Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

Challenge #5 Century Challenge, 150 years of Women Writing

1870s Work: A Story of Experience by Louisa May Alcott 1873
1880s Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson 1884
1890s Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen by Liliuokalani 1898
1900s The Story of My Life by Helen Keller 1902
1910s Twenty Years at Hull House by Jane Addams, 1910
1920s So Big by Edna Ferber 1924
1930s Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers 1934
1940s The Street by Ann Petry 1946
1950s Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya, 1954
1960s Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay 1967
1970s Burger's Daughter by Nadine Gordimer 1979
1980s One Writer's Beginnings by Eudora Welty, 1983
1990s Revenge by Yōko Ogawa 1998
2000s Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout 2009
2010s Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson, 2018
2020s A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende, 2020

Challenge #1: Old and New TBR and Pulitzer Winners

Old School- Late 19th Century American Women
1. Work: A Story of Experience by Louisa May Alcott
2. Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson
3. Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen by Liliuokalani

New School- Agatha Christie, The Queen of Crime
4. A Pocket Full of Rye
5. Evil Under the Sun
6. At Bertram's Hotel

Wild Card Six- Men’s Pulitzer Winners
7. The Fixer by Bernard Malamud
8. House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday
9. Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser
10. The Hours by Michael Cunningham
11. The Known World by Edward P. Jones
12. Empire Falls by Richard Russo

Alternates- Women Pulitzer Winners
13. So Big by Edna Ferber
14. No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Challenge #4 List and read 12 books for each of the following categories.

1. 18th Century or older Oroonoko by Aphra Behn
2. 19th Century Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson
3. 20th Century The Men of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor ✅ 1-11 4 stars
4. Current or Past Group Read Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
5. An Author not read before Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
6. Diversity Classic, read a book from a religion, culture, country, or race different than yours Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya
7. Science Fiction Babar Visits Another Planet by Laurent de Brunhoff
*As I dislike science fiction and never read it, this was stretching it. I checked lists entitled sci-fi for people who dislike the genre but to no avail. This will have to suffice. At least it will not give me nightmares.
8. Romance The Postman by Antonio Skármeta 1/1 ✅ 4 stars
9. Historical fiction The Street by Ann Petry
10. Nonfiction Twenty Years at Hull House by Jane Addams
11. Mystery/Crime A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie
12. Horror or Humor Shrek! by William Steig

Nice to see you doing the Quest for Women this year as well, Brina. You've got some good ones on your list, as well as works that I'm curious about.

Aubrey, thanks to the women’s bingo, most of these were on my to read anyway. Not that I needed an excuse to read women authors.

Aubrey or others, I’m looking for a book from the 1870s to make this a full 150 year challenge. Any ideas are welcome.

Brina wrote: "Aubrey or others, I’m looking for a book from the 1870s to make this a full 150 year challenge. Any ideas are welcome."

Well, there's always the chronology directory that has works by women organized by year published: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

There's several for the 1870's, and I'll look at my own shelves when I can.

I’ve never read George Eliot but I’m looking for something not so long so it actually gets read, and I’ve read A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains. I’ll keep searching but nothing is jumping out at me like wow.

Brina wrote: "I’ve never read George Eliot but I’m looking for something not so long so it actually gets read, and I’ve read A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains. I’ll keep searching but nothing is jumping out a..."

How was A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains? I put it down in my Bingo for the memoir square.

Philina I found it boring. Most people though enjoyed it more than I did.

1870 is a tough decade. Have you read Black Beauty? I thought it was nice. Or maybe you could try some George Sand. Marianne was written in 1876, looks interesting, and is short. :-) I enjoyed her Spiridion.

Romance isn’t interesting to me lol but thanks. I actually found the last novel Louisa May Alcott published in 1873 and luckily there is a copy in my state library system. It is about women and labor and the heroine is ala Jo March, more of a tomboy who is excluded from working because she is a woman. So I got lucky with that one and you are right it took a lot of searching. Other than Welty, Mary Poppins, and now Louisa May Alcott, I was going to read all of these next year anyway so why not make it a 150 year celebration of women writers.

Brina wrote: "Reserved just in case"

Ah, go ahead and have another serving, there is no additional charge. By the way I really liked Nectar in a Sieve, Markandaya did a great job.

You got me, Bob. I’m going to do challenge four but I’m borrowing from other challenges or it won’t get done.

I have read Welty's memior One Writer's Beginnings. I lived in Jackson and recognized bits and pieces. Hope you enjoy the book too.

Wonderful list Brina. I have The Street as part of one of my challenges too. Will watch out for your thoughts.

Ila, I went from not doing any challenges to doing three plus bingo. Lots of overlap but that’s ok. I’ve had my eye on The Street for a few years so I’m definitely excited about that one.

I liked L.M.Alcotts Work,a story .. it was better than Little Women for me, which I couldn't finish.
And my first Christie book was pocketful of rye.
And you are the reason I have been wanting to read Isabel Allende.

Elena, finally someone who read the Alcott book. I was determined to make this a 150 year challenge and that book looked most interesting. I love Christie as brain candy and this gives me an excuse to read 3 of her cases and Allende well she is her own category. This is a new book so I must read it.

I see that we have the following common Pulitzer books on our challenges Brina:

Olive Kitteridge
The Fixer
The Hours

and I have The Known World as an alternate in my Old and New. I tried to read it long ago in my book club. None of us could get through it. I do want to try again sometime, but it's not one I could commit to a buddy read on.

I avoid buddy reads in Jan- through April and in October because those are my most busy times. Do any of the 3 work for you in May-Sept or Nov/Dec?

April and October are busy two months due to holidays. I have
The Hours- August
The Fixer - September
The Known World- November

I did have Olive Kitteridge for March for Women’s History Month. It is short and is supposedly short stories but if you’re too busy to discuss I understand.

That sounds good Brina. I'll put Olive Kitteridge on my list for March but it's not likely that I'll get to it unless I can find it in audio.

The Hours and the Fixer are good for Aug & Sept. We should nominate group reads in these months too.

I'll put The known World down for Nov but have to see if I'm in the mood to try it again.

That sounds good. And if you don’t want to read The Known World in November, I’m also tentatively reading Olive, Again for a follow up hoping that the first book is as good as advertised.

Finished challenge #4 book 8 a romance, The Postman by Antonio Skármeta. Review-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished challenge #4 book 3 The Men of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor. Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...