Kathleen's Favorite Author Focused Buffet > Likes and Comments
Challenge #1 - New & Old TBR - msg 3Challenge #2 - Members Choice - msg 4
Challenge #3 - New Authors - msg 5
Challenge #4 - Short Story msg 6
Challenge #5 - Decade/Century msg 7 and msg 18
Challenge #6 - Group Reads, Buddy Reads, Moderators Run Amok msg 8
Challenge #7 - Series Books – Start, Continue, Complete msg 9
Challenge #8 - Travel the World One Book at a Time msg 10
Challenge #9 – Rereading - Some do. Some don't. msg 11
Challenge #10 - Most Popular Goodreads Books Listed by Year msg 20
Challenge #11 - Future Classics msg 19
Challenge #12 - Fiction/Non-Fiction
Challenge #13 - Old and New Linked Categories
Challenge #14 - Genre Locked? Neglecting Your Favorite Author? msg 12
Challenge #15 - Award Winners msg 13
Challenge #16 - Terry's Book Chain msg 14
Challenge #17 - The Year You Were Born and 100 Years Earlier
Challenge #18 - A-Z Author
Challenge #19 - A-Z Title
Challenge #20 - No Challenge Here. A Place to List Your 2026 Impulse Reads msg 15
📖 - currently reading
📘 - finished reading
📚 - to TBR
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Old and New Fave Author Focus(I'm a little in love 💖 with this challenge full of wonderful authors!)
1914 and earlier
1. The Lifted Veil by George Eliot (1859)
2. Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim (1898)
3. Edith Wharton: Collected Stories 1891-1910
1915-2006/New School
4. Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen (1937)
5. The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood (1969)
6. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (1996)
Wildcard Atwood Plus
7. Dancing Girls and Other Stories by Margaret Atwood
✔️8. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood 📘 ✨✨✨✨✨
9. Dearly by Margaret Atwood
10. Old Babes in the Wood: Stories by Margaret Atwood
11. A Mercy by Toni Morrison
12. Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich
Alternates
A-1. Essays of George Eliot edited by Thomas Pinney (most from 1850s)
A-2. Everything That Rises Must Converge: Stories by Flannery O'Connor (1965)
A-3 Burning Questions: Essays and Occasional Pieces, 2004 to 2021 by Margaret Atwood (2022)
Challenge #2 - Members Choice Genre ChallengeChoose one book per category/genre for a total of 9 books.
1. 18th Century or Older - Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
2. 19th Century - Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim
3. 20th Century - To a God Unknown by John Steinbeck
4. 21st Century - Skylark by Paula McLain
5. A book of interest from another diner's buffet -
Sara - My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante or
Jeri - The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway or
JP - Sweet Bird of Youth by Tennessee Williams or
Klowey - A Dog of Flanders by Ouida or
Wobbley - Maurice by E.M. Forster or
Terris - Rose Cottage by Mary Stewart
✔️6. Members Choice Genre - How Proust Can Change Your Life by Alain de Botton 📘✨✨✨✨ (Philosophy)
7. Members Choice Genre - Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (Mystery)
8. Members Choice Genre - The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje (historical fiction)
9. Members Choice Genre - The Spy Who Came In from the Cold by John le Carré (spy thriller)
Challenge #3 - Expand Your Horizon with New AuthorsSeek out at least four (4) authors that you have never previously read, from any genre or era you want.
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Challenge #4 - Short Story ChallengeRead 16 short stories.
January
The Poor Relation's Story by Charles Dickens 📘✨✨✨✨
The Child's Story: by Charles Dickens 📘✨✨✨
Kew Gardens by Virginia Woolf 📘✨✨✨✨
The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber by Ernest Hemingway 📘 ✨✨✨✨
Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway 📘 ✨✨✨
The End of Something by Ernest Hemingway 📘 ✨✨✨
"An Alpine Ideal" by Ernest Hemingway 📘 ✨✨
Challenge #5 - Decade/Century ChallengeI LOVE the 1930's
1930 - Years of Grace by Margaret Ayer Barnes
1931 - Living My Life, Vol. 2 by Emma Goldman
1932 - The Pastures of Heaven by John Steinbeck
1933 - To a God Unknown by John Steinbeck
1934 - Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson
1935 - Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck
1936 - Not Under Forty by Willa Cather
1937 - Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen
1938 - The Long Valley by John Steinbeck
1939 - Pale Horse, Pale Rider by Katherine Anne Porter
Challenge 6 - Group Reads, Buddy Reads, or Moderators Run AmokThe challenge is to read 10 total books/stories from this year's selected group reads. Your reads can come from this year's poll winners, the Buddy Read Requests, or the new Moderators Run Amok! There should be plenty of choices.
1. Kew Gardens by Virginia Woolf ✨✨✨✨
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Challenge #7- Series Books – Start, Continue, CompleteThe challenge is to read at least two books. That is only 1 every six months. This is doable
Start
Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich (#1 in Love Medicine series)
Continue
Within a Budding Grove by Marcel Proust (#2 in In Search of Lost Time)
White Butterfly by Walter Mosley (Easy Rawlins #3)
Continue John le Carré Smiley series
Complete
Living My Life, Vol. 2 by Emma Goldman
The Country Girls Trilogy - Girls in Their Married Bliss by Edna O'Brien
Challenge #8 - Travel the World One Book at a TimeSelect 5 books, by 5 different authors, from 5 different countries, other than your own.
Book Title - Author/Country - Book Setting
1. Within a Budding Grove by Marcel Proust (France)
✔️2. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (Canada) ✨✨✨✨✨
3. Girls in Their Married Bliss by Edna O'Brien (Ireland)
4. Family Matters, by Rohinton Mistry (Bombay, India)
5. My Life by Anton Chekhov (Russia)
6. The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat (Iran)
Challenge #9 - Re-reading? - Some do, Some don'tThis year’s challenge is, reread two of your selections.
Books I'd Love to Reread
1. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
2. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
3. Books and You by W. Somerset Maugham
4. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
5. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Read Again in 2026
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Challenge #14 - Break Your Reading RutPart A-Are you Genre Locked?
Are you stuck in a Genre Rut? Reading to many romance novels or God forbid to many classics? Break out of that rut by picking a couple of different genres, any two genres will do.
Challenge-pick and read one book from two different genres that are not your normal go too. Science Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Suspense, Young Adult, Nonfiction, Poetry, Plays, Romance, etc.
Genre Selected - Book Chosen
1. Biography: Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson
2. Science Fiction: I Sing the Body Electric! & Other Stories by Ray Bradbury
Part B-Are you Neglecting a Favorite Author?
Who have you been neglecting the most? Has your favorite author slipped away from you because life is hectic or other books get in the way? Think about your favorite author or authors, who haven't you read in a while?
Challenge-pick one or more favorite authors you have been mistreating by leaving them on your shelf for far too long. Pick up that book you have been meaning to read and READ IT!
(This is my focus this year, so there will hopefully be lots!)
Neglected Author - Book Chosen
1. Margaret Atwood
Other Neglected Authors - Book Chosen - Not a requirement
2. John Steinbeck
3. Edith Wharton
4, Isabel Allende
Challenge #15 - Award WinnersSeek out and read two award winning books. Please let the group know what prize list or lists you use, as well as the book information.
1. The Blind Assassin bt Margaret Atwood 2000 Booker Prize ✨✨✨✨✨
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Challenge #16 Terry's Book ChainThe idea is to start with a book you want to read, then take one word from that title, and find another book you want to read with that word in the title. Repeat the process until you have the total required to make your chain. For our challenge the total needed is 6 books.
1. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood 📘
2. The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat 📖
3. Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls: Essays, Etc. by David Sedaris
May do another one--got this idea from KeenReader, only I chose a MUCH more common word. Couldn't resist these books I was planning to read or have long wanted to read.
1. Old Babes in the Wood: Stories
2. Old in Art School: A Memoir of Starting Over
3. You're Only Old Once!: A Book for Obsolete Children
4. The Old Man and the Sea
5. Arsenic and Old Lace
6. Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man
#20? No, Just a Place to List Your 2026 Impulse ReadsUse this thread any way you wish. (Thanks for the flexibility, Bob!)
In addition to Impulse Reads (✔️), I'm going to track books I'm NOT reading--the group reads I'm interested in but forego, the challenge books I give up, the other reads I decided to wait on. (📚) I need to see if I'm practicing any restraint at all! Plus I'll have a list for next year. 😊
My challenge = at least 12 of each.
January
To Shine One Corner of the World: Moments with Shunryu Suzuki by David Chadwick 📘✨✨✨✨
Zorba the Greek - really wanted to re-read this with the group, but it will have to wait. 📚
February
De wereld van Breugel 1525-1569 (Time-Life Bibliotheek der Kunsten by Timothy Foote 📘✨✨✨✨
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir - couldn't get a print copy so will stay on the tbr for now. 📚
Okay, that's it. I think 13 challenges is enough for now! 🤣Will work on filling in more soon, as I force myself to keep from reading these ...
Geez ... I'm already thinking of adding more!Saving the next three spots for some possibilities. I am hopeless.
Adding a Century Challenge to Challenge #5 Decade/Century1910 - Within a Budding Grove, Marcel Proust (1919)
1920 - The Mother's Recompense, Edith Wharton (1925)
1930 - The Pastures of Heaven, John Steinbeck (1932)
1940 - Books and You, W. Somerset Maugham(1940)
1950 - Notes of a Native Son, James Baldwin (1955)
1960 - The Edible Woman, Margaret Atwood (1969)
1970 - The Spectator Bird, Wallace Stegner (1976)
1980 - No Fond Return of Love, Barbara Pym (1982)
1990 - Alias Grace, Margaret Atwood (1996)
✔️2000 - The Blind Assassin, Margaret Atwood (2000) ✨✨✨✨✨
Challenge #11 Future ClassicsList 5 books you have read over the last 25 years that you believe will still be actively read in 50-100+ years.
1. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
2. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
3. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders
4. Just Kids by Patti Smith
5. The Tradition by Jericho Brown
List 3 unread books published between 2000-2025 that you feel have the potential to become a classic.
1. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (2000)
2. Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry (2002)
3. A Mercy by Toni Morrison (2008)
The challenge, read 1 of your 3 selections. Then let us know if you think it has a chance at greatness, or will it pass into oblivion.
Book Chosen for Challenge:
1. 1. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (2000) Definitely will be a future classic
Challenge #10 – Most Popular Goodreads Books Listed by YearLocate and list 10 books that most interest you from the year of your choice. The challenge is to read 2 books from that list.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/popula...
NOTE: click on the link above then change the date to the date you wish to search.
10 Books of Interest for 1930
1. Narcissus and Goldmund by Hermann Hesse
2. East Wind: West Wind by Pearl S. Buck
3. The Continental Op by Dashiell Hammett
4. The Greek Way by Edith Hamilton
5. Mule Bone by Langston Hughes
6. The Virgin and the Gypsy by D.H. Lawrence
7. The Edwardians by Vita Sackville-West
8. Years of Grace by Margaret Ayer Barnes
9. Ash Wednesday by T.S. Eliot
10. Not Without Laughter by Langston Hughes
2026 Books Read
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Haha, we're all hopeless against the buffet. I think your approach to your Challenge #1 is really sensible, and will make for a terrific challenge! Also, please let me know if you want me to delete this post so you can add more saved spots as your appetite increases ;)
Wobbley wrote: "Haha, we're all hopeless against the buffet. I think your approach to your Challenge #1 is really sensible, and will make for a terrific challenge! Also, please let me know if you want me to dele..."
Heavens no--don't delete anything. If I take any more I won't be able to carry my plate. :-) Thanks, Wobbley!
I know the feeling...I am trying so hard to push away from the table.
Sara wrote: "I know the feeling...I am trying so hard to push away from the table."Oh, let's just give in, Sara. 😊
I love your planning, Kathleen! Looks like a great reading year ahead :)
Janelle wrote: "I love your planning, Kathleen! Looks like a great reading year ahead :)"(I thought I responded to this earlier, but GoodReads is a bit weird today.) Thank you, Janelle! The planning is always fun--helps us start the year on a positive note.
Great theme to focus on. Sounds like the perfect way to have a fun year.
Kathleen, I just love your introduction! *smilesAlso, that's awesome that you're attempting an author focus for challenge 1. I'll be interested to see how that goes, and might join you for a couple of those reads. I actually haven't yet read Atwood, but The Handmaiden's Tale is on my list for this year, and the Blind Assassin sounds great too!
Have a great year!
Lynn---I think you're right. Reading favorite authors will definitely ensure a fun year. 😊April--Handmaid's Tale is where I started with Atwood. But she has quite a variety of books, so hope you find something you like.
Thank you both!
Okay, the new year is here! My Old and New is set after lots of consideration, My Terry's Book Chain is a bit of a cop-out but it's the cop-out I want, and to my Impulse Reads I've added a plan to list books I put off--something required if I'm going to read slower as I hope! So I look forward to spending lots of time with my chair pulled up to this delicious buffet. 🍽️Making a modest start to the new year with:
Impulse read of To Shine One Corner of the World: Moments with Shunryu Suzuki by David Chadwick. I needed to begin this year with some simple wisdom, and found it here. Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And finished a lovely Dickens holiday short, The Poor Relation's Story. Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A terrific start to the year, Kathleen!
Wobbley wrote: "A terrific start to the year, Kathleen!"Thanks so much, Wobbley. It does feel like it!
A smart move. I used the challenges to focus on a few favorite authors over the last couple of years, including a biography of one, and I really feel like I got a much better sense of their writing. Good luck and enjoy!!
Klowey wrote: "A smart move. I used the challenges to focus on a few favorite authors over the last couple of years, including a biography of one, and I really feel like I got a much better sense of their writing..."Hi Klowey--sorry I missed this before--thanks! I'm glad to hear this worked for you, and the biography is a good idea. I'd love to end my Atwood year with her new memoir. 😊
I've gotten a jump on short stories. Of the five I've read so far, while Kew Gardens was great, I think my favorite is The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber by Ernest Hemingway. Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I didn't like his more famous Hills Like White Elephants as much, but I run hot and cold on Hemingway.
Macomber gets my vote out of 7 stories, slightly better than the Stephen King story, Strawberry Spring.
I get the feeling my reactions to the Hemingway stories will follow yours, Terry. 😊
Glad you're enjoying your short stories. :)
Wobbley wrote: "Glad you're enjoying your short stories. :)"Thank you, Wobbley! I used to have a hard time reading short stories, but I do enjoy them now.
What a great start on your short stories, Kathleen. I’ve never gotten into the habit of reading them, and it’s one of my challenges for this year, so it’s great to get a little inspiration!
Svenna wrote: "What a great start on your short stories, Kathleen. I’ve never gotten into the habit of reading them, and it’s one of my challenges for this year, so it’s great to get a little inspiration!"Thanks, Svenna. I wasn't in the habit either when I started this group, so I hope you too find some good ones and enjoy!
Terry wrote: "Macomber gets my vote out of 7 stories, slightly better than the Stephen King story, Strawberry Spring."How intriguing Terry that you're talking about the two authors/stories I just read and are reading. 😅 Now i am curious to read this Hemingway and see how it relates to Strawberry Spring! 😁
Kathleen, my short stories buddy! 😉 I am thrilled you enjoyed the Hemingway, because i still need to read that one. Also, i feel a little of that hot/cold as well, but i think overall, i am developing an appreciation of Hemingway.
April, when it comes to Hemingway, I loved A Moveable Feast, but not The Sun Also Rises. So I think I'll keep being hot and cold, but keep wanting to read more!
For my Members Choice Genre Challenge, the topic of philosophy, How Proust Can Change Your Life by Alain de Botton.This feels like a bigger deal than just this challenge, I think because it's one of my "Core 28" from my Darrenesque spreadsheet. :-) I have five major categories (four each), and four minor categories (two each), and this is my minor Philosophy category. This is to keep me from forgetting the core group of books I really wanted to read this year, and ... one down!
A great book! Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And soon I'll be starting Volume Two of In Search of Lost Time. SO excited.
This is so ambitious, Kathleen. I'm glad you are enjoying it. :)
Wobbley wrote: "This is so ambitious, Kathleen. I'm glad you are enjoying it. :)"Thanks, Wobbley. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the first volume--hope I'm not disappointed in the second!
Kathleen wrote: "Thanks, Wobbley. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the first volume--hope I'm not disappointed in the second! "I've read the first 2 volumes and have to confess that these aren't for me (despite being full of quotable quotes). But based on my experience reading these, I think that if you enjoyed the first volume you'll enjoy the second as well. :)
Wobbley wrote: "I've read the first 2 volumes and have to confess that these aren't for me (despite being full of quotable quotes). But based on my experience reading these, I think that if you enjoyed the first volume you'll enjoy the second as well. :)"That's so good to know, Wobbley. I definitely understand why these aren't for everyone, but felt pretty sure they would all be for me. Thanks!
I'm hoping to focus on favorite authors, and keeping a protected set of books (ala Darren's spreadsheet idea) in the forefront. Whatever happens, it's sure to be fun!