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Title: Pride and Prejudice
Author: Jane Austen
Year of (initial) Publication: 1813
Number of Pages: 334

Title: A Wind in the Door
Author: Madeleine L'Engle
Year of (initial) Publication: 1973
Number of Pages: 224, e-book

Title: A Swiftly Tilting Planet
Author: Madeleine L'Engle
Year of (initial) Publication: 1978
Number of Pages: 304

I haven't post any books this year and I feel a little guilty about posting so many, after all the group is named "Read a Classic Challenge" I kind of take that to mean just one. But when I joined last year that didn't seem to be the precedent. That said I'll catch up the first five months of this year.

Inherit the Wind
Jerome Lawrence
Published 1955
Paperback Edition
Pages 115
Finished 1/1/2016
Georgia, USA

One of the few plays I've read.

Death Comes for the Archbishop
Willa Cather
Published 1927
Paperback Edition
Pages-297
Finished 1/7/2016
Georgia, USA

This was my first book by Cather. I had always planned on reading My Ántonia first, the Archbishop just fell in my lap. Excellent book, great author.

Lamb in His Bosom
Caroline Miller
Published 1933
Hardback Library Edition
Pages-357
Finished 1/8/2016
Georgia, USA

If pushed to pick my best read of the year to date this is it, simply wonderful.

The Bluest Eye
Toni Morrison
Published 1970
Paperback Edition
Pages 216
Finished 1/18/2016

I've been planning on reading Morrison's Beloved for awhile. Found Bluest Eye for a $1.00 so it became my first Morrison read. Unfortunately I did not like Bluest Eye and I'm afraid it has tainted future Morrison reads.

The Stranger
Albert Camus
Published 1942
Paperback, Library Copy
Pages- 123
Finished 1/19/2016

Pleasantly weird, I enjoyed it.

The Story of My Life
Helen Keller
Published 1902
Paperback, Library copy
Pages-152
Finished 1/22/2016

I remember at some point in elementary school Helen Keller was a big deal. I was curious to learn more.

The Murder on the Links
Agatha Christie
Published 1923
Paperback
Pages 232
Finished 1/31/2016

Agatha Christie need I say more.

Pastoral
Nevil Shute
Published 1944
Paperback
Pages-239
Finished 2/4/2016

Anything written by Nevil Shute is a classic and a guaranteed good read.

A Separate Peace
John Knowles
Published 1959
Paperback
Pages 196
Finished 2/8/2016

The Hound of the Baskervilles
Arthur Conan Doyle
Published 1901
Kindle Edition
Pages 134
Finished 2/11/2016

I hope to read all of the Sherlock Holmes stories, this one was very good.

Nectar in a Sieve
Kamala Markandaya
Published 1954
Hardback Library Edition
Pages 192
Finished 2/15/2016

This is an excellent book on peasant life in India a little sad and depressing. A smooth easy read Markandaya did a good job.

The Island of Dr. Moreau
H.G. Wells
Published 1896
Kindle Edition
Pages-160
Finished 2/17/2016

Not my favorite Wells read.

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
Carson McCullers
Published 1940
Paperback
Pages-359
Finished 2/26/2016
Georgia USA

Another top read for the year. do yourself a favor and read this book. Warning: I posted that this book was a little sad and slightly depressing and was called on the word slightly as being an understatement.

The Awakening and Selected Short Stories
Kate Chopin
Published 1899 (The Awakening)
Kindle Edition
Pages-296
Finished 2/28/2016

Kindle free read, got it for The Awakening, but decided to read all the stories. So glad I did, all stories were really worthwhile reading.

The House on the Strand
Daphne du Maurier
Published 1968
Hardcover
Pages 308
Finished 3/9/2016

I've not been disappointed by Daphne du Maurier and this was no exception, enjoyed every page.

This Rough Magic
Mary Stewart
Published 1964
Paperback Library Copy
Pages 373
Finished 3/17/2016

Other than it's age this may not be considered a classic. However Mary Stewart has an enjoyable writing style and this book will continue to be read for many years to come.

Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck
Published 1937
Paperback Library copy
Pages 112
Finished 3/20/2016

A reread form High School, but damn it's good.

The Secret Garden
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Published 1911
Paperback Library copy
Pages 372
Finished 3/25/2016

I read this for another group challenge, it surprised me at how good it was, will remember it for my grandkids.

Ten Days in a Mad-House
Nellie Bly
Published 1887
Paperback
Pages 96
Finished 3/27/2016

A woman reporter goes under cover to expose the treatment of the mentally ill in 1887. Who knew investigative reporting has been going on for 130 years.

Sanctuary
Edith Wharton
Published 1903
Kindle Edition
Pages 192
Finished 4/2/2016

If Edith Wharton wrote it, I'm going to try and read it.

The Metamorphosis
Franz Kafka
Published 1915
Paperback
Pages 98
Finished 4/3/2016

Siddhartha
Hermann Hesse
Published 1922
Kindle edition
Pages 132
Finished 4/4/2016

The Fall of the House of Usher
Edgar Allan Poe
Published 1839
Kindle Edition
Pages 12??
Finished 4/26/2016

I didn't think much of this. I read it twice and even listened to an audio version. Not even close to my favorite Poe.

Utopia
Thomas More
Published 1516
Kindle Edition
Pages 135
Finished 5/3/2016

Robinson Crusoe
Daniel Defoe
Published 1719
Kindle Edition
Pages 320
Finished 4/11/2016

A bucket list book something I've been thinking about reading for 50 years.

King Lear
William Shakespeare
Published 1603
Audio-Book & Read Along
Pages 176 ??
Finished 5/15/2016

This is the first ever audio=book I've done. I don't think I could handle Shakespeare any other way. I think I will make future use of audio-books.

A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens
Published 1859
Paperback/Kindle Edition used both
Pages 382
Finished 5/28/2016

Dickens always spooks me, but so far I've read four and survived them all. Actually I've enjoyed them all.

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
Published 1905, 351 pages
ebook version

Am still in central Illinois.

The Vintage Bradbury
Ray Bradbury's own selection of his best stories
copyright 1965
329 pgs

Even though I love Bradbury's writing style, I always feel depressed after reading one of his works.

Title: War and Peace
Author: Leo Tolstoy
Publication: 1867
Number of Pages: 1417

Title: The Three Musketeers
Author: Alexandre Dumas
Publication: 1844
Number of Pages: 545

Title: Lady Susan
Author: Jane Austen
Publication: 1871
Number of Pages: 61

Title: Gone with the Wind
Author: Margaret Mitchell
Publication: 1936
Number of Pages: 1448

From Sterling Heights, MI, USA

The Spirit of the Border by Zane Grey
published 1906
256 pages
ebook

Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley
published 1976
688 pages
audio book

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
published 1900
156 pages
ebook

My Summer in a Garden
Charles Dudley Warner

The Iron Heel
Jack London
Published 1908
Kindle Edition
Pages, 302
Finished 6/11/16

I had no idea that the writer of such strong books about individualism, hard work, taking risks for self-achievement, and striving to succeed was a socialist. Of course at the time this book was written I think the idea of socialism was mostly academic and theoretical. I think the only action taken by a people toward socialism was the first Russian Revolution in 1906 (I think). I wonder what he would have thought of Stalin.

The Painted Veil
W. Somerset Maugham
Published 1925
Paperback Edition
Pages, 246
Finished 6/13/16

No honorable heroes or heroines, the characters are easy to dislike, but a good story. Maugham never fails to deliver, one of my favorite authors.

Blue Camellia
Frances Parkinson Keyes
Published 1957
Hardback Edition from Library
Pages, 432
Finished 6/21/16

This and a couple of books to follow are a part of a personal challenge to read the top 10 best selling books from the year I was born. This was the 5th best seller in 1957 and by the way was a good story with strong female characters. Keys was an excellent writer.

Below the Salt
Thomas B. Costain
Published 1957
Hardback Edition from Library
Pages, 480
Finished 7/7/16

Like the book above this to was a best seller (9th best) in 1957 and part of my challenge to read the 10 best sellers from the year I was born. I enjoyed this book, good writing and an interesting story.

Eloise in Paris
Kay Thompson
Published 1957
Hardback Edition from Library
Pages, 72
Finished 7/10/16

Again like the two books above this is from the year I was born and completed my challenge. This book was OK and if not for the challenge I would never have read it. It was readily available at the library, even after 58 years, yet I don't know how it is received with todays children. I won't be recommending to my grandkids.

Ruth
Elizabeth Gaskell
Published 1853
Kindle Edition
Pages, 432
Finished 6/17/16

This was one of the better books I've read this year. I hope to find some quiet time and write a review. Elizabeth Gaskell was a gifted story teller one of the best women writers from the 19th century. Personally I can't understand why she is not mentioned in the same breath as Austen and the Bronte's, she's that good.

Title: Gone with the Wind
Author: Margaret Mitchell
Year of (initial) Publication: 1936
Number of Pages: 984
Finished: 22/7/16

A Passage to India
E.M. Forster
Published, 1924
Paperback Edition
Pages, 362
Finished 7/27/16

I've read four by Forster, this was not as good as the other three.

The Day of the Triffids
John Wyndham
Published, 1951
Paperback from Library
pages, 191
Finished 7/31/16

Been wanting to read this for about 3 years. so glad it popped in my head on my last trip to the library. Excellent science fiction.

The Death of Ivan Ilych
Leo Tolstoy
Published, 1886
Kindle Edition
Pages, 62
Finished 8/13/16

The Yellow Wall-Paper
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Published, 1892
Internet PDF
Pages, 64
Finished 8/18/16

Outstanding story!!

A couple of days of Short Stories
1. The Story of the Other Wise Man
Henry Van Dyke
Published, 1895
Internet PDF
Pages, 24 +-
Finished 8/24/16

2. A Jury of Her Peers
Susan Glaspell
Published, 1917
Pages, 30+-
Finished 8/24/16

I'm very impressed, a great story and really well written.

3. Araby
James Joyce
Published, 1914
Internet PDF
Pages, 12 +-
Finished 8/25/16

OK, should reread it.

4. The Cask of Amontillado
Edgar Allan Poe
Published, 1846
Internet PDF
Pages, 20+-
Finished 8/25/16

Wow, chillingly cold blooded.

5. The Damned Thing
Ambrose Bierce
Published 1894
Internet PDF
Pages, 24 +-
Finished 8/18/16

Love of Life and Other Stories
Title Story Only-a reread
Jack London
Published, 1905
Kindle Edition
Pages, 32+-
Finished 8/26/16

A stunning story of survival. Highly Recommend It!!

More Short Stories
The Signet Classic Book of Southern Short Stories
Edited by Dorothy Abbott and Susan Koppelman
Published 1991
Paperback Edition

Northerners Can Be So Smug
Alice Childress
Published 1956
Pages, 5 of 528

Drenched in Light
Zora Neale Hurston
Published 1924
Pages, 9 of 528

Both Read on 9/4/16

I Love Short Stories

Breakfast at Tiffany's
Truman Capote
Published 1958
Library Paperback
Pages, 142
Finished 9/3/16