I was all set to post a list of classics to read over the long-term--for the next five years or so, but then I thought better of it. Not because I don't think it is an excellent idea, I do. Jillian has created the Classics Club, which sounds like great fun and something I would love to take part in. I even went so far as to start making a list, which pretty much included nearly all the titles from the massive pile of classics I keep on a shelf in my bedroom. As tempted as I am, I also know myself and while I love making lists, I am very talented in then not following said list. I am someone who tends to read according to mood. I excitedly make my list in one mood and then it changes, so I'll reach for an entirely different book after the fact. Of course with fifty books you'd think there would be plenty of variety to choose from.
So, I shall read along in spirit, and will send you Jillian's way in case you'd like to participate (from the look of things you'll be in good company there), but I will keep reading for the short term knowing all the books on my pile are books I want to read at some point in the near (or distant) future. That's my way of committing without committing.
I've not forgotten the Classics Challenge I signed up for last year. My list of books is the one I will be drawing from (loosely speaking of course) over the coming months with plenty of wiggle room to read something else, too, if I feel like it. I started with the longest book from the list, The Three Musketeers, which was a huge success, since I loved it. As it was a chunkster, I needed something quick next, so I read Anton Chekhov's The Duel, which I really enjoyed. It's a case of now I must read all his work, especially his short stories. As for The Duel, I hope to write about it soon. And I was thinking that I need to read all the "Duel" books now. I've already got the Casanova in my pile and have (cough) ordered the Conrad, so that means I must acquire the rest soon (cough). But I will wait a bit before picking up another of those titles. I must say I like reading novellas--instant gratification thanks to the short length.
Now I need to pick a new classic to read (I always have a classic on the go--being someone who always has several books started at once...) but can't quite decide what I want. Often I know even before finishing one book which book I'll read next. I thought it would be John Steinbeck's East of Eden, and it does look good, but I think I need to work my way up to another long read.
So here are my choices (some from the list!), maybe you can help me decide.
Appointment in Samarra by John O'Hara -- I read one of O'Hara's other books but recall the bleakness of the story, so put off reading another. Now I think I am in the mood, and as it is set in the 1930s it has an added appeal to it. Caroline also put me in mind of reading it, though it's taken me a while to reach for it.
Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy -- I like the sound of a story of a headstrong woman farmer and her three suitors. I've only read one novel by Hardy and have been steadily collecting them ever since.
In Chancery (the second book of The Forsyte Saga) by John Galsworthy -- I read the first of the nine books that make up The Forsyte Saga two years ago! The idea was that I would read them all close together (in the same year anyway), which obviously never happened. The story is something of a drama, but I love a good drama.
The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton -- So I know Undine Spragg is not an especially likable heroine from what I've heard from other readers, but I don't think Edith Wharton can write a bad novel, and it's time I read another of her books.
Something by Kafka--maybe The Metamorphosis or The Trial -- I'd been leaning heavily towards Kafka as I was making this list (inspired by Stefanie's recent post), but now I'm wavering. Kafka has been someone who has both intrigued and intimidated me. If you've ever seen a picture of him, there is something about his gaze that makes me want to know more about him (he seemed a tortured soul). I've read books about him, books about his lovers, but I've read very little of his fiction--short stories as a matter of fact. The Metamorphosis seems a good place to start, but my edition has also other stories and The Penal Colony, so I feel like I should read all of them.
Choosing a new book is always fun--it's a nice kind of anticipation, don't you think?