Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

I'm just about to head out for a while, but I wanted to get a bit of something posted.

Challenge #1 - Old & New TBR Challenge

1899 and earlier/Old School: The Brontës
1. Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (reading)

1900-1999/New School: Native American Lit of the '90s
4. Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog
5. Red Clay: Poems & Stories by Linda Hogan
6. Walking the Rez Road by Jim Northrup

Wild Card Six: Fantasy
7. The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany
8. The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White*
9. The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
10. The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin
11. Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings
12. The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien

Alternates: Just Because
A-1. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
A-2. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

*I will likely read The Once and Future King in its entirety, but I'm listing only the first book. Small goals and all that.

Challenge #2 – Does a Century Make a Difference?

My plan is to work on the other challenges first and give this a go if it seems plausible.

1947
✔ 1. McElligot's Pool by Dr. Seuss
2. Miracle on 34th Street by Valentine Davies
3. The Setting Sun by Osamu Dazai
4. The Labors of Hercules by Agatha Christie
5. All My Sons by Arthur Miller
6. In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B. Hughes
7. The Wayward Bus by John Steinbeck
8. Nightmare in Berlin by Hans Fallada
9. Exercises in Style by Raymond Queneau
10. Ozark Magic and Folklore by Vance Randolph

1847
1. Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (reading)
4. Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
5. The Princess by Alfred Tennyson
6. The Same Old Story by Ivan Goncharov
7. Atta Troll by Heinrich Heine
8. Cousin Pons by Honoré de Balzac
9. The Macdermots of Ballycloran by Anthony Trollope
10. Narrative of William W. Brown: A Fugitive Slave by William Wells Brown

Challenge #3 - Second Place or Worse

I love this one!

Some options:

Old School
Egil's Saga by Anonymous (November 2019 Old School Poll)
Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev (May 2019 Old School Poll)
Idylls of the King by Alfred Tennyson (May 2018 Old School Poll)
Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon (March 2020 Old School Poll)
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle (April 2019 Old School Poll)
Père Goriot by Honoré de Balzac (May 2017 Old School Classic Poll)
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi (August 2017 Old School Classic Poll)
The Warden by Anthony Trollope (September 2020 Old School Poll)
Washington Square by Henry James (October 2018 Old School Poll)

New School
The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler (November 2019 New School Poll)
The Clocks by Agatha Christie (April 2016 New School Poll)
The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman (October 2018 New School Poll)
The Long Walk by Richard Bachman (May 2017 New School Classic Poll)
Passing by Nella Larsen (December 2020 New School Poll)
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (March 2020 New School Group Read)
The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe (April 2020 New School Poll)

Long Reads
Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family by Thomas Mann (4th Quarter 2020 Long Read Poll)
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (1st Quarter 2021 Long Read)
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (2nd Quarter 2018 Long Read Poll)

Short Stories
Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville (July 2020 Short Story/Novella Poll)
Desiree's Baby by Kate Chopin (April 2020 Short Story/Novella Poll)
So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ (March 2017 Short Story Poll)
The Star by Arthur C. Clarke (December 2020 Short Story/Novella Poll)
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco (May 2017 Short Story Poll)

Challenge #4 - Members Choice Classic/Genre Challenge

✔ 1. 18th Century or older: The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki
✔ 2. 19th Century: The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
✔ 3. 20th Century: A Wrinkle in Time
✔ 4. Current or Past Group Read: Songs of Innocence and of Experience by William Blake
✔ 5. An Author not read before: The Velveteen Rabbit
✔ 6. Diversity Classic: Passing by Nella Larsen
✔ 7. Science Fiction: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
8. Romance: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
✔ 9. Historical fiction: An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving
10. Nonfiction:
✔ 11. Mystery/Crime: Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
12. Horror or Humor:

Challenge #5 - Decade/Century Challenge

So I've decided to concentrate on children's classics for this challenge. I've realized that I managed to miss out on a lot beloved children's books, or I read them when I was a kid and have fond memories of them. Since 2020 was such a downer, why not devote one challenge to something light and airy?

1870s: Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll
1880s: The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
1890s: The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame
1900s: The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit
✔ 1910s: The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco
1920s: Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
1930s: Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
1940s: Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
1950s: Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
✔ 1960s: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Challenge #6 - Short Story Challenge

✔ 1. The Veldt by Ray Bradbury, 01/04/2021 ★★★★★
2. They're Not Your Husband by Raymond Carver
3. The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway
5. The Lady's Maid's Bell by Edith Wharton
5. Xingu by Edith Wharton
6. An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving by Louisa May Alcott
7. Bernice Bobs Her Hair by F. Scott Fitzgerald
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
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15.
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18.
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24.

Challenge #7 - 2021 Group Reads Challenge

✔ 1. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, 01/05/2021
✔ 2. Songs of Innocence and of Experience by William Blake
3. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Challenge #8 - Expand Your Horizon With New Authors

1/6

✔ 1. Passing by Nella Larsen
2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
3. Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
4. Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev
5. Walking the Rez Road by Jim Northrup
6.

Challenge #9 - A-Z Author Challenge

A. Louisa May Alcott: Little Women
B. William Blake: Songs of Innocence and of Experience
C. Agatha Christie: Death on the Nile
D. Emily Dickinson: Selected Poems
E. T.S. Eliot by Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats
F. William Faulkner: Light in August
G. Graham Greene: The End of the Affair
H.
I. Washington Irving: Rip Van Winkle
J.
K. John Keats: Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St.Agnes and Other Poems
✔ L. Nella Larsen: Passing, 01/09/2021
M.
N.
O.
P.
Q. Raymond Queneau: Exercises in Style
R.
S.
T.
U. Alfred Uhry: Driving Miss Daisy
V. Jules Verne, Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
W. Edith Wharton: The Age of Innocence
X.
Y. Anzia Yezierska: Bread Givers
Z. Roger Zelazny: A Night in the Lonesome October

Challenge #10 - A-Z Title Challenge

2/26

A. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
B.
C.
D. Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
✔ E. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, 01/05/2021
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
K.
L. Light in August by William Faulkner
M.
N. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
O.
✔ P. Passing by Nella Larsen, 01/09/2021
Q. Quidditch Through the Ages by J.K. Rowling
R.
S. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
T.
U.
✔ V. The Veldt by Ray Bradbury, 01/04/2021
W.
X. Xingu by Edith Wharton
Y.
Z.

I’m glad you like challenge #3. Your homework will save me tons of time, thanks!

Three times Bronte!
My other book group, the Lovely Ladies, is doing a Bronte project next year.
Would you like to join us?
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

Nice list! I got some inspiration for my mythology linked to read selve from it; Egil's Saga, thanks!
Good luck with your challenge!

Bob: Glad I could be of help!

Philina: Thank you for the invite. I might join you all. Sounds fun!

Irphen: Thank you! Glad I could provide some inspiration.

You have some lovely books here. I loved Agnes Grey and Jane Eyre, I hope you enjoy them. We have some potential overlap in some of the books you are considering for Challenge 3 - A Raisin in the Sun, Passing, wives and Daughters and So long a letter are on my list for that challenge. I really like your idea of a Children's author century challenge, so many nice options there,

I second The Warden.

I love your approach to challenge 5! I might have to work some of those into my reading as well.

Thanks all! I'm a little more excited about the children's classics in Challenge #5 than I expected to be. Can't wait!

Most of my challenges are now planned. I've decided to do 1947/1847 for Challenge #2. 1947 is my mother's birth year, and I'm reading three 1847 books for my Old-New Challenge, so it seems like the most plausible.

I still have to finish picking books for Challenge #1. I'm trying to come up with a theme for New School (I like themes). I'm think of the Roaring '20s or Native American authors. Not sure yet. Any suggestions are welcome.

Angie wrote: "Most of my challenges are now planned. I've decided to do 1947/1847 for Challenge #2. 1947 is my mother's birth year, and I'm reading three 1847 books for my Old-New Challenge, so it seems like the..."

A Native American authors theme sounds good to me. Hale, Welch, Hogan, Momaday, Silko, Harjo, Erdrich...you have lots of good ones to choose from.

Also Sherman Alexie , new book from last two years or so There There by Tommy Orange

Wonderful choices, Angie! You did a great job finding 1847 titles-- The Same Old Story looks particularly interesting.

And re Brina's mention of There There, I loved that one. :-)

Aubrey wrote: "A Native American authors theme sounds good to me. Hale, Welch, Hogan, Momaday, Silko, Harjo, Erdrich...you have lots of good ones to choose from."

I'll have to check Hale out, as I'm not familiar with them. Do you mean Janet Campbell Hale?

I love Harjo and Erdrich. I'm somewhat limited when it comes to Erdrich. A lot of her books aren't available in kindle, and until I get new glasses (which might be a while), I'm having difficulty reading a lot of print works.

Welch and Hogan are possibilities, though. I've been wanting to read The Death of Jim Loney.

Brina wrote: "Also Sherman Alexie , new book from last two years or so There There by Tommy Orange"

I read There There when it first came out, and I just loved it. I keep hoping we'll see something new from Orange.

Kathleen wrote: "Wonderful choices, Angie! You did a great job finding 1847 titles-- The Same Old Story looks particularly interesting.

And re Brina's mention of There There, I loved ..."

I was especially interested in The Same Old Story when I ran across it. I've enjoyed all the Russian literature I've read. I think I'll make it a tradition of mine to read a Russian every winter. I'm on War and Peace right now.

There There was shatteringly beautiful.

Quite ambitious of you. Bronte sisters are always a delight to read. Pere Goriot is excellent if you do choose to read it.

Angie wrote: "I think I'll make it a tradition of mine to read a Russian every winter."

Ooh. I am stealing this idea. ;-)

The Hale would be Janet Campbell Hale, yes.

I like your plan for challenge 5.

Ila wrote: "Quite ambitious of you. Bronte sisters are always a delight to read. Pere Goriot is excellent if you do choose to read it."

Despite English being one of my majors, I somehow got through college without reading Jane Eyre, so I'm jazzed to read it. I thought it would be fun to read them all the same year and see how they compare with each other.

I'll definitely check out Pere Goriot.

Kathleen wrote: "
Ooh. I am stealing this idea. ;-)"

Steal away. The Russians are perfect chilly weather reading!

Bob wrote: "I like your plan for challenge 5."

Thanks! I'm looking forward to some nostalgic reads and some (hopefully) new favorites.

I've finally figured out the books for my Old & New Challenge. I went with a Native American theme for New School. Those books will work well with a couple I'm doing for another challenge.

Now to search for X authors who aren't Xenophon or Cao Xueqin for the A-Z challenge!

Angie wrote: "I've finally figured out the books for my Old & New Challenge. I went with a Native American theme for New School. Those books will work well with a couple I'm doing for another challenge...."

Great idea for a theme.

As for X, you might try Xinran. She has become one of my favorites.

Katy wrote: "As for X, you might try Xinran. She has become one of my favorites."

Katy, thanks for the recommendation. Are there any books by her you can recommend?

Angie wrote: "Now to search for X authors who aren't Xenophon or Cao Xueqin for the A-Z challenge!"

I have Xinran, Wang Xiaobo, Xiao Yu, Zhang Xianliang, Xiaowei Wang, Xiaolu Guo, and Malcolm X (if that counts) myself. Of them, I can recommend Xinran's Sky Burial, X's autobiography, and Guo's Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth.

Aubrey wrote: "Angie wrote: "Now to search for X authors who aren't Xenophon or Cao Xueqin for the A-Z challenge!"

I have Xinran, Wang Xiaobo, Xiao Yu"

Aubrey, thank you the recs. I've read The Autobiography of Malcolm X (which I would totally count). It's a wonderful read. I'll check out the other books you mentioned. Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet looks really interesting.

First up: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. I'm reading a Modern Library edition with a critical essay at the beginning that has me wanting to read more about Bramwell Brontë. I might try to squeeze The Infernal World of Branwell Brontë in to make this year a true Brontë family affair.

I have finished my first short story for Challenge #6. I think it'll be nice to read some shorter works as I work through novels.

The Veldt by Ray Bradbury

I really enjoyed this one and wound up giving it five stars. My review can be found here. Beware of spoilers.

Other classics I'm currently reading:

Wuthering Heights
Ender's Game (nearly finished)
War and Peace

I've finished both Ender's Game and Passing. Both were great reads. I preferred Passing out of the two, but I enjoyed both of them.

Still working on Wuthering Heights and have started Little Women and The Invisible Man (Wells).

I really enjoyed Little Women. I hope you do too. I look forward to your review of Wuthering Heights. It's on my list as well. I have unsuccessfully tried to read it several times.