Back to the Classics Challenge 2015 Wrapup

One of the two challenges I took part in this year was the Back to the Classics Challenge, in which the participant had to read books that matched twelve pre-set categories. There’s a $30 Amazon.com prize on the line:

• 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

I only finished eight of the twelve books. Technically, nine of the books, but I just finished the The Metamorphosis and haven’t had a chance to do a write-up on it. Despite failing somewhat, it was still fun to participate. These things tend to prompt me to pick up books that might have otherwise wasted away on the shelf for years.

My list:

1. A 19th Century Classic – The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
2. A 20th Century Classic – The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
3. A Classic by a Woman Author – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
4. A Classic in Translation – Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin
5. A Very Long Classic Novel – For Whom the Bell Tolls by Earnest Hemingway
6. A Classic Novella – The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
7. A Classic with a Person’s Name in the Title – Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
8. A Humorous or Satirical Classic – A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
9. A Forgotten Classic – The Poison Belt by Arthur Conan Doyle
10. A Nonfiction Classic – Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes by Robert Louis Stevenson
11. A Classic Children’s Book – A House of Pomegranates by Oscar Wilde
12. A Classic Play – The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

My favourite of the bunch was To Kill a Mockingbird, although I really enjoyed most of them. The biggest dissapointment for me was A House of Pomegranates, but I think I had the wrong expectations going in on that one.

I’ll be signing up for the 2016 challenge in a couple days as well. I completely forgot about challenges this last month, so I’ll have a quick look for others that look interesting.