Back to the Classics 2019 Challenge

Last year I discovered that reading challenges were being organized online and immediately joined the Back to the Classics 2018 Challenge hosted by Karen at her KarensBooksAndChocolate blog. And I did it: I read and reviewed one book in each of her 12 categories! My Wrapup post just made the December 31st deadline.

And challenging myself to read with categories to meet and a goal in mind was really fun! Somehow having a vague idea that I wanted to "read more classic books" wasn't getting translated into Finished Books. Thus I am jumping right back into the 2019 Back to the Classics Challenge.

Read 1 book from each of the 12 given categories in 2019, review them online, and link back to Karen's blog. I'm going to list my picks and some alternates now. However you are allowed to change them around or read entirely different books, as long as you straighten it all out by year's end. These are all residents of my newly constructed bookshelves, so I plan on sticking to the list and reducing my TBR lists somewhat.

Here goes!

1. 19th Century Classic
    Little Women, Louisa May Alcott (1868-69)

2. 20th Century Classic
    Bachelor's Bounty, Grace S Richmond (1932)
    Grand Hotel, Vicki Baum (1929)

3. Classic by a Female Author
    Bachelor's Bounty, Grace S Richmond (1932)
    The Glimpses of the Moon, Edith Wharton (1922)

4. Classic in Translation
    Grand Hotel, Vicki Baum (1929)

5. Classic Comedy
    Queen Lucia, E. F. Benson (1920)

6. Classic Tragedy
    Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton (1911)

7. Very Long Classic. Any classic single work 500 pages or longer, not including introductions or end notes.
    The Portrait of a Lady, Henry James (1881)
    Innocents Abroad, Mark twain (1869)

8. Classic Novella. Any work of narrative fiction shorter than 250 pages.
    Dubliners, James Joyce (1914)
    Miguel Street, V.S. Naipaul (1959)

9. Classic From the Americas (includes the Caribbean). Includes classic set in either continent or the Caribbean, or by an author originally from one of those countries.
    The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Thorton Wilder (1927)
    Miguel Street, V.S. Naipaul (1959)

10. Classic From Africa, Asia, or Oceania (includes Australia). Any classic set in one of those contents or islands, or by an author from these countries.
    Peony, Pearl S. Buck (1948)

11. Classic From a Place You've Lived. Read locally!
    A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold (1949)

12. Classic Play. Any play written or performed at least 50 years ago. Plays are eligible for this category only.
    Four Major Plays, Henrik Ibsen
        A Doll's House (1879)
        The Wild Duck (1884)
        Hedda Gabler (1890)
        The Master Builder (1892)