Saturday, May 26, 2012

My Classics List, a work in progress

A couple of days ago, I decided to accept the challenge of reading 50 "classics" in five years.  The first step is to make up a reading list, which I have been working on.  I found several lists online and started to note which ones I haven't read or want to re-read.  Since I will be exploring "classics," I want to make sure I include a variety of genres, fiction and nonfiction, and non-western literature.  It's fun to think about what a classic truly is, also.  Right now I'm reading Prague Winter, a new book about the history of the Czech Republic by Madeleine Albright.  A departure for me, it's really interesting.

So far, my classic list looks like this:

1.      I Promessi Sposi

2.  The Grapes of Wrath – Steinbeck

3.  Of Mice and Men – Steinbeck

4.  Slaughterhouse Five – Vonnegut

5.  Things Fall Apart – Achebe

6.  Madame Bovary – Flaubert

7.  The House of Mirth – Wharton

8.  If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler – Calvino

9.  Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl – Jacobs

10.  The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas – Stein

11.  Animal Farm – Orwell (reread)

12.  A Midwife’s Tale – Ulrich

13.  Pygmalion – Shaw (reread)

14.  Our Town – Wilder (reread)

15.  Complete poems Dickinson (reread)

16.  Complete poems – Frost (reread)

17.  The Heart is a Lonely Hunter – McCullers

18.  Howards End – Forster

19.  Native Son – Wright (reread)

20.  Pilgrim at Tinker Creek – Dillard

21.  The Rest is Noise – Ross

22.  A Prayer for Owen MeanyIrving

23.  The Handmaid’s Tale – Atwood (reread)

24.  David Copperfield – Dickens (reread)

25.  The Assault – Mulisch

26.  Autobiography of a Javanese Princess – Cartini

27.  The Wind-up Bird Chronicles – Murakami

28.  The Education of Henry AdamsAdams

29.  The Book of Abigail and John – Addams

30.  The Strange Career of Jim Crow – Woodworth

31.  Mornings on Horseback – McCullough

32.  The Making of the Atomic BombRhodes

33.  Silent SpringCarson

34.  The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat – Sacks

35.  Ceremony - Silko

If you have a recommendation, please don't hesitate to comment!




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