Classics Without All the Class discussion

Everybody's just gone on with the challenge on last year's discussion, but it might be time to adapt to the new year. Duration: January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2015

Rules

1. Using the author's first or last name - read: 26 books
2.Nothing published after 2005. Whether some things are classics or not is debated, so feel free to ask or argue your defense of a book you feel is classic.
3. No non-fiction
4. No poetry
5. You may NOT repeat any author.
6. Any name with an "X" or a "Q" in them will work for those letters. (The name does not have to begin with an X or a Q.)
7. Books must have been read in 2015.

You can sign up anytime, and you can backdate books if you know when you finished it, as long as it was done in the year 2015.
You can also link if you wish, or not.
TLDR: same rules as last year, but this year.

0/26

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

Do re-reads count or does it have to be first time reading?

Shanea wrote: "Everybody's just gone on with the challenge on last year's discussion, but it might be time to adapt to the new year. Duration: January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2015

Rules

1. Using the author's fi..."

Thanks for the new thread, Shanea. As a moderator are you able to move Ed and my posts, or should we just copy and paste? Also, is it possible to move this thread back to the "fun and games" category?

17/26


Arthur Miller Death of a Salesman
B
C
D
Emmuska Orczy The Scarlet Pimpernel
Fitzgerald, F. Scott Tender Is the Night
Goldsmith, Oliver The Vicar of Wakefield
Hardy, Thomas Far from the Madding Crowd
Ishiguro, Kazuo The Remains of the Day
J. D. Salinger Franny and Zooey
Kundera, Milan The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Lewis Carroll Alice in Wonderland
Montgomery, L.M. Anne of Green Gables
N
Orwell, George 1984
Paterson, Katherine Bridge to Terabithia
Q
Robert Louis Stevenson The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Sabatini, Rafael Scaramouche
Tim, O'Brien The Things They Carried
U
Verne, Jules Around the World in Eighty Days
William Goldman The Princess BrideThe Princess Bride
X
Y
Z

Sam wrote: "Do re-reads count or does it have to be first time reading?"

As far as my opinion goes, if you read it it counts. It might be more challenging to not include it, but if you re-read a monster, or like me have an obsession that you have to read about once a year, feel free.

Valerie wrote: ""

Valerie, you can re-post. I can't move individual posts, only delete them, at least to my knowledge. I can, however move the entire thread.

My progress so far
13/26

A – Alexandre Dumas- "Queen Margot*
B – Benson, E.F.- "The Worshipful Lucia"
C – Costain, Thomas- "The Tontine"
D – Dos Passos, John- "1919"**
E –
F –
G – George Eliot- "Middlemarch"*
H –
I – Ibbotson, Eva- "Journey to the River Sea"
J – John Cleland- "Fanny Hill"*
K – Kazuo Ishiguro- "Remains of the Day "*
L –
M – Mahfouz, Naguib- The Thief and the Dogs
N –
O – O'Brien, Flann- "At Swim-Two-Birds"*
P –
Q – MarQuez, Gabriel Gaarcia - "Love in the Time of Cholera"*
R –
S –
T –
U –
V – V.S. Naipaul- "A Bend in the River"*
W –
X – MaXim Gorky- "Mother"*
Y –
Z –

* on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die List
** the second part of the trilogy USA which is on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die List

18/26


Austen, Jane - Mansfield Park
Balzac, Honoré (de) - Père Goriot
Camus, Albert - The Stranger
Dostoevsky, Fyodor - White Nights
E
Flaubert, Gustave - Sentimental Education
G
Hardy, Thomas - Far from the Madding Crowd
I
James, Henry - Daisy Miller
Kafka, Franz - The Trial
Lee, Harper - To Kill a Mockingbird
Machiavelli, Niccolo - The Prince
Nabokov, Vladimir - Lolita
Orwell, George - Animal Farm
Plath, Sylvia - The Bell Jar
Q
R
Stevenson, Robert Louis - The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror
Tolstoy, Leo - War and Peace
U
V
Wilde, Oscar - The Picture of Dorian Gray
X Huxley, Aldous - Brave New World
Y
Z

I will add my first 13 and save the next 13 until I'm done the challenge.
Here goes:

A-
B- Russell Banks-Cloudsplitter*
C- Clive Barker-Cabal
D-
E-
F-
G- Diana Gabaldon-Dragonfly In Amber
H-
I- John Irving-The Fourth Hand
J- Jay McInerney-Bright Lights, Big City
K-
L- Louis de Bernieres-Captain Corelli's Mandolin*
M- Margaret Atwood-Oryx and Crake
N-
O-
P- Philip Pullman-The Golden Compass
Q- Jane Urquhart-Away
R-
S- William Styron-The Confessions of Nat Turner*
T- Jim Thompson-The Killer Inside Me*
U-
V-
W- John Wyndham- The Chrysalids
X-
Y-
Z- Zora Neale Hurston- Their Eyes Were Watching God*

*On the 1001 Books to Read list...

My progress so far
15/26

A – Alexandre Dumas- "Queen Margot*
B – Benson, E.F.- "The Worshipful Lucia"
C – Costain, Thomas- "The Tontine"
D – Dos Passos, John- "1919"**
E –
F –
G – George Eliot- "Middlemarch"*
H –
I – Ibbotson, Eva- "Journey to the River Sea"
J – John Cleland- "Fanny Hill"*
K – Kazuo Ishiguro- "Remains of the Day "*
L –
M – Mahfouz, Naguib- The Thief and the Dogs
N –
O – O'Brien, Flann- "At Swim-Two-Birds"*
P – Phillips, Caryl- A State of Independence
Q – MarQuez, Gabriel Garcia - "Love in the Time of Cholera"*
R –
S –
T – Turgenev, Ivan- "One the Eve"*
U –
V – V.S. Naipaul- "A Bend in the River"*
W –
X – MaXim Gorky- "Mother"*
Y –
Z –


* on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die List
** the second part of the trilogy USA which is on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die List

Updating a,m, v

a. Amis, Kingsley Lucky Jim
b.
c. Cunningham, Michael "The Hours"
d.
e. Eco, Umberto "The Name of the Rose"
f.
g.
h.
i.
j. Joyce, James "The Dubliners"
k. Kafka, Frans "The Metamorphosis"
l. London, Jack "The Call of the Wild"
m. McInerney, Jay Bright lights, Big city
n.
o.
p.
q.
r. Rhys, Jean "Wide Sargasso Sea"
s.
t.
u.
v. Vonnegut, Kurt Slaughterhouse Five
w.
x. de Saint-EXepury, Antoine "The Little Prince"
y. Kawabata, Yasunari "Thousand Cranes"
z.

DONE!!!
2015 is in the bag!
This was my 3rd year doing the challenge so I allowed myself some leeway like CanLit classics (Canadian Literature), selections from the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die and some novellas and some cult/horror classics. All in all, it was a fun challenge this year!

A: The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
B: Cloudsplitter by Russell Banks
C: Cabal by Clive Barker
D: Shampoo Planet by Douglas Coupland
E: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
F: The Last of the Crazy People by Timothy Findley
G: Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
H: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
I: The Fourth Hand by John Irving
J: Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney
K: The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
L: Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres
M: Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
N: Lives of the Saints by Nino Ricci
O: Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang by Joyce Carol Oates
P: The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Q: Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquieval
R: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
S: The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron
T: The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson
U: Away by Jane Urquhart
V: Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut
W: The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
X: Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx
Y: The Fact Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios by Yann Martel
Z: White Teeth by Zadie Smith

great job Tanya!

Wow, Tanya - done already! I'm going to have to buckle down on this challenge. :)

Please don't rush through it because I finished already.
I'm unemployed due to a disability. I have lots of time on my hands.

My progress so far
18/26
Before 2005

A – Alexandre Dumas- "Queen Margot*
B – Benson, E.F.- "The Worshipful Lucia"
C – Costain, Thomas- "The Tontine"
D – Dos Passos, John- "1919"**
E – Edwidge Danticat - "Krik? Krak!"
F –
G – George Eliot- "Middlemarch"*
H –
I – Ibbotson, Eva- "Journey to the River Sea"
J – John Cleland- "Fanny Hill"*
K – Kazuo Ishiguro- "Remains of the Day "*
L – Laura Esquivel - "Like Water for Chocolate"*
M – Mahfouz, Naguib- The Thief and the Dogs
N –
O – O'Brien, Flann- "At Swim-Two-Birds"*
P – Phillips, Caryl- A State of Independence
Q – MarQuez, Gabriel Garcia - "Love in the Time of Cholera"*
R –
S – Samuel Delaney- "The Einstein Intersection"
T – Turgenev, Ivan- "One the Eve"*
U –
V – V.S. Naipaul- "A Bend in the River"*
W –
X – MaXim Gorky- "Mother"*
Y –
Z –


* on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die List
** the second part of the trilogy USA which is on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die List

Ed, how did you like Like Water for Chocolate?
I have to say, it's one of the books on my challenge that will stay with me. I adored the narrative and even though the story itself was so very soap opera, I still found redeeming qualities in the cultural touchstones like cooking and familial roles, the poetic and magical prose, and the development of the characters.

15/26


A - Jane Austen - Emma
B - J.M. Barrie - Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens and Peter and Wendy
C - Charlotte Brontë - Jane Eyre
D - Arthur Conan Doyle - A Study in Scarlet
E - Edith Wharton - The Age of Innocence
F - F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
G - George Orwell - Animal Farm
H - Nathaniel Hawthorne - The Scarlet Letter
I
J - Johann David Wyss - The Swiss Family Robinson
K - Franz Kafka - The Metamorphosis
L - L.M. Montgomery - Anne of Green Gables
M - Mary Shelley - Frankenstein
N
O - Scott O'Dell - Island of the Blue Dolphins
P
Q
R - Robert Louis Stevenson - Treasure Island
S - William Shakespeare - The Merchant of Venice
T - T.H. White - The Sword in the Stone
U - John Updike - Rabbit, Run
V
W - Oscar Wilde - Lady Windermere's Fan
X
Y
Z

Tanya.... I was very surprised by Water for Chocolate. I would never have read it but for the fact that it is on the 1001 Books You Must Read list. I expected a very sappy book with recipes. Instead, it was very clever and a pleasure to read. I'm currently reading another book on the list, The Quest for Christa T..... what a dud! Forcing myself to finish it.

I agree. I read it as part of three challenges, the 1001 books which is ongoing, this challenge for the letter Q, and on my PopSugar challenge as 'A book that was originally written in a different language'.
I also found the novel to have a pleasant feminist outlook without being overbearing. The family we read about are full of strong women who live unconventional lives in a country ruled by tradition, mostly religious.

Every so often, a book really sticks with you.

As for slugging through a title, that's how I felt about White Teeth by Zadie Smith. It's lauded as this brilliant debut and I just snoozed all the way through it. I don't know if I'm disappointed with the book or with myself.

I was disappointed by White Teeth too.... but didn't find it awful...just average. But I've been reading so many clunkers lately that even average books are bound to be more appreciated.

That's exactly it, Ed.
I didn't find it awful. There were parts where it really had me. But it never 'clicked' the way other books on my challenge did (Cloudsplitter, The Joy Luck Club, Brokeback Mountain, Away, Middlesex).
Another snoozer for me was Foxfire, oh and The Lives of Saints. Neither caught me but both came highly recommended.

I haven't read any of those others yet. The Joy Luck Club is one that I mentally classified in the same place that I had Like Water for Chocolate. So, good to lnow there is hope there.
One of the books I read recently that isn't on the list but I read for my Reading with Style Book Club challenge was The Book of Salt. I had no idea what I was about to read. (I needed a book set in Paris and found it on a list.) It was excellent and very poetic.... and since I had just started The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas for another category in that challenge, what a surprise to find that it almost acts as a sequel- telling the story of a Vietnamese cook who worked for Gertrude Stein and Alice after the years covered by the "Autobiography".

That's wonderful!!
I love when books intersect that way. :)

15/26
A - Austen, Jane - Pride and Prejudice*
B - Brontë, Charlotte - Jane Eyre*
C - Camus, Albert - The Stranger
D -
E -
F -
G - Golding, William - Lord of the Flies*
H - Hemingway, Ernest - The Old Man and the Sea*
I - Ibsen, Henrik - A Doll's House
J - James, Henry - The Turn of the Screw*
K - Kafka, Franz - The Metamorphosis
L - L.M. Montgomery - Anne of Green Gables
M - Mary Shelley - Frankenstein*
N -
O - Orwell, George - 1984*
P -
Q -
R -
S - Shakespeare, William - King Lear
T - Twain, Mark - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn*
U -
V -
W - Oscar Wilde - The Canterville Ghost
X - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - The Little Prince*
Y -
Z -

* On the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die List

9 so far:
A- Alan Brennart- Molokai
D- Dickens, Charles - Bleak House
G- Grass, Gunter - The Tin Drum
J- Joyce, James- Dubliners
L- Lorrie Moore- Anagrams
M- Morrison, Toni- Song of Solomon
P- Pearl Buck - The Good Earth
T- Tartt, Donna- The Secret History
W- Waters, Sarah - Fingersmith
I've read 4 nonfiction, too bad they're not allowed. My next will be I- Irving Welsh-Trainspotting, and C- Clark, Arthur- 2001 A Space Odyssey. Realistically I might get about 8 more after those. Would have had S-Sarah Gruen- Water for Elephants, except publ date is 2006!

Updating b, g, n, t

a. Amis, Kingsley "Lucky Jim"
b. Bernhard, Thomas "The Loser"
c. Cunningham, Michael "The Hours"
d.
e. Eco, Umberto "The Name of the Rose"
f.
g. Greene, Graham "The Quiet American"
h.
i.
j. Joyce, James "The Dubliners"
k. Kafka, Frans "The Metamorphosis"
l. London, Jack "The Call of the Wild"
m. McInerney, Jay Bright lights, Big city
n. Nabokov, Vladimir "Despair"
o.
p.
q.
r. Rhys, Jean "Wide Sargasso Sea"
s.
t. Toole, John Kennedy "A Confederacy of Dunces"
u.
v. Vonnegut, Kurt Slaughterhouse Five
w.
x. de Saint-EXepury, Antoine "The Little Prince"
y. Kawabata, Yasunari "Thousand Cranes"
z.

My progress so far
22/26


A – Alexandre Dumas- "Queen Margot*
B – Benson, E.F.- "The Worshipful Lucia"
C – Costain, Thomas- "The Tontine"
D – Dos Passos, John- "1919"**
E – Edwidge Danticat - "Krik? Krak!"
F – F. Scott Fitzgerald - "The Great Gatsby"*
G – George Eliot- "Middlemarch"*
H – Henry James - "The Turn of the Screw"
I – Ibbotson, Eva- "Journey to the River Sea"
J – John Cleland- "Fanny Hill"*
K – Kazuo Ishiguro- "Remains of the Day "*
L – Laura Esquivel - "Like Water for Chocolate"*
M – Mahfouz, Naguib- The Thief and the Dogs
N –
O – O'Brien, Flann- "At Swim-Two-Birds"*
P – Phillips, Caryl- A State of Independence
Q – MarQuez, Gabriel Garcia - "Love in the Time of Cholera"*
R –
S – Samuel Delaney- "The Einstein Intersection"
T – Turgenev, Ivan- "One the Eve"*
U – Updike, John - "Rabbit, Run"*
V – V.S. Naipaul- "A Bend in the River"*
W – Wolf, Christa - "The Quest for Christa T."
X – MaXim Gorky- "Mother"*
Y –
Z –
* on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die List
** the second part of the trilogy USA which is on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die List

A little more progress-
24/26

A – Alexandre Dumas- "Queen Margot*
B – Benson, E.F.- "The Worshipful Lucia"
C – Costain, Thomas- "The Tontine"
D – Dos Passos, John- "1919"**
E – Edwidge Danticat - "Krik? Krak!"
F – F. Scott Fitzgerald - "The Great Gatsby"*
G – George Eliot- "Middlemarch"*
H – Henry James - "The Turn of the Screw"
I – Ibbotson, Eva- "Journey to the River Sea"
J – John Cleland- "Fanny Hill"*
K – Kazuo Ishiguro- "Remains of the Day "*
L – Laura Esquivel - "Like Water for Chocolate"*
M – Mahfouz, Naguib- The Thief and the Dogs
N – Nieh, Hualing - "Mulberry and Peach: Two Women of China"
O – O'Brien, Flann- "At Swim-Two-Birds"*
P – Phillips, Caryl- A State of Independence
Q – MarQuez, Gabriel Garcia - "Love in the Time of Cholera"*
R – Ron Arias- "The Road to Tamazunchale'
S – Samuel Delaney- "The Einstein Intersection"
T – Turgenev, Ivan- "One the Eve"*
U – Updike, John - "Rabbit, Run"*
V – V.S. Naipaul- "A Bend in the River"*
W – Wolf, Christa - "The Quest for Christa T."
X – MaXim Gorky- "Mother"*
Y –
Z –

* on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die List
** the second part of the trilogy USA which is on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die List

Go Ed!!

Updating h, p, q, s

a. Amis, Kingsley "Lucky Jim"
b. Bernhard, Thomas "The Loser"
c. Cunningham, Michael "The Hours"
d.
e. Eco, Umberto "The Name of the Rose"
f.
g. Greene, Graham "The Quiet American"
h. Hemmingway, Ernest "The Sun Also Rises"
i.
j. Joyce, James "The Dubliners"
k. Kafka, Frans "The Metamorphosis"
l. London, Jack "The Call of the Wild"
m. McInerney, Jay Bright lights, Big city
n. Nabokov, Vladimir "Despair"
o.
p. Pynchon, Thomas "Gravity's Rainbow"
q. Mar'Q'uez, Gabriel Garcia "One hundred years of
solitude"
r. Rhys, Jean "Wide Sargasso Sea"
s. Smith, Zadie "White Teeth"
t. Toole, John Kennedy "A Confederacy of Dunces"
u.
v. Vonnegut, Kurt Slaughterhouse Five
w.
x. de Saint-EXepury, Antoine "The Little Prince"
y. Kawabata, Yasunari "Thousand Cranes"
z.

Nice job!!!
Almost there!!

F: Jonathan Franzen, Freedom

Valerie I'm surprised you didn't use zadie smith for your z.

George wrote: "Valerie I'm surprised you didn't use zadie smith for your z."

I know, George, I may regret that decision later! ha, ha... I am treating 'z' as I did 'q' - in the middle of a name. Also, my quirk last year and this, is to try to only use last names. It can add an extra dimension to the challenge.

Hi everyone! I saw this challenge a few weeks ago but didn't think I would be able to finish it this year. However, since I started buying and reading books from the 1001-list, my chances improved! This way I can combine challenges, let's see how far I get. I've added the books I've read so far in 2015.

My progress so far: 13/26

A - Allende, Isabel - Daughter of Fortune
B -
C - Camus, Albert - The Outsider*
D -
E -
F - Fleming, Ian - Casino Royale*
G - Golden, Arthur - Memoirs of a Geisha*
H -
I -
J - James, Henry - The Turn of the Screw*
K -
L - Louisa May Alcott - Little Women*
M - Margaret Atwood - The Blind Assassin*
N -
O -
P - Poe, Edgar Allan - The Fall of the House of Usher*
Q -
R - Richard Matheson - I Am Legend and Other Stories
S - Süskind, Patrick - Perfume: The Story of a Murderer*
T - Thomas Harris - The Silence of the Lambs
U -
V -
W - Wells, H.G. - The War of the Worlds*
X -
Y - Yann Martel - Life of Pi*
Z -

*On the 1001-Books-You-Must-Read-Before-You-Die List

Go Robin!!!

Here's what I have to date:
A- Arthur C Clarke: 2001 A Space Odyssey
B- Joseph Boyden : Three Day Road
C- Charles Dickens : Bleak House
D- Donna Tartt : The Secret History
E-
F- Sebastian Faulks : Birdsong
G- Gunter Grass : The Tin Drum
H-
I- Irvine Welsh : Trainspotting
J- James Joyce : Dubliners
K- Katherine Mansfield- 5 Stories
L- Jhumpa Lahiri : interpreter of Maladies
M- Lorrie Moore: Anagrams
N-
O-
P- Pearl Buck: The Good Earth
Q- Laura EsQuivel: Like Water for Chocolate
R-
S- Somerset Maugham : The Moon and Sixpence (almost done)
T- Toni Morrison: Song of Solomon
U-
V-
W- Sarah Waters: Fingersmith (2002)
X-
Y-
Z-
I've just started The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje for my O, and if I can get them all read by yr's end, books by Philip Roth, Siri Hustvedt, Jules Verne, Elmore Leonard (maybe not a "classic") and John Updike will get me letters R, H, V, E, and U. I've been trying to read more books by women writers, and 9 of these are, so I'm meeting a 2nd goal as well. If I read The Shining which looks like it'll be the groups Oct book, that will probably slow me down, since it's 500+ pages.

George, The Shining is a surprisingly quick, addictive read.
Have you read King before?

I haven't read a King novel yet. A friend who is a big reader is a fan of his. Since The Shining is in 1001 Books You... I put it on my list to read about 7 or 8 mos ago.

He's easy to read once you crack his style.
His dialogue is very conversational which is a huge part of why I love him.
And most of the time, italics mean internal dialogue of the character. My first King book was Dreamcatcher and I learned that the hard way.

Updating I & V

My progress so far: 15/26

A - Allende, Isabel - Daughter of Fortune
B -
C - Camus, Albert - The Outsider*
D -
E -
F - Fleming, Ian - Casino Royale*
G - Golden, Arthur - Memoirs of a Geisha*
H -
I - Ian McEwan - Enduring Love*
J - James, Henry - The Turn of the Screw*
K -
L - Louisa May Alcott - Little Women*
M - Margaret Atwood - The Blind Assassin*
N -
O -
P - Poe, Edgar Allan - The Fall of the House of Usher*
Q -
R - Richard Matheson - I Am Legend and Other Stories
S - Süskind, Patrick - Perfume: The Story of a Murderer*
T - Thomas Harris - The Silence of the Lambs
U -
V - Voltaire - Candide*
W - Wells, H.G. - The War of the Worlds*
X -
Y - Yann Martel - Life of Pi*
Z -

*On the 1001-Books-You-Must-Read-Before-You-Die List

One question about the rules, which say 'Nothing published after 2005'. Does that mean that we can't read books from 2006 onwards, or we also can't read books from 2005? Thanks!

Updating B, K, N, Q

My progress so far: 19/26

A - Allende, Isabel - Daughter of Fortune
B - Böll, Heinrich - The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum*
C - Camus, Albert - The Outsider*
D -
E -
F - Fleming, Ian - Casino Royale*
G - Golden, Arthur - Memoirs of a Geisha*
H -
I - Ian McEwan - Enduring Love*
J - James, Henry - The Turn of the Screw*
K - King, Stephen - The Shining*
L - Louisa May Alcott - Little Women*
M - Margaret Atwood - The Blind Assassin*
N - Nooteboom, Cees - Rituals*
O -
P - Poe, Edgar Allan - The Fall of the House of Usher*
Q - Gabriel García Már'Q'uez - Love in the Time of Cholera*
R - Richard Matheson - I Am Legend and Other Stories
S - Süskind, Patrick - Perfume: The Story of a Murderer*
T - Thomas Harris - The Silence of the Lambs
U -
V - Voltaire - Candide*
W - Wells, H.G. - The War of the Worlds*
X -
Y - Yann Martel - Life of Pi*
Z -

*On the 1001-Books-You-Must-Read-Before-You-Die List

Like Robin, I've also got 19 authors so far- all different from hers.
A Arthur C Clarke 2001 A Space Odyssey
B Joseph Boyden. Three Day Road (2005)
C Charles Dickens Bleak House
D Donna Tartt The Secret History
E
F Sebastian Faulks Birdsong
G Gunter Grass The Tin Drum
H Siri Hustvedt What I Loved (2003)
I Irvine Welsh Trainspotting
J James Joyce Dubliners
K Katherine Mansfield Five Stories
L Jhumpa Lahiri. Interpreter of Maladies (stories)
M Lorrie Moore Anagrams
N
O Michael Ondaatje The English Patient
P Pearl Buck The Good Earth
Q Laura EsQuivel Like Water for Chocolate
R Philip Roth Portnoy's Complaint
S Somerset Maugham The Moon and Sixpence (& Carol Shields The Stone Diaries)
T Toni Morrison Song of Solomon
U
V
W Sarah Waters Fingersmith
X
Y
Z

I'm currently half through Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth for the "V". I should get at least 1 or 2 more by years end. I've been trying to read more books by women writers and 9 (and a half) of these 19 are. I've been rewarded for this, some of these are among my favorites this year esp Interpreter of Maladies, The Stone Diaries and The Good Earth. Maybe all 26 next yr?

Updating o, w, and z

a. Amis, Kingsley "Lucky Jim"
b. Bernhard, Thomas "The Loser"
c. Cunningham, Michael "The Hours"
d.
e. Eco, Umberto "The Name of the Rose"
f.
g. Greene, Graham "The Quiet American"
h. Hemmingway, Ernest "The Sun Also Rises"
i.
j. Joyce, James "The Dubliners"
k. Kafka, Frans "The Metamorphosis"
l. London, Jack "The Call of the Wild"
m. McInerney, Jay Bright lights, Big city
n. Nabokov, Vladimir "Despair"
o. Ondaatje, Michael "The English Patient"
p. Pynchon, Thomas "Gravity's Rainbow"
q. Mar'Q'uez, Gabriel Garcia "One hundred years of
solitude"
r. Rhys, Jean "Wide Sargasso Sea"
s. Smith, Zadie "White Teeth"
t. Toole, John Kennedy "A Confederacy of Dunces"
u.
v. Vonnegut, Kurt Slaughterhouse Five
w. Wells, H.G. "The war of the worlds"
x. de Saint-EXepury, Antoine "The Little Prince"
y. Kawabata, Yasunari "Thousand Cranes"
z. Orc"Z"y, Emmuska "The Scarlet Pimpernel"

I'm determined to finish this again this year, but I may get hung up on U. I chose "Rabbit redux" by Updike, but I think the library is unable to find it in the system (ie the interlibrary loan system!).

Psst...it might be easier to find a book with an E name and move Umberto to U?
Explore that ;)

A. Margaret Atwood The Blind Assissin
B. Barry López Lessons From the Wolverine
C. Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness
D. Charles Darwin The Origin of Species
E. Eoin Colfer Artemis Fowl
F. Frank Herbert Dune
G. Kenneth Grahame The Wind and the Willows
H. Homer The Odyssey
I. Ian Fleming Live and Let Die
J. Jack Kerouac On The Road
K. Daniel Keyes Flowers For Algernon
L. Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird
M. Bruce R. McConkie The Mortal Messiah
N. Vladamir Nabokov Lolita
O. Orson Scott Card Seventh Son
P. Pearl S. Buck The Good Earth
Q. Gabriel García Már'Q'uez Strange Pilgrims
R. Kathy Reichs Déjà Dead
S. William Shakespeare King Lear
T. Leo Tolstoy Anna Karenina
U. John Updike The Witches of Eastwick
V. Ovid Metamorphosis
W. Walt Whitman Leaves of Grass
X. Aldous Huxley Brave New World
Y. Fyodor Dotoyevsky The Idiot
Z. Ravi K. Zacharias I, Isaac Take Thee, Rebekkah

Congratulations James (from a fellow Utahan). I've read many of the books in your list including The Good Earth this year. I admire your accomplishment.

Tanya-Marie wrote: "Psst...it might be easier to find a book with an E name and move Umberto to U?
Explore that ;)"

I actually thought I'd have better luck getting "Witches of Eastwick", so I may give that a try before rearranging the list! Good suggestion though!