As an unapologetic bookworm, I've got lots of reading plans in the works already for 2016. I've decided on a number of books I'd like to hit (100) and planned out a reading theme for each month already. I've written specific titles I want to explore in a notebook and created new shelves on Goodreads to keep myself organized. I've subscribed to the feeds of several new book blogs to keep myself up to date on the literary world. I've even already created my stack of January books at the foot of my bed. Obviously, I'm completely nuts. It's a good kind of crazy though - it involves lots of mornings curled up in bed with a hot cup of tea. Sometimes there's chocolate too.
Anyway, one of my goals for the new year is to make sure and read a selection of classic novels (because I tend to get real "young adulty" when left to my own devices). To help with that goal, I'm taking part in the Back to the Classics Challenge hosted by Karen at Books and Chocolate.
The full rules can be accessed through the link via the picture above, but essentially, the goal is to read a total of twelve classic novels from different categories throughout the year. For the purposes of this challenge, a "classic" is defined as a book published at least fifty years ago (so, 1966 or earlier).
After careful consideration, here's my reading list for the year:
1. A 19th Century Classic: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (1861)
2. A 20th Century Classic: This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1920)
3. A Classic by a Woman Author: Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte (1847)
4. A Classic in Translation: The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux (1909)
5. A Classic by a Non-White Author: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (1958)
6. An Adventure Classic: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1844)
7. A Fantasy, Science Fiction or Dystopian Classic: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (1870)
8. A Classic Detective Novel: A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle (1887)
9. A Classic which Includes the Name of a Place in the Title: The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo (1831)
10. A Classic which has been Banned or Censored: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair (1906)
11. Re-read a Classic you Read in School: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1850)
12. A Volume of Classic Short Stories: Roman Fever and Other Stories by Edith Wharton (1934)
As an added bonus, all of these books came straight off of my own bookshelves. Reading some of the novels that I already own is a secondary goal here. Some of these have been sitting on my shelves for more than ten years, unread. Whoa, that makes me feel old.
I will return to this post to link up my reviews as I read. Stay busy everyone!
