Here’s a space to tell the club what you’re currently reading. You’re welcome to use the comments below.
We’re not including a Linky box because we want to encourage clubbers to meet here now and then, and talk together as a group.
No pressure, of course! But if you’re feeling social, here’s a space to tell us about your latest classic. As always, you are of course welcome to leave a link to your blog if you prefer to share there.
Twitter hashtag: #ccreadingupdate
– The Club
The Classics Club 
I’m reading Wuthering Heights, it’s taking longer than I thought it would, but I’m enjoying it. I am in the middle, when Catherine dies. Who would you say the protagonist is? Heathcliff, Nelly or Lockwood?
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I’m reading Love and Death in Bali to celebrate my recent holiday in Bali. It’s a wonderful historical drama that oozes the smells, sounds and sights of Bali.
I use a #ccreadingupdate on Instagram as well if anyone wants to take a photo of their current read.
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I’m reading my ‘spin’ book, The Picture of Dorian Gray – not loving it, but love the spin idea!
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I’m reading my Spin book, On the Road, but not loving it. Sometimes the writing is beautiful, but the complete lack of story or any likeable characters makes for a difficult read. Just finished a children’s classic, Over Water Under Stone by Susan Cooper. I can’t believe I never read her books! So good.
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On the Road is also my Spin book and I completely agree with you. I can appreciate the writing but I don’t feel connected with the story or any of the characters. I feel a little guilty because I stopped reading it more than a week ago and I’m reading something else now.
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I just finished my Classics Club “spin”: Main Street by Sinclair Lewis. Time for some shorter, lighter reading — a mystery “Wicked Uncle” by Patricia Wentworth for Vintage Mysteries challenge, modern fiction “Dream When You’re Feeling Blue” by Elizabeth Berg for TBR Challenge, 2 graphic novels for a genre study, and then I’ll be jumping in to “Les Miserables” by Victor Hugo which I read about 25 years ago. I hope to get in one more from my Classics Club list as well as that would put me right on target for my one year anniversary of joining.
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Hey! I nominated you for a Sunshine Award. Post and info will be up tomorrow here: http://wp.me/p2diuW-cp Love you guys!
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I loved Out of Africa and Shadows. Read them both twice. I’m into reading short stories during my lunchtime. I found an old book with a vintage short by Valery Brussof (Bryusov) published in 1918, IN THE MIRROR. When was the last time you read a Russian horror story? I put the link to the short on my web site. It’s not the “mirror, mirror on the wall” tale you’d expect. Quite chilling actually. Brussof also wrote The Fiery Angel.
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I must read Out of Africa again – it keeps appearing in my radar 🙂
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I am reading The Wings of the Dove by Henry James after Alex in Leeds inspired me to read along with her as she gets into it. Three of us are reading it together and so far I am enjoying it even with James’ lengthy sentences and thoughts.
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I get a little thrill every time I see mention of someone reading their Classic Spin title 🙂 That was so fun, Classics Club Moderators!
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Am still anguishing over Anna Karenina – meh it’s only taken me 2 1/2 months and I’m still not finished it.
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I’m about to start The Red Badge of Courage. Mixed feelings.
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I’m nearly finished with Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff, and I’ve just started The American Senator by Anthony Trollope. Neither of them is on my Classics Club list, but oh well.
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After having a bit struggle with Mrs. Dalloway, I’m now taking a much lighter reading: Kipling’s Just So Stories, which I’m reading for the Classics Spin. And I’m enjoying it very much!
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My latest classic read was The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy. I read it for The Classics Spin, actually. Honestly, it made me angry. I really really hate the main character and his points of view towards life, towards God and towards women. More thoughts on it will be on my review.
Right now I’m rereading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for a change.
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I am reading The Finkler Question (Ha! Ha funny and deeply insightful) and Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (very madulin…now I know the meaning of a bad french novel, though I still love the love story in principle!)
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I’m still on my Robinson Crusoe and I enjoy it immensely. I take it pretty slowly, though.
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I’m plodding through Les Miserables right now. I really like it at times, but then I get to a 50-page section about the history of a certain convent and how sad the nuns are and how convents suck (just one example of a tangent), and I lose all enthusiasm. But I will prevail!
I also just started reading Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. I’ve been afraid of Woolf ever since flailing my way through To the Lighthouse in high school, but I’m really enjoying this read right now! It’s nice to think my tastes have matured in the last five years 🙂
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Yes, Hugo does that on purpose to slow the action down. I don’t know which edition you’re reading, but that is discussed in the Intro/Foreword to the edition of Les Mis I read.
The only section of those that got to me was the one about the battle of Waterloo. HOLY SNOOZE FEST. Zzzzzzzz….
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I finished Bleak House this week – it took me six weeks but was well worth the slow pace and giving myself time to absorb all the detail.
Also reading Katherine Mansfield short stories and I have a few pages left of The Magnificent Ambersons which is my Classics spin read.
And I’m reading one book of Middlemarch a month but have yet to make a start for March so that will be next weeks mission.
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Bleak house is rather delightful isn’t it? You’ve certainly tackled some big books recently.
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I’m reading I Capture the Castle right now. I’m loving it! Cassandra is such an amazing, witty character. I plan to have a mini read-a-thon with this book today and try to read as much of it as I can.
There are so many books I’m trying to read by the end of this month for another challenge, and I’m usually not a fast reader. But with Spring Break coming up next Monday, I may get them all done. 🙂
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I love I Capture the Castle! I read it in high school, and I remember Cassandra being such an inspiration to me. An I Capture the Castle read-a-thon day sounds magnificent- I hope you enjoyed it, Kayla!
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Currently I am reading a non-fiction book called Salt: A World History. It is incredibly fascinating. Soon, though, I need to get going on a classic again. I might lug out War and Peace. 🙂
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I heard that book was good! What do you think of it? I’m really into the history of obscure or random things- one that I read recently was Conside the Fork: A History of How We Eat. Absolutely fascinating.
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I want to read Salt also!! I love microhistories, and I’m sort of obsessed by nonfiction lately. Maybe it’s time to read a nonfiction classic.
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I am currently reading Three Lives by, Gertrude Stein and very slowly.
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I’m re-reading Little Women at the moment and planning to follow it up with the (non-classic) Geraldine Brooks’ March. Then I’ve got to get on my classic club spin novel–The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton.
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I really want to read Wharton in April. I plan to start The Custom of the Country and The Reef, after I’ve finished my own spin classic-Out of Africa by Isac Dineson.
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Out of Africa …the utimate novel epitomising freedom at so many levels…one of my best reads!
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Oh, Little Women. You are a girl after my own heart. 🙂 March is also very good- I am a huge Geraldine Brooks fan. I can’t wait to hear what you think of it!
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You might find the differences in style, tone, voice between Little Women and March off-putting. I did. I had to give myself a talking to about forgetting Louisa completely. march is a modern adult book – a great read once you get passed the mismatch.
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I’m slowly working my way through Anna Karenina. It’s great and a beautiful read, but VERY big! And there are so many names to remember, so I am trying to read it slowly so I can soak everything in.
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AK was well worth the size. Tolstoy is a master at character creation. It was very enjoyable.
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Oh, let’s see…
I’m reading THE FRIDGULARITY by Mark A. Rayner.
I’m in the middle of BLEAK HOUSE by Charles Dickens, but probably won’t be picking it up again until tomorrow or Friday.
Soon I’m going to be starting STRONG MOTION by Jonathan Franzen.
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I’m reading The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens. It was very hard to get into, and apparently hard to get out of . . . I’m 200 pages from done and don’t have much appetite for more! I’ll have been at it four weeks by this Sunday 😛 Oh well. Hopefully I’ll be done soon!
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I struggled with PP too, but I loved Bleak House. I had heard so much about Jonathon Franzen and when I finally started one, I appreciated the writing, but hated the characters so much I just couldn’t care what happened.
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I’m 10 pages from being finished reading Frankenstein – my Classics Spin book!
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Loved this book. I read it a few weeks back. Still need to review this one and my spin book.
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I’m really into it too — I read it a long time ago but remembered next to nothing! I’m still surprised how different it is to our pop culture Frankenstein. Interesting!
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I was waiting for lightning bolts from the sky and through the neck. Hollywood. Book so much better imagery.
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I’ve just started Tender is the Night by Fitzgerald, book #2 on my classics list. The jury’s still out on it since I’m only 100 pages in. There are things I really like about it and things I don’t like so much, but I’m curious to see how I feel about it when I’m done. I loved The Great Gatsby so I’m optimistic.
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I am slowly making my way through ‘Villette’ which was my Classic Club Spin novel. Hopefully once school has finished for Easter I will be able to fully immerse myself in the world of Lucy Snowe.
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A hint… if you don’t have a copy that provides the French translations (some books just have them as notes in the back), go to google translate: http://translate.google.com/ and type the French phrases out – it’s a pretty good translation site. It’s kind of essential to know what those phrases all mean as it is a big part of the book… and google translate provides a keyboard with any special characters you might need. Just thought I would throw it out there as I’ve seen a lot of people reading this book lately and they just ignore the French altogether.
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Oh, I wish I had done that when I read Villette! I should do that for Jane Eyre too- there are some phrases in French there, but not quite as many as in Villette! Have fun reading, lindylit!
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Maybe I should do that as I have just been skipping over the French bits and bumbling along…oops!
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hah, yeah that’s kind of just skipping over parts of the book, which… I guess some people do skim books! but.. yeah, you’re missing the book!
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I’m trying to finish Early Irish Myths and Sagas by Jeffrey Gantz; like many Irish myths, it’s a little slow going because it is so detail-heavy. I’m taking it in bits and pieces. My current non-classic is The Third Angel by Alice Hoffman (so far, she has not written a book that I haven’t enjoyed); I’m reading it as an audiobook on my school commutes. I plan on starting Louisa May Alcott’s journals soon- my soul is craving spring and I think LMA is just the ticket to get me there! I can’t believe how excited I am to get back to LMA!
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I really enjoy Alice Hoffman’s books, too.
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Isn’t she the best? I’ve read four of her novels, and I have to say that I loved The Dovekeepers the most. Although The Red Garden was a close second. What about you?
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I haven’t read The Dovekeepers yet, although I’m planning to read it soon. I really liked The Story Sisters and The Ice Queen.
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Ooh, I’d love to read LMA’s journals! Will have to add these to my TBR list.
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You definitely should, Too Fond! I’ve only glanced through it but I already love them. I’ll be writing about them as soon as I get to them- I’m sure I’ll have much to say- you know how much I love Louisa!
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Gah! Mine has been sitting on my end table patiently waiting for me to finish everything else I am reading. To be honest, it’s been hard to concentrate on Early Irish Myths because I want to get to Louisa so badly!
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I’ve just started to read Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist happens to be no. 14 on my list for the Classics’ Spin. Like Geoff above, I unwounded with David Baldacci’s The Camel Club and I’m now back to the Classics 🙂
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The Camel Club is a great series–I need to read more of them. Eric and I were just talking about those books at the library today.
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Never thought I would ever want to read fantasy, but I am enjoying The Hobbit for the first time!
And for my Well Educated Mind project, I am finishing up The Red Badge of Courage, which at first I was not getting into, but now that I understand the author’s intent, I am appreciating it much more.
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I’m reading Washington Square by Henry James. I’ve read a few of his books and so far I’ve liked them all but hated all the endings. Let’s see what happens with this one.
I should also be reading On The Road (my spin book). I’ve read about 70 pages and I’ve lost a little bit of interest. I will return to it as soon as I finish Washington Square.
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Right now I’m reading the lovely Persephone book Mariana by Monica Dickens. Once I finish that I have to get started on The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad, which is what the Classics Club Spin landed on for me!
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They are gorgeous books. The only one I’ve read is The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski. It’s very short, but very enjoyable.
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I’m running away from the Classics for a bit and reading some young adult fiction and romance to relax (The Throne of Fire at the moment) 😀 I’ll be back on the Classics at the beginning of next month.
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It’s good to mix it up a bit. My current non-classic is Sophie Hannah’s The Carrier.
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My latest classic was Dangerous Liaisons. 🙂 http://therelentlessreader.blogspot.com/2013/03/dangerous-liaisons-by-pierre-choderlos.html
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I’m reading Dante’s The Divine Comedy. It’s not an easy read, but once you get the
rhythm of the cantos it’s not so bad. I’m picking it up between reads.
My other between reads is Samuel Pepys diary. It covers ten years and I’m enjoying dipping in and out of his mundane life (so far). There seems to be an obsession with where they are eating and what. For a history lover, this is a great insight. I’m reading the diary from the website.
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