Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

I have been looking through some other challenges, and it seems the South American Classic and Asian Classic are the harder spots.

Asian Classic: The Epic of Gilgamesh? Memoirs of a Geisha? Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings Midnight's Children ?

I am trying to fill all spaces with classics.

**: Unfilled/ not started/ currently reading.

B1: 18th Century or Earlier Classic: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
B2: Book Chosen by the Cover Bag Jerntæppet (the book jumped on me last time I visited the local library. I could not escape it... )
B3: European Classic: Kafka: In the Penal Colony
** ->B4: Telegraph’s 100 Novels List: Midnight's Children (reading)
B5: 20th Century Classic: The Postman Always Rings Twice

I1: Book from the Group’s Bookshelf Prior to 2019: The Scarlet Pimpernel
-> I2: New-to-You Author: Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
** I3: Classic Play
-> I4: Literary Prize of Your Country: Mærk Verden: En beretning om bevidsthed by Tor Nørretranders
I5: Classic on Your Bookshelf For over a Year: The new Testament (wanting to read for 30++ years)

-> N1: South American Classic: Paulo Coelho: Veronika Decides to Die
N2: Short Story Collection Chess story - was with an other story - thus a collection….
-> N3: FREE SPACE: The Drowned World
N4: Poetry or Essay Collection: Eugene Onegin
** -> N5: Asian Classic : The Epic of Gilgamesh (almost started ;-)

G1: Winner of a Foreign Literary Prize: Matilda
G2: Classic By a Female Author: The Zimmermann Telegram
G3: Classic Non-fiction: A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes
G4: Written by Nobel Laureate: The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman.
G5: Book from the Group's 2019 Bookshelf: The Prince

-> O1: 19th Century Classic: Anna Karenina
O2: Classic Sci-fi or Fantasy: The Martian Chronicles
O3: Classic Comedy or Satire: The Master and Margarita
O4: Classic Romance: The professor
-> O5: 21st Century Potential Classic: House of Leaves (a 1001-list book)

I have updated those marked with ->

Status: Need to finish Midnight's Children and The Epic of Gilgamesh and read a classic play, then I have full bingo.

oops, I need to reorder a bit. Hawking: A Brief History of Time was only nomineted, but did not win. (Done)

Asian and South American classics are my hardest spots to fill. Good luck with your choices and the challenge :)

Good luck with your challenge J_BlueFlower. Asia & South America do seem the most difficult for me also to fill.

For Latin America you could also use:
Gabriel García Márquez
Isabel Allende
Como agua para chocolate
Mario Vargas Llosa
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Amado
Miguel Asturias (author)
Carlos Fuentes
Paulo Coelho
Gabriela Mistral
Octavio Paz
Roberto Bolaño

Good luck 😉

Philina wrote: "For Latin America you could also use:

Thank you very much!

Gabriel García Márquez: Already read One Hundred Years of Solitude, not really feeling up to Love in the Time of Cholera just yet.

Isabel Allende: I have read The House of the Spirits, I rather read a new-to-me author.

Como agua para chocolate: Read with 1001-list books group.

Mario Vargas Llosa: Yes, The Feast of the Goat is on my list.

Jorge Luis Borges: I have read everything expect the poems.

Miguel Asturias: (librarian clean up: Combined with Miguel Ángel Asturias).

Carlos Fuentes: The Death of Artemio Cruz is on the 1001-books list. Seems like a good choice.

Paulo Coelho: I did not realize he was Brazilian. I read the The Alchemist some years ago and Veronika Decides to Die has been on my to-read list for a while.

Octavio Paz: The Labyrinth of Solitude and Other Writings has been on my to-read list for a while.

J_BlueFlower wrote: "Philina wrote: "For Latin America you could also use:

Thank you very much!

Gabriel García Márquez: Already read One Hundred Years of Solitude, not really feeling up to Love in the Time of Choler..."

I'm using The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love for my South American one. Can't speak to how good it is because I haven't read it yet, but it did win a Pulitzer.

I may change it to Like Water for Chocolate if that wins a group read. I loved that movie.

I was struggling with what to read for the South American, and now I have so many choices I am having a hard time choosing.

The Mambo Kings would be a great choice for me because it would also satisfy a slot on my Pulitzer challenge!

Updated above:

Reading:
** N1: South American Classic: Paulo Coelho: Veronika Decides to Die (currently reading) I am very happy about this book, could be my best book this year so far (Chess story was a 5-star, but a re-read, so it does not really count). Thank you, Philina, for the suggestion. Coelho is Brazilian.

Finished:
G5: Book from the Group's 2019 Bookshelf: The Prince (finished a bit ahead of time for next month group read, but I accidentally started when I wanted to check if the audiobook file I just downloaded was ok).

You‘re very welcome!
The Alchemist is still on my to read list.

J_BlueFlower wrote: "
** N1: South American Classic: Paulo Coelho: Veronika Decides to Die (currently reading) I am very happy about this book, could be my best book this year so f..."

I am so glad to hear that. It has been on my radar for some time now.

We should give one of them a new school nomination.

Updated. Need to finish Midnight's Children and The Epic of Gilgamesh and read a classic play, then I have full bingo.

Bravo, BlueFlower. You will be blacked out by August!

Wow! You're doing very well! I'm still plugging along :/

Done. Ahem…… BINGO!

Final list (new line marked with ->):

B1: 18th Century or Earlier Classic: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
B2: Book Chosen by the Cover Bag Jerntæppet (the book jumped on me last time I visited the local library. I could not escape it... )
B3: European Classic: Kafka: In the Penal Colony
B4: Telegraph’s 100 Novels List: Midnight's Children
B5: 20th Century Classic: The Postman Always Rings Twice

I1: Book from the Group’s Bookshelf Prior to 2019: The Scarlet Pimpernel
I2: New-to-You Author: Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
-> I3: Classic Play: Antigone
I4: Literary Prize of Your Country: Mærk Verden: En beretning om bevidsthed by Tor Nørretranders
I5: Classic on Your Bookshelf For over a Year: The new Testament (wanting to read for 30++ years)

N1: South American Classic: Paulo Coelho: Veronika Decides to Die
N2: Short Story Collection Chess story - was with another story - thus a collection….
N3: FREE SPACE: The Drowned World
N4: Poetry or Essay Collection: Eugene Onegin
N5: Asian Classic : The Epic of Gilgamesh

G1: Winner of a Foreign Literary Prize: Matilda
G2: Classic By a Female Author: The Zimmermann Telegram
G3: Classic Non-fiction: A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes
G4: Written by Nobel Laureate: The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman.
G5: Book from the Group's 2019 Bookshelf: The Prince

O1: 19th Century Classic: Anna Karenina
O2: Classic Sci-fi or Fantasy: The Martian Chronicles
O3: Classic Comedy or Satire: The Master and Margarita
O4: Classic Romance: The professor
O5: 21st Century Potential Classic: House of Leaves (a 1001-list book)

Wow! Congratulations!! Job well done! :)

Congratulations!

Congrats to you! Well done

Thank you all. I have just been following the group reads. Trying two read two from the shelf per month. The only books that I read this year rather than later was Mærk Verden (I4), Veronika Decides to Die (N1: South American Classic) and The new Testament (I5: Classic on Your Bookshelf For over a Year).

The most challenging parts for me was N1: South American Classic and I4: Literary Prize of Your Country. (I4: Denmark is a small country, very few literary prizes and they are often given to the author rather than to a book).


If I wrote the challenge I would have fields like
* a classic from a small country (for instance <10 mil inhabitants)
* a world library top 100 list classics https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...
* Poetry, Essay Collection and non-fiction: Have them cover more than 2 places.
or maybe:
* Pick any two: non-white, not written in English, non-fiction, female,....
(Just thinking aloud.)

I like those suggestions! Excellent list and congratulations on your blackout!

We did the Bokklubben World Library list a few years ago. It was my favorite list for Bingo so far.