Reading the Classics

Last night I read this article challenging us to included the classics in our reading for this year.  He challenges us to read one classic for every new book we read.   I love that idea, but there are so many newer books that I want to read too.  I guess I'll just have to read faster.

At this point, there are 6 books on my "currently reading" list and 28 books on my "to read" list.  Of those 28, only 2 are classics.  That means that if I don't read any other newer books this year, I still need to decide on 32 classics to read.  I really think that Les Miserable and Resurrection should count for more than one book each, but I'm going to try to get through 32 others too.

So now I have to choose.  Which ones do I want the most?  I want to include some books for children and young adult, partly because I enjoy them, and also because they are quick reads and will help make up for all the time that Les Miserables is going to take to get through.

I haven't yet decided how exactly I will define "The Classics", but the general idea is that I want to read  books that are at least as old as I am.

Here are a few I may consider.  Some I will be re-reading and some I will be reading for the first time.


Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (not fiction, but definitely a classic)
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

What do you think about the books on this list?  Which ones did you like?  Which ones should I skip?  What other books should I add?