Kell
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Posts posted by Kell
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Ooh, I count four that I have on my own TBR list, one I’ve read already and another one I’ve requested from RISI. There are also one or two others that I think look interesting, so I’ll be anxiously awaiting your comments to see if they look like something I’d fancy picking up myself…
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Ooh, I'll be reading We Need to Talk About Kevin next (it's the Posh Club book for this month) & have been looking forward to it anyway, but now I shall look forward to it even more, since you enjoyed it so much.
And on the idea of little updates as you read - I LOVE to hear what people think of bokos as they read them!
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The claustrophobia and pettiness are the very things that I find so maddening and dull – LOL! With the focus so squarely on the comings and goings of a very few people in a small village (all of whom seem to spend all their time indoors if they can possibly help it!), there’s nothing of excitement for me. Even the impending ball (about which there was so much chatter and excitement for the characters), or the arrival of Frank Churchill, or the marriage of Mr Elton, have seemed small and lacklustre to me. They must lead very dull lives indeed if one letter, already months old, is providing all their entertainment for so long a period. I couldn’t have stood to live in such a stifling atmosphere! Not that I would have had much choice if I’d been a lady of class and money in that time.
I can appreciate that this (and Austen’s other works) are considered classics, as they are certainly very evocative of the Regency period, but nothing of consequence ever seems to happen and I’m feeling incredibly tired of some of the characters and their lives – I feel almost as thought I’m being worn down by them and I can’t relate to them at all – the women are far too twittery for my liking.
Still, I feel I’m on the home stretch now that I’m onto Volume 3. I’m in it for the long haul and will finish this if it’s the last thing I do.
Then I’ll be moving onto something that looks a little more suited to my tastes – something a bit more gripping…
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Thoughts on Emma by Jane Austen:
I've just finished Part 2 of Emma and as much as I can appreciate it, I can't say I'm actively enjoying it. I find too many of the characters thoroughly annoying in a million little ways and just can't see the attraction towards any of them as people. I know for a fact that if I were stuck with Highbury Society as shown here, I'd shun the lot of them. Except, perhaps, Mr Knightley, as I still find I agree with him and feel he's not in it nearly enough for my liking.
I will however, persevere to the end now, as I've passed the halfway mark and am determined to finish it. I'm getting to grips a little more with the excessively formal style, but find it feels stilted when I'm reading it and, as a result, it feels like it's taking forever to plough through this.
I think that the main part of the problem is that I'm finding the lives of those in Regency Society very trivial. I'm more used to something a bit meatier in my historical choices, such as the Elizabethan or Tudor courts, or Roman legions in Britain, whereas all these polite exchanges and constant gossiping is starting to wear on my nerves a little.*
I think I may be tempted to start another book in the meantime, but then again, if I do that, I'll be with this one for even longer. Oh, what a dilemma! Unfortunately, Emma is not tempting me to read any more of Austen's novels, which is a shame, because I had intended to, but I don't think I could stand to wade through them now.
* I'm aware that this doesn't actually qualify as historical fiction, as it was written as a contemporary novel, but it feels like historical fiction to me, if rather more bland than my usual tastes.
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Excellent - I'll look forward to it.
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This sounds a bit interesting - perhaps one for me to try...
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That's excellent, MC - thanks for that!
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I was just extolling the virtues of this book to my colleagues yesterday & half of them have also resolved to et a copy for themselves. I'd pass round my own copy to everyone,but I already swapped it out - it was snapped up within 5 minutes of me posting it up at RISI!
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I posted a review on my blog about it after reading it last October, which you can find here: http://undermindbooks.blogspot.com/2005/10/digital-fortress-by-dan-brown.html
It gives an idea of what to expect but doesn't reveal any plot points, so I hope you'll find it useful.
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Fine with me.
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I've noticed a few moments of humour, ut none that have made me laugh out loud as such - it seems a very gentle, round-about style of humour (I'm more often than not attracted to very dark humour), but it has made me smile a few times so far. I'm a few chapters into Part 2 & plan on reading a few more in the bathtub tonight too...
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I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did, Mau. I did get hold of another Iles book (Dead Sleep) but I haven't yet got round to reading it...
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I actually preferred Digital Fortress to any of the others & think it would make a much better film than TDVC.
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I agree, Yin/Yang - they were an easy & enjoyable read, but more of the same in each case. There hasn't been anything new promised either (as far as I'm aware) & I wonder if he's decided to stop at those 4?
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I've never read them, but my mam has & she pronounces it "Awell". So that's several different pronunciations now - LOL!
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Have you seen the film, starring in John Cusack?It basically IS a record collection as far as I can tell (I've never read the book, but enjoyed the movie - LOL!).
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Got sent another couple of books from CBUK & picked up another by a foreign author yesterday to further my Olympic Challenge list:
1. Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe (CBUK)
Jas thinks that everyone has a super power. Everyone, that is, except herself - unless you count her extraordinary ability to get herself in trouble. But the last thing Jas expected to do on her family holiday in glitzy Las Vegas was to survive a cat attack and solve a celebrity murder mystery. As she finds herself tracking an unknown killer through a bevy of Vegas parties, Jas develops a huge crush on the possibly evil - but gorgeous - Jack, and manages to collect some valuable life lessons for her "Summer Meaningful Reflection Journal" along the way. Little Life Lesson Number 5: when you go to prison, try not to be wearing a bikini. But despite a few 'mishaps', Jas finally solves the case. And to top it all off, Jack isn't evil, and has a bit of a crush on Jas too. Perhaps she does have some super powers after all...
2. The Rainbow Bridge by Aubrey Flegg (CBUK) (Olympic Challenge - Ireland)
Over a century has elapsed since Louise sat for her portrait. The painting has passed from person to person, unsigned and unvalued. Then, in 1792, as Revolution sweeps through France, Gaston Morteau, a lieutenant in the Hussars, rescues the canvas from a canal in Holland. Louise becomes a very real presence in Gaston's life, sharing his experiences - the trauma of war, his meeting with Napoleon. When events force Gaston to give up the painting to the sinister Count du Bois, Louise becomes embroiled in a tale of political intrigue and Gothic horror. In the ashes of the Delft explosion, Louise made a choice for life. Now she has to face the realities of love, loss and pain that this life brings.
3. Lovely Green Eyes by Arnost Lustig (Olympic Challenge - Czech Republic)
Fifteen-year-old Hanka Kaudersova has ginger hair and clear, green eyes. When her family is deported to Auschwitz, her mother, father and younger brother are sent to the gas chamber. By a twist of fate, Hanka is faced with a simple alternative: follow her family, or work in an SS brothel behind the eastern front. She chooses to live, her Aryan looks allowing her to disguise the fact that she is Jewish. As the German army retreats from the Russian front, Hanka battles cold, hunger, fear and shame, sustained by her hatred for the men she entertains, her friendship with the mysterious Estelle, and her fierce, burning desire for life.
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There are jokes???? LOL!
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Jo - Have a look here for an excellent guide on where to start for the various sets: http://www.addictedtodiscworld.com/ReadingGuide.html
Yin/Yang - welcome to the forum! Always nice to have another Pratchett fan here.
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I was a late-comer to Potter-mania & only picked them up in the last third of last year, but I really enjoyed them. Am now desperate for the final installment to come out & can hardly wait for the 5th film!
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Voldemort seems to me to be one of those characters that's a constant presence in the background that's so strong that he's a main-type character, even when he's not there...
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Ooh, enjoy your visit, Wabbit - & do tell us all about it when you get back!
I've just finished Part 1 of Emma & I'm getting more used to the style of writing now & can very much say I agree with Mr Knightley's way of thinking 99% of the time. I sometimes find Miss Bates' prattling annoying, but I get the feeling that's exactly how I'm supposed to feel about that.
I do feel that Austen very much guiding me in my way of thinking about the characters & situations - usually I would feel very much outside of what's happening in this kind of story; as if I were an observer looking in, but I feel like I'm seeing it all through Austen's eyes & she's decided specifically how she feels about each character & has made the effort to make sure I feel exactly the same way about them as she does. It's fascinating, really!
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Thank you, Sugar. I hope you'll enjoy it - I thought it much better than Memoirs of a Geisha (although I really enjoyed that too) - this felt much more "real" (well, it IS real - LOL!) & honest, & I really felt more drawn into Geisha culture reading this - it really intrigued me.
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I was just about to ask the same question - LOL!
Emma by Jane Austen
in Previous Reading Circle Books
Posted
Michelle – yes, I think if there were more things happening and I felt I could relate to the characters a little more, I’d enjoy it better. I think this was just perhaps the wrong choice for me. I’ve read a very few other classics, but I’ve gravitated towards the likes of Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley and their ilk (dark, brooding, gothic, horrific, sensual works), as well as Alexandre Dumas (action-packed and with some humour thrown in, although often dealing with rather traumatic events). After those others mentioned, this just seems so pale and wan by comparison. The characters seem insipid, whereas in the others they’re more boisterous and/or colourful, and seem far richer than the inhabitants of Austen’s delicate world. L
I’ll still be trying more classics though. I quite fancy trying some Victor Hugo…
Linda – I agree about the conversations. They’re the one area that seem to bring things to life a little, but the constant stream that often flows from between the lips of Miss Bates makes my eyes tired and I find I have to force myself not to skip ahead in case I miss some major plot point.