I am following my friend Cecilia’s lead and participating in the Classics Spin. It sounds like fun. It isn’t clear to me if you have to be a member of the Classics Club or not, but anyway, here goes. I have to make my own list of 20 classics, and then each month the club will arbitrarily pick a number, and I have to read and review that book that month. Sounds like fun! Most of these are books I haven’t read, although there are a few I want to reread in the near future. Here is my list, in no particular order.
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro- Summer by Edith Wharton
- The Call of the Wild by Jack London
- Stoner by John Williams
- Middlemarch by George Eliot
- The Known World by Edward P. Jones
- O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
- Bleak House by Charles Dickens
- Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
- Greenbanks by Dorothy Whipple
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
- The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter
- Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- Light in August by William Faulkner
- Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata
- The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky
- The Beggar Maid by Alice Munro
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
- The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtsson
whatmeread 
Good list! I think the Classics Spin sounds like a fun way to do it!
Yeah, me too! I’m thinking of joining the Classics Club. It’s just making up the list of 50 or more that’s holding me back!
50 is a lot… Do you have to make a list? I think it would be easier just to let one book lead to another.
Yes, you make a list and I think you submit it to them or something. I would have to reread the rules. Then whenever you finish one, you either post a link to your review or post a comment. It’s 50 over the length of five years, which seems doable. It’s just making up the list that seems hard. I am more of a browser when it comes to reading. You don’t have to read the books in any order, though, you just list 50 that you want to read over five years (or however many, over whatever length of time).
It’s a living list. You’re allowed to completely change it. Every day if you want. They just want a way to link to your project. 🙂
That’s a good thing to know. Thanks!
Well….if you’re all doing it…….. I’m kind of tempted. But I’m in the middle of Doctor Zhivago right now, so I’m not sure I want to start another classic.
It’s just two books over the next two months, which is why I thought I’d try it. You could pick something light, like a children’s classic, if you wanted to try it. You can also reread books. If I’m having fun I might go whole hog and join the Classics Club. I already read a fair number of classics a year.
Alright… I don’t take much convincing!
Goody! Can’t wait to see your list!
Oooh…I want to read Dr. Zhivago. How’s it going so far?
Oh, and yea, Ariel! Glad you are doing it too! Be sure to post your list of 20 books by Monday 😉
I’d be curious how you like it. Even though I have read a lot of Russian literature, that’s one I had a hard time with.
Ehh. It’s slow. The movie was so good, but the book is dragging. I need a kick in the pants to finish it.
That’s what I’ve always thought.
Yea! I’m so glad you’re doing this too and that it’s snowballing 😉 I’ll be curious to see what book gets picked! I think I’m just going to sit myself down and put the 50-book list together. We can always change it.
I’m working on that right now.
Do it! It’s so fun!
I want to do the spin but I’ve already picked a classic to read this month, plus the reviews are stacking up . . . decisions, decisions.
I totally get you!
Wow, awesome list! I tried this once and failed miserably. Maybe I can give it another shot? Anyway, I’m glad you decided to try it for yourself! Takes the pressure off when someone else is doing the choosing for you. 🙂
50 books in 5 years is less than one a month, which I think I can manage. You can set your own number and pace, so if you wanted to try it again, you could choose a longer time period.
You have so many good books on your list — I love Bleak House and Middlemarch. I also have Snow Country on my to-read list, though not on my Spin list. Hope you get a good one!
Me, too! Bleak House and Middlemarch are beloved rereads, but I haven’t read Snow Country yet. Looking forward to it!
What a list of great reads! Middlemarch, O Pioneers & Robinson Crusoe are all great! I am thrilled to see The Scottish Chiefs on your list. Sometimes I think I am the only one in the world who knows about that book!
BTW, it’s my first time on your blog and I must say that I just LOVE the photos of the libraries at the top. Wow! If I could only live there! 🙂
That is a library in what is now a school in Austria that used to be a monastery and then a Hapsburg palace. It is in a very small town. Right now I can’t remember its name. I will think about it and try to let you know.
I haven’t read The Scottish Chiefs yet, but I thought it sounded really interesting. MIddlemarch and Bleak House are old favorites, but I think most of the other books are ones I haven’t read yet.
Great list. I should love to read your thoughts on Things Fall Apart!
I am very curious about it, having heard about it for years.
Dilemma of a Ghost and Beautiful Once Are Not Yet Born
Thank you for reminding me. I try to read Remains of the Day every year. I usually see things I didn’t notice or understand on the last reread.
I haven’t read it yet, although I’ve intended to for years!