Kylie Posted May 9, 2008 Author Share Posted May 9, 2008 I bought Aldous Huxley's Brave New World Revisited today. It's a collection of essays written almost 30 years after he published Brave New World. He looks at the predictions he made back in 1932 and compares how society has changed in the intervening years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted May 13, 2008 Author Share Posted May 13, 2008 (edited) Yet more books added to my wish list. My complete wish list can be found here. John Brunner: The Jagged Orbit John Brunner: The Shockwave Rider Harry Harrison: Make Room! Make Room! Gabriel Garcia Marquez: One Hundred Years of Solitude Tom Wolfe: The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test Edited May 13, 2008 by Kylie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted May 17, 2008 Author Share Posted May 17, 2008 Mansfield Park Jane Austen Rating: 8/10 Published: 1814 Number of pages: 492 Summary (taken from blurb): Fanny Price has always felt like an outsider. She was adopted by her uncle as a child and now lives in luxury at Mansfield Park, but doesn't fit in somehow. Shyer and much sweeter than the glamorous cousins she has grown up with, she feels she can only stand by and watch from the sidelines, never living her own life. Fanny won't admit - even to herself - who she really loves. Her uncle conducts the search for a husband as if it were a business deal, and when the time for Fanny to marry comes, will she be handed over on a handshake? Or will she have the strength to make her own mistakes - and finally find true happiness? Comments: Another brilliant offering from Jane Austen, although I have to say that it's probably my least favourite of the four I have read so far. I found all of the characters hard to sympathise with, although I did like Fanny. I can understand why people would think she is a weak character and dislike her because of it, but she reminds me quite a lot of myself, and I don't necessarily see myself as weak - I can probably understand her motives and feelings a bit better. As usual, Austen's writing is beautifully lyrical throughout the book, and interspersed with subtle humour and irony. Another thing I keep forgetting with her books is that everything gets resolved in the last few pages, and they're usually rapped up very quickly and with little dialogue. Sometimes it's a little disappointing and you wish she would give as much time and care to the end of the book as she did to the rest. Nevertheless, a brilliant read and highly recommended. Started: 3 May 2008 Finished: 14 May 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 17, 2008 Share Posted May 17, 2008 A few years ago I made a conscious effort to start reading more classics and Mansfield Park was the first I chose when I went to (what was then called) James Thin - now a branch of Waterstone's. Well, it was before it closed down. Anyway...I thought Fanny was by far the most passive of Austen's heroines. She waits for something to happen to her rather than going out there and making it happen. But...being a 21st century gal, I had trouble with anyone being named after a front bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted May 18, 2008 Author Share Posted May 18, 2008 But...being a 21st century gal, I had trouble with anyone being named after a front bottom. Yeah, it did take a bit of getting used to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted May 23, 2008 Author Share Posted May 23, 2008 I bought Wicked by Gregory Maguire yesterday. It's a gorgeous hardback book with green-edged pages. You don't see that every day! I'll be finishing The Bridge of San Luis Rey very shortly, so I'll still have 2 credits to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 Green-edged pages?! That is cool. Are you planning to see the show too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted May 25, 2008 Author Share Posted May 25, 2008 Funnily enough, the day after I bought it, there was a story on TV about the broadway production and how it is coming to Australia very soon. So yes, I probably will see it, but I want to read the book first! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted May 29, 2008 Author Share Posted May 29, 2008 The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett Rating: 9/10 Published: 1911 Number of pages: 253 Summary (taken from blurb): Poor Mary! She was a forlorn, unwanted, disagreeable child when, after cholera had carried off her nurse and both parents in one day, she was brought from India to live at the great lonely house (most of it shut up) on the bleak Yorkshire moors. Wandering in the gardens, she found one that was walled in. There seemed no way to get inside it - except as the robin flew, over the wall. How she got inside and what happened to her there is the sort of magic that can still happen. Comments: The Secret Garden is a magical, charming story - the type that stays with you for life. The spoilt Mary and Colin, under the watchful, mature eye of Dickon, grow and become more healthy as the garden grows and becomes more healthy. They learn to love and open up their hearts to others. A wonderful story (and a lame review that does no justice to it ). Started: 15 May 2008 Finished: 20 May 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 (edited) The Bridge of San Luis Rey Thornton Wilder Rating: 6/10 Published: 1927 Number of pages: 127 Summary (taken from blurb): An ancient bridge collapses over a gorge in Peru, hurling five people into the abyss. It seems a meaningless human tragedy. But one witness, a Franciscan monk, believes the deaths might not be as random as they appear. Convinced that the disaster is a punishment sent from Heaven, the monk sets out to discover all he can about the travellers. The five strangers were connected in some way, he thinks. There must be a purpose behind their deaths. But are their lost lives the result of sin?...Or of love? Comments: The story is a philosophical look at why bad things happen to people. I suppose we've all wondered at one time or another why bad things happen to other people while we escape unscathed. I like that the questions posed were never really answered. It was left up to the reader to put the pieces together and to decide what it all meant, if indeed it meant anything . An interesting story. I didn't love it, but there's nothing I didn't like about it really. It was just a bit...meh. As in other reviews I've read, I think the book suffers a little from detachment. The characters are given thorough and interesting backstories but I never really felt close to them. That said, there were some lovely quotes on human nature and love, and I liked the interconnectedness of the characters and their lives. A good read, and nice and short. Recommended. Started: 21 May 2008 Finished: 23 May 2008 Edited June 19, 2008 by Kylie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted June 6, 2008 Author Share Posted June 6, 2008 (edited) Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus Mary Shelley Rating: 10/10 Published: 1818 Number of pages: 279 Summary (taken from blurb): Victor Frankenstein is obsessed with the secret of resurrecting the dead. But when he makes a new 'man' out of plundered corpses, his hideous creation fills him with disgust. Rejected by all humanity, the creature sets out to destroy Frankenstein and everyone he loves. And as the monster gets ever closer to his maker, hunter becomes prey in a lethal chase that carries them to the very end of the earth. Comments (possible spoilers): I loved this book. It took me a while to get into it (through no fault of the book's), but once I did I thought it was a terrific read, and not at all what I had expected. I thought the story would dwell a lot more on the creation of the monster itself, but in fact it was more concerned with the consequences of Frankenstein's actions. Speaking of which, Victor's actions often baffled me (for example, when he turned his back on the monster without trying to find out where he went and without considering what he might have unleashed on the world). I saw a theatre production of The Phantom of the Opera a few nights ago and I couldn't help but make comparisons between the Phantom and Frankenstein's monster. Both are shunned by the people who created them, and by society as a whole, through no fault of their own. They yearn to be loved by good people but ultimately their unhappiness consumes them and they turn to a life of violence in the misguided hope of getting what they want. I found it interesting that the people who rejected them were good people, but they ultimately suffered greatly because they were unable or unwilling to look beyond the surface of what they were faced with. They are both truly tragic tales and I found them to be really heart-rending. Some of what Frankenstein's monster said really struck a chord with me, and I sympathsised with him a great deal (well, until he became violent). Very, very highly recommended. Started: 23 May 2008 Finished: 2 June 2008 Edited June 6, 2008 by Kylie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted June 8, 2008 Author Share Posted June 8, 2008 (edited) I read 4 books last month - back to my usual reading rate. My total for the year now stands at 28. With regards to my various challenges, my running totals stand at (completed challenges in orange): CL: Classics Challenge (16/25) +4 1K: 1001 Books Challenge (11/20) +2 RD: Reading through the Decades Challenge (10/11) +1 BF: Book Club Forum Reading Circle Challenge (5/10) +2 YA: Young Adults Challenge (5/10) +1 SF: Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge (9/8) +1 AU: Australian Literature Challenge (4/6) +0 DY: Dystopian Challenge (5/5) BB: Banned Books Challenge (5/5) +1 I completed 1 challenge in May (the Banned Books Challenge) and I only bought 2 books - I can't remember the last time I bought so few books in one month! I have 3 book credits at the moment, and I've just started my next lot of 3 with Prince Caspian by CS Lewis. Edited July 3, 2008 by Kylie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted June 8, 2008 Author Share Posted June 8, 2008 Robert Jordan: Wheel of Time series Vladimir Nabokov: Speak, Memory Thomas Pynchon: Vineland Alan Weisman: The World Without Us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly2008 Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 Wow you are really organised lol I need some credits, theres a book bargin shop and they are selling the box set of 'CS Lewis- Chronicles of Nania' (think theres 7?) for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted June 13, 2008 Author Share Posted June 13, 2008 Wow you are really organised Well, I'd probably call it being @nal-retentive, or not having a life! theres a book bargin shop and they are selling the box set of 'CS Lewis- Chronicles of Nania' (think theres 7?) for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 The Graduate Charles Webb Rating: 7/10 Published: 1963 Number of pages: 192 Summary (taken from blurb): 'For twenty-one years I have been shuffling back and forth between classrooms and libraries. Now you tell me what the hell it's got me.' That's how Benjamin Braddock talked when he came home from university. Somehow it didn't seem to be what his father expected from a college education. And everyone was really appalled when Ben raped Mrs Robinson (that was her story anyway) and ran off with her daughter in the middle of her wedding to someone else... A brilliantly sordid tale of a young man's search for identity and a portrayal of the worst-behaved yet most sympathetic anti-heroes of the day. Comments: I can't really make up my mind whether I thought this was brilliant or just good, so I'm rating it somewhere in between. I think in this instance it really helped that I'd already seen the movie, because I was able to picture the actors in the roles and that brought it to life a bit more. If I hadn't seen the movie first, I probably wouldn't have been too impressed. The dialogue comes across as very dry and a little unbelievable. The characters like saying Ben's name and they seem a little deaf most of the time ('What?'). And I never quite worked out why Mrs Robinson's daughter wanted to run off with Ben. He didn't come off that wonderful or interesting in the story, and there were never any particularly touching moments between them. Once you get past all that though, it's a very good story and Ben is ultimately a likeable character. He's just struggling with those big life issues that we all come across sooner or later. Recommended. Started: 2 June 2008 Finished: 3 June 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelbel Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 The Graduate is one of my favourite films, I particularly love the church scene at the end. This review I found interesting Kylie, I have always wondered what the book was like. I think I will add to the ever growing TBR pile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 I'm glad I didn't put you off Shelbel. I was worried the review sounded like I didn't enjoy it when I really did. I watched the movie again straight after I read the book and recognised that a lot of the dialogue was identical. It was a very faithful adaptation, I thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 Breakfast at Tiffany's Truman Capote Rating: 10/10 Published: 1958 Number of pages: 157 Summary (taken from blurb): It's New York in the 1940s, where the martinis flow from cocktail hour till breakfast at Tiffany's. And nice girls don't, except, of course, Holly Golightly. Pursued by Mafia gangsters and playboys millionaires, Holly is a fragile eyeful of tawny hair and turned-up nose, a heart-breaker, a perplexer, a traveller, a tease. She is irrepressibly 'top banana in the shock department', and one of the shining flowers of American fiction. This edition also contains three stories: 'House of Flowers', 'A Diamond Guitar' and 'A Christmas Memory'. Comments: Truman Capote is fast becoming one of my favourite authors, and Holly Golightly has to be one of the best characters I've had the pleasure of encountering in a book. For such a short story, her quirky character is developed nicely and to great effect. I watched the movie again straight afterwards and thought they did a pretty good job adapting it for the big screen, except the obvious change of the ending (and Mickey Rooney's character in the movie is a little over-the-top and unncessary, I thought). The three short stories included in the book were also very enjoyable. I particularly enjoyed A Christmas Memory - a very touching story. Poppy has very kindly pointed out that it is available on this website, if anyone is interested in trying a little Capote. Started: 4 June 2008 Finished: 7 June 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Would you believe the library does not have 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' or any other of Capote's works, apart from 'In Cold Blood'? I love his writing too Kylie and will definitely try to track this down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted June 19, 2008 Author Share Posted June 19, 2008 I forgot to post about the two books that I bought last week: Raven Hart: The Vampire's Kiss Raven Hart: The Vampire's Secret Just noticed...I thought I had replied to your post, Poppy, but obviously not. I must be going mad What I thought I had asked you was 'is your library able to order Capote's books in for you?' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 Just noticed...I thought I had replied to your post, Poppy, but obviously not. I must be going mad What I thought I had asked you was 'is your library able to order Capote's books in for you?' I can't seem to access the National Library database which I've done before, so will have to ask at the library. Surely they must have more of his books somewhere in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 Prince Caspian CS Lewis Rating: 8/10 Published: 1951 Number of pages: 107 Summary (taken from Dymocks website): King Miraz can only mean trouble for Narnia, and Prince Caspian, his nephew and the rightful heir to the throne, fears for his safety and the future of his country. He blows the Great Horn in desperation, summoning Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy to help with his task - that of saving Narnia. Comments: I enjoyed Prince Caspian a little more than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, perhaps because I now know more about the world of Narnia and the characters within it. A thoroughly enjoyable story, full of magic and adventure. Good stuff Started: 8 June 2008 Finished: 9 June 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly2008 Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I cant wait to get to Prince caspian I'm on the third one at at minute 'The Horse and his Boy' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I've only ever read The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.