Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion
Personal Challenges
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wreades231system 2025
date
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231 System Jan 202501 The Female Man
by Joanna Russ [5/5] review 02
The House of Fear by Robert W. Service [2/5] review RR
LoEG The Tempest by Moore, O'Neill [5/5] review 01
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith [1/5] review 02
X-Men: The Hunt for Professor X by various [2/5] review 03
From What Far Star? by Brian Berry [4/5] reviewRR Pride and Prejudice and Zombies*
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Cannery Row by John Steinbeck [2/5] review 02
The Poor Mouth by Flann O'Brien [4/5] review03
Contest of Champions II by Claremont et al [3/5] review*This was so close to the original Pride and Prejudice that i'm also counting it as a reread.
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A multi-year achievement i just note whenever it happens which ain't often :lol . Maybe a little bit of a cheat as Tempest was a reread but i only just bumped it up to 5 so i'm counting it.
Better than the worst of the '90s but not by as much as one would hope.Achievement Unlocked
Febuary, March, April, May, June 1999
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231 System Feb 2025RR
The Cords of Vanity by James Branch Cabell [4/5] review01
Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre [3/5] review 02
X-Men the Shattering by Alan Davis et al [2/5] review 03
Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman [3/5] review RR
Mysta of the Moon by Ross Galun [3/5] review 01
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston [2/5] review
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Achievement Unlocked The Female Man by Joanna Russ
Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman
The Waves by Virginia Woolf
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Cool challenge system! I will admit, I am a little confused by some of it, but I think reading on with your monthly updates helps. I forgot about doing monthly updates. I will try to remember, because I like the idea. Nice work so far!
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Unquel pronounced Uncle, a word i made up. The term 'connected' is obviously pretty vague and only defined by the reader.
P&P&Z is obvious. Poor Mouth is satirizing elements of a number of previously written books about the irish.
House of Fear is a stretch, or at least a very minor connection. Sherlock Holmes being referenced in it as a real detective.
I could also have gone for Atlas Shrugged which not only has what i consider a Captain Nemo character but elements of it also seem to be taken from the novel Lost Horizon.
Achievement Unlocked [1610s, 1900s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1970s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s]
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Haha! Cool made up word!Doing well with your challenges! Congrats on the levelling ups! 👍
April wrote: "Haha! Cool made up word!Doing well with your challenges! Congrats on the levelling ups! 👍"
Yeah this is going pretty well. The non-fiction one, even though its only 5 books, willprobably be hardest to get. Not my usual type of read but good to get outside the comfort zone.
231 System Mar 2025
02
The Waves by Virginia Woolf [5/5] review03
Apocalypse: The Twelve by Erik Larsen et al [2/5] reviewRR
Chivalry by James Branch Cabell [3/5] review01
Ages of Apocalypse by Kavanagh, Davis et al [1/5] review02
A World of Women by J.D. Bereford [2/5] review03
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand [2/5] reviewRR
The Tempest by William Shakespeare [2/5] review01
Voices from Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievich [5/5] review
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The Red Stain by Achmed Abdullah
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[4/5],
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[1/5]So i only did 50% of Finnegans Wake, but i gave it a shot so I’m counting it ;) . Also i gave Portrait and Dubliners 4-stars at the time. I’ve adjusted them here for how i feel looking back.
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{Flann O’Brien},{Virginia Woolf},{Edward Bulwer-Lytton },{James Joyce},{J.Sheridan Le Fanu}
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231 System Apr-May 202502
The Red Stain by Achmed Abdullah [2/5] review03
Ernest Maltravers by Edward Bulwer-Lytton [3/5] reviewRR
Domnei by James Branch Cabell [3/5] review01
Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce [1/5] review02
Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72 by Hunter S.Thompson [3/5] review03
The Last Yggdrasill by Robert F. Young [2/5] reviewRR
The Rivet in Grandfathers Neck by James Branch Cabell [4/5] review01
Ghost Stories and Tales of Mystery by J.Sheridan Le Fanu [2/5] review
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[1830s, 1850s, 1910s, 1960, 1980s]
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Achievement Unlocked Joanna Russ, Robert W. Service, Seth Grahame-Smith, John Steinbeck, Bryan Berry, Alan Lightman, Jean-Paul Sartre, Zora Neale Hurston, Ayn Rand, J. D. Beresford, Svetlana Alexievich, Achmed Abdullah, Robert F. Young, Hunter S. Thompson, Edith Allonby
Achievement Unlocked [Feb 2021 --> Jun 2025]
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Catching up on Classics (and lots more!)
Books mentioned in this topic
The Startling Exploits of Dr. J.B. Quies (other topics)Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (other topics)
Ebony and Crystal: Poems in Verse and Prose (other topics)
The Story Without a Name (other topics)
X-Men vs. Apocalypse, Vol. 2: The Ages of Apocalypse (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Robert W. Service (other topics)Seth Grahame-Smith (other topics)
John Steinbeck (other topics)
Bryan Berry (other topics)
Edith Allonby (other topics)
More...
My numbers are about the same and vibes wise i really didn't feel any difference. So lets try my challenges again and see if i can notice any difference this time :| .
My 2023 list is here.
My usual system is I will read 2 OR 3 new books (depending on mood) and then 1 reread.
And then i have a lot of acheivements i can hit along the way, however this year i do not have all of them planned just yet, so will edit again to add more as they occur to me over the next couple of weeks.
Possible Achievements 2025:
CALLIGRAPHY: Write 40 reviews.
DEJA-VIEW: Complete 4000 pages of Rereads.
BEAT-THE-TIDE: Complete all Owned unread books.
THE-FIRST-SEX: Read 10 books by female authors.
PAINT-WITH-WORDS: Read 5 graphic novels.AUTHOR-ALT: Read 5 new non-sequels by authors you've read before.REAL-FICTION: Read 5 non-fiction books.
TEXT-SUPPORT:Read 5 books from the group bookshelves.DEPRESSION-ERA-DRAFTS: Read 3 books from the 1930s.WAR-OF-WORDS: Read 3 books from the 1940sCRY-UNQUEL: Read 3 books connected to a work by a different author.PEOPLE-PAPERS: Read 3 books with titles that include (but not limited to) a name.PAPER-PEOPLE: Read 3 books with titles that consist only of a name.
READ-MY-SHORTS: Read one new collection of short stories.NOBODYS-BUSINESS:Read 1 new book that has never been rated.TOME-RAIDER: Read 1 new book that is over 600 pages.POETRY-SMOETRY: Read 1 new poetry collection.LOVEIT-OR-LEAVEIT: Read the 3 oldest additions to your TBR, after removals if wanted.SEQUELITIS: Read 10 books in series you've already started.
FRESH-PERSPECTIVE: Read 15 books by authors you've never read before.CENTURY-SWEEP: Read books from 10 different decades.SESQUICENTENNIAL-SWEEP: Read books from 15 different decades total.BICENTENNIAL-SWEEP: Read books from 20 different decades total.
X-EMPLARY: Read 5 months of X-Men comic appearances.MERRY-MERRIL-MEDLEY: Read 5 books from the Merril Collection.REJOYCE: Complete all 4 of James Joyce's novels.THE-COMPLETE-PANCAKE: Complete all 5 of Flann O'Brien's novels.
STANDARD-PRACTISE: Read 60 items.
MAKE-IT-COUNT: Read 16,000 pages.
LITERARY-GOLD: Read 5 Five-Star books.CRUD-COMPOSITIONS: Read 5 One-Star books.