The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain

Title: The Prince and the Pauper

Author: Mark Twian

Pages: 296

Finished: December 30, 2018

First Sentence: In the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the second quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor family of the name of Canty, who did not want him.

Summary: This is one of those books that everyone seems to know the skeleton plot of. Pauper Tom Canty switches places with the Prince Edward Tudor by accident. They live the other person's life for a few weeks, and then manage to switch back where they learn how their experiences changed them.

Thoughts: Like my poor summary above, I knew little about this novel other than the switch. Again, like many classics, most of my knowledge comes from the Wishbone adaptations. (Thank you PBS and Wishbone!) The first thing I noticed was the fact that the prince in the novel was Prince Edward, son of King Henry VIII. I had assumed it was a fictional prince, but this is actually a piece of historical fiction with real historical figures!

The novel itself is an interesting novel to read. I've read Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn numerous times. In high school, I even wrote a paper on why Huck Finn is one of the best pieces of American Literature. So I thought I knew what I was getting into when I picked this novel up. While it has plenty of Twain's sarcasm and irony, there's a very different feel to the novel. One of the main differences is the historical setting and subject matter. I always knew that the second half of Henry VIIIs reign was a brutal one, but I never realized how brutal. Of course, the novel may have taken liberties as it's clear Edward needed an example to move against as he grew up. Still, it was brutal, and we know that Henry the VIII executed plenty of people.

I noticed that this book didn't read as quickly as I expected it to. I was excited to have a sub 300 page book. I was especially excited to read a sub 300 page book written by Twain because I've flown through his novels before. I found myself finding excuses to NOT read when I had a chance. For whatever reason, the story just didn't grab me as much as I would have hoped. And I can't even figure out why.

Mark Twain considered this his best novel. I think I have to reread Huck Finn (It's been over a decade) to see how I feel.

This was my Classic Club Spin #19. My list is now halfway complete!

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Title: The Woman in White

 Author: Wilkie Collins

Pages: 502

Finished: December 21, 2018

First Sentence: This is the story of what a Woman's patience can endure, and what a Man's resolution can achieve.

Summary: Walter Hartright meets a strange woman dressed all in white one night. After unknowingly helping her escape from an asylum, he takes off for Limmerage house in Cumberland to become the drawing master for two young women, Marian Halcombe and Laura Fairlie. While there, he falls in love with Laura, who as fate would have it, is engaged to be married to an evil man. And somehow, that strange woman in white is connected to Laura's future husband.

Thoughts: This book and the Moonstone by the same author are often considered the first mysteries or detective novels written. I've read both this year. Out of the two, I preferred The Moonstone.

I thought the characterizations were handled well. You can tell that Collins was a colleague of Dickens. Fosco and Mr. Fairlie especially were Dickens-like in my mind. (It's worth noting the book was serialized in a Dickens magazine when it came out.) Mrs. Catherick and Countess Fosco were perfectly odious creatures. Marian was... mostly okay. I disliked the whole constantly being down on her gender, but she was very competent which was lovely to see. Laura fell absolutely short for me, and I just couldn't understand how it was that Walter fell for her rather than the way more competent Marian. But whatever. I felt very sorry for Anne Catherick, and wanted to know more about her. Was she actually mad? Or did she become mad after being placed in an asylum for so long.

The plot started off slowly. Much like the Moonstone, I was wondering if the story was every going to get to a point of interest, but I kept going, and things did eventually pick up.

In terms of the mystery, I was very confused for a while. I'd made the mistake of scanning some summaries of the book. Due to the nature of those skims, I had some weird ideas in my head of what was going to happen. I kept waiting for those things to come to fruition, and I felt rather annoyed when they didn't. Lesson learned, don't read summaries until you finish the book.

All in all, I'm glad I read the book. It was significantly quicker than I expected it to be. I think I'll read more of Wilkie Collins's works in years to come.

Read for Back to the Classics 2018 AND (unofficially) for the current Classics Club Spin

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Title: The Count of Monte Cristo

Author: Alexandre Dumas

Pages: 1472

Finished: November 17, 2018

First Sentence: On the 24th of February, 1815, the look-out at Notre-Dame de la Garde signalled the three-master, the Pharaon from Smyrna, Trieste, and Naples.

Summary: Edmond Dantes comes home from his most recent voyage very triumphant. He's about to be made captain. He has a fantastic girlfriend who he decides to marry. He can provide for his ailing father. Unfortuantely, Edmond also has enemies - men who want that which he has. They hatch a plot to get Edmond out of their way, a plot that only moves forward when the cowardly procurer du roi decides it's for the best if Edmond is incarcerated in order to keep suspicions form the procurer du roi's own family. This is the story of how Edmond fell, and how he because the Count of Monte Cristo, hell bent on revenge for losing everything.

Thoughts: Oh my god! I finally finished it. I started this book in January and am finally done. Lesson to self: I read better by reading for longer stretches and then taking a break rather than reading a chapter a day.

One of the things that I found interesting about this book... when people found out I was reading this, they would fawn over the book. It's the best book they ever read. They LOVE the Count of Monte Cristo. It's so amazing...

I was underwhelmed.

AFTER HERE THERE BE SPOILERS!!!

First, let me say, this is the type of book you need to read with a pen and notebook. You need to note who's who. This is very important because if you don't, suddenly you get really angry at a 200 page diversion to Italy with a young man named Morcerf who doesn't mean anything to you... until you realize you totally missed the name 300 pages back when it was mentioned in passing by someone else. Seriously? I totally missed that Fernand and Mercedes became the Morcerfs. Had I caught that, I would have enjoyed the whole Italy bit so much more.

I found myself very... frustrated. I'm not one for revenge which is basically this entire tale. Yes the Count planned everything to the tiniest detail. Yes it was meticulous. No, that doesn't make me like the book. Even with the stuff that has happened in my life that I'm not going to go into on an anonymous blog... I've felt a lot of anger, and then I just wanted to heal and move on with my life.

And maybe that's where this is falling flat for me. I felt so sorry for Edmond when he was sent to jail. I felt so sorry for Edmond when he got out of jail and discovered what happened. But then, he was rich and he had the world at his fingertips. I felt sorry for him that he never healed. It wasn't until Madame Villefort and her son died that he finally felt he'd taken things too far.

I was also really frustrated that he and Mercedes never got together. I mean, I get it, but it felt like such a rip off to me, that he went through all this effort only to not get with the girl. I suppose he gets with A girl... but it's not the one I was rooting for.

Most of all, the book is just LONG. I don't mind long books when I find them interesting. But I just didn't find this one interesting. None of the characters were all that likable. There were a lot of chapters that just didn't make sense until they did... but it was such a long time for them to make sense that I just felt an overall feeling of annoyance. By the end, I did want to see how everything would play out, but I didn't really enjoy it. Probably the story I was most engrossed in was Eugenie Debray and her music instructor/possible lover. The Romeo and Juliet story of Morrell and Valentine was insipid. The mystery of the poisoner was... really dull actually. The audience knew who it was from 600 pages ago, but watching everyone else bumble around didn't do anything for me.

I'm glad I read it. I have a better idea of certain allusions etc. But in general, this is not my favorite book.

Read for Back to the Classics: A Book That Scares You AND The Classics Club.

November/December Plans

Yesterday, I came across this blog post written by Joel at I'd Rather Be Reading. It was rather apropos, as I had a similar reaction to the fact that it's now November, and I have so many books left to read. (I also have so many life goals that aren't going to happen and don't need to be discussed in this blog. I made good headway with most of them, but there are a couple niggling ones that just aren't going to happen, and I'm a bit disappointed with myself.)

Anyway, without further ado, here's what I had planned to read in November, the status of each of those goals, and my future plans.

What Were My Reading Goals

1) Read 70 Books - I am at 55 books read as of today. Looking at Goodreads, I'm apparently 6 behind schedule which means to get to 70, I need to read 15 books between now and December 31st. I originally chose this goal because I easily hit it last year. Not so much this year. To be fair, this year also tried to kick the snot out of me... I'm okay with not hitting this goal.

2) Read 12 Classics for the Back to the Classics Challenge - According to the list I made last year, I am three books away from finishing this. However, my parents and I also do a book club that's classics focused. With the books we've read for that, combined with the books I've read for the challenge, I've made it. With that being said, I'd like to try and finish my original list if at all possible.

3) Read All Seven of David Mitchell's books in order - According to David Mitchell, his books are all part of one uber-novel. I'd read a couple of his books before, but decided to read them all again in order. I finished this challenge in July. It was an interesting experiment, but I found I didn't enjoy all his books the way I enjoyed the two I'd read before.

4) Read Five Books Off My Very Incomplete To Be Read List - I'm 3 for 5 on this one... and it's really 2 for 5. I stopped reading the third one because it was so bad. That being said, I'm not going to pick up another one. I'm happy with this list and happy with how it's going.

5) Doing Dewey Challenge: Read One Book from Every Dewey Century - Hahahaha. I added this because I was doing so well with my reading. I was actually running out of stuff to read, not that that was hard remedy. I work in a library. But I thought it'd be a great way to add more nonfiction in my life. As of right now, I've read 3 out of 10. I don't foresee myself making it any further than that.

All in all, I feel good about these goals. I feel like goals 1 through 4 were very realistic, and Goal 5 was added as an afterthought anyway. It makes sense that I won't finish it.

What My November/December Reading Plans Are:

• Finish The Count of Monte Cristo I've been working on this book since January. I thought I had a great plan for finishing it. I didn't. I'm about 250 pages from the end, so I should get it done by December 31st. (Finished 11/17/18)
• Read the last two books for my personal Reading Challenge. Both of these are sitting on my nightstand, and I plan on bringing both on our trip to Denver next week. I am positive that I'll finish both by New Year's Eve
• Read the last two books for Back to the Classics My last two books are The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins and One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. One of these is on hold for me at work; the other is on my nightstand. The plan is to read both of these, but if I'm pressed for time, I will eschew Solitude in favor of Woman in White
• Complete the last Classics Club Spin for the year (if there is one) I really enjoy this challenge every time it comes up. I enjoy it so much that I even have my list ready! There is usually one for November/December. Both of the above titles are on my spin list as well as 18 other books from my Classics Club. Hopefully, I'll get either one of these titles, or another slim novel. Unfortunately, I have some chunkters on there as well. If I end up with one of my other books I'm avoiding, likely neither of my Back to the Classics will show up this year.

With Count, the two books for my reading challenge, and at least one more classics, that brings me to 59 books for the year which is definitely respectable. I also should add, this doesn't count all the audiobooks I've listened to. Adding those brings me closer to the 70 range considering how many of the Rebecca Caudill Books I worked my way through this year.

The Time Machine by H. G. Wells

Title: The Time Machine: An Invention

Author: H. G. Wells

Pages: 125

Finished: November 7, 2018

First Sentence: The Time Traveller (for so it will be convenient to speak of him) was expounding a recondite matter to us.

Summary: The Time Traveler tells a story to his dinner guests about his journey to the far future. We learn of the decent of Man into the Eloi and the Morlocks and how the Time Traveler learned of them.

Thoughts: Warning: Spoilers abound. The only thing I knew of this story was a Wishbone episode and the 2002 movie. Though I'd seen the 2002 movie more recently, the Wishbone episode is what sticks in my mind the most. I distinctly remember Weena, a torch, and the well.

Anyway, I had no idea just how in depth this book was. I had this image of the Morlocks being very clear "bad guys" and the Eloi being very clear "good guys." In fact, it's a deep look into how life adapts to its environment. We often think of evolution as becoming the best of a species, but that's not it. Life adapts to live in its environment. I just repeated myself.

Anyway, I felt sorry for the Morlocks. From what I was reading, they weren't actually harming him. In fact, they seemed merely curious. But he immediately decides they are bad and must be fought. Of course, it turns out they're the "intelligent" species left on Earth and they basically breed and care for the Eloi as though they are cattle. But they didn't act "evil" until the Time Traveler started attacking them. I don't know. Reading it with a 21st century eye, it just seemed really obnoxious that 18th century white man comes to a world and decides he needs to save people and explain everything and... yeah.

I don't read a ton of Science Fiction, but I was impressed at how different this was from what Science Fiction seems to be now. For a 125 page book, it moved at a fairly gentle pace. We meet the Morlocks about half way through. And the climax with them isn't nearly as hear-poundingly action filled as many current scifi books I've read are.

I'm glad I read it. I don't know how much I want to read more Wells after this, but I appreciated reading this one. Read for Back to the Classics: A Book about Travel. Also part of my Classics Club list.

Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal

Title: Shades of Milk and Honey

Author: Mary Robinette Kowal

Pages: 302

Finished: Stopped at page 27

First Sentence: The Ellsworths of Long Parkmead had the regard of their neightbors in every respect. 

Summary: Because I did not finish this, here's the discription from the flyleaf: Shades of Milk and Honey is exactly what we could expect from Jane Austen if she had been a fantasy writer: Pride and Prejudice meets Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. It is an intimate portrait of a woman, Jane, and her quest for love in a world where the manipulation of glamour is considered an essential skill for a lady of quality.

Jane and her sister Melody vie for the attentions of eligible men, and while Jane’s skill with glamour is remarkable, it is her sister who is fair of face. When Jane realizes that one of Melody’s suitors is set on taking advantage of her sister for the sake of her dowry, she pushes her skills to the limit of what her body can withstand in order to set things right—and, in the process, accidentally wanders into a love story of her own.

Thoughts: I found this title while searching for readalikes to Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I LOVED Strange and Norrell. It was a fantastic Jane Austen meets Charles Dickens with fantasy infused. The wit and humor were there. The ridiculousness was there. It was a joy to read. So to find a book that mentioned both that AND Jane Austen (who is my favorite author) was amazing.

... Oh my goodness was the book underwhelming. The author, while clearly a fan of Austen, is not as good a writer as Austen. The sentences were clumsy and didn't read as true to the time. It was very clear the book was written in the 21st century. On top of that, even though I only read 27 pages, the characters were so suck in their stereotypes that I could barely handle it. Jane was a mix of Anne Elliot and Eleanor Dashwood while Melody was clearly a rehash of Marianne Dashwood. Also, Melody said "La!" at least three times. Enough that it was grating. The dialogue was uninspiring.

Perhaps this book is one that gets better as you go, but as I was hoping to use it as a break book for both Count of Monte Cristo and The Scarlet Letter, I'm not willing to do the work. Overall a grave disappointment.

Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

Title: Far From the Madding Crowd

Author: Thomas Hardy

Pages: 352

Finished: September 26, 2018

First Sentence: When Farmer Oak smiled, the corners of his mouth spread till they were within an unimportant distance of his ears, his eyes were reduced to chinks, and diverging wrinkles appeared round them, extending upon his countenance like the rays in a rudimentary sketch of the rising sun.

Summary: Bathsheba Everdene takes over her uncle's farm upon his death. While there, she attracts the attention of three different men. Over the course of a year, she runs the farm with an intelligent hand and wards off all her suitors, until she doesn't. Tragedy strikes and int the end, she marries the man she's supposed to.

Thoughts: I have so many. Oh my goodness. Let's start with Bathsheba. I actually really liked her for the most part. Often, when I read classics, I have a hard time believing the characters are the age they are because they act so much older than their age. To be fair, people back then had to grow up quicker, but it's hard for me to believe they are so young because I suppose I read things with a 21st century thought process. But Bathsheba read as young 20s to me. Between her thoughtlessness and her narcissism and just, in general. I didn't like how she thoughlessly sent that Valentine to Boldwood. Not at all. And I had some trouble with how she had a tendency to lead men on. But as I read it, I wondered how much of that had to do with the fact that it was a man writing her. I did appreciate that she knew she didn't want to marry anyone unless she loved them. Of course, I was frustrated that she fell for Sergeant Troy who's horrible, but she did love him. And she was faithful to him. I'm not explaining this well. I don't necessarily want her in a relationship that's horrible for her, but she tries.

Mr. Boldwood. Where do I start. Mr. Boldwood is that guy who you flirt with once and now he expects you to have sex with him. In 19th century terms. This guy infuriated me so much! I felt bad for him for a couple of chapters, but when he kept going on how she owed him, I got more and more frustrated. Suddenly, everything he did for her felt like a guy saying, "look, I helped you so therefore you should be my girlfriend." It was so absolutely disgusting. There was even a bit where it was mentioned that his strength of character bent hers to him that just felt so icky.

Sergeant Troy. Oh my god was he despicable. First and foremost, I did not expect him to actually love Fanny the way he clearly did by the end of the novel. He seemed to be blowing her off through the whole thing. I even expected him to have given her the wrong church in order to avoid the wedding. So I was annoyed that he clearly impregnated her and then came back to Weatherbury to flirt with Bathsheba. (Not that he necessarily knew he had impregnated her... but still.) So instead, he started leading Bathsheba on in ways that were so controlling. Then he agreed to marry her in Bath in a scene we don't know about, so we don't know who pushed whom into it. Then he left, and tried to get her back after abandoning her for a year. I mean, seriously, who does that?!?!

Gabriel Oak. Our stolid farmer who is clearly the one meant for her even though she refuses him the first time. He was not so odious as the others, but I have to admit, I don't know why he fell in love with her right away. Nor did I feel he had the right to get so annoyed when she showed preference to other men. By the end, he grew on me with how much he was willing to protect her even though really that's not his choice.

This is getting long and it's really rambly. I'm sorry guys.

Overall, this is not my most favorite classics, but I do think I enjoy it as one of the better ones I've read this year for my Back To the Classics Challenge. For a book written in the 19th century, there's quite a bit of women's liberation in this that's a bit unexpected. I wonder how it would have read if it was written by a woman. I did have to read passages out loud because I found myself skimming over the pages long descriptions and then not knowing what was going on. Overall though, I'm glad to have read this. I'm interested in hearing why this is one of my dad's favorite books. 

Redemption In Indigo by Karen Lord

Title: Redemption In Indigo

Author: Karen Lord

Pages: 188

Finished: September 16, 2018

First Sentence: A rival of mine once complained that my stories begin awkwardly and end untidily.

Summary: Paama leaves her gluttonous husband to return to the quiet life of her family. However, when her husband follows her, she shows compassion even as he embarrasses himself three ways in as many days. It's not long before he leaves her in her home town to go back home. All this serves as the set up for the meat of the story. The Djombi (gods and other supernatural beings) note her compassion and decide she is the person to hold the Chaos Stick - the power currently being squandared by a Djombi who calls himself the Indigo Lord. Of course, once he realizes his power is gone, he will stop at nothing to get it back.

Thoughts: I'm just going to take a moment to wax poetical about Paama. She is amazing guys! She's kind and compassionate, but she clearly has learned her lesson and is done suffering fools. She's protective of her family. She's intelligent. And she's very principled, though willing enough to learn new things when necessary. I just love her so much!

The story itself takes a bit of time to work out. It's written as though a storyteller were orating it in a hall. The whole thing is a little jarring at first, but as I kept reading, it started working itself out. Mostly. With that in mind, sometimes the story follows another plot that has seemingly nothing to do with what we want. Things are skipped over, others drag on. Mostly, I didn't mind it. I did have a hard time picking out just when this was supposed to have taken place though. I never really managed to figure that out, but I suppose it wasn't all that important to the story.

This is a retelling of a Senegalese folktale. I had to do a bit of digging to try and find which one. There seems to be a folktale called Asigne the Glutton. I couldn't find the text online, but I was able to find a collection of West African folktales that contain this one! I look forward to reading it and seeing how they compare.

Read for my own Personal Reading Challenge.

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Title: The Happiness Project

Author: Gretchen Rubin

Pages: 301

Finished: September 11, 2018

First Sentence: I always vaguely expected to outgrow my expectations.

Summary: Gretchen Rubin decides to take a year to become happier. She does so by coming up with resolutions that she believes will make her happier in various aspects of her life. Throughout the book, she also comes up with Happiness truths as she shares her journey.

Thoughts:  This was the right time to read this book for me. I've been seeing a therapist for almost three years now, and we've been really working at being more positive. I've been studying a ton of personal development books to help me find that positivity and that happiness. So instead of reading this book and immediately getting defensive, I found myself nodding my head to much of what Gretchen was saying. Many of the things she tried are things I've been working on too. How I interact with my husband and my kid. How I interact with other people. How I treat myself and my home. Most of it was in line with what she was saying. I'd already come up with many of these things by myself (with the help of my therapist and other books.) My goal wasn't to become happy, but it was a nice by product.

The one area that I was frustrated with was when she mentioned that she had no interest in meditating or going outside. To the point where she decided not to do them. And I guess the main reason that left me with a bad taste in my mouth is that I fought both meditation and going outside too, but once I started, boy did I feel better. In fact, I try to get every single person in my household outside every day because we all do better when we go outside. Meditation has been crucial to helping me focus too. That being said, I have a feeling she does meditate at times, just differently than I do. And that's okay.

In general, it was a nice enough book. I didn't really get much out of it other than the self acknowledgement that what I'm doing for myself has worked for other people too.

Read for my non-fiction challenge.

Od Magic by Patricia A. McKillip

Title: Od Magic

Author: Patricia A. McKillip

Pages: 315

Finished: August 22, 2018

First Sentence: Brenden Vetch found the Od School of Magic beneath a cobbler's shoe on a busy street in the ancient city of Kelior.

Summary: Breden travels to the city of Kelior in order to become a gardener at the Od's School of Magic at the owner's request. Meanwhile, the magician Tyramin creates a stir in the Twilight Quarter of the same city and the king  becomes more and more paranoid about the role of magic in his Kingdom of Numis.

Thoughts: Bad summery. Sorry. Good book though! First chapter was... slow. Even the second chapter took me a bit of time to get into. But once we were introduced to the Twilight Quarter and the intrigues kept mounting, I was hooked.

I was especially intrigued by Tyramin. I couldn't figure out who the man was, and the reveal at the end completely took me by surprise. I really enjoyed his daughter and all her attempts to throw people off the scent. I also really like how the Tyramin storyline and Princess Sulys's storyline connected at the end.

I really liked Princess Sulys and her knowledge of herself and what she wanted. I enjoyed the fact that she wasn't going to let her life happen to her even though she was a princess and had to do as her father said. If anything disappointed me about this book, it was that I felt her storyline didn't resolve as completely as some of the others did.

This is the second McKillip book I've ever read, and I find I'm really enjoying her writing. I definitely plan on reading more of her works.

Read for my personal reading challenge

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

Title: The Call of the Wild

Author: Jack London

Pages: 70

Finished: August 18, 2018

First Sentence: Buck did not read the newspapers, or he would have known that trouble was brewing, not alone for himself, but for every tide-water dog, strong of muscle and with warm, long hair, from Puget Sound to San Diego.

Summary: Buck lives a happy, cushy life with Judge in California when the Yukon Gold Rush begins. A duplicitous servant sells Buck north to help with teh dog sled teams. Thus begins a life of toil and hardship as Buck pulls a sled through Alaska, fights his way to the top of his team, and fights to survive the harsh weather in Alaska.

Thoughts: Do you ever have those books that you're sure you've never read before, but as you're reading them you vividly remember passages? This was me reading this book. I don't remember ever reading it, but very specific scenes stuck out. Primarily the scene where Dolly went mad, and the scene where Buck wants to be head of the pack and kept dancing around to get it. Turns out, we listened to this on a family car ride when I was about 10.

And I have to say, I'm a little shocked that we listened to this. If I was ten, my youngest sibling was 6, and she's an animal lover. Dogs are mistreated and killed left and right in this book! Holy crow! For a short novel, it took a lot longer for me to read because the emotional toil was so difficult and felt needlessly cruel. But then I remember my high school English class when we talked about Jack London. This is how he writes. Nature is what it is and if man doesn't handle it well, Man will die. Nature doesn't care.

In the end, the book was really well written and very realistic. That being said, it's not something I personally enjoy reading at this stage in my life.

Read for Classic Club Spin #18.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

Title: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Author: Anne Bronte

Pages: 510

Finished: August 15, 2018

First Sentence: You must go back with me to the autumn of 1827.

Summary: A newcomer sets up residence in the small town of Lindenhope. Mrs. Graham, a seeming widow, movies into the derelict Wildfell Hall with her young son and a servant. Seemingly prickly and standoffish, rumors abound about her and the landlord. Meanwhile, Markham has fallen in love with Mrs. Graham and finds the rumors both distasteful yet compelling.

Thoughts: Wow. I'd never read anything by Anne Bronte before, and I was pleasantly surprised. Helen is such an amazing character. She's so strong in her convictions even though others think she is wrong. It's so very commendable. I really appreciate the fact that she got out of an abusive situation at a time when that wasn't very easy or possible even.

Mr. Huntingdon himself is an absolute scoundrel. I was so uncomfortable the moment he started controlling her by means of the paintings. It was so like an old ex-boyfriend of mine who was very controlling in his own way.

Markham was... frustrating. It's rare that you read male characters acting like that, and I wonder how much of that had to do with the fact that the author was a woman. I found myself wishing he would just TALK to people though. So much of the third act could have been avoided with some proper communication skills. Holy cow!

This is definitely one of my favorite books I've read so far this year. Read for the Back to the Classics Challenge as an Author I've never Read Before. 

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Title: The Secret Garden

Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett

Pages: 310

Finished: August 2, 2018

First Sentence: When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen. 

Summary: After a cholera outbreak in India kills her parents, Mary Lennox comes to Misselthwaite Manor in England to live with her uncle. The house is full of unhappiness and secrets, but Mary, given free reign out of doors, manages to find a shut up garden. She and local boy Dickon help bring it back to life. Meanwhile, inside the house, Mary also discovers another secret: Colin, the Master's boy lies sick in bed convinced he's going to die.

Thoughts: I believe I last read this in high school or maybe middle school? The first time I ever experienced this story, my father had read it to us. I remember being absolutely taken with the process of finding the garden.

In general, I was very pleased with the story! I enjoyed watching Mary grow from a sickly, spoiled child to a thriving girl. I also enjoyed the process of watching Colin do the same. The book is definitely a champion of the power of outdoors, which to be fair, I tend to believe in as well. I very much feel like we would all be happier if we spent at least a good hour out of doors, preferably doing something active if possible.

I was surprised how late Colin actually shows up in the book. He seems to be such a big portion of the story, and yet half the book goes by before Mary finds him in his room! And from there, he sort of takes over the story.

I definitely really appreciated the book, though I feel I liked it better when I was a child and my dad read it to me. I can't wait to read this one to my kids!

Read for Back to the Classics Challenge

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

Title: Cranford

Author: Elizabeth Gaskell

Pages: 160

Finished: July 25, 2018

First Sentence: In the first place, Cranford is in possession of the Amazons; all the holders of houses above a certain rent are women.

Summary: A slice of life novel regarding the ladies in the town of Cranford. We follow them in all their escapades and foibles, some quite serious, others less so. All very humorous.

Thoughts: My only experience with Cranford was the BBC Masterpiece Theatre run back in the early aughts I believe. So when I started the book, I was a bit surprised that some of the story lines were completely gone. Of course, with a bit of research, I found out the television adaptation was composed of three different Gaskell novels/novellas, and so I was free to read without wondering too much.

I have to say, it was a pretty delightful experience! I found the characters all very charming in their own ways. Miss Pole is absolutely ridiculous but then so are the rest of them for various reasons. There wasn't a whole lot of through plot which normally bothers me, but I really enjoyed this slice of life writing. Perhaps it's due to the humor and sarcasm Gaskell infuses throughout the novel. Each person was very much a person. I could definitely connect some of these people with actual people in my life. Miss Pole for example has one or two real life dopplegangers.

Out of the two Gaskell novels I've read, I think I prefer Wives and Daughters. That being said, this was a pleasant break from some of the other things I'm reading, and I was very happy to take the time to read it. I will definitely be seeking out more of her work.

This counts for my Back to the Classics Book with a Single Word Title.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

Title: Spinning Silver

Author: Naomi Novik

Pages: 434

Finished: July 11, 2018

First Sentence: The real story isn't half as pretty as the one you've heard.

Summary: Miryam, a moneylender's daughter, boasts that she can spin silver into gold. Her boast attracts the Staryk King who lusts for the gold. Irina, daughter to a duke, isn't all that pretty, but she catches the eye of the Tsar. The evil Tsar who marries her to drink her soul. Wanda just wants to leave her home and her abusive father. The three women's tales interweave together as they figure out how to save the world from an endless winter during Medieval Russia.

Thoughts: I read an Advanced Reader's Copy, so some of my thoughts may not apply to the finished product.

This is a tale told with six different voices - three of which are more prevalent than the others. In my copy, there's no visual cue as to when the voices change other than a break in the text. It wasn't too difficult to figure out with context clues, but since the entire story is in first person, it was a bit jarring to jump to someone else without any clue that it was happening until I was about a paragraph into it.

The story itself is a loose retelling of Rumplestiltskin taking place in what I believe is Medieval Russia - similar to the Bear and the Nightengale trilogy. I LOVE this setting. I don't know much about ancient Slavic folktales, but I'm a huge fan of their influences in a number of the stories I've been reading.

I also think it's really bold to make the three female characters fairly unlikeable. Of course, I don't know if they're unlikeable because they're meant to be, or if they're unlikeable because we're socialized to believe that women like this are unlikeable. I will admit I almost quit reading because I just didn't find a lot that I liked in any of the main characters. I'm glad they were strong, but I really hate it when strong means angry towards the world.

The story starts out slowly. Even the turning silver into gold isn't quite as interesting as I had hoped it'd be. Once Miryam is taken by the Staryk though, I found myself smitten and I absolutely had to keep going. All in all it's a solid story and I think I'm going to find more of Novik's works.

Slade House by David Mitchell - the Second Time

Title: Slade House

Author: David Mitchell

Pages: 238

Finished: July 5, 2018

First Sentence: Whatever Mum's saying's drowned out by the grimy roar of the bus pulling away, revealing a pub called The Fox and Hounds.

Summary: Every nine years, someone finds a small, black iron door in the wall of Slade Alley. When they open it, they find themselves in the backyard of Slade House, a house too large to fit in the space provided. They find themselves in a place that absolutely fits with what they're looking for. Friendship. Companionship. Answers to questions. Even when things start to seem wrong, they don't leave. Every nine years, someone goes into Slade House and never comes out. Every nine years.

Thoughts: I read this a year ago as a standalone. Today, I read it as the last book of my David Mitchel personal reading challenge. I wanted to read his "ubernovel." The book definitely had some more meaning to it this time around now that I know more. I recognized more names, I was connecting things with other things from other books (real descriptive, I know.) The book itself was a fast read compared to Mitchell's other works.

I think out of the seven, this is my favorite. It's small, fairly light, and just fun. As fun as a haunted house story can be. The book can totally be read on it's own without causing any issues. That being said, it was really neat seeing all the connections including the Moon Grey Cat, some names that connect with other stories, and the tie-in with The Bone Clocks.

In general, I feel like as I read each subsequent Mitchell novel, I need to go back and reread the ones before. I don't feel like the reading experience of any of them was particularly enjoyable, but I keep thinking about them. I'm most curious by the being in Ghostwritten that travels in various people's heads. Is it an Atemporal being like the ones we've met, or is it something else entirely? I'm also intensely curious about the end of Ghostwritten with the comet. When did that supposedly take place? It doesn't seem to take place in any of his other books, but that could just be due to the fact that it's his first book. I'm sure if I Googled long enough, I'd figure it out.

Read for my Persona Reading Challenge.

Out of the Wild Night by Blue Balliet

Title: Out of the Wild Night

Author: Blue Balliett

Pages: 291

Finished: July 5, 2018

First Sentence: My story begins at dusk, on the edges, by the shore and around the graveyards.

Summary: The ghosts on Nantucket are disturbed. Their houses are being renovated and everything that ties them to their island is disappearing. With the help of some local kids, they fight back. But the line between life and death is blurred and all is not as it seems.

Thoughts: We put this book on the middle school reading list this summer, and my boss recommended it as being very odd. It interested me. I'll say, she's right. The book took a while to figure out. The story switches between a first person narrator in Mary Chase - a ghost, and third person as it follows the story of the kids around. Many random things are mentioned and seemingly thrown aside, only to be brought back in later.

I really had a difficult time with the narrator switches. I also never saw the twist coming, though it seems I should have. I blame it on my broken foot that's causing lots of stress. But even with the twist, I felt there were a lot of things still left unexplained at the end.

I did like how, for a ghost story, it wasn't as scary as I was expecting. I'm set to read another one after this that is a bit more horrific, and I'm going to listen to the next in the Lockhart and Co series, so I have plenty of creepiness coming up.

Would I recommend this? I don't know. There's a lot about the line between renovating, restoring, and gutting houses. It's a bit of a battle, though seen through a kid's eyes, it's not so annoying. The narration switches was hard though. And I don't know who I'd recommend it to. Kids wanting a scary story would find this benign and dull. It doesn't fit your traditional fantasy story. It's just kind of... there. I'm not even that thrilled that I read it. 

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

WARNING: This post contains spoilers.

Title: The Bone Clocks

Author: David Mitchell

Pages: 624

Finished: July 1, 2018

First Sentence: I fling open my bedroom curtains, and there's the thirsty sky and the wide river full of ships and boats and stuff, but I'm already thinking of Vinny's chocolaty eyes, shampoo down Vinny's back, beads of sweat on Vinny's shoulders, and Vinny's sly laugh, and by now my heart's going mental and, God, I wish I was waking up at Vinny's place in Peacock Street and not in my own stupid bedroom.

Summary: This novel follows numerous people in each of its six parts, all revolving around Holly Sykes. We start with 15 year old Holly running away from home after a fight with her mother. While out on the run, she meets a woman named Esther Little who asks her for asylum, and finds herself in a "daymare." In the end, she returns home when her younger brother, Jacko goes missing.

We jump ahead about ten years to Hugo Lamb (the cool, mean cousin from Black Swan Green). He's a nasty piece of work who basically takes advantage of as many people as he can. He meets Holly in Switzerland over the New Year's holiday and falls for her. Hard. But that romance will never be because he's recruited to the Anchorites by an old school friend Elijah D'Arnoq (related to the D'Arnoq in the Adam Ewing chapters of Cloud Atlas.)

Ten years later and we follow Ed Brubeck, the boy who helped Holly back when she was fifteen. They're a couple now with a young kid name Aoiefe. Ed is a war journalist who just wants to get back to Iraq. During this escapade, Aoiefe goes missing, and Holly goes into some sort of trance where she gives Ed the location of their missing child.

Another ten years and we start following the life of author Crispin Hershey. He's a failed author at this point thanks to an awful review. But he keeps going to various lectures and author signings where he keeps meeting Holly Sykes who's written her own book called "The Radio People" about her childhood psychic encounters.

Fast forward to the 2020s and we get to what feels like it should be the culmination of this book. Poor Holly has been the host of an Atemporal being. Her missing brother was another Atemporal being belonging to a group called the Horologists, who try to save people from Anchorites... beings who decant people's souls for a way to cheat death. This is clearly the meat and potatoes of the book as we witness the final battle in this war between these tiny factions of people.

Then comes the very last chapter taking place in the 2040s where climate change has basically ruined the world. Mo from Mitchell's first book (Ghostwritten) shows up here. Holly is now in her 70s and raising her granddaughter and her adopted grandson in this desiccated world. As society continues to collapse, a ship carrying the Horologist Marinus (from Thousand Lives of Jacob de Zoet) arrives with the ability to save her grandchildren. The beginnings of the Prescients in Cloud Atlas show up here.

Thoughts: Blech was that a long summary. I'm sorry guys. I couldn't figure out a way to shorten it.

General thoughts. I was really into Holly Sykes' first story. It felt very similar to Neil Gaiman's Ocean at the End of the Lane. I was also picking up a lot of Black Swan Green. I was intensely curious about Marinus who we last saw as a man living on Dejima in 1799. In fact, I was more than a little annoyed when the story changed. Particularly when it changed to Hugo Lamb. I hated that Holly fell for him primarily because he was such a jackass.

The Ed Brubeck portion was engaging to me. I was very happy to see they got together, but was definitely on Holly's side for almost the entire story even though I really liked Ed. Crispin Hershey's chapters were a huge let down for me. Again, I didn't like Crispin at all. In fact, by this point, I found something else to read because it was just dull.

Luckily, after Crispin Hershey, we get the Horologist/Anchorite war. Now this is my jam. Perhaps a bit more technobabble than I really wanted, but I was totally into it. I particularly enjoyed how they brought back bits of Jacob de Zoet with Marinus, though I'll that retroactively decided a couple other Atemporals were there too was a bit much for me.

The final part was the hardest for me. It takes place in a post climate change ravaged world. And guys, it sucked. It really REALLY sucked. And it feels like it could totally happen. I live in a country that seems to be self-destructing. I just broke my foot and my mental health has seen better days. This part of the book just ripped me apart. It tore me up so badly that my husband had my toddler bringing me Kleenex and giving me hugs. And as much as I appreciated the connection between this and the middle two stories in Cloud Atlas, I just couldn't handle it.

I had been really excited for this book. I'd heard it was his masterpiece. The parts that I liked, I REALLY liked. As the books are starting to call back on each other, I'm getting more and more interested. But that being said, I don't know how fully invested I was. Am I glad I read it? Yeah. And a part of me wants to actually go back and reread some of the stuff I just read, but I think I'll hold off on it.

Read as part of my David Mitchell Personal challenge.

The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman

Title: La Belle Sauvage

Author: Philip Pullman

Pages: 449

Finished: June 22, 2018

First Sentence: Three miles up the river Thames from the center of Oxford, some distance from where the great colleges of Jordan, Gabriel, Balliol, and two dozen others contended for mastery in the boat races, out where the city was only a collection of towers and spires in the distance over the misty levels of Port Meadow, there stood the Priory of Godstow, where the gentle nuns went about their holy business; and on the opposite bank from the priory there was an inn called the Trout.

Summary: Malcolm Polstead works at his parents' inn, the Trout. In his spare time, he paddles up the river to Oxford, or crosses the bridge to spend time at the Priory helping the nuns. So when the nuns take in a little baby named Lyra and offer her sanctuary, he's very happy and willing to do what needs done - including building and installing fortified shutters in case of an invasion. Meanwhile, on one of his visits to Oxford, he sees a failed intelligence drop and watches a man get arrested. A man who later ends up dead. And through it all the Church is becoming more and more conservative as rumors float around about Dust and the little girl Lyra.

Thoughts: Hm... I may need to digest this one for a while. I was completely on board for the first half. I loved Hannah Relf, the scholar working with the alethiometer and for Oakley Street. I found the nuns to be fantastic, particularly Sister Benedicta who seems like she could have stood down an army. Bonneville was an terrifying villain, and the things he did were absolutely sickening. The League of St. Alexander made me so angry. It also reminded me of the kids in 1984. Just all around horrid.

Basically, it felt like the lead up to the world that Lyra lived in. But then the flood happened and the book went off the rails for me. I liked Malcolm and Alice taking care of Lyra. I liked them figuring out what was hapening. In fact, each episode felt a bit like Huck Finn to me. But the sudden inclusion of the old creatures of Faery didn't work for me as well as I feel like they should have. I didn't understand how the Gyptians would know that and no one else. And then the end is so rushed... Even down to how Lyra ends up with the Alethiometer didn't play a right to me as it should.

All in all and interesting addition to the world, though not my favorite. That being said, I am seriously looking forward to the next book!

The House At Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne

Title: The House at Pooh Corner

Author: A. A. Milne

Pages: 180

Finished: June 18, 2018

First Sentence: One day when Pooh Bear had nothing else to do, he thought he would do something, so he went round to Piglet's house to see what Piglet was doing.

Summary: Starting somewhere around where the last one left off, we have more adventures with Pooh Bear and all his friends. Tigger makes his appearance. Pooh Sticks is invented. Rabbit tries to humble Tigger. A blustery day blows down Owl's house. And Christopher Robin grows up.

Thoughts: My last review was full of not a lot of sense, and I'll admit, this one is almost worse. I started crying while working the help desk at work as I finished this one up. (I work in a library.) Milne has captured childhood and imagination so wonderfully. I loved all of it. We used to play Pooh Sticks as a family. I even remember gathering sticks and taking the train to the City to play Pooh Sticks in the City River

The last chapter though... Somehow Milne managed to hit that melancholy and hope all at once. Definitely worth reading aloud to my kid. Definitely worth a spot on our personal shelves. I'm so glad my mom suggested this for our family book discussion.