In January 2025, I joined a “25 Classics in 2025” reading challenge with every intention of successfully completing the challenge.

Sadly, I finished reading Silas Marner by George Eliot on Friday night and decided I was done with this challenge. Here’s why:

1. I only found two of these books enjoyable: Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and The Blue Castle because these two books had interesting characters that I liked and cared enough about to want to read through to the end of the book. Their plots were also clear and understandable, without a lot of extra unnecessary things cluttering the story.
2. Two of these books were, what I would call “mediocre”: A Tale of Two Cities and Silas Marner. I liked and cared about several characters, in A Tale of Two Cities, enough to keep reading because I wanted to see what would happen to them. The problems I had with Silas Marner were that Silas Marner doesn’t really become a main character in the story until about two thirds of the way through the book. The first two-thirds of the book are mostly about two brothers, and not brothers of Silas Marner. In the last third of the story, Silas Marner finally becomes a main character and, eventually, the author shows how the decisions and actions of the characters, in the first two thirds of the book, had an effect on Silas Marner’s life and how his life changed, but the reader has to get through two thirds of the book before they engage enough with Silas Marner to actually care about him.
3. The other four books were very difficult to push through, either because their main characters were unlikable or because there just wasn’t enough to hold my interest.

Does this mean I will never read another Classic or that I don’t believe that there are any Classics that have value? Absolutely not. I believe Classics are very valuable and have lessons we can learn. In the past I have read classics I absolutely love and reread: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.

I believe the problem lies in how the books are written. Every good book grabs the reader’s attention at the beginning and holds their attention until the end. A good book has characters the reader cares about and is willing to take their journey with them. I believe it’s more difficult to find Classics that do this, but they do exist, and not only are the good ones worth finding and reading, but they all have important lessons we can learn. At least all the ones I love and reread do.

So, though I have decided to drop out of the “25 Classics in 2025” reading challenge, I intend to continue reading Classics. My plan, from here on out, is to read 3 or 4 Classics each year, in between reading books that are on my neverending TBR pile. I have also decided to not feel guilty, if I decide not to finish a Classic that I’m not really enjoying.

I completed all the books above because I was trying to reach a goal. I have decided that I don’t have enough time to read, and, therefore, I will dedicate my reading time to books I truly enjoy.

How about you? Do you read Classics? Which ones have you really enjoyed?