Ian's 2017 Catch Up Challenge

[Ian]

I will be trying the catch up challenge again in 2017. Most likely , I will stick to the books listed below.

2017 Catch-up Challenge
Duration: 1/1/17 - 12/31/17
✔1. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Completed Jun 27, 2017)
✔2. At the Mountains of Madness (Completed Jan 21, 2017)
3. Animal Farm
✔4. Jane Eyre (Completed Oct 13, 2017)
5. Common Sense
6. Sense and Sensibility
7. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
✔8. For Whom the Bell Tolls (Completed August 6, 2017)
9. Wuthering Heights
10. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
11. Oliver Twist
12. Emma

[Ian]

With 2 books completed at the halfway point, things are not looking too promising for catching up on ten books this year. Now that I have finished The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I think I will move on to either Jane Eyre or For Whom the Bell Tolls as next one (after the July BOTM).

[Ian]

I moved on to For Whom the Bell Tolls as my next book in the catch up challenge. I am over half way through; not much has happened, but I can't put it down!

[Ian]

I have completed For Whom The Bell Tolls and am dismayed that I am only 30% of the way through the challenge now that we are 66% through the year. :-)

[Marta]

You are doing fine. You made progress! That's one I have not read yet, either. How did you like it?

[Ian]

I really liked For Whom the Bell Tolls - I would have given it 4.5 stars if permitted! I loved Hemmingway's writing and look forward to reading more of his novels. (The only other Hemmingway novel I had read before was The Old Man and the Sea in high school a long time ago)

[Ian]

I am moving on to Jane Eyre now. I am one of the few that has not read this (or seen a movie /mini-series adaptation) before.

[Jon]

Ian wrote: "I am moving on to Jane Eyre now. I am one of the few that has not read this (or seen a movie /mini-series adaptation) before."
I too am a late comer to Jane Eyre, and am reading it now. So you are not alone.

[♥Nica♥]

I just finished Jane Eyre and will be picking up Wuthering Heights again soon. I lost interest halfway through the book but I hope to finish it this time.

[Ian]

I finally finished Jane Eyre and will post something to the Jane Eyre BOTM discussion in the next while. It always feels like when I finish one book, it adds two more to my "want to read" list. In this case, I now want to read Wide Sargasso Sea (the story of Mr Rochester's first wife) and as well another Charlotte Bronte novel, Villette.

@Nica: I bought a Bronte Sisters boxed set which also has Wuthering Heights, which will probably be the next novel I read off this list. (or next year's list)

Since War and Peace will take up the majority of my reading for the remainder of this year, I think I am probably only get 4/10 for the 2017 challenge.

[Ian]

After finishing 4/10, I will take comfort in the knowledge that if I was a baseball player, this would be an all-star level of excellence.

The Woman in White and Oliver Twist will be at the top of my list for the 2018 challenge, but they are fairly long, so I doubt I will get 10 books next year either. :-)

[Jon]

Ian wrote: "After finishing 4/10, I will take comfort in the knowledge that if I was a baseball player, this would be an all-star level of excellence.

The Woman in White and Oliver Twist will be at the top of..."

Agreed as to the all-star status of any baseball hitter at 4/10. I would not put you in center field, however. I would want a center fielder at a fielding ratio of 10/10 !!