BACK<<<to the CLASSICS discussion

Can you read 26 classic books (or short stories) to represent the alphabet using real place names - countries, cities, villages are all acceptable. The places may be in the title or in the text, so please identify where the place name occurs in the book.

For example, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame could represent F for France or P for Paris.

As in previous alphabet challenges, the “difficult” letters Q, X, Y, Z may be found anywhere in a place name in your book.

For each book, please state title, author, place name.

Template:

Places A-Z 2024 Challenge
1/1/24 - 31/12/24
1/26

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Start posting your plans when you are ready!

Another winner, Tr1sha! Many thanks ❤️



Wish You Were Here
Places A-Z 2024 Yearly Challenge







Holiday Makers

Irphen
Jazzy
Kathy
Lynn
Rosemarie
Tr1sha
Vicky
Vit

COMPLETED

Wish You Were Here
Places A-Z 2024 Challenge
1/1/24 - 31/12/24
26/26



🍦 A : Antarctica
Scott, Shackleton, and Amundsen: ambition and tragedy in the Antarctic (1977) - David Thomson 20/1/24 5☀️
🍦 B : Bialystok
The Underground Army: Fighters of the Bialystok Ghetto (1965) - Chaika Grossman 31/1/24 5☀️
🍦 C : Cuba
Our Man in Havana (1958) - Graham Greene 22/1/24 4☀️
🍦 D : Denmark
Pelle the Conqueror: Childhood (1910) - Martin Andersen Nexø 16/1/24 5☀️
🍦 E : Empty Quarter of the Arabian Peninsula
Arabian Sands (1959) - Wilfred Thesiger 22/1/24 5☀️
🍦 F : France
Inspector Cadaver (1943) - Georges Simenon 19/1/24 5☀️

🍦G : Germany
They Divided the Sky (1963) - Christa Wolf 5/24 5☀️
🍦 H : Hungary
The White Stag (1937) - Kate Seredy 18/1/24 5☀️
🍦 I : Italy
Julia, or the Italian Lover: A Tragedy; As It Is Acted at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane (1787) - Robert Jephson 8/1/24 4☀️
🍦 J : Japan
I Am a Cat: I (1910) - Natsume Sōseki 29/1/24 5☀️
🍦 K : Kassa (Košice), Hungary
The Rebels (1930) - Sándor Márai 28/2/24 4☀️

🍦 L : London
Richard III (1593) - William Shakespeare 14/2/24 5☀️
🍦 M : Melbourne
The Great Melbourne Cup Mystery (1933) - Arthur W. Upfield may 2024 5☀️
🍦 N : Network Television (CBS)
Kids Say the Darndest Things! (1959) - Art Linkletter may 2024 5☀️
🍦 O : Orkney
Assipattle and the Mester Stoorworm (Scottish Folk Tale) 14/2/24 5☀️
🍦 P : Pays de Caux
The Teeth of the Tiger (1920) - Maurice Leblanc 5/1/24 5☀️

🍦 Q : Queensland, Australia
Meet Me at Lennon's (2019) - Melanie Myers may 2024 4☀️
🍦 R : Russia
A Raw Youth (1875) - Fyodor Dostoevsky 24/1/24 5☀️
🍦 S : Sicily
Much Ado About Nothing (1598) - William Shakespeare May 2024 5☀️
🍦 T : Tokyo
Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again (1954) - Shigeru Kayama May 2024 5☀️
🍦 U : Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City
West Side Story (1957) - Arthur Laurents 2/1/24 5☀️

🍦 V : Verona, Italy
Romeo and Juliet (1597) - William Shakespeare 1/1/24 5☀️
🍦W : Warsaw
Nobody Leaves: Impressions of Poland (1962) - Ryszard Kapuściński 12/3/24 4☀️
🍦X : Xanadu
Kubla Khan (1816) - Samuel Taylor Coleridge 14/2/24 5☀️
🍦Y : Yorkshire Dales
All Creatures Great and Small (1972) - James Herriot 13/1/24 5☀️
🍦 Z : Zanzibar
Five Weeks in a Balloon (1863) - Jules Verne 29/1/24 5☀️

Thanks, Jazzy - wish I’d thought of that title!

🌴Wish You Were Here🌴
Places A-Z 2024 Challenge
1/1/24 - 31/12/24
15/26

🌴A Arras: Flight To Arras, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
🌴B Boise, Idaho: The Blacker the Berry..., Wallace Thurman, 3/15/24, 3*
🌴C California: Cannery Row, John Steinbeck, 3/13/24, 4*
🌴D Dorset: Under the Greenwood Tree, Thomas Hardy, 6/15/24, 4*
🌴E England: Green for Danger, Christianna Brand
F
G
H
🌴I Italy: The Enchanted April, Elizabeth von Arnim, 4/10/24, 5*
J
🌴K Kent: Calamity in Kent, John Rowland, 1/6/24, 4*
🌴L London: The Sign of the Four, Arthur Conan Doyle, 1/7/24, 3*
🌴M Mexico: The Pearl, John Steinbeck, 3/11/24, 5*
N
🌴O Oxford: The Lost Stradivarius, John Meade Falkner, 4/9/24, 4*
P
Q
🌴R Rome: The Seventh Sinner, Elizabeth Peters, 4/22/24, 3*
🌴S Scotland: The Quarry Wood, Nan Shepherd
T
🌴U Sweet Thursday, John Steinbeck, 6/23/24, 3*, United States
V
🌴W Welsh Borders: Impact of Evidence, Carol Carnac, 4/25/24, 4*
X
🌴Y Yukon: Love of Life, Jack London, 3/14/24, 3*
Z

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

What an interesting twist on the Alphabet Challenge

Places A-Z 2024 Challenge letters Q, X, Y, Z may be found anywhere in a place name in your book

1/1/24 - 31/12/24
/26

A Ashgrove, England - The Garden of Forking Paths by Jorge Luis Borges (1941) Jan 16, 2024 4* (voted in May 2024)
B Battersea, London, England - Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers (1923) September 13, 2024, 4*
C Catskill Mountains, New York State (upstate) - My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George (1959) Mar 9, 2024 5*
D Devon Coast, England - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (1939) May 9, 2024 3*
E England (Multiple locations) - The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (1868) 528 pages, Mar 16, 2024, 5*
F France - Two Friends by Guy de Maupassant (1883) August 31, 2024 5*
G Germany - Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (1960) September 14, 2024 5*
H
I Ireland - "Two Gallants" from Dubliners by James Joyce (1914) July 30, 2024 3*
J Jamaica Inn, Cornwall, England - Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier (1935), 302 pages
K Karori, a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand - Prelude by Katherine Mansfield (1920) July 28, 2024 3*
L Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers (1934) October 31, 2024 4*
M Michigan, United States Big Two-Hearted River by Ernest Hemingway (1925) November 8, 2024 4*
N New York (Irvington, New York) - The Eyes by Edith Wharton (1910) August 10, 2024 3*
O
P Paris - Sarrasine by Honoré de Balzac(1830) August 31, 2024 4*
Q Quebec - With the Night Mail: A Story of 2000 A.D. by Rudyard Kipling (1909) September 25, 2024 3*
R Russia - The Gentle Spirit by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1876) Feb 25, 2024 2*
S the South Pole - Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell Jr. (1938) May 4, 2024 4*
T
U The Ural Mountains - The Variable Man by Philip K. Dick (1953) September 2, 2024 4*
V
W Wales - The Doom of the Griffiths by Elizabeth Gaskell (1858) March 2, 2024 5*
X
Y Yorkshire, England - Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight (1940) Feb 4, 2023 5*
Z

A B C D E
F G H I J
K L M N O
P Q R S T
U V W X Y
Z

Wish You Were Here!
2024 Places Challenge
23/26

A: Australia - An Author Bites the Dust by Arthur W. Upfield ✅
B: Bohemia - Praga magica by Angelo Maria Ripellino✅
C: China -Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine by Jules Verne✅
D: Delphi - My Brother Michael by Mary Stewart ✅
E: England -These Names Make Clues by E.C.R. Lorac✅
F: Ferrara, Italy- La Scolastica: I Studenti Edizione Integrale by Ludovico Ariosto ✅
G: Germany - Die Günderode by Bettina von Arnim ✅
H: Hungary-The Good Master by Kate Seredy ✅
I: Italy-L'Innocente by Gabriele d'Annunzio ✅
J: Japan- Life for Sale by Yukio Mishima ✅
K: Kentucky- The Heart of the Hills by John Fox Jr.✅
L: London- The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard ✅
M: Munich-Erfolg by Lion Feuchtwanger✅
N: New York - Where There's a Will by Rex Stout ✅
O: Orr's Island - The Pearl of Orr's Island: A Story of the Coast of Maine by Harriet Beecher Stowe✅
P: Paris-Paris, Notes d'un Vaudois by Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz✅
Q: Écrits sur le Québec by Louis Hémon ✅
R: Russia-The Thaw by Ilya Ehrenburg ✅
S: Scotland-Le Rayon vert by Jules Verne✅
T: Travnik, Bosnia - Bosnian Chronicle by Ivo Andrić ✅
U: United States-Lady Betty Across the Water by C.N. Williamson
✅
V: Verona- The Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare✅
W: Wales- The Terror by Arthur Machen✅
X: Oxfordshire- Post After Post-Mortem by E.C.R. Lorac ✅
Y:Yukon- Smoke Bellewby Jack London✅
Z: New Zealand- Died in the Wool by Ngaio Marsh✅

C W I Y P
V M R S U X G
B F E L J A Z D
O H T K Q
N

Places A-Z 2024 Challenge
1/1/24 - 31/12/24
26/26 ✅ = finished

Finished challenge 10/25/24

✅A - Argentina - Heartbreak Tango by Manuel Puig (1969) 2/29/24
✅B - Buenos Aires - The Tunnel by Ernesto Sabato (1948)
✅C - Canada - Dance of the Happy Shades by Alice Munro (1968)
✅D - Dorset, county in England - The Woodlanders - Thomas Hardy (1887)
✅E - England - The Poisoned Chocolates Case by Anthony Berkeley (1929)
✅F - Fleet Street, London, England - Bats in the Belfry by E.C.R. Lorac (1937) 2/24/24
✅G - Gloucestershire - The Bell by Iris Murdoch (1958)
✅H - Hanborough, West Oxfordshire, England - Death in the Stocks - Georgette Heyer (1935)
✅I - India - The Coffee-House of Surat - Leo Tolstoy (1893) 3/16/24
✅J - Japan -Around the World in Eighty Days - Jules Verne (1897) 8/3/24
✅K - Kahjuraho - group of Hindu & Jain temples in India - The Scent of India - Pier Paolo Pasolini (1962)
✅L - London - Miss Mackenzie by Anthony Trollope (1865)
✅M - Manhattan - Selected Poems of Langston Hughes (1959)
✅N - Nuremberg - Linda Tressel by Anthony Trollope (1868) 2/16/24
✅O - Oxfordshire, UK - Post After Post-Mortem by E.C.R. Lorac (1936) 3/1/24
✅P - Paris - Letters of Two Brides - Honoré de Balzac
✅Q - Queensland - A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute (1950) 10/25/24
✅R - Rome - The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James (1881)
✅S - Scotland Yard - Cover Her Face by P.D. James (1962)
✅T - Tarnovo, Bulgaria - The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman (1971) 2/28/24
✅U - United States - The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau (1964) 5/25/24
✅V - The Merchant of Venice - William Shakespeare (1596) 3/31/24
✅W - Wales - The Murder of My Aunt - Richard Hull 4/2/24
✅X - Xanadu - Kubla Khan - Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1816) 5/23/24
✅Y - Yalta - The Lady with the Little Dog - Anton Chekhov
✅Z - Zanzibar - Death in Zanzibar - M.M. Kaye (1959) 8/1/24

I would like to join! ( Didn't manage to finish the other alphabet challenge ever but maybe this will be easier! :-) )

Places A-Z 2024 Challenge
1/1/24 - 31/12/24
0/26

A - Alaska The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and Other Stories by Jack London ( 1903 ) currently reading
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V - Valparaiso Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende ( 1998 ) currently reading
W
X
Y
Z

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Places A-Z 2024 Challenge
1/1/24 - 31/12/24
26/26

AAmadeusbyPeter Shaffer(Austria)✔6/1/24 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
BThe HeathenbyJack London(Bora Bora)✔7/2/24 ★ ★ ★ ★
CCannery RowbyJohn Steinbeck(California,US)✔12/1/24 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
DRosencrantz and Guildenstern Are DeadbyTom Stoppard(Denmark)✔16/1/24 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
EThe WardenbyAnthony Trollope(England)✔15/2/24★ ★ ★ ★ ★
FThe Whale ToothbyJack London(Fiji)✔6/2/24 ★ ★ ★ ★
GDoctor Fischer of Geneva or The Bomb PartybyGraham Greene(Geneva,Switzerland)✔15/1/24 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
H1920-1929QuicksandbyNella Larsen(Harlem,NYC)✔3/1/24 ★ ★ ★ ★
IRomeo and JulietbyWilliam Shakespeare✔23/3/24 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
JA High Wind in JamaicabyRichard Hughes✔9/1/24 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
KOut of AfricabyIsak Dinesen(Kenya)✔4/1/24 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
LThe Witness for the ProsecutionbyAgatha Christie(London)✔25/1/24 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
MThe Glass Menagerie: A BBC Radio 3 Full-Cast Production(Missouri state,US)✔19/1/24 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
NGhosts: Henrik IbsenbyHenrik Ibsen(Norway)✔4/1/24 ★ ★ ★ ★
O Slay RidebyDick Francis (Oslo)✔23/3/24 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
PUncle Tom's Cabin(Paint Lick,KY)byHarriet Beecher Stowe✔★ ★ ★ ★ ★
QTom Petrie's reminiscences of early Queensland (dating from 1837); recorded by his daughter. 1904 Leather Bound byConstance Campbell PetrieQueensland)✔15/6/24 ★ ★ ★ ★
RThe Roman Spring of Mrs. StonebyTennessee Williams✔12/2/24 ★ ★ ★ ★
SThe Sun Also RisesbyErnest Hemingway(Spain)✔5/2/24 ★ ★ ★ ★
TThe Snows of KilimanjarobyErnest Hemingway(Tanzania)✔26/1/24 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
USweet ThursdaybyJohn Steinbeck(USA)✔21/2/24 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
VIncident at VichybyArthur Miller✔3/1/24 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
WThe Pilgrims' Way: From Winchester to CanterburybyJulia Cartwright Ady(Winchester)9/6/24 ★ ★ ★ ★
X Kubla KhanbySamuel Taylor Coleridge(Xanadu)✔23/5/24 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
YTo Build a FirebyJack London(Yukon)✔7/1/24 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
ZThe Men of ZanzibarbyRichard Harding Davis✔23/5/24 ★ ★ ★ ★

✅Completed 26/6/2024-good Challenge!!!

Locations of January

B. ***** Brazil: Guimarães Rosa, João - The Third Bank of the River and Other Stories

E. ***** England: Fraser, Ronald - Flower Phantoms

F. ***** France: Du Gard, Roger Martin - The Thibaults

I. ***** Ireland: Wall, Mervyn - The Return of Fursey

K. ***** Kew Gardens: Fraser, Ronald - Flower Phantoms

L. ***** Lausanne: Du Gard, Roger Martin - La sorellina

M. ***** Maisons-Laffitte: Du Gard, Roger Martin - The Thibaults

P. ***** Paris: Du Gard, Roger Martin - The Thibaults

P. ***** Paris: Roth, Joseph - The Legend of the Holy Drinker

R. ***** Russia: Andreyev, Leonid - Sashka Jigouleff

S. ***** Switzerland: Du Gard, Roger Martin - La sorellina

Wow Vit, so many!!

Please remember to use each book once only! If you start by listing the alphabet, you need only one book for each letter so that should help you to complete the challenge more easily. You need only 26 books so choose carefully!

What Tr1sha said ;)

Jazzy wrote: "What Tr1sha said ;)"

Register me and I'll stop flouting the rules! xx







Holiday Makers

Irphen
Jazzy
Kathy
Lynn
Rosemarie
Tr1sha"

Vicky wrote: "Jazzy wrote: "What Tr1sha said ;)"

Register me and I'll stop flouting the rules! xx

Holiday Makers

Irphen
Jazzy
Kathy
Lynn
Rosemarie
Tr1sha""

You must have a guilty conscience, Vicky! My comment wasn’t aimed at you. If you read the whole comment it mentions listing the alphabet, which you did.

The “register” is incomplete. Remember Jazzy has been ill, so some tasks were not completed as usual. I did everything I could, but don’t know how to produce the correct links which Jazzy always does. We are doing our best, but sometimes mistakes happen. Please don’t take it personally.

Vicky wrote: "Jazzy wrote: "What Tr1sha said ;)"

Register me and I'll stop flouting the rules! xx


Sorry Vicky, I haven't been very well and didn't keep up with the new players i'm adding you and Vit now!


If i've left someone off the list please let me know and i'll fix it when i can, thanks xx

And Vicky you've done so very well already!

Tr1sha wrote: "Vicky wrote: "Jazzy wrote: "What Tr1sha said ;)"

Register me and I'll stop flouting the rules! xx

Holiday Makers

Irphen
Jazzy
Kathy
Lynn
Rosemarie
Tr1sha""

You must have a guilty conscience, Vi..."

Jazzy wrote: "And Vicky you've done so very well already!"

Sorry guys-it was only a joke, hence "xx"-actually I've broken up the contents of a well known book of Jack London's stories called "South Sea Tales" as these can stand alone and they visit several different places-I thought you had 'found me out!' Get well soon,Jazzy!xxxx

Vicky, classic short stories are often published individually or in various sets so it’s up to you how you want to use them here. (Be careful in other groups, some only allow them when allocated an ISBN or with a minimum number of pages.)

No worries, but as Tr1sha says we're pretty easy-going here. No amount of page numbers required, and you only have to read a book to meet your challenge!

Places visited in February
L. London: Shiel, M. P - Shapes in the Fire
M. Montevideo: Onetti, Juan Carlos - The Pit
M. Mexico City: Fuentes, Carlos - Where the Air Is Clear
N. New York: Sheckley, Robert - Untouched by Human Hands
P. Paris: Poplavsky, Boris - Homeward from Heaven
S. Schwangau: Shiel, M. P - Shapes in the Fire
S. Saint-Tropez: Poplavsky, Boris - Homeward from Heaven
U. Uruguay: Onetti, Juan Carlos - The Pit

Places I visited in March:

***** A. Capote, Truman: The Grass Harp - Alabama
***** C. Andrzejewski, Jerzy: The Gates of Paradise - Cloyes-sur-le-Loir
***** D. Blackwood, Algernon: The Willows - Danube River
***** N. Mansfield, Katherine: The Garden Party - New Zealand
***** P. Urzidil, Johannes: The Last Bell - Prague
***** S. Aldanov, Mark: The Key - Saint Petersburg

I'm going to try -

Jan-Dec 2024

Completed 19/26

✔️A: Austria - The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick 4/24
✔️B: Barcelona - Blue of Noon 1/24
✔️C: Constantinople (Istanbul) - Orlando 3/24
✔️D: Dorset, England - Tess of the D’Urbervilles 3/24
✔️E: England - The Return of the Soldier 8/24/24
✔️F: France - Hell 8/24
✔️G: Gulf of Mexico - The Old Man and the Sea 2/24
❌H Harlem, NYC - Quicksand
✔️I: Kraighten, Ireland - The House on the Borderland 2/24
✔️J: Japan - Silk 1/24
✔️K: Karaganda, Khazakstan - One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich 3/24
✔️L: London - Thomas Of Reading 4/24
✔️M: Manchester, England - Mary Barton 1/24
✔️N: New York - The Last of the Mohicans 3/24
❌O
✔️P: Paris - Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris 4/24
❌Q Queensland - A Town Like Alice
✔️R: Russia - Fathers and Sons 6/24
✔️S: Scotland - The 39 Steps 8/24
❌T
❌U
✔️V: Vienna - None but the Brave 4/24
✔️W: Wicomico, Maryland - The End of the Road
❌X
✔️Y: Yonville (Ry), France - Madame Bovary 1/24
❌Z

Happy travels on your challenge, Elspeth.

Places visited in April:
Italy, Russia, Sarajevo, Belgrade, France
🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 Morante, Elsa: Lies and Sorcery
🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 Calvino, Italo: The Baron in the Trees
🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 Teffi, Nadezhda: Other Worlds: Peasants, Pilgrims, Spirits, Saints
🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 Arnim, Elizabeth von: The Enchanted April
🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 Andrić, Ivo: The Woman from Sarajevo
🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 Robbe-Grillet, Alain: In the Labyrinth

Places frequented in May…
The Story of My Life is like a map of places the orphan boy was wandering through…
Zhitomir
Kiev
Odessa
Rostov-on-Don
Vilna
Yalta
Moscow
🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 Алексей Свирский - История моей жизни 1935

Everyone's doing so well. Vit it might make it easier to see what you've read if you have an A-Z list x

I finished the challenge! It was fun.

Rosemarie wrote: "I finished the challenge! It was fun."

Congratulations. That is quite a feat.

Thanks, Lynn!

All those books above…
Only the letter X was missing so I has read Kubla Khan…
“In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Samuel Taylor Coleridge - Kubla Khan 1816