Literary Exploration discussion
Literary Exploration Challenge
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The Hard Challenge - 2013
I thought long and hard if I should do this challenge, here I go: Magical Realism - Some Kind Of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce
Pulp (Hard-Boiled or Noir)- The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
Thriller - Mörka platser by Gillian Flynn
Victorian - The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
I started with the easy challenge but have decided to give the hard challenge a try. Here's my list so far:Adventure
Auto-Biography/Biography
Chick-Lit
Classics
Drama
Fantasy � A Clash of Kinds by George R. R. Martin
Graphic Novels
Historical Fiction
Horror
Humor � Earth the Book, from Jon Stewart and The Daily Show
Literary Fiction
Magical Realism
Mystery � Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James
Non Fiction � Hell-Bent: Obsession, Pain and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga by Benjamin Lorr
Paranormal � Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Philosophical
Poetry
Pulp - (Hard-Boiled or Noir) � Toronto Noir edited by Janine Armin and Nathaniel G. Moore
Romance
Science Fiction � The Secret Circle by L. J. Smith
Steampunk
Thriller � Gone Girl
Victorian
Young Adult � Looking For Alaska by John Green
Brenda wrote: "#16 - Poetry - Gypsy Pie by Romano Yehudi Solo Review to follow"
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I've decided to further challenge myself so am upgrading to the Hard Challenge. Here we go:24 Books
Adventure The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca
Auto-Biography/Biography: The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East
Chick-Lit: The White Queen
Classics: Mary Barton
Drama My Dear I Wanted to Tell You
Fantasy: The Shadow of the Wind
Graphic Novels
Historical Fiction:The Almond Tree
Horror
Humour The World is a Wedding
Literary Fiction: Pigeon English
Magical Realism 1Q84
Mystery: Pretend You Don't See Her
Non Fiction: She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth
Paranormal
Philosophical The Trial
Poetry
Pulp - (Hard-Boiled or Noir)
Romance: The Shoemaker's Wife
Science Fiction A Song of Ice and Fire
Steampunk
Thriller Death Comes to Pemberley
Victorian Felix Holt, the Radical
Young Adult: Little Sacrifices
Anna wrote: "I've decided to further challenge myself so am upgrading to the Hard Challenge. Here we go:24 Books
Adventure
Auto-Biography/Biography: The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Mid..."
Anna, would you be able to link your books, so we can check them out..pretty please;)
I just finished my graphic novel selection: The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes - really enjoyed it for the most part, but not sure it's made me a graphic novel convert...
Starting on the challenge a little late but here goes:Adventure - How to Seize a Dragon's Jewel
Auto-Biography/Biography - The Discovery of Jeanne Baret: A Story of Science, the High Seas, and the First Woman to Circumnavigate the Globe
Chick-Lit - Girl's Guide to Witchcraft
Classics - King Solomon's Mines
Drama - Laughing Wild
Fantasy - The Peculiar
Graphic Novels - Fables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile (gotta read the rest of them now!)
Historical Fiction - Dodger
Horror - Cell
Humour - Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
Literary Fiction -
Magical Realism -
Mystery - Holmes on the Range
Non Fiction - The Primal Blueprint: Reprogram Your Genes for Effortless Weight Loss, Vibrant Health, and Boundless Energy
Paranormal - Dead Ever After
Philosophical - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Poetry - Tennyson: Poems
Pulp - (Hard-Boiled or Noir) -
Romance -Winter's Passion
Science Fiction - The Long Earth
Steampunk - The Constantine Affliction
Thriller - Secrets to the Grave
Victorian - Dracula
Young Adult - Going Bovine
#17. Classics - The Story of My Life by Helen KellerReview: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Ok, I've done that now, Brenda. Sorry I didn't do it sooner. Let me know if there are any problems with the categories. I did check them all out with the GR genres but a couple of them did seem a bit flimsy. Any problems and I'll replace with a different book.Brenda wrote: "Anna wrote: "I've decided to further challenge myself so am upgrading to the Hard Challenge. Here we go:
24 Books
Adventure
Auto-Biography/Biography: The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Hea..."
Anna wrote: "Ok, I've done that now, Brenda. Sorry I didn't do it sooner. Let me know if there are any problems with the categories. I did check them all out with the GR genres but a couple of them did seem ..."Thanks Anna:)
Anna wrote: "I've decided to further challenge myself so am upgrading to the Hard Challenge. Here we go:24 Books
Adventure The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca
Auto-Biography/Biography: The Lemon Tree: ..."
Like Anna I have decided to upgrade to the Hard Challenge. I am going to switch The Picture of Dorian Gray from horror to Victorian but otherwise previous reads will stay in the same categories.
Adventure
Auto-Biography/Biography The Bell Jar9/30 ****
Chick-Lit
Classics
Drama
Fantasy
Graphic Novels
Historical Fiction
Horror
Humour
Literary Fiction
Magical Realism
Mystery
Non Fiction
Paranormal
Philosophical
Poetry
Pulp - (Hard-Boiled or Noir)
Romance
Science Fiction
Steampunk
Thriller
Victorian
Young Adult
#18. - Adventure - Talon: A Jack Rawson Saga by Christopher GerardReview: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Here's what I've got so far. I'm interested in which of these will be difficult for me. I'm already resenting the time I've spent reading YA and Romance, but since it didn't kill me I will bravely forge ahead and see how I do with Chick Lit. This is a good challenge for helping me break out of my reading rut. Thanks for the idea. :DAdventure
Auto-Biography/Biography - Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!
Chick-Lit
Classics - Their Eyes Were Watching God
Drama
Fantasy - The Name of the Wind
Graphic Novels - Blacksad
Historical Fiction - The Quickening Maze
Horror
Humour
Literary Fiction - Choke
Magical Realism
Mystery - Darkly Dreaming Dexter
Non Fiction - Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief
Paranormal
Philosophical
Poetry
Pulp - (Hard-Boiled or Noir)
Romance - A Discovery of Witches
Science Fiction - Wool Omnibus
Steampunk
Thriller
Victorian
Young Adult - Delirium
Half-way done:Adventure
Auto-Biography/Biography
Chick-Lit � Where She Went
Classics
Drama
Fantasy � A Clash of Kinds by George R. R. Martin
Graphic Novels
Historical Fiction
Horror
Humor � Earth the Book, from Jon Stewart and The Daily Show
Literary Fiction � Sweet Tooth
Magical Realism
Mystery � Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James
Non Fiction � Hell-Bent: Obsession, Pain and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga by Benjamin Lorr
Paranormal � Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Philosophical
Poetry
Pulp - (Hard-Boiled or Noir) � Toronto Noir edited by Janine Armin and Nathaniel G. Moore
Romance � A Gentleman Undone by Cecilia Grant (in progress)
Science Fiction � The Secret Circle by L. J. Smith
Steampunk � The Friday Society
Thriller � Gone Girl
Victorian
Young Adult � Looking For Alaska by John Green
I've just finished my historical fiction choice, Innocent Traitor. I've always avoided fiction centering around the Tudor period, but decided it was time to broaden my horizons a bit (which is why I'm doing this challenge, after all). Plus, Lady Jane Grey has always fascinated me. It was a nice easy read, and the author did a good job making Jane a sympathetic character you really couldn't help but empathise with. On the down side, I didn't think the constant switching of narrators was very effective in this instance.
Tiffani wrote: "Half-way done:Adventure
Auto-Biography/Biography
Chick-Lit � Where She Went
Classics
Drama
Fantasy � A Clash of Kinds by George R. R. Martin
Graphic Novels
Historical Fiction
Horror
Humor � Ear..."
Tiffani, can I ask what your thoughts were about Gone Girl, please?
Leanne wrote: "Tiffani wrote: "Half-way done:Adventure
Auto-Biography/Biography
Chick-Lit � Where She Went
Classics
Drama
Fantasy � A Clash of Kinds by George R. R. Martin
Graphic Novels
Historical Fiction
Ho..."
Hi Leanne,
The two main characters are not at all likable, and yet I really liked the book. Gillian Flynn's book is so full of twists and turns, some of which I anticipated and others I never saw coming. It was the kind of book where you have to see what happens next. See here for the review I wrote about it: .
Have you read it? If so, what did you think of it? If not, I would recommend it. I was never bored, not for one word.
Tiffani wrote: "Leanne wrote: "Tiffani wrote: "Half-way done:Adventure
Auto-Biography/Biography
Chick-Lit � Where She Went
Classics
Drama
Fantasy � A Clash of Kinds by George R. R. Martin
Graphic Novels
Histori..."
Thanks Tiffani, no I haven't read it but thinking about including it as my thriller choice in this challenge, so was good to get your views on it :) I'm not very familiar with this genre so think I will give it a go, was struggling to know what to choose!
I have finished my 19th - Historical Fiction - Penelope by Anya WyldeReview: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I recently read the House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz. Aside from mystery, how would you classify this - adventure, Victorian, neither?
Mod
both more Victorian
Here's an update on my reading plan. The linked ones are done, the unlinked ones are the ones I currently plan to read.Adventure - Master and Commander
Auto-Biography/Biography - Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!
Chick-Lit - Water for Elephants
Classics - Their Eyes Were Watching God
Drama - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Fantasy - The Name of the Wind
Graphic Novels - Blacksad
Historical Fiction - The Quickening Maze
Horror - World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
Humour - Sacre Bleu
Literary Fiction - Choke
Magical Realism - The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Mystery - Darkly Dreaming Dexter
Non Fiction - Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief
Paranormal - Soulless
Philosophical - Siddhartha
Poetry - Life on Mars
Pulp - The Big Sleep
Romance - A Discovery of Witches
Science Fiction - Wool Omnibus
Steampunk - Dreadnought
Thriller - The Girl Who Played with Fire
Victorian - Jane Eyre
Young Adult - Delirium
I'm reading faster than I expected to, so I am jumping to the Insane Challenge. Wish me luck!
Is it too optimistic to get started today?
Karen - Woo-hoo!Βικτώρια - Not at all! The genres you normally read will be no problem, you'll just have to reach a bit to get the unfamiliar ones.
If you don't try you'll never know! ^_^
Wow Karen you're sailing through this challenge! I've now moved on to my classic choice - Crime and Punishment . I'm also reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change - I'm using this as my non-fiction choice.I will be taking a bit of a break from the challenge in June as I'm doing an online course for 12 weeks on the subject of fantasy and science fiction literature and I will mostly be reading books from these genres during this time - although I will be using it as an opportunity to cover my fantasy and science fiction choices, of course! I was thinking about Little Brother for my science fiction choice - but not sure if it fits more under dystopian?
Kazen wrote: "Karen - Woo-hoo!If you don't try you'll never know! ^_^"
Oh, I'm most definetely gonna give it a try.
I bought Hard-Boiled Wonderland yesterday, since Easter is upon us and time isn't all that hard to find!
Hopefully I'll interact with you soon enough!
Leanne wrote: "Wow Karen you're sailing through this challenge! I've now moved on to my classic choice - Crime and Punishment . I'm also reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Person..."Leanne - The course you're taking in June sounds interesting and fun. Do you know what will be on the reading list?
Tiffani wrote: "Leanne wrote: "Wow Karen you're sailing through this challenge! I've now moved on to my classic choice - Crime and Punishment . I'm also reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Le..."Hi Tiffani, it's a course available on Coursera, so you can see the information here: - it's a mixed bag really (Mary Shelley, Ray Bradbury, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Lewis Carroll, H.G Wells to name a few authors). The course is about the psychological insights such genres provide about us. I'm looking forward to it :)
I just finished my #20 - Humour - Seriously...I'm Kidding by Ellen DeGeneresReview: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Leanne wrote: "Tiffani wrote: "Leanne wrote: "Wow Karen you're sailing through this challenge! I've now moved on to my classic choice - Crime and Punishment . I'm also reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Peo..."Thanks for sharing this link with me. I just might sign up for this course.
I'm upgrading to the Hard Challenge as I've just completed my Easy Challenge. Hope to make it through the Insane Challenge too but I'll see how I go! Am picking books as I go but here's what I've settled on so far:A) Easy Challenge - completed 7th May!
1) Classics - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
2) Fantasy - A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
3) Graphic Novel - Blankets by Craig Thompson
4) Historical Fiction - Here be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman
5) Horror - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
6) Literary Fiction - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
7) Mystery - The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
8) Non Fiction - Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman ***
9) Romance - Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez
10) Science Fiction - Neuromancer by William Gibson
11) Thriller - The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
12) Young Adult - The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
B) Hard Challenge - completed 13th October!
13) Adventure - A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin. Cheating, really, I know but I just had to read this book now!
14) Biography/AutoBiography - Call the Midwife: A True Story of the East End in the 1950s. by Jennifer Worth
15) Chick Lit - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
16) Drama - Hamlet by William Shakespeare
17) Comedy - Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
18) Magical Realism - Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
19) Paranormal - A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin. OK, cheating again but it does feature zombies, sorcerers and shapeshifters...
20) Philosophical - Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
21) Poetry - Ariel by Sylvia Plath
22) Hardboiled Pulp - The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
23) SteamPunk - Perdido Street Station by China Miéville
24) Victorian - Dracula by Bram Stoker
C) Insane Challenge
25) Children's - James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
28) Educational - The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease
29) Gothic - The Vampyre; a Tale by John William Polidori
30) Noir Pulp - The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain
34) Supernatural - A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
36) Urban Fantasy - Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris
It is a challenge - I'm not a fan of non-fiction although the Graphic Novel has been a nice surprise.
So far, so good. Here's my progress so far:Adventure
Auto-Biography/Biography
Chick-Lit � Where She Went by Gayle Forman
Classics
Drama
Fantasy � A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
Graphic Novels
Historical Fiction
Horror
Humor � Earth the Book, from Jon Stewart and The Daily Show
Literary Fiction � Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan
Magical Realism
Mystery � Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James
Non Fiction � Hell-Bent: Obsession, Pain and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga by Benjamin Lorr
Paranormal � Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Philosophical � Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale, edited by James B. South
Poetry
Pulp - (Hard-Boiled or Noir) � Toronto Noir edited by Janine Armin and Nathaniel G. Moore
Romance � A Gentleman Undone by Cecilia Grant
Science Fiction � The Secret Circle by L. J. Smith
Steampunk � The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress
Thriller � Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Victorian � The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz
Young Adult � Looking For Alaska by John Green
I'm really enjoying this challenge.
#21. Magical Realism - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis CarrollReview: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
One of the challenges I'm having with this challenge is figuring out to classify books. For instance I just finished What Maisie Knew by Henry James and am wondering if this is a classic, historical fiction, or neither. In the end I decided neither but I'm still trying to define and distinguish between classic and historical fiction.
Tiffani wrote: "One of the challenges I'm having with this challenge is figuring out to classify books. For instance I just finished What Maisie Knew by Henry James and am wondering if this is a classic, historic..."I believe there is a lot of crossovers between genres. I just read The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I could see classifying that book as magical realism and also fantasy.
Kathy wrote: "Tiffani wrote: "One of the challenges I'm having with this challenge is figuring out to classify books. For instance I just finished What Maisie Knew by Henry James and am wondering if this is a c..."Agreed, there is quite a bit of overlap. This challenge is just making me think how to define and distinguish genres. By the way, how was The Night Circus? I was thinking of reading that.
Tiffani wrote: "Kathy wrote: "Tiffani wrote: "One of the challenges I'm having with this challenge is figuring out to classify books. For instance I just finished What Maisie Knew by Henry James and am wondering..."I absolutely loved it. It is a beautifully written love story. The descriptions of the different aspects of the circus were incredible. However, people seem to either love it or hate, no in between! One problem is that it isn't written in a linear story line. The chapters jump all over the place in the timeline of the story. There is also so much description that goes into the circus and all the secondary characters that the main characters don't stand out very well. Even though the story is about battling magicians using the circus as their arena, it is written from a woman's perspective!
It's funny you saying about people loving or hating it Kathy, because I admit I didn't enjoy it very much! it is well-written but I just found it hard to really get into the story and I felt that the characters had a lot more potential for development.
Put me in the love camp for the Night Circus - I still think about it nearly a year after the fact. It's wonderfully written, with interesting themes and symbolism to dig into. I read it on my kindle and while it worked out okay I think it would have been more satisfying as a paper book, considering the skipping chronology.
Kazen, I really liked Night Circus too (read it last year). So, finished #9 book for the challenge: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for Drama.
Wish I was doing better on the challenge, but I guess I'll try to catch up in the summer. (I guess that's why they call it a challenge).
So, can anyone recommend a good chick lit read? I'm struggling with that...might try to tackle that one next month.
@ Franky, Chick Lit suggestion:The Help by Kathryn Stockett is another one of those genre overlap books. To me,it falls in both the Chick Lit and also Historical Fiction categories. Plus it is another exceptional book to read!
Literary Exploration
Books mentioned in this topic
The Great Gatsby (other topics)Mörka platser (other topics)
Redshirts (other topics)
Gatukatten Bob (other topics)
The World is a Wedding (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Ron Rash (other topics)Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (other topics)
George R.R. Martin (other topics)
Craig Thompson (other topics)
Alexandre Dumas (other topics)
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10. The Night Circus for Magical-Realism