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 #41, and for me personally, #13!)

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 #41, the lucky number is:

And that means I’ll be reading:

My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
(The Corfu Trilogy, Book #1) 
Published 1956

Synopsis:

‘What we all need,’ said Larry, ‘is sunshine…a country where we can grow.‘

‘Yes, dear, that would be nice,’ agreed Mother, not really listening.

‘I had a letter from George this morning – he says Corfu’s wonderful. Why don’t we pack up and go to Greece?’

‘Very well, dear, if you like,’ said Mother unguardedly.

Escaping the ills of the British climate, the Durrell family – acne-ridden Margo, gun-toting Leslie, bookworm Lawrence and budding naturalist Gerry, along with their long suffering mother and Roger the dog – take off for the island of Corfu.

But the Durrells find that, reluctantly, they must share their various villas with a menagerie of local fauna – among them scorpions, geckos, toads, bats and butterflies.

What fun! I’ve been tempted to read this book ever since seeing promos for the Masterpiece series (The Durrells in Corfu), which aired 2016 – 2019. I held off on watching the series so I could read the book first, and then never got around to that either! So, I’m very happy with this spin result, and if I love the book, maybe I’ll finally get around to the TV version as well.

For my 2025 spins, I’ve been focusing on 20th century literature — inspired by a reading challenge to read (at least) one book from each decade of the century. Once I finish My Family and Other Animals, I’ll be able to check off the 1950s!

At just under 300 pages (Kindle edition), this book shouldn’t take a tremendous amount of time, so I may hold off on starting it for a bit… mainly because I’m swamped with other books from my TBR at the moment.

Overall, I’m really looking forward to reading My Family and Other Animals. The deadline to finish this spin is August 24th. I’ll be back with my reaction before then.

What do you think of my spin result this time around?

Here’s my list of 20 titles for Classics Club Spin #41:

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. Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart
5. Peony by Pearl Buck
6. White Fang by Jack London
7. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
8. The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
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. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
14. The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
15. Foundation by Isaac Asimov
16. Frederica by Georgette Heyer
17. Dragonwyck by Anya Seton
18. The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West
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?