Reading through time challenge?

Just wondering about setting up another reading challenge. I was thinking that some of my reads this year and last have been historical reads, so I was looking for a challenge that would be a sort of 'reading through time' thing, with books listed by the setting. I couldn't find anything like that here on LT, although it's still possible I missed it. Would anyone else be interested in such a challenge? I don't have a deadline in mind or anything, I think it would be an ongoing challenge. Any thoughts?

That sounds intriguing. Are you thinking of ordering things by decade, or era or what? I can often be tempted into diving into another challenge.

By century and then by decade, I think. Not really sure. I just wondered if anyone else would like to jump in.

Sounds like an interesting idea but I think I have too many going on right now as it is. I've also been using any historical fiction books that fit in with either my World, European or American challenges. Have to fill in those gaps somehow. I wish you luck if you attempt it though and will watch with interest how it progresses.

Sounds interesting. Are you thinking of just historical fiction, or could it include books written in or about the time period? A lot of my TBR books would probably fit in a travel through history challenge.

I think it would be fiction or non-fiction. I myself would go for at least well researched fiction, not total fluff, but even that would be up to the participant. I like that - "travel through history".

I don't really have time for another challenge (considering that I haven't even updated my 101010 thread for 6+ weeks!), but I'd be interested in following this and seeing what other people were reading. How do you imagine it would be structured? Would there be a different theme each month (Ancient Greece, Elizabethan England, 18th-century America, etc.)? Would it be structured chronologically, or would you jump around between different time periods?

I think the TIOLI Challenge in the 75 Book Challenge group might be a good model. There's a wiki where people list what they're planning to read each month, so we can try to pick books that other people are reading too.

Being a lover of historical fiction I would definitely be interested. Zoe's idea of setting it up like the TIOLI challenge sounds interesting. Monthly topics could vary by period of time, subject matter, a particular author or more obscure topics like a word (eg: Sun: people could read a historical book with Sun in the title such as The Sun Also Rises, The Sunne in Splendor, The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945. Could be a lot of fun.

I like that idea a lot! We could just make it an ongoing thing, on a strictly take it or leave it basis, and open it up to everyone. Anything else I should think about?

What about fiction vs. non-fiction? Would you have to stick with one or the other? If you started out with non-fiction, could you switch to fiction?

And what about locale? Does it have to be consistent or would that be one of the parameters?

Love history and historical fiction. Like the idea of having to fill in the centuries, but themes could be interesting, too. And maybe not just words, but topics (like poverty, freedom, family, etc.).

Monthly themes that we can join as they occur would get my full support! I would prefer a broader monthly theme, say for example "The French Revolution" but leave it up to the reader the details such as whether it is a fiction or non-fiction read. That was just an example, I like ReneeMarie's idea of topics that are based on broader general themes as she has listed as examples in #11 above.

Would that work?

Isnt there someone doing the 1010 challenge that has the centuries as the categories?

>12 lkernagh: I like the idea of broad monthly themes too; I think it's more likely to get a lot of participation that way.

My only problem is that I would not want it to be part of the 1010 Challenge but a separate challenge altogether. My one problem with the TIOLI challenge is that there is only one thread per month and it gets very confusing in the discussions, having a separate challenge gives you the opportunity to have multiple threads. I could see it being related to 1010 and have a category each month for a time frame but discuss it separately from 1010 (or would next year be 1111?).

Definitely, a separate challenge. For one thing, I'd like to have this an ongoing thing, not just a one year challenge. And I think fiction or non-fiction would be optional. You could even do one of each in a month, if you wanted to. I like the themes - maybe French Revolution, or Revolution in general - Russian, American, French, whatever.

I think this would be a great way to work on those TBR piles. You could check and see what themes are being set up that month and then check your TBR books to see if any fit. Or you could make up your own theme from a book you want to read and then see if anybody else wants to join in on that theme.

We could even have a monarch theme - French king, English queen, royal marriages....

Another question I have is - will we start at one point in time and move forward or jump around moving back and forth in time like time travelers? We could be the TIME TRAVELER CHALLENGE!

Which brings up another question - like the TIOLI Challenge can we take it or leave it - if we don't want to travel that month, have we failed the challenge?

I think it would be a more inviting and interesting challenge if we jumped around. I mean, how far back would we have to go? You'd lose me on a long trek through pre-history and ancient civilizations. Besides, things happen in the world and something might happen that would make a themed read on a specific era especially interesting.

And something flexible, like the group reads over on the Reading Globally forum would work best for me. I would worry that people would drop away when a specific time didn't interest them and not come back if it were obligatory.

Oh yeah, it would have to be optional, I think. No harm in skipping a month. And jumping around makes more sense to me too.

Great suggestions, everyone. I especially like the monthly themes and jumping around in time. And a lot of options and flexibility make it more likely that each of us can find books that we're interested in (or have on our shelves).

When do we start?

I like the monthly theme idea, too, with a broad enough theme that participants have plenty of flexibility to choose something that interests them. I think jumping around would probably work better for me than trying to do it sequentially.

I read so much historical fiction set in England that I could probably organize my TBR pile by monarch - Tudor, Elizabethan, Georgian, Edwardian, etc.

Do we want a separate group for this? Or just a separate thread? I'd prefer a separate group, myself. Then we can keep going next year, if it looks like being successful.

If we are going to start right away - would like to suggest a time period. The Highly Rated Book group is debating now about reading A Separate Country which is set after the Civil War. What if we all read the same book as a start for our challenge?

I prefer a separate group.

It would make it much easier to find recommendations -- for instance, if there's a Revolutions theme, and sometime in the future I want to read a book about, say, the French Revolution, I could check that thread for ideas.

Also, I think I'd like to keep track of my own reading, maybe by century or era, even though the reading wouldn't be sequential. With a separate group, we could each have our own thread.

I would probably join or at least watch more if it were a separate group. Especially if we did nonfiction as well as fiction.

Ivy - some of us are reading The Scarlet Pimpernel starting July 14th. It's set during the French Revolution - Bastille Day is our start!

Cheli, thanks for the invitation. I haven't read The Scarlet Pimpernel, and I'll think about it... Where is the group?

I like the idea of having a few different themes each month so we can pick and chose. So one month we could have The French Revolution as one theme, and other people could pick different themes. Then under each theme, people could name the book they have chosen to read. So although lots of people might like to read The Scarlet Pimpernel that month, others may prefer a different book about the French Revolution. And others may prefer to read under a different theme altogether. Does this make sense?

And I really like the idea of setting up a separate group for this.

I keep thinking of something more to add: I also like the idea of different themes so it would help people fit this challenge in with other challenges or Group Reads that they are working on.

Ivy - I'll being setting up the Scarlet Pimpernel group toward the end of June with a note in the tandem thread for 1010 Challenge.

Funny thing is I just realized that there is more than one Scarlet Pimpernel book. Apparently there is an entire series.

The Scarlet Pimpernel (1905)
I Will Repay (1906)
The Elusive Pimpernel (1908)
Eldorado (1913)
Lord Tony's Wife (1917)
The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1919)
The First Sir Percy (1920)
The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1922)
Pimpernel and Rosemary (1924)
Sir Percy Hits Back (1927)
Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1929)
The Scarlet Pimpernel Looks At the World (1933)
The Way of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)
Sir Percy Leads the Band (1936)
Mam'zelle Guillotine (1940)

Another couple of ideas:

== Tangential Reading

Read a book. Something in it strikes your fancy. Find another book that contains the thing that strikes your fancy, preferably not set in the same time period or the same place. Read that book. Rinse. Repeat.

== Is That So? Reading

For those who want to include nonfiction, an easy way to integrate it would be to read a novel, then submerge in a nonfiction work on some or all of the topic of the novel.

Just want to capture the ideas before I forget them.

So, Cindy, where do we stand?

Are we going to wait until next year or are we starting soon?
Are we making a list of times/themes and will we vote each month?
Will we eliminate an era simply because it's already been done or can it be revisited at another time? (I ask this because I'm thinking that one month is probably not enough time to really do some of the timeframes justice - WWII, Civil War, Elizabethan age etc.)

I started making a list, is this sort of what you were thinking?
Age of Alexander
Roman conquests
Norman Conquest
Crusades
Medieval times
Dark Ages
Renaissance
Tudor age
New World Colonization era
Elizabethan age
American Revolution
French Revolution
Napoleonic Wars
Age of industrialization
Civil War
Reconstruction
Victorian Age
WWI
WWII (maybe this should be broken into Europe and Pacific)
Korean War era
Space Age
Vietnam era

I know there are lots more, maybe we should get a list started and put it in the group header and then just add as we get something else. Then we could indicate which month we read an era. Someone could make a suggestion for the next month and we can vote on it. What do you think?

Should we have awiki for all this like the TIOLI Challenge? We could actually track all the books that we read for it.

I'd also add:

Ancient Near East
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Greece (pre-Alexander)

I love the idea of a wiki.

1 - I vote we start next month, June.
2 - Let's make a list and vote between 2 choices
3 - Let's give eras a revisit now and then.

Love this list. A wiki would be great too, but I'm not sure how to set that up or run it.

Hey Cindy,
Are you setting up a new group for this, or are we staying here inside the 1010?

I suggest we start with the Civil War. I say that simply because I'm starting my Civil War reading for background to the Presidents next month and already have some books accumulated.

I'd love to do the wiki, but I don't know how to start.

Here's a wiki page, for a start.

>35 cmbohn: I don't quite understand what you mean about making a list and voting between two choices. How do we decide which two to vote between? Or do you mean everyone votes for two from the list?

If we're doing nominations, I'd suggest Victorian as a starting point because I think it offers a lot of flexibility: there are plenty of classics and historical fiction of all kinds, and a tagmash tells me there's plenty of non-fiction too.

There, we have two suggestions....

Now how can we word the vote machine to work as a selector? hmmm.....
Yes you choose Victorian Age, no you choose Civil War. Does that work?

I like the topics suggested in msgs 33 & 34, but I also like the suggestions early in this thread about using a more general theme (sun, love, queens, poverty were mentioned, I think), so that the books read could take place in more than one time period.

I can think of quite a few books that wouldn't fit very well into themes based on the wars and countries mentioned: for instance, Shogun (Japanese history), Moloka'i (Hawaiian leper colony), sagas covering multiple time periods, such as Russka and other Rutherfurd or Michener books, several unread books on my shelves about the Celts, the travel diaries from 1820s US, Native American history, disasters such as Krakatoa. Some of these might not have much general appeal for a topic by themselves, but might fit in a theme for those who are interested in them.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'd like to see the monthly themes include eras, wars, countries, AND more general themes.

I'm eager to begin, though, whatever format is decided on. June sounds good.

>40 cyderry: That makes sense to me. And if we wanted to choose between three or more categories, we could just set up a poll for each one: Do you prefer Victorian? Do you prefer Civil War? etc., and the one with the most votes wins.

Ivy,
You've got a point...I've add the Time Periods from messages 33 and 34 but I'm not sure how to add those you've mentioned as a time period.

Cheli, maybe I'm just trying to make this unnecessarily complicated. There's absolutely nothing to stop me (or anyone else) from reading a book that doesn't fit into the categories or monthly themes!

In any case, I do think Settling the American West is a good addition, and most Native American would fit nicely into that. Pre-European settlement is largely speculative, anyway.

And I'm hoping for Civil War next month. I have had Raintree County for almost a year and haven't yet had the courage to dive into this 1000 page "Great American Novel."

I don't seem to be keeping up with your posts on this thread.

I wonder if just "19th Century" might take in a whole lot of stuff not covered in the more specialized topics of Civil War, Victorian and others -- Krakatoa, Irish famine, European incursions into Africa, Moloka'i (established in the 19th century), Mexican wars, South America....

And although it would cover several time periods, perhaps "Exploration of the Far East" would cover things such as Marco Polo, Shogun, Chinese history, etc.

I'm not sure how to handle Moloka'i (Hawaiian leper colony), sagas covering multiple time periods, such as Russka and other Rutherfurd or Michener books, several unread books on my shelves about the Celts, the travel diaries from 1820s US,

Any suggestions?

I also added the Cold War, Post 9/11, Russian Revolution.

Added themes as well.

Do we want to call it the Reading through TIme Challenge, TIme Traveler Challenge, what?

>47 ivyd: I like the idea of doing something broad like "19th Century". Then we could do individual sub-challenges like in TIOLI

Why not have a catagory called "Asian History" , very broad and lots of historical books would fit in from Shogun to Snow Flower and the Secret Fan as well as books about India etc.

I would also like to see more than one category for each month, making the challenge more flexible for everyone. We could choose a couple of eras or a geographical area and maybe a word theme like "daughter" or "war".

I think one or two people each month should be in charge of chosing subjects to vote on during the last week of the month, we could then vote and the top three or four categories would be the ones we set for that month.

>48 cyderry: Cheli, my suggestion is to replace "Age of Industrialization" with a more general "19th Century" which would cover the industrial revolution, Moloka'i and the travel diaries (though they also sort of fit into "Settlement of the Western US"), as well as a lot of other world-wide topics. And to add a general "20th Century" topic as well... what about suffragettes, prohibition, the Great Depression, civl rights movement? We could have a more specific monthly topic, or several as Zoe suggests. It seems to me that if we try to have a separate topic for everything, our topic list will run into the hundreds.

In thinking it over, I'm don't think the sagas fit into this challenge as a topic. Unless we decide to have, for example, a monthly topic of "Russia" where every one could choose a more general history or a specific event or era.

The books on the Celts might tangentially fit into Roman conquests, I guess. Or a pre-history category, since they didn't record their own history, though they were later than one usually considers pre-history. I wouldn't worry about trying to fit them in...

>51 ivyd: If we go by your idea of general time periods (which I think is good and flexible), the Celts could fit into something like 1st century BC.

On one hand, I would prefer Victorian era to Civil War because it's a broader time frame and has a little more flexibility. The US Civil War could conceivably fit in a Victorian category since it occurred in that era. In its broadest interpretation, all of the topics Ivy listed for 19th Century in #47 are covered in the Victorian years.

On the other hand, I like the idea of themes, too. If we selected civil war as a theme, some people could read about the US Civil War, while others might choose to read about civil war in another location/era (Spanish Civil War, etc.). The variety could be interesting.

Why not mix up the ideas of theme reads and time periods. Like alternate for each month. I believe that something similar is done in the Reading Globally group.

I think that would be fun - alternating like that.

Alternating sounds fun to me too. Great idea!

I like Wolfy`s idea of alternating. However it is set up, I can see my Historical Fiction category will be finishing up quickly! I am heading out of town tomorrow to visit my Mom for a week, then home for a couple of days and then hubby and I are taking a little road trip. Won`t be back here on LT until the middle of June, I can`t wait to see how this Challenge shapes up!

It's official! Here's the site:

http://www.librarything.com/groups/readingthroughtime

Please join and start some threads there. I may not be very reliably here on LT this weekend as --- (drum roll, please)

My daughter is graduating from high school this weekend!

So I have a million things to do and I am feeling quite overwhelmed, but I wanted to get this ready for June 1st. I am listed as the group host, but once I figure out how to do it, I would like to add at least one other person. Please feel free to mention this on the 75 book challenge or anywhere else you think folks would like to give it a try. And thanks for all the help and suggestions. My mind really has been elsewhere lately, but I've been thinking that something like this would be fun for a couple of months, but I couldn't figure out how to set it up. So thanks!