Karen at Books and Chocolate hosts the Back to the Classics Challenge for reading classics at least 50 years old. She’s holding a mid-year check-in for the challenge – and a giveaway!
I enjoy this challenge because I was not exposed to many classics as I grew up, and this challenge inspires me to expand my horizons and explore books I might not otherwise read. I’m happy to report that I have read 11 of the 12 classics on my list, and I am now reading (or listening to) the 12th. Here’s what I’ve read so far:
- A 19th century classic. Villette by Charlotte Bronte (1853)(Finished 6/30/18)
- A 20th century classic (published before 1968). The Story of My Life by Helen Keller (1903)(Finished 3/31/18)
- A classic by a woman author. Adam Bede by George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans)(1859)(Finished 5/19/18)
- A classic in translation (Any book originally written published in a language other than your native language.) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (1870)(Finished 1/26/18)
- A children’s classic. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1911)(Finished 2/3/18)
- A classic crime story, fiction or non-fiction, which she goes on to say can be a detective or spy novel. The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton. (1908)(Finished 1/18/18)
- A classic travel or journey narrative, fiction or non-fiction. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (Finished 2/17/18)
- A classic with a single-word title (no articles). Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (Finished 3/12/18)
- A classic with a color in the title. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls (1961)(Finished 3/17/18)
- A classic by an author that’s new to you. He Fell in Love With His Wife by Edward Payson Roe (1866)(Finished 4/8/18) and Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women by Cornelia Meigs (1933) (Finished 6/25/18)
- Re-read a favorite classic. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace, (1880)(Finished 4/17/18)
My unfinished one is a classic that scares you (due to its length or it intimidates you in some way), and for that I chose The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo. I’m working on it now.
Karen allows for three children’s classics, and I am counting Where the Red Fern Grows, The Secret Garden, and Journey to the Center of the Earth for those. I’m not counting 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea because nothing I read about it indicated it was written for children.
I enjoyed all of these except Journey to the Center of the Earth, but I think my favorite is He Fell in Love With His Wife. Adam Bede would be a close second. Frankenstein was the biggest surprise.
Have you read any classics lately?
It has been years since I’ve read any classics. The last one was probably in high school. At some point, I may try joining this challenge. It definitely would expand my horizons as far as reading goes.
I listen to most of them via audiobook, while driving, fixing my hair in the morning, etc. Some are so long, they’d monopolize my reading time, but I can work in so many more by listening.
You’re doing amazing! I think I’ve read maybe 2 on my list so I’m doing terrible. lol.
🙂 Sometimes other books take priority.