It’s back! Once again, I will be participating in the Back to the Classics Challenge hosted by Karen at Books and Chocolate. This challenge has always been a fun way for me to finish some of those books that have been sitting on the shelves forever.
The challenge involves completing classic books (published at least 50 years ago) in as many of the 12 categories as possible for entries in a prize drawing. I need to start getting serious about the books on my Classics Club list, so this challenge will be a great way to knock out some famous books. Plus, it’s fun!
Since I’m only participating in one challenge for 2021, I’ve included two options under each category. Hopefully, I can complete both rounds over the course of the year. It’s not a requirement to choose the books in advance, but I function better with a plan.
Here are the categories for 2021 along with my selections:
19th Century Classic:
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
20th Century Classic:
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Classic by a Woman Author:
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Classic in Translation:
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Classic by a BIPOC author:
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup
Classic by a New-to-Me Author:
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers
New-to-Me Classic from a Favorite Author:
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
Murder in the Vicarage by Agatha Christie
Classic About an Animal, or Animal in Title:
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Children’s Classic:
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
The Enchanted Castle by Edith Nesbit
A Humorous or Satirical Classic:
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
A Travel or Adventure Classic:
Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
Classic Play:
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Good choices, I read 10 of them but some many, many years ago 🙂 I’ll be participating in the 2021 Historical fiction reading challenge and another challenge for the Classics club (the links are on the right bar of my blog).
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Some titles I’ve really enjoyed here from my own classics club list – I wonder what you’re going to make of Gulliver’s Travels, it wasn’t what I was expecting at all!
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I actually read it years ago and wrote a report for a college Humanities class. I remember how my report got erased the day it was due, and I had to frantically rewrite it from scratch!
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so some good memories then!
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I read A Farewell to Arms this year and it was a memorable read for me. I’m also extremely FOND of both Dr. Zhivago AND Don Quixote. Of course, I think Zhivago is half the size of DQ. Good luck making a decision.
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I’m leaning towards Zhivago. I know I need to get some of the longer books on my Club list checked off.
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Great list! Many of them I’ve read and the ones I haven’t I want to look into more!
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I’m excited to start reading for 2021! Good luck on all of your challenges!
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Goodness….lots of GREAT PICKS here. Some of my favs. I don’t read a lot of Sci-Fi-Fi, but I thoroughly enjoyed The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. (wonderful, clever allusions to Arthur Conan Doyle). Enjoy!
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I loved ‘Stranger in a Strange Land’ so really excited about ‘Moon.’
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