Read a Classic Challenge discussion

Optional Monthly Themes:
These are optional suggestions to provide a some fun to this years challenge. Any classic can be logged at any time. If you have a specific classic in mind, you’re a ‘one classic a year’ kind of participant, or you're an ‘I’m going to read every book from a single author this year’ kind of participant, then bravo, carry on. But if you like some variety and are not adverse to suggestions, please feel free to participate.

JAN: Action/Adventure
FEB: Classic Poetry
MAR: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
APR: Lost in Translation (any classic not originally written in English)
MAY: Victorian (written during or set in)
JUNE: Out to Sea (classics on a ship) (ORIGINALLY LISTED AS JULY)
JULY: Classical Greek and Roman (written during or set in) (ORIGINALLY LISTED AS JUNE)
AUG: Mystery
SEPT: Medieval (written during or set in)
OCT: Renaissance (written during or set in)
NOV: Drama
DEC: Short Story Collections or Holiday Fiction

JANUARY 2013
Happy New Year! January is Action/Adventure month in Read a Classic in 2013. The dull winter month is a great time to escape on a swashbuckling, near-death, hair-raising, and romantic adventure.

Some Classic Adventure Books:
James Clavell –Shōgun
Daniel Defoe – Robinson Crusoe
Arthur Conan Doyle – The Lost World
Alexandre Dumas – The Three Musketeers
C.S. Forester – The African Queen
H. Rider Haggard – King Solomon's Mines
Anthony Hope – The Prisoner of Zenda
Jack London -- The Call of the Wild
A.E.W. Mason – The Four Feathers
Howard Pyle – The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Robert Louis Stevenson – Kidnapped
Jules Verne – Around the World in Eighty Days
P.C. Wren – Beau Geste

February is Poetry month in Read a Classic in 2013.
Modified from Scott's post in the FB Group.

"It’s time to dust off your favorite volumes of Frost, Robert, Alfred Lord Douglas, John Donne, or (enter favorite here).

Here’s how it works. I’ll suggest about a dozen books in the genre. Feel free to read one, or branch out and read your own classic poet—just be sure to report back with the Author, Title, Translator, year of initial publication, page number, and format (e-reader, audio-book, print, etc.) when you’re finished.

My favorite 12 poets are (in alphabetical order):
1. Unknown, Anglo-Saxon Poets
2. Auden Wystan Hugh
3. George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron
4. Samuel Taylor Coleridge
5. John Donne
6. T S Elliott
7. Frost, Robert
8. William Shakespeare
9. Percy Bysshe Shelley
10. Edmund Spenser
11. Walt Whitman
12. William Wordsworth
*

If you want to know what counts as “classic” poetry, your guess is as good as mine. Here’s my definition of poetry from my AP English Class:

Poetry has no specific and accepted definition, and anyone who tries to give you a concrete definition of poetry is either recklessly egotistical or ignorant (sometimes both), or is naively following the information given in a bad literature textbook. Generally, poetry is agreed to contain meter and stanza; as well as make use of various verbal literary devices such as rhyme, alliteration, assonance, consonance, and onomatopoeia; and will likely include figurative language such as simile, metaphor, conceit, symbolism, allegory, and paradox; however, some writings that are considered to be poetic contain none of these things.

Here is my unspecific and intentionally vague definition (probably recklessly egotistical and ignorant in some sense): Poetry has two major elements and without either, the “poem” cannot (or should not) be said to be poetry.

Element One: Poetry is vestigial remnant of an oral culture still manifest within the bounds of a written culture. In other words, for millennia, human culture existed without the written word, and poetry (yes, definitely including music) is the natural remnant of that culture present in today’s society. Now, obviously, poetry is written down, but in order for it to be poetic, it must be meant to be spoken or heard. So, when you read a poem, you should hear the words in your mind’s ear. Thus, in some sense, written poetry is the sound of a human voice, heard in your head, but sung across the ages, attempting to make the strings of your soul vibrate in accord with its own. There is much more that could be said here, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll cut this definition off.
Element Two: Poetry is designed to emotionally impact and intellectually challenge the reader. The general goal of any poem should be to shake the reader momentarily free from the trappings of his or her daily monotony and to make that reader consider (or feel) an element of human perception, emotion, or existence that he or she might otherwise never have considered (or felt). This, of course, is hit or miss, because some poems will be deeply affecting to some people, and not at all affecting to others (just like songs). There is no “universal” truth when it comes to human existence, just myriad individual truths that overlap like an insane Venn diagram. Something that is poetic will touch on one of these truths."

--------------
* As an aside, I would add to Scott's list above which includes many White men writing in the traditions of Western literature. There are a great many poets from diverse backgrounds (African American, Hispanic, Women, etc...) throughout the world which have written classic poems, and I encourage exploring some of these authors. For example: Emily Dickinson, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Omar Khayyám, Pablo Neruda, Sylvia Plath, Shel Silverstein, etc... Here is a resource to explore some more (http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/)

Forgot to post the more detailed March list. Even in the other months, I tend to find something that fits into this Genre.

March is Science Fiction/Fantasy month in Read a Classic in 2013. Not quite winter? Not quite spring? Spring break coming too slowly or not at all? Then this is is a great time to escape to another world.

Here are some suggestions of classic Sci-Fi and fantasy books (there are plenty more):

Isaac Asimov: FOUNDATION SERIES http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundati...
Orson Scott Card: ENDER’S GAME http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ender%27...
Phillip K. Dick: DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_Andro...
Robert Heinlein: STARSHIP TROOPERS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship...
Frank Herbert: DUNE http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(no...
William Goldman: THE PRINCESS BRIDE http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prin...
C.S. Lewis: Anything from the NARNIA series http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narnia
Mary Shelley: FRANKENSTEIN http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankens...
Robert Louis Stevenson: THE STRANGE CASE OF Dr. JEKYLL and Mr. HYDE http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stra...
J.R.R. Tolkien: THE LORD OF THE RINGS, THE HOBBIT, or THE SILMARILLION http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Silm...

April is “Lost in Translation” month in Read a Classic in 2013. This means that any classic not originally written in English is on the menu. Please don’t forget to log your translator as well, and give him or her credit.

Here are some of Scott's favorite translated classics (These generally favor his interests in mythology and medieval history, but there are so many, many more):

Anonymous: The Mabinogion (Welsh) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mabi...
Anonymous: One Thousand and One Nights (The Arabian Nights) (Arabic) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Arab...
Anonymous: Popol Vuh (Mesoamerican) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popol_Vuh
Anonymous: The Volsunga Saga (Middle High German) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vols...
Dante Aligihieri: Inferno (Italian) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferno_...
Miguel De Cervantes: Don Quixote (Spanish) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Quixote
Fyodor Dostoyevski: Crime and Punishment (Russian) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_an...
Homer: The Odyssey (Ancient Greek) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Odyssey
Franz Kafka: The Metamorphosis (German) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Meta...
Elias Lonrot: The Kalevala (Finnish) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalevala
Ovid: The Metamorphoses (Latin) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamorp...
Abbe Prevost: Manon Lescaut (French) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manon_Le...
Snorri Sturluson: The Prose Edda (Old Norse) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prose_Edda
Sun Tzu: The Art of War (Ancient Chinese) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_...

May is Victorian literature month in Read a Classic in 2013. This means that any classic during the Victorian Period (roughly 1830-1900) is on the menu.

There are so many books, that Scott has provided a list of great Victorian authors here so you can go find your own, and then listed some of his personal favorites at the bottom:

Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robetr Browning, Lewis Carroll, Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, A.E. Housman, Rudyard Kipling, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Oscar Wilde… and the list goes on.

Here are some of Scott's favorite Victorian classics:

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: Lewis Carroll
Collected Poems of Alfred, Lord Tennyson: Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Collected Poems of Thomas Hardy: Thomas Hardy
The Complete Sherlock Holmes: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Dracula: Bram Stoker
Great Expectations: Charles Dickens
Jane Eyre: Charlotte Bronte
Middlemarch: George Eliot
The Picture of Dorian Gray: Oscar Wilde
A Shropshire Lad: A.E. Housman
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Robert Louis Stevenson
Tess of the d’Urbervilles: Thomas Hardy
The Woman in White: Wilkie Collins
Wuthering Heights: Emily Bronte

June is “Out to Sea” month in Read a Classic in 2013. This means that any classic primarily set on a boat or involving aquatic travel is on the menu. There was a slight mix up with the original plan to have this be classical Greek & Roman month.

I’ll suggest about a dozen books in the genre. Feel free to read one, or branch out and find your own classic oceanic adventure—just be sure to report back with the Author, Title, year of initial publication, page number, and format (e-reader, audio-book, print, etc.) when you’re finished.

Here are some great aquatic classics:

20,000 Leagues under the Sea: Jules Verne
The Aenied: Virgil
The African Queen: C.S. Forester
Beat to Quarters (Hornblower Series #6): C.S. Forester
The Bounty Mutiny: William Bligh
The Caine Mutiny: Herman Wouk
Cup of Gold: John Steinbeck
Jason and the Golden Fleece: Apollonius of Rhodes
Life of Pi: Yann Martel
Moby Dick: Herman Mellvile
The Odyssey: Homer
The Old Man and the Sea: Ernest Hemmingway
Robinson Crusoe: Daniel Defoe
The Sea Wolf: Jack London
The Tempest: William Shakespeare
Treasure Island: Robert Louis Stevenson

THOSE WHO ARE ABOUT TO READ SALUTE YOU!

July is “Classical Classics” month. This means that any work written during or set in ancient Greece or Rome is game.

Here’s how it works. Scott will suggest about a dozen books in the genre. Feel free to read one, or branch out and find your own classic oceanic adventure—just be sure to report back with the Author, Title, year of initial publication, page number, TRANSLATOR, and format (e-reader, audio-book, print, etc.) when you’re finished.

Here are some great Classical Classics:
Primary:
Apollonius of Rhodes: Argonautica
Apuleius: Golden Ass
Juilus Caesar: Ceasar’s Gallic Wars
Herodotus: The Histories
Hesiod: Theogony (for those needing a quick win)
Homer: Iliad or Odyssey
Petronius: Satyricon
Plato: Last Days of Socrates (Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo)
Ovid: Metamorphoses
Sophocles: Oedipus Trilogy (Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone)
Thucydides: The History of the Peloponnesian War
Virgil: Aeneid
(Anything by Livy, Plutarch, Aristotle, Aristophanes, etc.)

Secondary:
Fast, Howard, Spartacus
Graves, Robert, I, Claudius
McCullough, Colleen, First Man in Rome or Caesar
Pressfield, Steven, Gates of Fire or The Virtues of War
Shakespeare, William, Julius Caesar or Titus Andronicus
Vidal, Gore, Julian
Wallace, Lew, Ben-Hur
Yourcenar, Marguerite, Memoirs of Hadrian

Thanks to member David Kreigh for his help with the list.

Here is another list as well: http://stevensaylor.com/StevensBooksh...

So I am new as of today and am excited about finding this group. I only have a few pages left on the book I am reading now and will need something new to start pretty quickly. Other than Sherlock Holmes does any one have suggestions for Classic Mysteries? I thought about checking out what KERA has made into Masterpiece Mystery programs but not sure if they will really qualify. Appreciate anyone's help.

Thanks!

Pam, welcome and thanks for the inquiry. I'm delinquent on this month's list, as I just returned from vacation. Here's the suggested titles for August (which I also just posted to the Facebook site):

August is Mystery month.
Here’s how it works. I’ll suggest about a dozen books in the genre. Feel free to read one, or branch out and find your own classic mystery—just be sure to report back with the Author, Title, year of initial publication, page number, and format (e-reader, audio-book, print, etc.) when you’re finished. Here are some classic mysteries:

Bleak House – Charles Dickens
The Moonstone – Wilkie Collins
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – Robert Louis Stevenson
Lady Audley’s Secret – Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Sherlock Holmes (any) – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Murders in the Rue Morgue – Edgar Allen Poe
Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie
The Secret Agent – Joseph Conrad
The Maltese Falcon – Dashiell Hammett
Our Man in Havana – Graham Greene
The Big Sleep – Raymond Chandler

September is Medieval Classics Month. The following is Scott's monthly post on FB.

We're at 398 book and over 110,000 pages logged, Good work, folks. Let's keep it going into September.

September is Medieval Classics month. This means that any work written during or set in medieval times is on the agenda.

Here are some great Medieval Classics:

Primary:
Beowulf (anonymous)
The Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer)
The Decameron (Giovanni Boccaccio)
Elene (Cynewulf)
Inferno, Purgatorio, or Paradiso (Dante Alighieri)
The Romance of the Rose (Giullame de Lorris)
The Mabinogian (anonymous)
Le Morte d’Arthur (Sir Thomas Malory)
The Prose Edda (Snorri Sturluson)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (anonymous)
The Song of Roland (anonymous)
The Volsunga Saga (anonymous)

Secondary:
The Adventures of Robin Hood (Howard Pyle)
Idylls of the King (Tennyson)
Ivanhoe (Sir Walter Scott)
The Lord of the Rings (JRR Tolkien)
The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
The Name of the Rose (Umberto Echo)
The Once and Future King (T.H. White)
The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)

Shame on me for forgetting the many Shakespeare plays that are applicable here as well. Might I suggest: Henry IV (part 1), Henry V, Richard III, King Lear, and Macbeth (just to name a few).

If you are looking for an interesting tale, I would also suggest Abelard and Heloise.

Here is Scott's Update for October.

As of October 6th we were "at 448 books read an 124,000 pages. Good work everyone! We've got three months left--let's make them count.

Speaking of months, this month's optional reading theme is Renaissance Literature. Anything written during or set in the Renaissance is game, so bust out your Shakespeare, Marlowe, Milton, Spenser, Jonson, Donne, or writings of Queen Elizabeth I books, and get cracking! I may finally read and finish the Three Musketeers. I've been meaning to do so for years.

I've been really busy (and still am) with teaching, grading, planning, and coaching my son's soccer team this past month, so I haven't have much time to devote to logging books or to compiling a suggested reading list for this theme. Please feel free to list your favorite Renaissance classics below.

Thanks everyone, and keep reading!"

November is Drama Month.
Here is Scott's Update:

"I finally caught up the logging--it's a busy first quarter at school, so as usual, I'm a bit behind. Also, we've crested 300 members. We're at 490 books and over 130,000 pages! Good work, folks.

I'm a bit behind, but November is Drama Month. Pick up your Shakespeare, Marlowe, Beckett, Wilde, Shaw, Williams, Sophocles, Miller, Stoppard, Chekhov, Ibsen, and Jonson!

If you're looking for suggestions, here's a link with some good ones:"

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Less than one month to go in this year's challenge. Make sure to log in those books.

December is Holiday and Short Story Month!
Here is Scott's Monthly Update!

"Well, here we are in December already! Time flies. Did you finish your classic yet? I'm bound and determined to finish one more and complete MOBY DICK by January 1st. I encourage each of you to set and accomplish you own goal.

December is Holiday Story and Short Story Collection month in the monthly challenge. If you're looking for some direction, I'd suggest A CHRISTMAS CAROL, TWELFTH NIGHT, or SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT as quality short holiday tales, and there are more great short stories and short story collections out there than I can even begin to mention by name.

I'm working to a grading deadline, trying to get the interim report cards ready by next Friday (60 essays and 60 tests now stand between me and freedom), so I haven't had a chance to log books this weekend, but I'll get right on it next weekend. Keep posting and I'll log them all soon."