Pick-a-Shelf discussion

Everyone has a different opinion on what Literature is - what will you be reading? Something that is beyond dispute or something that is up for challenge as "literature"?

Good question, Cathy. Literature is such a subjective term. I went to the shelf and had read about 2/3 of the stuff of the first page already, but I did manage to come up with a LONG list. Here is what I will attempt:

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
The Zahir by Paulo Coelho
The Sherlock Holmes Mysteries: New Expanded Edition by Arthur Conan Doyle

I found several dozen from my TBR on this shelf before I stopped looking.

Here's my best guess right now:
Little Women
Tom Sawyer audiobook if I don't finish listening to it in July for History

From my You Choose Challenge list:
The Outsiders
Maus II
Labyrinths
The Kite Runner

But who knows ... with a category like this, there's no telling what books might call to me.

Lyn M wrote: "Good question, Cathy. Literature is such a subjective term. I went to the shelf and had read about 2/3 of the stuff of the first page already, but I did manage to come up with a LONG list. Here ..."

The Curious Incident of the Dog is a FANTASTIC book! I would highly recommend it!! It's a little easier to read since it is from the viewpoint of an Autistic 15 year old, but it is a book that I'll never forget. It's also useful if you want to learn more about the habits and mannerisms of an Autistic teen.

I am starting school in August... so I should concentrate on reading my text books... but here is my too read list for August anyway:

Green Eggs and Ham
Year of Wonders

I will be sticking with books from the monthly shelf that also fit both my You Choose challenge and a challenge I am wrapping up for another group. That leaves me with:

The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus by Margaret Atwood
Yume No Hon: The Book of Dreams by Catherynne M. Valente
Not Wanted On The Voyage by Timothy Findley

Maybe:
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

Regarding your questions, Cathy:
I personally use the term "literature" broadly, meaning writing - both fiction and non-fiction - in general. I tend toward the Wikipedia definition: "Literature,(from Latin littera letter), is the art of written works. Literally translated, the word means acquaintance with letters (as in the "Arts and Letters"). In Western culture the most basic written literary types include fiction and nonfiction."

I use the term "literary fiction" to specifically describe fiction that can not really be sorted into a particular genre or subset and which often has a high level of general quality and potential cultural significance - something that goes beyond simple entertainment. Again, Wikipedia defines: "Literary fiction is a term that has come into common usage since around 1960, principally to distinguish serious fiction (that is, work with claims to literary merit) from the many types of genre fiction and popular fiction (i.e., paraliterature). In broad terms, literary fiction focuses more on style, psychological depth, and character, the plot may or may not be important. Mainstream commercial fiction focuses more on narrative and plot."

I am going to start with To Kill a Mockingbird and see where that takes me. My reading pace has slowed considerably in the last 6-8 months.

Oh my gosh, is it that time already?

Okay.

The Stranger
Anna Karenina
The Name of the Rose: Including Postscript
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Oryx and Crake

This is probably overly ambitious. There are just so many good ones!

Haven't made any definite choices yet but I have narrowed it down to the following, all of which are part of my You Choose challenge

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
2666
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
The Gargoyle
The Lost World
Eclipse
The Kindly Ones
Breaking Dawn
The Forgotten Garden
The Meaning of Night: A Confession
For One More Day
Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name: A Novel
The Heretic's Daughter
Under the Dome
Drood
The Saffron Kitchen

Today I finally STARTED reading history for July. Argh. I haven't even begun to look at the list for August, but from what I see listed as choices, this isn't a list that I am unfamiliar with and I will be reading within my comfort zone for sure.

I'm going to be realistic and say that I'll read two books from the following list:

* Beowulf - August 13
* Daisy Miller - August 11
The Name of the Rose: Including Postscript
The Grapes of Wrath
Pride and Prejudice
The Count of Monte Cristo

What a shelf. I have chosen the following books to be on my list, but since I am starting at the top and that book is HUGE, I probably won't get any further.

Nicholas Nickleby
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Help
The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
and

Valley of the Dolls

I have read a lot of books from this shelf already and have a lot still to go so it's been tricky picking which ones to go with.

I'm going to try for these to start:
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbott
The Trial by Franz Kafka
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Then I'll see what I can find at the library

I am starting a book that has been on my TBR pile for years. Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley is surprisingly (or not) on the literature shelf!

I have been avoiding it since I have heard such disapointing reviews. I picked it up at a garage sale for $0.50

I am going to read as many of these as possible. They are also included in my You Choose challenge:

Moloka'i
Alice I Have Been
These Is My Words
Assassination Vacation
The Thirteenth Tale
Sarah's Key
Light on Snow
I Know This Much Is True
The Year of Pleasures
The House on Mango Street
A Prayer for Owen Meany

I got overly ambitious with the History shelf this month by choosing to attempt The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire which ended up being even more of a challenge than anticipated. As a result I ended up not finishing anything on the shelf! This month I'm going to stick to books I already own on my TBR shelf. Hopefully I'll be more successful. It looks like quite a few of the books I own are on this shelf so I'll try to read as many of my list as possible.

Northanger Abbey
The Time Traveler's Wife
Water for Elephants
The Chronicles of Narnia
The History of Love
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Neverwhere
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
The Art of Racing in the RainThe Witch of Portobello
The Patron Saint of Liars
The Forgotten Garden
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

I've had such a busy last 2 months moving house but I'm hoping to get back into the shelf picks :)

A long list here but I'll see what I can get through:

Lord of the Flies
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Catch-22
Dracula
The Alchemist
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
Mrs. Dalloway
In Cold Blood

I'm busy teaching summer school but I hope to read one or more of the following books from my to-read shelf, which are also shelved in literature:

In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower by Marcel Proust
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
The Moviegoer by Walker Percy
The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder**** 8/20
A Hole in Texas: A Novel by Herman Wouk** 8/15
Atemschaukel by Herta Müller

I've decided not to cheat by listing books I assign for my history class but have read before like The Iliad and Beowulf: A New Verse Translation.

J. Travis - What, no Jane Austen, LOL. Only kidding!

Sweet action! I just got a copy of The Passage from the library, and it's actually on the literature shelf! *happy dance*

I'm gonna be modest for my first month and pick 2 books:
-The Help by Kathryn Stockett
-One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

I am finally making my list for August

-The Help by Kathryn Stockett
-The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
-Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
-Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard

I've been slow to make my list as well!

* Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
* The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky - although honestly, what are the chances I'll actually finish this one in August?? :)

Luann wrote: "I've been slow to make my list as well!

* Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
* The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky - although honestly,..."

How much free time do you have? :) I am a teacher so this month is when I start getting all ambitious about getting ready for school and doing a whole bunch of stuff. I don't know if I will get all of mine read.

All of my picks are also on my "You Choose" challenge list. That's allowed right?

Crystal wrote: ... How much free time do you have? :) I am a teacher so this month is when I start getting all ambitious about getting ready for school and doing a whole bunch of stuff. I don't know if I will get all of mine read.

Isn't that the truth! I have tomorrow, then one more week, and then my nearly-a-book-a-day habit is suddenly going to become a-book-a-week-if-I'm-lucky. :)

I am definitely going to get to The Alchemist, but I am not sure what else I will get too.
I am also going to read The School of Essential Ingredients in. I will also add books that may fall on the shelf as I go.

The House at Riverton may have to wait for another month. Too many books I got to get to before school starts.

The Alchemist should be easy Tara. It is only 167 pages. I finished it in one day!

Lyn M wrote: "The Alchemist should be easy Tara. It is only 167 pages. I finished it in one day!"
Just need to get the book. LOL. I keep forgetting to pick it up when I go to the library.
The House at Riverton is a bit more daunting, but I have heard good things.

It looks good. BTW - I thought The Alchemist was really good.

I have read one of Paulo Coelho's other books, The Witch of Portobello and I liked it. I don't know why it has taken me so long to get to this one. Now is as good a time as any.

Tara wrote: "I have read one of Paulo Coelho's other books, The Witch of Portobello and I liked it. I don't know why it has taken me so long to get to this one. Now is as good a time as any."

I really enjoyed The Alchemist way more than I expected. What I liked even better though was Veronika Decides to Die.

Crystal wrote: "How much free time do you have? :)"

Not nearly enough! I'm a school librarian and school starts on Monday. Where did the summer go???

Crystal wrote: "All of my picks are also on my "You Choose" challenge list. That's allowed right?"

Most definitely!!

Luann wrote: "Crystal wrote: "How much free time do you have? :)"

Not nearly enough! I'm a school librarian and school starts on Monday. Where did the summer go???"

School starts Monday, August 9th?? Yikes. That's really early.

J. Travis wrote: "School starts Monday, August 9th?? Yikes. That's really early."

That's what I said! The teachers start Monday and the students on Wednesday. But still, very early!

Here's my list:

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Emma by Jane Austen
The Kite Runnner by Khaled Houssseini
Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Housseini

Luann wrote: "J. Travis wrote: "School starts Monday, August 9th?? Yikes. That's really early."

That's what I said! The teachers start Monday and the students on Wednesday. But still, very early!"

The 9th August, when did your summer holidays start?
Here in Scotland I've still got another two weeks.

Karen wrote: "The 9th August, when did your summer holidays start? Here in Scotland I've still got another two weeks. "

Our last day of school was May 21. So we had one week at the end of May, all of June and July, and one week in August for summer break. Now that I'm typing it out, it sounds longer than it felt. :)

I'm late getting in, but I've got my list--let's see what I actually can finish!

1. The Bronze Horseman
2. I, Claudius: From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius, Born 10 B.C., Murdered and Deified A.D. 54
3. Far from the Madding Crowd
4. The Count of Monte Cristo
5. Oliver Twist
6. Wuthering Heights
7. Anna Karenina
8. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
9. People of the Book

Luann wrote: "J. Travis wrote: "School starts Monday, August 9th?? Yikes. That's really early."

That's what I said! The teachers start Monday and the students on Wednesday. But still, very early!"

Lynne's school is the same way. Teachers started yesterday, students start tomorrow! Where does the time go.

My list keeps changing but I'm going to add these as well:
Villette by Charlotte Bronte
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Here's my list:
Dracula
Northanger Abbey
Alice in Wonderland
The Secret Garden
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
Memoirs of a Geisha

Welcome, Julia! You're going to have to read quickly to make a dent in that list by the end of August!

Finally back, I am going to read The House on Mango Street this month. Starting back slow.

Sara wrote: "Finally back, I am going to read The House on Mango Street this month. Starting back slow."

Sara,
I've put it on my challenge list in the category of books begun but never finished. I really had trouble with it when I tried reading it before. And I've seen recent reviews here of others who didn't care for it much. Maybe you and I can cheer each other on to make it through.

I recently finished The House on Mango Street and didn't care for it. The one positive thing I can say about the book is that it is short, so you should be able to get through it.

sara, this is on my to read list now.....this is such a great group......i am still trying to catch up with updating my bookshelf and reading posts, but i am not on the puter as much, cuz i have been reading big time.

k

Most definitely Susan! I am hoping to start it in the next day or so.

Susan wrote: "Sara wrote: "Finally back, I am going to read The House on Mango Street this month. Starting back slow."

Sara,
I've put it on my challenge list in the category of books begun but ne..."