Last week I posted my intention to participate in The Classics Club’s Classics Spin #5. To recap, I listed and numbered 20 books from my Cavalcade of Classics list. Then when the number was announced, whatever book on my list corresponded to that number would be a book I would read by April 2.
They announced the Lucky Spin Number this morning and it’s…
20!
On my list, #20 is C.S. Lewis’s memoir Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life.
I’m pretty excited to read this book. My kids and I have started reading the Chronicles of Narnia together, so the timing for this memoir is excellent. I’m already getting new insights into the series reading it for the second time, and I think (or at least hope) that reading Lewis’s memoir will only enhance the experience.
I’ve still got four books on my reading list to finish in February, so this will be one of my classics for March. With any luck, I’ll finish the book and have a review posted by April 2.
To see my full Spin list, check out my post from last week.
Anyone want to read with me? Let me know in the comments, and we can compare notes!
Imperfect Happiness 
Good luck with your book.
It has a gorgeous cover (which always helps)!!
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Thank you! I like to think I don’t judge books by their covers, but I fear they matter more to me than I often realize.
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Lucky you! I’m glad this one came up for you! I got Thomas Merton’s The Seven Storey Mountain, which I am dreading because of the length and having to try to fit it into my schedule, but I think I’ll start to be more positive about it when I start reading.
I loved Till We Have Faces and it was Lewis’ favourite book!
I also enjoyed the Space Trilogy. Scholars say the third is his most brilliant followed by the second and then the first. I enjoyed them in the exact reverse order, so I’m not sure what that says for my scholarly abilities! 😉 Louis Markos has a good commentary of C.S. Lewis’ works that you can get on audio from The Great Courses, so since I’ve already read the Space Trilogy once, this time I’m going to listen to his lectures as I read.
I mentioned on the Classics Club, where I responded to your post, that my Dead Writer’s Society group on Goodreads is doing a Lewis Project for the year. We have started with the Chronicles of Narnia and then Mere Christianity will begin in April. It’s a private group but you can request membership and say I sent you if you are interested in joining in!
Happy reading, Charity!
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The Merton looks potentially very interesting. Last Spin, I got Augustine’s City of God, and I was already reading Ulysses that month. I almost backed out of the challenge, but I ended up going for it, I just finished the Augustine a little late. That was kind of a slog, but worth reading (although I’m very glad I picked up an abridged version).
I’m actually a member of the Dead Writer’s Society group, I’m just a very silent member at this point. (I’m having trouble coordinating all of my groups and challenges with the speed at which I read.) I’ll have to check out the conversation as I read through the Narnia books again with my kids and see if I can coordinate some other Lewis reading with what the group is doing.
And thanks for the suggestion about the Lewis commentary!
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Enjoy this! I have to admit that this was a difficult book for me to read. I simply don’t have the mind of a philosopher and I found myself having to re-read almost every paragraph to get a grasp on the depth of Lewis’ meaning. What a brilliant, BRILLIANT man he was!
My favorite book of his for many years now has been “Till We Have Faces”, although “The Space Trilogy” is what I read again and again – somehow easier for me to understand philosophy when it comes in the form of science fiction. 😉 I think it took me three readings of “…Faces” before I “got it.” Again, brilliance! Enjoy your journey! I look forward to hearing all about it.
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I love Till We Have Faces, but then I love the Cupid and Psyche story anyway, and any retelling has a leg-up from the start with me. I loved that he took the sister’s perspective, and (of course) did it so brilliantly. I tried the Space Trilogy and couldn’t get into it at the time I tried it. I think it might just be that I couldn’t quite reconcile Lewis as SF writer in my head. I’ll try it again when I’m feeling more open-minded.
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Well, let me warn you re. Space Trilogy: every single person I know who has read it (including me) had trouble – REAL trouble – getting into the third book. The first 4 or so chapters have to be THE slowest chapters in history (well, unless you count Anna Karenina in its entirety *wink*). BUT, despite the difficult start the last is by far the BEST book! I think when you understand that Lewis was using SF to express philosophy, it makes it an easier read – very deep, as all of his are! Do let me know if you decide to read it – I’d love to know what you think.
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