In Northanger Abbey we meet Catherine, an optimistic young girl who likes novels. She goes with her parent’s friends to Bath where she makes new acquaintances and meets Henry Tilney to whom she becomes attached. However Catherine is at once too naive in her friendships as well as a bit too imaginative. Stories are made up and they create stumble blocks for Catherine’s true happiness; marriage to Mr. Tilney. “There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have […]
So Much More Shade Than I Remembered (and I thought I remembered a decent amount)
This was a reread for me though it’s been more than a decade since my last read. Instead of going through the plot since I think most people are familiar with the bare bones of the plot, I’m just going to share a few random thoughts I had while listening to this novel. So doing Austen as an audio book is interesting. It was obvious when reading Persuasion that Anne Elliot was the only one with any common sense and that everyone around her was […]
Pratchett Did It Better
I haven’t read a Vonnegut since high school and thought it might be nice to revisit some of the “greats” this summer. I went into Cat’s Cradle cold, and while it was amusing at times and made some fine points, it was exactly what I expected a post-modern classic written by a man of his time to be….In a word: meh. Our narrator starts on a quest to write a book about the day the Atomic Bomb hit Hiroshima, but instead ends up finding religion with a […]
Summertiiiiiiiime and the living is drearyyyyyy (for women)
I am a fan of Edith Wharton. I enjoyed Age of Innocence, Ethan Frome, and House of Mirth. Her writing is straightforward and is a time capsule of the turn of the century. She paints stark and vivid stories centering on women and the ways that they are boxed in by the circumstances of the time. Though she often focuses on the tiresome lives of the wealthy, Summer follows Charity, an orphan of mountain people, who is living her life of few opportunities in a […]
Good news everyone! Oscar Wilde’s reputation is still well deserved!
I always feel weird reviewing classics. It’s like, what am I going to say about Oscar Wilde that hasn’t already been said? Surprise, surprise, Oscar Wilde’s work is still perfect. Surprise, surprise, Oscar Wilde was super witty and reading his work is a complete joy. Surprise, surprise, Wilde’s life ended in tragedy and I still wonder what other magnificent works we could have had from him if it hadn’t been for the awful societal prejudice of his time. Obviousness aside, I do really recommend the […]
Mind numbingly tedious
Being terrible for buying tons of books at a time, which then sit untouched on my physical and virtual shelves for years whilst I get distracted by newer, shinier books, I thought I’d start this year by trying to get through some of my backlog. I picked Lorna Doone – this was a HUGE mistake, nearly robbing me of my reading mojo just two books into the new year. John Ridd is a farmer in the village of Oare and leads a simple enough life. […]
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