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Our first monthly challenge of the year is to read one or more classics where the title starts with J (ignoring the words A or The), or the author’s first name or surname starts with J.

Examples include:
A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
Emma by Jane Austen
The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

Template:

Can I Have a J, Please?
January 2023 Challenge
1/1/23 - 31/1/23
?/?

1
2
3

(Bookcovers) 1 2 3



Play Countdown at Home!


Contestants:

�Annette
Chad
�Cosmic
� Jazzy
� Kathy
� Lynn
� Nidhi
� Rosemarie
� Shaina
� Trisha
Vicky
� Vit

Can I Have a J, Please?
January 2023 Challenge
1/1/23 - 31/1/23
3/3

� 1 Selections from Paroles (1965) - Jacques Prévert 6/1/23 5 stars
� 2 Poems of Jules Laforgue (1958) - Jules Laforgue 6/1/23 5 stars
� 3 The Begum's Millions (1879) - Jules Verne 22/1/23 4 stars

If that isn’t Liza Minnelli it should be. Saving a spot for this one. I’ll browse the TBR.

A Journal of the Plague Year

It's Carol Vorderman from Countdown!

Can I Have a J, Please?
January 2023 Challenge
1/1/23 - 31/1/23
3/1

�1. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
�2. It Walks by Night by John Dickson Carr
�3. The White Priory Murders: A Mystery for Christmas: 107 by John Dickson Carr

Can I Have a J, Please?
January 2023 Challenge
1/1/23 - 31/1/23
1/1

�1. The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Can I Have a J, Please?
January 2023 Challenge

1.Iphigenie auf Tauris by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe�


2.Les Indes noires by Jules Verne�


3. Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome �

Can I Have a J, Please?
January 2023 Challenge
1/1/23 - 31/1/23
1/1

Journey by Moonlight - Antal Szerb

Can I Have a J, Please?
January 2023 Challenge
1/1/23 - 31/1/23
2/3

1 Youth: A Narrative by Joseph Conrad (1898) 1/16/2023 4* (short story)
2 The Town Poor by Sarah Orne Jewett (1890) 1/28/2023 5* (short story)
3

(Bookcovers) 3

Possible planning:

A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe (1722)
� Youth: A Narrative by Joseph Conrad (1898)
Jeremy Poldark by Winston Graham (1950)

Can I have a J, please?
January 2023 Challenge

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson I really enjoyed the characters in this book!

Can I Have a J, Please?
January 2023 Challenge
1/1/23 - 31/1/23
6/5

John Steinbeck

1.The Pearl 5 stars
2. The Red Pony 5 stars
3.The Moon Is Down 5 Stars

Henry James

4. Daisy Miller 4 stars


5. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien4 stars
6. The Joy of Life by Émile Zola4 stars


(Bookcovers) 1 2. 3 4. 5.

Lynn, I’m trying to get a copy of A Journal of the Plague Year from my local library. I’ve been meaning to read that.

Can I Have a J, Please?
January 2023 Challenge
1/1/23 - 31/1/23
?/?

1 Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes Finished January 25
Review
/review/show...

2 The Phantom Tollbooth
3 India Under British Rule From The Foundation Of The East India Company

(Bookcovers) 1 2 3

January is named after Janus, the god of beginnings and transitions�
There is also Januarius � a martyr and saint of the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church�
Alfred Jarry - The Supermale 1902
James Stephens - The Crock of Gold 1912
Philip Larkin - Jill 1946

Can I Have a J, Please?
January 2023 Challenge
1/1/23 - 31/1/23
0/3

I will read three stories by Johanna Spyri.

(Bookcovers)

Vicky wrote: "Can I Have a J, Please?
January 2023 Challenge
1/1/23 - 31/1/23
?/?

I will read three stories by Johanna Spyri.

(Bookcovers) 1 2 3"


Oh I love her. Heidi is one of my all-favorites. That is a good idea. I have Moni the Goat-Boy by her on my kindle.

Lynn wrote: "Vicky wrote: "Can I Have a J, Please?
January 2023 Challenge
1/1/23 - 31/1/23
?/?

I will read three stories by Johanna Spyri.

(Bookcovers) 1 2 3"

Oh I love her. Heidi is one of my all-favorites..."
One of my favourites,too!I had set myself the task of reading all her published stories this year,so this challenge is a really good way to begin :)

Can I have a J, please?
January 2023 Challenge

I'll join but only with a short story. 🙂 I haven't decided which one yet but maybe Julklappsboken av Selma Lagerlöf or The Monkey's Paw : W. W. Jacobs's Best Classic Horror Thrillers by W.W. Jacobs

I finished!

I keep revising my list. Message number 14. If I get in a jam at the end of the month might change one of them again to (thanks Nike)

Shaina wrote: "I finished!"

Congratulations!

Thanks, Cosmic! Hope you finalise your list soon and enjoy them all.

Shaina wrote: "Thanks, Cosmic! Hope you finalise your list soon and enjoy them all."

I think I am set.

Well done Shaina! No worries Cosmic, just enjoy the ones you read!

and Shaina, I just bought your book in French! And one about the princesses written in 1952.

I’m changing my J read as my library doesn’t carry Joy in the Morning. Thank you, Lynn for pointing out A Journal of the Plague Year. I’ve been meaning to read it and my library has it readily available.

Jazzy wrote: "and Shaina, I just bought your book in French! And one about the princesses written in 1952.

"
Your books shelf must be envied. Do you like to buy books for their covers as well as the book's subject/story? You have a very artistic eye. Love the Jules Verne: Seven Novels cover.

Cosmic wrote: "Your books shelf must be envied. Do you like to buy books for their covers as well as ..."

Of course! I might pick up a book just because I adore the cover. However I gave the vast majority of my beautiful books to Oxfam to raise money for the Ukraine, some I hadn't even read as I gave them ALL my Barnes and Noble classics. I might miss them, but they've gone for a better cause as they raised several hundred dollars.

Oh by the way, that Jules Verne cost me a whopping £4, not too shabby! I saw it in the window of the Amnesty Book Shop over the holidays and went back when they were open again and snatched it out of the window, saw the price and I slid it across the counter to Christian and told him, I'll take this!

And the Princess book was £3 from the British Heart Foundation!

Chad wrote: "I’m changing my J read as my library doesn’t carry Joy in the Morning. Thank you, Lynn for pointing out A Journal of the Plague Year. I’ve been meaning to read it and my..."

What would you do if you couldn't get any books you wanted to read from a library? That is how it is for us.

Done.
An absurdist comedy, absurdist philosophical fairy tale and tragedy of the first love are excellent books.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Alfred Jarry - The Supermale 1902
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 James Stephens - The Crock of Gold 1912
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Philip Larkin - Jill 1946

Jazzy wrote: "Chad wrote: "I’m changing my J read as my library doesn’t carry Joy in the Morning. Thank you, Lynn for pointing out A Journal of the Plague Year. I’ve been meaning to r..."

I understand about library woes. We have a library but the book stock keeps shrinking. I like to read free pdfs on my laptop from

manybooks.net


Every book I have read so far this year is a pdf from Manybooks:

The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice by Wilkie Collins
Youth by Joseph Conrad

Also my copy of Journal that I am reading A Journal of the Plague Year on my laptop and also listening to the librivox reading when I commute to school



I am only 15% in on this book, so there is a way to go. I am going slowly with the place names and numbers. Already I am amazed at how similar human behavior is when comparing to our last few years.

I just downloaded The Old Maid: The 'Fifties by Edith Wharton in pdf from manybooks.net

Last year I focused on Golden Age Science Fiction stories. I found many stories to download from manybooks.net.

Way to go,Vit!

Yes, nice job Vit. I have never read those three authors. Groups like these are great ways to find new books.

Finished, I read The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs

That is a memorable story, Nike.

I read Journey by Moonlight - Antal Szerb (message #9). I had read it once before & expected to enjoy it more this time, but it became a chore to finish it.

Trisha, I loved it when I read it. I'm now afraid to pick it up and spoil that feeling.

Shaina wrote: "Trisha, I loved it when I read it. I'm now afraid to pick it up and spoil that feeling."

No, please don’t feel that way Shaina! If you loved the book before you will enjoy it again. I had mixed feelings about it before & hoped I might appreciate it more by reading it again. Perhaps it just wasn’t for me, or maybe I had a different translation that didn’t work as well as your version.

I find that good translations make a huge difference in my enjoyment of a book.

Thanks for the tips Chad!

Well done Vit, Nike, and Trisha! xx

Rosemarie wrote: "I find that good translations make a huge difference in my enjoyment of a book."

That is SO true. A poor translation can ruin a good book.

And everyone is linked...la la la

I've read three this month so far. Book 3 was by Jerome K. Jerome!

I had a long list of J candidates but I’ve only finished one (See Message 11). While I will be reading/finishing the others, I’m moving my priorities to France. Ooo La La!

Finished Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes by Jacques Ellul French

Review

/review/show...

Brilliant Rosemarie! Which one did you like best?

Well done Annette and Cosmic! xx

I enjoyed the Jules Verne book the most. It was set in Scotland.

I read two stories about Utopian Societies this month, it looks like this might have fit in that category as well! x

Nidhi wrote: "Can I Have a J, Please?
January 2023 Challenge
1/1/23 - 31/1/23
5/5

John Steinbeck

1.The Pearl 5 stars
2. The Red Pony 5 stars
3.[book:The Moon Is Down|12722..."

Very nice. I also gave The Pearl and The Red Pony 5*. I have never read The Moon is Down though.