Books: Chapter One!

[7chronicles]

@Silver the Wanderer: My Mom bought us Dragons In Our Midst, I haven’t read them yet.
Unfortunately they are packed with a bunch of our other books until we can get a bookshelf in our living room.
But I'm glad to hear they are good, I'll have to read them once they are unpacked!

[Lady Haleth]

Rereading The Sea of Monsters. I liked most things about The Battle of the Labyrinth, except for Percy's blindness about Rachel and Annabeth, and Pan. He was just sort of lame. Otherwise, it was cool

[wisewoman]

Back on p. 88:

1. Temeraire: Tongues of Serpents: I LOVE TEMERAIRE , I think it’s safe for me to say that it is easily my third favorite book series after The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Lord of the Rings, I LOVE IT!

It's good to hear an excited recommendation . I have the first three books of the series and have been holding off on reading them until I get the rest. It sounds perfect: dragons, the Napoleonic wars, alternate history... fun stuff

*throws in a belated vote for GtG to read The Forgotten Beasts of Eld* And yay malkah for getting the Riddlemaster trilogy! Sorry you didn't enjoy it more though, Kate. That's exactly how I felt the first time I read it... what's going on? The second read (years later) was much better.

I very much liked the English/countryside/writing/Brontë-Austen girls/adventure-y aspects, but overall the book just left me feeling sad, borderline depressed. I think it was because I wasn't expecting it to be that way.

Ditto. So many people love I Capture The Castle but I just couldn't like the characters. So selfish. Part of it too was the dashed expectations; the story starts off one way and goes in a completely different direction. Ah well. It's nice not to be alone in my opinion of it

Hopelessly devoted second-rate surrogate family members for the win!

*giggles*

Lady Haleth, I'm glad you liked A Wizard of Earthsea. The next book, The Tombs of Atuan, is even better — one of my all-time favorites. The third book (The Farthest Shore) isn't bad, but I would stop there. The series was originally intended to be a trilogy and then she went back and wrote some more, which are simply dreadful. They sound nothing like her writing and the plots are basically non-existent.

For any Heyer fans lurking, a fairly popular Austen blog, Austenprose, is holding a month-long celebration of Georgette Heyer's work. There are reviews by guest bloggers and giveaways of Heyer's novels. I enjoyed the interview with the publisher who helped get Sourcebooks on board to print the new editions (which are so gorgeous!).

I've been reading some diverse books lately. Fiction: I finished my first Western, Lando by Louis L'Amour, and liked it quite a bit. I finally started C. S. Forester's Hornblower series with the audiobook of Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, which was very good. And I reviewed another Early Reviewers book, Dracula's Guest, a compilation of Victorian vampire stories. I really enjoyed it!

And I am now 400-some pages into my first James Michener book, Chesapeake. It's only 1,083 pages or so . My sister is a missionary and started reading Michener because that was all she could get her hands on (some other missionary had left a bunch of ratty paperback copies). Now she's addicted, and has been trying to get me to read his books for probably years now. I finally caved to the pressure . It's really good but boy, what a commitment. And I would recommend his stuff to adults only; some of the historical practices he recounts are just horrific and have been haunting my imagination lately...

On the nonfiction side, I read a brochure on OCD (review here) and Ed Welch's Blame It On The Brain?, which was excellent (review here). I have been learning so much about biblical counseling lately! It's basically just practical theology. I love how it encompasses an entirely consistent worldview.

I have started Soren Kirkegaard's Fear And Trembling which examines the story of Abraham's near-sacrifice of Isaac and the whole question of faith. Heavy going, but pretty good so far. I am also reading Elisabeth Elliot's Passion And Purity with my younger sister. It's not quite as good as I was expecting. I wanted to start Thomas Á Kempis' The Imitation of Christ, but discovered that my copy is an "updated" translation, in modern English. No thanks!

[Silver the Wanderer]

My Mom bought us Dragons In Our Midst, I haven’t read them yet.
Unfortunately they are packed with a bunch of our other books until we can get a bookshelf in our living room.
But I'm glad to hear they are good, I'll have to read them once they are unpacked!

Oh yes, you must! They are amazing!

I recently read Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld. I really don't know what genre it is, "steampunk/sci-fi/historical" pretty much describes it. It's an alternate history of WWI, involving machines, "fabricated" animals, the fictional son of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and a girl posing as a boy in the British airforce. I enjoyed it very much. The concepts were so different, but I love history and I've been craving a good sci-fi, so this one really hit the spot.

[mar_girl]

mar_girl, awesome cartoons! And yet, a chicken and zombie Merchant of Venice is probably what will greet me the next time at the bookstore. If Jane Austen isn't safe from zombies and vampires, surely Shakespeare is next. Twelfth Bite, anyone?

Thank you! Haaaa. I know; it's just ridiculous. At bookstores I saw a Jane Eyre one once, and I believe there's a Little Women one too. Ugh. Conga-rats on your find! I do that book-loving geeky dance of joy, too, but in my head.

Kate, I agree with you about Lancelot. I do not like him at all. No matter how many heroics he did, I do not approve of him and Guinevere. But I especially dislike White's Lancelot, who keeps acting like he need a therapist to deal with his self-image issues.

This is exactly how I feel, as well. He's very pitiable but I still find him incredibly frustrating. As in, I start yelling at the book, audibly or not.

On a more serious note, the English language was invented then along with the fantasy genre. It is certainly one of the oldest genres (other than romance), so it's interesting that it's one of the genres most attached to the era that invented it (sort of. The invention of fantasy is something we can't really trace.)

Oooh, interesting. I think you're sort of right. It wasn't called fantasy, then; it's really more folklore and stuff. Today we'd call that fantasy, if it were written now. But people back then took it seriously. I think real fantasy started more with the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson, no? At least with George Macdonald.

Very astute remarks about I Capture the Castle. I resonate with everything you said. I still love the book, but it is very sad and just sort of empty at the end.

Poor Stephen is just the Fanny Price of the book--servile, underappreciated, put-upon, a second choice.

Oooh! I hadn't ever thought of that. Of course, his intelligence and moral fiber aren't quite as strong as Fanny's, but he totally is. Hopelessly devoted second-rate surrogate family members for the win!

Oh good, it's not just me, then! I feel a bit relieved. Your description of ICTC is just spot-on: "very sad and just sort of empty at the end." YES. And thanks, about the Stephen description. You're right, he isn't as smart or morally strong as Fanny. Because of that I feel more for him than for her, although I like her more.
Another thing that drove me crazy was that things were hinted at but never explained. I don't mind not knowing Topaz's history, since I like her and I don't mind her being mysterious, but I wanted to know what Stephen did that was so bad. Grrr. The unexplained hints thing was one of my main complaints about Stardust, too. [/off topic]

You can blame the French for Lancelot. I actually wrote a paper on him a few semesters ago, so I did some research on his origins. As annoying as he is in more modern examples of Arthurian legend, the original Lancelot was beyond obnoxious. He was always swooning with love over Guinevere and stuff.

Oh, yeah, my notes in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight said that the French turned Gawain into a ladies' man or something. I imagine they'd do worse to Lancelot.

Reading it felt like looking into a deep pool, where you see the reflections of the trees and the sky and the stars, all quiet and rippling in the water.

I love this. It really makes me want to read it now. I shall, someday…

shastastwin, may I ask what your signature means? *Starts imagining Christopher Lee at 12*

It doesn't help that (like most male fans of the series, I suppose) I find myself wishing to portray Eugenides.

Heck, I'm a female reader and I want to be Eugenides. He's awesome.

Funny, the reason I don't like Mansfield Park is for its ending. It just doesn't seem fair to the heroine. Her life isn't fair to her, and the ending of the book isn't really fair to her either. She's just "servile, underappreciated, put-upon, a second choice." (quote from my last post) Also I hate endings where the author just tells us what happened, especially when the way we're told is so dispassionate, terse, matter of fact. I've stuck it out with you this long; the least you could do is just show me! Where's my swoony love scene?! (Mostly kidding on that last part.)

I was at the bookstore the other day and saw a new printing of Pride and Prejudice. It was Twilight style. Black cover with a single red rose and white print. I picked it up to see if any vampires had been added, but it was just regular old P&P, given a new face for the Twilight crowd. The synopsis on the back was hilarious. I also saw a "sequel" to MP where Mary is the hero and Fanny is murdered and Mary solves it.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat. That is ridiculous. And what was the synopsis?? *goes to see if she can find it for herself* Ugh, I can't, but the Twilight-y cover of Persuasion is STUPID. I'm glad your sister liked The Penderwicks! I believe it did win the Newbery Medal.

I can now relate to the long discussion of Dickens' female characters that happened a while back. In Great Expectations, nearly every man is mild, genial, reasonable, and likeable. The women, on the other hand, are either crazy, bitter, vicious, stupid, ridiculous, or violent, or a combination of all of them. Only Biddy redeems the name of woman. I'm going to have to go read all the things written by NarniaWebbers in the past discussion.

Urgh, how terrible. I have an excellent handout from my Dickens class that goes in-depth into all Dickens's characters, especially the female ones.

Glad I've never read Wuthering Heights, but I agree with you about Great Expectations. However, I would recommend Anne Bronte's novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

Same here. TTOWH sounds too sad for me, though. I require a very specific blend of sadness and redemptory goodness. To me, the ratio has to be just right. There has to be enough good parts or happiness for the characters to balance out all the bad stuff they go through. From your synopsis that doesn't seem the case, but if enough people tell me to read it I might try it. I've heard that Villette is kind of like Jane Eyre (which I loved); has anyone here read it?

Welcome, Miss Rosario! I need to read the Harry Potter series. I just have so many books of my own to read! I can't stop buying them! I probably need an intervention.

*Follows the discussion of The Four Loves with interest* Yes, I agree with you both. Obviously the twenty-first century's view on male-female friendship is not the same as it was in the forties and fifties, and Lewis's wasn't even like that. Very good book, though.

Which is funny since I love that name, so she probably would have been my favorite character if she hadn't been so feminist and mean to Carter .

Hey, what's wrong with being feminist? If she's mean to Carter I can see why that would make you dislike her, but why is being feminist something to dislike? Rick Riordan seems like he very much wants me to read and like him, but I'm afraid he's just a few years too late. I would have snapped his books up as a teen; I love mythology. Now there's just way too much other stuff to read.

Warrior 4 Jesus: I'm always interested in anything by Neil Gaiman, but I'm hesitant becuase he likes writing about mature stuff. According to my sadness-to-goodness ratio that I gave above, would you recommend I read the Sandman graphic novels? Although of course I am never out of things I "should" read.

Ditto. So many people love I Capture The Castle but I just couldn't like the characters. So selfish. Part of it too was the dashed expectations; the story starts off one way and goes in a completely different direction. Ah well. It's nice not to be alone in my opinion of it

YES, absolutely. I really am so glad I'm not alone. *hates selfish characters*

I wanted to start Thomas Á Kempis' The Imitation of Christ, but discovered that my copy is an "updated" translation, in modern English. No thanks!

Ugh, I hate that! It's so insulting to my intelligence.

And now for what I've been up to. Since my last post I've read Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. The latter is my favorite Austen novel, at least so far since I have to finish Sense & Sensibility, and while I very much enjoyed Northanger Abbey, it is too "early," if that makes sense, for me to list it as a favorite. It's like Dickens's Pickwick Papers: it is the earliest of the author's novels and made me laugh the most consistently, but it's not formed enough yet. There's not enough… gravitas? Seriousness? Depth, that's it, to make it a solid masterpiece. I don't know if any of that made sense. I'm currently continuing my Austen kick by rereading S&S.
Poetry-wise I'm reading through The Golden Treasury very slowly, and I've read The Calvin & Hobbes 10th Anniversary book, which my younger brother got me from a library sale.

I went to some yard sales on Sunday and got the following books from my siblings' former kindergarten teacher, who is retiring:
-Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic (so happy! I'd been meaning to read this ever since I got Booky's helpful list of the Discworld book order.)
-Avi's Midnight Magic (saw in the library once and thought it looked interesting. The cover illustration is medievalesque and pretty.)
-Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (read a kids' version as a child. Felt I should reread now as an adult to better understand his message.)
-Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days (this is actually the same copy I read in the library. The same cover/publisher, anyway. Probably should reread)
-The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes (I already have a LH collection, but this one has way more poems, and he's one of my favorites.)
-David Sedaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day (read other stuff from him for school, found him hilarious. Hopefully it's good.)
-Jonathan Livingston Seagull
-The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (first book in the series)
-Morality for Beautiful Girls (third book in the series. I love the titles he comes up with. I'd read the tenth of these and really liked it, so I got these.)
-The best poetry from the 1990s (apparently. I figure I'd try reading poetry from people that are most likely alive. lol)
-Greek/Roman mythology flashcards, the kind that are long rectangles with shapes on top
-Imagine the Girl in the Painting from American Girl. It's a lovely book of art (paintings about girls, obviously), and it doubles as a photo frame.
I was so happy. I've already read The Colour of Magic, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Imagine the Girl in the Painting, and the mythology flashcards. JLS was interesting, very New Age-y with all the "use your mind to be the best you can be!" type thing, more heavyhanded even then The Alchemist, but it was an all-right read. ItGitP was very nice, just as I knew it would be. The Colour of Magic was very interesting and exciting, hilarious in parts. I've read two Discworld books so I knew what to expect, but since this was the first it felt less… coherent, organized, sure of itself, perhaps. Like Pratchett was still getting his footing. More adult than his others I've read, that's for sure. He has a wicked sense of humor. Death isn't quite as fun here. I was surprised by how very Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series) he was. I'd recommend it if you don't care about some adult stuff. Depending on what you're used to, it's not *too* bad.
I also got VHS tapes of The Muppets Christmas Carol, Hook (Peter Pan retelling with Robin Williams), and Anastasia, and DVDs of Billy Elliot and Mr. Holland's Opus. [/off topic]

Well, I was going to have more links for you, but I've spent a million years composing this post and it's crazy long already. Plus I have a test tomorrow and my mom keeps telling me to go study. lol Till next time!

[Meltintalle]

Silver, I read the first Dragons in Our Midst series several years ago and enjoyed it quite a bit, but was underwhelmed by the companion series whose-title-I-don't-really-remember and so I didn't read any further. But yes, the first books are good. Also, I've heard Leviathan ends on a cliff-hanger and so I don't want to read it until the cliff-hanger is resolved. Is this true?

I have the first three books of the series and have been holding off on reading them until I get the rest.

The first book is my favourite. The second two are okay, and I read the next two for the first time on the way home from last year's Moot. I wasn't as gleeful over them as I expected to be, but five seemed better than four. They're trending to be more serious, and the first one was mostly just fun so there's a bit of a letdown there for me. I liked the reasoning behind the serious stuffs inclusion but it started getting a bit much after four big books of angst and seriousness. Also, hurrah for Lando. That is not one I would have expected you to like (though I admit to being biased against it because it usually has an ugly cover).

I recently finished G. K. Chesterton's Heretics and Orthodoxy. As always, it was very interesting to read the context for some of the Chesterton quotes I've seen floating around. I've started Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Double (the Constance Garnett translation) and it's very... Russian. I don't know very much about it, but it seems to have taken a turn into the sensational and possibly paranormal. I can't decide what we're supposed to think of our hero, who is "all right" and I hope that we are allowed a bit more insight into what started this chain of events soon. I'm not sure if Dostoevsky is being vague or if he thinks he's clearly stated the relationships of the characters involved.

[7chronicles]

@wisewoman: Oh yes read them!
If you Love great characters and History, I think it’s safe to say you’ll like Temeraire!
Noami Novik has written so many amazing characters, especially the Dragons!
I learned a whole bunch about the Napolian Wars just by reading the books!

The first book is my favourite. The second two are okay, and I read the next two for the first time on the way home from last year's Moot. I wasn't as gleeful over them as I expected to be, but five seemed better than four. They're trending to be more serious, and the first one was mostly just fun so there's a bit of a letdown there for me. I liked the reasoning behind the serious stuffs inclusion but it started getting a bit much after four big books of angst and seriousness.

I Love the first book too, I agree it is great fun! I also agree they do get more serious as the books go along, but I can't help but Love them , for me it's the characters , I Love them so much, espially Temeraire!
By the way are you planning on reading book six? If you do I would like to hear how you like it.

I Just finished Temeraire Book Six: Tongues of Serpents,and I Loved it, every time I finish reading a Temeraire book I always want another one to read!
I really can't say which book is my favorite, I need to re-read them all first.

[Lady Haleth]

Still rereading the same things I mentioned before.
As for the next two Earthsea books: My sister got the third from the library, but they didn't have the second. I'll try to find it sometime, though, since I enjoyed the first one.
And though there are sad things, I would say that The Tenant of Wildfell Hall has a mostly happy ending. True, the abusive husband dies, though he does seem at least somewhat sorry for what he's done. But Helen remarries to Gilbert Markham, the guy who was already in love with her, (and who her son likes very much) inherits a lot of money from her uncle, and they settle down and live happily ever after.
About The Pickwick Papers. There's not much of a plot, though parts of it were very funny. My favorite Dickens has always been A Tale of Two Cities, though A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, The Chimes, and Hard Times are also good.

[wisewoman]

Funny, the reason I don't like Mansfield Park is for its ending. It just doesn't seem fair to the heroine. Her life isn't fair to her, and the ending of the book isn't really fair to her either. She's just "servile, underappreciated, put-upon, a second choice." (quote from my last post)

Wow, really? I think the ending of MP is brilliant because it's happy without being unrealistic. Austen is quite honest about the fact that Fanny would have married Crawford if Edmund had married Mary. But that didn't happen, and the best thing that *could* happen for Fanny did. I don't see her life as servile or second choice; indeed, one could argue that although she starts off that way, throughout the rest of the novel she learns to stand firm on the things that really matter to her. And the other characters come to realize how very rare and valuable she is. I love Fanny because she, being weak, is strong.

And yes, though the denouément is pretty dispassionate, to me that is just a clever way of hinting at all the emotions and joys without dragging them out for public perusal. The swoony love scene is left to our imaginations, and sometimes that can be very effective. Austen never errs on the side of gushiness!

I've heard that Villette is kind of like Jane Eyre (which I loved); has anyone here read it?

I have! Here is my review (which is a bit spoilery). Don't go into Villette expecting another Jan Eyre; though there are elements that are similar, JE packs a much bigger punch.

Hey, what's wrong with being feminist? If she's mean to Carter I can see why that would make you dislike her, but why is being feminist something to dislike?

I can't speak for GtG, but I dislike feminism because it flies in the face of biblical Christianity. There's a whole lot more to my reasons, but that's it in a nutshell. We can discuss more via PMs if you like

Great yard sales, mara! I really enjoyed Around the World in 80 Days when I listened to it on audiobook last year. It was really intense even though I knew what was going to happen

Thanks for your thoughts on Temeraire, Mel. I actually kind of like the progression in HP where the books start off light and gradually grow more serious and darker, so maybe I'll like that choice in Novik's series as well. I will keep you posted!

And yes, I really did enjoy Lando, even if there *is* a shirtless man on the cover, lol. Any other specific L'Amour titles I should look for? I saw a sign for a booksale at the library tonight...

Aww, no love for Pickwick? I read it a couple years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, it's episodic, but it's so much fun and there are also some serious moments that give the characters depth. I would have to reread to produce a good review, but it does rank as one of my favorite Dickens books so far, right up there with Bleak House.

[Lady Haleth]

I actually liked Pickwick, particularly Sam Weller and his father. They are the most hilarious thing. And I loved the moment between Job Trotter where he's trying to say, "I'll serve him, I'll serve him," and Sam says "No, I will." And calling Mr. Pickwick an "angel in gaiters". I liked his devotion. There were just others of Dickens that I like even more.
I never read Villette. Besides Jane Eyre ( great love story!), I've read Shirley, and started The Professor, but never finished it. Shirley was pretty good, if a bit tedious in spots, but The Professor was kind of boring.

[Meltintalle]

Awww, my favourite L'Amour's?

Walking Drum
Hondo
Passing Through
The Proving Trail
Fallon
Ride the River (Sackett novel)
A Man Called Noon
Sitka
Jubal Sackett... There are others, of course, but I'd have to look up the titles. Something about Bowdry and/or Kilkenny, but there are more than one and I don't remember which one specifically I'm thinking of.

every time I finish reading a Temeraire book I always want another one to read!

This is very true. I will be sure to check out Tongues of Serpents and I'll probably re-read four and five while I'm at it.

[shastastwin]

Mar_girl, my signature is a reference to the recent Mod Moot (which as its title implies is a gathering of Moderators). DrElwinRansom is able to do a fantastic impression of Christopher Lee, and so when I did my own impression I realized that compared to Dr. Ransom, "I'm like Christopher Lee at 12."

*continues his reread of Queen of Attolia*

[Silver the Wanderer]

Silver, I read the first Dragons in Our Midst series several years ago and enjoyed it quite a bit, but was underwhelmed by the companion series whose-title-I-don't-really-remember and so I didn't read any further. But yes, the first books are good. Also, I've heard Leviathan ends on a cliff-hanger and so I don't want to read it until the cliff-hanger is resolved. Is this true?

The companion series is called Oracles of Fire, and yes it does get pretty complicated in places. But the conclusion is worth it if you're able to follow what's going on.

As for Leviathan, it does have a bit of a cliffhanger, but that's expected since it's the first of a trilogy. But it's not a really bad cliffhanger, more of a "the journey will continue" kind of cliffhanger.

Rick Riordan seems like he very much wants me to read and like him, but I'm afraid he's just a few years too late. I would have snapped his books up as a teen; I love mythology. Now there's just way too much other stuff to read.

You should give them a try! My science teacher loves, them.

[sandyentersNarnia]

Currently reading The Secret Garden... I am interested with its title.

[Meltintalle]

Silver, the problem wasn't that Oracles was complicated (I like complicated; done right, it makes the story feel more fleshed out) but the actual quality of the writing had changed. There were some really awkward similes that threw me out of the story and there didn't seem to be a character I could care about. *shrug* Thanks for the info about Leviathan, I appreciate knowing what I'm getting into.

How are you liking QoA this time around, stwin?

*is currently devouring the first five books of Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom series* Very nicely paced, and a well thought-out world. So far, I approve. So far, my biggest caveat would be that our worldviews don't align, but I was rather expecting that.

[Kate]

Glenstorm: I'm really interested to hear how you like the Riddlemaster of Hed. Do keep us updated.

W4J: I'm of the opinion that Gaiman is a genius. I'm not usually a graphic novel person, but I've read a few. The cover art is incredible, so it's too bad the actual art isn't great. The premise sounds fascinating though. Cute name for the the king of dreamland.

ww: It's lovely to see you in here! It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who felt a little overwhelmed by Riddlemaster.

mar_girl: Precisely. It wasn't called fantasy, it was the beginning and end of storytelling. It wasn't worth telling if it wasn't magical/mythical. I have no idea who pioneered our modern idea of "fantasy." Anderson and the Grimms might be a good guess though.

I didn't mind not knowing Stephen's history. It never bothered me. He was kind of a peripheral character.

It just doesn't seem fair to the heroine. Her life isn't fair to her, and the ending of the book isn't really fair to her either. She's just "servile, underappreciated, put-upon, a second choice." (quote from my last post)

Uh... what? Fanny gets everything her heart could have desired. The bad people get their just desserts, the good people (of which there are few) are rewarded. I don't understand why you think it's second rate.

I found the "Pride and Prejudice a la Twilight" on Amazon. Here's the synopsis:

With all the forces of the world conspiring to keep Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet apart, how will fate manage to bring them together? It certainly won't be easy if they're fighting it every step of the way. But theirs is a love that was meant to be, despite the obstacles along the way

There's also a Romeo and Juliet and Wuthering Heights version.

I've heard that Villette is kind of like Jane Eyre (which I loved); has anyone here read it?

Yes. Wisewoman and I disagree on this one. Do NOT go into Villette expecting a Jane Eyre. It's dull, plodding, long, and I wish I had the time back that I spent reading it. The only interesting thing about it is that it's somewhat autobiographical. Lucy Snowe (I always want to call her Lucy Swann) is a doormat who lives vicariously through some socially adept, wealthy friends who treat her as though they couldn't care if she lived or died. *takes a deep breath* I'll stop ranting now, but I was very disappointed by this book. If you want to read it, I would recommend giving yourself the freedom to quit. I didn't and even though I knew early on that I didn't like it, I kept going, hoping it would improve. Instead, I spent months on a book I hated.

. Austen is quite honest about the fact that Fanny would have married Crawford if Edmund had married Mary.

She is? I don't remember getting that implication at all. I suppose I could probably assume that, Fanny isn't the "Jane Austen type" to [spoiler]stay unmarried for want of love[/i], but I didn't think Austen was very upfront about it.

My library had a sale the other day so I picked up copies of Hamlet and The Tempest and Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea. I'm taking a Shakespeare class this quarter and even though textbooks haven't been announced, I thought there was a good chance those would be on our list. I'm really excited to read WSS.

Texbooks for my other classes have been announced though and I am very excited about them. ( I LOVE getting textbook lists. Books I'm forced to buy? OK!)
I'll be reading Persuasion for one class, which I'm really looking forward to. I didn't like it much the first time and I am excited to read Austen in an academic setting.
For my Russian Realism class I'm reading:
Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth by Tolstoy
Death of Ivan Ilyich by Tolstoy
Confession by Tolstoy
Notes from the Underground by Dostoevsky
Grand Inquisitor by Dostoevsky
Stories by Chekhov