Classic Author A-Z Challenge

[Beth]

Info to follow.

[Valerie]

This will be the thread for the:

Classic Author Challenge 2017

1. Using the author's first or last name - read: 26 books
2.Nothing published after 2007. Whether some things are classics or not is debated, so feel free to ask or argue your defense of a book you feel is classic.
3. No non-fiction
4. No poetry
5. You may NOT repeat any author.
6. Any name with an "X" or a "Q" in them will work for those letters. (The name does not have to begin with an X or a Q.)
7. Books must have been read in 2017.

You can sign up anytime, and you can backdate books if you know when you finished it, as long as it was done in the year 2017. You can also link if you wish, or not.

[Valerie]

This is a fun challenge that I asked Beth if we could carry over from the now defunct Classics group we belonged to. This will be my fourth year doing it, and it certainly has lead me down some interesting reading paths!

In the past 3 years, I have (to the best of my ability) only used last names for the alphabet. However, this year I am going to make it a little easier on myself and use first + last.

In case you aren't familiar with this challenge:
-you don't need to post your plan
-you can update as much or little as you like (I usually do it quarterly)

Mostly.... have fun! :)

[Clara]

This looks like a fun challenge! I am a bit sad about the no poetry rule but I do understand why. So everything written after 2007 is fair game pretty much ?

[Valerie]

Clara wrote: "This looks like a fun challenge! I am a bit sad about the no poetry rule but I do understand why. So everything written after 2007 is fair game pretty much ?"

The books have to have been published BEFORE 2007. (Giving them 10 years to become a 'classic"!)

Also, I am quite sure no-one would argue with Beowulf; but other poetry would probably be more contentious.

[Beth]

It will be my first time doing this. I will combine it with the versatility challenge. Thanks for getting this one started Valerie.

[Beth]

Beth's Classic Author Challenge A-Z

A Adams Douglas-Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency 5/29/17
B Alfred Bester The Stars My Destiny
C Carson McCullers The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
D
E Hemmingway, Ernest-The Old Man and the Sea
F Franz Kafka The Trial 8/25/17
G
H Hinton, S.E.-The Outsiders 7/29/17
I Kazuo Ishiguro Remains of the Day 9/5/17
J Rowling, J.K.-Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 5/29/17
K Steven King The Dark Tower
L Harper Lee To Kill A Mockingbird 7/12/17
M Maugham W. Somerset (William 1874-1965-The Painted Veil 1/11/17
N
O Flannery O'Connor Wise Blood
P
Q Laura Esquivel Like Water for Chocolate 9/2/17
R Jean Rhys Wide Sargasso Sea 10/15/17
S Shakespeare, William-The Merchant of Venice 3/18/17
T Josephine Tey-The Man in the Queue 2/26/17
U
V Voltaire-Candide 1/21/17
W H G Wells-The Invisible Man
X
Y
Z

[Tim]

Tim's Classic Fiction Author Challenge 2017 (including date completed)
Goal: Include more women authors in my reading
Women Authors: A, C, E,...U, W, Y
Men Authors: B, D, F, ...V, X, Z
Letters Completed: 26/26 as of 12/01/17

A: Anne Bronte, Agnes Grey* (01/02/2017)
B: John Bunyan, The Holy War (01/30/2017)
C: Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre* (04/01/17)
D: Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities* (03/18/17)
E: Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights* (02/14/2017)
F: Gustave Flaubert, A Sentimental Education* (05/23/17)
G: George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans Cross), Adam Bede* (06/28/17)
H: Herman Melville, Moby Dick* (07/29/17)
I: Iris Murdock, Under the Net* (11/09/17)
J: J. M. Coetzee, Life and Times of Michael K* (02/20/17)
K: Kate Chopin, The Awakening* (11/10/17)
L: Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass* (09/23/17)
M: Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables (10/05/17)
N: Nikolai Gogol, The Overcoat and Other Short Stories* (09/23/17)
O: Flannery O'Connor, A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Short Stories (10/25/17)
P: John Patrick Shanley, Doubt: A Parable (02/17/17)
P: Edgar Allen Poe, The Fall of the House of Usher* (03/03/17)
Q: Arthur Quiller-Couch and Daphne du Maurier, Castle Dor (02/08/17)
R: Francois Rabelais, The Histories of Gargantua and Pantagruel* (12/01/17)
S: Johanna Spyri, Heidi (10/20/17)
T: Thomas Wolfe, Look Homeward, Angel* (07/13/17)
U: Ursula K. LeGuin, The Word for World Is Forest (11/11/17)
V: Victor Hugo, Les Miserables* (09/10/17)
W: Winifred Watson, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day* (04/04/17)
X: Aldous HuXley, Crome Yellow* (04/24/17)
Y: Banana Yoshimoto, Kitchen* (01/14/2017)
Z: Yevgeny Zamyatin, We* (04/15/17)

* Books included in Boxall, et.al. 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

[Jennifer]

Jennifer's Classic Author Fiction Challenge A-Z (2017)
(Authors listed by last name - completed followed by dates read)
A - Alcott, Louisa May - Little Women
B - Boyne, John - The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (1/25/17 - 1/26/17)
C - Carroll, Lewis - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass (7/21/17 -
D - Dumas, Alexandre - The Three Musketeers (1/26/17 -
E - Eliot, George - Middlemarch
F - Fitzgerald, F. Scott - The Great Gatsby
G - Gaskell, Elizabeth - North and South (1/4/17 - 1/26/17)
H - Hugo, Victor - Les Misérables
I - Irving, Washington - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
J - Joyce, James - Dubliners
K - Kipling, Rudyard - The Jungle Book
L - Lee, Harper - To Kill a Mockingbird
M - Maugham, W. Somerset - The Painted Veil (1/1/17 - 1/4/17)
N - Nabokov, Vladimir - Lolita
O
P
Q
R - Rhys, Jean - Wide Sargasso Sea
S - Steinbeck, John - Cannery Row
T - Tey, Josephine - The Man in the Queue (2/1/17 - 2/27/17)
U
V
W - Wells, H.G. - The Time Machine (1/26/17 - 1/28/17)
X
Y
Z

[Beth]

Jennifer wrote: "Jennifer's Classic Author Fiction Challenge A-Z (2017)

What a great list! I loved Dubliners.

[Jennifer]

Beth wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Jennifer's Classic Author Fiction Challenge A-Z (2017)

What a great list! I loved Dubliners."

I heard a passage from it read in my English class, years ago, and always wanted to read the rest of the book. Looking forward to it! :-)

[Valerie]

My final update (Dec. 29).

23/26

A: Rachel Ray by Anthony Trollope
B: Mapp and Lucia by E.F. Benson
C: The Man Who Knew Too Much by G.K. Chesterton
D:
E: Mr. Harrison's Confessions by Elizabeth Gaskell
F: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
G: Neuromancer by William Gibson
H: A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
I: A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen
J: The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey
K: The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
L: It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
M: The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
N: Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford
O: Burmese Days by George Orwell
P: The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
Q: Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
R: As for Me and My House by Sinclair Ross
S: Fer-de-Lance by Rex Stout
T: The Cossacks by Leo Tolstoy
U: The Stone Carvers by Jane Urquhart
V: Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
W: The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde
X:
Y:
Z: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

[Beth]

Great list. I had not heard of the Anthony Trollope book. At first I thought it was a CookBook! :-P

[Valerie]

Beth wrote: "Beth's Classic Author Challenge A-Z

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H Hemmingway, Ernest-A Moveable Feast 2/26/17
I
J
K
L
M Maugham W. Somerset (William 1874-1965-The Painted Vei..."

Not to be hard to get along with(!) - but the Hemingway is non-fiction! Sorry.... :)

[Valerie]

Beth wrote: "Great list. I had not heard of the Anthony Trollope book. At first I thought it was a CookBook! :-P"

I heard of it from another group I am in. One of the members is a real big fan of Trollope, and this seemed to be a good introductory one. It was okay, but I feel like Victorian novelists are not the first choice for me!

The funny thing is i am pretty sure i read some reviews on amazon where people obviously didn't read what the book was about and bought it thinking it was the cookbook author's book! ha, ha....

[Beth]

Darn! I forgot. Is Shakespeare OK? I didn't see that plays were excluded.

[Valerie]

Beth wrote: "Darn! I forgot. Is Shakespeare OK? I didn't see that plays were excluded."

Yes, plays are ok.

[Tim]

(complete list above)

[Tim]

Classic Author Challenge 2017
04/04/17
10/26

W: Winifred Watson, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day*

* Listed in Boxall's, 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

[Valerie]

Tim wrote: "Classic Author Challenge 2017
04/04/17
10/26

W: Winifred Watson, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day*

* Listed in Boxall's, 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die"

That has been on my TBR list for quite a while! Did you enjoy it?

[Tim]

Valerie wrote: "Tim wrote: "Classic Author Challenge 2017
04/04/17
10/26

W: Winifred Watson, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day*

* Listed in Boxall's, 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die"

That has been on my TB..."

Yes, I enjoyed it! Especially entertaining was the character of Miss Pettigrew. Her meekness mixed with her surprising effrontery and boldness keeps her new friend's "pursuers" off guard.

[Tim]

Classic Author Challenge 2017
04/15/17
11/26

Z: Yevgeny Zamyatin, We*

[Tim]

Classic Author Challenge 2017
04/24/17
12/26

X: Aldous HuXley, Crome Yellow*

*on Boxall's, 1001 Books You Must Read...list

[Tim]

Classic Author Challenge 2017
05/23/17
13/26

F: Gustave Flaubert, A Sentimental Education*

*on Boxall's list

[Tim]

Classic Author Challenge 2017
06/28/17
14/26

G: George Eliot's, Adam Bede*

[Tim]

Classic Author Challenge 2017
07/13/17
15/26

T: Thomas Wolfe, Look Homeward, Angel*

[Tim]

Classic Author Challenge 2017
07/29/17
16/26

H: Herman Melville, Moby Dick*

* on Boxall's list

[Tim]

Classic Author Challenge 2017
09/10/17
17/26

V: Victor Hugo, Les Miserables*

one of Boxall's 1001

[Tim]

Classic Author Challenge 2017
09/23/17
18/26

N: Nikolai Gogol, The Overcoat and Other Short Stories (also includes The Nose*, Old-Fashioned Farmers, and The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarrelled with Ivan Nikiforovich

* on Boxall's 1001 list (2006 edition)

[Tim]

Classic Author Challenge 2017
09/23/17
19/26

Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass*

*on Boxall's list

[Valerie]

Tim wrote: "Classic Author Challenge 2017
09/23/17
19/26

Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass*

*on Boxall's list"


Goodness, Tim - you're ripping through them now!

[Beth]

You sure are! That's awesome!

[Tim]

Valerie wrote: "Tim wrote: "Classic Author Challenge 2017
09/23/17
19/26

Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass*

*on Boxall's list"
Thank you for the encouragement! Tim

Goodness, Tim - you're ripping through them now!"

[Tim]

Beth wrote: "You sure are! That's awesome!"

Appreciate your encouraging words. Tim

[Tim]

Classic Author A-Z Challenge 2017
10/05/17
20/26

M: L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

[Valerie]

Well, I just updated my list - I was behind on the updates (see post 12)!

It has become apparent to me, in the last couple of weeks, that I won't be completing the challenge for this year! blah.... This is very disappointing. I got side-tracked with other reading, and life (darn life).

I had hoped to read The Count of Monte Cristo but, realistically I doubt I have time for a 'big, fat' book right now. This is the busy time of year for me work wise. Also, thanks to George's catch on my claim of not having read "Brave New World" - wherein I checked my bookshelves (on GR) and realized I read it a couple of years ago.... I've lost my 'x' author.

Anyhow, I'm not giving up. I am nearly finished the excellent: It Can't Happen Here; and should be able to complete my Z and I authors as well.

[Beth]

You are doing great. I am falling very short!

[Tim]

Classic Author Challenge, 2017
21/26 letters completed

S: Just finished, along with my wife, Heidi, by Johanna Spyri. Very enjoyable.

[Tim]

Classic Author Challenge, 2017
22/26 Letters Completed

O: Flannery O'Connor, A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories.

[Beth]

That is a really twisted story! I do like her style but so dark! I read Wise Blood recently.

[Tim]

Beth wrote: "That is a really twisted story! I do like her style but so dark! I read Wise Blood recently."

It was a frightening story. Lots of dark characters in this series of stories. My favorite story in the collection was The Displaced Person.

[Valerie]

Updated to include E, G + L read. I really enjoyed the books I read for these letters.

L was It Can't Happen Here, which I guess is having a resurgence of popularity due to the current state of US politics. I thought the book was absolutely fantastic and highly recommend it. I listened to an audiobook version, which added a lot. I had to wait 6!!!! months to borrow it.

[Tim]

2017 Classic Author Challenge A-Z
23/26
I: Iris Murdock, Under the Net* (11/09/17)

*Boxall, 1001 Books... 2006 edition

[Tim]

2017 Classic Author Challenge A-Z
24/26
K: Kate Chopin, The Awakening* (11/10/17)

*Listed in Boxall, 1001 Books...Before You Die, 2006

[Valerie]

Tim wrote: "2017 Classic Author Challenge A-Z
24/26
K: Kate Chopin, The Awakening* (11/10/17)

*Listed in Boxall, 1001 Books...Before You Die, 2006"

Oh! Only 2 letters left! :)

[Tim]

2017 Classic Author Challenge A-Z
25/26
U: Ursula K. LeGuin, The Word for World Is Forest (11/11/17)

This is LeGuin's take on the Vietnam War in sci-fi genre. An interesting read.

[Tim]

Valerie wrote: "Tim wrote: "2017 Classic Author Challenge A-Z
24/26
K: Kate Chopin, The Awakening* (11/10/17)

*Listed in Boxall, 1001 Books...Before You Die, 2006"

Oh! Only 2 letters left! :)"

I'm hoping to have December to maybe read some Boxall listed books that are not fiction. I am still working, however, on Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel. I'm about halfway through it.
Thanks for your encouragement.

[Tim]

2017 Classic Author Challenge A - Z
26/26
Challenge Completed (full list at January 03, 2017)

R: Francois Rabelais, The Histories of Gargantua and Pantagruel* (12/01/17)

*from Boxall, et. al. list, 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

[Tim]

Valerie wrote: "This is a fun challenge that I asked Beth if we could carry over from the now defunct Classics group we belonged to. This will be my fourth year doing it, and it certainly has lead me down some int..."

Thank you, so much, Valerie for leading and enabling the Classic Author Challenge A-Z for 2017. It has been a delight! I hope you will do the same for 2018. I am already lining up reading ideas for the 2018 challenge! Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year! Sincerely, Tim

[Valerie]

Tim wrote: "2017 Classic Author Challenge A - Z
26/26
Challenge Completed (full list at January 03, 2017)

R: Francois Rabelais, The Histories of Gargantua and Pantagruel* (12/01/17)

*from Boxall, et. al. lis..."

Well done!