Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

I'm always trying to find ways to incorporate more classics into my reading. Some years I'm more successful than others. Last year wasn't great in terms of numbers, but the classics I got around to reading I really enjoyed, for the most part. So, to me, that's a win! ;-)

I'm going to shoot for four challenges this year, overlapping books as much as possible while still having choice. If I finish all of the challenges, great. If not, that's okay. Hopefully, I'll get around to at least a few and I'll carry over whatever doesn't get done to the next year.

Challenge #1: 2020 Old & New Crime Classics

Old School (pre-1900)
✔︎ 1. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (1859) ★★★★ Read: 6/30/20
✔︎ 2. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (1869) ★★★ Read: 2/7/20
✔︎ 3. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (1892) ★★★★★ Read: 3/12/20

New School (1900-1999)
1. Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers (1926) ♀
2. Fer-de-Lance by Rex Stout (1934)
✔︎ 3. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (1939)♀ ★★★★★ Read: 9/23/20

Wild Cards
1. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (1955) ♀
2. Cover Her Face by P.D. James (1962) ♀
✔︎ 3. Nightmare in Pink by John D. MacDonald (1964) ★★★★ Read: 10/12/20
✔︎ 4. The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman (1970) ★★★ Read: 9/6/20
5. Where Are the Children? by Mary Higgins Clark (1975) ♀
6. A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters (1977) ♀

Alternates
A-1. Time and Again by Jack Finney (1970)
A-2. Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley (1990)

Challenge #5: Women's Century Challenge

1900-1909: The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy (1905)
1910-1919: Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton (1911)
1920-1929: Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers (1926)
✔︎ 1930-1939: Anthem by Ayn Rand (1938) ★★★ Read: 1/2/20
1940-1949: The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson (1948)
1950-1959: The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (1955)
1960-1969: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (1969)
✔︎ 1970-1979: Kindred by Octavia E. Butler (1979) ★★★★★ Read: 5/4/20
1980-1989: Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood (1988)
1990-1999: The Witching Hour by Anne Rice (1990)

Challenge #5: The Decade Challenge

✔︎ 1970: The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman ★★★ Read: 9/6/20
1971: The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines
1972: Watership Down by Richard Adams
1973: Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown
1974: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré
1975: Where Are the Children? by Mary Higgins Clark
✔︎ 1976: Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig ★★★ Read: 1/27/20
1977: A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters
1978: The World According to Garp by John Irving
✔︎ 1979: Kindred by Octavia E. Butler ★★★★★ Read: 5/4/20

Challenge #9: A-Z Title Challenge

ignoring articles (A, An, The)

A: Anthem by Ayn Rand (1938) ♀ ★★★ Read: 1/2/20
B: The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman (1970) ★★★ Read: 9/6/20
C: Cover Her Face by P.D. James (1962) ♀
D: Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley (1990)
E: Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton (1911) ♀
F: Fer-de-Lance by Rex Stout (1934)
G: Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith (1981)
H: Home Sweet Homicide by Craig Rice (1944) ♀
I: The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton (1911)
J: A Judgement in Stone by Ruth Rendell (1977) ♀
K: Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig ★★★ Read: 1/27/20
L: The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson (1948) ♀
M: A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters (1977) ♀
N: Nightmare in Pink by John D. MacDonald (1964) ★★★★ Read: 10/12/20
O: Ordinary People by Judith Guest (1976) ♀
P: A Passage to India by E.M. Forster (1924) ★★ Read: 4/20/20
Q: The Quiet American by Graham Greene (1955)
R: Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown (1973) ♀
S: Sophie's Choice by William Styron (1979)
T: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (1869) ★★★ Read: 2/7/20
U: Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1852) ♀
V: Villette by Charlotte Brontë (1853) ♀
W: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (1859) ★★★★ Read: 6/30/20
X: The Xibalba Murders by Lyn Hamilton (1997) ♀
Y: The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1938) ♀
Z: Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis (1946)

You have an excellent list. Of the ones I’ve read, The Woman in White, Ethan Frome, Watership Down, and Kindred stand out. I liked them all. Good luck!

Bob wrote: "You have an excellent list. Of the ones I’ve read, The Woman in White, Ethan Frome, Watership Down, and Kindred stand out. I liked them all. Good luck!"

Thanks, Bob. I'm looking forward to those and quite a few others. Good luck with your Buffet as well!!

I'm glad to see you doing the Quest for Women, Kristina. I'll be looking forward to your thoughts.

Kristina, I love these lists especially the crime novels. I will have to copy some onto my future challenges. Have fun?

Not meant as a question mark ;)

Great lists Kristiana. I'll be especially curious what you think of Clouds of Witness. I read it this year for my women's challenge never having her of it or the author. I thought it was really well written. I also loved The Scarlet Pimpernel, Woman in White and Tinker Tailor and Uncle Tom's Cabin.

I'm hoping to get to Zorba, Ripley, Yearling and 20,000 Leagues next year too and maybe even Watership Down. Good luck with all of your challenges.

Thanks Aubrey, Brinia, & Sue!