Ed’s Comments (group member since Dec 02, 2012)

Ed’s comments from the Classics Without All the Class group.

My progress so far
13/26

A – Alexandre Dumas- "Queen Margot*
B – Benson, E.F.- "The Worshipful Lucia"
C – Costain, Thomas- "The Tontine"
D – Dos Passos, John- "1919"**
E –
F –
G – George Eliot- "Middlemarch"*
H –
I – Ibbotson, Eva- "Journey to the River Sea"
J – John Cleland- "Fanny Hill"*
K – Kazuo Ishiguro- "Remains of the Day "*
L –
M – Mahfouz, Naguib- The Thief and the Dogs
N –
O – O'Brien, Flann- "At Swim-Two-Birds"*
P –
Q – MarQuez, Gabriel Gaarcia - "Love in the Time of Cholera"*
R –
S –
T –
U –
V – V.S. Naipaul- "A Bend in the River"*
W –
X – MaXim Gorky- "Mother"*
Y –
Z –

* on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die List
** the second part of the trilogy USA which is on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die List

Hi Valerie.... yes this is easier than the Reading With Style challenge... but RwS is "forcing" me to read so many books I may be able to do this challenge twice over.
And Hi Kgwhitehurst...glad you will be joining us again this year too!

My progress so far: 9/26

A – Alexandre Dumas- "Queen Margot*
B – Benson, E.F.- "The Worshipful Lucia"
C – Costain, Thomas- "The Tontine"
D – Dos Passos, John- "1919"**
E –
F –
G – George Eliot- "Middlemarch"*
H –
I – Ibbotson, Eva- "Journey to the River Sea"
J –
K – Kazuo Ishiguro- "Remains of the Day "*
L –
M – Mahfouz, Naguib- The Thief and the Dogs
N –
O – O'Brien, Flann- "At Swim-Two-Birds"*
P –
Q –
R –
S –
T –
U –
V –
W –
X –
Y –
Z –

* on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die List
** the second part of the trilogy USA which is on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die List

Well I've had a good start so far on the 2015 challenge:

My progress so far
4/26
Before 2005

A –
B –
C – Costain, Thomas- "The Tontine"
D – Dos Passos, John- "1919"
E –
F –
G – George Eliot- "Middlemarch"
H –
I – Ibbotson, Eva- "Journey to the River Sea"
J –
K –
L –
M –
N –
O –
P –
Q –
R –
S –
T –
U –
V –
W –
X –
Y –
Z –

I hope you all intend to do this again in 2015. I just discovered the Reading With Style group.... and that challenge is even more demanding.... 30 books every three months in different categories if you want to get maximum points. Anyway, I'm going to do my best to get Reading with Style Points while simultaneously completing this challenge. Check it out, the last challenge started December 1 and ends Feb. 28. You can use any books you have already read and finished this December. Happy Holidays!

Good job Valerie!

Finished....and in November no less. Now I can plan my 2015 challenge reading list. By the way...congratulations Tanya on finishing your list in October.

A - Anthony Trollope - "Barchester Towers"
B - Bensen, E.F.- "Miss Mapp"
C - Charlotte Bronte - Villette*
D - Dashiell Hammett- "The Maltese Falcon"*
E - Elizabeth Gaskell- "Mary Barton"*
F - Faulkner, William - "The Sound and the Fury"*
G - Gogol, Nikolai- "Dead Souls"*
H - Hamilton, Masha - "The Camel Bookmobile"
I - Iris Murdoch- "A Severed Head"*
J - John Dos Passos - USA The 42nd Parallel**
K - Kundera, Milan- "The Joke"*
L - Lessing, Doris- "The Grass is Singing"*
M - Mikhail Bulgakov - "The Master and Margarita"*
N - Nelson, Casey- "Nothing Gold Can Stay"
O - Ovid- "Metamorphoses"*
P - Peter Carey- "Oscar & Lucinda"*
Q - HouellebecQ, Michel- Whatever*
R - Roy, Arundhati- The God of Small Things*
S - Samuel Butler- The Way of All Flesh*
T - Toibin, Colm- "The Master"*
U - Umberto Eco- "The Name of the Rose"*
V - Virginia Woolf - "Mrs. Dalloway"*
W - Wharton, Edith- "The House of Mirth"*
X - Halldor Laxness - "Independent People"*
Y - Yasunari Kawabata - "Thousand Cranes"*
Z - Zadie Smith- "White Teeth"*


*Book is on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list
**The trilogy is on the 1001 List, this is just 1/3 of the trilogy

More progress 22/26

A -
B - Bensen, E.F.- "Miss Mapp"
C - Charlotte Bronte - Villette*
D - Dashiell Hammett- "The Maltese Falcon"*
E - Elizabeth Gaskell- "Mary Barton"*
F - Faulkner, William - "The Sound and the Fury"*
G - Gogol, Nikolai- "Dead Souls"*
H -
I - Iris Murdoch- "A Severed Head"*
J - John Dos Passos - USA The 42nd Parallel**
K - Kundera, Milan- "The Joke"*
L - Lessing, Doris- "The Grass is Singing"*
M - Mikhail Bulgakov - "The Master and Margarita"*
N - Nelson, Casey- "Nothing Gold Can Stay"
O -
P - Peter Carey- "Oscar & Lucinda"*
Q - HouellebecQ, Michel- Whatever*
R - Roy, Arundhati- The God of Small Things*
S - Samuel Butler- The Way of All Flesh*
T - Toibin, Colm- "The Master"*
U - Umberto Eco- "The Name of the Rose"*
V - Virginia Woolf - "Mrs. Dalloway"*
W - Wharton, Edith- "The House of Mirth"*
X - Halldor Laxness - "Independent People"*
Y -
Z - Zadie Smith- "White Teeth"*


*Book is on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list
**The trilogy is on the 1001 List, this is just 1/3 of the trilogy

More progress 14/26

A -
B - Bensen, E.F.- "Miss Mapp"
C -
D - Dashiell Hammett- "The Maltese Falcon"*
E - Elizabeth Gaskell- "Mary Barton"*
F - Faulkner, William - The Sound and the Fury*
G - Gogol, Nikolai- "Dead Souls"*
H -
I -
J -
K -
L - Lessing, Doris- The Grass is Singing*
M -
N -
O -
P -
Q - HouellebecQ, Michel- Whatever*
R - Roy, Arundhati- The God of Small Things*
S - Samuel Butler- The Way of All Flesh*
T - Toibin, Colm- "The Master"*
U - Umberto Eco- "The Name of the Rose"*
V -
W - Wharton, Edith- The House of Mirth*
X - Halldor Laxness - Independent People*
Y -
Z - Zadie Smith- "White Teeth"*


*Book is on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list

More progress 12/26

A -
B - Bensen, E.F.- "Miss Mapp"
C -
D - Dashiell Hammett- "The Maltese Falcon"*
E - Elizabeth Gaskell- "Mary Barton"*
F - Faulkner, William - The Sound and the Fury*
G - Gogol, Nikolai- "Dead Souls"*
H -
I -
J -
K -
L - Lessing, Doris- The Grass is Singing*
M -
N -
O -
P -
Q -
R -
S - Samuel Butler- The Way of All Flesh*
T - Toibin, Colm- "The Master"*
U - Umberto Eco- "The Name of the Rose"*
V -
W - Wharton, Edith- The House of Mirth*
X - Halldor Laxness - Independent People*
Y -
Z - Zadie Smith- "White Teeth"*


*Book is on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list

Thanks Beth.

More progress 11/26
Pre-2004

A -
B - Bensen, E.F.- "Miss Mapp"
C -
D - Dashiell Hammett- "The Maltese Falcon"*
E - Elizabeth Gaskell- "Mary Barton"*
F - Faulkner, William - The Sound and the Fury*
G - Gogol, Nikolai- "Dead Souls"*
H -
I -
J -
K -
L - Lessing, Doris- The Grass is Singing*
M -
N - Nikolai Gogol- Dead Souls*
O -
P -
Q -
R -
S -
T - Toibin, Colm- "The Master"*
U - Umberto Eco- "The Name of the Rose"*
V -
W - Wharton, Edith- The House of Mirth*
X -
Y -
Z - Zadie Smith- "White Teeth"*


*Book is on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list

I found the dialogue in the book to be unbelievable..and some of the situations too. I can accept that in Sherlock Holmes which has a tongue-in-cheek element. But, here, Hammett is presenting the story as hyper-realistic and it just misses the mark. The plot was interesting and I suspect that is why the movie is popular (I've never seen it.) And, as for Spade... too much of an egotist for my tastes.

Making progress 9/26
Pre-2004

A -
B - Bensen, E.F.- "Miss Mapp"
C -
D -
E - Elizabeth Gaskell- "Mary Barton"*
F - Faulkner, William - The Sound and the Fury*
G - Gogol, Nikolai- "Dead Souls"*
H -
I -
J -
K -
L - Lessing, Doris- The Grass is Singing*
M -
N - Nikolai Gogol- Dead Souls*
O -
P -
Q -
R -
S -
T -
U - Umberto Eco- "The Name of the Rose"*
V -
W - Wharton, Edith- The House of Mirth*
X -
Y -
Z - Zadie Smith- "White Teeth"*


*Book is on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list

Making progress 6/26

A -
B - Bensen, E.F.- "Miss Mapp"
C -
D -
E -
F - Faulkner, William - The Sound and the Fury*
G - Gaskell, Elizabeth - "Mary Barton"*
H -
I -
J -
K -
L - Lessing, Doris- The Grass is Singing*
M -
N - Nikolai Gogol- Dead Souls*
O -
P -
Q -
R -
S -
T -
U -
V -
W - Wharton, Edith- The House of Mirth*
X -
Y -
Z -


*Book is on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list

Thanks.

So... I didn't see a new thread for 2014...but I remember there was a conversation somewhere with a few of us wanting to do the challenge again in 2014...so..even though there is probably a better place to put it (let me know), here is my update for 2014:

Making progress 6/26

A -
B - Bensen, E.F.- "Miss Mapp"
C -
D -
E -
F - Faulkner, William - The Sound and the Fury*
G - Gaskell, Elizabeth - "Mary Barton"*
H -
I -
J -
K -
L - Lessing, Doris- The Grass is Singing*
M -
N - Nikolai Gogol- Dead Souls*
O -
P -
Q -
R -
S -
T -
U -
V -
W - Wharton, Edith- The House of Mirth*
X -
Y -
Z -


*Book is on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list

I think I will try to do both...the authors and the titles.

So...we are doing this again in 2014, right? I'm doing pretty well...2 days into the new year and I finished 2 books...if I could only keep up that pace. LOL

Good job Andrew!

Congrats Danae!