Reading Goals 2021: Back to the Classics Challenge and Schole Sisters 5x5 Challenge Plans

In December 2019 I made my first true reading goals list (here's how I did with it!). I loved having a reading plan because it got me reading outside my comfort zone. Although most of my choices were ones I would have read anyway, by including "easy" nature lore and a handful of classics, I discovered more favorite authors, made my homeschool prereading feel more purposeful and continued to inspire myself to push towards more time in nature for myself and my family.

This year, I hope to focus on classics a bit more and find motivation and focus through the Back to the Classics Challenge 2021 hosted by Books and Chocolate and I plan to choose other categories to help me read outside of my comfort zone through the Schole Sisters 5x5 challenge which I also completed last year.

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Below are the categories for the challenges and my tentative plans to complete them. As usual, I am going to restrict myself to books I own or books that I can borrow from my library or read as free ebooks. 

Two-thirds of my choices for Back to the Classics are written by women. I thought about only reading women authors, but I wanted to include a few titles written by men that are part of my prereading for homeschooling (Animal Farm, Ivanhoe, Lattimore translation of The Illiad, The Tempest).

Overall, I've selected many "easy reads," including classics I'm rereading to preview for homeschooling, a few juveline or young adult titles, and the fantasy and science fiction I like to read for pleasure. But I still have a few meaty titles as well to keep my brain working!

1. A 19th-century classic: any book first published from 1800 to 1899. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818) 

2. A 20th century classic: any book first published from 1900 to 1971. All books must have been published at least 50 years ago; the only exceptions are books that were written by 1971 and posthumously published. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (1970)

3. A classic by a woman author. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1852)

4. A classic in translation, meaning any book first published in a language that is not your primary language. You may read it in translation or in its original language if you prefer. The Illiad by Homer (Lattimore Translation)

5. A classic by BIPOC author; that is, a non-white author. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

6. A classic by a new-to-you author, i.e., an author whose work you have never read. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (1855)

7. New-to-you classic by a favorite author -- a new book by an author whose works you have already read. Daniel Deronda by George Eliot

8. A classic about an animal, or with an animal in the title. The animal can be real or metaphorical. (i.e., To Kill a Mockingbird). Animal Farm by George Orwell

9. A children's classic. The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth (1930)

10. A humorous or satirical classic. Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (1920) [First novel by a woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature]

11. A travel or adventure classic (fiction or non-fiction). It can be a travelogue or a classic in which the main character travels or has an adventure. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

12. A classic play. Plays will only count in this category. The Tempest by William Shakespeare

Schole Sisters 5x5 Challenge
In this challenge, you pick five categories and read five books from each, rereads encouraged. I selected the following categories and books:

Nature

Pilgrim at Tinker's Creek by Annie Dillard

The bluebird effect: uncommon bonds with common birds by Zickefoose, Julie.

The Land of Little Rain by Mary Austin (available free here)

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Social Studies (Geography, History, Travelogues)

A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains by Isabella Lucy Bird (available free here)

The Indigenous People's History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Unworthy Republic by Claudio Saunt

Loving vs. Virginia Patricia Hruby Powell

A Young People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

Self-Awareness Reading List

The Introverted Mom by Jamie Martin

The Highly Sensitive Person Elaine N. Aron

The Nature Principle by Richard Louv

Ourselves by Charlotte Mason (free here)

The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline

Rhythms of War by Brandon Sanderson

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor 

TBD

TBD

Parenting/Homeschooling

Parents and Children by Charlotte Mason (free here) and doing a voxer discussion with a friend :-)

Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids by Dr. Laura Markham

Growing Up Brave: Expert Strategies for Helping Your Child Overcome Fear, Stress, and Anxiety by Donna B. Pincus PhD

Families on Foot: Urban Hikes to Backyard Treks and National Park Adventures by Jennifer Pharr Davis

TBD

I'm not too optimistic that I will read every one of these! Last year, I got off to a strong start but not so this year. My 1000+ page Rhythm of War is dragging me down. Hahahaha.... But at least I should have absolutely no decision fatigue with so many choices. 

If you have any recommendations for any of my categories, especially for my TBD ones, send them my way! 

Linking up with A Blog for my Mom, just because my sensitive self cannot handle social media so I am on board for this project ;-) And maybe with my new morning routine that I am *trying* to start this week, I will be able to post more often.