26 July 2018

Classics Club Spin #18


This is my first Classics Club Spin, and I'm excited! Each Clubber has a personal list of 50-100 classic books that we have chosen to be our challenge list. For the Spin we pick 20 of those titles and put them into a numbered list. On August 1 the Club moderators will pick a number from 1 to 20 and we have to read that book on our list by the end of August and report back to the Club.

So here's my list. Quite a few novellas, as I have set up a personal challenge called Short Reads Short Reviews (SRSR). Most of these are sitting in my collection somewhere, as reading what I already own is a major theme for me.
  1. Chinua Achebe, "Things Fall Apart" 1958
  2. John Barth, "Giles Goat-Boy" 1966
  3. May Barton, "Elizabeth Gaskell" 1848
  4. Joseph Bédier, "The Romance of Tristan & Iseult" 1900
  5. Aphra Behn, Oroonoko, "The Rover and Other Works" <1689
  6. Daniel Defoe, "A Journal of the Plague Year" 1722
  7. Honoré de Balzac, "Eugénie Grandet" 1833
  8. Olivia de Havilland, "Every Frenchman Has One" 1961
  9. Antoine de Saint Exupéry, "The Little Prince" 1943
  10. Charles Dickens, "A Tale of Two Cities" 1859
  11. Nikolai Gogol, "Dead Souls" 1842
  12. Henry James, "Daisy Miller" 1879
  13. James Joyce, "Dubliners" 1914
  14. Herman Melville, "Billy Budd and other Tales" ~1891
  15. I. E. Rövaag, "Giants in the Earth" 1925
  16. Anthony Trollope, "The Vicar of Bullhampton" 1870
  17. Edith Wharton, "The Glimpses of the Moon" 1922
  18. Edith Wharton, "The Reef" 1912
  19. Voltaire, "Candide" 1759
  20. Virginia Woolf, "A Room of One's Own" 1929

Spin On!



UPDATE: The spin is #9, so I'm reading Antoine de Saint Exupéry's "The Little Prince". I guess it's about time I read this popular classic, everyone else seems to have!


20 comments:

  1. Eclectic list! I've read about half of these and I can highly recommend Candide and The Glimpses of the Moon, one of my favorite Whartons. Sadly, it's one you rarely hear about but I loved it. And you can never go wrong with Trollope!

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    1. Yes, it is eclectic! I like many types of fiction. I've just started the Classics Club so I have some catching up to do. I'd like one of the Whartons for my spin.

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  2. I just finished Candide. It had such a contemporary feel, I thought. A brilliant satire.

    I'm also a huge fan of Dubliners and Little Prince.

    There are many on your list that I have not yet read. Maybe when I create my second list, I will add them.

    It's my first spin, too, and I'm curious to be seeing what I will be reading.

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    1. Thanks for your thoughts on Candide. I am curious about it as I've heard the name a lot, but know nothing about it. Dubliners would be a nice re-read after 40 years. We'll know our fates very soon!

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  3. I've got A Room of One's Own my my list too. :)

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    1. Somehow I just never got around to reading that classic, or any Woolf books. It's high time!

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  4. I'll admit I've struggled with some of Virginia Woolf's fiction (hello, Orlando) but I really liked A Room of One's Own. Hope you enjoy whatever gets picked.

    Here's my spin list: https://whatcathyreadnext.wordpress.com/2018/07/26/the-classics-club-spin-18/

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    1. I hope you enjoy "Heat and Dust"! I read it last year and liked it.

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  5. Yay, for your first CC spin!! There are some great choices here. I've read and enjoyed A Room of One's Own, The Glimpses of the Moon, Things Fall Apart, and Daisy Miller. Happy reading, Christina!

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    1. I think "The Glimpses of the Moon" is my top choice for the spin. Actually I only put books on that I was eager to read - maybe that's cheating? I hope you get a book you enjoy for this spin!

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  6. I spot a Herman Melville Book on your list! Yes! Great list overall, Are you hoping for any number in particular?

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    1. No, I'm happy with any of these books. I read "Moby-Dick" last December and loved it!! And now I'll finally read "The Little Prince"!

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  7. I had not heard of Wharton's "Glimpses of the Moon." Will definitely add it to my TBR shelf. Congratulations on your first Classics Spin!

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    1. "glimpses of the Moon" was new to me, too, when I spotted it at a charity shop. I've read 2 of Wharton's books and I think I will like them all.

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  8. Love the short read short review idea...and a very sensible approach for your first spin.
    Welcome and happy spinning on Weds :-)

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    1. Thank you for the welcome and for becoming one of our moderators! I'm looking forward to reading lots of classics.

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  9. I LOVE The Little Prince, and personally I believe A Tale of Two Cities is Dickens' greatest (though that is not the general consensus). Nice List.

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    1. I loved "A Tale of Two Cities" when we read it in High School, so I would like to re-read it. And "The Little Prince" has come up for me on this spin!!

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  10. I've only read one from your list - A Tale of Two Cities - which is my favourite novel by Dickens as it is set during the French Revolution, a period that interests me. Hope you enjoy your spin book!

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    1. I agree about Tale of Two Cities; I loved it when I read it in high school. I should enjoy The Little Prince as everyone I know says it's wonderful. I hope you like Starvecrow Farm. I never heard of Stanley J. Weyman, so I look forward to your review.

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