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Kylie

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Posts posted by Kylie

    Jane Austen Book Group - Pride and Prejudice

    in 2008 Jane Austen Book Group

    Posted

    Pride and Prejudice is my favourite Jane Austen (so far). It is, as you said Gyre, very funny. I'm usually pretty patient when reading novels, but with P&P I found myself skipping ahead to read all the Darcy/Elizabeth parts because I just couldn't wait to find out what happened, and what dialogue occurred between them.

     

    I wish I could re-read it again this month but I have a lot of other books on my plate at the moment. I'll just have to relive it again through all of you! :blush:

    Dystopia

    in Horror / Fantasy / SF

    Posted

    We recently had a discussion on dystopian titles which can be found here. There's also a good list on Wikipedia, although some of the inclusions are debateable.

     

    In addition to the other recommendations, I would highly recommend Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess and Animal Farm by George Orwell.

    Kylie's Literary Adventures in 2008

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    I bought the following books today. There's a bookshop near my train station that sells new books very cheaply. It's a very addictive shop - every time I go in there lately I've come out with at least half a dozen books :blush:

     

    John Banville: The Sea

    Alex Garland: The Beach

    Henry James: What Maisie Knew

    John Steinbeck: The Red Pony

    Evelyn Waugh: Brideshead Revisited

    Thornton Wilder: The Bridge of San Luis Rey

     

    Unfortunately none of these books were on my mile-long wish list, but they've been in the back of mind for a while so it doesn't matter. :cry2: I've also added a few more books to my wish list.

     

    Kyril Bonfiglioli: The Mortdecai Trilogy

    Aldous Huxley: Brave New World Revisited

    Dorothy Parker: The Portable Dorothy Parker

    David Sedaris: Naked

    Kylie's Literary Adventures in 2008

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    Jane Eyre

    Charlotte Bronte

     

    Rating: 10/10

     

    Published: 1847

    Number of pages: 592

     

    Summary (taken from blurb):

    Jane comes from nothing but is hungry for everything that life can offer her. She manages to survive her tragic childhood through sheer spirit and strength of character. And when she finds work as a governess in a mysterious mansion, it seems she has finally met her match in the darkly fascinating Mr Rochester.

     

    But Thornfield Hall contains a shameful secret - one that could keep Jane and Rochester apart for ever. Can she choose between what is right, and her one chance of happiness?

     

    Comments:

    I had been looking forward to reading Jane Eyre for quite a long time, and I wasn't disappointed. It's a beautifully written novel with great characterisation. I loved all of the chapters regarding Jane's early childhood. I thought it did a great job of setting up her personality and background.

     

    I loved the character of Jane and could identify with her quite a bit, which isn't something that happens to me very often. She's smart, headstrong and passionate, and her dialogue with Mr Rochester, in particular, makes for some enjoyable reading. I started getting a little bored when she went on her excursion to Morton, but once it got back on track at the end it was truly wonderful.

     

    I'm fairly certain I saw a movie version of this many years ago at school but fortunately I didn't remember a thing about it. So as far as I was concerned I knew nothing of the story. I would love to see those closing scenes being played out, and I'd really like to track down the Orson Welles version of the film, seeing as he's one of my favourite actors.

     

     

    Started: 28 February 2008

    Finished: 10 March 2008

    What was for lunch?

    in Food, Cooking & Recipes

    Posted

    I went on a course for work yesterday and we had lunch provided for us: grilled perch with a lemon and butter sauce, vegetable mornay, cous cous, various salads and apple strudel with ice cream for dessert. I passed on the strudel but had a lamington for afternoon tea. It had an unusually thick chocolate base which made it even nicer. Yum! And a pistachio and cherry cookie for morning tea.

    Rennie's Books 2008

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    I loved A Short History of Nearly Everything. I thought it was absolutely fascinating. I got lost in some parts later on in the book (I think with the different sciences), but overall I found it very entertaining. Obviously he put a lot of effort and research into it!

     

    I've been looking forward to reading The Virgin Suicides because of the great reviews I read, but maybe I should lower my expectations a bit before I start it. :blush:

    Short stories!

    in Poetry, Plays & Short Stories

    Posted

    Last year I read an excellent book of short stories by Ray Bradbury, called The Small Assassin. It's a collection of 13 horror stories - not usually my thing but he's an excellent writer.

     

    If you like sci-fi I can highly recommend anything by Arthur C Clarke. I have a huge book of his collected short stories and I absolutely love every single story. It's a daunting read at almost 1000 pages of small print, but it's well worth it. :blush:

    Neil Gaiman - American Gods (Author's Preferred Text)

    in Horror / Fantasy / SF

    Posted

    This book was chosen for the reading circle a couple of years back. The discussion can be found here. There's also this additional thread that may be of interest.

     

    We also have threads on a couple of other Neil Gaiman books: Neverwhere (from February's reading circle) and Anansi Boys. These might give you more of an idea of what his books are like.

     

    I hope these threads help! I read my first Neil Gaiman recently (Neverwhere) and I'm planning on reading more of his work. In fact, I'm thinking of picking up American Gods myself.

     

    And...you're in luck because I've just remembered that HarperCollins were going to make the full text of American Gods available online. You needn't pay any money at all! It's available on the HarperCollins website for the duration of March.

     

    Welcome to the forum, by the way! :blush:

    Diary books

    in Children's / Young Adult

    Posted

    I have a book called These is My Words by Nancy Turner.

     

    From Publisher's Weekly (courtesy of amazon):

     

    Based on the real-life exploits of the author's great-grandmother, this fictionalized diary vividly details one woman's struggles with life and love in frontier Arizona at the end of the last century [1800s].

     

    Fragmented and disjointed in its early chapters, with poor spelling and grammar, Sarah's journal gradually gains in clarity and eloquence as she matures. While this device may frustrate some readers at first, Taylor's deft progression produces the intended reward: she not only tells of her heroine's growth, but she shows it through Sarah's writing and insights. The result is a compelling portrait of an enduring love, the rough old West and a memorable pioneer.

     

    A highly recommended read if you can get your hands on it.

    Kylie's Literary Adventures in 2008

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    I read 4 books last month, 3 down on January's total, but much more normal for me :lol:

     

    With regards to my various challenges, my running total stands at:

     

    CL: Classics Challenge (6/25)

    1K: 1001 Books Challenge (4/20)

    RD: Reading through the Decades Challenge (9/11)

    BF: Book Club Forum Reading Circle Challenge (3/10)

    YA: Young Adults Challenge (2/10)

    SF: Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge (4/8)

    AU: Australian Literature Challenge (1/6)

    DY: Dystopian Challenge (3/5)

    BB: Banned Books Challenge (2/5)

     

    I read books from all challenges except the Australian Literature Challenge. I'll try to rectify that during March.

     

    Unfortunately my good behaviour in January (buying only 6 books) didn't carry through to February, during which I acquired 22 new books.

     

    I'm currently reading Jane Eyre and loving it. I feel another 10/10 coming on! I'll probably follow it up with The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde.

    Kylie's Literary Adventures in 2008

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    Animal Farm

    George Orwell

     

    Rating: 10/10

     

    Published: 1945

    Number of pages: 120

     

    Summary (taken from blurb):

    First published in 1945, Animal Farm has become the classic political fable of the twentieth century. Adding his own brand of poignancy and wit, George Orwell tells the story of a revolution among animals of a farm, and how idealism was betrayed by power, corruption and lies.

     

    Comments:

    This is probably the most technically brilliant novel I have ever read. It's not exactly a page-turner, but it is perfection (or as near it as you're going to get). The story is neither too long nor too short; there is not a single superfluous sentence in the entire novel.

     

    Animal Farm is a political satire of Soviet socialism - the Rebellion of the farm animals against the humans represents (as far as I can understand it) the revolution of the Bolsheviks against the Russian government. The human owners are driven off the farm and the animals finally have their freedom. They determine to create a society in which all animals are equal and must work together in order to survive, but, of course, things start to fall apart and we learn that some animals are more equal than others. This story works on so many levels and really does a wonderful job in exploring the concepts of power and corruption. Very highly recommended.

     

     

    Started: 26 February 2008

    Finished: 27 February 2008

    Kylie's Literary Adventures in 2008

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    Neverwhere

    Neil Gaiman

     

    Rating: 8/10

     

    Published: 1999

    Number of pages: 372

     

    Summary (taken from blurb):

    Under the streets of London there's a place most people could never even dream of. A city of monsters and saints, murderers and angels, knights in armour and pale girls in black velvet. This is the city of the people who have fallen between the cracks.

     

    Richard Mayhew, a young businessman, is going to find out more than enough about this other London. A single act of kindness catapults him out of his workday existence and into a world that is at once eerily familiar and utterly bizarre. And a strange destiny awaits him down here, beneath his native city: neverwhere.

     

    Comments:

    A very light and enjoyable read, full of vivid and unique characters. The world underneath London is nicely portrayed and bears striking similarities to London Above. It loses points for the way in which Gaiman describes the characters in the exact same way time after time (for example, Door's eyes). For the life of me I cannot think of anything else to write, except to repeat that it was very enjoyable, and that I'll be seeking out more Neil Gaiman in the future.

     

     

    Started: 20 February 2008

    Finished: 25 February 2008

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