Category Archives: The Classics Club

Time for Classics Club Spin #34

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I’ve been a member of the Classics Club since 2017 and am currently working on my second list of 50 books to finish in a five year period of time. Although I haven’t been reading as much in the last year, I am slowly getting back to my books, and another Classics Club Spin is calling to me. I can’t promise that I’ll be able to finish the book that is chosen, but I think it will be nice to give it a try. Happy reading to all of you who are participating in this Spin!

This is the way the CC Spin works:

It’s easy. At your blog, before next Sunday 18th June, 2023, create a post that lists twenty books of your choice that remain “to be read” on your Classics Club list.

This is your Spin List.

You have to read one of these twenty books by the end of the spin period.

On Sunday 18th, June, we’ll post a number from 1 through 20. The challenge is to read whatever book falls under that number on your Spin List by the Sunday 6 August, 2023.

Because my reading isn’t back to full speed yet, I chose five books that I would really like to read right now from my Classics Club list, and repeated those five to make up the list of 20.

  1. Beston, Henry:  The Northern Farm: A Glorious Year on a Small Maine Farm
  2. Burnett, Frances Hodgson:  Little Lord Fauntleroy
  3. Conrad, Pam:  My Daniel
  4. Gallico, Paul:  Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
  5. Proust, Marcel:  Days of Reading
  6. Beston, Henry:  The Northern Farm: A Glorious Year on a Small Maine Farm
  7. Burnett, Frances Hodgson:  Little Lord Fauntleroy
  8. Conrad, Pam:  My Daniel
  9. Gallico, Paul:  Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
  10. Proust, Marcel:  Days of Reading
  11. Beston, Henry:  The Northern Farm: A Glorious Year on a Small Maine Farm
  12. Burnett, Frances Hodgson:  Little Lord Fauntleroy
  13. Conrad, Pam:  My Daniel  (#13 was the chosen spin number!)
  14. Gallico, Paul:  Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
  15. Proust, Marcel:  Days of Reading
  16. Beston, Henry:  The Northern Farm: A Glorious Year on a Small Maine Farm
  17. Burnett, Frances Hodgson:  Little Lord Fauntleroy
  18. Conrad, Pam:  My Daniel
  19. Gallico, Paul:  Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
  20. Proust, Marcel:  Days of Reading

Painting by Jesse Willcox Smith…

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

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In writing The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Bronte was way ahead of her time. It is a book about domestic violence and the struggle of a woman to escape abuse, to become independent, to even possibly support herself and her young son financially. It was written 175 years ago, in a time and culture in which women had no legal rights. And it was an honest attempt by Anne Bronte, sister to Charlotte and Emily, to illuminate the struggle that so many women faced because they were essentially the property of the men they married.

From the publisher:

Gilbert Markham is deeply intrigued by Helen Graham, a beautiful and secretive young woman who has moved into nearby Wildfell Hall with her young son. He is quick to offer Helen his friendship, but when her reclusive behaviour becomes the subject of local gossip and speculation, Gilbert begins to wonder whether his trust in her has been misplaced. It is only when she allows Gilbert to read her diary that the truth is revealed and the shocking details of the disastrous marriage she has left behind emerge. Told with great immediacy, combined with wit and irony, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a powerful depiction of a woman’s fight for domestic independence and creative freedom.

I found this story to be riveting at times and slow in spots. Helen’s husband was completely despicable and his manipulations and verbal abuse of Helen were bad enough, but it was his abuse toward his young son (encouraging the small boy to drink wine, use bad language, and verbally abuse his mother) that finally motivated Helen to take drastic steps to leave him and take her son to safety. There were no means available for women to do that in those days, so it entirely depended on the kindness of others, in this case, her brother.

The character of Helen Graham was very believable, but I didn’t have the same feeling about the character of Gilbert Markham, who was the co-narrator of the story. He seemed shallow and undeveloped as a real character, and especially in the ending of the story. Anne gave her full effort to developing the character of Helen, and I liked what she did with her. There is a very lengthy conversation between Helen and Gilbert about raising a son versus raising a daughter, and, although it’s too long to include here, it is the essence of this story. Click here to read the quote on Goodreads.

This was the first book by Anne Bronte that I’ve read, although I’ve read books by both her sisters. I was very impressed with her, and with the book, although it wasn’t an easy read.

This was the book chosen for my Classics Club spin #32.

…by Valentina Catto

A Chapter a Day

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Reading a chapter a day is an interesting experience. I usually don’t restrict my reading in any way. Most of the time, I just enjoy getting caught up in my book and keep on reading. This George Eliot Readalong this year is a different kind of challenge for me. I am, so far, only reading one chapter a day of our current book: Adam Bede. What I find so interesting is that I read the chapter first thing in the morning, and then I find myself thinking about it during different times of the day. I’m thinking about what happened in that chapter, about what the author wanted to do with it, about the characters introduced or some new action initiated. I ruminate a lot about one chapter. I like that!

Snow Country

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My first book read in 2023 was Snow Country, by Kawabata Yasunari. The writing in this book is elegant in its simplicity and imagery. The story is an existential love story. I was completely drawn in by the storytelling, the images the author painted in my mind, and the sadness of what the author called “wasted effort.”  This sad story was considered his masterpiece.  Kawabata received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968 for all of his works.

At an isolated mountain hot spring, with snow blanketing every surface, Shimamura, a wealthy dilettante meets Komako, a lowly geisha. She gives herself to him fully and without remorse, despite knowing that their passion cannot last and that the affair can have only one outcome. In chronicling the course of this doomed romance, Kawabata has created a story for the ages, a stunning novel dense in implication and exalting in its sadness.

While looking online for information about Kawabata, I discovered that the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation, NHK- Japan, was making a new film adaptation of the novel available free until October 2023. It is presented in two parts, each about 50 minutes long. I watched it last night after finishing the book, and it was absolutely beautiful. Along with the film, there was a lot of very interesting information about the author and the writing of this book. CLICK HERE TO LINK TO THE FILM.

This book is included on my list for the Japanese Literature Challenge, and for my second Classics Club challenge.

Holiday Reading 2022

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My holiday reading this year was just plain fun. Two mysteries (one serious and one with lots of humor), an old-fashioned Christmas tale, and two absolutely wonderful classics. The two classics were re-reads for me, and I loved them even more this time around.

The first one was A Child’s Christmas in Wales, by Dylan Thomas. I listened to a recording of Dylan Thomas reading this, and what an extraordinary voice he had! I felt like I was sitting by the fire, being read to, and it made his childhood Christmas memories even more poignant.

The second classic was Letters From Father Christmas, by J.R.R. Tolkien. This little book is a series of letters he wrote for his children at Christmastime over the span of 20 years. He wrote in answer to their letters to Father Christmas, and they were an absolute delight, full of clever humor and fun imagination. This one I also listened to as an audiobook, narrated by Sir Derek Jacobi, which made it a wonderful way to experience the letters again!

I hope you enjoyed your own holiday reading this year, and if you haven’t read these two Christmas classics, please put them on your list for next year to read or to listen to! They’ll make your holidays extra special!

Mr Polar Bear Sits Alone Reading Christmas Carols, by Oliver Hurst

2023 Reading Journeys

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Journey…

My Decembers are always filled with enjoyable planning for my next year’s reading journeys. This December is no exception. I’m always so tempted by the many creative reading challenges that are presented to us in November and December, and I get excited and motivated to do much more reading than is humanly possible in one year. But that’s okay. I enjoy the planning and the dreaming and the camraderie of all those readers involved in these challenges. So I plan away.

In 2023, I’m planning on participating in most of my favorites: Adam’s TBR Pile Challenge; Meredith’s Japanese Literature challenge; my yearly Goodreads goal; the Classics Club; and my many personal reading projects. I’m also going to join a challenge that is set up to be a year of reading six of George Eliot’s novels, one chapter at a time! In the next few days, I’ll post about each one of these challenges.

Getting back to my reading is a real comfort right now, and I return to it with new perspective and appreciation.

I hope you are enjoying making plans for your reading for next year. And I hope you enjoy the journey…of both the planning and the actual reading!

Classics Club Spin #32

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UPDATE:  THE SPIN NUMBER CHOSEN WAS   ,   SO I WILL BE READING THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL, BY ANNE BRONTE!

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It’s time for another Classics Club “Spin”  and I’d really like to participate this time around. I don’t always finish my choices in the time slot allotted, but I always enjoy the challenge.

Here’s how it works:

It’s easy. At your blog, before next Sunday 11th Decmber, 2022, create a post that lists twenty books of your choice that remain “to be read” on your Classics Club list.

This is your Spin List.

You have to read one of these twenty books by the end of the spin period.

On Sunday 11th, December, we’ll post a number from 1 through 20. The challenge is to read whatever book falls under that number on your Spin List by the 29th January, 2023.

Here is my list of 20 choices this time:

  1. Adams, Douglas:  The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy 
  2. Agee, James:  A Death in the Family
  3. Arkell, Reginald:  Old Herbaceous
  4. Austin, Mary Hunter:  The Land of Little Rain
  5. Beston, Henry:  The Northern Farm: A Glorious Year on a Small Maine Farm
  6. Bronte, Anne:  The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
  7. Bronte, Charlotte:  The Green Dwarf
  8. Buck, Pearl S:  Sons
  9. Burnett, Frances Hodgson:  Little Lord Fauntleroy
  10. Camus, Albert:  The Stranger
  11. Conrad, Pam:  My Daniel
  12. Dickens, Charles:  The Chimes
  13. Dinesen, Isak:  Winter Tales
  14. Dostoyevsky, Fyodor:  White Nights
  15. Eliot, George: Adam Bede
  16. Irving, Washington:  Old Christmas
  17. Proust, Marcel:  Days of Reading
  18. Rushdie, Salman:  Luka and the Fire of Life
  19. Shakespeare, William:  Hamlet
  20. Shute, Nevil:  What Happened to the Corbetts?

This should be a very nice reading challenge to take on during the holidays and into the New Year. I’m so happy to be back to my reading, and to my Classics Club reading again!

The Classics Club Spin #30

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It’s time for another Classics Club Spin event!  So what exactly is the Classics Club Spin? Here is the description from the Classics Club web site:

“It’s easy. At your blog, before next Sunday 12th June, 2022, create a post that lists twenty books of your choice that remain “to be read” on your Classics Club list.

This is your Spin List.

You have to read one of these twenty books by the end of the spin period: August 7, 2022.”

I enjoy these Classics Club spins, although I haven’t always finished the book or reviewed it in a timely manner. However, since it’s supposed to be a fun, stressless event, I just read for the enjoyment of it, and like having the book chosen for me at random.

So for Spin #30, here are the twenty choices from my Classics Club List (round 2):

    1. Austin, Mary Hunter:  The Land of Little Rain
    2. Beston, Henry:  The Northern Farm: A Glorious Year on a Small Maine Farm
    3. Buck, Pearl S:  Sons
    4. Conrad, Pam:  My Daniel

    5. Doyle, Arthur Conan:  The Sign of the Four

    6. Fleming, Ian:  Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car
    7. Gunther, John:  Death Be Not Proud
    8. Hinton, S.E.:  The Outsiders
    9. Morrison, Toni:  Home
    10. Narayan, R.K.:  Malgudi Days
    11. Proust, Marcel:  Days of Reading
    12. Pym, Barbara:  Some Tame Gazelle
    13. Sorensen, Virginia:  Miracles on Maple Hill
    14. Soseki, Natsume:  Kokoro
    15. Trollope, Anthony:  Barchester Towers
    16. Verne, Jules:  Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
    17. von Arnim, Elizabeth:  The Caravaners
    18. Wharton, Edith:  In Morocco
    19. Whitman, Walt:  Walt Whitman’s Diary: A Summer in Canada, 1880
    20. Wiesel, Elie:  Night

Happy reading to all those participating in this 30th Classics Club Spin!

The Reading Girl (1896), by A. C. W. Duncan.

The Golden Goblet

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The Golden Goblet, by Eloise Jarvis McGraw, won the Newbery Honor Award in 1962. It would be a fun read for 6th graders who are studying ancient Egypt.  Although I had the book in my 6th grade class library for many years, and my students enjoyed checking it out and reading it, I hadn’t read it until now. I’d call it an historical mystery and the story of a strong and talented young man overcoming adversity. I enjoyed it!

From the publisher:

Ranofer wants only one thing in the world: to be a master goldsmith like his beloved father was. But how can he when he is all but imprisoned by his evil half brother, Gebu? Ranofer knows the only way he can escape Gebu’s abuse is by changing his destiny. But can a poor boy with no skills survive on the cutthroat streets of ancient Thebes? Then Ranofer finds a priceless golden goblet in Gebu’s room and he knows his luck and his destiny are about to change.

This is the third book I’ve read by Eloise Jarvis McGraw, and I liked all three of them. Click on the following titles to read my reviews of the other two books:  The Moorchild and Greensleeves.

 

This book was one of my choices for The Classics Club, round 2.

It’s June Already!

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Artwork by Edith Holden…

June is here already! My husband, Byron, and I have settled into our three-weeks-at-a-time routine dictated by his cancer treatments. He is doing well with his chemo, and while not an easy time, we are grateful that the chemo is working. The “settling into a routine” is so helpful, as is knowing what to expect for each week following his infusion. Getting into a routine has relieved my worries (aren’t the unknowns just the worst!) enough so that I am back to my reading. *Big smile*

So my May reading was all over the place, but enjoyable. After I finished The Last Bookshop in London (discussed in my mid-May post), I read Named of the Dragon, by Susanna Kearsley. I’ve read quite a few of her books and always enjoy them. I enjoyed this one, too, but it wasn’t among my favorites of hers.

Then I read a book called Widowish, by Melissa Gould. It was her story of grief after losing her husband. I wanted to like it more than I did. Although there were some very good, relevant, quotes and passages in it that I copied into my reading notebook, I felt let down by her in the telling of her story. Part of it felt superficial to me, and I’m not sure if that was due to her writing skills, her chosen narrative style, or perhaps not wanting to spend too long in the deep dive into her own story. Anyway, I am glad that I read it, but it fell short of my hopeful expectations.

Following that book, I listened to the audiobook of The Starlet and the Spy, by Lee, Ji-min. It was an interesting historical fiction story of a young Korean woman, quite damaged emotionally from the war, who was chosen to be the interpreter for Marilyn Monroe when she visited the American troops in Seoul, South Korea in 1954. In those four short days that the two of them spent working closely together, they formed a life-changing bond. It was an interesting story, but I didn’t care for the narration and would have preferred to read it instead of listen to it.

I had on my Kindle, a short story/novella by Salley Vickers, a writer I enjoy. It was called Vacation, and was an interesting glimpse into a marriage. Years ago, I read her book Miss Garnet’s Angel, and really liked it. Once again, with this novella, I enjoyed reading her work.

And to end my May reading, I read two delightful books for young people (of all ages!). I read The Golden Goblet, by Eloise Jarvis McGraw, and will be posting a review soon. And after talking with my sister-in-law about books we loved when we were children, I read Misty of Chincoteague, by Marguerite Henry. It was one her her childhood favorites and I had never read it!  My review will be posted soon, too.

It was lovely to once again focus on my reading in May, and I’m looking forward to reading on the porch again now that June has arrived!

 

 

April Activities

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Is it only April 7th today? It seems like April has already been a month long! How much Life can be packed into seven days, anyway? Well, I have to answer my own question with: A LOT!

April Activities thus far:

I have finished two books already in April. I read Round the Bend, by Nevil Shute, for my Classics Club Spin book. I will be reviewing it soon. Then, I listened to the audiobook version of When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi. It’s a beautifully written memoir of a young neurosurgeon’s battle with lung cancer. It made the waiting room time go much faster.

 

Our daughter came to spend time with us, which is always a delightful time for us. Once again, she helped out with our yard work and gardening, something she loves to do and which we appreciate so deeply.

Our daughter starting the spring clean-up the butterfly garden…

Byron underwent his second chemotherapy infusion, and in these first few days of April, has completely lost his hair. He is tolerating these chemo treatments every three weeks pretty well, with fatigue (and hair loss!) being the main side effects so far. During the times that he is feeling deep fatigue, we have been watching (and really enjoying) a YouTube channel called 4kSeoul. A very talented young man films his walks through the beautiful city of Seoul, South Korea. There is no narration, just sounds of the city surrounding you (especially if you put on your headphones to listen). Byron loves to see the architecture of the city as we walk through different neighborhoods. I am fascinated by the people we see, the energy of that city, and the historical structures we come across on these walks. It’s a fun way to experience a different place and a different culture.

On a walk in Namsan Park, in Seoul, South Korea…

So, hello to April! Life is full and busy for us right now, albeit in some ways we didn’t anticipate, and we are enjoying and appreciating the beauty of early Spring.  I hope you are enjoying your April, too!

Classics Club Spin # 29

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It’s time again for a Classics Club Spin! (Click here to see how a “SPIN” works.)  I missed the announcement of this new Spin, so I didn’t make a list of 20 books from my current Classics Club list. However, I want to participate, and so when I realized that a number (#11) had already been chosen (too late to put together a list), I looked at my list for my TBR Pile Challenge, and found that #11 on that list is also on my Classics Club list. Perfect!  So for Classics Club Spin #29, I will be reading Round the Bend, by Nevil Shute! And I’m looking forward to it!