26 Questions in 2026 (#11)

To kick off the new year the Classics Club posted a list of 26 questions designed to help members consider their relationship with reading classics. I plan to answer one question every few weeks throughout 2026. 

#11 -Favorite biography about a classic author you’ve read, or the biography on a classic author you most want to read, if any?

I love a good biography, and picking a favorite, even when I limit it to just considering biographies of "classic authors" is impossible. Here are 5 literary biographies that I enjoyed:

1. Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford
2. Jane Kenyon: A Literary Life by John H. Timmerman
3. The Unquiet Englishman: A Life of Graham Greene by Richard Greene
4. Dorothy Parker: What Fresh Hell is This? by Marian Meade
5. Virginia Woolf: A Writers' Life by Lyndall Gordon

On my TBR list are biographies of Barabara Pym, Robert Frost, Carl Sandburg, Dick Francis, Anais Nin, Josephine Tey, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Dashiell Hammett, Margaret Wise Brown, E. M. Forster, and Willa Cather. 

Nonfiction November - New to My TBR

Hopewell’s Public Library of Life is our host for this final week.

These are the nonfiction titles I have added to my TBR this month:

1. The Library at Night by Albert Manguel (Volatile Rune)
2. A Place for Everything: The Curious History of Alphabetical Order by Judith Flanders (She Seeks Nonfiction)
3. Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge: Intimate Confessions from a Happy Marriage by Helen Ellis (Hopewell's Public Library of Life)
4. One More Croissant for the Road by Felicity Cloake (LouLouReads) -- also recommended The Rest is History podcast
5. Things to Look Forward To: 52 Large and Small Joys for Today and Everyday by Sophie Blackhall (Shoe's Seeds and Stories)
6. The Gates of Empire: A History of Ukraine by Serhii Plokhy (This Reading Life)
7. House Lessons: Renovating a Life by Erica Bauermeister (Beverley A Baird)
8. The Nutmeg Trail by Eleanor Ford (Superfluous Reading)
9. Is the Algorithm Plotting Against Us: A Layperson's Guide to the Concepts, Math, and Pitfalls of AI by Kenneth Wenger (Words and Peace)
10. My Life in Middlemarch by Rebecca Mead (My Head is Full of Books)
11. I Didn't Sign Up for This by Tracy Dalgelish (Lisa Notes)
12. The Baroness by Hannah Rothschild (AnnaBookBel)
13. I Think You're Wrong (But I'm Listening) by Sarah Stewart Holland an Beth Silvers (ReaderBuzz)
14. Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman (WhatMeRead)
15. Ready or Knot? 12 Conversations Every Couple Needs to Have Before Marriage by Scott Kedersha (Reviews from the Stacks)

NFN: New to my TBR

Week 5: (November 28-Dec 2) – New to My TBR : It’s been a month full of amazing nonfiction books! Which ones have made it onto your TBR? Be sure to link back to the original blogger who posted about that book! This week our host is The OC Book Girl.

1. A Shortest History of the Soviet Union by Sheila Fitzpatrick and A Short History of Russia: From the Pagans to Putin by Mark Galeotti (both from Brona's Books)
2. Pastrami on Rye: An Overstuffed History of the Jewish Deli by Ted Merwin (Plucked from the Stacks) 
3. Wild Women and the Blues (the novel paired with a NF title at Based on a True Story)
4. How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing by KC Davis (paired by Melissa Firman with The Lazy Genius Way which I liked) 
5. 16 Words: William Carlos Williams & “The Red Wheelbarrow” by Lisa Rogers and Chuck Groenink (a NF picture book paired with the poetry of WCW by Plucked from the Stacks)
6. Abandoned Train Stations by David Ross (Superfluous Reading)
7. Both titles in this pairing from Beverley A Baird appealed to me: The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd (a novel) and the NF work The Map Thief 
8. The Divorce Colony by April White (Based on a True Story)
9. The Age of Creativity by Emily Urguhart by Michael Blanding (Beverley A Baird)

From last year's list--still TBR:

1. The Art of the English Murder: From Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes to Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock by Lucy Worsley (from Joy's Book Blog)
2. Index, a History of the by Dennis Duncan (from Books Please)
3. Vote First or Die by Scott Conroy (from Plucked from the Stacks)
4. The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym by Paula Byrne (from Entering the Enchanted Castle) 
5. The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson (from Gulfside Musing) 
6. Enid by Robert Wainwright (from book'd out -- though it was on their TBR as well rather than a recommendation)
7. The Brontes: Wild Genius on the Moors: The Story of Three Sisters by Juliet Barker (from Doing Dewey)
8. The Barbizon by Paulina Bren and The Girl in White Gloves by Kerri Maher (a pairing from The Paperback Princess)
9. Murder Your Darlings by Roy Peter Clark (from LisaNotes)
10. The Moralist: Woodrow Wilson and the World He Made by Patricia O'Toole (recommended in a comment from Lory at Entering the Enchanted Castle)
11. Off the Clock by Laura Vanderkam (from The Book Stop)
12. Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant (from What's Nonfiction) -- essays from various people about eating/cooking for one

Books on My Fall 2022 TBR

The Top Ten Tuesday topic this week is "Books On My Fall 2022 To-Read List." I recently reviewed where I am at with my various reading challenges/projects for 2022 and these are the books I plan to read in an effort to wrap those up by the end of the year. (In no particular order.)

1. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (works for 3 challenges)
2. Walden by Henry David Thoreau (works for 3 challenges)
3. Biography: Fiction, Fact, and Form by Ira Nadel (works for 3 challenges)
4. A Libertarian Walks into a Bear by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling (NF challenge)
5. Secret Life of Groceries by Benjamin Lorr (NF challenge)
6. Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett (Turtle Recall challenge)
7. Halloween Party by Agatha Christie (Cozies challenge)
8. Grave Secrets by Kathy Reichs (works for 2 challenges)
9. A Fine Balance by R. Mistry (works for 2 challenges)
10. The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant (a Classics Club title)

Six of these are currently on my shelves which is great because I am trying to read more of the books I own. 

 

Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart 

by Chinua Achebe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Written in the late 1950s this book is the story of Okonkwo and his Ibo village in Nigeria at the turn of the 20th century. It is beautifully written and slowly draws the reader into the life and customs of this African community through stories that feel almost fable-like and become more narrative once the reader is firmly settled into the time and place. 

In his introduction to this novel Kwame Anthony Appiah describes perfectly the power of this book:

"Not only does Achebe draw a compelling picture of life in one part of Iboland before the arrival of Christianity and colonialism; he manages to convey to all of us, Ibo or not, both the tragedy and the loss of that world and the possibilities created by the new situation. Achebe's rigorous accounting includes columns both for profit and for loss." 

This is the first of Achebe's Africa trilogy which continues the story of Okonkwo's family in No Longer at Ease (1960) and Arrow of God (1964). I plan to continue reading the trilogy. 

This novel counts toward the Back to the Classics Challenge (as a classic by a BIPOC author) and towards the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

Books Set in a Place I'd Love to Visit

The Top Ten Tuesday topic this week is "books set in a place I'd Love to Visit (real places or fictional)." I have read, though not necessarily blogged about, all of these books except the last two which are on my TBR.

1. Bellevue Square by Michael Redhill (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
   
   
2. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather (Santa Fe, New Mexico)
   
   
3. Bad Monkey by Carl Hiassen (Key West, Florida)
   
   
4. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt (Savannah, Georgia)
   
   
5. Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World by Janet E. Cameron (Nova Scotia, Canada)
   
   
6. Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers (Oxford, England)
   
   
7. An Unsuitable Attachment by Barbara Pym (London, England)
   
   
8. Aqua Alta by Donna Leon (Venice, Italy)
   
   
9. The Fencing Master by Arturo Perez-Reverte (Madrid, Spain)
   
   
10. The Ambassadors by Henry James (Paris, France)

Shelf Control #7

Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves created and hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up! For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out the introductory post, Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday. I decided to participate monthly rather than weekly. Look for my posts on the 3rd Wednesday of each month.

Title: I, the King
Author: Frances Parkinson Keyes

Published: 1966
Length: 318 pages

What it’s about (from back cover): "Frances Parkinson Keyes has done it again in this brilliantly conceived novel that captures the somber beauty and dazzling splendor of Spain's golden 17th century. Against the backdrop of those splendid and turbulent years, Mrs. Keyes spins out the dramatic story of Philip IV, a troubled, misguided, but devout ruler. It is also the story of the women in his life--especially the child bride who became his queen, and the beautiful Blue Nun, Sor Maria, who helped turn the profligate into a true monarch."

How and when I got it: My Mom's theory was that if you didn't have anything to read you could always reread Frances Parkinson Keyes. When she died I kept her collection of these novels (except for the ones that had been read so many times they were just piles of paper held together with rubber bands). This is one of her books. 

Why I want to read it: My Mom loved these books and this particular one is an historical novel which will count toward one of my current reading challenges.

How it begins: "She was seated in a silver saddle, with housings of velvet and pearls, on a white palfry, when she came riding into his life and into his heart."

Progress since last Shelf Control post

How am I doing actually reading the books I have written about in my shelf control posts? I am going to start tracking that on each monthly post. 

# books posted about prior to this one: 6
# of books read: 1
# of books passed on without reading: 0

Agatha Christie Novels Still TBR

The Top Ten Tuesday topic this week is "freebie" so I am listing 10 Agatha Christie novels that I haven't read yet. I have read lots of her novels, and love them. I plan to read all her books eventually, and these are probably the next 10 I will get to.

1. Three Act Tragedy (Hercule Poirot, #10)
2. Death in the Clouds (Hercule Poirot, #11)
3. Dumb Witness (Hercule Poirot, #15)
4. One, Two, Buckle my Shoe (Hercule Poirot, #20)
5. Hallowe'en Party (Hercule Poirot, #32)
6. Elephants Can Remember (Hercule Poirot, #33)
7. The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (Miss Marple #8)
8. Sparkling Cyanide (Colonel Race, #4)
9. The Secret of Chimneys (Superintendent Battle, #1)
10. The Seven Dials Mystery (Superintendent Battle, #2)

Shelf Control #6

Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves created and hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up! For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out the introductory post, Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday.

Title: The Sweet Life: Reflections on Home and Garden
Author: Laura Stoddart

Published: 2001 in the US, 1999 in Great Britain
Length: 80 pages 

What it’s about (from GoodReads): "Laura Stoddart has a devoted following who love the humor and idiosyncrasy of her exquisite, tiny drawings. Now, in this prettiest and wittiest of anthologies, she puts drudgery in its place and elevates the charms of lolling about to new heights. What could be more pleasurable than puttering into the garden, trowel in hand? Perhaps puttering back out, with a cool drink in place of said trowel. Ms. Stoddart's droll little figures toil and tarry their way across page after page of ironic quotations and elegant verse. From Jane Austen to Benjamin Franklin, from Oscar Wilde to oft-quoted "Anonymous"--everyone has something to say about the pleasures of a well-kept house, the charms of an overgrown garden, and the surprisingly refreshing effect that five minutes spent on a patch of green grass can produce. This delightful primer on all things sweet is the perfect house gift--guaranteed to gain all indulgent souls direct entree to la dolce vita! "

How and when I got it: This was a library book sale find. I'm not sure from how long ago. 

Why I want to read it: It looks charming and might inspire me to do all the yardwork that I ought to be doing on these lovely spring days. Also, I love all the pictures of chairs that are included on the cover.

How it begins: "Go, little book, and wish to all, Flowers in the garden, meat in the hall..."

Murder Your Darlings

Murder Your Darlings 

by J.J. Murphy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"The members of the Algonquin Round Table didn't usually let the facts get in the way of a good story. Following their example, this book uses fact to fabricate fiction." -- from the author's "Historical Note" 

Set in 1920s New York City this mad-cap adventure of a mystery includes lots of famous people--including a not-very-flattering appearance by Edna St. Vincent Millay--who are pulled into a police investigation when Mrs. Parker finds the body of a theater critic under the table where she is, as usual, meeting her "vicious circle" of friends for lunch. Loitering in the lobby on that very day, hoping to meet Dorthy Parker, is a very young William Faulkner.

The pace of this novel is quick with a lot of action, including a harrowing car chase, and it is full of snappy dialog and colorful characters. The story is told in the third person, but the reader is frequently in the point-of-view of Dorthy Parker so there is a sense of what she thinks and feels about what is happening. Marion Meade's biography of Dorthy Parker, What Fresh Hell is This? is on my tbr list and I will be interested to see how the character in this novel compares to the actual person. It may be pretty close as Murphy cites that biography as one of his sources. 

I liked this book and will read the other 2 books in this series if I can find them. I am counting this book toward the Cruisin' Through the Cozies challenge as my "historical mystery."

Readers' Advisory Guide to Nonfiction

The Readers' Advisory Guide to Nonfiction
by Neal Wyatt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am continuing my readers' advisory reading project (see genre fiction, historical fiction, and mystery fiction). This was a really interesting volume in this series as nonfiction needs to be viewed through different frames than fiction for the purpose of providing readers' advisory services.  It seems obvious (at least it did to me) that subject matter would drive a readers' choices in nonfiction, but there is a lot more too it than that.

"The four intertwined aspects of nonfiction should be considered as individual elements that work collectively to determine the experience of reading. None of these elements stays neatly in a box all its own. Subject and type work in unison. Appeal wanders all over a book. The appeal elements blend into one another, affect one another, and affect narrative nature as well." (p. 22)

Here is my list of potential reading from this book:

• Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero by David Maraniss [sports- bio & memoir]
• A Year at the Races by Jane Smiley [sports-essays & musings]
• Green River, Running Red by Ann Rule [true crime- reporting]
• Blue Blood by Edward Conlon [true crime- bio, memoir & personal accounts]
• The Olive Farm by Carol Drinkwater [travel - memoir & personal accounts]
• An Embarrassment of Mangos by Ann Vanderhoof [travel - memoir & personal accounts]
• Theatre of Fish: Travels Through Newfoundland and Labrador by John Gimlette [travel - history, land & place]
• The 8:55 to Baghdad by Andrew Eames [travel - journeys, escapes & adventures]
• Uncommon Carriers by John McPhee [travel - journeys, escapes & adventures]
• Imagined London by Anna Quindlen [travel - journeys, escapes & adventures]
• Big Weather by Mark Svenvold [true adventure - - bio & memoir]
• Curse of the Narrows: The Halifax Disaster of 1917 by Laura M. MacDonald [history - disasters]
• 1968: The Year that Rocked the World by Mark Kurlansky [history - pivot points]
  
• The Eloquent Essay edited by John Loughery [general NF- essays]
• Best American Essays of the Century edited by Joyce Carol Oates and Robert Atwan [general NF- essays]
• The Fourth Genre edited by Robert L. Root and Michael Steinberg [general NF- essays]
• The Barn at the End of the World by Mary Rose O'Reilley [general NF- religion & spirituality]
•  Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert [general NF- social sciences]

Shelf Control #3

Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves created and hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up! For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out the introductory post, Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday.

Title: The Last Battle
Author: C. S. Lewis

Published: 1956 
Length: 211 pages

What it’s about (publisher's blurb): "One last battle against evil, one final journey to the magical land of Narnia. Narnia ...where the last king makes a stand and sad farewells turn to joy ... where the adventures begin again. The Unicorn says that humans are brought to Narnia only in a time of great need--and that time is now. The Great Lion, Aslan, the heart of Narnia, is missing. An imposter roams the land in his place, enslaving Aslan's loyal creatures and spreading treachery and lies. Only King Tirian and his small band of loyal followers are left to fight the last battle in this magnificent ending to The Chronicles of Narnia."

How and when I got it: I was talking about these books with my then husband who was surprised that I had never read them. At Christmas 2015 he gave me a lovely box set of all 7 books with color illustrations by Pauline Baynes. This is one of those books.

Why I want to read it: I have been working my way through the set since I got it--slowly to make it last. I now have just the one book left to read. I listed it as an alternate for this year's TBR Pile Challenge.

How it begins:  "In the last days of Narnia, far up to the west beyond Lantern Waste and close beside the great waterfall, there lived an ape."  

Shelf Control #2

Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves created and hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up! For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out the introductory post, Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday.

Title: The Colony of Unrequited Dreams
Author: Wayne Johnson

Published: 1998
Length: 562 pages

What it’s about (quoted from jacket copy): "A mystery and a love story spanning five decades. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams is an epic portrait of relentless ambition. Two of the most irresistible characters ever encountered in fiction grace its pages: Joe Smallwood, who claws his way from obscurity to become Newfoundland's first premier; and Sheilagh Fielding, a popular newspaper columnist who casts a haunting shadow over Smallwood's life and career."

How and when I got it: I was on vacation in Montreal in 2018 and came across a delightful used bookstore--the really good kind with books packed every direction into the shelves--and asked the man working there (who turned out to be the owner) what he recommended as a quintessential Canadian book. This was the book he suggested so I bought it. 

Why I want to read it: I am always on the lookout for new-to-me Canadian writers (to read for the Canadian Reading Challenge). I also really like the title. 

How it begins: "You may not know it yet, but I am back in St. John's. Six months since Confederation. The past is literally another country now." 

Shelf Control #1

Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves created and hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up! For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out the introductory post, Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday.

Title: New York: The Novel
Author: Edward Rutherfurd
Published: 2009
Length: 862 pages

What it’s about: "The bestselling master of historical fiction weaves a grand, sweeping drama of New York from the city's founding to the present day." (from jacket copy)

How and when I got it: I'm not quite sure how I ended up with this book. My Mom loved Rutherfurd's books and had read this and London (and possibly others). The front of the book says "Christmas 2009" in my Mom's writing so she may have gotten it as a gift then, or she may have given it to my brother-in-law and I ended up with it after he read it. 

Why I want to read it: I am interested in New York history and Rutherfurd is supposed to be a great writer of historical fiction. It is really long, which is probably why it hasn't left the shelf yet. 

Readers' Advisory Guide to Mystery

The Readers' Advisory Guide to Mystery 

by John Charles
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am continuing my readers' advisory reading project (see genre fiction, and historical fiction) and thought this book would be an interesting read that, because I have read a lot of mysteries, wouldn't add too much to by TBR. It was super interesting but I still ended up with a lot of new titles to read.

There are a LOT of resources packed into this short (168 pages) book. Lists of movies, tv-shows, books for discussion, resources to read more about mysteries, as well as numerous titles and read-similars for various sub-genres. There are also sections on collection development and marketing your library's mystery collection that were full of good ideas and an extensive resource list of organizations (like Mystery Readers International), and awards (like the Nero Wolfe Award). 

My main quibble with the book is that they described Ngaio Marsh (more than once) as a British writer. She is a New Zealander and a major mystery writer of the golden age. That error raised concerns for me about the overall accuracy of the book. 

Here is my list of potential reading from this book:

• The Godwulf Manuscript by Robert B. Parker (the first Spencer novel)
• Farewell My Lovely by Raymond Chandler 
• Unexpected Night by Elizabeth Daly (author is recommended for Christie fans and this is the first in the series)
• Death on Demand by Carolyn G. Hart (starts a cozy series set in a bookstore)
• The Body in the Bellfry by Katherine Hall Page (starts a cozy series set in a small New England town)
• Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley (this has been on my TBR list, but I was reminded that I need to get to this one)
• The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman (I suspect this book won't be to my taste, but it is a style of mystery I haven't read (Western) and should check out)
• Death of an Englishman by Magdalen Nabb (set in Italy and a read-similar for the Donna Leon novels)
• Dashiell Hammett: A Life by Diane Johnson
• Agatha Christie: A Biography by Janet Morgan
• Black Beech and Honeydew: An Autobiography by Ngaio Marsh
• Bloody Murder: From the Detective Story to the Crime Novel by Julian Symons (1993 edition)
• A Talent to Deceive: An Appreciation of Agatha Christie by Robert Barnard

I am only planning to read one more of these Readers' Advisory Guides which is a good thing because my TBR list is getting out of control! If only it were true that librarians just sit around all day reading.

Uread Shelf Project Update

Unread Shelves, 3/16/22

When I went through my books in 2021 (and gave away a LOT of them) I had 101 books identified as "owned, but not read." On March 15th my Unread Shelf was at 131 books. That means that if I don't obtain any more books and could read one book each month off my own shelves--which history indicates is unlikely--it would take me 11 years to read them all. Almost half of these books are also over 400 pages which doesn't help. My number of unread books is going in the wrong direction! 

I went through my books again and identified 6 titles (by reading the blurbs and the beginning of each one I wasn't sure about) that no longer appeal. Those went in the "donate to the library" box. Unfortunately I also found one that wasn't in my list yet. My current number is 126, eleven of which are digital audiobooks. Unread books on the shelf is like savings set aside for a rainy day, but I think the total has gotten out of hand. I need some strategies to get through more of my owned-but-not-read titles. 

My various reading challenges, including my planned reading for classics club, should lead to at least 12 books from my shelves getting read in 2022. 

I may set aside a month during 2022 in which I will commit to only reading books from my shelves--no library books. I'm thinking that June might be a good time for that.

There will be a Classics Club spin number drawn on Sunday and I am going to piggy-back on that project with an Unread Shelf Spin. Below is a list of twenty books from my shelves and whichever number is drawn for Classics Club I will commit to starting that title before the finish date for the spin. 

1. The Sense of Style by Steven Pinker
2. Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman
3. What Would Audrey Do? by Pamela Keogh
4. The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx
5. Lost by Gregory Maguire
6. Michael Tolliver Lives by Amistead Maupin
7. The Snow Queen by Michael Cunningham
8. Ninety-nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret by Craig Brown
9. No Hard Feelings by Liz Fosslien and Molly West Duffy
10. So We Read On by Maureen Corrigan
11. The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel
12. Matrimony, Inc. by Francesca Beauman
13. Eleanor Roosevelt, vol. 3 by Blanche Wiesen Cook
14. For All the Tea in China by Sarah Rose
15. The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis
16. Fluke by Christopher Moore
17. Three Lives by Gertrude Stein
18. The Russia House by John Le Carre
19. Come and Get It by Edna Ferber
20. On Green Dolphin Street by Sebastian Faulks

I feel like 50-60 unread books on hand would be a good number to get to and try to maintain at. 

Books on my Spring 2022 TBR

The topic for today's Top Ten Tuesday is "Books on my Spring 2022 TBR." I'm not very good at actually reading the books that I plan out for a given period of time, but here is a list of books I might read/finish between now and June 21 (the end of spring). 

1. The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio -- I have already started this, but it is really long so I don't expect to finish it until well into spring
2. Burning Questions: Essays and Occasional Pieces by Margaret Atwood
3. Small Ceremonies by Carol Shields
4. Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear
5. Aunt Dimity and the Duke by Nancy Atherton
6. The Stone Carvers by Jane Urquhart
7. Passing by Nella Larsen
8. Eric by Terry Pratchett
9. The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis
10. The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean

What's on your Spring TBR?

Spinning the Classics

The Classics Club is hosting a spin this month with the number to be drawn on Sunday with the goal of reading the chosen book by April 30, 2022. 

Here is my list (with some duplicates to increase the odds for specific titles) of 20 not-yet-read titles from my Classics Club List:

1. Where Angels Fear to Tread, E. M. Forster, 1905
   
2. Walden, Henry David Thoreau, 1854
3. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson, 1882
4. Out of Africa, Isak Dinesen, 1937
5. The Violent Bear It Away, Flannery O'Connor, 1960
6. A Tale of a Tub, Jonathan Swift, 1704
7. Islam: A Short History, Karen Armstrong, 2000
8. The Story of Philosophy, Will Durant, 1926
9. Doctor Zhivago, Boris Pasternak, 1957
10. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick, 1968
11. Where Angels Fear to Tread, E. M. Forster, 1905
12. The Member of the Wedding, Carson McCullers, 1946
13. Lust for Life, Irving Stone, 1934
14. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson, 1882
15. The Violent Bear It Away, Flannery O'Connor, 1960
16. A Tale of a Tub, Jonathan Swift, 1704
17. The Waves, Virginia Woolf, 1931
18. Lust for Life, Irving Stone, 1934
19. Islam: A Short History, Karen Armstrong, 2000
20. The Story of Philosophy, Will Durant, 1926