Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

1899 and Earlier:


1. First Love by Ivan Turgenev
2. Pleasures and Days by Marcel Proust
3. The First Violin: A Novel by Jessie Fothergill

1900-1999:

✔4. Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie; Read 1/11/19
✔5. My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell; Read 3/16/19
6. The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain

Wild Card Six:

7. The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
8. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
9. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
10. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
11. Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
12. Light Years by James Salter

Alternates:

✔1. Howards End by E.M. Forster; Read 2/14/19
2. To a God Unknown by John Steinbeck

Save

Another nice list! I am also going to read The Postman Always Rings Twice, and I would like to read some of Gerald Durrell's books. I love that show on PBS. Happy Reading!

Terris wrote: "Another nice list! I am also going to read The Postman Always Rings Twice, and I would like to read some of Gerald Durrell's books. I love that show on PBS. Happy Reading!"

Thank you, Terris. I am keeping my fingers crossed for this challenge. I did horribly with it in 2018. I'm going to focus on this one first this time around, if I can :)

Candi wrote: "Terris wrote: "Another nice list! I am also going to read The Postman Always Rings Twice, and I would like to read some of Gerald Durrell's books. I love that show on PBS. Happy Reading!"

Thank yo..."

It's weird but this is a challenge that I never finish! Bingo is usually my priority challenge. For this one, I just try to read as many as I can (I think I read 9/14 this year) and try to feel good about that. Then I put all the left over books on next year's list! ;)

That sounds like a workable plan as well, Terris! I think I'll just see if I can check off more of them this year than last and be happy with that :)

Nice list, Candi!
Interesting choice for a Proust book. Have you read In Search of Lost Time and did you feel like something else by him or are you going to read this as an introduction to his work?

I'm planning to read Things Fall Apart next year as well. It will be one of my first African reads.

Nice list! Aside from Death on the Nile, I haven't read any of your choices yet! A few of them are on my ever growing TBR list though, and just added another :)

I hope you enjoy them, and have fun with the challenge!

Lotte wrote: "Nice list, Candi!
Interesting choice for a Proust book. Have you read In Search of Lost Time and did you feel like something else by him or are you going to read this as an introduction to his wor..."

Thanks, Lotte! I have not yet read anything by Proust. I thought this would serve as an intro to his work, and I also had to choose a book with the word 'Pleasure' in the title for a group challenge elsewhere. Trying to make it worth for both :)

Renee wrote: "Nice list! Aside from Death on the Nile, I haven't read any of your choices yet! A few of them are on my ever growing TBR list though, and just added another :)

I hope you enjoy them, and have fun..."

Thank you, Renee! My TBR is out of control already, and then when I start looking at everyone's challenge lists, not to mention the GR end of year write-ups, the list begins to expand even more!

Nice list. I jumped the gun a little bit and read The Postman Always Rings Twice last week. It has a unique ending. Enjoy your challenge.

Great list,Candi.
Hope you enjoy the books. :)
Will esp be waiting to hear what you think of English Patient.

Bob wrote: "Nice list. I jumped the gun a little bit and read The Postman Always Rings Twice last week. It has a unique ending. Enjoy your challenge."

Thanks, Bob! I'm looking forward to that one - curious about the ending now too :)

siriusedward wrote: "Great list,Candi.
Hope you enjoy the books. :)
Will esp be waiting to hear what you think of English Patient."

Thank you, Elena. I am perhaps one of the last ones to read The English Patient, lol! Haven't even seen the movie yet :)

I LOVED The English Patient, and when you finish you absolutely HAVE to see the movie.

Crossing to Safety is an all-time Fav for me. You've got a lot of books here that I don't even have on my TBR...I can see I need to make some space.

Sara wrote: "I LOVED The English Patient, and when you finish you absolutely HAVE to see the movie.

Crossing to Safety is an all-time Fav for me. You've got a lot of books here that I don't even have on my TBR..."

Sara, if you loved The English Patient, then it's nearly guaranteed that I will! I'm glad I never watched the movie, although I've had the opportunity in the past. I can't wait to experience both :)

Believe it nor not, Crossing to Safety will be my first Stegner novel. Not sure what I've been waiting for, lol.

Well, here we go, adding to those lists again!! :)

I know, it is endless. I'm excited for you to read Stegner, I intend to read everything he has written eventually.

I've finished my first book in the category 1900-1999. I'm glad I chose it for here, as I was able to plug it in to a couple more challenges!

Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

My Review

Nice way to start the challenge, Candi!
I'm a fan of Hercule Poirot stories.

Congrats on your progress Candi! I hope you like Fothergill's novel, I certainly did. The English patient has been on my TBR shelf since long. Perhaps this year I will.

Petra wrote: "Nice way to start the challenge, Candi!
I'm a fan of Hercule Poirot stories."

Thanks, Petra! Always a treat to read about Poirot :)

Ila wrote: "Congrats on your progress Candi! I hope you like Fothergill's novel, I certainly did. The English patient has been on my TBR shelf since long. Perhaps this year I will."

Thanks, Ila! I'm pleased that you've read and loved the Fothergill novel, because it seems not many people have even heard of it! I can't wait to read it :)

I like the variety in your list - loads of neat reads - and Light Years - left a strong impression on me, like Eugenides a wonderful read but in a very different way. Electric is a word that comes to mind.

Enjoy!!

Inkspill wrote: "I like the variety in your list - loads of neat reads - and Light Years - left a strong impression on me, like Eugenides a wonderful read but in a very different way. Electric is a wo..."

Thank you, Inkspill! I'm really excited to read Light Years - I have not yet read anything by James Salter. When you say 'electric', I'm even more keen to read it as soon as possible! :)

I've read one of my alternates since it was a group read here :)

Howards End by E.M. Forster

My Review

Congrats on another book read, I’m glad you liked it :)

I enjoyed your review. I'm also a fan of Forster, my favorite may well be Where Angels Fear to Tread.

Pink wrote: "Congrats on another book read, I’m glad you liked it :)"

Thank you, Pink :)

Bob wrote: "I enjoyed your review. I'm also a fan of Forster, my favorite may well be Where Angels Fear to Tread."

Thanks, Bob. That novel is part of my 'project' too :)

This is the first I've seen of your list for some reason Candi. I think because you created it early and I haven't been in this challenge for a while.

I'm so curious to see what you thought of My Family and Other Animals. I've never heard of that one but it looks really good.

Sue, I thought My Family and Other Animals was such a delight to read! It's not a heavy book at all, but one that will bring a smile to your face - especially if you love animals. There is a television production of this which I intend to watch now too :)

Finished my review for one of my "New" classic choices:

My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell

My Review