Friday, December 04, 2020

2021 Victorian Reading Challenge

Victorian Reading Challenge
Host: Becky's Book Reviews (sign up here)
Duration: January 2021 - December 2021
Goal: Read between 4 to 6 Books (4 minimum)

Choose to participate in the basic challenge (quarterly) or the advanced challenge (themed months). All books must fall into the "Victorian" category being either a) books originally published between 1837 and 1901 b) books originally written (but not published) between 1837 and 1901 c) general nonfiction about the Victorian era (the times, the culture, the people, the events) d) biographies of Victorians.

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 I. Quarterly Victorian Challenge

Read ONE book between January 1, 2021 and March 31, 2021
Read ONE book between April 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021
Read ONE book between July 1, 2021 and September 30, 2021
Read ONE book between October 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021

II. There will be ELEVEN themed monthly posts. (And ONE Super-Bonus Theme that will cover all twelve months). You can sign up for this level of the challenge and not "have" to participate every month. The goal is to read at least four to six books throughout the whole year. It is also more important to finish your current book than start a new theme. So if a new month comes and you're still halfway through your book...finish your book...and don't worry about keeping up with that month's theme.

January/February 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.

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. It doesn't have to be an epic romance with a happily ever after. (Though it can!)

March/April The theme is JOURNEYS and TRAVELS. Read any book where a character goes on ANY journey. (For example, Pickwick Papers, Three Men in a Boat, Jane Eyre, Can You Forgive Her?, Great Expectations, Treasure Island, Alice in Wonderland, etc.) The journey does not have to be a grand adventure or luxurious vacation.

April/May The theme is SECOND CHANCES. Give an author a second chance. Give a book a second chance. Give a genre a second chance.

May/June 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.

June/July The theme is NONFICTION. Read nonfiction books (autobiographies, biographies, etc.) published during the Victorian era OR nonfiction books about the Victorian era or specific Victorians.

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

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. OR Read a Victorian children's classic.

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.

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.)

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

January Through December: The super-bonus theme is BEARDED VICTORIANS. I've listed a few examples below.

Charles Dickens

Anthony Trollope
Wilkie Collins

George MacDonald

 

© 2020 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

16 comments:

Susan said...

Sounds fun! I just started a reading challenge central blog and I've listed this challenge on it. I'll work on adding your others as well. Check it out: readyforareadingchallenge.blogspot.com

Becky said...

Thanks for adding the challenge to your site! So far I'm hosting three challenges for 2021: Victorian, Georgian, and World War II/

AnneKristy said...

I'm signing up.
Today's post.
https://impressionsininkblog.wordpress.com/2020/12/05/2021-victorian-reading-challenge/

Becky said...

So glad you're joining Annette!!!

Laura said...

I am going to sign up at the quarterly reading level. I love Anthony Trollope and would like to reread his books.

Sarah Coller said...

Fantastic! I'll attempt the monthly challenges. The "bearded Victorians" cracked me up---love it!

Laura said...

I will be joining you next year. I love Anthony Trollope and hope to reread some of his books that are already in my personal library. His books are hard to find but perhaps I can locate a few new ones. My sign up post is at my blog at http://readingbooksagain.blogspot.com/2020/12/victorian-reading-challenge.html?m=0. Sorry I can't get the hyperlink to work. I am technology challenged.

Laura said...

I will be joining you next year. I love Anthony Trollope and hope to reread some of his books that are already in my personal library. His books are hard to find but perhaps I can locate a few new ones. My sign up post is at my blog at http://readingbooksagain.blogspot.com/2020/12/victorian-reading-challenge.html?m=0. Sorry I can't get the hyperlink to work. I am technology challenged.

Lisa Howeler said...

I will be joining next year as well, since I already had a goal to read a couple on my own.

Viola said...

I'd love to sign up. I love this era! My blog is: www.bookaddiction.blogspot.com

Viola said...

I'd love to sign up. This is one of my favourite eras! My blog is at: www.bookaddiction.blogspot.com

Wendy Kaye said...

This sounds like another great reading challenge! I'm already signed up for Sarah's Victorian challenge, so might as well count those books toward this one as well. :)
https://www.lifeonchickadeelane.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/28947842-wendy-ross

Wendy Kaye said...

I don't know if I already signed up, but I'd like to join in.
https://www.lifeonchickadeelane.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/28947842-wendy-ross

Karen K. said...

I'm in! Sorry to sign up so late, but I definitely want to read more Victorians this year and I hope this challenge will help me. I'm going for the Advanced level, I'd like to read at least 6 Victorians and hopefully more.

I have a question, though: do all the novels have to be British or can they be written by authors in other countries in the same time period, like French and American? Either way is fine, I have lots!

Karen K. said...

Forgot to add a link to my sign up with my list of possible reads:

https://karensbooksandchocolate.blogspot.com/2021/02/victorian-reading-challenge-2021.html

Thanks again for hosting, I'm hoping to post my first review this week.

Becky said...

Karen K, So glad you're joining the challenge! I am not picky to only being British authors. I enjoy reading French, Russian, and American literature from this time period as well. So read what makes you happy :)