Katy's 2018 Old & New

[Katy, Old School Classics]

Katy's 12+2 Classics Challenge

Old School (1899 and earlier):
1) The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas
2) The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
3) The Odyssey by Homer

New School (1900-1999):
1) Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
2) The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Feb 2018
3) Ulysses by James Joyce Abandoned

Wild Cards:
1) Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup
2) East of Eden by John Steinbeck
3) The Big Green Tent by Lyudmila Ulitskaya Read Feb 2018
4) We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
5) Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
6) The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

Alternates:
1) The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories by H.P. Lovecraft
2) The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

[Katy, Old School Classics]

I still have a few days to get this one planned. I'm going to try to go with books on our Group Book Shelf, and that I either own or have been on my TBR list for a while.

[Katy, Old School Classics]

Still thinking and need to check my physical bookshelves.

[Katy, Old School Classics]

And of course, I am always open to recommendations of your favorite book on our shelves!

[Sue]

Great list so far and thanks for reminding me that I need to update mine!

[Melanti]

Well, if you're asking for input... Lovecraft is a very polarizing author. If you end up not liking him, a full anthology might be a bit too much. Or are you trying to get all of those orange penguin freebies read?

What about The House of the Spirits or Lolita? Those were both 5 star reads for me.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is another short fun one if you need something to balance out the longer reads

[Katy, Old School Classics]

Melanti wrote: "...What about The House of the Spirits or Lolita? Those were both 5 star reads for me..."

I like those ideas. Thank you. And yes, I do want to read those Orange Penguins, but for Lovecraft I will probably only read the title story unless I just love it.

[Katy, Old School Classics]

Sue wrote: "Great list so far and thanks for reminding me that I need to update mine!"

I know, right. 2018 will be here in no time.

[Katy, Old School Classics]

First draft of books for the challenge completed ... now to ponder on this for a few days.

[Susie]

You have some heavy duty reads on this list...good for you!

[Katy, Old School Classics]

Thank you.

[Kathleen]

What a great list, Katy. The old ones just feel old, and the new ones feel new (and the wildcard ones wild, for that matter)!

If you're interested and haven't heard of it, there's a group reading a new translation (first by a woman) of the Odyssey starting in March: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/.... I'm looking forward to that one!

[Katy, Old School Classics]

Thank you Kathleen (BTW that is my real name --but I've gone by nicknames for many years).

I've joined the group. Looks very interesting.

[Kathleen]

So glad you joined, Katy. And it's a nice name to share! I mostly go by nicknames too, but like to use the full name in some places--like here. Makes me think of my dad, who always called me that. ;)

[Petra]

Nice list, Katy!
I've read Ulysses and The Odyssey. Both are good; Ulysses requires some work (I suggest setting a daily page limit and starting in January). It's worth the effort.

For The Odyssey, check out the different translations on-line. I did comparisons through the "read me" option on Amazon for a few lines to see which translations I seem to enjoy best.

The other books are a nice selection. Atwood, Steinbeck and Jackson are wonderful. I haven't read the other authors but they are mostly on my TBR list as well. Looking forward to your thoughts on all of these books.

[Renee]

Great list! You have a few on there that I'm planning on reading next year too. I hope you enjoy them, and have fun with your challenge!

[Katy, Old School Classics]

Petra wrote: "...For The Odyssey, check out the different translations on-line...."

What translation did you end up reading?

[Katy, Old School Classics]

Renee wrote: "Great list! You have a few on there that I'm planning on reading next year too. I hope you enjoy them, and have fun with your challenge!"

Maybe we can read together in 2018 :)

[Petra]

Katy wrote: "Petra wrote: "...For The Odyssey, check out the different translations on-line...."

What translation did you end up reading?"

I chose (and enjoyed) Richard Lattimore's translation: The Odyssey of Homer. I found the rhythm more natural when reading and I liked his wording better when compared to the others.

[Katy, Old School Classics]

One read

Wild Cards:
3) The Big Green Tent by Lyudmila Ulitskaya

[April]

I have the Odyssey on my list and I've finished The Catcher in the Rye. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

[Katy, Old School Classics]

Thanks April.

I'm hoping to get to The Odyssey next month and hoping to finish up Ulysses this month. Although Ulysses might end up being a year long project.

[Petra]

I hadn't heard of The Big Green Tent before. It sounds interesting.

I've read Ulysses 3 times and it still takes me about 5-6 months to read comfortably (pace-wise). It takes time.

I enjoyed The Odyssey. Hope you do, too.

[Erin]

Petra wrote: "Katy wrote: "Petra wrote: "...For The Odyssey, check out the different translations on-line...."

What translation did you end up reading?"

I chose (and enjoyed) Richard Lattimore's translation: [..."

Thank you for the recommendation! :)

[Katy, Old School Classics]

Finished The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

[Terris]

Whadja' think? Was it an eye-opener for you, or just what you expected? It's not my personal favorite, but I'm glad I read it :)

[Katy, Old School Classics]

It wasn't what I expected honestly. It was a very sad novel, and I felt that Holden was very believable as a depressed young man.

[Terris]

Katy wrote: "It wasn't what I expected honestly. It was a very sad novel, and I felt that Holden was very believable as a depressed young man."

I agree completely.