Shawn H's 2021 Challenge Buffet

[Shawn]

This challenge was lost in the shuffle of 2020. I enjoyed planning and had very high hopes that fell short. I'm looking forward to a 2nd chance! The list of challenges for this year's buffet looks like fun. I am probably being overly optimistic, but I'll enjoy planning. Hopefully I'll see it through this year.

[Shawn]

Challenge #1 - Old & New TBR Challenge

1899 and earlier/Old School
1. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
2. Dracula by Bram Stoker
3. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

1900-1999/New School
4. Foundation by Isaac Asimov
5. Humboldt's Gift by Saul Bellow
6. Island by Aldous Huxley

My Wild Card Six
7. The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
8. Death in the Afternoon by Ernest Hemingway
9. Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck
10. It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
11. 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
12. The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket and Related Tales by Edgar Allan Poe

Alternates
A1. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
A2. Othello by William Shakespeare

[Shawn]

Challenge #3 - Second Place or Worse

1. American Pastoral by Philip Roth
2. Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville
3. To Build a Fire by Jack London
4. The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
5. The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson
6. The Red and the Black by Stendhal
7. The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle

[Shawn]

Challenge #4 - Members Choice Classic/Genre Challenge

1. 18th Century or older, Othello by William Shakespeare
2. 19th Century, The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
3. 20th Century, 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
4. Current or Past Group Read, TBD (Current Group Read)
5. An Author not read before, Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
6. Diversity Classic, read a book from a religion, culture, country, or race different than yours. Journey to the End of the Night. by Louis-Ferdinand Céline
7. Science Fiction, Foundation by Isaac Asimov
8. Romance, The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
9. Historical fiction, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
10. Nonfiction, Death in the Afternoon by Ernest Hemingway
11. Mystery/Crime, The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
12. Horror or Humor, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket and Related Tales by Edgar Allan Poe

[Shawn]

Challenge #5 - Decade/Century Challenge

1860-1869: The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
1870-1879: The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
1880-1889: Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace or A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
1890-1899: Dracula by Bram Stoker
1900-1909: The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad
1910-1919: Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
1920-1929: The Castle by Franz Kafka
1930-1939: Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Céline or Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
1940-1949: For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
1950-1959: Desolation Angels by Jack Kerouac

[Shawn]

Challenge #6 - Short Story Challenge

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[Shawn]

Challenge #7 - 2021 Group Reads Challenge

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[Shawn]

Challenge #8 - Expand Your Horizon With New Authors

1. Saul Bellow (Humboldt's Gift)
2. Wilkie Collins (The Moonstone)
3. J.M. Barrie (Peter Pan)
4. Edith Wharton (The Age of Innocence) or (Ethan Frome)
5. Kingsley Amis (Lucky Jim) (02/14/21)
6. Solomon Northup (Twelve Years a Slave)

[Shawn]

Challenge #9 - A-Z Author Challenge


A. Kingsley Amis, Lucky Jim (02/14)21)
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D. Philip K. Dick, Ubik (01/09/21)
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K. Yasunari Kawabata, Snow Country(01/14/21)
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[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Planning is the fun part, hopefully next year goes better than this one. Enjoy your challenges.

[Shawn]

Thanks Bob! I do really enjoy sifting through my TBR shelf and finding books I should have read. Hopefully I'm able to get through a few of these!

[Janet]

Some really good choices here. I thought "The Moonstone", "Great Expectations" and "Travels with Charley" were 5 star books and "Ethan Frome" is one of my all time favorites. I also have "It Can't Happen Here" planned for my Old and New TBR Challenge.

[Shawn]

Thanks Janet! I am looking forward to Great Expectations and Travels with Charley. I’ve been trying to get to them for some time and look forward to making it happen this year. Good luck with your challenge. Hopefully you enjoy It Can’t Happen Here.

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Looks like your planning is going well, some really good choices.

[Shawn]

Ticked one of for Challenge 8 - New Authors. Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis. I found the book enjoyable. I really liked the author's descriptions of his characters. A number were portrayed as odd individuals and the feeling was well achieved.

As a side note, I've been enjoying the James Bond series and recently finished the original works by Ian Fleming. The next book in the extended series was completed by Amis. I look forward to continuing on with the series and seeing how the Amis version matches up with Fleming's Bond.

[Lynn, New School Classics]

Glad you enjoyed your book so much. I have never read any of the James Bond books. I did not know who Kingsley Amis was. Very nice; it sounds like fun.