Back to the Classics 2016 Reading Challenge Wrap Up

I completed my reading challenge for the year; I read 12 classics in a variety of categories (which gives me 3 entries into the prize drawing!) and posted reviews of them here on my blog. The categories, the books I read, and links to my reviews follow:

 1. A 19th century classic - Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (finished 9/11/2016)

 2. A 20th century classic - Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee (finished 2/1/2016)

 3. A classic by a woman author - Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers (finished 2/26/2016)

 4. A classic in translation - The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki (finished 5/24/2016)

 5. A classic by a non-white author - Passing by Nella Larsen (finished 6/12/2016)

 6. An adventure classic - Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (finished 6/8/2016)

 7. A fantasy, science fiction, or dystopian classic - A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. (finished 4/20/2016)

 8. A classic detective novel - The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett (finished 6/1/2016)

 9. A classic which includes the name of a place in the title - Howard's End by E.M. Forster (finished 7/25/2016)

10. A classic which has been banned or censored - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (finished 10/5/2016)

11. Re-read a classic you read in school (high-school or college) - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (finished 1/25/2016)

12. A volume of classic short stories - Lord Peter Views the Body by Dorothy L. Sayers (finished 7/3/2016)

My favorite books were The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (I can't believe I'd never read it before!) and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I rated both books five out of five. My next two favorites were Lord Peter Views the Body by Dorothy L. Sayers and Passing by Nella Larsen, both of which I rated a four. Then I had five books that I rated a three: Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackery, Howard's End by E.M. Forster, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett, and Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers. And finally, there were three books I only rated a two:  The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki, A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr., and Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee.

I had a little harder time completing my challenge this year compared to last year, which may have been due to my choices, so I'm not sure whether I will do the challenge again next year. It partly depends on the categories, and partly how I'm feeling about it at the end of the year when the challenge is announced. Or I may sign up for the challenge but not feel bad if I decide not to complete it. Or I may sign up and only complete some of the categories instead of all 12. We'll see . . .

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

I read this book for the following category for the 2016 Back to the Classics Reading Challenge:

10. A classic which has been banned or censored. If possible, please mention why this book was banned or censored in your review.

This is my last book for the challenge, and it was one of my favorites of the 12 books I read (my other favorite was To Kill a Mockingbird). I can't believe I'd never read this before. Of course, I knew some of the stories, because they are iconic (Tom getting his friends to whitewash the fence for him; Tom's infatuation with Becky Thatcher; Tom attending his own funeral). I'm glad I finally took the time to read it.

According to The Christian Science Monitor:

That other Twain novel about Huck Finn has faced a raftload of controversy ever since the day it was first published. But "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" was also banned when librarians said they found Mr. Sawyer to be a "questionable" protagonist in terms of his moral character.

I read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn MANY years ago, and it was also a great book; I may have to re-read it at some point. I rate The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 5 out of 5.