Hélène's 2019 Bingo Challenge

[Hélène]

Here's my plan, which will probably change several times during the year!

X






✔ B1: 18th Century or Earlier Classic : The Life of Alexander the Great by Plutarch
✔ B2: Book Chosen by the Cover : The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende
✔ B3: European Classic : The Maias by Eça de Queirós
✔ B4: Telegraph’s 100 Novels List : The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
✔ B5: 20th Century Classic : L'Œuvre au noir (The Abyss) by Marguerite Yourcenar

✔ I1: Book from the Group’s Bookshelf Prior to 2019 : Lady Susan by Jane Austen
✔ I2 : New-to-You Author : The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall
✔ I3: Classic Play : Iphigenia at Aulis by Euripides
✔ I4: Literary Prize of Your Country : À son image by Jérôme Ferrari
✔ I5: Classic on Your Bookshelf For over a Year : Istanbul: Memories and the City by Orhan Pamuk

N1: South American Classic : One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
✔ N2 : Short Story Collection : Strange Pilgrims by Gabriel García Márquez
✔ N3: FREE SPACE : Children's Classic : Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kästner
✔ N4: Poetry or Essay Collection : Moabiter Sonette by Albrecht Haushofer
✔ N5: Asian Classic : Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata

✔ G1: Winner of a Foreign Literary Prize : Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
✔ G2: Classic By a Female Author : The Saga of Gösta Berling by Selma Lagerlöf
✔ G3: Classic Non-fiction : Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
✔ G4: Written by Nobel Laureate : Die Stimmen von Marrakesch (The Voices of Marrakesh: A Record of a Visit) by Elias Canetti
✔ G5: Book from the Group's 2019 Bookshelf : Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

✔ O1: 19th Century Classic : The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
✔ O2: Classic Sci-fi or Fantasy : The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
✔ O3: Classic Comedy or Satire : Can't Pay? Won't Pay! by Dario Fo
✔ O4: Classic Romance : Chéri by Colette
✔ O5: 21st Century Potential Classic : Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

[Katy, New School Classics]

Hope you have fun with this challenge for 2019, Hélène. Nice plans so far.

[Hélène]

Thank you, Katy!

[Shirley (stampartiste)]

Wow, you are quick! Way to go!!! Have fun with your selections!

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Look at you, with all those plans already. Bravo.

[Hélène]

Thank you, Shirley and Sara! Planning is half of the fun to me... :-)

[Hélène]

G3 - Classic Non-fiction : The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave.

[Rosemarie]

Congrats on getting your first bingo, and with such an amazing book.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

A book I have promised myself to read. How did you like it?

[Terris]

Hélène wrote: "G3 - Classic Non-fiction : The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave."

That was a good one to start off with! :)

[Terris]

Sara wrote: "A book I have promised myself to read. How did you like it?"

You should definitely read it and it's pretty short!

[Hélène]

Thanks, Rosemarie! Sara, "amazing" is the right word for it. Before reading it, I felt this book was a “must-read” but didn’t expect to appreciate it so much. It’s a fast read, and I just couldn’t put it down. I was impressed by Douglass’s strength of character and the clarity of his writing.

[Katy, New School Classics]

A great book to start off the year, Hélène

[Hélène]

G2: Classic By a Female Author : The Saga of Gösta Berling by Selma Lagerlöf. Lagerlöf is one of my favorite authors. I like her breathtaking descriptions of nature in Scandinavia and her flawed but endearing characters.

[Hélène]

N3: FREE SPACE : Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kästner, a children's classic I've been wanting to read for a long, long time!

[Katy, New School Classics]

You are on a roll now, Hélène.

[Hélène]

B1 : 18th Century or Earlier Classic : The Life of Alexander the Great by Plutarch

[Lynn, Revisit the Shelf]

You have so many interesting books on your list! I had though of using The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin for B1, but now that I see Plutarch's Lives I had to go download a kindle copy. Now I have many good choices.

[Hélène]

Hi Lynn! Plutarch was not my first choice either, but I had this idea when I had to read a book set in Macedonia for another of my challenges (Around the world in 80 books, "random travels challenge"). So I was able to kill two birds with one stone. And it was an easier read I thought it would be.
I've seen your list too, you have several of my all-time favorites on it, like The Scarlet Letter, Heidi or To Kill a Mockingbird!

[Hélène]

I1: Book from the Group’s Bookshelf Prior to 2019 : Lady Susan by Jane Austen
I4 :Literary Prize of Your Country : À son image by Jérôme Ferrari (Prix Littéraire Le Monde 2018).

[Hélène]

N2 : Short Story Collection : Strange Pilgrims by Gabriel García Márquez. I don't usually like short stories so much, but I really enjoyed this book!

[Lynn, Revisit the Shelf]

Hélène wrote: "N2 : Short Story Collection : Strange Pilgrims by Gabriel García Márquez. I don't usually like short stories so much, but I really enjoyed this book!"

I haven't read this one, but I am glad you enjoyed it. I also see Lady Susan on your books list. I really liked Lady Susan. There was a fun movie "Love and Friendship" that came out a few years ago based upon it.

[Hélène]

Lynn wrote: "Hélène wrote: "N2 : Short Story Collection : Strange Pilgrims by Gabriel García Márquez. I don't usually like short stories so much, but I really enjoyed this book!"

I ..."

I really liked Lady Susan too, but had never heard of the movie. Now I have to see it! :-)

[Hélène]

O2: Classic Sci-fi or Fantasy : The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Ah, now I want to see the movie as well. Had no idea there was one.

Hope you enjoyed the Le Guin. I gave her a try, but not my style.

[Hélène]

Sara wrote: "Ah, now I want to see the movie as well. Had no idea there was one.

Hope you enjoyed the Le Guin. I gave her a try, but not my style."

A friend of mine had highly recommended The Left Hand of Darkness to me, but I had a hard time getting into it. Not my style either!

[Hélène]

O1: 19th Century Classic : The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

[Hélène]

I5: Classic on Your Bookshelf For over a Year : Istanbul: Memories and the City by Orhan Pamuk.

[Katy, New School Classics]

Hélène wrote: "I5: Classic on Your Bookshelf For over a Year : Istanbul: Memories and the City by Orhan Pamuk."

That sounds like a good book.

[Hélène]

Katy wrote: "Hélène wrote: "I5: Classic on Your Bookshelf For over a Year : Istanbul: Memories and the City by Orhan Pamuk."

That sounds like a good book."

To be honest I had a hard time getting into it. I usually enjoy books that take place in countries I've never visited, but here the author goes in so much detail about the places he's talking about that I had the feeling you have to see these places to really enjoy the book. Strangely enough I could much better relate to the following book I read for the challenge, Iphigeneia at Aulis, even if it took place at a time much more distant from our own!

[Hélène]

I3: Classic Play : Iphigeneia at Aulis by Euripides. I enjoyed this book much more than I expected to. It was an easier read than I thought it would be, probably because I read it in a relatively recent translation (I read it in French, my mother tongue: Iphigénie à Aulis).

[Sara, Old School Classics]

I often find a historical perspective more interesting than a modern one, Helene.

Great progress on the challenge!

[Hélène]

Thank you, Sara!

[Hélène]

✔ G4: Written by Nobel Laureate : Die Stimmen von Marrakesch by Elias Canetti. Not very keen on this one either. it took me ages to finish it. Maybe I just shouldn't read memoirs about cities...

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Hate when that happens, Helene. Seems like they come in groups! Hope the next one is a winner.

[Hélène]

✔ B5: 20th Century Classic : L'Œuvre au noir (The Abyss) by Marguerite Yourcenar.

[Sue]

Hélène wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Hélène wrote: "N2 : Short Story Collection : Strange Pilgrims by Gabriel García Márquez. I don't usually like short stories so much, but I really enjoyed th..."

In the case of Lady Susan, I think that the movie (called "Love and Friendship") was even better than the book. It's rare when that happens but I absolutely loved the film. When I saw it in the theater there was lots of laughter.

Congratulations on another one completed Helene!

[Lynn, Revisit the Shelf]

Sue wrote: "Hélène wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Hélène wrote: "N2 : Short Story Collection : Strange Pilgrims by Gabriel García Márquez. I don't usually like short stories so much, but I re..."

Yes it was "Love and Friendship". I thought it was hilarious. Congratulations Helene!

[Hélène]

Thank you, Sue and Lynn! Now I really have to see this movie! :-).
I just have finished another book, for G5: Book from the Group's 2019 Bookshelf : Wide Sargasso Sea.

[Hélène]

✔ O4: Classic Romance : Chéri by Colette.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

You are making super progress on this challenge. I have not ever read anything by Colette. I need to put her on my challenge next year!

[Hélène]

Sara wrote: "You are making super progress on this challenge. I have not ever read anything by Colette. I need to put her on my challenge next year!"

Sara, as I was reading Chéri in French, I wondered if it was "readable" in translation, because while the description of the character's feelings felt very subtle and accurate, I found the language old-fashioned, to the point that I didn't even understand some of the words. But in the meantime I read a very positive comment by a Goodreads member who had read the book in English, so it's probably one of the few cases where the translation is better than the original!

[Sara, Old School Classics]

I good translation makes all the difference. I ran into that with Bel-Ami. I hated it but then a discussion in the group led me to believe that the main problem was I had a terrible translation. Someone posted quotes from theirs and it was night and day. I will do some research before I try Cheri.

[Hélène]

✔ B2: Book Chosen by the Cover : The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende. I've read it in translation into French, with this bookcover :

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Beautiful, Helene.

[Kathleen]

That is a gorgeous cover, Helene, and a book that I loved. Did you enjoy it?

[Hélène]

I liked it a lot, Allende is a wonderful storyteller. I like the way she can intertwine several narrative threads and various time periods without it ever seeming artificial or difficult to follow.

[Kathleen]

I agree--that ability really gives depth to her novels. Glad you liked it!

[Hélène]

✔ N5: Asian Classic : Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Did you like Snow Country, Helene. I have it on my TBR, but had not thought of it for this prompt--which I still need to fill.

BTW, congratulations on another slot checked off!