Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

Darren got me thinking about next year's plans, but we still have two months left of 2018. I'm trying to decide which books I want to cross off my lists before the year is out. How is everyone else getting on? Are you scrambling to finish several challenges? Have you accepted that you'll never read all the books you set out to (I have!) or do you plan to clear the deck ready for the new year?

My year has been challenge free and reading light! I'd like to finish a few authors works (Charlotte Bronte, George Orwell, F Scott Fitzgerald) and fit in some shorter, newer fiction, or non-fiction, but otherwise I'm pretty flexible.

I'm on track to finish my challenge by the end of December and I've already gone over the number of books I predicted I would read. I'm quite happy about that, since there were some very long books on my list. I want to fit in a few shorter books before the end of the year, but I keep being distracted by meatier reads.

Pink wrote: "Darren got me thinking about next year's plans, but we still have two months left of 2018. I'm trying to decide which books I want to cross off my lists before the year is out. How is everyone else..."

I'm less than a 100 pages away from finishing my last challenge read. Once I've finished that and A Brief History of Seven Killings (less than 200 pages left in that one), I'll have the rare opportunity to start four books at once. Beyond my usual at least two women/one woman of color/two people of color stipulations that I use to control my reading balance, I feel I should refrain from reading certain books that could be useful for 2019 challenges. However, I'm admittedly bloody sick of all that planning, so frankly, who knows what will happen. Reading new authors of whom I have multiple works on my shelves appeals, in order to counteract my deplorable book hoarding habits if nothing else.

A year of no challenges sounds so blissful, Pink. While I love challenges and the new authors they introduce me to, at some point I feel hemmed in. I finished the final book of my year long challenges a few days ago and it feels nice. I am focusing on various group reads and a few other books I haven't gotten around to for the remainder of the year.

My only “challenge” for 2019 is reading through my tbr to get it down to year by the end of the year. I’m already starting this year and so far so good. If I join any challenge next year it will be bingo and only if the books on my tbr fit into the categories.

The challenge has been good to me this year.
Only sixty days left, and 62 books from goal, but with enough snow days, it's within reach.
There are about fifty books left out of 66 on my original checklist.

Aubrey, I’ve also been leaving some books so that I can include them on next year’s challenges instead. A Brief History of Seven Killings is one of them, which I’ve had on audiobook since it won the Booker. I’ll look out for your thoughts/ review when you’ve finished it.

Laurie, no challenges has been blissful, but it has meant that I’ve pushed books back all year that I intended to read. Next year I’m going back to planning, to try and keep me focused, though I won’t mind if I don’t hit all my goals.

Helen, I am not a big fan of the A to Z challenges either, which is why I hurried to finish them by the end of September.
I really like the Bingo and am reading the last book for a blackout right now. Then I will have completed the three challenges for this group.

But I have several challenges with other groups to finish- and am aiming to complete those which I am close to finishing. And as for the rest--you never know.

Pink wrote: "Darren got me thinking about next year's plans, but we still have two months left of 2018. I'm trying to decide which books I want to cross off my lists before the year is out. How is everyone else..."

I would like to read A town like Alice and Ooronoko for OaNC .I would like to complete it this year ,at least.
Bingo has been a fill it up as I read challenge for me,so even if I don't complete it,Iam ok with.
I am in a book hangover though..I kust am not able to read the said two books.
And I would like to read all of this month books except for Seven Gables,if I can.
But only after the two challenge books.

Pink wrote: "Darren got me thinking about next year's plans, but we still have two months left of 2018. I'm trying to decide which books I want to cross off my lists before the year is out. How is everyone else..."

I’m 3 books behind on my challenge, and for some reason decided to read Anna Karenina, so I will need to do a mad dash after this one to finish the challenge.

But that isn’t stopping me! I actually read something earlier this week that caused me to think of an interesting challenge I am willing to take on for next year.

Thank you, Helen.

Pink wrote: "Darren got me thinking about next year's plans, but we still have two months left of 2018. I'm trying to decide which books I want to cross off my lists before the year is out. How is everyone else..."

Scrambling to finish several challenges and still participate in several group reads and if I see a book that really intrigued me, I don’t put off reading it — I think if I did that I would find challenges to be more burdensome than fun!

My priority challenges are this groups’ “Old and New Classics” and “Quest for Women Authors” challenges, which should in turn make it easy to blackout the “Bingo” board. I’m not going to read as many books from around the world as I’d hoped this year, but I now have my TBR list and planning for next year so I will continue to broaden my reading. All in all, completed or not, I’ve enjoyed participating in challenges and read a lot of great books and am looking forward to continuing next year! 😃

I've fallen off the path for any challenges, I'm afraid, and have been freely reading whatever book falls into my hands next.
I am a bit disappointed at not doing better in our Old & New Classics challenge, as these are books I want to read. However, it's my first year and perhaps I choose poorly for selection. I'll try again next year.
For the rest of the year, I'm going to continue free-wheeling it and read whatever catches my fancy.

Aside from reading the books for my two local book clubs, I'm in a race to read/finish three books for my Bingo Challenge: Don Quixote, All Quiet on the Western Front, and My Brilliant Career.

For 2019, I plan to spend more time with my other hobbies so will only read books that fit into my Bingo Challenge (the only challenge I plan to pursue).

Helen wrote: "This is my unexpected find Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott. We read a small excerpt in our classroom literature textbook, but I want to read it in its entirety. "

I love all her children's books (Little Women et al.), but have also really enjoyed discovering her more adult works, including this one. I wish she'd done a full-on autobiography.

Over the weekend I finished Circe, so now before the end of the year, I want to re-read The Iliad and The Odyssey.

I have to read The Keepers of the House to finish my women authors challenge. I don't want to be this close and then not complete it.