The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

20.9. Moderator's Pet: Bucket's Task: Expanding the Classic Canon

In honor of the Azure Dragon of the East, I thought it would be fun to explore what we think of as the classic canon, and read beyond the usual English and American authors. Let's explore some Asian classics - old or new!

Read an eastern classic title or author from this list: Great Books - Non-Western Literature. Any book by an author on this list is acceptable, not just the book associated with the link for the author's name.

For this task, the Asian, Indian and Middle Eastern titles/authors will work from any time period listed, but not the African or Native American listings. Additionally, the auxiliary reading titles will not work. The listed anthologies WILL work, as will compilations that contain titles, authors, or genres (such as Indo-Islamic poetry) listed at the link. If you read an anthology or compilation that is not listed, please explain in your post how the book you've chosen fits the task requirements.

REQUIRED: In your post, please note the time period and geographic section in which the author's name is found.

Keep in mind that if an author is listed at the link, unless they are under the Native American or African headings, ANY book of theirs will work, whether the link takes you to it or not!

Thank you to @Vicky for creating a list of books that work for this task that are also on the 1001 books list! Any of these would be an excellent choice:

Chinese
Monkey: A Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en
A Dream of Red Mansions by Cao Xueqin
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 1 by Luo Guanzhong
Rickshaw Boy by Lao She
The Water Margin: Outlaws of the Marsh by Shi Nai'an

Middle Eastern
The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore
In the Heart of the Seas by S.Y. Agnon
A Tale of Love and Darkness by Amos Oz
Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih
Snow by Orhan Pamuk
The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights

Japanese
Rashomon by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
Thousand Cranes by Yasunari Kawabata
The Sea of Fertility and The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
Kokoro by Sōseki Natsume
Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids by Kenzaburō Ōe
The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu
Some Prefer Nettles by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

Here are some other authors specifically approved in this thread. ANY of their books will work:

Yukio Mishima
Banana Yoshimoto
David Grossman
Kenzaburō Ōe
Haruki Murakami
Sun Tzu
Orhan Pamuk
Wu Cheng'en
Cao Xueqin
Luo Guanzhong
Lao She
Shi Nai'an
Rabindranath Tagore
S. Y. Agnon
Amos Oz
Tayeb Salih
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
Yasunari Kawabata
Sōseki Natsume
Murasaki Shikibu
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki

This thread is now open!

eeek...this might be my dreaded task of the season...but hey, its all about pushing boundaries right?

I wanted to read
The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea

Am I doing this correctly?
http://www.interleaves.org/~rteeter/g...

ooh. thank goodness for Banana Yoshimoto

eeek is right Dee!

Ooh, at last an excuse to read See Under: Love!

Whew! This is a toughie! I'll probably go with Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids by Kenzaburō Ōe or something by Haruki Murakami.

OK...so I found Sun Tzu on the list and when I clicked on his name The Art of War was listed. I think that means I can read The Art of War.

However...

David Grossman is listed but clicking on his name does not bring up The Yellow Wind. Could I read this book of his since his name is listed?

and...

Black Elk is listed so could I read this book - Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux - which are Black Elk thoughts spoken to the author in a series of meetings?

Dee wrote: "eeek...this might be my dreaded task of the season...but hey, its all about pushing boundaries right?"

You know, I had no familiarity with any of these authors except Murakami and Yoshimoto - but when I started checking my library website, I found a lot of books that sounded really interesting - so I think this will be a good way to find some authors I never read before.

Ok how are these:
Spring Snow
Death in Midsummer and Other Stories by Yukio Mishina

I'll probably read The White Castle by Orhan Pamuk

I had been wanting to read something by Banana Yoshimoto, so I'll probably read The Lake.

If anyone else is working through the 1001 Books list, I made a list of the books on the list who's authors appear on the list for this task. I haven't decided which one to read yet, but there looks to be a few good options. :)

Chinese
Monkey: A Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en
A Dream of Red Mansions by Cao Xueqin
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 1 by Luo Guanzhong
Rickshaw Boy by Lao She
The Water Margin: Outlaws of the Marsh by Shi Nai'an

Middle Eastern
The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore
In the Heart of the Seas by S.Y. Agnon
A Tale of Love and Darkness and Black Box by Amos Oz
Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih
Snow by Orhan Pamuk

Japanese
Rashomon by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
Thousand Cranes and The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter by Yasunari Kawabata
The Sea of Fertility and The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
Kokoro by Sōseki Natsume
Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids by Kenzaburō Ōe
The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu
Some Prefer Nettles by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

Vicky wrote: "If anyone else is working through the 1001 Books list, I made a list of the books on the list who's authors appear on the list for this task. I haven't decided which one to read yet, but there look..."

Thanks, Vicky! That's a big help, as I'm always looking to cross another book off the "1001" list.

Great task, Bucket!

#5 - Dee - Yup! Hope you find something you like!

#6 - Kathy G. -
The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea by Yukio Mishima will work! Enjoy!

#7 - Ty - Great choice!

#8 - Angela - Hope you find it fun to try something totally new!

#9 - Gayla - Glad you're excited; enjoy!

#10 - Jennifer W. - Both of those authors are great!

#11 - Bea - Any book by an author listed will work, except for African and Native American authors. So any book by David Grossman, including The Yellow Wind will work. Black Elk won't work as he is listed under the "Native American" heading. The Art of War of course works too!

#12 - Thanks Sandy! I'm also looking forward to picking out something totally new for me.

#13 - Jayme(the ghost reader) - Both of those titles will work. Enjoy!

#14 - Elizabeth - Sounds good! Enjoy!

#15 - Connie - Sounds good!

#16 - Vicky - Great list; thanks for sharing it! All of those will work for this task. I think I'm actually going to choose one of these, as I'm working on the 1001 list too.

#17 - Ann A - Thanks! I'd love to hear which you pick and if you enjoy it.

Vicky wrote: "If anyone else is working through the 1001 Books list, I made a list of the books on the list who's authors appear on the list for this task. I haven't decided which one to read yet, but there look..."

I also noticed The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights was on the list provided if you want to tackle a chunkster! I read it last year, but it took me about 4 months to get through!

#21 - Jennifer W - Yes, that would work! Big book tickets, anyone? :)

kinda feels like cheating, but since he is on the list - I may go with Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

#23 - Dee - It's not cheating as long as it fits the rules, which it does. :)

The Red Chamber looks good.

#25 - Hi April! Unfortunately The Red Chamber by Pauline A. Chen won't work for this task as neither the book or author are on the list. However, Chen's book is based on A Dream of Red Mansions by Cao Xueqin which would absolutely work.

It might be fun to read Cao Xueqin's book for this task, and Pauline Chen's for another, such as task 15.6: Far East.

Kokoro (Japanese, 1900s) , so would this work then?

#27 - Delmy =^.^= - Absolutely, yes. Hope you enjoy it!

Dee wrote: "eeek...this might be my dreaded task of the season...but hey, its all about pushing boundaries right?"

LOL I must agree with you....I am currently looking at my library's website and so far they don't have any of these books or authors!!!!!! Guess that is what happens when you live in a small town of 600 people :(

I chose Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. I really liked Windup Bird Chronicles and 1Q84, not so much Kafka, which the one I am reading resembles more.

I'm going to read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami.

Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings - http://www.interleaves.org/~rteeter/g...

Transliterated differently here, but same book.

@Kristine and @Claire - glad you found some good things to read!

@Deana - Shahnameh absolutely works - that's a bold choice, and very fitting for this task. Hope you enjoy it, and don't forget to claim your big book tickets. They'll be well-deserved. :)

Is it just me, or are there no female authors on this list?

I realize that with some of the names I am unable to determine the gender, due to my unfamiliarity with the language, but I do read some Eastern authors and figured at least one name or two would jump out at me. Does anyone know which if any are written by women?

It's not that I only read books written by women, but when someone compiles a "best of"/"great books" kind of list with no effort at gender parity, I will most likely write to *him* and point that out.

Peebee wrote: "Is it just me, or are there no female authors on this list?

I realize that with some of the names I am unable to determine the gender, due to my unfamiliarity with the language, but I do read som..."

Banana Yoshimoto is female. I am not familiar with most of these authors, so can't help beyond that.