Start Date: March 1, 2013
End Date: July 1, 2013
I thought that this was a good book. It was a pretty easy read, and I'm happy the way it turned out. The story was very long, starting from when she was a young child living with her Aunt who hated her. She lived with this family who did not like poor Jane, and always made her life a living hell. Finally her Aunt didn't want to take care of her anymore, and sent her off to a horrible boarding school. In this school, Jane became very well learned and educated. But she lived in torturous living conditions with barely enough food or clothing. After one winter when many girls died, the school got a major overhaul and it turned into a nice school. Jane graduated and ended up staying to become a teacher. Here she was happy for many years. Eventually she left to go become a governess for a young girl in a house. This job she enjoys, but soon falls in love with Mr Rochester, the master of the house. They were about to be married, when it was found out that he was actually married to someone else, a crazy lady who he kept locked up in the 3rd floor. Even though she loved him, Jane didn't want to become a mistress to a married man. She ran off into the middle of the night to some far away town. She almost starved to death there wandering around for 3 days and nights with no money, food or shelter. She landed on someone's door step who was nice enough to take her in. This family she got a long great with. She ended up going to the man of the house, St. John, up to a school in a small town to become a teacher. Here she found out that her rich uncle had passed away and left her with 20,000 pounds. Also at the same time she found out that St John and his two sisters were actually related to her. They were cousins. They had a plan to all live together and live happily ever after. St John started to train Jane, unbeknownst to her, to become his partner on his journey to India to do Gods work. He proposed to marry her, even though he didn't love her, but so she could join him to India to help with his work. Jane didn't want to marry someone she didn't love. She took this opportunity to go back and check on Mr Rochester to see how he was doing. She found him blind with one hand, both he had suffered after his house burned down, killing his wife. Jane decides to stay with Mr Rochester, he proposes to her again, and they are married as soon as can be. He ends up getting his vision back in his right eye, they have a baby, and all is happy in the end.
I'm so happy that Jane went back to Rochester. They loved each other so much, but because of the law back then, they couldn't be married, since he was already married. I guess they didn't have divorce back then? She ran away because she didn't want to love a man who she couldn't marry. St John was a real pain to read about. I get it that some people believe their mission in life is to 'do the work of God' but he shouldn't have tried to push it on Jane. She was obviously not happy at all when he was 'training' her. It was more like he had some strange psychological hold over her and was using that to get her to do his bidding. I'm happy she had the courage and strength to deny his proposal. She would've never been happy in India. I love that she went back to Rochester. They were meant to be together.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Book 9: Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
Start Date: February 2, 2012
End Date: October 23, 2012
I take it back that Wuthering Heights was the hardest book I've ever read. This takes the cake by 10. It took almost 9 months. I did take breaks in between to read other books, but oh em gee I'm so happy I'm done with this book. I'm very happy I stuck with it and finished it.
I read this book on my Kindle, and thank goodness because otherwise I probably would have carpel tunnel by now. Apparently this book is around 1488 pages completely unabridged, and I read the kindle abridged version which was about 1000 pages. I'm not a history buff, as a matter a fact I hated history, so when he would go off on tangents about the battle of Waterloo or the politics of France at that time, I hated it, I would fall asleep, and I learned to skip over. (Apparently the version I read cut out an even lengthier version of the waterloo.) It made reading go by a LOT quicker. And to those people who says "don't skip those parts!" must have a lot of time on their hands and/or love french history. Those parts had nothing to do with the story itself. Maybe Hugo should've written 2 books. One regarding the actual story, and one regarding his political agenda.
Anyway, this story was very depressing and happy at the same time. The era in which it was written I can in no way relate to. I'm ecstatic Cosette and Marius end up together rich and happy with all their families blessings. Sad Jean Valjean dies, but happy he got to see Marius and Cossette one last time and that Marius ended up learning the whole truth. Annoyed the whole barricade revolution scene took as long as it did. I hate that Thenardier got to go off to America and not die some horrible tragic death for the horrible person that he was. I was sad that Javert killed himself after he let Valjean go. Overall great book, and I can't wait to watch the movies/plays that incorporate so many of the great songs I would listen to at times to keep me motivated to continue on reading. I'll definitely be taking a long break before starting my next book, and even then the next book with be a light easy fun one.
End Date: October 23, 2012
I take it back that Wuthering Heights was the hardest book I've ever read. This takes the cake by 10. It took almost 9 months. I did take breaks in between to read other books, but oh em gee I'm so happy I'm done with this book. I'm very happy I stuck with it and finished it.
I read this book on my Kindle, and thank goodness because otherwise I probably would have carpel tunnel by now. Apparently this book is around 1488 pages completely unabridged, and I read the kindle abridged version which was about 1000 pages. I'm not a history buff, as a matter a fact I hated history, so when he would go off on tangents about the battle of Waterloo or the politics of France at that time, I hated it, I would fall asleep, and I learned to skip over. (Apparently the version I read cut out an even lengthier version of the waterloo.) It made reading go by a LOT quicker. And to those people who says "don't skip those parts!" must have a lot of time on their hands and/or love french history. Those parts had nothing to do with the story itself. Maybe Hugo should've written 2 books. One regarding the actual story, and one regarding his political agenda.
Anyway, this story was very depressing and happy at the same time. The era in which it was written I can in no way relate to. I'm ecstatic Cosette and Marius end up together rich and happy with all their families blessings. Sad Jean Valjean dies, but happy he got to see Marius and Cossette one last time and that Marius ended up learning the whole truth. Annoyed the whole barricade revolution scene took as long as it did. I hate that Thenardier got to go off to America and not die some horrible tragic death for the horrible person that he was. I was sad that Javert killed himself after he let Valjean go. Overall great book, and I can't wait to watch the movies/plays that incorporate so many of the great songs I would listen to at times to keep me motivated to continue on reading. I'll definitely be taking a long break before starting my next book, and even then the next book with be a light easy fun one.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Book 8: The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Start Date: November 18, 2011
Finish Date: December 6, 2011
This is another book I read back in high school, but had no memory of what it was about. I might have read more of the Cliffsnotes and less of the book back then.
Guy, Nick, moves to Long Island. Nick meets his neighbor, the Great Gatsby. The Great Gatsby is a mysterious man who throws lavish parties every weekend. Nick finds out the reason Gatsby is throwing all these parties is so he can reconnect with his long lost girlfriend Daisy, who so happens to be married to Nick's cousin, Tom. Daisy and Gatsby finally reconnect, create a plan to run away together, but not before Tom can interfere. The night everything was laid on the table, Daisy ends up running over and killing Tom's mistress. Tom ends up taking Daisy and getting out of Long Island, Gatsby gets shot and killed by the man who was married to Tom's mistress, who thought his wife was having an affair with Gatsby. Gatsby dies, no one shows up for his funeral, Nick moves back to the West. The End
So.. This book was interesting. I felt a little let down at the end. Also, I felt like the ending drew out a little too long. I understand the writer wanted the impact of the fact that no one showed up to the funeral. But then again, I didn't feel so attached to Gatsby that I cared. It took half the book before he showed up. Then once he did, he was killed. I was hoping Daisy and Gatsby would end up together. That was kind of the plot of the book. It is ironic that both Daisy and Tom had a sidepiece. Both of their mistress were killed for something that wasn't really their fault, and then Tom and Daisy run away and they're lives are just as they were. I feel bad for the Gatsby. All he wanted was to be with the love of his life. I wouldn't have felt bed for Tom if Daisy left him, since he was already cheating.
I thought there would be more depth to the characters. It felt like the author was trying to develop them move, but I guess since they were all so shallow you could only go so deep. I wished the book was longer maybe, so we could know each character a little more. Not just their 'past', but their 'present.'
Overall, I enjoyed reading the book. It left me feeling a little puzzled and unsatisfied, but it was an easy read so I wasn't too disappointed. (ahem, Wuthering Heights, ahem)
Finish Date: December 6, 2011
This is another book I read back in high school, but had no memory of what it was about. I might have read more of the Cliffsnotes and less of the book back then.
Guy, Nick, moves to Long Island. Nick meets his neighbor, the Great Gatsby. The Great Gatsby is a mysterious man who throws lavish parties every weekend. Nick finds out the reason Gatsby is throwing all these parties is so he can reconnect with his long lost girlfriend Daisy, who so happens to be married to Nick's cousin, Tom. Daisy and Gatsby finally reconnect, create a plan to run away together, but not before Tom can interfere. The night everything was laid on the table, Daisy ends up running over and killing Tom's mistress. Tom ends up taking Daisy and getting out of Long Island, Gatsby gets shot and killed by the man who was married to Tom's mistress, who thought his wife was having an affair with Gatsby. Gatsby dies, no one shows up for his funeral, Nick moves back to the West. The End
So.. This book was interesting. I felt a little let down at the end. Also, I felt like the ending drew out a little too long. I understand the writer wanted the impact of the fact that no one showed up to the funeral. But then again, I didn't feel so attached to Gatsby that I cared. It took half the book before he showed up. Then once he did, he was killed. I was hoping Daisy and Gatsby would end up together. That was kind of the plot of the book. It is ironic that both Daisy and Tom had a sidepiece. Both of their mistress were killed for something that wasn't really their fault, and then Tom and Daisy run away and they're lives are just as they were. I feel bad for the Gatsby. All he wanted was to be with the love of his life. I wouldn't have felt bed for Tom if Daisy left him, since he was already cheating.
I thought there would be more depth to the characters. It felt like the author was trying to develop them move, but I guess since they were all so shallow you could only go so deep. I wished the book was longer maybe, so we could know each character a little more. Not just their 'past', but their 'present.'
Overall, I enjoyed reading the book. It left me feeling a little puzzled and unsatisfied, but it was an easy read so I wasn't too disappointed. (ahem, Wuthering Heights, ahem)
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Book 7: Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
Start Date: October 19, 2011
I hate Heathcliff. I think his character is horrible. I hate how at the end within the last couple pages he's not so evil anymore, almost like he's trying to redeem himself. Could just be that he was going crazy from seeing the ghost of Catherine? But I didn't care. I hated him already. He was the center of why everyone's life turned to shit.
End Date: November 17, 2011
Gah. I hated this book. It was torture to read. From the first chapter I had no idea what was going on. I had to finally use Wikipedia to get a grasp on what was going on. I think my main confusion were the names. Lots of re-used names: Heathcliff, Catherine Earnshaw, Edgar Linton, Cathy Linton, Linton Heathcliff. Also, they'd call the same character by 2 different names : Earnshaw/Hareton, Mr. Linton/Linton/Edgar. I couldn't keep up. The only time I finally figured everyone out was when half of the characters were already dead.
Another weird/gross part about this book was that cousins were marrying each other. I'm not sure if this was common back in the day? Cathy married Hareton and Linton, who were both her cousins....all the while the parents all hated each other.
This book seems like it was the mold for current day TV drama. Drama with the parents, drama with the children, drama all around. Everyone hated each other and was rude and selfish. They needed to get out more.
I hate Heathcliff. I think his character is horrible. I hate how at the end within the last couple pages he's not so evil anymore, almost like he's trying to redeem himself. Could just be that he was going crazy from seeing the ghost of Catherine? But I didn't care. I hated him already. He was the center of why everyone's life turned to shit.
And peoples moods in this book go from zero to WTF in 1.2 seconds. They love each other, they hate each other. She wants to go outside, she wants to stay inside. He wants to marry her, she wants to kill him. Cathy and Linton seemed like they were Romeo and Juliet, lovers torn apart because their fathers hated each other. They saw each other in secret, wrote each other love letters...then what happens when they finally are allowed to see each other? He turns out to be a prick and aids in the kidnapping of Cathy and Nelly so Cathy has to marry him. After he's an asshole until he dies. Good riddance. Next, Hareton and Cathy spent the whole half of the book hating each other. Why in the heck did she all of the sudden want to apologize and befriend this boy who she spent her whole life mocking and teasing because he was stupid? People don't change that fast.
All in all I really didn't like reading this book. I couldn't wait to be done with it, but it was so hard for me to read that it was torture. I contemplated giving up and not finishing it, but alas, my reading journey had to go on. I'm very happy I'm done with the book. I don't even want to watch any movie that was made. SO over it.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Book 6: Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain
Start Date: May 30, 2011
End Date: June 24, 2011
Awww :) My initial feelings right after finishing this book. Such a cute story...except for Injun Joe!!
The story starts out with Tom Sawyer getting nagged by his Aunt Polly to do chores and such. Tom's a lil trouble maker.. getting other kids to do his dirty work by saying it's a big treat to be painting the fence! His Aunt Polly loves him but has trouble keeping up with him. Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn go on a bunch of little adventures together...until one night they see a murder go down and poor Muff Potter got framed by Injun Joe. Good ol' Tom came to Potters defense at the trail and saved him. Injun Joe escaped town and Tom was always worried he'd come back for revenge. In the end, Injun Joe dies, Huck and Tom find a huge treasure, and Becky and her family love Tom. The story ended really happily.
I read this book a lot faster than I thought I would. It seems like it'd be more interested for a juvenile boy to enjoy, but I really liked it. It was an easy, light hearted read. Although I did fear Injun Joe, and was afraid when Becky and Tom got lost in the cave. I'm happy everything worked itself out in the end, and Huck got a home with a loving Widow to take care of him and send him to school.
Overall, great book! :)
End Date: June 24, 2011
Awww :) My initial feelings right after finishing this book. Such a cute story...except for Injun Joe!!
The story starts out with Tom Sawyer getting nagged by his Aunt Polly to do chores and such. Tom's a lil trouble maker.. getting other kids to do his dirty work by saying it's a big treat to be painting the fence! His Aunt Polly loves him but has trouble keeping up with him. Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn go on a bunch of little adventures together...until one night they see a murder go down and poor Muff Potter got framed by Injun Joe. Good ol' Tom came to Potters defense at the trail and saved him. Injun Joe escaped town and Tom was always worried he'd come back for revenge. In the end, Injun Joe dies, Huck and Tom find a huge treasure, and Becky and her family love Tom. The story ended really happily.
I read this book a lot faster than I thought I would. It seems like it'd be more interested for a juvenile boy to enjoy, but I really liked it. It was an easy, light hearted read. Although I did fear Injun Joe, and was afraid when Becky and Tom got lost in the cave. I'm happy everything worked itself out in the end, and Huck got a home with a loving Widow to take care of him and send him to school.
Overall, great book! :)
Monday, March 14, 2011
Book 5: Dracula - Bram Stoker
Date Started: March 14, 2011
Date Finished: May 27, 2011
Wow, another book that took me a really long time to read. This book was also written in a way, almost like Little Women, where it was really hard for me to understand what they were saying at times. This also made it to where I could only read a few pages before falling asleep. I felt like it took 3 pages for them to get from point A to B, then 5 pages to get from point B to C, then 2 more pages to go from C back to A. So 2 1/2 months later I finally finished.
I felt like I needed to read this book to see where it all came from. I'm slightly obsessed with Vampire/paranormal romance books, shows and movies. Dracula is where it all started and I wanted to start from the beginning. This was definitely one of the hardest vampire books I've read. :P
The COOLEST part about reading this book, is that my brother and future sister-in-law got me this book for Christmas from UstarNovels. This company, www.ustarnovels.com, can switch out character names with any name you choose! So these are the edits they made:
Jonathan Harker = My boyfriends name
I was Wilhelmina "Mina" Murray
My BFF was Lucy Westenra
This made the book really fun to read because I was reading about names that I knew. (except for when they had to kill Lucy aka my bff hannah)
This also might not be good for future reference when I'm discussing this book with someone and they ask me about Jonathan Harker, and I ask "Who?"
Overall I liked this book. I'm happy I read it. I feel like the book could've been half in length and still could've gotten the story across. But this book was written in 1897. I'll blame the century time difference that made it so difficult for me. I'm sad Quincy Morris died in the end, but I guess it would've been too easy if no one had died.
Time for another break in my literary quest. Book 11 of the Sookie Stackhouse series calls, and then possibly the start of The Hunger Games. BBL
Date Finished: May 27, 2011
Wow, another book that took me a really long time to read. This book was also written in a way, almost like Little Women, where it was really hard for me to understand what they were saying at times. This also made it to where I could only read a few pages before falling asleep. I felt like it took 3 pages for them to get from point A to B, then 5 pages to get from point B to C, then 2 more pages to go from C back to A. So 2 1/2 months later I finally finished.
I felt like I needed to read this book to see where it all came from. I'm slightly obsessed with Vampire/paranormal romance books, shows and movies. Dracula is where it all started and I wanted to start from the beginning. This was definitely one of the hardest vampire books I've read. :P
The COOLEST part about reading this book, is that my brother and future sister-in-law got me this book for Christmas from UstarNovels. This company, www.ustarnovels.com, can switch out character names with any name you choose! So these are the edits they made:
Jonathan Harker = My boyfriends name
I was Wilhelmina "Mina" Murray
My BFF was Lucy Westenra
This made the book really fun to read because I was reading about names that I knew. (except for when they had to kill Lucy aka my bff hannah)
This also might not be good for future reference when I'm discussing this book with someone and they ask me about Jonathan Harker, and I ask "Who?"
Overall I liked this book. I'm happy I read it. I feel like the book could've been half in length and still could've gotten the story across. But this book was written in 1897. I'll blame the century time difference that made it so difficult for me. I'm sad Quincy Morris died in the end, but I guess it would've been too easy if no one had died.
Time for another break in my literary quest. Book 11 of the Sookie Stackhouse series calls, and then possibly the start of The Hunger Games. BBL
Monday, August 2, 2010
Book 4: Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Date Started: August 2, 2010
Date Finished: September 16, 2010
My first Jane Austen book! I was really excited to read this book since I've heard such good things about it and the movie. One thing that scared me was I had read somewhere that Jane didn't end up with Mr. Bingley. I read that somewhere online when I had first started reading the book and it made me sad. :/ But I'm happy that they did! The book had such a great ending.
The Bennet's, a family that consists of 5 daughters, a quiet father and a mother who is intent on marrying her daughters off to rich men with fine families. The two oldest daughters, Jane and Elizabeth were the center of the love story. A wealthy family comes into town, Jane and Elizabeth meet Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy, and the story sets off. Jane and Bingley instantly attract to each other and it seems like they'll marry off soon. Elizabeth is disgusted by Darcy's attitude and pride and judges him from her initial impression. Soon after, the wealthy family leaves without so much as a goodbye. Jane is devastated, Elizabeth is relieved.
Elizabeth seems to keep running into Mr Darcy. Even though it seems like they can't stand each other, he proposes marriage to her out of no where. She declines him because she believes it was him to made Bingley leave Jane. Darcy writes Elizabeth a letter explaining everything that had happened and it turns out he's not what she thought he was. Her pride and prejudices got in the way. They soon meet again and it's known that they're in love and want to get married. Also, Bingley comes back for Jane, and everything ends happily ever after.
Simple concept of a love story, but the old english writing style of the book is what makes it difficult to read. I wanted to get into the book and read but after a section I had to stop and either re-read, or sit there and try and decipher what I had just read. Every time the story was focusing on Elizabeth and Darcy tho, I couldn't put it down. I had to know what was going to happen!
Overall, I'm very happy I read this book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, was very pleased with how it ended and am excited to watch the movie(s). I was told the BBC version was the best, so I plan to watch that one first. I'll probably end up watching the other version at some point as well.
Taking another short break to read another paranormal romance book I bought a while ago and it's been staring at me wanting me to read it. Next literature book I plan to read is either 1984 or Great Expectations!
Date Finished: September 16, 2010
My first Jane Austen book! I was really excited to read this book since I've heard such good things about it and the movie. One thing that scared me was I had read somewhere that Jane didn't end up with Mr. Bingley. I read that somewhere online when I had first started reading the book and it made me sad. :/ But I'm happy that they did! The book had such a great ending.
The Bennet's, a family that consists of 5 daughters, a quiet father and a mother who is intent on marrying her daughters off to rich men with fine families. The two oldest daughters, Jane and Elizabeth were the center of the love story. A wealthy family comes into town, Jane and Elizabeth meet Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy, and the story sets off. Jane and Bingley instantly attract to each other and it seems like they'll marry off soon. Elizabeth is disgusted by Darcy's attitude and pride and judges him from her initial impression. Soon after, the wealthy family leaves without so much as a goodbye. Jane is devastated, Elizabeth is relieved.
Elizabeth seems to keep running into Mr Darcy. Even though it seems like they can't stand each other, he proposes marriage to her out of no where. She declines him because she believes it was him to made Bingley leave Jane. Darcy writes Elizabeth a letter explaining everything that had happened and it turns out he's not what she thought he was. Her pride and prejudices got in the way. They soon meet again and it's known that they're in love and want to get married. Also, Bingley comes back for Jane, and everything ends happily ever after.
Simple concept of a love story, but the old english writing style of the book is what makes it difficult to read. I wanted to get into the book and read but after a section I had to stop and either re-read, or sit there and try and decipher what I had just read. Every time the story was focusing on Elizabeth and Darcy tho, I couldn't put it down. I had to know what was going to happen!
Overall, I'm very happy I read this book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, was very pleased with how it ended and am excited to watch the movie(s). I was told the BBC version was the best, so I plan to watch that one first. I'll probably end up watching the other version at some point as well.
Taking another short break to read another paranormal romance book I bought a while ago and it's been staring at me wanting me to read it. Next literature book I plan to read is either 1984 or Great Expectations!
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