The latest Classics Club Spin has been announced. To join in, I choose twenty books from my classics list. There are not many changes from the last list.
On Sunday 11th December, 2022, the Classics Club will post a number from 1 through 20. The goal is to read whatever book falls under that number on my Spin List by Sunday the 29th January, 2023.
So, here is my list of 20 books for the spin...
- Show Boat (1926) by Edna Ferber [299 pages]
- Fahrenheit 451 (1953) by Ray Bradbury
- The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934) by James Cain
- My Ántonia (1918) by Willa Cather
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) by Roald Dahl
- The Sign of Four (1890) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle [160 pages]
- The Wind in the Willows (1908) by Kenneth Grahame
- The Quiet American (1958) by Graham Greene [180 pages]
- The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955) by Patricia Highsmith
- Goodbye to Berlin (1939) by Christopher Isherwood
- We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962) by Shirley Jackson
- A Wrinkle in Time (1962) by Madeleine L'Engle
- The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1940) by Carson McCullers
- Cannery Row (1945) by John Steinbeck
- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker [420 pages]
- The 13 Clocks (1950) by James Thurber
- The Warden (1855) by Anthony Trollope
- The Optimist's Daughter (1972) by Eudora Welty [180 pages]
- Things Fall Apart (1958) by Chinua Achebe [209 pages]
I have a few favorites on this list but really, any book here will be fine.
22 comments:
Great list!
Cannery Row is one of my favorites - it's short but quietly warm and beautifully poetic.
I also loved My Antonia and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. These three has almost similar vibes. Whichever gets picked, have a fun reading!
My list: https://klasikfanda.blogspot.com/2022/12/classic-club-spin-32-ccspin.html
Great list. You can't go wrong but I would like to hear your opinion of WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE.
The Warden is excellent and so is Jekyll and Hyde... might reread that again next year.
You have some excellent choices here, Tracy. I'll be really interested in your thoughts if you get Fahrenheit 451. It really had an impact on me and I'm wondering how you'll feel about it. And We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a very well-done suspense story, I think. Oh, and you have the Isherwood here! Yes, I can definitely say you're likely to be in for a fine read.
You have a broad selection. I hope you get Dracula or My Antonia. Both are wonderful, but in entirely different ways!
I enjoy looking at what others have on their lists!
Thanks, Kelly. Either Dracula or My Antonia would be good picks for me. I am looking for a shorter read this time, and Dracula is not short, but I have heard such good things about it.
I will come over to your blog and check out your list soon.
Fanda, any of those would be good (My Antonia, Cannery Row, or The Heart is a Lonely Hunter) although my top pick might be My Antonia. I saw that your list had Middlemarch on it. My husband has a copy and I want him to read it first before I attempt it. It is so long.
Patti, We Have Always Lived in the Castle would certainly be a short read but I have always been a bit scared to read it. I would be happy if it was the pick for this spin though.
Cath, I am curious about both The Warden and Jekyll and Hyde, so both would be fine for this pick, and neither is too long. I would not be bothered about the length at all except that I am still reading Anna Karenina.
I agree, Margot, all of those would be great reads. The only problem I have with Fahrenheit 451 is that all of the copies I have on hand have very tiny print. I may look for another copy if that comes up.
Hi Tracy, read 5 books on your Classic Spin list: My Antonia, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Dracula, Sign of Four and We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Of these five I most enjoyed We Have Always Lived in the Castle although enjoyed is a tricky word with Shirley Jackson. Her books can be quite creepy and We Have Always Lived in the Castle is disturbing.
Lots of goodies on your list! I'd pick The Sign of the Four or Jekyll and Hyde. The Wind in the Willows is a great favourite of mine, but I always think of it as a summer book. Hope you get a good one!
There are a few favorites of mine on your list, too! Can't wait to see what you spin. :D
Kathy, I am glad to hear that you liked We Have Lived in the Castle. It is the creepy, disturbing aspect of that book that puts me off, but I really want to read it anyway. I have avoided The Talented Mr. Ripley for the same reason. But I will be happy with any of those that you mentioned, even Dracula which is long.
FictionFan, I would rather have Sign of the Four or Jekyll and Hyde over Wind in the Willows ... but only for this spin. I have an annotated edition of Wind in the Willows and I had planned to read it at a leisurely pace, but I will take whatever number the spin gives me.
Lark, I am anxious to find out what the spin number is too, even though I am sure I will wait until 2023 to start the book. I like the element of fate in the spin.
Some great books, Tracy I've read a few:
Cannery Row (1945) by John Steinbeck (great writing)
Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker [420 pages] (..unforgettble)
The 13 Clocks (1950) by James Thurber (hilarious ...Thurber never disappoints)
Quiet American (saw the movie...old and new version) fascinating South Asian/USA thriller!
Hope you get smith you like!
Thanks, Nancy. All of those classics you noted would be excellent picks. I don't understand why I haven't read more books by Graham Greene, and I hope to remedy that.
Hi Tracy,
What a great list! I have never read Bram Stoker's Dracula, and actually that one should be on my list. I will make a note of it. And The 13 Clocks--will be looking that up straight away because I love James Thurber and don't know the title! I'll be so excited to learn which book you'll be reading.
Judith, I am looking forward to tomorrow when they announce the number. My husband has been encouraging me to read Dracula for years.
There's a "new" version of DRACULA available, as well, now, the recent publication in English of a shorter version (IINM) Stoker submmitted to Scandinavian publishers to be pubished in translation. I haven't read it yet, but gather it (unsurprisingly) is somewhat faster-paced.
Todd, that version of Dracula sounds interesting, let me know how you like it when you read it.
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