Earlier in the week, I shared a post with my list of books for the newest Classics Club Spin challenge (see it here), and a few days ago, this spin’s number was announced. (For those keeping track, it’s CCSpin #40, and for me personally, #12!)

Hosted by The Classics Club blog, the Classics Club Spin is a reading adventure where participants come up with a list of classics they’d like to read, number them 1 to 20, and then read the book that corresponds to the “spin” number that comes up.

For CCSpin #40, the lucky number is:

And that means I’ll be reading:

Dracula by Bram Stoker (published 1897)

Synopsis:

‘Young lawyer Jonathan Harker journeys to Transylvania to meet with the mysterious Count Dracula only to discover that his nobleman client is a vampire who is thirsty for new blood. After imprisoning Harker in his castle, Dracula travels to England to seduce Jonathan’s fiancée, Mina, and the battle against an ineffable evil begins.

Led by philosopher and metaphysician Professor Van Helsing – Dracula’s most indomitable adversary – Harker, Mina, and a band of allies unite, determined to confront and destroy the Count before he can escape.

Bram Stoker ingeniously modernized gothic folklore by moving his vampire from traditional castle ruins to modern England. With Dracula, which has been interpreted and dissected by scholars for generations, Stoker changed the vampire novel forever.

Okay! This is a good result! What’s funny is that I replaced all but two of the books on my spin list this time around with 20th century classics related to a reading challenge I’ve committed to, and Dracula was one of the only two exceptions. But that’s fine!

I actually have read Dracula before, but it’s been decades, and I’ve been meaning to do a reread for ages now — it’s been on every one of my spin lists since I started participating, and I guess it was time for its number to come up.

I’m excited to dive in. I’m also super tempted to treat myself to a gorgeous hardcover edition with illustrations by Edward Gorey as a little motiviating gift to myself… should I give in to temptation?

I haven’t quite decided on my reading format. There’s a full cast Audible edition of the unabridged text that looks like it would be an amazing listen.

What do you think, read the physical book or listen to the audiobook?

And most importantly: What do you think of my spin result this time around?

The deadline to finish this spin is April 11th. I’ll be back with my reaction to Dracula before then!

Here’s my list of 20 titles for Classics Club Spin #40:

1. Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne DuMaurier
2. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R. A. Dick
3. A Damsel in Distress by P. G. Wodehouse
4. Dracula by Bram Stoker
5. Peony by Pearl Buck
6. White Fang by Jack London
7. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
8. Pat of Silver Bush by L. M. Montgomery
9. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
10. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
11. My Family and Other Animals by  Gerald Durrell
12. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
13. Cakes and Ale by W. Somerset Maugham
14. The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
15. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
16. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
17. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
18. Pale Horse, Pale Rider by Katherine Porter
19. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
20. My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin

My previous Classics Club Spin books:

Are you participating in this Classics Club Spin? If so, what book will you be reading?