A new Classics Club Spin was just announced and since I had good luck with my last CCSpin pick — The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett — I’m going for it again.
Last night I was looking around for what to read next and decided to check out my Classics Club list. Lately, my reading has been focused on reading new releases, and while that’s exciting and has turned me on to some excellent stories, as always I have started hankering for something old. A story that has stood the test of time and/or that opens a door to the past.
I reviewed my Classics Club list and decided that if I want to get serious about reading the books I’ve listed, it would help to have the books “on-hand” to combat inertia. I downloaded all of the titles that were available on Project Gutenberg. And then some others, lots of others. My WiFi and ereader had a huge workout last night.
So, here’s my list of for this Spin:
- Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes, 1605
- The Monk, Matthew Gregory Lewis, 1796
- Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott, 1819
- The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1851
- Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, 1862
- Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 1866
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, 1869
- The Bostonians Henry James, 1886
- The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett, 1896
- The Land of Little Rain by Mary Austin, 1903
- The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams, 1918
- Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson, 1919
- So Big by Edna Ferber, 1924
- The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann, 1924
- Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves, 1929
- A Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain, 1933
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, 1943
- From Here to Eternity by James Jones, 1951 <— I’ll be reading this novel
- Lord of the Flies by William Golding, 1954
- Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin, 1956
I am prepared to read whichever title the Fates point to when the announcement is made on August 9th. Except for The Magic Mountain and From Here to Eternity, my ereader now contains all of the early titles and I own hard copies of those still under copyright.
And now I wait a week for the Spin number to be announced.
In the meantime, I’m going to start Forever Amber by Kathleen Windsor. It’s a historical romance published in 1944 and 972 pages long, so it’ll take me awhile to get through (or to even make a significant dent). I was almost named Amber because of this novel, which I wrote about a few months ago.
If this is your first time visiting my blog, welcome! And you’ve never heard of the Classics Club, here’s the link to their About page: https://theclassicsclubblog.wordpress.com/about/
If you hate a book on this list, I don’t want to hear about it! But if there is one or more that you love, please share the love. 🙂
I did read Ivanhoe a few years ago and I liked it. It’s a story that has stayed with me. Happy Reading whichever book the spin decides. 🙂
That’s great to hear! I’ve long wanted to read something by Sir Walter Scott since he was so popular and influential.
I hope you get number 16, Testament of Youth. It is absolutely phenomenal & one of my favorite books! Also Forever Amber is delicious. ☺
Wow! You’ve got some chunksters in there!! And two of my favourites – So Big and Testament of Youth 🙂
Good luck!
I am ready ready to immerse myself. Great to see more high praise for Testament of Youth.
I just started Forever Amber tonight and am completely sucked in! Glad to hear you speak highly of Testament of Youth. I’m dreading it a bit as I do most WWI books, but also looking forward to it.
I have very fond memories of reading Forever Amber as well – during my year in London at age 23. It was a banned book for a while too I believe.
If you’re already sucked into Forever Amber, you’re in for a TREAT! 😀
Testament of Youth is like this gentle, iron voice speaking to our own century. It’s absolutely incredible. It reads like a novel for about 400 pages (& is absolutely a page-turner.) Then she breaks into more of an essay telling you why her story mattered. Seriously, can’t recommend it enough. I read it because a blogger (about sixteen years old) found a copy in her grandmother’s bookshelf & decided to give it a go and was blown away. I read it shortly after on her high praise and was equally stunned, dented, moved, and somehow hopeful.
Great list! I loved A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and I also really liked So Big. I’d never read Edna Ferber and I thought she was really good, definitely want to read more of her work. I also really liked Testament of Youth, but it’s rather a slow read. And I’m really curious about Forever Amber, I’ve heard of it but never read it. A 900 page mid-century historical novel is definitely my type of book!
Hi Karen! I just started Forever Amber this evening and was quickly drawn in. I’ve heard nothing but high praise for the three books you’ve mentioned having read. Can’t wait to see which one is the lucky winner.
Forever Amber was compared to Gone with the Wind in its day.
Thank you for this post (and all your posts), really appreciate your perspective and your reviews!
Thanks for your kind words, Kelle!
There’s some long ones in there! I especially liked Don Quixote, Anna Karenina, The Education, & The Magic Mountain. But I’ll be especially curious if you get Goodbye To All That, which I’m interested in but haven’t read.
Yeah, I could be jumping into the deep end! I am a bit intimidated by Don Quixote. Two big books back to back would be a good challenge. A coworker gave me her copy of Goodbye to All That when she was moving out of state. To lighten her moving load, she gave everyone at work a book from her collection that she thought would be a good match for the person. I was reading a lot on WWI at the time. It’s one of those books I thought I’d read right away and now it’s probably ten years since she gave it to me.
I also have your 13! But I wish you 17, you are so going to love it! Here’s mine https://wordsandpeace.com/2020/08/06/the-classics-club-the-classics-spin-24/
well 17 was close! wow 18, I just went to have a look, tough topic, I’m trying to stay away form war topics these days. And wow, this is not only a big book, but the 1st book of a trilogy! Good luck!