Back To Classics Challenge 2017 | TBR!

I want to read more classics this year, and although I was planning to read classics anyway, I thought that this challenge would be a great way to hook up and read a greater array of classics! I want to read at least 1 classic a month, and hopefully these will be those, but if I read other classics as well/instead of, a) this list might change, and b) I may read more than just 12! All books are pre-1967, 50 years ago.

1. A 19th Century Classic
   A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle. (1887) I’ve wanted to read Sherlock pieces for a long time so I may as well start now!
2. A 20th Century Classic
   The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. (1963) This is a book I want to read for my book club (join usss…) as it is a feminist book, but also I have wanted to read it for a long time.
3. A classic by a female author
   Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. (1868) A book I should’ve read in childhood, but one I definitely want to read now!
4. A classic in translation
   Medea by Euripides. (431 BC, first produced) After reading Jason and the Argonauts (The Argonautica), I wanted to read more. I already know what happens in the story, but I would really like to read it for myself!
5. A classic published before 1800
   Inferno by Dante. (c. 1308-1320) Do you really want me to explain this one?! *heart eyes*
6. A romance classic
   Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. (1817) Because I think if I didn’t put a Jane Austen on the list, a) mum would look at me weirdly, b) most people would look at me weirdly, and c) I would be disappointed in myself.
7. A Gothic or horror classic
   Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. (1847) Technically, I’m already 57 (ish) pages through this, but I think I’ll either start it again or just count it for this year, as I haven’t picked it up in months!
8. A classic with a number in the title 
   Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. (1953) And I may have completely messed up the spelling of ‘Fahrenheit’ because what even is that word. Anyway. Not only is this already on my shelf, it is a classic I want to read ASAP so yay.
9. A classic about an animal or with an animal in the title
   Charlotte’s Web by EB White. (1952) DON’T SHOOT ME, BUT I HAVEN’T READ THIS! I know! It’s awful! I don’t even think I’ve seen the film. But this is the year to read what I want, eh?
10. A classic in a place you’d like to visit
    Beowulf by Unknown. (c. 700-1000 AD) This is set in Scandinavia, and I really want to visit all of the Scandinavian countries. (Generally speaking, these are Denmark, Sweden and Norway, although Finland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands are also sometimes included.)
11. An award-winning classic
    The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. (1952) I’ve actually never read a Hemingway novel, and this one should be a good place to start! It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1953.
12. A Russian Classic (because it is the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution)
    Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. (1955) Is this worthy to be the Russian Classic of the list?! Probably not, but I am by no means ready for the humongous Russian classics. That might be next year…

So there you have it. This list has taken me a while so I hope it’s worth it! I can’t wait to read a more diverse set of books this year what with the #DiversityBingo2017 already, so hopefully this is a great list of classics to get me going too!

Are you doing the Back to Classics challenge, or even just reading more classics in 2017? What do you think of my list? Anything else you would add? I’m always looking for recs! 😀

Here’s to the classics.

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