Back to the Classics Challenge

Karen K at Books and Chocolate has agreed to take on Sarah's Back to the Classics Challenge for 2014.  Hurray! The challenge will be very similar to the way Sarah created it.  There are required categories and optional categories and chances to win an Amazon gift card or book/s from the Book Depository based on how much you complete 

She has made one slight change, other than varying the book categories.  She's a little stricter than Sarah regarding the definition of a classic.  In her opinion, a classic is a book that has endured for some reason.  As she says:  I am defining a classic as a book that was published at least 50 years ago.  Therefore, any book published after 1964 is ineligible. 

To check out the rest of the guidelines click on the link above.
 
Here are the 2014 categories: 
Required:

1. A 20th Century Classic: The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkein [1937] (6/12/14)
2. A 19th Century Classic: A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott [1866] (7/3/14)
3. A Classic by a Woman Author: My Antonia by Willa Cather [1918] (4/20/14)
4. A Classic in Translation: Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm [German; 1812]
5. A Wartime Classic:  On the Beach by Nevil Shute [Nuclear War; 1957] (7/7/14)
6. A Classic by an Author Who Is New To You: Selections from the Essays of Montaigne by Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (trans & ed by Donald M. Frame) [original: 1580; this edition: 1948] (7/7/14)

Optional Categories:

1. An American Classic: The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (1962) [classsic SF/alternate history] (2/27/14)
2. A Classic Mystery, Suspense or Thriller: The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain [1934] (4/29/14)
3. A Historical Fiction Classic:  The Scarlet Pimpernel  by Baroness Orczy [1905; written about the French Revolution]  (9/21/14)
4. A Classic That's Been Adapted Into a Movie or TV Series:  Bed-Knob & Broomstick by Mary Norton [1943; 1947] (5/16/14)
5. Extra Fun Category:  Write a Review of the Movie or TV Series adapted from Optional Category #4: Bedknobs & Broomsticks 1971 Disney film (5/18/14)