British Author Challenge 2015 - General Thread

The inaugural British Author Challenge (B.A.C.).

Everyone is welcome to join in as much or as little as they like.
One month two authors - one male and one female (men don't read enough female authors and women insufficient males in my experience as a statistician). We also have a thirteenth month selection that can be substituted at any time for any author you don't like or aren't interested in.

2015 selections

January : Penelope Lively & Kazuo Ishiguro
February : Sarah Waters & Evelyn Waugh
March : Daphne Du Maurier & China Mieville
April : Angela Carter & W. Somerset Maugham
May : Margaret Drabble & Martin Amis
June : Beryl Bainbridge & Anthony Burgess
July : Virginia Woolf & B.S. Johnson
August : Iris Murdoch & Graham Greene
September : Andrea Levy & Salman Rushdie
October : Helen Dunmore & David Mitchell
November : Muriel Spark & William Boyd
December : Hilary Mantel & P.G. Wodehouse

Thirteenth Month : Bernice Rubens & Aldous Huxley

January 2015


Penelope Lively


Kazuo Ishiguro

Feb 2015

March 2015

April 2015

May 2015

June 2015

July 2015

August 2015

September 2015

October 2015

November 2015

December 2015

My tentative picks

January 2015 - I am aiming for a couple by each of the authors:

The Photograph and How it all Began for Ms. Lively

A Pale View of Hills and An Artist of the Floating World for Ishiguro

I don't think I will be reading 2 each month, but I will be looking at reading one each month as my magpie habits permit. Remains of the day will be my starter ....

>16 roundballnz: I shall be interested to see which books get the most attention each month. Nice to see you here, Alex.

Going to read Moon Tiger and also take down The Unconsoled - I've read a lot of Ishiguro's shorter works so I'm left with a big one! I may have picked up Moon Tiger already - I've only read 10 pages or so but it's rather good.

>18 BekkaJo: I have read Moon Tiger, Bekka and reckon it among the better Booker Winners that I have read.

I am a completely clean slate when it comes to Ishiguro but I have all his published works on the shelves..........except The Unconsoled!

Here is the January thread for the B.A.C Challenge - Lively and Ishiguro

https://www.librarything.com/topic/185351

>19 PaulCranswick: My fave Ishiguros are The Remains of the Day and Never Let me go - However, I am sure he is someone you will enjoy Paul!

I just read How It All Began recently--bad timing on my part. I'll be finishing Pack of Cards and re-read Remains of the Day. Bliss.

I must figure out where I have Penelope Lively shelved...I'm probably going to read Moon Tiger.

Working with what I have on my shelves and what I can borrow from the library - looking forward to this, Paul!

Just put The Photograph on reserve at the library...

I'm planning on reading Moon Tiger.

I have a copy of The Photograph that I hope to get to in January. I'll post if I do.

I'm going to jump in and give the challenge a shot, Paul. We'll see how well I can keep up...

I'm going to try this challenge. I don't know if I'll stick with it for the whole year, but I'm going to read The Remains of the Day for sure. I may read one of Penelope Lively's children's books. I've never read anything by her.

There are several authors in this challenge that I enjoy, like du Maurier, Waters, Waugh, and Wodehouse. Don't know if I'm up to reading Salman Rushdie and Martin Amis--might have to skip those.

Sandy K

January Female: Penelope Lively, Moon Tiger
January Male: Kazuo Ishiguro, An Artist of the Floating World

The August thread is up.

Barbara's British Author Challenge 2015
Well, I finished the challenge and have read 19 authors out of 24 which isn't bad I think.

January
The Photograph by Penelope Lively read in German (2015-01-01)
Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro audiobook (2015-01-16)
February
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (2015-02-11)
Brideshead Revisted by Evelyn Waugh audiobook in German (2015-02-12)
March
Der Apfelbaum by Daphne du Maurier (2015-03-08)
April
Der Büchersack by W. Somerset Maugham (2015-03-27)
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter (2015-04-04)
May
House of Meetings by Martin Amis (2015-05-05)
The Millstone by Margaret Drabble (2015-05-07)
June
Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (2015-05-31)
the Girl in the Polka-dot Dress by Beryl Bainbridge (2015-06-13)
July
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (2015-07-13)
August
The Third Man by Graham Greene (2015-08-16)
September
Shalimar The Clown by Salman Rushdie (2015-09-14)
Small Island by Andrea Levy (2015-09-20)
October
Black Swan Green by David Mitchell (2015-10-08)
November
Restless by William Boyd (2015-09-26)
December
A Pelican at Blandings by P.G. Wodehouse (2015-10-12)
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (2015-11-21)

>32 Ameise1: Nice list!

Happy Monday, friend!

Thanks so much, Amber.

If anyone is interested, there is an adaptation of Wodehouse's Uncle Fred in the Springtime from BBC Radio 4 available for the next two weeks.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01gf4lq

>32 Ameise1: : Wow! 19 out of 24! Way to go, Ameise1! I only got to 17. Started the challenge planning to read both authors each month, but came to the point of having to choose between them for one author a month.

Thank you, Paul, for running this challenge. I enjoyed participating in it. Your author picks started and ended my BA reading year with a bang!

January:
Kazuo Ishiguro - The Remains of the Day (5 stars) 1/2/15
Penelope Lively - In Search of a Homeland (3.5 stars) 1/8/15
February:
Sarah Waters - The Little Stranger (3.6 stars) 2/10/15
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited (3.2 stars) 2/23/15
March:
Aldous Huxley - (wild card) - Brave New World (3.1 stars) 3/3/15
Daphne Du Maurier - The Doll: The Lost Short Stories (2.9 stars) 3/5/15
China Mieville - The City and the City (3.6 stars) 3/18/15
April:
W. Somerset Maugham - The Magician (2.9 stars) 4/3/15
Angela Carter - Wise Children (3.2 stars) 4/21/15
May:
Margaret Drabble – The Pattern in the Carpet (2.5 stars) 5/8/15
Martin Amis
June:
Beryl Bainbridge - The Girl in the Polka Dot Dress (2.2 stars) 6/20/15
Anthony Burgess
July:
Virginia Woolf - Jacob's Room (2 stars) 7/11/15
B.S. Johnson
August:
Iris Murdoch - Something Special: A Story (2.8 stars) 8/28/15
Graham Greene
September:
Andrea Levy
Salman Rushdie - Haroun and the Sea of Stories (3.5 stars) 9/25/15
October:
Helen Dunmore - The Lie (3.3 stars) 10/12/15
David Mitchell
November:
Muriel Spark
William Boyd - Restless (4.2 stars) 11/5/15
December:
Hilary Mantel - Wolf Hall (4.8 stars) 12/5/15
P.G. Wodehouse
Wild:
Bernice Rubens

My BACI challenge results:

Penelope Lively - The Photograph, Moon Tiger
Kazuo Ishiguro - The Remains of the Day, An Artist of the Floating World

Sarah Waters - Fingersmith
Evelyn Waugh - Vile Bodies, The Loved One, Scoop

Daphne DuMaurier - My Cousin Rachel
China Miéville - The City & The City

Angela Carter - The Bloody Chamber
Somerset Maugham - Theatre

Margaret Drabble - The Millstone
Martin Amis - Time's Arrow

Beryl Bainbridge - The Girl in the Polka-Dot Dress
Anthony Burgess - Earthly Powers

Virginia Woolf - To the Lighthouse
B.S. Johnson - Albert Angelo

Iris Murdoch - Something Special
Graham Greene - Travels with My Aunt

Andrea Levy - The Long Song
Salman Rushdie - Haroun and the Sea of Stories

Helen Dunmore - The Betrayal
David Mitchell - Black Swan Green

Muriel Spark - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
William Boyd - Any Human Heart, Sweet Caress

Hilary Mantel - Giving Up the Ghost
P.G. Wodehouse - A Damsel in Distress

Do I get a gold star for a complete list? :)

Thanks for presenting and managing the challenge Paul.

>38 brenpike: That is impressive! I'm not in charge of handing out stars, but I'd give you a medal if I could!

My record is not nearly so good:

Penelope Lively -- The Ghost of Thomas Kempe
Sarah Waters -- The Little Stranger
Evelyn Waugh -- Brideshead Revisited Listened to the audio version narrated by Jeremy Irons in conjunction with some print reading.
Daphne duMaurier -- Julius
Somerset Maugham -- Of Human Bondage currently reading
Beryl Bainbridge -- Watson's Apology tried, abandoned it; Mum and Mr. Armitage read the title selection only
Virginia Woolf -- Three Guineas gave it a try, found it too "of its time" and set it aside;
Iris Murdoch -- Skipped our Iris
Graham Greene-- This Gun For Hire
Salman Rushdie-- Midnight's Children Started it, set it aside; hope to finish, but not this year
Helen Dunmore -- A Spell of Winter
P. G. Wodehouse -- Leave it to Psmith

I definitely hope to finish both Midnight's Children and Of Human Bondage, but it won't be before the end of the year. Skipped May and November entirely (well, I did read a few pages of The Mandelbaum Gate, but decided the time wasn't right.) Maybe I can claim 60% of this challenge, as I did both of the February authors.

>39 laytonwoman3rd:. Thanks Linda :)

Here's my year-end summary, although I may sneak in another Wodehouse.

January

Penelope Lively
The Ghost of Thomas Kempe
In Search of a Homeland: The Story of The Aeneid
The Five Thousand and One Nights
Dancing Fish and Ammonites
How It All Began
Family Album

Kazuo Ishiguro
The Remains of the Day
An Artist of the Floating World
Never Let Me Go
When We Were Orphans (My favorite of his)
Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall

February

Sarah Waters
Tipping the Velvet

Evelyn Waugh
Vile Bodies
Brideshead Revisited
A Tourist in Africa

March

Daphne Du Maurier
The Doll: The Lost Short Stories

China Mieville
King Rat

April

Angela Carter
The Passion of New Eve (I have a violent hatred of this one)
The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories (Much better)

W. Somerset Maugham
The Painted Veil (Beautiful)

May

Margaret Drabble
The Red Queen

Martin Amis
Time's Arrow

June

Beryl Bainbridge
Something Happened Yesterday

Anthony Burgess
A Clockwork Orange
Inside Mr. Enderby (Liked it very much)

July

Virginia Woolf (I will never like Woolf)
Between the Acts

B.S. Johnson (Did not make me regret the trouble of an ILL to get his work)
Albert Angelo
House Mother Normal
Poems

August

Iris Murdoch
The Bell

Grahame Greene
The Quite American (One of my best reads of the year)
The Tenth Man
Monsignor Quixote
Travels with My Aunt

September

Andrea Levy
Small Island

Salman Rushdie
Shame
Haroun and the Sea of Stories (This one was really fun)
Luka and the Fire of Life

October

Helen Dunmore
Ingo
Talking to the Dead

David Mitchell
Cloud Atlas (I may re-read parts of this someday)
Slade House

November

Muriel Spark (Not for me)
The Abbess of Crewe
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Aiding and Abetting
The Girls of Slender Means

William Boyd
Solo

December

Hilary Mantel
The Giant, O'Brien

P. G. Wodehouse (Like sunshine after a long, cold rain)
Mike
Meet Mr. Mulliner

Wild Cards

Bernice Rubens
Mr. Wakefield's Crusade

Aldous Huxley
Crome Yellow

>41 amanda4242: That's a long list Amanda. Nicely done!

>41 amanda4242: Did you really read 4 of Spark's novels, even though she's "not for you"? What a trouper!

Ooh, a chance to make a list? Count me in

JAN
Kazuo Ishiguro - A Pale View of Hills & The Buried Giant
Penelope Lively - The Ghost of Thomas Kempe & Moon Tiger
FEB
Evelyn Waugh - Decline and Fall & Put Out More Flags
Sarah Waters - The Little Stranger
MARCH
China Mieville - The Scar & Un Lun Dun & Perdido Street Station
Daphne Du Maurier - The House on the Strand
APRIL
Angela Carter - Nights at the Circus
W. Somerset Maugham - The Painted Veil
MAY
Margaret Drabble - The Millstone
Martin Amis - Money
JUNE
Beryl Bainbridge - The Bottle Factory Outing
Anthony Burgess - A Clockwork Orange
JULY
Virginia Woolf - A Room of One's Own & Mrs Dalloway
AUGUST
Iris Murdoch - The Sea, the Sea
Graham Greene - The Power and the Glory & The Quiet American
SEPT
Andrea Levy - Small Island
Salman Rushdie - The Satanic Verses
OCT
Helen Dunmore - The Siege
David Mitchell - The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet & Bone Clocks
NOV
Muriel Spark - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
William Boyd - Any Human Heart
DEC
Hilary Mantel - Wolf Hall
PG Wodehouse - Carry On Jeeves & Very Good, Jeeves & The Inimitable Jeeves

Which I think makes for 33 in total - I didn't plan it that way, I just really enjoyed some of the selected authors! I started to list which ones were new favourites, but it starts to be such an enormous list it's ridiculous. W. Somerset Maugham brought me to tears. I adored Virginia Woolf, and was intrigued by Iris Murdoch. The merits of Wolf Hall were sadly lost on me though. A wonderful year of reading, thanks Paul! I look forward to next year.

>42 brenpike: Thank you!

>43 laytonwoman3rd: Her books aren't long and I like to give an author a chance before I dismiss them, partly out of a sense of fairness and partly to protect myself from people who like to say "oh, you just haven't read enough of their work to appreciate them."

>42 brenpike: >44 evilmoose: You too Megan!

Has the British Author Challenge for 2016 been posted yet?

>47 brenpike: https://www.librarything.com/topic/199234

>48 LoisB:. Thank you :)

I did manage to read another Wodehouse, and another Carter, so my grand total for the year is 52.

>48 LoisB: That's the general discussion thread started in 2015. The 2016 general thread is here.

>51 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks!

When Paul first posted this, early last year, I was not sure how many of these authors I would get to, but I ended up, dutifully chipping away and ended up doing a fair job:

January : Penelope Lively & Kazuo Ishiguro (Moon Tiger, The Buried Giant)
February : Sarah Waters & Evelyn Waugh (The Night Watch, Brideshead Revisited)
March : Daphne Du Maurier & China Mieville (Jamaica Inn, Embassytown, Three Moments of an Explosion)
April : Angela Carter & W. Somerset Maugham (The Bloody Chamber, The Moon and Sixpence )
May : Margaret Drabble & Martin Amis House of Meetings
June : Beryl Bainbridge & Anthony Burgess ( The Girl in the Polka Dot Dress)
July : Virginia Woolf & B.S. Johnson To the Lighthouse
August : Iris Murdoch & Graham Greene Brighton Rock The Bell
September : Andrea Levy & Salman Rushdie The Long Song
October : Helen Dunmore & David Mitchell (Slade House) (A Spell of Winter)
November : Muriel Spark & William Boyd (Loitering with Intent, Sweet Caress)
December : Hilary Mantel & P.G. Wodehouse (Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies) ( The Code of the Woosters)

Thanks, Paul! Fine job! See you on the BAC II!

I over committed for the challenges and didn't do as well on the BAC as I hoped. What I did finish was:

March - Rule Brittania by Daphne du Maurier in a Virago edition, finished March 10, 2015
April : Up at the Villa by W. Somerset Maugham finished Apr 1, 2015
April: The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter finished Apr 4, 2015
May: The Garrick Year by Margaret Drabble finished May 16, 2015
June : Every Man For Himself by Beryl Bainbridge
& The Muse Anthony Burgess finished June 4, 2015
August : Monsignor Quixote by Graham Greene finished August 11, 2015
November : The Blue Afternoon William Boyd finished Nov 5, 2015

8 out of 24. hmmm I had a number of others set aside to read but just didn't fit them in. I partly read a Wodehouse in December but it just wasn't to my taste to continue with it so I bailed.

I plan to drop in on the 2016 challenge - there are some great author selections in there - some I have wanted to try and some that I've read before and wanted to get back to.

Thanks for hosting this Paul. It was good reading.