Tag Archives: Classics Club Strikes Back

Purgatorio

Posted on March 28, 2023 by smellincoffee

Purgatorio© 14th century Dante Alighieri, translated 2004 by Anthony Esolen544 pages, including appendices and notes Seven years ago I descended into hell with Dante and his guide, Virgil,   and after that arduous descent into a valley of desolation and … Continue reading →

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My Ántonia

Posted on February 10, 2023 by smellincoffee

My Ántonia© 1918 Willa Cather175 pages An orphaned young boy and a young girl from another country  arrive together in the Nebraska prairie,   forging a friendship from their shared status as strangers in a new land despite their difficulties … Continue reading →

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Persuasion

Posted on September 6, 2022 by smellincoffee

Persuasion© 1817 Jane Austen249 pages Persuasion is the story of a young couple broken apart by the young woman (Anne’s) family convincing her that her beau doesn’t have enough money or social standing to be a good match for her. … Continue reading →

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August 2022 in Review

Posted on August 31, 2022 by smellincoffee

It’s…er, been a while since I did a monthly update. Science Survey Doing well! The science survey for 22 is completed,  with sixteen titles fulfilling my twelve categories. I’d like to finish the year with at least 20 science titles, … Continue reading →

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Ten Years of the Classics Club

Posted on August 18, 2022 by smellincoffee

The Classics Club recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary, and posed some questions to its readers. I began participating in 2015, wrapping up my first list in 2020 and starting a new one weeks later. My original plan with the Classics … Continue reading →

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The Great Gatsby

Posted on November 18, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Great Gatsby© F. Scott Fitzgerald It is interesting how the passage of years can suddenly alter a reader’s take on a given book. Take The Great Gatesby, for instance, which I read in early college and was so underwhelmed by that … Continue reading →

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Mephisto

Posted on October 2, 2021 by smellincoffee

Mephisto© 1936 Klaus Mann272 pages I was fortunate, in my time at the University, to have a class with my favorite professor every semester that I was there; he had an enormous command of late 19th century and early 20th … Continue reading →

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Cold Sassy Tree

Posted on February 24, 2021 by smellincoffee

Cold Sassy Tree© 1984 Olive Ann Burns391 pages “I know now the difference between a writer and an author. A  writer writes, and an author speaks.”   Those words came from Leaving Cold Sassy, an unfinished sequel to this work … Continue reading →

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The Autobiogaphy of Miss Jane Pittman

Posted on January 13, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman259 pages© 1982 Ernest Gaines A young girl carries water for both exhausted rebels and the jubilant army chasing them.  An elderly lady who has seen sorrow after sorrow visited on herself and her loved … Continue reading →

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The Old Man and the Boy

Posted on January 11, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Old Man and the Boy© 1957 Robert Ruark303 pages Of the various titles on my Classics Club Strikes back list, The Old Man and the Boy is something of an outlier; I’d venture to say that most people haven’t … Continue reading →

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