The latest Classics Club Spin has been announced. To join in, I choose twenty books from my classics list. On Sunday, 21st January, 2024, 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, 3rd March, 2024.
So, here is my list of 20 books for the spin...
- Patricia Highsmith – The Talented Mr.Ripley (1955)
- Shirley Jackson – We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962)
- Madeleine L'Engle – A Wrinkle in Time (1962)
- William Shakespeare – Much Ado About Nothing (1598)
- Mary Shelley – Frankenstein (1818)
- John Steinbeck – Cannery Row (1945)
- William Thackeray – Vanity Fair (1848)
- Anthony Trollope – The Warden (1855)
- Oscar Wilde – The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890)
- Virginia Woolf – Flush (1933)
- Chinua Achebe – Things Fall Apart (1958)
- Roald Dahl – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)
- Charlotte Brontë – Jane Eyre (1847)
- Anne Brontë – Agnes Grey (1847)
- Albert Camus – The Stranger (1942)
- Lewis Carroll – Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865)
- Willa Cather – My Ántonia (1918)
- Kenneth Grahame – The Wind in the Willows (1908)
- Graham Greene – Our Man in Havana (1958)
- Graham Greene – The Quiet American (1955)
This list is not that different than the last one. I substituted three books for ones that I had already read or needed a copy for.
Are there any of these you recommend?
29 comments:
We will have a couple of spins in common if The Stranger or Oscar Wilde are the lucky numbers :-)
That's a very nice comprehensive list of choises, Tracy. (I've read seven of them.) I hope you get something you really want to read.
I can't say I dislike any of these, though I haven't read the Trollope at all, nor AGNES GREY nor OUR MAN IN HAVANA (I plucked a copy of THE QUIET AMERICA from a library sale cart ca. 1978),and haven't finished JANE EYRE not VANITY FAIR, but mostly because more urgent business raised its head rather than disliking what I read. I liked or loved the Dahls (though I liked, say, JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH and his short stories more), A WRINGKLE IN TIME and THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS, as a kid...and I think those might be better times to read them (Dahl's short stories would hold up, I think). Highsmith and Jackson probably won't let you donw, and neither will the more cheery than usual Woolf. The Camus is effectively monomaniacal. Enjoy the spin1
or, even, AMERICAN. (It was Not deaccessioned because of a missing N in its title).
I've read about half of them and among them I enjoyed most the Jackson, the Highsmith, the Achebe, the Cather and C. Bronte. Good luck.
So many good books listed here, several of which I want to read, too! My Antonia came up in an earlier spin for me and I really enjoyed it.
I love that you have some classic children's books on your spin list. So many good titles to choose from. Can't wait to see what you spin. :D
The Achebe is, I think, really worth reading, Tracy, and it's not overlong. It's not at all a light, fun read, but it offers a lot to think about. I like Steinbeck very much, too. And I think Patricia Highsmith wrote some excellent stories. Whichever one you get, I hope you're glad you read it.
Brona, I am amazed that we matched two of our numbers. Of the two, I would prefer it was The Picture of Dorian Gray, but The Stranger would be an interesting read too, probably more challenging.
Cannery Row and The Quiet American are ones I especially liked. Hope you get something good!
Cath, I know that The Wind in the Willows is one of your favorites and that one is at the top of my favorites in this list. But most of the other books would be fine too.
Todd, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would be fine, as would A Wrinkle in Time and The Wind in the Willows (my personal favorite this time). I have read a few of Dahl's short stories and I need to pull out my copy of Tales of the Unexpected for a short story post soon.
I alllmmmmosssst put Wrinkle in Time on my list...Wait...I think I am going back and adding it!
Hi Tracy, For me the top 3 on the list are Jand Eyre, Frankenstein and Things Fall Apart. I have read all 3 and they are true classics.
I think I've read maybe all of seven of these...yet another reminder how many holes I still have in my reading of the classics of most genres. I don't think you can go far wrong with any of these. I did try Wrinkles of Time a while back and was completely mystified by it and had to put it aside. Never could get into the prose style enough that it didn't feel like a struggle to get through a page. I'd love to hear what you think about that one because I KNOW I have to have missed something there...
Patti, those books that you listed all sound good, although I have always been wary of We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Or, for that matter, The Talented Mr. Ripley. I hope I like that one when I read it because it sounds like a great series.
Kelly, it is a good list and I will probably stick close to it next time. I am glad that the result was #20. I haven't read much by Graham Greene.
Lark, I had not realized that I had included so many children's classics. I did read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass when I was a child. Since The Wind in the Willows never comes up on the spin, I just have go ahead and read it soon anyway.
Margot, #20 was the pick this time, which means I am reading The Quiet American, and I think I will like it. Maybe Achebe or Steinbeck will come up next time.
Reese, I did get The Quiet American and I am happy with it. And it looks like you get to read something from your next Classics List?
Deb, I see that you did add A Wrinkle in Time to your list but that you ended up with... Oliver Twist. That should be good, but longer? I have not read much Dickens but I should.
Kathy, I will have to hope for Jane Eyre, Frankenstein or Things Fall Apart next time, as it will be The Quiet American this time. But those three would be just fine.
Sam, I have heard both good and bad things about A Wrinkle in Time. I will have to see what I think when I read it. The one on my list that was picked was The Quiet American. It is especially a good pick because I will be reading an ebook edition, and that is one of my goals... to read more ebooks.
I really like A Wrinkle in Time, although it is not my favorite of her books (And Both Were Young. It is more of a quest than a science fiction story: the cover scared me off in elementary school but curiosity got the better of me in 4th grade and I checked it out, then tried to read it under my desk while my teacher taught something that interested me less. I always got caught!
Constance, thanks for your thoughts on Wrinkle in Time. I will be reading my son's copy, which is a nice old paperback (with smallish print). I will try more of her books after that if I like it.
I was always too scared to do any illicit reading in class in school.
An interesting mix that covers some ground. From Charlie & the Chocolate Factory to Shakespeare! I have read a few of these recently, including Shirley Jackson's book and Willa Cather's. Thumbs up on those.
Amazingly I've read 16 of them. I enjoyed The Quiet American but it's not everyone's cup of tea.
Susan, there are several on the list that I consider challenging and the Shakespeare is one of them. If I ever read it, it will take me a while. I am looking forward to the Willa Cather.
That is amazing, Katrina. Although I do know that you read much more classic literature than I do.
I haven't read much by Graham Greene and I am glad it was the choice for me this time.
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