Back to the Classics Challenge 2013

I enjoyed The Classics Challenge, hosted by November's Autumn, so much this year that I went looking for another similar challenge for 2013.  I decided to go with Back to the Classics, hosted by Sarah Reads Too Much, and have jotted down what I intend to tackle in this genre in 2013.

The Required Categories:

19th Century Classic - this is homebase for me so I have a healthly line up

• Felix Holt, by George Eliot (part of program to read all of Eliot, in order)
• A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens (Read in Feb 2013)
• Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson (read in August 2013)
• Dr. Thorne, by Anthony Trollope (reading the Barset novels in order)
• Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley (I'm a Mary Shelley fan-girl and have never read this)
• Waverley, by Sir Walter Scott (have wanted to read something by one of Austen's fans for years!)

20th Century Classic - Across the River and Into the Trees, by Ernest Hemingway (part of my reading about Venice)

• The Virginian, by Owen Wister - set in the 1880s in Wyoming, this just barely makes the cut into 20th century, being published in 1902.

Pre-18th or 18th Century Classic - I was thinking that Waverley was written in the 18th century, but just realized that it was written in 1817, so I will be reading Oliver Goldsmith's The Vicar of Wakefield instead.

Classic that relates to the African-American Experience - Beloved, by Toni Morrison (got it as part of my quest to read all the books profiled in Lucy Pollard Gott's The Fictional 100).

Classic Adventure -on my shelf I have Captains Courageous, by Rudyard Kipling, Treasure Island (due for a reread anyway) and Kidnapped (ditto) by Stevenson, but I might see what others read and steal some ideas from them.

Classic that prominently features an Animal (in title or story): Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck (also a reread, but I couldn't think of another title that I wanted to read for this category and I really love this book and haven't read it in at least 20 years!)

Optional Categories:

  Re-read a Classic - two are in the lineup

• Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen (annotated) - I'm in the double-digits when it comes to rereading this one, but I haven't yet read an annotated version; besides it's P&P's 200th anniversary in 2013!
• Middlemarch, by George Eliot - I think this will be my 5th reread

A Russian Classic - I want to read War and Peace, but fear I won't have the time for this big a book.

Classic Non-Fiction - I have always wanted to read Machiavelli's The Prince.

Classic Children's/Young Adult - I've been wanting to read L.M. Montgomery's non-Anne stories, but I also wanted to reread Chronicles of Avonlea.  Although I reserve the right to be inspired by others' selections.

I ended up reading L.M. Montgomery's The Blue Castle.  

Classic Short Stories - duMaurier is a distinct possibility; there are also a few Gaskell short stories I haven't read yet, and her ghost stories bear rereading. Again, leaving the door open for inspiration to strike.

Let the reading begin!