Thursday, September 19, 2019

Classics Club Spin #21, and a Tough Decision!


The next Classics Club Spin has come at the perfect time when I really needed it! The second semester of the year has been very hectic for me - and it will be until the end of the year; it might even stretch to early next year. I am very exhausted right now - more emotionally than physically, and my reading mood has kept altering between calm-and-soothing ones and light-fast ones. It means I always need to have two books to read simultaneously; and I can shift between books two or three times in a day. Really crazy, I know! And that's why, I was very excited to have the 21st Classics Club Spin!

Here's my list:

5 Random Classics

01. Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
02. The Glass Menagerie - Tennessee Williams
03. The Crucible - Arthur Miller
04. The Deerslayer - James Fennimore Cooper
05. Tarzan of the Apes - Edgar Rice Burroughs

5 Victorian Classics

06. Agnes Grey - Anne Bronte
07. Hard Times - Charles Dickens
08. Return of the Native - Thomas Hardy
09. Silas Marner - George Eliot
10. The Red Badge of Courage - Stephen Crane

5 Gothic Classics

11. The Man Who Was Thursday - G.K. Chesterton
12. The Moonstone - Wilkie Collins
13. We Have Lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson
14. The Mysteries of Udolpho - Ann Radcliffe
15. Othello - William Shakespeare

5 Modern Classics

16. Under the Net - Iris Murdoch
17. The Pearl - John Steinbeck
18. The Beautiful and Damned - F. Scott Fitzgerald
19. This Side of Paradise - F. Scott Fitzgerald
20. Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe

Which one I look forward the most? I don't know - I say, I'm quite excited to read any number the spin would get me. Maybe, I'd rather having something gothic to read for #RIPXIV. But, I will read from no. 11-15 anyway, so.... anything is welcomed.

Now it comes to the hard decision I have mentioned in the title.

I have made the toughest decision in my reading life, to sign out from Moby Dick Readalong. The thing is, I don't have the right mood for deep reading right now - what with my hectic life, and also with menopausal-depressions I have to cope with. It's not a regular thing - thank God! - but still, it comes now and then.

Actually I have been doing quite well with the readalong so far - I have even managed to post weekly updates, and was generally having fun with the other participants. But entering chapter 26 or 27, I began to lose interest - I don't know why; I believe it has nothing to do with the book - it's just me. And I was thinking that we are approaching the end of year, which is usually the busiest days at work. Then I realized that I wouldn't have the energy to cope with it. I have choices, of course, I can just have a light reading through it. But I have done that years ago (this was my second read). If it doesn't give me joy anymore, why should I continue? 

I feel sorry to Brona - I have been waiting for this for a long time, and even half encouraged her to do it, perhaps, but now I must put it down. I am disappointed too, but... yeah, I have no choice. Another thing, I have mentioned earlier that I'm planning to have an ambitious project of reading Zola's Rougon-Macquart cycle in 4-5 years, starting next year. Right now I'm very excited! I have prepared the materials, and can hardly wait till January. I might begin earlier with my Cambridge Companion to Zola, just to get the outline of what I must focus on next year!

Meanwhile, I'm going to enjoy my readings as much as I can - no ambitious task for the moment. Good luck with your readalongs, events, or spins! :)

8 comments:

  1. Well, definitely do enjoy your readings! I wish you Silas Marner for your spin, especially if you haven't already it. It's great, but it's also heart-warming. (Though that means it's not an RIP sort of read...)

    And I'm sorry you're not continuing with Moby Dick. I've been enjoying your posts! I haven't managed to post anything myself, but I'm more or less up-to-date with the reading, and I've been enjoying yours and Brona's about the book.

    Good luck with your spin choice!

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    1. Thank you, Reese! :) Yes, I have been eager to read Silas Marner, but let's see what the spin'd get me! :)

      You warmed my heart by telling me that you've enjoyed my posts! Part of me itched to go aboard the ship again, really, but I know I'll screw up again, LOL!

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  2. Please don't worry about me Fanda. As I said on twitter we will miss you a lot, but the readalong is long, and perhaps you may feel up to joining in again towards the end :-)

    I hope life and work settles down for you again. I can sympathise completely with the peri-menopausal stuff. I know that my energy levels have been all over the place this year.

    Take care and good luck with your spin
    xoxo

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    1. Thank you for all your attention and encouragement, Brona, it means a lot to me, more than I can express! <3

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  3. Aww, sorry you are not feeling well, Fanda. I know what you mean when you aren't in the reading spirit. You have to do what you have to do. I alternate between two or more books a day, too, because my moods change frequently.

    I like some of your spin possibilities...Red Badge of Courage (beautiful writing), The Pearl (really short), Othello, and The Return of the Native! I think I struggled with This Side of Paradise. Halfway through, I bailed. Like you said, if you can't get into it, you have to stop.

    Hope you're feeling better soon.

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    1. Actually, this is all new for me (changing moods daily). I used to be more discipline - until now. Yeah... menopause has changed me more than I expected! But it's something you can't ignore :)

      I have been dreading Fitzgerald's novels other than Gatsby, but I am too drawn in Fitzgerald's persona not to ignore his books. So... wish me luck!

      *And I know his short stories are great, so I (want to) believe that his novels won't be that bad.

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  4. Hope the spin gives you a great read. I understand and sympathize with your feelings about abandoning a reading project like Moby Dick, but first things first! Hope you can relax and not worry about feeling obligated—we have enough of that apart from our reading lives.

    Take care and hang in there. I am in awe of your projected Zola project!

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    1. Thank you Jane.. <3
      I'm so excited with the Zola project! And it's not too demanding, because I'm going to read only 4-5 books a year.

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