Rora's 2024 Challenge Buffet

[Rora]

Challenge List

Challenge #2 - Second Place or Worse *Completed January*
Challenge #3 - Decade *Completed February*
Challenge #3 - Century *Completed February*
Challenge #4 - Members Choice *Completed March*
Challenge #5 - Short Story *Completed February*
Challenge #6 - Group Reads *Completed April*
Challenge #7 - New Authors *Completed January*
Challenge #8 - Most Popular Goodreads Books Listed by Year *Completed April*
Challenge #12 - Series Books *Completed May*
Challenge #14 - Rereading *Completed March*
Challenge #15 - A-Z Author *Completed April*
Challenge #16 - A-Z Title *Completed April*

Favorite books of the challenge
Man And Wife by Wilkie Collins
The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster
A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell
Tales from Moominvalley by Tove Jansson
The Wall by Marlen Haushofer
The Woman Destroyed by Simone de Beauvoir
In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden
The Saga of Gösta Berling by Selma Lagerlof
Quicksand by Nella Larsen
Behind a Mask, Or, a Woman's Power by Louisa May Alcott
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (re-read)
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (re-read)
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (re-read)
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery
Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery
Anne's House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery
Anne of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery
Rainbow Valley by L.M. Montgomery
Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery

[Rora]

Challenge #2 - Second Place or Worse *Completed January*

New School
1. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein (August 2022)

Old School
1. Man and Wife by Wilkie Collins (November 2022)

Short Story/Novella
1. A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell (May 2023)
2. The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster (January 2024)

Quarterly Long Read
1. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany by William L. Shirer (3rd quarter 2023)

[Rora]

Challenge #3 - Decade *Completed February*

1960 - The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer
1961 - Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
1962 - Tales from Moominvalley by Tove Jansson
1963 - The Wall by Marlen Haushofer
1964 - A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
1965 - Everything That Rises Must Converge: Stories by Flannery O'Connor
1966 - The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
1967 - The Woman Destroyed by Simone de Beauvoir
1968 - In the Heart of the Heart of the Country and Other Stories by William H. Gass
1969 - In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden

[Rora]

Challenge #3 - Century *Completed February*

1840s - Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens
1850s - Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope
1860s - Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore
1870s - Man and Wife by Wilkie Collins
1880s - The Brothers Karamazov by Fyoder Dostoevsky
1890s - The Saga of Gösta Berling by Selma Lagerlof
1900s - The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster
1910s - A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell
1920s - Quicksand by Nella Larsen
1930s - The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

[Rora]

Challenge #4 - Members Choice *Completed March*

1. 19th Century
Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens

2. 20th Century
The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster

3. 21st Century
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

4. A book originally written in a language other than your own
Tales from Moominvalley by Tove Jansson

5. An Author never read before
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany by William L. Shirer

6. Diversity Classic, read a book from a religion, culture, country, or race different than yours
Quicksand by Nella Larsen

7. Science Fiction/Fantasy
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

8. Action/Adventure
The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne

9. Childrens/Young Adult
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

10. Nonfiction Memoir/Biography
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

11. Mystery/Thriller
Man and Wife by Wilkie Collins

12. Horror or Humor
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

[Rora]

Challenge #5 - Short Story (24 total) *Completed February*

Tales from Moominvalley by Tove Jansson (9 stories)
Everything That Rises Must Converge: Stories by Flannery O'Connor (9 stories)
The Woman Destroyed by Simone de Beauvoir (3 stories)
In the Heart of the Heart of the Country and Other Stories by William H. Gass (5 stories)

[Rora]

Challenge #6 - Group Reads *Completed April*

1. Quicksand by Nella Larsen
2. Swann's Way by Marcel Proust
3. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
4. Behind a Mask, Or, a Woman's Power by Louisa May Alcott
5. Middlemarch by George Eliot
6. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
7. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
8. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
9. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
10. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
11. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
12. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

[Rora]

Challenge #7 - Expand Your Horizon with New Authors *Completed January*

1. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
2. Tales from Moominvalley by Tove Jansson
3. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany by William L. Shirer
4. The Wall by Marlen Haushofer
5. A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
6. Everything That Rises Must Converge: Stories by Flannery O'Connor

Extra

7. In the Heart of the Heart of the Country and Other Stories by William H. Gass
8. Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore
9. In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden
10. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
11. The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett
12. The Saga of Gösta Berling by Selma Lagerlöf
13. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
14. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
15. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
16. Swann's Way by Marcel Proust
17. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
18. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
19. Some of Your Blood by Theodore Sturgeon
20. The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett
21. Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
22. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and A Vindication of the Rights of Men by Mary Wollstonecraft
23. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung
24. Moshi Moshi by Banana Yoshimoto
25. Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup

[Rora]

Challenge #8 - Most Popular Goodreads Books Listed by Year 1961
*Completed April*

1. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
2. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
3. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
4. Some of Your Blood by Theodore Sturgeon
5. The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett

[Rora]

Challenge #12 - Series Books *Completed May*

Complete Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (Books 3-8)

Anne of the Island
Anne of Windy Poplars
Anne's House of Dreams
Anne of Ingleside
Rainbow Valley
Rilla of Ingleside

[Rora]

Challenge #14 - Rereading *Completed March*

1. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
2. Middlemarch by George Eliot

Extra

3. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
4. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
5. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
6. The Odyssey by Homer
7. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

[Rora]

Challenge #15 - A-Z Author *Completed April*

A - Behind a Mask, Or, a Woman's Power by Louisa May Alcott
B - The Woman Destroyed by Simone de Beauvoir
C - Man and Wife by Wilkie Collins
D - Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens
E - Middlemarch by George Eliot
F - The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster
G - A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell
H - The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
I - The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro
J - Tales from Moominvalley by Tove Jansson
K - Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
L - The Saga of Gösta Berling by Selma Lagerlof
M - Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
N - Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup
O - Everything That Rises Must Converge: Stories by Flannery O'Connor
P - Swann's Way by Marcel Proust
*Q
R - Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
S - The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany by William L. Shirer
T - Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope
U - First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung
V - The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne
W - Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
*X
*Y Moshi Moshi by Banana Yoshimoto
*Z

[Wobbley]

Enjoy planning your challenges!

[Rora]

Challenge #16 - A-Z Title *Completed April*

A - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
B - Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens
C - The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
D - Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope
E - Everything That Rises Must Converge: Stories by Flannery O'Connor
F - From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne
G - The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
H - Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
I - In the Heart of the Heart of the Country and Other Stories by William H. Gass
J - A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell
K - King Lear by William Shakespeare
L - Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore
M - The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
N - Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
O - The Odyssey by Homer
P - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
*Q - Quicksand by Nella Larsen
R - The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany by William L. Shirer
S - The Saga of Gösta Berling by Selma Lagerlof
T - Tales from Moominvalley by Tove Jansson
U - Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy
V - A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and A Vindication of the Rights of Men by Mary Wollstonecraft
W - Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
*X
*Y
*Z

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Looking forward to watching your challenges progress, Have a good year.

[Rora]

Thank you Wobbley, Matt, and Bob.

Challenge #2 completed

[Wobbley]

Wow, you've completed a challenge before the end of January. Amazing! I hope you enjoyed the books.

[Terris]

Amazing! Congrats! Keep Reading :)

[Regina]

That’s fantastic!

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Rora wrote: "Challenge #2 completed"

Excellent!!!

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Whoa! What a start. Congrats.

[Rora]

Thank you Wobbley, Terris, Regina, Bob, and Sara

Challenge #7 completed

[Wobbley]

Wow, you're going so fast! I hope you've been enjoying what you're reading.

[Rora]

Wobbley wrote: "Wow, you're going so fast! I hope you've been enjoying what you're reading."

Its been a steady 3 and 4 star reading. Nothing I haven't liked yet.

[Wobbley]

Rora wrote: "Wobbley wrote: "Wow, you're going so fast! I hope you've been enjoying what you're reading."

Its been a steady 3 and 4 star reading. Nothing I haven't liked yet."

That's terrific -- congrats!

[Sue]

Congratulations on all your progress, Rora. You'll be finished with all of them in no time

[Rora]

Sue wrote: "Congratulations on all your progress, Rora. You'll be finished with all of them in no time"

Thank you Sue. The beginning always seem fast because books fit in multiple categories.

[Rora]

Challenge #5 completed

[Wobbley]

Wow, so early in the year -- well done!

[Veronique]

Congrats on the short stories challenge!

Having a look at the titles you chose :O)
A Jury of her Peers is wonderful; The Machine Stops is surprisingly modern; enjoyed The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (although it was a while ago); love Wilkie Collins (haven’t read that one); what to get to Moveable Feast and Dr Thorne.

[Rora]

Thank you Wobbley and Veronique

Challenge #3 Decade completed

[Wobbley]

So quickly -- and you're really far along in the century challenge too! I hope you're enjoying the books.

[Rora]

Thank you Wobbley

Challenge #3 Century completed

[Wobbley]

Well done! I'm planning to read Lorna Doone this year too. How did you enjoy it?

[Rora]

I liked it Wobbley, a 3 star read for me.

[Terris]

I liked it too! I read it last year & gave it 4 stars :)

[Wobbley]

Yay, that's encouraging!

[Rora]

Challenge #4 completed

[Janelle]

Including Infinite Jest! That’s a lot of pages, well done :)

[Rora]

Janelle wrote: "Including Infinite Jest! That’s a lot of pages, well done :)"

That was a long one, had to check a synopsis every couple of days to make sure I understood everything.

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Congrats on finishing #4. I also read The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress last month, hope you enjoyed it.

[Rora]

Bob wrote: "Congrats on finishing #4. I also read The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress last month, hope you enjoyed it."

I liked it Bob, gave it 3 stars.

[Wobbley]

You're just ripping through these challenges! I'm a fan of the Moomin book.

[Rora]

Wobbley wrote: "You're just ripping through these challenges! I'm a fan of the Moomin book."

That's the first Moomin book I've read, I'll have to read more of the series someday.

Challenge #14 completed

[Wobbley]

Well done! I'm fond of both Heart of Darkness and Middlemarch. :)

[Terris]

Rora, I see that you read Collins's Man And Wife -- wasn't that interesting? I liked it! It was interesting to learn about the marriage laws in Scotland at that time, and it certainly made for a compelling book! I just don't see many people reading that one and was interested to see it on your list. Glad you enjoyed it :)

[Rora]

Terris wrote: "Rora, I see that you read Collins's Man And Wife -- wasn't that interesting? I liked it! It was interesting to learn about the marriage laws in Scotland at that time, and it certainly made for a compelling book! I just don't see many people reading that one and was interested to see it on your list. Glad you enjoyed it :)"

Second place or worse is one of my favorite challenges. I tend to go through the nonwinners anyways, picking books that sound interesting. Glad you liked that one too.

[Rora]

Challenges #6 and #8 completed.


And the first book of the year I didnt like - Blood Meridian. It was too violent and bleak for me.

[Wobbley]

Well done completing these two challenges! And actually, it's pretty amazing, with all the reading you've done, that you've only disliked one of the books.

[Rora]

Thanks Wobbley : )

Challenge 16 completed. This one managed to complete itself with what I was already reading.