Well, I hate to abandon two books in the same challenge, but I've done all I can do with
The Gilded Age by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner. This was my "
Loose ends: A book you started last year and haven’t yet finished" selection. There are many reasons I couldn't finish this book last year, nor this year, and why it is one of Twain's lesser-known books: forgettable characters, loose plot, incoherent story line, and Warner's overly long belaboring of satirical scenes. I wanted to finish it because it's Twain, and because it's DC. I liked the scenes taking place in locations I know (and have seen in photos from that time period), and the overall satire holds up today of the special interests jockeying for Congress to fund their schemes. But, it could have been done in about one-third of the book's original 603 pages.
As this is the only book I started last year and didn't finish (or would even consider finishing), I swapped the category out completely and the random number generator gave me
Three-Color Mythology: graphic novel or comic book.
Any suggestions? I'm considering
Home After Dark by David Small, or
Berlin by Jason Lutes. Any reviews from you folks? Or any other great graphic novels I should check out? (I'm not much for superheros, zombies or manga--just not my thing.)
Another’s Mother Tongue: Any book in the foreign language of your choice.
French: Short Stories for Beginners - various
Eyes to the skies: A book connected to weather, or with a weather-themed title.
House of Sand and Fog - Andre Dubus
No Cliff Notes this time: A book that’s required reading in most high schools or universities.
Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
By its cover: A book you know nothing about, chosen solely by the FRONT cover (no reading the jacket flap, back cover blurb, or reviews).
Cherry - Nico Walker
Done
Better known for . . .: A book by someone who’s more famous for something other than writing.
Gristle: From factory farms to food safety - Moby and Miyun Park
Howdy, stranger: A book about immigrants or immigration, or with an immigrant main character.
The Book of Unknown Americans - Cristina Henriquez
Done
Three-color mythology: A graphic novel or comic book.
Berlin - Jason Lutes
Tag team: A book by more than one author.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green and David Levithan
Ripped from the headlines: A true crime book.
Catch and Kill - Ronan Farrow
Done
Down on the farm: A book featuring farmers, agriculture, or taking place in an agrarian setting.
The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture - Wendell Berry
What your great-grandparents read: A book written more than 75 years before you were born.
A Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
Done
No hablo: A book originally written in another language (i.e., a translation).
Drive Your Plows over the Bones of the Dead - Olga Tokarczuk