I read a lot. I have always read a lot. One of my earliest memories is lying in bed reading, with a pile of books next to my bed. I also own far too many books, and keep buying them even though I have so many I haven't yet read, but I do love to have choice at all times. These days I often forget about the book almost immediately after finishing it, so I want to keep a record of my reading. Here it is.
I have been burning through my second Classics Club list, but there are still quite a few that I find myself putting off – the Spin challenges often give me that necessary push to start something that I end up really enjoying!
On Sunday 16 February a number will be posted, and I will read the corresponding book from my list. Here is my list of 20 books remaining on my current classics list – all are physical books on my shelves waiting to be read.
This is the book that was selected for me in the Classics Club Spin #39. It is special because it was purchased by my Grandfather from Burns’ house in Dumfries, Scotland in 1929 when he (my Grandfather) was travelling there. It is a small, leatherbound book which originally had a papery coating which has flaked off over the years. It has 648 thin pages, and more than 550 poems and songs. I must admit to skimming over many of them – especially the many epitaphs, elegies etc – I really think he must have put almost every thought into rhyme! Though I read this over several weeks, I still found it very slow going. The list of contents takes up 14 pages, and then there is a very helpful glossary (also many pages long) as most of the entries are in Scots dialect and are barely comprehensible to this Australian! Despite all of that, I did enjoy many of the songs/poems as Burns clearly had a great sense of humour, had an impressive way with words, and obviously loved the ladies! He is most famous for “Auld Lang Syne” sung every New Year’s Eve, but I have a special fondness for “The Birks of Aberfeldy”. Some years ago I was visiting Scotland and did an early morning walk in Aberfeldy – there is a steep but beautiful circular walk up and over a waterfall, and at one point you come across a statue of Robert Burns seated on a bench, note pad in hand. I had assumed the birks was the waterfall, but no, it’s the birch trees!
I’m glad to have finally had the push to actually read through this little gem.
This is my 19th consecutive time participating in this event – sorry to have missed the first 20! I have chosen 20 books from my list of classics, all of which are currently on my shelves at home waiting to be read. Whichever number is posted on Sunday, I will read the corresponding book before 18 December . My books for this challenge are:
This was my pick for the most recent Classics Club Spin – I was happy to have this one selected for me because it is Australian, short, and by an author whose books I have enjoyed. Katharine Susannah Prichard spent much of her life living not far from me here in Western Australia. This was actually her first book, and I enjoyed it very much, though I read it as an ebook, which is never my first choice.
I have read many, many books set in the early days of Australia’s colonial past, including those by my great-grandfather, who was a 3rd generation farmer in NSW, but The Pioneers had a slightly different slant to most. It was written in 1915, and although many of the characters are well-known types, many of them stereotypes, the friendly and respectful relationship developed between a married white woman and a male escaped convict was unusual. We do find out why this woman left alone on her farm in the bush was confident enough to offer help to two desperate men, but the trust and friendship that survived many years was impressive to read about. Despite the fairly predictable storyline, I really enjoyed the unravelling of the events, and especially the language used to describe the landscape, the sounds and smells of the bush and the town, and the range of characters. As usual with books written at this time, there was little consideration of the original inhabitants of the land, but that is something we have to accept – times have changed very much since then I am happy to say.
As usual I have not given a precis of this book as that is easily found online, but merely my impressions.
I would highly recommend any book by Katharine Susannah Prichard, but especially this one!
Wow – this one came around really fast! This is my 18th time participating in this event – I have chosen 20 books from my list of classics, all of which are currently on my shelves at home waiting to be read. Whichever number is posted tomorrow, I will read the corresponding book before the 22nd of September. It’s quite exciting waiting to find out which one will be picked! My books for this challenge are:
This was the book selected for me by the most recent Classics Club spin – #37. It is one I picked up from a charity shop some years ago and has sat on my shelf ever since so I was happy to have an excuse to actually read it. It is a memoir, written during WW2, after Winifred was forced to leave her beloved home in the south of France when Germany invaded. She had been living there for some years, and enjoyed annual summer trips (and one winter one) to the high alps, where she stayed in very basic accommodation with a friend, some dogs, and several servants. It was quite remote, but there were occasional locals about who brought food, etc. The book is very descriptive of the mountains, lakes, wildflowers, driving conditions and weather, as well as the general life of privileged expats in the 1920s and 30s, looking for a simple life, but with servants!
I did enjoy this book as it was well-written and provided an interesting window into a time that is long past. I was easily able to imagine this woman, in her 50s, sitting in freezing cold England in wartime and reminiscing about those wonderful times in the sunny south of France. My copy has some pretty terrible black and white photos, mostly of landscapes, but they did help to confirm how remote and beautiful the area was/is.
I have listed below 20 books from my Classics Club TBR, and tomorrow a number will be spun, and I will read the book relating to that number. The book selected needs to be completed by 3 March, so I am hoping for one of the shorter books as I already have quite a number of books committed for the next few weeks for other challenges. This is my 15th spin, so I will definitely read whatever comes up!
I picked up an old hardback version of this book from a local little free library, as I have had a long interest in China and knew Pearl Buck’s books to be interesting and well-written – she won the Nobel Prize for Literature! This was my pick for the most recent Classics Club spin, but I discovered that it is actually a sequel, so went on the hunt for the first novel, Dragon Seed. Luckily I found an audio version and was glad I did, because it was all about the background of the main characters appearing in The Promise. So, I managed to finish both books in time to claim success in completing Classics Club Spin #35.
I am hopelessly remiss and slow in blogging, mostly because I would rather be reading than writing, but have tried to at least blog about my Spin reads. At the time of writing this, it is months since I completed the book, so it’s just lasting impressions that are included here. I found the story fascinating, because it depicts the experiences of various members of a Chinese family during a little-known (to most westerners) period of WW2. This description is taken from the Goodreads blurb:
The Promise chronicles a band of Chinese soldiers who are sent to rescue a British-American platoon, pinned down in Burma, while the Japanese army attacks Burma Road during World War II. The dangers that await the brave soldiers are heightened, as they encounter unthankfulness and ingratitude from the foreign soldiers that they hadn’t expected. Confronted with an impending attack from the Japanese, growing tension from the Anglo-American forces, the Chinese soldiers must make a difficult choice: abandon their posts or continue on with a suicidal mission.
Pearl Buck (who was American but grew up in China and lived there for many years as an adult) always demonstrates a deep understanding and love for all levels of Chinese society, but particularly for the peasant class. Her skill was in describing the lives of people in a society very different from our own, but in such a way that we can easily relate to them as people just like us in terms of their human desires and weaknesses, and the difficulties in dealing with the complexity of family relationships. So, although the novel’s storyline is about the war, what remains in the mind are the internal struggles of the characters who are faced with a variety of very confronting situations. Themes of racism and colonialism are very evident, and somewhat stereotypical, though this is hardly surprising as the book was published in 1944 while the war with the Japanese was ongoing.
I really enjoyed this book, and its prequel, and it reminded me to look out for more books by this Nobel prizewinner.
This is the Classics Club’s 35th CC Spin – I have been participating for some years now and always look forward to it.
What is a CC Spin?
Simply pick twenty books that you’ve got left to read from your Classics Club List.
Post that list, numbered 1-20, on your blog before Sunday, 15th October.
A number from 1-20 will be announced.
Read that book by 3rd December, 2023.
I am onto my second set of 50 classics, and this is my list for this spin – I have removed the longest books because I am currently trying to manage multiple reading challenges and probably would struggle to fit in some of my longer books. Here is my list for this challenge:
Me, My Shelf and I 