The Classics Club Spin #2 - I wasn't a member for the earlier spin this year, but I loved the idea of having a random number generator pick what classic I would read next.
Here's the format.
- Pick twenty unread books from your list. This could be five you are dreading/hesitant to read, five you can’t WAIT to read, five you are neutral about, and five free choice.
- Number them from one to twenty.
- On Monday a number will be drawn.
- That’s the book to read by July 1.
- Mystery Mile, by Margery Allingham
- Elizabeth and Her German Garden, Elizabeth von Armin
- In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote
- David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens (reread)
- Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens
- Frenchman's Creek, by Daphne du Maurier
- Trilby, by George du Maurier
- Felix Holt, by George Eliot
- The Art of Eating, M.F.K. Fisher
- The French Lieutenant's Woman, by John Fowles
- The Sybil, by Par Lagerkvist (reread)
- The Leopard, by Guiseppe di Lampedusa
- The Blue Castle, by L.M. Montgomery
- Beloved, by Toni Morrison
- Blonde, by Joyce Carol Oates
- Excellent Women, by Barbara Pym
- Waverley, by Sir Walter Scott
- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by R.L. Stevenson
- Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck (reread)
- Dr. Thorne, by Anthony Trollope
If left to my own devices, I would go with #8, #18, #19, or #20 as they are all on my Back to the Classics Challenge.
I know you have Beloved as one you are dreading, but I love that novel so much. Very well-written, so powerful. I had to read it for a class, though, so that definitely helped. The Bluest Eye is probably the most straight forward of Morrison's novels, but even it has so much depth and different things analyze.
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of a "literary lottery!" Maybe that will help me get around to some of the books on my reading list. Thanks for sharing the idea.
ReplyDeleteInteresting list! David Copperfield and Great Expectations are excellent. I also enjoyed Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde and Of Mice and Men. I haven't read any of the others, though Beloved keeps making its way onto my "to read" lists, then lingering forever. I should really get to it someday soon.
ReplyDeleteThere's no need to dread In Cold Blood, but I'm with you on Beloved. That may be the unread book that has been on my shelf the longest. Would be very happy if the Du Maurier on my list is chosen. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteGreat list. I hadn't heard of that particular book by George Eliot, though I've read a lot of her other books. The Blue Castle and Excellent Women are two of my favorite books; I hope you get to read one of those.
ReplyDeleteI loved the French Lieutenant's Woman - the movie takes quite a different interpretation but is worthwhile seeing after you've read the book (even just to laugh at the dated 80's fashions and hairstyles of Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons!)
ReplyDeleteGood luck
I really want to see the movie, which is one of the reasons this book, which I've had for years, is finally on my reading list.
DeleteI wasn't sure about Beloved when I read it some years ago - and can't really remember much about it. I'd read Morrison's Song of Solomon first and liked that. The French Lieutenant's Woman is good - the film too.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what we'll get!!
I sympathize about Beloved. The writing style is compelling but the plot was highly distressing and I read it under duress. You're in for a treat though, when you get round to Excellent Women. It is Pym at her best.
ReplyDeletelove the color coding of your list :) Hope you get one your want to read! The Art of eating sounds right up my alley. Here's my Classics Club Spin list if you'd like to stop by.
ReplyDeleteIn Cold Blood and The French Lieutenant's Woman are both excellent and I loved Excellent Women. Nice variety on your list and I hope that the spin gives you a title you'll love.
ReplyDeleteVery neat and fun sounding exercise in deciding what to read next. i like the idea of randomness from time to time in my sequence of books.
ReplyDeleteEither way it looks to be a great list.
I'm too chicken to do the Classics Spin - although it's not like they're not books that I'm planning on reading any way! Good luck with the spin!
ReplyDeleteI actually was quite judicious in the books I selected--there's really nothing I don't want to read next.
DeleteGreat list! The French Lieutenant's Woman is on mine too. Can't wait to see what we get!
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