The Classics Club is for readers with a common goal to read 50 (or more) classics in 5 years. The Club is a site where members can share and discuss the classics they’ve read, participate in readathons, memes and group reads. The club offers a little something for everyone and lots of opportunities to share great reads and support other book bloggers in their classics challenge.
To join, I’ve got to list the 50 books I intend to read between February 28, 2013 and February 27, 2018. I’ve broken down my list by genre just so I make sure to balance out the types of books I read. I also wanted to incorporate classics from ancient Greece through modern times.
Children’s/Young Adult Classics
1. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
2. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
3. The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
4. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott – Done!
5. Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Adventure Classics
6. Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
7. Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
8. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
9. Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
10. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson– Done!
Historical Fiction Classics
11. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
12. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
13. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
14. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
15. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Mystery/Horror Classics
16. Dracula by Bram Stoker
17. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
18. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice – Done!
10. Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
20. Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
21. The Mysterious Affairs at Styles by Agatha Christie
22. The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe
23. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
24. A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle – Done!
Nonfiction Classics
25. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Romance Classics
26. Emma by Jane Austen
27. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – Done!
28. Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
29. An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde
30. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Dystopia
31. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood – Done!
32. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein
33. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
34. Utopia by Thomas More
35. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
Wizards and Witchcraft Classics
36. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling – Done!
37. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling – Done!
38. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling – Done!
39. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling – Done!
40. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling – Done!
41. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling – Done!
42. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling – Done!
43. King Arthur and the Legends of the Round Table by Thomas Malory
44.The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
World Classics
45. Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and one Nights by Anonymous, Richard Francis Burton
46. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
47. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
48. The Inferno by Dante Aligheri
49. The Iliad by Homer
50. Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
As I complete the books I will link them up to this page so stay tuned.
What do you think of my list? Which classics have you read that you recommend? Any that you disliked or couldn’t finish? Let me know your thoughts, I’d love to hear them. Hope you share in this journey with me!
So, so many amazing books on this list!
Lydia recently posted..The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley (Historical Fantasy/Paranormal Romance)
We do have many books in common! Like how you have them separated out by genre. I plan on tackling The Grapes of Wrath this summer.
Chris Wolak recently posted..Wrapping It Up: Armchair BEA 2013
You are so organized! I’ve read (and enjoyed) all of your HIstorical Fiction classics except for Ken Follett, loved The Moonstone and Rebecca in the Mystery category, and in the Romance category, Gatsby and S&S are my favorites. Good luck making your way through this list.
JoAnn recently posted..Another Classics Spin
Thanks so much JoAnn. Pretty happy with my progress so far and love finding others to discuss great books with! Glad you have read and recommend so many of mine. Follett is going to take me a long time to.get through!
Dividing them by genres looks nice! Helps to choose something suitable for the current mood 🙂 I’ve noticed that you have only The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis there on the list, so I must say that this is probably my least favourite… So in case you are not that hooked by it, don’t abandon the series! Try “The Horse and His Boy” for a change – and you’ll fall in love with it!
Ekaterina recently posted..Murder in Two Flats by Roy Vickers
What a great list! You should definitely look at the other Chronicles of Narnia too, they’re a bit more religious but the stories are great!
Thanks Geoff, we have all the books and I look forward to diving in!
Harry Potter is included here, yayy! I’m re-reading the series this year, now I’m reading The Order of the Phoenix. The Pillars of the Earth is my most favorite historical fiction. And Dante’s Inferno (all the Divine Comedy actually) is what I’m excited at right now. I might read it this month or June.
Great choices, Tanya, good luck with your classics challenge!
Fanda recently posted..The Dream Has Gone: The Great Gatsby Chapter 8 – 9
Thanks for stopping by Fanda, I’ve heard such great things about Pillars of the Earth so hope I can get through it despite the length! I’m pretty excited about Dante’s Inferno as well and of course Harry Potter, because the movies seem to confuse me and I bet the books are better! 🙂
Okay, now I want to go back and reorder my list by genre! I love it. Love your blog’s design, too.
You have some of my favourite books on your list: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Grapes of Wrath, and Rebecca. You have some great reading ahead of you!
The toughest one on your list (that I’ve read) is Inferno. Get a copy with lots of notes so you’ll know what’s going on!
Laura recently posted..The Fault in Our Stars: Use Your (Literary) Allusion
Hi Laura, thanks so much for the compliment on my blog design and my list. Rebecca seems to be the one everyone comments on that is one of their favorites. I found on Amazon a copy of Dante’s Inferno in modern English, I think I’m going to get that version as it the sample, anyway, was very readable.
Thanks for your feedback!