Classics Club Spin #23

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Spinning dancer

With everything going on of late, instead of targeting specific books to read, I’ve preferred to let my reading tastes wander to what I feel like reading at a particular moment.  Which makes me wonder with great puzzlement, why I’m choosing to participate in the recent Classics Club Spin.  Perhaps it’s because I’ve hardly focussed at all on my list.  But it’s more likely peer pressure from all you other bloggers who have jumped right in.  So here I go!

The Rules for the spin are:
  1. Go to your blog.
  2. Pick twenty books that you’ve got left to read from your Classics Club list.
  3. Post that list, numbered 1 – 20, on your blog by next Monday.
  4. Monday morning, the Classics Club will announce a number from 1 – 20.  Go to the list of twenty books you posted and select the book that corresponds to the number we announce.
  5. The challenge is to read that book by June 1st.

I used the random list organizer here to choose the 20 books from my master list.  Here is my spin list:

  1. Mary Barton (1848) – Elizabeth Gaskell
  2. Address to Young Men (363) – Saint Basil
  3. The Romance of Tristan (c. 12th century) – Beroul
  4. Animal Farm (1945) – George Orwell
  5. Reveries of a Solitary Walker (1782) – Jean Jacques Rousseau
  6. The Lord of the Flies (1954) – William Golding
  7. Bleak House (1852/53) – Charles Dickens
  8. Ivanhoe (1820) – Sir Walter Scott
  9. On the Imitation of Christ (1418-1427) – Thomas à Kempis
  10. The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) – Ann Radcliffe
  11. Tom Sawyer (1876) – Mark Twain
  12. Gargantua and Pantagruel (1532-1564) – François Rabelais
  13. The Stranger (1942) – Albert Camus
  14. The Good Soldier Svejk (1923) – Jaroslav Hasek
  15. Meditations (170-180) – Marcus Aurelius
  16. She Stoops to Conquer (1773) – Oliver Goldsmith
  17. Pericles, Prince of Tyre (1607-1608) – William Shakespeare
  18. Tom Brown’s School Days (1857) – Thomas Hughes
  19. Huckleberry Finn (1884) – Mark Twain
  20. Heptaméron (1558) – Marguerite of Navarre
The Spinner

The Spinner – Pietro Longhi
source Wikiart

Oh my!  I was initially terrorized before I randomized but this list doesn’t look nearly as bad as it could have been.  I will cry if I get The Mysteries of Udolpho, Gargantua and Pantagruel and perhaps with The Good Soldier Svejk but I’ve already started the latter so it would just force me to continue.  My preferred choices would be Reveries of a Solitary Walker (I seem to be immersing myself in Rousseau), Meditations (I can’t wait to spend some time with Marcus Aurelius) or Mary Barton.  Bleak House, I’ve begun as well, however I’d probably begin it again, and it would be justice if I spun either Mark Twain novel as I haven’t read any of his works yet.  Yipes.

Well, I will simply wait for Monday’s number and keep a good attitude no matter what I get.  Best of luck to everyone who is participating!

The Classics Club

 

32 thoughts on “Classics Club Spin #23”

    • I started Life on the Mississippi and became bored so I quit halfway. I think I started Tom Sawyer but didn’t get far into it however I really can’t remember. So while I’ve technically “read” Twain, I’ve never finished any of his books. 😜

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  2. Yes, Tom Sawyer is pretty fun. But I hope you do get Rousseau. I’ve never that one & I’m curious about it.

    In any case I hope you get something fun!

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  3. i actually like Ms. Radcliffe’s writing: she never uses one word when five or ten will fit! it makes for an interesting read.. admittedly her plots are a little drawn out, but it’s sort of like listening to grandma tell a story… interesting list; i tried the Hasek but couldn’t get into it: it just seemed rather silly…. more of a comment on me that on Hasek, maybe… anyway, goodluck with the dice roll…

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    • Lol! I’m just dreading the length of The Mysteries of Udolpho, not the book itself. I really dislike getting long books and then having to read them on a time limit.

      I couldn’t get into Hasek either and I totally agree with you! It WAS silly. A little bit of that sort of stuff is amusing, but when it’s constant, it becomes SOOO tedious. But perhaps it’s like medicine; I just need to swallow it down and it will be over with!

      Thanks for the wishes!

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    • I’m so looking forward to reading Aurelius. It’s time for a little common sense! I don’t want to get Udolfo, but perhaps a little escapism won’t hurt. Best of luck with your spin!

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    • I read The Plague as a read-along. If I remember, Camus used it as a platform for his philosophy and that overshadows the events, however the examination he makes into human actions is indeed interesting. I might just read it again!

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  6. Glad to see you joining in, Cleo! Hopefully you get something you love. I’ve found the Spins great incentives to read books I might otherwise be putting off.

    Mary Barton’s good. I have Bleak House on my list too, though at a different number. If you Tom Sawyer, I might join in as I’ve been meaning to read that for ages, though it’s not on my Classics Club list. Huckleberry Finn is really good, but I know there are people who think Tom Sawyer is the better book, so I’m curious to compare them for myself. (Which might mean i would need to reread Huck Finn as well…)

    Whatever is spun, I hope you love it!

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    • Well, if you spin Bleak House, I might just change my book out so we can read together! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed Huck Finn. I have a feeling that I’ll enjoy Huck more than Tom but we’ll see. Like you, if I get one, I just might have to read the other. I’m popping over to your blog now to see all your possibilities!

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    • I would be pleased to get Beroul. My frustration with medieval literature is that I’d like to spend some time there but I tend to read one book and then be drawn to another era. I have a number of non-fiction books and some Great Courses on the medieval period; you’d think I could stick to it. Argh!

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  8. Oh!! You are doing this!! Now I am supremely tempted. As is my reading mojo has been on a hiatus lately and I am thinking this may be a good way to get started again! Oh!! And I want to read Rousseau with you if you get that! That man js brilliant!

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    • Oh yay! I’m glad I could convince you with even trying, lol! Definitely! We will read Rousseau together if I draw him! Hope you’re doing well!

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  9. I’m absolutely loving the French classics on this list. But “The Good Soldier Svejk” calls out to me the most. I haven’t read it but I’ve heard good things. Good luck on your challenge Cleo! I’m trying to get back to participating in Classics Club events and just blogging more.

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    • Yay, Fariba! How wonderful to see you again! I’ve missed you and your insightful writing. So good to reconnect!

      Yikes! I started The Good Soldier and like Mudpuddle mentioned it was just a guy doing a bunch of silly and ignorant things … for page after page after page …… If I drew it though, at least I would finish it. I’d love to have your opinion on it if you ever read it.

      I do hope to see you around more!

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  10. Yes, Tom Sawyer is fun; more fun than Huckleberry Finn in this Yank’s opinion, Huck Finn is still very good, but a more serious subject – probably more socially important. Lots of good choices.

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    • Thanks, Joseph! At least I have double the chance of getting a Twain compared to the other books. We’ll see what happens tomorrow ….

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