Black Coffee discussion

How many classic fiction novels can you read in 2016? You can keep track of your books below. I will also be starting a widget as well (eventually) probably tomorrow.

Choose your level:
Bronze: 3
Silver: 6
Gold: 9
Platinum: 12+

How are you defining "classic"?

Classic is a very debatable subject. Me myself I consider it to be a classic if it is widely appreciated and was written from the 80 or before. Many people say it has to be at least 50 years old. Since this is your personal challenge then whatever you consider a classic (within reason) is what you can challenge yourself to read.

I would love to knock out twelve but, well, I don't think I'm going to have the time -- in a good way. Hmm...

And yeah, that is a tough definition. When you first mentioned the time thing, I was like, why would that matter? But part of what makes a classic has to be "stands the test of time".

Bobby wrote: "And yeah, that is a tough definition. When you first mentioned the time thing, I was like, why would that matter? But part of what makes a classic has to be "stands the test of time"."

Yep just like movies. You can't call a movie a classic that came out last year.

I"m gonna go for silver.

1. Native Son
2. The Giver
3. Invisible Man
4.
5.
6.

kisha wrote: "Classic is a very debatable subject. Me myself I consider it to be a classic if it is widely appreciated and was written from the 80 or before. Many people say it has to be at least 50 years old. S..."

One of my 2015 goals was to find and read more 19th century novels by African American authors. The first sad thing I realized was how few 19th century African American novels there are at all--maybe 5 of them. The second sad thing is that most of these works have been re-discovered and reprinted quite recently after being forgotten for decades.

I know this is old news but I still get stunned by it, that terrible silence from people of that era.

poingu wrote: "kisha wrote: "Classic is a very debatable subject. Me myself I consider it to be a classic if it is widely appreciated and was written from the 80 or before. Many people say it has to be at least 5..."

Yeah, when it's illegal for you to even learn how to read or write, it makes it tough.

Yeah, when it's illegal for you to even learn how to read or write, it makes it tough. "

I know, right? That's what makes it all the more criminal that these works ever fell from print.

For people doing this challenge I recommend Clotel: or, The President's Daughter--there is something mind bogglingly bold to me about William Wells Brown writing a novel in 1853 about Jefferson's children who were slaves. I also like Crossing the Danger Water: Three Hundred Years of African-American Writing--even though it's a big old book it has a lot of great excerpts so I could decide what I wanted to read more of.

Kisha, you read my mind again! O.O

I'll say silver for a start.

I'll go with bronze

Here's a listopia for African American classics just to get you a jump start.

Of course you can log your progress and the books you plan to read here. But here is the widget where you can also track your progress. Just remember to name your "shelf" and put your books under the shelf as you read them so that it will count towards your goal.

How has everyone been doing on this challenge

Clearly, like me, no one really loves the classic genre lol.

Kisha I'm in a classics group and we define it as being written before 1999. Then we define old as being before 1900 and new as being 1900-99. I made it a personal goal to read 10 classics this year. So far I have read 7 plus 2 kids classics. One was Gone With the Wind so maybe that counts as 2 books.

Oh wow that's still pretty recent but i like that guide line as well. How did you like Gone with the wind?

I loved Gone With the Wind. I loved the romance part and the history. I remind myself that Margaret Mitchell was a southern white woman and she wrote what she knew. Then to "apologize" she had the O'Haras treat their slaves better than other families. That being said I enjoyed the narrative too and read the last 500 pages in 2 days. Waiting for the kids to go back to school to watch the movie.

Last 500 pages! omg that sounds like a long book lol. I may give it ago. I avoided it for years because I typically don't enjoy overrated books. But it keeps coming up some kind of way throughout the years. I'll try it.

I've been reading lots of classics this year but I guess I forgot to come back here and actually put them down haha.

Kisha I had budgeted 10 weeks of kids summer vacation so I'd read 100 pages a week and finish. I was so captivated that I finished in a week. Lonesome Dove is up next and it's also 900 pages long. Once school starts I'm too busy because I'm the kitchen lady.

kisha wrote: "Last 500 pages! omg that sounds like a long book lol. I may give it ago. I avoided it for years because I typically don't enjoy overrated books. But it keeps coming up some kind of way throughout t..."

Yes, Gone with the Wind is a big book.

James Baldwin is an excellent read for classic work and so is Langston Hugh, and Zora Neale Hurston is a must read.