The rules are simple: make a list of twenty books from your Classics Club list, number them, and then on August 19th (next Monday) the moderators will pick a random number, and you have to read the corresponding book.
I know this is a bit of a cop-out, but I'm not going to put any super-hard books on my list this time because I'm going to be starting school and plus, I have a couple of thick books I borrowed from my mom that I really want to read. So I'm going to stick to books that will be manageable--otherwise, I'd just end up abandoning the spin book. And I don't want to do that!
Here's my list:
Books I'm excited about:
1. Wives and Daughters -- I've been wanting to read this ever since I read North and South.
2. A Room of One's Own -- I really want to read more Virginia Woolf!
3. Their Eyes Were Watching God -- I tried to read this for the syncro-read earlier this year, but I had too much else on my plate. The beginning was so good though, and I'm a big fan of Zora Neale Hurston.
4. Breakfast at Tiffany's -- Been wanting to read this one forever!
5. Song of Solomon -- I love the few little things I've read by Toni Morrison and I'd love to read this.
Books I'm a little unsure of:
6. 1984 -- This book has never sounded good to me, but everyone and their dog has read it.
7. Of Mice and Men -- I know virtually nothing about this classic, but I did enjoy the few Steinbeck stories I've read for classes. Great style.
8. Candide -- I've heard it's really great and it's not that long, but I just don't know.
9. The Picture of Dorian Gray -- My mom loved it but I'm still unsure.
10. Walden -- I've been interested for a while now, but I'm worried it'll be boring.
Books that would be very convenient to read right now (ahem):
11. The Mill on the Floss -- Gotta read it for a class.
12. Pamela -- Ditto.
13. Evelina -- Ditto. (Actually, I'm kind of dreading these last two.)
14. Bleak House -- Okay, I'm technically in the middle of it right now, but I could really use some incentive to finish it with all the other more necessary and/or more enticing books on the pile right now.
15. The Fall of the House of Usher -- It's a short story, so, easy peasy! :P
Books that make me feel like a jerk for not having read them yet:
16. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes -- I really, really need to read me some Holmes. Seriously, guys. It's like I haven't even truly lived my life. That's how I feel.
17. Agnes Grey -- I love Emily and Charlotte, so I really need to give Anne Bronte her due.
18. The Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank) -- Can you believe I haven't read this yet?
Two more books I'm just tacking on the end because I need two more books:
19. The Bell Jar -- It's...short...??
20. Mansfield Park -- I really shouldn't be reading any more Austen right now, but this is the last major work I have of hers to read and it does need to be read eventually, so there it is.
So there it is. I know I'm the worst for not including any of the long and/or hard books on my list, but that just doesn't work for my life right now. Also, I was looking at my Classics Club list the other day and realized how few books I've read from it that I actually have really wanted to read! Most of the ones I've read (The Old Man and the Sea, The Time Machine, Ivanhoe--to name a few) were books I was obligated (or felt obligated) to read for one reason or another. (I did like them, for the most part, but I still wasn't as excited for them as I am about, say, Wives and Daughters.) Rather than avoiding the classics I don't want to read, I'm actually avoiding the ones I'm most excited about, and I have no idea why. I need to read fun classics again!
I think I picked all short ones last time. No worries. Evelina is not that bad, but she is incredibly passive. I love Anne Bronte. :)
ReplyDeleteI would love to get the Bronte book. I've heard a lot of good things about it. Glad to hear the Evelina is doable; I have a feeling that I'll swamped with reading for that class, considering that I had to buy both Evelina and Pamela, as well as another textbook for the class.
DeleteI'm finishing Wives and Daughters now, and it's a cute book, although a bit slow-paced. 1984 is a great and powerful book, and I really hope you'll love it! I'm still unsure if I want to participate, as I got Middlemarch for the first spin and still haven't finished it... Now I'm scared to try again :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear you like Wives and Daughters for the most part. I know a lot of people who love 1984, and I did actually like Animal Farm, which most people don't really love. So I probably will end up liking 1984, I'm just hesitant to start. I hope you do end up participating in the spin! Even if you don't finish the book, it can still be fun. :)
DeleteGlad to see you're taking part! You have some great choices. Pamela is...well, if you get it, you'll see how it is.. A Room of One's Own is brilliant and you can't go wrong with Elizabeth Gaskell :)
ReplyDeleteHaha...unfortunately I believe I'll be seeing how it is anyway as I bought it for a class I have in the fall, so I feel like I may as well get it out of my way. But I would certainly be happier with Woolf or Gaskell. :)
DeleteI just read 1984. I didn't like it. I get how it's powerful and significant and all, but I just don't like a book unless I like at least one character, and 1984 had absolutely no good characters (in my opinion). The best that could be said for them was that they were in a bad situation, so they had no chance to learn to be good people. But classics aren't my thing, anyway, so I'm hard to please. You'll probably like it more than I did because you have more appreciation for good literature.
ReplyDeleteI actually can like books that don't have any likable characters, unlike most people I know. I probably will like 1984, but I'm just not a huge fan of "the world is going to pot, let's all be afraid of the future" kinds of books.
Delete