Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

Taste Testing, Rather Than Gorging
It doesn't matter if I finish any challenges this year, although I am sure I will finish several. I noticed that many members feel challenges restrict them from impulse reading. I am trying to combat that feeling. I have used a total of 89 titles to complete my planning. Sixty-eight of these books I own either physical paper ink or electronic. I have set these books along with a printout of my electronic choices in a separate area. It is my hope that as I need something to read, I will look through the collection and "impulsively" pick the one that most appeals to me at that given time. No thought will be given to any challenge it may work for. I'll handle that after reading it.

Note: In message #20, I have created a master list of all 89 books used, not counting the seven used in the Millennium challenge.

✔️= Challenges Completed

Challenge #1 - New & Old TBR
✔️Challenge #2 - Members Choice - Completed in February
✔️Challenge #3 - New Authors - Completed in February
✔️Challenge #4 - Short Story - Completed in February
✔️Challenge #5 - 10-Decade/10-Century/3/10-Millennium - Completed in April & June
✔️Challenge #6 - Group, Buddy & Moderators Run Amok Reads - Completed in May
✔️Challenge #7 - Series Books – Start, Continue, Complete - Completed in March
✔️Challenge #8 - Travel the World One Continent at a Time -Completed in June
✔️Challenge #9 – Rereading Some do Some don't - Completed in February
✔️Challenge #10 - Most Popular Goodreads Books Listed by Year - Completed in January
Challenge #11 - Future Classics
Challenge #12 - Fiction/Non-Fiction
Challenge #13 - Old and New Linked Categories
Challenge #14 - Bestselling Novels in the United States
✔️Challenge #15 - Award Winners - Completed in January
✔️Challenge #16 - A-Z Title - Completed in June
Challenge #17 - A-Z Author

Challenge #1 - Old & New TBR Challenge
✔️= Read

My Crustiest, Mustiest, Dustiest TBR Clean-up Challenge, all are physically on my shelf/reader

1914 and earlier
✔️1. Doctor Thorne - 1858
✔️2. Lord Jim - 1900
✔️3. Sons and Lovers - 1913
1915-2005
4.Ulysses - 1922 DNF
✔️5. The Death of Grass - 1956
✔️6. Blindness - 1995
Six Bookshelf Dust Collectors
✔️7. Something Wicked This Way Comes - 1962
✔️8. The Boys from Brazil - 1976
✔️9. Montana 1948 - 1993
✔️10. The Constant Gardener - 2001
11. Home - 2008
✔️12. The Martian - 2011
Alternates
✔️A-1. Red Planet - 1949
A-2. The Chosen - 1966
A-3. Lucifer's Hammer - 1977

Challenge #2 - Members Choice Challenge COMPLETED
Choose one book per category/genre for a total of 9 books.

1. 19th Century or Older - The Time Machine
2. 20th Century - Roman Fever and Other Stories
3. 21st Century - Memorial Day
4. Nonfiction - Endurance: An Epic of Polar Adventure
5. An Author never read before - Larry Watson
6. Diversity, read a book from a religion, culture, country, or race different than yours - James
7. Members Choice Genre - Science Fiction/Dystopia The Death of Grass
8. Members Choice Genre - Literary Fiction/Historical Fiction Gilead
9. Members Choice Genre - Fiction/Mystery Lonely Road

Challenge #3 - Expand Your Horizon with New Authors COMPLETED

Seek out at least six (6) authors that you have never previously read, from any genre or era you want.

1. Frank A. Worsley - Endurance: An Epic of Polar Adventure
2. John Christopher - The Death of Grass
3. Giovanni Papini - The Sick Gentleman's Last Visit
4. Percival Everett - James
5. Larry Watson - Montana 1948
6. Ira Levin - The Boys from Brazil

Additional New Authors
7. William Hope Hodgson - The Voice in the Night
8. Conrad Aiken - Silent Snow, Secret Snow
9. George Hitchcock - An Invitation to the Hunt
10. Grace Amundson - The Child Who Believed
11. Andrew Benedict - Wall-to-Wall Grave, The
12. Kristin Hannah - The Women
---------
13. Poul Anderson - Call Me Joe
14. John Collier - Witch's Money
15. Walter D. Edmonds - Drums Along the Mohawk
16. Clare Pooley - The Authenticity Project
17. John Le Carré - The Constant Gardener
18. Joan Lindsay - Picnic at Hanging Rock
--------------------
19. C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
20. Ashley Elston - First Lie Wins
21. Mark Bowden - Huế 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam

Challenge #4 - Short Story Challenge COMPLETED
Read 18 short stories. The majority of these will probably be Impulse Reads. Many times, I just pick up a short story collection and read a few I find interesting.

Collections
Piper in the Woods: A Collection of Science Fiction - 11 Total Stories - Finished 11/11
*The Last Word and Other Stories - 12 Total Stories - Finished 12/12
Pale Horse, Pale Rider - 3 Novellas - Finished 3/3
*The Illustrated Man - 18 Total Stories - Finished 18/18
*The Stories of John Cheever 61 Total Stories - Finished 61/61
*Roman Fever and Other Stories - 8 Total Stories - Finished 8/8

Individual
1. Bliss
2. The Sick Gentleman's Last Visit
3. The Seagull
4. The Queen of Spades
5. Of Mice and Men
6. The Story of a Panic
7. A Lost Opportunity
8. The Voice in the Night
9. The Francis Spaight
10. Silent Snow, Secret Snow
11. The Dream
12. An Invitation to the Hunt
13. The Summer People
14. The Lottery in Babylon
15. The Child Who Believed
16. Wall-to-Wall Grave, The
17. The Machine Stops
18. Call Me Joe
19. Witch's Money
20. Death of a Traveling Salesman by Eudora Welty
https://blogs.longwood.edu/biringeran...
21. Mimsy Were The Borogoves
22. Oh Captain! My Captain!
23. Winter Dreams
24. The Hanging Stranger
25. Tony and the Beetles

-------------
Total Short Stories-YTD - 138

Challenge #5 - Decade/Century/Millennium Challenge COMPLETED

Only one version of the challenge is required.
* Books I Own
✔️= Read

My Decade Challenge the 1930's
✔️1930 - *As I Lay Dying
✔️1931 - *Endurance: An Epic of Polar Adventure
✔️1932 - *Lonely Road
✔️1933 - *God's Little Acre
✔️1934 - *Roman Fever and Other Stories
✔️1935 - *Death in the Clouds
✔️1936 - *Drums Along the Mohawk
✔️1937 - *Of Mice and Men
✔️1938 - *Ruined City
✔️1939 - Pale Horse, Pale Rider

Unused Decade Choices - *The Loving Spirit or Footsteps in the Dark or *To Have and Have Not or Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day or Scoop or Nausea *Narcissus and Goldmund or Vile Bodies or A Traveler in Time or *Tropic of Capricorn

Century Challenge - 1930-2024
✔️1900-1910 - 1900 - *Lord Jim
✔️1910-1919 - 1913 - *Sons and Lovers
1920-1929 - 1922 - *If Winter Comes
-----------
✔️1930-1939 - 1931 - *Endurance: An Epic of Polar Adventure
✔️1940-1949 - 1949 - *Red Planet
✔️1950-1959 - 1956 - *The Death of Grass
✔️1960-1969 - 1962 - *Something Wicked This Way Comes
✔️1970-1979 - 1972 - Augustus
✔️1980-1989 - 1986 - *A Matter of Honor
✔️1990-1999 - 1993 - *Montana 1948
✔️2000-2009 - 2004 - *Memorial Day
✔️2010-2019 - 2011 - *The Martian
✔️2020-Present - 2024 - James

Unused Century Choices - 1992 - *The Memory of Earth or 1995 - *Blindness or 1997 - *Timequake2000 - *Gertrude and Claudius or 2001 -*American Gods or 2007 - *The Persimmon Tree, 2022 -*Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow 1962 - *Ship of Fools or 1966 -*The Chosen 1946 - *All the King's Men or 1947 - *Tales of the South Pacific 1980 - *The Key to Rebecca or 1988 - *Cat’s Eye

The Millennium Challenge:
✔️21st Century - 2024 - James
✔️20th Century - 1956 - The Death of Grass
✔️19th Century - 1895 - The Time Machine
18th Century - 1759 - The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia
17th Century - 1605 - Don Quixote
16th Century - 1593 - The Taming of the Shrew
15th Century - 1438 - The Book of Margery Kempe by Margery Kempe
14th Century - 1383 - The Parliament of Birds by Geoffrey Chaucer
13th Century - 1298 - The Travels by Marco Polo
12th Century - 1150 - The Life of Merlin by Geoffrey of Monmouth

Challenge #6 - Group Reads, Buddy Reads, or Moderators Run Amok COMPLETED
The challenge is to read 12 total books/stories from this year's selected group reads. Your reads can come from this year's poll winners, the Buddy Read Requests, or the new Moderators Run Amok! There should be plenty of choices.

1. Augustus - Moderators Run Amok
2. The Angel at the Grave - January Short Story/Novella
3. The Seagull - February Short Story/Novella
4. The Queen of Spades - March Short Story/Novella
5. A Lost Opportunity - April Short Story/Novella
6. The Stories of John Cheever - Buddy Read
7. The Magician - March Old School
8. The Illustrated Man - Buddy Read
9. The Machine Stops - May Short Story/Novella, 2nd Reread
10. Call Me Joe - Moderators Run Amok
11. Death in Venice - May Old School
12. Mimsy Were The Borogoves - Moderators Run Amok
Bonus Group Read in 2025
13.

Planning
Nicholas Nickleby - 2nd Qtr. Long Read by year end??

Challenge #7- Series Books – Start, Continue, Complete COMPLETED

Each member is to decide what they wish to accomplish. For challenge purposes, read at least two books.

✔️= Read/Completed
*Books I Own

New Series-
Home Coming Saga - Been thinking about this one for several years, May be it's time.
by Orson Scott Card
*The Memory of Earth #1
*The Call of Earth #2

The Chronicles of Narnia
Chronological Order
by C.S. Lewis
✔️The Magician’s Nephew #1
✔️The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe #2
✔️The Horse and His Boy #3
Prince Caspian #4
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader #5
The Silver Chair #6
The Last Battle #7

Will Robie Series
by David Baldacci
✔️The Innocent #1
✔️The Hit #2
✔️The Target #3
✔️The Guilty #4
✔️End Game #5
Started and Completed in 2025

Continue a Series-
Gilead Series
by Marilynne Robinson
*Home - #2

Mitch Rapp Series
by Vince Flynn
✔️Memorial Day - #7
✔️Consent to Kill - #8
✔️Act of Treason - #9
✔️Protect and Defend - #10

Chronicles of Barsetshire
by Anthony Trollope
✔️*Doctor Thorne - #3

Anna Pigeon Series
by Nevada Barr
*Burn - #16

Finish a Series
No finishing any this year

Challenge #8 - Travel the World One Continent at a Time COMPLETED

Select a book or an author from each of the seven world continents, *Antarctica is optional, and can be substituted for a country specific book. I understand that most around the world challenges are much longer in both time and number of books required. Our challenges run from January 1-December 31. So, this seems more doable.

Africa - *The Constant Gardener
Asia - The Women
Australia - Picnic at Hanging Rock
Europe - *Lonely Road
North America - *Of Mice and Men
South America - *The Boys from Brazil
Antarctica - *Endurance: An Epic of Polar Adventure

Possibilities
*Books I Own

*Cutting for Stone

Challenge #9 - Rereading - Some do Some don't COMPLETED

Some of us reread regularly, others reread rarely if ever. We have all read books that we found fantastic. We finish the last page, set it aside and think someday I would like to read this again. Let us know the titles of five or more books you found worthy of rereading. This year’s challenge is, reread two of your reread selections.

Books I'd Love to Reread
1. *Gilead reread in preparation for reading *Home
2. *Watership Down
3. *The Time Machine
4. *Peyton Place
5. *Of Mice and Men
6.
*Books I Own

Read Again in 2025
1. *Gilead
2. *The Time Machine
Additional Rereads for 2025
3. Of Mice and Men
4. The Machine Stops - 2nd Reread

Challenge #10 – Most Popular Goodreads Books Listed by Year COMPLETED
Locate and list 10 books that most interest you from the year of your choice. The challenge is to read 3 books from that list.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/popula...

NOTE: click on the link above then change the date to the date you wish to search.

10 Books of Interest for 1956
1. *Train to Pakistan
2. *The Death of Grass
3. The Chronicles of Narnia 1-7
4. *The Seeds of Time
5. *Seize the Day
6. The City and the Stars
7. *Double Star
8. *Miracles on Maple Hill
9. *The Witchcraft of Salem Village
10. *Dead Man's Folly
11. Diamonds Are Forever
12. *The Minority Report

*Books I Own

2025 Books Read
1. *The Death of Grass
2. *The Witchcraft of Salem Village
3. *Double Star
Other 1956 Books Read in 2025

Challenge #11 - Future Classics
A Quarter of the 21st Century has passed; did you read any potential classics? For discussion, and the benefit and curiosity of our members please list 5 books you have read over the last 25 years that you believe will still be actively read in 50-100+ years.

These Five Were Great, I Believe They Will Stand the Test of Time
2003 - The Kite Runner
2006 - The Road
2011 - 11/22/63
2016 - A Gentleman in Moscow
2021 - The Lost Apothecary

The Future Classic Challenge - List 3 unread books published between 2000-2024 that you feel have the potential to become a classic. The challenge, read 1 of your 3 selections. Then let us know if you think it has a chance at greatness, or will it pass into oblivion.

These Might have a Chance at Greatness?
1. *2001 - American Gods Goodreads rating 4.11, 959,000+
2. *2009 - Cutting for Stone Goodreads rating 4.32, 403,000+
3. *2012 - A Man Called Ove Goodreads rating 4.38, 1,095,000+
*Books I Own
In addition to my already owning these and their decent Goodreads ratings my Goodread friends rated books 2 & 3 with lots of five stars. My friends were not as generous with book 1.


Book Chosen
_____________________

Challenge #12– Fiction/Non-Fiction
Pick three subjects of interest and read a fiction book and a non-fiction book about that subject. Total number of books for this challenge is six.

✔️= Read

Survival
✔️Fiction - *The Martian
✔️Non-Fiction - *Endurance: An Epic of Polar Adventure

World War II - Europe: The Beginning of the End
Fiction - *The Steel Wave
Non-Fiction - *Normandy '44: D-Day and the Epic 77-Day Battle for France

Vietnam War
✔️Fiction - The Women
✔️Non-Fiction - *Huế 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam

War at Sea
Fiction - *Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
Non-Fiction - *World War II at Sea: A Global History

Challenge #13 - Old and New Linked Categories
Pick three subjects of interest. Link the chosen subjects to an old book 1914 or earlier to a newer book 1915 -present. Total number of books for this challenge is six.

✔️= Read

Life Changing Action
✔️Old - Lord Jim
✔️New - Of Mice and Men

Generation Gap-Mother vs. Children
✔️Old - Sons and Lovers
New - Peyton Place

Time Travel
✔️Old - The Time Machine
✔️New - Timequake

Challenge #14 - Publishers Weekly lists of Bestselling Novels in the United States

The below link provides a list of bestsellers from 1895-2023. Pick 10 years of interest. List the bestseller for each year selected. If you have read it, list the 2nd bestseller and so on. Ideas for picking years: birth years for family and friends, memorable events graduations, anniversaries, etc. or historic events.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publish....

NOTE: click on the link above then Look for the blueish info bar, just under it you will find a list of decades from 1890-2020. Click the decade needed and search individual years.

✔️= Read
1899 - David Harum: A Story of American Life
1902 - Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
1917 - Mr. Britling Sees it Through
1922 - *If Winter Comes
1930 - Cimarron
1940 - How Green Was My Valley
1956 - Don't Go Near the Water
1962 - *Ship of Fools
1966 - Valley of the Dolls
1972 & 73 - Johnathan Livingston Seagull
1975 - Ragtime
*Books I Own

The Bestseller Challenge from your list of 10 books pick two. One from a genre outside your comfort zone. You may surprise yourself and like it. If it ends as DNF no problem at least you tried. Book two should be a book you think has a chance at 4 or 5 stars.

Books Chosen
1. *Ship of Fools, I tried this a few years ago and it died on the DNF pile. I feel I might have misjudged it, so I will try again.
2.

Challenge #15 - Award Winners COMPLETED
Using book prize lists, or a prize from your country or local region, seek out and read two award winning books. Please let the group know what prize list or lists you use, as well as the book information.

Possibilities
✔️= Chosen and Read

✔️*Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein, 1956 Hugo Award
*All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren, 1947 Pulitzer Prize
*Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener, 1948 Pulitzer Prize
*Rabbit Is Rich by John Updike, 1982 Pulitzer Prize
✔️*Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
*American Pastoral by Philip Roth, 1998 Pulitzer Prize
✔️*The Stories of John Cheever, 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
*The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson, 2013 Pulitzer Prize
*The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, 2014 Pulitzer Prize
*To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway, 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature
✔️*Blindness by José Saramago, 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature
*The World According to Garp by John Irving. 1980 National Book Award
*Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen, 1957 Newberry Medal
✔️Augustus by John Williams National Book Award for Fiction 1973
*Books I Own

Books Chosen
1. Augustus by John Williams National Book Award for Fiction 1973
2. *Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Additional Award Winners Read in 2025
*Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein, 1956 Hugo Award
*The Stories of John Cheever, 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
*Blindness by José Saramago, 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature

Challenge #16 - A-Z Title Challenge COMPLETED
For those of us who struggle, with this challenge consider it successful by using only 23 letters. There are 4 optional letters marked with an (*), you only need to use one.

My Second Completion Ever. Without (10) Short Story Titles I Would Not Have Complete This Challenge

A Augustus
B The Boys from Brazil
C Consent to Kill
D The Death of Grass
E Endurance: An Epic of Polar Adventure
F The Francis Spaight
G Gilead
H The Highway
I The Innocent
J James
K Kaleidoscope: Short Story by Ray Bradbury
L Lonely Road
M Montana 1948
N The News in English
O Of Mice and Men
P Pale Horse, Pale Rider
*Q The Queen of Spades
R Roman Fever and Other Stories
S The Sick Gentleman's Last Visit
T The Time Machine
U Ubik
V The Voice in the Night
W The Witchcraft of Salem Village
*X Xingu
*Y O Youth and Beauty
*Z Zero Hour

Challenge #17 - A-Z Author Challenge
For those of us who struggle, with this challenge consider it successful by using only 23 letters. There are 4 optional letters marked with an (*), you only need to use one.

A Conrad Aiken
B Ray Bradbury
C John Christopher
D Philip K. Dick
E Percival Everett
F Vince Flynn
G Graham Greene
H Robert A. Heinlein
I
J Shirley Jackson
K
L Ira Levin
M Katherine Mansfield
N
O O. Henry
P Giovanni Papini
*Q
R Marilynne Robinson
S Nevil Shute
T Leo Tolstoy
U
V Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
W Frank A. Worsley
*X
*Y
*Z

Impulse or Books Read in 2025 Not One of the 89 Used in Planning Challenges

Unplanned in December 2024 - Impulse/Group Picks/Book Club Picks Reading Selected in 2025

✔️= Read

Short Stories - With the exception of Pale Horse, Pale Rider, Roman Fever, and Angel at the Grave planned in December.
All the below short stories were found and read this year, true impulse reading.

✔️The Seagull - February Short Story/Novella
✔️Bliss
✔️The Sick Gentleman's Last Visit
✔️The Queen of Spades - March Short Story/Novella
✔️*The Stories of John Cheever 61 Total Stories
✔️The Story of a Panic
✔️A Lost Opportunity - April Short Story/Novella
✔️The Francis Spaight
✔️ The Voice in the Night
✔️Silent Snow, Secret Snow
✔️The Dream
✔️An Invitation to the Hunt
✔️The Summer People
✔️The Lottery in Babylon
✔️The Child Who Believed
✔️Wall-to-Wall Grave, The
✔️Call Me Joe - Moderators Run Amok
✔️The Machine Stops - May Short Story/Novella, 2nd Reread
✔️Witch's Money
✔️Death of a Traveling Salesman by Eudora Welty
https://blogs.longwood.edu/biringeran...
✔️Mimsy Were The Borogoves - Moderators Run Amok
✔️Oh Captain! My Captain!
✔️*The Last Word and Other Stories - 12 Total Stories
✔️Winter Dreams
✔️Piper in the Woods: A Collection of Science Fiction - 11 Total Stories
✔️The Hanging Stranger


Novels - Planned and decided on in 2025
✔️^James
✔️*Memorial Day - Series Books
✔️The Magician - March Old School
A Dangerous Fortune
✔️^The Women - Fiction/Nonfiction
Nicholas Nickleby - 2nd Qtr. Long Read by year end??
✔️Consent to Kill - Series Books
✔️Death in Venice - May Old School
✔️^The Authenticity Project
✔️Act of Treason - Series Books
✔️Picnic at Hanging Rock - Travel
✔️Protect and Defend - Series Books
✔️The Innocent - Series Books
✔️The Hit - Series Books
✔️The Target - Series Books
✔️Ubik - A-Z
✔️Huế 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam - Fiction/Nonfiction
✔️^First Lie Wins
The Poet

^Marian's Book Club Reads

Master Challenge Book List
This is a list of all the books I have selected for my Buffet Challenge. The seven books listed for the Millennium Challenge are not listed.

✔️= Read/Completed
27/68 Owned
2/21 Not Owned
1 - DNF

68 Owned Books both physical and electronic
A Man Called Ove
✔️A Matter of Honor
✔️As I Lay Dying
All the King's Men
American Gods
American Pastoral
✔️Blindness
Burn
Cat’s Eye
Cutting for Stone
Dead Man's Folly
✔️Death in the Clouds
✔️Doctor Thorne
✔️Double Star
✔️Drums Along the Mohawk
✔️Endurance: An Epic of Polar Adventure
Gertrude and Claudius
✔️Gilead
✔️God's Little Acre
Home
If Winter Comes
✔️Lonely Road
✔️Lord Jim
Lucifer's Hammer
Mayor of Casterbridge
Miracles on Maple Hill
✔️Montana 1948
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
Narcissus and Goldmund
Normandy '44: D-Day and the Epic 77-Day Battle for France
✔️Of Mice and Men
Peyton Place
Rabbit Is Rich
✔️Red Planet
✔️Roman Fever and Other Stories
✔️Ruined City
Seize the Day
Ship of Fools
✔️Something Wicked This Way Comes
✔️Sons and Lovers
Tales of the South Pacific
✔️The Boys from Brazil
The Call of Earth
The Chosen
✔️The Constant Gardener
✔️The Death of Grass
The Goldfinch
✔️The Illustrated Man
The Key to Rebecca
The Loving Spirit
✔️The Martian
The Memory of Earth
The Minority Report
The Orphan Master's Son
The Persimmon Tree
The Seeds of Time
The Steel Wave
✔️The Time Machine
✔️The Witchcraft of Salem Village
The World According to Garp
✔️Timequake
To Have and Have Not
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Train to Pakistan
Tropic of Capricorn
Ulysses DNF
Watership Down
World War II at Sea: A Global History

21 Books Not Owned
A Traveler in Time
✔️Augustus
Cimarron
David Harum: A Story of American Life
Diamonds Are Forever
Don't Go Near the Water
Footsteps in the Dark
How Green Was My Valley
Johnathan Livingston Seagull
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Mr. Britling Sees it Through
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
Nausea
✔️Pale Horse, Pale Rider
Ragtime
Scoop
Sunset Song
The Chronicles of Narnia 1-7
✔️The Magician’s Nephew #1 - Series Books
✔️The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe #2 - Series Books
✔️The Horse and His Boy #3 - Series Books
Prince Caspian #4 - Series Books
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader #5 - Series Books
The Silver Chair #6 - Series Books
The Last Battle #7 - Series Books
The City and the Stars
Valley of the Dolls
Vile Bodies

Have fun with your planning Bob. Thanks so much for setting up the Buffet Challenges every year!

Wobbley wrote: "Have fun with your planning Bob. Thanks so much for setting up the Buffet Challenges every year!"

Agree, thank you! I get pretty jacked for Thanksgiving knowing the challenges are soon to be afoot.

Whoa, that's quite the planning! I remember liking Of mice and men, Peyton place, and Miss Pettigrew lives for a day. All the best.

You have some great planning going here, Bob. I've just had some fun checking out some of your choices I haven't heard of. I particularly love your Millennium challenge--such adventures!

But Ulysses? On your Old and New? Now that's daring. You should get some kind of award for that choice! :-)

LOL. I was going to say exactly what Kathleen said about Ulysses. Remind me when you are finished to give you a reward!

I hope you have better luck with Ship of Fools than I did. I tried twice and DNF'd for good. On the other hand, I predict your second option for 1969, The Chosen, will be a favorite.

You have so many good books listed, Bob! I agree with Sara, you definitely need to read The Chosen, and two others that I saw a couple of places on your lists that I highly recommend to you are: Blindness and All the King's Men. I think you'll enjoy those!

Enjoy your 2025 Buffet challenges! Your brain is definitely going to be full if you finish all those ;)

Wobbley wrote: "Have fun with your planning Bob. Thanks so much for setting up the Buffet Challenges every year!"

Jeri wrote: "Wobbley wrote: "Have fun with your planning Bob. Thanks so much for setting up the Buffet Challenges every year!"

Agree, thank you! I get pretty jacked for Thanksgiving knowing the challenges are ..."

Matt wrote: "Good luck on your challenge buffet Bob, and thanks again for the work of putting then challenges together. Your planning has me wanting to add the future classics challenge."

Ila wrote: "Whoa, that's quite the planning! I remember liking Of mice and men, Peyton place, and Miss Pettigrew lives for a day. All the best."

Thanks, you all for your comment's encouragement. Planning is particularly fun, and I have just now finished. The next best part is now starting, checking out other challenges. I really like seeing what others are doing.

Ila, I agree, Of Mice and Men and Peyton Place are very good and I may reread them both. However, Miss Pettigrew still lives in my future. I appreciate your recommendation.

Kathleen wrote: "You have some great planning going here, Bob. I've just had some fun checking out some of your choices I haven't heard of. I particularly love your Millennium challenge--such adventures!

But [book..."

Kathleen, I think I did OK with my planning. Two-thirds of my choices are in my possession. Which makes this whole challenge a huge TBR reducer

Ulysses, what can I say. It has been the monster under my bed for years. This is the year I slay or I'm slayed, either way it is off my TBR this year forever.

Sara wrote: "LOL. I was going to say exactly what Kathleen said about Ulysses. Remind me when you are finished to give you a reward!

I hope you have better luck with Ship of Fools than I did. I t..."

Sara, I feel compelled to give Ship of Fools another go. You tried it twice and dumped it into the well. doesn't make feel as enthusiastic as I did when planning. I will still give it another chance, but I won't stick with it if it proves as bad as my first try. Between you and Terris, The Chosen will move to an early read next year. Thanks!!

Terris wrote: "You have so many good books listed, Bob! I agree with Sara, you definitely need to read The Chosen, and two others that I saw a couple of places on your lists that I highly recommend ..."

Terris, I put Blindness on my '24 Old and New and never started it. I don't know why I shied away. I think it will be really good, and your recommendation helps. Thanks, also for the recommendation for All the Kings Men, another that has sat on my shelf for years

My planning is done!! If you go to the top and scan down, I feel pretty good about it, especially my master list, message 19. Challenges 2, 3, 4, and 6 are not pre-planned but will self-fill as the year progresses. In fact, I won't be surprised it one of these finishes before a fully planned challenge. I also find it curious that after using 88 books in my planning I don't think I can cover the continent Australia challenge #8. The A-Z's don't cover either.

I may tweak my Old and New before the 31st, but I doubt it, I am content.

You've done a great job with your planning, Bob! A few of us are doing a buddy read of The Illustrated Man in April, in case you're interested. And I hope you love Timequake as much as I did -- it was pretty easily my top read in 2024 (though I'm not sure it's for everyone).

Nice job. I like how you have a list or inventory of books to choose from. I try to do that too, then add in Group reads and other things that catch my eye. Looks good.

Bob, you inspire me to add a symbol for books I own for my challenges. However, since filling out my challenges, alas — I have ordered and received more! So I don’t think I can honestly mark those, at least not for this challenge!

I know there are examples given in the outline thread for the buffet challenges, but it just makes it that much clearer seeing it put into action. (like the series one I had either forgotten the instructions or didn't realize it was to read two of each new, continued, and completed. Makes it way less intimidating. haha! (i don't know. i often tend to make things more complicated than they need to be)
I also like and want to create the masterlist, although I didn't save a post to do so. Maybe I can add it to my intro post. I did make one on my computer though, at least.

Thanks again for these fun challenges, and all the best with your own!

Bob wrote: ".. I also find it curious that after using 88 books in my planning I don't think I can cover the continent Australia challenge #8. The A-Z's don't cover either"

I think you will have Australia covered if you read Tales of the South Pacific. GR shows that the setting includes the Solomon Islands and Norfolk Island which are both part of the Australian continent. The continent includes quite a few islands in the South Pacific.

I read Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage this year for Antarctica and it was so good. I hope you enjoy it.

Bob wrote: "I have used a total of 88 titles to complete my planning. It is my hope that as I need something to read, I will look through the collection and "impulsively" pick the one that most appeals to me at that given time. No thought will be given to any challenge it may work for, I'll handle that after reading it."

What an awesome plan, Bob... and perfect for those of us who also want to do more impulse reading this year. Thank you for sharing your 2025 strategy! Happy stress-free reading in the new year!

I'm sorry, but I have to pipe in on your (Bob)'s and Sara's conversation about Ship of Fools because it made me laugh. When I was a teenager, my mother would drop me off at the library, and I would check out whatever books I wanted (my parents were obviously trusting of my judgment - LOL). Anyway, I remember reading this when I was 14 or 15, and I remember loving it, and it sticking with me for a long time. Now I wonder what it was about and what audience this book was written for, if I enjoyed it so much! 🧐

Thank you for all you do in setting up these challenges, Bob!

You have so man great choices on here. Ulysess on the Old and New is a bold move! Thank God for the alternates! I spend the whole year slogging through it between books.

The first six months of 2025 are gone. It doesn't seem possible for it to have passed so fast. But, here we are, starting the second half of the year. I'm sure it will fly by just as fast. Aging really does seem to speed up the passage of time. I'm having the best reading year I have ever had. Annually I set my reading goal at 52 books per year. I figure I'm doing great reading one book per week. Over the last 5-7 years my average has been in the low to mid-sixties. God, granted me the love of reading not the ability to read fast. Fifty-two books per year seems a fair honest goal for me. The good news is I have achieved my goal of reading 52 books in the first half of 2025. Dare I try for 104?

Now for the status of my Buffet. Like a pig at the trough, I have been devouring my selections. To date, I have finished 11 of the 17 challenges. One surprising accomplishment is completing the A-Z Title challenge. This is the second time I have ever completed this challenge. The key to completion this year is the amazing number of short stories I've read to date. Ten of my twenty-six letters came from short story titles.

Another highlight is the Short Story Challenge. To date, I have read 124 short stories. While 61 of those came from The Stories of John Cheever, I'm not going to let that diminish the accomplishment.

What I ponder the most is an accomplishment/failure. Last December I created most of my challenges with the plan of reducing my in-house TBR. From this TBR I used 68 books in various challenge positions. To date. I have read 26 of the 68 titles. The failure comes from my also keeping a record of impulse books I have read this year, 16 to date. None of these 16 books were thought of or planned last December, all had to be secured this year. I'm not sure if I am happy to have only gained a net 10-book reduction to my TBR.

Status of unfinished challenges.
Challenge #1 - New & Old TBR. With just 2 left, I should be completed in a couple of months. I DNF'd book number 11
Challenge #11 - Future Classics, not started book, is selected
Challenge #12 - Fiction/Non-Fiction, 50% complete 3/6 books left
Challenge #13 - Old and New Linked Categories, 1/6 books left
Challenge #14 - Bestselling Novels in the United States, not started
Challenge #17 - A-Z Author, 18/26 This is the only challenge I don't think I will finish.

This year I have been a recluse practically a hermit. Shamefully, my group participation this year has been terrible. I apologize. I can't promise I'll do better. I just wanted you all to know I am aware I have been remiss in my duties. So far, a great year reading, a poor year moderating, and something to ponder during the year's second half.

I sincerely hope that all the members participating in this year's Buffet are having a good time.

Bob, your best reading year ever -- that's amazing! Congratulations. Of course I can't speak for everyone doing the Buffet, but I'm certainly having a good time!

I am so impressed by the way you are moving through the challenges and having met your total reading goal only half-way through the year! I can relate to the way time speeds up as we are aging...years disappear from me before I think they have barely begun.

I have come to believe trying to whittle my TBR is a wasted effort. I always seem to add more than I subtract. On the other hand, some of the best reads we have are the impulse ones and not the planned ones, so no failure in that AT ALL.

This is wonderful news, Bob! We've missed you in the threads, but you can't call it a poor year moderating--think how happy you've made so many of us who've been feasting on the buffet!

You are an inspiration, Bob! This is my first year at the buffet. I’s going a bit slower than I had hoped. Maybe you’re fine example will spur me on.

I think you should go for the 104, Bob! You are going great guns this year! And, regarding the buffet, you have made it so fun and really accessible for everyone to be able to read for many different reasons: inspiration, accomplishment, or just for fun! It fits every reader. Thanks so much for your creation of the buffet -- we all just eat it up! ;)

Bob wrote: "The first six months of 2025 are gone. It doesn't seem possible for it to have passed so fast. But, here we are, starting the second half of the year. I'm sure it will fly by just as fast. Aging re..."

Nice recap of your year. You have finished an impressive number of novels and taking net 10 off your list is an accomplishment . I can't believe you've read so many short stories! Finishing the Cheever Collection was quite a feat.