Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

Challenge #6 - Short Story Challenge

I have decided to join the Buffet in the second half of the year. I just couldn't resist. I have selected 24 different authors so I could get a feel of their style. I have taken all books from the group short story shelf as I could read reviews and select books that I would like.

My List of 24 Short Stories to read: 24/24

1. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde 30th September
2. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros 18th October
3. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett 28th October
4. The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens 9th December
5. Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw 7th September
6. A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift 19th August
7. The Country of the Blind by H.G. Wells 3rd December
8. There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury 31st July
9. The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson 3rd August
10. Summer by Edith Wharton 18th November
11. A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf 20th August
12. The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry 6th August
13. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway 17th November
14. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald 17th August
15. A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen 14th September
16. Candide by Voltaire 15th December
17. At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft 4th September
18. The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe 13th August
19. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck 23rd September
20. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse 30th October
21. Lady Susan by Jane Austen 8th October
22. A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner 2nd November
23. The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy 14th November
24. White Nights by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 6th September

Other Short Stories I Read:

25. Amy Foster by Joseph Conrad
26. The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster
27. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
28. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
29. The Club of Queer Trades by G.K. Chesterton
29. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
30. The Colour Out of Space by H.P. Lovecraft
31. Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving
32. Pickman's Model by H.P. Lovecraft
33. The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe
34. Beyond the Bayou by Kate Chopin
35. Ma'ame Pelagie by Kate Chopin
36. The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
37. Desiree's Baby by Kate Chopin
38. The Kiss by Kate Chopin
39. The Locket by Kate Chopin
40. A Respectable Woman by Kate Chopin
41. A Pair of Silk Stockings by Kate Chopin
42. The Rats in the Walls by H.P. Lovecraft
43. The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe
44. The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe
45. The Lurking Fear by H.P. Lovecraft
46. The Mystery of Marie Rogêt by Edgar Allan Poe
47. The Call of Cthulu by H.P. Lovecraft
48. The Nose by Nikolai Gogol
49. The Shunned House by H.P. Lovecraft
50. The Dunwich Horror by H.P. Lovecraft
51. The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen
52. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
53. Dagon by H.P. Lovecraft
54. The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
55. The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde
56. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
57. The Whisperer in Darkness by H.P. Lovecraft
58. The Shadow Over Innsmouth by H.P. Lovecraft
59. The Star by Arthur C. Clarke
60. The Shadow Out of Time by H.P. Lovecraft
61. The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain
62. The Bet by Anton Chekhov
63. The Damned Thing by Ambrose Bierce
64. Youth by Isaac Asimov
65. The Haunter of the Dark by H.P. Lovecraft
66. My Financial Career by Stephen Leacock
67. The Darling by Anton Chekhov
68. A Haunted House by Virginia Woolf
69. The Hanging Stranger by Philip K. Dick
70. Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway
71. The Crystal Crypt by Philip K. Dick
72. William Wilson by Edgar Allan Poe
73. The Mark on the Wall by Virginia Woolf
74. Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne
75. Mr. Spaceship by Philip K. Dick
76. The Horror at Martin's Beach by H.P. Lovecraft
77. The Dreams in the Witch House by H.P. Lovecraft
78. The Outsider by H.P. Lovecraft
79. A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote
80. One Christmas by Truman Capote
81. The Thanksgiving Visitor by Truman Capote
82. The Willows by Algernon Blackwood
83. Green Tea by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
84. The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen
85. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
86. Chess Story by Stefan Zweig
87. The Birds by Daphne du Maurier
88. The Fly by Katherine Mansfield
89. 2BR02B by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
90. A Simple Heart by Gustave Flaubert
91. Dracula's Guest by Bram Stoker
92. The Curse of Yig by H.P. Lovecraft
93. The Night Before Christmas by Nikolai Gogol
94. A Resumed Identity by Ambrose Bierce
95. An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce
96. The Last Leaf by O. Henry
97. The Alchemist by H.P. Lovecraft
98. The White Ship by H.P. Lovecraft
99. A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson by H.P. Lovecraft
100. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

Challenge #1 - Old & New TBR Challenge

As mentioned in the description (If you joined after June 2020 list the appropriate number of books according to the number of months left, but only pick one alternate) here is my list of six books and one alternate. I have selected all 7 from the group bookshelf (prior to 2020) as I haven't read most of them. I don't know if I will complete this but I'm going to try.

1899 and earlier/Old School

1. The Awakening by Kate Chopin 25th August
2. Persuasion by Jane Austen 4th September
3. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell 7th November

1900-1999/New School

1. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf 29th August
2. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 13th October
3. To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee 7th December

Alternate

The Trial by Franz Kafka

Best of luck, Shaina. You have a great choice of books and shorts stories. I hope you find some new favorites.

Thank you Laurie. I hope so too!

Hi , Shaina. I’m not doing challenges this year but you have picked a few of my favorites for these two challenges so I hope it’s enjoyable for you.

Thank you Brina. I wonder how you resisted the challenges?? I will sure check your shelf to see which books you enjoyed ( the app doesn't allow to compare books).

When we went into quarantine the library closed for three months so I opted for comfort reading this year. I’ve been looking at everyone else’s challenges for inspiration for next year.

I completely understand. My eReader was/is (India we are still in lockdown) my only source of comfort.

That's how I end up exploring Goodreads and realised that we had groups we could join. Now looking at challenges I'm unable to resist taking them up.

Good luck to you. My favorites on your lists are House on Mango Street, Pygmalion, and To Kill a Mockingbird. I have used strong will power to not do challenges. Maybe next year.

Yes I will need luck. I'll let you if I like them as well. I hope to see you in the challenge next year.

You are in for a great ride with the short stories Shaina. Make sure you look at the group discussions for some of them, especially A Rose for Emily.

That's a great suggestion Sue. I really didn't think of that. Thank you!

Welcome to the challenge, really nice choices. Good luck!

Bob wrote: "Welcome to the challenge, really nice choices. Good luck!"

Thank you, Bob. I'm really enjoying short stories. I wonder why I didn't read them before. I also had 50 Greatest Short Stories on my bookshelf which I probably bought at some airport bookstore and now I finally plan to read it.

Short stories are a true favorite, I've over done it a little this year, enjoy.

I have read 3 of 6 books in my TBR challenge and so far I have loved Persuasion by Jane Austen and The Awakening by Kate Chopin the most.

I hope to read another one from the list this month.

I seem to have read 24 short stories other than what I planned. Well, I'm sure I will finish all the one's on my list too.

You are doing a wonderful job on your challenge, Shaina! I also loved the two from your TBR, and have a goal of 24 short stories by different authors too, but I still have a long way to go. Enjoy!

Thank you, Kathleen. I really didn't expect to love The Awakening but I also end up reading many of her short stories.

I remember looking at your buffet challenge list (which is almost complete). It's quite a big list. I plan to read Dubliners, The Cask of Amontillado and The Talented Mr. Ripley this year (hopefully) apart from our common short stories.

Shaina wrote: "Thank you, Kathleen. I really didn't expect to love The Awakening but I also end up reading many of her short stories.

I remember looking at your buffet challenge list (which is almos..."

Those were all good, but I really liked Dubliners. I'll look forward to seeing your thoughts on that, given all of your short story experience!

Nice job on your short story reading Shaina. I also have developed a real appreciation for reading short stories during this challenge. I knew I liked them, but would neglect reading them.

Thank you, Lynn. I didn't know what I was missing till I started reading short stories which I started thanks to this group. I now read them quite often esp. between full length books.

I had the same experience with Short Stories and this group Shaina. I shied away from them before and now I love them. I'm hoping to read Dubliners by the end of the year too. I read "The Dead" which is the last story in it loved it.

I have 2 books left in my Old and New TBR challenge. I think I can finish the challenge by the 31st of December.

The 10 short stories shouldn't be difficult to finish either.

Sue wrote: "I had the same experience with Short Stories and this group Shaina. I shied away from them before and now I love them. I'm hoping to read Dubliners by the end of the year too. I read "The Dead" whi..."

Sue, I too hope to read Dubliners by December. Fingers crossed! I didn't know The Dead was part of it. Thanks for sharing that.

I have always loved short stories and find they are an excellent way to sample an author and see what their writing style is like. In fact, some authors are great with short stories and not so much with longer novels...Katherine Porter comes to mind, and if you don't read short stories you will miss out on some marvelous writers, like O'Henry.

You've made great choices for your old and new. I do hope you get to both North and South and To Kill a Mockingbird. Excellent reads, both.

Thank you, Sara. I've been hooked on to short stories since I joined this group. I do use it to sample authors (someone in the group suggested that) and now I read so many of them each month.

I do plan to read North and South next month and To Kill a Mockingbird in December so that should take care of the challenge. I'm very excited about both books.

Finished another book from the Old and New TBR: North and South. 1 book left to go. I will save that for December.

Completed my Old and New TBR challenge!

Congratulations, Shaina! Well done.

Thank you, Sara.

Congratulations! A great half year challenge.

Good job, Shaina! Hope you enjoyed all your reads!

You packed so much into your half-year challenge! Congrats!

Thank you, Bob, Terris and Kathleen.

Terris, I did enjoy them all. I'm really happy I read them and skipped Kafka :)

Good for you, ha ha! I know some people love Kafka, but I would certainly skip him ;)

Completed my Short Story Challenge!

Yes! and then some :-) a very cool list

Thank you, Jessica!