The Classics Club – 50 classic books in 5 years – my list.

50 books over 5 years

The Classics Club

The Classics Club was started on March 7, 2012 by a blogger who wanted to see more people posting about classics literature in the blogosphere. Her goal was to,

“unite those of us who like to blog about classic literature, as well as to inspire people to make the classics an integral part of life.”

The Classics Club

She thought about several ideas but finally settled on inviting people to make a list of (at least 50) classic titles they intend to read and blog about within the next five years.

After a few months, the club grew, and it was decided to create a separate site to house everything related to The Classics Club – And this blog was born!

The club moved here in August 2012. So far it has all these members who have read these books.

For more information, please see this page for FAQs on how to join the club, how to submit a post on the Reviews Page, how to submit an event on the Events Page, etc.

Please note

“The activities on the site (memes, check-ins, etc) are intended to contribute to the reading journey of those who seek a bit of connection with the group. None of these extra activities are intended to curb your reading joy. If you prefer to be silent in this club, and focus on the books, that’s certainly encouraged and respected.”

The Classic Club

What is a classic?

For the purpose of this challenge I have taken a classic book to be any book published before 1984. Using a guideline of a classic being a book published over 40 years ago. For ease I have indicated the year each book was originally published, or thought to have been, and the length of the book.

My List

1. Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie | 1976 | 308pp

2. The Case is Closed by Patricia Wentworth | 1937 | 316pp

3. Street Haunting by Virginia Woolf | 1927 | 176pp

4. Persuasion by Jane Austen | 1817 | 288pp

5. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson | 1883 | 210pp

6. Momentum Mori by Muriel Spark | 1959 | 225pp

7. The Rose and The Yew Tree by Mary Westmacott | 1947 | 184pp

8. Silly Novels by Lady Novelists & other essays by George Eliot | 1836 | 100pp

9. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan-Doyle | 1902 | 176pp

10. The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe | 1841 | 56pp

11. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien | 1937 | 310pp

12. Orlando by Virginia Woolf | 1928 | 416pp

13. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë | 1847 | 438pp

14. Emma by Jane Austen | 1815 | 264pp

15. The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico | 1940/1 | pp64

16. Hard Times by Charles Dickens | 1854 | 368pp

17. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley | 1818 | 288pp

18. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham | 1951 | 272pp

19. The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon | 1956 | 160pp

20. The 4.50 From Paddington by Agatha Christie | 1957 | 256pp

21. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler | 1939 | 277pp

22. Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie | 1954 | 256pp

23. The Thin Man by Samuel Dashiell Hammet | 1933 | 259pp

24. The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham | 1929 | 240pp

25. Black Narcissus by Rumer Godden | 1939 | 270pp

26. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell | 1851-3 | 544pp

27. By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept by Elizabeth Smart | 1945 | 112pp

28. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen | 1813 | 480pp

29. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë | 1847 | 416pp

30. Dracula by Bram Stoker|1897 | 324pp | 324pp

31. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott | 1868 | 544pp

32. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen | 1814 | 480pp

33. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins | 1859 | 720pp

34. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë | 1848 | 576pp

35. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen | 1818 | 254pp

36. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett | 1911 | 196pp

37. Poems by Wilfred Owen | 1920 | 96pp

38. A Christmas Party by Georgette Heyer | 1941 | 402pp

39. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf | 1929 | 172pp

40. A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft |1792 | 134pp

41. The Third Man by Graham Green | 1949 | 160pp

42. The Odyssey by Homer | c.8th century | 416pp

43. Love and Friendship by Jane Austen | 1790| 512pp

44. Cover Her Face by P.D. James | 1962| 298pp

45. A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie | 1950 | 256pp

46. Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake | 1789 | 112pp

47. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf | 1925 | 208pp

48. The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White | 1936 | 256pp

49. Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie | 1939 | 179pp

50. Jacob’s Room by Virginia Woolf | 1922 | 181pp

I will put a link on each book title as I read and post my thoughts on them.

So, there we have it! Fifty books over the next five years.

I have numbered the list simply because should I decide to join activities that The Classic Club does it may be needed.

I might be a bit loose in the order, that is to say, I may not read in the exact order given above but that’s not a problem the point is to read these fifty books over the next five years (3 April 2024 to 2 April 2029).

What do you think about my list?

Have you thought about reading more classics?

Would you join The Classic Club?

Let me know in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you.