Tuesday, November 4, 2014

The Classics Club: Spin #8


The Classics Club Spin has been a huge success. Previous rounds have dealt me An American Tragedy, The Bell Jar, Middlemarch, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Cheerful Weather for a Wedding. The rules are the same this time, only the dates have been changed.

Here's how it works:
- 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 by next Monday. (11/10)
- Monday morning, we’ll announce a number from 1-20. Go to the list of twenty books you posted, and select the book that corresponds to the number we announce.
- The challenge is to read that book by January 5.

I'm still sticking with a slightly modified version of my original list. Here's what it looks like this time:

Pick Me, Pick Me (books I want to read now)
1. My Cousin Rachel by Daphne DuMaurier
2. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
3. Delta Wedding by Eudora Welty
4. Wild Strawberries by Angela Thirkell
5. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

Quickies
6. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
7. Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
8. The Professor's House by Willa Cather
9.  Sandition by Jane Austen
10. A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

Favorite Authors
11. The Bunner Sisters by Edith Wharton
12. The Warden by Anthony Trollope
13. They Were Sisters by Dorothy Whipple
14. The Winter of our Discontent by John Steinbeck (reread)
15.  Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

Chunksters 
16.  Them by Joyce Carol Oates
17.  Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
18. Villette by Charlotte Bronte
19.  Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
20.  What Maisie Knew by Henry James



UPDATE:
The spin number was 13. I will be reading They Were Sisters  by Dorothy Whipple by January 5.


18 comments:

  1. What a great list! I don't know your #4 or #13, but any of the other ones would be a good choice, I think. Good luck!

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    Replies
    1. MyBookStrings - I think 4 and 13 are not very well known authors, but I've really enjoyed books by both Thirkell and Whipple.

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  2. You've got so many sterling choices--you really can't go wrong, though I confess to knowing nothing about Them by Joyce Carol Oates.

    I've been heavy into classics this year that I think I'll pass on this spin this time!

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    Replies
    1. JaneGS - It's fun to be relieved of the burden of choosing my next classic. There are only a couple on the list I'm hoping do not get selected, but Them isn't one. It's about race relations and social class in 1930-60s Detroit . I've been wanting to read it for years!

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  3. Wild Strawberries certainly sounds good. The Warden was excellent as well. You have a really wonderful list. I hope you have a great spin!

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    1. Cleopatra - I'm hoping to read Thirkell's entire series and would love it if The Warden pushes me into Trollope's Chronicles of Barsetshire.

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  4. I do like your list so it's hard to single any out. I am hoping to avoid the chunksters so I think the quickies would be good for this round...or Cranford...or Angela Thirkell....or Daphne. Hope the spin is kind to you.

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    Replies
    1. Cat - My fingers are crossed that I don't get a chunkster... this is not the best time of year to begin one!

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  5. That's a great list! I read The Remains of the Day a few weeks ago and loved it, so I hope you get that one. Good luck.

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    Replies
    1. Helen - I'd be very happy if The Remains of the Day gets chosen.

      Delete
  6. Great list JoAnn.
    Nice to see so many familiar faces turning up for this spin :-)

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    Replies
    1. Brona - Almost took a pass this time because of the holiday season, but I just can't resist a spin ;-)

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  7. I am voting for Wild Strawberries or The Warden :) I hadn't heard of Them before (except the film about the giant mutant ants) - it sounds intriguing! Happy spinning!

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    Replies
    1. Lisa - I would be thrilled with either Wild Strawberries or The Warden. I certainly hope Them doesn't involve giant mutant ants ;-)

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  8. I failed with my last spin - I didn't read even one page of I Capture the Castle so I think I will abstain this time. You have some intriguing books on your list. I read about half of Them by JCO a few years ago and utterly hated it, but I am not a fan of her writing anyway. Whatever you get I hope you enjoy the spin!

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    1. Anbolyn - I'm not a huge fan of JCO either. The Falls is the only one of her books I've really loved, but Them seems to be the most famous. Figured I'd give it a try before I stop reading her.

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  9. Since I didn't get my last spin book read I'm passing this go round but I can't wait to see what you get! I'm kind of hoping you get My Cousin Rachel because that's one I want to read! I do hope you won't get a chunkster after An American Tragedy!

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    Replies
    1. Katherine - I'm going to be in big trouble if I get a chunkster this time!

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