Marilyn's 2021 Buffet of Challenges

[Marilyn]

#1: Old & New Challenge: Novellas (60 to 200 pages)
Completed

Old School
Niels Lyhne by Jens Peter Jacobsen
✔︎Hunger by Knut Hamsun
✔︎The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett

New School - Fortunes of War: The Levant Trilogy
✔︎The Danger Tree by Olivia Manning
✔︎The Battle Lost and Won by Olivia Manning
✔︎The Sum of Things by Olivia Manning

Wild Cards
✔︎They Shoot Horses, Don't They? by Horace McCoy
✔︎A Gun for Sale by Graham Greene
The Quest for Christa T. by Christa Wolf
✔︎The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
✔︎Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee
✔︎The Blue Fox by Sjón

Alternates
✔︎The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
✔︎Blood of the Dawn by Claudia Salazar Jiménez

✔︎ as completed

[Marilyn]

#3: Second Place or Worse
Completed

✔︎1. The Bottle Imp by Robert Louis Stevenson
✔︎2. A Perfect Day for Bananafish by J.D. Salinger
✔︎3. Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener
✔︎4. The Way West by A.B. Guthrie Jr.
✔︎5. The Forsaken Inn by Anna Katharine Green
✔︎6. Gösta Berling's Saga by Selma Lagerlöf
✔︎7. The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith

[Marilyn]

#5: Women Authors Decade Challenge
Completed

✔︎1942 - Spring Magic by D.E. Stevenson
✔︎1943 - The Last of Summer by Kate O'Brien
✔︎1944 - Winter Wheat by Mildred Walker
✔︎1945 - The Horizontal Man by Helen Eustis
✔︎1946 - The Street by Ann Petry
✔︎1947 - The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
✔︎1948 - Half a Lifelong Romance by Eileen Chang
✔︎1949 - Because of the Lockwoods by Dorothy Whipple
✔︎1950 - The Grass Is Singing by Doris Lessing
✔︎1951 - Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson

[Marilyn]

#5 and #8 Combined: New Authors Century Challenge
Completed

✔︎1900 Love Among the Chickens by P.G. Wodehouse
✔︎1910 The Heads of Cerberus by Francis Stevens
✔︎1920 The Poisoned Chocolates Case by Anthony Berkeley
✔︎1930 Miss Mole by E.H. Young
✔︎1940 A View of the Harbour by Elizabeth Taylor
✔︎1950 The Waiting Years by Fumiko Enchi
✔︎1960 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
✔︎1970 The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
✔︎1980 Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
✔︎1990 Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley

[Marilyn]

Series

Mountain Novels by John Ehle
✔︎The Land Breakers
✔︎The Journey of August King
✔︎The Road
✔︎Time of Drums
The Winter People
Lion on the Hearth
Last One Home

[Marilyn]

Nonfiction

✔︎1. Bess of Hardwick: First Lady of Chatsworth, 1527-1608 by Mary S. Lovell
✔︎2. A Life in Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII. by Sarah Helm
✔︎3. Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming

[Marilyn]

I am going to do more reading on impulse this year. Some challenges are planned and some will be filled in as I make reading choices.

[Brina]

I’ve read your two alternates for old and new. Barnes is brilliant. Jimenez is tough to swallow in any language but a necessary read. Good luck with those!

[Terris]

Lots of good reading there, Marilyn! Enjoy your challenges and your impulse reads, too! :)

[Kathleen]

Yes, lots of good stuff, Marilyn, many I don't know and am curious about. I can say The Street is very powerful and Hangsaman is wonderfully weird. Enjoy them all!

[Lynn]

I also like the way you combined a couple of the challenges - very clever. I am trying to use books more strategically this year, so that is an idea I might steal!

[Marilyn]

Brina wrote: "I’ve read your two alternates for old and new. Barnes is brilliant. Jimenez is tough to swallow in any language but a necessary read. Good luck with those!"

Brina, I'm keeping watch for the buddy read on Waiting for the Barbarians. If I can get it from the library, I'm in.

[Marilyn]

Lynn wrote: "I also like the way you combined a couple of the challenges - very clever. I am trying to use books more strategically this year, so that is an idea I might steal!"

Steal it! When your plate gets too full at the buffet, things starts to run together. #5 and #8 seemed like a good mix.

[Marilyn]

Kathleen and Terris - Most of my reads come from other members' challenges and nominations that didn't make it. I'm looking forward to all of them!

[Ila]

Wow I don't even know so many of them. The street and Niels Lyhne are great though.

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

I know a lot of your authors but not many of your choices, enjoy!

[Marilyn]

Last minute change in the Old & New Challenge. In 2020 I read books one, two and three (The Balkan Trilogy) in the Fortunes of War series by Olivia Manning. I added books four, five and six (The Levant Trilogy) to finish the series as my New School selections.

[Marilyn]

Where to start?

Old & New - Waiting for the Barbarians
Women Authors Decade - Half a Lifelong Romance
New Authors Century - The Friends of Eddie Coyle

[Marilyn]

January summary:

#1 Old & New Challenge - Completed 5/12
Favorites:
The Country of the Pointed Firs was a lovely visit to a small New England village. A nice, quiet but refreshing read.
Waiting for the Barbarians was the opposite. A violent, intense, thought-provoking novel on colonialism. I want to read more by this author.

#3 Second Place or Worse - Completed 2/7
Read the two short stories The Bottle Imp and A Perfect Day for Bananafish. Both were very good.

#5 Women Authors Decade - Completed 1/10
Half a Lifelong Romance was a book that I liked but on reflection can't tell you what was likable about it. Written in 1948 and translated. As I was reading it I did wonder what I was missing in historical context and Chinese culture.

[Marilyn]

Finished Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson. This is her second book and I think she hadn't quite figured out the plotting of her stories yet. A minor character took over the last section of the book and made the story very disjointed. A major Shirley Jackson-like plot point from the first sections, which was the reason I kept reading, was completely dropped in the last section. Overall, very disappointing.

[Shaina]

An interesting mix of books so far. I think I will read a book or two out of these. Maybe Waiting for the Barbarians to start with. Congratulations, on a wonderful start.

[Carolien]

Marilyn wrote: "January summary:

#1 Old & New Challenge - Completed 5/12
Favorites:
The Country of the Pointed Firs was a lovely visit to a small New England village. A nice, quiet but refreshing ..."

I agree that The Country of the Pointed Firs is a lovely, peaceful read. Perfect for our time.

I read Half a Lifelong Romance in January and also found that I liked it, but it is a challenging book due to the cultural nuances and the many moments where the outcome changes from the expected. About halfway through I still could not figure out where is was heading and then it all unraveled pretty quickly. I think it would be a very different read in the original Mandarin as well.

You have some lovely books on your list. I've had a look at Olivia Manning based on your list and will have to add her to the TBR, it looks very interesting. I'm busy reading The Street which I am finding very challenging. Enjoy!

[Marilyn]

Carolien wrote: "Marilyn wrote: "I've had a look at Olivia Manning based on your list and will have to add her to the TBR, it looks very interesting. I'm busy reading The Street which I am finding very challenging..."

I think we are in the same group. The Street is next on my list.

I wasn't sure about the Manning books after the first one, but I liked them more as I read on.

[Marilyn]

Shaina wrote: "An interesting mix of books so far. I think I will read a book or two out of these. Maybe Waiting for the Barbarians to start with. Congratulations, on a wonderful start."

Thanks, Shaina. These books are proving to be an interesting adventure.

[Luke]

I'm glad to see your progress in your Women Authors Decade Challenge, Marilyn. Earlier works like those can be somewhat of a roll of the dice, but I hope they're all worth your engagement in one way or another.

[Marilyn]

Aubrey wrote: "I'm glad to see your progress in your Women Authors Decade Challenge, Marilyn. Earlier works like those can be somewhat of a roll of the dice, but I hope they're all worth your engagement in one wa..."

I have learned that I don't have to finish every book that I start. Sometimes it's best to move on.

[Ila]

Marilyn wrote: "Aubrey wrote: "I'm glad to see your progress in your Women Authors Decade Challenge, Marilyn. Earlier works like those can be somewhat of a roll of the dice, but I hope they're all worth your engag..."

That has been a difficult lesson for me to learn but life is too short for insipid books. I have been meaning to read Manning's books since a long while and am glad you liked them.

[Sara, New School Classics]

Great progress, Marilyn. I was very interested in your comments on Hangsaman, since I have been looking for a copy for quite a while. Maybe I don't need to waste more time searching for that one.

As for finishing every book you start, that was also a hurdle for me--but I have crossed it and give myself permission to bail at 100 pages if it just isn't doing it for me.

[Marilyn]

Sara wrote: "Great progress, Marilyn. I was very interested in your comments on Hangsaman, since I have been looking for a copy for quite a while. Maybe I don't need to waste more time searching for that one.
..."

You know how with every Shirley Jackson book the minute you finish you feel like you need to reread it? I'm starting to wonder if I missed some clues about the minor character from the first part of the book that would make the last part hold together better.

[Sara, New School Classics]

She is a complex writer, so that is a possibility, but you are an astute reader, so I'm guessing this might not be among her best efforts.

[Lynn]

Your discussion of The Country of the Pointed Firs and Other Stories is interesting and encouraging. I read A White Heron by Sarah Orne Jewett. I liked her characterization and plot, but the narration style was too overbearing IMO. After reading here I did a quick scan of The Country of the Pointed Firs and think I may give it a try.

[Marilyn]

February summary - I am zipping along on the two challenges that I really want to finish.

Women Authors Challenge: completed 5/10
Spring Magic (romance)
The Blank Wall (mystery)
Hangsaman - I am still wondering if I gave too much attention to the shiny object and missed some clues as to where the story was headed. I was disappointed in the book but would read it again to see if Jackson was playing me.
The Street - Not sure why this waited on my tbr for so long. It was excellent.

Old & New Challenge: completed 8/12
The Levant Trilogy - The Battle Lost and Won (#5) and The Sum of Things (#6) - I have completed the 6 book Fortunes of War series by Olivia Manning and enjoyed it for the story and the setting.
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? - I can't come up with a descriptive word for this story. The author takes the marathon dance craze and combines the wacky parts with the dark side. Hopefully it wins the short story poll someday.

[Lori]

Wow! I'm very impressed!! I'm curious to read John Ehle but I can't get my hands on anything. I've heard they are so good.

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Marilyn wrote: "They Shoot Horses, Don't They? - I can't come up with a descriptive word for this story...."

How about Strange, Astonishing, Bizarre, Outlandish, or Weird. It would make for a good addition to our short stories collection

[Carolien]

You had a great month!. I agree that The Street was excellent. And now I have to investigate They shoot horses, don't they? based on your description....

[Marilyn]

Lori wrote: "Wow! I'm very impressed!! I'm curious to read John Ehle but I can't get my hands on anything. I've heard they are so good."

The two that I read so far were excellent. I am lucky that a local library has 5 of the 7 books. Tracking down other two books was enough of a challenge.

[Marilyn]

Bob wrote: "Marilyn wrote: "They Shoot Horses, Don't They? - I can't come up with a descriptive word for this story...."

How about Strange, Astonishing, Bizarre, Outlandish, or Weird. It would make for a good..."

Yep, those work.

[Marilyn]

Carolien wrote: "You had a great month!. I agree that The Street was excellent. And now I have to investigate They shoot horses, don't they? based on your description...."

I got They Shoot Horses, Don't They? as an ebook from my local library. Yay libraries!!! Let me know what you think about the story.

[Shaina]

Marilyn, I read this last year when you recommended it. I loved it!!

[Marilyn]

Old & New Challenge: 10/12

I DNFed two books: Niels Lyhne (nice writing but no plot) and The Quest for Christa T. (just couldn't get into it). In order to finish this challenge, I have to like the two remaining books: Hunger and The Summer Book.

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Ouch, out of alternates. fingers crossed for your last two.

[Sara, New School Classics]

At least neither of them is a tome, Marilyn. Hope you have good luck and like them both!

[Marilyn]

I have given myself permission to not finish the challenge if I don't like one of the two remaining books. Too many other books to read!

[Sara, New School Classics]

Very wise. I had a struggle coming around to allowing myself to abandon books and quit challenges, but I finally got there. Too many book for sure!

[Marilyn]

Finished the first book in the Century Challenge - The Heads of Cerberus by Francis Stevens. It was ok but....Science fiction is not my genre so I can't appreciate this early work for its influence on other authors.

[Marilyn]

Update:

Old & New Challenge - Completed

Second Place or Worse: 4/7
Added Tales of the South Pacific and The Way West with the side benefit of also checking off two Pulitzers.

Women Authors Decade: 8/10
Because Of The Lockwoods - Dorothy Whipple is a Persephone author. This was a well-written story with well-written characters. It's not destined to be a classic but it was a good, enjoyable read. I added They Were Sisters to the TBR.

New Authors Century: 5/10
Sarah, Plain and Tall - Anyone else remember the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie with Glenn Close? Wonderful.

A View of the Harbour by Elizabeth Taylor was the highlight of July. When I finished I added every one of her books to the TBR.

[Sara, New School Classics]

Congratulations on finishing the Old & New. Usually my easiest finish, but this year it has me stymied.

Love that you got two of your Pulitzers worked in and I liked both of your choices.

I will now have to check out Dorothy Whipple. :) I do remember the Hallmark production of Sarah Plain and Tall and recall it is what inspired me to read the book. There are follow-ups and I enjoyed all of them.

I will definitely second your enjoyment of A View of the Harbour! All her works are on my TBR also, so maybe we will be sharing another someday.

[Carolien]

Every time I look at your list, I add more to the TBR! I read Sarah, Plain and Tall a while ago, but didn't know it was made into a movie.

A View of the Harbour was a highlight for me as well.

[Marilyn]

Sara wrote: "Congratulations on finishing the Old & New. Usually my easiest finish, but this year it has me stymied...."

I try to use books with 300 or fewer pages in my challenges to give me a better chance of finishing. When I will ever get around to reading ...And Ladies of the Club at 1433 pages is anyone's guess.

[Marilyn]

Carolien wrote: "Every time I look at your list, I add more to the TBR! I read Sarah, Plain and Tall a while ago, but didn't know it was made into a movie."

My library has the DVD so I might have to watch it again.