Classics Spin #14: My list

September 30, 201617 Comments

I’ve been wondering when there would be another Classics Club Spin – it seems a long time since the last one – so I was pleased to see that Spin #14 has just been announced!

Here are the rules, if you need a reminder:

* List any twenty books you have left to read from your Classics Club list.
* Number them from 1 to 20.
* On Monday the Classics Club will announce a number.
* This is the book you need to read by 1st December 2016

And here is my list:

As I only have 15 books left to read for the Classics Club, I’ve had to list some of them twice. I haven’t included East of Eden (because I’ve already committed to reading that one this autumn) or my re-read of The Count of Monte Cristo (because it’s one of my favourite books and I thought it would be nice to save it until last). Of the others, I really don’t mind which one is chosen for me!

1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (re-read)
2. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
3. The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas
4. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (re-read)
5. Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier
6. Howards End by E.M. Forster
7. I, Claudius by Robert Graves
8. The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy
9. Lost Horizon by James Hilton
10. The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne
11. Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
12. The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
13. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
14. The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas
15. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
16. Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier
17. I, Claudius by Robert Graves
18. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (re-read)
19. The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
20. Excellent Women by Barbara Pym

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

Classics Spin – The Result

June 6, 201618 Comments

On Friday I mentioned that I was taking part in the latest Classics Spin. The idea of the Spin was to list twenty books from my Classics Club list, number them 1 to 20, and the number announced today (Monday) represents the book I have to read before 1st August 2016.

The number that has been selected by the Classics Club this time is #15, which means the book I’ll be reading is:

Prince of Foxes by Samuel Shellabarger

This is what the book is about:

Prince of Foxes, set in Renaissance Italy, is the fast-paced, suspenseful story of Andrea Orsini, a peasant boy who rises far and becomes a secret agent for the cunning and powerful Cesare Borgia, who entrusts him with the most delicate political, military and romantic missions. It is a classic of American popular fiction. When first published in the mid-twentieth century, it became an instant best-seller and was turned into a hit movie with Orson Welles cast as Borgia and Tyrone Power as Orsini.

One of the things I like about the Classics Club is that each individual member can decide how they want to define a classic. As well as conventional classics, my own list also includes modern classics, ‘forgotten’ classics, and books like this one, which are classic historical fiction. I’m very pleased that the spin has chosen Prince of Foxes for me as I’ve had a copy on my shelf for a long time and have just never managed to get round to reading it. I’ll do my best to read and review it sometime in June or July, but I want to finish Kristin Lavransdatter, my book from the previous spin, first!

Have you read this book? If you took part in the classics spin too, are you happy with your result?

Classics Spin #13: My list

June 3, 201621 Comments

The Classics Club have just announced another of their Classics Spins. It’s hard to believe this will be the thirteenth! I probably shouldn’t be taking part in this one as I haven’t even finished my book from the last Spin yet (although I think I have a good excuse, considering it was Kristin Lavransdatter) but as usual I couldn’t resist joining in.

Here is a reminder of the Spin rules:

And here is my list:

1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (re-read)
2. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
3. Louise de la Valliere by Alexandre Dumas
4. Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier
5. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
6. Howards End by EM Forster
7. I, Claudius by Robert Graves
8. Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
9. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (re-read)
10. The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy
11. Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
12. The Red House Mystery by AA Milne
13. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
14. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
15. Prince of Foxes by Samuel Shellabarger
16. The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
17. The Romance of the Forest by Ann Radcliffe
18. Lost Horizon by James Hilton
19. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (re-read)
20. Louise de la Valliere by Alexandre Dumas

I have exactly twenty books left to read for the Classics Club, so this list was very easy to put together. However, I haven’t included The Man in the Iron Mask as it comes after Louise de la Valliere in the d’Artagnan series and I don’t want to read them out of order. I’ve listed Louise twice instead.

I don’t really mind which book I get at this stage as I’ll be reading them all soon anyway. I’m always happy with Dumas or du Maurier, though, and I would also love to get The Leopard this time.

Are you taking part in the Classics Spin? Which books from my list do you think I should be hoping for?

Classics Spin #12: The Result!

March 7, 201624 Comments

Last week I decided to take part in the Classics Spin. The idea of the Spin was to list twenty books from my Classics Club list, number them 1 to 20, and the number announced today (Monday) represents the book I have to read before 2nd May 2016.

The number that has been selected by the Classics Club this time is #8, which means the book I’ll be reading is:

Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset

I have to admit, this is not one of the books I was hoping for – although I’m still quite happy with this result. I do think I’ll enjoy it, but having just finished Vanity Fair today I would really have liked something shorter and lighter. This is the longest book left on my Classics Club list so trying to read it by the May deadline might be too ambitious, but I should at least have time for the first volume, The Wreath.

Have you read Kristin Lavransdatter? What did you think? And if you took part in the spin too, what will you be reading?