2020 Reading Challenges: Victorian

Victorian Reading Challenge
Host: Becky's Book Reviews (sign up here)
Duration: January - December 2020
Goal: Read between 4 to 6 Books (4 minimum)

Quarterly Victorian Challenge

Book(s) read between January and March 2020
1. Can You Forgive Her? Anthony Trollope. 1865. 847 pages. [Source: Bought] [Classic; Romance; Dysfunctional Families]
2.  The Pickwick Papers. Charles Dickens. 1837. 801 pages. [Source: Bought] [Classics; Adult fiction; Travel]
3. Man and Wife. Wilkie Collins. 1870. 652 pages. [Source: Bought] [Adult classic; Adult romance; Victorian]
4. Vanity Fair. William Makepeace Thackery. 1847. 867 pages. [Source: Bought] [Classic]



Book(s) read between April and June 2020
1. Miss Mackenzie. Anthony Trollope. 1865. 432 pages. [Source: Bought]
2. The History of Henry Esmond, Esq. A Colonel in the Service of Her Majesty Queen Anne. William Makepeace Thackery. 1852. 528 pages. [Source: Bought] [dull books; classic; Victorian literature]

Book(s) read between July and September 2020
1. He That Will Not When He May. Margaret Oliphant. 1880. 502 pages. [Source: Bought]

2. Jane Eyre. Charlotte Bronte. 1847. 532 pages. [Source: Bought]

Book(s) read between October and December 2020
1. The Children of the New Forest. Frederick Marryat. 1847. 369 pages. [Source: Bought]
2. Goblin Market. Christina Rossetti. 1862. 48 pages. [Source: Bought]
3. David Copperfield. Charles Dickens. 1850. 882 pages. [Source: Bought]
4. Nutcracker of Nuremberg. Alexandre Dumas. Illustrated by Else Hasselris. Translated by Grace Gingras. 1844/1930/2013. Pook Press. 172 pages. [Source: Bought]
5. A Christmas Carol. Charles Dickens. 1843. 96 pages. [Source: Bought]
6. The Birds' Christmas Carol. Kate Douglas Wiggin. 1886. 93 pages. [Source: Bought]
7. North and South. Elizabeth Gaskell. 1855. 521 pages. [Source: Bought]

Monthly-Themed Reads

JANUARY/FEBRUARY: The theme is JOURNEYS and TRAVELS. Read any book where a character goes on ANY journey.

1. Can You Forgive Her? Anthony Trollope. 1865. 847 pages. [Source: Bought] [Classic; Romance; Dysfunctional Families]
2. The Pickwick Papers. Charles Dickens. 1837. 801 pages. [Source: Bought] [Classics; Adult fiction; Travel]

Plenty of traveling going on--there's Glencora and Plantagenet's honeymoon, Alice's trip with Kate, and Kate's traveling back and forth between her aunt and grandfather's estates.

FEBRUARY/MARCH: The theme is LOVE and MARRIAGE. Read any book where characters fall in love, or fall out of love, or court, or become engaged, or get married.

1. Man and Wife. Wilkie Collins. 1870. 652 pages. [Source: Bought] [Adult classic; Adult romance; Victorian]

MARCH/APRIL: The theme is SECOND CHANCES. Give an author a second chance. Give a book a second chance. Give a genre a second chance.

1. Vanity Fair. William Makepeace Thackery. 1847. 867 pages. [Source: Bought] [Classic]

APRIL/MAY: The theme is NAMES AS TITLES. Read any book where a proper name (a person, a place, etc) is the title of the book.

1. Miss Mackenzie. Anthony Trollope. 1865. 432 pages. [Source: Bought]

MAY/JUNE: The theme is LONG TITLE OR LONG SUB-TITLES. Victorians could be RIDICULOUS and a bit over-the-top with the titles and subtitles of their books. Choose to read one with a long/longer title and/or subtitle.

1. The History of Henry Esmond, Esq. A Colonel in the Service of Her Majesty Queen Anne. William Makepeace Thackery. 1852. 528 pages. [Source: Bought] [dull books; classic; Victorian literature]

JUNE/JULY: The theme is ADAPTATIONS. Read any book that has been adapted into a movie, miniseries, or television show. OR read any book that you think SHOULD be adapted into a movie. If you choose that option you can even make a case for WHO should star in it.

1.

JULY/AUGUST: The theme is FAVORITE AUTHORS, NEW-TO-ME Books. Choose a favorite author and read a book by him/her that you've never read before.

1. He That Will Not When He May. Margaret Oliphant. 1880. 502 pages. [Source: Bought]

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER: The theme is BACK TO SCHOOL. Read (or reread) any book that you were assigned to read in school or university. OR Read any book where a character's education is emphasized (Great Expectations, Nicholas Nickleby, Jane Eyre, etc.) OR Read any book that you think SHOULD be required reading for high school or university.

1. Jane Eyre. Charlotte Bronte. 1847. 532 pages. [Source: Bought]

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER: The theme is CRIME OR TRUE CRIME. Thrillers. Mysteries. Suspense. Horror. GOTHIC. This would be a great place to fit in general nonfiction about the Victorian era. Some great true crime books have been published.

1.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER: The theme is HOME AND FAMILY. Read any book with a focus on family life and relationships between family members. (The relationships do not have to be healthy.)

1. The Children of the New Forest. Frederick Marryat. 1847. 369 pages. [Source: Bought]

2. Goblin Market. Christina Rossetti. 1862. 48 pages. [Source: Bought]
3. David Copperfield. Charles Dickens. 1850. 882 pages. [Source: Bought]

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER: The theme is COMFORT READS. Reread a book (of any length) that just makes you HAPPY.  

1. Nutcracker of Nuremberg. Alexandre Dumas. Illustrated by Else Hasselris. Translated by Grace Gingras. 1844/1930/2013. Pook Press. 172 pages. [Source: Bought]
2. A Christmas Carol. Charles Dickens. 1843. 96 pages. [Source: Bought]
3. North and South. Elizabeth Gaskell. 1855. 521 pages. [Source: Bought]

Bearded Victorians

1. The Pickwick Papers. Charles Dickens. 1837. 801 pages. [Source: Bought] [Classics; Adult fiction; Travel]
2. Can You Forgive Her? Anthony Trollope. 1865. 847 pages. [Source: Bought] [Classic; Romance; Dysfunctional Families]
3. Man and Wife. Wilkie Collins. 1870. 652 pages. [Source: Bought] [Adult classic; Adult romance; Victorian]
4.  Miss Mackenzie. Anthony Trollope. 1865. 432 pages. [Source: Bought]
5. David Copperfield. Charles Dickens. 1850. 882 pages. [Source: Bought]
6. A Christmas Carol. Charles Dickens. 1843. 96 pages. [Source: Bought]



© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews