Friday, December 12, 2014

Reading Challenge for 2015

I've decided to participate in the Back to the Classics Reading Challenge hosted by Books and Chocolate again in 2015.  I was hoping she would host again, because after participating in 2014, I have quite a few more classics I want to read.  She is changing the categories up somewhat for next year; here are the categories for the Back to the Classics Challenge 2015:


1.  A 19th Century Classic -- any book published between 1800 and 1899.

2.  A 20th Century Classic -- any book published between 1900 and 1965.  Just like last year, all books must have been published at least 50 years ago to qualify as a classic.  The only exception is books that were published posthumously but written at least 50 years ago.)

3.  A Classic by a Woman Author.

4.  A Classic in Translation. As in last year's category, this can be any classic book originally written or a published in a language that is not your first language.  Feel free to read it in its original form if you are comfortable reading in another language.

5.  A Very Long Classic Novel -- a single work of 500 pages or longer.  This does not include omnibus editions combined into one book, or short story collections.

 

6.  A Classic Novella -- any work shorter than 250 pages.  For a list of suggestions, check out this list of World's Greatest Novellas from Goodreads.

7.  A Classic with a Person's Name in the Title.  First name, last name, or both, it doesn't matter, but it must have the name of a character.  David Copperfield, The Brothers Karamazov, Don Quixote -- something like that. It's amazing how many books are named after people!

8.  A Humorous or Satirical Classic.  Humor is very subjective, so this one is open to interpretation.  Just tell us in the review why you think it's funny or satirical.   For example, if you think that Crime and Punishment and funny, go ahead and use it, but please justify your choice in your post.

9.  A Forgotten Classic.  This could be a lesser-known work by a famous author, or a classic that nobody reads any more.  If you look on Goodreads, this book will most likely have less than 1000 ratings.  This is your chance to read one of those obscure books from the Modern Library 100 Best Novels or 1001 Books to Read Before You Die.  Books published by Virago Modern Classics, Persephone, and NYRB Classics often fall into this category.

 

10.  A Nonfiction Classic.  A memoir, biography, essays, travel, this can be any nonfiction work that's considered a classic, or a nonfiction work by a classic author.  You'd be surprised how many classic authors dabbled in nonfiction writing -- I have nonfiction books by Dickens, Trollope, Twain, and Steinbeck on my shelves.

11.  A Classic Children's Book.  A book for your inner child!  Pick a children's classic that you never got around to reading.

12.  A Classic Play.  Your choice, any classic play, as long as it was published or performed before 1965.

There are no required categories for 2015.  There will be a drawing for a $30 gift from Amazon.com or The Book Depository for reading at least 6 classics.  If you read 6 classics, you will receive 1 entry in the drawing; if you read 9 classics, you will receive 2 entries; and if you read 12 classics, you will receive 3 entries in the drawing.  I haven't chosen all of my classics yet, but I will keep this page updated as I select and complete them.

1 comment:

Kathy A. Johnson said...

Sounds great, Cheryl. I might participate in this one again next year, also. This year I did all the required categories and a couple of the optional ones, and enjoyed what I read a lot. I like the little nudge towards classics that a challenge like this offers.