Sunday, December 4, 2016

Back to the Classics 2017


It's back! Once again, I'm hosting the Back to the Classics Challenge.  I hope to encourage bloggers to discover and enjoy classic books they might not have tried, or just never got around to reading. And at the end, one lucky winner will receive a $30 (US) prize from Amazon.com or The Book Depository!


Here's how it works:


The challenge will be exactly the same as last year, 12 classic books, but with slightly different categories. You do not have to read all 12 books to participate in this challenge!

  • 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

And here are the categories for the 2016 Back to the Classics Challenge:

1.  A 19th century classic - any book published between 1800 and 1899.


2.  A 20th century classic - any book published between 1900 and 1967. Just like last year, all books MUST have been published at least 50 years ago to qualify. The only exception is books written at least 50 years ago, but published later, such as posthumous publications.


3.  A classic by a woman author


4.  A classic in translation.  Any book originally written published in a language other than your native language. Feel free to read the book in your language or the original language. (You can also read books in translation for any of the other categories). Modern translations are acceptable as long as the original work fits the guidelines for publications as explained in the challenge rules.


5.  A classic originally published before 1800. Plays and epic poems are acceptable in this category. Translations can be modern in this category also.


6.  
A romance classic. I'm pretty flexible here about the definition of romance. It can have a happy ending or a sad ending, as long as there is a strong romantic element to the plot.


7.  A Gothic or horror classic. For a good definition of what makes a book Gothic, and an excellent list of possible reads, please see this list on Goodreads


8.  A classic with a number in the title. Examples include A Tale of Two Cities, Three Men in a Boat, The Nine Tailors, Henry V, Fahrenheit 451, etc. An actual number is required -- for example, Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None would not qualify, but The Seven Dials Mystery would. 


9.  A classic about an animal or which includes the name of an animal in the title.  It can be an actual animal or a metaphor, or just the name in the title. Examples include To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, The Metamorphosis, White Fang, etc. If the animal is not obvious, please clarify it in your post.


10. A classic set in a place you'd like to visit. It can be real or imaginary: The Wizard of Oz, Down and Out in Paris and London, Death on the Nile, etc.

11. An award-winning classic. It could be the Newbery award, the Prix Goncourt, the Pulitzer Prize, the James Tait Award, etc. Any award, just mention in your blog post what award your choice received. It must be an actual award-winner; runners-up and nominees do not count.


12. A Russian classic. 2017 will be the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, so read a classic by any Russian author. 


And now, the rest of the rules:

  • All books must be read in 2017. Books started before January 1, 2017 do not qualify. All reviews must be linked to this challenge by December 31, 2017. I'll post links each category the first week of January which will be featured on a sidebar on this blog for the entire year. 
  • You must also post a wrap-up review and link it to the challenge no later than December 31, 2017. Please include links within your final wrap-up to that I can easily confirm all your categories. Also, it is OK to rearrange books to fit different categories in your wrap-up post -- for example, last year I originally planned to use Journey to the Center of the the Earth in the Fantasy/SciFi/Dystopian category, but then I decided to count it as an Adventure Classic. Most books count count toward several categories, so it's fine if you change them, as long as they are identified in your wrap-up post.
  • All books must have been written at least 50 years ago; therefore, books must have been written by 1967 to qualify for this challenge. The ONLY exceptions are books published posthumously. Recent translations of classics are acceptable.
  • E-books and audiobooks are eligible! You may also count books that you read for other challenges.
  • Books may NOT cross over within this challenge. You must read a different book for EACH category, or it doesn't count.
  • Children's classics are acceptable, but please, no more than 3 total for the challenge. Single short stories and short poems do not count, but you may use epic poems like The Odyssey and short story collections like The Canterbury Tales, as long as it is the entire book.
  • If you do not have a blog, you may link to reviews on Goodreads or any other publicly accessible online format. For example, if you have a Goodreads account, you could create a dedicated list to the challenge, and link to that with a tentative list (the list can change throughout the challenge).
  • The deadline to sign up for the challenge is March 1, 2017. After that, I will close the link and you'll have to wait until the next year! Please include a link to your original sign-up post, not your blog URL. Also, make sure you add your link to the Linky below, NOT IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. If I don't see your name in the original Linky, YOU WILL BE INELIGIBLE. If you've made a mistake with your link, just add a second one. 
  • You do NOT have to list all the books you're going to read for the challenge in your sign-up post, but it's more fun if you do! Of course, you can change your list any time. Books may also be read in any order. 
  • The winner will be announced on this blog the first week of January, 2018. All qualifying participants will receive one or more entries, depending on the number of categories completed. One winner will be selected at random for all qualifying entries. The winner will receive a gift certificate in the amount of $30 (US currency) from either Amazon.com OR $30 worth of books from The Book Depository. The winner MUST live in a country that will receive shipments from one or the other. For a list of countries that receive shipments from The Book Depository, click here
So what are you waiting for? Sign up at the linky below! I'll be posting my list of possible reads for 2017 in the next couple of days. Happy reading!


Updated: The sign-ups are now closed. Check back at the end of the year to sign up for next year's Back to the Classics Challenge! 

229 comments:

  1. Hi, I'm in again. Love the new categories this year, especially the classic romance and the classic published before 1800. I will be trying to read a play or an epic poem for that one if I can.

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    1. Glad you're signing up! The pre-1800 will be the hardest category for me.

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  2. This is a terrific challenge and I was happy to add it to my Challenge Directory. I love the categories that you cam up with. I will probably participate in this one myself, but need to settle down to do my 2017 goals posts. I was hoping to do it this past weekend, but ran into some technical difficulties with my blog that needed attending to.

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    1. You have three months to sign up, no worries.

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  3. Thank you for keeping this challenge alive! I'm still in again this year :)

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    1. I haven't blogging as much this year but I really enjoy hosting this. Glad you're in this year!

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  4. I've been waiting for this one...I'm in! Should get a sign-up post up sometime tomorrow.:D

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    1. Great! I'll look for your post!

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    2. Just signed up! Thanks for hosting this, Karen.:)

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    1. It's up to you. I'm not re-reading but if you want that's fine.

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    2. Thanks. I finally decided to participate again this year. Hopefully I can make it this time :)

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  6. I have signed up for the challenge, but I haven't finished my reading list yet. Hope that's okay!

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    1. No rush, but it's fun to see what people choose.

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  7. I've signed up, but haven't decided which books to read yet. Looking forward to this challenge :)

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    1. You can also change your books later. I don't think I've ever completed my original list!

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  8. This will be my first time taking on this challenge, and I'm very excited! I will be posting about this challenge and some others later this week on my blog.

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    1. Glad you're in this year! I look forward to reading about your other challenges.

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  9. Ahhhh! This is the best part...looking at the categories and finding things to fit! I particularly like the "classic set in a place you'd like to visit". That will require some thought. Thanks for hosting this again Karen.

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    1. I love planning my reads too -- I'll be posting my list this week.

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  10. This is going to be fun! This will be my first time! I hope Roman numerals count for the number, because I'm reading Richard III (Shakespeare) this year. :D

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    1. Ronan numerals definitely count! I'm glad you're participating.

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  11. Great to hear it's happening again next year. I'm just finishing up my last review & look forward to thinking about which books to choose for 2017. Thanks again!

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    1. Thanks for joining! I still have two more books to finish myself.

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  12. I'm in! As I don't have a bookblog, I will use my newly created goodreads account. Hope that is ok

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    1. Goodreads is just fine. You can post your final wrap up in the comments for the final wrap up post page. I'll create links after the New Year.

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    2. I noticed that I had linked to my blog in the Linky. I have now submitted another entry using my goodreads URL :) (Entry no 107. My entry no 14 can be deleted)

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  13. Would you check my choice for a classic with a number in the title? I want to make sure it will work. https://urbanpioneerwoman.wordpress.com/2016/12/05/back-to-the-classics-challenge-2017/

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    1. 1001 Nights is just fine. Welcome back!

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    2. Thank you! And it doesn't matter which translation I choose? (I am wanting to use a more recent translation because it goes back to the Syrian text and technically this translation calls it Arabian Nights)

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  14. Working on my list now! I am finishing up my sixth one for 2016 :)

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  15. What a fun list of categories! I'm excited :)

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    1. Thanks! I had fun choosing them. I may have to start repeating categories next year, though.

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  16. To enter: you read books. If you win: more books. Is there a down side?

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    1. Well, if you win, you'd have more books on your TBR pile!

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  17. I've been waiting for this announcement! I joined for twelve categories. Thanks for hosting, Karen. :)

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    1. That's great! But if you don't finish all twelve, you still qualify for the drawing if you finish at least six.

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  18. Does Little Women count towards the children's book limit?

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    1. Meanwhile, Little Women is an awesome novel. :)

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    2. I think it's generally considered a children's book, so I would say yes.

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    3. Thanks. In the end I read that one over Christmas so it won't be aprt of my list for this year. One other thing you gave Henry V as an example. Does that mean plays can be used in the number category?

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  19. This looks great! I'm in :) thanks for hosting

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  20. This is my first year doing the challenge and I'm not sure I signed up the correct way... I put a link to Goodreads, as I do not have a blog and plan on posting reviews on that site instead. Can you let me know if I need to change the linky thingy I put?

    Tech ineptitude aside, I am looking forward to this challenge. I didn't read too many of the books I was assigned in school that would be considered classics, so this will be interesting.

    Thank you!

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    1. So I think I am signed up through the Google blog thing now, but am not making any promises. If it's not correct, just let me know and I'll attempt to fix it.

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    2. Annnnd I'm signed up twice. Number 20 can go away...

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    3. No worries, I can delete the incorrect sign-up.

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  21. Thank you for hosting this challenge for yet another year. I've always wanted to sign up, but my schedule has always been too over-loaded. This will also help me move along with my Classics Club list.
    Judith (Reader in the Wilderness)

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    1. Thanks for signing up! I'm trying to complete my Classics Club list too.

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  22. So excited! I accidently linked to the wrong page when I added myself the first time... (#7) but I just relinked to my post. I'm so ready to be a part of this! Thanks for hosting

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    1. No worries, I can delete the other one. I'm glad you've joined.

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  23. My favorite challenge every year! Thank you for doing this! :)

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  24. I completely forgot about my 2016 list. :( I am signing up for 2017 with hopes I will read my list. I joined the Classics Club too.

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  25. I like this one. I did five challenges in 2016 and would like to try something new next year. Thanks.

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    1. Wow, five challenges! I'm down to two this year and probably two next year, plus my Classics Club challenge for which I am woefully behind.

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  26. This sounds great. Question: do short stories and novellas work? I'd like to read The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell but it's only about 50 pages long.

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    1. I would say novellas are fine, but I don't think a single short story would count for a category -- if it's one of a collection of stories, that would be fine. I did have a novella category (and a very long book category) in 2015, and we had a short story collection category in 2016.

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    2. I should also add that if the story is part of a larger collection, that's fine as long as you read the whole thing.

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  27. This is a great challenge, looking forward to 2017. By the way, my post is in Norwegian, hope that's okay.

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    1. Norwegian is fine! I won't be able to understand the post entirely but I'll definitely take a look. You can read your books in Norwegian or any other language you like.

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  28. You may want to take Slaughterhouse Five off your example list... it was published in 1969.

    Is there a particular reason that things must be published at least 50 years ago? Just curious.

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    1. Thanks for catching that, I've corrected it. To answer your question, I felt like I had to set some parameters to define a classic. I think a classic is something that's endured, so I chose 50 years as a guideline. This is the fourth year I've done the challenge, and I do change the cutoff date every year.

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    2. Oh okay. Just curious :)

      I'm in, btw. I did a classics challenge last year that just pushed me to read 12 classics. For this year, I like the added categories of your classics challenge. I think it will help me reach for some harder classics I keep saying I'm going to pick up.

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  29. I'm in. Thank you for hosting this challenge Karen!

    I was going to ask a question regarding short stories but you already provided an answer above.

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  30. Sounds fun! I am in.

    http://bttc17.blogspot.com/

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  32. I'm sorry, I'm really new at this. But I have set up the post for this challenge up at: https://lightingales.wordpress.com/2016/12/14/classics-2017-challenge/. I hope to enjoy this challenge. Thank you.

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    1. Make sure you add the link to your post in the linky above by the deadline!

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    2. I did! Thank you for reminding me.

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  33. This is a great challenge! I fell down on my classics this year so I'm looking to rebound next year. I'll start thinking about a list.

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  35. This is the first time I'm participating in the challenge. Here is the list of the books I am going to read - https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/60282757-anahit?order=d&shelf=to-read-back-to-the-classics&utf8=%E2%9C%93 .

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    1. Please add the URL to the Linky above. Thanks!

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  36. I do admire your reading capacity, 'fraid I just meander along with reading but I'll be following the reviews.

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  37. Hello!!! How do I sign up? I don't have a blog. I use Litsy and Goodreads only.

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    1. You can create a dedicated list on Goodreads and link to that, then link to your reviews.

      Here is an example: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/38248002-pat?shelf=classics-challenge-2016

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  38. This will be my first reading challenge... But I've been wanting to get in to them more, and this one is certainly my cup of tea! Super excited for it!

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  39. Looking forward to participating. The number of classics I read last year went down some since Shelfari tanked and most of my classics-reading friends were there.

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    1. oops...attached the wrong URL to my signup. Here's the right one: https://joelendil.wordpress.com/2016/12/15/back-to-classics-2017/ - Joelendil

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    2. Please add the correct URL to the linky above. Thanks!

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  40. I decided to make a wordpress blog in order to participate in this challenge, so it looks like I signed up twice. I'm sorry about that. Joanna at 51 could be deleted. I'm so excited to get started on this.

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    1. And here is the correct URL to my sign up. Thank you so much. https://jenga21blog.wordpress.com/2016/12/16/back-to-the-classics-2017-challenge/

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    2. Can you add the URL to the sign up? If you've signed up previously I can delete the earlier one.

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    3. Ok done! I'm signed up with the correct URL at number 57. You can delete me at 52 and 54. Thank you!!

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  41. I think I just signed up... I hope (my username is Bdyer112) I am excited to do this challenge. I'm trying to broaden my old literature and this will help a lot.

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    1. You've signed up, but you need to link your post to your blog or publicly accessible forum, like a Goodreads account. Please add a new link and I can delete the first one. Thanks!

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  42. First reading challenge for me. I'm very excited! Thanks for hosting such a cool one!

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  43. This is my favorite time of the year! Choosing my titles AND seeing what others choose!
    I have two categories undecided, but I know they will soon be completed (I shuffle and change all the time anyway, LOL). I guess our personalities come through not only the titles we choose, but the way we stick to them ... or not!
    This is my only challenge, the only one I like. I do have a bookclub commitment though, and I also read along with a friend. Last year I did not think I'd read the challenge books plus the book club books, but I did, and not only, but looking around to pick titles, and guiding myself by other fellow readers and classics challengers and my own instincts, I had one of my best reading years. I read quite amazing books, almost all my titles were loved (only a few inconsequential titles). I am very excited to keep broadening my reading boundaries in 2017.

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  44. I'll do this after the fact. If I post a list it kills all interest in reading those titles. Too much like school. I'll probably get the 6 with no trouble though. I usually pick a few classics per year. With the new app Serial Reader (I'm NOT paid to mention them I just like it) I am doing very well with Les Mis right now. https://hopewellslibraryoflife.wordpress.com/

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    1. Just make sure you post something with a link to your blog before the deadline, or it won't count. It can be a very short post saying you've signed up, no list necessary. After I close the link I won't count anyone not on the original list above.

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  45. Would Sir Gawain and the Green Knight be acceptable for the before 1800 category?

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    1. Yes! It was written about 1390 so it definitely counts.

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  47. I love the idea of reading more classics. I've signed up, but I don't have a blog so I created a page on Goodreads to list those books I will use in this challenge. Now I just have to select the books. Thank you! Marilyn Marqueen AKA Margaret McKinney

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  48. I am new to this challenge, and I am very excited! Here is my sign-up post.

    http://domisbookpalace.blogspot.com/2016/12/back-to-classics-2017.html?m=1

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    1. Make sure you add your name and URL to your sign-up post in the Linky by March 1 or it won't count!

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    2. Yes. I am sorry. I think I messed up on my first link. It is under Domi Marie.

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  49. Hi, I'm Kim and I signed up for the challenge (#59 in list above). I'm looking forward to it.

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  50. I'm going to try again this year. We'll see if I can do it. Thanks for hosting again.

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  51. Hi Karen, signing up for 2017 but I haven't chosen titles yet, except for the Russian author(Solzhenitsyn).

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  52. Hi, I'm new this year, but I can't quite make the sign up thing work. I've never done this before. I don't think I have a URL (does that mean a website?) I'm just a normal person. No website. I am on goodreads and litsy? LMK what I need to do to get signed up. It keeps telling me "uncaught error cannot read property null" or something like that.

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    1. As it says in the instructions, you don't need a blog. If you're on Goodreads or another site (I haven't explored Litsy yet), just create something there, like a dedicated list, and add the URL to that. Here is an example:

      https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/38248002-pat?shelf=classics-challenge-2016

      If you haven't signed up in the linky above before the deadline, you won't be included in the challenge.

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    2. OK. Can I include several possibilities for a few options? Or do I have to decide on ONE book now?

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  53. Looking forward to getting started.

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  54. This sounds like a wonderful challenge and it fits right in with my reading goals in general.

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  55. I enjoyed this challenge 2015, but was too late to sign up 2016.
    This year I put it in my agenda so I wouldn't forget' !

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  56. OK. I'm still needing help. I found the example list on Goodreads to link to, but all the books were already marked "read". Is there any way to make a list I can link to for the purpose of the challenge without having the books already be "read", and can I list more than one possibility per category until I figure out what I can find or do at the time?

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    1. You can definitely add books on Goodreads that you haven't read! I have about 800 books on my Goodreads TBR list! You can also change books from your original list on this challenge. As long as you sign up in the beginning and link your book reviews, that's fine. I just need to be able to see that you wrote some kind of review to qualify for the prize drawing.

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  57. Now that I'm not running my own challenge, I hope to complete all the categories this year! Thanks for keeping it going.

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  58. I'm in! I'm going for all the categories. It's definitely time to add some classic literature back into my reading plans. :)

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  59. I'm in! I will gladly accept recommendations for certain topics. :)

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  60. I'm looking forward to participating for the first time in 2017. The categories will definitely have me exploring my book selections in a totally different light. Thank you for hosting this challenge!

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  61. I am in! I will even try to drag my husband along with me. :-)

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  62. I'm so excited for a classical year! I'm in!

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  63. I didn't quite make it for the 2016 version of the challenge (blogging fail, not reading), but I had fun and I love the new categories, so I'm in again for 2017. Thanks for hosting!

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  64. Joined up (I think) and copied link to my blog. I look forward to doing it even if my blogging/linking doesn't work.

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  65. Looking forward to the challenge :)

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  66. will try 9 categories, in combination with The Classics Club (my 2nd year)

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  67. This is so great, I'm looking forward to taking part! Do poetry collections count? (For example, I've got my eye on Gerard Manley Hopkins' When Kingfishers Catch Fire for the animal one!)

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    1. I've thought about this and decided that poetry collections and single short stories do not count, with the exception of epic poems like The Odyssey. I will clarify that in the rules.

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  68. Signed up and excited! I just finished my two year classic club challenge, but didn't do well with last year's challenge. I plan to do rock this one!

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  69. Love your website :) I have signed up for the challenge. Hopefully I will complete at least 6 categories from this challenge this year

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  70. Happy New Year everyone! Starting off this cold, snowy morning with Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and a creamy cappuccino. "You must forget yourself in the dream of life"

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  71. Looking forward to the challenge and revisiting some of the classics while not being required or graded by any class.

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  72. Just entered! Should be interesting...
    - anolinde

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  73. Here's my list. I hope `A Pair' counts as a number. I had to use a Sheridan Le Fanu book as Harriet Vane was studying him in Gaudy Night. I depended on GoodReads definitions of `romance' etc.
    19th Century: Sybil Benjamin by Disraeli
    20th Century: Year Before Last by Kay Boyle
    By a woman author: Devoted Ladies by M.J. Farrell (Molly Keane)
    Classic in translation: Kristin Lavransdatter: The Wreath by Sigrid Unset
    Classic published before 1800: The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith
    A Romance classic: The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather
    A gothic or horror classic: Uncle Silas by Sheridan Le Fanu
    A classic with a number in the title: A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy
    A classic about an animal or which includes the name of an animal in the title: The Island of Sheep by Richard Hanney
    A classic set in a place you would like to visit: Mary O’Grady (Dublin) by Mary Lavin
    An award-winning classic: Slow Natives Miles Franklin Award 1965 by Thea Astley
    A Russian classic A Hero in Our Time by Mikhail Lermotov

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    1. I meant Sybil by Benjamin Disraeli!

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    2. I've thought about this, and I've decided that "a pair" wouldn't count because technically, it's not a number (neither is "none.") But if you want to read Hardy for that category can I suggest "Two on a Tower"? You could also count "A Pair of Blue Eyes" for the 19th century category. (But I am thinking about having a color category next year if you want to save it!)

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    3. OK I will switch as that Two on a Tower was also a possibility. Than you for being so responsive.

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  74. Two quick questions.

    1. Can you take more than a month to read something? Our book group is starting Brothers Karamazov in January but finishing it in December. So I'd review it then. Or do you have to read something the same month you blog it?

    2. You say an epic has to be complete. My group is reading Fierce Wars & Faithful Loves which is the first book of Edmund Spenser's The Fairie Queen. Does it only count if I read all 6 books or can book 1 count as long as all the Cantos are covered? I just thought since it's typically published by itself and it's loooooooong it would count for my pre-1800 but maybe not.

    Thanks.

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    1. 1. Yes, definitely! Take all the time you need to finish a book, as long as you post and link to it in your final wrap-up by December 31. Some books I can finish in a few days (even shorter for novellas) and I've definitely taken longer for those very long books like Moby-Dick or The Pickwick Papers, especially when I've listened to the audiobook versions.

      2. Did not know that about Spenser. My rule about reading the entire work is basically just that you read something essentially book-length, i.e., not reading ONE short story from a collection. I think if you finish the complete edition from cover to cover, that's fine. I have had participants read books from the Bible, but not the entire Bible, so I think I can allow it.

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  75. Just signed up for the challenge! I am so excited to finally put a dent in my classics TBR list :)

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  76. Thank you so much for hosting this again!

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  77. I've read very few classics so this challenge will be perfect for me! I've been meaning to read so many of my chosen books for ages but have just never got round to them.

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  78. I've read all the examples of classics with a number, so I might be stuck with a Shakespeare play. I'll be keeping an eye out for other options. It'll be like a quest!

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    1. There are a lot of other classic novels with numbers in the title -- for example, Agatha Christie wrote quite a few. Here's a list from Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/28502.Books_with_Numbers_in_the_Title

      Just make sure the book is at least 50 years old and that the tile includes an actual number.

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  79. Hello I will be joining this challenge but how should I post my reading list ??

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    1. You can create a blog post and link to it above, or create a list on a publicly accessible forum like Goodreads.

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  80. Just posted my probable selections for this years challenge.
    http://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2017/01/back-to-classics-challenge-2017.html

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  81. Signed up for the challenge, don't know my list as yet. Excited to read some classic books I haven't read yet.

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  82. Signed up and already have a few books pictured out, but haven't linked them yet incase I change my mind! Thank you for hosting! I always mean to read more classics but it never seems to happen.

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  83. Super excited to join in! This is my first time, but I love the idea. And I really need to read more classics, so this is great!

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    1. Sorry, I accidentally entered twice (#136 & 137). Please remove the first. Thanks!

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  84. Looking forward to joining in again!

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  85. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  86. I'm looking forward to this challenge. I have been saying I wanted to read more of the classics for years. This will be a great push to get me started. Thanks for coming up with it! :-)

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  87. I skipped past year's challenge, but in 2017 I'm in again. So far I only wrote a general sign-up post where I mention all reading challenges in which I'm participating this year. I hope to find the time to get the book list for this challenge online before long.

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  88. I love this! Thank you for hosting! I just posted my URL in the link section.

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  89. I'm signing up for my fourth year, yay! Somehow I didn't read many classics growing up, and I have been trying to rectify that as an adult. This is a fun way to do it.

    On quick questions - does a Newberry Honors book count as a prize winner? It's kind of a runner-up to the Newberry medal.

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    1. I think I'm going to stick with actual award-winners (no nominees) this time. I may bring it back in the future and expand it, and I think I'm going to include children's classic again next year! Of course, you can still count up to three children's books total, so if there's a particular book you want to read, it might fit another category.

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  90. I'm so excited for this. It's perfect incentive for me to finally get around to reading these.

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  91. Replies
    1. P.s. it's my first year, so i'm new to it all, but im really exited for this!

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    2. Yes! It might be tough for some categories like Gothic or romance, but I'm sure there are plenty of classic non-fiction works that would count.

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    3. Thank you for answering! I was thinking about " A Room of One's Own" for the numbers category

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  92. Done! I'm looking forward to starting.

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  93. Here from GoodReads; this will overlap with a challenge I'm doing already in a GoodReads group. I have 8 categories picked out on my GR shelf that I linked to:
    19th c - The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - Anne Bronte
    20th c - The Secret Agent - Joseph Conrad
    classic by a woman: Orlando - Virginia Woolf
    classic in translation: The Histories - Herodotus
    published before 1800: History of the Peloponnesian War - Thucydides
    A Gothic or horror classic: Ghost Stories of an Antiquary - MR James
    animal in the title: The Golden Ass - Apuleius
    award-winning classic: Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany, 1966 Nebula Winner for Best Novel (this one's close, but it makes the cutoff! If not this one, then probably The Man in the High Castle, the 1962 Hugo Winner by Philip K. Dick.)


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  94. I joined again this year, these are great categories! I complete the challenge every year and then I forget to come back and announce it here - maybe this year I'll remember! :D

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  95. Just made a blog and a blog post for this challenge! All but one of the books are in that post!

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  96. This is my first year for this challenge...but I am excited as many of these books have been on my to read list for so long!

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  97. I found this challenge today on Book Riot. I always intend to read more classics and never seem to actually do it, so I'm looking forward to diving in and keeping myself accountable this year!

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  98. I'm so happy I found this challenge! I absolutely adore classics so I'm always happy to find challenges that push me to read more. Right now my tentative list still has a bunch of white dudes on it because I was going off what's already in my Goodreads and Serial Reader TBR but I'm planning on doing some research to make my classics reading more diverse.

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  99. I misunderstood how to sign up and tried to link to my email, but it didn't work out so well. Sorry about that. I'm excited for the challenge, though! E.J. Jones

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    1. I just made a second link which should work better.

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  100. Hi! I've been wanting to retake the classics for a while now and this is the perfect chance. Thanks!

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  101. I'm afraid I mistakenly signed up twice. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience!

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  102. Thanks Karen! Working on my list/sign up post now. You ROCK.

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  103. I am excited to participate for a second year. Somehow I found it very difficult to select titles this time. Since I use goodreads for the reviews, here is my (tenuous) plan:

    19th century: The Mill on the Floss, Eliot OR Persuasion, Austen OR something by Balzac, perhaps Eugénie Grandet
    20th century: The Ambassadors, Henry James
    By a woman author: The House of Mirth, Wharton
    In translation: War and Peace, Tolstoy
    Published before 1800: Jacques the Fatalist, Diderot OR Nathan the Wise, Lessing
    Romance: Doctor Zhivago, Pasternak
    Gothic or horror: Rebecca, du Maurier OR Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
    Number in the title: The Twelve Chairs, Ilya Ilf & Evgeny Petrov OR The Three Musketeers, Dumas
    About an animal or name of animal in title: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Williams OR Animal Farm, Orwell
    Set in a place you'd like to visit: Notre Dame de Paris, Hugo
    Award-winning: The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Thornton Wilder OR Man's Fate, Malraux
    Russian: The Enchanted Wanderer, Leskov OR And Quiet Flows the Don, Mikhail Sholokhov.

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  104. Hi Karen, I'd already signed up before choosing my books. Here are the books I've chosen:
    https://journey-and-destination.blogspot.com.au/2017/01/back-to-classics-2017.html

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  105. There, signed up! (Amy, n°171) Hope I did it correctly, I linked my GR list. I don't know if I'll post it on my blog at some point, since my blog is in French. Thinking about it.

    Anyway, this is my first time with this challenge, so I'm still trying to figure out what books to choose and if they all qualify, a couple of them are quite short. If they don't, let me know, I'll find others :)

    PS: Sorry for the "unknown" comment, I don't have an account on any of those websites.

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    1. Can Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf? be considered a romance classic? And is this book (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1276035.Le_Chef_D_uvre_Inconnu) too short to qualify?

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    2. Novellas are fine, just not individual short stores for each category.

      I haven't actually read Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? but I've never heard of it being described as a romance -- I always thought it was the opposite. For this category, there has to be a strong romantic element, so I don't think this would qualify.

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    3. Okay, I'll find something else :)

      And just to be sure, are plays acceptable for all categories or just for the pre-1800 one?

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  106. So lovely of you to host such a nice challenge! It's gonna be fun to participate :D

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  107. My first reading challenge sign-up in ... a while! :)

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  108. I just created a Goodreads account to sign up for this, hope that worked. My current list, which will surely change, is:

    19th century: Miss Marjoribanks by Margaret Oliphant (1866)
    20th century: Dos Passos, USA Trilogy (1930-36)
    Woman author: Katherine Anne Porter, Ship of Fools (1962)
    Translated classic: The Case of Comrade Tulayev by Victor Serge (1948)
    Pre-1800: Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
    Romance: Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell
    Gothic or horror: The Italian by Ann Radcliffe
    Number in a title: The Four Feathers by A.E.W Mason (1902)
    Animal in a title: Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West (1941)
    Set in a place I'd like to visit: Kim by Rudyard Kipling (the place being India)
    Award-winning: The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams (published in 1918 and won a Pulitzer in 1919)
    Russian novel: The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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    1. Great list! I loved Miss Marjoribanks and I really want to read Ship of Fools. I'm looking forward to your reviews!

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  109. I'm excited for this challenge! It's going to be a tough one for me.

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  110. Looking forward to taking part in this challenge!

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  111. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  112. Just signed up with a Goodreads list - I'll organize it better at the end of the year!

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  113. Hi.Thanks for hosting this once again, have already signed up. Had a ques about the Pre-1800 category. Most probably I'll be reading an ancient Greek/ Sanskrit epic/ play in translation for this one. I wanted to know whether the translation should also be published before 1800 to qualify?

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    1. No, the translation doesn't have to be pre-1800, just the original work. Thanks for asking, I will clarify it in the instructions.

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  114. Hello,

    This is my first year participating. I came across your blog in late 2016 when I was looking up info about classic novels. I hope to get to more than 12, but I figure this is a good place to start.

    Carmen

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  115. Hello!

    I'm looking forward to participating in this challenge. I've been wanting to read more classics and now I have the perfect excuse.

    - Carissa

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  116. This is my first time with a reading challenge! I'm incredibly grateful for coming across your specific 'classics' challenge. I was looking for one that would enrich my time and not just leave me reading soap operas in book form. By the way, I got here from BookRiot, wanted to give them credit:
    https://bookriot.com/2017/01/04/20-reading-challenges-for-2017/
    Best of luck to everyone participating! READ READ READ!!!

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  117. We did this through You, Me and a Cup of Tea last year. Didn't realize it originated here! Looking forward to another year of classics :D

    Serenity @ Book Charmers

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  118. This is the first time I try a reading challenge. I thought this year I should read some of the books I skipped back when I was in school and this challenge seemed like the right one to do so.

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  119. Just realized I used the wrong URL. Please delete #181. Thanks!

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  120. rather excited! :-) if for some reason, i didn't sign up correctly, please let know.

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  121. First time participating. Looking forward to an interesting year and motivation to read more. I've already starting selecting some books from my TBR shelf!

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  122. Joining in again this year. Had fun choosing my titles. Just hope I get around to reading them all.

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