Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion
2019 Read Harder Challenge
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Task #1: An epistolary novel or collection of letters
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Dec 17, 2018 09:30AM
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Going to go with a classic for this one: Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded The audiobook is 22 hours, which is a little intimidating, so we'll see how it goes.
I'm probably going to read Jane Austen's Lady Susan. I just finished Last Christmas In Paris which would be a great pick. Its more WW1 than Christmassy.
Ariel wrote: "Going to go with a classic for this one: Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded The audiobook is 22 hours, which is a little intimidating, so we'll see how it goes."I have been intending to read this for nearly 20 years. Maybe your review will get me moving on that :)
I've got a few options I'm thinking about:Sabine's Notebook (I read Griffin & Sabine this year)
Attachments
Les Liaisons dangereuses
Daddy-Long-Legs
I recommend Dear Committee Members for this one especially for anybody who works in higher education. As a bonus, you could count it for humor too.Also, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a great read and the audio book is really well done.
I'm going with The Devourers. Agree with Julie that The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a great choice for this task and the audio book is very good.
Can anyone confirm whether Dracula or Frankenstein are epistolary novels? I remember hearing that at least one of them is.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...I’ll be reading Love Letters collected by Antonia Fraser for this. Got it at a second hand shop and it also will fill the not-many-reviews task too
Bonnie wrote: "Ariel wrote: "Going to go with a classic for this one: Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded The audiobook is 22 hours, which is a little intimidating, so we'll see how it goes."I have been i..."
I'll have to remember to report back when I'm finished!
Milena wrote: "Can anyone confirm whether Dracula or Frankenstein are epistolary novels? I remember hearing that at least one of them is."I know Dracula is. It's been a long time since I've read Frankenstein, but I don't think it's epistolary (someone please correct me if I'm remembering wrong).
Ariel wrote: "Milena wrote: "Can anyone confirm whether Dracula or Frankenstein are epistolary novels? I remember hearing that at least one of them is."I know Dracula is. It's been..."
Thank you.
Allison ༻hikes the bookwoods༺ wrote: "I plan to use 84, Charing Cross Road or Dracula for this task."I was going to suggest 84, Charing Cross Road. It is so delightful and who can resist a book about books? :)
I'm ready for a re-read of Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede . If you want to double dip, it can also be an alternate history novel. If you don't want to double dip, you can do as I will and read the sequel The Grand Tour for alternate history.
Looks like this is the year I finally read The Color Purple!
Milena wrote: "Can anyone confirm whether Dracula or Frankenstein are epistolary novels? I remember hearing that at least one of them is."Frankenstein is also epistolary. Victor Frankenstein tells his story to the captain of a ship, who writes about it in letters to his sister. As far as I remember, the book consists of these letters alone.
This isn't a novel, but it is a book where each chapter is written like a letter: Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World. I'm reading it now and love it.
Allison ༻hikes the bookwoods༺ wrote: "I plan to use 84, Charing Cross Road or Dracula for this task."I’m using 84 Charing Cross as well.
My book comes out in May and is epistolary. One-sentence pitch: Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde hunt vampires. (Apologies if self-promotion is against the rules. I looked for a "rules" post but couldn't find one.)https://smile.amazon.com/Stokers-Wild...
Can Between the Word and Me by Coates count? It's not a novel or a collection of letters.
Almost Like Being In Love by Steve Kluger is a fave of mine.
The Year the Music Changed is a really sweet epistolary novel featuring a young Elvis Presley corresponding with a fan.
Would 1000 White Women the Journals of May Dodd work for this one?
Susanne wrote: "Milena wrote: "Can anyone confirm whether Dracula or Frankenstein are epistolary novels? I remember hearing that at least one of them is."Frankenstein is also epistol..."
Thank you! That's great news, I can use it for the Reading Women challenge also.
My favorite book EVER fits in this category, the beautiful The Perks of Being a Wallflower For me, this is a must-read, AND a re-read.
Melissa wrote: "The Year the Music Changed is a really sweet epistolary novel featuring a young Elvis Presley corresponding with a fan."This looks pretty good!
Margaret, The Screwtape Letters is a fantastic book. You've chosen well.
I found 'We need to talk about Kevin' in my Kindle library so killing two birds with one stone by reading for task 1 AND getting through the mass of Kindle books I've bought but not read
Sharon wrote: "I found 'We need to talk about Kevin' in my Kindle library so killing two birds with one stone by reading for task 1 AND getting through the mass of Kindle books I've bought but not read"I have the same plan lol.
I also thought about 84, Charing Cross Road or I could do a re-read of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, since I don't remember reading it.
Madzia wrote: "I haven't read Cloud Atlas but I read online that part of it is written in an epistolary style. I might read that, or The Color Purple."
The Color Purple is excellent!!!!
Tulips for Alice, by Sandra Dallas, we read lettersone sister writes to another during the Civil War. The newlywed bride whose husband has enlisted, is living with her mother-in-law. I enjoyed it, and I’ve met the author. If you like quilting there’s some of that as well
Y’all have mentioned some of my favorites! We Need to Talk About Kevin, is excellent
First Light and its following books in the Dawn of Steam series works for this challenge. If you're a multi-dipper, it also works for self-published, published before Jan 2019 w/ fewer than 100 reviews on GR, and alternate history novel.Also I think I heard World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War and The Handmaid's Tale works for this one.
I'll maybe read S. if that fits as an epistolary novel. Otherwise The Handmaid's Tale, both have been on my TBR list for a while now.
Don’t Suck, Don’t Die: Giving Up Vic Chesnuttby: Kristin Hersh
The Book of Letters I Didn't Know Where to Send will most likely be my collection of letters. It could also be humor, but I'll likely read another of those within the year.
Hey Ladies!: The Story of 8 Best Friends, 1 Year, and Way, Way Too Many Emails would work for this and for the humor book.I have Vladimir Nabokov's Letters to Vera on my shelf, so I might take this opportunity to dive into it.
I've finally managed to get my hands on In Albert's Shadow: The Life and Letters of Mileva Maric. It's the collection of letters written between Mileva and the author's grandmother (or great-grandmother).
I was just gifted House of Leaves which has been on my TBR list forever. Leafing through I though it seems like it might count. Does anyone know if it would?
I was able to find a few already on my list to read this year, so I should be able to get to at least a few of them (if not all): Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters
The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.
Only Human
Gemina
I second Dear Committee Members (one of the funniest things I've ever read)!For anyone wanting nonfiction and/or something with a wide variety of voices, Letters of the Century: America 1900-1999 and Women's Letters: America from the Revolutionary War to the Present are both nice collections.
Ella, Minnow, Pea is a favorite! The Secret Diary of Hendrik Gruen is wonderful as well
For fantasy fans, there’s “The Sorcerer’s House” by Gene Wolf. Recommended by Neil Gaiman.
I narrowed down my choices to Covered Wagon Women: Diaries and Letters from the Western Trails, 1840-1849 because I like pioneer books (I've read the Little House series 13 times in the past 40 years) or Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot because Patricia C Wrede's stories always amuse me.
Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Letters to My Younger Self: An Anthology of Writings by Incarcerated Men at S.C.I. Graterford (other topics)The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (other topics)
Wylding Hall (other topics)
Conviction (other topics)
De Profundis (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Oscar Wilde (other topics)J.Y. Yang (other topics)
Patricia C. Wrede (other topics)
Hillary Frank (other topics)
Anne Youngson (other topics)
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