All About Books discussion

So this is my 2015 challenge, which is basically to read every book I currently own. However making one long list of over 100 books would look a bit boring and very daunting, so I've broken it up into different categories of authors, series or genres and added a few random categories too. (Books can count towards as many categories as I like, otherwise this could take years)

#1 AUTHOR CHALLENGE 1
Author: F Scott Fitzgerald
# of Books for this challenge: 7

Progress: 3/7 books

i) Novels
✓1. The Beautiful and Damned (1922)
2. Tender Is the Night (1934)
3. The Love of the Last Tycoon (1941 posthumously)

ii) short story collections (some overlap)
✓4. Flappers and Philosophers (1920)
✓5. Tales of the Jazz Age (1922)

iii) letters
6. Dear Scott, Dearest Zelda: The Love Letters of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald

iv) related books
7. Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald

#2 AUTHOR CHALLENGE 2
Author: Bronte Sisters
# of Books for this challenge: 5

Progress: 0/5 books

i) Anne Bronte
1. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)

ii) Charlotte Bronte
2. Shirley (1849)
3. Villette (1853)
4. The Professor (1857, written pre 1847)

iii) Biography
5. The Life of Charlotte Brontë (1857)

#3 AUTHOR CHALLENGE 3
Author: Virginia Woolf
# of Books for this challenge: 3

Progress: 1/3 books

✓1. To the Lighthouse (1927)
2. Orlando (1928)
3. The Waves (1931)

#4 AUTHOR CHALLENGE 4
Author: George Orwell
# of Booksfor this challenge: 5

This one was hard to cut down from 20+ books that I'd like to read eventually.

Progress: 4/5 books

✓1. Burmese Days (1934)
✓2. The Road to Wigan Pier (1937)
✓3. Books v. Cigarettes (1946)
✓4. Shooting an Elephant (1936)
5. A Life in Letters (2011, comprises letters from 1911-1949) currently reading

#5 AUTHOR CHALLENGE 5
Author: Evelyn Waugh
# of Books for this challenge: 3

Progress: 0/3 books

1. Decline and Fall
2. Vile Bodies
3. Men at Arms

#6 COLLECTION CHALLENGE 1
Penguin Great Loves
# of Books for this challenge: 5

Short stories, from a box set of 20 books.

Progress: 5/5 books

✓1. Doomed Love
✓2. Giovanni's Room
✓3. A Russian Affair
✓4. Eros Unbound
✓5. First Love

COMPLETED 28TH SEPTEMBER

#7 COLLECTION CHALLENGE 2
Gollancz 50th Anniversary Fantasy Collection
# of Books for this challenge: 3

I bought this bargainous box set of 7 books for £5 over Christmas 2013 and haven't even touched it. It's not a bargain if it isn't getting read, so these are the first 3 I'd like to try.

Progress: 3/3 books

✓1. Flowers for Algernon
✓2. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
✓3. I Am Legend

COMPLETED 11TH SEPTEMBER

#8 CATCH UP CHALLENGE 1
Hoarder's Corner
# of Books for this challenge: 10

Progress: 10/10 books

✓1. A book that has been on my TBR shelf for years Gulliver's Travels
✓2. A book that I think I'll hate To the Lighthouse
✓3. A book I received for free Cranford
✓4. A book recommendation from a friend Cry, the Beloved Country
✓5. A book club selection that I missed Brighton Rock
✓6. A book with a hideous cover Lady Chatterley's Lover
✓7. A book that is so long I want to cry The Luminaries
✓8. A book that is so short it's barely a book at all Miss Lonelyhearts
✓9. A book that I know nothing about The Home and the World
✓10. A book that has won awards The Color Purple

COMPLETED 28TH MAY

#9 CATCH UP CHALLENGE 2
Book Gifts Backlog
# of Books for this challenge: 15

Progress: 6/15 books

This is the category I feel most guilty about. Books that I excitedly received as gifts and looked forward to reading, but just haven't got around to picking up. I must remember that the library is fun, but not as much fun as reading books that were specially chosen for me.

1. The Waterproof Bible
✓2. A Tiny Bit Marvellous
3. Hanns and Rudolf: The German Jew and the Hunt for the Kommandant of Auschwitz
✓4. Thirteen Reasons Why
✓5. On Anarchism
6. Schindler's Ark
7. The Watchers: A Secret History of the Reign of Elizabeth I
✓8. Oh Dear Silvia
9. The Sleepwalkers How Europe Went to War in 1914
10. The Odyssey
11. The End: Hitler's Germany, 1944-45




Christmas gifts 2014 bonus books -

12. Half of a Yellow Sun
✓13. All the Light We Cannot See
14. A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal
✓15. Letters of Note: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

#10 CATCH UP CHALLENGE 3
Genre: All Kinds of Everything
# of Books for this challenge: 20

Progress: 20/20 books

✓1. Biography Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery
✓2. History Blackamoores: Africans in Tudor England, Their Presence, Status and Origins
✓3. Contemporary A Man Called Ove
✓4. Science-fiction The Time Machine
✓5. Fantasy Gulliver's Travels
✓6. YA Thirteen Reasons Why DNF
✓7. Romance North and South
✓8. Mystery Elizabeth Is Missing
✓9. Horror I Am Legend
✓10. Thriller The Girl on the Train
✓11. Science non-fiction The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design
✓12. Poetry Selected Poems
✓13. Play Lysistrata
✓14. Myth Jason and the Golden Fleece
✓15. Comedy Oh Dear Silvia
✓16. Graphic Novel The Encyclopedia of Early Earth
✓17. Crime Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
✓18. Chick Lit Me Before You
✓19. LGBT Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
✓20. Philosophy Notes from Underground

Favourite genre before starting this challenge: biography, history, sci-fi, science
Least favourite genre before starting this challenge: fantasy, chick lit, YA
Thoughts afterwards: I still dislike fantasy and YA, but had better success with my chick lit book, thanks to good recommendations.

COMPLETED 26TH SEPTEMBER

#11 CATCH UP CHALLENGE 4
Classics Countdown
# of Books for this challenge: 10

Progress: 10/10 books

Classics are my favourite type of book, but I have so many old used classics on my shelf, sometimes I don't know what to try next. I thought I'd leave this section open to choice and have decided to allocate books to a particular time period instead.

✓1. A book from B.C. Jason and the Golden Fleece
✓2. A book written before 1500 Beowulf
✓3. A book written before 1800 Gulliver's Travels
✓4. A book from 1800-1850 The Murders in the Rue Morgue
✓5. A book from the 1850s Cranford
✓6. A book from the 1860s Notes from Underground
✓7. A book from the 1870s The Hunting of the Snark
✓8. A book from the 1880s The Death of Ivan Ilych
✓9. A book from the 1890s The Time Machine
✓10. A book from the early 20th century Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

COMPLETED 12TH JUNE

#12 SERIES CHALLENGE 1
A Song of Ice and Fire
# of Books for this challenge: 7

Progress: 0/7 books

At this point I don't even remotely believe that I'll pick these up. Although I LOVE the television series, I haven't had any inspiration to read these since getting seduced by the box set. On a plus note my daughter has recently finished the 3rd or 4th book, so at least they are getting some use. Just not by me. This challenge is apt to change to something different entirely, but for now I'll delude myself that 2015 is the year I finally read Game of Thrones.

1. A Game of Thrones
2. A Clash of Kings
3. A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow
4. A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold
5. A Feast for Crows
6. A Dance with Dragons: Dreams and Dust
7. A Dance with Dragons: After the Feast

#13 SERIES CHALLENGE 2
The Wizard of Oz
# of Books for this challenge: 11

Progress: 5/11 books

After a six month break, I'm returning to this series for the Autumn.

✓1. Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
✓2. The Road to Oz
✓3. The Emerald City of Oz
✓4. The Patchwork Girl of Oz
✓5. Tik-Tok of Oz
6. The Scarecrow of Oz
7. Rinkitink in Oz
8. The Lost Princess of Oz
9.The Tin Woodman of Oz
10. The Magic of Oz
11. Glinda of Oz

#14 A-Z CHALLENGE 1
Authors Name
# of books for this challenge: 26

Progress: 26/26 books

✓A Apollonius Rhodius 2nd Jan
✓B L. Frank Baum 4th Jan
✓C Noam Chomsky 8th Feb
✓D Dear Fatty 6th Feb
✓E T.S. Eliot 23rd Jan
✓F F. Scott Fitzgerald 8th Jan
✓G Elizabeth Gaskell 3rd Jan
✓H Bell Hooks 13th Jan
✓I Isabel Greenberg 5th Jan
✓J Jay Asher 4th Jan
✓K Daniel Keyes 17th Feb
✓L Leo Tolstoy 30th Jan
✓M Henry Marsh 1st Jan
✓N Nathanael West 14th Jan
✓O George Orwell 27th Jan
✓P Emmeline Pankhurst 12th April
✓Q Matthew Quick 3rd Oct
✓R Rebecca Solnit 18th Jan
✓S David Small 13th Jan
✓T Rabindranath Tagore 21st Jan
✓U Shaun Usher 21st July
✓V Virgil 31st Jan
✓W Alice Walker 8th Jan
✓X Malcolm X 5th Oct
✓Y Yukio Mishima 30th March
✓Z Zora Neale Hurston 24th June

COMPLETED 5TH OCTOBER

#15 A-Z CHALLENGE 2
Book Title
# of books for this challenge: 26

Progress: 20/26 books

✓A Austerlitz 19th Jan
✓B Brighton Rock 14th Jan
✓C Cranford 3rd Jan
✓D Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery 1st Jan
✓E Eros Unbound 7th August
✓F Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics 13th Jan
✓G Gulliver's Travels 8th March
✓H How to be both 9th June
✓I Isa Does It: Amazingly Easy, Wildly Delicious Vegan Recipes for Every Day of the Week 28th May
✓J Jason and the Golden Fleece 2nd Jan
✓K Kindred 10th April
✓L Lady Chatterley's Lover 3rd Feb
✓M Miss Lonelyhearts 14th Jan
✓N Notes from the Underground 17th March
✓O On Anarchism 8th Feb
✓P Perfume: The Story of a Murderer 3rd May
Q
R
✓S Stitches 13th Jan
✓T Thirteen Reasons Why 4th Jan
U
V
W
✓X Xingu 31st August
✓Y Yellow Crocus 6th August
Z

Right, that's it, 15 challenges for 2015, total of 157 books. Now to flesh them out from books currently on my shelves.

A lot of interesting and demanding challenges! Good luck, Pink ;)

Wow Pink, I'm impressed. Those look like great challenges and no mean feat.

Thanks Dely and Erica :)

If anyone knows of a good biography on Virginia Woolf then please let me know, I've looked on Amazon and seen there are a few, but wouldn't know which one to try.

Oh Pink, so many challenges. I am particularly wondering how you will relate to Woolf and Orwell. Fun for me to go through the books you have listed. Good luck.

I love Orwell...so far I have read Animal Farm, 1984, Down and Out in Paris and London and a few essays of his. Can't wait to read more, though I'm worried that some of his earlier work might not live up to his later standard.

Of Virginia Woolf, so far I have only read Mrs. Dalloway which I hated at the time, but have a sort of admiration for it since and A Room of One's Own which I really enjoyed. I have reservations about her other fiction, but I've bought it and it's sitting on the shelf, so it's time to actually read some of it.

What are your thoughts on both authors Chrissie, have you read either of them?

I read 1984 and Animal Farm long ago. My rating for them is just how I remember liking them when I read them years ago. I alm wondering if I am more picky now.....Recently I read Down and Out in Paris and London and Homage to Catalonia. I preferred the latter. I felt I learned more from it, it gave me something new concerning a war that is very confusing. You cannot read just one book on the Spanish Civil War.

In that Orwell chose to present Down and Out in Paris and London as a novel, even if it has strong autobiographical elements, then I want characters that engage me, and this didn't happen for me. Also the style just put me off. It reads as essays rather than a novel that hangs together. He CHOSE to present this as a novel, so give us a good story please. I am very picky.

Oh yeah, I have recently read Virginia Woolf's books too: Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse. You asked about this too. I preferred the former.

An interesting list of challenges, good luck Pink.

I love how this is set out, Pink.

Alannah wrote: "An interesting list of challenges, good luck Pink."

Thanks, I'll be looking through your challenge lists in a minute :)

Gill wrote: "I love how this is set out, Pink."

Thank you, feel free to copy anything you like the look of.

Chrissie, I agree about Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London, not really a novel, though I did enjoy it. In fact I seem to remember categorising it as 'books inspired from personal experiences' of which I'd also class The Road to Wigan Pier and Homage to Catalonia. I'm glad to hear you liked that one, or at least preferred it. I will get around to it one day, but don't currently own a copy.

As for Virginia Woolf, it is not reassuring to hear that you preferred Mrs. Dalloway over To the Lighthouse although to be honest my expectations are quiet low for my appreciation of her fiction!

I love all the thought behind your challenges, Pink. Best of luck.

Let me clarify. I disliked the ending, part 3, of To the Lighthouse, The beginning section of To the Lighthouse is absolutely excellent, but you have to rate the whole book. The book has three sections. The middle section wasn't bad either, but I love d the first. I only like stream of consciousness when the thoughts of the person are something I can understand. If their thoughts might be similar to mine I have an easier time.

Why don't you think you will like her fiction?

Purely based on Mrs Dalloway, which I found the whole stream of consciousness too much for me. I actually read passages aloud to my children, just so they could share my pain. Yet, after finishing the book the story kind of stayed with me and I have fonder feelings about it than whilst I was reading it.

Thanks for explaining.

No problem. I have higher hopes for Orlando, though I may just have been seduced by the premise behind it.

I love the goal of having all your unread books fit on one shelf. Me too, but it won't be 2015........

Wow, good luck. Your challenges would take me until 2025 to finish!

Evelyn wrote: "I love the goal of having all your unread books fit on one shelf. Me too, but it won't be 2015........"

Haha, well fitting on one bookcase will be a start :)

Inspiring!

Pink wrote: "Purely based on Mrs Dalloway, which I found the whole stream of consciousness too much for me. I actually read passages aloud to my children, just so they could share my pain. Yet, after finishing ..."

Pink, just to throw my opinion into the mix, and risking confusing you even more, I preferred To the Lighthouse!! I thought it was easier to follow the story.

That's good to know Shirley, I'll be sure to give my thoughts about it once I've read it.

Love the way you have set this up Pink! I might steal some ideas :P

Feel free Leslie :)

Wow Pink! This is so creative and attractive and above all organised. I think you'll have a lot of fun with some of these, however many you complete :)

I too love George Orwell and want to read more now they're on Kindle. And I never realised there were so many books in the The Wonderful Wizard of Oz series :D

Fantastic organisation Pink! I love your catch up challenges. I'm working to set up my own 2015 challenge list, I would borrow some of your ideas if I may :-)

Kiwi wrote: "Fantastic organisation Pink! I love your catch up challenges. I'm working to set up my own 2015 challenge list, I would borrow some of your ideas if I may :-)"

Of course, borrow as much as you like :)

Jean, I never realised there were so many Wizard of Oz books either, not until I saw the bind up editions at The Works and just had to buy them last year!

Glad the Orwell books are on kindle, they should be easily accessible for everyone! I think he is one of the very few authors whose books I like to own, rather than borrowing from the library. There are some absolutely fantastic editions out there, but far out of my price range!

Wow, so many good books Pink, and I love the variety! If I was organized, I would construct challenges just like this.

Curious to know what you think of Orlando when you get to it. I really liked that one, so funny and charming for me and less stream of consciousness. Her wonderful humor comes out full force in that one. Such a playful, whimsical book! For Woolf, I suggest you leave The Waves for last - it's the most experimental. I liked it, but many loathe it.

And I am yet another Orwell fan. Of your 2015 Orwell books, I thought Shooting an Elephant was really good.

Wizard of Oz and Game of Thrones, so fun!

Enjoy!

Greg, thanks for your input on Virginia Woolf. I'm most looking forward to Orlando, so good to know you liked this one. I will indeed be leaving The Waves until last, because it seems like the one I might least like, plus I like to read things in date order and this one comes later.

Wizard of Oz and Game of Thrones do sound fun, I just have a bad history with reading book series, so need to crack on with these!

These challenges are brilliant! I might do a few of them myself... :)

I've added 4 more books to my gift challenge, plus another in Fitzgerald. All ready to start now!

January Goals -


✓2 books from Author Challenges Tales of the Jazz Age and Burmese Days
✓1 book from Collection Challenges Doomed Love
✓1 book from Catch Up Challenge no. 2 (gifts) Thirteen Reasons Why
✓1 book from Series Challenges (probably Oz) Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

Cross checked with as many as I can cross off from my other Catch Up Challenges and A-Z lists!

Other people may be celebrating New Year's Eve, I'm planning my 2015 book goals. Living the dream :)