My list for The Classics Club Spin 43 #ccspin

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Classics Club Spin

The last time I took part in a Classics Club Spin was way back in 2021 when I only had two books left on my list. Now that I’ve created my second Classics Club list I can join in again.

If you’re wondering how the spin works, read on:

Before 8th February, create a post listing twenty books that remain to be read on your Classics Club list. This is your spin list. On 8th February the folks at The Classics Club will post a number from 1 through 20. The challenge is to read whatever book falls under that number on your spin list by 29th March 2026.

My Spin List

I’ve got quite a few commitments in March so I’ve sidestepped the real chunksters on my list to give myself a fair chance.

  1. The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Stories by Edgar Allan Poe
  2. The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope
  3. The Hound of Death and Other Stories by Agatha Christie
  4. Victoria Four-Thirty by Cecil Roberts
  5. The Smiler with the Knife by Nicholas Blake
  6. The King’s General by Daphne du Maurier
  7. A Maigret Christmas and Other Stories by George Simenon
  8. The Birds and Other Stories by Daphne du Maurier
  9. A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie
  10. Beyond the Black Stump by Nevil Shute
  11. Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie
  12. Thunderball by Ian Fleming
  13. The Story of Esther Costello by Nicholas Montserrat
  14. The Red Rock Wilderness by Elspeth Huxley
  15. The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden
  16. Good-bye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton
  17. Lord Hornblower by C. S. Forester
  18. Creatures of Circumstance by W. Somerset Maugham
  19. The Satanist by Denis Wheatley
  20. Stephen Morris by Nevil Shute

If this was your list, which book would you be hoping for?

#WWWWednesday – 4th February 2026

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Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too?  Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!

What I’m Currently Reading

Room 706 by Ellie Levenson (Headline)

Kate stretches her legs and turns on the TV while James washes away the traces of their morning. She watches in horror at the unfolding news: the hotel they are staying in has been taken under siege.

She should be making her way home, working on appearing normal, getting ready to re-enter family life with her loving husband Vic and their two adored children. Instead, she is trapped somewhere she shouldn’t be, with a man she definitely doesn’t love.

How will she begin to tell Vic what she is doing here? If her body is found, will it give up the secret of what she’s been up to? She’s been so careful hiding the evidence of her affair: write nothing down, leave no trace. Will he begin to understand why?

For now, Kate can only hide, take a deep breath, and reflect on the series of choices she’s made that have brought her to this moment.

What will her marriage and her life look like, if she makes it out?

The Shock of the Light by Lori Inglis Hall (The Borough Press via NetGalley)

Cambridge, 1942. Twins Tessa and Theo had always shared everything – until the summer Tessa spent studying in France. She hasn’t been the same since. But before Theo can find out why, he is recruited by the RAF and disappears into the skies.

Determined to carve her own path, Tessa joins the clandestine Special Operations Executive, slipping into the shadows of occupied France. It will be dangerous work, but France is the home of her greatest love – and her darkest secret. Tessa has many reasons for wanting to return.

Two years later, only one of them comes home.

What I’ve Just Read

Follow the links to my reviews. . .

Benbecula by Graeme Macrae Burnet (Polygon)

Julia Sleeps by Zoe Caryl

What I’ll Be (Re)reading Next

Time of the Child by Niall Williams (Bloomsbury)

Doctor Jack Troy was born and raised in the little town of Faha, but his responsibilities for the sick and his care for the dying mean he has always been set apart from his community. A visit from the doctor is always a sign of bad things to come.

His youngest daughter, Ronnie, has grown up in her father’s shadow, and remains there, having missed her chance at real love – and passed up an offer of marriage from an unsuitable man.

But in the advent season of 1962, as the town readies itself for Christmas, Ronnie and Doctor Troy’s lives are turned upside down when a baby is left in their care. As the winter passes, father and daughter’s lives, the understanding of their family, and their role in their community are changed forever.