Victorian Challenge

Laura of Laura's Reviews is hosting the Victorian Challenge.

For this challenge, the goal is to read books written during, set in, or written about the Victorian era (1837-1901).  Fiction, non-fiction, short stories, audiobooks and movies are acceptable, as are re-reads (and re-watches).  There is a simple limit of 2-6 (and beyond) books/movies, and each month a review link-up will be posted.  Participants can find ideas for Victorian-inspired reading at the 2009 Victorian Challenge site.

Each month will focus upon one Victorian author.  There will be blog posts from the challenge host and participants are welcome to read along. 
January: The Bronte Sisters
February: Charles Dickens
March: Robert Louis Stevenson
April: Emily Dickinson
May: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
June: George Eliot
July: Oscar Wilde
August: Anthony Trollope
September: Elizabeth Gaskell
October: Mark Twain
November: Lewis Carroll
December: Louisa May Alcott

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I'm quite looking forward to this challenge, as I have quite a few non-fiction Victorian books on my tbr.  (I also just watched a documentary on the History channel about The Real Treasure Island, so now I want to read a bio of Robert Louis Stevenson!)  I plan to join the monthly author focus, though again, my aim will most likely be non-fiction works about the particular authors.

I'll note in brackets if it's a monthly read.  As titles are read, they will be dated, a link to a review posted, and (finally, since I love to do it!) crossed out.
1.  (January)
2.  Charles Dickens: a Life by Jane Smiley (February)
3.  Robert Louis Stevenson: a Biography by Claire Harman (March)
4.  (April)
5.  Arthur Conan Doyle: a Life in Letters edited by Jon Lellenberg, David Stashower and Charles Folley (May)
6.  (June)
7.  Irish Peacock and Scarlet Marquess: the Real Trial of Oscar Wilde by Merlin Holland (July)
8.  (August)
9.  (September)
10.  (October)
11.  (November)
12.  (December)
13.  Inside the Victorian Home by Judith Flanders
14.  A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
15.  Eminent Victorians by A. N. Wilson
16.  Shaggy Muses by Maureen Adams

Shakespeare Reading Month

1 January 2012 - 31 January 2012

Allie at A Literary Odyssey is hosting the Shakespeare Reading Month in January 2012.

Starting January 1st, read anything Shakespeare: plays, sonnets, biographies, a book about Elizabethan times, or even a play by one of his contemporaries.  Allie will have various posts throughout the month.  Also, each time you finish a work or book, link to the master post and every time you link, you're entered to win a grand prize.  And the prize?  A Penguin Clothbound edition of Shakespeare's Sonnets and A Lover's Complaint.

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I've read Shakespeare throughout high school and university (purely for pleasure - I was a history major), but haven't picked up anything by or about the Bard in recent years (except for annual showings of Shakespeare in Love!).  So here's my chance!  I'll probably read a few of the plays, the sonnets (which are my favourite), and a few non-fiction books about Elizabethan times which I've had my eyes on for some time.

As titles are read, they will be dated, a link to a review posted, and (finally, since I love to do it!) crossed out.
1.  Shakespeare: The World As Stage by Bill Bryson
2.  Elizabeth's London: Everyday Life in Elizabethan London by Liza Picard
3.  Shakespeare's Sonnets
4.  Shakespeare's Wife by Germaine Greer
5.

Greek Classics Challenge

1 January 2012 - 31 December 2012

Jean from Howling Frog Books (I love her title!) is hosting the Greek Classics Challenge.

This challenge is to look at the roots of Western civilization (and books!) by reading ancient Greek literature. 

There are 4 levels to choose from:
Sophocles - read 1-4 works
Hesiod - read 5-7 works
Herotodus - read 8-10 works
Thucydides - read 11+ works

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Homer's The Illiad has been on my reading "bucket list" for a number of years, as has Plato.  Here's my chance!  I'm going to start low at Sophocles (1-4 books), but hope to move up a level or two.

As titles are read, they will be dated, a link to a review posted, and (finally, since I love to do it!) crossed out.
1. 
2. 
3. 
4.

Tea and Books Reading Challenge

1 January 2012 - 31 December 2012

Birgit from The Book Garden is hosting the Tea and Books Reading Challenge.

You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.
- C. S. Lewis

Birgit's challenge is inspired by the above quote and she is challenging participants to read books with more than 700 pages.  Novels only, no large print, short story collections/anthologies, audio books, or re-reads.

There are 4 levels to choose from:
Chamomile Lover - read 2 700+ page books
Berry Tea Devotee - read 4 700+ page books
Earl Grey Aficionado - read 6 700+ page books
Sencha Connoisseur - read 8 or more 700+ page books

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I'm going to attempt Chamomile Lover (2 books), since I don't usually read hefty books (but maybe here's my chance to do so! ;)

As titles are read, they will be dated, a link to a review posted, and (finally, since I love to do it!) crossed out.
1.  The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu (1174 pages)
2.  An Irish History of Civilization (volume 1) by Donald Harman Akenson (828 pages)

Medieval Challenge

1 January 2012 - 31 December 2012

JNCL from The Beauty of Eclecticism is hosting the Medieval Challenge.

The Medieval Challenge challenges you to read books written/published during the so-called "Dark Ages" (400-1550).  JNCL provides of list of titles to choose from, broken down into 10 "genre's".  Participants can choose from 3 levels, but at lease 4 of the books must be from a different genre and at least half of your titles must be from the master list (given below).

The 3 levels are:
Inferno - 4-7 books
Purgatorio - 8-11 books
Paradiso - 12+ books

The master list:

Allegory - The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri / The Romance of the Rose by Guillaume de Lorris

Biography - The Confessions by St. Augustine of Hippo / The Life of Columbia by St. Adamnan of Iona

History - Ecclesiastical History of the English People by the Venerable Bede / History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours / The Muqaddimah by Ibn Khaldun

Literature - Beowulf / The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer / The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio / The Dream of the Rood / History of the Kings of Britian by Geoffrey of Monmouth / The Lay of El Cid / Mabinogion / Nibelungenlied (The Song of the Nibelungs) / Njal's Saga / Piers Plowman by William Langland / Poetic Edda / Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson / The Song of Roland / The Tain

Philosophy - The City of God by St. Augustine of Hippo / The Consolations of Philosophy by Boethius / The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli

Religion - The Cloud of Unknowing / The Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voraigne / On Christian Doctrine by St. Augustine of Hippo / On the Trinity by St. Augustine of Hippo / Pastoral Care by Pope St. Gregory I the Great / Summa Theologica by Thomas Aquinas

Romance - The Lais of Marie de France / The Letters of Abelard and Heloise by Peter Abelard and Heloise d'Argenteuil / Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory / Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach / Sir Gawain and the Green Knight / Troilus and Cresidye by Geoffrey Chaucer / Yvain: The Knight of the Lion by Chretien de Troyes

Science - Bestiary / The Book of Beasts / On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres by Nicolaus Copernicus

Travel - The Travels of Ibn Battuta / The Travels of Marco Polo by Rustichello da Pisa

Women - The Alexiad of Anna Comnena / The Book of the City of Ladies by Christine de Pizan / The Book of Margery Kempe / Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich / Scivias by Hildegard of Bingen

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I think I'll be attempting the middle level - Purgatorio (8-11 books).  I've listed (tenative) choices below, mostly taken from the master list and a few of my own. 

As titles are read, they will be dated, a link to a review posted, and (finally, since I love to do it!) crossed out.
1.  The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (Allegory)
2.  The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (Literature)
3.  The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli (Philosophy)
4.  The Letters of Abelard and Heloise by Peter Abelard and Heloise d'Argenteuil (Romance)
5.  The Travels of Marco Polo by Rustichello da Pisa (Travel)
6.  Mabinogion (Literature)
7.  Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson (Literature)
8.  The Book of the City of Ladies by Christine de Pizan (Women)
9.  The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu (?)
10. 
11.