Current Challenges
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The Classics Club – Year One
As of March 23rd, I’ve been in The Classics Club for one whole year. I can’t believe it’s been a year already, but I’m happy to say I’m well ahead of schedule. The goal I set was fifty books in five years, the minimum requirement, as I wasn’t sure how I’d adjust to reading more classics. I’ve now reviewed fifteen books, and I have another one waiting to go. There are still quite a few classics I find daunting, Dickens and anything Russian come to mind, but I’ve found that this has been much more of a pleasure than a struggle. It’s possible my view of what a classic is…
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Back to the Classics Challenge 2013
I’m also joining the Back to the Classics Challenge again this year, as I really enjoyed the 2012 challenge. There are six required categories and five optional categories. My list may change, but here are my tentative choices. Required: A 19th Century Classic – Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson A 20th Century Classic – The End of the Affair by Graham Greene A Pre-18th or 18th Century Classic – Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare A Classic that relates to the African-American Experience – Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zora Neale Hurston A Classic Adventure – The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain A Classic that…
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The 2013 TBR Pile Challenge
The Trial and Death of Socrates: Four Dialogues was my last book for the 2012 TBR Pile Challenge. I got through 12 books that had been on my shelf since at least 2010, so thanks to Roof Beam Reader for the push. I finished just in time to start the 2013 challenge! The challenge is to read 12 books (allowing two alternatives) that you’ve had in your possession since before January 1st, 2012. I actually didn’t have as many from back then as I thought I had, almost not enough for this list, so I guess I’m making progress. Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett Between the Bridge and the…
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The Classics Club
I’ve decided to join The Classics Club. I’ve been reading more classics lately, and I’d like to continue that trend. And I can’t resist a good list. The goal is to read 50+ classic novels in five years. Will I be blogging in five years? Will I be alive in five years? Will society as we know it still exist in five years? I can answer none of these questions for you, but this will be fun up until any of that happens. This is really just my current classic literature wishlist. If I read a classic that’s not on the list, I’ll swap one out. I haven’t really read…
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The TBR Double Dare
Since I have an embarrassing 70 books in my to-read list, and will likely have more after Christmas is over, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to take part in C.B. James’ TBR Double Dare. The goal is to read only books from your to-read list for the first three months of next year. I could probably read from mine for the entirety of 2012 and be quite happy, so I don’t foresee any issues there. I might stray from this challenge for audio-books, as I don’t have a to-listen list, but I’ll stick to it for the dead-tree books. I may even pick up the audio version for a couple…
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The 2012 TBR Pile Challenge
Another reading challenge for 2012! I might be joining these only for an excuse to make lists. I do love me some lists. The 2012 TBR Pile Challenge is to read 12 books (allowing two alternatives) that you’ve had in your possession since before January 1st, 2011. I have many more than 12, so it’ll be good to make some progress on the ol’ to-be-read pile. The first four books are crossovers with the Back to the Classics challenge. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare The Sign of the Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle As I Lay Dying by…
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Back To The Classics Challenge 2012
Sarah Reads Too Much is hosting a reading challenge next year, and I thought I’d join in and get some of those classics off my to-read pile. The challenge is to read one book that covers each of the nine categories she’s specified. Here are my tentative choices, suggestions always welcome: Any 19th Century Classic – The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Any 20th Century Classic – Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. I read half of this in high school and didn’t finish. While I was never a model student, I did at least enjoy the readings. This is the one book I didn’t finish, and it’s haunted…