Showing posts with label classics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label classics. Show all posts

Friday, June 13, 2025

Classics Club Spin #41

And the spin landed on #11....Viy by Nikolai Gogol....to be finished by August 24.



What is the spin?

At your blog, before Sunday, June 15 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, June 15, 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 August 24, 2025.

For full details and to join in, visit the Classics Club blog here.

My list
  1. The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories, Algernon Blackwood
  2. The Human Chord, Algernon Blackwood
  3. In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires, Raymond T. McNally, Radu R. Florescu
  4. A Room with A View, E.M. Forster
  5. Grendel, John Gardner
  6. Orlando, Virginia Woolf
  7. Dead Souls, Nikolai Gogol
  8. The Werewolf, Montague Summers
  9. Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka, Nikolai Gogol
  10. The Collector, John Fowles
  11. Viy, Nikolai Gogol
  12. Vampires and Vampirism, Montague Summers
  13. The Witch of Ravensworth, George Brewer
  14. Some Dogmas of Religion, J.M.E. McTaggart
  15. Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
  16. The Centaur, Algernon Blackwood
  17. The Devils of Loudun, Aldous Huxley
  18. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
  19. Taras Bulba, Nikolai Gogol
  20. Hard Times, Charles Dickens
Click here to view my entire Classics Club list


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Friday, April 11, 2025

Classics Club Spin #40 - The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde


I actually finished my spin selection! Seemed like I wasn't going to, as I felt I was plodding along at the end.

I've had this book on my TBR for a long time. I am glad I finally read it. I've long been an Oscar Wilde fan. I was in his play, The Importance of Being Earnest in high school. 

Dorian Gray is a good novel. It raises questions about narcissism, morality, even the association of ugliness with aging (and with evil), and the old being less than. It also has one of my favorite quotes, "The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame." So true.

The only problem I had, and it's a minor one, were the long passage describing Dorian's interests, his fleeting passions, and Lord Henry's various monologues. Yet there's no denying that this is an excellent novel of Gothic fiction. 

I have seen two film adaptations of Dorian Gray. The 1945 and 2009 films. Both of them changed the story and I have to say I much preferred the book. Not really a surprise though, right? 


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Saturday, February 15, 2025

Classics Club Spin #40

And the spin landed on #4....The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde....to be finished by April 11.




What is the spin?

At your blog, before Sunday, February 16 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, February 16, 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 April 11, 2025.

For full details and to join in, visit the Classics Club blog here.

My list
  1. Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
  2. The Human Chord, Algernon Blackwood
  3. The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories, Algernon Blackwood
  4. The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
  5. Taras Bulba, Nikolai Gogol
  6. The Centaur, Algernon Blackwood
  7. Dead Souls, Nikolai Gogol
  8. Grendel, John Gardner
  9. Mastering Witchcraft: A Practical Guide for Witches, Warlocks, and Covens, Paul Huson
  10. A Room with A View, E.M. Forster
  11. The Witch of Ravensworth, George Brewer
  12. The Werewolf, Montague Summers
  13. Viy, Nikolai Gogol
  14. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
  15. The Collector, John Fowles
  16. The Devils of Loudun, Aldous Huxley
  17. In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires, Raymond T. McNally, Radu R. Florescu
  18. Orlando, Virginia Woolf
  19. Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka, Nikolai Gogol
  20. Murder in the Cathedral, T.S. Eliot
Click here to view my entire Classics Club list


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Saturday, October 19, 2024

Classics Club Spin #39

And the spin landed on #3....The Collector by John Fowles....to be finished December 18.



Sadly, I did not finish the #38 spin. I am actually still reading it. It happens. 🤷

Let's try this again...

What is the spin?

At your blog, before Sunday, October 20 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 October, 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 December 18, 2024.

For full details and to join in, visit the Classics Club blog here.

My list
  1. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
  2. Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
  3. The Collector, John Fowles
  4. The Witch of Ravensworth, George Brewer
  5. The Human Chord, Algernon Blackwood
  6. The Devils of Loudun, Aldous Huxley
  7. The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories, Algernon Blackwood
  8. Grendel, John Gardner
  9. A Room with A View, E.M. Forster
  10. Murder in the Cathedral, T.S. Eliot
  11. Mastering Witchcraft: A Practical Guide for Witches, Warlocks, and Covens, Paul Huson
  12. The Centaur, Algernon Blackwood
  13. Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka, Nikolai Gogol
  14. In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires, Raymond T. McNally, Radu R. Florescu
  15. Dead Souls, Nikolai Gogol
  16. Viy, Nikolai Gogol
  17. Taras Bulba, Nikolai Gogol
  18. The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
  19. The Werewolf, Montague Summers
  20. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou


    Click here to view my entire Classics Club list

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Saturday, July 20, 2024

Classics Club Spin #38

And the spin landed on #17....Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M.R. James. Very excited about this one. Should be easily finished by September 22.


What is the spin?

At your blog, before Sunday July 21st 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 July 21st, 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 September 22, 2024.

For full details and to join in, visit the Classics Club blog here.

My list:
  1. The Witch of Ravensworth, George Brewer
  2. Murder in the Cathedral, T.S. Eliot
  3. A Room with A View, E.M. Forster
  4. The Collector, John Fowles
  5. Grendel, John Gardner
  6. Viy, Nikolai Gogol
  7. The Devils of Loudun, Aldous Huxley
  8. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
  9. In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires, Raymond T. McNally, Radu R. Florescu
  10. Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
  11. Mastering Witchcraft: A Practical Guide for Witches, Warlocks, and Covens, Paul Huson
  12. The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
  13. The Centaur, Algernon Blackwood
  14. The Human Chord, Algernon Blackwood
  15. The Werewolf, Montague Summers
  16. The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories, Algernon Blackwood
  17. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, M.R. James
  18. Taras Bulba, Nikolai Gogol
  19. Dead Souls, Nikolai Gogol
  20. Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka, Nikolai Gogol
Click here to view my entire Classics Club list


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Friday, April 19, 2024

Classics Club Spin #37

And the spin landed on #8...The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson. I should have no problem finishing this by June 2nd.


I finished the last Spin (glory be) so why not try again...

What is the spin?

At your blog, before next Sunday 21st April, 2024 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 21st April 2024 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 2nd June, 2024.

For full details and to join in, visit the Classics Club blog here.

Here's my list:
  1. Collected Works (short stories), Algernon Blackwood
  2. Murder in the Cathedral, T.S. Eliot
  3. The Collector, John Fowles
  4. Grendel, John Gardner
  5. The Witch of Ravensworth, George Brewer
  6. The Centaur, Algernon Blackwood
  7. Viy, Nicolai Gogol
  8. The House on the Borderland, William Hope Hodgson
  9. Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
  10. The Centaur, Algernon Blackwood
  11. The Devils of Loudun, Aldous Huxley
  12. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
  13. In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires, McNally & Florescu
  14. The Human Chord, Algernon Blackwood
  15. Werewolf, Montague Summers
  16. The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
  17. Taras Bulba, Nikolai Gogol
  18. Collected Works (short stories), Nicolai Gogol
  19. Complete Ghost Stories, M.R. James
  20. Hard Times, Charles Dickens


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Saturday, January 20, 2024

Classics Club Spin #36

And the spin landed on #20...Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster
Guess the universe really wants me to read this one (it was my spin selection for spin #33 which I didn't get to). Let's see if I can finish it by March 3rd.





CC Spin #36 - A new year of spins...let us see how well I do. 
  1. Complete Ghost Stories - M.R. James
  2. Collected Works (short stories) - Algernon Blackwood
  3. The Witch of Ravensworth - George Brewer
  4. Murder in the Cathedral - T.S. Eliot
  5. The Collector - John Fowles
  6. The Centaur - Algernon Blackwood
  7. Grendel - John Gardner
  8. Collected Works (short stories) - Nikolai Gogol
  9. The House on the Borderland - William Hope Hodgson
  10. The Human Chord - Algernon Blackwood
  11. The Devils of Loudun - Aldous Huxley
  12. The Phantom of the Opera - Gaston Leroux
  13. In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires - Raymond T. McNally, Radu R. Florescu
  14. Dead Souls - Nikolai Gogol
  15. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
  16. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
  17. Vampires and Vampirism - Montague Summers
  18. Werewolf - Montague Summers
  19. Mastering Witchcraft - Paul Huson
  20. Where Angels Fear to Tread - E.M. Forster


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Saturday, October 14, 2023

Classics Club Spin #35

And the spin landed on #13...Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol




CC Spin #35 - Maybe I'll finish one spin a year....
  1. Mastering Witchcraft - Paul Huson
  2. Dead Souls - Nikolai Gogol
  3. Where Angels Fear to Tread - E.M. Forster
  4. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
  5. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
  6. Murder in the Cathedral - T.S. Eliot
  7. As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner
  8. Vampires and Vampirism - Montague Summers
  9. Taras Bulba - Nikolai Gogol
  10. The Centaur - Algernon Blackwood
  11. The Collector - John Fowles
  12. The Devils of Loudon - Aldous Huxley
  13. The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton
  14. Grendel - John Gardner
  15. The Phantom of the Opera - Gaston Leroux
  16. The Werewolf - Montague Summers
  17. The Human Chord - Algernon Blackwood
  18. In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires - Raymond T. McNally, Radu R. Florescu
  19. The Witch of Ravensworth - George Brewer
  20. The House on the Borderland - William Hope Hodgson

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Friday, June 16, 2023

Classics Club Spin #34

And the spin landed on #13...The Werewolf by Montague Summers
I'm thrilled!



Failed miserably last time. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Motto of my life. 
  1. Mastering Witchcraft - Paul Huson
  2. Dead Souls - Nikolai Gogol
  3. Where Angels Fear to Tread - E.M. Forster
  4. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
  5. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
  6. Murder in the Cathedral - T.S. Eliot
  7. As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner
  8. Vampires and Vampirism - Montague Summers
  9. Taras Bulba - Nikolai Gogol
  10. The Centaur - Algernon Blackwood
  11. The Collector - John Fowles
  12. The Devils of Loudon - Aldous Huxley
  13. Werewolf - Montague Summers
  14. Grendel - John Gardner
  15. The Phantom of the Opera - Gaston Leroux
  16. Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
  17. The Human Chord - Algernon Blackwood
  18. In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires - Raymond T. McNally, Radu R. Florescu
  19. The Witch of Ravensworth - George Brewer
  20. The House on the Borderland - William Hope Hodgson


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Monday, March 13, 2023

Classics Club Spin #33

My spin selection is 
Where Angels Fear To Tread - E.M. Forster



I finished the last spin. Let's see if I can do it again. 
  1. The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
  2. Meditations, Marcus Aurelius
  3. Werewolf, Montague Summers
  4. The Centaur, Algernon Blackwood
  5. Vampires and Vampirism, Montague Summers
  6. The Human Chord, Algernon Blackwood
  7. Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
  8. The Witch of Ravensworth, George Brewer
  9. In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires, Raymond T. McNally, Radu R. Florescu
  10. Murder in the Cathedral, T.S. Eliot
  11. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
  12. The Collector, John Fowles
  13. The Devils of Loudon, Aldous Huxley
  14. Grendel, John Gardner
  15. The House on the Borderland, William Hope Hodgson
  16. As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner
  17. Taras Bulba, Nikolai Gogol
  18. Where Angels Fear to Tread, E.M. Forster
  19. Dead Souls, Nikolai Gogol
  20. Mastering Witchcraft: A Practical Guide for Witches, Warlocks, and Covens, Paul Huson

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Sunday, January 29, 2023

Annie Dillard's The Writing Life (Classics Club Spin #32)

I finished my Classics Club Spin! Glory be! I would also like to mention that I have revised my Classics Club list yet again. Check it out here.

I love reading about an author's writing life. Not only talking about the craft, but their process and experiences with their own writing. Annie Dillard does not mince words. She is very upfront in regards to writing being incredibly daunting. That being said, she also describes writing as being wonderfully fulfilling, magical at times (she has had some pretty strange and fantastical experiences). 

Since I am starting work on the first draft of my novel, I especially appreciated this passage:

"For writing a first draft requires from the writer a peculiar internal state which ordinary life does not induce. If you were a Zulu warrior banging on your shield with your spear for a couple of hours along with a hundred other Zulu warriors, you might be able to prepare yourself to write. If you were an Aztec maiden who knew months in advance that on a certain morning the priests were going to throw you into a hot volcano, and if you spent those months undergoing a series of purification rituals and drinking dubious liquids, you might, when the time came, be ready to write. But how, if you are neither Zulu warrior nor Aztec maiden, do you prepare yourself, all alone, to enter an extraordinary state on an ordinary morning." pp.46-47

She discusses how we, as writers, can never find anything written about "your fascination with something no one else understands." She says, "because it is up to you." 
"The most demanding part of living a lifetime as an artist is the strict discipline of forcing oneself to work steadfastly along the nerve of one's own most intimate sensitivity." --Anne Truitt

I saw somewhere someone had given this book a low rating and called her Annie Dullard. I did not find this dull at all. In fact, there were even some funny moments. While reading the scene between her and the sheriff (p. 54), I found myself chuckling. She is rather witty. 

To Dillard, writing is something that is life itself. She quotes Evelyn Underhill late in the book: "He goes because he must, as Galahad went towards the Grail: knowing that for those who can live it, this alone is life."

For those of us compelled to write, we must do it. It sometimes may take years, we may never be published, and yet, we must write.


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Friday, December 9, 2022

Classics Club Spin #32

My spin selection is 
The Writing Life - Annie Dillard


A cry goes up to the universe...give me something I can actually finish. 
  1. Collected Works - Algernon Blackwood
  2. Complete Ghost Stories - M.R. James
  3. Negotiating with the Dead - Margaret Atwood
  4. The Witch of Ravensworth - George Brewer
  5. The Vein of Gold - Julia Cameron
  6. The Writing Life - Annie Dillard
  7. Murder in the Cathedral - T.S. Eliot
  8. The Collector - John Fowles
  9. Writing Past Dark - Bonnie Friedman
  10. Writing Down the Bones - Natalie Goldberg
  11. The House on the Borderland - William Hope Hodgson
  12. Mastering Witchcraft: A Practical Guide for Witches, Warlocks, and Covens - Paul Huson
  13. Steering the Craft - Ursula K. Le Guin
  14. The Forest for the Trees - Betsy Lerner
  15. Some Dogmas of Religion - J.M.E. McTaggart
  16. The Faith of a Writer - Joyce Carol Oates
  17. The War of Art - Steven Pressfield
  18. The Creative Habit -Twyla Tharp
  19. If You Want to Write - Brenda Ueland
  20. The Writing of Fiction - Edith Wharton


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Wednesday, June 8, 2022

Classics Club Spin 30

The spin number was 5 - A Room of One's Own, Virginia Woolf


20 books chosen from your Classics Club list. The club will choose a random number. Read corresponding book by August 7, 2022. Number to be chosen on June 12th. Let's see what kind of list I can make...
  1. Writing Past Dark, Bonnie Friedman
  2. The Faith of a Writer, Joyce Carol Oates
  3. Mastering Witchcraft: A Practical Guide for Witches, Warlocks, and Covens, Paul Huson
  4. Silas Marner, George Eliot
  5. A Room of One's Own, Virginia Woolf
  6. The Collector, John Fowles
  7. Negotiating with the Dead, Margaret Atwood
  8. Steering the Craft, Ursula K. Le Guin
  9. The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
  10. In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
  11. The Vein of Gold, Julia Cameron
  12. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou
  13. The Witch of Ravensworth, George Brewer
  14. Murder in the Cathedral, T.S. Eliot
  15. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
  16. The Writing Life, Annie Dillard
  17. The House on the Borderland, William Hope Hodgson
  18. The Writing of Fiction, Edith Wharton
  19. If You Want to Write, Brenda Ueland
  20. Take Joy, Jane Yolen
I didn't finish the last spin, but will try, try again. Good luck to everyone participating!


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Tuesday, March 22, 2022

Classics Club Spin 29 - The lucky number is....

11

I've been wanting to read this one ever since reading about Paul Huson and subsequently buying the book. So, pretty happy with the result. 

An enduring classic since its publication in 1970, Mastering Witchcraft is one of the best how-to manuals for those wishing to practice traditional European Witchcraft as a craft rather than a New Age religion. Starting from first principles, Huson instructs the novice step by step in the arts of circle casting, blessing and banning, the uses of amulets and talismans, philters, divination, necromancy, waxen images, knots, fascination, conjuration, magical familiars, spells to arouse passion or lust, attain vengeance, and of course, counter-spells to exorcize and annul the malice of others. "A genuine vade mecum."-The Catholic Herald.
(Goodreads)

What did you get?



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Saturday, March 19, 2022

Classics Club Spin 29


Can't believe I missed the last two spins. The last one I participated in was 26, and I didn't finish my spin selection. Hopefully, I will this time. I revised my Classics Club list back in September and altered my finish date. Details on the spin at the Classics Club website here

1. Negotiating with the Dead, Margaret Atwood
2. The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin
3. The Witch of Ravensworth, George Brewer
4. The Vein of Gold, Julia Cameron
5. Murder in the Cathedral, T.S. Eliot
6. The Collector, John Fowles
7. Writing Past Dark, Bonnie Friedman
8. Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg
9. The White Goddess: A Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth, Robert Graves
10. The House on the Borderland, William Hope Hodgson
11. Mastering Witchcraft: A Practical Guide for Witches, Warlocks, and Covens, Paul Huson
12. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
13. Some Dogmas of Religion, J.M.E. McTaggart
14. The Faith of a Writer, Joyce Carol Oates
15. The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath
16. The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton
17. The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
18. A Room of One's Own, Virginia Woolf
19. Take Joy, Jane Yolen
20. The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales, Chris Baldick (Editor)


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Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Classics Club Spin # 26 - The lucky number is....

11

Here's mine. I've had a couple of stops and starts with this one. Maybe this will finally be the time I get past the beginning. It's not that I'm not liking it when I'm reading. Something just always comes up and I put it aside. It's time to mark this one off my list!

What did you get?




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Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Classics Club Spin 26 #ccspin


I finished my last spin book which was On Becoming A Novelist by John Gardner. So, here I go again. Here's my list:

1. Uncle Silas by Sheridan Le Fanu
2. Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande
3. If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit by Brenda Ueland
4. The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
5. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
6. Negotiating with the Dead by Margaret Atwood
7. Emma by Jane Austen
8. Escaping into the Open by Elizabeth Berg
9. Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot
10. The Vein of Gold by Julia Cameron
11. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
12. The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
13. The Legends of Parsifal by Mary Hanford Ford
14. The Collector by John Fowles
15. Writing Past Dark by Bonnie Friedman
16. Steering the Craft by Ursula K. Le Guin
17. The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
18. Take Joy by Jane Yolen
19. The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp
20. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

What will I get?! Are you doing the spin this time?

In case you're curious about all the writing books on my list (some which may not seem to be classics to some), check out this post where I outlined restarting/revamping my list in 2019. 


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Monday, March 1, 2021

W. Somerset Maugham - The Painted Veil


I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did. Not that I thought it would be boring, or any slight against Maugham at all. I just had already seen the (2006) film and I did not think there would be any surprises. I know, I know. Never judge a book by its movie!

All this being said, Maugham writes the most beautiful prose. Besides being a really good story...about wrongs, love, and loss, he evokes so much beauty and depth in his writing. The passages he writes about life really resonated with me. I will share two of them...
"It seemed to Kitty that they were all, the human race, like the drops of water in that river and they flowed on, each so close to the other and yet so far apart, a nameless flood, to the sea. When all things lasted so short a time and nothing mattered very much, it seemed pitiful that men, attaching an absurd importance to trivial objects, should make themselves and one another so unhappy."

and

"I wonder. I wonder if it matters that what they have aimed at is illusion. Their lives are in themselves beautiful. I have an idea that the only thing which makes it possible to regard this world we live in without disgust is the beauty which now and then men create out of the chaos. The pictures they paint, the music they compose, the books they write, and the lives they lead. Of all these the richest beauty is the beautiful life. That is the perfect work of art."

Beautiful! 

This is a short book (246 pages), but it packs a lot of punch. I'm so glad I read it!

This is a Classics Club read and also read for the 2021 Back to the Classics challenge.



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Monday, February 15, 2021

The Classic Meme 2.0 - Favorite Classic Character


Who is your favourite classic character? Why?

For my answer, I share parts of a post from the weekly Favorite Fictional Character meme Ryan used to host at Wordsmithonia. Of course, I do have many favorite classic characters if I am to be honest, but here I go with my first favorite. 

As you will read, it's Jo March from Little Women. I count her as my favorite for the reasons below, and because she was a part of the first classic novel I read as a child. 

My most favorite character from the book and the movie is Jo March. When I was a girl, Jo was inspiring to me. Her love for the written word and her devotion to writing was partly responsible for sparking the same in me. And I loved her fierce independence and individuality...in that time period, Jo was almost a feminist. She threw convention out the window and marched to her own drummer. But she was very devoted to her family and her sisters meant the world to her...especially dear, sweet Beth. Watching Jo lose Beth is one of the most heartbreaking moments in cinematic (and literary) history. Every time I watch or read this part, I am reduced to tears...every time.


Jo, and the story of Little Women, show us that family is the most important thing on this earth. But also the importance of being an individual and following your dreams. And the March family know the true meaning of Christmas...the spirit of love and giving. If you haven't read the book or seen the movie, you should do so immediately! It's a great story any time, but especially at Christmas.


Who is your favorite classic character?


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Sunday, November 22, 2020

Classics Club Spin 25 #ccspin


Joining in a bit late...because Deb Nance said I could. lol Thanks, Deb! 

Made my list and then randomly sorted it. Here's the list before the sort. 

1. The Vein of Gold, Julia Cameron
2. Buddenbrooks, Thomas Mann
3. The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
4. Murder in the Cathedral, T.S. Eliot
5. Rob Roy, Sir Walter Scott
6. On Becoming a Novelist, John Gardner
7. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
8. Becoming a Writer, Dorothea Brande
9. The Writing of Fiction, Edith Wharton
10. Roderick Hudson, Henry James
11. In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
12. The Marble Faun, Nathaniel Hawthorne
13. The Writing Life, Annie Dillard
14. Writing Past Dark, Bonnie Friedman
15. Roxana, Daniel Defoe
16. Negotiating with the Dead, Margaret Atwood
17. The Faith of a Writer, Joyce Carol Oates
18. The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton
19. The Mill on the Floss, George Eliot
20. The Legends of Parsifal, Mary Hanford Ford

Sorted the list in a Google Sheet. See below:



Number 14 is On Becoming A Novelist, John Gardner

What did you get?



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