Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

B1: Book Published 1950 - 1999
B2: Classic written in your native language - Peter the First by Alexey Konstantinovich Tolstoy
B3: Classic of Europe - Carmen by Prosper Merimee by Prosper Mérimée
B4: Classic involving art - Suur Tõll by Andrus Kivirähk
B5: Classic from your bookshelf Под знаком незаконнорожденных by Vladimir Nabokov

I1: Book from the Group’s Bookshelf Prior to 2023
I2: Classic biography/autobiography or memoir
I3: Classic horror or gothic
I4: Classic comedy, satire, or humor
I5: Book from the group’s Favorites of 2022

N1: Classic of the Americas - Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis
N2: Classic Western
N3: Reader’s Choice - Сияние by Stephen King
N4: Classic mystery or thriller
N5: Classic of Africa or Oceania

G1: Classic from a group poll that did not win
G2: Classic action or adventure - Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
G3: Classic history or historical fiction - Day of Infamy by Walter Lord
G4: Class fantasy or science fiction
G5: Book from the Group’s 2023 Bookshelf - The 39 Steps by John Buchan

O1: Book Published before 1900
O2: New-To-You Classic Author - Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose
O3: Classic of Asia - Махабхарата. Рамаяна (Mahabharata. Ramayana)
O4: Classic in translation - У нас это невозможно (It Can't Happen Here) by Sinclair Lewis
O5: Book Published 1900 - 1949 - Põrgupõhja uus Vanapagan by A.H. Tammsaare

I read in three languages, so I'll play with all three of them. Many classical books in English are easily accessible in my native Russian. Some classical Estonian novels will also be present. I don't know about poetry if it can be included too.

Good luck on Bingo and happy reading in 2023.

Good luck, Darya! I am also a native Russian speaker, although I live in the US.

Happy reading, Darya.

I wonder if classical literature of my birth country, Estonia, can fill Bingo squares. Or it has to be a well-known world literature?

Darya Silman wrote: "I wonder if classical literature of my birth country, Estonia, can fill Bingo squares. Or it has to be a well-known world literature?"

I reckon so. That is the beauty of the challenge, to discover gems from other countries and languages :O)

Absolutely, Darya. If it is published prior to 2000 it is considered a classic for our purposes, and some of the bingo squares do not even require that.

Thank you, Sara. I read Estonian classics only partially in school, and it was 25 years ago. Re-reading it now

Filled two squares:
02: New-To-You-Classic Author - Reginald Rose and his play 'Twelve Angry Men'
Book Published 1900-1949: Anton Hansen-Tammsaare's 'Põrgupõhja Uus Vanapagan'

Darya also nonfiction classics can be read for bingo. Some easy examples include essay collections, autobiographies and memiors, journals and diaries, letters, and political tracts published prior to 2000.

Cynda wrote: "Darya also nonfiction classics can be read for bingo. Some easy examples include essay collections, autobiographies and memiors, journals and diaries, letters and political tracts published prior t..."

Thank you for the advice!

I just finished Под знаком незаконнорожденных by Vladimir Nabokov. It was a pure linguistical pleasure and a hard-hitting plot. My edition's blurb says:
According to Nabokov's words, 'the story ... is not about the life and death in a grotesque police state... The main theme ... is the beating ... of Krug's loving heart, the pain of a pinned tenderness torturing him, - and because of these pages, dedicated to David and his father, the book was written; the book should be read for their sake. (the translation into English is mine)

The book was initially written in English. It's a classical Orwell-esque, a high-quality dystopian novel with a very personal twist (that Orwell lacks).

The book goes into the "Classic from your bookshelf" category. I bought it for 0.9 euros at a sale.

I just finished Suur Tõll by Andrus Kivirähk, Jüri Arrak. Jüri Arrak created illustrations for the book and an avant-garde cartoon of 1980 during Soviet times, basing them on Estonian folklore, namely a taciturn, reticent giant Suur Tõll (Tõll the Great). Andrus Kivirähk, a well-known modern Estonian author, added the text.

5 stars for the pictures, 2 stars for words (they added nothing significant to the pictures). The book goes to the "Classic involving art" category.

I just finished Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis. It's 2.5 stars rounded to three. I enjoyed the book's language but not its plot or characters.
My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The book goes to the 'Classics of Americas' category.

Darya what a great thing to read in three languages! I have only English and Spanglish which is only a lingua franca, helpful but not another language. . . . .I like to read traditional tales and have a special place for the Russian crone-witch Baba Yaga. If you ever want to read Russian tales, a text written in English, I would like to do a buddy read, if you would like too.

Cynda wrote: "Darya what a great thing to read in three languages! I have only English and Spanglish which is only a lingua franca, helpful but not another language. . . . .I like to read traditional tales and h..."

If you can find this book Morphology of the Folktale by Vladimir Propp, we can do a buddy read. I saw this book, also named: History and Theory of Folklore. It's a fantastically engaging dissection of social and cultural changes in Russian society that turned into folklore and fairytales. Where did Baba Yaga come from, why number three was a magical number, and so on. It was written almost 100 years ago, but it's still relevant today. I read it 20 years ago as a part of an old Russian literature course.

I can buy a copy of Morphology or the Folktale by Valdimir Propp, or I can read at Scribd The Russian Folktale by Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp by Vladimir Propp.

The History and Theory is beyond my book budget amount.

I can read 2nd half of March or anytime June or anytime July.

If you want to read cultural and social history of the genre, I have access on Scribd to The Irresistible Fairy Tale: The Cultural and Social History of a Genre by Jack D. Zipes.

Cynda wrote: "I can buy a copy of Morphology or the Folktale by Valdimir Propp, or I can read at Scribd The Russian Folktale by Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp by Vladimir Propp.

Th..."

June or July will be great. I have a long break at that time

Thank you Darya :-) We will touch base later April/early May. I will be less book committed in June and July, so works better for me too.

I just finished Day of Infamy by Walter Lord. His history books, with their keen eye for detail and thousands of eyewitness accounts, became the classics. Unfortunately, after reading two of his books (the other one being A Night to Remember), I have to admit his choice of presentation of history is not for me. As Russians say, I can't see the forest (overview of the events) behind the trees (personal viewpoints).

I added Peter the First by Alexey Konstantinovich Tolstoy to the category: Classics in your native language (in my case, Russian). 5 stars; exceptional historical fiction book of more than 700 pages. And it wasn't finished due to the author's death.

Going slowly through my Bingo challenge. I finished reading Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson to my kids yesterday. There is a superb Soviet movie-cartoon (combining both) that kids watched 2 or 3 times, but we never had the patience to finish the book with its difficult sea vocabulary. Our edition was in Russian.

Another book, У нас это невозможно (It Can't Happen Here) by Sinclair Lewis is added to my challenge. My edition was in Russian.

I did the same! I read two or three of Robert Louis Stevenson's books to my son. What a fun way to read books.

Keep on!

Adding The 39 Steps by John Buchan as the group's 2023 bookshelf's book. I liked it but didn't love it. A nice espionage novel

That's basically how I felt about the book too.

You're making such good progress!

thank you, Cynda and Wobbley!

I overstretched my reading muscle with lots of challenges and long academic writings. Reading had seemed as a burden rather than joy, so I read almost nothing in May. I'm slowly returning to reading by adding one finished novella (Carmen by Prosper Merimee; my Russian edition is not on GR) and one very long, epic horror, which I haven't finished yet (The Stand by Stephen King, 47 h of listening).

I finished Махабхарата. Рамаяна, 'Mahabharata. Ramayana' in Russian translation. It goes to the 'Classic of Asia' category.

The style and descriptions differ from the Western literature. But if to dissect the epics into single scenes, they have a lot of common themes with other religions: a woman giving birth to a half-god yet staying a virgin (Christianity) or a special drink that make gods immortal (Greek mythology). Battle scenes, with gods watching and helping human warriors, resemble Homer's 'Iliad.'

So ambitious -- I'm impressed!

My ambitions run ahead of my mental capabilities this year. When I focus on one genre as I did last year, reading only non-fiction, I am more productive

I like to read nonfiction classics too. Because you live in Europe and not North America, will you need some suggestions for N2 ClassicWestern bingo square?

I think I already googled that one. But I don't understand what are Reader's Choice and the group's Favorites.

Katy answers these questions at the top of this thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

★I5: Book From the Group's Favorite 2022 Reads
Read a book that was a favorite of one of our group members. These are posted in a group thread - feel free to add your own favorites from 2022.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...


★N3: Free Space or Reader’s Choice
Read ANYTHING that interests you, or just count this one as a freebie.

I added 'The Shining' by Stephen King into the reader's choice category