The excitement of the Spin always jump starts whatever slump I might be in and hopefully this time I will succeed in both reading and AND writing up my Spin title!
If you don’t know, in order to participate, join the Classics Club–it’s the kind of club where the only membership requirement is to make up a list of 50 classic literature titles and read them! For the Spin, take 20 titles from this list and number them. On April 22nd the Spin gods choose a number. That is the title you will read.
My list this time has no rhyme or reason except these are all books I want to read and am not dreading….(for example, Moby Dick will not appear here even though it is on my CC List….dread).
ETA: The Spin Gods have spoken, #19, which means I will be reading Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day! The deadline to review is May 31st and I will do my best to comply. 🙂
Best Wishes to all Spin participants on YOUR #19!
Willa Cather
1. O Pioneers! (1913)
2. My Antonia (1918)
George Eliot
3. Mill on the Floss (1860)
4. Middlemarch (1874)
E.M. Forster
5. Room with a View (1908)
Elizabeth Gaskell
6. Mary Barton (1848)
7. Cranford (1851)
8. North and South (1854)
Shirley Jackson
9. We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962)
Henry James
10. Daisy Miller (1878)
11. Portrait of a Lady (1881)
12. What Maisie Knew (1897)
13. The Ambassadors (1903)
Mary Shelley
14. Frankenstein (1818)
H. G. Wells
15. First Men in the Moon (1901)
16. The Invisible Man (1897)
17. Christina Alberta’s Father (1932)
Oscar Wilde
18. The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890)
Virginia Woolf
19. Night and Day (1919)
20. To the Lighthouse (1927)
I have read 2, 11, 14, and 18, and some of these are waiting on my TBR shelf! I just started a Forster book yesterday called Howard’s End. Hasn’t totally reeled me in yet, but then again, I’m not the biggest fan of Edwardian lit anyway, haha.
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I have not read Howard’s End, but I enjoyed Where Angels Fear to Tread. It is so interesting what sparks our tastes in books, I think!
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Laurie, I hope you enjoy Night and Day by Virginia Woolf. My result was The Time Machine by H. G. Wells. 🙂
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I am looking forward to reading my first Woolf in many years.
And I really, enjoyed The Time Machine. In fact, I am a big Wells fan. Enjoy!
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Thank you 🙂
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I’m too late to wish you luck, but I hope you enjoy Night and Day!
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I hope so, too 🙂 Thanks!
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I’ve only read Frankenstein from your list, Laurie, and for some inexplicable reason I’ve been partway through To the Lighthouse for years (literally). All the rest are books I’d be happy to tackle. Not MD though!
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Oh my, well, the Spin number was announced and I got Woolf’s Night and Day!
Ha! What IS it about Moby Dick that so many have negative reactions to?
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Nice list! I’m a Gaskell fan, and recommend both Mary Barton and North and South, though I’ve yet to read Cranford (it’s actually on my own spin list). Daisy Miller is a nice short James, so not a bad option either. Enjoy!
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Hi Amanda. I am planning to read Daisy Miller fairly soon, so thanks for that perspective 🙂
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That is a nice list. Good luck with the spin. I hope you get something you can’t wait to read!
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I got V. Woolf’s Night and Day. I have not read a Woolf in years, so this gives me an excuse to read another!
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All admirable reads, so you’ll be in luck, wherever the spin stops. As for MD, I can only say that if you like minutiae about cetaceans, and if you have a weird sense of humor, you’ve nothing to fear. Does that make you feel better?
Actually, MD is incredibly good, and I’m gearing up for my 4th read. I can’t guarantee you’ll love it, but there are certainly moments that will grab you — Queequeg and Ishmael at the inn, Nantucket sleigh rides, Ahab pacing the deck. I almost envy you that first read. Don’t put it off too long.
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Oh Wow….a positive view of Moby Dick!
Hm, well, I can be interested in almost anything if it is written well, so your comment intrigues me.
Brona, is hosting a MD readalong in August which I am going to participate in, so I will finally read it. Thanks so much for commenting, you have taken away some of the dread ❤
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Neat selection, Laurie! I’ve only read the Shelley, one of Henry James, two of the Wells (both as a teenager, so basically it probably doesn’t count!) and the Wilde, and on balance found them all enjoyable. Of the others, I’ve enjoyed a few in other media (Cranford as a TV serial, the Forster on film) but I guess that doesn’t count either! But do have fun, whichever one you get. 🙂
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The Spin is in dictating me to read Virginia Woolf’s, Night and Day. I have not read a Woolf in decades!
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I’ve only read Orlando, and that many years ago. But having visited Monk’s House in East Sussex, her favourite retreat, I shall relish returning to her work eventually!
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Pretty much of an unknown here. I think I know more about her than her work. We shall see how it goes!
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Oh, and there’s a Moby Dick read-along starting in August if you want some support with that one …. 🙂
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That will be me. Since many people seem as fearful of MD as I am, I should put up an early intentions post to help people get their heads around the idea of reading it. I think it’s a book you have to psyche yourself up for 🙂
But for now, good luck with your spin.
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I think I first learned of the MD readalong from your blog. It’s def on my radar. Reading it with others might take the sting away. I guess everyone has a title or two that just the thought of them gives you nightmares?
The Hunchback of Notre Dame does the same thing to me and I was thinking about that when the Cathedral was burning this week. I wonder if anyone is hosting a readalong for this?
ETA: But wait. Are you hosting the MD readalong, Brona?
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Yes I am Laurie😃
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Yes, I heard about that and my interest is piqued. I am not sure why this book is in my ‘dread’ pile, but I still feel like it’s one of those books I should read. A readalong might be the answer. 🙂
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James isn’t my favourite either but the rest ….. wowza! Eliot is one of my favourite authors and To The Lighthouse was a wonderful read. North and South, Frankenstein, The Picture of Dorian Gray …. all winners. Glad to see you’re joining us Laurie! Can’t wait until Monday!
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I have only read The Bostonians and I want to read more. I am not sure if I put too many of his works on my CC list! Oh well. Monday is soon enough to know my fate! And all the others on my list I really want to read, so I think I will be satisfied.
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Ooo, lots of fun stuff here! Though I’m not much on James — I did like Portrait of a Lady though. Good luck!
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If I get a James I am hoping it’s that one!
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