close up shot of a roulette

The Classics Club: Spin#40

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

BookerTalk
2–3 minutes
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It’s time for the first Classics Cub spin of 2025. I’m hoping it lands on a slightly quicker read than the book I landed in the last spin-a-long — Money by Emile Zola was a fascinating read but it was so dense it took me weeks tor read.

For those unfamiliar with the “spin” the idea is to make a list of 20 books from my classics club reading list. A random number will be chosen on February 16 a and whichever book matches that number in my list, is the one I’m challenged to read by 11 April 2025.

I’ve tweaked my list since Classics Club Spin #39. I’ve replaced Money by another Zola (The Dream) because I have rather a lot of his series still to read (I’m secretly hoping he loses out this time around. To Sir, With Love  by E. R. Braithwaite has gone because I’ve since read that one. Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry (1947) has been replaced by Evelyn Waugh’s Scoop while I’ve swapped Saturday Night and Sunday Morning by Alan Sillitoe  in favour of Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler. I read the Chandler decades ago and didn’t really get it but maybe it will make more sense the second time around.

Here’s my new spin list.

  1. A Study In Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle (1886) 
  2. The Dream by Emile Zola (1888) 
  3. New Grub Street by George Gissing (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. The Mother’s Recompense by Edith Wharton (1924)
  8. Quartet by Jean Rhys (1929)
  9. The Edwardians by Vita Sackville West (1930)
  10. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (1932)
  11.  They Knew Mr Knight by Dorothy Whipple (1934)
  12. Princes in the Land by Joanna Cannan (1938)
  13. Scoop by Evelyn Waugh (1938)
  14. Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (1939)
  15. Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler (1940)
  16. Fisherman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier (1941)
  17. No Highway by Neville Shute (1948)
  18. The Far Cry by Emma Smith (1949)
  19. Excellent Women by Barbara Pym (1952)
  20.  Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis (1954)

If this list was yours, which titles would you be hoping to see come up in the spin?? I quite fancy Excellent Women by Barbara Pym or Quartet by Jean Rhys .

36 responses to “The Classics Club: Spin#40”

  1. Jenny Lockwood Avatar
    Jenny Lockwood

    Quarter would be my choice. Followed by Grapes of Wrath, or Scoop

    Reply
  2. Damyanti Biswas Avatar
    Damyanti Biswas

    This is a fabulous idea. Might try it myself.

    Reply
  3. TravellinPenguin Avatar
    TravellinPenguin

    Very interesting list🌻

    Reply
  4. Jane Avatar
    Jane

    I love The Grapes of Wrath!

    Reply
  5. Jane Avatar
    Jane

    What a lovely list, you’ve got some of my most favourite books on it, the Whipple’s and Pym for a start but Scoop was lots of fun and you’ve got lots that I wish I had on my list, I might need to do some tweaking!

    Reply
  6. FictionFan Avatar
    FictionFan

    Interesting list! I’d like you to get either Scoop or Lucky Jim – both authors I feel I ought to have read so maybe you could talk me into one of them – or out!

    Reply
  7. castlebooks Avatar
    castlebooks

    Gissing all day long. Cannan and Emma Smith under-rated and needing exposure.

    Reply
  8. margaret21 Avatar
    margaret21

    Hmm. My yesterday’s comment seems to have vanished, and not because of WP’s latest Can’t Publish Won’t Publish game. I thought you’d abandoned challenges? Or is this your exception? If I wee playing, I’d be hoping for the Pym or the Wharton to turn up trumps!

    Reply
    1. BookerTalk Avatar
      BookerTalk

      I’m so frustrated with WP’s commenting function right now – I type a comment on someone’s blog, press enter only to get a message along the lines of “your comment cannot be published’. So then I have to type it all over again.

      No idea what happened to your original one Margaret, but to answer your question. Yes I’ve abandoned challenges – I view the classics club as a project more than a challenge because – though there are technically “rules” which say we are supposed to read the books within 5 years I just ignore that and read t whatever pace I want

      Reply
      1. margaret21 Avatar
        margaret21

        That sounds a healthy attitude to your remaining project. And WP commenting. That’s a challenge all on its own, eh?

        Reply
  9. Calmgrove Avatar
    Calmgrove

    I’ve been fruitlessly searching online for “Rita Sackville West” – but at least it demonstrates that 99% of the time I read posts rather than just randomly ‘liking’ them. 😁 Anyway, good luck with whatever you get!

    Reply
    1. BookerTalk Avatar
      BookerTalk

      Oh no, sorry I caused you so much wasted effort Chris. I’ve corrected my error now

      Reply
      1. Calmgrove Avatar
        Calmgrove

        No wasted effort, I embroidered the truth a little there . . .

        Reply
  10. Davida Chazan Avatar
    Davida Chazan

    Interesting list. I would like to read Cold Comfort Farm, but I’ll have to get a copy before I can put it on my list. Good luck. My list will go up on Saturday.

    Reply
    1. BookerTalk Avatar
      BookerTalk

      A lot of the books on my list are ones I don’t actually own. I figure that they have been around for so long (and are meant to be classics after all) so will be readily available in the library

      Reply
  11. kaggsysbookishramblings Avatar
    kaggsysbookishramblings

    That’s a great list, and the Pym or the Rhys would be great picks. The Holmes is brilliant too, and I loved Cold Comfort Farm! 😀

    Reply
    1. BookerTalk Avatar
      BookerTalk

      I suspect I’ll either love the humour in Cold Comfort Farm or it will prove to be a complete turn off. It’s so hard to pitch the humour just at the right level in fiction

      Reply
  12. Margaret Avatar
    Margaret

    I loved Excellent Women, so I hope you get that one.

    Reply
    1. BookerTalk Avatar
      BookerTalk

      Oh so do I!!

      Reply
  13. Brona Avatar
    Brona

    The George Gissing caught my eye – he was one of George Orwell’s favourite authors and since finding out last year, I have added his name to my must-read-one-day list.

    Reply
    1. BookerTalk Avatar
      BookerTalk

      I’m surprised to hear that Orwell rated him so highly. I know Gissing in his early writing career portrayed the working class in a very real/down to earth way which maybe appealed to Orwell but then Gissing rejected socialism in his later years…..

      Reply
  14. Claire 'Word by Word' Avatar
    Claire ‘Word by Word’

    Edith Wharton or Jean Rhys would be my pick, fingers crossed you get something that your hoping for.

    Reply
    1. BookerTalk Avatar
      BookerTalk

      I just hope it’s nothing long because between now and end of February I shall have my head full of books for Wales Reading Month so won’t have much time to tackle a lengthy novel

      Reply
  15. WordsAndPeace Avatar
    WordsAndPeace

    Your #2 is my favorite by Zola, I just recommended it to another blogger!
    I have another Chandler on my list. I love your #16 author, but still need to read this particular book.
    Good luck!
    here is my list: https://wordsandpeace.com/2025/02/10/the-classics-club-the-classics-spin-40/

    Reply
    1. BookerTalk Avatar
      BookerTalk

      It’s interesting to hear it’s your favourite Zola – I’ve read somewhere that it’s nothing like his other Rougon-Macquet novels

      Reply
  16. Lisa Hill Avatar
    Lisa Hill

    I’m not sure I’d like it, but I think I’d go for Lucky Jim because it’s one of those books that everybody knows about.

    Reply
    1. margaret21 Avatar
      margaret21

      I wonder how you’ll get on with it? I enjoyed it – sort of – as a teenager, but when I picked it up recently again, I found Jim totally unbearable and quickly abandoned it.

      Reply
      1. Lisa Hill Avatar
        Lisa Hill

        That’s what I expected with the recent Martin Amis, but I found myself chuckling over it in a way that I think I wouldn’t have in my younger days when I might have taken it more seriously. Anyway, we’ll see, I haven’t got a copy of it yet.

        Reply
        1. BookerTalk Avatar
          BookerTalk

          Sometimes a book hits just the right spot because of your frame of mind at the time.

        2. margaret21 Avatar
          margaret21

          Ah! Haven’t read the Amis. Only one way to find out if I agree …

      2. BookerTalk Avatar
        BookerTalk

        Oh dear, that doesn’t auger well

        Reply
        1. margaret21 Avatar
          margaret21

          I’ll be interested in your thoughts when- if – you ever get to it.

    2. BookerTalk Avatar
      BookerTalk

      I’m not sure about it either. I do like academia related novels but the comedy aspect of this one may not be to my taste. I shall have to see

      Reply
  17. hopewellslibraryoflife Avatar
    hopewellslibraryoflife

    Some great stuff here! Lucky Jim, Excellent Women, Frenchman’s Creek! I’ve got Princes in the Land on my list too (coming tomorrow). Just skip Grapes of Wrath–ugh….lol I have other Vita, Evelyn and Neviles on my list. It’ll be fun to see what you get!

    Reply
    1. BookerTalk Avatar
      BookerTalk

      I remember that you are not a fan of Grapes of Wrath 🙂

      Reply
      1. hopewellslibraryoflife Avatar
        hopewellslibraryoflife

        No one would be if they’re read it. Wait till you get to Rose of Sharon and the salvation lol. NO SPOILERS of course! Ugh that book. Watch the movie–it’s faster. lol

        Reply

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