08 January 2020

Joining 2020 Back to the Classics Challenge



Huzzah! Karen at her KarensBooksAndChocolate blog is once again hosting the Back to the Classics Challenge in 2020! And I am jumping right in because it helps me actually plan and read books that I already own. It was the very first book challenge I ever found, and my favorite.

Read 1 book from each of the 12 given categories in 2020, 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 bookshelves, so I plan on sticking to the list and reducing my TBR lists somewhat.

Here goes!

1. 19th Century Classic. Any classic book originally published between 1800 and 1899.
    Innocents Abroad, Mark Twain (1869)

2. 20th Century Classic. Any classic book originally published between 1900 and 1970. All books in this category must have been published at least 50 years ago.
    The Wife: Kristin Lavransdatter, book 2, Sigrid Unset (1921)
    A Handful of Dust, Evelyn Waugh (1934)

3. Classic by a Woman Author.
    Come My Beloved, Pearl S. Buck (1953)
    Bachelor's Bounty, Grace S Richmond (1932)

4. Classic in Translation. Any classic originally written in a novel other than your native language. You may read the book in your native language, or its original language (or a third language for all you polyglots). Modern translations are acceptable, as long as the book was originally published at least 50 years ago. Books in translation are acceptable in all other categories as well.
    The Wife: Kristin Lavransdatter, book 2, Sigrid Unset (1921)
    Persian Letters, Charles de Secondat (1721)

5. Classic by a Person of Color. Any classic work by a non-white author.
    Quicksand & Passing, Nella Larsen (1928, 1929)

6. A Genre Classic. Any classic novel that falls into a genre category -- fantasy, science fiction, Western, romance, crime, horror, etc.
    The Moonstone, Wilkie Collins (1868)

7. Classic with a Person's Name in the Title. First name, last name or both. Examples include Ethan Frome; Emma; Madam Bovary; Anna Karenina; Daniel Deronda; David Copperfield, etc.
    Mary Barton, Elizabeth Gaskell (1848)
    Richard Walden's Wife, Eleanor Mercein Kelly (1950)
    Eugenie Grandet, HonorĂ© de Balzac (1833)

8. Classic with a Place in the Title. Any classic with the proper name of a place (real or ficitonal) - a country, region, city, town, village, street, building, etc. Examples include Notre Dame de Paris; Mansfield Park; East of Eden; The Canterbury Tales; Death on the Nile; etc.
    Miguel Street, V.S. Naipaul (1959)
    Persian Letters, Charles de Secondat (1721)

9. Classic with Nature in the Title. A classic with any element of nature in the title (not including animals). Examples include The Magic Mountain; The Grapes of Wrath; The Jungle; A High Wind in Jamaica; Gone With the Wind; Under the Volcano; etc.
    The Reef, Edith Wharton (1912)
    The Rainbow, D. H. Lawrence (1915)

10. Classic About a Family. This classic should have multiple members of the same family as principal characters, either from the same generation or multiple different generations. Examples include Sense and Sensibility; Wives and Daughters; The Brothers Karamazov; Fathers and Sons; The Good Earth; Howards End; and The Makioka Sisters.
    The Rainbow, D. H. Lawrence (1915)
    A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith (1943)
    Richard Walden's Wife, Eleanor Mercein Kelly (1950)

11. Abandoned Classic. Choose a classic that you started and just never got around to finishing, whether you didn't like it at or just didn't get around to it. Now is the time to give it another try.
    Phineas Finn, Anthony Trollope (1867)
    A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens, (1859)

12. Classic Adaptation. Any classic that's been adapted as a movie or TV series. If you like, you can watch the adaptation and include your thoughts in your book review. It's not required but it's always fun to compare.
    A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens, (1859)

2 comments:

  1. Charles Dickens is great! I also have a Mark Twain novel on my list. Happy reading!

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    Replies
    1. I agree! Have fun on your Back to the Classics challenge, too!

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