Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

Terry’s 2025 Tasting Menu at the Buffet: “No promises, no demands.” (from Love is a Battlefield). This the theme of my Tasting Menu.

My selections from the Buffet - Details See Messages 2-10.
Started to update my planned choices 12/1/24. Edited Challenge 8 on 1/16/25.

📚 means that these are pre-owned books from my bookshelf.

Challenge #2 - Members Choice
Challenge #3 - New Authors
Challenge #4 - Short Story
Challenge #6 - Group Reads, Buddy Reads, Moderators Run Amok
Challenge #7 - Series Books – Start, Continue, Complete
Challenge #8 - Travel the World One Continent at a Time
Challenge #11 - Future Classics
Challenge #12 - Fiction/Non-Fiction
Challenge #15 - Award Winners

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

✔️1. 19th Century or Older - Hard Times by Charles Dickens (1854) 354 pages. Read 1/18/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✔️ 2. 20th Century - What Makes Sammy Run? by Budd Schulberg (1941) 328 pages. 📚 Read 3/13/2025 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✔️ 3. 21st Century - Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (2004) 247 pages. 📚 Read 7/2/2025 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4. Nonfiction - A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman (1990) 331 pages.
5. ✔️ An Author never read before - The Human Comedy by William Saroyan (1943) 256 pages. Read 7/27/25⭐️⭐️⭐️🎂
6. Diversity, read a book from a religion, culture, country, or race different than yours - The Silver Cage by Anonymous (2018) 244 pages.
7. Members Choice Genre: Historical Fiction: The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (2008) 648 pages. 📚
8. Members Choice Genre: Romance - Sea Swept by Nora Roberts (1998) 358 pages.
9. ✔️ Members Choice Genre: Science Fiction - Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (2014) 259 pages. Read 8/27/25. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Science Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Suspense, Young Adult, Nonfiction, Poetry, Romance, etc.

Challenge #3 - Expand Your Horizon with New Authors

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

✔️ 1. Post Office by Charles Bukowski (1971) 160 pages. Read 3/13/2025 ⭐️⭐️
✔️ 2. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite (2018) 240 pages. Read 1/22/25 ⭐️⭐️
✔️ 3. A Sport and a Pastime by A Sport and a Pastime by James Salter (1967) 185 pages. 📚 Read 5/30/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✔️ 4. The Human Comedy by The Human Comedy (1943) 256 pages. Read 7/27/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
✔️ 5. A Man of Property by John Galsworthy (1906) 384 pages. Read 6/19/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
6. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (2008) 648 pages. 📚
✔️ 7. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (2014) 259 pages. 📚 Read 8/27/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
8. Sea Swept by Nora Roberts (1998) 358 pages. 📚

Challenge #4 - Short Story Challenge
Read 18 short stories.

✔️1. Goodbye, My Brother by John Cheever (1951) 9 pages. Read 1/18/25⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
✔️ 2. The Enormous Radio by John Cheever (1947) 9 pages. Read 2/4/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✔️ 3. The Five-Forty-Eight by John Cheever (1954) 17 pages. Read 2/15/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
4. The Country Husband by John Cheever (1954) 22 pages.
5. Angel of the Bridge by John Cheever (1961) 8 pages.
6. The Swimmer by John Cheever (1964) 9 pages.
7. Cat in the Rain by Ernest Hemingway (1925) 4 pages. 📚
8. Indian Camp by Ernest Hemingway (1924) 8 pages. 📚
9. The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories by Ernest Hemingway (1936) 25 pages.
10. The Lucky Pair by Mary Lavin (1962) 16 pages. 📚
11. Heart of Gold by Mary Lavin (1964) 28 pages. 📚
✔️ 12. In the Middle of the Fields by Mary Lavin (1961) 19 pages. 📚 Read 1/22/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
13. A Late Encounter with the Enemyby Flannery O'Connor (1953) 16 pages. 📚
14. Good Country PeopleFlannery O'Connor (1955) 30 pages. 📚
15. A Good Man Is Hard To Find by Flannery O'Connor (1953) 24 pages. 📚
16. A Little Cloud by James Joyce (1914) 13 pages. 📚
17. The New Dress by Virginia Woolf (1927) 8 pages. 📚
18. The Road from Colonus by E M Forster (1911) 12 pages. 📚

Challenge 6 - Group Reads, Buddy Reads, or Moderators Run Amok
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.

I am choosing from 2025 and will enter the rest of my list as they are chosen in polls, buddy reads or mods running amok. But, I’m not sure I will do all 12.

✔️1. Buddy Read: The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike (1984) 340 pages. 📚 Read 1/25/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✔️ 2. Moderator Amok: Augustus by John Williams (1972) 336 pages. Read 2/2/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✔️ 3. Buddy Read: In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner (2012) 315 pages. 📚Read 2/12/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4. Buddy Read: Humboldt's Gift by Saul Bellow (1973) 471 pages. DNF ⭐️. NOT COUNTED
✔️ 4. Buddy Read: Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (1973) 303 pages. Read 3/1/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
✔️ 5. Buddy Read: The Promise by Chaim Potok (1961) 359 pages. Read 5/25/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✔️ 6. Mods Rn Amok: A Man of Property by John Galsworthy (1906) 384 pages. Read 6/19/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✔️ 7. Buddy Read: The Widows of Eastwick by John Updike (2008) 308 pages. Read 7/15/25. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✔️ 8. Mods Run Amok: In Chancery by John Galsworthy (1920) 229 pages. Read 8/02/25. ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️
✔️ 9. CUwtC New School Group Read: Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier (1941) 253 pages. Read 8/15/25. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
10.
11.
12.

Challenge #7- Series Books. COMPLETED
This year’s series challenge is to bring series books back into our current annual reading.
Start - The challenge is to find an interesting series and read at least two books this year from the selected series. Some series are only three books in length, such as The Hunger Games #1, #2, #3.
Continue - If you are currently reading a series and have stalled out and set it aside, here is your chance to get back to it.
Complete -If you are close to finishing a series, but have not been actively reading them, here is your chance to finish it. Set a goal to see it finished or make a big dent in it.

Each member is to decide what they wish to accomplish. For challenge purposes, read at least two books. That is only 1 every six months. This is doable

My Goals
✔️1. START: The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy.
a. The Man of Property (1906) 384 pages. Read 6/19/25. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
b. In Chancery (1920) 229 pages. Read 8/02/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
c.
✔️ 2. FINISH: The Rabbit Angstrom series, ending with Rabbit Remembered #5 by John Updike (2001) 182 pages. Read 02/20/2025. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I also may start, but only will read the first of The Chesapeake Bay Series, starting with Sea Swept #1 by Nora Roberts. (1998) 358 pages. 📚

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

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. Our challenges run from January 1-December 31. So, this seems more doable.

✔️ 1. Africa: Lagos, Nigeria - My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite (2018) 240 pages. Read 1/22/25 ⭐️⭐️
✔️ 2. Asia: Pnom Penn and the countryside of Cambodia - In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner (2012) 315 pages. 📚 Read 2/12/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3. Australia: Australian Author - The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (2006) 648 pages. 📚
✔️4. Europe: Rome - Augustus by John Williams (1972) 336 pages. Read 2/2/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✔️Europe, France - Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon; (2020) 451 pages. ⭐️⭐️⭐️Read 1/16/2025.
✔️5. North America: The Chesapeake Bay area, Virginia, Maryland, United States - Chesapeake by James A. Michener (1978) 1083 pages. 📚 Read 5/18/25. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✔️ 6. South American: Author from the Dominican Republic - How the García Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez (1992) 290 pages. Read 2/3/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
✔️ 7.*Country I’d Most Like to Visit: Cornwall, England - Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier (1941) 253 pages. 📚 Read 8/15/25. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*Antactica or Read a book set in the country you'd most like to visit

Challenge #11 - Future Classics
The First Quarter of the 21st - List 5 books you have read over the last 25 years that you believe will still be actively read in 50-100+ years.

My Approach: 4 great non-fiction and one short story.

These Five Were Great, I Believe They Will Stand the Test of Time
1. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee (2004) 896 pages.
2. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan (2005) 450 pages.
3. Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth by Bryan Burrough (2021) 416 pages.
4. Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann (2017) 352 pages.
5. Short story: You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles (2019] 54 pages.

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.

Book Chosen - These Might have a Chance at Greatness?

My approach — all literary fiction (what else?)
✔️ 1. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (2004) 247 pages. 📚 Read 7/2/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (2002] 529 pages.
3. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (2004) 509 pages.

Challenge #12– Fiction/Non-Fiction

Using the below categories or a selection of your own 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.

Category Examples -Space Exploration, War, Sea Travels/Adventures, Family, Exploration, Animals, Historic Event, Natural Disaster, Survival, Death, Civilization, Justice, Religion/Faith, Slavery, Politics, Royality — or my choice.

My Categories/ My Choices:
1. Category: The Senses/Fiction - A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass (2005] 221 pages.
2. Category: The Senses/Non-Fiction - A Natural History of the Senses byDiane Ackerman (1990) 331 pages.
3. Category: Pop Culture/Fiction - In His Own Write by John Lennon (1964) 80 pages.
4. Category: Pop Culture/Non-Fiction - 150 Glimpses of the Beatles by Craig Brown (2020) 592 pages.
5. Category: Gender/Fiction - Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (2002) 529 pages.
6. Category: Gender/Non-Fiction - Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us by Kate Bornstein (1994) 272 pages.

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

Nobel Prize in Literature - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
Booker Prize since 1969 - https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booke...
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulitze...
Hugo Award - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Aw...
Newberry Medal - https://www.britannica.com/art/Newber...
European Union Prize for Literature - https://www.euprizeliterature.eu/

Books Chosen
1. Pulitzer Prize 1975 - Humboldt's Gift by Saul Bellow (1973) 471 pages.
DNF - NOT COUNTED
✔️ 1. PEN/Faulkner Award 1989 - A Sport and a Pastime by James Salter (1967)185 pages.📚 Read 5/30/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✔️ 2. Nobel Prize in Literature - The Man of Property by John Galsworthy (1906) 384 pages. Read 6/19/25. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I may also read Arthur C. Clarke Award 2015 - Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (2014) 259 pages. 📚

Love your theme song, Terry!

I love your low pressure approach. Enjoy!

Thanks all! My intent this year is to put my focus into my Bingo Challenge and fit those books into the Buffet, then infill from there. I doubt that I could possibly read all the books in one year’s time that would be necessary to fill out the Buffet. I think Challenge 12 would require me to buy six books, so that would probably be the last one attempted.

But between Bingo and the Buffet, I am also reading a LOT from my shelf! AND many of the books chosen support my Personal 20th Century Challenge. Who knows? Maybe I will increase my total books read because I am so motivated this time! No matter what, I think 2025 will be a win-win-win-win-win no matter what!

I cannot wait to get started!

For Challenge #11, I am taking a different approach to the five great reads (in part, because everyone else agrees All the Light We Cannot See, A Gentleman in Moscow, etc. make this list). I have listed four non-fiction books and one short story. They were all five star reads. See Challenge #11, above.

My choices for potential classics are now listed.

Thank you, Terry. There are books we can all agree will stand the test of time, it is nice to have a list of worthwhile books that might escape the usual lists. And, I always need guidance on non-fiction.

What an interesting approach! I don't read much non-fiction, but the Towles short story looks like it needs to be added to my list...

Sara, if you don’t know it, On Food and Cooking is not a cookbook, but an amazing and comprehensive encyclopedia of how everything related to food works — things like cheese or yogurt, for example.

Wobbley, non-fiction is a category that I neglect but I would like to read a bit more if I could identify the very best books. If a non-fiction book is not compelling right from the start, I get bored, put it down and I just forget it’s there. I would like to read a few every year.

Short stories are a different matter. With many, I just want to stay with the characters of the story. So I don’t feel as satisfied as when I read a novel. But this year, I am going to read more.

I added this symbol 📚 to signify which books (or short stories) I already have on my bookshelf. Many of these are already counted in my Bingo Challenge, but I think I can add three books which have short stories, but not enough to remove them from my shelf.

I changed items 3 and 4 of Challenge #12, the Fiction/Non-Fiction challenge. Rather than getting depressed reading about homelessnes, I am turning to a subject matter that brings me some nostalgic happiness — The Beatles! This was prompted when I read a review on Goodreads of 150 Glimpses of the Beatles. The category is Pop Culture. John Lennon’s small book of poetry, In His Own Write, will be a re-read for me. I remember it being one of the funniest things I ever read. I especially remember the poem, No Flies on Frank. Hilarious to my juvenile mind. This sounds like fun!

Terry wrote: "I changed items 3 and 4 of Challenge #12, the Fiction/Non-Fiction challenge. Rather than getting depressed reading about homelessnes, I am turning to a subject matter that brings me some nostalgic ..."

This sounds like a great decision! I'd never even heard of In His Own Write.

Thanks, Wobbley. I was really happy with this change and I ordered the books. I don’t know what happened to my copy of the Lennon book (which I bought with babysitting money), but it was in very bad shape when I last saw it. I am looking forward to its replacement. It also has black and white line drawing illustrations by Lennon.

Great lists, Terry. I think you will like Humbolt's Gift especially because of the Chicago connection.

I had the Forgotten Garden on my challenge last year and hope to get to it this year. I've never read a Kate Morton book either but I own 5 of them! Isn't that crazy? I have to read one this year. I sure hope I like her. heehee

Good luck with your challenges.

Very funny, Sue! I own two novels by Danielle Steele but have never read any by her. One of these years I will! I will try to read The Forgotten Garden this year!

I am almost through with a bunch of books, but yesterday I finished Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon. I read it for book club, but it fits into Challenge 8 so I am putting it there for Europe, France.. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Looking forward to your update the day you finish your bunch of books. Great progress!

Isn't it funny how sometimes an author or book keeps popping up? I had never heard of Ariel Lawhon and now this is the third mention in as many days of one of her books. I guess I need to put on the list!

Sara, I would choose another book by her. Although the true life story of the heroine is amazing, her personality grated on me like fingernails on a blackboard.

Terry wrote: "Sara, I would choose another book by her. Although the true life story of the heroine is amazing, her personality grated on me like fingernails on a blackboard."

Oh dear. I do hate it when a character does that. I've never read this author, but do have her I Was Anastasia on my list.

It's a good feeling to be done with one of that bunch of books I bet!

Terry wrote: "Sara, I would choose another book by her. Although the true life story of the heroine is amazing, her personality grated on me like fingernails on a blackboard."

Ouch. I had already added The Frozen River, so I will just stick with looking for that one. Thanks, Terry.

I finished Hard Times by Charles Dickens. It was good but for me it didn’t measure up to some of his other novels.

Terry wrote: "I finished Hard Times by Charles Dickens. It was good but for me it didn’t measure up to some of his other novels."

Oh wow, a Dickens finished so early in the year! Well done. :)

Thanks, Wobbley! This one was not quite the doorstopper that some of his books are.

Nice to have Hard Times done, I'm sure. It is not my favorite Dickens either, but that just makes it a 4-star instead of a 5-star read. I have Barnaby Rudge up this year--put it on my O&N so I cannot find any reason to miss it.

My general view is that it is hard to go wrong reading Dickens.

I finished my first short story for Challenge 4, Goodbye, My Brother by John Cheever. Very good start!

Ah, and you have started Cheever ahead of me! I need to start soon, but I am reading a collection of shorts by Elizabeth Taylor and will probably finish them up before I embark on his collection. So glad you liked this one.

Terry wrote: "I finished my first short story for Challenge 4, Goodbye, My Brother by John Cheever. Very good start!"

Well done getting started on this one. I should really add John Cheever to my list...

Just a very tiny start but I enjoyed the story, Sara!

I checked off additions to Challenges 3, 4 and 8 with My Sister, the Serial Killer and a short story, In the Middle of the Fields by Mary Lavin.

At least it proved useful to your challenge!

Great progress on your challenges, Terry! Goodbye, My Brother was one of my favorites from the Cheever collection.

I was waiting to see what your thought of My Sister, the Serial Killer to see if I might want to add it for Africa. Looks like I won't be doing that now. Africa is a hard category for me.

Sue, I would look for another book. I think the title seduced me on this one. I assume you’ve probably read The Poisonwood Bible and Homegoing. Did you read Cutting for Stone? Half a Yellow Sun or The Famished Road might be choices. Michener wrote a book set in Africa.

I crossed off the first book for Challenge 6, By John Updike The Witches Of Eastwick, a five star read.

Wow, you're finishing a few in a row! I'm glad you got a 5-star read after your last one, that you didn't care for. Well done!

So glad you found the Updike worthwhile. I was tempted, but I simply cannot fit anything else into the schedule right now. I decided that, after Rabbit, Updike might be the thing to postpone.

Well, we missed you on this ride. This novel was more fun than Rabbit, but still with plenty to hold on to. I think Updike just decided to play with the concept.

Thanks. Hopefully I will get to it eventually. Couldn't see how I could tackle Augustus and Witches at the same time.

Well, you are doing yeoman’s work on Augustus with the summaries, which I am sure everyone is grateful! Saving Witches for later is completely understandable. I’m going to read The Widows of Eastwick in July. You could catch up by then if it strikes your fancy.

I might well try to do that. I do love reading with you guys!