The Back to the Classics Challenge is hosted by Karen at Books and Chocolate.
There are 12 fun categories to encourage readers to return to the classics. Be sure to check out this sign up post for all the rules
I thought this would be a fun way to get to some of the books on my Classics Club List in 2018.
1. A 19th century classic: The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
2. A 20th century classic: Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
3. A classic by a woman author: Night and Day by Virginia Woolf
4. A classic in translation: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
5. A children’s classic: Heidi by Johanna Spyri
6. A classic crime story: The Heat of the Day by Elizabeth Bowen (a story featuring spies)
7. A classic travel or journey narrative: A Passage to India by E. M. Forster
8. A classic with a single-word title: Westwood by Stella Gibbons
9. A classic with a color in the title: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
10. A classic by an author that’s new to you: Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope
11. A classic that scares you: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, or Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, or A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
12. Reread a favorite classic: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, or Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, or A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
I love that you don’t need to complete all 12 categories in order to participate in the challenge. I’d like to read at least six of these though. My list may change a bit too.
You can follow my progress on my master post here.
Are you participating in Back to the Classics? What classics do you plan to read in 2018?
I can think of another classic: one that I thought of. I attempt to start and finish a classic in a limited amount of time. It is Christmas Break right now and I am attempting to finish Hunchback of Notre Dame by the end. Limited time yes can be tricky, but it gives me the motivation to actually read it and to not give up
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good luck finishing The Hunchback of Notre Dame! Hope you enjoy it!
LikeLike
I’ll be reading Mansfield Park next year for the first time! 🙂 So excited!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay! I’m so jealous you get to experience MP for the first time. Hope you enjoy it!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I just ordered MP to complete my WordCloud Jane Austen collection…so excited!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, exciting! Love those editions!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is a pretty good list. It seems quite a few people have The Scarlet Letter on their list for a classic with a color in the title. I wonder if people would be interested in a buddy read for that one.
Anyway, I started to put The Three Musketeers down for the translation, but went with One Hundred Years of Solitude. It’s been on my TBR for a couple of years and I thought a Modern Classic would be nice for that category. Good luck with the challenge and Happy reading.
Erica
My Goodreads Back to Classics Books
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Erica! I for one, would be very interested in a buddy read for The Scarlet Letter. I’m not really looking forward to that one, and a buddy read would help keep me motivated and interested. I really loved One Hundred Years of Solitude and hope you enjoy it too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awesome Jessie. I just put out a comment on the Back to Classics page that if anyone wants to buddy read The Scarlet Letter to let me know. If you want to buddy read the book with let me know when you were thinking about reading it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay! I’m pretty flexible. Do you want to wait and see if you get any feedback in the comments before deciding a time?
LikeLike
Since we’re coming off the holidays, I was thinking about giving folks a few weeks (maybe end of January). Personally, I’d like to read it after March since I’m trying to get through a self-imposed winter ARC challenge.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sounds good! Reading it after March works best for me too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Jessie, I wanted to reach out to you about the Scarlet Letter buddy read. Only one person replied and now she seems to be in the wind. So, I guess it’s you and me. I know we said after March, so should we touch base at the end of February or middle of March to set a date and a plan of attack?
Erica
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey Erica! How about touching base during the first week of March? Hope you’re having a great reading year so far!
LikeLike
Sounds like a plan. I will put it on my calendar. I filled out the Contact Me on your blog, so you’ll have my email address. Let me know if email will be a better way communicating.
~~Erica
LikeLiked by 1 person
Perfect! I just sent you an email
LikeLike
Hi Jessie, sorry I haven’t been in contact about the Scarlet Letter. Are you still interested in doing a buddy read? If so, when. For some reason I couldn’t find your email address. If you still have mine shoot me a message.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey Erica, I meant to be in touch sooner too, but I just sent you an email. Looking forward to finalizing our buddy read plans!
LikeLike
Oooh, I like this… I’m very tempted to take part, although a reading challenge is sort of the last thing I need this coming year!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s definitely a tempting reading challenge! I really love how laid back it is too. I may not complete all 12 categories, but it’s worth a shot!
LikeLike
I loved Dr Thorne–one of my favorite of the Barset series. Good luck with the challenge, and happy reading!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Jane! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed Doctor Thorne so much. I’ve been looking forward to picking it up and then watching the miniseries afterwards.
LikeLike
Ooh, so many yummy books on your list! Especially Tale of Two Cities and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Oh, and Heidi and Les Miserables. (Didn’t like Excellent Women, though.;))
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy to hear you enjoyed so many of them! A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a favorite of mine, and I can’t believe I still haven’t read Heidi.
LikeLike
I haven’t read any of these, BUT I did start reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn last year – does that count? lol. I put it down to finish reading something else and then I forgot about it. I was loving it while I was reading it, though, so I’ll have to pick it up again this year. Good luck with the challenge!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It totally counts! And I’d definitely recommend picking it up again. Francie Nolan is one of my all-time favorite heroines.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I will definitely get to it this year!
LikeLiked by 1 person