[post updated on 5 August 2012]
I officially signed up to be a part of The Classics Club (originally hosted by Jillian at A Room of One’s Own) a month ago. My main reason for joining the club is really to discover other lovers of literature and discuss books we’ve read in common. I’m really looking forward to exploring the blogs of other members of the club. 
Now, to the list. The club demands that we have, at the least, a working list of 50 classics to be read in the period of 5 years. While we’re encouraged to have a way longer list I’ve decided to stick to a list of 50, averaging at 10 classics a year. This leaves me with plenty of room to read other kinds of books, and to not feel constricted.
So, my 5 years would begin from 4 June 2012 to 4 June 2017. My list follows. But a heads up…it’s a flexible list, quite susceptible to drastic changes. However, I will be sticking to 50 classics.
As I complete each book I will add the link to my thoughts on it and note the date I finished it on.
[List updated on August 18, 2012 with 14 titles changed.]
-
Alcott, Louisa May – Little Women (r) [October 3, 2012]
- Alcott, Louisa May – Jack and Jill (r)
- Arnim, Elizabeth von - The Enchanted April
- Austen, Jane – Lady Susan
- Austen, Jane – Mansfield Park
- Bronte, Anne - The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
- Bronte, Charlotte - Jane Eyre (r)
- Bronte, Charlotte – Shirley
- Bronte, Charlotte – The Professor
- Bronte, Charlotte – Villette
- Bunyan, John – The Pilgrim’s Progress (r)
- Burnett, Frances Hodgson – A Little Princess
- Burnett, Frances Hodgson – The Secret Garden
- Cather, Willa – My Antonia
- Cather, Willa – O Pioneers!
- Chopin, Kate – The Awakening and Selected Short Stories
- Collins, Wilkie – The Moonstone
- Du Maurier, Daphne – Rebecca [August 27,2012]
- Eliot, George - Silas Marner (r)
- Fitzgerald, F Scott – The Beautiful and the Damned
- Forster, E M – A Room with a View
- Gaskell, Elizabeth – Cranford
- Gaskell, Elizabeth – Mary Barton
- Gaskell, Elizabeth – North and South [August 10, 2012]
- Gaskell, Elizabeth – Wives and Daughters
- Hardy, Thomas – Far from the Madding Crowd [October 9, 2012]
- Hugo, Victor – Les Miserables
- Jerome, Jerome K – Three Men in a Boat [August 31, 2012]
- Kipling, Rudyard – Kim
- Leroux, Gaston – The Phantom of the Opera
- Mansfield, Katherine – Selected Stories
- Maugham, W Somerset – The Moon and Sixpence
- Marquez, Gabriel Garcia – A Hundred Years of Solitude [September 8, 2012]
- Melville, Herman – Moby Dick
- Montgomery, Lucy Maud – Anne of Avonlea [August 3, 2012]
- Montgomery, Lucy Maud – Anne of the Island [August 6, 2012]
- Montgomery, Lucy Maud - Anne’s House of Dreams [August 20, 2012]
- Montgomery, Lucy Maud – Rainbow Valley (r)
- Montgomery, Lucy Maud – Rilla of Ingleside (r)
- Orwell, George – Animal Farm
- Poe, Edgar Allen – Selected Short Stories
- Sabatini, Rafael – Scaramouche
- Spyri, Johanna – Heidi (r) [August 1, 2012]
- Steinbeck, John – Grapes of Wrath
- Tagore, Rabindranath – Gitanjali
- Tolstoy, Leo – War and Peace
- Twain, Mark – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
- Voltaire – Candide
- Webber, Jean – Daddy-Long-Legs (r)
- Wharton, Edith – House of Mirth
I’ll be ticking off books from this list as and when I read them. Any changes I make will also be done in this post.
That’s a very nice list! We like everything on your list that we’ve read so far, but we especially love the fact that you’re reading Douglas Adams and Edith Wharton
Will be looking forward to your thoughts.
To be honest, I’m really nervous about Wharton. I didn’t think I would try her again after The Age of Innocence. But then I’d heard The House of Mirth was her best, so I decided to give her another chance…that and I own Ethan Frome.
What a great list! I’m sure you’ll love Cranford, Manfield Park and O`Pioneers! and I’m glad that you included American authors too. Best of luck with this project
Yes! I’m so looking forward to reading Gaskell and Cather. I tried Cather’s short stories and found I loved her style. And Mansfield Park is the only one of Austen’s six main novels that I’ve yet to read.
Thank you!
I’m so excited you’ve joined, Risa!! Welcome!!
I’m reading The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte right now. 
Thank you, Jill!….I was supposed to have finished The Tenant of Wildfell Hall in January…..never got around to opening it even. :-/ Am currently read Middlemarch.
Great list. I like it that you have some lighter titles to balance some of the heavier ones. Some of the books you have listed took me a month to get through and I’m a fast reader. Welcome to the Classics Club
Hmmm….I never thought of the balance. But now that you’ve mentioned it I see it is so…and a good thing too! I won’t ask you which ones took you a month….I can guess.
…which means I’ll likely take longer to finish them since I’m an incredibly slow reader!
And thanks for the welcome.
This is a great list you have! I’ll also be reading Wuthering Heights and Rebecca for the first time for The Classics Club, and I’m curious to see what you think of the Orwell books.
Oh good! We can trade views on those two then!
As for the Orwell books….I’m beginning to wonder if I’d rather not read them at all…especially 1984!
A nice list! Now I want to read Hitchhiker’s Guide again… Enjoy!
Hehhe…thanks, Amanda!
Hi, Risa! Welcome back to blogging.
I’m also doing The Classics Club. Such a great challenge. I’m now following you here. Also, if you’re interested in a read-a-thon, my High Summer Read-a-Thon is in July. I no longer host mini-challenges on my blog during the RAT because I’ve decided to make them more about the reading, although we do still socialize a bit on Twitter. Oh, and my read-a-thons now have a dedicated blog, Seasons of Reading. Check it out, if you have a mind to. Everything is linked to the buttons in my left sidebar. Again, welcome back and good luck with your goals.
Thank you for the welcome back, Michelle!…and I apologise for the incredibly late response. I take it I’ve missed that read-a-thon you’ve mentioned, but I’ll definitely be checking out your new blog to see what else I might take part in.
Nice list. I see a lot of female writers on your list. I personally am hesitant from reading such novels, so I guess I have to start trying. After I finish my list, perhaps. Looking forward to what you say about Tolkien’s trilogy. Those are some of my favourites.
Happy reading.
Hi Listra!
I’ve already read Tolkien and he was a favourite for awhile. I say ‘was’ and ‘awhile’ because I’m going through a phase right now, and I’m not sure how I feel about re-reading his works. He’s a genius, no doubt though!
As regards the female writers on my list….I think I’m in the mood to add a great deal more by women writers!…again…a phase.
I’ll be hopping on over to check out your list soon!
We must have 30+ of these books in common and like you, I’m doing a lot of rereads. I’m rereading Fellowship of the Ring at the moment
Looking forward to all of these reviews!
I love re- reading!
And I’m looking forward to comparing notes on the books we are reading considering we’ve much in common on our lists.
Welcome back. You were missed. I just fininished My Antonio by Willa Cather a few minutes ago. Really great book which lets you visualize life in 19th century U S A
I’m looking forward to picking up her novels. I read her short stories earlier this year, just to get the hang of her writing style. I enjoyed reading them!
Hey, Risa… I visited, of course, because I’m intrigued since my sister’s name is Risa
Unfortunately, she’s not a reader lol
Good luck with your list
Thank you, Tiens.:)
And I feel I must tell you that Risa isn’t my real name. It’s an inversion of my pet name.
Wonderful list! yes, I see we have some in common, those of Anne series and Voltaire’s and Hugo’s, and few others. Look forward to your thoughts on those. And happy reading!
Thank you, mademelani.
[...] new list to The Classics Club of which I am already a member, to be considered official along side my old list. I have also decided to take part in the event Let’s Read Plays, hosted by Fanda and Dessy [...]
Great list Risa, we have a few of the same books. I look forward to reading your reviews for these books.
Thank you, Sammi.
…although, I suspect I’ll be tweaking this list again soon.