Saturday, January 9, 2010

Our Mutual Read


You may have noticed the picture (& link, if you click on it) for Our Mutual Read in the sidebar on the right. I am taking a reading challenge this year & reading Victorian literature! I haven't decided which level I'll be doing:

-Level 1: 4 books, at least 2 written during 1837 - 1901. The other books may be Neo-Victorian or non-fiction.

-Level 2: 8 books, at least 4 written during 1837 - 1901. The other books may be Neo-Victorian or non-fiction.

-Level 3: 12 books, at least 6 written during 1837 - 1901. The other books may be Neo-Victorian or non-fiction.

However, at this point I think I've amassed enough potential titles to do level 3 twice. Here are some of the titles I'm considering (I'm hoping plays are acceptable):

Fiction

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Wives & Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

The Warden by Anthony Trollope (first book of The Chronicles of Barsetshire)

Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde

Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy

The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler

Father Brown Mystery Stories by G.K. Chesterton

Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens

Pinkerton's Sister by Peter Rushforth

The Observations by Jane Harris

Affinity by Sarah Waters

Jack Maggs by Peter Carey

The Blood Doctor by Barbara Vine

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray


Plays

The Second Mrs Tanqueray by Sir Arthur Wing Pinero

Lady Audley's Secret by C. H. Hazlewood (adapted from the book by Mary Elizabeth Braddon)

(Oddly enough, my interest in both these plays was piqued by frequent mention in Agatha Christie novels.)

Non-Fiction

The Clumsiest People in Europe, or, Mrs. Mortimer's Bad-Tempered Guide to the Victorian World by Todd Pruzan and Favell Lee Mortimer

Death at the Priory: Love, Sex, and Murder in Victorian England by James Ruddick

The Disastrous Mrs. Weldon: The Life, Loves, and Lawsuits of a Legendary Victorian by Brian Thompson

Lectures on Art by John Ruskin

Victorian London: The Life of a City, 1840-1870 by Liza Picard

Inside the Victorian Home: A Portrait of Domestic Life in Victorian England by Judith Flanders

Victorian Fairy Tales: The Revolt of the Fairies and Elves edited by Jack Zipes

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale

London 1849: A Victorian Murder Story by Michael Alpert

I'm also interested in in the 2 mini-challenges:

-Period Film Mini-Challenge -- watch at least 6 films that take place between 1837 - 1901 (they don't necessarily have to be based on a book) and post a review. (With my love of Merchant-Ivory productions & the new movie Young Victoria out, this is a natural for me.)

-Short Story Mini-Challenge -- read 12 short stories written or taking place between 1837 - 1901 and post a review. (I find the library system has The Oxford Book of Victorian Detective Stories, The Oxford Book of Victorian Ghost Stories, & Victorian Love Stories: An Oxford Anthology.)


Well, I'd better start reading! I notice my reading will be skewed towards mysteries--I 'm hoping reading a genre I normally read will encourage me to complete this reading challenge (unlike last year's). I'll be posting off & on on my progress & on some of the books I've read. Stay tuned!

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