The next batch of dead guys

My reading adventure with dead guys is turning out to be more fun that what I had expected. Yes, there are bumps along the way, but I am enjoying these books. I am almost through with George Eliot's Middlemarch yet, but I somehow accidentally started Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary. So, in a way, the first batch of dead guys, letters A to F, will be over and done with in a few more days.

For the next batch, letters G to L, I made a rough selection of the books that I have on my shelves. A confession though: The Washington Irving short story collection is a new purchase; I found out that I have no authors whose surnames start with I in my shelf. And I'm terribly excited for this batch, as I've never read a Golding, Hardy, and an Irving.

Choosing an author for letter G was a happy problem. Way, way, way too many options. Should I go with Graham Greene's The Heart of the Matter or Brighton Rock? How about Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South or Wives and Daughters? And then there's this short ghost story by an unknown European writer which I'm terribly curious about.

Also, what Hardy should I begin with? I have Far from the Madding Crowd and Jude the Obscure. What made me choose the latter? The yellow Penguin cover. When I posted the same photo on Facebook, some of my friends mentioned that Hardy can be terribly depressing. I don't mind that at all. We can't always pick up happy books, yes? Besides, it's yellow, so it's a happy book in that aspect.

But even though I've somehow chosen the books that I'm going to read next, I'm still not closing any doors and allowing room for serendipitous book finds. Just as long as the authors are dead. Who knows whether my letter H would turn out to be Nathaniel Hawthorne? The Scarlet Letter seems to be a quick read. Or maybe I'll decide on drama for letter I and go with Henrik Ibsen.

For next year, I'm already thinking of another challenge. A Dickens reading of all his novels perhaps?