One of my favorite parts of being a member of the Classics Club are the Spins. Basically, participants select 20 books from their Classics Club list and number them. The club chooses a random number, and club members read the corresponding book from the list with that number, and have a month to read and post about it. I've just started my second Classics Club list, which has some very obscure classics because I'm desperately trying to read books from my own shelves. Here's my list:
Five Classics I've Owned the Longest:
1. Imperial Palace by Arnold Bennett
2. Alas, Poor Lady by Rachel Ferguson
3. Living/Loving/Party Going by Henry Green
4. The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne by Brian Moore3. Living/Loving/Party Going by Henry Green
5. The Children by Edith Wharton
Five From the 20th Century:
6. Westwood by Stella Gibbons
7. The Hireling by L. P. Hartley
8. The Little Ottleys by Ada Leverson
9. Whisky Galore by Compton Mackenzie
10. Barmy in Wonderland by P. G. Wodehouse
Five in Translation:
11. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
12. The Misunderstanding by Irene Nemirovsky
13. The Bright Side of Life by Emile Zola
14. The Fortunes of the Rougons by Emile Zola
15. Beware of Pity by Stephan Zweig
Five Virago Modern Classics:
16. Troy Chimneys by Margaret Kennedy
17. Invitation to the Waltz by Rosamund Lehmann
18. The World My Wilderness by Rose Macauley
19. Jenny Wren by E. H. Young
20. Frost in May by Antonia White
On August 1 I'll be assigned a number and that will be my next Spin pick! Which ones should I be hoping for? Which should I be dreading? And what's on your Spin list?
Updated: The number is up, and I'll be reading #9, Whisky Galore by Compton Mackenzie. Sounds like a perfect summer read and I'm looking forward to it.
I would be dreading The Hireling, because I didn't love The Go-Between. And I'd hope for the Stella Gibbons title! I just finished my list: http://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2018/07/classics-club-spin-18.html
ReplyDeleteI mostly enjoyed The Go-Between though I thought part of the ending was really unrealistic. I would love Stella Gibbons, I'm kind of hoping for a fun read. And your list just blows me away, those are some impressive titles -- way above and beyond my frivolous mind!
DeleteAhem. I left Crime and Punishment off my list because I didn't think I could read it in a month.
DeleteI love the way you've organized your list. My SPINlist
ReplyDeleteYours too! I love spreadsheets! You have some great books on your list -- and some scary ones!
DeleteThis is a superb list, Karen! Do you have any top choices? See you Wednesday!
ReplyDeleteProbably the five from the 20th century, because they all seem to be lighter reads (excellent for summer); or the five in translation. Crime & Punishment is my daughter's favorite book and she'll be home in August, so we could discuss it which would be fun.
DeleteI wish you'd get no. 5 or 13, just because I'm curious about them. But you have some interesting titles there.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, have fun with the spin!
I always love Wharton and I'd really love to cross that one off my list! And I am very intrigued with The Bright Side of Life because I just got a copy of the new translation; also, it's fairly short which is always a plus. I meant to read this for Paris in July but just haven't gotten to it yet.
DeleteGreat list, I see you like P.G. Wodehouse too. Anthony Trollope and Proust would also be on my list.
ReplyDeleteI still have lots of Trollope to read! I'm supposed to start Kept in the Dark for a read-along with an online group, so I decided to keep him off this spin list. And I guess I should try Proust someday.
DeleteThat’s my second Zweig prompt this week! I really must look into his work some more.
ReplyDeleteI wish you a Zola or Wharton 😊
My list will go up in the weekend.
Zola or Wharton would be great! I'll definitely be looking for your list.
DeleteQuite a list! I should take notes, as I've only even heard of 1 of those titles (the Dostoevsky). I guess after the first 100 books, one must wander away from the common path. I'll be interested in your review of any of them.
ReplyDeleteI'm mostly trying to decrease the amount of unread books in my house, I realize these are not all what some would consider classics. I've been trying to read classics for about ten years now and I've read a lot of the major classics already, especially Victorians. Still haven't read any Dostoevsky yet!
DeleteI'd hope for the Nemirovsky title as the friendliest read on your list, or maybe you will go big with Crime and Punishment. I love how you have so many titles on your list that are new to me...I'm always afraid I'm going to run out of good books before I get to the end of life.
ReplyDeleteI have the opposite problem, I keep finding more books I want to read and worry that I'll die before I read them all.
DeleteI loved Crime and Punishment - it's a good one!
ReplyDeleteI have heard great things but it does seem so dire.
DeleteI think maybe I'd be dreading Crime and Punishment although it wouldn't be on my list as I read it many years ago and feel in need of something lighter, lol. Frost in May is an old favourite of mine although saying that there are some dark moments in that as well.
ReplyDeleteHere's my spin list: https://whatcathyreadnext.wordpress.com/2018/07/26/the-classics-club-spin-18/
I've read so few Russians, really just Tolstoy and Turgenev, whom I did not like. I feel like it's a glaring gap in my reading so I should really get to it.
DeleteExcellent list, Karen! Westwood also made my spin list, and Invitation to the Waltz is one of my favorite Viragos. I'm also looking forward to reading The World My Wilderness and Frost in May. Excited to see which of these is picked!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I have so many unread Viragos and I've also heard there's a Virago reading event on LibraryThing. I'm really looking forward to the Spin next week, can't wait to see what I'll be reading.
DeleteThat looks like a great list--so many things I don't know well, too! Judith Hearne is great (and short!) but is a very sad story. I found C+P very intense when I read it.
ReplyDeleteI think that's why I haven't read Judith Hearne yet. I am definitely afraid of Crime & Punishment also.
DeleteI'd be hard-pressed to read Crime & Punishment in a month! And so many of those I've never heard of. Good luck with whichever your number is!
ReplyDeleteAgreed, a month might be tight for C&P, especially because I'm usually reading multiple books at the same time. I would have to balance C&P with another fun read, plus my book group starts up again in August and I haven't started that book yet.
DeleteI've never heard of most of these, but it looks like a well thought-out list! Good luck!
ReplyDelete