Ann of Green Gables. I noticed there is an audible version that sounds nice with whispersync. I haven't been able to figure out witch Kindle version it goes with. I hat..."

It doesn't have whispersync, but I strongly recommend the Karen Savage reading on librivox.

Pink wrote: "Loretta, I'll add Anne of Green Gables to the schedule list as well, with the links that Kathy posted above :)

It looks like we have a few more buddy reads planned for Nov onwards, bu..."

Thank you Pink! :)

Phil wrote: "Sue wrote: "woo hoo! we're scheduled for Ann of Green Gables. I noticed there is an audible version that sounds nice with whispersync. I haven't been able to figure out witch Kindle version it goes..."

I couldn't find the Karen Savage version there. Maybe they are only for a limited time? Audible doesn't appear to have that version either unfortunately. I also forgot to mention that the Audible version I was looking at was only 95 cents! The reader is Mary Sarah and from the sample, she sounds very good.

Sue wrote: "Phil wrote: "Sue wrote: "woo hoo! we're scheduled for Ann of Green Gables. I noticed there is an audible version that sounds nice with whispersync. I haven't been able to figure out witch Kindle ve..."

I used the Mary Sarah audible edition when we did the group read. She really was very good.

I think she says the Karen Savage is on Librivox, not Audible
https://librivox.org/anne-of-green-ga...

Usually on Audible, in the Whispersync verbaige, the Kindle edition portion is a hyperlink that takes you to the edition on Amazon - though often other editions can work too, especially if it isn't translated.

Melanti wrote: "I think she says the Karen Savage is on Librivox, not Audible
https://librivox.org/anne-of-green-ga...

Usually on Audible, in the Whispersync verbaige, the Kindle editi..."

Thanks Milanti. I don't know why that didn't come up when I searched. I think I prefer the Mary Sarah one. She has a nice accent.

On audible, I only see those hyperlinks when the audible is for a reduced price with the purchase of Kindle. This one apparently is not (maybe because the price is so low to begin with?). I've had this problem before, it's very frustrating.

Sarah wrote: "Sue wrote: "Phil wrote: "Sue wrote: "woo hoo! we're scheduled for Ann of Green Gables. I noticed there is an audible version that sounds nice with whispersync. I haven't been able to figure out wit..."

I love the sound of her voice. I'm partial to English accents (I can't distinguish British, Scottish etc... but I love them all).

Just started The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Homes if anyone wants to join.

Sue wrote: "Melanti wrote: "I think she says the Karen Savage is on Librivox, not Audible
https://librivox.org/anne-of-green-ga...

Usually on Audible, in the Whispersync verbaige, ..."

I'm not impressed with the search function on Librivox. I always just use Google.

Okay, then. Backup method. Buy the default and return it if it's the right one? Backup method #2: Just ask Audible support

Sometimes you can scroll down to the bottom, and go from the Amazon.com reviews to the listing on Amazon, but that appears to not work in this case either.

Melanti wrote: "Sue wrote: "Melanti wrote: "I think she says the Karen Savage is on Librivox, not Audible
https://librivox.org/anne-of-green-ga...

Usually on Audible, in the Whispersyn..."

Thanks for the tips Milanti! Will try

Brina wrote: "I literally had to write which books I want to read between now and the end of the year. I'm still on for The Count in Jan/Feb."

I know that feeling - I got two pink post-its now stuck above my bed and callendars. One says "October reads" and the other "September". ... Though I might as well start the November list soon :P

Do you mind me joining you for the "Anne of Green Gables" read?

I didn't notice there was a buddy read being planned ... But then I sort of got lost on the usual discussion threads ever since my trip to Ireland ...