British Crime Classics Challenge 2020

I am so excited to announce the British Crime Classics Challenge 2020.

This is the second year I am hosting this challenge and I hope you are as excited as I am to divulge into some cozy (or not) classics.

What are the rules for this challenge?

Except for a teeny-weeny condition, there are no rules for this challenge. Yep, you heard it right!

So what is the teeny-weeny condition that I am talking about? Let’s see… The book that you read must be under the genre Classics. (Duh! Obviously!). The books must be written before 1965. (Reprints are allowed) So, there you go. That’s it! Simple, eh?

What genres are allowed?

Crime/Mystery, and Thrillers.

You can either choose cozy ones like Poirot, Miss Marple or Inspector Littlejohn. Or if you prefer hardboiled crimes, who am I to stop you from reading them? 😉

Where do I start?

If you are new to crime classics or need some recommendations, you can check out the following blogs:

• The Invisible Event
• In Search Of The Classic Mystery Novel
• The Passing Tramp
• My Reader’s Block
• Mysteries Ahoy
• Ah Sweet Mystery Blog
• Cross Examining Crime
• Pretty Sinister
• The Green Capsule
• The Reader Is Warned
• Clothes In Books
• Dead Yesterday
• A Crime is Afoot
• Bedford Bookshelf

Also, have a look at what last year’s participants read for this challenge:

Anjana @ Superfluous Reading

Vandy @ Bibliogyan

Bev @ My Reader’s Block

Yours truly!

Where to find books?

If you are an ebook reader, take a look at Faded Page and Project Gutenberg. You can download books for FREE from these sites.

Amazon Kindle Store also offers a huge number of classics for free.

Publishers that reprint crime classics include:

Dean Street Press: They have a marvellous collection of books, some of which are hidden gems. DSP also gives freebies on Kindle store every week. DSP offers their readers a wide variety of mystery classics from authors like Christopher Bush, Moray Dalton, Molly Thynne, Brian Flynn and many more.

Agora Books: Reprints Inspector Littlejohn series by George Bellairs, Albert Campion series by Margery Allingham, Appleby series by Michael Innes and many more.

British Library Publishing/Poisoned Pen Press: All the reprints are tagged under British Library Crime Classics.

Pushkin Vertigo/Steerforth Press: Known for a wide variety of crime reprints – from Frederik Dard to Baroness Orczy.

Note: I have included only those publishers whose reprints I have read in 2019.

How many books do I need to read to participate in this challenge?

As much as you wish! As I said before, no rules!

If you want ‘conditions apply’, here you go – at least 6 books per year.

Do I need to post a review if I am participating in this challenge?

One of the ‘rules’ of the British Crime Classics Challenge last year was “the participant is expected to post a review on their blog”.

Starting from this year, there is no such ‘rule’.

If you are a blogger, write a review and tag it under “British Crime Classics Challenge”.

If posting on twitter, tag your tweet under #BritishCrimeClassicsChallenge. You can also tag me (@bookdecoder) if you wish.

If you review only on Goodreads, send me a request on GR or send me an email so that I can read your review.

If you are not active on social media but want to participate in the challenge, please do! You can send me an email (use the contact form) and let me know that you are participating.

Any doubts or questions, I will be happy to help.

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Many thanks to Anjana, Dora, Bev and Vandy for participating last year. I hope to see more participants this year. 🙂

 

List of participants for BCCC 2020 ( If I missed your name, let me know – sign up post is not necessary)

Laurie @ Bedford Bookshelf

Bev @ My Reader’s Block

Carol @Carol’s Notebook