BACK<<<to the CLASSICS discussion

I suggest you plan carefully when choosing your first book.

Read one book. When finished, choose another book that shares a feature - the setting, a genre, a character’s occupation. Finish this book, choose a feature from it…
How many books can you link?

For example:
1 The thirty nine steps - includes train journey
> on a train
2 Murder on the orient express - author Agatha Christie
> same author
3 Murder at the vicarage - village/small town location
> similar location
4 Anne of Green Gables

If you complete a chain, you may want to try a new chain to beat your previous score.

Question: I often read books outside of our time range or religious books like Daily Devotionals which probably won't fit here. I understand there is a sequence of events to the reading, but would I need to start a new chain if I read something outside the parameters? Couldn't I just not mention that book and keep going with the chain?

These are things I have read:

Modernism Up In Michigan by Ernest Hemingway (1923) January 13, 2026 3*

Modernism - ??? Kew Gardens by Virginia Woolf (1919) January 30, 2026 4*

Lynn, I think that many of us read more than one book at a time to cover various challenges in different groups. Choose the books you want to read & just add the relevant ones to your chain. Take a break when you want, then continue - whatever works for you.

I’m very impressed by the chain you have listed.

Tr1sha wrote: "Lynn, I think that many of us read more than one book at a time to cover various challenges in different groups. Choose the books you want to read & just add the relevant ones to your chain. Take a..."

LOL Let's see if I actually read them! About half of those books were supposed to have been read in 2025 according to the original plans.

Award Winning Author - Gothic The Moon-Spinners by Mary Stewart (1962) 400 pages
Gothic - Historical Fiction A Cry of Angels by Jeff Fields (1974) 392 pages
Historical Fiction - set in Cornwall Jeremy Poldark (Poldark #3) by Winston Graham (1950)
Set in Cornwall - Romance Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier (1941)
Romance - Young Adult Emily Climbs by L.M. Montgomery (1925)
Young Adult - Fantasy (or Science fiction) Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury (1957)

Lynn wrote: "Tr1sha wrote: "Lynn, I think that many of us read more than one book at a time to cover various challenges in different groups. Choose the books you want to read & just add the relevant ones to you..."

Plans? Yes, I’m over-optimistic when planning books. I’ve already signed up for too many challenges in 2026. There are so many books I want to read!

Book 1: The House in Lordship Lane by A.E.W. Mason
Mystery-British Author-French detective-20th century
⬇️
Book 2: We Know You're Busy Writing But.... by Edmund Crispin
Mystery-British Author-Short Story-20th century
⬇️
Book 3: Arson Plus by Dashiell Hammett
Mystery-Short Story-20th century-American Author
⬇️
Book 4: Why I Live at the P.O. by Eudora Welty
Short Story-20th century-American Author- Family
⬇️
Book 5: The Saturdays by Elizabeth
Enright
Children's Book- 20th century- American Author- Family
⬇️
Book 6: Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
Children's Book-19th century- American Author-Family- Boarding School
⬇️
Book 7: The Pothunters by P.G. Wodehouse
20th century- British author- Boarding School Story-
Sports -Mystery
⬇️
Book 8: Psmith, Journalist by P.G. Wodehouse
20th century- Same British author- New York - Newspapers- Humour
⬇️
Book 9: Leave It to Psmith by P.G. Wodehouse
20th century- Same British author-Same main character ((Psmith)- Humour- Country House
⬇️
Book 10: The Four-Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright -20th century-American author-Family- Country setting -Female Author- Children's
⬇️
Book 11: The Listening Eye by Patricia Wentworth -Female Author - 20th century- British- Country House- Family -Mystery
⬇️
Book 12: Then There Were Five by Elizabeth Enright -Female Author-20th century- American- House in the Country- Family- Children's Lit
⬇️
Book 13: Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott - Female Author- American- Family- Children's Lit- 19th century
⬇️
Book 14: The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter -Female Author- British- Children's Lit- Animal Story- 20th century
⬇️
Book 15: The Tale of Benjamin Bunny by Beatrix Potter - Female Author- Same British Author- Children's Lit- Animal Story- 20th century
⬇️
Book 16: Spiderweb for Two: A Melendy Maze by Elizabeth Enright -Female Author-20th century-Children's Lit-Family-American Author

Book 1.The Ohio River Trilogy by Zane Grey
Betty ZanebyZane Grey(1902)
✔7/1/26★ ★ ★ ★

Shared Feature:
Like Zane Gray,Laura Ingalls Wilder has based her story on her own family history.

Little Town on the Prairie: Little House, Book 7 (1942)
⭐✔7/1/26★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Shared Feature:
This book is another in the same "Little House" series.

These Happy Golden YearsbyLaura Ingalls Wilder(1944)
⭐✔8/1/26★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Shared Feature :This book is also set in South Dakota.

The First Four YearsbyLaura Ingalls Wilder(1971)
⭐✔8/1/26★ ★ ★ ★

Shared Feature both novels are set in United States during the 19th Century.

Riders of the Purple SagebyZane Grey(1912)
⭐✔13/1/26★ ★ ★ ★

Shared Feature:A love story which doesn't end in "Happily ever after."

A Farewell to ArmsbyErnest Hemingway(1929)
⭐✔20/1/26★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Shared Feature:Both Stories are audiobook versions.

Last Bus to Woodstock: The First Case in the Classic Inspector Morse SeriesbyColin Dexter(1975)
⭐✔23/1/26★ ★ ★ ★

Shared Feature:the titles of both books mention a form of transport.

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible VoyagebyAlfred Lansing(1959)
⭐✔5/2/26★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Shared Feature:Perseverance in adversity!

Little DorritbyCharles Dickens(1857)
⭐✔13/2/26★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Shared Feature:Both Main Characters go to the aid of the less fortunate.

Mrs Harris Goes to Paris & Mrs Harris Goes to New YorkbyPaul Gallico(1963)
⭐✔24/2/26★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Shared Feature:Both contain books which have been adapted into successful films.

Green MansionsbyWilliam Henry Hudson
⭐✔28/2/26★ ★ ★ ★

Shared Feature:Both were written in the first 20 years of the 20th Century.

The Adventure of the Red Circle - a Sherlock Holmes Short StorybyArthur Conan Doyle(1911)
⭐✔28/2/26★ ★ ★ ★

Shared Feature:Both involve a crime investigation.

The Orange-Yellow DiamondbyJ.S. Fletcher(1920)
⭐✔15/3/26★ ★ ★ ★

Shared Feature:Both Detectives aid but are not part of the the police force.

An Unsuitable Job for a WomanbyP.D. James(1972)
⭐✔25/3/26★ ★ ★ ★

Shared feature:Both books (one fiction,one non fiction) contain the advice and thinking of two very capable women.

You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling LifebyEleanor Roosevelt(1960)
⭐✔30/3/26★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Shared feature:Both books contain wise-if not always heeded- advice on living life successfully!

The Facts of LifebyW. Somerset Maugham
⭐✔7/4/26★ ★ ★ ★

Shared feature:Both are short stories by Somerset Maughan.

Winter CruisebyW. Somerset Maugham
✔⭐7/4/26★ ★ ★ ★

Shared Feature:Short Stories with an unexpected ending.

A Good Man is Hard to FindbyFlannery O'Connor
✔⭐18/4/26★ ★ ★ ★

Shared Feature:Both stories take place out of doors.

The Secret GardenbyFrances Hodgson Burnett
✔⭐18/4/26★ ★ ★ ★

Shared Feature:Both books end with a "Happily ever after."

Charley's AuntbyBrandon Thomas(1892)
⭐✔19/4/26★ ★ ★ ★

Shared Feature:About two mysterious women-who are not what they seem!

The Story of SalomebyAmelia B. Edwards(1873)
⭐✔20/4/26★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Shared Feature:both books are to do with women associated with events in New Testament times:

Devotion to the Holy FaceBYThe Bendictine Convent of Clyde Missouri (1934)
⭐✔18/5/26★ ★ ★ ★

Get in the middle of a chain reaction
You get a medal when you're lost in action

Chain Reaction! 2026


Current Progress - 6

⛓️1 Watership Down (1972) - Richard Adams Character named Hazel
⛓️2 Cannery Row (1943) - John Steinbeck Contains fish
⛓️3 One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (1960) - Dr. Seuss USA author
⛓️4 The Dharma Bums (1958) - Jack Kerouac Extensive travelling
⛓️5 Up and Down Australia (1911-1931) - Arthur W. Upfield Mystery author
⛓️6 Harlequin's Lane (1927) - Agatha Christie Car crash
⛓️7 Crash (1973) - J.G. Ballard Dystopian
8 The Machine Stops (1909) - E.M. Forster

A great set, Vicky.

Tr1sha wrote: "A great set, Vicky."

Thanks,Tr1sha-I agree!

House of the Rising Sun Song by The Animals
“I got one foot on the platform
And another on the train
And I’m going back to New Orleans
To wear that ball and chain.”

Voyage
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Virginia Woolf – The Voyage Out 1915
Voyage → Seafaring
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Joseph Conrad – The Nigger of the “Narcissus” 1897
Seafaring → Haunting
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Jean Ray – Cruise of Shadows: Haunted Stories of Land and Sea 1931
Haunting →Phantom
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Gaston Leroux – The Phantom of the Opera 1910
Phantom →Ghosts
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Robert Walser – Girlfriends, Ghosts, and Other Stories 1932
Ghosts →Girls
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Lygia Fagundes Telles – The Girl in the Photograph 1973
Girls → Fairy
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Carlo Collodi – The Adventures of Pinocchio 1882
Fairy → Countess
Raymond Radiguet – Count d’Orgel’s Ball 1924

I'm starting a new post for things I have read:

Modernism
Up In Michigan by Ernest Hemingway (1923) January 13, 2026 3*

Modernism - ???
Kew Gardens by Virginia Woolf (1919) January 30, 2026 4*

That’s a great list, Vit.

So far I've read:

Maigrets jul/Un noël de Maigret by Georges Simenon publ 1951

Shared feature Written in French, both published during the 50's

Bonjour tristesse by Françoise Sagan publ 1954

Shared feature Takes place during summertime, the sea plays an important part describing the environment

Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson publ 1946

Shared feature Takes place during summertime

Kew Gardens by Virginia Woolf publ 1919

Shared feature British author

Animal Farm by George Orwell publ 1945

Shared feature Socially critical

Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö publ 1965

Shared feature Written around the middle of the 20th century

Now reading: The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien publ 1954

ooh I love Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö

Jazzy wrote: "ooh I love Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö"

Cool! I've actually only read a few of them when I was very young. The TV-series though have been watched by our whole population I guess. The latest one have been running for decades now and there are still more episodes, newly written by screen writers.

I'm planning on reading all the books in chronological order. The books are more political and they take place during the 60's and 70's whereas the TV-series have a contemporary setting. So after finally rereading one of the books last year I became very enthusiastic and it's about time.

Nice, Vic!

Are we using all books read or just the classics for this game?

Jazzy wrote: "Are we using all books read or just the classics for this game?"

Always classics in this group!

:D

I'll try this, adding as I go.
✔ = finished

✔Between the Acts by Virginia Woolf
Shared feature: British authors
✔The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
Shared feature: British authors
✔Nemesis by Agatha Christie
Shared feature: British authors
✔A Telegram from Le Touquet by John Bude
Shared feature: British authors
✔Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
Shared feature: Published in the 19th century
Les Miserables

Amazing chains, some very impressive lists. I’ve been distracted by various monthly challenges & ignored the annual ones so have lots of catching up to do.

From books already completed I have one chain so far.

The A.B.C. Murders, Agatha Christie
⬇️ crime
Death in the Clouds, Agatha Christie
⬇️ travel
A Night to Remember, Walter Lord
⬇️ non fiction
My Family and Other Animals, Gerald Durrell
⬇️ family
Lorna Doone, R.D. Blackmore
⬇️ male author
The End of the Affair, Graham Greene