Good Morning! Happy Monday, all. I hope you had a lovely weekend. I spent Saturday morning blissfully reading Jacqueline’s blog (did you all know she has a blog now?!) because she kept it so quiet I didn’t even know about it until recently; it’s divine. Honestly. But we knew it would be now, didn’t we? She introduced me to a lot of things, one of them being The Classics Club. Have you all heard of it? Go take a minute to check it out (especially you Read-a-Longers), it’s fantastic! So, I’m joining. I spent the rest of Saturday morning, into early afternoon, building my list of 50 books (it takes more thought than one would think, but it’s a LOT of fun to do). Then on Sunday I met up with Jill and bought some of the books from my list (below) at Barnes and Noble!
As so many (including Jacqueline) do, I’m going to set my goal at 50 books in five years. FIVE YEARS?! Yes, five years. First of all, half of the classics I want to read are so heavy that I could lift them daily and never have to go back to the gym. Second, I want to read other books as well. Third, I’m not a super speedy reader. Fourth, I have Read-a-Longs to run. Fifth, I have a blog to keep up and articles to write for Book Riot. Sixth… you get the picture. So, five years. Therefore by November 5, 2017 (wow, I can tell how much of a commitment-phobe I am by how speedily my heart pounds when I look at that date as one I’m committing to so far in advance!) I hope to have read all of the following:
- The Bostonians by Henry James
- Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
- Persuasion by Jane Austen (the only one I am re-reading; I’d like to give it another chance)
- Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
- Emma by Jane Austen
- Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
- A Room With a View by E.M. Forster
- Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
- The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
- Agnes Grey by Anne Bronë
- I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
- Howards End by E.M. Forster
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (started but didn’t get far – it’s actually spooky!)
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (need to finish)
- Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
- A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
- The Country of Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett
- Moby Dick by Herman Melville
- Samuel Pepys Diary Vol. 1
- The Life of Charlotte Brontë by Elizabeth Gaskell
- A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf (need to finish)
- Lady Chatterly’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence
- The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Tess of the d’Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy
- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
- The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe
- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
- The Warden by Anthony Trollope
- The Diary of Virginia Woolf Vol. 1
- The Art of War by Sun Tzu
- Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
- Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
- Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
- My Ántonia by Willa Cather
- Merry Hall by Beverly Nichols
- The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
- David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
- Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
- My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
- Nana by Émile Zola
- Juliette by Marquis de Sade
- Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
- Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
- Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
- Shirley by Charlotte Brontë
- The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
The aforementioned commitment-phobe in me must add this disclaimer: we are allowed to change the books on our list at any time and as often as we want. Phew.
Welcome to the club – so good that you join! before you know it, you will be adding to your list…
Oh that’s RIGHT! I forgot I can ADD – I spent some time last night substituting. Oh well, better to wait until I’ve read at least one before I add more probably, haha!
Allow me to echo Patty above….welcome to the club!
I see a couple of books on your list that sound interesting enough for me to want to add them to my list as well. I’ve a list of 50 but I know that list will be increasing as and when I’m done with any classic that catches my eye!
Isn’t it SO hard to pare down the books?? I’m trying to be realistic, though, and like you I’ll probably add once I start finishing a few titles.
Hello from yet another Classics Club reader. I’ve read and loved several of the books on your list but can particularly recommend Madame Bovary. Mrs B, Emma, is not a very likeable character but oh, she is a little more understandable every time I read her story. Oh and I just finished The Warden and loved it. It’s a wonderful introduction to Trollope’s gossipy, quiet drama focused style.
Oh my gosh – thank you! That’s so good to hear. I’m thrilled about the Trollope series, have been wanting to read it for awhile now – am glad to hear it’s good!
I’ll echo Alex’s comments – both Madame Bovary and The Warden are great stories
Wallace, I’ve heard of this club, but never really sought it out – thanks for posting about it. I’m thinking its something that I definitely want to do – I’m pretty sure I can handle 50 books in five years and I love that you can change your list. Thanks! I’m heading over to the site now
You would probably LOVE this. If you decide to re-read Persuasion, let me know. I’d love to read it with someone who likes it so I can see it from their perspective.
Persuasion is a favorite of mine. I could go for a reread. Especially if it makes the read along so it gets spread out.
Where did you find the image on today’s post of the girl pulling the book off the shelf. I love it!!
Oops! I forgot to link it, I’m sorry! Most of my pictures that I use are from Pinterest. Here is the link to that particular picture: http://pinterest.com/pin/81416705735117536/
Ah,this sounds amazing! I may just have to try it.
And I so want to do The Hobbit Read Along, but Wuthering Heights was, unfortunately, a big failure on my part that I don’t want to “have to” quit again!
Don’t worry, I don’t keep track of who quits – only who finishes.
Feel free to try again – no worries if you don’t make it through!
You’re right that this is a LOT of reading – some of those nineteenth century authors just didn’t know when to stop writing did they!.Good luck with Mysteries of Udolpho – I got half way through it about 5 years ago and it is still lingering unfinished on the bookshelf. Desperately dull.
Have just read that over on Jacqueline’s blog. I want to try it, just to say I have – but I don’t have high hopes. I have some alternatives waiting in the wings.
I ADORE The Mysteries of Udolpho!!!
Tom Jones is interesting. I read it after I saw the miniseries, so I was aware of Squire Western’s manner of speaking, but wow.
Now wondering, how many of these are on the read along list for next year?
I was introduced to Tom Jones in Becoming Jane Austen (have you seen it?). Have been curious about it ever since.
Three for sure. (But I actually added two of those to the list because I knew they were going to be RALers.) More maybe. I’ll know after tomorrow! I’ve broken down the suggestions and put together a few polls, so you all will be voting. Really excited to see what happens with that!
I’ve been signed up since April (I think) and I’m doing okay. I’ve been too busy to participate in the lovely memes they’re doing every month now, but hoping to remedy that this month. I see a lot of similar titles on your list that are on mine. My list is 100 books. I think I went overboard.
I’m also hosting a non-fiction challenge that’s similar to The Classics Club. That one has proved to be a bit more difficult. Another situation that needs to be remedied. Anyway, welcome to the club. I’m glad you found out about it!
Well, maybe we’ll be able to knock some of them off of our list together with Read-a-Longs! Also, looks like there are plenty of us doing the challenge, so that might remind us to do the memes for fun.
I like your list! I just bought I Captured the Castle this week!
My list has already changed, and I’m tracking the changes — so interested to see what the beast looks like at the end of the project!
I saw that (keeping track of the changes) – and plan to follow suit if I change (like to see the record). It’s a good idea!
Wonderful list, I’m glad you’ve joined!
Thanks so much!
Welcome to the club! I love the mix of books you’ve chosen. The great thing about this club is that you can change your list as you go and you have tons of time to complete it. Just enjoy!
I just joined the Classics Club myself. You’ve got a great list–I almost put Laclos on my list, but I can always add that one later….Trollope is my go-to guy for comfort reading. If you like The Warden, you might just want to keep on going and read the Barsetshire series.
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I have recently discovered your blog and it has consumed my entire past week (which is terrible timing as it is finals week in university). I love your taste in books, especially this list since I recently joined the Classics Club as well!
Books have always been such a personal thing for me. Never realized there might be an entire online community that I could share my love of reading with! I feel as though I feel as though I have discovered a whole new world haha.
I am looking forward to joining your next Read-a-Long!
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