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Karen.d's Reading List 2018


karen.d

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4 hours ago, Hayley said:

 

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 :D. 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! 

 

 I followed your instructions and have now managed to add 'Wintertide' to my book challenge, so thanks for your help!

 

I agree with you, 'The Night Circus' has a fantastic ending, the descriptions in this are brilliant anyway.

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I should have posted this update yesterday, but life got in the way and so it’s today.

 

The weather here has been very cold, snowy in some of the surrounding towns, so it has been perfect weather for staying in with a hot chocolate and a book.

 

I’m currently 368 pages into Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Bronte, so finally, the end seems in sight! The more I read of this book, the more I feel irritated by the book’s main character.

 

Whilst I admire Jane’s strong will, I find that she and several other characters within this novel are very contradictory. This is proving to be extremely frustrating. Humans by nature, can behave in a contradictory way, but I think that some of the things Jane thinks or acts upon are just silly.

 

In other bookish news, I’ve really enjoyed listening to podcasts and dramatizations of books on the BBC app, including 'Wintertide' a short story I reviewed the other day. I’m also on episode 5 of Brave New World’ by Aldous Huxley. So far, ‘Brave New World’ has been a bit weird, it reminds me of a twisted version of 1984’ by George Orwell, if that’s possible. I also think that Anton Lesser is doing a brilliant job of narrating this story.

 

Hopefully by the end of the week, I should have finished Jane Eyre’, so look out for a review of it on Thursday.

 

How has your reading week been? What books are you looking forward to reading this week?

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9 minutes ago, Madeleine said:

I'll be interested in your review of Jane Eyre!  Anton Lesser is great, such a good, versatile actor with a lovely voice, I imagine he'd be a very good narrator.

Who is Anton Lesser? I only know that he has a great voice for the audiobook!

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22 minutes ago, karen.d said:

Who is Anton Lesser? I only know that he has a great voice for the audiobook!

 

Funnily enough he popped up in an episode of Endeavour last night. He pops up in things now and again. He is a great narrator too. He was Hamlet in my audio version of that! I bet he'd be great reading Jane Eyre. It sounds like you're not enjoying it. I loved it when I read it when I was about 19. I wonder how I'd feel about it now (25 years on!)

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19 minutes ago, ~Andrea~ said:

 

Funnily enough he popped up in an episode of Endeavour last night. He pops up in things now and again. He is a great narrator too. He was Hamlet in my audio version of that! I bet he'd be great reading Jane Eyre. It sounds like you're not enjoying it. I loved it when I read it when I was about 19. I wonder how I'd feel about it now (25 years on!)

I read this at school and enjoyed it. Now, (many years on!) it's interesting to see how my opinions have changed.

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image.png.3ab9339fcb3f8183f6d386504d6e8ba4.png

 

 I don't need any more books, but when I saw the cover and title of this one, I had to have it!  Apparently this is a book of poetry, which normally isn't my sort of thing, but I've read Mark Haddon's book 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time' and loved it. So I'm sure I will enjoy this one. Has anyone read this?

 

I also bought 'Duma Key' by Stephen King, 'Just After Sunset' also by Stephen King and '44 Scotland Street' by Alexander McCall Smith (I have read this before). I don't feel bad about buying all of these books, as the money I spent on them, goes to charity!

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I've finally finished 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte!!! :exc:This took me about a month to finish and I found it an extremely challenging read. I feel pleased that I have finished it, I will write my review tomorrow, once I have collected my thoughts on it. Now, I'm going back to Stephen King, my favourite author. I'm about to start reading 'Salem's Lot', another one of my challenge on 'The Round Robin Year Long Challenge.'

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'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte

 

Publisher: Penguin Popular Classics

 

What the ‘Blurb’ says:

 

‘Orphaned into cold charity at the hands of her rich cousins and, later, at Lowood School, Jane escapes to take up a position as governess to the young ward of Mr Rochester. Their love affair, Jane’s discovery of Rochester’s secret- hideously concealed in the attic of Thornfield Hall- and her desperate flight are told in a drama of passionate intensity whose pace never slackens.’

 

My Thoughts:

 

Usually before I sit down to write a review of the last book I read, I have a clear idea of whether I enjoyed it or not. However, with ‘Jane Eyre’, I’m not sure how I feel about this book at all. So forgive me if this review is a bit muddled.

 

Firstly, I’ll tell you about the things I liked about this book. Whilst I had some issues with Jane Eyre (I’ll get to that later), I liked the fact that she was an independent woman, who knew her own mind and was prepared to tell men what she thought.

 

I also enjoyed the suspense and drama created within the mystery in Thornfield Hall. I also liked the intensity and passion within this novel. I think the parts in which certain character experience moments of mental torment, were very well written.

 

However, I did find the writing of this novel to be a bit too ‘wordy’. Some of Bronte’s descriptions within this novel were very beautiful but at times, during the story, I felt frustrated that the story was halted, by long descriptions of women’s dresses which, for me, added nothing to the story. I must confess that I skipped a few pages of description, to get back to the main plot because I found the lengthy descriptions, tiresome.

 

The main problem I had with this book were the two main characters themselves, Mr Rochester and Jane Eyre.

Whilst I admired her strong personality, I felt rather annoyed with Jane during the novel. There was a darker side to her personality. Particularly during her time at Lockwood school, Jane used certain bad situations to her advantage. In later life, Jane is also given some good opportunities and I felt annoyed that Jane seemed to be really ungrateful for them.

 

Also, Jane toyed with men’s feelings during the novel. Whilst I’m an advocate for strong women, I didn’t like how Jane pinned over Mr Rochester and then, when she finally got into a relationship with him, treated him in a cold, almost cruel way. She enjoyed toying with his emotions and I didn’t think that this was fair.

Mr Rochester isn’t much better, in my opinion. I found him to be passionate, but also a bit erratic in nature. He wasn’t particularly likeable and like Jane, had a cold, cruelness about him.Whilst I didn’t like both of the main characters that much, their personalities perfectly suited each other

.

Also what I think this book has done, is provoked within me a strong reaction to these characters. I didn’t like them, but I believed in them. After reading this novel, I’m still thinking about it which I suppose, means that the author has done a good job, by creating believable characters.

I found this novel difficult to get through; it took me over 150 pages to really get into this novel, but I felt rewarded when I had finished. Would I read it again? No, I wouldn’t.

 

That’s not to say that this is a bad novel. After all, it is a classic. However, it’s not my cup of tea.

 

If you enjoy a classic romance, then maybe ‘Jane Eyre’ will be for you.

 

My Rating **1/2

 
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1 hour ago, Athena said:

Well done on finishing Jane Eyre!! I hope you enjoy reading a Stephen King book :).

 

Thank you! I haven't got very far into 'Salem's Lot', but I'm enjoying it more than 'Jane Eyre'.

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Interesting comments on Jane Eyre.  I re-read it a couple of years ago and like you found it very wordy with long descriptions (a trademark of Victorian novelists I think, I believe that Dickens is similar).  Whilst I agree that Jane and Mr R were ultimately quite well suited, I'm not sure if I totally agree with your assessment of Jane - I think she was probably a product of her bleak upbringing with the awful cousins.  Mr R has also been much criticised for his treatment of his first wife, however given the circumstances (and the fact that he was "tricked" into marrying her) and considering what asylums were like then, he did the best he could for her, for her own protection and everyone else's as well.

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4 hours ago, Madeleine said:

Interesting comments on Jane Eyre.  I re-read it a couple of years ago and like you found it very wordy with long descriptions (a trademark of Victorian novelists I think, I believe that Dickens is similar).  Whilst I agree that Jane and Mr R were ultimately quite well suited, I'm not sure if I totally agree with your assessment of Jane - I think she was probably a product of her bleak upbringing with the awful cousins.  Mr R has also been much criticised for his treatment of his first wife, however given the circumstances (and the fact that he was "tricked" into marrying her) and considering what asylums were like then, he did the best he could for her, for her own protection and everyone else's as well.

I do agree with your comments on Jane, she did have a very difficult childhood, but I felt uncomfortable when 

Spoiler

the illness hit the school, she was happy to have to the time off to look at the gardens! Ok, probably a child would think that, but it didn't sit right with me.

Spoiler

I think in the later parts of the novel, you can understand the reasons for some of Mr Rochester's behaviour, but at times he was almost insulting towards Jane. Maybe I felt this because the way it was written though.

 

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Great review of Jane Eyre! A long review too :). I really liked it when I read it the first time, but I find I don't like lots of description as much as I used to. So I don't think I'd like the novel as much, if I were to re-read it now.

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3 hours ago, Athena said:

Great review of Jane Eyre! A long review too :). I really liked it when I read it the first time, but I find I don't like lots of description as much as I used to. So I don't think I'd like the novel as much, if I were to re-read it now.

 

Thank you! I don't normally write long reviews, but with 'Jane Eyre', there was a lot that I wanted to say about it!

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On 08/02/2018 at 12:02 PM, karen.d said:

However, I did find the writing of this novel to be a bit too ‘wordy’. Some of Bronte’s descriptions within this novel were very beautiful but at times, during the story, I felt frustrated that the story was halted, by long descriptions of women’s dresses which, for me, added nothing to the story. I must confess that I skipped a few pages of description, to get back to the main plot because I found the lengthy descriptions, tiresome.

 

As Madeleine says, this is a Victorian novel and, by 21st century standards, Victorian writing is often regarded as wordy.  This doesn't just apply to books:  letters, journals and newspaper reports are equally full in their writing (just read a few of William Howard Russell's reports for the Times from the Crimea!).  In fact, the Brontes are probably amongst the leaner writers, especially when compared with later Victorians such as George Eliot. 

 

I suspect one reason for the detail of their writing is because they didn't have the visual support we have today in terms of readily available images, film etc.  It also appears to me that modern day writing is generally more plot/narrative driven; writers today who concentrate more on character or setting development and centralisation are often criticised for being wordy or slow. Having said that, we're only comparing against novels that have survived as classics - some of the more 'popular' books of the day may well have been more plot orientated.

 

Another important issue, and I think it's one that is growing, is that modern day attention spans and levels of concentration are recognised as being lower than they were even 20 years ago.  People who read books 200 years ago also had more time, and fewer distractions! 

 

In contrast to Athena, I find I've moved the other way in my reading, and positively enjoy a fuller style of writing.  I suspect that is  maybe (a) because I've retired and now have more time to linger a bit more over a book (although I feel as busy as ever, even more so!) and (b) because after 15 years of  primary teaching, I feel a strong need to get away from the more narrative based pacy style of writing that appeals to the students I've been teaching over the years!  I even find that when I (rarely) read children's books, it's the older ones I prefer (I'm currently rereading Coot Club for instance - far too slow apparently for most modern day children).  But then many older children's books are more demanding than a lot of modern day adult books.

 

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3 minutes ago, Madeleine said:

That's a good point about attention spans Will!  I also think a lot of authors, however unwittingly, may also write more visually ie with a view to a possible film or TV adaptation?

 

Definitely!  Interesting you should say that, as this has come up a couple of times in recent reading group meetings, where members have commented that the book, whilst making a mediocre/poor/awful book (depending on one's strength of feeling!), would probably make a better film - and have wondered whether that is what the author had in mind? Where's the money, after all?

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2 hours ago, Madeleine said:

That's a good point about attention spans Will!  I also think a lot of authors, however unwittingly, may also write more visually ie with a view to a possible film or TV adaptation?

Both points are good. It's sad to think that things are being promoted for the sole reason, of being adapted into a film. Although I have to say that most book adaptation I have watched, have not been as good as the original text. 

Spoiler

Take 'The Dark Tower' series for example. Each novel of this series is quite lengthy. When 'The Dark Tower' was adapted into a film, I think most of the content of that book was cut out, because maybe producers thought that an audience didn't have enough attention span for a longer film. Because of this, the film suffered.

 

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The weather has been appalling lately. Low temperatures and a lot of rain, have been great excuses to sit in the warm and read, I always like to look at the bright side of things!

 

In the last week, I have finished listening to Brave New World’ by Aldous Huxley and I really enjoyed it. Listening to a story, rather than reading the text, pulls you into a story better, than reading it in print form and I certainly felt this with Brave New WorldI definitely wasn’t expecting the ending, but I will talk about that more in my review, hopefully, on Thursday.

 

Now, I’m about 16% into Salem’s Lot’ by Stephen King and so far, I’m enjoying this much more than my last read, Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Bronte.

 

Aside from books, this weekend was the last episode of Hard Sun’, a detective series I have been watching over the last few weeks.  This series has had its flaws, but I found it to be very compelling.

 

The concluding episode however, was rather confusing. From reading reviews online about this episode, some viewers were angry at how this series ended. Whilst I wouldn’t go as far as feeling angry, I feel a sense of bewilderment at its conclusion. Have you ever felt the same about a programme you have enjoyed?

 

I’m looking forward making progress with ‘Salem’s Lot’ and also, for some warmer weather!

 

How has your reading week been? What are you looking forward to reading this week?

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On 11/02/2018 at 8:50 PM, karen.d said:

Both points are good. It's sad to think that things are being promoted for the sole reason, of being adapted into a film. Although I have to say that most book adaptation I have watched, have not been as good as the original text.

 

I'd agree that with most book adaptations, I prefer the book to the film.  However, there are some otherwise.  Ones that jump to mind include The Da Vinci Code and the Bourne trilogy.  Most are books of thrillers (usually because I really don't rate the thrillers, as in those quoted), but one major exception to this is Whisky Galore where the original black-and-white film outstrips anything else before or since, i.e. the original book and the most recent film.  More recently, I loved the film Certain Women, but felt pretty tepid about Half in Love (Maile Meloy), three short stories from which provide the basis of the film.  So, for me at least, there are exceptions to the rule.

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