Wednesday 5 February 2014

Classics Club Spin #5

I'm only half way through The Brother's Karamazov from the last Classics Club Spin, but here I am lining up for the next one!
Call me crazy.

Maybe I should add it to my list again to see if I can finish the second half with Spin #5 ?

I've managed to participate in all 5 CC Spins.
The first 3 were very successful - I read (and loved) The Magnificent Ambersons, Tess of the D'Urbervilles & My Cousin Rachel.

The Brothers K has been more difficult.

It was hard to read a chunkster over Christmas and the summer holidays. All I wanted to do was eat & drink too much, sleep in and laze by the pool/on the beach!

Dostoyevsky doesn't really go with any of these activities (unless the drinking part included vodka!)

But I am not daunted by this apparent failure.

Maybe it has something to do with the date of Spin #5?

The 10th of February is my birthday and I love anything that highlights my special day :-)

So here we go again.
Good luck one and all.

Once again I have tried to match my list with fellow bloggers so that I can read my book with at least one other. Let me know if you are reading the same book as me (at the same number) so I can add you to my list.

1. Slaughterhouse Five                     Only You
2. Agnes Grey                        Imperfect Happiness & shared author with The Blog of Litwits & Too Fond
3. Mary Barton                        The Everyday Reader    
4. Moll Flanders                shared author with Plethora of Books          
5. To the Lighthouse                All the Pretty Books  and shared author with Classics Club
6. The Brothers Karamazov (part 2)            shared author with The Things We Read & Lost Generation Reader
7. Ulysses                        Classics Club
8. Midnight's Children                      My Book Strings & LindyLit & shared author with Another Book Blog
9. Hunchback of Notre Dame                  Lit Addicted Brit & shared author with Yasmine Rose
10. Heart of Darkness                       Classical Carousel
11. Parade's End                    Books Please
12. Rebecca                    shared author with Lit Addicted Brit
13. Watership Down                Exploring Classics
14. Master & Margarita               An Armchair By the Sea
15. Absalom Absalom                shared author with What Me Read
16. Germinal                        She Reads Novels
17. One of Ours                shared author with Howling Frog Books
18. Diary of Anne Frank               Classics Club
19. The Way We Live Now                  shared author with Books and Chocolate & Behold the Stars & A New Yorker in the Country
20. The Odyssey (part 2)                   Plethora of Books

Happy Spinning & Reading

23 comments:

  1. Anonymous5/2/14

    Great list! I loved Master & Margarita and Watership Down (although the latter felt quite intense to my 9-year-old self in 1980...actually, it probably still would. I don't recall who recommended it to me, but I do recall their doing so because I'd previously loved Charlotte's Web. Well, they may both have animals and be tear-jerkers, but...worlds apart in other ways. Still, I loved WD even thought it might have been emotionally a bit too heavy for me at the time.)

    I have Rebecca on my spin list, too. And my son turns 20 (Gulp!) the day after your own birthday. Happy day to you!

    And good luck with your spin pick!

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    1. Watership Down will be a reread for me.
      I also LOVED it as a child - one of the few books that made me cry in fact. I think it's that emotional intensity that can make a book special. It then becomes one of those books that changes your life.

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  2. You have some major books on this list! I love your plan to get the same book as last time and read the second half. #6 would mean I read Catch 22 (re-read actually) so I will be hoping for that.

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  3. Mary Barton and Hunchback are on my list too! And Germinal is AMAZING. One of my all-time favorites, but I adore Zola, he's brilliant. Also Rebecca is another favorite.

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  4. So many wonderful books here! I'm still working on my list and debating whether to include The Way We Live Now.

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    Replies
    1. If you do JoAnn pop it onto number 19, so we can share the read :-)

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  5. Brona, what a brilliant idea you had! I love it! So I hope 9. is chosen. It would be fun to having a reading buddy for support, especially for The Heart of Darkness. I tried to read it years ago but stalled because I felt I just wasn't getting it. Well, it's a short read in any case, which is a plus, because really, how confusing can it get? ;-) The Master and Margarita is a very unique book but I really enjoyed it.

    I haven't even got to my last Spin book (but I will the end of this month …. it's scheduled!) so don't feel too badly about The Brothers K. Even though I am dying to read it, I wouldn't have wanted it for a spin. It's the kind of book that you need to take time reading and not rush through.

    All the best on your Spin and sending you wishes for a wonderful birthday celebration!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Cleo.
      I struggled with Conrad, until I saw the wonderful old Peter O'Toole movie of Lord Jim. It gave me an 'in' which allowed me to thoroughly enjoy reading the book. So I'm hoping the goodwill left over from that experience will be enough to get me into Heart of Darkness.

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  6. Anonymous5/2/14

    What a great idea for setting up your list. I am impressed that you put Ulysses on there. Good luck with your spin!

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    Replies
    1. I figure if the good people at the CC can put Ulysses on their spin list, then I can too :-)

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  7. You've got a great variety there - and many I haven't read yet. Is there one you're hoping to get, or not to get? It's always such fun to see what people draw.

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    Replies
    1. I've got a lot on at the moment, so I hope to get an easy reread - Watership Down :-)

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  8. I have The Brothers Karamazov on my shelf staring at me. I'm majoring intimidated by it. I shouldn't be because I like the author!

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    Replies
    1. I've enjoyed the first half, although a good editor wouldn't have gone astray!!

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  9. I ploughed through the Brothers K for months. Glad I read it but it was hard going. Loved Rebecca.

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  10. This is a really great idea! Now I won't be so scared if I get the Woolf :)

    Hunchback of Notre Dame is a good classic and not at all difficult. I really enjoyed it when I read it last summer - but be prepared to have tissue at your disposal when reading it.

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  11. Great list! I hope the spin is good to you. I didn't even manage to start my pick last time so well done for getting so far through. Particularly as it is a Russian classic :)

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  12. I forgot about Master & Margarita. It had been on a list of mine to read but completely forgot about. Thanks for the reminder. Good luck. I was completely unsuccessful with that darn Russian book as well.

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  13. Ulysses...booooooo! I will never understand the admiration for this one, it's so painful to read. To the Lighthouse is brilliant (no surprises there) and I am glad to see that we share Brother Ks on the list. Great blog and good luck!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ulysses definitely falls under the 'urgggghhhhh' category for me...and that's before I even pick it up!

      My one excursion into Woolf fiction in my early 20's has left me a little scared, but I'm hoping the 20 yrs life (& reading) experience since then will help me to see her books differently.

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  14. Happy Birthday Brona! I hope you had a lovely day. I don't quite understand how this spin works, but it looks like you're lining up for some great reads. I've read a few, and been meaning to read some for ages, esp Rebecca and Germinal, oh and The Hunchback. I want to read more French classics- they're so different to English classics.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Louise. I had a lovely, lovely day.

      The spin number was drawn while I slept last night. I'm about to check it out to see what book I will be reading over the next 2 months.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous11/2/14

    Looks like I'm responsible for gently pushing you along to complete The Odyssey. Bon voyage.....I have catching up to do. Happy to have you along for the ride.

    ReplyDelete

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