Karen.d's Reading List 2018

[karen.d]

Review: 'The Night Circus' by Erin Morgenstern

 

This is my first read in 2018 (I'm not counting 'The Wolves of the Calla' by Stephen King as my first read of the year, as I began this in 2017) and it was a great way to start off the new reading year.

 

Erin Morgenstein's writing got my attention, from the very first paragraph:

 

'The Circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.'

 

This sense of mystery and intrigue is the thing I liked the most about 'The Night Circus', along with the vivid and beautiful descriptions throughout the book.

I'm not usually the type of reader who enjoys a lot of descriptive prose, but the way in which Morgenstein describes the circus and its inhabitants was sensual, magical and totally swept me away with the story.

 

I'm also not a fan of romance in novels. Most of the romantic writing I have ever read, has either been slushy, boarding on nauseating, or devoid of any chemistry whatsoever. However, the romantic elements within this novel were passionate and believeable.

 

The characters within this novel were believable too, even though most of them were rather quirky. The atmosphere within this novel reminds me of those mysterious classics such as 'Around the World in 80 days' or 'The Invisible Man', not so much in the way of plot, but in essence. There is a old fashioned quality to 'The Night Circus' which I thought was endearing and also, a refreshing change from more modern stories.

 

The only observation I could make about this novel, is that I felt that the conclusion to the novel was slightly rushed. Although, maybe I felt this because I didn't want to 'The Night Circus' to end.

 

If you enjoy a story with magic, beautiful description and a plot which unfolds slowly, then this is the novel for you.

I already can't wait to re-read 'The Night Circus'.

 

My Rating: *****

[Athena]

Wow, such a positive review! I'm glad you liked the book . I plan to read the book some day, though I think it is the sort of read for which I'll have to be in the right mood to fully enjoy it.

[karen.d]

On 1/11/2018 at 11:22 AM, Athena said:

Wow, such a positive review! I'm glad you liked the book . I plan to read the book some day, though I think it is the sort of read for which I'll have to be in the right mood to fully enjoy it.

Thanks! Yes, i loved it.

[karen.d]

So this has been the first ‘proper’ week of 2018 in which I mean, that everything has gone back to normal after the Christmas holidays. It has been nice to get back to normal and here are the things that have happened:

Reads

I’m currently on page 79 of ‘Jane Eyre’ and I am not progressing with it as quickly as I would have liked. The reason for this, is partly because I’m not sure about how I feel about the characters. However, I’m slowly getting into this novel.

As I’m taking part in the 'Round Robin Year Long Challenge' , this year I want to focus on reading the books I already have, rather than buying new books. However, as I was given ‘How to Stop Time’by Matt Haig as a late Christmas present, so I don’t consider it to be cheating. I read his book ‘The Radleys’ a year or two ago and really enjoyed it. So I’m looking forward to reading ‘How to Stop Time’.

Film

This week, I went to the cinema to watch ‘The Greatest Showman’ and I absolutely loved it. 

Programme

 

I have yet to watch the second episode of ‘Hard Sun’ which aired last night, but I like the premise of this programme. It’s a detective series, with a science fiction twist. It basically plays around with the scenario of what people would do, if the existence of the human race, was under threat. At times this is quite gory and a bit violent, but I enjoyed watching the first episode. I’m looking forward to watching the second episode, later.

Life

I’ve joined Instagram! Actually, I had forgotten that I had already hadan Instagram account but I abandoned it, because I had no idea how to use it.

However, I would like to figure it out a bit and have challenged myself to take a photo everyday, for the entire year. This isn’t for anyone but myself, I think it would be good to look back on the different photos I have taken, at the end of the year. I’m not sure whether I will make my Instagram account private, or open it up for people to follow me. For now, I’ll focus on trying to figure out how to use it!

What have you been up to this week?

[karen.d]

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I've been without internet for a over a week (the only access i've had it on my phone and that it's good enough for doing a lot of browsing, especially on the forum!). You don't realise how much you use the internet, until you don't have it.

 

Anyway, what's everyone reading? I'm really struggling with 'Jane Eyre', did anyone feel the same when they read it?

[ian]

2 hours ago, karen.d said:

 

Anyway, what's everyone reading? I'm really struggling with 'Jane Eyre', did anyone feel the same when they read it?

 

Jane Eyre was one of the first "classics" I ever read. To be honest, I surprised myself as I expected to struggle with it, but actually devoured it in great chunks!

I do understand though - it is very wordy when you compare it with modern fiction, a bit like Dickens. I suspect you need to be in the right frame of mind for books like this.

Hope it gets easier for you.

[poppyshake]

Happy Reading in 2018 Karen, hope you're feeling better  

[karen.d]

3 minutes ago, poppyshake said:

Happy Reading in 2018 Karen, hope you're feeling better  

Thank you!

[karen.d]

1 hour ago, ian said:

 

Jane Eyre was one of the first "classics" I ever read. To be honest, I surprised myself as I expected to struggle with it, but actually devoured it in great chunks!

I do understand though - it is very wordy when you compare it with modern fiction, a bit like Dickens. I suspect you need to be in the right frame of mind for books like this.

Hope it gets easier for you.

I've read this before and enjoyed it, but the 2nd time around I find all of the characters really odd, particularly Mr Rochester. I've made it to 150 pages and just starting to get into it.

[Madeleine]

I re-read it about 18 months ago (3rd or 4th read) and also found parts of it a bit of a struggle, not so much the characters (although I hadn't realised just how awful St John Rivers was!) but found it very wordy.  Conversely I read Mrs Gaskell's North and South a couple of years ago for the first time and whizzed through it, didn't find it a struggle at all.  I don't remember JE being so wordy though.

[karen.d]

2 hours ago, Madeleine said:

I re-read it about 18 months ago (3rd or 4th read) and also found parts of it a bit of a struggle, not so much the characters (although I hadn't realised just how awful St John Rivers was!) but found it very wordy.  Conversely I read Mrs Gaskell's North and South a couple of years ago for the first time and whizzed through it, didn't find it a struggle at all.  I don't remember JE being so wordy though.

That's another problem I'm having with this novel. Description don't get to the pointy and you're right, it's a bit too wordy for my liking.

[Athena]

21 hours ago, karen.d said:

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I've been without internet for a over a week (the only access i've had it on my phone and that it's good enough for doing a lot of browsing, especially on the forum!). You don't realise how much you use the internet, until you don't have it.

 

Anyway, what's everyone reading? I'm really struggling with 'Jane Eyre', did anyone feel the same when they read it?

 

I'm sorry you haven't had an internet connection for over a week . I'm glad it's back now!

 

I don't remember struggling with Jane Eyre when I read it, but if I were to re-read I do think I'd struggle with it and find it wordy (because my reading tastes have changed since I first read it). I hope it gets better for you soon!

[karen.d]

2 hours ago, Athena said:

 

I'm sorry you haven't had an internet connection for over a week . I'm glad it's back now!

 

I don't remember struggling with Jane Eyre when I read it, but if I were to re-read I do think I'd struggle with it and find it wordy (because my reading tastes have changed since I first read it). I hope it gets better for you soon!

Thank you! Actually I've got to over 150 pages and I'm starting to get into the book a bit.

Spoiler

I don't particularly like Jane Eyre OR Mr Rochester, but I think they suit each other because of that.

Spoiler

 

 

[Athena]

I'm glad you're getting into the book a bit more. I wish you a fun weekend Karen !

[Little Pixie]

Happy Reading in 2018, Karen !

 

 

[karen.d]

On 1/26/2018 at 2:36 PM, Athena said:

I'm glad you're getting into the book a bit more. I wish you a fun weekend Karen !

Thank you! You too

[karen.d]

11 hours ago, Little Pixie said:

Happy Reading in 2018, Karen !

 

 

Thank you, the same to you too! 

[karen.d]

I have the internet back! I’m really glad it’s back on, you don’t realise how much you use the internet, until you don’t have it.

 

So this week I celebrated my birthday and on the day, I felt a bit under the weather, but I had a good day nonetheless. I didn’t go out on the night itself, I went out to an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet the Saturday before, so it was a chilled day.

I’m very excited, because for my birthday, I received a voucher from Amazon and I spent it on the following books:

 

'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Attwood.

 

The ‘Blurb’:

‘The Republic of Gilead offers Offred only one function: to breed. If she deviates, she will, like dissenters, be hanged at the wall or sent out to die slowly of radiation sickness. But even a repressive state cannot obliterate desire – neither Offred’s nor that of the two men on which her future hangs. 

Brilliantly conceived and executed, this powerful vision of the future gives full rein to Margaret Atwood’s irony, wit and astute perception.’

I absolutely loved the first series of the TV adaptation of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ (I can’t wait for the second series in April!)  and want to see how it differs from the book.

 

'Three things about Elsie' by Joanna Cannon

 

The ‘Blurb’:

There are three things you should know about Elsie.
The first thing is that she’s my best friend.
The second is that she always knows what to say to make me feel better.
And the third thing… might take a little bit more explaining.

84-year-old Florence has fallen in her flat at Cherry Tree Home for the Elderly. As she waits to be rescued, Florence wonders if a terrible secret from her past is about to come to light; and, if the charming new resident is who he claims to be, why does he look exactly like a man who died sixty years ago?

From the author of THE TROUBLE WITH GOATS AND SHEEP, this book will teach you many things, but here are three of them:
1) The fine threads of humanity will connect us all forever.
2) There is so very much more to anyone than the worst thing they have ever done.
3) Even the smallest life can leave the loudest echo.

 

I’ve heard Simon from ‘Savidge Reads’ rave about ‘Three Things about Elsie’ on his YouTube channel, plus many other vloggers on BookTube and it seems like an interesting read.

 

'Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children' by Ranson Riggs

 

The ‘Blurb’:

 

‘A mysterious island. 
 
An abandoned orphanage. 
 
A strange collection of very curious photographs. 
 
It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow impossible though it seems they may still be alive. A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.’

 

I saw Tim Burton’s film adaptation of this novel a year or two ago and loved it. I picked up ‘Hollow City’, the second book in the series, thinking that as I had seen the film of the first novel, I would probably understand what was going on. However, I then decided to pick up the first novel, for my birthday.

All of these books will be arriving next week, but I don’t know when I will get around to reading any of them because I’m currently about 166 pages into ‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Bronte. In my last 'Weekly Update' , I said that I was really struggling with this novel. I am still struggling, but I think I’m finally starting to get into this book. I don’t particularly like any of the main characters, but I think that they compliment each other well. I do like the mysterious element to this novel though.

 

I’ll be back next Sunday with the first ‘Weekly Update’ of February. Where has the time gone?

 

[Athena]

Happy (belated) birthday!! I hope you enjoy your new books !!

[Nollaig]

Belated happy birthday! I really enjoyed Miss Peregrine. Haven't seen the film - they changed a couple of core features, like one of the character's abilities, and that put me off a little. The book is worth it for the photographs, too.

 

Chinese all-you-can-eat sounds great - I've only been to one, in Hamburg, and it was absolutely dire! We don't have much in the way of buffets like that where I live, and I LOVE food, so I was so excited to try it. Everything was dry and lukewarm, tasted like it had been sitting there all day. Hopefully someday I'll get to go to a good one!

[karen.d]

4 hours ago, Athena said:

Happy (belated) birthday!! I hope you enjoy your new books !!

Thank you!

[karen.d]

1 hour ago, Nollaig said:

Belated happy birthday! I really enjoyed Miss Peregrine. Haven't seen the film - they changed a couple of core features, like one of the character's abilities, and that put me off a little. The book is worth it for the photographs, too.

 

Chinese all-you-can-eat sounds great - I've only been to one, in Hamburg, and it was absolutely dire! We don't have much in the way of buffets like that where I live, and I LOVE food, so I was so excited to try it. Everything was dry and lukewarm, tasted like it had been sitting there all day. Hopefully someday I'll get to go to a good one!

I saw the film and loved it, so I thought I would give the books a go.

I love the chinese buffet here, I can have as much sushi, prawn crackers and duck pancakes as I like! Oh also they have a chocolate fountain, messy but yum.

[karen.d]

Review: 'Wintertide' by Cyan Jones (Audiobook)

 

Aired: BBC Radio 4 in 2017

 

The Blurb:

 

'With sound and music woven through it and written for this dark moment at the turn of the the year, Wintertide is a poetic meditation on the season, myth and waiting.'

 

My Thoughts:

 

I haven't read that many short stories, I mostly read novels.

However, a friend of mine recommended that I listen to 'Wintertide', a short story by Cyan Jones, last year's winner of the BBC National Short Story Prize.

Lasting only 30 minutes, the story of a mysterious wanderer is poetically told by Welsh actor Robert Pugh and from the beginning, grabbed my attention. Who was this lonely wanderer? What was the task they were to do later?

Combined with haunting singing and music, this story pulls your intrigue and vividly paints a picture of different bleak, winter scenes.

Throughout this story, I toyed with many different ideas of who this person was and actually, I did guess their identity. However, I thought the twist was very effective.

I'm glad that I listened to this story rather than read the print version, because I experienced the poetic flow of the story, better than simply looking at the words. Also Robert Pugh's deep, dramatic voice really added an extra layer of mystery to the story.

If you've never read a short story or enjoy a story with some mystery, then I would recommend listening to 'Wintertide'.

 

My Rating **** 1/2

 

 

 

Edited January 31, 2018 by karen.d

[karen.d]

Hi, does anyone know how I can add 'Wintertide' to my Good Reads reading challenge? It's a short story, so it should count towards my number of reads.

[Hayley]

44 minutes ago, karen.d said:

Hi, does anyone know how I can add 'Wintertide' to my Good Reads reading challenge? It's a short story, so it should count towards my number of reads.

 

I know you can add a book manually on goodreads, it comes up as an option if you type something into the search box that can't be found so maybe you'll have to do that?

 

I know what you mean about Jane Eyre, I was annoyed by a lot of the characters too but I thought the book got better as it went on. 

 

An all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet and buying new books sounds like an excellent birthday . Your books sound great too. I really liked The Handmaid's Tale but I haven't seen the series and I want to read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children too. 

 

And I know I'm a bit late but I also loved The Night Circus, I think that opening is one of the best I've read!