The result of the latest Classics Club Spin has been revealed today.

The idea of the Spin was to list twenty books from my Classics Club list, number them 1 to 20, and the number announced by the Classics Club represents the book I have to read before 3rd March 2024. The number that has been selected is…

20

And this means the book I need to read is…

The Trumpet Major by Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy’s only historical novel, The Trumpet Major is set in Wessex during the Napoleonic Wars. Hardy skilfully immerses us in the life of the day, making us feel the impact of historical events on the immemorial local way of life – the glamour of the coming of George III and his soldiery, fears of the press-gang and invasion, and the effect of distant but momentous events like the Battle of Trafalgar.

He interweaves a compelling, bitter-sweet romantic love story of the rivalry of two brothers for the hand of the heroine Anne Garland, played out against the loves of a lively gallery of other characters. While there are elements of sadness and even tragedy, The Trumpet-Major shows Hardy’s skills of story-telling, characterisation and description in a novel of vitality, comedy and warmth.

~

This wasn’t one I was particularly hoping for – I would have liked something shorter and lighter – but I always love Hardy, so I’m not unhappy with this result!

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

It’s time for the first Classics Club Spin of 2024. I wasn’t sure whether to join in this time as I only have eight books left to read from my Classics Club list and I haven’t even finished my book from the last Spin, but in the end I haven’t been able to resist taking part. Ideally, I would like to read all of these eight books within the first half of the year, so this should help motivate me.

If you’re not sure what a Spin is, here’s a reminder:

The rules for Spin #36:

* List any twenty books you have left to read from your Classics Club list.
* Number them from 1 to 20.
* On Sunday 21st January the Classics Club will announce a number.
* This is the book you need to read by 3rd March 2024.

And here’s my list. I’ve had to repeat all of the books at least once as I don’t have twenty left.

1. The Trumpet-Major by Thomas Hardy
2. The White Guard by Mikhail Bulgakov
3. The Silver Branch by Rosemary Sutcliff
4. Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner
5. The Black Lake by Hella S. Haasse
6. The Elusive Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
7. Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault
8. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
9. The Trumpet-Major by Thomas Hardy
10. The Silver Branch by Rosemary Sutcliff
11. The Black Lake by Hella S. Haasse
12. The Elusive Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
13. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
14. Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault
15. The Elusive Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
16. The Black Lake by Hella S. Haasse
17. Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner
18. The Silver Branch by Rosemary Sutcliff
19. The White Guard by Mikhail Bulgakov
20. The Trumpet-Major by Thomas Hardy

~

Have you read any of these? Which number do you think I should be hoping for?

I wasn’t sure whether to take part in the latest Classics Club Spin as I only have nine books left to read from my Classics Club list, but I decided it would be a good way to motivate myself to pick up one of those remaining nine books and move a step closer to finishing my list at last!

If you’re not sure what a Spin is, here’s a reminder:

The rules for Spin #35:

* List any twenty books you have left to read from your Classics Club list.
* Number them from 1 to 20.
* On Sunday 15th October the Classics Club will announce a number.
* This is the book you need to read by 3rd December 2023.

And here’s my list. I’ve had to repeat all of the books at least once as I don’t have twenty left.

1. The White Guard by Mikhail Bulgakov
2. Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
3. The Silver Branch by Rosemary Sutcliff
4. Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner
5. The Black Lake by Hella S. Haasse
6. The Trumpet-Major by Thomas Hardy
7. The Elusive Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
8. Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault
9. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
10. The White Guard by Mikhail Bulgakov
11. Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
12. The Silver Branch by Rosemary Sutcliff
13. Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner
14. The Black Lake by Hella S. Haasse
15. The Trumpet-Major by Thomas Hardy
16. The Elusive Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
17. Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault
18. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
19. The Silver Branch by Rosemary Sutcliff
20. The Black Lake by Hella S. Haasse

~

I don’t mind which of these books I get as I need to read all of them soon anyway. Have you read any of them?

The result of the latest Classics Club Spin was revealed today.

The idea of the Spin was to list twenty books from my Classics Club list, number them 1 to 20, and the number announced by the Classics Club represents the book I have to read before 29th January 2023. The number that has been selected is…

6

And this means the book I need to read is…

Wild Strawberries by Angela Thirkell

Pretty, impecunious Mary Preston, newly arrived as a guest of her Aunt Agnes at the magnificent wooded estate of Rushwater, falls head over heels for handsome playboy David Leslie. Meanwhile, Agnes and her mother, the eccentric matriarch Lady Emily, have hopes of a different, more suitable match for Mary. At the lavish Rushwater dance party, her future happiness hangs in the balance.

~

This is not one I was particularly hoping for, but I’m happy enough with that result. I liked but didn’t love the first book in this series, High Rising, and was assured that some of the later books are better, so I’m looking forward to continuing with them.

Have you read this? What did you think of it? And if you took part in the Spin which book did you get?

It’s time for another Classics Club Spin – the last one of 2022. I don’t feel that I’ve made much progress with the Classics Club this year, so I’ve been looking forward to this! If you’re not sure what a CC Spin is, here’s a reminder:

The rules for Spin #32:

* List any twenty books you have left to read from your Classics Club list.
* Number them from 1 to 20.
* On Sunday 11th December the Classics Club will announce a number.
* This is the book you need to read by 29th January 2023.

Here’s my list:

1. Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
2. The White Guard by Mikhail Bulgakov
3. Claudius the God by Robert Graves
4. The Trumpet-Major by Thomas Hardy
5. The New Magdalen by Wilkie Collins
6. Wild Strawberries by Angela Thirkell
7. Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household
8. Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff
9. Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner
10. A Laodicean by Thomas Hardy
11. Random Harvest by James Hilton
12. The New Magdalen by Wilkie Collins
13. Farewell the Tranquil Mind by RF Delderfield
14. Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith
15. Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault
16. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
17. Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym
18. Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff
19. The Trumpet-Major by Thomas Hardy
20. Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith

~

As I only have 16 books remaining on my Classics Club list, I’ve had to duplicate some of them here. I don’t really mind which one I get but I would be particularly happy with Strangers on a Train, The New Magdalen or one of the Thomas Hardy books.

Which number do you think I should be hoping for on Sunday?

The result of the latest Classics Club Spin was revealed today.

The idea of the Spin was to list twenty books from my Classics Club list, number them 1 to 20, and the number announced by the Classics Club represents the book I have to read before 30th October 2022. The number that has been selected is…

2

And this means the book I need to read is…

The Fortune of the Rougons by Émile Zola

The Fortune of the Rougons is the first in Zola’s famous Rougon-Macquart series of novels. In it we learn how the two branches of the family came about, and the origins of the hereditary weaknesses passed down the generations. Murder, treachery, and greed are the keynotes, and just as the Empire was established through violence, the “fortune” of the Rougons is paid for in blood.

Set in the fictitious Provencal town of Plassans, The Fortune of the Rougons tells the story of Silvere and Miette, two idealistic young supporters of the republican resistance to Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte’s coup d’etat of December 1851. They join the woodcutters and peasants of the Var to seize control of Plassans, and are opposed by the Bonapartist loyalists led by Silvere’s uncle, Pierre Rougon. Meanwhile, the foundations of the Rougon family and its illegitimate Macquart branch are being laid in the brutal beginnings of the Imperial regime.

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I’m happy with this as I’ve read very little by Zola and would like to read more. I originally had Germinal on my Classics Club list but found it difficult to get into, so decided to replace it with this one. It’s the first in the Rougon-Macquart series and my edition is translated by Brian Nelson.

Have you read this? If you took part in the Spin, are you pleased with your result?