Oh, no. When I saw it was spin time at the Classics Club, I stopped breathing. I’m swamped beneath a pile of books for online book groups AND courses. For one course, I’m actually required to read Dante’s Inferno and Vita Nuova three times in six weeks! Help! So the sane thing to do would be to let this spin pass, right? …….. Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss it!
For my last spin I finished The Importance of Being Earnest (review still in progress) and Moonlight Readers spin book, Summer by Edith Wharton. This time I’m not going to be attempting double spins, I promise!
As per usual, the rules for the spin are:
- Go to your blog.
- Pick twenty books that you’ve got left to read from your Classics Club list.
- Post that list, numbered 1 – 20, on your blog by next Monday.
- Monday morning, we’ll 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.
- The challenge is to read that book by October 6th.
I used the random list organizer here to choose the 20 books from my master list. So my list ended up looking like this:
- Ivanhoe (1820) – Sir Walter Scott
- Tevye the Dairyman and Motl the Cantor’s Son (1894) – Sholem Aleichem
- Twenty Years After (1845) – Alexandre Dumas
- Tom Sawyer (1876) – Mark Twain
- King Lear (1603 – 1606) – William Shakespeare
- 1984 (1949) – George Orwell
- Bondage of the Will (1525) – Martin Luther
- Henry V (1599) – William Shakespeare
- The Cherry Orchard (1904) – Anton Chekhov
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1831) – Victor Hugo
- Hamlet (1603 – 1604) – William Shakespeare
- Pensées (1669) – Blaise Pascal
- Gulliver’s Travels (1726) – Jonathan Swift
- The Time Machine (1895) – H.G. Wells
- The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy (1860) – Jacob Burckhardt
- Dead Souls (1842) – Nikolai Gogol
- Animal Farm (1945) – George Orwell
- L’Argent (1891) – Emile Zola
- The Interpretation of Dreams (1899) – Sigmund Freud
- The Prince (1513) – Niccolo Machiavelli
on my list???)
3. Ivanhoe – Walter Scott (only because it’s so long)
4. ——
5. ——
(looks like fun)
5. King Lear – William Shakespeare (loved it the first time, what about the
second?)
This list is a fantastic draw. My only concern is the length of the book chosen. Reading anything extra in November is impossible, so that will only leave me one month to finish. Ivanhoe, as much as I’m dying to read it, is probably not the best choice.
So now all I have to do is hold my breath, cross my fingers and wait.
Are you excited about this spin? Which titles do you hope to see chosen?
Maybe you'll get a slender one, like Time Machine, or The Prince, as you said.
All the best Cleo…hope you get King Lear….and now I will follow your suit and say nooooooo….I cannot take on more, but
Yes, the Prince is certainly short. It may be mentally taxing though and it's on the WEM histories list, so I'm not certain that I want to read it twice, but who knows. The Time Machine would be good ,,, after reading Lewis' Space Trilogy I'm ready for some works of Wells.
Yes, we are too alike to be safe influencing each other, I think? 😉
I'll be reading King Lear in any case, for my MOOCs course, and I'm looking forward to it. I read it long ago, but know that this time I'll get much more out of it.
Best of luck with your spin! Let's see if we can guess each other's books this time! 🙂
I don't know how you keep track of all of your books…! My November is packed, but like you, I won't be able to resist the spin and will get my list together now. Good luck to you!
I don't know how I keep track of all my books either! 😉 The sanity should return by mid-December. Thanks for the wishes and happy spin to you too!
This is my first time attempting the Spin! I'm secretly hoping for Sapphira and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather, which I'm planning to read anyway for Willa Cather Reading Week. Good luck with your list!
I've not read Twenty Years After but I'm intrigued, so I hope you get that!
Just about to do my spin list 🙂
Thanks, Lory. I just love Cather. Everything I've read of hers has been just wonderful. Best of luck with your first spin!
I'd be happy with that one; certainly an entertaining read!
I'll be keeping my eyes open for it!
If I was you I would be hoping for a slim book with large print :-). Good luck with the spin .
Great idea! At least I have a few slim books on this list, which is more than I could say for some of the other lists that I've had. Thanks so much for your wishes!
Most of those are pretty short, thankfully. I sure hope you don't get Hunchback or Freud…
Okay, if I get Freud, I think I'll pass out! What was I thinking to put it on my list? As for The Hunchback, I'd like to read it but the time factor doesn't make it a good choice. Sigh! Well, back to Tristram, the only honourable knight in Cornwall. 🙂 Finishing Le Morte will make anything I get appear much more manageable.
We share Zola this spin, but I confess that I'm hoping for a quicker, easier read this spin.
Good luck 🙂
Well, to confess a little secret, I've already begun L'Argent so if I get it, it will be much shorter than you think! Oh good; I'll have to pop over to your blog and take a look at your spin list.
I haven't committed to spin #8. I need a few days to think about it. I want to het Aus Reading Month book at least 75% done. You have a very, very classic list with all TOP books. If I had a choice I would do Gogol or Chekhov (emotions), H.G. Wells ( vivid writing), Shakespeare would be great for your challenges but his plays can be a lot of work (language, images, literary devices etc) . Good luck with the spin!
Yes, you are on your own little journey lately so you may not want to disturb it with a spin. I've really been enjoying reading your reviews about the interesting books you've been reading. Yes, Russians! …. Bring them on! 🙂 I'm reading lots of Shakespeare with this course I'm taking, so I could happily skip him, but I'll be reading King Lear in any case. Happy reading whether you decide to do the spin or not!
Spinning …you do it with blogging friends. I will get my list ready tonight and put it on the blog asap.
Although I feel at times 'filled to the gunwhales' with books to read….I am ready for spin # 8! Let the chips fall where they may!
Oh good! I'll look forward to your post. Spin away!
Yes, sometimes you just have to jump in with both feet. Personally, I'm trying to be more measured this coming year because I get in over my head without even trying! :-Z
I love this list, especially the Shakespeare titles! I'm excited to see what you end up with for this round.
Hi Jenna! I'm reading lots of Shakespeare at the moment but at least they are relatively short and always interesting. Only a few more days to wait for the revelation!
My own reading for the next months is too set (filled) to join in this time, but I love seeing all the lists that pop up every spin. Hopefully you get something short and enjoyable!
Thanks, Amanda. I wavered as to whether to join this time, but I think that December might be a little more open for me. I hope you get to join next time!