Month: September 2012

This month for the Classics Club Meme:

Pick a classic someone else in the club has read from our big review list. Link to their review and offer a quote from their post describing their reaction to the book. What about their post makes you excited to read that classic in particular?

Truth be told, I don’t usually read a lot of review for books I haven’t read yet. Usually, I read reviews for books I have already read. Of course, you can’t avoid it, but it was hard picking which books I wanted to read reviews for.

Since I am starting Gone with the Wind soon for a readalong, I had to pick it. There have been three reviews of it listed in the club so far. I read all of them.

The first one was by Brooke of The Blog of Litwits:

Is the novel perfect? No. Was the racism rampant and often hard to read? Yes. Are the characters likable? Yes and No. Would I consider this a page turner? Very much so. Did it offend your sensibilities as a Southerner? No. Do I believe the South will rise again? Oh dear. Rhett or Ashley? Melanie. How’s the ending? Perfectly frustrating. Is it a novel worth reading? Without a doubt.

Brooke’s review was very good. For one thing, it was personal which is actually a good thing to do in a review because books are personal. Secondly, she addressed a lot of issues people have with this book. I told my only Southern friend that I was going to read GWtW, and she said she would never because it glorifies the antebellum South. My friend is also Black and both of us are visible minorities so whenever I read such blatantly racist stuff, it’s not comfortable. Reading racist works or books which have derogatory content is unavoidable to be honest, but GWtW is a novel where this is perhaps a bigger theme than some other classics. I have seen the movie which was fine. But the whole issue of the South and KKK reminds me of the time when I watched D. W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation. That film disgusted me so much that I would probably pay money to get the those minutes of my life back.

I digress a bit, but Brooke’s review reminds me that yes, this book is controversial, but seems to be one of those classics that I want to see for myself why so many people love it or hate it. Or a bit of both which could be my case.

Christian of Beltwayliterature said this about Rhett:

At first, I didn’t like Rhett at all. I found him to be an opportunistic scoundrel. But then, I saw him evolve and mature into a person that I could grow to like. He really loved Scarlett and did everything he could to pry Scarlett’s thoughts away from Ashley. I felt completely sorry for him at the end of the book. His character’s evolution showed me that even the most disliked people can change when it’s absolutely necessary.

I’m not sure I’ll like Book Scarlett (I wasn’t crazy about Movie Scarlett), but it’s good to know that Rhett is the character that seems to develop in the novel. I’ll look forward to reading his character development since you really need to be as charismatic as Clark Gable to get away with half the stuff Rhett seems to do in the book.

Finally, Geoff of The Oddness of Moving Things:

Even though I was always frustrated with Scarlett – from her childish innocence and demand for love and affection to the final pages where she realizes who she loves and why she loves them, you can’t help but root for her in the end. She’s survived and she’s pushed through and even though she has comfort and money, she’s lost love and decency.

Hopefully, I will be able to root for Scarlett. I won’t know until I read it, but she does have fans or sympathy. You don’t have to like a reader to find her somewhat rootable so I will go in open minded as possible about the heroine.

This was fun and has hyped me up to read GWtW soon. Perhaps, I’ll start it this weekend!

Where We Belong by Emily Giffin

I needed to wash my brain of the Fifty Shades series, but I didn’t want anything too arduous or deep either. I have read all of Emily Giffin’s books by now. I know what to expect with her, in that she brings all of her female characters through journeys. Ones that are real, emotional, and full of actual development.

Many of Giffin’s books are the same way. All of them feature thirtysomething women. All of them have been set somewhat in New York City or in that tristate area. All of the women and most of their circle are Caucasian. They are all firmly Upper Middle Class or are by the time of the books. I differ from these protagonists in age, socio-economics, and ethnicity, and yet, I really like Giffin’s brand of chick lit. She forces all of her women to go through emotional upheavals and change themselves. They are usually women who are good, flawed and therefore, human. They actually grow and develop in the books! I love that in characters.

There is a faint formula in all her works, but they all feel really similar in a good way. Still, it would be boring if they were all exactly a like. I think this is definitely one of my favourite of her works.

The book deals with two characters, adoption, and the relationships around that. The first person narratives switches from Marian (token Giffin protagonist) and her daughter Kirby whom she gave up for adoption. The story weaves how their relationship develops after they meet again, and all the relationships around it from Kirby’s adopted family to Marian’s family and friends and to Conrad, Kirby’s biological father.

Adoption is a very interesting topic for me. It always has been. I am not adopted and I do not have any friends who were, but it has always appealed to me. I don’t always read books about it either, but this is one of those times, when an author I like explores a topic I am fascinated by.

It really worked out because I found this touching and realistic. Kirby is really self-possessed for a teenager, but she still retains that awkwardness, obstinacy, and dismissiveness that plagues many a teenage girl. Also, where were guys like Philip Chang or Conrad Knight when I was a teenager? Giffin also makes so many of her male love interests dreamy… even the adolescent ones! Well, it isn’t chicklit if there isn’t charming men.

Another reason I like Giffin’s books are that they are all connected in some way. They happen in this same universe where many of the female protagonists know each other. Sometimes the connection is tenuous, but often like in this book, they are close friends. Marian is best friends with Claudia from Baby Proof. This gives the loyal reader an icing on the cake snippet of other previous protagonists. Generally, it means just an update to say, “They are still happy!” But whatever, it’s nice because readers get attached and all.

Something that I really liked about this book that stood out is the ending. This is chick lit so the ending is almost always happily ever after, and they usually are with her books. I won’t spoil and the ending is a happy one, but not quite conventional. For awhile there, it was looking to get into cheese factory, but I was very pleased with the real result. It is different than her usual endings, but then again, she could change it so that in the update Marian ends up with “X”. That wouldn’t bother me too much, but I liked how Giffin took a different road this time.

Read September 2nd, 2012.

My review of Fifty Shades of Grey is here. While I found that barely tolerable, I found the two books below awful.

Fifty Shades Darker

In fandoms, there is a type of fanfiction called PWP or Porn Without Plot. Alot of this trilogy is basically that. Not much plot, character development, but there is a lot of sex. Surprisingly, I found the constant sexual scenes rather boring halfway through the book.

The beginning of the book quickly resolves the cliffhanger from the first part. All of this second book happens in one week. I don’t know why the author does not spread anything out, but it makes this novel unbelievable. It’s utter fantasy. I was glad when I finished it because I was actually quite bored for most of it.

I still disliked the murmuring, the glaring Britichisms (the use of rude alone), and Ana’s inner goddess and subconscious. Actually, I couldn’t really stand Ana by the end of the novel; she became another Bella Swan. I found her not three dimensional enough. She is too goody goody and implausible as a real character. It wasn’t believable or relatable. She only ever thinks about Christian and that’s it. It’s also unbelievable what happens to her over the course of one week. Predictable novel stuff, but ridiculous.

Also, Ana is dumb. She is not a smart cookie. She constantly asks questions to her own head. She’s slow and emotionally immature. Not as much as Christian, but enough.

All the characters are black and white except for Christian and even he got schmoopy in this novel. He did get some character development, but he was very mushy by the end of it. It was saccharine and frankly, tedious to read them just have sex every ten pages.

This is why I don’t like traditional romance novels where it’s all “I need you’s” and “I love you’s” and blah blah. I sound unromantic, and that’s not the case. I like romances which are more complex and real, which involve more than just two people declaring their love for each other constantly. I prefer ones where both partners grow, develop, love one another against all odds, but without being ‘us against the world’. Hey, it’s great if you have an all consuming love, but your life is more than that.

Ugh, I don’t look forward to the third book because I saw the ending of this one a continent away. In any case, it’s short (Edit: It wasn’t short since I didn’t see the page count) and it’ll be over soon.

Read on my Kindle August 27-28th 2012.

Fifty Shades Freed

So my masochism continues. I found Ana really boring and stupid in this novel. The girl has no major hobbies and very few goals.She spends almost every single thought about Christian. Also for a woman who is an editor, was an English major and as per Christian “most well read woman I know”, Ana doesn’t really have a great vocabulary or diction.

This book was so boring that I avoided reading it on my downtime at work. Usually, I love to read when I can find the time, but this… MEH!

The sex scenes were very redundant. Why oh why did she not get an American to edit this?

I notice that Christian gets his way a lot. They solved 90% of their problems through the same rehashed up sex scenes. They were overdependent on each other.

It was predictable because Ana continue to be stupid. I did genuinely like her for a moment when they had their first real fight. Then I lost respect for her when she saved the day. Sigh, as predicted.

I saw all the plot twists. I generally see a lot of plot twists in movies or books, but that’s fine because sometimes, you have fun along the ride. But for this book, it was not fun. It was mind-blowingly tedious.

I’m glad to be done! I should have stopped after the first book, but now I can laugh about the fact I read books two and three.

Read on my Kindle August 28th-September 1st 2012.

It is clear I am not a fan of these books. I have nothing against people who think the opposite. This was not the worse thing I have ever read, but it was a long journey of boredom for me. I don’t hate it, but I struggled towards the end. It also offers a poor view of people with fetishes, kinks, and girls who are English majors. Do I recommend this? No, but if you want to laugh and see why this book is the fastest paperback bestseller of all kind? Go right ahead. Just try not to buy it and get it from the library or a friend or something. I find it sad that a woman is going to the bank on this work. Also, I will probably watch the movie with morbid curiosity and also laugh.

Here are some other reviews of the trilogy which made me laugh:

Fifty Shades of Bad Writing
Jen Reads Fifty Shades of Grey

Sunday Salon

This week, I read Fifty Shades of Grey, and Fifty Shades Darker (review done, up tomorrow). It was a looong week reading those books. I also finished my Austen Adaptations post for my final entry of Austen in August.

In other news, I got a giveaway book in the mail this week! I won a copy of Jane Eyre from Allie of A Literary Odyssey during the Victorian Reading Challenge.

Jane Eyre

When I opened the package, I immediately pressed my nose to pages and flipped through it. I love the smell of new books. I don’t get the smell of it often since I tend to buy used books. I don’t mind used books, but they don’t smell as nice. Anyway, I really want to reread Jane Eyre now, but I have so many other things I need to reread.

A new month and new challenges! I am part of the Gone with the Wind and the Harry Potter reading challenges this month onwards. But I have quite a number of checked out library books to go through this long weekend.

I am not sure what to read first. There is Emily Griffin’s Where We Belong, Ex-Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader, been awhile since I read a Georgette Heyer: Arabella, The City of Dreaming Books, Glamour in Glass, and more. This doesn’t include the books from my Kindle!

Also, I have a number of self-help books on the pile. Now, I generally don’t read many self-help books, and when I do, I don’t read the whole thing so they don’t appear in my annual completed books list. I like to skim for opinions about personal things such as career and relationships. Once in awhile, I’ll read one in full, but I find less time for that now. Do you read self-help books cover to cover? Do they actually help?

Happy Labour Day weekend to those of you who get it! Great for reading!