Aussie Readers discussion

For 2023, I am intending to complete the remainder of the books on the Penguin Top 100 Classic 'Must-Read' booklist that I have not yet read - this is a total of 19 books.
The link to the current list is on Goodreads at the link shown below although some titles are different from the original list which I was working from, which is now apparently not available on the Penguin website!: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Completed:- 19/19 - CHALLENGE COMPLETED 17/2/24

Books to Read:-

The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen -
- FINISHED 17/6/23 - 3* (6.5/10)
Lost Illusions by Honoré de Balzac -
- FINISHED 17/6/23 - 2* (5/10)
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky -
- FINISHED 15/5/23 - 3* (6/10)
Silas Marner by George Eliot -
- FINISHED 9/11/23 - 4* (8.5/10)
The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy -
- FINISHED 30/11/23 - 5* (9.5/10)
The Go-Between by L.P. Hartley -
- FINISHED 20/2/23 - 4* (8/10)
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton -
- FINISHED 4/10/23 - 4* (8.5/10)
The Iliad by Homer -
- FINISHED 23/7/23 - 3* (6.5/10)
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo -
- FINISHED 26/10/23
The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni -
- FINISHED 5/11/23 - 4* (8/10)
Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham -
- FINISHED 17/2/24 - 4* (8/10)
The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch -
- FINISHED 30/10/23 - 4* (9/10)
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand -
- FINISHED 28/12/23 - 3* (7/10)
Staying On by Paul Scott -
- FINISHED 17/4/23 - 4* (8.5/10)
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn -
- FINISHED 28/5/23 - 4* (9/10)
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray -
- FINISHED 13/8/23 - 4* (8.5/10)
Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson -
- FINISHED 16/11/23 - 4* (8/10)
Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. -
- FINISHED 25/9/23 - 4* (9/10)
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton -
- FINISHED 28/4/23 - 3* (7/10)

Good luck!

Wow! Some big reads there! Best of luck!

Thanks Sharon & Deb - certainly some long ones here but looking forward to completing the Challenge!

It appears 2023 is going to be an EPIC year! Enjoy the ride.

Damo wrote: "It appears 2023 is going to be an EPIC year! Enjoy the ride."

Thanks Damo!

Good luck Kim and happy reading!

Brenda wrote: "Good luck Kim and happy reading!"

Thanks Brenda!

Great Challenge Kim - good luck!

Carolyn wrote: "Great Challenge Kim - good luck!"

Thanks, Carolyn!

Finished my 1st of this Personal Challenge with:-

The Go-Between by L.P. Hartley

Rated this one as 4* (8/10). My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished my 2nd of this Personal Challenge with:-

Staying On by Paul Scott

Rated this one as 4* (8.5/10). My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished my 3rd of this Personal Challenge with:-

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

Rated this one as 3* (7/10). My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Completed my 4th and 5th of this Challenge with:-

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Rated this one as 3* (6/10). My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Rated this one as 4* (9/10). My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Completed my 6th and 7th of this Challenge in June with:-

The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen

Rated this one as 3* (6.5/10). My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Lost Illusions by Honoré de Balzac

Rated this one as 2* (5/10). My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

you making progress with this well done

Denise MF wrote: "you making progress with this well done"

Thanks Denise! Got them all scheduled in for the rest of the year but there are some long ones coming up!

Finished my 8th of this Challenge with:_

The Iliad by Homer

Rated this one as 3* (6.5/10). My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished my 9th of this Personal Challenge with:-

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

Rated this one as 4* (8.5/10). My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

And what a read Kim!!! Over 1000 pages! Well done :)

Brenda wrote: "And what a read Kim!!! Over 1000 pages! Well done :)"

Thanks Brenda! Yes, my edition was 1022 pages, but it was well worth it - a really good read!!

So glad you enjoyed it - you're braver than I am!

Brenda wrote: "So glad you enjoyed it - you're braver than I am!"

Thanks! The next on the schedule is Les Miserables and that's even longer!!

Holy moly!! Good luck!!

Finished my 10th of my Personal Challenge with:-

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Rated this one as 4* (9/10). My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished the 11th of my Personal Challenge with:-

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Rated this one as 4* (8.5/10). My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished the 12th of my Personal Challenge with:-

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

Rated this one as 2* (5/10). My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Great job on reading and finishing Kim! My son has read it also, but not me!!! No thanks :)

Don't blame you! I actually preferred War and Peace to this one!!

And that's another HUGE one! I don't know why they had to write huge, lengthy tomes back in the day. But I guess some still do it now!

Yes - The Stand by Stephen King comes to mind (about 1300 pages) and the latest Cormoran Strike novels by Robert Galbraith are getting there at 800-900 pages each time - yet these are eminently more readable because they're virtually all action!!

I read #1, #2 and #3 of Robert Galbraith's Cormoran Strike series, then when #4 showed 650 pages, I knew it was time to stop! I think his (her) latest is not much under 1000 pages!!

I have read all of the series so far - I just love the chemistry between Strike and Robin and just hope they're going to get together eventually! They really did a great casting job with the TV series too as the chemistry between the two characters is strongly there. Don't know if you've seen them?!

No I haven't Kim - I'm not much of a TV watcher :)

Finished my 13th of this Personal Challenge with:-

The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch

Rated this one as 4* (9/10). My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished my 14th of this Challenge - only 5 to go! - with:-

The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni

Rated this one as 4* (8/10). My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished my 15th of this Personal Challenge with:-

Silas Marner by George Eliot

Rated this one as 4* (8.5/10). My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished my 16th of this Personal Challenge (only 3 to go!) with:-

Lark Rise To Candleford by Flora Thompson

Rated this one as 4* (8/10). My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

well done Kim, you are nearly there. I loved watching the TV series Lark Rise to Candleford

Thanks, Denise! Yes, me too!!

Finished my 17th of this Challenge with:-

The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy

Rated this one as 5* (9.5/10). My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Congratulations, Kim! Just a couple of doorstops to go.

Finished my 18th of this Challenge with:-

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Rated this one as 3* (7/10). My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Only one to go but, although I will probably start it this year, I don't think I will have finished it before the New Year. Nearly got there though!!

Good luck! It's not over till it's over Kim - you might just do it!!

Good luck Kim! I hope your last book is shorter than Atlas Shrugged (a book I have to admit to not finishing!)

Thanks Brenda & Carolyn! Last one is about half the length of Atlas Shrugged but still too much to finish on a busy New Year's Eve! Finished all my other Challenges though.

I think you can pat yourself on the back quite happily Kim! You've done amazingly well!

Thanks, Brenda! The best thing was that I found some great reads which I would not have attempted, or even discovered, if it hadn't been for the Penguin list.

That's the beauty of it isn't it! I know I only read crime/mystery etc when I first joined GR - now I read pretty much everything.

Brenda wrote: "That's the beauty of it isn't it! I know I only read crime/mystery etc when I first joined GR - now I read pretty much everything."

Very true, Brenda! Joining a book group really expanded my reading genres and the Goodreads Challenges, especially those set by you and Phrynne, have increased the number of genres I now read and have introduced me to several great Aussie authors that I didn't previously know about - like Nicole Trope, Anna Willett, Chris Hammer and Sally Hepworth to name just a few!