Classics Challenge

So, apart from the Australian Women Writers 2012 Challenge, I’ve just gone and signed up for a classics challenge.

It sounds simple – read seven classics over 2012, and blog about these. To make things more interesting, the challenger will post a reading prompt on her blog on the 4th of every month, which “will be general enough that no matter which Classic you’re reading or how far into it, you will be able to answer”. (This does mean that I have to be reading a classic at the start of the year…)

To start, here is the list of seven works I am hoping to read:

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. Just because I have never read it.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. I believe this is “generally considered the first detective novel in the English language“, and given how much detective fiction I read, perhaps it’s time to read this one.

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I’m a Sherlock Holmes fan so it shan’t be a challenge to re-read this.

My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin. Given that I’m doing the Australian Women Writers Challenge and I have not read this one, I might kill two birds and all that…

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. Because I want to read some science fiction as part of this challenge.

The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu (Royall Tyler translation). I actually started reading this last year and got sidetracked.

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. Here’s where I admit I’ve only read Pride and Prejudice, and none of her other works!

I have a very bad track record when it comes to sticking to these sorts of lists, because I tend to flit around and read things on a whim. However, the challenger gives me an out by saying “don’t feel bound by the list” – so I’ll do my best and even if I don’t read these seven books, exactly, I’ll try to read at least seven classics!