The Classics Spin

Published on by Margaret

The Classics ClubThe Classics Club Spin

  • 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.

I decided the simplest list way to do this was to choose books from different centuries, which gave me three sections and for the final five I’ve listed five really long books. These are all books I want to read but I am hesitant about some of them, especially some of the longer books – even some of the books not included in the ‘Long books’ section are long too! I’m really hoping for a shorter book.

The first five are 17th & 18th century, the second group are 19th century, the third 20th century and the last five are ‘Long books’.

  1. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 1605 
  2. A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe 1722
  3. Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe 1722
  4. Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift 1726
  5. Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sanditon by Jane Austen poss 1794 first pub 1871
  6. Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens 1841
  7. Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell 1848
  8. Barchester Towers (Barsetshire Chronicles, 2) by Anthony Trollope 1857
  9. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot 1860
  10. Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor by R D Blackmore 1869
  11. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton 1911
  12. The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf 1915
  13. Out of Africa €“ Isak Dinesen 1937 
  14. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 1960
  15. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez 1985
  16. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell 1936
  17. Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham 1915
  18. No Name by Wilkie Collins 1862
  19. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas 1844
  20. Parade’s End by Ford Maddox Ford 1924 – 28

14 thoughts on “The Classics Spin”

  1. I’m rooting for either number 6 or number 18. I love ‘No Name’ and I think ‘Barnaby Rudge’ is one of Dickens’ real neglected masterpieces.

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  4. I love this concept–you really can’t go wrong with any of these, While technically #16 is a long book, it’s pretty easy to read and goes along at a good clip.

    Now I have to decide what to put on my list for the spin.

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  5. Alex, I’ve get several of Dickens’s books on my list and just chose one to go in this spin – Barnaby Rudge because I know nothing whatsoever about it!

    Tanya, both of those books would suit me.

    Fleur, that’s two votes for 18 – it must be good!

    Jane – I think secretly I’m hoping it will be 16. If it isn’t I’ll be reading that one soon anyway.

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  6. Great list – I have No Name on mine too and also hoping for something not too long. Good luck with the spin!

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  7. I’m rooting for number 18, as well! ‘No Name’ is probably the longest book I’ve read, but one of the most fun and enjoyable, too. The pages will just fly by. 🙂

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  8. Sorry, cannot add to the votes for No Name, as I haven’t read it, but I loved The Moonstone and Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, so that might be a move in the right direction. I haven’t read Barchester Towers either (Trollope is one of my big ‘missing links’), so can’t advise you there. But I think the whole list is fabulous and love them all. If you do want something shorter, perhaps the Jane Austen (except they are not really finished, which might be frustrating) or Moll Flanders or Gulliver’s Travels. Of Human Bondage and Mary Barton are a bit depressing, so depends what mood you are in. Now, I normally love Virginia Woolf, but ‘A Voyage Out’ is perhaps her weakest work (well, it’s her first one, can’t blame her really).

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  9. Margaret – Oh, you have a very good list there! I know what you mean about wanting to choose a slightly shorter book, but really, any of these would be great. I’ll be interested to see which one it is.

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  10. I’m going to participate in the spin, too, and plan to use my list from the last round with just a couple of slight modifications. I was relieved to get a relatively short novel last time… hope you are just as lucky!

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  11. Cat & Michelle, thanks. I looks as though No Name would be a good result.

    Marina, thanks. I loved The Woman in White and The Moonstone too so if it is No Name it should be good too – I hope.

    Margot, I’m keeping my fingers crossed it is a short book – I’ve plenty of other books I want to read, although Gone with the Wind would be good.

    JoAnn, thanks. I’m glad it worked well for you last time – good luck for this one, too.

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  12. I’m so excited to be doing a spin again! It’s such a good idea to read a book your really want to read but keep putting off and we can do it in fine company 🙂
    Good luck

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