It’s time for another Classics Club Spin. This is the 31st – I can’t believe there have been so many! If you’re not sure what a CC Spin is, here’s a reminder:
The rules for Spin #31:
* List any twenty books you have left to read from your Classics Club list.
* Number them from 1 to 20.
* On Sunday 18th September the Classics Club will announce a number.
* This is the book you need to read by 30th October 2022.
Here’s my list:
1. The White Guard by Mikhail Bulgakov
2. The Fortune of the Rougons by Émile Zola
3. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
4. The New Magdalen by Wilkie Collins
5. Claudius the God by Robert Graves
6. Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff
7. Random Harvest by James Hilton
8. Farewell the Tranquil Mind by RF Delderfield
9. Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner
10. Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith
11. A Laodicean by Thomas Hardy
12. Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
13. Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym
14. Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith
15. The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr by ETA Hoffmann
16. Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household
17. The Trumpet-Major by Thomas Hardy
18. Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault
19. Wild Strawberries by Angela Thirkell
20. The New Magdalen by Wilkie Collins
I only have 18 books left on my Classics Club list so have had to repeat some of them. I don’t really mind which of these I get, but is there any particular number you think I should be hoping for?
She Reads Novels 
I think you are right to give yourself twice the chance of reading Strangers on a Train, really good book! Still can’t quite believe that and The Talented Mr Ripley were amongst her first few books – the definition of hitting the ground running! Is the Zola novel part of his long saga? I’ve thought about working my way through those novels at some point.
I’ve still never read anything by Patricia Highsmith and have only heard good things about Strangers on a Train, so I would love to get that one in the spin! Yes, the Zola novel is the first in the Rougon-Macquart series. I’ve already read one of the later books in the series but thought it would be interesting to go back to the beginning and work through them in order.
I’d only hope for ‘Strangers on a Train’ because I enjoyed the movie so much.. [grin]
That sounds like a good enough reason to me! I would love to get that one in the spin.
You might want to root for The New Magdalen by Wilkie Colins as it’s on the list twice. I like Collins. IT’s #s 4 and 20.
Yes, that’s one I’m particularly hoping for. I love Wilkie Collins but haven’t read any of his books for a few years.
I might try for The New Magdalen by Wilkie Collins as it’s on the list twice, #s 4 and 20.
Oops – I have a hard time logging into all the WordPress blogs. My blog is on WordPress for goodness sake. Anyway I posted twice by accident. Sorry.
Becky
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That’s okay! I think a lot of people have been having trouble commenting on WordPress blogs lately.
You have some good ones on your list.
Yes, I think so. I would be happy with any of them.
I’m putting up my list on Saturday.
I love Nicholas Nickleby and Random Harvest too is so so good, and Pym is always enjoyable. Moonfleet I read ages ago but remember enjoying it. Very pleased to see Tomcat Murr on your list, a book I learnt about only recently. Definitely curious to know what a bourgeois cat is like😺
I will be happy if the spin gives me any of the books you’ve mentioned! Yes, Tomcat Murr sounds fascinating – I only heard about it quite recently myself and was intrigued.
Good luck!
Just Moonfleet and Sword at Sunset are among my past reads, and the Sutcliff last read fifty years ago! At least I have a newish copy of it to get back into it!
I’ve read very little of Rosemary Sutcliff’s work but enjoyed The Eagle of the Ninth earlier this year, so I’m looking forward to Sword at Sunset.
I’ve read The End of the Affair which I didn’t enjoy much, but it is a dark and compelling book, with more emphasis on character than on plot. I’ve also read The Trumpet Major, but that was at school and I don’t remember much about it at all, so I think I’ll add it to my CC list. I loved I, Claudius and Claudius the God years ago.
I added The End of the Affair to my Classics Club list a while ago when it was a Six Degrees of Separation book, so I’ll be interested to see what I think of it. I enjoyed I, Claudius and am hoping I haven’t left it too long to read the sequel!
1, 3 or 12 would be great! Happy spinning!
Thanks. I would love to get one of the three you’ve mentioned, but I think I would be happy with almost anything on my list this time!
I’m a Barbara Pym fan so I always hope for Jane and Prudence. But I really liked Strangers on a Train, too. Oh, and The End of the Affair is a good one, too.
Strangers on a Train is one I’m particularly hoping for!
I keep buying new classics (isn’t that an oxymoron) so my list is getting longer, not shorter!
I’m trying to finish this list first, but I already have lots of other classics in mind for my next list!
You can’t go wrong with Barbara Pym! Wilkie Collins is fun too. I haven’t read either of those Hardy novels so I’m very intrigued.
I haven’t read anything by Pym or Collins for a few years, so would love to get either of those books. I’ve read all of Hardy’s better known novels and am working through the more obscure ones now!
I missed out on this spin but I’ll be cheering you on with your Zola from the sidelines! I’ve only read one of his books, about a hundred years ago, but I seem to remember enjoying it a lot and making a mental note to read more. That clearly worked well… 😉
I haven’t read much of his work either, but I’ve enjoyed the little I’ve read (except for Germinal, which was just the wrong book at the wrong time, I think).