Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Spinning Into Summer - the Classics Spin #2



Folks running The Classics Club thought it's a good idea to take out the top-hat again - and I wholeheartedly agree! Check more information on the Spin event from the web site.
 
During the last spin, I got to read "Arrowsmith" by Sinclair Lewis, which was a decent enough book tackling some really interesting moral dilemmas, which pretty much fit also into the nowadays' world.
 
This time I decided to add a random to the random - and I picked my 20 books with the help of Random.org. I then took the same categories I used last time to divide the books around. I added one book myself - "Moll Flanders" by Daniel Defoe, as there is 18th century literature event coming up in June.
 
Category 1: "Gimme Gimme Gimme!"
 
1. E. M. Forster "Howard's End"
2. Emilé Zola "Nana"
3. Michael Cunningham "The Hours" (Random.org chose that one even twice so I think it's only fair if it gets chosen :p)
4. Thomas Hardy "Jude the Obscure"
5. Arthur Conan Doyle - something from the Complete Sherlock collection (either a novella or a set of stories), since I refuse to read the whole Complete book at once.
6. Charlotte Brontë “Villette”
7. Daphne du Maurier "Rebecca"
 
Category 2: "Nooo! Have mercy!"
 
8. Charles Dickens "Bleak House"
9. Herman Melville "Moby Dick"
10. Ayn Rand "Atlas Shrugged"
11. Marcel Proust "Swann's Way"
12. Günter Grass "The Tin Drum"

Category 3: "Mh?"
 
13. Elizabeth Gaskell "The Life of Charlotte Brontë"
14. Ralph Ellison "Invisible Man"
15. Jerome K. Jerome "Three Men in a Boat"
16. John Irving "The World According to Garp"
17. Daniel Defoe "Moll Flanders"
 
Category 4: "Been there, done that..."
 
18. Toni Morrisson "Beloved"
19. Patrick Süskind "The Perfume"
20. Mark Twain "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"
 
Random.org was really generous, picking proportionally the most books for "Gimme!" category (although "No Mercy!" could have maybe used fewer - those five books spook me out merely by looking at their titles). If anyone has encouraging words about books 8. - 12., I'd be very grateful to read them :)

And now to wait for the top-hat results :)

17 comments:

  1. Amazing list! Howards End is one of my faves. I've studied it twice (undergrad and postgrad) and loved it more each time I read it. The whole 'only connect' thing is just brilliant. Also, REBECCA! I have no words, Rebecca is just, well, it's just so good.

    You really do have some scary ones on there though, Atlas Shrugged? *shudder* Swann's Way? *big shudder*.I wish you luck...

    Using random.org is a genius idea though, I might do that too because I'm really stuck which to choose at the moment.

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    1. I know Howard's End is awesome because I actually started reading it and got trough some 90 pages before I decided that reading it in Estonian is a sin (the language is so beautiful!) and decided to get it in English instead. Can't wait! And also, REBECCA! :D I can't believe I haven't read it yet, ever.

      And yea, I know about the scary ones, but I have to add them to keep up the excitement and all. The Tin Drum also scares the h... out of me...

      I'm so looking forward to your list :)

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  2. Ooh, I didn't know about this but think it is a brilliant idea - I'll be joining in.
    Hope the readathon is going well for you today :)

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    1. I just checked out your Spin list too - here's to something good being chosen on Monday for both of us :)

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  3. Love your first category - Howards End & Nana I really liked and also have Jude the Obscure on my list. Hope the spin shows some mercy!!

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    1. Amen :D I'm reaaaally hoping something from the first category. Thanks for stopping by and I'll go check out your spin now!

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  4. Love the titles of your categories. Here's hoping we both get a "Gimme" and not a "No have mercy!" Moby Dick would certainly fit the have mercy category for me as well. Good luck and thanks for stopping by my blog!

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    1. Thanks! I do hope something from "Gimme" pile, or to re-read because June is going to be a busy month, but I can be very determined, so if it's going to be Moby Dick, then it's going to be Moby Dick :))

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    2. I saw another blogger was doing a read-along for Moby Dick. Maybe join that? Misery loves company? Still I'm hoping you get a good one!

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    3. Hah, the misery of plowing through chunky/difficult books :) I'm sure the readalongs will be around for this book, most (casual-ish) readers seem to be intimidated by Moby Dick... I will definitely join one of those, but if I actually get Moby Dick from the Spin on Monday, I'll have to forge some kind of battle plan :))

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  5. Wow, you've got some really big books on there. I read the Jerome K. Jerome one on a random-pick (not Classics Club related) several months ago. Really enjoyed it. It seems like a weird choice, but it's pretty darned funny. :)

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    1. Jerome K. Jerome is totally one of those authors I have never had any idea about. I have heard he is funny but then again, not for everyone. I am really hoping he is funny for me! Thanks for stopping by :)

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    2. Hi again! We DID get the same one. Good luck to you, too! It's a big one.

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  6. This is an excellent spin list -- a lot of variety. I have a little encouragement for you about the "no, have mercy" list. I have read the first 2 books on it and lived to tell about it. Bleak House was enjoyable after I got into it (unfortunatly that took about 300 pages). I have Swanns Way on my Classics Club list as well, but wasn't brave enough to put it on my spin list. I think it may require some sort of read-along/support-group.

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    1. Hah, thanks :) To be honest, Bleak House is only intimidating purely because of its size... But I do expect it to take some time to get into the story. And Swann's Way is slim, but scary. It's been such a long time since I read any similar book, but we'll see what number comes out on Monday :)

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  7. random.org was good to you! It selected The Hours twice and there is a reason- it is sooooo good! I loved that book and I hope to watch the movie soon. Even if that is not the one selected tomorrow, I encourage you to read it! random.org also chose Villette which is another of my favorites. What I remember of Rebecca was excellent, but it's been so long since I've touched that book. Bleak House is also on my list. I have it in my "neutral" category, but the more I look at the size of it, the more freaked out I get! It looks like you've got some excellent choices on here so no matter what number we get tomorrow, you won't be disappointed!

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    1. I'm the other way around - have seen the movie (big love!) and after that I learned there is a book and added it to my list. And thank you so much for the encouragement - it is always good to know that there is some kind of support behind my hunch of what'll possibly be an awesome book. Likewise, I encourage you to see the movie, I am a very picky about movies myself but this one I enjoyed immensely.

      Hah and yes, at first after I brought home Bleak House I was like "it's gonna be nothing" but now it's looking at me from the shelf with all its 900 (or how many were there) pages and I feel a bit intimidated.

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Leave a comment if you feel like it - it warms my little bookish heart. :)