John’s Comments (group member since Aug 23, 2012)

John’s comments from the Read a Classic Challenge group.

For those of you who enjoy our monthly themes,here is the list for 2015.

JAN: Read that classic you always wanted to read, but never got around too.
FEB: Black Authors (for Black History Month)
MAR: Women Authors (for Women’s History Month)
APR: Books Made Into Movies
MAY: Books about a Journey (Gulliver’s Travels, Odyssey, Murder on the Orient Express, Divine Comedy)
JUNE: Science Fiction/Fantasy
JULY: Canadian Authors
AUG: Diary or Letters (Anne Frank, Frankenstein)
SEPT: Banned or Challenged Books (for Banned Books Week)
OCT: Terror, Horror, Suspense
NOV: Spanish / Hispanic Authors
DEC: Short Stories

Welcome to the 2015 Read A Classic Challenge!

When you finish a classic book, please post the following information to the feed:

- Title
- Author
- Year of (initial) Publication
- Number of Pages
- Location (State or Country helps us track the worldwide reach of the challenge)

For discussion purposes we encourage you to post analysis, critique, or questions about the book if you wish. Classics can be posted at anytime and "classic" is open to interpretation. This is a grassroots group so feel free to participate as much or as little as you have time for. Just make sure to try to log at least one book this year.

You can also participate in the challenge on:

- Facebook
- Twitter (NEW): By tagging @ClassicBookLog
- Our Website (NEW): readaclassic.weebly.com//

Our website and Twitter Account are both new, so please check them out when you get a chance. This is a great opportunity to share the challenge with friends or family members who may not be on Facebook or Goodreads.

It may take us a little while to get everything in place for the 2015 Challenge, but we are working on it, with some added help this year. Stay tuned for some more updates.

Sincerely,

Your friendly neighborhood moderators.

Ronia the Robber's Daughter, Astrid Lindgren, 1981, 176 pages. Read this to my daughter. It was a decent book by the author of Pippi Longstocking. I was curious as it will be made into a TV series by Hayao Miyazaki's son for Ghibli Studios. (I don't think I posted this one yet).

The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams, 1922, 40 pages.
Thoughtful quick read.

The Planet Savers by Marion Zimmer Bradley, 1976, 135 pages. Interesting concepts, but lacked some details, which may be more useful when read in context of the rest of the Darkover book series.

Fire Hunter, by Jim Kjelgaard, 1951, 171 pages. A standard man vs. nature book in which a primitive man conveniently invents a variety of tools that are necessary to keep himself alive from ever present dangers.

Big Red, by Jim Kjelgaard, 1945, 225 pages. A classic tale of youth, dogs, and the wilderness. This type of novel is where Kjelgaard shines, and why when I need a good read, I often pick up one of his books.

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Certainly, there are a lot of great classic short stories. It is a little harder to determine the page numbers if someone reads some short stories from an anthology. If so just be sure to list the page numbers.

Sorry I thought I had posted November.

NOVEMBER - From Dave

"Good morning, classic readers. There's still two months left to read a classic book. While the themes have been popular and some folks have read more classics than I have read books (classic or otherwise) this year, don't forget that we just want to encourage everybody to take the time to read ONE classic. That's all it take to "win" this challenge.
Our November theme is Little (or Lesser) Known Works by classic authors. This makes for a ton of possibilities, all relative to one's knowledge of a given author. I will provide a few here, many of which stand in stark contrast to a much better known work. Please feel free to add your own suggestions. After all, if I knew all of the books, they probably wouldn't qualify for this month's theme!
Louisa May Alcott - An Old Fashioned Girl
Charlotte Bronte - Villette
Miguel de Cervantes - The Works of Persiles and Sigismunda
Charles Dickens - The Mudfog Papers
Rudyard Kipling - The Day's Work
C.S. Lewis - The Great Divorce
Herman Melville - Redburn: His First Voyage
Robert Louis Stevenson - The Black Arrow
JRR Tolkien - Beowulf: A Translation & Commentary
Edith Wharton - Custom of the Country"


DECEMBER - From Dave

"I assume everybody is busy Christmas shopping, wrapping up the semester, or both, since we've been a little quiet here....myself included!
December is the final month of the Read a Classic Challenge. As of this writing, there are just under three weeks to go. Since the challenge is to read one classic work at some point during the year (not who can read the most, impressive as some of you are), we want to make sure everybody gets a chance to "win". Therefore, this is "Children's Classics" month. We've already seen quite a few of these appear during the course of the year.

I can post a list early next week if you are struggling for ideas, but in the meantime, look back through the postings here and I'm sure you will find some great ideas."


Some classics from John include:

A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens, always popular)
The Gift of the Magi (O Henry)
Christmas in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent (Washington Irving)
Little House in the Big Woods (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash: where A Christmas Story originated (Jean Shepherd)
Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
The Little Match Girl (Hans Christian Andersen)
Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas (Maya Angelou)

There are probably a number of poetry options about the holidays (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa) as, well but I am not as familiar with them.

Here are some other linked suggestions:
- http://classiclit.about.com/od/christ...
- http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&p...

Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone! If you are looking for some great deals on classic stories, or devices to read them on, there are quite a few deals over at Amazon, Audible, B&N, and a number of other places. Only a little more than a month left to log in some more classics for our challenge.

Rachel, I hope that you enjoyed the Borrowers, my daughter and I read that earlier this year.


The White Dragon by Anne McCaffery, 1978, 468p. I preferred the Harper Hall trilogy, but this wrapped up both trilogies.

Kindred by Ocavia Butler, 1979. 264p. I really liked this book. It combined some fantasy time travel with slave narratives. Very thoughtful and the Kindle edition included some interesting commentary at the end.

Greyfriar's Bobby by Eleanor Atkinson, 1905, 280p. I enjoyed this rambling book. Reminded me of the time I studied abroad in Edinburgh.

My daughter and I tried to finish the Chronicles of Narnia Books by C.S. Lewis, but I kept falling asleep reading to her, so in reality she read most of these herself. She is now rereading them in chronological order. Amazingly, she reread Magician in less than an hour, and Prince Caspian in two days during her after school program.

My daughter.
- The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis, 1955, 224 pages
- The Magician's Nephew y C. S. Lewis, 1955, 221 pages (She read this twice)
- A Horse and His Boy by C. S. Lewis,1954, 224 pages. (She read this twice)
- (Reread only) Prince Caspian, C.S. Lewis, 1951, 240 pgs.

I read the following sci-fi/fantasy classics by Anne McCaffery. They are definitely interesting, although I am still on the fence as to what I think of her use of sexuality in the stories, particularly the first two.
Dragonflight, 1968, 308 pages.
Dragonquest, 1971, 334 pages.
Dragonsong, 1976, 192 pages.
Dragonsinger 1977, 288 pages.
Dragondrums 1979, 243 pages.

x-posted on Goodreads.

The following books are on sale this month (October 2014) for Amazon Kindle. They fall into the more recent sci-fi classics genre.

- Time and Again by Jack Finney (1970)
- Kindred by Octavia Butler (1979).

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=amb_link_...

If you like fantasy books I also recommend the Legends of Muirwood trilogy which isn't a classic, but is quite enjoyable.

Here is October's List from Dave.

October is our month for obsession and revenge! At first I thought this might be a difficult list to build, but it kind of built itself. Anyway, if you are reading along with the monthly themes, here's some suggestions for your October classic (other than the World Series...another kind of October Classic).

Homer: The Iliad
Homer: The Odyssey
William Shakespeare: Hamlet
William Shakespeare: Titus Andronicus
Pierre Choderlos de Laclos: Dangerous Liaisons
Alexandre Dumas: The Count of Monte Cristo
Emily Bronte: Wuthering Heights
Herman Melville: Moby-Dick
Leo Tolstoy: Anna Karenina
F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby
Daphne du Maurier: Rebecca
Charles Portis: True Grit
Arthur Miller: Death of a Salesman
Alfred Bester: The Stars My Destination
Vladimir Nabokov: Lolita
Stephen King: Carrie
William Goldman: The Princess Bride
Mary Shelley: Frankenstein

Short on time? I think there are a few short stories by Poe that might do the trick.
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My daughter and I read the following books together on our commute this summer. In reality my daughter then reread the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe on her own. We really enjoyed them all, despite some flaws in how C. S. Lewis addresses women and race.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis, 1950, 206 pgs.

Prince Caspian, C.S. Lewis, 1951, 240 pgs.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C.S. Lewis, 1952, 256 pgs.

The Silver Chair, C.S. Lewis, 1953, 253 pgs.

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Well, I apologize that I missed posting the last two month's themes (available on Facebook), but here is September list courtesy of Dave.

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Hi everyone and welcome back to school (if applicable). This month we focus on Banned and Challenged Books. To kick things off, here's a list of the most challenged books of the 21st century thus far:
http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlyc...
Now before you all start reading Captain Underpants, the most recent #1, allow me to break out the classics that show up of these lists to give you a starting point (most recent appearance given in parentheses). Many of these appeared multiple times on the list.

The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison (#2 - 2013)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie (#3 - 2013)
Bless Me Ultima - Rudolfo Anaya (#9 - 2013)
Beloved - Toni Morrison (#10 - 2012)
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (#7 - 2011)
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (#10 - 2011)
The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger (#6 - 2009)
The Chocolate War - Robert Cormier (#2 - 2007)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain (#5 - 2007)
The Color Purple - Alice Walker (#6 - 2007)
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou (#8 - 2007)
Forever - Judy Blume (#2 - 2005)
Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck (#10 - 2004)
Go Ask Alice - Anonymous (#6 - 2003)
Bridge to Terabithia - Katherine Patterson (#10 - 2003)
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry - Mildred D. Taylor (#9 - 2002)
Julie of the Wolves - Jean Craighead George (#10 - 2002)
Summer of My German Soldier - Bette Greene (#5 - 2001)
More recent books that will probably earn classic status that also appeared:
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (#6 - 2012)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (#3 - 2009)
His Dark Materials trilogy - Philip Pullman (#2 - 2008)
Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling (#2 - 2003)
Fallen Angels - Walter Dean Myers (#2 - 2004)

Catching up on a few.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, James Thurber, 1939, 32 pages. I was surprised at how short this was. It has some potential, but leaves a lot to the imagination. Loved the Danny Kaye movie when I was growing up.

Heidi by Johanna Spyri, 1880, 222 pages. My daughter and I read this together on her commute to camp. She earlier logged a condensed version, this is the full version. I was impressed, I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. Clara is a much stronger and more capable figure in the book that one might perceive from the movies. Definitely worth a read.

I will preface these next three by saying that I really enjoyed Jim Kjelgaard's books as a kid and still do. They were all free for Kindle.

The Black Fawn by Jim Kjelgaard, 1958, 118 pages. I can't say that I wanted this book to end. I enjoyed a very close relationship to my grandparents. who were like a second set of parents to me, growing up and this story reminds me of them. Although many of Kjelgaard's books are about animals, this one is more about relationships. Good quick read.

Swamp Cat by Jim Kjelgaard, 1957, 197 pages. This was a good read about the best and worst in men. The story, which is set in a swamp, takes place partly from a young man's perspective as well as from the perspective of a cat.

Rescue Dog of High Pass, 1958, 72 pages. This is the origin story of the St. Bernards. Unfortunately it is not nearly as well written as his other books and suffers from a clunky plot. I don't recommend this one.

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When world collide by Philip Wylie, 1932, 382 pages.

This is slightly dated in the science and social interactions with men and America/Europeans featuring heavily. However, haven been written in 1932, it does somewhat predict some of the need for women to take over roles traditionally held by men during WWII. Very interesting for its time.

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John - I haven't noticed a limit. The homepage collects data based on date finished. Perhaps open two separate browser windows and compare the books to see what the difference is.

RachelvlehcaR - having not read them when I was younger I could not say. There were definitely some good ideas and I think that it still would hold up to an adult audience pretty well (especially the last two books). Not many of my childhood favorites have stood time well (My side of the mountain, Island of the blue dolphins, Julie of the Wolves) but I still enjoyed rereading them. The best were the books by Elizabeth George Speare which were just as good now as they were then.

I read the Tripods Trilogy by John Christopher

The White Mountains, 1967, 195 pages.

The City of Gold and Lead, 209 pages.

The Pool of Fire, 1968, 204 pages.

These were a simple read. The books seemed to improve over time, but are slightly hampered by the YA perspective and limited development, especially in the first book. It holds no punches though and touches on a few bigger social issues along the way.

This month our group read will be Jean Shepherd's "In God We Trust (All Others Pay Cash)", the book made (even more) famous by the movie "A Christmas Story" which comes from a few of the short stories here. I have not read the book before, but I imagine if you liked the movie you will find it at least worth giving a try!

David is leading this group read.

Here is the discussion link on Facebook as well.
https://www.facebook.com/events/30957...

June

(Here are Dave's Notes cobbled from his posts on Facebook).

Hey everyone, it's Satire/Humor month! I was astounded by how much stuff covered in previous months also would qualify for this month and I'm inclined not to repeat myself. Here are 20 to get you started (plus a remark about everyone's favorite Bard). Look for the file and a couple links and feel free to discuss.

Lysistrata (and other plays) – Aristophanes
The Pot of Gold (and other plays) – Plautus
Don Quixote – Miguel de Cervantes
Tartuffe – Moliere
Candide – Voltaire
Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
The Pickwick Papers – Charles Dickens
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court – Mark Twain
The Importance of Being Earnest – Oscar Wilde
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas – Hunter S. Thompson
My Uncle Oswald – Roald Dahl (Not for kids!!)
In God We Trust (All Others Pay Cash) – Jean Shepherd
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty – James Thurber
P.G. Wodehouse – My Man Jeeves
Catch-22 – Joseph Heller
A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
Cat’s Cradle – Kurt Vonnegut
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
Lucky Jim – Kingsley Amis
Heartburn – Nora Ephron

Before somebody calls me out on my deplorable lack of women authors on the just-posted list...
http://www.theguardian.com/books/book...

Shakespeare, of course, has written many comedies. However, as I learned back in grade school, “comedy” sometimes just means the main character doesn’t die. Of course, there is always the Reduced Shakespeare Company’s “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)” if you want to laugh over your Shakespeare.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPbhhp...)

Been too busy to post much lately. These are slightly later, so I leave it to Dave and Scott to determine if they are classics.

Dawn by Octavia E. Butler, 1987, 248 pages.

ImagoOctavia E. Butler, 1989, 242 pages.

These were interesting, with a central strong black female character. The aliens were unique. Ethical and moral Stockholm syndrome/humanity issues galore. Similar body manipulation, gender, race, and control of oneself issues to the Patternist Series, but I enjoyed the latter a bit more.

My daughter read several junior novelizations of the following classic books by herself (perhaps halve the page numbers).

Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery, 1908, 177 pages.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, 1908, 179 pages.

Heidi by Johanna Spyri, 1880, 226 pages.

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