Back to the Classics 2014 challenge

Updated 1/2/14
Back to the Classics, hosted by Karen

This is challenge is themed on books published during or prior to 1964.  For some of the categories, I will be overlapping with other challenges (because I'm not terribly ambitious!), but there are new to-read books on this list that I'm also looking forward to.

Required:

  1. ✓  A 20th Century Classic:  The Castle (1926, Kafka).  Alternative: 1984 (1949, Orwell) or The Great Gatsby (1925)  The Old Man and the Sea (1952, Hemingway)
  2. ✓  A 19th Century Classic:  The Masterpiece (1886), Zola  Lord Jim (1899–1900, Conrad)
  3. A Classic by a Woman Author:  A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (Wollstonecraft)
  4. ✓  A Classic in Translation:  The Brothers Karamazov (Dostoyevsky)
  5. A Wartime Classic:  For Whom the Bell Tolls (Hemingway) - Spanish Civil War
  6. A Classic by an Author Who Is New To You:  Beneath the Wheel (Hesse) - subject to change, though I've been wanting to read Hesse for a while now
Optional Categories:
  1. An American Classic:  The Scarlet Letter (Hawthorne) - being a Hawthorne fan who hasn't read Scarlet Letter is just awkward
  2. A Classic Mystery, Suspense or Thriller: does Frankenstein count?
  3. A Historical Fiction Classic:  Mutiny on the Bounty (1932).  I read the Bounty Trilogy many years ago and enjoyed it - high time for a re-read!
  4. A Classic That's Been Adapted Into a Movie or TV Series: The Last of the Mohicans (Cooper) - set in 1757, pub. 1826
  5. Extra Fun Category:  Write a Review of the Movie or TV Series adapted from Optional Category #4 - must be a separate blog posting from #4

Comments

cleopatra said…
Wow, what a great list, Marian! I am so impressed!

I really want to read The Brothers Karamazov but I need the time to read it well (notes, etc.)

I'm reading The Great Gatsby in January and I'm hoping I'll have a different reaction than when I read it in school (ugh!). At the very least, hopefully I'll be able draw more out of it than I did then.

Frankenstein is scheduled for around Feb. or Mar. It will be my second read so I'm looking forward to being able to do a deeper read of it.

Have fun with your list! I'll be watching for your posts!
December 17, 2013 at 8:00 PM
Marian said…
Hopefully this all will be manageable; I'm definitely excited about it. :) Looking forward to your thoughts on Gatsby! It comes highly rated from most people I've talked to.
December 17, 2013 at 10:35 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Septober, Octember, Nowonder...

Image
WHERE did October go??  Two weeks since my last post, can't believe it. Book-wise... I did finish The Art of Loving and need to write up my final post this weekend.  For a short book it was quite a journey, and thought-provoking - I'm grateful Cleo hosted it as a readalong! Also in non-fiction land, I read Permanent Record , Edward Snowden's new autobiographical memoir.  I knew very little about him previously, and it actually blew me away.  It might be because I'm a millennial: I saw bits and pieces of my own life experience in his, and it was kind of surreal reading it in book form.  Of course it focuses on his path from dutiful employee to whistleblower, which was fascinating from a psychological and technological perspective.  Definitely recommended. The one classic I read was Macbeth .  To be honest, I found it massively underwhelming, which is probably just me.  I may try to share some thoughts about it. I am still reading Moby-Dick for Brona '
Read more

The Art of Loving - A Ramble on Chapters 1–2.1

Image
This month, Cleo is hosting a readalong of The Art of Loving (1956) by Erich Fromm and On Friendship by Cicero. It's a sequel to the Four Loves Readalong - which feels recent but was actually back in June(!!).  Fromm and C. S. Lewis were contemporaries (and Lewis's book was published just four years later), so it adds interest to see how their perspectives correspond or differ.  I'm also looking forward to Cicero, as I haven't read many ancient classics. You can find the full schedule on Cleo's post.  I felt the need to break down my check-ins a little more, so this one will cover the first 1 1/3 chapters. Chapter 1, "Is Love an Art?" Fromm opens with his short but pithy thesis - that love is not just a flurry of feelings, but an actual scientific art, like music or medicine, which must be learned and practiced. He posits three interrelated societal problems.  First, culture is overly focused on the state of "being loved," particul
Read more

Autumn Plans

Image
It feels as if my reading has been slipping by the wayside, but that's not really been the case.  Most of the books I've read this summer just haven't blown me away, so it's been a bit of a disappointment. Reading status update on a few of the better ones: Tesla biography - I do like this book, a beautiful balance of academic and popular science.  It's very Educational, so it's taking me a while to get through it. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - Reading this for the 3rd or 4th time.  It is my favorite thing to read when I really want an escape.   Nostromo - Still chugging along, now in part 2.  New characters, new goings on.  I'm surprised actually at there being new characters; not sure where Conrad is taking it. Moby-Dick - Still participating in the read-along, but very much behind schedule. Brave New World - Started strong, then realized I needed a break from dystopian.  Will continue shortly. Psalms - Finished them!  Now re-reading Prov
Read more