Back to the Classics Reading Challenge 2017 Wrap-up

The Back to the Classics Challenge was hosted by Karen at Books and Chocolate, who asked participants to read a classic in one of twelve different categories. For completing 6, 9, or 12 books, participants also earned entries into a drawing for a $30 Amazon gift card. I finished and reviewed the full twelve books, but at times it was a chore. I had difficulty making it through Far from the Madding Crowd, The Trial, and Dead Souls. On the other hand, Rebecca and Kristin Lavransdatter were books I couldn’t wait to get back to. Overall I really enjoyed this challenge and I’ve already signed up for next year.

Since I read twelve books, I’ve earned three entries for the prize drawing. Here’s the full list of books I finished, along with links to their reviews:

1. A 19th Century Classic: Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy – Finished 4/8/2017
2. A 20th Century Classic: Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset – Finished 12/18/2017
3. A classic by a woman author: O Pioneers! by Willa Cather- Finished 7/16/2017
4. A classic in translation:The Trial by Franz Kafka (translated from German) – Finished 5/28/2017
5. A classic published before 1800: A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe – Finished 6/17/2017
6. A romance classic: Emma by Jane Austen – Finished 9/27/2017
7. A Gothic or horror classic: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier – Finished 12/6/2017
8. A classic with a number in the title: Nineteen Eighty-four by George Orwell – Finished 1/5/2017
9. A classic about an animal or which includes the name of an animal in the title:The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison – Finished 11/15/2017
10. A classic set in a place you’d like to visit: Romola by George Eliot (Florence, Italy) – Finished 10/22/2017
11. An award-winning classic: The Autobiography of Malcolm X as Told to Alex Haley by Alex Haley (Winner of the 1966 Anisfield-Wolf Award) – Finished 12/20/2017
12. A Russian Classic: Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol – Finished 11/25/2017