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Saturday, December 5, 2015

The Classics Club: Spin #11


The Classics Club Spin has been a huge success and now it's time for round 11!  I have not participated in any spins so far this year...the six novels in Trollope's Barsetshire Chronicles  have kept me fully occupied. Previous spins have dealt me An American Tragedy, The Bell Jar, Middlemarch, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, The Picture of Dorian Gray, They Were Sisters, and Cheerful Weather for a Wedding. Now I'm ready to spin again!

The rules are the same, 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. (12/7)
- 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 February 1, 2016.

In the past I've come up with fun categories and themes, but this time it's purely alphabetical. The odds are stacked for more Trollope, but I'd be happy with just about anything on the list.

1. Austen, Jane - Emma
2.  Bronte, Anne - Agnes Grey
3.  Bronte, Charlotte - Villette
4.  Cather, Willa - A Lost Lady
5.  DuMaurier, Daphne - My Cousin Rachel
6.  Gaskell, Elizabeth - Cranford
7.  Gissing, George - The Odd Women
8.  Hemingway, Ernest - The Sun Also Rises
9.  Ishiguro, Kazuo - The Remains of the Day
10. James, Henry - What Maisie Knew
11. Mitford, Nancy - The Pursuit of Love
12. Oates, Joyce Carol - Them
13. Steinbeck, John - The Winter of Our Discontent 
14. Thirkell, Angela  - Wild Strawberries
15. Trollope, Anthony - Rachel Ray
16. Trollope, Anthony - Can You Forgive Her?  (Pallisers #1)
17. Trollope, Anthony - Miss Mackenzie
18. Welty, Eudora - Delta Wedding
19. Wharton, Edith - The Bunner Sisters
20. Whipple, Dorothy - The Priory

Let's spin!


12/7 UPDATE:
The spin number is 19.
I'll be reading Bunner Sisters  by Edith Wharton, which I just realized is a novella!

26 comments:

  1. Hmmm. I think I just added sixteen more books to MY Classics Club list! :)

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    1. Audrey - Initially I included a couple of dreaded books, but decided to go with titles I really want to read.

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  2. I like your list! I have seen the classics club logo on other sites and wondered if I should try it for next year's book challenges.

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    1. Tina - The Classics Club is a 5 year/50 book challenge for me. I have 12 more books to go before April 2017. Fingers crossed I make it!

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  3. What a good list, I've read ten of them. As it happens I've read all of the Trollopes and enjoyed them. I really like Willla Cather but I haven't got around to A Lost Lady yet. I think I'll put it on my next list.

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    1. Katrina - I'd be so happy if one of the Trollopes comes up! Willa Cather is also a favorite and A Lost Lady has been on my shelf for far too long...

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  4. I got Can You Forgive Her? in a previous spin and loved it, though I still haven't finished the rest of the Palliser series yet. You have lots of other great books on your list too - I particularly enjoyed My Cousin Rachel, Cranford and The Remains of the Day. Good luck on Monday!

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    1. Helen - I just finished The Barsetshire Chronicles this month and am eager to read more Trollope... but not sure I'm ready to commit to another huge series like the Pallisers right away. Can't wait until Monday!

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  5. Great list! Can't go wrong with Trollope, and I also loved The Priory and The Pursuit of Love. I haven't read Bunner Sisters but I love Wharton so I'm putting that one on my next Classics Club list! Good luck with your Spin pick!

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    1. Karen K. - I did have a few 'dreaded' books on the list to begin with, but decided to go with just books I'm excited about at the moment. Figure I'm more likely to follow through that way ;-)

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  6. I just finished Emma and, in spite of reading it a couple of time before, thought it was just wonderful! However Angela Thirkell looks like fun .... I've been wanting an introduction to her writing .... and Can You Forgive Her? is high on my TBR list. Best of luck! You have a great list so I don't think that you could go wrong with any of them!

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    1. Cleopatra - I actually just started reading Emma today, so if it's chosen on Monday I'll have a head start! High Rising is the only Thirkell I've read, but it was indeed a lot of fun. I'd be very happy if #14 comes up on the spin.

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  7. You have some lovely possibilities, and I'm hoping for number 16. I loved the Palliser novels, and I could quite happily read them all over again.

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    1. Jane - Number 16 would be fine with me, too! I've just finished the Barsetshire Chronicles and am already looking forward to more Trollope!

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  8. My Cousin Rachel (& Mary Anne) are my favourite du Maurier's.

    Remains of the Day is also pretty wonderful in a bittersweet kind of way.

    I hope to one day emulate your Trollope reading year - I have the books; one day I will have the time too :-)

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    1. Brona - Rebecca is the only Du Maurier I've read, but I have several more on my wish list. Don't think I've heard of Mary Anne though... off to investigate,

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  9. Looks like a great list! I loved Cranford...

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    1. Sharon - I started Cranford many years ago, but never finished and have always meant to try again. I loved North and South and have several other Gaskells on my list.

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  10. I hope you get Agnes Grey! I think that one's underrated. I don't think it's as developed a work as The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, but I love the point she was making, and the courage it took.

    Villette is also quite, quite good. You should know French though, unless you get a copy that translates. :)

    Best wishes with the spin, JoAnn. :)

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    1. Jillian - I loved The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and would be thrilled to get Agnes Grey for this spin! You've got me worried about Villette though...

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  11. I also have Gaskell and the Bronte sisters on my list. Looks like you have had some previously very good spin results. Good luck for the result tomorrow :-)

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    1. thebookwormchronicles - Looks like we maybe reading Villette together if #3 is chosen :)

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  12. Ooh. Alphabetized! I mixed mine up ... actually I just never got that organized. Lkg fwd to finding out our read tmrw!

    Sarah @WordHits

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    1. Sarah - Looks like I'll be reading Edith Wharton. Hope you're happy with your spin :)

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