Current Challenges

Back to the Classics 2019

December 31, 2018 /

I really enjoy this challenge each year, and the fact that there’s a draw at the end is just an added bonus. I even won a couple of years back. You also get to make a list of books, which is always half the fun.

For this challenge, anything fifty years or older (published no later than 1969) is considered a classic.

  • Complete six categories, and you get one entry in the drawing
  • Complete nine categories, and you get two entries in the drawing
  • Complete all twelve categories, and you get three entries in the drawing

Here are the categories and my tentative choices:

  1. 19th Century Classic: Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
  2. 20th Century Classic: The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham
  3. Classic by a Woman Author: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
  4. Classic in Translation: Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
  5. Classic Comic Novel: The Napoleon of Notting Hill by G.K. Chesterton
  6. Classic Tragic Novel: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
  7. Very Long Classic: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
  8. Classic Novella: The Girls Of Slender Means by Muriel Spark
  9. Classic From the Americas (includes the Caribbean): One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
  10. Classic From Africa, Asia, or Oceania (includes Australia): Kokoro by Natsume Soseki
  11. Classic From a Place You’ve Lived: The Salzburg Connection by Helen MacInnes
  12. Classic Play: Lady Windermere’s Fan by Oscar Wilde

I really like the categories this year.

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14 Comments

  • Silvia

    December 31, 2018 at 4:29 pm

    Akroyd is fun. Looks like tons of us have picked One Hundred… for the Americas. Your African title sounds intriguing. Muriel, I keep seeing her books all over. I must have to read her soon.

    • Rob

      December 31, 2018 at 7:51 pm

      Yeah, I think you mentioned that you enjoyed Akroyd, so I figured I’d pick that next.

      I’ve heard so many good things about One Hundred Years of Solitude that I thought this was a good time to pick it up. I’m also sadly unknowledgeable of South American writers, so I think I’ll need to focus a bit there soon.

      I’ve read a couple Muriel books and really enjoyed them, so I’m excited to carry on with her.

      • Silvia

        December 31, 2018 at 8:29 pm

        Oh, I forgot. South American writers, and Mexican, are another inexhaustible source of excellent lit. I read a lot of magic realism books in my youth, and didn’t make a dent. But what is important, I believe, it’s that I got a taste of Marquez, and his unbelievable quality. I can’t wait to revisit his luxuriant book.

        • Rob

          January 1, 2019 at 6:38 am

          Yeah, the fact that I had such trouble coming up with classic titles for any Americas country outside of Canada and the US was a bit worrying for me, so that will definitely be something I need to look into.

  • Christina Gibbs

    January 1, 2019 at 1:15 pm

    Great list for 2019. I’ve read a few of them, but some are new to me. I think I need to try a Muriel Spark this year, maybe that novella would be a good little start. Happy New Year and Happy Reading!

    • Rob

      January 1, 2019 at 2:48 pm

      Thanks, and Happy New Year! Muriel Spark is a bit of a bizarre one, definitely worth checking out. Never know what she’ll come out with.

  • nikki @bookpunks

    January 3, 2019 at 2:25 am

    The fun of making the list almost makes me want to join in ha. I tried to do this challenge one year, but with only sci fi classics, but as with every other reading resolution, I totally failed. But the list was still fun to make. Heh. Good luck!