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The Classics Club
2020-2025

The Classics Spin #26

Twitter hashtag: #ccspin

For this Classics spin #26, I got #11, which on my list was

I just finished reading George Saunders’ fantastic literary criticism book (A Swim in a Pond in the Rain) based on his class on Russian short stories, so I am really thrilled with this book that will help me linger more on words and the art of writing.

“Owen Barfield‘s original and thought-provoking works over three-quarters of a century made him a legendary cult figure. History in English Words is his classic historical excursion through the English language. It was originally published in 1926.

This popular book provides a brief, brilliant history of those who have spoken the Indo-European tongues. It is illustrated throughout by current English words—whose derivation from other languages, whose history in use and changes of meaning—record and unlock the larger history.

About the Author:
Owen Barfield (1898-1997), British philosopher and critic, has been called the “First and Last Inkling” because of his influential and enduring role in the group known as the Oxford Inklings, which included C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams.
It was Barfield who first advanced the ideas about language, myth, and belief that became identified with the thought and art of the Inklings.
He is the author of numerous books, including Poetic Diction; Romanticism Comes of Age; Unancestoral Voice; History, Guilt, and Habit; and Worlds Apart, as well as works of fiction and poetry. His history of the evolution of human consciousness, Saving the Appearances: A Study in Idolatry, achieved a place in the list of the “100 Best Spiritual Books of the Century.””

Have you read it? What did you think?

It’s never too late to challenge yourself to (re)discover the classics and connect and have fun with other Classics lovers. See here what this is all about.

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Here is what I got for the previous Classics Spins:

For Classics Spin #14, I got #1: A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K. Le Guin
For Classics Spin, #15, I got #12: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
by Philip K. Dick
For Classics Spin, #16, I got #4: Arsène Lupin, by Maurice Leblanc

For Classics Spin, #17, I got #3: The Face of Another, by Kobo Abe (not yet reviewed!!)

For Classics Spin, #19, I got #1: A Moveable Feast, by Ernest Hemingway

For Classics Spin, #20, I got # 19: The Dream of the Red Chamber
by Cao Xueqin

For Classics Spin, #21, I got # 5: On the Edge of the World, by Nikolai Leskov

For Classics Spin, #22, I got # 13: Sanshiro, by Natsume Soseki

For Classics Spin, #24, I got # 18: The Sleepwalkers, by Hermann Broch, which I didn’t take time to read!!

For Classics Spin, #25, I got # 14: The Letter Killers Club – which was way over my head.

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HAVE YOU READ THIS BOOK?
WHAT DID YOU THINK?
IF YOU ARE MEMBER OF THE CLASSICS CLUB,
WHAT BOOK DID YOU GET FOR THIS SPIN?

MY FULL CLASSICS CLUB LIST IS HERE

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29 thoughts on “The Classics Club: what I got for The Classics Spin #26”

Wonderful, so happy you got this one! I am really regretting that I left behind my copy when I moved. I will probably end up buying another copy at some point.

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WordsAndPeace on April 21, 2021 at 11:22 am said:

I can’t imagine the hard choice to make when movie abroad! I didn’t own much when I did, so that made it easier for me

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Oh, this sounds like a fun one! I have a few of Barfield’s works but haven’t read them yet. I’ll be interested in your thoughts on this one.

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WordsAndPeace on April 21, 2021 at 11:21 am said:

Linguistics is fun, yes!

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I haven’t heard of the book or the author, but it sounds interesting. Languages and their development over time is such a fascinating subject. Hope you will enjoy it!

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WordsAndPeace on April 21, 2021 at 11:20 am said:

It should be a good one, yes. I’m totally fascinated by the topic

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I read Earthsea AGES ago.

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WordsAndPeace on April 21, 2021 at 11:18 am said:

Did you read the whole series?

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Looks like an interesting book. I got “The Master and Margarita” by Mikhail Bulgakov. I love Russian literature, so I’m very exceited.

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WordsAndPeace on April 21, 2021 at 11:10 am said:

woohoo, awesome! But be sure to read it in an edition with lots of notes explaining the deeper meaning, otherwise you will miss the real message. I suggest you read my page on it, because I included important links (by Matt, the guy who really knows a lot on this book) with the necessary references: https://wordsandpeace.com/2012/11/10/201257-review-the-master-and-margarita/

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Marianne Maurer on April 22, 2021 at 4:12 am said:

Well, I have a German translation with no annotations (which I bought when Russia was the partner country of our annual book far in Frankfurt) but I always read about he background online. And I have noted your page, so thank you very much for that.

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- WordsAndPeace on April 23, 2021 at 10:51 pm said:
  
  hmm, there are so many hidden references in each page though
  
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  - Marianne Maurer on April 24, 2021 at 5:06 am said:
    
    I have found some pages that tell me about that. Thanks for the hint.
    
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    - WordsAndPeace on April 24, 2021 at 10:15 pm said:
      
      Great!
      
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Linguistics is a field that has always interested me. Years ago, I took some classes in French, which were based on the books by Michel Thomas. He always started his chapters/ lectures with a brief history of how some of the English words were derived from French — I don’t know how, but it really helped to remember the rules after that! I hope this book turns out well!

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WordsAndPeace on April 21, 2021 at 10:52 am said:

Yes, the Michel Thomas method is cool. I use it with one of my students, it works well. It makes sense that if you know better the origin of a word or expression you would remember it better, because now you know it with its background

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It looks very interesting, you had a great pick ! I got Polyeucte, but I haven’t had time yet to even write a post about that (children, computer, cooking, washing, cleaning, argh !).

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