Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

Gosh I can't believe it'll soon be 2021. I couldn't get too much time to read this year with work and the pandemic. But I endeavour to read quite a bit in 2021.

I'll be doing the Old and New challenge and the Authors new to me challenge.

Good to see you Ila. I am also doing these challenges for the first time.😀

Hi Ila. Quite a few of us are gathering our reading powers and starting up with new reading commitments for 2021. Best of Luck.

Old and New challenge

Old classics
1. Bleak House 3 stars
2. The Woman in White 2 stars
3. L'Argent


New classics
1. Too Loud a Solitude 2 stars
2. The Razor's Edge 3 stars
3. Long Day's Journey into Night


Wildcards
1. Memoirs of Hadrian 4 stars
2. Alberta and Jacob
3. The Origins of Totalitarianism
4. The Ottoman Centuries
5. The Custom of the Country 3 stars
6. King Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2 3 stars


Alternates
1. The Black Tulip 3 stars
2. Don Juan

Authors new-to-me challenge

1. Gustave Flaubert Madame Bovary 3 stars
2. Heinrich Heine Das Buch der Lieder
3. Vicki Baum Grand Hotel 3 stars
4. Charles W. Chesnutt The Marrow of Tradition 4 stars
5. Mikhail Saltykov The Golovlyov Family 4 stars
6. Randy Shilts And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic 3 stars

In case I finish my challenges early, I also have a personal challenge lined up.

1. Every Man Dies Alone
2. London Belongs to Me 3 stars
3. Tales of Hoffmann 3 stars
4. Fifth Business
5. Layla and Majnun
6. Cyrano de Bergerac (reread)
7. The Vienna Melody (reread)

These look fantastic, Ila! I think you are going to love Memoirs of Hadrian. And I have The Origins of Totalitarianism on my list too.

Here's to a wonderful reading year.

Good luck with your challenges Ila. Bleak House and the Woman in White are among my favorites.

Enjoy your challenge, The Razors Edge is a favorite of mine. I also enjoyed The Woman in White. Enjoy your reading

Thanks everyone!

I've just begun Bleak House and finished the first of nineteen sections. My goodness, Dickens' wit is so acerbic, he's leaving no stone unturned in his criticism.

Finished Bleak House, the first book of the year. I think Dickens went a bit overboard here.
My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I enjoyed your review. Bleak House is on my TBR, but I don't think I will get to it anytime soon. I read two novels and three shorts by Dickens last year. I may take a little break.

Interesting! I haven't got to Bleak House yet, and enjoyed your review too, Ila. Though it might not have been the best Dickens, it's a great start to your challenge!

Thanks Bob and Kathleen! I do hope y'all enjoy Bleak House more than I.

Finished The marrow of tradition. Solid 4 stars. A must read insight into the brutal racism in North Carolina of the 1890's.

I loved Chesnutt's elegant yet measured writing and would surely read more of his works.
My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Another solid review.

Thank you Bob!

Nice to see you Ila. I am impressed that you finished Bleak House already! It's a long one.

Speaking of Chesnutt the short story The Wife of His Youth is a memorable work.

Lynn wrote: "Nice to see you Ila. I am impressed that you finished Bleak House already! It's a long one.

Speaking of Chesnutt the short story The Wife of His Youth is a memorable work."

Thanks Lynn! I've just added Chesnutt's short stories to my TBR books.

Reading Memoirs of Hadrian is a wonderful experience. If I could, I'd highlight half the book as memorable quotes and engaging philosophy.

Maybe I'm being a bit harsh in giving Woman in white just 2 stars but Hartwright has got to be one of the most boring and pathetic narrators in existence. I get that this is a Victorian mystery so it must be long-winded, but I really didn't sign up for pages of lovesick foolishness and a plot that can be resolved in 100 pages.

Not harsh if it is how you feel. I have had the same feeling about books so many others hold in high regard and I just couldn’t stand. Keep to your honest opinions, we’re all better for it. After all if we all felt the same, why would we want to share our ideas.

Memoirs of Hadrian looks like one for my TBR, thanks.

Thanks Bob.

I'm a bit disappointed with And the Band played on. It started off strong; yet notwithstanding its tremendously important subject, soon became a confusing sprawl of too many characters. I knew a bit about Larry Kramer and ACT-UP prior to reading this but definitely lost a lot of context otherwise.

Ila wrote: "Finished Bleak House, the first book of the year. I think Dickens went a bit overboard here.
My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

I too foundBleak House overwhelming. I still gave it 5 stars vecause it is either really really crazy good or really really bad waste of time. Couldn't tell.

Cynda wrote: "Ila wrote: "Finished Bleak House, the first book of the year. I think Dickens went a bit overboard here.
My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show......"

I still have conflicting thoughts about Bleak House.

Anyway, I'm done with The black tulip. Solid 3 stars. Dumas is not and probably will never be my favourite writer but I'll admit he keeps stuff interesting. 17th century Netherlands was a strange time to be.

Finished with Grand Hotel. Vicki Baum can write an interesting story with strong characterisation. She effortlessly transports you into 1920s Berlin. However she would've benefited from a good editor.

I often find it true of older books that a good editor would have improved them immensely. You are really off to a great start this year, Ila.

Ila, so far I'm a fan of Dumas. I've only read three, but really liked them all.

Thanks Sara.

Finished The razor's edge. I'm rather underwhelmed by this one. It started off strong but I was mighty bored by the endless, sermonising philosophy. Maugham is quite weak in writing female characters and often writes them as caricatures-a fault which is shared by many from his generation but is painfully felt here than in say The painted veil.

Finished The Custom of the Country. 3 stars.

As far as Wharton is concerned, this isn't my favourite novel. It lacks the finesse of the Age of Innocence or the haunting decay in The House of Mirth. Whatever complaints I had against Newland Archer, he wasn't ever a bore. Ralph on the other hand, was an insufferable waste. I often grew impatient at his sanctimonious musings. Undine's second marriage was too similar to her first and that dragged the novel significantly.

Undine is a realistic character though, I know a couple of people in society who wouldn't blush at the comparisons.

Great progress on these challenges, Ila. I'm a Wharton fan, but remember starting The Custom of the Country, and putting it aside. Glad you enjoyed Memoirs of Hadrian!

Congratulations on your progress Ila, too bad that you're not liking them more. I loved Bleak House and Woman in White but no book is for everyone. I hope your next read will be a 5-star one!

Sorry you were disappointed in Custom of the Country, Ila. Wharton never seems to disappoint me, but, as Sue says, no book is for everyone. I'm really impressed with the quality of your reads!

Thanks everyone

Madam Bovary took a while due to work issues. My enjoyment dwindled over the 2nd and 3rd books. It doesn't help that the prose can get distracting and meandering at times, but in itself, book 1 is fantastic. Flaubert is similar to Balzac in critically describing his times and his acerbic observations often brought a chuckle to my lips.

Emma sometimes reminded me of Undine Spragg from The Custom of the Country. But Flaubert being who he is, makes Emma infinitely more sympathetic even when you want to shake her from her stupidity.

Madam Bovary fizzled for me a little over halfway through, but I agree with your assessment of Flaubert and found your comparison to Spragg interesting. You do, indeed, want to shake Emma!

Finished Henry IV parts 1 and 2. I've seen The Hollow Crown before so I had a fair background about these characters and yet Falstaff never ceases to amuse and exasperate me. Hal is an interesting character and his final rebuke to Falstaff hurt so much.

Even so, the entire Percy family dispute was yawnworthy. I mean I love politicking just as much as the other person but I really wanted to give Hotspur a good kick.
I suppose I prefer Shakespeare's tragedies and comedies to his histories.

Finished The Golovlyov family. 4 stars. My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Great progress on these challenges, Ila!

Kathleen wrote: "Great progress on these challenges, Ila!"

Thanks!

Wow, your Old and New Classics Challenge is almost complete! Nice job, but I sympathize that there have not been any 5 stars yet for you. Hopefully, one of your remaining books will be a hit.

Lynn wrote: "Wow, your Old and New Classics Challenge is almost complete! Nice job, but I sympathize that there have not been any 5 stars yet for you. Hopefully, one of your remaining books will be a hit."

Thanks Lynn! I was a bit disappointed that the Old and New classics so far turned out just average but was pleasantly surprised with the books on Authors new to me challenge. Really didn't expect to encounter books which, while not favourites, had a deep impact on me.

congratulations on another one down, IIa!

Making great progress, Ila. Thrilled you are finding some surprises along the way...that always makes me a happy reader.

Thanks Sara and Sue!