The Wrap Up Thread

[Katie]

The end of the month as come - how did we all do?

I've read 15 books for this readathon, and had a great reading month. My favourite book of the month was probably Despised and Rejected by Rose Allatini.

[Lana]

I finished 9 books for this readathon and managed to complete all the prompts and a bonus challenge. My favourite book was the first book I finished, The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton. I must say that I haven't had any disappointments and quite enjoyed all of these books.
Big thanks to Katie for hosting this wonderful readathon!

1. Own country: Stojan Mutikaša (1907)
2. Other country: The House of Mirth (1905)
3. Genre classic: 1984 (1949)
4. Not a novel: How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936)
5. WWI or WWII: All Quiet on the Western Front (1929)

Bonus:
1900s: Stojan Mutikaša (1907), The House of Mirth (1905)
1910s:Howards End (1910), The Mark on the Wall (1917)
1920s: R.U.R. (1920), All Quiet on the Western Front (1929)
1930s: How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936)
1940s: The Lottery (1948), 1984 (1949)

[Gaby]

I finished all 6 books I had on my TBR for this readathon. Five of these books have been on my shelves for ages, so it was high time to read them- thank you for the motivation! Of these books I enjoyed most "Draußen vor der Tür" (The Man Outside) by Wolfgang Borchert, which was a reread.
However, my favourite books of the month were not from this time-period... ;-)

[Daniela]

I finished 3 books that fit four of the five challenges. Unfortunately, I didn't manage the book from another country. I chose "Miss Buncle's Book" (1934) by D.E. Stevenson. I hope I can pick it up in June, though!

[Michael]

Very much enjoyed this readathon. I finished 17 works this month (!!) Virtually all were new to me. First time reading Bernard Shaw.

1. Own country: A Little Princess (1905)
2. Other country: The Secret Adversary (1922)
3. Genre: Triplanetary (1948)
4. Not a novel: Pygmalion (1913)
5. WWI or WWII: The African Queen (1935)

So the only one in my plans that I just didn't get to was Mrs. Dalloway (1925). I started it twice, but just wasn't in the mood. Perhaps another time.

I did finish:

1900s
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1905)
Major Barbara by George Bernard Shaw (1905)
Beneath the Wheel by Hermann Hesse (1906)

1910s
Androcles and the Lion by George Bernard Shaw (1912)
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw (1913)

1920s
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (1920)
The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie (1922)
Miss Mapp by E.F. Benson (1922)
Whose Body? by Dorthy L. Sayers (1923)

1930s
The Travel Tales of Mr Joseph Jorkens by Lord Dunsany (1931)
The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett (1934)
Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers (1934)
The African Queen by C.S. Forester (1935)

1940s
Eggs, Beans, and Crumpets by P.G. Wodehouse (1940)
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir: Vintage Movie Classics by R.A. Dick (1945)
Triplanetary by E.E. "Doc" Smith (1948)
First Lensman by E.E. "Doc" Smith (1950)

[Gabriele]

I read:

Sister Carrie
Anne of the Island
Tales of the Jazz Age
Lady Chatterley's Lover
Testament of Youth
The Pursuit of Love

I really enjoyed the reading this month with the books being rated between 3-5 stars. I thought is was interesting how much World War I influenced post-1918 fiction.

[Lorri]

I read 14 titles for this 1900-1950 Readathon! (I usually read about 8 titles per month.) All were new-to-me titles, although I have read other titles from 10 of the authors and poets. I gave The House of Mirth 2 stars because I do not care for the modernist style and subject of disillusionment and hopelessness. Surprisingly, I gave A Room of One’s Own 5 stars (also in the modernist style) because the subject of women and writing is beautifully and intelligently addressed. The rest were 3 and 4 star reads. I had a great time reading such a broad variety of titles. Thank you, Katie!

#1 Own Country: America
1. O Pioneers! ~ Willa Sibert Cather
2. The Pearl ~ John Steinbeck
3. The House of Mirth ~ Edith Wharton
4. “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” 1936 Ernest Hemingway
5. American poets: H.D. John Gould Fletcher, and Amy Lowell

#2 Other Country:
1. The Phantom of the Opera ~ Gaston Leroux (French)
2. “Metamorphosis” ~ Franz Kafka (Bohemian/Czechian/Austrian)
3. To the Last Salute ~ Georg Von Trapp (Austrian)
4. Siddhartha ~ Hermann Hesse (Swiss)
5. A Room of One’s Own ~ Virginia Woolf (British)
6. Vera ~ Elizabeth von Arnim (Australian/British)
7. And then There Were None ~ Agatha Christie (British)
8. The Grand Sophy ~ Georgette Heyer (British)
9. “The Machine Stops” ~ Forster (British)
10. British poets: Richard Aldington, F.S. Flint, and D.H. Lawrence

#3 Genre:
1. And then There Were None ~ Christie (Suspense/Mystery)
2. The Grand Sophy ~ Heyer (Romance)
3. “The Machine Stops” ~ Forster (Dystopian)

#4 Not a Novel:
1. “Metamorphosis” ~ Kafka (short story)
2. Some Imagist Poets: An Anthology ~ see above poets (poetry)
3. To the Last Salute ~ Von Trapp (WW I memoir)
4. A Room of One’s Own ~ Woolf (essay)
5. The Pearl ~ Steinbeck (novella)
6. “The Machine Stops” ~ Forster (short story)
7. “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” ~ Hemingway (short story)

#5 WW I or WWII
1. To the Last Salute: Memories of an Austrian U-Boat Commander ~ Georg Von Trapp

Bonus Challenge:
1900s: House of Mirth 1905, Phantom of the Opera 1909, “Machine Stops” 1909
1910s: O Pioneers! 1913, “Metamorphosis” 1915, Some Imagist Poets 1915
1920s: Vera 1921, Siddhartha 1922, A Room of One’s Own 1929
1930s: To the Last Salute 35, “Snows of Kilimanjaro” 36, And then There Were None 39
1940s: The Pearl 1947
1950: The Grand Sophy 1950

[Gillian]

Successful month with seven books read, completing all the challenges, including the bonus of one from each decade. Really enjoyed all of these - possibly Despised & Rejected or East Goes West as my top pick but tough to choose. Fantastic idea for a readathon, thanks Katie!

#1 Own Country: Howards End (1910s)
#2 Other Country: The Makioka Sisters (1940s)
#3 Genre Classic: Double Indemnity (1930s)
#4 Not a Novel: Cane (1920s)
#5 WWI or WWII: Despised And Rejected (1910s)

Plus:
The Late Mattia Pascal (1900s)
East Goes West (1930s)

[Gelli]

I finished 4.5 (3.5 fiction and 1 non-fiction) out of 7 books and still planning to read the remaining books throughout this year! I really enjoyed this readathon so much! :)

[Tasha]

Not quite finished yet, still reading My Brilliant Career and Suite Francaise, but will have completed all the challenges once I do, including one from each decade! Thanks for the readathon Katie, it's been great fun and I've enjoyed discovering some new books and authors.

1. My Brilliant Career (1901)
2. A City of Bells (1936)
3. Whose Body? (1923)
4. The Confessions of Arsène Lupin (1913)
5. Suite Française (written in 1940s, published 2004)

[Alice]

I’ve had a great month so thank you Katie! I read 12 books which is definitely high for me and completed all of the prompts including the bonus. My favourite reads were T.S Eliot’s The Waste Land, Anne of Green Gables by L M Montgomery, The Rose and the Yew Tree by Mary Westmacott, A Little Princess by Francis Hodgson Burnett, The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey and The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.

[Kim]

I guess this readathon was a success for me since I fulfilled all the prompts and the bonus prompt. I finished my fifth book on the 25th and didn't think I would have time for more but did manage to squeeze in two!
1. The Virginian (1902)
2. The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920)
3. Brave New World (1932)
4. My Man Jeeves (1919)
5. Tales of the South Pacific (1947)
additionally:
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (1938)
The Beasts of Tarzan (1914)
Thanks, Katie. I enjoyed the readathon and though I wouldn't call any of these favorites, I did enjoy them all or (in the case of Brave New World) I'm glad I read them.

[Tania]

I managed to cover all the decades, including one from 1950, and read at least one for each prompt; I had been hoping to read one from WW1, but all the war books I read were about WW2, I will hopefully read Memoirs of an Infantry Officer in June as I have been meaning to read it for a while. My favourites were All Passion Spent and Down the Garden Path.

1/ Own Country
Love at Second Sight 1916 - 04/05
Tension 1920 - 17/05
Vera 1921 - 12/05
The Privet Hedge 1921 - 15/05
All Passion Spent 1931 - 06/05

2/ Other Country
Madame de Treymes 1907 - 18/05
The Provincial Lady in Russia 1937 - 08/05


3/ Genre The
Just William 1922 - 25/05
The Mystery of the Blue Train 1928 - 05/05
Artists in Crime 1938 - 27/05

4/ War
Tom Tiddler's Ground 1941 - 02/05
Darkness Falls from the Air 1942 - 09/05
Yeoman's Hospital 1944 31/05
Operation Heartbreak 1950 - 25/05

5/ Not a novel
Down the Garden Path 1938 - 29/05
Blithe Spirit 1941 - 19/05
Prophesying Peace: Diaries, 1944-1945 - 20/05

[Alina]

I really loved this Readathon. I read 11 books and manged to do all the prompts and the bonus prompt.

1. Own country
Schoolidyllen by Top Naeff 1900
Oeroeg by Hella Haase 1948

2. Another country
Kristin Lavransdatter part 1 by Sigrid Undset 1920
Business as Usual by Jane Oliver & Ann Stafford 1934
A little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett 1905


3. Genre
Evil under the Sun by Agatha Christie 1941
Death on the Cherwell by Mavis Doriel Hay 1935
The convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer 1934
Aunt Augusta in Egypt by J.E. Buckrose 1915

4. Not a novel
Passenger to Tehran by Vita Sackville West 1926

5. War
The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West 1918

[Erin]

I managed to complete all prompts, though it was a close one!

Own country:
Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag (1928)
This was a last-minute entry on May 31 when I realized that I selected all other countries for my reading. Yes, it's a picture-book, but I'll count it, as it's a classic.

Another country:
all of the others I read.

Genre:
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (1934)

Not a novel:
My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (1919) - short stories

WW I or WW II:
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (1929)

Every decade:
-The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (1904)
-Botchan by Natsume Soseke (1906) - this also fit the Asian reading challenge for May
-My Man Jeeves (1919)
-Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag (1928)
-All Quiet on the Western Front (1929)
-Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (1934)
-I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (1948)

[Tim]

1. Own Country - White Fang (1906) by Jack London - 05/15
2. Another Country - Beneath the Wheel (1906) by Hermann Hesse - 05/07
3. Genre (Crime/Detective) - Red Harvest (1928) by Dashielle Hammett - 05/20
4. Not a Novel - Civilization and Its Discontents (1930) by Sigmund Freud - 05/11
5. WWI - A Farewell to Arms (1929) by Ernest Hemingway - 05/25

Every Decade Bonus: Only one read
1910's - Bunner Sisters (1916) by Edith Wharton - 05/29

Thank you, Katie, for all the work and inspiration you put into making reading exciting, educating and challenging.

[Kathy]

Final Wrap-up: 1900-1950 Challenge for May 2021

I ended up reading 11 selections, and here's how they met the Challenges:

1) author is from your own country (USA)-- 2 authors:
Edith Wharton and Sherwood Anderson

2) author is from a country other than your own -- 9 authors:
--Australia: Elizabeth von Arnim
--Norway: Sigrid Undset
--Scotland: D. E. Stevenson
--England: (6) E. M. Forster, Winifred Holtby, E. H. Young, Noel Coward, Agatha Christie, Mollie Panter-Downes

3) is a classic in its genre (mystery, sci-fi, play, etc.) -- 2 selections:
--Private Lives, Noel Coward--classic comic play
--Death in the Air, Agatha Christie--classic mystery

4) is NOT a novel (nonfiction, plays, short stories, poetry, etc.) -- 2 selections:
--Private Lives, Noel Coward--play
--Letter from England, Mollie Panter-Downes--essays/articles

5) is about, set during or references WWI or WWII -- 3 selections
--The Crowded Street, Winifred Holtby -- WWI
--Letter from England, Mollie Panter-Downes--WWII
--The English Air, D. E. Stevenson--WWII

Finally: Read a book from each decade (1900s, 1910s, 1920s, etc.)
1900s:
--1900 The Touchstone, E. Wharton
--1907 Fraulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther, E. von Arnim
--1908 A Room with a View, E. M. Forster
1910s
--1911 Jenny, S. Undset
--1919 Winesburg, Ohio, S. Anderson
1920s
--1924 The Crowded Street, W. Holtby
--1925 William, E. H. Young
1930s
--1930 Private Lives, N. Coward
--1935 Death in the Air, A. Christie
1940s
--1940 Letter from England, M. Panter-Downes
--1940 The English Air, D. E. Stevenson

Overall, I'm very glad I participated in this challenge, even though I found several of my selections quite disappointing.
My favorites were:
Fraulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther, Elizabeth von Arnim
The Crowded Street, Winifred Holtby
William, E. H. Young
Letter From England, Mollie Panter-Downes

I also think reading the books in publication order, especially in the 1900-1930 range, was particularly beneficial, as I could see the authors struggling with themes of individualism and becoming your own person. The earlier books showed the struggles of making one's own way in life; the later books reflected characters who made their own choices with positive outcomes.

Thank you Katie, for this Challenge! It has sparked my reading!

[Helen]

I managed to read 5 books in total for the readathon, didn't finish 1 till June but I'm still going to count it.
For Challenge
#1 A book published in a different country- The Wind in the Willows (1908) England
#2 From my country (Canada)-Anne's House of Dreams (1917)
#3 Classic in a genre-National Velvet- Children's Classic (1935)
#4 Not a Novel- Didn't manage to complete this one
#5 Set during or about WW1 or WW2- Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920)
Bonus read was My Friend Flika (1941)
-And managed to read a book from each decade
I really enjoyed this and it made me get to some books I've had for years that have just been sitting on my shelves unread.

[Janice]

I hope to do better next year if Katie plans it again. :)

[Kristie]

Are there plans to do this challenge
again in 2022?

[Kim]

Kristie wrote: "Are there plans to do this challenge
again in 2022?"
I'd like to participate in 2022