close up shot of a roulette

The Classics Club: Spin#39

it’s time for another round of the classic club spin and this time I’m hoping to get eitherJohn Steinbeck or Barbara Pym

BookerTalk
1–2 minutes
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I’m only now starting the book I ended up with in the last Classics Cub spin (A Thousand Cranes by Yasunari Kawabata )but it’s already time for a new spin.

For those unfamiliar with the “spin” the idea is to make a “Spin List” of 20 books from my classics club reading list. On October 20 a random number will be selected and whichever book matches that number in my list, is the one I’m challenged to read by 18 December 2024.

I’ve made some changes since the last list, swapping out Henry James and Evelyn Waugh in favour of a few Persephone titles from the 1930s.

Here’s my new spin list.

  1. A Study In Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle (1886) 
  2. New Grub Street by George Gissing (1891)
  3. Money by Emile Zola (1891)
  4. Anna of the Five Towns by Arnold Bennett (1902)
  5. Thirty Nine Steps by John Buchan (1915) 
  6. William — An Englishman by Cecily Hamilton (1919)
  7. Quartet by Jean Rhys (1929)
  8. The Edwardians by Rita Sackville West (1930)
  9. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (1932)
  10.  They Knew Mr Knight by Dorothy Whipple (1934)
  11. Princes in the Land by Joanna Cannan (1938)
  12. Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (1939)
  13. Fisherman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier (1941)
  14. Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry (1947)
  15. No Highway by Neville Shute (1948)
  16. The Far Cry by Emma Smith (1949)
  17. Excellent Women by Barbara Pym (1952)
  18.  Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis (1954)
  19. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning by Alan Sillitoe (1958)
  20. To Sir, With Love – E. R. Braithwaite (1959)

If this list was yours, which titles would you be hoping to see come up in the spin?? I’m leaning towards To Sir With Love by E R Braithwaite; Excellent Women by Barbara Pym or The Edwardians by Viita Sackville West.

16 responses to “The Classics Club: Spin#39”

  1. WordsAndPeace Avatar
    WordsAndPeace

    I only read 3 here! I wish you #5

    Reply
    1. BookerTalk Avatar
      BookerTalk

      That would be an easy one to read I think – a lot less demanding than some of the others

      Reply
  2. margaret21 Avatar
    margaret21

    Presented with that list, I think I’d be heading for Anna of the Five Towns, Cold Comfort Farm , Fisherman’s Creek, or Excellent Women. But NOT Lucky Jim. I trd it again a few years ago, and let’s say … it didn’t wear well.

    Reply
    1. BookerTalk Avatar
      BookerTalk

      Those would all be welcome results. I’ve only read one Kingsley Amis which was good but all authors have off days as it were

      Reply
  3. Davida Chazan Avatar
    Davida Chazan

    I read Grapes of Wrath… if I recall correctly, in High School. Very powerful story. Other than that, looks like our lists are totally different! But the To Sir, With Love is one I’d like to get a copy of.

    Reply
    1. BookerTalk Avatar
      BookerTalk

      Grapes of Wrath does sound very powerful -the kind of book you will always remember

      Reply
  4. Carol Avatar
    Carol

    I might pick To Sir, With Love. It ties into the book that I’m just now finishing, The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy—another book that deals with educators grappling with racism in the 60s.

    Reply
    1. BookerTalk Avatar
      BookerTalk

      I know the film version of To Sir With Love very well but I think the novel focuses more on the racism element

      Reply
  5. TravellinPenguin Avatar
    TravellinPenguin

    The Grapes of Wrath is one of my favourite books of all time. I loved it.

    Reply
    1. BookerTalk Avatar
      BookerTalk

      It’s so funny to see your reaction and compare that with the comment from LibraryofLife!

      Reply
  6. FictionFan Avatar
    FictionFan

    My choice would be A Study in Scarlet, since Conan Doyle can do no wrong as far as I’m concerned. But I’d also be happy to get New Grub Street – one I keep intending to read but never seem to get to it. Good luck – I hope the Spin Gods pick you a good one!

    Reply
    1. BookerTalk Avatar
      BookerTalk

      I’ve not read that many Conan Doyle stories – just the key ones like Hound of the Baskervilles and the Speckled Band. All good fun.

      Reply
  7. hopewellslibraryoflife Avatar
    hopewellslibraryoflife

    Excellent list. I’m praying you aren’t stuck with Grapes of Wrath. Everyone had to read that in high school. If you do get stuck with it you may also want to read The Tortilla Curtain by TC Boyle in which an “illegegal immigrant” does, in fact, bbq pets (–no graphic descriptions tho). I’m hoping you get To Sir With Love, Frenchman’s Creek (I think you mean) by DDM, or Cold Comfort Farm. I haven’t read that Neville Shute yet tho–so I’d love your thoughts since I’m slowly reading his list.

    Reply
  8. Margaret Avatar
    Margaret

    I haven’t read it but I think I’d be hoping for No Highway. Other than that I enjoyed A Study In Scarlet, The Grapes of Wrath and Excellent Women.

    Reply
  9. kaggsysbookishramblings Avatar
    kaggsysbookishramblings

    I’d be hoping for the Holmes or the Gibbons – both excellent!!

    Reply
  10. Calmgrove Avatar
    Calmgrove

    I’ve only read the Conan Doyle and the Buchan, but if this was my list I’d probably hope for the Shute – I was interested in the premise, of course, but also intrigued in the fact it was published the year I was born!

    Reply

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