Winter Reading Challenge
Monday December 4, 2006 in books |
Another reading challenge, this time from A Reader’s Journal. I like this challenge, firstly because it’s a simple idea. Read five classics in January and February 2007. You’re also permitted to overlap other challenges, so hopefully I can cheat a little with the From the Stacks challenge.
What do we define as a classic though? Are we talking BBC costume drama only (your Austen, Bronte etc) or something from an English student’s syllabus? What about modern classics from the likes of Conrad, or popular classics like Conan Doyle’s stories?
My choices, and very briefly why I think they’re classic:
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Belongs on any syllabus, and I’m cheating already because it’s from my Stacks challenge.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Is this a classic? Golding was certainly on the reading list when I studied English at school. I was planning on reading it anyway, so here it is.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Yes, we are talking BBC costume drama classic.
At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
Am I mad or controversial? Well, this appears on Dr. Peter Boxall’s 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, so I’m taking it seriously.
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
A From the Stacks runner up.