Reading Challenge: Back to the Classics 2021 Planning Post

 

As the new year approaches, I'm excited to participate in a few new reading challenges for the first time. 

My first challenge for 2021 is the Back to the Classics challenge sponsored by Karen at Books and Chocolate. You can read guidelines for the challenge here, and sign up to join the fun by March 31, 2021: Back to the Classics Challenge 2021. Thanks to Karen for hosting the challenge! I'm including the 12 prompts below along with my initial thoughts about what I'm reading this year. Overall, I'm very exited about this list which feels well balanced, if a bit eclectic. (I'm also pleased that I own most of these already, or can easily find them at the public library or through the Audible Plus Catalog).

 

1. A 19th century classic: any book first published from 1800 to 1899 - The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot, which comes highly recommended by a friend. 
 

2. A 20th century classic: any book first published from 1900 to 1971. All books must have been published at least 50 years ago; the only exceptions are books which were written by 1971 and posthumously published - Probably True Grit by Charles Portis, which was published in 1968 and just qualifies for this challenge.

3. A classic by a woman author - Probably The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau, although I may sub in Austen if I run out of time.

4. A classic in translation, meaning any book first published in a language that is not your primary language. You may read it in translation or in its original language, if you prefer - The Odyssey by Homer. I'm going to use the new translation by Emily Wilson, and am excited to see how it stacks up. 

5. A classic by BIPOC author; that is, a non-white author - Probably Passing by Nella Larsen. I'm also holding Jubilee by Alice Walker in reserve. 

6. A classic by a new-to-you author, i.e., an author whose work you have never read - I've always been intimidated by William Faulkner, but I'm going to try something by him this year. Probably Light in August or Soldier's Pay, his first novel.

7. New-to-you classic by a favorite author (a new book by an author whose works you have already read) - Probably something by Austen here, since I would like to read her works (or at least the "big six") in publication order. Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion are all new to me.  

8. A classic about an animal, or with an animal in the title. The animal can be real or metaphorical. (i.e., To Kill a Mockingbird) - Probably The Keeper of the Bees by Gene Stratton-Porter.

9. A children's classic - Either The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (published in 1961) or The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (published in 1908).

10. A humorous or satirical classic - Probably The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley. This is the sequel to Parnassus on Wheels, which was one of my absolute favorites for 2020. Suggestions for this category are welcome!

11. A travel or adventure classic (fiction or non-fiction). It can be a travelogue or a classic in which the main character travels or has an adventure - Either West With the Night by Beryl Markham, Wind, Sand, and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, or Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain. (Apparently I want to read about pilots, unless I want to read something by Mark Twain.)   

12. A classic play. Plays will only count in this category - I'm stumped here, although I'll probably read something by Shakespeare that I haven't encountered yet. (Sadly, the only things I've read so far are King Lear, Julius Caesar, and Romeo and Juliet. Maybe it's time for a comedy?)