Here we go with the Classic Club Spin #14.I've managed to be there for every single one.
My previous spins have been mostly successful and/or enjoyable. I've also enjoyed reading along with other Classic Clubbers during most of the spins:
#1 The Magnificent Ambersons with Cat @Tell Me A Story.
#2 Tess of the D'Urbervilles with JoAnn @Lakeside Musings & Several Four Many.
#3 My Cousin Rachel.
#4 The Brothers Karamazov I gave up on this chunkster about halfway through, then I lost the book when we moved last year...serendipity, I say!
#5 The Odyssey with Plethora of Books. This one was a bit of a cheat as I had started it for another readalong, but struggled to finish. I added it to my list to motivate me to finish it. When no. 20 spun up it seemed like the gods had decreed it so!
#6 No Name by Wilkie Collins with Melbourne on My Mind.
#7 Silent Spring by Rachel Carson with Booker Talk - my first classic non-fiction spin.
#8 Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh has been my one and only dud Spin read so far.
#9 The Great World by David Malouf my first Australian classic spin.
#10 A Far Cry From Kensington by Muriel Spark.
#11 So Big by Edna Ferber with Christy where we experienced the joys of rediscovering a forgotten award winning classic.
#12 Dubliners by James Joyce was too depressing and hopeless for my current state of mind.
#13 The Catherine Wheel by Catherine Harrower - my second Aussie classic for a #ccspin.
#14 The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
So here we go with spin 14....
1. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
5. The Diary of a Provincial Lady by D. M. Delafield
14. Swords and Crowns and Rings by Ruth Park
12. Diary of a Nobody by George and Weddon Grossmith
9. Pere Goriot by Honore de Balzac
10. Picture of Dorian Gray by Osacr Wilde
15. War of the Worlds by H G Wells
19. Night and Day by Virginia Woolf
shared author with Care @Care's Books and Pie and Anne@Headful of Books
shared author with Care @Care's Books and Pie and Anne@Headful of Books
17. The Silver Sword by Ian Serralier
4. Man and Wife by Wilkie Collins
shared author with JoAnn @Lakeside Musing
16. A Game of Hide and Seek by Elizabeth Taylor
reading with JoAnn @Lakeside Musing
shared author with JoAnn @Lakeside Musing
16. A Game of Hide and Seek by Elizabeth Taylor
reading with JoAnn @Lakeside Musing
20. Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
I may jiggle and tweak the numbers around a little between now and Monday if it means I can readalong with a fellow clubber once again.
Happy Spinning!
Monday
In a wonderful moment of spin synchronicity and simplicity, the book I have to read by the 1st December is book no. 1 on my list, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
This weekend was a long weekend in NSW.
I'm almost finished the Booker shortlisted book, Do Not Say We Have Nothing.
I'm loving it, but I knew I wouldn't be able to do it justice this weekend and I wanted to finish it properly with all due care and attention.
The book I grabbed off my TBR shelf as I was packing my bag was The Secret Garden.
It had a beautiful cover and seemed suitably light and easy for a busy weekend.
It was the perfect choice, especially as we were in rural NSW where the signs of Spring were bursting out everywhere - lilacs in bloom, daisies popping up by the side of the road, canola crops turning yellow as you watched them and plovers dive bombing us as we walked through the paddocks.
I'm now half way through it and will definitely be done by December 1st!
What did you spin up?
Interesting list - lots of variety! I think my choices would be either The War of the Worlds or The Wind in the Willows, which is one of my all-time favourite books. Hope you get one you enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI tried to read WitW as a kid but I've always struggled with talking animal stories. But since then I've seen the play in the park & the movie with the boys, and feel that I'm ready to tackle it now :-)
DeleteLove all the titles....but of course have my special favorites:
ReplyDeleteVillette - War of the Worlds ( read it in one marathon day!) - G. Greene ...good for your vacation and Oscar Wilde is a word virtuoso!
Good luck...Monday we know!
I had hoped to read Villette over the winter but I couldn't fit in another chunkster at the time.
DeleteAnd I really want to read the Greene before Jan.
Wonderful selection! I hope you get Diary of a Nobody!! It is one of the best humorous novels i have ever read! Happy Spinning!
ReplyDeleteI haven't been too sure about this book, but you're the 2nd to say how truly funny it is...& it's slim, which is also appealing :-)
DeleteHm, I don't know all of these books! Wind in the Willows and Secret Garden are both lovely (perfect for spring).
ReplyDeleteI've actually started The Secret Garden early as I needed an easy read to take away for our NSW long weekend.
DeleteWe've had a tremendous amount of rain in the past month & for the first time in a very long time, country NSW almost looks as green as the English countryside does in Spring!!
Villette is on my spin list (at #2 instead of #3) and Stoner is on Care's. Such a great idea to have your numbers coincide with other clubbers. Classics are always more fun with friends :)
ReplyDeleteWe have gone away for the w/e so it’s too hard to add links right now. But I will fix it all up when we get back to home base. If anyone else has a book that we share, let me know what no it is on your list & I’ll see what I can do🙂
DeleteGreat list ..... Villette, The Diary of a Nobody, The Picture of Dorian Gray ..... so many good ones! We don't share any spin titles but I am reading The Wind in the Willows right now; I can't believe that it's taken me so long to re-read it .... it's just wonderful! All the best on the spin!
ReplyDeleteI almost read Villette for my 20 books of winter challenge, but it got replaced by a new release. It's still sitting by my bed patiently, so it almost deserves the spin chance tomorrow!
DeleteOh my gosh, I bow to the altar of your previous Spins. How impressive! I loved War of the Worlds; it's more than just an old sci fi, lots of social statements. And The Wind in the Willows....what a great story. I am reading The Picture of Dorian Gray this month for R.I.P. so I will keep a look out if you get that, as I like readalongs, too. Wishing you well :)
ReplyDeleteI am a little proud of the fact that I've participated in every single spin so far.
DeleteI wonder how many other classic clubbers have done all 14 spins?
All your suggestions are slim books, so they'd all work nicely for me too :-)
What a great list! "Diary of a Nobody" is really great. If you get it, you won't be able to stop howling. Stoner? Brilliant! Barbara Pym & Elizabeth Taylor? What larks! Woolf and Fitzgerald! Sylvia Plath: her poetry is more impressive than the novel, I think.
ReplyDeleteI'm a little nervous about the Plath & I'm glad I've tweeked my list to have a reading partner if it does spin round on Monday.
Deletegood luck for the spin. I have read 5 of your 20. I'm afraid I found Stoner so so very boring
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if I'm in the mood for Stoner at the moment either - it feels like an autumnal read some how, not Spring.
DeleteWe don't share any spin titles this time, but I have read and enjoyed nos. 1, 10, 15, and 20. I've also read and not enjoyed The Bell Jar! I hope you get one you enjoy!
ReplyDeleteNow I'm REALLY nervous about the Plath!!
DeleteAt least it's slim :-)
How fun to do read-alongs for so many of your classic reads! I love chatting with other bloggers as we're going through the same book :)
ReplyDeleteReading together has been a great way to get to know so many bloggers over the years.
DeleteI'm hoping I can fit in one of your non-fiction readalongs again soon too :-)
I have as yet to read The Secret Garden. My husband was reading it awhile back and gave it up half way through saying "nothing is happening!" Haha! Have fun reading it!:)
ReplyDeleteAh, The Secret Garden is such a beautiful story. Congratulations! I will be reading Sense and Sensibility!
ReplyDelete