Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

Challenge #1 - New & Old TBR
Challenge #2 - Members Choice
Challenge #3 - New Authors
Challenge #4 - Short Story
Challenge #5 - Decade/Century/Millennium
Challenge #6 - Group Reads, Buddy Reads, Moderators Run Amok
Challenge #7 - Series Books – Start, Continue, Complete
Challenge #8 - Travel the World One Continent at a Time
Challenge #9 – Rereading Some do Some don't
Challenge #10 - Most Popular Goodreads Books Listed by Year
Challenge #11 - Future Classics
Challenge #12 - Fiction/Non-Fiction
Challenge #13 - Old and New Linked Categories
Challenge #14 - Bestselling Novels in the United States
Challenge #15 - Award Winners
Challenge #16 - A-Z Author
Challenge #17 - A-Z Title

Challenge #1 - Old & New TBR Challenge

Old School pre1915
1. ✅The Black Sheep by Honoré de Balzac fin 5/8/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. ✅The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas fin 13/5/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3.✅ The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux fin 31/1/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

New school 1915-2005
4.✅ Eva Trout by Elizabeth Bowen fin 28/2/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5. ✅A World of Love by Elizabeth Bowen fin 13/7/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
6.✅ Men in the Sun and Other Palestinian Stories by Ghassan Kanafani ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wild cards
7. ✅The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story by Olga Tokarczuk fin 10/1/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
8. ✅The Time Regulation Institute by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar fin 24/1/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
9. In the Ditch by Buchi Emecheta
10. ✅The Limits of My Language: Meditations on Depression by Eva Meijer fin 5/3/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
11. The Kindness of Women by J.G. Ballard
12. ✅Selected Nonfiction, 1962-2007 by J.G. Ballard fin 2/4/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alternates
✅13. On the Eve by Ivan Turgenev fin 27/3/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✅14. Karla's Choice by Nick Harkaway fin 24/9/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✅15. The Wren, the Wren by Anne Enright fin13/4/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

13/15

Challenge #2 - Members Choice Challenge
Choose one book per category/genre for a total of 9 books.

1. 19th Century or Older - On the Eve by Ivan Turgenev ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. 20th Century - The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3. 21st Century - Nesting by Roisín O’Donnell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4. Nonfiction - The Limits of My Language: Meditations on Depression by Eva Meijer ⭐️⭐️⭐️
5. An Author never read before - The Time Regulation Institute by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
6. Diversity, read a book from a religion, culture, country, or race different than yours -The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk ⭐️⭐️⭐️
7. Members Choice Genre - SF The Best Short Stories of J. G. Ballard ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
8. Members Choice Genre - Biography Wifedom: Mrs. Orwell's Invisible Life by Anna Funder ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
9. Members Choice Genre - Memoir Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Science Fiction. Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Suspense, Young Adult, Nonfiction, Poetry, Romance, etc.

Challenge #3 - Expand Your Horizon with New Authors

Seek out at least six (6) authors that you have never previously read, from any genre or era you want.

1. The Parrot’s Tale Rabindranath Tagore
2. The Time Regulation Institute by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar
3. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
4. Ice by Anna Kavan
5. Men in the Sun and Other Palestinian Stories by Ghassan Kanafani
6. Our Sister Killjoy by Ama Ata Aidoo
7. White as Snow by Tanith Lee
8. Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih
9. The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
10. The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas
11. Venetian Vespers by John Banville
12. Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler

Challenge #4 - Short Story Challenge

1. Breakfast by John Steinbeck ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. The Angel at the Grave by Edith Wharton ⭐️⭐️⭐️
3. The Parrot’s Tale by Rabindranath Tagore ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4. The Friends of the Friends by Henry James ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5. The Tunnel Under the World by Frederik Pohl ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
6. The Story of a Panic by E.M. Forster ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
7. The Dream by O. Henry ⭐️⭐️⭐️
8. The Queen of Spades by Alexander Pushkin⭐️⭐️⭐️
9. It's a Good Life by Jerome Bixby ⭐️⭐️⭐️
10. Call Me Joe by Poul Anderson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
11. My Purple Scented Novel by Ian McEwan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
12. Mysterious Kor by Elizabeth Bowen ⭐️⭐️⭐️
13. Mimsy Were The Borogoves by Lewis Padgett ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
14. The Phoenix by Sylvia Townsend Warner ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
15. The July Ghost by A.S. Byatt ⭐️⭐️⭐️
16. Poor Girl by Elizabeth Taylor ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
17. Where Their Fire Is Not Quenched by May Sinclair ⭐️⭐️⭐️
18. Regret by Kate Chopin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
19. The Invisible Girl by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
20. The Brute by Joseph Conrad ⭐️⭐️⭐️
21. The Soul is Not a Smithy by David Foster Wallace ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Collections
1. The Best Short Stories of J. G. Ballard (19 stories) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. Men in the Sun and Other Palestinian Stories (7 stories)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3. The Quantity Theory of Insanity (6 stories) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
4. Three Sketches from a Hunter's Album (3 stories) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5. A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories (43 stories) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
6. The Illustrated Man (18 stories) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
7. E Pluribus Unicorn (13 stories) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Challenge #5 - Decade/Century/Millennium Challenge

Challenge 6 - Group Reads, Buddy Reads, or Moderators Run Amok
The challenge is to read 12 total books/stories from this year's selected group reads.

1. The Angel at the Grave ⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. The House on the Strand ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3. The Queen of Spades ⭐️⭐️⭐️
4. Call Me Joe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5. The Illustrated Man⭐️⭐️⭐️
6. Mimsy Were The Borogoves ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
7. Childhood's End ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
8. Lois the Witch ⭐️⭐️⭐️
9. Frenchman's Creek ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
10. Regret ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
11. Farewell, My Lovely ⭐️⭐️
12. Touch Not the Cat ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
13. The Invisible Girl ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
14. Cousin Bette ⭐️⭐️⭐️
15. New Grub Street ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Challenge #7- Series Books
– Start, Continue, Complete

Complete:
Children of violence by Doris Lessing
4. Landlocked ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5. The Four-Gated City ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thomas Cromwell by Hilary Mantel
3. The Mirror & the Light

Start:
The Elements by John Boyne
1. Water ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. Earth ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3. Fire ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4. Air ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Start:
Shadowfell series by Juliet Marillier
1. Shadowfell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. Raven Flight ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3. The Caller ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Continue:
Bridget Jones by Helen Fielding
Bridget Jones's Baby: The Diaries ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Continue
Cormac Reilly by Dervla McTiernan
The Unquiet Grave ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Start
The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
1. The Eye of the World ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Continue
Phryne Fisher by Kerry Greenwood
1. Cocaine Blues ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
12. Murder in Montparnasse ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Begin
Delphic women by Kerry Greenwood
1. Medea ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Start
Arthurian Tales by Giles Kristian
1. Lancelotp ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Challenge #8 - Travel the World One Continent at a Time

Select a book or an author from each of the seven world continents, *Antarctica is optional, and can be substituted for a country specific book. I understand that most around the world challenges are much longer in both time and number of books required. Our challenges run from January 1-December 31. So, this seems more doable.

Africa Our Sister Killjoy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Asia The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Australia Wifedom: Mrs. Orwell's Invisible Life ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Europe Water ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
North America Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
South America Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
*Antarctica, or a Country

*Read a book set in the country you'd most like to visit

Challenge #9 - Rereading - Some do Some don't

Some of us reread regularly, others reread rarely if ever. We have all read books that we found fantastic. We finish the last page, set it aside and think someday I would like to read this again. Let us know the titles of five or more books you found worthy of rereading. This year’s challenge is, reread two of your reread selections.

Books I'd Love to Reread
1. The Submerged Cathedral by Charlotte Wood
✔️2. Landlocked by Doris Lessing⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✔️3. The Four-Gated City by Doris Lessing⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4. Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
✔️5. Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens ⭐️⭐️

Challenge #10 – Most Popular Goodreads Books Listed by Year
Locate and list 10 books that most interest you from the year of your choice. The challenge is to read 3 books from that list.

1955
1. Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo
2. Loser Takes All by Graham Greene
3. The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov
4. Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin
✅5. A World of Love by Elizabeth Bowen ⭐️⭐️⭐️
✅6. Madam, Will You Talk? by Mary Stewart ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
7. A Certain Smile by Françoise Sagan
8. The Shiralee by D'Arcy Niland
9. Solar Lottery by Philip K. Dick
10. Earthlight by Arthur C. Clarke

Challenge #11 - Future Classics
A Quarter of the 21st Century has passed; did you read any potential classics? For discussion, and the benefit and curiosity of our members please list 5 books you have read over the last 25 years that you believe will still be actively read in 50-100+ years.

1. Just Kids by Patti Smith
2. Atonement by Ian McEwan
3. Wanting by Richard Flanagan
4. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
5. The Turning by Tim Winton

The Future Classic Challenge
- List 3 unread books published between 2000-2024 that you feel have the potential to become a classic. The challenge, read 1 of your 3 selections. Then let us know if you think it has a chance at greatness, or will it pass into oblivion.

1. The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott
2. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
3. Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

Challenge #12– Fiction/Non-Fiction

Using the below categories or a selection of your own pick three subjects of interest and read a fiction book and a non-fiction book about that subject. Total number of books for this challenge is six.

J.G. Ballard
1. The Best Short Stories of J. G. Ballard ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. Selected Nonfiction, 1962-2007 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Palestine
1. Perfect Victims: And the Politics of Appeal by Mohammed El-Kurd⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. Men in the Sun and Other Palestinian Stories by Ghassan Kanafani ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Colonialism/empire/North Africans
Nonfiction: In Defence of Barbarism: Non-Whites Against the Empire by Louisa Yousfi ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fiction: Our Sister Killjoy by Ama Ata Aidoo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Music
Room 100 : Sid, Nancy, and the Night Punk Rock Died by Jesse P Pollack ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fiction: The Lightning Bottles by Marissa Stapley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Challenge #13 - Old and New Linked Categories

Using the below categories or choices of your own, pick three subjects of interest. Link the chosen subjects to an old book 1914 or earlier to a newer book 1915 -present. Total number of books for this challenge is six.

Gothic
Old: ✅The Invisible Girl
New: ✅The Phantom of the Opera

Obsession
Old: ✅The Black Tulip
New: ✅This Sweet Sickness


The Epic of Gilgamesh
Old; ✅Gilgamesh and Enkidu
New: ✅There Are Rivers in the Sky

Challenge #14 - Publishers Weekly lists of Bestselling Novels in the United States

The below link provides a list of bestsellers from 1895-2023. Pick 10 years of interest. List the bestseller for each year selected. If you have read it, list the 2nd bestseller and so on. Ideas for picking years: birth years for family and friends, memorable events graduations, anniversaries, etc. or historic events.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publish...

NOTE: click on the link above then Look for the blueish info bar, just under it you will find a list of decades from 1890-2020. Click the decade needed and search individual years.

1927 Elmer Gantry
1928 The Bridge of San Luis Rey
1929 All Quiet on the Western Front
1944 Strange Fruit
1946 The King's General
1958 Doctor Zhivago
1964 The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
1966 Valley of the Dolls
1968 Airport
1987 The Tommy Knockers

The Bestseller Challenge from your list of 10 books pick two. One from a genre outside your comfort zone. You may surprise yourself and like it. If it ends as DNF no problem at least you tried. Book two should be a book you think has a chance at 4 or 5 stars.

Books Chosen
1. All Quiet on the Western Front (War is not my genre at all!) or Valley of the Dolls (whatever genre this is it’s not something I’d normally pick!)
2.

Challenge #15 - Award Winners
From the below book prize lists, or a prize from your country or local region, seek out and read two award winning books. Please let the group know what prize list or lists you use, as well as the book information.

Nobel Prize in Literature - since 1901
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
Booker Prize - since 1969
https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booke...
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction - since 1918
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulitze...
Hugo Award - since 1953
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Aw...
Newberry Medal - since 1922
https://www.britannica.com/art/Newber...
European Union Prize for Literature - since 2009
https://www.euprizeliterature.eu/

1. The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk 2018 Nobel prize in literature
2. Wifedom: Mrs. Orwell's Invisible Life by Anna Funder 2024 Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger – Essai (Best foreign book - nonfiction)
3. Landlocked byDoris Lessing 2007 Nobel prize in literature
4. Less by Andrew Sean Greer 2018 Pulitzer Prize for fiction (I have no idea how this won)

Challenge #16 - A-Z Title Challenge
I find this to be a very difficult challenge, many others consider it one of their favorites. For those who really enjoy this challenge in its pure form use all 26 letters. For those of us who struggle, with this challenge consider it successful by using only 23 letters. There are 4 optional letters marked with an (*), you only need to use one.

A A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories ⭐️⭐️⭐️
B The Best Short Stories of J. G. Ballard⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
C Childhood's End ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
D
E Eva Trout ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
F The Four-Gated City ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
G Gilgamesh and Enkidu ⭐️⭐️⭐️
H The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I Ice ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
J Jenny Wren ⭐️⭐️⭐️
K Karla's choice ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
L Landlocked ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
M Misunderstanding in Moscow ⭐️⭐️⭐️
N new Grub Street ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
O On the Eve ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
P The Phantom of the Opera ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
*Q The Queen of Spades ⭐️⭐️⭐️
R Regret ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
S The Spare Room ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
T The Time Regulation Institute ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
U
V Venetian Vespers ⭐️⭐️⭐️
W White as Snow ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
*X
*Y
*Z

Challenge #17 - A-Z Author Challenge
I find this to be a very difficult challenge, many others consider it one of their favorites. For those who really enjoy this challenge in its pure form use all 26 letters. For those of us who struggle, with this challenge consider it successful by using only 23 letters. There are 4 optional letters marked with an (*), you only need to use one.

A Ama Ata Aidoo
B J.G. Ballard
C Charles Dickens
D Doris Lessing
E Elizabeth Bowen
F Anna Funder
G Helen Garner
H Patricia Highsmith
I Ian McEwan
J Henry James
K Anna Kavan
L Gaston Leroux
M Daphne du Maurier
N
O Olga Tokarczuk
P Frederik Pohl
*Q
R Robert Jordan
S John Steinbeck
T Ivan Turgenev
U
V Tarjei Vesaas
W Edith Wharton
*X
*Y E.H. Young
*Z

Good luck with your planning. I'd never even heard of The Submerged Cathedral. I may need to keep that one in mind for the Around the World challenge!

Thank you Wobbley!

Charlotte Wood’s most recent book Stone Yard Devotional made the Booker shortlist this year. It made me want to re-read The Submerged Cathedral (her second or third book, I think) which I loved so much I loaned it to friends!

That's a great recommendation!

I see lots of intriguing books in your Old and New, Janelle. And your 1955 choices include books I haven't read from authors I love. Looking forward to following your progress!

Thanks Kathleen :)
The old and new is such a hard challenge for me. I’m only adding books I’ve already got on my shelves but that doesn’t guarantee I’ll read them 😂

You have an amazing challenge set up, Janelle! Have fun with your planning!

Thanks Connie :)
Looking forward to checking out everyone’s lists!

Thanks Matt, good luck to you too :)

Good luck, Janelle! I read Cloud Atlas last month and really enjoyed it. So I am happy to see it on your list of books you enjoyed. I have Atonement on my O&N this year so seeing it among books you loved makes me happy.

I loved The Spy Who Came In from the Cold and I'm curious to see what you think of Karla's Choice.

Two books we have in common this year are The Black Tulip and The Bridge of San Luis Rey. I will watch out for your thoughts.

Thank you Shaina :)
I hope you like Atonement as much as I do!

I’m intrigued by Karla’s choice. I loved the Nick Harkaway novels I have read and that was before I knew he was Le Carre’s son. So it’ll be interesting to see what he does with his fathers characters.

Ooo.. I didn't know Nick was Le Carre's son. I thought it was just a spin-off by some new author! Now I'm really intrigued. I'll go read some reviews and wait for your thoughts and comments before I decide if I want to read Karla's Choice.

With On the Eve by Ivan Turgenev I’ve completed Challenge #2 Members choice.

Also doing surprisingly well on my Old/New! I’ve read 7 of my list so far.

Wow Janelle! 7 is incredible! You’re reading some great books! I hope you get to All Quiet on the Western Front. Soooo good!

Thanks Lori :)

I’m really not a big reader of war novels but I intend to give All Quiet a try at some stage!

Seven is fantastic, Janelle! I think you will find All Quiet offers much more than most war stories. Congrats on the finished challenge as well.

Thanks Sara :)

Glad to see you enjoyed the Turgenev, and you're doing so well!

Thanks Kathleen :)
Yes, I’m gradually reading more Turgenev. I’ve enjoyed him so far.

Great job so far! I noticed we both have Phantom of the Opera for our new/old and new authors this year. I love that story!
I dont know most of these other selections, to be honest, but it looks to be quite diverse which is awesome!

Thanks April! Yes Phantom was a fun read :)

Well done completing Challenge 2! And 7 done in Old and New by April -- that's really amazing!

Thanks Wobbley :)