Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

I am focusing on books I own right now for all of 2024, so we'll see if I can bingo without borrowing or buying any books.

CHALLENGE COMPLETE 7/31/24

All but one book from my own books.

B1 A Classic by a Nobel Laureate or a Pulitzer Prize Winner Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton 1/25/24 (reread) ★★★★
B2 A Classic Book in Translation Swann's Way by Marcel Proust 2/12/24 ★★½
B3 A Classic Comedy or Satire A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde 3/29/24 ★★★★
B4 A Classic Written Before 1700 Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare 1/13/24 ★★★★
B5 A Classic of Asia or Oceania A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth 4/27/24 ★★★★

I1 A Classic from our Short Story Group Shelf The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson 1/4/24 ★★★
I2 A Classic from your Personal Bookshelf Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone by James Baldwin 2/16/24 ★★★½
I3 A Classic Historical Fiction or a Nonfiction History Silence by Shūsaku Endō 5/16/24 ★★★★★
I4 A Classic Prize-Winning Female Author Beloved by Toni Morrison 3/20/24 (reread) ★★★★
I5 A Book Recommended by a Group Member The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham (Bob) 7/31/24 ★★★★

N1 A Classic Made into Movie/TV South Riding by Winifred Holtby 1/29/24 ★★★½
N2 A Classic you've been meaning to read Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens 3/13/24 ★★★★
N3 Free Space A Country Year: Living the Questions by Sue Hubbell 2/29/24 ★★★★★
N4 A Classic on or about the Sea/Ocean Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing 1/17/24 ★★★★★
N5 A Literature Class Book Antigone by Sophocles 5/4/24 ★★★★

G1 A Classic of North or South America Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery 1/7/24 ★★★★
G2 A 21st Century Potential Classic Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel 4/22/24 ★★★★
G3 A Classic from our Old School Group Shelf Walden by Henry David Thoreau 5/12/24 ★★★★
G4 A Classic New-to-You Author Our Spoons Came from Woolworths by Barbara Comyns 6/15/24 ★★★½
G5 A Classic Play or Classic Poetry Collection Oedipus the King by Sophocles 4/21/24 ★★★★

O1 A Classic Book you begged, borrowed, or stole. Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie 3//20/24 ★★★
O2 A Classic Children's Book Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis 5/17/24 ★★★★
O3 A Classic Book found by using Literature-map.com Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon 2/11/24 ★★★
O4 A Classic from our New School Group Shelf Cannery Row by John Steinbeck 2/7/24 ★★★★
O5 A Classic Book that Reminds You of Someone Kona Winds by Janet Dailey 6/28/24 ★★★

B1 I1 N1 G1 O1
B2 I2 N2 G2 O2
B3 I3 N3 G3 O3
B4 I4 N4 G4 O4
B5 I5 N5 G5 O5

I’d love to use your method to whittle down the book shelves! I applaud you if you can make it happen! Have a great year Laurie!

Welcome Laurie!

Lori wrote: "I’d love to use your method to whittle down the book shelves! I applaud you if you can make it happen! Have a great year Laurie!"

I own so many books I haven't read. Its time I really try to read them.

Lynn wrote: "Welcome Laurie!"

Thanks, Bob.

This is a great idea, Laurie, and it looks like you own some wonderful books. Enjoy your reading!

Kathleen wrote: "This is a great idea, Laurie, and it looks like you own some wonderful books. Enjoy your reading!"

Thanks, Kathleen. I've been looking at my shelves for a couple of weeks making plans and I've gotten excited about my books. It makes me wonder why they are sitting there unread.

I'm excited to see how this plan works out for you, Laurie! You are inspiring me to read more of my own books (print and electronic) that I really want to read, but don't! I think we can do it! :)

This is exactly what I've wanted to do!

Best luck to you!

Great list already!
I also often try to pick titles from the many I own already. It’s a relief to see there are many of us with lost of books yet unread :0)
Have a wonderful bingo 2024

Thanks, Terris, Klowey, and Veronique.

I so need to follow your example. It will be so interesting to see what you have accomplished at the end of the year in clearing away the ones you already possess. I'm rooting for you--it gives me hope.

Sara wrote: "I so need to follow your example. It will be so interesting to see what you have accomplished at the end of the year in clearing away the ones you already possess. I'm rooting for you--it gives me ..."

Thanks, Sara.

I haveone a few things to read down tbr. One year I resorted to a personal challenge to read down tbr. I read out 60 books that way during lockdown. . . .May you find what works :-)

Great idea, Laurie!

Cynda will back full time 2024 wrote: "I haveone a few things to read down tbr. One year I resorted to a personal challenge to read down tbr. I read out 60 books that way during lockdown. . . .May you find what works :-)"

Basically next year is a challenge to read down my tbr. It's good to see you were successful and I hope I will be too.

Terry wrote: "Great idea, Laurie!"

Thanks, Terry

Great choices -- I can give a big thumbs-up to Razor's Edge and Our Mutual Friend!

Wobbley wrote: "Great choices -- I can give a big thumbs-up to Razor's Edge and Our Mutual Friend!"

Thanks, Wobbley. I am definitely looking forward to reading them.

I think your list looks wonderful. I enjoyed Chess Story, both plays ( it's tough to choose a favourite between Ibsen and Wilde) and Razor's Edge. I have read all of Christie, and I'm sure it will be something you enjoy. A Vindication was good but emotionally draining, so I read it slowly over a period of 3 months.

Last week, I read Skating Shoes and liked it. So, Ballet Shoes looks like another winner. Good luck with your challenge, Laurie, and happy reading!

Shaina wrote: "I think your list looks wonderful. I enjoyed Chess Story, both plays ( it's tough to choose a favourite between Ibsen and Wilde) and Razor's Edge. I have read all of Christie, and I'm sure it will ..."

Thanks, Shaina. I am looking forward to reading these books.

I'm trying to use as many books from my shelves and I can for challenges too, Laurie. You have a lot of good books on your shelves. I hope you get to Chess Story and The End of the Affair.

Thanks, Sue. I am eager to get started on next year's challenges.

Just an extra comment Laurie. If you choose A Doll's House, I recommend watching the movie version with Ingrid Bergman. I have checked many versions in You Tube, but Bergman is so uncomfortably right for the play.

Cynda will back full time 2024 wrote: "Just an extra comment Laurie. If you choose A Doll's House, I recommend watching the movie version with Ingrid Bergman. I have checked many versions in You Tube, but Bergman is so uncomfortably rig..."

Thanks, Cynda. I will keep that in mind

I have been chipping away at bingo, and I've added 12 books which isn't too bad for the middle of March. And I have my first bingo.

N1 A Classic Made into Movie/TV South Riding by Winifred Holtby 1/29/24 ★★★½
N2 A Classic you've been meaning to read Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens 3/13/24 ★★★★
N3 Free Space A Country Year: Living the Questions by Sue Hubbell 2/29/24 ★★★★★
N4 A Classic on or about the Sea/Ocean Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing 1/17/24 ★★★★★
N5 A Literature Class Book Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton 1/25/24 (reread) ★★★★

Wow, being just about half done your bingo board this early in the year is really impressive!! I too enjoyed Our Mutual Friend; it's my favourite Dickens so far (I've read 6).

Congratulations on your Bingo, Laurie!

Congrats on the bingo and all the reading :0)

That is amazing progress, Laurie, and some great reading! A Country Year sounds like a wonderful book that I now must read ...

Wobbley wrote: "Wow, being just about half done your bingo board this early in the year is really impressive!! I too enjoyed Our Mutual Friend; it's my favourite Dickens so far (I've read 6)."

Thanks, Wobbley. It didn't become my favorite, but I love several of his novels so it's hard to break into that top tier. I only have four left and I hope to read the rest over the next few years.

Veronique wrote: "Congrats on the bingo and all the reading :0)"

Terry wrote: "Congratulations on your Bingo, Laurie!"

Thank, Veronique and Terry.

Kathleen wrote: "That is amazing progress, Laurie, and some great reading! A Country Year sounds like a wonderful book that I now must read ..."

Thanks, Kathleen. It's fun to find a new favorite in a book I stumbled on and had no prior knowledge of. I definitely plan to read more by this author if I can.

Laurie wrote: "Wobbley wrote: "Wow, being just about half done your bingo board this early in the year is really impressive!! I too enjoyed Our Mutual Friend; it's my favourite Dickens so far (I've read 6)."

Thanks, Wobbley. It didn't become my favorite, but I love several of his novels so it's hard to break into that top tier. I only have four left and I hope to read the rest over the next few years."

Only 4 left -- that's so impressive! Which are your favourites!

Wobbley wrote: "Only 4 left -- that's so impressive! Which are your favourites!

Bleak House and Dombey and Son, however it's been decades since I read David Copperfield and A Tale of Two Cities so I need to reread those to see what I think now. I plan to read A Tale of Two Cities next month with the group. I am so eager to read it since it was my first Dickens and my favorite novel when I was in high school.

I've never read Bleak House of Dombey and Son. I'll have to nudge them upward on my TBR!

Good luck with A Tale of Two Cities -- I hope it lives up to your memories of it. :)

Wow, you only have 9 of 25 left, Laurie! Congratulations.

Sue wrote: "Wow, you only have 9 of 25 left, Laurie! Congratulations."

Thanks, Sue.

Today I finished a book for O5 A Classic Book that Reminds You of Someone which is the only book for this challenge I will read that is not one I own. I was struggling to find something in my books that works for this square. But last weekend I visited my grandmother and I decided to read something that reminds me of her.

My grandmother will turn 105 years old in August. She was an avid reader for her entire life up to about 15 years ago when she could no longer read due to her eyesight and dementia. She still has dozens of books from her reading days in her house. Paperbacks of Louis L'Amour, Zane Grey, Janet Dailey, Debbie Macomber, and Mary Higgins Clark among others. I decided to read an author I've never read and one that was clearly a favorite due to the number of books she has. So I read Kona Winds by Janet Dailey. It was not at all my kind of book, but she enjoyed this author so I'm happy to have read it.

Laurie wrote: "Today I finished a book for O5 A Classic Book that Reminds You of Someone which is the only book for this challenge I will read that is not one I own. I was struggling to find something in my books..."

Oh, how nice! Whether you cared for the book or not, what a nice story and lovely tribute to your grandmother :)

Terris wrote: "Laurie wrote: "Today I finished a book for O5 A Classic Book that Reminds You of Someone which is the only book for this challenge I will read that is not one I own. I was struggling to find someth..."

Thanks, Terris.

Yeah, I too found that square tough to fill. Even though it wasn't your kind of book, there's something fulfilling about finding a literary connection to someone who is important to you. Also, well done being brave and trying something outside your comfort zone.

What a lovely story, Laurie! I’m glad you found a meaningful book to fill that spot.

Laurie wrote: "Today I finished a book for O5 A Classic Book that Reminds You of Someone which is the only book for this challenge I will read that is not one I own. I was struggling to find something in my books..."

How lovely, Laurie--thanks for sharing your experience. My father was also a Zane Grey and Louis L'Amour fan, and I have kept some of his books to read sometime, even though they aren't my kind either.

What a beautiful story, Laurie, and how fortunate to still have your Grandmother at 105! Your tastes might not be the same, but the love of reading was passed along.

Happy Birthday to your grandmother! Being surrounded by her favorite books is precious.

Thanks, everyone. It is special to still have my grandmother. She definitely passed on her love of reading to her three children and me and my sister. I also brought home a Louis L' Amour and Zane Grey book for a bingo classic western I'll need to fill again someday.

I have bingo blackout! I read The Razor's Edge for the last square of a book recommended by a group member. Bob has recommended it to me a couple of times, and I must say it is an interesting book. My goal was to use only books I owned at the beginning of the year, and I managed to read my own books for all squares except for one which I noted in comment 41.

Congratulations, Laurie!! What a feat to read books from your own book shelf for the whole Bingo challenge! That is great! Quite an accomplishment :)