Classic Author Focus: George Sand

I don't think we hear much about George Sand anymore, but she was one of the most popular novelists of her time, more renowned than her peers Victor Hugo or Honoré de Balzac, and her popularity never flagged during her lifetime. She was one of the most notable writers of the Romantic period, which emphasized …

The Classic Meme

  Hello Clubbers! Way back when, in 2012, the Classics Club came into being. A monthly meme was devised to bring clubbers together to chat about classics. A question was posed for you to ponder and discuss. You could write a blog post and leave the link or simply put your thoughts in the comments. …

Summer Reading Challenges: #bookaday and #bigbooksummer and #20booksofsummer20

Having a goal, having a focus centers me, especially during difficult times. You may be different, and that's perfectly okay. But if you'd like some focus for your reading life during this summer, I encourage you to join me in a couple of summer reading challenges. Every summer for over ten years, the Book Whisperer, …

Did You Finish Your Spin?

Today's the Day! On the 19th April, we announced the latest Classic Club Spin, challenging you to read book 6 on your CC Spin #23 list by 1st June 2020. Did you read your book? Did you write about it, or not? What's Next? In the comments below, tell us what book you read, and what you …

Classic Author Focus: Naguib Mafouz

Naguib Mafouz was a prolific Egyptian writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature. He wrote 34 novels, more than 350 short stories, movie scripts, and hundreds of op-ed newspaper columns. Many of his works have been made into films. Mafouz was the youngest child of a Muslim family in Cairo that was so strict …

Personal Canon of Books

An idea: A personal canon of books. Ruth, at A Great Book Study, writes: Every avid reader has a particular and unique way of composing a personal canon.  The list is characteristic of who you are.  It says, "These are my books." What sorts of books are in one's personal canon? Again, from Ruth: Some of these …

Monthly Meme: What Kinds of Classic Books Do You Prefer?

Last month's discussion about what a classic book was very interesting and provoked a lot of response, I thought, so I figured I would suggest another topic, this one much more subjective. When you read classic literature, what's your preference, or will you read anything? Do you prefer the "literary" authors, like Dickens, Hugo, Austen, …

Classic Author Focus: Christa Wolf

Christa Wolf was a literary critic, novelist, and essayist who was born into a pro-Nazi family in an area of Germany that now belongs to Poland, Gorzów Wielkopolski. After World War II, being German, they crossed into Germany, and ended up living in East Germany. After university, while working as an editor for two publishing …

Your Lucky Spin Number Is…

If you joined the game last week, find number 6 on your CC Spin #23 List! That's the CLASSIC you are challenged to read by 1st June, 2020.  We know it can be hard to stay on track and enthused about your Spin Book for the whole journey. We plan to provide support and encouragement to …

CC Spin #23

Hello, Clubbers! It's time for another Classics Club Spin! Our world may be in a Covid-19 spin right now, but that's no excuse to stop reading! Well, actually, it has been a very good reason to stop reading...and blogging...and doing lots of other things we used to love. It's difficult for many of us to …

Monthly Meme: A Topic Revisited: What Makes a Classic?

I know that the Classics Club has addressed this topic before, but it's one that I've struggled with, first when I made up my first list, and more recently as I post our club reviews. That activity more than any other has convinced me that members must have different definitions of a classic. I began …

Classic Author Focus: Amrita Pritam

With over 100 books of poetry, fiction, biography, and essays, Amrita Pritam is beloved on both sides of the India-Pakistan border. She is considered the first major woman Punjabi poet and wrote in both Punjabi and Hindi. Born in the Punjab to a father who was schoolteacher and a preacher of the Sikh faith and …

24in48 Presents: The Social Distancing Readathon

From the 24in48 Readathon: And as more and more countries are implementing social distancing recommendations (if not actual quarantines), we decided it was time to find comfort in books and the community that loves them. Which brings us to the Social Distancing Readathon. Stay home. Wash your hands. Read books. March 21 & 22.  It’s that simple. …

Celebrating 8 Years of the Classics Club

Way back when, on the 7th March, 2012 two classics-loving bloggers, Jillian & Heather, wanted to see more people posting about classic literature on the blogosphere, so they came up with the idea for a Classics Club. Their goal was to, “unite those of us who like to blog about classic literature, as well as …

The Begorrathon and Dewithon: A Month to Celebrate Irish and Welsh Writing

Join Cathy at 746 Books to celebrate Irish writing during the month of March. Ireland Month, or The Begorrathon as it is affectionately called, will feature book reviews, poems, plays, songs, giveaways and much more.  You might like to join in by reading an Irish classic. Or two. Or three. Here are some you might consider. …

Classic Author Focus: Miklós Bánffy

I selected Miklós Bánffy to write about this month because I am reading Volume I of his Transylvania Trilogy, the work he is most famous for. This trilogy depicts the decline of Hungary heading toward the first world war. Bánffy was a nobleman, a member a distinguished family of Transylvania, which until 1916 was a …