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?

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?

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 7th August. The number that has been selected is…

5

And this means the book I need to read is…

The Chrysalids by John Wyndham

First published in 1955, The Chrysalids is a post-nuclear story of genetic mutation in a devastated world, which tells of the lengths the intolerant will go to to keep themselves pure.

David Strorm’s father doesn’t approve of Angus Morton’s unusually large horses, calling them blasphemies against nature. Little does he realize that his own son, his niece Rosalind and their friends, have their own secret aberration which would label them as mutants. But as David and Rosalind grow older it becomes more difficult to conceal their differences from the village elders. Soon they face a choice: wait for eventual discovery or flee to the terrifying and mutable Badlands…

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Of all the books on my list, this is one I hadn’t expected to come up in the spin – I have no idea why, but it was a surprise! From the blurb, this is not the sort of book I would usually choose to read, but I have enjoyed others by John Wyndham so am looking forward to this one.

Have you read The Chrysalids? If you took part in the Spin, are you happy with your result?

It’s time for another Classics Club Spin – the 30th, in fact! If you’re not sure what a CC Spin is, here’s a reminder:

The rules for Spin #30:

* List any twenty books you have left to read from your Classics Club list.
* Number them from 1 to 20.
* On Sunday 12th June the Classics Club will announce a number.
* This is the book you need to read by 7th August 2022.

I’m already busy working through my 20 Books of Summer list, so not sure if I will actually have time to read a Spin book as well, but I can’t resist taking part anyway!

Here’s my list:

1. A Laodicean by Thomas Hardy
2. Pied Piper by Nevil Shute
3. Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather
4. Farewell the Tranquil Mind by RF Delderfield
5. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
6. Wild Strawberries by Angela Thirkell
7. Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner
8. The White Guard by Mikhail Bulgakov
9. My Theodosia by Anya Seton
10. A Pin to See the Peepshow by F Tennyson Jesse
11. Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym
12. Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith
13. The New Magdalen by Wilkie Collins
14. Random Harvest by James Hilton
15. Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault
16. Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff
17. Pied Piper by Nevil Shute
18. Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey
19. A Pin to See the Peepshow by F Tennyson Jesse
20. The Trumpet-Major by Thomas Hardy

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Which of these do you think I should be hoping for? I would love to get either Pied Piper or A Pin to See the Peepshow as both of those are on my 20 Books of Summer list, so I’ve included each of them on my Spin list twice to increase my chances! Otherwise, I don’t really mind which number comes up.

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

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 April. The number that has been selected is…

11

And this means the book I need to read is…

In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B. Hughes

I wasn’t expecting this one to come up, for some reason, but I’m quite pleased that it did! Hughes’ Ride the Pink Horse was one of my books of the year in 2021 and The Expendable Man in 2020, so I’m hoping I’ll enjoy this one just as much.

Did you take part in the spin? Are you happy with your result?

It’s time for another Classics Club Spin – the first of 2022! I’ve only read one book from my Classics Club list so far this year, so this spin has come at a good time for me.

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

The rules for Spin #29:

* List any twenty books you have left to read from your Classics Club list.
* Number them from 1 to 20.
* On Sunday 20th March the Classics Club will announce a number.
* This is the book you need to read by 30th April 2022.

And here is my list:

1. Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith
2. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
3. The Trumpet-Major by Thomas Hardy
4. The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr by ETA Hoffman
5. Farewell the Tranquil Mind by RF Delderfield
6. Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather
7. Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner
8. Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff
9. Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym
10. Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault
11. In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B Hughes
12. Wild Strawberries by Angela Thirkell
13. My Theodosia by Anya Seton
14. Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey
15. Pied Piper by Nevil Shute
16. A Laodicean by Thomas Hardy
17. Random Harvest by James Hilton
18. The New Magdalen by Wilkie Collins
19. A Pin to See the Peepshow by F Tennyson Jesse
20. Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

I have made a few changes to my Classics Club list since the last spin, removing some books I no longer felt like reading and replacing them with others that sounded more appealing to me or that have been on my TBR for a long time. They might not all be books that are traditionally considered ‘classics’, but at least there’s nothing here that I’m dreading reading! I would be happy to get any of these in the spin.

Are you taking part in the spin? Which number do you think I should be hoping for on Sunday?