2020 Victorian Reading Challenge

Becky at Becky's Book Reviews is hosting another Victorian Reading Challenge and the way she's organized it is so fun and interesting I can't pass it up. There are two levels: the basic level is quarterly, just read one Victorian every three months -- easy peasy! The advanced level is still pretty easy, with eleven themed months and one bonus theme. And there's a lot of flexibility with the months, which is great since so many Victorians are real doorstoppers.

Here are the themes and some possible books that would fit the challenge:

JANUARY/FEBRUARY: Journeys and Travels: The Time Machine by H. G. Wells (can also count this as my Genre Classic for the Back to the Classics Challenge).

FEBRUARY/MARCH: Love and Marriage: Man and Wife by Wilkie Collins. Sounds super-dramatic and sensationalist, which is always fun.

MARCH/APRIL: Second Chances. Maybe Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (I can also count this for my Abandoned Classic for the Back to the Classics Challenge). I got stuck about halfway through, maybe I should watch the miniseries and it will inspire me to actually finish the book. Or Les Miserables if I can finish it in time.

APRIL/MAY: Names as Titles: Victorian authors named a lot of books after people! Maybe Basil by Wilkie Collins or a bunch of others by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. There's also The Real Charlotte (also from my Back to the Classics list!)

MAY/JUNE: Long Title or Long Subtitle. How about Harry Heathcote of Gangoil: A Tale of Australian Bushlife ? That's a long title, even for Anthony Trollope. There's also The Struggles of Brown, Jones and Robinson by One of the Firm and The Golden Lion of Grandpere. All of these are fairly obscure and there's not a single decent cover image online for any of them. At least they're all fairly short for Trollope.

JUNE/JULY: Adaptations. The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy. There's a movie adaptation with Rufus Sewell, need I say more?

JULY/AUGUST: Favorite Authors, New-to-Me Titles.  Probably Elizabeth Gaskell, there are a few novellas and minor works that I haven't read yet.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER: Back to School: I didn't have many Victorians assigned in college and high school, which is why I've been reading so many as an adult. My choices are pretty limited so I'd have to go with Jane Eyre or Great Expectations. Or maybe The Awakening by Kate Chopin -- I didn't read it in school but I think it should be included in school curriculum.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER: Crime or True Crime. There are so many great nonfiction books that fulfill this category. I've been meaning to read The Five by Hallie Rubenhold.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER: Home and Family. Period Piece by Gwen Raverat, a memoir of her Victorian childhood (she was a granddaughter of Dickens); also A London Family, an omnibus by Molly Hughes. I've read the first volume but never got around to finishing the last two. I meant to read both of these last year for the TBR Pile Challenge but didn't finish that one either.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER: Comfort Reads. Pretty much anything by Anthony Trollope fits this category, or maybe Mrs. Oliphant. I loved Miss Marjoribanks and would love to read more in her Carlingford series.

SUPER-BONUS: Bearded Authors. How to choose? I think Trollope has the most impressive beard of the Victorians. Maybe that's a good month to read his biography.

Anthony Trollope

Anyone else signing up for this challenge? What other Victorian novels and novelists do you recommend? And which novelist has the best beard?

Fall Reading Challenges: R.I.P. XIII, Persephone Readathon, Victober, and The 1944 Club!

So many great reading opportunities on the blogosphere this fall! Here's a roundup of what I want to read soon. Naturally, I'm going to focus on what's on my own shelves. 

Readers Imbibing Peril XIII: September 1 - October 31.

Mystery, suspense, horror, thriller, dark fantasy, gothic. I'm hoping for Peril the Second, at least two books. Possible RIP Reads:

• A ghost story collection -- I have collections by Elizabeth Gaskell, M. R. James, and E. F. Benson on the TBR shelves
• Something by Wilkie Collins, a shorter work: The Dead Secret, The Evil Genius, or The Haunted Hotel. (Can also count for Victober).
• Frankenstein, for my IRL book club
• Something by Dorothy L. Sayers -- my library has several available for digital audio download.  Probably either Strong Poison or The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club. Will also count for my final category in the Back to the Classics Challenge. 

Persephone Readathon: September 21 - 30. Hosted by Jessie at Dwell in Possibility. 

Again, just trying to read more books from my own shelves. I have at least a dozen unread Persephones. Possible reads: 

• Alas, Poor Lady by Rachel Ferguson. It is the dove-grey book that I've owned the longest without reading it.
• Long Live Great Bardfield by Tirzah Garwood
• The Godwits Fly by Robin Hyde. My most recent Persephone purchase, bought at the shop on my trip to London in June.
• Tory Heaven by Marghanita Laski. A birthday present -- I should read it before my next birthday.
• The Happy Tree by Rosalind Murray

Portrait of Queen Victoria, painted by Franz Winterhalter  in 1943.
I saw the original at Kensington palace in June.

Victober 2018: October 1 - 30. 

This is a new one for me, a month-long readalong of Victorian literature on Goodreads. Possible reads: 

• The Doctor's Wife by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
• The Dead Secret, The Evil Genius, or The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins (also RIP)
• Tales of Mystery and the Macabre by Elizabeth Gaskell (also RIP)
• Who Is Lost and Is Found by Margaret Oliphant
• Is He Popenjoy? by Anthony Trollope -- for my Trollope group readalong
• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson -- I've gotten hooked on Black Sails, which includes some of Stevenson's characters -- sort of a prequel which explains the relationship between Long John Silver and Captain Flint.
• The Time Machine by H. G. Wells

The 1944 Club, October 15 - 21.

Hosted by Simon of Stuck in a Book and Karen of Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings: 

Possible reads: 

• The Green Years by A. J. Cronin. I know nothing about this book, but someone left a beautiful old edition on the giveaway cart at the library last year, and I couldn't pass it up. Apparently it's about an Irish orphan who is sent to live with his grandparents in Scotland. It's only 240 pages so I'll give it a try.
• The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker -- I have a beautiful Penguin copy that I received as a prize several years ago from an online contest -- one of the last of my Big Box of Penguins.
• Winter Wheat by Mildred Walker -- a wonderful book set in Montana, by an author nobody reads anymore. I read it several years ago and loved it, and would love to read it again. It's a coming-of-age story about a young woman working as a teacher in WWII.

It seems like a lot, but it's split up over two months, and a lot of the books cross over into other categories. Bloggers, have you read any of these books or authors? Which do you recommend? And is anyone else signing up for fall challenges? 

Victorian Reading Challenge

I thought that two challenges this year would be enough, but the other day I stumbled upon this  Victorian Reading Challenge from Becky's Book Reviews and I don't think I can resist. The goal is to read at least four Victorian books, which will be easy for me -- I've already completed two lovely fat Victorian novels this year. Including nonfiction and translated books, I read 14 Victorian books in 2016, so I'm sure I can read that many in 2017, if not more. Here are the challenge categories, with the books I want to read for each (books with hyperlinks are already completed). 

1. A book under 200 pages: The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott; The Rector & The Doctor's Family by Mrs. Oliphant
2. A book over 400 pages: Deerbrook by Harriet Martineau
3. A book that REALLY intimidates you: Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.
4. A book you REALLY want to reread: Oliver Twist or Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
5. A new-to-you book by a favorite author: The Trail of the Serpent by Mary Elizabeth Braddon 
6. A book with illustrations 
7. A book that was originally published serially: A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott.
8. A book published between 1837-1849: The Kellys and O'Kellys by Anthony Trollope
9. A book published between 1850-1860: The Bertrams by Anthony Trollope
10. A book published between 1861-1870: The Belton Estate by Anthony Trollope
11. A book published between 1871-1880: The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens; Kept in the Dark by Anthony Trollope
12. A book published between 1881-1890: The Story of an African Farm by Olive Schreiner
13. A book published between 1891-1901: Who Is Lost and Is Found by Mrs. Oliphant
14. A book published between 1902-1999 with a Victorian setting: Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters;  To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
15. A book published between 2000-2017 with a Victorian setting: The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox
16. A book by Charles Dickens: The Mystery of Edwin Drood;  Pictures from Italy
17. A book by Wilkie Collins: Basil
18. A book by Anthony Trollope The Prime Minister, Kept in the Dark
19. A book by Elizabeth Gaskell: Cousin Phillis
20. A book by George Eliot: Adam Bede
21. A book by a new-to-you male author: Esther Waters by George Moore
22. A book by a new-to-you female author: Red Pottage by Mary Cholmondely
23. A book translated into English: Effi Briest by Theodor Fontane
24. A fiction or nonfiction book about Queen Victoria: Magnificent Obsession by Helen Rapport or Serving Victoria by Kate Hubbard
25. A book that has been filmed as movie, miniseries, or television show: The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott
26. A play OR a collection of short stories OR a collection of poems: A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde, After Supper Ghost Stories by Jerome K. Jerome
27. A Biography, Autobiography, or NONFICTION book about the Victorian era: The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson, The Invisible Woman by Claire Tomalin
28. Genre or Subgenre of your choice (mystery, suspense, romance, Gothic, adventure, western, science fiction, fantasy) The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells; The Fixed Period by Anthony Trollope
29. Book with a name as the title: The Claverings by Anthony Trollope
30. Book You've Started but Never Finished: Daniel Deronda by George Eliot; The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells.
31. A children's book: The Wouldbegoods by E. Nesbit

Rules: 

• Fiction or nonfiction.
• Books, e-books, audio books all are fine.
• Books and movies can be reviewed together or separately.
• You can create a reading list if you want, but it's not a requirement 
• If you do make a list, consider adding a list of five books you'd recommend to others
• If possible try to try a new-to-you author! I know it can be really tempting to stick with familiar favorites.
• Children's books published during these years should not be forgotten! 
• Rereads are definitely allowed if you have favorites!
• A blog is not required, a review is not required, but, if you don't review please consider sharing what you read in a comment with one or two sentences of 'reaction' or 'response.' 
• Any qualifying book reviewed in 2017 counts towards the challenge. If you're like me, perhaps you try to schedule posts a week ahead of time. So if it's reviewed in 2017, it counts. Even if you finished the book the last week or two of 2016! 

There are more than 30 categories and I know I can't possibly finish that many Victorians but I'm making good progress on both the European Reading Challenge and my own Back to the Classics Challenge, and some of them can cross over. I'm also in an online Trollope reading group so I can count some of those for this challenge.

Bloggers, have you read any of these Victorian novels? Which are your favorites? And is anyone else signing up for this challenge?