British Author Challenge 2021 General Thread

Hi all! Our dear PaulCranswick has decided to step back from the BAC and has graciously allowed me to run it. I've selected a mixture of themes and authors which I hope will appeal. This will continue to be a very casual challenge, so everyone should feel free to pop in and out as they choose.

I'll create threads for each month as they roll around, and post announcements and links here in this thread. The general thread will be a place for questions, answers, suggestions, interesting links, and sundry posts.

The selections

January: Children's classics (before 1996) https://www.librarything.com/topic/327759

February: LGBT+ History Month https://www.librarything.com/topic/329101

March: Eleanor Hibbert & Vaseem Khan https://www.librarything.com/topic/330153

April: Love is in the air https://www.librarything.com/topic/330948

May: Na'ima B. Robert & V. S. Naipaul https://www.librarything.com/topic/331790

June: The Victorian Era (1837-1901) https://www.librarything.com/topic/332514

July: Don't judge a book by its movie https://www.librarything.com/topic/333245

August: Helen Oyeyemi & Bernard Cornwell https://www.librarything.com/topic/333954

September: She blinded me with science https://www.librarything.com/topic/334716

October: Narrative poetry https://www.librarything.com/topic/335499

November: Elizabeth Taylor & Tade Thompson https://www.librarything.com/topic/336274

December: Awards & honors https://www.librarything.com/topic/337014

Wildcard: Books off your shelves https://www.librarything.com/topic/327998

2022 BAC selections: https://www.librarything.com/topic/336553#7647911

Planning thread: https://www.librarything.com/topic/326122#

Good luck Amanda.

I'm sure I'll be even more active with the challenge now I'm supporting you!

January BAC will definitely include Charlotte Sometimes and hopefully Swallows and Amazons if it arrives in time.

June and December choices will probably pepper my reading throughout the year too.

Claiming my spot! Thanks for picking up the baton, Amanda.

Thank you for setting the thread up, Amanda (and getting the whole thing organized)! I'm looking forward to - hopefully - joining in this year.

Thanks for setting this up for next year, Amanda. I hope I'll be doing better than last year.

Children's Classics, a nice start!

I've got my books for the first two months ready...

>3 PaulCranswick: Thanks for your enthusiastic support!

>4 PaulCranswick: Charlotte Sometimes is a lovely book.

And I predict October's theme may show up more than once, too. ;)

>5 laytonwoman3rd: Hi! I had a lot of fun researching authors and coming up with themes...of course, all that looking at books has made my tbr stack grow!

>6 PawsforThought: Welcome! Jump in and out as you wish, and feel free to drop comments or suggestions even if you're skipping a month.

>7 EllaTim: Hi! I thought starting things off with a touch of childhood nostalgia would be a nice way to kick off the new year.

>8 Caroline_McElwee: I look forward to seeing your selections! I think I'll start out with The Wind in the Willows, and Paul's mention of Charlotte Sometimes is making me itch for a reread.

I have Five on a Treasure Island lined up for January.

Alice in Wonderland with Salvadore Dali's incredible illustrations is my January choice.

>14 cbl_tn: I really do need to check out Enid Blyton.

>15 m.belljackson: Bet those are some trippy illustrations!

>16 amanda4242: This will be my first!

>18 cbl_tn: Hope she turns out well!

And the January thread is up! Sorry for the spotty touchstones, but they were being more ornery than usual.

https://www.librarything.com/topic/327759

>14 cbl_tn: I read all the Famous Five books as a kid but I am sure that they have dated quite badly. I seem to recall Five on a Treasure Island was my favourite.

By the way, I’ve posted all the monthly themes on the group wiki so folks can refer to that when planning their choices. As each month’s thread is made, I’ll update the wiki with the link.

>22 drneutron: Great, Jim. Very useful. Thanks!

>22 drneutron: Excellent, thanks! But I don't see the American Authors Challenge list of themes and authors there. Yet. ;>)

>22 drneutron: Thank you! I hope I didn't step on any toes adding the January link myself.

>24 laytonwoman3rd: I’m planning to do the same with the American authors challenge, just haven’t gotten to it yet!

>25 amanda4242: Absolutely not! Having the help is great!

>26 drneutron: Oh, good! I didn't think you'd mind, but I wanted to check.

Starred!

>26 drneutron: I suspected that was true, Jim...just giving you a little grief!

>28 fuzzi: Hi!

I'll try...I'm feeling ambitious/overly optimistic this year. The themes look fun.

>31 justchris: Welcome!

>1 amanda4242: July: Don't judge a book by its movie
Love it! I am sure the opposite would do as well, I know of at leat one film that suited its book ;)

>33 LovingLit: That should be a really fun month for discussions.

I've started a dedicated thread for the Wildcard.

https://www.librarything.com/topic/327998

>35 amanda4242: thank you, I found it!

is there guidance anywhere on how to participate in a challenge? Do we just read and post in the relevant thread? Or is there a central signup? I'm interested in this one but not sure how to jump in...

>37 ForeignCircus: not really. Yes. No.

Here's the January thread, jump in: https://www.librarything.com/topic/327759#

And welcome!

>37 ForeignCircus: Welcome! As >38 fuzzi: said, there's no signup, just read a qualifying book and post about it in the relevant thread if you like. Links to the monthly discussion threads will be posted in >1 amanda4242:, and feel free to skip any months which don't interest you.

>35 amanda4242: Thanks Amanda.

I have read 3 BAC books already this year:

Plague 99
Tom Brown's Schooldays
and
A Fall from the Sky

Sort of returning the favour to you from when I organised and you read!

>40 PaulCranswick: *rapturous applause* Well done!

I'v never done one of these challenges before, thought I might give it a go this year.

Do we just read one book for each months challenge?

>42 fairywings: You can read as many as you want. One, none or a hundred. It's up to you.

>42 fairywings: Hi! As >43 PawsforThought: said, you can read as many or as few books as you want, and skip any months which don't interest you. Links to each month's discussion thread will be posted in >2 amanda4242:, as well as added to the group wiki.

>43 PawsforThought: and >44 amanda4242: Thank you both for your help.

>45 fairywings: No problem!

Sharpe's Eagle by Bernard Cornwell is currently $1.99 on Amazon, B&N, Google, and a few other places.

I haven't done this challenge before but I like the categories and will do my best!

>48 Oregonreader: Welcome! Don't feel pressured to complete every single month; just pick what strikes your fancy and enjoy your reading.

The audiobook of Vaseem Khan's The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra is part of a 2-for-1 sale on Audible through 1/31.

link to book on audible.com

The February thread is up!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/329101

>50 amanda4242: Inspector Chopra is so fun because of the elephant!

>52 thornton37814: I plan to read the first Inspector Chopra book in March, so I'm glad to hear they're fun!

The March thread is up!

March: https://www.librarything.com/topic/330153
Wildcard: https://www.librarything.com/topic/327998

>54 amanda4242: thank you!

The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan is currently $2.99 on Kindle, Nook, Goggle Play, and Kobo.

April thread...?

>57 fuzzi: I was thinking about starting it in about a week, so about the 27th.

>58 amanda4242: good enough. I tend to be anxious to start!

>59 fuzzi: Me too! I've already started pulling down books for next month's theme.

The fifth book in Khan's Baby Ganesh Agency Investigations series, Bad Day at the Vulture Club, is currently 99 cents.

I'll have the April thread up later today.

The April thread is up!

April: https://www.librarything.com/topic/330948
Wildcard: https://www.librarything.com/topic/327998

I read the first two Inspector Chopra books and think I will stop there.

>63 quondame: I'm about halfway through the second one and not at all engaged by the central mystery; I'm finding the side stories much more fun.

>64 amanda4242: The stories are to coincidence ridden for my taste and the characters all seem to act improbably and the local color just doesn't seem real to me.

>65 quondame: I don't think they really succeed as mystery novels, but I've been thinking about them as kind of sit-coms so the characters and setting are more amusing. Not the kind of books I'd want to consume on a regular basis, but I wouldn't mind them as a snack between more substantial works.

>66 amanda4242: I have ever so many potato chip series that I indulge in that there isn't room for another on the table.

>67 quondame: Fair enough. :)

>61 amanda4242: I wish #4 had been on sale too, but I picked up that one. I need to read #4 first, but the library probably has it. I love that series.

>69 thornton37814: It's so annoying when series are on sale out of order!

>70 amanda4242: It's okay. I've listened to the others in the series, but the library only has #4 in e-book, so I'll be stuck reading it. I should have saved my 99 cents because they had the e-book and audiobook of #5, but this way I can read it whenever!

The May thread is up!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/331790

The June thread is up!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/332514

Rosewater by Tade Thompson, one of our November authors, is currently available for 99 cents from various retailers. Books two and three of the series are $3.99 and $4.99.

A number of Prime channels are currently available for 99 cents per month for two months. Two of the channels are PBS Masterpiece and Acorn, both of which have a number of shows and movies that fit July's theme. The discount is available through 6/22.

Review copies of Stephen Fry's Troy are available on NetGalley until 6/21.

https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/220978

Sharpe's Honour by Bernard Cornwell is on sale for $1.99.

The July thread is up!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/333245

The latest Humble Bundle is a bunch of Mark Millar graphic novels, many of which have been adapted for TV or film. Some included titles: Kingsman, Wanted, Jupiter's Legacy, and Kick-Ass.

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/millarworld-netflix-comics-from-image-comics-...

The August thread is up!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/333954

Sharpe's Seige by Bernard Cornwell is currently $1.99.

James Herriot's All Things Wise and Wonderful and The Lord God Made Them All are on sale for $2.99.

An omnibus of the first three books in Eleanor Hibbert/Philippa Carr's Daughters of England series is on sale today for $3.99.

https://openroadmedia.com/ebook/the-daughters-of-england-books-13/9781480430174

An omnibus of the first three All Creatures Great and Small books by James Herriot is on sale for $2.99.

https://openroadmedia.com/ebook/three-james-herriot-classics/9781453239407

>84 amanda4242: thank you! I rehomed my paperback copies as I knew I could easily find them again at the library, but this is better!

>85 fuzzi: I picked up books two through four in a previous sale and have been waiting for book one to go on sale, but this works just as well.

Amazon Prime Video deals: Through August 29th Britbox, PBS Masterpiece, and Acorn are available for 99 cents a month for two months. All of the channels have a number of shows and movies that fit with the July theme.

Anne Bronte's The Tennant of Wildfell Hall is today's free ebook from Open Road Media.

https://openroadmedia.com/ebook/the-tenant-of-wildfell-hall/9781504043656

The October thread is up!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/335499

The November thread is up!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/336274

The planning thread for next year's challenge is up!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/336553

First selections for the 2022 BAC are up!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/336553#7656090

Far from the Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson is on sale for $2.99.

Next year's themes and authors have been selected!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/336553#7647911

And the December thread is up!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/337014

I finished my last BAC read of the year this afternoon, bringing my grand total up to 111.

January: Children’s classics: 27
February: LGBT+ History: 10
March: Vaseem Khan and Eleanor Hibbert: 6
April: Love is in the air: 10
May: V. S. Naipaul and Na'ima B. Robert: 5
June: Victorian era: 4
July: Don't judge a book by its movie: 11
August: Bernard Cornwell and Helen Oyeyemi: 5
September: She blinded me with science: 2
October: Narrative poetry: 3
November: Tade Thompson and Elizabeth Taylor: 4
December: Awards and honors: 7
Wildcard: Books off the shelf: 17

The 2022 challenge is up and I hope to see you all there. Happy new year!
https://www.librarything.com/topic/337720#7687116