Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

2023 was my first Bingo Challenge and I really enjoyed it, from the planning, to the ad hoc revisions, to getting blackout! I guess I just love a prompt to inspire my reading. Here is my plan so far, I'm sure it will change as I revise with the group selections. My biggest objective is to read the books sitting on my TBR shelf.

✅B1 A Classic by a Nobel Laureate or a Pulitzer Prize Winner. - A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway 10/10/24
✅B2 A Classic Book in Translation. - Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 2/28/24
✅B3 A Classic Comedy or Satire - Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 10/13/24
✅B4 A Classic Written Before 1700 - The Confessions of Saint Augustine by Augustine of Hippo 1/10/2024
B5 A Classic of Asia or Oceania - The Flower Drum Song by C.Y. Lee

✅I1 A Classic from our Short Story Group Shelf -Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse 5/11/24
✅I2 A Classic from your Personal Bookshelf - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 8/18/24
✅I3 A Classic Historical Fiction or a Nonfiction History Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe 5/8/24
✅I4 A Classic Prize-Winning Female Author - Lamb in His Bosom by Caroline Miller 2/13/24
✅I5 A Book Recommended by a Group Member The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy 9/20/24

✅N1 A Classic Made into Movie/TV - Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie 4/8/24
✅N2 A Classic you've been meaning to read. -The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
✅N3 Free Space The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole 2/19/2024
✅N4 A Classic on or about the Sea/Ocean - On the Beach by Nevil Shute 4/18/24
✅N5 A Literature Class Book - In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

✅G1 A Classic of North or South America - Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck 6/22/24
✅G2 A 21st Century Potential Classic - James by Percival Everett 8/13/24
✅G3 A Classic from our Old School Group Shelf - The Awakening by Kate Chopin 2/17/2024
✅G4 A Classic New-to-You Author - An Infamous Army by Georgette Heyer 1/18/24
✅G5 A Classic Play or Classic Poetry Collection - Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller 1/20/2024

✅O1 A Classic Book you begged, borrowed, or stole. - Nightfall Short story by Isaac Asimov 3/6/24
✅O2 A Classic Children's Book - Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery 1/3/2024
✅O2O3 A Classic Book found by using Literature-map.com - Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré 8/24/24
✅O4 A Classic from our New School Group Shelf - Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman 3/18/24
✅O5 A Classic Book that Reminds You of Someone - The Little Country by Charles de Lint 1/6/24

You're off to a great start with your planning! I can give a big thumbs-up to Tinker Tailor, Siddhartha, and Slaughterhouse-5. Enjoy!

Hi EvenB. You have some great literary selections. I too am thinking of reading Confessions of St Augustine. I will enjoy reading your thoughts if you should read it this year. . . . .Lolita is great if you can remember--It's too easy to forget--that the pornography is in the mind of the reader and not in text. Oh Nabokov played a great one on us the readers of his book. Enjoy!

Welcome to Bingo EvenB! Yes, we all revise and change. You're off to a great start.

Wobbley wrote: "You're off to a great start with your planning! I can give a big thumbs-up to Tinker Tailor, Siddhartha, and Slaughterhouse-5. Enjoy!"

Thanks Wobbley! I'm looking forward to reading these. I'll be re-reading Siddhartha (last read in high school!).

Cynda will back full time 2024 wrote: "Hi EvenB. You have some great literary selections. I too am thinking of reading Confessions of St Augustine. I will enjoy reading your thoughts if you should read it this year. . . . .Lolita is gre..."

Thanks Cynda! A special thanks for the advice while reading Lolita. I have hesitated reading it for years, from the description, wondering if it's just about a "dirty old man". Now I will have to see for myself.

Lynn wrote: "Welcome to Bingo EvenB! Yes, we all revise and change. You're off to a great start."

Thanks Lynn. It's so fun to plan and start a new year of reading, regardless of where this adventure takes us.

How nice that I was able to use two of our group reads for B4- pre-1700 and O2-children's book, both from my TBR list!
The Confessions of Saint Augustine,
Anne of Green Gables.
For G5: Classic Play- Since I'm really trying to get through my physical books on the shelf in 2024, I finally got to Death of a Salesman. It's only been sitting there since my son had to read it in high school 12 years ago!

Well done, you're off to a great start! I'm a fan of Anne of Green Gables; I hope you enjoyed it too!

Well, I've updated my list with the progress for this year to date. Last year, I think I had blackout before July 1! This year, I've made a dent in my bingo board, but not at blackout yet. I've had a lot of other books to read for various library and home book clubs. Some amazing books, some not so much. I sure do love to get back to the classics when I've read a disappointing contemporary book.

That's great progress, and there's still lots of year left!

You are doing great!

In December 2023 I loaded my 2024 bingo card with the paper and ebooks on my bookshelf. As I look at my "read" list, of course, I didn't read as many from my bookshelf as I hoped. But I read more from the group reads and recommendations from friends. With an adjustment in my bingo card, I think I'm four away from blackout. And I'll probably knock out two of those in September with our group reads.

I'm still enjoying the bingo challenge! These classics rarely disappoint.

That's fantastic, EvanB! You've read some great ones too. I'm particularly fond of Anne of Green Gables and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. I see you have Slaughterhouse-Five coming up, which is another great one. Happy reading!

Some great books EvenB! Neil Gaiman is a great writer, makes a great show of the darker sides of beingness.

I never end up reading according to plan, EvenB, and seem to add more to my shelves than I take off of them--but that is part of the fun. You've had a great reading year and those 4 will be gone before you know it.

I almost have a blackout! My last square is B5 - A Classic of Asia or Oceana.

If I can count a "modern" classic, a Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction in 2013, and other literary awards, The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson, finished reading Oct. 5, 2024, then I have my blackout. I'm not sure if the Bingo challenge selections must be published by 1999. I'm just delighted that I finished many of the physical books on my shelf at home.

It seems that my reading has passed through several eras of wars this year. First, several books (old and new) going through the years before and after the U.S. Civil war (March,Geraldine Brooks; Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe; Night Watch, Jayne Anne Phillips; News of the World, Paulette Jiles; The Which Way Tree, Elizabeth Crook; James, Percival Everett; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain).

Then, another group of WWI, WWII, Korean War era books (A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway; Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., The Orphan Master's Son, Adam Johnson; The Little Liar, Mitch Albom. Topping off with In Cold Blood, Truman Capote, not war-related.

They've all been great books. But I think I'm ready for a few giggles and something lighter for a change. I read The Princess Bride last year - so fun...
I've had The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon, published 2000, 639pgs on my TBR shelf. It's on my Pulitzer list. Any recommendations?

EvenB wrote: "I almost have a blackout! My last square is B5 - A Classic of Asia or Oceana.

If I can count a "modern" classic, a Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction in 2013, and other literary awards, [book:The ..."

Congratulations on so many good books read! You are quite close. You will finish in no time.

I don't really have a recommendation for a fun read. Your suggestion seems good to me.

EvenB wrote: "I almost have a blackout! My last square is B5 - A Classic of Asia or Oceana."

You're making terrific progress!

For a fun book, I like to read the books A. A. Milne wrote for adults. For example, Four Days' Wonder, or the play "The Dover Road".

If you're looking for a modern book instead, I really enjoyed The Martian.

Happy reading!