Challenge Wrap-Up: Classics Challenge 2009
One of the first things I did when I began this book blogging thing was check out reading challenges. It seemed like such a fun, novel (WORDPLAY!) activity, and like one I’d be good at. (I still cherish my elementary school participation in Book It! Where’s my Personal Pan Pizza, yo?) As is my wont, I jumped right in, joining one-two-three-SEVEN challenges right off the bat. One of the first I found was the Classics Challenge 2009, hosted by Trish.
Being enthusiastic, and a fairly avid reader, I signed up for the Classics Feast, meaning I would read six classics between my April join date and 31 October. No problem, right? Well, it wasn’t so easy. I kind of forgot about and neglected my challenges (save 100 Books, because well, it requires no thought or effort) for a few months. There were a number of unread classics that I wanted to read for this challenge, but for various reasons, I just didn’t get to them. Perhaps I was too ambitious. Perhaps I didn’t take into account the time I’d need for other activities (hello, school!). It wasn’t until I was involved in Carl’s RIP IV–a very short, focused challenge–that I began actively participating in and updating the rest of my challenges. So now I have learned that getting started is easier with that sort of quick challenge–though the knowledge probably won’t apply anymore, at least not at the stacks my destination.
Completed Classics
1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
2. White Fang by Jack London
3. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
4. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin
5. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
6. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Alternate: Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural, ed, by Phyllis Cerf Wagner & Herbert Wise
(Find my challenge page here.)
I didn’t have a set list to begin with, really, other than some ambitious projects I wanted to get to like The Red and the Black and Tom Jones. I ended up just erasing my list entirely and winging it. There are several re-reads on my list, from the early period in which I had trouble being motivated (1-4). The Turn of the Screw and Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural were cross-posted for RIP IV, which again, was a big help. Brideshead Revisited is probably my favorite (though the re-reads were all old favorites, save perhaps for Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm) on the list; I just read this it past week, and it was profoundly moving and lovely.
I look forward to trying the Classics Challenge again next year, and actually having all my ducks in a row. Thanks, Trish, and also to all the other participants.
Challenge Wrap-Up: RIP IV
Like a lot of people, I participated in Carl’s RIP IV Challenge. And as is my habit, I went a little overboard. Not content to simply read four books for the Perils the First Challenge, I read eight. (Like many a classic overachiever, I sometimes exert myself for one massive burst of achievement.)
Books read for RIP IV
1. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
2. The Terror by Dan Simmons
3. The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney
4. Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural, ed. by Phyllis Cert Wagner & Herbert Wise
RIP IV bonus books
5. Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories My Mother Never Told Me
6. Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Sixteen Skeletons from My Closet
7. Hell House by Richard Matheson
8. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
(You can also find my challenge page here.)
Dan Simmons’ The Terror was definitely my favorite, and one I look forward to re-reading. I was glad to finally get around to Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian, which was as enjoyable as promised, and also glad to finally have Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw under my belt! Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural might not be the best for another RIPer to read due to its length, but it provides an excellent background in horror tales.
It was a really fun challenge, and the first I’ve completed since beginning the stacks my destination! (Which is kind of funny, since it had the shortest time limit. Actually, participating in RIP IV, and keeping myself organized for it, really helped with some of the other challenges that I had joined when I first started this blog, but neglected since. So as far as participating in challenges goes, it might be best to start with a short, quick one to get your feet wet. Lesson learned!) I particularly enjoyed seeing what other people were reading for it, and though I didn’t get to some of the books on my list, that just means I have some to read next year–if I can wait that long! Thanks to Carl, and to all the other RIPers. See you next year.
