2024 Challenge Buffet - Something for Everyone Menu

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

2024 CHALLENGE BUFFET

Another year, another Buffet. This year the chef has expanded the menu. Hopefully there is dish for everyone. As always feel free to pick as few or as many challenges as fits your appetite. At this buffet gluttony is not a bad thing; take as much as you want and don't worry about not finishing all you take. This is for fun!

Remember every challenge created, every author and every book listed, becomes a resource for our members to learn about authors and books they haven’t heard of before.

This year's Expanded Menu for our 2024 Buffet:
Details See Messages 2-17

Challenge #1 - New & Old TBR
Challenge #2 - Second Place or Worse
Challenge #3 - Decade/Century/Millennium
Challenge #4 - Members Choice
Challenge #5 - Short Story
Challenge #6 - Group Reads and/or Buddy Reads
Challenge #7 - Expand Your Horizon with New Authors
Challenge #8 - Most Popular Goodreads Books Listed by Year
Challenge #9 – Fiction/Non-Fiction
Challenge #10 - The Half a Millennium Challenge with a Sour Lemon Twist of Difficult
Challenge #11 - Old and New Linked Categories
Challenge #12 - Series Books – Start, Continue, Complete
Challenge #13 - Travel the World One Continent at a Time.
Challenge #14 - Rereading Some do Some don't
Challenge #15 - A-Z Author
Challenge #16 - A-Z Title

General/Helpful Challenge Information:
These challenges are personal. It is important that you enjoy your challenge/s; don't feel pressure to finish, this is for fun. Use your own creativity to make your challenge special. Select books that you truly have an interest in reading. It's your challenge your choices. Just stick to the basic challenge configuration.

Create your own separate thread to list the challenge/s you wish to participate in. If you plan on participating in several challenges, you will want to save/reserve several message/posts at the beginning of your thread to list each challenge you intend to try. Reserve 1-17 if you are going to try them all. Remember you can always delete the save posts if you don't need them.

To Create your challenge thread simply go to the top of this folder click on the title (Challenge Buffet). Then look to the right for the words (new topic), click that, a new screen will open. In the box (topic) type the name you wish to give your challenge. In the (comment) box list your books chosen for the challenge. Use the (add book/author) link so that others can link to your choices and learn more about the book you have selected.

Feel free to mark your finished books anyway you wish. After you have finished a book you can strike it off your list. Directions are listed at the top of the comment box (some html is ok). You can list the date you finished or add the number of stars you though the book deserved.

Examples of marking books completed:
✓1. Les Misérables
2. Great Expectations 11/20/23
3. The Woman in White*****
4. The Great Gatsby Finished 1/25/23
5. The Red Pony 5 Stars, Finished

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Challenge #1 - Old & New TBR Challenge

First started in 2015, this challenge is our group's oldest. It is designed to help increase our reading of the classics and reduce our personal TBR's. This challenge commits you to reading 12 books next year. Choose 12 books you want to read and list threee alternates, to use as substitutes should one of your choices need to be replaced. You do not have to read all 15 books listed, 12 books read is a successful challenge. This 12 + 3 challenge will last all year and you can read at your own pace. Once you create your reading thread, you and other members can comment on your progress.

Only six of the 12 books selected are required be Classics based on the Groups definitions, they do not have to come from the groups bookshelf. At least 3 books from the Old School category (published before 1900) and 3 books from the New School category (published between 1900 & 1999). The other six and your three alternates can be any genre or age you wish to read. Yes, even post 2000.

Starting today you can begin creating your challenge thread. The whole month of December is dedicated to planning your challenge. You can add your books and make edit adjustments till December 31st. No challenge reading can start till January 1, 2024. No changes should be made to your list once challenge starts

If you're a current Group Member, you have until midnight 12/31/2023 to finalize your list. You can post your list and make all the changes you want until then, but no changes after midnight 12/31/2023. If you join our Classics Group after that date, you may still participate by posting and editing your list within two weeks of joining the group, but you can't make changes after you post your list.

For New Members joining in 2024, in addition to the above rules, feel free to adjust your challenge according to the number of months left in the year. Example: If you join in March 2024 and wish to participate, list 9 books and 3 alternates. If your joined after June 2024 list the appropriate number of books according to the number of months left, but only pick two alternates. Remember to add your alternates to any challenge you set up.

Example of a Challenge:

My fabulous 12 + 3 Old & New Classic Challenge

1899 and earlier/Old School
1. Les Misérables
2. Great Expectations
3. The Woman in White
1900-1999/New School
4. The Great Gatsby
5. The Red Pony
6. Of Human Bondage
My Six Bookshelf Dust Collectors
7. The Return of the Soldier
8. The Pillars of the Earth
9. Ender's Shadow
10. 2001: A Space Odyssey
11. The Law
12. Sin Killer

Alternates
A-1. War and Peace
A-2. Gone with the Wind
A-3 Home

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Challenge #2 - Second Place or Worse

Go back through the groups past polls and select Four (5) total books that are of interest to you but lost the poll and to date has never made it to our group bookshelf. Pick one book from New School, one from Old School, two from Short Story/Novella, and one from the Quarterly Long Read.

Most will agree that the books making it through our nominations process are quality reads. Reading the unsuccessful books can help broaden our personal shelves. Hopefully this challenge, through member reviews and thread comments, will bring us some knowledge on a wider selection of books and encourage members to read them. It could also lead to renomination and poll winning.

Set up example:

New School
1.

Old School
1.

Short Story/Novella
1.
2.

Quarterly Long Read
1.

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Challenge #3 - Decade/Century/Millennium Challenge

Only one version of the challenge is required to participate. For those exceptional readers, over achievers, or competitive eating gluttons, feel free to increase the difficulty of the challenge by taking on 2 or all 3 versions. There are three ways to participate. First, read one book per year for 10 consecutive years, one-decade total. Second read one book from 10 consecutive decades, one century total. Third, read one book from 10 consecutive centuries, one millennium total.

The Decade Challenge: Read 10 books from any 10 consecutive years (1 book per year). The authors can only be used once in the challenge. You can use authors previously read by you. Or you can add a level of difficulty to your challenge by selecting only authors you've never read before.

Challenge Example: (Decade Challenge)

Decade Challenge
1920-Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
1921-The Narrow House by Evelyn Scott
1922-Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
1923-Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers
1924-A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
1925-The Professor's House by Willa Cather
1926-The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
1927-To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
1928-Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence
1929-Passing by Nella Larsen


The Century Challenge: Read 10 books from any 10 consecutive decades (1 book per decade). Authors can only be used once in the challenge. You can use authors previously read by you. Or you can add a level of difficulty to your challenge by selecting only authors you've never read before.

Challenge Example: (Century Challenge)

Century Challenge
1850-1859 The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1850
1860-1869 Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell, 1863
1870-1879 Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy,1874
1880-1889 Jack and Jill by Louisa May Alcott, 1880
1890-1899 Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling, 1896
1900-1909 The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter, 1901
1910-1919 Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham, 1815
1920-1929 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie, 1926
1930-1939 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, 1937
1940-1949 The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers, 1940

The Millennium Challenge: Read 10 books from any 10 consecutive Centuries (1 book per century). Authors can only be used once in the challenge. You can use authors previously read by you. Or you can add a level of difficulty to your challenge by selecting only authors you've never read before.

Challenge Example: (Millennium Challenge)

20th Century - 1952 The Far Country by Nevil Shute
19th Century - 1871 Middlemarch by George Eliot
18th Century - 1720 Captain Singleton by Daniel Defoe
17th Century - 1684 The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
16th Century - 1593 The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
15th Century - 1438 The Book of Margery Kempe by Margery Kempe
14th Century - 1353 The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
13th Century - 1298 The Travels by Marco Polo
12th Century - 1150 The Life of Merlin by Geoffrey of Monmouth
11th Century - 1001 The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Challenge #4 - Members Choice Challenge Choose one book per category/genre for a total of 12 books.

1. 19th Century,
2. 20th Century,
3. 21st Century,
4. A book originally written in a language other than your own,
5. An Author never read before,
6. Diversity Classic, read a book from a religion, culture, country, or race different than yours.
7. Science Fiction/Fantasy,
8. Action/Adventure,
9. Childrens/Young Adult,
10. Nonfiction Memoir/Biography,
11. Mystery/Thriller,
12. Horror or Humor,

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Challenge #5 - Short Story Challenge
Read 24 short stories. This equates to only two per month for the year. Read them all at once or spread them out; it's up to you.

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2.
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24.

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Challenge 6 - Group Reads and/or Buddy Reads Challenge

The challenge is to read 12 total books/stories from this year's group poll winners or Buddy Reads, in any combination. Your reads can be from the upcoming 53 poll winners, or from the 2024 Buddy Reads thread. Between New School, Old School, Short Story/Novella, Revisit the Shelf, Quarterly Long Read, and Buddy Reads there should be plenty of choices.

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9.
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12.

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Challenge #7 - Expand Your Horizon With New Authors

Seek out at least six (6) authors that you have never previously read, from any genre or era you want.

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2.
3.
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5.
6.

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Challenge #8 –Most Popular Goodreads Books Listed by Year

Locate and list 10 books that most interest you from the year of your choice. The challenge is to read five 5 books from that list. You can use the year of your birth, the birth year of a family member, or friend, or any random year you choose.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/popula...

NOTE: click on the link above then change the date to the date you wish to search.

10 Books of Interest for 1929
1. A Farewell to Arms
2. Letters to a Young Poet
3. Passing
4. Look Homeward, Angel
5. Partners in Crime
6. Red Harvest
7. Laughing Boy: A Navajo Love Story
8. The Secret of the Caves
9. The Last September
10. The Blacker the Berry...

2023 Books Read
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Challenge #9 – Fiction/Non-Fiction

Select five different subjects of interest to you and read a fiction book and a non-fiction book about that subject. Total number of books for this challenge is ten.

Examples:

World War I
Fiction - All Quiet on the Western Front
Non-Fiction - Somme

Women's Sufferage
Fiction - Impossible Saints
Non-Fiction - Suffragettes: The Fight for Votes for Women

Space Exploration
Fiction - Space
Non-Ficton - The Right Stuff

Sea Travels/Adventures
Fiction - The Sea Wolf
Non-Fiction - Two Years Before the Mast: A Sailor's Life at Sea

Horses
Fiction - Black Gold
Non-Fiction - Seabiscuit: An American Legend

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Challenge #10 - The Half a Millennium Challenge with a Sour Lemon Twist of Difficult

Select five books from five different centuries, using the same decade for each century you select. They do not have to be consecutive centuries but must be the same decade.

Example of five consecutive decades:

20th Century - 1950-1959 - 1953-Nine Stories
19th Century - 1850-1859 - 1855-Little Dorrit
18th Century - 1750-1759 - 1759-The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia
17th Century - 1650-1659 - 1658-The Witch of Edmonton
16th Century - 1550-1559 - 1552-A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies

Limiting this challenge to five books will be difficult but doable especially for the more recent centuries. As you move further back in time this should become more difficult. That is why the centuries don't have to be consecutive.

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Challenge #11 - Old and New Linked Categories

Select five categories of your choice or use some of these sample categories. Once you make your category selections, link the categories by finding and reading an Old School (1899 or older) and a New School book (1900-1999) that contains some part or is all about your selected categories. It will be more interesting and more varied if you come up with your own categories.

Samples Ideas:

Contains a Trial
Has a Murder
Contains Time Travel
Set in or has Winter involved
Coming of Age
Is About a Fallen Woman
Set on or has The Sea involved
Animals
School
Travel
Life Changing Action
Survival
A book that made you cry

Example:

Has a Murder-
Old - Crime and Punishment
New - Murder on the Orient Express

Contains a Trial
Old - The Scarlet Letter
New - To Kill a Mockingbird

Life Changing Action
Old - A Horseman in the Sky
New - A Separate Peace

Coming of Age
Old - Great Expectations
New - A Cry of Angels

Travel
Old - Three Men in a Boat
New - Pied Piper

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Challenge #12 - Series Books – Start, Continue, Complete

Many if not most of us read series books. Sometimes these books are neglected in favor of other reading. As much as I like reading several of the series I have on my shelf. I have at times left them untouched for as much as a year. This year’s series challenge is to break the neglect and bring series books back into our current annual reading.

Start
For those who have never read a series collection or have finished one and are stalling off on starting another. The challenge is to find an interesting series and read at least two books this year from the selected series. Some series are only three books in length, such as The Hunger Games #1, #2, #3

Continue
If you are currently reading a series and have stalled out and set it aside, here is your chance to get back to it.

Complete
If you are close to finishing a series, but have not been actively reading them, here is your chance to finish it. Set a goal to see it finished or make a big dent in it.

To help members find new reading, list a few series that you enjoy.

Example
Clive Cussler, Issac Bell, Oregon Files, NUMA Files
Nevada Barr, Anna Pigeon
Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple


My goal/accomplishment this year. Each member to decide what they wish to accomplish. For challenge purposes, read at least two books. That is only 1 every six months. This is doable

I plan to read one book per month from my favorite series.
I plan to finish books 4, 5, and 6 of series _______
I plan to start series _______

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Challenge #13 - Travel the World One Continent at a Time

Select a book or an author from each of the seven world continents, *Antarctica is optional, I understand that most around the world challenges are much longer in both time and number of books required. Our challenges only run from January 1-December 31. So, this seems more doable.

Africa
Asia
Australia
Europe
North America
South America
*Antarctica

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Challenge 14 - Rereading - Some do. Some don't

Some of us reread regularly, others reread rarely if ever. We have all read books that we found fantastic. We finish the last page, set it aside and think someday I would like to reread this again. Let us know the titles of five books you found worthy of rereading. This year’s challenge is, reread two of your selections.

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2.
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5.

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Challenge #15 - A-Z Title Challenge

I find this to be a very difficult challenge, many others consider it one of their favorites. For those who really enjoy this challenge in its pure form use all 26 letters. For those of us who struggle, with this challenge consider it successful by using only 23 letters. There are 4 optional letters marked with an (*), you only need to use one.

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
*Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
*X
*Y
*Z

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Challenge #16 - A-Z Author Challenge

I find this to be a very difficult challenge, many others consider it one of their favorites. For those who really enjoy this challenge in its pure form use all 26 letters. For those of us who struggle, with this challenge consider it successful by using only 23 letters. There are 4 optional letters marked with an (*), you only need to use one.

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
*Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
*X
*Y
*Z

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

save

[Terris]

This year’s Buffet looks exciting! I can’t wait to start planning. Thanks for all your work, Bob! :)

[Lynn, New School Classics]

Nice Bob!!

[Jeri]

The series challenge is exactly what my 2024 was to be about, as Proust & Powell have been on the TBR list way too long. So chuffed, TY Bob!

[Kathleen]

Love the new categories, Bob! Thanks for all you do to make this so fun.

[Lynn, New School Classics]

I love seeing everyone make their threads. The excitement is contagious.

[Shaina]

This expanded menu looks very delicious. Thank you, Bob!

[Ila]

Looks great. Thanks, Bob!

[JenniferAustin]

Wow! This looks like fun! I am off to make some plans! Thank you so much, Bob!

[Wobbley]

Thank you so much for putting this together, Bob! I have already started planning a couple of Buffet challenges for next year, but I also really like your new ones. I'm especially happy to see a challenge dedicated to rereading favourites, since I don't make time for that as often as I'd like to! Ooh, and thank you very much for adding Q to the list of optional letters in the A-Z challenges!

Both the Buffet and Bingo announced on the same day -- it kind of feels like it's my birthday! :)

[Gerard]

Thanks for setting this up! Every year I say that I'm going to do these challenges, but I end up forgetting about my threads. I am committed to completing at least one of these in 2024 :)

[Katy, Quarterly Long Reads]

Love the buffet, Bob. Thank you for setting this up to energize my 2024 reading.

[Julie]

My favorite time of year. Planning challenges for next year!
I think for 2024 I will try to tackle #1,3,4,5,6,12,13,15&16...

[Veronique]

Gosh! So many are tempting me…
Thanks Bob for the dilemma :0)

[Janelle]

What a great buffet, Bob! Very tempting :)

[Dave]

This is become my favorite Christmas present every year Bob. Thanks for these challenges putting them together gives me a whole month of Yuletide pleasure. Reading them gives me a whole year of Goodreads pleasure.

[Regina]

Newbie question: Can books be used for more than one challenge?

[Terris]

Yes, definitely, Regina!

[Regina]

Newbie question 2: Do short stories count for A-Z titles?

[Regina]

Terris wrote: "Yes, definitely, Regina!"

Thanks, Terris!

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Regina wrote: "Newbie question 2: Do short stories count for A-Z titles?"

Yes, short stories count for A-Z both authors and titles.

[Regina]

Bob wrote: "Regina wrote: "Newbie question 2: Do short stories count for A-Z titles?"

Yes, short stories count for A-Z both authors and titles."

Thank you, Bob!

[Sue]

You read my mind on the series and rereads, Bob! I was planning to do those as a personal challenge and now I don't have to add one! I have not done much rereading or series reading and want to expand my horizons with those.

[Teri-K]

You picked great tasks, Bob. Thanks for doing this. I have a question about the A-Z Authors. In other groups when I've done this it's OK to use the first or last name of the author. What's your intention here?

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Teri, I mostly use the last name. That maybe the reason I have only ever finished the challenge once. I've seen the first name, usually when it is for some of the tuff letters. Once I used Zane Grey for the letter Z.

Most important, this is your challenge and is for fun. Use first or last name, just enjoy yourself.

[Teri-K]

Bob wrote: "Teri, I mostly use the last name. That maybe the reason I have only ever finished the challenge once. I've seen the first name, usually when it is for some of the tuff letters. Once I used [author:..."

OK, that makes it clear for me. I have used Zane Gray, too, as I can only read Rebecca Zanetti books so many times, lol.

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Tick-tock, tick-tock the new year is about to start. Good luck everyone, I hope you all have a terrific reading year.

[Brook]

I'm new here and this looks like a lot of fun. I'm excited to start planning. Thank you!

[Terris]

Brook wrote: "I'm new here and this looks like a lot of fun. I'm excited to start planning. Thank you!"

You should join us, Brook! It's really fun. I'll be interested to see which books you read this year :)

[Brook]

Thanks Terris! I'm looking forward to seeing yours as well :)

[Regina]

Hi folks. What is the page limit for short story/novella?

[Lynn, New School Classics]

We go by 120 pages or shorter. Of course we all realize that different versions may vary. It's your challenge. Use your best judgement and have fun.

[Regina]

Thank you, Sara.

Regina wrote: "Hi folks. What is the page limit for short story/novella?"