Posted on December 23, 2013 in Books, TV
I had somewhat high expectations for this novel given how much I liked Agnes Grey and the style of Anne Bronte’s writing overall. I found my expectations were not quite met. In general, this is a good novel and like Grey, it is a very interesting view about Victorian marriage. As a proto-Feminist novel, I can appreciate it as well.
Continue reading →
Posted on December 18, 2013 in Books
The last young adult I read set in an American boarding school fell short, but this one is much more interesting.
It is funny and has a few hand drawn comics done by the protagonist, Winger aka Ryan Dean West. There is this sense of timelessness in the book too. There is actually very little technology mentioned in the book, but it’s focussed more on the rawness and alienation of being a fourteen year old boy. The author captured the craziness of that time well or from what I vaguely remember as a teenager.
The book has some random, funny and poignant moments. The ending was particularly intense. It did make me cry a little. I thought it was moving and a big testament to the characters and the various forms of friendships. Friendship and loyalty were big themes in this novel and Smith drew that out well. The characters were well developed in a short period of time and there was a lot of pathos without being preachy or sanctimonious. The ending was handled well.
Read Dec 15-16, 2013. This was my 65th book of the year which was my GoodReads reading goal. I was well ahead of my reading up until the busy October-November I had. In any case, I will do my best with my next goal of 70. I haven’t raised it the last couple of years, but I think it’s time that I should.
Posted on December 13, 2013 in Knitting & Crafting
I wanted a giant cowl to go with my first leather jacket. I’ve had this pattern queued up for awhile now. It was between this or the Herringbone Cowl, but this one won over by being reversible and textured. I did forgot how boring it was to knit moss st/single rib though.
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Posted on December 10, 2013 in Stationery
For many years and up to a year ago, I only had one fountain pen. Now I have 5 usable and decent ones. I have always liked writing by long hand and with pens, but I have only recently had a collection of fountain pens which I use on a daily basis.
Posted on December 5, 2013 in Books
I would consider myself a romantic. Perhaps more practical and analytical than some others, but one none the less. This is not the first book I have read on the scientific and anthropological reasoning behind romance, love, and sex.
I quite enjoy anthropology and social science books. Indeed, I did some of my graduate work on social epidemiology. This book is a bit outdated as it was published in 2004, and in the world of science, it’s not news. There is a lot of interesting information about the science of our brains when we are in love or when we are rejected in love.
The author has an easy and understandable style. She uses a lot of literary quotations and examples which other bibliophiles would appreciate. It’s not a self-help book by any means, but from the studies, the author and the reader does consider how to best deal with a heartbreak and try again.
For those with an interest in romance from an anthropological and sociological perspective, I’d recommend this book.
Read Dec 1-2, 2013.
Posted on November 21, 2013 in Books
Outside of books, what’s your favorite thing to read? Newspapers? Magazines? Blogs? Fanfiction? Specific websites? – BTT
I use to read a lot of fanfiction and it’s diminished considerably since I became an ‘adult’. I do spend a fair amount of time on TWOP forums. I read a couple of blogs, but to be honest, I’ve always found it hard to track a lot of blogs. I like reading emails and messages from friends. I wish I had time to read more magazines and newspapers too. I spend a good amount of time on Wikipedia (and sometimes Google) too since I love looking things up.
How about you?
Posted on November 17, 2013 in Books
Hi everyone!
Not much to relate as I am still quite busy these days. I am still not finished with Anne Bronte’s novel, but perhaps by next weekend I’ll have started something else!
I saw this book survey on Planet Millie. It’s been awhile since I did a survey about books and one that I like.
Posted on November 13, 2013 in Books
The Fourth Classics Spin from the Classics Club. As with before, I must pick twenty books, then a random number will be selected and each of us must read the number listed at X number by January 1, 2014.
Even though I still have not finished my book from the last spin, these Spins are really useful because other challenges, reads, and activities have taken me away from the classics this year.
My challenge is that I own almost every one of these books so I must read them to clear my TBR shelf.
Posted on November 10, 2013 in Books
Hello, everyone!
It’s my first post in weeks. I’ve had a very busy time lately. I’ve been spending it mostly working, cooking, socializing and doing chores for a house sit. I have not even finished a book in two weeks. I’ve been without a knitting project for even longer.
I have been reading this weekend and hope to finish tomorrow: Anne Bronte’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. This was my Classics Spin book from September, but I never got around to reading it. I started it weeks ago, but I haven’t been able to pick it up until this weekend. I am enjoying it even for its gritty realism.
Tomorrow is Remembrance Day in Canada and gratefully, I get tomorrow off from work so I can take time to read. Blogging won’t resume on a regular schedule for a couple of weeks.
When I can blog again, I hope to write about some of my cooking and baking adventures. I have had many the past couple of weeks. I realized that I am a worse food blogger than I was a few years ago. I just don’t have the energy or time to make food, photograph it and blog about it on a daily basis. I’ve lost count of the recipes I have tried, but there will be at least one cookbook review out of it and a couple of posts on sourdough bread.
If anyone else is still reading the blog, how is everyone doing?
Posted on October 10, 2013 in Books
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Another captivating novel from Neil Gaiman. I think my favourite Gaiman work will always be the Sandman series, but I do love his novels. I continue to love them more and more. As a novelist and following his career over the last decade, I feel his writing has improved.
This novel was dark and twisty similar to his recent works such as Coraline and The Graveyard Book. There is always a theme of children and adults, growing up and magic. There is a deep theme in this book and others about the thin line between children and adult and who we are really.
He’s improved more and more as a writer. His writing has become more beautiful over time, and definitely one of my new favourite novels of his.
I think Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli could make a great adaptation of this work. I can dream.
Read October 6, 2013.
Make Good Art
This is little booklet is a speech Gaiman delivered at the University of Philadelphia in 2012. It’s been designed by a graphic artist so there is a strong visual element. I found the speech quite inspirational and it reminded me of things I’ve been thinking about. While it focuses on art specifically, you can apply some of the principles to every day life. I am considering getting it for my best friend who is an artist and would appreciate the speech.
Read October 6, 2013.
Posted on October 4, 2013 in Books
It’s rather funny that there is an actual a niche fanfiction industry from Pride and Prejudice. I’ve read a few of these novels now, and even more so, fanfiction. I saw this come up on my GR and I thought, why not?
This novel is, in fandom words, mostly fluff. It’s many happy moments between the two families. Lots of people being happily married after. The “Darcy is a cheap drunk” trope is employed and there are babies. New characters are introduced toward the end with a plot with a Scottish tint, but most of this story is happy Darcy times.
As far as published fanfiction goes, it was alright. It had cute moments and most of the canon characters were in tact. I did find issue with some anachronisms and the original characters. Also, the second half of the novel focussed a lot on Miss Bingley, one of my least preferred supporting characters.
There are sequels, but my library does not have them. It was a nice P&P sequel, but I don’t think I would commit to it as a series.
Read September 21-30 2013.
Posted on October 3, 2013 in Books
Which is better (or preferred) … stories with multiple character points of view? Or stories that stick to just one or two at most? And, why?
This question reminded me about the popular Song of Fire & Ice series by George R. R. Martin which does the multiple character POVs to the hilt perhaps to the annoyance of some readers. I don’t think it’s bad when an author can do it well. Martin does for the most part, and the format of multiple POVs works very well for movies or TV shows since you can see how the stories and characters come together. In a book, it can be more difficult to do successfully I think. In many ways, I feel like I know and like a couple of characters more than the other so when time is focused on ones I like less, it can drag a little bit. Ensemble dramas work well on TV because there is something for everyone, but even then, I can’t stand how certain central characters get overlooked or pushed aside for others.
Multiple POVs also work well in comics and graphic novels. I think for world building, fantasy and sci-fi, it is a very good technique. For other things, I do not mind the convention of knowing a couple of characters very well.
What are your thoughts?