Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

I will be reading for my job - teaching 4th grade reading - and for challenges this month. How are your challenges going? Let us know what your plans are for the month of August.

Reading Plans:

Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1862)

The Bear by William Faulkner by William Faulkner (1942)

The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson (1958)

July proved one of my best reading months this year - not really a surprise as I've been off work for most of the month. I'm back from holiday now, so I don't expect August to be on the same level.

Currently reading:
How to Be Good
Quietly Hostile: Essays
The Memory of Light (audio, sync)
Finnigans ære

To read:
The Praise of Folly (bingo challenge/previous group read)
Hvepsens år
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (pulitzer challenge) - started
The Cat in the Hat (members choice challenge)
The House in Dormer Forest
Aftenland
Karolines kamp
Karthago
Memoria
Troldmanden fra Kreml
Brokeback Mountain (bingo challenge/previous group read)
The Odyssey (audio, old&new challenge)
Skyward (old&new challenge)
Far Eastern Tales - started
28 Days (audio, sync)
Nye balancer (poems)
Ingenting (Tænkepauser Book 97) (audio)
Bacchanal (audio, sync)
Horton Hears a Who!

declaring 6 for August:
Metamorphoses Ovid 8 (personal challenge "mega")
Last Picture Show, The McMurtry, Larry 1966 (personal challenge "film")
Generation X Coupland, Douglas 1991 (personal challenge "1990s")
Carol (oka Price Of Salt, The) Highsmith, Patricia (as Claire Morgan) 1952 (Buddy Read)
Sentimental Journey, A Sterne, Laurence 1768 (Group Read)
Stone in a Landslide Barbal, Maria 1985 (reserve "world" after dnf-ing Bone People in July)

Woo-hoo! I finished up all 13 challenges in the buffet in July. Now, I'm two months into a summer reading challenge with another group. I'd also like to get a start on the Booker longlist (we'll see). Anyway, this month will lean toward 21st-century books.

Seasonal Reading Challenge: Classics
✔️1. Wodehouse: Service With a Smile (1961)
✔️2. Wodehouse: Sunset At Blandings (1977)
3. Wodehouse: Summer Moonshine (1937)
✔️4. Pratchett: Wyrd Sisters (1988)
✔️5. Gaskell: Mary Barton (1848)
6. James: Washington Square (1880)
✔️7. Fleming: Dr. No (1958)
✔️8. Baker: The Mezzanine (1988)
✔️9. Levin: Critic's Choice (1962)
✔️10. Sobel: Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time (1995)

Seasonal Reading Challenge: 21st-Century
✔️11. Patterson: The Red Book (2021)
✔️12. Chabon The Final Solution (2004)
✔️13. Henry: Alice (2015)
✔️14. Smith: The Double Comfort Safari Club (2010)
✔️15. Kobabe: Gender Queer: A Memoir (2019)
✔️16. Defoe, Gideon: The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists (2004)
✔️17. Snicket: The Slippery Slope (2003)
✔️18. Snicket: The Ersatz Elevator (2001)
✔️19. Greer: Less (2017)
✔️20. Min: Walking Practice (2023)
✔️21. Mitchell: Cloud Atlas (2004)
✔️22. Dooley: Flake (2020)
✔️23. Bechdel: Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic (2006)

Long Reads
I'm reading these slowly with various groups. They will likely last past the end of this month.
Stoker: Dracula (1897)
Turgenev: Fathers and sons (1862)

Booker Prize Longlist
We'll see...

In July I had little time to read so several books are to pushed into August.

Women in Translation Month
Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi

Currently Reading
The Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins

Carry-over from July
The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
Children of the Corn by Stephen King

August Reads
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
Washington Square by Henry James
The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells
The Echoing Grove by Rosamond Lehmann
The Bear: Short Story by William Faulkner

JP - couple of my faves there: "The Mezzanine" and "Fun Home" - hope you enjoy them as much as I did

Not sure of plans. I hope I can pick up some reading speed! I will start off trying to read some Greek Tragedies, part of a personal goal.

Carry-over from July

Tolstoy - How Much Land Does a Man Need
Tolkien - The Hobbit

August Reads - Plan to read the group selections, plus hope to start Little DorIt

My list so far:

From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way by Jesse Thistle - for my in-person library book club

The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer - for Jane Austen July

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery - for Enchanted Book Club

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid - for The Everyone Has Read This But Me Bookshelf Catch-Up

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

JP wrote: "Woo-hoo! I finished up all 13 challenges in the buffet in July. Now, I'm two months into a summer reading challenge with another group. I'd also like to get a start on the Booker longlist (we'll se..."

Wow congratulations! That's great.

RJs AUGUST 2023 READS

Will Finish This Month
The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells
The Burglar by David Goodis
The Lawless Roads by Graham Greene
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929-1964 edited by Robert Silverberg
Washington Square by Henry James
Greenmantle by John Buchan
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
Martin Eden by Jack London

Will Read But Will Not Finish in August
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
The Deep Blue Good-By by John D. MacDonald
Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown
Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams
The Witching Hour by Anne Rice
The Collected Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allan Poe
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume II A edited by Ben Bova
Asimov's Chronology of the World: The History of the World From the Big Bang to Modern Times by Isaac Asimov

Darren wrote: "JP - couple of my faves there: "The Mezzanine" and "Fun Home" - hope you enjoy them as much as I did"

Thanks. They're both rereads for me...and I rarely reread books. I read The Mezzanine back when it was published and loved it. I liked his next few less and less, though, and stopped following him.

Always fun to see what everyone is reading. I am way behind on my challenges. I think this year I may come up short. :-/ I keep getting sidetracked, as usual!

Currently reading
Washington Square by Henry James
A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
The Lamplighter: by Charles Dickens

Women in Translation Month
The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa (read in July)
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
The Land of Green Plums by Herta Müller

Will start soon
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
The Bear by William Faulkner
Out of the Season and Out of Town by Charles Dickens

Fingers crossed I can fit these in
Diving Into the Wreck by Adrienne Rich
Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood
Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig

I should have joined the August reading plan earlier.

I am going to finish off several books that I'm half-way through.

The Mill on the Floss
Winnie the Pooh: The Complete Collection of Stories and Poems

I, too, delayed joining the August reading plan, mainly because my June and July had so much less reading than I'd hoped. But I have a bit of time off in August, and it seems to be shaping up to be a good reading month.

I'm very hopeful about finishing these ones (and have already finished a few of the shorter ones):
The Far Reaches Stories to Take You Out of This World
the title story from Three-Ten to Yuma and Other Stories
The Grey Woman
Washington Square
Little Dorrit
The Wind in the Willows
The Bear
Portrait of Jennie

And I'll try for these ones (though it is probably too ambitious to imagine I'll get to them all):
I Capture the Castle
The Crystal Cave
Scaramouche
Two Solitudes

finished all of my declared 6 for August:
Metamorphoses Ovid - 4 Stars
Last Picture Show, The McMurtry, Larry - 4
Generation X Coupland, Douglas - 3.5
Carol (oka Price Of Salt, The) Highsmith, Patricia (as Claire Morgan) - 3.5
Sentimental Journey, A Sterne, Laurence - 3
Stone in a Landslide Barbal, Maria - 5

Darren thanks for posting here. I forgot to post the September thread.

My August reading was limited due to work responsibilities

Yesterday's Son by A.C. Crispin (1983) 8/12/2023 5*

I used Yesterday's Son for the Bingo Science Fiction square, because it is considered one of the top ten Star Trek novels. A website said that there have been more than 400 Star Trek novels published. Wow!

The Bear: Short Story by William Faulkner (1952) 4* 8/13/2023

The Family Under the Bridge: A Newbery Honor Award Winner by Natalie Savage Carlson
(1958) 4* 8/30/2023

Lynn wrote: "My August reading was limited due to work responsibilities

Yesterday's Son by A.C. Crispin (1983) 8/12/2023 5*

I used Yesterday's Son for the Bingo Science Fiction sq..."

Lynn, a couple of comments for you:
1) I know you enjoy sci-fi, and I like seeing what you recommend. I'm thinking since you gave "Yesterday's Son" 5*s, I should probably add it to "the list!" I'm still trying to get to Clifford D. Simak that you've recommended before :)
For my Science Fiction Bingo square I am reading The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. I'm about halfway through and am enjoying it. I'm thinking you've probably read it (?).

2) My next comment is regarding your "4th grade reading list" -- I'm interested in that! I think I've mentioned that I taught kindergarten for 20 years. And I student taught in 2nd grade, which I loved! But I'm interested in the whole gamut of children's literature clear up through YA. That said, I put "The Family Under the Bridge" on my "favorites" list on Hoopla. I'm going to try to get to that one soon! It sounds very interesting and also heartwarming.

I recently read Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor and wondered if you'd read that one (it's listed as a 3rd-4th grade level). I liked it. There were a few things that I thought were questionable, but I think the author might have been trying to make the reader think -- "Is this right or wrong?"

I'd be interested in your "children's reading list" but we may not want to get into a long discussion here. You can send me a "message" if you have more information for me. Thanks! I love talking to other teachers, especially about books!! ;)

Terris wrote: "Lynn wrote: "My August reading was limited due to work responsibilities

Yesterday's Son by A.C. Crispin (1983) 8/12/2023 5*

I used Yesterday's Son for the Bingo Scien..."

Hi Terris,

Yesterday's Son was a continuation of one of the Star Trek Original Series episodes; the aftermath of an inadvertent time traveling episode that Spock and McCoy had. I loved the integrity of the book to the series' canon. If you haven't watched the episode it might fall a bit flat.

No I have not read The Sparrow, but thanks for the recommendation.

I think I read Shiloh many years ago when I bought it from Scholastic for my daughter. It's still on the shelf in her room. That would have been around 1999, and I just can't remember the details. I know I am mixing it up in my mind with Sounder.

It's sad to say, but this year we are working on stories from the textbook and lots of grammar and writing. The students are expected to write four paragraph essays. We spent 3 days last week on a personal narrative. The only stories we have read so far have been about disasters - Earthquakes, Hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.
Plus one fiction about 2 best friends learning to communicate better so they don't hurt each others' feelings. This is definitely not a stand alone published book.

I did read aloud some poems at the beginning of the year. Ten minutes at the end of class of poetry reading for the first two weeks. The source books were The Oxford Illustrated Book of American Children's Poems and Knock at a Star: A Child's Introduction to Poetry. Each day I would say something like , "Today we are going to listen for imagery in the poetry." or "Today is about the rhythm of the language. Sometimes poetry is more about the sound than trying to find meaning."

Shel Silverstein is a favorite, but his poems were used extensively in 2nd and 3rd grade.

About The Family Under the Bridge: A Newbery Honor Award Winner. I read that for a lot of reasons: prereading as a possible read aloud for 4th grade, it's on our long list of short story nominations, and it's a Newberry book. I personally enjoyed it and think many students would, but I just don't want to do it as a whole class read aloud. It's about homelessness obviously, but also that Santa isn't real and I would need to do so much background teaching on Paris. It's not worth it and we don't have time.

Honestly, moving from 3rd to 4th has me just trying to keep my head above water right now.

Lynn wrote: "Terris wrote: "Lynn wrote: "My August reading was limited due to work responsibilities

Yesterday's Son by A.C. Crispin (1983) 8/12/2023 5*

I used Yesterday's Son for ..."

Thanks for all the info, Lynn! I can't even imagine trying to teach 9-yr-olds to write four paragraphs!! I bet a lot of them think of that as torture -- and maybe you think that too, haha! Good luck with it, though :)

I will definitely read "The Family Under the Bridge," but I understand the pitfalls of using it as a whole class read. I thought it might be interesting for the children to learn a little bit about Paris, but that might be over their heads. Like you said, so much background teaching would need to be done for them to understand. It would be more fun to read and talk about it with your own child! Speaking of which, my own child is 40 years old now! But I loved reading to him when he was young :)

Oh well, I hope you have a good year. Like you said, "keep your head above water" and I'm sure you'll learn to swim very soon. You're a quick learner! :)

Terris wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Terris wrote: "Lynn wrote: "My August reading was limited due to work responsibilities

Yesterday's Son by A.C. Crispin (1983) 8/12/2023 5*

I used Yesterd..."



Thank you, Terris.

I did pretty good, but have decided August isn't over until after this long weekend. :-) I have two for Women in Translation Month that I want to finish. Otherwise, I did pretty good. Except I have to continue Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil into September. I got a little bogged down in the middle of that one, but am still enjoying it.

Matt wrote: "Matt wrote: "I enjoy seeing everyone’s reading plans.

I’m still on my sidetrack of reading Russian classics.

Hoping to finish (for BINGO and Century Buffet):

Doctor Zhivago by [..."

Doesn't that feel good?! It doesn't happen very often for me, but when it does I feel like I really accomplished a lot :)
Good on you, Matt!