It's time for another Classics Club Spin!
But wait. What, you might ask, is the Classics Club?
From the blog:
- Choose 50+ classics you would like to read.
- List them at your blog.
- Choose a reading completion goal date up to five years in the future and note that date on your classics list of 50+ titles.
- E-mail the moderators of this blog (theclassicsclubblog@gmail.com) with your list link and information and it will be posted on the Members Page.
- Write about each title on your list as you finish reading it, and link it to your main list.
- When you’ve written about every single title, let the Club know, and your name will be posted on the Wall of Honor.
If you haven't done this, do this first. Then you can get going with your reading by joining in for our Classics Club Spin.
What is the Classics Club Spin? Again, from the blog:
- Go to your blog.
- Pick twenty books that you’ve got left to read from your Classics Club List.
- Post that list, numbered 1-20, on your blog before Wednesday 1st August.
- We’ll announce a number from 1-20.
- Read that book by 31st August.
Here is my list:
1. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
2. Emma by Jane Austen
3. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
4. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
5. Mythology by Edith Hamilton
6. One Thousand and One Arabian Nights
7. The Wonderful "O" by James Thurber
8. Dona Barbara by Romulo Gallegos
9. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
10. Selected Stories by O. Henry
11. Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata
12. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
13. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
14. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
15. Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
16. The Doll's House by Rumer Godden
17. White Fang by Jack London
18. At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald
19. The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead
20. The Black Corsair by Emilio Salgari
Rationale: August is Austen in August, and I will definitely be reading Persuasion in August in honor of that event. Maybe I might squeeze in a little more Austen (Northanger Abbey; Emma; Mansfield Park). I've also included several titles from my list that are also on PBS' Great American Read list (Dona Barbara; Intuitionist). It would be nice to read them before the voting is tallied this fall. I'm trying to read all 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. Several books on my list are from this list (Arabian Nights; Little Princess; King Arthur; White Fang: North Wind; Black Corsair).
Are you a Classic Clubber? Have you made your list? Leave a link in the comments if you have so I can see what you are picking.
Now let's see what book the spinner chooses for me to read in August....
Update: The wheel chose book #9, A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett!
Update: The wheel chose book #9, A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett!
Look at the beautiful copy I have to read, part of the Puffin in Bloom Collection! So happy!
Update: I've finished The Little Princess. Five stars. Here's my review:
Sara Crewe is beautiful and clever and rich and has everything she could possibly want when she arrives at Miss Minchin's Boarding School in England. She has one thing that sets her apart from the other girls, though, and that is that Sara uses her imagination to enhance her life. Despite her riches and beauty and cleverness, she is kind to everyone, even those who are cruel to her and even those who are poor.
And then she learns that her father has died and that all her riches are gone. Miss Minchin banishes Sara to the attic and makes Sara a servant in the house.
But it changes nothing in Sara. She continues to be kind to others and to take refuge in her imagination.
A Little Princess is an inspiring story of a girl with deep reserves of character and imagination, who manages to do the right thing even when her entire life falls apart. I'm so glad I finally read this book and I hope you will read it, too.
Sara Crewe is beautiful and clever and rich and has everything she could possibly want when she arrives at Miss Minchin's Boarding School in England. She has one thing that sets her apart from the other girls, though, and that is that Sara uses her imagination to enhance her life. Despite her riches and beauty and cleverness, she is kind to everyone, even those who are cruel to her and even those who are poor.
And then she learns that her father has died and that all her riches are gone. Miss Minchin banishes Sara to the attic and makes Sara a servant in the house.
But it changes nothing in Sara. She continues to be kind to others and to take refuge in her imagination.
A Little Princess is an inspiring story of a girl with deep reserves of character and imagination, who manages to do the right thing even when her entire life falls apart. I'm so glad I finally read this book and I hope you will read it, too.
Good luck with the spin! I'm going to skip it this time. My August is already full to brimming. I'll catch up with the next one.
ReplyDeleteThis will be my very first spin.
DeleteI liked Mansfield Park much more than I thought I would since Fannie isn't exactly a fiery character. I really enjoyed The Age of Innocence. Wharton is an excellent writer.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping to read as much of Austen as I can during August.
DeleteExcellent list, Deb! Mansfield Park (as a re-read) and Excellent Women also made my spin list this round. I love The Age of Innocence and North and South too. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteI've got my fingers crossed for these, then.
DeleteSnow Country is on my club list but not on my spin list. That makes #11 interesting to me. But there's a lot of fun stuff there! Which King Arthur would it be?
ReplyDeleteI’m not terribly sure. I suppose I’ll have to find something in the public domain.
DeletePersuasion is my favorite Austen novel. I was so irritated with Emma that I never bothered finishing it. I loved Hamilton's Mythology. I hope you get to read a book you are looking forward to next month. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI am eager to read anything on this list.
DeleteClassics is one of the genres that I don't do well with so I will watch this from the sidelines and cheer you on.
ReplyDeleteOh, I do hope you will step onto the playing field every now and then.
DeleteGreat list Deb! I recently read The Call of the Wild...and while it was a great book, I found it slightly harsh... Do you think White Fang will be similar? Also, any particular number you are hoping for?
ReplyDeleteWell, after all, it is Call of the Wild!
ReplyDeleteI would be happy with any book on the list, I think.
There's no such thing as too much Austen so I'll hope you get one of those to go along with Persuasion. Whatever one you end up with, I hope you enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteI've read several of those books - of them, my favorite was North and South. I also love the BBC miniseries.
ReplyDeleteNorth and South is just wonderful -- also Excellent Women. Good luck with your spin pick!
ReplyDeleteOut of all the Austin books I have read, Emma is my favorite. It is droll and actually funny in places. So far, as I read Persuasion for our book club, it may be my least favorite of Jane Austin's novels.
ReplyDeleteI certainly hope I like Persuasion.
DeleteI have an Annotated Persuasion that I'm planning on reading in August - I'm a little excited about it as it will be my first annotated read of anything.
ReplyDeleteI read The Sound of the Mountain by Kawabata but was a little underwhelmed by the experience, but I have been curious about The Snow Country - watching the movie first might give me a way into his writing?
North and South and the Age of Innocence also have great movies to enjoy after you've read the books :-)
And welcome to your first spin!
I'm one of the few who has done them all (Jean from Howling Frog may be the only other)
I have an Annotated Persuasion that I'm planning to read in August, too. I certainly could use the support of a group read....
DeleteWow. You have done all of the spins. Good job.