5 years to read the classics
A blog I love (and only discovered a few months ago) called A Room of One’s Own has decided to start a Classics Club and I am LOVING this idea!
The rules are pretty flexible but basically you have to list 50 or 75 or 100 classic books that you want to read in the next 5 years (these can be changed at any time – which is great for me ‘cos I am fickle ;)) and you have 5 years to read them. There are so many classics that I really want to read and I am loving the timeframe as it means I don’t have to panic-read them all this year (or fall off the wagon as I don’t think it will be do-able).
Jillian (A Room of One’s Own) has also set up a private group on Goodreads for all those who are joining in the Classics Club to share links and posts and reviews etc.
So after much thought and deliberation, here is my (initial) list of books I want to read. I have gone for sixty as that equals one per month for the next 5 years which I think should be more than do-able.
1700’s (4)
The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Choderlos de Laclos
The Monk by Matthew Lewis
The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe
1800’s (31)
Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
Jude The Obscure by Thomas Hardy
The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
Sylvia’s Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell
Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
The Beth Book by Sarah Grand
Aurora Floyd by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Cousin Bette by Honore de Balzac
Germinal by Emile Zola
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
The Odd Women by George Gissing
Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott
Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas
Rachel Ray by Anthony Trollope
Can you Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope
Armadale by Wilkie Collins
Hunger by Knut Hamsun
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Persuasion by Jane Austen
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Esther Waters by George Moore
The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
Complete Short Fiction by Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde
1900’s (25)
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Where Angels Fear to Tread by E M Forster
Peyton Place by Grace Metalious
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing
The Mad Ache by Francoise Sagan
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The Vet’s Daughter by Barbara Comyns
The Distance Between Us by Dorothy Whipple
Mariana by Monica Dickens
Justine by Lawrence Durrell
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernières
84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles
Daniel Martin by John Fowles
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The Book Whisperer 
I’m not joining you but wishing you good luck! Good for you to tackle the classics. I like the odd classic now and then but don’t want to commit to 10 or more per year.
The first one, The Castle of Otranto (check your spelling!) was a quick and strange read. But apparently it was the first ever gothic novel so you should read it just for that reason.
East of Eden, Cold Comfort Farm – you’re going to have a good time, I’m sure!
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Thanks Judith. I think 10 per year is do-able but you’re right, the classics do take time. Still, I’ll be giving it a good go 🙂
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Love, love, love: David Copperfield, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Age of Innocence, and especially East of Eden!!
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Oh cool, I’m glad you enjoyed those, it makes me look forward to them more 🙂
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I loved Armadale, The Black Tulip and Jude the Obscure! I’m planning to sign up for this too but I haven’t finished putting my list together yet. I think some of the books on your list are probably going to be on mine as well, particularly the 19th century ones.
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Really looking forward to seeing your list, Helen – I have a feeling too that some of ours will be the same. I have already changed a couple on my list – told you I was fickle 😉
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I LOVE THIS IDEA…count me IN!!!
Beth 🙂
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YAY!!!! 🙂
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I’m excited about joining in! I read Cold Comfort Farm last year and thought it was hilarious! Some great titles on your list.
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Thanks Cat – can’t wait to see your list too. I have heard that CCF is really funny so I’m looking forward to that one.
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Holy smokes – that is a big commitment. I like the idea of reading more classics and I like the idea of making a list of those I hope to one day read…. but as Judith said, even at ten a year that is a big commitment. I hope you rock it! 🙂
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Thanks Sheila – I’ll be giving it a damn good go 😉
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Great list!! I’m loving seeing The Mysteries of Udolpho on so many lists!! That book ROCKS. Also the book by Monica Dickens. I want to read that!
We have a lot of the same titles on our lists. No Gone With the Wind? 😉
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How did I manage to leave Gone with the Wind off????? That’s the one I want to read the most, LOL! Off to rectify right now….. 😉
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Ha ha – I know. 😛
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Love, love, love your list. As far as the more modern classics you’ve chosen, The Poisonwood Bible is one of my favorites.
Side note: Have you read any Kingsolver before? The Lacuna is my favorite of hers–it is so wonderful.
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Hi Heather, no I haven’t read any Kingsolver yet but your enthusiasm is making me more excited to 🙂
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Dude, you have chosen THE most obscure books. Rachel Ray? Rose in Bloom? The Black Tulip? Armadale? But more power to you.
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Ha ha, do you think so? They have all been on my TBR list for a while (all after recommendations) so I’m actually looking forward to them 🙂
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I decided today to join The Classics Club, too! I’m on a new American lit kick so my list will probably be American-centric. I hope to compile my list over the weekend.
I’m glad to see Uncle Tom’s Cabin on your list. It’s such an important book and one that I find very powerful.
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I’m looking forward to seeing your list, Anbolyn. Yes, Uncle Tom’s Cabin has been on my radar for a few years now so it’s about time…
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Pingback: High Ambitions – Joining The Classics Club « All The Books I Can Read
good luck Boof must read steinbeck love his works love them maybe tom sawyer ,all the best stu
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A great list. I have Wives & Daughters, Esther Waters and Mariana on mine too, and I meant to add The Beth Book but it slipped my mind. Too many wonderful possibilities!
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I know – I keep remembering ones I have forgotten too. Oh well, there could always be another 5 year plan when this one ends…..
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Good luck with this….and your list is very impressive. I’m also taking part in this challenge and writing out my ‘to read’ list as I type this… 🙂
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Looking forward to seeing your list, Jen 🙂
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Oh, Eight Cousins and Rose in BLoom are my favorites by Alcott. I’m glad to see them getting some attention on your list. And David Copperfeld is my favorite Dickens, but it is really long. I’m so looking forward to seeing what people post about their classics lists.
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Love your list with plenty of interesting titles. I’m looking forward to reading your thoughts and seeing more of you in the GoodReads Classics Club.
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What a great list….your Classics Club journey should be enjoyable and interesting. Good luck! 🙂
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