Moderators too, please, if you’re of a mind. 🙂
It occurs to us we have been remiss in offering our giant group a place to introduce y/ourselves! Please use this space as you join (or as soon as you see this and feel pulled to comment!), to introduce yourself to the rest of the group.
(No one is required to do this, of course!)
Follow the template below, or make up your own intro!
Suggestions – tell us:
- Your online name
- Your blog name (so we can find your classics list on the Member Page)
- How many books you hope to read for the club
- When you joined
- Describe your literary background (“I have none!” is a fine answer, as is “I am a lit professor and only read scholarly articles.” We’d love to learn about this club’s literary texture!)
- Why you joined The Classics Club and/OR one interesting fact about you
- The favorite book you’ve read so far for the club (if you’ve begun your list.) Or, the one you’re most intrigued to read.
- Link ONE POST from your blog that you believe speaks to who you are. (No fair saying “I can’t pick one, so here are ten!” You have to pick only one post. It does NOT have to be a club post or a review.)
- Answer the one question you wish everybody would answer who enters this thread.
Feel free to interact in the comments. 🙂
Introduce yourself to the group on Twitter using hashtag #ccintroductions @ourclassicsclub.
And don’t forget to check out the The Classics Club 50 Question Survey.
The Classics Club 
Hey everyone!:) I’m Abbey over at Three Cats and a Girl! I just started blogging in July of 2017 and I’m loving it! It’s been a neat experience and I’ve met some wonderful people so far!
I’m joining this challenge with 50 books in 5 years as of September 28th, 2017. I was an avid reader all the way up until middle school when I started to have too much schoolwork and sports for extra curricular reading. I stopped for quite a while, which was sad. But! Never fear! I am reading again! A little bit of everything I feel like haha no specific genres. I always wanted to read more Classics, but never had a drive to do so until I came across this blog and this challenge. So here I have ended up!
Interesting fact….I was valedictorian of my class!! A huge payoff for all the work I did and one of my proudest accomplishments!
I’m not sure which book I’m most looking forward to! It’s hard to pick at the moment!
This is a post that I wrote about autumn, which is the best season! https://threecatsandagirl.wordpress.com/2017/09/01/favorites-friday-for-the-love-of-autumn/
I wish everyone would answer “hardest classic to get through, but totally worth it” I haven’t read one that has been “crazy hard” yet, so I’ll have to get back to you on that!!:)
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Hardest classic to get through is my current read…In Search of Lost Time, but I can’t say it’s totally worth it.
Hardest AND totally worth it, I’d have to go with Les Miserables. I never read abridged versions but this is one I might be tempted to recommend a good abridged version. Just too many chapters on Paris’ sewers in the unabridged. But still…yeah…a GREAT READ and totally worth it. http://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2017/03/les-miserables-by-victor-hugo-77-down.html
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Aha I love that you put two answers there!!:) Les Miserables is on my list to read, so I may look into a good abridged version!
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Hey y’all, I go by Elley online and my blog is Elley the Book Otter.
I signed up for 51 books for the club – basically everything that’s been on my to-read list for years (decades?) that is considered a classic! I just joined on November 9th (assuming my application was accepted??). My literary background is I guess as a hobby reader? Haha. I have a Bachelor’s in General Studies (read: Liberal Arts) with a minor in Literature, does that count as a background? Someday I’d like to go back to school and teach high school Lit, so reading some of these great classics is a great base to build on. I haven’t started my list yet, but I’ve been meaning to read Jane Austen’s Persuasion for about a hundred years, so I’m excited to actually DO that.
I just started blogging last week, so I guess I’ll link to my introductory post, titled “Rejected :(” here: https://elleyotter.blogspot.com/2017/11/rejected.html?_sm_au_=iNMsFbKPcbMKrj5r
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Hello everyone! My name is Maximilian. I started reading classics about 10 years ago, when I read Slaughterhouse Five and Animal Farm. Since then, I went to a liberal arts college where the curriculum primarily centered upon reading classic texts (take a look: https://thomasaquinas.edu/a-liberating-education/syllabus ). Now I am currently a student in Rome and a candidate for Holy Orders, but I still make sure to find time for reading the classics. If I had to name just a handful of favorite works, I would say: Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West, Don Quixote, The Brothers Karamazov, and Middlemarch by George Eliot. I only read Middlemarch last year, but I was so impressed that I have since read 3 more Eliot novels, and am now on a fourth. It is with this fourth, Romola, that I begin my 50 classics list. Here is my list: https://vogliodio.wordpress.com/2017/04/22/classics-list/
Happy reading!
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Hello everyone, I’m Beth and my blog name is Bifflybooo (https://bifflybooo.wordpress.com/). I live in England and am studying English Literature at University, so I feel like that’s pretty self explanatory as to why I’m doing this challenge. I started this challenge in April 2017 and I’m ashamed to say I haven’t read that many classics at all, so now I have the opportunity to push myself to read 60 books in 5 years – I can do this!
I can’t wait to begin this challenge and I’m looking forward to uploading a blog for each book that I finish, I will also be updating my Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/23507081-beth) and my instagram (bifflybooo) with my progress too, so you can find me on those too! I can’t wait to read Ulysses by James Joyce because I’ve heard a lot of good things about this book and it’s one that people are shocked to hear that I haven’t read. It’s just the sheer size of the book that is slightly daunting.
In terms of Blog Posts, my poem ‘Tint of the Rose’ (https://bifflybooo.wordpress.com/2017/03/24/tint-of-the-rose-beth-morley/) that I uploaded online is very important to me because it was the first poem that I actually posted online for people to read which was quite scary for me, so check it out if you want.
Beth (good luck everyone with your challenges!)
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Hi everyone,
My name is Silvia Cachia. I was born in Madrid, and I moved to Texas 20 years ago where I live with my husband Steve, and my two daughters, 10 and 12 years old. I homeschool them, and while looking for a philosophy of education and possibly curriculum ideas, I found a community based on Charlotte Mason, (a Victorian educator still very relevant today). The community has a site and a forum, http://www.amblesideonline.org, and they encourage parents to present children with ideas, found in living books, and not to get in the way between the author and the child. I cannot say in a few words all that the ambleside community has done for me, but at the forum, among other moms, I’ve read books I thought were out of my reach. They have kindled my love for the classics, and rekindled my love for reading. I’m sad I did not find you 5 years ago, because it was 2012, I’d say, when a change took place, a change I did not know about at the time. It meant the beginning of a reading path full of many different genra, classics, and books worth reading.
With Charlotte Mason I learned to read a few books at the time, and slowly. (There’s always the book one finishes fast, of course). I’ve learned to have several books in session, which affords me many ideas and connections, and I’ve also learned to broad my interests, challenge myself, and enjoy the journey.
I’ve also learned that reading is community, and thus I love reading reviews by other curious fellow readers, as well as taking up a few challenges offered to me and my own.
Initially, I did not understand very well the whole proposal of this blog, but as it kept popping here and there, I understood better and thought it fit me well.
I haven’t talked much of myself other than as a reader, but I’ve had a dozen jobs (pool control and pesticide store clerk -and yes, people called to ask for poison for such a rat as their boss!, telephonist for a survey company, bank clerk -and I was in an armed robbery of the bank-, Adams chew and candy van distributor, Mexican food small place server, big iron presser for a small uniform and tailor business, and here in Texas elementary teacher, and photographer. Right now, I just translate and edit, mainly volunteer work. I’ve published 3 books, a short essay, a translation, and an article compilation in cooperation with a friend. I’m currently translating and editing two more books. I’ve visited a few different countries, (Minsk, in Russia, Ireland, Portugal, England -I lived in London for 9 months, Guadalajara Mexico -I also lived there 9 months, Malta, Sicily one day!, and, of course, Spain).
I’m found at Goodreads and at my blog. I have FB and Twitter accounts, but I don’t use them that much.
I’m glad to be among other fellow readers. Thanks for this initiative, I’m loving it!
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Welcome, Silvia! I’m a homeschooling mom too, and have found Charlotte Mason really helpful, though I don’t strictly follow her ideas. I’ll visit your blog later today and check out your CC list, etc 🙂
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I used to follow CM more to the letter, but life happened, lol, and now we are more flexible. I still find lots of inspiration in her principles and some of her practices, but not exclusively.
Homeschooling rocks! 🙂
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Yes, I like some of her ideas (one that really resonated with me was that, every day, each child needs something to do, something to think about, and something/someone to love/care for), and some of them just wouldn’t work for us. But my homeschooling as a whole tends to be about cherry-picking, choosing this book from one curriculum company, and this book from another one, etc. Abandoning things that don’t work when we find something that does, and so on. It’s been an interesting journey so far! I was homeschooled K-12 myself, so I do have the benefit of remembering different things my own parents did and incorporating them sometimes, too.
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And I forgot, my link to the list, https://silviacachia.wordpress.com/2017/03/28/the-classics-club/
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Hi! Excited to be here. My name is Deshana Desai, I am from India. These are the answers to all the questions:
Your online name – Deshana Desai (My real name. I don’t really remember others. My computer saves the usernames for me.)
Your blog name (so we can find your classics list on the Member Page) – Unearthing Buried Essences
How many books you hope to read for the club – About a 100.
When you joined – Jan, 2017
Describe your literary background (“I have none!” is a fine answer, as is “I am a lit professor and only read scholarly articles.” We’d love to learn about this club’s literary texture!) – I have none. I study Computer Science and I will be pursuing my Masters of Science degree in Computer Science this year. I’ve loved reading since a very young age and I hope I shall squeeze out ample amount of time to reads lots and lots of books.
Why you joined The Classics Club and/OR one interesting fact about you – I
started reading classics about a year back and I simply haven’t been able to put them down. Most of the authors I have read are from American or English origin, I hope to expand my reading to include authors from different nationalities (even Indian!).
The favorite book you’ve read so far for the club (if you’ve begun your list.) Or, the one you’re most intrigued to read. – I loved reading North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, so I am really looking forward to read Cranford.
Link ONE POST from your blog that you believe speaks to who you are. (No fair saying “I can’t pick one, so here are ten!” You have to pick only one post. It does NOT have to be a club post or a review.) – https://desaideshna.wordpress.com/2017/01/09/villette-by-charlotte-bronte/
Answer the one question you wish everybody would answer who enters this thread. – To what extent do the classics you read affect you in your daily life?
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Hey guys! my online name is my first name, Lovelene. These Trapped Words is my blog which you can find in wordpress, tumblr and other social medias. I’m hoping to finish 50 books to read for the club, hopefully I’ll finish it sooner so I could add more to it. I am a psychology student so I read a lot of scholarly articles but I’ve been reading books since I was a kid, I also read classics when I was in high school even if we were never required to do so because I love anything that’s vintage and well, classic.
I found out about this club through a blog that I follow on wordpress, and I was so happy just by reading the club/group name. I’ve always been a fan of classics so I didn’t think twice in joining. Anothe reason why I joined is to achieve the number of classic books I wanna finish before I grow old.
I am most intrigued with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories/novellas because I love mystery books and I am a fan of Sherlock, how could I call myself a real fan if I don’t read the original and for my love of Sherlock I want to read all literature about him. I am also a fan of Jane Austen, I’ve memorized the first chapter of Pride and Prejudice but I never get to finish it because of other things and I’ve been inlove with all the film adaptations so I am pretty sure that I would love the book more (because books are always better than movies haha)
So this is a post from my blog, it is actually about me so obviously it speak who I am, so if you guys have time..check it out maybe we have something in common. 🙂
https://thesetrappedwords.wordpress.com/about/
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Hey y’all!!!! My name is Chantale and my little corner of the world wide web is The Brown Bibliophile. I’m willing to read just about anything, but my favorite genre are horror, thriller, and the occasional self-help read. Here’s a link to a post that tells ya a little more about me http://thebrownbibliophile.blogspot.com/2016/10/ten-thangs-you-may-or-may-not-want-to.html
I joined this group because I want to rekindle my love for historical lit and the classics!!
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My name is Becky. I’ve been blogging ten years at Becky’s Book Reviews and about eight years at Operation Actually Read Bible. My list of classics. I’ve signed up for an odd number of classics, 61. But expect the list to grow a bit. (Just guessing!)
I am joining in November 2016. I have been meaning to join for about three years. But I’ve never completed a draft of 50 books without getting frustrated and distracted.
My “background” is that have a BA and MA in English Literature. (2000, 2001) I majored in English because I loved READING. And it didn’t seem like “work-work” to read my homework. (Some exclusions, of course!)
I’m joining because I love to read. (Love doesn’t seem like strong enough a word, in my opinion.) Interesting fact? Seriously?! Well, I’m a bit tea-obsessed, this obsession has grown leaps and bounds since I’ve found out I’m allergic to eggs, gluten, and dairy.
I’ve had a draft in progress for about two weeks now. And I did already read one title on my list–The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder.
For my ‘one post’ I’m going to go with…this one which has me picking a favorite book that I’ve read more than three times.
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Hi, everybody!
I am a new member and I am very happy to be here!
My online name is iForbye. I know it sounds strange, but I am a newbie in this whole blog world, and don’t feel comfortable to give out my real name yet.
Your blog name is The Book Worm’s Den. You can find me here: https://thebookwormsden.wordpress.com/. I’ll be very happy to see you among the visitors.
I joined the Classics Club at the end of September, and started the blog at the end of August, I think, prompted by a desire to talk about the books I read with someone.
I have been a reader for the past 42 years and have a degree in Russian literature, which I find very helpful, but not overly burdensome 🙂
I am very intimidated by Ulysses and very excited by Submission (I hear this book is amazing, but my previous experiment with Michelle Houellebecq have not ended well. We’ll see!)
Here is the post the describes me well, I think: https://thebookwormsden.wordpress.com/2016/09/22/styl-ish/
Can’t wait to talk to you, guys!
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Your online name: Nomad,tsneds
Your blog name (so we can find your classics list on the Member Page): http://www.commonsensesamurai.com/
How many books you hope to read for the club: about 60
When you joined: October, 2016
Describe your literary background: I’m an avid reader!
Why you joined The Classics Club and/OR one interesting fact about you: I want to read more and revisit some of the great books I read many moons ago
The favorite book you’ve read so far for the club (if you’ve begun your list.) Or, the one you’re most intrigued to read.
The book I began after I joined the club is “Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage” by Haruki Murakami. I am most interested in reading Ernest Hemingway.
Link ONE POST from your blog that you believe speaks to who you are. http://www.commonsensesamurai.com/?p=19
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Your online name: I cannot recall which one is current but I can be: Mustard Poultice, Softclothes, Doulton, Gubbinal, Sunt_lacrimar_rerum
Your blog name (so we can find your classics list on the Member Page): http://www.gubbinal.com
How many books you hope to read for the club about 100
When you joined August, 2016
Describe your literary background: I’m a reader!
Why you joined The Classics Club and/OR one interesting fact about you: I want to fill in some gaps and also to reread the great books I read when I was younger.
The favorite book you’ve read so far for the club (if you’ve begun your list.) Or, the one you’re most intrigued to read.
The book I began after I joined the club is “It Can’t Happen Here” by Sinclair Lewis. I am most interested in reading Thomas Mann, I think.
Link ONE POST from your blog that you believe speaks to who you are. (No fair saying “I can’t pick one, so here are ten!” You have to pick only one post. It does NOT have to be a club post or a review.) gubbinal.com/2016/08/12/donald-justice
Answer the one question you wish everybody would answer who enters this thread. Did you include poetry on your list? Why or why not?
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Hi Natalie, I’ve just made a visit to your inspiring blog. I’m going to learn a lot from your insights and wisdom and look forward to journeying through the classics club alongside you and fellow members.
Your question is a good one. I didn’t include any poetry on my list – despite spreading my choices over a range of categories. But I am reading a lot more poetry since I started blogging. Focussing more on literature and creativity has led me naturally to poetry. I hope to discover a lot more.
(Might you consider a ‘follow by email’ option? I’m much more likely to see posts that appear in my inbox; I rarely remember to check the reader option…)
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Hello!
My name is Sandra and you can find me at A Corner of Cornwall: a blog I started in the spring when we arrived in a beautiful part of the UK and everything felt so wonderful and new that I simply had to write about it!
https://acornerofcornwall.com/
Books have always been a big part of my life and discovering the Classics Club was the catalyst that opened up a whole new world of book blogs. I toyed with setting a separate blog for the challenge and books in general but decided to keep everything together, so A Corner of Cornwall includes life… and books!
Although I’ve just joined the Classic Club, I’m starting my challenge from when we arrived in Cornwall: 1st April 2016, and I plan to have finished my list by 31st March 2021. At the moment there are 104 titles but I’ve left space for 110 because I’m discovering so many wonderful titles from other people and I want room to add a few extras. I’m sure the list will change over time. (It’s already changed if I’m honest.) But however the finished list looks, I will have read over 100 wonderful classics, and undoubtedly learned about a whole lot more.
As for my literary background: just a regular book lover who loves reading and talking about books, and now I get to write about them too. My favourite book from my list so far has to be The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte.
And a single post that gives a flavour of who I am? Probably this one: https://acornerofcornwall.com/reading/
I’m looking forward to getting involved here, meeting new fellow bibliophiles and learning a lot along the way!
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Hi all,
My name is Kat and I blog over at A Myriad of Books. I am a brand new member of the Classics Club and hope to have read 55 books by this time next year (because I couldn’t narrow my list down to just 50).
As far as my literary background, I just finished my BA in English and history a few days ago. I am now going to start my PhD in history in the fall, because seventeen years of school wasn’t enough for me, apparently! I used to shy away from reading classics until I took a few really excellent courses in British literature with one of my all-time favorite professors as a freshman. She had the entire class thoroughly enjoying The Faerie Queene and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Ever since then, I have loved classics and read many more older books than new releases.
I joined the classics club because I have actually just returned to blogging after an almost three year hiatus, and am looking for clubs and challenges to get involved in which suit my bookish tastes.
I just put the finishing touches on my list, but one book from it which I am very intrigued to read is *Confessions of an English Opium Eater* by Thomas de Quincey. I think it has the best title of any of the books on my list.
Here is the link to my challenge list (http://amyriadofbooks.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-classics-club-challenge.html ) and here is a link to a post which I guess speaks to who I am (http://amyriadofbooks.blogspot.com/2016/05/hark-vagrant-by-kate-beaton.html), because you can tell what a complete nerd I am from reading it. It’s a review of a comics collection called *Hark! A Vagrant*.
My question is: when has something from a classic novel or classical mythology, etc, cropped up unexpectedly in your real life, outside of conversations? For example, I felt very grateful for my knowledge of classical mythology when I visited museums in Florence last summer. A lot of the plots of recent films/novels are also essentially modernized versions of classic novels.
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Hello everyone, I’m Jonathan –
I have a new blog called: ‘The Long Victorian: The literary world of the Long Nineteenth Century, c.1789 – 1914’.
https://thelongvictorian.com
I’m hoping to read 62 books by 17 April 2019 (that’s very precise, isn’t it!).
I joined The Classics Club last week, I thought it might give me some inspiration and encouragement – and perhaps I can try and do the same for others. A member of The Classics Club put a “like” by one of my posts, so I visited their blog and found out there was a whole world I knew nothing about!
I don’t have a literary background, my background is in history, really. I was in the book trade, then a Chartered Librarian. As I say on the blog “Mostly I’m just an interested reader”.
My favourite books this year were ‘Middlemarch’ and ‘The Woman in White’. I thought they were both fantastic, for different reasons. I hope I can do them justice when I review them.
The one I am most looking forward to reading is any novel by George Eliot (I’ve only read ‘Middlemarch’), Henry James ‘The Turn of the Screw’ and the M R James ghost stories. I’m also looking looking forward to “breaking in” new authors that have a large backlist of novels – Trollope, Gaskell, Zola. The one that I fear the most is ‘War and Peace’, I’ve heard that people can get lost in the 1400 pages+. I don’t want to turn over the last page and say “What was all that about?”
The post that “most speaks for me” so far (I have only had the blog a couple of weeks) would be my only review, The Lost World.
I do love an adventure story, there’s a bit of autobiography in there, musings, plus some history.
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Hello all. I’m Michelle
@ Michelle Book Addict
https://michellebookaddict.wordpress.com/
I am hoping to read about 10 classic books per year.
I joined today actually, though I have been following and checking out the blog for a month or so.
My literary background? Well some college at an attempt in creative writing, but life interfered.
I had already been challenging myself to read more classic books. In fact I have a Shelfari book club for the classics, but it was more for a lifetime challenge.
I’m currently rereading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and I love rereading this book.
One of my blog posts that bests describes me:
Answer the one question you wish everybody would answer who enters this thread. Do I have any prized books in my book collection? The reproduced facsimile of the First Folio of Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare.
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Hi, I’m Ms. Arachne. I just started a new blog so I could finally join the club. You can find my blog at http://canonofonesown.org
I hope to read 100 books for the club. I finally joined on March 12, 2016. I intended to join earlier, but I kept dilly-dallying about my list until reading about the Women’s Classic Literature Event finally kicked me into gear.
I’m just an enthusiastic Common Reader, not a scholar or literary critic. I joined the Classics Club because I want to fill in the gaps in my reading and I want to discuss the books with people who read and enjoy the classics. I am really excited about finally reading Middlemarch by George Eliot, Indiana by George Sand, and the works of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. I’ve wanted to read books by these writers for a long time and I’m eager to finally get to them.
I just started my blog, so there aren’t many posts yet. This one will give you an idea of what I’m up to with this project: http://canonofonesown.com/2016/03/08/dear-common-readers
My Classics Club list is here: http://canonofonesown.com/classics-club-list/
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My name is Lisa Holloway. My blog is http://abookandacupofteablog.blogspot.com/ I hope to read 50 books for the club. I joined the club on February 15, 2016. I have no literary background. I joined the Classics Club to encourage myself to read more classics. I just finished reading my first book for the club. I picked The Wonderful Wizard of Oz because I’ve always wanted to read this book. My list of classic books to read is http://abookandacupofteablog.blogspot.com/2016/02/classics-club-book-list.html
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Hi y’all! I’m Whitney!
I post at http://www.imaginarybookclub.com
I’m hoping to read 50 books for classics club
Joined officially Feb 15, 2016, although I’ve been following for a while now
I’m an avid reader with a strong classics background, but have been on an adult fiction kick lately
Which brings me to why I joined – I want to revisit some classics I love and read some those I’ve missed along the way
I’m really looking forward to reading Dracula! My mom read it recently, and I want to see the original
Link to a post about reading Les Mis (painfully, and forever) – http://imaginarybookclub.com/the-longest-read-slugging-through-les-mis
I wish everyone would answer the first classic that made them want to read classics. Mine would be East of Eden, for sure 🙂
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My name is Adam
My blog name is adammstoney.co.uk
I hope to read at least 50 books for this challenge
I joined February 2016
I am an avid reader who likes to try new stuff.
I joined the classic club so that I would find a use for my Kobo,
I have not started on this challenge yet.
http://adammstoney.co.uk/doctor-who/ is the post that most speaks for me
My list of books is http://adammstoney.co.uk/the-classics-club/
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Hi Everyone!
You can find my blog at https://airofideas.wordpress.com/
I created a list of 50 books!
I’m new to blogging and to the Classics Club- I just joined yesterday (1/3/16) and set my end date for 5 years from now- but hopefully I can finish my list earlier.
I don’t have a professional literary background. I’m just a lover of books.
I joined the Classics Club to challenge myself. I have always loved reading and usually devour books. I realized I only read 8(!) books last year and most of them were rereads. I used to average almost 50 books a year. I don’t want to get in a reading rut again this year.
I’m most excited about reading works by the Bronte sisters. Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are two of my all time favorite books. I can’t wait to explore Villette, Shirley, The Professor, and Agnes Grey. I’m also intrigued by Elizabeth Gaskell’s The Life of Charlotte Bronte.
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Bonjour, this is Emma at Words And Peace, so thrilled to be finally joining this happy gang!
I joined on Jan 1st, 2016 and plan to read 50 classics within 5 years.
It’s a nice way for me to finally tackle these books I have never read and that have been sitting on my TBR for ever.
I have been book blogging since September 2010.
Even though I bog mostly in English and live in the US, I’m French. I studied English and American Literature and Civilization in France. I’m currently a French online tutor and a literary translator: I translate English novels into French. I have published a book myself and many articles.
My first title is the last volume of Proust, I’m really thrilled by this, as this will be the end of a looooong series (7 volumes).
Then I’m really excited to finally read the whole of The Divine Comedy – still debating which foreign translation is best (in English, French or Spanish), please let me know if you have any idea on the topic). I can read some Italian, but not good enough for the quality of Dante’s Italian.
As for one post that speaks to who you are, well not original here, but you might want to have a look at my About page, as there’s another major aspect of me I have not mentioned here: http://wordsandpeace.com/contact-me/
The question I wish everybody would answer who enters this thread: “Which classic has been the most boring for you?” And my answer would have been, if I had joined last year, Stoner. Maybe not totally boring, but boy, so darn depressing that I wanted to be done with it quickly. I know, I know, and I can hear some of you screaming at my answer… Will you kick me out when I tell you I can’t stand Jane Austen??
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Hi folks,
I’m David from David’s Book World, and have joined the Classics Club in 2016, because I keep resolving to read more older books, and it’s about time I did. This is my list page:
http://www.davidsbookworld.com/my-classics-club-list/
I’m looking forward to reading all of them, but I suppose Tristram Shandy intrigues me as much as any, purely because I don’t really know what to expect from it.
I’m going to link to my ‘favourites of 2015′ post, because when I finished it, I thought: that’s me as a reader. I hope that I’ll be able to say the same about my Classics Club reading in a few years’ time.
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Hi everyone, I’m Warren (chronolibrarian) and I have just found this place which looks great. I have posted a list of 52 books for 2016 at my blog chronolit.com, where I have started recording my progress in reading classics of literature since July 2015. Still very new to blogging so my site does not have all the bells and whistles – happy to hear constructive criticism for improvements. My project is to read the classics in chronological order, starting with Gilgamesh and presently just about to start Pindar’s Odes. I’m still working full time as a librarian in a regional university in rural Australia, and I must confess to interspersing my classics reading with some scifi and fantasy reading as well. Much of my reading is done accompanied by Kimmy the Lit_Terrier who often contributes her own scores to titles I read. Hope to hear from you all soon.
As for picking one blog that speaks for me, I will go with
http://chronolit.com/2015/07/03/my-dozen-favourite-storytellers/
Merry Christmas to you all.
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Good morning, everyone! I’m a retired U.S. Navy officer, a retired adjunct teacher of undergraduate English composition and literature, and an addicted bibliophile who has just now belatedly joined the Classics Club challenge. Join me at Beyond Eastrod for the fun-and-games of book-blogging.
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Hi everyone,
I’m Jacqui of JacquiWine’s Journal where I mostly write about the books I’m reading, plus the occasional wine note or two.
https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/
I’m in the process of joining the Classics Club right now and have selected my 50 books. There’s a link to my ‘Classics List’ blog post here:
As you will see, I’ve angled my list towards 20th-century/modern classics, including a few classics in translation for variety. I’m hoping this project will give me some direction in my reading over three years (my end date is December 2015).
I’m really excited about reading each and every one of the books on my list, but if I had to pick one, it would be The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. It’s a much-loved classic, and I’m hoping it will be a great read for me.
I will leave you with a post on a favourite 20th-century classic, my review of Elizabeth Taylor’s Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont.
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My list is largely from the mid-1700s to late 1800s, but you’ve managed to to hit some of the 20th century that I either really like (“In a Lonely Place” — yes!) or am intrigued by! So: cool!
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Hello fellow readers! My name is Susan in Texas and I blog at SusanLikesToRead@blogspot.com. I joined the club a few days ago and there are fifty books on my current five year classics list. I have no actual literary background whatsoever; however, if you ever need a requirements document or a test procedure written, I’m the one to call. I have worked as an engineer for nearly 30 years and I really enjoy taking complicated ideas and organizing them into testable requirements. It’s not a very popular task, and I have found that my co-workers appreciate my efforts, since it means they do not have to do it themselves.
My husband and I always have our noses in a book. Early in our marriage (with the best of intentions) we bought a set of the Britannica Great Books. They are still pristine. Their turgid prose has stymied several strong attempts on my part to crack their code. When we bought them in the 80s, I never could have imagined being able to download a version of Plato’s Republic to my Kindle for 99 cents, much less a version so accessible as to be practically “Yo, Socrates, dude!” in flavor. I’ll take all the help I can get! After all, according to Mortimer Adler, the Great Books are the ones you read again and again, and in multiple translations of increasing levels of accuracy, if necessary.
I joined the Classics Club as soon as I could put my list together. Had I known of its existence sooner, I would have joined earlier. It is very exciting to me to find other like-minded individuals, since I know few people who read for pleasure anymore – not counting the Fifty Shades of Grey crowd. Not that I’m a total highbrow, not even close. In the past few years I have devoured quantities of fan fiction, along with the entire Dead until Dark series by Charlaine Harris. I also admit to waiting very impatiently for Jim Butcher to complete the next Dresden novel. I have very eclectic tastes, but I think it is time to put down the junk food for a while and read something that will take some mental effort. To that end, my list is heavily weighted towards the dead white guys that shaped western civilization. I have included a few classics of a more recent vintage, but mostly I plan to scribble in those Britannica’s that have been mocking me for thirty years. “They task me, and I shall have them for it!”
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Hi Susan…excellent intro. Welcome to the club!
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Hey all, I am Noirfifre from https://yelhispressing.wordpress.com/
I will tell you how many books I plan to read for the club when I answer the why did I join question in awhile. P.S I am rereading Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen which could go towards the Classics Women Challenge.
I starting following post from the club a few days or week or so ago but I never formally introduced myself. I have been meaning to but…
I am former English Literature student and I also used a few classics for my non Eng. Lit. degree.
I came across the group on another’s blogger page, she has some similar interest as me so I knew that this Classic group would be interesting. In addition, it is good to be part of a group where I have read familiar books and also plan on reading familiar books that others have read. Furthermore, from since 2013 I took on the challenge to read BBC Top 100 Books which features so many classics but I am moving ever so slowly. I think this group will help motivate even more to continue and finally complete this challenge.
I am most intrigued to read all of Charles Dickens books that I have not read, he reads so interesting.
I will leave you with a link to a Classics book tag which speaks a bit into my classics taste: https://yelhispressing.wordpress.com/2015/10/14/classics/
My favourite is Jane Austen which happens to have consideration as a Classics author. Who is your favourite Classic author?
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Hi All!
My name is Laurie and I blog at Relevant Obscurity (https://relevantobscurity.wordpress.com/) a blog I started because I love old books and think they still relevant…which I am betting we all here, do, too 🙂
I chose 60 books to read for this challenge, most of them for the first time. When I was making up this list, though I have been reading all of my life, I couldn’t believe how many classics I have not read! And this is one of the reasons I think the Classics Club is a great idea. I can’t wait to follow, subscribe and read how others reacted to/were affected by all these important books.
The first book I am reading for the Club is The House of the Seven Gables and am stunned so far by the writing and how much I can see, smell and hear lol
I wrote a ‘manifesto’ of sorts that explains my site, which I think will tell you a lot about me and why I love to read….old books, mostly! https://relevantobscurity.wordpress.com/about-ro/
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My name is Marcelle and I write the blog https://lesserknowngems.wordpress.com/ where I write about, you guessed it, lesser known literary gems. I want to talk about books that for one reason or another isn’t that talked about. The degree of little known will vary, from Anne Bronté to H. C. Andersens To be or Not to be. I have about 50 books on my list now, but I think there will be more in time. I love that I have found a place where there are so many people who like classical books and want to talk about them. Let the discussion begins (she said, not studying literature and therefore not having that many she could discuss books with). I am Norwegian, and I want to read more Norwegian literature so that will be on my blog as well. My favourit author is William Shakespeare and the book (play) I wrote about first is also my favourit one Love’s Labour’s Lost https://lesserknowngems.wordpress.com/2014/08/17/loves-labours-lost-by-william-shakespeare/ I am looking forward to getting to know people better. 🙂
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Hi, I am Jennifer from Holds Upon Happiness. http://holdsuponhappiness.blogspot.com/ I just joined today with a list of fifty books. I created it from books I already had on my Kindle and on my shelf. I decided to do this challenge because I don’t have many people in my every day life who have an interest in the classics and the idea of connecting with other people who like to read and are interested in the same kinds of books is very appealing. I have always loved to read and will read anything I can get my hands on, up to and including the backs of cereal boxes, but have no official degree or anything like that.
My blog is very new so I don’t really have a post that I feel defines me, but feel free to take a look. I am a little nervous about reviewing the books I read. I haven’t done anything like that in years. I’ll do my best though.
I have started reading my first book from my list. It is Vanity Fair.
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Hi, new to the Classics Club challenge this week, I am hoping to read far more than the 52 books I have earmarked from the huge list of over 700, but am feeling very awed by just how many of these books I hadn’t ever read. The first on my list was “Middlemarch” (https://literaryramblingsetc.wordpress.com/2015/08/14/middlemarch-by-george-eliot-1871-joining-the-mile-high-club/), and after a few false starts some years back I set to with determination this time, thanks to the Challenge. Now that I have finished it I am feeling bereft and can’t wait to read more George Eliot. What a great, great work of art!!!! This book is going to be a hard act to follow….
And it is going to be absolutely brilliant to interact and share the journey with other bloggers who are equally as passionate about literature. Here’s to it…
Nicola at LiteraryRamblingsEtc.
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Hi! My name is Kat, from Daytime Reading – http://www.daytimereading.wordpress.com
I hope to read 100 books for the club, and I chose them using the Guardians top 100 books to read in a lifetime.
I joined the club today! And am very glad to have come across it, I’m excited to hear about other people’s reading and opinions on classics. Reading is great but it’s not exactly social, so any kind of communication with other readers is greatly appreciated!
I have read all my life, but studied psychology at university so my literary background is quite sporadic and unstructured..
The favourite book I’ve read so far on my list is probably Middlemarch by George Eliot.
And here’s one post from my blog that I particularly like – it’s a beautiful quote from Henry David Thoreau about how to live, with a photograph of my hometown (Richmond in England) https://daytimereading.wordpress.com/2015/07/15/no-other-land/
One question I’d like everyone on this thread to answer would be… Why do you read? And my answer is probably to experience a million other lives rather than just my own!
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To answer the question of why do I read? I was actually born with a hard of hearing disability, so when I first start speaking, I gabbled a lot because I dont hear all the consonants and sounds of speech. Even now I still cannot tell the difference between a spoken M or N, or between a spoken, P, T, B, and sometimes a V. Anyway, by the time I was 4 years old, my speech was bad. My father got hold of a box of flashcards and used those to help me pronounce words clearly and correctly. At least, that was his intention. What I actually got out of it was learning to read. Even now more than 40 years later, I still read by the whole word method and not by sounding the words out. I had to have proper speech lessons when I was 8 years old. Being partially deaf means that I miss out a lot from conversations, especially when I cannot read lips. So I read books instead – mostly non-fiction. Everything I learnt about life – I learnt from books – and I do mean that literally!!!! That is why I read!!! If I ever lose my eyes for any reason, I will become just like Helen Keller.
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Hello!
I am Nathalie, 16 years old and have recently begun a blog about classics. I have always been an avid reader so beginning this challenge is a lot of fun for me.
My goal is to read 100 classics in two years. http://aliceadventuresinbookland.blogspot.be/2015/06/the-100-classics-challenge.html my list.
I have just started reading my first book, which is Jane Eyre and thoroughly enjoying it. I’m looking forward to many of the books on my list, but one that I’m pretty excited for is Crime and Punishment. I have heard so many good things about Dostoyevsky, so I’m pretty excited.
I joined the classics club because I want to get to know more classical literature readers.
Happy reading everyone!
my blog: http://aliceadventuresinbookland.blogspot.be
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Hello Nathalie, I was hoping to take a peek at your blog, but received “Permission denied” If you care to send me an invite, I’d like to compare lists (I’m also working on a 100 list), though I’m not so ambitious to attempt it in 2 years.
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I received the same message, Nathalie! 😀
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I’m Liz and I have just set up a blog called A Literary Re-Education (all one word on WordPress) to catch all those titles that I feel I should have read by now but haven’t! I have a degree in English Literature and spent five years as an English teacher, but ironically I read less during my teaching years than I ever have in my life! Now I have stopped worked and become a trailing spouse and mother, so I decided that now was the time to continue my education by myself and my blog is my attempt to document it all.
I have only reviewed one book so far, which you can find here if you are interested: https://aliteraryreeducation.wordpress.com/2015/06/29/the-code-of-the-woosters/
I would love to follow other people who are journeying through the classics, but the members list is very large and a lot of blogs were no longer being updated when I checked. Please drop me a message if you are doing the challenge and would like an extra follower 🙂
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Hi! My name is Catharina, from Classicbookchallenge. I share the blog with a friend called Katarina (our online name is KatarinaandCatharina) as we originally challenged each other. This was after a discussion that there is a lot of books that we want to read that we never get around to. We started this challenge in May 2013 and we aim to read 100 classics within 1000 days. That means we should finish on the 16th of February 2016. We joined the club on the 15th of March 2015, but clearly haven’t got around to writing this until now! Currently we should be on book 75, I am a bit ahead though and I’m currently on book 82.
I’m currently pursuing a PhD in theoretical ecology, so I normally read a lot of very scientific texts. The book challenge allows me a bit of a break and it also helps me to develop my reading skills (due to the many different ways books are written in) as well as broadening my mind (I guess my supervisor would call it “Critical Thinking”). I am unsure which is my favorite book so far, there are several I presume as they are all very different and deal with different things so I got different things out of them. I liked Cold Comfort Farm due to the humor though, and maybe Crime and Punishment? It was a difficult book to read, as its quite heavy psychologically, but I think it taught me a lot.
Here’s a link to the Art of War by Sun Tzu. It probably surprised me a bit as I did not think I would get this much out of it.
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Hi! I’m Anna from A Wondrous Bookshelf and I just signed up today. I plan on reading 50 classic titles, here is my list:https://awondrousbookshelf.wordpress.com/reading-challenges-2/the-classics-club-challenge/
I loved this idea, and I’m really looking forward to taking on this challenge. I have no formal literary background. I’m actually a nurse by profession. I just really love to read 🙂 Here is a link that takes you to my About Me page https://awondrousbookshelf.wordpress.com/about/ and here are 11 random facts about me:https://awondrousbookshelf.wordpress.com/2015/04/15/the-liebster-award/
Question : Why did you join this club?
Answer: To have a motivation to read classic titles.
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Hello! I’m Erin from Erin Reads, and I just joined today with a 50-book list. I combined my classics list with my TBR pile so that everything on my Classics Club list is a book I already own. Nothing like killing two birds with one stone! It means my list isn’t as diverse as I’d like, but I can always add to it (or tackle the challenge again).
I don’t have a formal literary background. I was going to major in English, but then I landed in an American Sign Language class, and the rest is history. I delved into languages and linguistics and audited English courses for fun. I was actually pretty scared of “classics” (I associated them with school and complexity and papers and right vs. wrong answers) until about five years ago, when I spent a year doing a project on my blog called the Classics Reclamation Project. I’m no longer scared of classics in the same way, but my reading of them has fallen off drastically since I stopped the project in 2011. I’m joining The Classics Club to get it going again!
I haven’t started on my list yet, but there are plenty books on my list I’m excited for. Intrigued, though? Hmm. Either The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino or Middlemarch by George Eliot.
I think the part of my blog that best speaks to who I am is actually my About page, so I hope it’s ok if I link that up! It talks about why I read, why I blog, and a few other tidbits. Tis here: http://erinreads.com/about/
My question: What is it about the classics that draws you in?
My answer: The timelessness, first and foremost. The fact that certain stories can span the centuries and be just as enjoyable and relevant today as they were when they were written. They’re like time capsules, revealing the past and helping us understand the present. That is seriously cool!
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Ok, so after perusing the Big Book List, I realized I wanted to loosen up my 50-years-or-older rule to add a few newer classics to my list. It jumped from 50 to 60 titles as a result!
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Hello, dear classics club. I am Rizlatnar, writer of Rizlatnar: Books, A lot of books.
I joined March 18 (today) 2015, and I’m planning to read 200 classics by the start of 2020. Yes, that’s a big number, and yes that’s a huge amount of time. I’ll probably only get through half if I’m lucky, but I have my finger’s crossed. 🙂
My literary background is mainly in fantasy. And I’ve read A Tale of two Cities (which I loved), and Great Expectations (which I also loved, but I think might be a bit overrated). I’ve also read Romeo & Juliet.
interesting fact, uh, I’m disorganised. Horribly.
And why I joined. i joined because I wanted to read more classics. That’s really it. I want to expand my reading repertoire.
I guess the book I’m looking forward too most is The Catcher in the Rye?
Here’s my one post: https://rizlatnar.wordpress.com/2015/03/09/why-fantasy-is-my-favorite-genre/
I have no idea for the question, so I guess I’m done.
Happy reading!
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My online name is my given name, Lynn! Smoke & Mirrors is my blog name, on blogspot.
I hope to read as many classics as possible. I have no time limit and no overall goal, except to at least keep up with the Spins!
I guess I technically “joined” in February, 2014, after seeing several other Literary Wives cohosting bloggers were participating, I thought it was a great idea and motivator!
I have no official literary qualifications. I have completed several collegiate literature courses and have been a lifetime voracious reader, though admittedly I took an 8-year break from reading for my own enjoyment once I started having children and stayed home with them. I have taught literature in elementary school (perhaps my favorite and more eye-opening literary experiences to date). I was a Borders employee for 4+ years before the company declared bankruptcy, and I founded and facilitated two book clubs. I still facilitate one local book club (one of the Borders book clubs that wanted to continue after the store was closed) and I was asked to cohost the Literary Wives online book club (https://www.facebook.com/literarywivesblogseries) and that, my friends, was the impetus for me to establish an official blog.
My next favorite thing to reading a book is discussing a book with others to gain their insights and interpretations. In additiion, by blogging my reviews and contacting/communicating with authors I am now learning that often I uncover the author’s motivation/main theme in a book. It has been gratifying for authors to contact me, expressing their satisfaction that I “get it,” whatever “it” might be for that particular book. And to have best-selling authors now contact me to review their newest releases is just thrilling!
My favorite book(s) read and reviewed for The Classics Club thus far:
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin (http://books-n-music.blogspot.com/2015/01/classics-club-spin-8-intense-honesteye.html)
And one of the very best books ever written, in my opinion, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (http://books-n-music.blogspot.com/2015/01/a-truly-timeless-classic.html). Please, if you’re going to read or reread (as I did) this one, obtain the same edition I read–the introduction is irreplaceable for a thorough understanding of Steinbeck’s extensive research and passionate writing for this book!
My LEAST favorite book read and reviewed for the Classics Club:
The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing (http://books-n-music.blogspot.com/2014/11/classics-club-spin-6.html). Completing this novel was an act of sheer determination, trust me! 🙂
I have never created an “introductory” blog post, so really have no one post that defines me. But my personality definitely comes through all my posts, I think. You can just pick one! 🙂
Why do you blog? I blog to practice my writing skills, to share my own interpretations of books read, and to dialogue with other readers. It is fun and a way to get myself “out there” in the world! I have discovered through making friends online and then meeting them in person that it is not much different than meeting face-to-face initially! If you read others posts carefully and pay attention, I think you can pretty much determine their basic personality characteristics. Would you agree or disagree?
I am anxious to keep adding to my list of classics read/reread! And to learn how others interpret these same books!
If only I did not have to work full-time to support myself, there would be so much more time for reading and related activities! 🙂
Congrats if you managed to read this posting in its entirety! 🙂
Lynn @ Smoke & Mirrors
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Hello Classics Club World! I’m new to this, but extremely excited to be joining. My bloggy name is CGrace and I blog at With My Book and a Quilt. I’ve gotten some funny comments from that blog name-people routinely think that I write about quilting. I do not. I just like to read snuggled up under quilts.
-How many books I hope to read for the club-50 just for this year, but I’m definitely going to be moving up to maybe 75 next time.
-When I joined-I just joined about 3 weeks ago, so I’m definitely a newbie!
-Describe your literary background-Hm…literary background? Well, I didn’t study lit in school, although sometimes I think I should. 🙂 Unfortunately, I’m rather too practical and the sciences drew me in. However, I have been a lifelong reader. It all started with my parents reading to me and then I’ve been reading to myself ever since! Some of my fondest memories are of reading in high school. I was fortunate to participate in a Great Books program, which means that I read lots of classics and got to discuss and write about them with some wonderful teachers. I think that was great training for this blogging and reading stint I’ve embarked on.
-Why I joined The Classics Club-I joined Classics Club to join a group of people who love to read classics! No more complicated than that. 🙂
-The favorite book you’ve read so far for the club (if you’ve begun your list.) Or, the one you’re most intrigued to read- So far, I’ve read Wuthering Heights and She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith. She Stoops to Conquer made me laugh out loud and I thoroughly enjoyed it, so that’s definitely my favorite so far.
-ONE POST from my blog that I believe speaks to who I am-Sheesh. This is hard. I’ve been blogging for almost a year and I feel like my voice and who I am has developed so much that it’s kind of a constantly changing thing, so I’ll just link to this post-a book-club review that really expresses a lot of my opinions very well.
http://bookandaquilt.blogspot.com/2015/01/wuthering-heights-book-club-review.html
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Hello! I’m Lily from Lily in the Library (http://lilyinthelibrary.blogspot.com/). I’ve just joined yesterday and I hope many good things (good books, good friends etc) will come out of this. So yes, very please to meet all of you. My reading goal is to read 163 books and I’ve started 3 of them.
I have none! I just love to read. I love English and reading helps me improve my English language tremendously. And what better reason to join this club than it gives me the excuse to read some of the best books in English language.
The book I’m most excited to read from the list is The Count of Monte Cristo. I’ve watched the movie and loved it!
One post from my blog that speaks who I am is the About Me page (http://lilyinthelibrary.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html). it’s a new blog so I’ve only two posts as of today.
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Your online name – Francesca Thomas.
Your blog name – Bobliohistoria – Classic Club Challenges
How many books you hope to read for the club – 50 at least.
When you joined – 16 January 2015 – I found this mentioned on PINTEREST of all places!!!!
Describe your literary background. We’d love to learn about this club’s literary texture! – I’m just a high school graduate, with NO degree although I do have a business administration diploma. But that diploma course did NOT include any literature.
Why you joined The Classics Club and/OR one interesting fact about you- I want to catch up on those classics that I missed back in High school – and I graduated from HS more than 30 years ago!! The one interesting fact is that I am already 50 years old. Time has gone by so FAST ansd yet I don’t FEEL old!!
The favorite book you’ve read so far for the club (if you’ve begun your list. Or, the one you’re most intrigued to read.- I cannot wait to read Watership Down. I LOVE the Simon and Garfunkel Song – Bright Eyes – but I have never seen the movie!! .
Link ONE POST from your blog that you believe speaks to who you are. – It will take me all night to find that one post that speaks to who I am. But you are welcome to read 7 years worth of blog posts to get to know me!! LOL – http://bibliobiography.blogspot.ca/
Answer the one question you wish everybody would answer who enters this thread.- What is my first book going to be for this quest? I went rummaging through my books today and I found my own copy of Fahrenheit 451 which I’d forgotten that I owned. So I will start with that. I also found an old Book of Elizabethan Plays. So I will use some of these plays for this challenge as well.
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I misunderstood the website connection. THIS is my Classics Club Challenge Blog. http://classicsclubchallenge.blogspot.ca/
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