Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Guess that Classic! ...based on a terrible 1-star review it got online.

I absolutely got this from other websites and just reused it, so if you've seen these before, I'm sorry. But also they're super funny so I'm not that sorry

Hide your answers in the spoilers so everybody gets to play!

1. "If you’ve ever received a creative writing paper with the words “Show, don’t tell” written across the top, you’ll wonder how this book ever made it into ANYONE’S top list. … It reads like a boring, Victorian romance novel, written by a spinster who’s never been in a romantic relationship in her life."

2. "I couldn’t read this book. It’s like a Russian soap opera. Extremely boring"

3. “I don’t care if this is considered a classic, it’s terrible! I only read it to help my son with it. It’s full of drinking parties and married people having affairs. This is one of those things from our history that doesn’t apply to us anymore.”

4. “I don’t understand what all the hype is with this book. The “storyline” is illogical, the pages go back and forth between being in color to black and white, and then there’s pages with no wording…just pictures.”

5. "If I wanted to read two-hundred pages of some over-privileged youth complaining about anything and everything for no legitimate reason, I'd pick up my old high school diary."

6. "I get it, it's an American classic full of motifs and imagery, but that doesn't necessarily make it a masterpiece. The only thing truly masterful about this tale is how short it is."

7. "The book is 30% story, 30% history lesson, 5% English lesson, 15% philosophy lesson, 15% the author’s opinion, and 5% superfluous descriptions."

8. "I didn't think it possible for a protagonist to pass out more than twenty times in a single book... and then I met [CHARACTER]. I really regret not counting how many times he fainted throughout this terrible book, and will most certainly NOT re-read this book to find out."

9. "It's not a book. It's a really dull, anticlimatic [sic] blog entry"

10. "The main character is a whiny cry-baby and the book goes nowhere for a very long time. She has a very thick skull and all the obvious things fly over her head."

Good luck!

PS: As a hint and an apology, almost all of these are typical books of the American public education system, which is why they have terrible 1 star reviews

The Answers

1. (view spoiler)[ Pride and Prejudice (hide spoiler)]
2. (view spoiler)[ War and Peace (hide spoiler)]
3. (view spoiler)[ The Great Gatsby (hide spoiler)]
4. (view spoiler)[ Goodnight Moon (hide spoiler)]
5. (view spoiler)[ Catcher in the Rye (hide spoiler)]
6. (view spoiler)[ The Old Man and the Sea (hide spoiler)]
7. (view spoiler)[ Les Miserables (hide spoiler)]
8. (view spoiler)[ Frankenstein (hide spoiler)]
9. (view spoiler)[ On the Road (hide spoiler)]
10. (view spoiler)[ Jane Eyre (hide spoiler)]

If you want to see some classics that people in our group love, check out this week's Weekly Question: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

1. (view spoiler)[ Jane Eyre (hide spoiler)]
2. (view spoiler)[ War and Peace (hide spoiler)]
3. (view spoiler)[ The Great Gatsby (hide spoiler)]
4. (view spoiler)[ Maus (hide spoiler)]
5. (view spoiler)[ The Catcher in the Rye (hide spoiler)]
6. (view spoiler)[ The Old Man and the Sea (hide spoiler)]
7. (view spoiler)[ A Tale of Two Cities (hide spoiler)]

That's as far as I can get.

I like classics and have read quite a few, but who know how I'll do on this quiz. Here're my guesses:
(view spoiler)[
1. Pride and Prejudice
2.Anna Karenina
3.The Great Gatsby
4.The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: the original wizzard of oz first edition
5.A Separate Peace
6.Animal Farm
7.On the Road
8.The Picture of Dorian Gray
9.Moby-Dick or, the Whale
10.Anne of Green Gables(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

Lol, I love it, but I have no idea about any of them, except for number 5, (view spoiler)[Catcher in the Rye? (hide spoiler)]

i got 2 and 3 but not the rest. got them from just the descriptions in the reviews. haven't read them.

1. love this book. the victorian reference threw me off. i watched the 6 hour version of it and then read it with my nieces. I hear the mom's voice whenever i read it now.

4. it's a cute book.

5./6. haven't read them.

7. read the abridged version (600 pages instead of 1600). the only thing that was weird was the translation of having 'virgin' lips for a guy.

8. this is on my tbr.

9. yeah, will definitely not read this one. i have no interest in the subject matter.

10. i didnt find it whiny in the least. the french phrases were over my head (read it high school), but i enjoyed it.

Guessed at a few. I'll come back to see if I think of some more.
Only got 3!
(view spoiler)[
1. Jane Eyre
2. War and Peace
3. Great Gatsby
4. Black and White by David Macaulay is the only one I can think of but it's a children's picture book
5. The Catcher in the Rye
6. Of Mice and Men
7.
8.
9.
10.
(hide spoiler)]

I got 3, 5, and 10. 10 was a total guess since I haven’t read it!

(view spoiler)[
1. Wuthering Heights
2. War and Peace
3. The Great Gatsby
4. The Snowy Day
5. The Catcher in the Rye
6. The Old Man and the Sea
7. A Tale of Two Cities
8. No idea, lots of books have women fainting, but a man?
9. Too many options!
10. The Bell Jar (hide spoiler)]

Well, I got 4!

I've actually read 7 of these and the only one I got was #2 (which I've never even read) so I failed this game spectacularly. 🤣 Mostly I'm furious at myself that I couldn't get #1, which is my favorite book of all time!

Shoutout to review #4 for being the funniest review on this list

My answers:
(view spoiler)[
1. "If you’ve ever received a creative writing paper with the words “Show, don’t tell” written across the top, you’ll wonder how this book ever made it into ANYONE’S top list. … It reads like a boring, Victorian romance novel, written by a spinster who’s never been in a romantic relationship in her life."
Jane Eyre

2. "I couldn’t read this book. It’s like a Russian soap opera. Extremely boring"
Crime and Punishment

/ 3. “I don’t care if this is considered a classic, it’s terrible! I only read it to help my son with it. It’s full of drinking parties and married people having affairs. This is one of those things from our history that doesn’t apply to us anymore.”
The Great Gatsby

4. “I don’t understand what all the hype is with this book. The “storyline” is illogical, the pages go back and forth between being in color to black and white, and then there’s pages with no wording…just pictures.”
Where the Wild Things Are ?

/ 5. "If I wanted to read two-hundred pages of some over-privileged youth complaining about anything and everything for no legitimate reason, I'd pick up my old high school diary."
The Catcher in the Rye

6. "I get it, it's an American classic full of motifs and imagery, but that doesn't necessarily make it a masterpiece. The only thing truly masterful about this tale is how short it is."
To Kill a Mockingbird

7. "The book is 30% story, 30% history lesson, 5% English lesson, 15% philosophy lesson, 15% the author’s opinion, and 5% superfluous descriptions."
The Grapes of Wrath ?

8. "I didn't think it possible for a protagonist to pass out more than twenty times in a single book... and then I met [CHARACTER]. I really regret not counting how many times he fainted throughout this terrible book, and will most certainly NOT re-read this book to find out."
Pride and Prejudice

9. "It's not a book. It's a really dull, anticlimatic [sic] blog entry"
To the Lighthouse

10. "The main character is a whiny cry-baby and the book goes nowhere for a very long time. She has a very thick skull and all the obvious things fly over her head."
Wuthering Heights ? (hide spoiler)]

I only got 2 right lol

(view spoiler)[
1. Pride and Prejudice
2. War and Peace
3. The Great Gatsby
4. The Neverending Story?
5. The Catcher in the Rye
6. The Old Man and the Sea
7. ?
8. No idea
9. The Bell Jar?
10. Jane Eyre?
(hide spoiler)]

Hey I think I did pretty good with 6 right! #4 made me lol though. Really?

Anyone else have to actively tell themselves Twilight can’t be the answer? 🤣

I really don't think I can guess any but think this is brilliant! I enjoyed reading the reviews!

1) (view spoiler)[Pride & Prejudice (hide spoiler)]
2)(view spoiler)[Anna Karenina (hide spoiler)]
3)(view spoiler)[Maybe The Great Gatsby? (hide spoiler)]
4)(view spoiler)[The Little Prince? (hide spoiler)]
5)(view spoiler)[The Catcher in the Rye (hide spoiler)]
6)(view spoiler)[This also seems very strongly like The Great Gatsby (hide spoiler)]
7)(view spoiler)[Completely guessing, but I think Catch-22 (hide spoiler)]
8)(view spoiler)[Frankenstein (hide spoiler)]
9)(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]
10)(view spoiler)[Either Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre (hide spoiler)]

I got 4 right and a fifth one that I'd put down two options I was torn between, so I'll call it 4 and a half right.