I am so excited for the summer reading challenge. I have been appalled at myself for many years over the lack of knowledge of some of the classics, and this seems like a great way to rectify it. Are you going to reveal which you’re reading first?

My favorite book is The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper. Reading the book as a teenager was my first introduction to early American literature, and the story fascinated me. The characters were real to me, and the heroic Natty Bumppo became even more a part of my memory as I read all of the Leatherstocking tales. Now I read one of the Leatherstocking books each year to remain friends with Hawkeye and Chingachgook. It has been a good way to keep a connection with my youthful hero worship of the ultimate survivalist.

This is a great idea. I definitely need to check off some of my classics “to-read” list. My favorite has always been Wuthering Heights. It was the first classic I ever read that I actually enjoyed. =) Hope I win! =)

Twitter, check. Facebook, check. Goodreads, check.

As I said on Facebook, it’s pretty hard to choose one, but if I had to, I’d go with Wuthering Heights. I wrote my senior thesis on it in college and felt uber-English-majory about it.

I love a lot of the classics, but I think my favorite is The Scarlet Letter. I’ve been collecting vintage editions for several years now.

And yay for your new reading challenge! I’ve been wanting to fill in some gaps in my reading of the classics, and this is a perfect opportunity. Count me in for the challenge and the giveaway.

Thanks!

I’m interested in doing this challenge and will probably post about it up on my blog. My question is (as is pretty common with Reading Challenges) if you’ll be putting up a list to the 50 classics featured in BOTB or a link to the author’s website (or somewhere else where they’re listed), or is buying a copy of the book required for participation?

Thanks.

Facebook and Twitter are checked off the list.

Are we talking about 18th, 19th, or 20th century classics?

One of my favorites is The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

and…

Washington Square by Henry James

and

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

and

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

My fave classic is probably East of Eden. I love the Good vs. Evil theme.

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I’m in for the challenge! My top-two favorite classics are tied for the top spot: East of Eden by John Steinbeck and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.Two totally different books but I love them both.

I’m game! I have a lot of favorite classics, but at the very tip top is probably The Scarlet Letter. Or The Great Gatsby. Or Pride and Prejudice. Or maybe The Picture of Dorian Gray. Oh, but I forgot The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Gah, I can’t decide!!!

I just found your podcast, thanks to my Mother’s Day gift of an iPod Nano. I’ve been listening to you all week and absolutely love your show. Great job!

Getting ready to Tweet this and do the Goodreads thing too. Must add you to my Facebook!

hi mine would have to be jane eyre and east of eden
looking forward to the challenge

Although I have read the Odyssey, I have a newer translation that I’ve been meaning to read. (Robert Fagles) Maybe its time.

I haven’t had much success with challenges. This sounds doable though and I am appalled by how few classics I have read!

My favourite classic is Pride and Prejudice and favourite children’s classic The railway children.

Thanks for the reminder Heather… I’ve put up a “widget” that lets you look at the first 30 or so pages, including the Table of Contents!

Thanks a ton for the widget… I’m going to put Middlemarch down as my challenge book (there must be something so great that George Eliot just had to change her name to get put out there, right).

Up to this point, my favorite classic has probably been Lord of the Flies… never been able to get enough of it.

Mine is Jane Eyre, which I’ve read at least six times. My dogeared red paperback copy is one of my favorite possessions. At work, we’re reading David Copperfield, one Dickens I never got to in school or out of it.

This is very exciting as I’m currently in 3 book clubs but nobody wants to touch the Classics. I even went by an assisted living center near my apartment and am volunteering to either start a classic book group or read to seniors no longer able to read themselves..
My favorite classic is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Looking forward to choosing another classic for this challenge..

David Copperfield is probably my favorite. I have picked up the pace on my classics reading over the last few years though so I will be really interested to see how I’m doing!

My favorite (of the books listed in the TOC of BOTB) is Pride & Prejudice.

I’m also a big Willa Cather fan, so O Pioneers! is a favorite.

@Vera Marie Badertscher: I have the Fagles edition of the Odyssey, too, I think — maybe I’ll finally read it this summer!

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a reader in possession of a summer must be in want of a classic….My favorite from this list is absolutely Pride and Prejudice. I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve never read anything by Henry James so Wings of a Dove will go on my summer reading list!

Looking at the Table of Contents, pretty much the only ones I HAVEN’T read yet are the mega-chunky tomes like “Moby Dick!” The prospect of trying to read 5 Super-Chunky books in one summer is fairly daunting, but I’ll definitely give it a shot!

From the TOC, I would have to say “Pride and Prejudice” is my favrorite Classic as it is the book I’ve re-read the most often.

Please enter me in the Give-Away. One of the greatest joys for an OCD bibliophile is a book comprised of a list of books!

Great idea! I love Wuthering Heights, by Miss Emily Bronte, and I see a few comments on that. So , I must nominate another 20th Century classic—”The Great Gatsby” by Scott Fitgerald. The poetry in his prose simply glistens on every page. I could read it over and over, and probably will this summer. It’s just simply brillant.

My favourite classic is Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Still waiting for the list to load on my very slow computer, so can’t say which books I’ve read or haven’t.

Love the idea of this challenge and i think i am up for the challange. As for my favorite classic book. That is a tough one for me i have tried many but have had little success. I think its time for some new “Classics”. My all time favorite book is “No country for old men” That is my new classic.

thanks

I’ve a veritable cartload of favourite classics ranging from Boccaccio’s ‘Decameron’ to anything and everything by John Steinbeck. My absolute favourite though? Well that’s got to be Knut Hamsun’s ‘Hunger’.

I’ve a bit of an affinity with any storyline that focuses on ‘descents into madness’ (which says a lot about my personality )) , but this one is extra special. It’s a real roller-coaster of a read, with the main character’s situation going through so many (minor) highs and (major) lows. I adore the book!
Warmest
Rob