The Classics Club was started on March 7, 2012 by a blogger who wanted to see more people posting about classics literature in the blogosphere. Her goal was to, “unite those of us who like to blog about classic literature, as well as to inspire people to make the classics an integral part of life.” She thought about several ideas but finally settled on inviting people to make out a list of (at least 50) classic titles they intend to read and blog about within the next five years. After a few months, the club grew, and it was decided to create a separate site to house everything related to The Classics Club. And this blog was born! The club moved here in August 2012. So far we have all these members who have read a lot.
We hope you enjoy the site. For more information, please see this page for FAQs on how to join the club, how to submit a post to our Reviews Page, how to submit an event for our Events Page, etc.
Also, please note — the activities on this site (memes, check-ins, etc) are intended to contribute to the reading journey of those who seek a bit of connection with the group. None of these extra activities are intended to curb your reading joy. If you prefer to be silent in this club, and focus on the books, that’s certainly encouraged and respected. 🙂
If you have further questions, feel free to contact the moderators. Please keep in mind that all the moderators work and run their own book blogs. We WILL get back to you — just give us time!
Bio: I’ve been blogging at Brona’s Books since 2009 and managing an Independent bookshop in Sydney since 2008. Before that I was an early childhood teacher for 18 years in country NSW. My love affair with classics began with Little Women, Seven Little Australians and the What Katy Did series. In my teens I fell in love with Jane Eyre, Anne of Green Gables and To Kill A Mockingbird. My favourite authors (to date) are Jane Austen, Wilkie Collins, Edith Wharton and Emile Zola. I joined the Classics Club in August 2012 and completed my first list in April 2018 and my second list in November 2022. I love the supportive community that has built up around the Classics Club and I’m a HUGE fan of the CC spins! One of my Classics Club highlights was meeting Melissa (gen one moderator) and her Huz when they visited Australia a number of years ago. I’m thrilled to be part of the team that will guide the Classics Club into it’s next phase.
Bio: Books are my happy place. Since I started spontaneously reading at age two, I’ve spent many happy hours with a book. I’ve been fortunate to not only read for fun, but to read for a job; I served as a teacher and a school librarian from 1977 until my retirement in May of 2018. I’ve blogged at Readerbuzz for over ten years. I made my way through lots of classics as a child, including Aesop’s Fables and Grimm’s Fairy Tales. As I got older, I read and loved Don Quixote; The Glass Bead Game; I, Claudius; Walden; The Odyssey; and Kafka’s Metamorphosis. I’m especially interested in children’s classics and in reading classic books from diverse cultures. I was late to the game, joining The Classics Club in January of 2018. But I’ve hit the road running; in a half a year I’ve read more than fifteen books on my list. When I’m not reading, I’m busy writing on one of a half dozen books I’ve started or swimming or walking or doing yoga or baking bread or drawing or traveling, and I’m always happily obsessing about what to read next. I am delighted to serve as one of the four new Classics Club moderators. Find me on Twitter: @Debnance!
Kay R.
Bio: I don’t remember when I read my first classic, but it was probably a fairy tale or it may have been something by Louisa May Alcott or Frances Hodgson Burnett. I know I read David Copperfield at a fairly early age, and when I was 11, I picked up Dostoevsky (although I had no clue what was going on). Years later, I have a Master’s degree in English Literature and Language. I am a long-time professional technical writer (now retired—yippee!) who also taught composition and technical-writing courses at the college level. I love reading all kinds of books. When I got an iPad and spent some hours playing games, my husband thought I’d undergone a personality change. But soon I was back to reading. I am the secret author of three (sadly unpublished) trashy romance novels, and I write three blogs, What, Me Read?, a book review blog; Moving to Washington, about adjusting to an entirely new live in Washington State (yay!) after moving from Texas; and The Fat Girl’s Guide to Hiking, a brand new blog with reviews of hiking trails in Washington and Oregon for people who aren’t as fit as the people who usually write hiking guides. I joined Classics Club shortly after starting my reading blog, almost seven years ago, because I thought it was a great idea to encourage people to read classics. I am working on my second Classics Club list.
Stephen
Bio: Hello! I’m Stephen, a librarian from the Deep South with a specialty in local history and digital preservation who has recently volunteered to help moderate at the Classics Club. I’m a life-long reader, known for always seeming to have a book on hand. I’ve been book-blogging at Reading Freely since 2007, beginning back when MySpace (ask your grandparents about that one) was still around. My first classic was also my first real novel, Jack London’s Call of the Wild, but I didn’t really get the classics-reading buzz until after I graduated college and found myself looking for sources of enduring wisdom and grace in an increasingly turbulent world. I’ve been involved with the Classics Club as a member since 2015, and am hoping to complete my second list in early 2024 if not earlier. I see the Classics Club as both a way to stay grounded and to challenge ourselves as readers to grapple with bigger ideas (and longer sentences!) than we’re used to. I look forward to growing together with fellow readers!
Margaret S.
Bio: My earliest aspiration was to work in a library or basically just with books. I used to be literally the only one in the school library during lunch and I’d even sneak to the local University’s library even though I was still in high school. When I graduated and began “adulting”, I realized how hard it was to work at the library…it’s actually a city government job with high prerequisites. So instead I got a job at the pharmacy, went to school and started a blog. I’ve been blogging, building websites and other computer stuff for the last 7 years & happily last May, I finally landed a spot at the library and plan to work my way up! I’m currently blogging at Books in Bloom. Some of my favorite classics authors included H. G. Wells, Jules Verne, and Herman Melville. Some authors I look forward to exploring with The Classics Club are Jane Austen, Jonathan Swift and Robert Louis Stevenson.
Bio: I’m a high school English and Social Studies teacher in the state of Michigan. I began blogging after graduating from Michigan State University and failing to find a permanent teaching position. My goal was to read all those classics I had never read for class or on my own in hopes it would help me gain some confidence and knowledge for a future position! Three years later and I am still working on my original list of 250 classics. I’m also a writer, an advocate for literacy, and an extreme overachiever. I work as a seasonal park ranger in the summer months and always have insane stories about people because of it. Some of my favorite writers include Edith Wharton, Jane Austen, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, Virginia Woolf, John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, Charles Dickens, and many more. My five favorite classics that I’ve read for my personal project include: The Mill on the Floss, The House of Mirth, David Copperfield, The Portrait of a Lady, and The Odyssey.
Bio: I’m an avid reader and bibliophile, with B.A. and M.A. degrees in English. I’m currently pursuing my Ph.D. in English (Emphasis: American Lit). Professionally, I work in University Student Affairs and as an English faculty member at a small, private school in Illinois. I’ve been running my book blog, Roof Beam Reader, for over three years. Above all, I consider myself to be a creative writer at heart and I’m hard at work (sort of) on my first novel. My inspirations include J.D. Salinger, Kurt Vonnegut, and Conor Oberst. Aside from reading and writing, I enjoy music, movies, upside-down hearts and yellow birds. Favorite books: Les Miserables, War and Peace, Lust for Life, East of Eden, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Nine Stories, Harry Potter, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Favorite “Classic” authors: John Steinbeck, J.D. Salinger, Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Herman Melville, Ovid, Thomas Hardy, Sophocles, Leo Tolstoy, and Ernest Hemingway.
Bio: I started my blog, Sarah Reads Too Much, in March 2010 because I wanted to have a place to record my thoughts on all of the books I read. I enjoy most genres, but put forth an extra effort to read Classic Literature. These efforts have introduced me to many wonderful authors already, and I am excited to experience more as I make my way through my list! In fact, I keep adding to my list, or reading Classics off-list. I just can’t help myself. In my off-line life, I am the Head of Readers Services at a public library.
Bio: I’m a Hoosier who loves to travel and obviously to read. By day I’m an editor of a monthly magazine and a former editor of a daily newspaper. My childhood involved a lot of reading in trees and under covers. I don’t go anywhere without a book (or two) and I always have a few going at once. My love of classics has only deepened since I started blogging and I’ve found so many new (old) authors I now love, like Hardy, Eliot, and Cather. I’m a bit of a Type A personality, so the Classics Club combines two of my favorite things, classics and lists! My favorite classics include Persuasion, Travels with Charley, David Copperfield, Jane Eyre, Raise High the Roof Beam Carpenters, Howards End, and Fahrenheit 451. A few of my favorite classic authors are Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, Roald Dahl, L.M. Montgomery, and Shakespeare.
The Classics Club was started on March 7, 2012 by a blogger who wanted to see more people posting about classics literature in the blogosphere. Her goal was to, “unite those of us who like to blog about classic literature, as well as to inspire people to make the classics an integral part of life.” She thought about several ideas but finally settled on inviting people to make out a list of (at least 50) classic titles they intend to read and blog about within the next five years. After a few months, the club grew, and it was decided to create a separate site to house everything related to The Classics Club. And this blog was born! The club moved here in August 2012. So far we have all these members who have read a lot.Bio: I’ve been blogging at Brona’s Books since 2009 and managing an Independent bookshop in Sydney since 2008. Before that I was an early childhood teacher for 18 years in country NSW. My love affair with classics began with Little Women, Seven Little Australians and the What Katy Did series. In my teens I fell in love with Jane Eyre, Anne of Green Gables and To Kill A Mockingbird. My favourite authors (to date) are Jane Austen, Wilkie Collins, Edith Wharton and Emile Zola. I joined the Classics Club in August 2012 and completed my first list in April 2018 and my second list in November 2022. I love the supportive community that has built up around the Classics Club and I’m a HUGE fan of the CC spins! One of my Classics Club highlights was meeting Melissa (gen one moderator) and her Huz when they visited Australia a number of years ago. I’m thrilled to be part of the team that will guide the Classics Club into it’s next phase.
Bio: Books are my happy place. Since I started spontaneously reading at age two, I’ve spent many happy hours with a book. I’ve been fortunate to not only read for fun, but to read for a job; I served as a teacher and a school librarian from 1977 until my retirement in May of 2018. I’ve blogged at Readerbuzz for over ten years. I made my way through lots of classics as a child, including Aesop’s Fables and Grimm’s Fairy Tales. As I got older, I read and loved Don Quixote; The Glass Bead Game; I, Claudius; Walden; The Odyssey; and Kafka’s Metamorphosis. I’m especially interested in children’s classics and in reading classic books from diverse cultures. I was late to the game, joining The Classics Club in January of 2018. But I’ve hit the road running; in a half a year I’ve read more than fifteen books on my list. When I’m not reading, I’m busy writing on one of a half dozen books I’ve started or swimming or walking or doing yoga or baking bread or drawing or traveling, and I’m always happily obsessing about what to read next. I am delighted to serve as one of the four new Classics Club moderators. Find me on Twitter: @Debnance!
Bio: I don’t remember when I read my first classic, but it was probably a fairy tale or it may have been something by Louisa May Alcott or Frances Hodgson Burnett. I know I read David Copperfield at a fairly early age, and when I was 11, I picked up Dostoevsky (although I had no clue what was going on). Years later, I have a Master’s degree in English Literature and Language. I am a long-time professional technical writer (now retired—yippee!) who also taught composition and technical-writing courses at the college level. I love reading all kinds of books. When I got an iPad and spent some hours playing games, my husband thought I’d undergone a personality change. But soon I was back to reading. I am the secret author of three (sadly unpublished) trashy romance novels, and I write three blogs, What, Me Read?, a book review blog; Moving to Washington, about adjusting to an entirely new live in Washington State (yay!) after moving from Texas; and The Fat Girl’s Guide to Hiking, a brand new blog with reviews of hiking trails in Washington and Oregon for people who aren’t as fit as the people who usually write hiking guides. I joined Classics Club shortly after starting my reading blog, almost seven years ago, because I thought it was a great idea to encourage people to read classics. I am working on my second Classics Club list.
Bio: Hello! I’m Stephen, a librarian from the Deep South with a specialty in local history and digital preservation who has recently volunteered to help moderate at the Classics Club. I’m a life-long reader, known for always seeming to have a book on hand. I’ve been book-blogging at Reading Freely since 2007, beginning back when MySpace (ask your grandparents about that one) was still around. My first classic was also my first real novel, Jack London’s Call of the Wild, but I didn’t really get the classics-reading buzz until after I graduated college and found myself looking for sources of enduring wisdom and grace in an increasingly turbulent world. I’ve been involved with the Classics Club as a member since 2015, and am hoping to complete my second list in early 2024 if not earlier. I see the Classics Club as both a way to stay grounded and to challenge ourselves as readers to grapple with bigger ideas (and longer sentences!) than we’re used to. I look forward to growing together with fellow readers!
Bio: My earliest aspiration was to work in a library or basically just with books. I used to be literally the only one in the school library during lunch and I’d even sneak to the local University’s library even though I was still in high school. When I graduated and began “adulting”, I realized how hard it was to work at the library…it’s actually a city government job with high prerequisites. So instead I got a job at the pharmacy, went to school and started a blog. I’ve been blogging, building websites and other computer stuff for the last 7 years & happily last May, I finally landed a spot at the library and plan to work my way up! I’m currently blogging at Books in Bloom. Some of my favorite classics authors included H. G. Wells, Jules Verne, and Herman Melville. Some authors I look forward to exploring with The Classics Club are Jane Austen, Jonathan Swift and Robert Louis Stevenson.
Bio: I’m a high school English and Social Studies teacher in the state of Michigan. I began blogging after graduating from Michigan State University and failing to find a permanent teaching position. My goal was to read all those classics I had never read for class or on my own in hopes it would help me gain some confidence and knowledge for a future position! Three years later and I am still working on my original list of 250 classics. I’m also a writer, an advocate for literacy, and an extreme overachiever. I work as a seasonal park ranger in the summer months and always have insane stories about people because of it. Some of my favorite writers include Edith Wharton, Jane Austen, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, Virginia Woolf, John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, Charles Dickens, and many more. My five favorite classics that I’ve read for my personal project include: The Mill on the Floss, The House of Mirth, David Copperfield, The Portrait of a Lady, and The Odyssey.
Bio: I’m an avid reader and bibliophile, with B.A. and M.A. degrees in English. I’m currently pursuing my Ph.D. in English (Emphasis: American Lit). Professionally, I work in University Student Affairs and as an English faculty member at a small, private school in Illinois. I’ve been running my book blog, Roof Beam Reader, for over three years. Above all, I consider myself to be a creative writer at heart and I’m hard at work (sort of) on my first novel. My inspirations include J.D. Salinger, Kurt Vonnegut, and Conor Oberst. Aside from reading and writing, I enjoy music, movies, upside-down hearts and yellow birds. Favorite books: Les Miserables, War and Peace, Lust for Life, East of Eden, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Nine Stories, Harry Potter, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Favorite “Classic” authors: John Steinbeck, J.D. Salinger, Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Herman Melville, Ovid, Thomas Hardy, Sophocles, Leo Tolstoy, and Ernest Hemingway.
Bio: I started my blog, Sarah Reads Too Much, in March 2010 because I wanted to have a place to record my thoughts on all of the books I read. I enjoy most genres, but put forth an extra effort to read Classic Literature. These efforts have introduced me to many wonderful authors already, and I am excited to experience more as I make my way through my list! In fact, I keep adding to my list, or reading Classics off-list. I just can’t help myself. In my off-line life, I am the Head of Readers Services at a public library.
Bio: I’m a Hoosier who loves to travel and obviously to read. By day I’m an editor of a monthly magazine and a former editor of a daily newspaper. My childhood involved a lot of reading in trees and under covers. I don’t go anywhere without a book (or two) and I always have a few going at once. My love of classics has only deepened since I started blogging and I’ve found so many new (old) authors I now love, like Hardy, Eliot, and Cather. I’m a bit of a Type A personality, so the Classics Club combines two of my favorite things, classics and lists! My favorite classics include Persuasion, Travels with Charley, David Copperfield, Jane Eyre, Raise High the Roof Beam Carpenters, Howards End, and Fahrenheit 451. A few of my favorite classic authors are Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, Roald Dahl, L.M. Montgomery, and Shakespeare.
The Classics Club 
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