Cecrow - 2025 TBR Challenge

Primary List:
1. The Bostonians - Henry James (2025/01)
2. The Novel - James Michener (2025/02)
3. Villette - Charlotte Bronte (2025/04)
4. In Sunlight and In Shadow - Mark Helprin (2025/05)
5. The Moonstone - Wilkie Collins (2025/06)
6. The Witchwood Crown (Osten Ard #4) - Tad Williams (2025/07)
7. East of Eden - John Steinbeck (2025/08)
8. Ship of Fools - Katherine Anne Porter (2025/09)
9. Sarum - Edward Rutherfurd (2025/04)
10. The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana - Umberto Eco (2025/10)
11. Rites of Spring - Modris Eksteins (2025/10)
12. Mansfield Park - Jane Austen (2025/11)

COMPLETED 2025/11

Alternate List:
1. Down and Out in Paris and London - George Orwell (2025/04)
2. Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson (2025/02)
3. A Room with a View - E.M. Forster (2025/04)
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey - Arthur C. Clarke (2025/04)
5. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - Jules Verne (2025/01)
6. Haroun and the Sea of Stories - Salman Rushdie (2025/05)
7. Lord Jim - Joseph Conrad (2025/07)
8. Excession - Iain M. Banks (2025/09)
9. Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut (2025/11)
10. The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham (2025/10)
11. Cranford - Elizabeth Gaskell (2025/07)
12. Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes - Robert Louis Stevenson (2025/07)

COMPLETED 2025/11

I am always meaning to get around to revisiting this or that author without actually doing it. In 2025 I'm fixing the problem: with one exception (Eksteins) all of these qualify as authors I've read before and wanted to circle back to read more of, including several of my favourites. I've more titles than these that qualify, which I'm hoping I can read in between while I'm at it.

Look at you getting all organized for 2025! You have some really good stuff on your list. And a couple that might not have been my favorite for that author. Also some that I'm hoping to get to some day. As always, I look forward to seeing what you think of all of them.

I'm going to have some fun with my reviews, comparing each to what else ive read by these authors and then deciding if I'll read any more.

I've read quite a few of those on your list and enjoyed them. I wish you well and look forward to seeing what you think of your selections.

Cool list. I've read two and heard of many so I'm interested to see how you like them. Happy reading in 2025 :)

Nice list! I put a Steinbeck on my list too. You picked a good one of his!

I’m interested to see your reviews, especially of The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, since I’ve had that sitting on my shelf for years.

wow, wonderful list, as always ^_^ several of those i want to read myself. Snow Crash was a let down for me, but came highly recommended by friends more attuned to the genre. The Moonstone was superb ^_^

Enjoy your reading!!

#1 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

Previously read: Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Around the World in Eighty Days

A couple of years ago I populated my challenge with several books I'd previously tried to read and miserably failed at. I might have added this one to that list, but I was only 10 years old in my last attempt so I give myself a pass. Forty years later, I found my courage for another go. I'm a bigger fan of H.G. Wells than Jules Verne, but this is probably Verne's best effort and almost definitely his most famous. The Nautilus and Captain Nemo are practically household names, deservedly so. The 1950s Disney movie is fantastic, as was the Disneyworld ride, so those are wrapped up in my appreciation too. More than a few impossible things happen and it's thick with detail minutiae that many readers (self included) are only going to skim, but this still a fun adventure story.

Read more?: Maybe The Mysterious Island for the continuing adventures of Captain Nemo, but I'm not in a hurry.

==========

About halfway through Henry James and liking that one, too. Think I'll also get started with Neil Stephenson.

If I remember correctly there were a lot of details about each creature they encountered. I do remember skimming a bit but overall enjoying it.

Some of the details were interesting but, as I learned from reading Darwin a few years back, zoology (and marine biology, by extension) is really not my thing. On the other hand, his references to various geography and historical events kept luring me into Wikipedia on some interesting side trips.

>11 Cecrow: i remember reading the abridged (kid-friendly) version of this and i was fascinated!! i think i should grow up (soon...ish) and read the actual thing!

#2 The Bostonians by Henry James

Previously read: The Portrait of a Lady, The Turn of the Screw, other short fiction.

Good example of the kind of book nobody reads anymore, but I still like them: the Proust/Joyce/James kind, in which very little action happens and lots and lots of thinking goes on. This one is at least light in tone, I would say making it a lighter read than Lady. There's a young lady here who is going to be the next great thing on the feminist speaking circuit, and competing cousins with opposing viewpoints who treasure her innocence and wish to steer her in completely opposite directions. It's a tug-of-war story where you're waiting to see who wins, and a social commentary on the women's movement. I think James was sympathetic to the cause, but he highlights the sacrifice its proponents made: sacrificing a life of ease to pursue a life of stress and conflict. For some, that might be a choice too far.

Read more?: Definitely. I don't intend to read all of Henry James as I did with Dickens, but I liked the publication chronology approach. The next one in order that interests me is What Maisie Knew.

===================

The Stephenson novel is proving great, if a bit aged now. Starting Michener next.

>15 Cecrow: there was a time when i imagined myself a BIG classics reader...and James' Portrait of a Lady and Turning of the Screw were in my bucket listof sorts....I confess I have not read them yet...but i've watched a couple of tv/film adaptations xD

The Bostonians and Maisie i dont think i was aware of before...now i'm curious, specially about Maisie (although sounds like heavy reading...)

I've been kind of into James lately. Last fall I read The Master which is a fictional account of his life in the 1890s.

#3 The Novel by James Michener

Previously read: Alaska, Hawaii, Chesapeake, The Source, Caribbean, Journey, The Bridges at Toko-Ri.

Well, that's not a confusing title at all, is it? He could have gone whole hog and called it "The Novel: A Novel", I suppose. It's basically four interlinked novellas: one about a famous author of novels centered on the Pennsylvania Dutch, who has just completed his final book; a second about the author's editor; a third about a critic of the final novel; and the last is about one of his readers. The scenes in Pennsylvania felt entirely new to me at first, but also vaguely familiar. Finally, I realized I'd been there before when I read The Pentagon Spy - now that's a flashback.

Read more? I'm harbouring some interest in a couple of others, especially Tales of the South Pacific where his writing career first began.

====================

Feeling good about my pace, so I'm going to skip ahead on the primary list to Edward Rutherfurd since he's the longest book on my challenge.

#4 Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson

Previously read: Cryptonomicon, Anathem

Stephenson's first big hit, a vision of the metaverse from 1992 when the internet was just starting to become a thing. It's fast-paced and easier to penetrate than Gibson's Neuromancer, but darker and more violent than Ernest Cline's Ready Player One. His vision of online communities is hit-and-miss compared to what we got, and to what we can anticipate now about where we're going, but it's still some interesting world-building. There's a "watch these cool people doing cool stuff" vibe that felt too contrived at first but got better, and some other bumps and bruises - detailed sex with a minor being the worst. Definitely the least recommended of what I've read by him so far, but the other two I've read were going to be hard to beat no matter what.

Read more? I still plan to put The Diamond Age on my challenge in 2026. After that, we'll see. Polostan sounds promising.

I’m really liking your approach this year by listing the pervious books you’ve read by the author and what else you might want to read by them.

Impressed with your pace.

#5 Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell

Previously read: 1984, Animal Farm

I've dodged this for a while on the assumption it would be depressing (with a title like that ...) but after the first chapter's description of his neighbours I was a lot less worried. Orwell's theme is certainly the experience of poverty he endured and what a man will put aside to survive it, but there's no navel-gazing going on. He spends very little time feeling sorry for himself and a whole lot more on observing the world around him, with brilliant descriptions of period, people and place.

Read more? What else has he written? I had to look it up. I can imagine some of his other work being excellent, and the reviews support that, but nothing's grabbing me at the moment.

>21 Cecrow: I didn’t finish this, but somewhere I picked up a free ebook of his complete works, so maybe I’ll give it another try.

#6 Sarum: The Novel of England by Edward Rutherfurd

Previously read: London, The Forest, New York

My pattern with this author: get to the end of one of his exhausting novels and promise myself, never again! Time passes. Get interested in another one of his novels, and onto the challenge it goes. Rutherfurd picked up the Michener mantle, producing doorstoppers that cover the entire history of a locale from the last ice age to the present. Here in his first novel he's looking at Salisbury Plain where he grew up, known to the rest of the world as the neighbourhood of Stonehenge. The historical bits he throws in are great, making them feel like they're happening here and now. The fictional elements he throws in as filler are nothing more than that. I read them for a sense of the life and times while trying not to choke on the treacle. It's a long, long journey, I'm exhausted, and I'm never going to read him again.

Read more? The next time I read him again, I'll probably choose Russka for its coverage of the last several centuries in Russia.

You’re made of sterner stuff than I am. I remember London sitting on my shelf for ages before I finally turned it in to the used book store. Just couldn’t get past how long it was. I’m sure it was fascinating through.

So I need to accidentally misplace my copy of Sarum.

It's a great whirlwind tour through British history, and you do sense the completion of that journey at at the end. If you call 2mph breeze a whirlwind.

#7 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

Previously Read: Rendezous with Rama, Childhood's End, various short fiction.

Generally you're either an Asimov fan or a Clarke fan, they being the ketchup and mustard of early science fiction. I'm on Asimov's side, but Clarke deserves a lot of respect. This is his book that everyone knows, thanks to his collaboration with director Stanley Kubrick. The movie and novel were developed together rather than sequentially, though the movie appeared first (what happens when an author is trying to cover the same story and the mercurial director keeps changing things). Clarke's telling is a lot more straightforward, so if you love the mysteries of the movie maybe you want to skip this. On the other hand, if you just wanted the movie to make some kind of sense then here it is.

Read More? Every sequel he ever wrote seems like it was a bad idea, but maybe 2010: Odyssey Two is okay? I see more promise in The Songs of Distant Earth.

#8 Villette by Charlotte Bronte

Previously read: Jane Eyre

George Eliot thought this was better than Jane Eyre. Ha, ha, I thought, silly George, she's such a kidder. But now? Jane is more transparent than Lucy and her story flows more smoothly, but Lucy's mystery makes her intriguing. She is very withdrawn and reluctant to talk about herself - we learn almost nothing about her in the opening chapters - but gradually her character resolves as someone remarkably modern. She cares not a whit for class or appearances, finds others' faults more amusing than annoying, and although she is quiet by nature she will not hesitate to speak her mind when driven. The setting is unusual, taking place in Brussels - whoops, I mean, Villette - rather than jolly old England. Even more unusual, the romance is almost bizarre and near impossible to see coming. I think Jane still wins, but only by a nose.

Read more? If I read another by Charlotte, surely it will be Shirley. What I should prioritize, however, is reading her sister Anne, whom I still haven't gotten to at all.

Hmm, you liked this one better than I did. It’s my least favorite of hers. Too much melodrama and I couldn’t stomach the abusive romance. I’m currently reading Shirley and enjoying it quite a bit.

If you do read something by Anne, I would recommend The Tenant of Wildfell Hall over Agnes Gray but only by a hair. The last line of Agnes Gray is one of my favorites though.

>29 LittleTaiko:, I noted in my full review, my surprise at the romance and its darker elements. As a reader I liked the surprise, but if this was my daughter? Different story.

#9 A Room with a View by E.M. Forster

Previously read: A Passage to India, Howards End, Aspects of the Novel

This reads like "Howards End for Dummies". Not actual dummies, because this is Forster and his writing is brilliant. But everything is made more explicit in this outing so you can't miss what he's saying. All of Lucy's thoughts (another Lucy!) are plain on the page, so there's no guesswork or mystery about what's happening. Personally I prefer a few more curtains drawn, i.e. less telling, but it doesn't hurt this story about a young woman whose romantic instincts run up against social mores. Forster seemed to find these mores very confining (as any closeted homosexual might), he returned to this theme again and again.

Read more?: Where Angels Fear to Tread and The Longest Journey, certainly.

I'm embarrassed to realize that I've never read any of his books. I'll have to remedy that soon.

>25 majkia: hahaha i had the same thought ^_^

>27 Cecrow: i'm an asimov girl myself, but really curious about clarke...i mean he's such a big name in the genre...not sure if i want to start with space odyssey tho just because i feel pressure from the hype produced by the movie...maybe i'll start with Rama...

>32 LittleTaiko: same!! ^_^

>31 Cecrow: >32 LittleTaiko: >35 riida: I was inspired to add A Room with a View to my TBR, because I figured I should start at the “for Dummies” level, but then last weekend at my local library book sale, there was Howards End, so I may have to start at the more advanced level.

>36 Charon07: - Next year it’s my turn to pick a classic for my book club and I fully intend on choosing A Room with a View. Nice to have that sorted out. I have a hunch it’s going to show up on my 2026 TBR Challenge as well.

>36 Charon07: cool! i have both room with a view and howards end...now i know which book i should go for first :)

#10 Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie

Previously Read: Midnight's Children, Joseph Anton, Quichotte, The Satanic Verses, Knife

In the wake of The Satanic Verses, Rushdie sought some way he could ease back into writing. He was also overdue at living up to a promise he'd made to his young son that he would write a story especially for him. The result is this wonderful children's fiction about a son who strives to restore the mystical source of his father's storytelling prowess. There's a strong feel of Arabian Nights mixed with other things that Rushdie either drew influence from or made up on the spot. It's all of his playful side unleashed with most of his social observations set aside, but there's an allegory here if you go looking for it.

Read more? Many more. He's a favourite.

#11 In Sunlight and In Shadow by Mark Helprin

Previously read: The Pacific and Other Stories, Winter's Tale, A Soldier of the Great War

It wasn't my intention to read three romances in a row, it just sort of happened. It does at least make for a happy contrast, given they were written across three different eras. Mark Helprin raises his romantic scenes, at least through the initial phase, to the level of mythology. This is an ode to love. He's also a huge fan of New York City and graces his setting with descriptions that bring it to life. Actually, all his descriptions of just about anything are worth reading and appreciating, you can't rush them. It's a big part of why I keep reading him, and I'm not a big-on-descriptions guy. So it's a romance in 1940s New York, with some mafia stuff happening to add spice. I'd recommend his other novels I've read ahead of this one, since content-wise this is almost like a child of the two. For me this was the best I've read this year thus far, but it doesn't seem to be everyone's cup of tea.

Read more? Already picked up another one.

>40 Cecrow: I read Winter’s Tale shortly after it was published. It was highly praised, but all I can remember about it was disappointment with it. But I was too young for it, I think, so I often think I should either re-read it or give another of his books a try.

>41 Charon07: - Same. I read Winter’s Tale about 10 years ago and was not a fan. Too long and confusing based on the review I wrote at the time.

Winter's Tale might be unique for him, a fantasy version of New York with time travel to boot. In his two other novels I've read, the only fantasy he's retained is his idealized characters and both of them have included gritty war narratives.

#12 The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

Previously Read: The Woman in White

This almost serves as a sort of coda to completing my Dickens read, given how close Collins and Dickens were. The Moonstone is a fabulous India gemstone that no sooner comes into a British family's possession than it mysteriously disappears overnight, leading to an investigation. I'm led to understand that this is the first true detective novel, and that it sits between the gothic fiction that came before and all the mystery fiction that was to follow. Collins aims a lot higher than mystery writers these days, contriving to produce a novel that isn't simply throwaway but also bears re-reading even after you know the mystery's solution. The characters are interesting, as is the detective work, and the pacing is great. I preferred this one to the other I've read.

Read more? Both were good, but my curiosity has been satisfied.

>44 Cecrow: I read The Suspicions of Mr Whicher last year, which is about a true murder case and the detective who investigated it. I understand the case and the investigation were influential on Wilkie Collins’ and other early detective fiction of the day. One reviewer said that reading The Moonstone afterwards was eye-opening, so I might do that someday.

>44 Cecrow: - I agree with your read more comment - both were enjoyable but not sure I need more by him. I was definitely more of a Moonstone fan than The Woman in White.

Also, look at you hitting the halfway mark before the end of the month. Congrats!

>44 Cecrow: oh i loved this when i first read it!! i have to dig out my copy and schedule it for a re-read ^_^ yeah, it definitely stands out against the modern detective novels, but there's so much more to it than just the atmosphere and the mystery.

#13 Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad

Previously read: Heart of Darkness, Victory

Jim has big dreams about all the daring-do he'll someday accomplish on the high seas. When he gets his chance he totally blows it, and the guilt chases him all across the East Indies as he searches for some kind of escape or redemption. Some interesting parallels could be drawn with Crime and Punishment about regretting one's actions and the damage to sense of self, but a lot of contrasts as well. Jim is clearly a man with integrity, given his inescapable guilt, and yet bears a huge wound after what happened to him; how will he reconcile that, and is it even possible? I found this really compelling, and Conrad sells it with his usual style.

Read more? I like Conrad's writing and consider him a favourite. The Secret Agent and Nostromo look interesting.

>48 Cecrow: I also liked Heart of Darkness. Lord Jim is in my TBR, so I’m glad to hear that you found it compelling.

>48 Cecrow: - You’ve sold me on this one. It’s been on my shelf forever, think I’ll add it to my 2026 challenge.

#14 Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes by Robert Louis Stevenson

Previously read: Kidnapped, Treasure Island, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

This is a non-fiction travelogue of Stevenson's journey on foot through the Cevennes, a mountain range in southern France, accompanied by his donkey Modestine. It begins with Stevenson having no clue how to manage his donkey or maintain his intended direction, which is by far the best part. The rest is largely wandering through the fog in search of the next small settlement, and getting to know the mix of Catholic and Protestant people occupying the land. There's quite a bit here about the area's history centered on the Huguenot uprising, which I only find mildly interesting. It's a short trip (e-readers often surprise me as to length). Not something I'd strongly recommend, although his donkey Modestine is worth meeting.

Read more? I have no plans to but I might surprise myself. I do want to seek out something related: Dead Man's Chest: Travels after Robert Louis Stevenson, which I believe retraces this route but also serves as a more general Stevenson biography.

#15 Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

Previously read: North and South

A feel-good classic that won't leave a single scratch on you. Gaskell presents us a small-town 19th century England that is even more tame than Austen, and is focussed on a somewhat more common strata of society. And it is all about the senior women. I thought I might be amused by them unintentionally but no, the humour is entirely on purpose so you can enjoy this guilt free. Originally published in Dickens' periodical.

Read more? I'm tempted to try Wives and Daughters, despite the fact that she left it unfinished upon her death.

>52 Cecrow: I’m going to remember this one when I need something to read that won’t leave any scratches!

>53 Charon07:, I should be more careful, someone's gonna say "Okay, but ...". The heartstrings do get pulled a couple if times.

>54 Cecrow: Oh, but that’ll buff out!

>52 Cecrow: - Another one that I’m adding to my TBR because of you. I wasn’t necessarily a fan of North and South but this one sounds right up my alley.

#16 The Witchwood Crown by Tad Williams

Previously read: Tailchaser's Song, the Memory Sorrow and Thorn trilogy, the Otherland series, The War of the Flowers, the Shadowmarch series, some of his short fiction, and The Heart of What Was Lost.

One of those cases where I did in fact slow my reading for the sake of prolonging the pleasure. This was the most engaging fantasy novel I've read since A Dance with Dragons in 2011*, while admitting that it's at least due in part to my being such a fan of this author. Mostly it's also due to the extremely rare stunt he's pulled off: an author revisiting one of his greatest creations decades later and not making a mess of it. The same amount of time has passed in his fantasy world as has passed in our real one in between. Consequently the teenage hero I related to then is now a man burdened by age and responsibilities who I can still relate to now. What's most remarkable is Williams' recapturing of Osten Ard's atmosphere and character. It is not just another generic fantasy world he created in the 1990s, and it has not become one. There's four more books (with a supplemental fifth one promised) and I'm refusing to allow myself to read them any more quickly than a few months apart so I can make them last into 2027.

*With the possible exception of Islandia although that's really in a different category, and some peak moments in Malazan.

Read more? With as much restraint as possible.

#17 East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Previously read: The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, Tortilla Flat, Cannery Row, The Long Valley, The Red Pony

As you can see I've read a lot by him, and he's one of my favourite authors. This is his best I've read. He tackles some big themes head-on here: the nature of good and evil, and our power to choose between them. He even does the brave thing of proposing some answers and not just asking the questions like most authors would. There's some messages here about the dangers of a black-and-white view of the world, about using excuses to dodge personal responsibility, and about handling rejection without tearing yourself apart and the world along with you. The Biblical analogy is right there in the title but it's more of a symbolic thing and you can take it or leave it. Samuel and Lee are amazingly wise characters and I wish I knew either one of them in real life. This is Steinbeck's longest work and that's possibly what took me so long, but it's totally worth it.

Read more? I have The Pearl in my TBR pile. Also want to read Sweet Thursday and Travels with Charley.

>58 Cecrow: I haven’t yet read any Steinbeck, but this is on my TBR. Sounds like a good one to start with!

>58 Cecrow:, I guess so? It's one of his later works and I can see how a lot of the earlier stuff was building up to it, but that shouldn't hurt you.

>58 Cecrow: - That is my favorite Steinbeck novel. It held up with a reread a couple of years ago for book club. We had a wonderful discussion as there is so much to unpack with the book.

I definitely recommend Travels with Charley for your continuation of his works. It was different than his other books but quite good.

#18 Excession (Culture #5) by Iain Banks

Previously read: the prior four in the series, namely Consider Phlebas, The Player of Games, Use of Weapons and The State of the Art.

The fictional Culture universe is fascinating to read about, a utopian society controlled by AI where we can live for up to 500 years, change our sex at will and are completely free from want. What are we going to do with all that free time, and what matters anymore under these conditions? Banks doesn't delve as deeply as he ought into these questions, mostly letting the answers evolve by themselves as he parcels out his exciting space opera storylines about alien encounters, laced with humour and moments of gross-out horror. In this fifth entry, the Culture encounters something so technologically advanced that even it is left in awe. The story is fine, but the big questions' answers are starting to dismay me. This isn't really all that happy a place to live, from my 21st century point of view, and it's becoming a problem that Banks isn't addressing enough. Maybe we're not supposed to worry about it and just enjoy the ride, but I'm worrying about it.

Read more? the sixth is on my TBR pile but my enthusiasm is waning a bit. We'll see when I get around to it.

Isn’t it frustrating when a series starts to become less enjoyable? I’m starting to think that most series should be limited to a handful of books and let that be it.

It's up to us as readers to know when to stop, I guess. It's a pretty interesting world he created and the sixth has good reviews and as intriguing a premise as ever so I don't think I can resist trying again, lol.

#19 Ship of Fools by Katherine Ann Porter

Previously Read: The Collected Stories of Katherine Ann Porter

Was a time you could get famous on the strength of your short fiction alone. Katherine Porter lived in that time, and was already an American national treasure in 1962 when she published her one and only novel after twenty years' work and it became that year's number one bestseller. She writes in the style I prefer, never stating any message outright and letting you draw your own conclusions. Spread over an entire novel, full of what several reviews call nothing but unlikeable characters, it's possible to be left in the dark and anxious for the voyage to be over. I was not, because I focused on the interplay among those characters, the various prejudices they held and the conclusions they drew from assumptions they made, looking for patterns. Despite the variety in perspectives and backgrounds, they all begin and end in loneliness because of their barriers to extending or receiving compassion. Regrettably they don't learn anything from the experience, but hopefully I did.

Read more? I'm not sure if there's anything left, maybe some short stories I missed.

#20 The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Umberto Econ

Previously read: The Name of the Rose, Foucault's Pendulum, Baudolino, The Island of the Day Before, and I've skimmed through On Literature

Every prior novel I've read by this erudite author explored information from several centuries ago, allowing him to pour all kinds of esoteric knowledge onto the page. In this novel he does something quite a bit different. His character Yambo awakens from an accident in 1991 to discover he has amnesia. He begins reviewing Italian pop culture from the 1930s onward, trying to find something that will trigger the return of his memories. This plot allows Eco to dive into and swim through his own 20th century experience, so I'd imagine he had a lot of fun with this one. It's easier reading than I expected, with a bit of literary and historical references that go back much further thanks to Yambo's profession of being a dealer in antiquarian books. An Eco fan who thrives on his medieval settings might be disappointed by this modern story, but I equally liked this lighter trip. Not sure I liked Yambo, though.

Read more? I have The Prague Cemetery in my TBR pile, and I'm keeping an eye out for a copy of Numero Zero. That will finish off his fiction. What I've sampled of his non-fiction generally goes straight over my head.

>67 Cecrow: Foucault’s Pendulum is one of my absolute favorite books, but others of Eco’s have been hit or miss for me. I have both Queen Loana and Prague Cemetery on my shelf to be read. Numero Zero had its good points but wasn’t a favorite. It’s also contemporary rather than medieval.

#21 The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

Previously read: The Chrysalids, The Midwich Cuckoo

Lots of sci-fi stuff came out in the 1950s, but not much that was lasting. Wyndham remains a stand-out for being more introspective than his contemporaries. It's not just a horrible spectacle walking around eating people, it's also a commentary on his time and a caution about reckless science that doesn't consider consequences. Today he'd be writing about AI or something, but then it was walking carnivorous plants that we didn't take seriously enough as anything more than a convenient crop for harvesting oil, until a celestial event renders nearly everyone blind and our defences are down. Seventy years later it is still a great read for the Halloween season.

Read more? He has other novels with a reputation behind them, though none are grabbing me right now.

>69 Cecrow: I read Triffids ages ago and enjoyed it, so I don’t know why I haven’t gotten around to The Chrysalids or The Midwich Cuckoos yet.

>69 Cecrow: i love wyndham ^_^ read midwhich cuckoo recently, and triffids is now for sure in my tbr queue.

have you read Chocky yet? my first wyndhamm...and seems not one of his more popular ones...

>71 riida:, so far as I can tell I've read his three best, by reputation anyway. Just read the premise for Chocky though, and it does sound interesting.

#22 Rites of Spring: The Great War and the Birth of the Modern Age by Modris Eksteins

Here's the one exception in my challenge this year, the only author I've not previously read. Ekstiens was a University of Toronto professor (now retired) when he wrote this in 1989, born in Latvia, specializing in German history and culture. His thesis centres upon World War I as the birth of our modern age from a cultural standpoint. There's some brilliant spotlighting along the way of intriguing episodes: the near riot over Stravinsky's "Rites of Spring" ballet, the Christmas 'truce' in the trenches, Lindbergh's crossing of the Atlantic, etc. I was swept up and along, despite the sometimes uphill reading task. He's a university professor, alright. But clearly a brilliant one, with fascinating insight. I found some uncomfortable parallels with our own times, but it feels like I'm liable to see that in just about anything I read these days.

#23 Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

Previously read: Slaughterhouse Five

Maybe one of the most depressing novels I've ever read. Of all the different types of literature I remember studying, absurdism (ironically) seemed the most pointless. I hadn't associated Vonnegut with this school, or at least not while reading "Slaughterhouse", but it's pretty apparent in this one. This is a strange mix of light reading and serious message, a sort of Lewis Carroll odyssey with fewer quotable lines. Through satire he dismisses everything - religion, romance, politics, science, you name it - as anything to trust or rely on for guidance unless you can succeed at closing your mind to the absurdity involved. It wasn't complete chaos, thanks to a plot and a hero who has some kind of morals, but it felt pretty aimless and nihilistic. That too is part of the message, since it can be read as allegory for what nearly happened during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Read more? In between chapters I went to YouTube and found some Vonnegut interviews and lectures that helped me get through it. Now I may have to try The Sirens of Titan or Mother Night.

>74 Cecrow: Cat’s Cradle is one of my all-time favorite books. I’m sorry it didn’t work as well for you. I personally found Mother Night more depressing. And I don’t remember a lot about Sirens, but one year the man who would become my husband and I got it for each other for Christmas, so it was possibly a sign that we were meant for each other.

My favorite of his is Welcome to the Monkey House. I enjoyed every single story which is rare for me with a short story collection.

#24 Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Already read: Emma, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility

Fanny Price is held to be Austen's least likeable hero. I actually did appreciate Fanny and even got a bit protective of her, wishing Henry Crawford would back off - and then wishing everyone else would back off, through sixty pages plus of nobody taking "no" for an answer. The introduction spelled out what's admirable in her, and thanks also to my admittedly having something in common with her - never a risk-taker, always saying no. I've learned the hard way how much I miss out on by doing that, and I can point to a dozen other novels that like to pound that lesson home. This one goes 180 degrees in the opposite direction, rewarding Fanny's placid stalwartness. I would have loved this validation if I'd read it maybe thirty years ago, and there's a strong case here for why and when being stubborn does pay off.

Read more? Northanger Abbey is going into next year's challenge, Persuasion the year after.

My work here is done! It was fun to revisit twenty-three authors I'd read before, and I didn't encounter a single lemon. On the side I also revisited several others: Guy Gavriel Kay, Agatha Christie, Pierre Berton, H.G. Wells, Jack London, Shirley Jackson, Herman Hesse, and very soon Harper Lee. Tough call to say which books from the challenge were my favourites, but Tad Williams had me the most excited since it's the start of a great new series I'm carrying on with. Some of these others are still demanding repeat revisits as I noted in my reviews above; especially Henry James, Helprin, Rushdie, Conrad, Steinbeck and of course Austen. I'll try not to let them build up like that again before circling back this time.

Good job completing your list! I’ve fallen behind on mine, but I hope to catch up before the end of the year.

Still almost two months to go, lots of time. :)

Congrats on finishing! Nice to end with Jane Austen, you really can’t go wrong there. Off to check on your 2026 list now.

>74 Cecrow: uh oh...you had me at "the most depressing novels"...i dont think i can handle that right now...

maybe after i win big on the lottery? :P

>73 Cecrow: this reminds me of my old history prof in uni...i do not like war stories (in general), but he somehow made the different european wars (up until WW1) come alive and feel meaningful

>82 riida:, maybe I exaggerated, lol. Depressing in the sense that Vonnegut was saying everything's hopeless and leads to disaster. He does it with an Alice in Wonderland approach, however, which I guess takes the sting out of it that you'd otherwise find in something like The Grapes of Wrath or what have you. Depressing in the sense of his very bleak theme, not as much in its content. On the content side, this would pale in comparison to a lot of others on a wide range of subjects.

>83 riida:, lots of nasty war scenes in this one, but nothing about strategy, and his greater point was about the before-after contrast in Western culture. A central point being part of the great horror of World War I and its aftermath was that very sense of its pointlessness. It felt like nothing had been won or lost or significantly changed by it, and yet all those millions died. It was the first war where honour and nobility played zero role, all drowned in the mud. Even the war hawks were disappointed by it.