BUT the only help I'm going to ask for right now concerns a Classic Reading Challenge. I had so much fun doing Carl's Autumn R.I.P Challenge that I thought it would be fun if we were all encouraged to read some classics.BUT when to start? I thought about Nov through Feb. Wondered if that would be too long and what with Dec being such a busy month. So I thought maybe Nov, Jan, Feb but that seemed a bit choppy. Next I wondered about just Jan and Feb. That way we could hurry and read some delicious books that don't fit any category in the meantime.
BUT how many books for the challenge? I liked reading five for the R.I.P. challenge. If we combine one or two harder ones with some easier ones that sounds manageable, doesn't it? Let me know what you think.
BUT what to do for the prize? No suggestions, I'll take care of this one. I don't have any plans yet, but I'll enjoy planning it.
BUT Carl didn't need any help planning his challenge. I know, I know! What can I say? I just need help.
BUT what exactly is a classic? That's a hard thing to pin down. No definition but here's a list of classics and here's a list of classic authors.
36 comments:
January/February sounds like a really good time to start something like this. It can be a lot of people's resolution. How many books are you thinking of making a part of it? Often the classics are a much more difficult read than the usual pulp we find littering our bookshelves.
The timing sounds good to me. "Stay at home" weather and New Year's Resolutions are a fine combination. Are we going to choose our own? As Picsea mentioned, classics usually do require closer reading.
How are you going to determine "classic"? Maybe a list of good possibilities would be a way to get started...
I just looked over my A to Z list and I don't think there is a classic on it. So what makes a books a classic? Does it have to have been published before a certain date or be listed on some university's classics list? I'm looking forward to the list for some faraway future day when A to Z is finished. Can I suggest Wuthering Heights, The Count of Monte Cristo and Atlas Shrugged if it's not too contemporary? The more I thought about, the more I would like to read again or read once. How exciting.
Booklogged, just a quick note to say a big thank you for being willing to host the classics challenge. I think the months of Jan and Feb lend themselves wonderfully to reading the classics. Are we all going to be reading the same books or can we pick our own like you guys did for the RIP challenge?
I'd be happy to help out with the prize, if you like. Just say the word!
Jan/Feb sounds good. Choosing one's own list sounds good. That way, we can benefit from the reading selections of others.
Thanks for all your input. I think we'll do this in Jan & Feb, everyone pick their own books, and we'll set a goal to read 5. That may sound like a lot because can be more demanding, but we can choose from some of the simpler classics as well as the 'heavier' ones. And if a person only reads 4, so what? I have an old, original copy of Black Beauty that belonged to my grandmother I would like to read. Framed, I looked for Atlas Shrugged on the lists, it's not there, but Cat in the Hat is - both were published in 1957. I'd say count it. We know it'll make the list one of these years.
Good grief, it just dawned on me that 1957 was 50 years ago! How did that happen?! Atlas Shrugged should definitely be a classic if it's been around that long and shows up on so many high school and college reading lists.
I'm in!! I'm in!! January sounds like a good start time. Most of the 'classics' my list are fat ones too, so hint hint to folks who were talking about a Fat Book challenge - overlapping these two could be awesome!
I'll have to figure out some shorter ones to read too, or I'll never get 5 done in 2 months.
i vote for january/ february, 4 books. can't wait! i have several in mind that will have to hold until then.
I read somewhere that a book is deemed a "classic" if you can learn something new from it every time you read it. I think most of the books on my AP reading list are considered classics and I'm trying to get through that. I love classics. I'm so glad you are doing this challenge. Don't know if I'll join. Depends on my book club, but I look forward to hearing about what you read.
I would like to join. I have been trying to read more classics, so this will be good. Jan/Feb sound great, and I would love to choose my own reads! Great idea!
This sounds like a great idea! And Jan/Feb seems like the perfect time to do it when the weather is bad and you just want to stay home curled up with a good book. Count me in!
I've been having the same trouble with the Chunkster Challenge concept. Set your own goal? Drag it on for 6 months to allow plenty of time? Urgh. I like the idea to overlap them - Q is full of wonderful ideas. :)
Two months sounds good for classics - January and February are great curl-up months, even if you live someplace that is 97 degrees on October 5 (I'm very grateful to God for cooling us off, today).
I do believe that anaything that is 50 years old should be considered a classic. But I will probably have to pass on the challenge this year. I can still read all the reviews and look forward to 2008. I bought a new copy of Atlas Shrugged and it is beckoning to me.
I do believe that anaything that is 50 years old should be considered a classic. But I will probably have to pass on the challenge this year. I can still read all the reviews and look forward to 2008. I bought a new copy of Atlas Shrugged and it is beckoning to me.
I'm still plugging the classic Russian literature: Dr. Zhivago, Crime and Punishment, Anna Karenina. All of which would also quality for a (did you say Chunkster Challenge, bookfool?) read. Of course, I will join your challenge for the classics, whatever the boundaries may be. I love classics from any country. (Perhaps we should include some Dickens, too?)
Oh yeah another challenge! :) Jan./Feb. sounds like a perfect time to tackle this. How many books are you thinking?
These challenges are killing me! (In such a good way!!) I'm in for January/February and I would welcome choosing my own list and 4-5 books sounds most likely. Now...what to choose????
What if, and now I'm thinking New Year...New York Times...
If we read 4/5 books on the NYT list of best 25 books in the past 25 years.
A new year, neo-classic idea...
Of course, classics are good, too. Maggie
Maggie, I think that sounds like a wonderful idea. I'm kind of set on the classic idea, but hey, why not do neo-classics in Mar & Apr? Do you feel like heading that up, or if not, I'll bet someone would love to given the idea.
I'm with Library Lady. Let's choose from a best of book list. Not just anything over 50 years will do. My vote is for anything on the Globe and Mail best book list as well as the NYT list. I like to read the Canadians as well as books from around the world.
I think kid's books are a great idea too, for the busy and for those, like me, who love books for kids and teens.
Great idea by the way!
I'd love to join in if I'm not too late! I'm a huge fan of the classics and will read *some* anyway, and more if I'm making a push to meet the challenge. Very good idea, thanks for orchestrating this.
http://bluestalking.typepad.com
I have found your Classic Challenge via Bluestalking reader and would simply love to join in. I have been dwelling in the 19th century for years with forays into the modern world now and then. Am watching the latest BBC dramatisation of Jane Eyre at the moment which is simply stupdendous (due in the US in Jan I think...) and it has made me want to read it again so please may I play? jan/Febwould be brilliant for me as I am just finishing Carl's RIP challenge.
I, too, found your Classic Challenge via Bluestalking reader and would love to join in! I can't guarantee that I'll succeed, but I'm certainly up for the challenge!
So, is it Jan/Feb. 2007, and 5 Classics of our choice?
I'm up for that, though 5 Classics is probably a stretch for me (I usually have a hard enough time trying to read ONE! LOL... that's why I'm joining the challenge -- I need some kick-in-the-butt motivation! LOL). :o)
No, you're not too late. We really haven't started yet. I was just trying to get some intput with this post. We'll probably start the push the middle-end of Dec. I know that's a busy time, so be thinking about your books now. No losers in this challenge, even if you read one classic you're a winner.
Watch for a post around Dec. 20 with the official challenge and a banner.
One thing to consider is the length of many classic titles. Dumas, Cervantes, Tolstoy, and others of that ilk tend to long, long books. Perhaps rather than specifying a single-digit-quantity of classics, you might try having participants specify the number of pages read. That might work for you.
I must admit I've blogged much more frequently about books when participating in a challenge.
Oh dear oh dear, how can I resist.I've failed with the RIP challenge because of my Booker-thon but Jan/Feb the decks are clear before the Orange shortlist comes in so could be possible
May I join in? (It's so easy to agree to do something three months from now.)
http://maryslibrary.blogspot.com/
Oh, I'll definately me joining this challenge! What about including the month of march, having it end around the solstice, or the end of the month? Would that be awful? I could def. do five books in three months. I'm so excited!!
Anonymous's suggestion regarding tracking page count as opposed to number of books is, I think, an excellent one. I know that 5 700- or 800-pagers is unrealistic in that timeframe, and no challenge will push me harder than I already push myself, and I'd hate to choose a short classic over some of the ones on my shelf just for the sake of numbers.
Great idea! I will definately be reading some classics in Jan and Feb. I will let the folks over at KTC know about your challenge, there is no doubt that many of them will be reading classics during that time as well.
Happy Reading-
Amanda :)
A classic is something - as Italo Calvino incinuates in the quote on the sidebar - that has stood the test of time. It does not speak to a generation or a particular culture but to human beings part present future. Hence why the time (min 50 years AT LEAST) comes into play. I would love to sign on... how can I?
I'd like to join! I'll check back later for the full details and start thinking about what I want to read... :-)
I really like the January through Feb. time frame and I will be signing up for this one. I already have some 'classics' (you will see why I put it in quotes once you see what I read) that I want to read in January so this will inspire me even more. Plus I want to do a fairy tale/fantasy challenge in March so this will be a perfect lead in. Good ideas. Don't worry about asking for help...its not like I came up with my ideas out of thin air, other blogs were my inspiration for starting the thing in the first place.
Just wanted you to know that I've finished my first book for the Classics Challenge!
See it in my original post, here. :o)
<>< Mizbooks
I'm uncertain whether the reviewer read the book in its entirety. Lucy Burns is not nearly as innocent as the reviewer suggests. I read this book too and thought it was fantastic. Lucy Burns is a modern day tale of morality and worth the journey. Don’t give up on this book on the reviewer’s account.
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