bree
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Posts posted by bree
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Done with the Secret Garden.
It was a pleasure reading it - such a simple story - and so beautifully told.
I loved the characters in it - all of them - they all just fit in - and made it whole and complete.
Lovely read. Will revisit again for sure.
And after reading rave reviews from non-sci-fi readers here, about Jules Verne (Janet, you especially!) - I have picked up Journey to the Centre of the Earth.
Looking forward to becoming a convert too.
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Wow a brand new sparkling thread
I'm still wandering through the lovely Secret Garden...
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I love my books and my writers Bree but I have never felt strongly enough to loathe a book. that was my point.
I understand. I just think emotions are emotions. And if you can love a character/book, then being irritated or loathing another is just as natural.
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I have liked or disliked many books but I have never "loathed" a book or wanted to "slap" a character in a book. Novels are in the final analysis works of fiction. Try not to take them so seriously.
It's interesting that you think this way - but others (me included) obviously do not.
I take my fiction very seriously indeed. And don't think that needs to change.
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Completed Charlotte's Web. And filled with warmth, delight, the barn-yard smells, and a bit of wisdom.
And now onto The Secret Garden.
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"Where's Papa going with that axe?"
Charlotte's Web ~ EB White
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Completed Mister God, This Is Anna, yesterday.
I almost took a month with it!
But what a book. I'm still trying to find words to describe it.
Wow. Just wow.
(Thank you poppy for reminding me of it in your 30 day challenge)
Started with Charlotte's Web an hour ago. Looking forward to enjoying this one.
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Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron? Brilliant! not read the book though - although I might, now that you have piqued my interest
Yes! Something's gotta give
You should read the book - it's by Jean Webster - it written as a series of letters - and has the most charming sketches peppered through out.
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Masala chai - ginger, cardamom, black pepper, brewed with tea leaves and milk.
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It happened to me with Ayn Rand.
And now with Mr God This is Anna.
Some new ideas take time to chew on and get inside.
But I like going slow with books like these - makes you almost stop and breathe. Deeply.
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I've resumed back to my daily hour of yoga - and feel good about it.
But I also have such a craving for all things sweet, which will be my undoing
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And watched In Burges last night.
Christian metaphors, crime, punishment & the consequences, brilliant acting, and the picturesque Burges.
Not a film I'd pick instinctively to watch, but it made me stay up till late thinking about it.
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Watched Daddy-Long-Legs (1955).
The book is an all-time favourite of mine and was curious to watch the film.
It is musical, and takes many detours from the book - but is still charming.
It's best to treat it as a film by itself - as I'm not sure anything can match up to the magic of the book.
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To Sir With Love, Uncle Tom's Cabin, To Kill A Mocking Bird, Roots is what immediately springs to mind.
Along with books dealing with racism, I think reading about stories set in different nations/cultures would also help in appreciating our differences.
Swami and His Friends - is set in India, and is a delightful read along the lines of Tom Sawyer.
A Long Way Gone - is a first-hand narrative of a boy-soldier from Sierra Leone
Children/young adults have very intense minds - but the good thing is they are also capable of startling changes - as you've rightly realised.
Good for you for wanting to influence them positively.
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Thank you for the review - sounds like a book I should look up.
Have you read Gandhi's autobiography : My Experiments With Truth?
It is inspiring on so many different levels.
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Never fails to work its magic on me
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Great idea for a challenge, most of those books I've either read, got on my shelf or want to read! I'm quite tempted to give it a go myself!
Ok, so looking back on it I have only read one, but there are several that I already own
You should join Laura - your TBR pile says so!
A great idea for a challenge! I've only read five of them...
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Animal Farm by George Orwell
I already have three challenges on the go (one nearly finished) and another one in mind, so I don’t think I’ll attempt this one, but I shall watch your progress with interest and look forward to seeing what you think of each book. Good luck.
Thanks Janet. You are a sort of godmother for this challenge - as it was from your Roald Dahl challenge that it all began.
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Watched the third Bourne film last night - Bourne Ultimatum.
I appreciate how gripping they've managed to keep each one - none of the sloppiness that sequels usually suffer from.
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I personally,just don't have anything to do except school(easy) and taekwondo(fun but time consuming) so I have all the time to read that I want and I even read at school every second I get.
Ah the luxury of being young...
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I'd "third" what Ruth and Janet say, bree. I wouldn't look at Wells as "sci-fi" (at least, not in the popularly understood sense of "books for blokes who don't have a girlfriend"). His work is classic literature, to me, and well worth a read for anyone who enjoys outstanding writing.
(and I was only joking about the girlfriends, before anyone starts .... I know it's a misconception)
I must confess to a chuckle!I've just finished The War of the Worlds - I *really* enjoyed it!
I'm sold.
(I've nothing against sci-fi - I've just felt that I maybe a bit too thick to "get" it)
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Oooo this sounds really interesting!!
I've read:
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The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
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Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
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Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
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Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
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Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
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Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
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The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells
Wow 7 out 19. I'm impressed by your Matilda Quotient
No seriously, that's cool! Do join in!
Cool challenge
I have read four of those and really enjoyed them so that has got me thinking I might enjoy some of the others too although I did give up in Jane Eyre
I did Jane Eyre at school, with a lovely teacher - so I do like it.
But I always fear that left to read them by my self, the classics would go straight over my head, or make me fall asleep.
It's time to find out!
And do join in!
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The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
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If it helps...I'm not really into sci-fi either, but I really really really really enjoyed The Time Machine, by H G Wells.
Thank you Ruth. That is pretty much what Janet said too - so that's two of you now!
Will look out for it (and hope to parrot what you said after I read it)
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Roald Dahl's Matilda was the last book I read - and I found myself intrigued by the books the child-wonder had read.
From this link:
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The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett ✔
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Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
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Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
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Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens ✔
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Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë ✔
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Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen ✔
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Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
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Gone to Earth by Mary Webb
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Kim by Rudyard Kipling ✔
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The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells
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The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
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The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
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The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
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The Good Companions by J. B. Priestley
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Brighton Rock by Graham Greene
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Animal Farm by George Orwell ✔
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Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
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Ivanhoe by Walter Scott
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The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
I've read only Oliver Twist, Jane Eyre and Animal Farm - so sixteen more to go!
If you're a bit silly like me, and think this could be fun - do join in!
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The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett ✔
The Matilda Wormwood Challenge
in Reading Challenges
Posted
Done with The Secret Garden.
In theme, I thought it very similar to Heidi - nature helping to heal and blossom - an invalid recovering - fresh air and play being more important for children than anything else...
It was very interesting how Mary's character is described - unlike the happy child you'd expect to bring sunshine into others' lives - she herself is a sour-faced, selfish thing.
And yet - how beautiful she grows and helps grow.
I of course loved Dickon and all his wondrous animals, and his ways with them.
And descriptions of the garden itself, and of Spring - magical.
This was written almost a hundred years ago, and quite a few references to India(which was then under the British) are there.
References to the subservient attitude of the Indian servants of that period, as opposed to the more self-respecting attitude of their English counterparts were disturbing, and unfortunately true.
The bits about Indian snake-charmers, and Indian Magic made me chuckle - as they typical clichés in Western writing.
(I just pointed out these bits, as being an Indian, they stuck out to me.)
All in all a 5-star book - and one that I will re-read again for sure.
That's four down - fifteen to go in this challenge!