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4th Annual Reading Challenge
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Michelle's 2nd 2025 Challenge - What am I missing-COMPLETE
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Old classics hold true with a hit for The Old Man and the Sea
by Ernest Hemingway.Readers follow an old fisherman on his final fishing trip. Luck seems to be with the fisherman when he hooks an epic fish. He struggles against nature, age, and even his own inner voice as he battles to bring home this once in a lifetime catch.
I have no idea why I have never read this short classic. I tried but never got more than a few pages in before abandoning it. It seemed like another big fish story, I guess. (I may have a thing about that since one of the other classics that I have tried to read but never progressed more than a few pages is Moby Dick.) It is much more than a fish tale though. It is a tale about nature vs. human nature, about ageing and life, and about inner strength and moral fortitude. It is well worth the read, but it may be one of those books that readers cannot truly appreciate until they have some life experience.
3 luck is not everything stars.
Quotable:
“Only I have no luck anymore. But who knows? Maybe today. Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.”
― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea
“Let him think that I am more man than I am and I will be so.”
― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea
“You did not kill the fish only to keep alive and to sell for food, he thought. You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman. You loved him when he was alive and you loved him after. If you love him, it is not a sin to kill him. Or is it more?”
― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea
“Now is no time to think of what you do not have.
Think of what you can do with that there is”
― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea
Michelle wrote: "Old classics hold true with a hit for The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway.Readers follow an old fisherman on his ..."
You're making me rethink reading Hemingway. I've never been interested and I don't think I've ever read him. Maybe I should. But maybe I'll wait till you find one you rate higher than a 3 ;-)
Probably a good move Lillie. I would say start with some of his short stories or if you are at all interested in the artists and writers that congregated in Paris after WWI try A Moveable Feast.
Mod
CONGRATULATIONS, MICHELLE!
You really knocked this list out. Woot!
Alondra wrote: "Uhm, did you know you completed this list?? Unless I counted wrong......CONGRATULATIONS, MICHELLE!
You really knocked this list out. Woot!"
Oh!!! :D Thanks Alondra! I was so focused on reading them all that I didn't realize I had hit the 12 mark. Also, this has turned out to be such a good list, I want to keep going. "Everyone" really knows what they are talking about.
Setting makes Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier a hit.After the death of her mother, Mary travels to Jamaica Inn to live with her aunt. Even before she arrives she learns that Jamaica Inn has a disreputable reputation. Once there she finds that her aunt is not as she remembers but is abused by her overbearing uncle. It seems that the trade at Jamaica Inn is also not as expected. Mary wants only to escape the inn taking her aunt with her but in order to do that she has to understand the mysteries of the inn. A dangerous plan.
This book was steeped in atmosphere. The lonely setting of the inn on the moors takes center stage. Daphne du Maurier famous for gothic mystery and romance out does herself in this book. I think Rebecca is still my favorite du Maurier but this is coming in a close second. So to my high school friend Susanne who kept telling me I had to read this. After all these years I finally did read it and you were right Susanne. You were right. I did need to read it.
3 gothic secluded inns and lonely moors stars.
Quotable:
“However grim and hateful was this new country, however barren and untilled, with Jamaica Inn standing alone upon the hill as a buffer to the four winds, there was a challenge in the air that spurred Mary Yellan to adventure. It stung her, bringing color to her cheeks and a sparkle to her eyes; it played with her hair, blowing it about her face; and as she breathed deep she drew it through her nostrils and into her lungs, more quenching and sweeter than a draft of cider.”
― Daphne du Maurier, Jamaica Inn
“Roads? Who spoke of roads? We go by the moor and the hills, and tread granite and heather as the Druids did before us.”
― Daphne du Maurier, Jamaica Inn
“He took her face in his hands and kissed it, and she saw that he was laughing. "When you're an old maid in mittens down at Helford, you'll remember that," he said, "and it will have to last you to the end of your days. 'He stole horses,' you'll say to yourself, 'and he didn't care for women; and but for my pride I'd have been with him now.”
― Daphne du Maurier, Jamaica Inn
Mod
You are so welcome. I am so proud of everyone. You guys are really enjoying your lists and choosing what YOU want. ☺️🥰
Singing the praises of
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. A hit no doubt about it.A young girl is abandoned by her family and shunned by society and is left to survive on her own in the tidal marshes of the costal Carolinas in the 1950's and 1960's. She relies on her marshland home for survival and safety. She does not go to school but learns on her own to read and study the marsh life. A few people seek her out and either become friends or intruders in her isolated world.
Wow! This was one of those books that I resisted reading for so long due to the over-the-top hype that went along with it. I even watched the movie and liked it but still refused to read the book. Why? This book was every bit as good as the hype said it was, and it was better than the movie (no surprise). My heart ached for that girl on so many levels. The underlying themes of loneliness, isolation, and prejudice? Don't get me started. Also, a really good mystery and a sweet romance. I may be the last person on the planet to read this book but I'm really glad I didn't miss it.
5 characters who live life on their own terms stars.
Quotable:
“Sometimes she heard night-sounds she didn’t know or jumped from lightning too close, but whenever she stumbled, it was the land who caught her. Until at last, at some unclaimed moment, the heart-pain seeped away like water into sand. Still there, but deep. Kya laid her hand upon the breathing, wet earth, and the marsh became her mother.”
― Delia Owens, Where the Crawdads Sing
“His dad had told him many times that the definition of a real man is one who cries without shame, reads poetry with his heart, feels opera in his soul, and does what’s necessary to defend a woman.”
― Delia Owens, Where the Crawdads Sing
“Unworthy boys make a lot of noise”
― Delia Owens, Where the Crawdads Sing
“How much do you trade to defeat loneliness?”
― Delia Owens, Where the Crawdads Sing
“Please don't talk to me about isolation. No one has to tell me how it changes a person. I have lived it. I am isolation," Kya whispered with a slight edge.”
― Delia Owens, Where the Crawdads Sing
I'm currently listening to Water for Elephants. I left this book for last and I have to admit that I was not looking forward to it. After the prologue and the first chapter though I have to admit that I am getting more and more interested in this story. It's still early but I'm thinking this may be another hit.
Mod
It was an interesting, different story.
Different is the right word Bill. The parts about the circus are unusual and compelling.
Finishing out the list.
Water for Elephants hits the spot. One final Hit!During the depression a veterinarian with nowhere else to turn joins a traveling circus. As he learns more about the circus life he begins to care for the animals in his charge and for some of the people he has met. Unfortunately, both he and everyone he cares about suffer under the tyrannical rule of the circus owner and his second in command. The choices he makes will set him on the path he will follow for the rest of his life.
This book was a pleasant surprise. I was convinced I would not enjoy it. I will say it took a minute but when the story finally got to the circus, I was hooked. It was cleverly written from the POV of an elderly man in a nursing home looking back on his life with just enough foreshadowing to keep you reading. I don't know if this one deserved the hype around it when it was first published but it was well written with a decent storyline. It had a better ending than I anticipated and for that I'm going to give it an extra star.
4 Coming of age with hard times and forbidden love stars.
“You do right by me, I'll show you a life most suckers can't even dream of.”
― Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants
“Age is terrible thief. Just when you're getting the hang of life, it knocks your legs out from under you and stoops your back”
― Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants
“When two people are meant to be together, they will be together. It's fate.”
― Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants
“Life is the greatest show on earth!”
― Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants
This challenge is DONE! And I have to say overall it was a hit. Out of 16 books I judged 13 to be hits and only 3 to be a miss. The three misses were all actually good books. I just felt after reading them that somehow, they did not live up to the level of hype that surrounded them. I would not hesitate to recommend any of the books on this list whether hit or miss. They were all good in their own way. I gave four of them a 5-star rating, 6 a 4-star rating, and 6 of them a 3-star rating (3 star is still a good rating in my books).So, I guess I'm going to have to reluctantly admit that when "everyone" tells me I "have" to read a book, I probably should just go ahead and read it. Chances are I'm going to like it. Maybe I'll wait until the hype dies down though.
Yes! Sometimes I have to wait until the hype dies down too, but I do find some gems in the books that everyone else is reading and recommending. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed your list!
Woohoo! Congrats on finishing the challenge
Lea wrote: "Yes! Sometimes I have to wait until the hype dies down too, but I do find some gems in the books that everyone else is reading and recommending. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed your list!"I think I'm going to have to find that sweet spot between when everyone on the planet is reading a book and when it becomes a modern classic. I was too slow on some of these and on a couple probably too quick. That said I think I would have judged a few of these more harshly if everyone was still raving about them.
Lillie wrote: "Woohoo! Congrats on finishing the challenge"Thanks Lillie! That wraps up my challenge lists for 2025. I hate to admit it but I'm beginning to consider lists for 2026.
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Books mentioned in this topic
Water for Elephants (other topics)Water for Elephants (other topics)
Water for Elephants (other topics)
Where the Crawdads Sing (other topics)
Rebecca (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Delia Owens (other topics)Daphne du Maurier (other topics)
Ernest Hemingway (other topics)
Ernest Hemingway (other topics)
Amor Towles (other topics)
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It was a well-told story. I also read and enjoyed A Gentleman in Moscow. Very different books but Amor Towles writes such vivid scenes. It is hard to forget his books.