Sunday, January 5, 2020

Back to the Classics Challenge 2020

Books and Chocolate is hosting Back to the Classics Challenge 2020



My selections (subject to change) Oops! my original post had three works that do not meet the rules of being published 1970 or earlier. I've replaced the translation, woman author, and adapted classic categories with older works and am now in compliance with the rules :)

 



19th Century Classic: Nicholas Nickleby * (1838)






20th Century Classic: Where the Red Fern Grows * (1961)






Classic by a Woman Author: Under the Net (Iris Murdoch)









Classic in Translation: The Stranger * (French)








Classic by a Person of Color: The Tale of Genji * (Murasaki Shikibu, Japanese)











A Genre Classic: Phantastes * (fantasy) 










Classic with a Person's Name in the Title: Jude the Obscure *







Classic with a Place in the Title: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall *








Classic with Nature in the Title: Wide Sargasso Sea *









Classic About a Family: The Castle of Otranto *








Abandoned Classic: Riders of the Purple Sage *

 










Classic Adaptation: The Sign of the Four  (numerous film renditions)






* also used in the 2020 Classic Bingo Challenge)

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19 comments:

  1. You're in! Good luck with this, Joseph. I really want to read Ragtime. I have only read Tenant on your list, but I enjoyed it! I think Anne is one sharp cookie.

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    1. I've been wanting to read Anne for some time now, and thus read all the Bronte sisters. Thank you Ma'am!

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  2. I love If On A WInter's Night A Traveler, and Nicholas Nickleby is great. I should try Anne Bronte, too.

    Good luck!

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    1. Thanks Reese. Winter's Night is a reread; I know I'll love it. I'm looking forward to them all (maybe except Hardy). Cheers!

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  3. Nicholas Nickleby is one of my favorite Dickens titles so I hope you love it as much as I do. I also really loved Ragtime, though it’s been many years since I first read it.

    We can for sure compare notes on The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. I’ve heard from other corners of the internet that Anne was fairly progressive for her time.

    I am super curious about Phantastes! I’ve never heard of it. I look forward to your review.

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    1. Phantastes is by George MacDonald who was a generation earlier and heavily influenced Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. I'll be watching your reviews.

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  4. Lovely choices! And so many interchangeable - I had thought of Red Fern for the nature. and I have always wanted to read The Sea, The Sea - maybe I will do that for the woman author category... Which is why I left that one blank - I know I will hit that one and don't want to get locked in yet. You've got me thinking. Which is what I love about this challenge - not set in stone!

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    1. Yes, I usually pick up a few new ideas for TBR via this challenge. Thanks Care.

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  5. I'm reading The Tenant of Wildfell Hall this year too. I've heard good things about that one, so hopefully we will both enjoy it. I read Jude the Obscure last year for this challenge. Is it your first time reading it? The ending is really something. I'm interested to see what you think of it.

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    1. Yep, first time. I know it's sad, or depressing, or bleak, so I'm prepared for that. Cheers!

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  6. Great list! I read Ragtime last year with a book group and I loved it, I will have to try and read more Doctorow. I want to track down the movie or even see the play if I'm lucky enough someday, I think it won a Tony.

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  7. I'll be reading Tenant of Wildfell Hall this year, too. We'll compare notes.

    Will this be your first read of Where the Red Fern Grows?

    And I'm really smiling for Jude. Have patience while reading it, ok?

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    1. I might have read Where the Red Fern Grows in grade school, but I don't remember it, so it will be like the first time. I'm looking forward to Anne Bronte, and promise to be patient with Hardy :)

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  8. I read Ragtime a few years ago and really liked it--I keep on threatening to host a challenge for people to read the blockbusters from the 70's as there really were some outstanding books written in that decade. That said, I'm thinking this doesn't meet Karen's 1970 cutoff for the challenge.

    I may join you in reading a Zane Grey Western, and as you pointed out on my blog, we are both reading NN by Dickens. I think I'm most excited about that selection--I read it roughly 30 years ago, and loved it then.

    Happy reading in 2020!

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    1. Good to know you enjoyed NN so much. It's one I haven't read by Dickens yet. Looking forward to it. Thanks Jane :)

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  9. What a varied and interesting list you've chosen for this year. Some of read, and the others are definitely on my radar. Wide Sargasso Sea was a fascinating answer as such, to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, and I read it years ago at Uni. I'm definitely due for a re-read of Tenant of Wildfell Hall too. I remember a long theatre production of Nicholas Nickleby way back in the eighties, when we were following along with it all. I'll look forward to seeing how you go with it all.

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  10. O my goodness - I remember my third grade teacher reading Where the Red Fern Grows aloud to the class. I just remember crying. It was right around 3rd/4th grade that I really fell in love with reading! I believe there are 5 of us (so far) that have listed Tenant as one of the choices.

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    1. It seems like, though I am not certain, someone may have read Where the Red Fern Grows to me as well. I'll see if it brings back any more precise memories. I like a good sad story. Cheers :)

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