Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

This thread is open for general discussion of our Classics Bingo game, including member questions or book suggestions.

If you are looking for a list of banned classics for the "Banned Book" square, here is a place to start:

http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlyc...

Christine wrote: "If you are looking for a list of banned classics for the "Banned Book" square, here is a place to start:

http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlyc..."

Aweome, I've just been trying to make a list of possible books, and was missing that one :-)

Also looking suggestions for classic of Asia or Oceania and Classic of Africa

Julie wrote: "Also looking suggestions for classic of Asia or Oceania and Classic of Africa"

If you take a look at my shelves "African", "Asian", or "1001" or maybe "world lit", I have gathered there books from those continents and books from "smaller" countries. In 1001 there are books I found from Boxall's 1001 books you should read list, though they are mostly ones that I found a Finnish translation. I think the problem with many countries is that there are not that many "old" classics because the countries themselves and their literature are still young.

If you are more interested in historical fiction and don't mind the fact that the author is from another country, I believe The Egyptian has been well received also in Egypt.

When doing those lists I also wondered what countries belong to Europe (Africa) and what to Asia. I put Russia in Europe (because the bigger cities are in the west and that's why more European) and Turkey and the countries at the Caucasus in Asia, mainly because of cultural reasons.

For a classic in Asia, this may be the time for something by Pearl Buck. I don't know if all of her novels are set in China but most are I think.

In the 2015 old and new reading challenge the participants need to finalize their reading lists before the first of the year. Is that necessary for here or can we add our choices as we go along?

Janet wrote: "In the 2015 old and new reading challenge the participants need to finalize their reading lists before the first of the year. Is that necessary for here or can we add our choices as we go along?"

I don't think that is usually the norm. If it is then I won't be playing. Part of the fun is finding new books that fit some square during the year.

Tytti wrote: "Janet wrote: "In the 2015 old and new reading challenge the participants need to finalize their reading lists before the first of the year. Is that necessary for here or can we add our choices as w..."

Totally agree Tytti, I might have an idea what I will be reading for some of the squares, but I will only be adding 'my books' as I read them

Well I have listed some of them, to give me an idea what it will look like. I am using also O, x and X to show what I have read and what I would need to find. It may not always be so correct, though...

I will probably have a bit of a problem with the female prize winner. As it happens I read two this year and have only one in mind anymore that sounds interesting enough... I also read one banned book already this year, I would like it to be as interesting as that was.

I thought of The Blind Assassin, but it's 700 pages...

Janet wrote: "In the 2015 old and new reading challenge the participants need to finalize their reading lists before the first of the year. Is that necessary for here or can we add our choices as we go along?"

No, choosing your books ahead of time is not required for Classics Bingo. You can choose your books as you go along throughout the year if you wish.

Tytti wrote: "I thought of The Blind Assassin, but it's 700 pages..."

I'm contemplating that one too. I picked up a hardcover at my local used book store for $2 last week so I have it sitting here waiting for me, but it is a long one and there are sooooo many books I want to read!

Everyone looking for either foreign or maybe female winners (and older ones are probably classics already) might want to take a look at here: Nordic Council Literature Prize. You would think they would get more easily translated, too... My fellow Nordic readers probably know about the prize already. :-)

Yeah I've chosen from that list for my 'literary prize of your country/region' - chose a book by an Icelandic writer, that I've recently added to my tbr :-)

Tytti wrote: "Everyone looking for either foreign or maybe female winners (and older ones are probably classics already) might want to take a look at here: Nordic Council Literature Prize. You would think they w..."

Great suggestion! I am trying to choose between Purge (which was awarded the prize you mentioned) and one other book for the foreign literary prize square.

I am thinking of doing the same, Julie, especially because Hägring 38 didn't win Finlandia Prize and I am more interested in that. I have some others on my TBR list too, and I saw The Blue Fox changing hands at our BC meet-up, so I might get that easily. And it's shorter... There was also one that was written in one of the Sami languages and I haven't read anything before. (Well, neither in Icelandic, so...)

Christine, that's the one I am thinking for my female author.

Should we have a book for the "free space?"

I suppose in this Bingo, no. Though I was thinking before it could be a bonus square or something. The book you have been supposed to read or something, #1 classic on your TBR list. Maybe it even could be used as a joker card... I don't know, but it would be great if you were "rewarded" for tackling that book. :-)

I have a couple books in mind that would only fit in the yearly squares and they are the ones I really "should" read. I probably won't have problems filling the 1950-1999 square anyway, so it would be too easy to just skip that one.

Andrea (Catsos Person) wrote: "Should we have a book for the "free space?""

Interesting question - I hadn't thought about it representing a "free choice" book. However, since in the real game of Bingo the Free square is usually just a given, I am going to say that you don't have to read any books at all for that square - you can just mark it off.

I'll just mark off the free square then.

Apologies if I should know this already but.....please could someone remind me of the definition of "Classics" that we use in this group. I assume that only books which the group would define as Classic can be used for the Bingo.

Many thanks.

Lagullande wrote: "Apologies if I should know this already but.....please could someone remind me of the definition of "Classics" that we use in this group. I assume that only books which the group would define as Cl..."

That is a very good question! This challenge is Classics-focused, but not necessarily Classics exclusive. For example, some squares specify that a book needs to have won a literary award, but not necessarily that it be considered part of the "Classics" canon, so players could choose recent award winners for those squares if they'd like to. (We can think of those cases as "potential classics".) Other squares DO specify a "Classic" - in those cases, I would encourage players to select books that have the genre "Classics" listed on their GR pages.

While the group does have some guidelines for selecting our group reads, I don't think we've ever tried to establish a hard and fast rule for what we will consider to be a Classic. For purposes of this game, which is a personal challenge, I would encourage players to try to adhere to the spirit of the game in keeping your selections Classics-focused. If you truly believe a certain book should be considered a classic and you would like to use it for the game, I will accept that. :-)

Some or many "classics" don't even have a shelf by that name, the same with the other genres. They may not be shelved that many times in the first place.

Christine wrote: "Lagullande wrote: "Apologies if I should know this already but.....please could someone remind me of the definition of "Classics" that we use in this group. I assume that only books which the group..."

Thank you, Christine. You have solved exactly the problem I was wondering about.....namely, what to do for the prize-winners.

Tytti wrote: "Some or many "classics" don't even have a shelf by that name, the same with the other genres. They may not be shelved that many times in the first place."

I realize that Tytti. So, as I said, if you believe a certain book is or should be considered a classic, then feel free to use it!

I just printed out the Bingo board. This is a great idea! I did a general Book Bingo in 2014, and really enjoyed it. Thanks for this; I'm really looking forward to using it in the new year.

Debra wrote: "I just printed out the Bingo board. This is a great idea! I did a general Book Bingo in 2014, and really enjoyed it. Thanks for this; I'm really looking forward to using it in the new year."

Great! I hope you have fun playing!

For "O1: Literary Prize of Your Country/Region" would it be ok to take a book which won the European Union Prize for Literature if one is from Germany, even if the said book is not from Germany, but Greece?
I interpreted that square as Germany being my country and Europe being my region (in the world). Or does region refer to your region in your country like e.g. a US federal state?

Phil wrote: "For "O1: Literary Prize of Your Country/Region" would it be ok to take a book which won the European Union Prize for Literature if one is from Germany, even if the said book is not from Germany, bu..."

I would say that was ok, I'm going to read a winner of the Nordic literature prize from Iceland for that category (being from Denmark myself).

Thanks for your help, Julie!
I think I'll go for it then. The Greek book sounds really interesting.

For the O1 square, if the award is limited within the "region" you live in then it works. If it is a prize for all of Europe, and you live in a European country, then it works! Happy reading. :-)

I finished a book yesterday that would fit this challenge, but I'd started on the 29th of Dec. Could I still count it? It's a long-ish book (over 500 pages of tiny font that was about half the size of normal font), and I hadn't made it that far yet before New Years.

If you finished it in 2015, then I say you can count it. :-)

Great! Thanks :)

Christine wrote: "If you finished it in 2015, then I say you can count it. :-)"

That's great! Then I can add another book which I have read into the new year. Tess of the D'Urbervilles is also quite long.

I've just found out that the Greek book the synopsis of which sounds great has not been translated into English (or German) yet. Only Polish and the original in modern Greek :-( ...

Another question: What is the historical classic? Because for us of today many classics are "historical" to begin with...
If it's historical fiction, what would amount to a classic?
The Pillars of the Earth ? Outlander? In a sense even Love in the Times of Cholera is historical fiction, because it takes place at the dawn of the 1900s and it was the end of the 1900s when Marquéz wrote it.

Any suggestions?

Phil wrote: "Another question: What is the historical classic? Because for us of today many classics are "historical" to begin with...
If it's historical fiction, what would amount to a classic?"

That square refers to any classic from the historical fiction or non-fiction history genres. Any book that has the genres "classic" and either "history" or "historical fiction" on its GR page would work. Love in the Time of Cholera or The Pillars of the Earth would work. Other examples that immediately spring to my mind are A Tale of Two Cities and Gone with the Wind.

I believe the most accepted definition of historical fiction is a work of fiction that was written at least 50 years after the time period in which the story is set. So if you are reading a classic that fits that criteria it would be appropriate for the Historical Classic square, whether it displays the GR genre tag or not.

I, personally, think I will be reading I, Claudius for that square.

The Three Musketeers and many of Shakespeare's plays are Historical Fiction classics. There are also quite a few Ancient Roman works of history that are classics, if that helps any :)

You can check out this Listopia "Best Historical Fiction" list for more ideas. Not all of these are classics, but many are.

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Thank you! That's really helpful!

Mika Waltari wrote many historical fiction books, The Egyptian being the most famous. (The Hollywood movie isn't very good.) That was probably one of the first, if not the first "bigger" book set in the Pharaohs' times and the historical facts are mostly correct, even the modern research haven't found too many mistakes. http://www.finemb.org.uk/public/defau...

I watched a documentary recently where they said that he had been interested in Egypt since the grave of Tutankhamon was found and had read everything about it. The story itself was "ready" in the late 1930's already but then the war came. He then wrote it in the frenzy during the summer of 1945 in a few months. He wrote it once, like 20 pages or something per day, and did only small corrections later.

But he had said that the war changed the book, it would have been different if written before it. (He did serve in the information department during the war.) It's also one of those books where different people find different things and also the same reader when they get older, I'm told.

Oh, and if you want something special to read for Easter, there is The Secret of the Kingdom.

Thank you very much, Tytti, for the suggestions! The Egyptian sounds really interesting! I've always found Ancient Egypt to be interesting. Just put it on my to-read list even if I choose another book for the bingo.

I've thought about it a bit more and came up with Karl May:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_May
He wrote about the settlers in the US and did so about 100 years later, so it should fit the category. I've already read some books by him and really liked those. Maybe I'll expand on them... He was my parents' favourite author in their youth.

For anyone looking for something different to read (for short stories, prize winner etc.), I could suggest The Iraqi Christ. Also his other book is reportedly banned.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014...

(Full disclosure: I probably live within a walking distance from him.)

How is everyone feeling about using short stories in this bingo? Or is there some kind on page limit, what is considered to be sufficient?

Desertorum wrote: "How is everyone feeling about using short stories in this bingo? Or is there some kind on page limit, what is considered to be sufficient?"

The rules do not stipulate any minimum page or word count in general, so it is up to you to decide if you'd like to use individual short stories for your personal challenge. The only exceptions would be N2 (the requirement is a "short story collection", so by definition would require more than one short story) and G2 (which requires a book that is more than 500 pages in length).

Okay thanks! Kind of feel like cheating to use short story ;)

Just want to verify, but is it OK to use Hemingway's Green Hills of Africa for classic of Africa square? It tells about Hemingway's month long safari trip to East Africa in 1933 and therefore is completely located in there. And also I'm having a bit of a hard time finding an African classic fitting in this square (I've already read most of Camus books).

Maarit wrote: "Just want to verify, but is it OK to use Hemingway's Green Hills of Africa for classic of Africa square? It tells about Hemingway's month long safari trip to East Africa in 1933 and th..."

I read Cry, the Beloved Country for my Africa pick. I'd also recommend Things Fall Apart if you haven't already read it.

Maarit wrote: "Just want to verify, but is it OK to use Hemingway's Green Hills of Africa for classic of Africa square?"

In my opinion it would be. After all he is writing from his own experiences, so it's probably pretty accurate. In any case, apart from Arab and South African (white) authors (and some colonial, I think), there is not that much old literature available written by African-born people.

But you can also check my "african" shelf. There is for example Jumalan puupalikat and books by Wole Soyinka and Naguib Mahfouz, both Nobel laureates and published in the "Yellow Library", two other South African Nobel laureates can be found in "Otava's Library". Most of the books there have a Finnish edition available, even though not listed in GR. (And I find that many of them sound pretty interesting, regardless of their origin. So if you are not that interested in safaris..)