Events Page

 AUSTEN IN AUGUST is an annual reading event celebrating one of literature’s greatest writers! This event was inspired by a Twitter conversation that took place ten years ago between three founders of The Classics Club.

The goal is to read as many of Jane Austen’s works (finished or unfinished) as you want or are able to, during the month of August. Biographies, audiobooks, spin-offs, and re-reads also count. 

If you want to sign-up to join us as a reader during the Austen in August, simply leave a comment stating such here!

Readerbuzz and Thyme-for-tea are delighted to bring you the annual blogging event that celebrates all things Paris and French.

The aim of the month is to celebrate our French experiences through reading, watching, listening, observing, cooking, and eating all things French!

There will be no rules or targets in terms of how much you need to do or complete in order to be a part of this experience – just blog about anything French and you can join in!

It’s time once again for the 20 Books of Summer, hosted by 746 Books. This year the event will be kicking off on Wednesday 1 June and finishing on Thursday 1 September. If you want to join in, just take the Books of Summer image, and pick your own 10, 15, or 20 books you would like to read. Post the link to your choices in the post’s comments here.

The Big Book Summer Reading Challenge kicks off Friday, May 27! This is the 10th anniversary of the challenge, so the host, Sue Jackson of Book by Book, has some fun surprises planned, including a double end-of-summer giveaway and some cool Big Book Summer products. In case you’re not familiar with Big Book Summer, it is a fun and very easy-going challenge that anyone can participate in (even if it’s Big Book Winter where you live!). A Big Book is 400 or more pages, and you can read just one over the whole season or two or however many you want. Some like to choose a whole stack and devote the summer to Big Books, even though we might not get through them all. The details are explained in a post on Friday, May 27, on the blog (and she will post a video on YouTube, too).

A few people are interested in very slowly reading the Mahabharata with Hibernator’s Library. We’ll probably form a group on Discord or LibraryThing for discussion. The group will start in mid-January and will go for at least a year. Feel free to email hibernators dot Library at gmail dot com if you want to join.

Whatmeread began in 2021 to read Angela Thirkell’s Barsetshire series in order, and she would be happy to have you join her. For more information about this challenge, take a look here.

Calmgrove will host Narniathon21 beginning in November of 2021. The event will run through July of 2022, and it will feature a group read/discussion of each book in the Narnia series. For more information, take a look here.

It’s time once again for the 20 Books of Summer, hosted by 746 Books. This year the event will be kicking off on Wednesday 1 June and finishing on Thursday 1 September. If you want to join in, just take the Books of Summer image, and pick your own 10, 15, or 20 books you would like to read. Post the link to your choices in the post’s comments here.

2022 (All Year)

It’s back! For the ninth year, Karen at Books and Chocolate is hosting the Back to the Classics Challenge, a year-long challenge in which participants are encouraged to finally read the classics they’ve always meant to read — or just recently discovered. At the end of the year, one lucky winner will receive a prize $30 (US) in books from the bookstore of their choice. If you’re new to the challenge, here’s how it works:

• Complete six categories, and you’ll get one entry in the drawing; 
• Complete nine categories, and you’ll get two entries in the drawing; 
• Complete all twelve categories, and you’ll get three entries in the drawing

Without further ado, here are the categories for 2022: 
1. A 19th century classic. Any book first published from 1800 to 1899
2. A 20th century classic. Any book first published from 1900 to 1972. All books must have been published at least 50 years ago; the only exceptions are books which were written by 1972 and posthumously published.
3. A classic by a woman author.
4. A classic in translation.  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. 
5. A classic by BIPOC author. Any book published by a non-white author.
6. Mystery/Detective/Crime Classic. It can be fiction or non-fiction (true crime). Examples include Murder on the Orient Express, Crime and Punishment, In Cold Blood.

7. A Classic Short Story Collection. Any single volume that contains at least six short stories. The book can have a single author or can be an anthology of multiple authors. 

8. Pre-1800 Classic. Anything written before 1800. Plays and epic poems, such as the Odyssey, are acceptable in this category. 

9. A Nonfiction Classic. Travel, memoirs, and biographies are great choices for this category.

10. Classic That’s Been on Your TBR List the Longest. Find the classic book that’s been hanging around unread the longest, and finally cross it off your list!  

11. Classic Set in a Place You’d Like to Visit. Can be real or imaginary — Paris, Tokyo, the moon, Middle Earth, etc. It can be someplace you’ve never been, or someplace you’d like to visit again.

12. Wild Card Classic. Any classic book you like, any category, as long as it’s at least 50 years old! 

For more information, see Karen’s post here.

The aim of the 2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge is to encourage you to make nonfiction part of your reading experience during the year. The challenge will run from January 1st to December 31st 2022. Participants may join at any time up until December 1st 2022. Create a blog post committing to your participation in this challenge, and link up with host Shelley at Book’d Out.

Gather Together and Read will be hosting a 1000 Books to Read Before You Die Project: Classic Fantasy 2022. The first half of the year will feature The Count of Monte Cristo and the end of the year will feature Les Miserables. For more information, take a look here.

If you’re a Classics Clubber and you would like to sharing information about a classics event, fill in the contact form here.  Please let us know the start and end date for the event, some details, and a link to the home site.  It’s fine to do this whether you’re the host of the event or simply want to share one you’ve discovered, as long as you’re a clubber.  (Also check out any events our members on Twitter may have tweeted about at hashtag #cceventsched.) 🙂 – The Club