Monday, December 11, 2017

My 2018 Reading Challenges

The most exciting month has come! December is always full of fun; from Christmas, holiday, and arranging for next year’s reading challenge! Besides Goodreads challenge (I will challenge myself to read 28 books—two books more than this year) and The Classics Club Challenge (I am doing my second round—2018 is the second year), I will be participating in three cool challenges:




Host: Books and Chocolate
Duration: January – December 2018
Goal: Read 12 books

A 19th century classicDombey and Son by Charles Dickens
A 20th century classicEast of Eden by John Steinbeck
A classic by a woman authorThe Tenant of the Wildfell Hall by Anne Brönte
A classic in translationThe Sin of Abbe Mouret by Émile Zola
A children's classicFive Go to Billycock Hill (Famous Five)  by Enid Blyton
A classic crime story, fiction or non-fictionTowards Zero by Agatha Christie
A classic travel or journey narrative, fiction or non-fictionJourney to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
A classic with a single-word titleResurrection by Leo Tolstoy
A classic with a color in the titleThe Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton
A classic by an author that's new to youWalden and Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau
A classic that scares youThe Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkiens
Re-read a favorite classicThe Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux






Host: Roof Beam Reader
Duration: January – December 2018
Goal: Read 12 books (with 2 alternatives)

*The year is publication year of my copy*
1. Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier (2002)
2. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene – Indonesian translation (2003)
3. March by Geraldine Brooks – Indonesian translation (2007)
4. Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy – Indonesian translation (2005)
5. Walden and Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau (2009)
6. Cleopatra: A Life by Tracy Schiff - Indonesian translation (2012)
7. The Siege by Helen Dunmore (2002)
8. An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris (2014)
9. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (2001)
10. The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton – Indonesian translation (2013)
11. Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens (1995)
12. The Origin: A Biographical Novel of Charles Darwin by Irving Stone (1982)

Alternatives:
1. World Without End by Ken Follett (2012)
2. A Spiritual Canticle by St. John of the Cross





Host: Becky's Book Reviews
Duration: January - December 2018
Personal Goal: Read 6 Victorian books

_ Book published between 1841-1850: The Tenant of the Wildfell Hall by Anne Brönte
_ Character name in the title: The Sin of Abbe Mouret by Émile Zola
_ Gothic, suspense, mystery: The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
_ Translated into English from another language: A Love Story by Émile Zola
_ British author: Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens
_ American author: Walden and Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau





Host: The Classics Club
Duration: January – December 2018 (second year of originally five years)
Personal Goal: Read 13 books

1. The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton
2. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
3. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
4. The Ides of March by Thornton Wilder
5. The Sin of Abbe Mouret by Émile Zola
6. Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy
7. The Tenant of the Wildfell Hall by Anne Brönte
8. Walden and Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau
9. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkiens
10. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
11. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
12. Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens
13. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

Now, let’s hope nothing huge and unexpected will happen next year, so that I can read and blog calmly throughout the year!


6 comments:

  1. Thanks for signing up for the Back to the Classics Challenge -- I love your list! I did want to point out that The Velveteen Rabbit is actually a child's picture book and therefore does not qualify for the Children's Classic category. If you need ideas, here's the post with links to all the children's classics people read for this category back in 2015:
    https://karensbooksandchocolate.blogspot.de/2015/01/challenge-link-up-post-childrens-classic.html

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    1. Oh, I have no idea that Velveteen Rabbit is a picture book. I got it from FRIENDS sitcom; in one of the series they talk about this book, and eversince I have been intrigued by it. But in that case, I'd switch to my childhood favorite then, Enid Blyton's Famous Five. Thanks for pointing it out, Karen.

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  2. I read Dombey and Son this year and was surprised at how much I loved it. It's LONG, but if you get bogged down there is a fantastic free audio version at Librivox by Mil Nicholson

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    1. Wow! Hopefully I will love it too, being the least famous of Dickens.

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  3. You might be the first I've ever read that LOTR scared you. I hope you love it as I do. It's a pretty easy ream IMO. I have to get to the Tenant of Wildfell Hall one of these days to complete the Bronte sisters trifecta. Impressive choices.

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    1. LOTR scared me because I'm not fan of fantasy-like books. I have tried to read it years ago, but only managed to read first two chapters before I got bored. I'm more afraid that I won't be able to finish it, than of the book itself, haha..

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