Yesterday, I mentioned a rewarding goal of reading 12 classics next year. I’ve made my tentative list, following Karen’s categories outlined at her blog, whilst digging through my shelves. You can click on the photo above for more particulars. I’m excited about this list and looking forward to the challenge. I know I’ll read other stuff also, but will need to begin a few of these right away to give myself enough time to digest and savor. Mostly, Les Misérables because of the sheer size of it. I’m not very good at finishing long novels and this one is immense. I’m really anticipating it , as I’ve long desired to experience this classic. My copy of Larkrise to Candleford is huge also, because it’s really three books in one, but I’m going to attempt the whole thing. Without further ado, here is my 2018 goal:
19th Century Classic – Adam Bede by George Elliot*
20th Century Classic – Larkrise to Candleford: A Trilogy by Flora Thompson*
A Classic by a Woman Author – The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp*
A Classic in Translation – The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
A Children’s Classic – The Wonderful Adventures of Nils by Selma Lagerlöf*
A Classic Crime Story, fiction or non-fiction – And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie*
A Classic travel or journey narrative, fiction or non-fiction – Seven League Boots by Richard Halliburton*
A Classic with a single-word title – Mother by Kathleen Norris*
A classic with a color in the title – The Golden Apples of the Sun by Ray Bradbury
A classic by an author that’s new to you – East of Eden by John Steinbeck*
A classic that scares you – Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
Re-read a favorite classic – Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien* and/or Mansfield Park by Jane Austen*
*Asterisk denotes those that I already have on my shelf.
Have you read any of these? Which of these intrigues you?
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A.M. Pine - Hearth Ridge Reflections 
Oh, this is a great list!! I’ve read 6 of these and just loved them. Happy reading!
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Which six Rachael? 😀 I need bookish details! 😀
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Great list, Amy! You have a lot of non-typical titles. The only ones I’ve read are the Tolkien books, East of Eden (a tough book emotionally, but great nonetheless) and the beautiful Les Miserables–yes, it’s long, and some of the politics could have been edited out, but it is SO worthwhile!
Maybe I should give this challenge a try. I am in the process of designing my own list, but maybe I could merge them. 🙂
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Sherry, I’d love to know you were reading along too! Thank you. Yes, I’m a little nervous about Steinbeck as I’ve never read him. Do you know of a good translation for Les Miserables?
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Interesting list – I’m working on my reading goals for next year too, have to think about this.
Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks, Bill! Yes, this challenge has interesting categories!
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SO excited you’ll be reading Les Mis too! I’m trying to come up with a reading schedule or maybe I’ll just give myself a certain amount of chapters each week. I’ve been told that setting aside 8 months – 1 year to read it is reasonable. This is the translation and version I have: https://www.amazon.com/Miserables-Signet-Classics-Victor-Hugo/dp/045141943X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513185358&sr=8-1&keywords=les+miserables+book. Not sure how the other translations compare. I also have the Story of the Trapp Family Singers on my shelf too and need to read it as well. I’m loving Ray Bradbury and that exact book you have is one I’m looking into as well 🙂 Excited for this reading year!
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Great list! I’ve started reading The Story of the Trapp Family Singers today.
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Interestin & varied list, Amy. Adam Bede is just lovely; as is von Trapps. You were asking about a good version of Les Mis?? I think I remembet teading that the Barnes & Noble slightly abridged the book & that it was good- can’t say for sure as I haven’t read it. Seen the movie & a live performance. I found a nice copy of War & Peace & Im really tempted to include that but I’d also like to read Anna K & Lord of the Rings! Setting myself up for an epic fail.
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Oh good! I’m glad about Adam Bede and von Trapps! I know what you mean about setting oneself up for failure, I tried to pick not TOO many hard ones, but just Les Mis and East of Eden make me nervous!
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I’ve read four of them….Larkrise was something I read after watching the series on TV and it was wonderful. Les mis I have ALMOST completed, I think I took a break only because I didn’t want it to end. 🙂 The Van Trapp family singers I’ve read…have always been fascinated by their story–I’ve read the Tolkien Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books and Mansfield Park. I have the book Mother but have not read it yet. I’ve never made a book list like this. I usually wander the library or Barnes and Noble and add titled to my phone in the hopes that someday I’ll have time to read them. I’m currently reading The Son Avenger and it’s so good. I’ll be disappointed when the series is ended.
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I read mostly on a whim, also, Shanda! I occasionally challenge myself with these sorts of lists, mainly for an excuse to talk books with the other participants. 😉
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I did get bogged down in Les Mis (it took me two years to get through), but loved it! I switched between the Signet Classics paperback and the audio of the new Julie Rose translation. I think I preferred the latter, even though the wording was occasionally jarringly modern.
The Phantom of the Opera is rather bizarre, but I found it fascinating!
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Thanks for sharing, Anna! Good to know about the audio version and tips about the Phantom.
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Add another person who might be reading Les Miserables this year. It’s on my list of classics to read and I was thinking I’d try to tackle it this year. I already have a copy on my shelf so that helps! 😉 I also have The Story of the Trapp Family Singers on my shelf and have been meaning to read it for a long time. I must admit that the category of a crime novel makes me a bit nervous since I tend to shy away from that genre. I have come to find that I do enjoy a good suspenseful book, but not if it’s gruesome or violent or scary. I’ve yet to ever read an Agatha Christie book.
Can you believe that I didn’t know The Phantom of the Opera was actually a novel?? *blush* So that has me intrigued. I would like to read it! I love the Lark Rise to Candleford mini-series but haven’t read the books. John Steinbeck is on my list of classics as is J. R. R. Tolkien. My husband is a big Tolkien fan and has read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy many times, and he’s also read The Silmarillion. I’ve not read ANY of them. Although I’ve watched all the movies. 🙂
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Les Mis is going to be a huge challenge for me, but I’m going to try. You can google yearly plans where people have broken it down for you!
Karen, Agatha Christie isn’t super gruesome so she would be possible choice for you? I read her Man in a Brown Suit this year and it was the first that I LOVED by her. It had a murder of course, but I wouldn’t say it’s grisly or anything? I like slightly creepy things but I’m not into horror or gratuitous violence either.
That’s ok about The Phamton of the Opera! I learn something new everyday through books. That’s what makes them so delicious. I knew it was a play and just went poking around. Doesn’t seem too long 😉 although it might be creepy-ish. I’ve watched some of the Larkrise Series also. Fun! I love Tolkien and have read The Hobbit and LoTR, but it was time for a reread. I’m reading Fellowship this year, and hope to dip into Two Towers next year. The Hobbit will always be my favorite, I think though. I haven’t read too many of his other works. I think I started one of his books of earlier tales or something but didn’t finish it, which isn’t suprising for me. 😉 Ha.
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Great list! I love nearly everything by Agatha Christie, and that’s a good one — there was an excellent TV adaptation recently with an all-star cast. I’d forgotten the end twist so that was very fun. I’ve also read East of Eden which I loved, and Phantom of the Opera, which I enjoyed but found a bit over-the-top (never seen the musical but I know it’s hugely popular so I should get around to it someday).
I also own Lark Rise which I’ve never read but I know is much beloved. And Les Miserables is on my list for Classics that Scares You! I’ve heard there’s an entire chapter about the Paris sewers. Well, it can’t be much worse than Moby Dick! I actually have two different translations of Les Miserables, the Penguin Hardover Classic and the Signet Classic paperback, but I’m not sure which one I’m going to read — probably the Signet just because it’s smaller and easier to carry around!
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Yeah, I will definitely be challenged on these for sure! Thanks for chatting books with me! 🙂 ❤
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Creative categories. I’m hoping to go through the Modern Classics collection discarded from our library.Some of your titles are no doubt in there.
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Les Miserables is a great beast of a book; the large cast of memorable characters, thematically rich narrative, beautiful prose and wonderful little treatises on French history make it a delight to read and a book that justifies it’s mammoth length.
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Thanks for the encouragement, Mike! I’m really looking forward to it. 😄
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I’m still waiting for my copy of And Then There Were None to come from the Book Depository. I read two Agatha Christie books last year and absolutely loved them – I can’t wait to read more!
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Oh good! I’m so excited to read it! I’m making myself start with Les Mis to get a jump on it! 😀
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