I just revised my Classics Club list last week, so this spin is coming at the perfect time for me. As I’m currently reading Middlemarch, I’ve given myself a break and tried to choose books that aren’t quite as thick or that have a reputation for being a swift read, although there are some weighty ones here. I’m old enough to know that size doesn’t matter, at least when it comes to page-count. Some short books can be just as challenging as a 500+ pager.
What is a Spin, you ask? It’s a combination of your Classics Club list and, at least in my mind, gambling. The moderators ask members to make a list of 20 of their un-read books and then on a certain date a random number between 1-20 is chosen and the corresponding number on your list is the book you read.
Here’s my 20:
- The Odyssey* by Homer, 8th century BC, new translation by Emily Wilson
- The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan, 1678
- The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1851
- The Bostonians Henry James, 1886
- The Land of Little Rain by Mary Austin, 1903
- Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson, 1919
- So Big by Edna Ferber, 1924
- The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann, 1924
- Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, 1925 👈 The book I’ll be reading by Aug 31st
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, 1943
- From Here to Eternity by James Jones, 1951
- Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, 1952
- Lord of the Flies by William Golding, 1954
- Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin, 1956
- Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, 1958
- Ship of Fools by Katherine Anne Porter, 1962
- Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, 1968
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, 1969
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, 1970
- The Color Purple* by Alice Walker, 1982
* = a re-read
I’m hoping the magic number will be 1, 10, 13, or 20. I’m a bit nervous about 2, 3, and 4 because I doubt they’ll be swift reads but what’s the point of gambling without a little trepidation?
The number will be announced on August 1st and readers are asked to read and review their book by August 31st.
Wish me luck!
A great list. If I hadn’t picked out mine already, I might have jusy copied yours! I hope you get #10, as that Brooklyn Tree has been on my list for ages. Good luck!
I also hope you get A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. It is a little long, but it’s a fast read and just wonderful. You have some serious reads on your list but I think ATGiB would be a great summer read. Best of luck on the spin pick!
Excellent spin list, Chris. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is one of my favorites, and The Bluest Eye is a powerful and heartbreaking read. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is on my main Classics Club List and I’m very curious about Giovanni’s Room. Good luck and happy reading!
Good luck on your spin! I think the only one I’ve read on your list is The House of the Seven Gables and that was years ago.
[…] 9 was chosen for the latest Classics Club Spin Challenge which meant I was to read Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. A miracle happened. I actually read it, […]