Darren's "Shelf-Clearing" 2018 Old & New Challenge

[Pink]

Glad you enjoyed The Odyssey, me too! Have you read The Iliad yet? I meant to read it this summer, but haven't got around to it yet.

[Darren]

Pink - I will be getting the Fagles translation of The Iliad at some point (maybe ask for it for crimbo!)

meanwhile, I recently finished 1984 - 3 Stars - pretty good, but not as good as I thought it might be - herewith my review:

"Very well-imagined (in terms of detail) nightmare dystopia (albeit somewhat unrealistic/overblown overall). Very basic plot, but highly compelling to read nonetheless. Gets extra brownie points for being written before (full knowledge of)Stalin/Khmer Rouge/North Korea, so 3.5 stars, but rounded down."

September is Portnoy's Complaint...

[Leni]

That was pretty much my take on 1984 too, but I think I rounded it up. Possibly because I felt like I ought to appreciate it more. :P

Looking forward Portnoy's buddy read!

[Darren]

thoroughly enjoyed Portnoy's, very funny and very Jewish!
keen to read more Roth...
review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

October is Evelina, which is well under way...

[Katy, Quarterly Long Reads]

Darren wrote: "...October is Evelina, which is well un..."

How are you liking this one?

[Darren]

slight delay updating since been waiting to see if Tenant Of Wildfell Hall won the December Revisit Poll - which it did! :oD

anyhoo

October: Evelina was very enjoyable 4 Stars, review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

November will be A Prayer for Owen Meany

December will be The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

overall this challenge has gone relatively smoothly, although both of the last two are quite long, so still not a gimme... ;o)

[Hayley]

I loved A Prayer for Owen Meany!

[Darren]

DNF'd Owen Meany.

so invoking other reserve: James Ellroy's The Big Nowhere


well on with The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, so this challenge is still juuust about possible (grits_teeth_smiley)...

[Darren]

finished Tenant - it was OK- bit long/slow/predictable - 2.5 Stars

that just leaves Big Nowhere, which is quite long, but I should start it this weekend and bite off a goodly chunk...

[Darren]

HOO-YEAH! Challenge Completed! :oD

finished The Big Nowhere on 28th Dec - good modernisation of Hammett/Chandler style - 3.5 Stars

so, ended up reading both reserves to cover 2xDNF

Top 3:
The Odyssey - undeniable classic, Fagles translation superb - 5 Stars
Portnoy's Complaint - superbly written/hilarious - 4.5 Stars
Evelina - surprisingly good early "young lady in society" stuff - 4 Stars

onward to 2019!

[Petra]

Congratulations, Darren!
The Odyssey was marvelous, I agree. I read the Lattimore translation and loved it.

I'm looking forward to your 2019 Challenge.

[Terris]

Congrats, Darren! Made it by the skin of your teeth! ;)

[Renee]

Congrats, Darren! You read a great list of books. I love that you added your top 3 when you finished. Portnoy's Complaint just got added to my TBR :)

[Leni]

Congrats! Great achievement!

[Pink]

Congrats on finishing your 2018 books!

[Lotte]

Congrats on finishing the challenge! You've read some big classics. I too love the Odyssey, glad you enjoyed it.

[Katy, Quarterly Long Reads]

Congrats on the 2018 challenge completion.