2018 Challenge

[Jalilah]

In this thread we can make suggestions for our 2018 Challenge!

[Jalilah]

I'd like to suggest reading one of one's own choice of Andrew Lang's Colored Fairy Books!

[Rachel]

How about :

- a book involving teleportation or transportation to another world or fairy tale world.

Examples would include:
The Book of Lost Things
Mythago Wood
The Book of Stories
Wildwood Dancing
Thomas the Rhymer
The Princess and the Goblin

- A retelling of a Grimm (or Anderson) fairy tale.
If that's too vague, what about a modern telling of a Grimm or Anderson tale?

- A book featuring an Asian hero or heroine OR based in Asian mythology or culture.

- A book by Patricia A McKillip.
***I've never actually read one of her books, but they sound really good. Lila would you recommend her books for a group read? Or is there another author that all folk/fairy tale fans should read?

- A nonfiction book about a famous fairy/folk tale author. Grimm, Anderson, Perrault, Joseph Jacobs, Alexander Afanasyev, Giambattista Basile, etc

- A retelling of Peter Pan, or any of the characters from Peter Pan.

- A book categorized as Folk Horror. Perhaps using this list for reference.

[Margaret]

Great suggestions! Rachel, Mckillip is fantastic, and so far, I haven't read anything by her that didn't have some folkloric references. I'm wondering if we should broaden it to modern/classic fairy tale authors? So authors that are still alive, but their works are so fantastic they deserve to be classics in the genre, like McKillip? Would leave a lot up to interpretation though.

Definitely like the colored fairy books by Lang suggestion.

Since I'm all about the babies right now, how about a children's picture book retelling a fairy tale? That's an easy one, but might be fun!

That's all I have right now, but I'll think some more!

[Rachel]

Margaret wrote: "So authors that are still alive, but their works are so fantastic they deserve to be classics in the genre, like McKillip? Would leave a lot up to interpretation though."

I like that idea. Maybe we can have a list of suggestions. Juliet Marillier is an obvious. But what about Charles De Lint? He's another one I've never read.

Also love the idea of a children's book!

[Nerdy Werewolf]

Do you think Neil Gaiman would count in that category?

[Jalilah]

Rachel wrote: "Margaret wrote: "So authors that are still alive, but their works are so fantastic they deserve to be classics in the genre, like McKillip? Would leave a lot up to interpretation though."

I like ..."

These are two of my favourite authors!

Holly wrote: "Do you think Neil Gaiman would count in that category?"
I think so

[Margaret]

I agree; I would consider Marillier, De Lint, and Gaiman all to be modern classics in the genre. Adding to that, how about Jane Yolen and Robin McKinley?

My thoughts on making it broader were that some people may have already read all of McKillip. I mean, I LOVE her and want to read more of her works. But some might not agree, or have already read everything.

[Melanti]

Yolen and McKinley sound like good additions.

Broad is always good. If it gets too narrow, there's always going to be someone left out cause they don't like the books included by the narrow topic.

Speaking of broader...

Rachel wrote: "A retelling of Peter Pan, or any of the characters from Peter Pan. ..."

I've been thinking about how to phrase this one that might open it up a bit more.

A retelling of a children's literature classic? Something like that?

What I was thinking of is not just Peter Pan, but also other classics like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Or Pinocchio, or Wizard of Oz, etc.

[Margaret]

I like the retelling of a children's lit classic, too. I actually haven't read too many of the classics!

To diversify the modern classics list, maybe we can add Helen Oyeyemi and Joseph Bruchac? I know not everyone here are fans of particularly O's work, but she does regularly implement fairy tales, and is on a lot of 'literary' fiction lists.

[Rachel]

I second that! Retellings of classics sounds fun. And it's better to have the variety.

I've never heard of oyeyemi or bruchac. Will be checking them out too!

[Melanti]

Margaret wrote: "To diversify the modern classics list, maybe we can add Helen Oyeyemi and ..."

Including Oyeyemi sounds like a possibility. I don't personally think of her as worthy of being called a "modern classic" but I can see where others might.

I haven't read any of Bruchac's retellings, but his collections don't have a big "classic" feel to me. There's probably other authors that I'd choose over him. Louise Erdrich perhaps? Though hers don't always include folklore.

I'm all for diversity, but I'd hate to loose that "modern classic author" focus.

[Margaret]

Melanti wrote: "I'm all for diversity, but I'd hate to loose that "modern classic author" focus.
."

I agree, just trying to think of some. :)

I personally wouldn't include Erdrich, just because it's not a reoccurring theme.

I keep adding authors, but there's a good possibility I'll read McKillip!

[Jalilah]

I very much like the idea of including writers like Patricia A. McKillip, Charles de Lint, Juliet Marillier,Jane Yolen, Neil Gaiman etc. The only problem I would foresee is there are so many authors that we could do an entire challenge just on authors.
That is 5 with mentioned above. Including Louise Erdrich( some of her books have more folklore and myths than others), Helen Oyeyemi ( I've only read one of her books) and Joseph Bruchac( haven't read him yet) would make 8, leaving 4 more if we have 12 books. So could that include:
one of the Colored Fairy Books, A retellings of a Children's classic, A retellings of a Classic Fairy Tale and a book involving teleportation or transportation to another world or fairy tale world.
or we just do authors this time? Then we could also include Terri Wendling and Nalo Hopkinson

[Melanti]

I think what we're proposing is one book worded something like:

"Book that's a modern classic of the retelling genre"
Or
"Book by a modern author who has written a classic of the genre"

With proposed examples given of McKillip, de Lint, Gaiman, etc.


By the way, you have read Bruchac. Probably not a retelling, but a collection The Girl Who Married the Moon: Tales from Native North America

[Margaret]

Oh, so my thought was that it would be only 1 of the challenge options. Or maybe 2? So: A book by a modern classic writer of fairy tales.

Otherwise...I've already read all of Gaiman. And a lot from some of the other authors as well.

[Jalilah]

Melanti wrote: "I think what we're proposing is one book worded something like:

"Book that's a modern classic of the retelling genre"
Or
"Book by a modern author who has written a classic of the genre"

With pr..."

Margaret wrote: "Oh, so my thought was that it would be only 1 of the challenge options. Or maybe 2? So: A book by a modern classic writer of fairy tales.

Otherwise...I've already read all of Gaiman. And a lot fro..."

Oh okay! I understood that wrong! However personally I would not mind a challenge with each of these authors! I love all of them except for Gaiman. I have loved some of his books but not others!
With the exception of De Lint, there are a lot of book I have not read from most of these authors.

You're right Melanti! I did read Bruchac when we read The Girl Who Married the Moon: Tales from Native North America.

[Rachel]

Lila wrote: "However personally I would not mind a challenge with each of these authors! I love all of them except for Gaiman. I have loved some of his books but not others! "

I like that idea! It could be fun to compare how the different authors tell their stories. Would the entire book have to be written by the author or would it include books that are co-authored. Thinking of Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

P.s. I'm with you on the Gaiman boat. Loved one or two, but for the most part his books feel lazy and forgettable (*cough*Norse Mythology *cough*).

Some other authors I thought of:
Jessica Day George
Gail Carson Levine
Shannon Hale

Not sure I'd call any of them classic, but they have found a niche and have a pretty extensive collection.

[Leah]

Lots of great ideas for 2018!

My only concern is, I think the "classic" label leads to murky territory. What exactly are the criteria for a book being a "modern classic"? I think I agree with Margaret's idea of "authors that are still alive, but their works are so fantastic they deserve to be classics in the genre, like McKillip?"

If we go with "Book that's a modern classic of the retelling genre" then I think that's broader and lends itself more to a standard set by the group member versus the group as a whole. For instance, I might select something by Joseph Bruchac or Nnedi Okorafor or Victor LaValle (The Changeling was an instant classic to me).

I also love these

- One of Andrew Lang's Colored Fairy Books
- A book involving teleportation or transportation to another world or fairy tale world
- A retelling of a children's literature classic

I would love to add a new idea

- A book that has been nominated for the Mythopoeic Award

[Jalilah]

Here are the ideas everyone has suggested as well as some I've added


1. A book by a modern author known for the the retelling genre ( De Lint,McKillip,Marillier etc)
2. One of Andrew Lang's Colored Fairy Books
3. A book involving teleportation or transportation to another world or fairy tale world
4. A retelling of a children's literature classic
5. A book that has been nominated for the Mythopoeic Award
6. A book that is a retelling or inspired by of Asian Folktales or Mythology or or a collection of original tales
7. A nonfiction book about a famous fairy/folk tale author. Grimm, Anderson, Perrault, 8. Joseph Jacobs, Alexander Afanasyev, Giambattista Basile, etc
8. A book that is a retelling inspired by or a collection of original tales of of African Folktales or Mythology
9. A book that is a retelling inspired by or a collection of original tales of of First Nations/Native American Folktales or Mythology
10. Read one additional book from a series you already started
11. A retelling, novel inspired by or original tale based on a classic European myth or tale.

[Lacey]

A couple other suggestions -- an additional book in a myth/fairy tale related series you have already started (the colored fairy books could actually fit this criteria.)

I would like to do something Arthurian -- I know that was a challenge item a few years ago.

And we could broaden the children's classic to be a retelling from classic literature, or have a separate classic literature slot (for things like Shakespeare, Robin Hood, etc.)

[Jalilah]

Lacey wrote: "A couple other suggestions -- an additional book in a myth/fairy tale related series you have already started (the colored fairy books could actually fit this criteria.)

I would like to do somethi..."

Thanks for the suggestions!
So like this?
" read one additional book from a series you already started "

For Arthurian it could be " read a retellings, novel inspired by or an original tale based on or about a classic European myth or legend?

[Leah]

I really like Lacey’s suggestion of a book from a series you already started. That could apply to collections like she mentioned or to a single book like something from Newford or Sevenwaters series. Many, many choices with this one.

[Rachel]

Leah wrote: "I really like Lacey’s suggestion of a book from a series you already started. That could apply to collections like she mentioned or to a single book like something from Newford or Sevenwaters serie..."

I really like that idea too.

[Jalilah]

Sorry misunderstood again!
So I edited my last post and put:
" read one additional book from a series you already started "

I also added both suggestions to the list so we now have 11 books.
Let me know what you all want for the last one or if you think there is something that shouldn't be there or worded differently

[Leah]

I went back to our group read polls and found a few suggestions. Maybe one of these will interest the group.

Read a book suggested in our group's "What are you reading now?" thread

Read a book about Lost Mythical Cities

Read one of "The Essentials" - i.e. "Essential" fairy tale books you haven't read yet

[Jalilah]

Leah wrote: "I went back to our group read polls and found a few suggestions.

Read a book suggested in our group's "What are you reading now?" thread

Read a book about Lost Mythical Cities

Read one of "The E..."

At the moment we have 11 books and we usually read 12.
Would you like to read more than 12 books or are there some on the current list you'd like to see replaced by some others?

[Leah]

Oh, I just thought you'd pick whichever one you liked the most out of the suggestions. (Or if others tossed in additional suggestions.)

I would definitely like to stick with a) 12 challenge items and b) the list you already curated.

[Jalilah]

This is the most current list





1. A book by a modern author known for the the retelling genre ( De Lint,McKillip,Marillier etc)
2. One of Andrew Lang's Colored Fairy Books
3. A book involving teleportation or transportation to another world or fairy tale world
4. A retelling of a children's literature classic
5. A book that has been nominated for the Mythopoeic Award
6. A book that is a retelling or inspired by of Asian Folktales or Mythology or or a collection of original tales
7. A nonfiction book about a famous fairy/folk tale author. Grimm, Anderson, Perrault, 8. Joseph Jacobs, Alexander Afanasyev, Giambattista Basile, etc
8. A book that is a retelling inspired by or a collection of original tales of of African Folktales or Mythology
9. A book that is a retelling inspired by or a collection of original tales of of First Nations/Native American Folktales or Mythology
10. Read one additional book from a series you already started
11. A retelling, novel inspired by or original tale based on a classic European myth or tale.

[Rachel]

Hmm for the 12th what if we do something random...

Ideas:
A book with a (insert color) cover
A book with an animal narrator.
I book with a (insert animal) on the cover
A book that starts with the same first letter as your name.

[Margaret]

MY favorite from all these for #12 is Leah's suggestion: Read a book suggested in our group's "What are you reading now?" thread

But I like all of them! :)

[Jalilah]

Margaret wrote: "MY favorite from all these for #12 is Leah's suggestion: Read a book suggested in our group's "What are you reading now?" thread

But I like all of them! :)"

Leah wrote: "Oh, I just thought you'd pick whichever one you liked the most out of the suggestions. (Or if others tossed in additional suggestions.)

I would definitely like to stick with a) 12 challenge items ..."

It's just I'd prefer it to be a list made up my all the members and not just what I'd like.
The list is made of suggestions everyone made.
My suggestions were the Colored Fairy Book, books based on or inspired by respectively First Nation/Native American and African Mythology.

I don't mind removing one of mine to allow more suggestions!

Of Leah's suggestions personally I prefer the Essential Fairy Tale books or a book mentioned in What are you reading now.

Rachael interesting suggestions! I'm not sure about choosing a book by the cover because covers can be so misleading!

I don't want to be the one who decides! :)

[Asaria]

A bit random suggestion. A novel or short story anthology in translation?

[Jalilah]

Asaria wrote: "A bit random suggestion. A novel or short story anthology in translation?"

This too is a great suggestion. However if I take the suggestions everyone who replied in the past two days it's going to be longer than 12!

I've made a list of what we had up to now and added a few things and taken out others . I am changing Asia and African for Non-European so that way people can choose whatever they want so that leaves another spot open.



1. A book by a modern author known for the the retelling genre ( De Lint,McKillip,Marillier etc) suggested by Rachel expanded on by Margaret and Melanti
2. One of Andrew Lang's Colored Fairy Books suggested by Lila
3. A book involving teleportation or transportation to another world or fairy tale world suggested by Rachel
4. A retelling of a children's or adults literature classic suggested by Margaret and Lacey
5. A book that has been nominated for the Mythopoeic Award suggested by Leah
6.A nonfiction book about a famous fairy/folk tale author. Grimm, Anderson, Perrault, 8. Joseph Jacobs, Alexander Afanasyev, Giambattista Basile, etc suggested by Rachel
7. A book that is a retelling inspired by or a collection of fairy/folk tales or myths from a non-European culture. Rachel and Lila
8. A book that is a retelling inspired by or a collection of original tales of of First Nations/Native American Folktales or Mythology suggested by Lila
9. Read one additional book from a series you already started suggested by Lacey
10. A retelling, novel inspired by or original tale based on a classic European myth fairy or folk tale for example Arthurian legends. Lacey
11. One collection of Essential Fairy Tales or Myths or novel or retellings based on an essential fairy tale or myth Leah
12. A novel or short story anthology in translation Asteria

So everyone, please don't suggest anything else unless you have suggestions as what we can take out or how we could change the title in order to broadenthe catagory.

[Jalilah]

Has anyone had a chance to look?

[Margaret]

Looks good to me, but I'm pretty easy going about the challenges!

I'm glad the translation was added. I think that will be more of a challenge for me to find, which I like.

[Annette]

I am looking forward to this new challenge — but first I need to finish my last couple of reads for the 2017 challenge!

[Rachel]

12. Does that mean a book that was first written in another language and has been translated?

[Leah]

Rachel, that’s how I interpreted it.

Lila, I really like this list - lots of variety and options. Only thing, would it be possible to edit the “essentials” entry to read “a novel or collection,” not just a collection?

[Tamara]

I've not participated in a group challenge before. I'm not sure how it works. Do we each choose our own book to fit the criteria?

I might have a difficult time with this since I'm more interested in myth than fairy tales. A lot of them seem to be fairy tale focused. So I'll probably pass on this.

[Leah]

Tamara, yes, you choose your own book for each challenge item. Our group's focus is fairy tales, folklore, myths, and legends. So if you want to select a retelling of a myth (vs. a fairy tale) for #3 or #7, for example, go for it.

Matter of fact, I think the only "rule" enforced by the moderators (other than no spam and practice common courtesy) is that the books discussed must fall within one of those categories.

Lastly, you get to set however many items from the challenge you want to complete. So, for example, if you weren't interested in reading one of Andrew Lang's colored fairy books, you'd just skip that one.

[Jalilah]

Rachel wrote: "12. Does that mean a book that was first written in another language and has been translated?"

Leah wrote: "Rachel, that’s how I interpreted it.

Lila, I really like this list - lots of variety and options. Only thing, would it be possible to edit the “essentials” entry to read “a novel or collection,” n..."


Leah, Thanks for explaining how our Challenge works !

I edited the "essentials" to it being a collection or a novel!


Tamara wrote: "I've not participated in a group challenge before. I'm not sure how it works. Do we each choose our own book to fit the criteria? I might have a difficult time with this since I'm more interested..."

Tamara, we try to make the challenge flexible so everyone can adapt it for their own personal reading tastes.
I've edited it so that # 1 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 and #12 could all be for myths as well as fairy tales. Even some of the others.

The only one I have reservations is # 6. A nonfiction book about a famous fairy/folk tale author. Grimm, Anderson, Perrault, 8. Joseph Jacobs, Alexander Afanasyev,
because I'm 1. not sure how much there is available and 2. it interests me personally less.
However if everyone else wants it of course I'll keep it in!


Finally you all know you can read as many books as you like, right?
You do not have to read 12 books.

[Leah]

Lila wrote: "The only one I have reservations is # 6. A nonfiction book about a famous fairy/folk tale author. Grimm, Anderson, Perrault, 8. Joseph Jacobs, Alexander Afanasyev,
because I'm 1. not sure how much there is available and 2. it interests me personally less.
However if everyone else wants it of course I'll keep it in! "

I was looking through my lists today because at first this one didn't interest me much either. But then I started searching with a focus more toward the women writers and discovered a biography about Angela Carter. So personally I'd like to keep this one because it actually challenged me to dig a little to find a book.

Also, "non-fiction" could mean biography, criticism, etc. More choices than I first assumed. Just food for thought. :)

[Tamara]

Leah wrote: "Tamara, yes, you choose your own book for each challenge item. Our group's focus is fairy tales, folklore, myths, and legends. So if you want to select a retelling of a myth (vs. a fairy tale) for ..."

Leah and Lila, Thanks for the explanation and flexibility. I might give this a try.
This year I set a personal challenge to read 50 books, 30 of them by women authors. So far I've read around 57 books--most of them by women. I'll probably set a similar challenge for myself in 2018 and try to integrate some books with the challenge here. It should be a lot of fun.
Thanks, again.

[Jalilah]

Final Version!



1. A book by a modern author known for the the retelling genre ( De Lint,McKillip,Marillier etc)
2. One of Andrew Lang's Colored Fairy Books
3. A book involving teleportation or transportation to another world or fairy tale world
4. A retelling of a children's or adults literature classic
5. A book that has been nominated for the Mythopoeic Award
6.A nonfiction book about a famous fairy/folk tale or myth author or character.
7. A book that is a retelling inspired by or a collection of fairy/folk tales or myths from a non-European culture.
8. A book that is a retelling inspired by or a collection of original tales of of First Nations/Native American Folktales or Mythology
9. Read one additional book from a series you already started
10. A retelling, novel inspired by or original tale based on a classic European myth, fairy or folk tale for example Arthurian legends.
11. One collection of Essential Fairy Tales or Myths or novel or retellings based on an essential fairy tale or myth
12. A novel or short story anthology in translation

[Margaret]

For #6, may I suggest opening it up a little to say author/character? So, for instance, if someone wanted to read a nonfiction book about Helen of Troy, that could count? Though that may broaden it too much. What do others think?

[Jalilah]

Margaret wrote: "For #6, may I suggest opening it up a little to say author/character? So, for instance, if someone wanted to read a nonfiction book about Helen of Troy, that could count? Though that may broaden it..."

Good idea! I was concerned about that one being to narrow too! I'll make the change now!
I'm glad we are not reading a nonfiction book about fairytales this time around! ;)

[Melanti]

The list looks great to me!

(I agree, the nonfiction category was the hardest this year...)

[Tamara]

The list looks good to me, too. Thank you for broadening the scope to include include mythology and characters in myths. I appreciate it and intend to participate in the challenge.

[Leah]

Yay! We convinced Tamara to join next year's challenge. :)

On a side note, I'm going to attempt to first select my books from an Endicott list, then from owned books not yet read, then from Mt TBR, and then other sources. I'm determined to 1) read books I already own and 2) get through all the Endicott lists, one way or another. lol