Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

Hello! Another year of Bingo, how fun! Last year I only read 10 - 15 % of the books that I planned. That happens every year. Partially I am to blame with reading on a whim, but usually a large reason is that the monthly poll winners catch my eye. Any planned books you see are here just for fun and to put on "paper" possible ideas. Great job on the board as always Katy. The categories have enough challenge to make it interesting but still enough wiggle room to find books to enjoy.

Bingo Board 2023 Book Covers



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Bingo Books Completed

B1: Book Published 1950 - 1999 The Crow Trap by Ann Cleeves (Vera Stanhope Mystery #1) (1999) 7/5/2023 4*
B2: Classic written in your native language Youth by Joseph Conrad (1898) 1/16/2023 4*
B3: Classic of Europe Medea by Euripides Rex Warner translator (432) 7/29/2023 3*
B4: Classic involving art Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin (1965) 5/23/2023 4*
B5: Classic from your bookshelf Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman (1995) 2/23/2023 5*

I1: Book from the Group’s Bookshelf Prior to 2023 Summer by Edith Wharton (1917) - reread - 5/13/2023 4*
I2: Classic biography/autobiography or memoir 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (1970) 4/9/2023 5*
I3: Classic horror or gothic The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice by Wilkie Collins (1879) 1/15/2023 3*
I4: Classic comedy, satire, or humor A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare (1595) 6/16/2023 5*
I5: Book from the group’s Favorites of 2022 Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett (1978) 3/14/2023 4*

N1: Classic of the Americas Blindness by José Saramago (1995) 3/29/2023 4*
N2: Classic Western The Virginian by Owen Wister (1902) 11/26/2923 5*
N3: Reader’s Choice The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery (1926) 9/3/2023 5*
N4: Classic mystery or thriller Death of a Gossip by M.C. Beaton (1985) 3/27/2023 4* NOTE: M. C. Beaton is the pen name for Marion Chesney
N5: Classic of Africa or Oceania Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (1870) 12/29/2023 5*

G1: Classic from a group poll that did not win book:The Life of a Good-For-Nothing|42688455] by Joseph von Eichendorff (1826) 4/8/2023 4*
G2: Classic action or adventure The 39 Steps by John Buchan (1915) 2/19/2023 4*
G3: Classic history or historical fiction A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe (1722) 2/12/2023 5*
G4: Class fantasy or science fiction Yesterday's Son by A.C. Crispin (1983) 8/12/2023 5*
G5: Book from the Group’s 2023 Bookshelf Children of the Corn by Stephen King (1977) 4/23/2023

O1: Book Published before 1900 Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë (1847) 5/29/2023 5*
O2: New-To-You Classic Author Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov (1925) 4/19/2023 4*
O3: Classic of Asia Life of a Counterfeiter by Yasushi Inoue (1949) 4/29/2023 4*
O4: Classic in translation The Dream of a Ridiculous Man by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1877) 3/22/2023 4*
O5: Book Published 1900 - 1949 The Moon Is Down by John Steinbeck (1942) 3/2/2023 4*

Planning Ha! Like I will really read many of these. Mostly I am thinking of the next installments of book series that I enjoy. Most of the other slots will be filled in by books from the monthly nominations I am sure.

B1: Book Published 1950 - 1999 Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
☑ B2: Classic written in your native language Youth by Joseph Conrad
B3: Classic of Europe Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
B4: Classic involving art The Small Rain by Madeleine L'Engle (1945)
☑ B5: Classic from your bookshelf Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

I1: Book from the Group’s Bookshelf Prior to 2023 The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne I am about 30% into this book, but looking realistically I doubt I can finish it and the other challenge books I want to finish in 2022, so it may be pushed into 2023.
I2: Classic biography/autobiography or memoir The Journal Of John Woolman (1773)
☑ I3: Classic horror or gothic The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice by Wilkie Collins
I4: Classic comedy, satire, or humor
I5: Book from the group’s Favorites of 2022 The Old Maid: The 'Fifties by Edith Wharton

☑ N1: Classic of the Americas Blindness by José Saramago
☑ N2: Classic Western The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains Owen Wister
N3: Reader’s Choice The Widows of Eastwick by John Updike (2008)
N4: Classic mystery or thriller The Honourable Schoolboy by John le Carré
N5: Classic of Africa or Oceania Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener

G1: Classic from a group poll that did not win
G2: Classic action or adventure Thuvia, Maid of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
G3: Classic history or historical fiction Jeremy Poldark Winston Graham
G4: Class fantasy or science fiction Gateway by Frederik Pohl
☑ G5: Book from the Group’s 2023 Bookshelf Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose

O1: Book Published before 1900 The Warden by Anthony Trollope (1855)
☑ O2: New-To-You Classic Author 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (1970)
O3: Classic of Asia
O4: Classic in translation
O5: Book Published 1900 - 1949 Emily Climbs by L.M. Montgomery

Authors read in this challenge:

James Baldwin
M. C. Beaton
Anne Bronte
John Buchan
Mikail Bulgakov
Ann Cleeves
Wilkie Collins
Joseph Conrad
A. C. Crispin
Daniel Defoe
Fyodor Dostoveysky
Joseph von Eichendorff
Euripdes
Ken Follett
Helene Hanff
Alice Hoffman
Yasushi Inoue
Stephen King
L.M. Montgomery
Jose Saramago
William Shakespeare
John Steinbeck
Edith Wharton
Owen Wister

I love the planning and the re-planning when I change my plans. Have a great year of reading.

Plans are made to be broken, aren't they? Looks like a great year of reading ahead.

Planning and replanning; yes that sounds like what many of us do!! Thank you for the well wishes.

I agree--fun to plan and fun to change. Just have fun, Lynn. :-)

Looking great so far, Lynn! I'll be reading more Poldark this year too! Enjoy!

Enjoy your planning and reading next year, Lynn! I can't wait to see what you think of Blindness. I had no expectations and was pleasantly surprised :)

I totally get what you are saying about how the monthly nominations end up filling everything in, that's why we end up with the same books on our challenges every year (heeheehee!). I'd like to get to The Honorable Schoolboy this year too since I left off with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy a couple years ago.

Have fun, Lynn!

Good luck Lynn :)

Terris wrote: "Enjoy your planning and reading next year, Lynn! I can't wait to see what you think of Blindness. I had no expectations and was pleasantly surprised :)"

I rarely sit down to look for a movie to watch. My husband likes nothing more than to click through things to watch. He might click for 20 minutes or more before he decides on something. Then he will only watch about 10 minutes before giving up on the thing he chose. Sigh. I haven't read blindness because many years ago I saw 15 minutes of a movie with Julianne Moore where people were going blind. I didn't have a good impression ....probably from exasperation with clicking and only seeing part of it. It seems like I saw the end which felt really anticlimactic. Now it may have been long enough that I can read and enjoy the book.

Thank you everyone!

Lynn wrote: "Terris wrote: "Enjoy your planning and reading next year, Lynn! I can't wait to see what you think of Blindness. I had no expectations and was pleasantly surprised :)"

I rarely sit..."

I still think you might like the book -- try to forget about that movie clip you saw ;)
I feel that the book is told in a different way than a movie would be filmed because it is a movie in your own mind. And, you know, the book is always better ;) The actual words make so much difference to me.
Also, it made a special impression on my because "we have now lived through/are still living through" a pandemic. It is interesting to see the way the government in the book handles things as compared to what we saw/see, and what even we might have changed with 20/20 hindsight. I guess I just liked some of those comparisons, and how the people in the book lived/died through it.
I'll be watching for a review -- if you ever get to it :)

P.S. And tell your husband you are in charge of the remote in 2023!!
~~good luck with that! ;) ~~

Terris wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Terris wrote: "Enjoy your planning and reading next year, Lynn! I can't wait to see what you think of Blindness. I had no expectations and was pleasantly surprised :)"
..."

LOL well we take turns with the remote.

Yes, books are often very different from the movie. I think this will be a good year to give the book a chance.

I finished my first group book of the year, The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice by Wilkie Collins. I gave it 3*. It was silly, but now I can say I have read Wilkie Collins. I may someday try one of the other novels people say are better.

I’m surprised to hear it was silly! The Venice setting it tempting. I’ve only read The Woman in White which was very good. Great start, Lynn!

I hate that you started with this one, Lynn. It is definitely not Collins at his best. This, like so many novels of the time, was written for serial publication, and I think this one shows that as some scenes are just too wordy and long...but got to stretch it out to the number of issues you have been assigned.

I wouldn’t define Wilkie by this novella either. I’ve liked the 3 novels of his I’ve read, and one of them, The Woman in White, is one of my all time favourites :O)

Lynn, I wholeheartedly agree with Sara and Veronique. This is not the book I would use to judge Wilkie Collins by. Please read The Woman in White or The Moonstone before making any decisions about his writing. I just read The Haunted Hotel a few months ago and didn't really care for it. So don't give up on him! :)

I read The Haunted Hotel as Wilkie Collins' homage to some of the writers who influenced him and then built a story around his influencers. Such a book can be creative, imaginative, appreciative piece, but not creative masterpiece. . . . I intentionally am waiting to read Moonstone and Woman in White. Otherwise I will always be disappointed in the Wilkie Collins' non-masterpiece works.

I read A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe and am using it as a Classic of Europe. I cannot really say I "like" a book about a horrible plague, but it was a really good book. I thought the writing was very good. I did read a version with modern spelling. I also listened some in the car as I commuted. The repetition was not a problem mostly because of the listening once a day for 30 minutes. When I did sit down to read parts I was able to put it all together in my head. It was an amazing account of how life was 350 years ago. I thought it was historically fascinating.

I also found it an amazing account of what life was like then and surprised at how familiar some of it felt. I hope we never, ever have to experience what these people went through!

Lynn wrote: "I read A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe and am using it as a Classic of Europe. I cannot really say I "like" a book about a horrible plague, but it was a real..."

Yes, I also thought that was an interesting book -- especially after having lived through a pandemic. I'm seeing several books such as this one and Blindness in a whole new way!

The wide-ranging emotional response readers had to reading books about pandemics and plagues interested me. I just stayed home and made the best of things. My garden plants were happy with my increased attentions. At least they were happy.

Last year I noticed that although most of the books I have shelved were originally written in English, the vast majority were written by American or Canadian authors. This year I am focusing on reading more British authors and books where the setting is the British Isles. The 39 Steps by John Buchan was not only a Group read but also had that setting.

In fact all four books I have used for Bingo at this point are by British authors:
John Buchan, Wilkie Collins, Daniel Defoe, and Joseph Conrad.

I did not read this all in one sitting, although a person could. I found it entertaining. I thought it was interesting to read a book that was popular in 1915 at a time when the tensions of Continental Europe were about to erupt into WW1. This book seems almost a counterbalance to some of Virginia Woolf's books that also discuss that period of time and the effect that war had on individuals (Mrs. Dalloway). I saw the chase scene section as a manifestation of England's fear about being drawn into another war. I also enjoyed the "travelogue" aspect of the chase. I don't know much about Scotland's physical features other than what I have seen on TV.

It has been mentioned elsewhere that Buchan influenced other writers. I can see that. Overall, I might have given the book 3* but for the geographic and historic interest I am bumping it up to 4*.

Great job, Lynn. I agree about 39-Steps. The travelogue aspect was what made it 4 stars for me.

I have added three more books in March The Dream of a Ridiculous Man by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett, and The Moon Is Down by John Steinbeck. All three were 4* reads. I liked each one.

Dostoyevsky's novella was a good look at his philosophy of the purpose of life and the moral history of the human race. I thought it was well done. That subject can become VERY heavy, but this was not.

The Moon Is Down by John Steinbeck and Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett were both World War 2 tales. Each was exciting with enemy combatants.

Over all it has been a good month for Bingo .

Lynn wrote: "I have added three more books in March The Dream of a Ridiculous Man by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett, and [book:The ..."

Great progress, Lynn! I'll agree that Dostoevsky can sometimes be a bit much. For instance, I loved his White Nights but was left cold by his Notes from Underground. Perhaps the key is to enjoy him in small doses.

Three 4-star reads is a great run! Congratulations!

The books you chose seem excellent reads.

The Moon is Down reminds me of the Parable of the Sower, a speculative book. Is the Steinbeck rather speculative, did you find?

Good luck with the rest of your bingo card, Lynn.

Cynda wrote: "The Moon is Down reminds me of the Parable of the Sower, a speculative book. Is the Steinbeck rather speculative, did you find?

Good luck with the rest of your bingo card, Lynn."

Thanks Cynda. This book was somewhat unusual. There is a thinly veiled reference to Nazi invasions of Norway. We see the interaction between the Nazi soldiers and the people of the town they have invaded. He often has a strong political view and writes the scenario to fit. Usually, he is actively advocating for marginalized or poor people in a peacetime society. This was more overtly propaganda than the others. Yet it was written during the war. It is probably the book that caused him to win the Nobel Peace Prize, and it was widely read in Europe.... of course I just read about it on the internet; not really an expert.

I might like that Lynn. I will take a look at The Moon is Down. Thanks for the info :-)

I am copying and pasting the review I wrote for the book Death of a Gossip by M.C. Beaton.

I watched the television show "Hamish MacBeth" recently, so when I came across this book I ordered it. It was fun. The same pleasant, likable group of characters I remember from the tv series are found in the book. This was a detective mystery yet it wasn't. It was a lovely book about fishing. It was also a book about the harms caused by snobbery and negative class dynamics. This was I suppose a theme present in the tv series, but it is much more pronounced here. The book is a fun modern popular fiction type book.

Postscript: I just read some of the Goodreads reviews. As far as I can tell people who are really into the mystery genre dislike this because it's not hard-core mystery enough. I just don't find that compelling. In fact, I have never managed to finish an Agatha Christie book. I just don't care who murdered who. I get unbearably bored. One person I read didn't like it because women characters didn't measure up - ironically this is a female author who uses initials. Wonder if the reviewer knew that or just reflexively wrote the feminist review? Honestly, I laughed aloud at the female point of view of a young secretary about a romantic tryst. I liked this book for everything else that wasn't mystery related, the characters' interactions, the unrequited love, the fishing, the scenery, and the light-hearted main character.

Oh and for my mini-theme of the year - read more British authors - I have read 6/8 books so far in my Bingo by British authors. This is not a hard one to achieve LOL.

Ila wrote: "Lynn wrote: "I have added three more books in March The Dream of a Ridiculous Man by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett, a..."

I had trouble reading Notes from the Underground, a bit too depressing and it felt whiny to me - although I do understand his perspective.

But then I read The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky and I loved it! For me, it was a more entertaining way to understand Dostoevsky's philosophy of life, religion, love, family, politics, and more. A few months after I read The Brothers Karamazov, I watched the movie when TCM aired it. I thought it was terrible, with the most ridiculous casting ever imagined. So read the book, avoid the movie! Just my two cents worth...

You've read a lot of good ones, Lynn! Keep enjoying your Bingo reads :)

Lynn wrote: "I am copying and pasting the review I wrote for the book Death of a Gossip by M.C. Beaton.

I watched the television show "Hamish MacBeth" recently, so when I came acro..."

I am not a fan of mysteries in general, but I will add this precisely because of what you have said about its not fitting the mold. I had also not heard of Hamish MacBeth, so might go check that out as well. Thanks, Lynn.

Sara wrote: "Lynn wrote: "I am copying and pasting the review I wrote for the book Death of a Gossip by M.C. Beaton.

I watched the television show "Hamish MacBeth" recently, so whe..."

I no longer have a tv subscription for the big 3 US networks. Years ago we stopped wanting to watch any of their shows. There are only two types of US shows we currently watch ( Young Shelton and the current Star Treks - Picard and Strange New Worlds). Paramount is enough for those. We use ROKU. We mostly watch Paramount, Youtube - old BBC documentaries on history and archeology, and my Amazon Prime which includes BritBox. I think part of my desire to read more British authors is that I enjoy the tv series based upon their books. Examples are "Hamish MacBeth" by M.C. Beaton - who is actually Marion Chesney and "Vera". I haven't started the books for Vera but they are by Ann Cleeves. The book series is Vera Stanhope and there are ten books.

I have Prime, but Britbox requires an additional subscription and I have vowed not to subscribe to anything. With the amount of time I spend on TV, I make Roku and Peacock do it for me. I do miss a lot of good things, but I have PBS and that was 90% of my viewing when I was paying far too much for TV. I had to choose between buying books or watching TV, guess what won.

Sara wrote: "I have Prime, but Britbox requires an additional subscription and I have vowed not to subscribe to anything. With the amount of time I spend on TV, I make Roku and Peacock do it for me. I do miss a..."

With ROKU there are many good choices. It sounds like you have plenty to keep you busy, plus of course the books.

By the way, I saw my first few episodes of Vera on ROKU as a teaser to get me to subscribe to Britbox.

I love our Britbox subscription and watch almost 90% on that channel. Vera is really good. The 12 season is the most recent and we are getting ready to watch them soon. We tend to binge watch and then often get overindulged and need a break. There are so many wonderful shows.

I have never used Roku and have no idea what is available to watch but it’s almost to the point that you could have 50 different places to stream and being choosy is hard. We use YouTube, Netflix, Amazon as well.

Lori wrote: "I love our Britbox subscription and watch almost 90% on that channel. Vera is really good. The 12 season is the most recent and we are getting ready to watch them soon. We tend to binge watch and t..."

I am currently in Season 6 of Vera.

ROKU is free with commercials. There are many different older reruns. LOL my husband loves his "Green Acres". This channel will also have previews of premium channels sometimes.

I just finished Blindness by José Saramago. If you are interested I wrote more about it in the Challenge Buffet thread. Good book but graphic 4*...so much more on the other thread.

Oh, I read that one a few years ago. Definitely a good book, but not exactly easy to read. Not in the sense that the prose is difficult; rather the subject matter is somewhat troubling. But I guess that's true of many dystopians, and that's what this book is in many ways.

Well done finishing another read!

Wobbley wrote: "Oh, I read that one a few years ago. Definitely a good book, but not exactly easy to read. Not in the sense that the prose is difficult; rather the subject matter is somewhat troubling. But I guess..."

Thanks Wobbley!

Lynn, I got through Blindness by José Saramago because it was on audiobook. As soon as I can find more of his books on audio, I will read/listen to more. Good stuff, a bit graphic, yes.

Continued good luck on your bingo card!