RMFAO (Reading My Frigging A** Off) discussion

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I'm going to go for Bookworm (6-8) but will obviously try to get to Scholar at least, maybe professor if I find the right books (which I usually do thanks to you and Cheryl!)

I already have a couple left from this year, so I'll be completing them. Plus, I have H.P. Lovecraft's stories to finish (thanks a bunch for introducing me to his writing!) and I have this big-ass Sci-Fi short story collector's book to finish (though I'm gonna skip all the Verne stories from it so basically I'll be reading only 40% of that book.)

Can you please suggest some Science-Fiction or Speculative-Fiction books for January? It would be great if they are audiobooks and not too lengthy :)

No worries. I'll look forward to your suggestions (esp. the LibriVox ones :))

I will join in with this challenge. I'll aim for 10 books (hopefully!)

Wow... Thanks a ton, Dagny, these are some really great recs. :)

I'm going to go for the audiobook of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, so as you said, it'll be a triple play. I'm going with this because a) I've never read anything on Frankenstien and b) because it is not very long.

I read War Of The Worlds for the first year fo this challenge on your suggestion and loved it! So I might read one his from this list, though I might read it in some other month as January is already looking quite full. The Island of Dr. Moreau looks like my kind of book, so I'm adding it to my TBR.

I can barely read Jules Verne's writing (though I do like the movies with The Rock in them ;) ) so I'm going to skip his books.
Other than the 2 I mentioned above, I'm quite interested in The Lost World Series and The Forgotten Planet by Murray Leinster.

It's going to be a great start to 2018 with these awesome reads! Thanks again, Classics Prof. Dagny, you're the best :)

Dagny wrote: "Of course I'm a bit of a Frankenstein freak, so I've read several later renderings, continuations, whatever."

Really? That's great. Do let me know what all books should I read on Frankenstein then.

Dean Koontz's Frankenstein? This sounds great. Thanks for the names. I'll check them out.

Dagny wrote: "My first classic for 2018:
1. The Lost World (Professor Challenger #1) by Arthur Conan Doyle"

That's a good one, Dagny!

1. Stranger in a Strange Land - 3/5 - A great concept, but a lot of wandering and an anti-climatic ending. I suppose I've grokked this book in its fullness... and it is a goodness too.

1.) An Eye for an Eye by William Le Queux

2.) Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

3.) A Bed of Roses by Walter Lionel George

1. Manga Classics: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin - Manga Classic by Stacy King - 4/5

2. Frankenstein by Mary Shelly - 4/5 stars.

A mindblowing read! Thanks a lot Dagny for this recommendation!

2018 Classics:

1. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. Sci-Fi Dystopia classic. 2 stars. Turned-off by the slang and violence. Read 1/28/18.
2. The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie. Crime mystery. 3 stars. Not sure if this particular story is a classic but Agatha Christie is. Not one of her better mysteries but a nice "comfort" read. Read 3/18/18.
3. The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk. Rated 4.5 stars. Read 4/27/18.
4. The Unicorn by Iris Murdoch. Rated 3 stars. Read 5/16/18.
5. Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay. Rated 5 stars. An Australian classic. Read 7/10/18.
6. The Magician by W. Somerset Maugham. Rated 3.5 stars. Read 8/8/18.
7. Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne. Rated 5 stars. Read 9/22/18.

2018 Short Story Classics:

1. The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant. 3 stars. Read 3/8/18. The ending is ironic yet predictable. I saw a quote from the author saying what would have happened if she hadn't lost the necklace? My response is what would have happened if she just told her friend!
2. The Story of My Dovecote by Isaac Babel. 3 stars. Read 3/10/18. Sad.
3. Signs and Symbols by Vladimir Nabokov. 3 stars. Read 3/7/18. A lot of different interpretations have been added to this short story hence the name.
4. Gómez Palacio by Roberto Bolaño. 2 stars. Read 3/1/18. Very descriptive writing - brilliantly describes all the colors found in the desert. However, not much action or plot to story.

I thought it might be better now that I am older but I dislike it more the second time around.

3. Manga Classics: The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe - 3/5

Not sure if I liked the writing much, but all the stories were creepy as hell!

4.) Journey Into Fear by Eric Ambler
A classic spy novel.

5.) The Mayor's Wife by Anna Katharine Green

Dagny wrote: "Never mind, Cheryl. I just saw how you liked it on the Mystery thread. I'll be marking it down for the future, thanks."

Just so you know, there is a tedious chapter in it on solving a cryptogram, but you can easily skip it without hampering your understanding of the story.

Dagny wrote: "5. The Mayor's Wife by Anna Katherine Green

Interesting coincidence, Cheryl. Even though our first four "classics" are different, this one was the fifth for both of us."

It's funny how that worked out!

6.) That Affair Next Door by Ana Katharine Green
3 stars. My review can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Dagny wrote: "Another Anna K Green one. You're on a roll with those, Cheryl."

Yes, I lucked out with the books I picked to read. I will definitely read more of this author's work.

Dagny wrote: "#6. The Beetle by Richard Marsh

A ton of fun! Thanks for the recommendation, Cheryl."

Glad you liked it.

4) Manga Classics: Jane Eyre - 5/5

The only Manga Classic I've read so far that made me want to read the original classic.

7.) Ragged Dick: Or, Street Life in New York with the Boot Blacks by Horatio Alger, jr.

3 stars

Joanne wrote: "Going to join going for level 1 and hopefully reaching level two lol
Love the classics.
Currently reading reading now I’m not sure if it’s a classic so correct me if I’m wrong."

These look ok for the challenge, Joanne.

8.) Lost Horizon by James Hilton

9.) Camille by Alexandre Dumas fils. 4 stars.

10.) The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

11.) The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

12.) Timar's Two Worlds by Mor Jokai

4 stars. Very good. My review can be found here:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

13.)The Thirteenth Chair by Bayard Veiller

14.) Mohawks by Mary Elizabth Braddon
3 and a half stars.

The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
2/5
The book is not bad in itself. Infact, for the most part it felt like it deserved 3 stars but what bugged me was the last chapter where there were a few racist descriptions of Indian people ( Not to be confused with the native Americans).
But then again the book is from late 19th Century. Can't except too much of political correctness from it.

Aayush Kamath wrote: "The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
2/5
The book is not bad in itself. Infact, for the most part it felt like it deserved 3 stars but what bugged me was the last chapter where there were a ..."

Sometimes it is hard reading the older classics because of the insensitivity of the authors. I read The Caine Mutiny which won a Pultizer Prize in the 1950s and was shocked at some of the sexist remarks by the author. The sad part was the story was good. The remarks in no way enhanced the story and didn't need to be included at all.

Kathy wrote: "Aayush Kamath wrote: "The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
2/5
The book is not bad in itself. Infact, for the most part it felt like it deserved 3 stars but what bugged me was the last chapt..."

Can relate to what you said. The remarks in the book that I read were pretty unnecessary and added nothing substantial to the story.

15.) The Blue Duchess by Paul Bourget
3 stars.

2. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
4/5

5. Manga Classics: The Count of Monte Cristo - 3/5

I like reading revenge dramas, but this one was way too elaborate. I started having trouble remembering all the twisty French names somewhere around the middle of the book and then it kind of turned into a nightmare keeping track of all the names of (so many!) characters.
But of course, I'm glad I read this as a Manga because I'm sure my patience would have worn out after a couple hundred pages otherwise.

6. Manga Classics: Romeo and Juliet - 1/5 - DNF

I never admitted it till now but I'm kind of not into Shakespeare. I had a horrible incident in the 7th standard where, in spite of my stage fright, I was made to read a character from Hamlet during class reading and I got so nervous during that play that I ended up hating it for being so lengthy and for, of course, having so many characters.
Since then I've had trouble even reading, let alone liking, any of his works. And as it turns out, I can't even stand the Mango of his works. So maybe I'm not into his style of writing or storytelling.

7. Seven H P Lovecraft Stories - 3/5

As I said in the other thread, it wasn't his best collection.

I've just received a classic book's audiobook and I was wondering if anyone here knows about it - Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.

Yep, I remember the one you recomended for Christmas last year or the year before and it had me crying for sometime (the one with the poor boy and his dog in which both die.)

Dagny wrote: "Oh yes, that was the book by Ouida - the title escapes me at the moment."

Yes! I remember the name Ouida now. The narrator pronounced it in a funny way. It was a lovely story, very difficult to forget. :)

16.) Griffith Gaunt, Or, Jealousy by Charles Reade
3 and a half stars.

Dagny wrote: "The title of Ouida's book came to me today with no problem - A Dog of Flanders."

A Dog Of Flanders was the one! It was such a haunting story.

8) Rebecca and Sunny Brook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin and narrated Ann Richardson.
4/5
Beautiful story and excellent narration!

17.) Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse
3 stars

18.) Black Spirits and White: A Book of Ghost Stories by Ralph Adams Cram
4 stars