This was a fun book to read and it just makes me feel good inside to read 'classics'. I will admit to skimming a little during the historical politicaThis was a fun book to read and it just makes me feel good inside to read 'classics'. I will admit to skimming a little during the historical political explanations that didn't seem to be super important to the plot. I just don't know a lot about French history and it all sort of went over my head. But I did enjoy the intrigue and the love story, and the characters. ...more
850 pages later. Yes, I am really glad I read it. I had never heard of this book, but luckily BBC did a 16 episode show of it, so it gave me a great b850 pages later. Yes, I am really glad I read it. I had never heard of this book, but luckily BBC did a 16 episode show of it, so it gave me a great burning desire to read it. I tried to read some Dickens when I was a much younger gal, and I really struggled through it. I finished The Old Curiosity Shop with a sense of darkness and weird characters, but really unclear about what had happened. I've had a little more practice since then, and have used the BBC shows as 'tutorials' of a sort. Through that, I have really come to enjoy Dickens. He is the master of showing and not telling when it comes to his characters. Just by a gesture, or an idiosyncrasy, the person comes to life. One woman was referred to throughout the text as, the bosom. Another kindly woman felt the need to translate Italian for a foreigner, though he spoke better English than she did, and she spoke no Italian. Another continually let out nasal blowing snorting noises in random moments. I just adore it. His satirical views of Society (it was capitalized and discussed in great detail in this book), riches and poverty, goodness and greed, come through loud and clear. Plot is never a MAIN focus in his books. Although things do happen and it's always an adventure. If you're in it for the story, you're gonna get bored. You just have to enjoy the journey. Savor the characters. Live the life.
I will admit to enjoying nearly every minute of the 850 pages of the book AND the 8-10 hours of the show.
Thank goodness for surgery, allowing so much leisure time! ...more
I only read the Dracula portion of this book so that's all I'm reviewing.
I liked it. It was good. If it had been written today, it DEFINITELY would haI only read the Dracula portion of this book so that's all I'm reviewing.
I liked it. It was good. If it had been written today, it DEFINITELY would have been a trilogy. So, I kept thinking we were coming to the end...and then a whole new segment would begin. And for that reason, it seemed too long to me. First I thought it was about going to his castle and how to escape. Then it was about the poor girl and what was going to happen to her. And THEN it was about catching the villain. All very separate stories.
But I really enjoyed it. Really. Except for, at times the Professor's speeches, in his made up-ish dialect got a little lengthy, verbose and dramatic for my liking.
In summary, I feel better having read the classic vampire book of all time. To really know the whole story sort of completes something in my mind somehow....more
I didn't know there were more Scarlet Pimpernel books! I grew up on the movie with Jane Seymour. This book is about his relative, (great grandfather mI didn't know there were more Scarlet Pimpernel books! I grew up on the movie with Jane Seymour. This book is about his relative, (great grandfather maybe) with the same name and the same ability to hide his true abilities until it's too late for the villain. It took me a few chapters to get into it, but once I did, it was some splendid times....more
I don't know why this book doesn't get as much attention as other 'Bronte' books, because I really liked it. The language was pretty flowery at times,I don't know why this book doesn't get as much attention as other 'Bronte' books, because I really liked it. The language was pretty flowery at times, but I was so immersed in it that I didn't notice until I'd try to share a favorite passage out loud. The story is one of enduring, love, and choosing Right. She goes through an awful ordeal, a horrible awful ordeal. But she bears it with grace and she stays true to herself and her beliefs throughout. I found it uplifting. ...more
Such an interesting style. I wasn't sure what kind of book this was until the end. Sort of a narrative on life as a governess, but then sort of a romaSuch an interesting style. I wasn't sure what kind of book this was until the end. Sort of a narrative on life as a governess, but then sort of a romance. I decided that really it's just a narrative of what it's like to be a woman. An account of the internal workings of her mind. And I think I would have really liked her. ...more
I wish people could still express themselves the way they do in the classics. After I got a few chapters in, I really couldn't put this book down, whiI wish people could still express themselves the way they do in the classics. After I got a few chapters in, I really couldn't put this book down, which is unusual for me, for the genre. The story is such a train wreck of emotion and life that that must be why it pulls the heartstrings of so many people. It is all so raw. I liked the author's choice to make it a story told by Armond after the fact, so he was remembering it exactly, but could see it all in a big picture view, the beginning, and what and how things were leading to the end. He wasn't stuck in the middle of the emotion somewhere. I loved that it wasn't simple and sweet, but love and jealousy and anger and fear and anguish are all balled up and spurted out. I read something that talked about how people were worried, at the time, that this would promote the "kept woman" way of life, or of men seeking after them. The narrator (and hence, the author) are very careful to explain that they don't believe this to be typical behavior but that was a very exceptional woman. I found that amusing and wish that if there must be 'bad', that the 'bad' of our day was as pretty and clean as the 'bad' of theirs....more
This Heyer book is less of a romance and more of a mystery/adventure. I didn't understand a fair bit of the roguish English slang ("any cove as 'ud trThis Heyer book is less of a romance and more of a mystery/adventure. I didn't understand a fair bit of the roguish English slang ("any cove as 'ud trust him an inch beyond the reach of his barker is no better than a bleater! He'll turn cat in pan on you!") but had a great time reading it!
It's a fun story with a little romance thrown in to boot. ...more
This was a good classic read. Sometimes, with classics, the language is just way too difficult and abstract and the story is not...capturing ...but I This was a good classic read. Sometimes, with classics, the language is just way too difficult and abstract and the story is not...capturing ...but I liked the story, I liked the descriptions of battle and the 'mystery' of the spy. There was a little romance, a little suspense. It was a great book....more
I finally finished it! Wahoo! And actually, it was much much much more enjoyable than I ever imagined it could be. I really love the way Tolstoy sees I finally finished it! Wahoo! And actually, it was much much much more enjoyable than I ever imagined it could be. I really love the way Tolstoy sees life lessons and bits of human nature in all the world around him. His analogies and comparisons, that often began a chapter, while very verbose, were also poignantly memorable. Particularly the one about the beehive without it's queen. That one really stuck with me. And it's fascinating how human nature remains so consistent through time. Though on a completely different continent, in a completely different era, his insights still rang true.
I really liked the way the characters stretched and grew and changed. You followed them for so long, you didn't just see them grow linearly, but more like the way a plant grows, with different branches sprouting off in different directions, changing, dying, and then new growth appearing elsewhere, but always reaching towards the sky.
My one hang-up was the last 20-30 pages. It seems like perhaps he ran out of story to go with his philosophy, so just decided to throw the rest in at the end anyway. I had to read it out loud to get through it (my husband insisted that I couldn't quit the 1450 page book, 20 pages from the end). But once I was reading it out loud, I was able to pick out the meaning and the points he was trying to make and did enjoy it somewhat. But perhaps, he needed a better editor :)
All in all, I surprise myself by saying, I do want to read it again someday. Next time I will get my own copy and read it with a pencil in hand to mark my favorite passages and insights into this strange thing we call life....more
OOOhhhh, spooky. Good ol' Wilkie Collins. A perfect spooky story for right before Halloween. Unlike his other books, it was very short. But like his oOOOhhhh, spooky. Good ol' Wilkie Collins. A perfect spooky story for right before Halloween. Unlike his other books, it was very short. But like his other books, you aren't quite sure what is going on until the end and even then, the conclusion isn't logical or mundane....more
I started this book quite a few months ago. I loved the simple poetry, seeing the eyes through a young boy living in a small rural town. But each cha I started this book quite a few months ago. I loved the simple poetry, seeing the eyes through a young boy living in a small rural town. But each chapter is so potent, like a sip of Dandelion Wine, so I chose to savor it a little at a time. Doug learns a lot of things that summer: about living, dying, loss, love, magic, history, and that things don't last forever. As he learns them, we can remember the ways we learned and keep relearning the lessons again and again. Two of my favorite chapters - the old man who loves the smell of fresh cut lawn so much, he gets so mad when they try to put in a 'better' kind that requires less mowing. It was still very cold and snowy when I read that and the imagery of summer was so powerful, I almost cried. Also, I love the chapter about the 'time machine'. The kids realize that their old friend can relate stories from way back in time, because he was there. They love to go visit him and listen as they are transported back in time. If there's anything our society is missing it's the relationships between those at the beginning of their lives and those nearing the end. ...more
I can't believe I loved an 800 page Dickens book, but I really did! I think it helped that the first thing I did was watch the 5 hour BBC movie, so I I can't believe I loved an 800 page Dickens book, but I really did! I think it helped that the first thing I did was watch the 5 hour BBC movie, so I knew better right up front what was going on. But it is a really great story, a couple of romances, a murder mystery and Dickens' classic commentary on social class, all rolled up in one....more
Someone described this book to me in the past and I remember thinking...hmmm...that sounds like a weird story. So, when I decided to pick it up, that Someone described this book to me in the past and I remember thinking...hmmm...that sounds like a weird story. So, when I decided to pick it up, that is what I was expecting. Well, that is what I got, but what I wasn't expecting and really enjoyed was the life wisdom, the perspective, the ideas on religion and God. Because of the way it's written it feels like a true story. After I was done reading I kept looking through trying to find some evidence that it really happened. I want it to be real. Is it?
My favorite quote from the book was, in sharing his feelings about agnostics: "To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation."
I really love the voice Wilkie Collins uses in his writing. It's so chipper and upbeat, and just makes you want to smile. This one was particularly fuI really love the voice Wilkie Collins uses in his writing. It's so chipper and upbeat, and just makes you want to smile. This one was particularly fun, as it was written from the perspective of the 'rogue', ie a young man with not a lot of direction who has disappointed his family and gets into lots of scrapes, and one big misadventure.
It made a lot of sense when I realized that it was originally written in segments for Charles Dickens's periodical.
My favorite part was the ending, when he confesses to being rich and fat, so his story is no longer interesting and he'll just end it now and spare you the boredom. Classic.
