Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

For the first time in my life I will try to accept such a challenge. why not? at least I hope that there will be no cruel punishments for failure.

1 ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌ ✅
2 ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅
3 ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅
4 ❌ ❌ ✅ ✅ ✅
5 ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

✅ B1: Book Published 1950-1999
Across the River and into the Trees by Ernest Hemingway - 272 pgs - rt 2*
B2: Classic written in your native language
✅ B3: Classic of Europe
Heaven Has No Favorites by Erich Maria Remarque - 320 pgs - rt 4*
B4: Classic involving art
✅ B5: Classic from your bookshelf
Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby Jr. - 279 pgs - rt 4*

✅ I1: Book from the Group’s Bookshelf Prior to 2023
The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells - 139 pgs - rt 2*
✅ I2: Classic biography/autobiography or memoir
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer - 203 pgs - rt 4*
I3: Classic horror or gothic
I4: Classic comedy, satire, or humor
✅ I5: Book from the group’s Favorites of 2022
East of Eden by John Steinbeck - 601 pgs - rt 4*

✅ N1: Classic of the Americas
The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis - 258 pgs - rt 4*
N2: Classic Western
N3: Reader’s Choice
✅ N4: Classic mystery or thriller
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco - 536 pgs - rt 5*
✅ N5: Classic of Africa or Oceania
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe - 209 pgs - rt 4*

G1: Classic from a group poll that did not win
G2: Classic action or adventure
G3: Classic history or historical fiction
✅ G4: Class fantasy or science fiction
Flow ers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes - 216 pgs - rt 5*
✅ G5: Book from the Group’s 2023 Bookshelf
Breakfast at Tiffany's and Three Stories by Truman Capote - 142 pgs - rt 3*

✅ O1: Book Published before 1900
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë - 464 pgs - rt 4*
✅ O2: New-To-You Classic Author
Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman - 368 pgs - rt 3*
✅ O3: Classic of Asia
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami - 400 pgs - rt 3*
✅ O4: Classic in translation
The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas - 246 pgs - rt 3*
✅ O5: Book Published 1900-1949
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque - 296 pgs - rt 5*

Vit, all participants are enthusiastically welcomed and all the books read make us winners. Glad you ate joining us!

I am also glad. Now, the main thing for me is to figure out how everything is arranged here))

I'm trying to plan: B

★B1: Book Published 1950 – 1999
Read a book that was published in the years 1950 to 1999.
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
Across the River and into the Trees by Ernest Hemingway

★B2: Classic Written in Your Native Language
Read a book that was written in your native or first language

★B3: Classic of Europe
Read a classic that is either set in the given geographical area, or is written by an author native to that geographical area.
Heaven Has No Favorites by Erich Maria Remarque

★B4: Classic Involving Art
Read a book that includes art somehow; it could have a theme that includes art, the book could be about a piece of art, a biography of an artist, or a non-fiction book about art.

★B5: A Classic On Your Bookshelf
Read a classic that is on your bookshelf, physical or electronic shelves.
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Across the River and into the Trees by Ernest Hemingway

I'm trying to plan: I

★I1: Book From the Group’s Shelf Prior to 2023
Read a book that was a group read in 2022 or before.
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

★I2: Classic Biography, Autobiography, or Memoir
Read a classic that is about someone.

★I3: Classic Horror or Gothic
Read a classic considered to be horror or gothic.

★I4: Classic Comedy, Satire, or Humor
Read a classic considered to be a comedy, satire, or humor.

★I5: Book From the Group's Favorite 2022 Reads
Read a book that was a favorite of one of our group members. These are posted in a group thread - feel free to add your own favorites from 2022.

I'm trying to plan: N

★N1: Classic of the Americas
Read a classic that is either set in the given geographical area, or is written by an author native to that geographical area.
Across the River and into the Trees by Ernest Hemingway

★ N2: Classic Western
Read a classic considered to be a western.

★N3: Free Space or Reader’s Choice
Read ANYTHING that interests you, or just count this one as a freebie.

★ N4: Classic Mystery or Thriller
Read a classic considered to be a mystery or thriller.
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

★ N5: Classic of Africa or Oceania
Read a classic that is either set in the given geographical area, or is written by an author native to that geographical area.

I'm trying to plan: G


★ G1: Classic From a Group Poll that Did Not Win
Read a classic that was second place or worse in one of our group polls.

★G2: Classic Action or Adventure
Read a classic considered to be an action or adventure story.

★ G3: Classic History or Historical Fiction
Read a classic considered to be either history or historical fiction.
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

★G4: Group Fantasy or Science Fiction
Read a classic considered to be fantasy or science fiction.
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

★G5: Book From Our Group’s 2023 Bookshelf
Read a book that is a group read in 2023.

I'm trying to plan: O

★O1: Book Published before 1900
Read a classic published before the year 1900.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

★O2: New-to-You Author:
Read a book by an author whose works you have never read.
Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman

★O3: Classic of Asia
Read a classic that is either set in the given geographical area, or is written by an author native to that geographical area.
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

★O4: Classic in Translation
Read a book that has been translated from another language.
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

★O5: Book Published 1900 - 1949
Read a book that was published in the years 1900 to 1949.

Thanks, Matt. And you)

Welcome to the challenge, Vitaliy! I hope you have a great year of books in 2023.

Thank you, Katy. If this year is a little better than 2022, then this will already be a victory for me)

Good luck Vit!

Jazzy, thanks)

Oh, I have a year began with very sad novels. Remarque (default depressive), now here are "Flowers for Algernon". Even "Up the Down Staircase", from which I expected some fun, turned out to be quite touching.

And now I'm looking at my nearest list and see no light))

Well, there's always I4 (classic comedy, satire, humor) to swing things around. Good luck, Vit.

New reading plan maybe? Planning is fun and light by itself. . . . .Thanks for friend invite.

@Cynda, My mood now is such that the new reader plan is unlikely to be more positive))

@Squire, Up the Down Staircase is also a satire, but no less nostalgic and depressing than the same Remarque. Ok, maybe a little less, but still))

Welcome and good luck! Definitely no punishment or shame for not completing the bingo, only celebration for every book and bingo achieved.

And yes, you have a lot of excellent but sad novels there. But it is a good season for wallowing in depressing art. Time enough for more cheerful fare in the summer months. (Although I find I need some lighter fare in the dark season too, or my mood will get too grim to keep reading.)

@Leni, Any season can be good for depressive literature, lol. It all depends on how you feel about choosing books. Someone is looking for relief from sadness in books, while someone else digs deeper into this sadness. To each his own))

Another novel for my bookcase! Umberto Uco and "The Name of the Rose" is definitely in my personal top. But one question worries me: What does the title of the book refer to? Maybe someone knows? Either I did not guess, or in my translation this was not given due attention.

Vitaliy wrote: "Another novel for my bookcase! Umberto Uco and "The Name of the Rose" is definitely in my personal top. But one question worries me: What does the title of the book refer to? Maybe someone knows? E..."

Gosh! I read it back in the late 80s when I was a teenager. I remember the story and why it happened, but not the meaning of the title... Been meaning to re-read it, and this time go for an English translation.

It's been a while since I read it, but I think there's a Latin quote of some sort? at the end of the book about how all that's left of the rose of old is the name? So basically, all that's left of Aristotle's work on the comedy is it's name. Or maybe a wider meaning about what is left of the past.

Vitaliy wrote: "Another novel for my bookcase! Umberto Uco and "The Name of the Rose" is definitely in my personal top. But one question worries me: What does the title of the book refer to? Maybe someone knows? E..."

There are a lot of possibilities as to what it means. Eco never said. In his Postscript to The Name of the Rose he said an author should never explain his work. That takes the universality out of it.

There is a book that explains all the latin excerpts in the book. I haven't checked it out at all, though.

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

Veronique wrote: "Vitaliy wrote: "Another novel for my bookcase! Umberto Uco and "The Name of the Rose" is definitely in my personal top. But one question worries me: What does the title of the book refer to? Maybe ..."
I read the book in Ukrainian translation, and therefore could be lost the play on words, accessible to the Italian reader of the original.

Although after the end of reading, I had a theory that this is a reference to the girl from the abbey kitchen. But i'm not sure, lol

Leni wrote: "It's been a while since I read it, but I think there's a Latin quote of some sort? at the end of the book about how all that's left of the rose of old is the name? So basically, all that's left of ..."
I paid attention to the quote, but it seemed strange to me that this is the only reference to the title of the novel. although if this is, for example, a stable expression in Latin used in Italy, then of course it’s another matter)

Squire wrote: "Vitaliy wrote: "Another novel for my bookcase! Umberto Uco and "The Name of the Rose" is definitely in my personal top. But one question worries me: What does the title of the book refer to? Maybe ..."
Interesting approach from Eco. Based on this, my theory that this is a reference to a girl may have a right to exist. I was prompted by the fact that Adson repeatedly mentioned that he didn't know the name of the girl from the kitchen)

"...stat rosa pristina nomine, nomina nuda tenemus." the rose of old remains the same. we possess naked names. from the beauty of the past, (now disappeared), we hold only the name. Which is interesting because Eco put a modern man in the middle ages to see how he would react. And he ended up destroying the ideals of the period. Maybe it's the progression of intellectual thought that not only leads to losing the past,but also retaining its beauty.

Sounds like Eco :O)
It think it is perhaps relating to Truth somehow...

My old copy was in French with the Latin bits (which was ok then since I was studying Latin. Now however...)

Vitaliy wrote: "Squire wrote: "Vitaliy wrote: "Another novel for my bookcase! Umberto Uco and "The Name of the Rose" is definitely in my personal top. But one question worries me: What does the title of the book r..."
I thought that after the end of this novel, and the difficulties would end. But it turned out that it was not) Thanks, this is really worth thinking about)

I read, and that's enough. After "For Whom the Bell Tolls", Hemingway's novel, which I read first, "Across the River and into the Trees" can't be compared. Except that the theme of the war caught me as usual, but now it’s my usual mood...

At first, I thought I would include the novel in the American classics, but given the Italian vibe, I couldn't do it. So let there be a book of the second half of the 20th century.

NIce books so far Vitaly. I have only read All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque, but I own two others. They keep getting pushed to the back of the line. I really should read one of them soon.

I saw you gave Flowers for Algernon 5*. So glad you enjoyed it. That book is one of my all-time favorites.

Up the Down Staircase is a book I read when I was a teenager in the 1970s. I thought it was so good. LOL now I am a teacher.

I saw the 1968 movie version of Flowers for Algernon. I was i trigued and read the novel probably twice. I see there is a newer movie version. I liked the movie and novel of memory. . . . Will you watch one or both of the movie versions?

Vitaliy wrote: "I read, and that's enough. After "For Whom the Bell Tolls", Hemingway's novel, which I read first, "Across the River and into the Trees" can't be compared. Except that the theme of the war caught m..."

It must have been hard for Hemingway, knowing that his best years were behind him, when he wrote AtRaitT, but I put it as a work by a classic author which, for me, makes it a classic by default, kinda like Hemingway's To Have and Have Not.

But describing being 50 as "half a hundred years old" is quite a memorable turn of phrase. I celebrated the 21st anniversary of my 29th birthday when I turned 50 (everything started to hurt at 30, so I stopped aging at 29 and thus celebrate anniversaries, not birthdays.)

;D

Lynn wrote: "NIce books so far Vitaly. I have only read All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque, but I own two others. They keep getting pushed to the back of the line. I really should read one..."

I haven'y read "All Quiet on the Western Front", although i have read a lot about the wat. However, this book is already on its way to me at this time and so very soon i will evaluate this Remarque's novel.

Cynda wrote: "I saw the 1968 movie version of Flowers for Algernon. I was i trigued and read the novel probably twice. I see there is a newer movie version. I liked the movie and novel of memory. . . . Will you ..."

Surprisengly, i haven't seen adaptation of this novel and i don't think that i'll ever watch it. Recently, i'm completely indifferent to movies and adaptations of books, especially my favorite ones.

Squire wrote: "Vitaliy wrote: "I read, and that's enough. After "For Whom the Bell Tolls", Hemingway's novel, which I read first, "Across the River and into the Trees" can't be compared. Except that the theme of ..."

Apparently, this is one of those novels that must be read at the certain stage of life. I still have the same amouth of time left until 50 as i have already lived (slightly less).
Although, sometimes it seems to me that there are enough events in my life for 50 years :D

When buying new books in one's native language is a real challenge, and even a very expensive pleasure, each new book evokes special emotions.
The newest addition is: The Thursday Murder Club, Where the Crawdads Sing, All Quiet on the Western Front, Foucault's Pendulum, The Queen's Gambit!

The Thursday Murder Club is lots of fun! I read the second in the series and when I want a break from my heavier reading (now doing a deep dive into Demon Copperhead), will pick up the third in the series. I love the author, Richard Osman - he's a hoot!!

I made another update to my bingo. Added four books at once: The Queen's Gambit, All Quiet on the Western Front (again Remarque), Into the Wild (unexpectedly for myself), Wuthering Heights (anything according to plan).

YES! My first BINGO done! I made all the categories of letter "O".
Wuthering Heights by Bronte as old school classic, Bel Kaufman became a new author for me, together with Murakami mentally traveled to Asia, and the next read books by Dumas and Remarque closed the other two categories.
Most of the books turned out to be average and got rating 3 from me, while there were some that I liked better. Especially All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque with the highest rating!

Congratulations on your first Bingo -- that's always exciting!

Congratulations! You have several of my favorites on your card.

Once the first bingo comes, others seem to fall into place faster. Continued good luck!

The second Bingo is ready. I`ll frame my bingo map soon. My first novel by an African author (Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe) was a great experience for me. So in the future i will be more actively looking at the literature of this continent.