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…

~

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

~

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?

It’s time for another Classics Club Spin! I’m looking forward to taking part in this one – Spin 28 – as I feel I haven’t been reading as many classics as usual this year.

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

The rules for Spin #28:

* List any twenty books you have left to read from your Classics Club list.
* Number them from 1 to 20.
* On Sunday 17th October the Classics Club will announce a number.
* This is the book you need to read by 12th December 2021.

And here is my list:

1. A Laodicean by Thomas Hardy
2. Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith
3. Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault
4. Black Narcissus by Rumer Godden
5. The Fifth Queen by Ford Madox Ford
6. Claudius the God by Robert Graves
7. Nightmare in Berlin by Hans Fallada
8. Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather
9. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
10. Pied Piper by Nevil Shute
11. Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens
12. Ride the Pink Horse by Dorothy B Hughes
13. La Reine Margot by Alexandre Dumas
14. Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner
15. Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey
16. The New Magdalen by Wilkie Collins
17. Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym
18. The White Guard by Mikhail Bulgakov
19. The Trumpet-Major by Thomas Hardy
20. Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

~

I don’t really mind which of these I get, but Black Narcissus would be nice as Brona is hosting a Rumer Godden Reading Week in December.

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

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 22nd August. The number that has been selected is…

6

And this means the book I need to read is…

I Will Repay by Baroness Orczy

It has been ten years since Juliette de Marny’s father asked her to swear revenge upon Deroulede for the death of her brother in a duel. At last she finds herself in Deroulede’s house with an opportunity to betray him. Juliette realizes, too late, that she is in love with Deroulede. Can the Scarlet Pimpernel help?

~

Not one that I was particularly hoping for from my list, but still not a bad result. After reading The Scarlet Pimpernel a few years ago and discovering that there was a whole series of Pimpernel books, I decided to continue working through them in chronological order. I have since read Sir Percy Leads the Band and The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, so I Will Repay is next for me.

Have you read this book? Did you take part in the spin and are you happy with your result?