Monday, December 30, 2019

Back To The Classics Wrapup 2019


So once again I completed ten (well, nine and a half-ish) categories this year for Karen's Back to the Classics Challenge. Here's the list:

Classic in Translation:

Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso

Classic Play:

George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion

Classic From Africa:

Ngugi wa Thiong'o's The River Between

Classic From The Americas:

Malcolm Lowry's Under The Volcano

Twentieth Century Classic:

Hermann Broch's The Death of Virgil

Very Long Classic:

J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

Classic by a Female Author:

George Eliot's Scenes of Clerical Life

Classic Tragedy:

Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth

Classic Comedy:

Henry Fielding's Tom Jones

(though I've only just finished the last one & haven't blogged about it yet.)

Thanks to Karen for hosting! I guess that's two entries. Should it come up I can be reached by email at reese (at) reesewarner (dot) com.

9 comments:

  1. wow... some weighty texts, there... i keep wondering about Orlando.. i have a copy but it says vol 1 on it... how long is it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Orlando is pretty long! And the verse edition I have there (the one I read) is only about 60% of the whole because Harvard thought the whole thing wouldn't sell. I think the Penguin is complete in two volumes. I read a prose translation of it some years ago that was complete at 500 or so pages.

      Delete
  2. Oh, I really want to read Orlando Furioso!! I'm glad to see that The House of Mirth helped you fulfill a challenge. Here's to great classic reads for 2020!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And back at ya! May you have many great reads in 2020 and may everything else be great, too!

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a variety of classics! Are you thinking of doing the challenge again in the coming yeaar? I think I read about two classics last year ('about' is likely unnecessary there, but I haven't officially checked my log). It's likely the kind of reading that won't just "happen" unless I do join something along the way!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It seems like Karen isn't hosting the challenge for the new year (though I was hoping she might make a late appearance...) but there is a new similar version at
      https://thebrokenspinedotnet.wordpress.com/
      which I suppose I'll sign up for. So many books! Of course. But I do like to have a good mix of classics in my reading diet.

      Happy New Year!

      Delete
  5. Great list! I am also toying with signing up over at The Broken Spine if Karen doesn't want to continue.

    I just had a paperback copy of Tom Jones in my hands at a library sale. I put it back on the shelf...small print, tight binding. I read it many years ago now and thought it might be fun to reread but probably will just download it from Gutenberg.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've had the same edition for years & this is the fourth or fifth time I've read it. The print keeps getting smaller...I don't know how that happens...

      It's still pretty great, though. I enjoyed it at least as much on this read as ever.

      Delete