What Is the Number?

It is number 12! Which just happens to be Larkrise to Candleford by Flora Thompson. Previously, I had watched the tv series and then found out it was based on these books by Flora Thompson (which she wrote semi-autobiography on about her experiences of village life in England during the 1880's). I know from experience that there isn't a whole lot of dialogue in this book, and that is a complaint from some people I have seen. Plus, they think it will be like the tv series with lots of story line. That doesn't bother me as I think being really descriptive of that type of life to me then allows you to vision it better. Last time I read a chapter of it and really enjoyed it. What is your Spin book?

Books I have chosen for the latest Spin...

Ah, it is time to have another Classics Spin!   The rules are that I need to pick 20 books from my Classics Club list that I still need to read. I have a few books on my list that I had previously started reading but than never finished as of yet, so I will list those first with an asterisk, then any others I want to read.

1. Heart of Darkness and Selected Stories by Joseph Conrad*

2. Walden and Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau*

3. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain*

4. Little Dorritt by Charles Dickens*

5. Poor Folk and other stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky*

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte*

7. The Death of Ivan Ilych and other stories by Leo Tolstoy*

8. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy*

9. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen*

10. Germinal by Emile Zola*

11.  Little Women by Louisa May Alcott*

12. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

13. The Oregon Trail by Francis Parkman, Jr.

14. The Letters of the Rozmberk Sisters

15. The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain

16. The Pioneers by James Fenimore Cooper

17. Larkrise to Candleford by Flora Thompson

18. The Memoirs of Gluckel of Hameln

19. Rights of Man by Thomas Paine

20. The Kilvert's Diary

Book Challenge

   Since last year I signed up for so many book challenges, which did not even finish one, I only plan on signing up for this one. It does coincide with my Classics Club list, which I have until August 2017 to finish. I am not going to pick all 12 categories for this challenge, as I am only picking books that I already have that fit a category.


Here are my choices:
1. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
2. Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
3. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
4. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
9. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
10. Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
11. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

If you want to see all of the categories and rules follow here.

My Spin book is.......

 

The Classics Club has picked number 10 for the winner of the Spin List. So I will be reading Persuasion by Jane Austen! It should be a fun read, and I think it will be finished before the deadline of Jan. 1st. If you are participating in the Classics Spin, what book will you be reading?

Review of Oliver Twist

I think there is so much to learn about society in reading Oliver Twist. The poor tale of Oliver in his upbringing, how some things have changed in the world while some have remained unchanged. There is still poverty in the world, criminals, people of higher power abusing their authority (in thinking they are above the law), etc. It does give one a lot to think about. I often thought perhaps if Dickens himself could see and relate to Oliver as he was writing this book, I guess this maybe answered if I read Little Dorrit. Everyone's life experiences shape who we are in same way, this can of course be either good or bad. Oliver Twist I think also shows the resilience of humans, as far as Oliver never giving up, even though he was not treated kindly by a great majority of people and didn't have much of a support system in several instances. In reading Oliver Twist I wanted to keep reading to see what occurred, and I enjoyed knowing the end of all the characters in such detail. This is a definate reread. I rate this book a 5 out of 5. This is my third book review for the Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge, second for Historical Fiction Challenge, and fifth book for Classics Club.

My next book to read is The Little Princess. I still plan on having movie reviews for Ivanhoe and Oliver soon.

Classics Club Group Check In #2

This is the second group check in so far, and the first for this year of 2013. I feel that I have been able to read more this year, hopefully I will be able to continue this. I have read four books so far, since joining the club in Aug. 2012:

1. Pat of Silverbush by L.M. Montgomery - Finished 10/8/2012
2.The Children by Edith Wharton - Finished Nov. 2012
3. The Cossacks and the Raid by Leo Tolstoy - Finished Dec. 2012
4. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott - Finished Jan. 2013

Currently I am reading Oliver Twist and really enjoying it. I only have about 80 pages or so far to go, I am determined to read the rest of it over the weekend. In the past, I had tried to read Great Expectations but was never a fan and couldn't finish. Since I have various other works of Dickens on my classics club list, it is a good thing that I am enjoying Oliver Twist. My original goal of each book on my classic club list is to also watch any movies based on  the books. I have yet to watch Ivanhoe but hope to do so soon so then I can watch Oliver (my husband is a fan of both the book and film). I will end up doing reviews on the films to try to compare them to the books. Once I am done with Oliver Twist the next book will be A Little Princess, never read the book but watched the film growing up. If you enjoy reading books and finding new ones, I highly recommend joining the classics club!

Why I Read The Classics.....

Well, for a number of reasons, but the simpliest one is that I gradually over the years purchased so many of them. A few of the books I got because I had seen the movie version and enjoyed it, so I wanted to see how the book would compare. Some books piqued my interest, especially those focusing on society or social issues.  I am a huge fan of history so perhaps the books which focus more on society kind of go hand in hand with my wanting to know more. Besides who could tell a story better about how a society was/is than a book which was written in that same time frame? Anyways, of course other times people have mentioned a few classics to me that they enjoyed. I look forward to finding new authors and books that I may not have otherwise found. I enjoy also finding the lesser known books from famous authors that are just as good, as the celebrated works. It is a shame though when that happens, that some people will only read the famous works of authors and not try to read some of the lesser ones.