Les Miserables

For the year 2026, I will make a goal to read six classics, which is one for every two months.

Here is the list:

• Les Miserables - Jan/Feb

• Crime and Punishment - Mar/Apr

• A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - May/Jun

• Middlemarch - July/Aug

• David Copperfield - Sept/Oct

• Moby Dick - Nov/Dec

I have a vague memory of reading Les Miserable during my adolescence. It was a challenge I took on without the book being assigned reading to school.

Now that so many years have passed since then, I will see how much of it I remember. Also, by reading the book at the beginning of the year, I will be ready when the Broadway musical makes a stop in Calgary in March.

In all the time I have spent covering local theatre, I have still not seen a Broadway Across Canada production, so this will be the show I look forward to in the spring. The story follows Valjean in his travels around the countryside trying to escape his criminal reputation.

Originally Published on January 1, 2026