Current Challenges

Back to the Classics Challenge 2016 Wrap-Up

The Back to the Classics Challenge 2016 was one of the two challenges I took part in this year. The goal was to read classics from twelve categories. There’s a draw associated with how many you read, but I mainly take part because I love lists.

When I first joined in on this, back in 2012, it really gave me a push to incorporate more classic fiction into my reading. This and The Classics Club actually changed how I read for the better over the years, so I’m a big fan of taking part in these reading prompts.

Here’s my 2016 list:

  1. A 19th Century Classic: Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) by Jerome K. Jerome
  2. A 20th Century Classic: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
  3. A classic by a woman author: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
  4. A classic in translation: Laughter in the Dark by Vladimir Nabokov
  5. A classic by a non-white author: Incomplete
  6. An adventure classic: She by H. Rider Haggard
  7. A fantasy, science fiction, or dystopian classic: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
  8. A classic detective novel: Incomplete
  9. A classic which includes the name of a place in the title: Incomplete
  10. A classic which has been banned or censored: Animal Farm by George Orwell
  11. Re-read a classic you read in school (high school or college): Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
  12. A volume of classic short stories: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

I read nine of the twelve categories (two entries). Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) and The Grapes of Wrath were my favourites. I feel bad about skipping the non-white author category, as I do want to make an effort to diversify my reading, so I’ll have to make a point to rectify that in the new year.

I’ll be signing up for the 2017 challenge as well, but we’re going on holiday soon, so I don’t know how much I’ll get done before I leave. I probably won’t be posting any new challenges or year wrap-ups until January (when everyone will be nice and sick of reading those).

4 Comments

  • Ruthiella

    Nice wrap up and congratulations, 9 out of 12 is still great! I never tire of year end wrap ups or posts about reading challenges. A list of books is always welcome.

    I like how your two favorites are on such opposite spectrums….laughter and sheer despair. Jerome K. Jerome has been on my mental list for forever it seems. And it appears to encompass the British humor that I tend to appreciate.

  • emma

    I will do this challenge in 2017, in combination with the classic club – that will be my 2nd out of 5 years. And today, I posted my review of Three Men in a Boat! I loved it a lot as well

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