Monday, December 7, 2015

Back to the Classics 2016

Going to do this one again.  Will try to get all 12 categories again if I can.  Sign up here

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 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 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.

War and Peace--Leo Tolstoy

2.  A 20th Century Classic - any book published between 1900 and 1966. 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.   

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest--Ken Kesey

3.  A classic by a woman author

Jane Eyre--Charlotte Bronte

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.

The Iliad--Homer

5.  A classic by a non-white author. Can be African-American, Asian, Latino, Native American, etc.

Things Fall Apart--Chinua Achebe

6.  An adventure classic - can be fiction or non-fiction.

The Odyssey--Homer

7.  A fantasy, science fiction, or dystopian classic. Dystopian could include classics like Animal Farm or 1984.

The Metamorphosis--Franz Kafka

8.  A classic detective novel. It must include a detective, amateur or professional. This list of books from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction is a great starting point if you're looking for ideas.

The Red House Mystery--A.A. Milne

9.  A classic which includes the name of a place in the title.  It can be the name of a house, a town, a street, etc. Examples include Bleak HouseMain StreetThe Belly of Paris, or The Vicar of Wakefield.

Anne of Green Gables--Lucy Maud Montgomery

10. A classic which has been banned or censored. If possible, please mention why this book was banned or censored in your review.
To Kill a Mockingbird--Harper Lee

11. Re-read a classic you read in school (high school or college).  If it's a book you loved, does it stand the test of time?  If it's a book you disliked, is it any better a second time around?

Great Expectations--Charles Dickens

12. A volume of classic short stories. This must be one complete volume, at least 8 short stories. Children's stories are acceptable in this category only.

The Yellow Wall-Paper and Other Writings--Charlotte Perkins Gilman

And now, the rest of the rules:

  • All books must be read in 2016. Books started before January 1, 2016 do not qualify. All reviews must be linked to this challenge by December 31, 2016. 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, 2016. Please include links within your final wrap-up to that I can easily confirm all your categories. 
  • All books must have been written at least 50 years ago; therefore, books must have been written by1966 to qualify for this challenge. The ONLY exceptions are books published posthumously.
  • E-books and audiobooks are eligible! You may also count books that you read for other challenges.
  • Books may NOT crossover within this challenge. You must read a different book for EACH category, or it doesn't count.
  • If you do not have a blog, you may link to reviews on Goodreads or any other publicly accessible online format. 
  • The deadline to sign up for the challenge is March 1, 2016. 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. 
  • 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, 2017. 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 The Book Depository, and 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, clickhere
Challenge completed on July 26

4 comments:

Lisbeth said...

Congratulations! Well done! I might have to re-consider my 20th century classic. It is not 50 years old! Thank you for pointing out.

Carol said...

Loved your book choices! I have one and a bit books to complete before I can do my wrap up post. The Metamorphosis was one of my picks also - I used it for banned books. I just finished listening to an audio version of The Red House Mystery with my 11 yr old daughter.

Lory said...

Wow, you read some amazing books this year. I hope to get to some of them some day ... like War and Peace. Looking forward to next year's challenge!

Melissa said...

Congratulations on finishing all 12 categories!