I joined the Classics Club with this list of 50 classic books only this spring, and this will be my second spin. In the last spin (#44), I got Jezebel’s Daughter by Wilkie Collins (#9), but, regrettably, I haven’t read it. Hopefully, this second time, I will be more committed and read the book chosen by the spin. The rules are: go to your blog; pick twenty books that you listed as “to read” for the Classics Club challenge; and post the list, numbered 1-20, on your blog by 16th August 2026. The number will be announced on that day, and the challenge is to read the book that falls under the announced number by 4th October 2026.
My spin list this time:
1. In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck
2. The Violent Land by Jorge Amado
3. Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
4. Twilight Sleep by Edith Wharton
5. The Lily of the Valley by Honoré de Balzac
6. The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andrić
7. Embers by Sándor Márai
8. Bomarzo by Manuel Mujica Lainez
9. The Awkward Age by Henry James
10. The Wild Ass’s Skin by Honoré de Balzac
11. Redburn by Herman Melville
12. The Illustrious House of Ramires by Eça de Queirós
13. Doña Bárbara by Rómulo Gallegos
14. The Relic by Eça de Queirós
15. The Wayfarer by Natsume Sōseki
16. The Black Prince by Iris Murdoch
17. The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather
18. The Village of Stepanchikovo by Fyodor Dostoevsky
19. Home of the Gentry by Ivan Turgenev
20. And Then by Natsume Sōseki
Thoughts on Papyrus 
I did something similar when I took on the huge task of taking on JC Powys’ list of 100 greatest books, I made slips for each one and drew them randomly. It made it much easier.
I’m impressed by your list, but given the relative obscurity of some of these you might want to do a check for any of the better known classics you may have overlooked. I wouldn’t do Dostoyevsky’s Village until you’ve read the four greats, Bros K, Crime & P, Demons and the Idiot, and then Notes and maybe Insulted and Humiliated but I suspect you have…..
P.S. the Turgenev is great. Dostoyevsky did not like Turgenev and treats him harshly in Demons, but Gentry is excellent.
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Yes, I did read all the books you mentioned by Dostoyevsky except for The Insulted & Humiliated, and perhaps I should put it on my Classics Club list, but then, again, I also try to put there books that are more or less easily “reviewable” and something tell me it may be tricky. It is also great to hear that Home of the Gentry is great. I’m really looking forward to it.
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Ooh, I love your list. I have only read 4 of these.
These two by Balzac are actually my favorites by him.
I love Soseki, but hadnt heard of The Wayfarer, just added it to my TBR!
No Japanese lit on my list: https://wordsandpeace.com/2026/08/12/the-classics-club-the-classics-spin-45/
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Thanks! The Lily of the Valley and The Wild Ass’s Skin are your favourites? Oh, that is really great to hear. I love hearing there are some excellent Balzac novels still waiting for me. After reading Lost Illusions, The Black Sheep, Le Pere Goriot, & Eugenie Grandet, I kind of made a big pause with him, and would love to discover something as exquisite.
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They really are, because they are different fomr his other books, especially The Wild Ass’s Skin, which is basically fantasy!
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A fun list! I read both that Cather & Ivo Andrić earlier for Classics Club lists and loved them both. I’ve liked everything I’ve read by Eça de Queirós but haven’t read those two, so I’d be curious if you got one of them. Happy spinning!
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Thanks! Andrić is a new to me author, so it is great to hear this book of his is superb. I will probably get to The Illustrious House of Ramires much sooner, even if the spin won’t land on it. As for Eça de Queirós’s The Relic. I didn’t even plan to read it, but critic Harold Bloom spoke so highly of it in his book Genius, that I thought I’d definitely add it.
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I’ve only read the Murdoch from this list, and that only recently, but I wish you luck with whatever you get!
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Thank you! I enjoyed your analysis of The Black Prince and its link to Shakespeare.
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I hope you have more luck with this spin.
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Thank you!
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I don’t know any of these books, although I do know a few of the authors. Good luck, and I hope you get to read the pick this time.
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Thanks, and hopefully I will!
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I don’t recognize most of these titles. That means more I can look up and potentially add to my TBR! 😁 I have read In Dubious Battle as part of my reading through all the works of Steinbeck. Good luck with the spin!😊
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Thank you! And, oh my. There is still lots from Steinbeck I’m just dying to read. I can easily turn this challenge into a Steinbeck one 🙂 Cannery Row featured in my #44 edition of this challenge, but I also want to read The Moon is Down, The Pastures of Heaven, & The Long Valley.
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I’ve read all of those you’ve mentioned and my favorite of those is probably The Moon Is Down. 😊
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I’ve read Angle of Repose and Embers — both are fantastic! I’d like to read Song of the Lark, but the rest are new to me. Good luck!
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Thank you! You read some of the most impressive ones from the list, then, I think. Angle of Repose intimidates me slightly because of its size, and Embers sounds like something I’d really enjoy.
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I just bought a new copy of Angle of Repose, so I should have put it on my list.
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It sounds like an interesting read, but now I think that perhaps I should have put Crossing to Safety and not Angle of Repose on my list. The former sounds less intimidating 🙂 And, I don’t have such a good record with books that have “two stories, past and present that merge…”
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