Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

1: Book From Our Group’s Shelf Prior to 2021 - Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
B2: Book That Has Been Made Into Film - 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke (07/08/21)
B3: Booker Prize Winner - Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie (1981 winner)
B4: Classic Romance - Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
B5: Classic of Europe - Swann's Way by Marcel Proust

I1: Classic Adventure - Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
I2: Book Published or Written 1700 or earlier - The Odyssey by Homer
I3: Classic Short Story Collection - Flappers and Philosophers by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I4: Book Published in the 19th Century - The Charterhouse of Parma by Stendhal
I5: New To Me Classic Author - Lady Chatterley's Lover or Women in Love by D.H. Lawrence

N1: Nobel Laureate - Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata (1968 winner) (01/14/21)
N2: History or Historical Fiction - The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder (historical fiction)
N3: Reader’s Choice - The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe or Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
N4: Classic Satire or Comedy - Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis (02/14/21)
N5: Newberry Medal Winner - The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly (1929) or The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli (1950) or The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (1959)

G1: Classic Female Author - The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
G2: Book Published in the 18th Century - The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis
G3: Nonfiction - Death in the Afternoon by Ernest Hemingway
G4: Book Published in the 20th Century - Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
G5: Book From Another Book Club or Library List - Ubik by Philip K. Dick (Time All-TIme 100 Novels) (01/09/21)

O1: Classic of Africa - The Famished Road by Ben Okri or Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee
O2: Classic Mystery, Suspense, or Thriller - Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
O3: Pulitzer Prize Winner - Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener
O4: 100 Must-Read Classics in Translation - The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann or Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
O5: Book From Our Group’s 2021 Bookshelf - TBD

2020 was my best year yet. Hopefully 2021 is even better!

Shawn wrote: "2020 was my best year yet. Hopefully 2021 is even better!"

I hope so too.

Good luck, Shawn!
I really liked the beginning of 2001 in the book. I heard that in the movie it's horrible.

Good luck for the 2021 challenge, Shawn, there are some great books ahead!

Thank you. I am looking forward to getting through some of them. Last year's challenge brought me my favorite book of the year! Hopefully this year is just as good.

Well done,Shawn-you have got loads of books on your list already!Nice to see the Space Odyssey!Arthur C, Clarke has always had the ability to make his Science fiction believable.An interesting either/or for "Readers choice"-Wolfe or L.M.Barrie!-enjoy!

I think my list is complete. I'm excited to get started. I'll spend the next few weeks deciding where to start!

Finished my first book of the Bingo Challenge - Ubik by Philip K. Dick. I have read some of his stuff before, so I knew what to expect. I found this one a little slow at the start, but very much enjoyed it. I found this pretty consistent with his other stuff. On to the next one...

Ticked off my second book of the challenge. Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata for N1. An enjoyable read, with an ending I didn't quite see coming. I found the descriptions of nature and the snow season to be very beautiful and at times sad. Overall, a good read and something I would recommend to others.

You have such a great list, Shawn, so I counted up which ones I have read/enjoyed and it’s half of your list! You have a sober full year of reading ahead!

Looks like a very good start to your challenge!
Can’t believe I’ve never tried PKD...

I am excited about my quick start! Usually I'm more sluggish than this. Really looking forward to keeping it going.

As for PKD - I genuinely enjoy his stuff. I absolutely love Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. Good luck on your challenge.

Shawn wrote: "Ticked off my second book of the challenge. Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata for N1. An enjoyable read, with an ending I didn't quite see coming. I found the description..."

Sounds like you're off to a great start. Glad to hear this is a good read. I've been wanting to read it for a while.

I just completed my third book for this challenge: Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis for N4. This was my first Kingsley Amis and I the writing enjoyable. I'm not sure why, but I found myself rooting for Jim. His character isn't the most likeable, but for I really was drawn to him and wanted things to work out. I really liked the descriptions of the other characters in this book. Overall, an enjoyable read. This one has been on my list for quite some time. I'm glad I finally got to it.

After a brief (okay, not so brief) hiatus, I have completed my 4th book for this year's challenge. I knocked off B2 - Book Made into a Film. I selected 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke.

I found the book to be enjoyable and an easy read. At times, it felt a little dated. Ultimately, I enjoyed the book and it left me thinking about some of life's big questions. At times reading the book, it felt familiar to me, but I don't recall ever seeing the movie or reading the book. Either way, another enjoyable read.

There is still time left to knock a few more off my list! Hopefully I can gain some momentum. I always really enjoy the books on this list, I just get side tracked so easily....

Welcome back, Shawn. You have probably seen clips of the movie, I can't imagine how anyone would avoid them, which might account for why it felt familiar. Glad you enjoyed it!

Hope you have some more time to read now, maybe get another row. Enjoy:-)

So after a short delay, I have completed my 5th from this year's Bingo Challenge. I read Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne for I2 - Classic Adventure.

I must say the book was delightful. I really enjoyed reading this one and would certainly describe it as a classic adventure. Prior to this, the only Jules Verne I have read is Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and this felt much more light and fun.

Either way - with a little more effort I can make this my most successful year yet. Most importantly, I have thoroughly enjoyed the books I read for this challenge so far!

To my way of thinking you have achieved what you set out for when you can say "I have thoroughly enjoyed the books I read for this challenge so far!" Hope it continues to be that way, Shawn.

Thank you Sara. I always enjoy the books I read for this challenge, but seem to find it difficult to fit them into everything else I'm reading. I really should make a better effort to read the books on this list - they rarely disappoint.

I completed my 6th of the challenge - N2: history or historical fiction. I read The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder for the historical fiction option.

I really enjoyed this. Having finished the book, I have thought about some part of this book each day since I completed it. For such a short book, it has some heavy ideas that have found their way inside my brain. I feel like this is one that leaves you with a different feeling each time you read it. Maybe it gives you whatever it is you are looking for?

I am not all that familiar with Wilder, as I have only read one other book of his - Theophilus North, which I stumbled upon during a trip to Newport, Island. I genuinely enjoyed that one, but found it to be much more humorous and light.

I feel like this one held up well against time and leaves a lot to be considered. It has been on my TBR for quite some time, so I am quite happy to have completed it. I would recommend this to anyone who hasn't read it.

I completed I3 using Flappers and Philosophers by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

I really enjoyed this. I have read Fitzgerald before and absolutely love The Great Gatsby, but this felt markedly different. The stories were all very enjoyable, but the last two didn't match up to the others. Fitzgerald really wrote some fun, witty lines in these stories.

I have never really been into reading short stories, but recently have dabbled. I have really enjoyed the majority of the short stories I have read. Very glad I read this.

Nice progress! And still enjoying your reads :O)

Veronique wrote: "Nice progress! And still enjoying your reads :O)"

Thank you! I've been slow and steady, but making progress. I'm hoping to get to a few more before I'm finished.