A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

Title: A Study in Scarlet

Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

Pages: 142

Finished: March 1, 2021

First Sentence: In the year 1878 I took my degree of Doctor of Medicine of the University of London, and proceeded to Netley to go through the course prescribed for surgeons in the army.

Summary: Dr. Watson, just home from Afghan wars, finds himself in need of a roommate. He takes up lodgings with the enigmatical Sherlock Holmes who, it turns out, is a consulting detective. Watson writes up the strange case of a dead man found in an abandoned house and how Holmes solved it.

Thoughts: Reading the source material for Sherlock Holmes is always interesting because I came to the source material after I was already aware of the character. My first remembered experience with Sherlock Holmes is from the Disney movie The Great Mouse Detective. Following that, I saw some various BBC versions - some actual Sherlock Holmes adaptations. At one point we listened to some Sherlock Holmes audiobooks on a family vacation. I remember the Speckled Band. Then there's all the various movies, Sherlock and Elementary, Data pretending to be Sherlock Holmes on Star Trek. 

All that to say, I've seen so many Sherlock Holmes characterizations that coming back to the source was interesting. The book itself is broken into two parts. The first part is the set up of meeting Sherlock, the mystery, and the investigation leading to an arrest. The second part begins in America with two people on death's door being saved by Mormons. It was such a jarring switch that I actually thought the ebook I was reading had a different story in it. Nope, all good. It's just the context for why the murderer became a murderer. After we get all that context, we get the wrap up of how Holmes solved the case and the aftermath. 

Weirdly enough, because I'm more familiar with pop culture Holmes, I found myself comparing the original to what I know. He's a cocky jackass for sure. I'm not sure if I'll continue reading more Holmes. 

This does count as one book off my Classics Club list and I'll be using it for a category in Back to the Classics, though I'm not yet sure which one.

Twelfth Night by Shakespeare

Title: Twelfth Night 

Author: William Shakespeare

Pages: 200?

Finished: September 12, 2020

First Sentence: If music be the food of love, play on.

Summary: Viola, saved from a shipwreck, disguises herself as a man to serve Count Orsino. As a man, she becomes Orsino's messenger to the fair Olivia, who in turn falls for Viola/Cesario. Viola, of course, has fallen in love with Orsino. 

Thoughts: My only experience with this play was actually through an Amanda Bynes movie called She's the Man from when I was a teenager. So how did reading the play live up?

Do you ever read classics and think, "Huh... English teachers held these to some really high standards, but this is really a bawdy joke that I'd get in trouble if I made it in class in modern terms?" That's how I feel when I read Shakespeare. It's held high as this lofty thing, but it was meant for the masses. That's not to say it's bad, just not the high-brow literature we're led to believe.

Once you get through the Elizabethan language, the plot itself is fairly simplistic. I specifically picked teh Folger Shakespeare edition for the notes I know they add in, but found myself skipping over them once I got into the rhythm of the language. 

In terms of the storyline... meh. It takes a long time to set up, and then the end could have been resolved at least one act earlier if people had communicated rather than talked. I suppose that's part of the comedy though. 

Having not seen numerous movie version of this (the way I have with Much Ado About Nothing), I felt I didn't appreciate it as much as I could. As this is a play, it's meant to be a visual medium. Without that, I do feel like I'm missing quite a bit. I think, in general, I appreciate Shakespeare better when I've seen either a production or a movie version to go along with it. 

That being said, glad I read it and I'm happy to cross another book off my Classic Club list. I believe this counts for a ton of challenges, but at this point, I've basically decided I'm not even attempting to finish them with how my reading tastes have just completely diverged from what I was reading at the beginning of the year.

A Room With a View by E. M. Forster

Title: A Room With a View

Author: E. M. Forster

Pages: 196

Finished: April 14, 2020

First Sentence: "The Signora had no business to do it," said Miss Bartlett, "no business at all."

Summary: Lucy and her cousin Charlotte visit Italy where they meet all manner of characters. Namely a rector named Mr. Beebe who they both know previously and who will be taking up the position at Lucy's hometown, a novelist named Miss Lavish who apparently writes terrible novels, and the Emersons, a father and son who society doesn't entirely find appropriate. Oh boy was that a run-on sentence. Anyway, while on an excursion, Lucy and George kiss and Lucy must hastily leave Florence to avoid scandal.

The second half of the book takes place back in her place at Windy Corner where she has just accepted the hand of Cecil Vyse in marriage. However, through all sorts of machinations, the Emersons end up there as well and Lucy finds herself torn between doing what is socially acceptable and following her heart.

Thoughts: For such a slim volume, this book took quite a bit of time to sort through. The main issue I had with it was, while I felt I understood the surface plot just fine, I felt I was constantly missing subtext clues. Not reading closely enough. It felt like the book was trying to say much more than I was picking up. Some of the social commentary I did understand quite nicely, but there was plenty more that just felt like, I knew Forster was making a point, but I didn't know what that point was.

Now, to be fair, this is my first ever Forster, and I'm fairly unfamiliar with Edwardian times. Also, I'm reading this in a really weird time in the life of our planet much less my own. I'm sure I could go look up notes and the like, but at 38 weeks pregnant in the middle of a pandemic... I have to admit I'm disinterested in doing that much work.

It's also important to note that my first experience with this story was watching the 1985 movie with Helena Bonham Carter as Lucy. And I seem to remember feeling much the same way, that the plot was fairly simplistic but there was much more going on that I was aware of.

Read for basically all my challenges. Let's see where it fits in...
- Beat the Backlist
- Virtual Mount To Be Read
- Classics Club List
- Reading Classic Books New To Me Author
- Back To the Classics - 20th Century Novel

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Title: Northanger Abbey

Author: Jane Austen

Pages: 241

Finished: March 9, 2020

First Sentence: No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy, would have supposed her born to be an heroine.

Summary: Young Catherine Morland gets a chance to travel to Bath with her neighbors the Allens. There she meets all sorts of people including the greedy, false Thorpes as well as the good, gentile Tilneys. Due to a misunderstanding, General Tilney invites Catherine to visit them in Northanger Abbey where Catherine mistakes everything for one of her beloved Gothic Novels.

Thoughts: I really enjoy this novel. I know it's considered one of Austen's weakest, likely due to it being her first full written novel, but that doesn't make me like it any less. The tone of the story is incredibly light and sarcastic which is really fun.

Of course, her characters are all a little heavy handed, yet somehow they still feel quite real. I feel like every woman knows a man like John Thorpe who refuses to listen to what a lady says as he practices his designs on her, inflates her worth, and generally makes her life miserable. Still too, many women know the Isabella Thorpes who say one thing as they mean another.

I also appreciate that Catherine is one of the few heroines who really acts her age. She's 17/18 in the novel and absolutely reads as an impetuous 18 year old. She's very naive and completely taken in by those who show her early friendliness. She finds things in novels that she conflates in real life - things I KNOW I did as a child and teen. And her immediate crush on Mr. Tilney is super believable.

Mr. Tilney himself is an interesting hero. I'll admit, I feel the reason I like him so much is due to J. J. Field's portrayal of him in the 2007 film adaptation. Still, he's kid and attentive. I like the aspect of him being more flattered of her attentions which then turn into a real regard.

Definitely a fan and this still ranks high in my esteem.

Northanger Abbey Counts for the following challenges: Beat the Backlist, Virtual Mount To Be Read, Austen Challenge, and Back to the Classics (Classic with a Place in the Title.)

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Title: The Picture of Dorian Gray

Author: Oscar Wilde

Pages: 239

Finished: January 22, 2020

First Sentence: The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn.

Summary: Basil Haliward paints a beautiful portrait of his new friend Dorian Gray. He also, reluctantly, introduces Dorian Gray to his friend Lord Henry. Upon conversing with Lord Henry, Dorian finds himself not exactly thrilled with the idea of growing up and wishes his soul into the picture. Oddly enough, it happens. Dorian stays young and looks pure forever while his portrait takes on all his sins and aging.

Thoughts: This was not what I thought it was. Not that I can even define what I thought the book was about, but this wasn't quite it. I think I've perhaps been influenced by how he exists in various pop culture.

Also, I'm realizing that if things in my life aren't going well, it bleeds over into what I'm reading. Two days after I started this book, my dog unexpectedly died and the book became the biggest slogfest. Perhaps I should have put it down, but I wanted to finish it for my spin.

So what is it that I objected to?

I think it was the slowness of the book. I knew it had something to do about a painting and that Dorian Gray didn't age but his painting did. I knew there were supposedly some homosexual overtones in it. I knew there was a painter named Basil who was fairly innocent, and who died (primarily because someone played him in an RPG I was in. I played Martha Jones from Doctor Who. She and Basil were good friends and used to drink tea together.) And that's all I knew. I had some vague inkling that he cheated death and kept his painting hidden.

But the amount of time it took for him to discover that the painting held his soul was tedious. Only to be followed by an even more tedious chapter going into great detail of how he spent eighteen years of his life in debauchery. I felt sorry for him in the beginning dealing with Lord Henry and his snake tongue. But the long decent was just... long.

I also had a really difficult time reading pages and pages of misogyny from Lord Henry. What an odious man!

I think my biggest issue with the book is that I don't tend to enjoy books about people's descent into evil. And I didn't have any idea that that was what this book was about. So I was expecting a vaguely fantasy/scifi book where Dorian Gray's soul is in this painting, and instead I watched a man thoroughly corrupt someone else. It wasn't what I signed up for, and it certainly wasn't what I shoudl have been reading just after losing my dog.

I suspect I'll be returning to this book in ten years or so. I feel like it deserves another chance. It's a book I was so excited to read. I was honestly shocked at how incredibly disappointed I was in it.

Book counts for lots of challenges:

Beat the Backlist
Virtual Mount To Be Read
Library Love
Reading Classic Books LGBT+ category (Oscar Wilde may have been gay? Half the research I find says yes, the other half says no. He did have male lovers.)
Back to the Classics: Person's Name in Title (Dorian Gray)
Classics Club AND Current Spin

2020 Goals/Challenges

I thought long and hard before committing to any challenges this year. The reason for that is that I'm pregnant with my second child! It's due in May. But with that being said, I have no idea just how things are going to go between time and brain power. I considered not joining any and just being directionless, but then decided I probably wouldn't end up reading at all if I did that. So I've signed up for a few and decided to continue my others. However, I'm not going to feel bad if pregnancy/new mom brain takes me completely off track. As long as I'm reading, I consider that a win.

1. Beat the Backlist / Virtual Mount To Be Read
   Last year, I participated in the TBR challenge from Roofbeam Reader. I did poorly in it, and it's not coming back this year. So I've found some others. Both Beat the Backlist and Virtual Mount To Be Read seem like they'll fit the bill. If you scroll down, you'll see twelve books I'm going to use to start, BUT books listed in the other challenges will count as they've been part of my Backlist / Mount To Be Read. However, the other challenges are a little more specific in their rules. For Beat the Backlist, I'm on Team Borrowers. For Virtual Mount TBR I'm starting at the Mount Crumpit level which is 24 books.

2. Read "half the books" remaining on my Classics Club list

    Half is in quotes because a number of the books on my list are SUPER long. So I added together the page lengths of the books and divided it in half. In 2020, I hope to read approximately 3000 pages from my list which comes out to either three chunky books or basically all the other ones. Hopefully I can fit these into some Back to the Classics Categories as well.

3. Complete my Newford Collection Challenge
    This feels doable. I enjoy reading De Lint so I don't think this will be too difficult at all. Of course, since this is lower down on my priority list, and there are a lot of books to read, there's a fair chance that I won't get through this one. But that's okay.

4. Complete my Austen Challenge

    Last year I decided to read all of Austen's writings including novels, novellas, unfinished works, and juvenilia. Midway through the year, I added a modern book that someone had written a favorable review for. And then I dropped this challenge to low priority. It's low priority this year too, but I would like to finish it if possible.

5. Reading Classic Books
    It seemed as though Back to the Classics was not coming back this year, so I searched and found a similar challenge that I signed up for called Reading Classic Books. While I have gone ahead and fit some books I plan on reading this year into the categories, this is by no means a final list.

6. Library Love Challenge - January
    Natural challenge for me to join as 99% of the books I read come from the library. In fact, looking at the books listed below, at least 40 of them will be checked out from the library.

7. Back to the Classics
    Looks like it did come back. Categories listed below. My aim is to fit six of my books this year into the categories. I have an idea of what will go where... but of course, that depends on what I actually read! Books listed are completely subject to change.

Beat the Backlist / Virtual Mount To Be Read:

1. Nights At the Circus - Angela Carter 
2. Endless Night by Agatha Christie 
3. Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow 
4. The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang
5. Water for Elephants - Sarah Gruen
6. Practical Magic - Alice Hoffman
7. The Snow Child - Eowyn Ivey 
8. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
9. Heart's Blood by Juliet Marilier
10. Uprooted by Naomi Novik
11. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street - Natasha Pulley
12. The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer

Remaining Books on Classics Club List:

1. Atwood, Margaret - The Handmaid's Tale
2. Austen, Jane - Sanditon and Other Tales
3. Barrie, J.M. - Peter Pan
4. Byatt, A.S. - Possession
5. Cervantes, Miguel de - Don Quixote
6. Dickens, Charles - Martin Chuzzlewit
7. Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan - A Study in Scarlet
8. Forster, E.M. - A Room with a View
9. Shakespeare, William - Twelfth Night 
10. Shakespeare, William - A Winter's Tale (folger shakespeare library ILL)
11. Steinbeck, John - East of Eden
12. Thackeray, William Makepeace - Vanity Fair
13. Tolstoy, Leo - Anna Karenina
14. Wilde, Oscar - The Picture of Dorian Grey

Remaining Books in Newford Collection:

1. Trader (novel)
2. Someplace to Be Flying (novel)
3. Moonlight and Vines (collection)
4. Forests of the Heart (novel)
5. The Onion Girl (novel)
6. Tapping the Dream Tree (collection)
7. Spirits in the Wires (novel)
8. Medicine Road (novella)
9. The Blue Girl (YA)
10. Widdershins (novel)
11. Make a Joyful Noise (YA) (available in Crow Girls)
12. The Cats of Tanglewood Forest
13. The Hour Before Dawn (IN Muse and Reverie)
14. Old Man Crow (In The Very Best of Charles de Lint)
15. Little Grrl Lost (Find somewhere (buy?))
16. Promises to Keep
17. Dingo
18. Muse and Reverie (collection)

Austen Challenge

1. Northanger Abbey
2. Persuasion
3. Pride and Prejudice
4. Letters to Pemberley
5. Sanditon and other Stories

Reading Classic Books

1. Over 500 pages - Anna Karenina
2. POC author or main character ???
3. Set in country other than where I live - Peter Pan OR A Study in Scarlet
4. Translation - Don Quixote
5. New to you author - A Room With a View
6. Poetry ???
7. 1800-1860 - Persuasion
8. LGBT author or main character: Picture of Dorian Gray
9. Woman Author - Pride and Prejudice
10. Novella - Lady Susan
11. Nonfiction ???
12. Banned or censored: Twelfth Night

Back to the Classics

1. 19th Century Classic. - Martin Chuzzlewit
2. 20th Century Classic. - A Room With a View
3. Classic by a Woman Author. - Pride and Prejudice
4. Classic in Translation. - Don Quixote
5. Classic by a Person of Color. ???
6. A Genre Classic. - Peter Pan OR A Study in Scarlet
7. Classic with a Person's Name in the Title. - Picture of Dorian Gray
8. Classic with a Place in the Title. - Northanger Abbey
9. Classic with Nature in the Title. - A Winter's Tale
10. Classic About a Family - Anna Karenina
11. Abandoned Classic - East of Eden
12. Classic Adaptation. - Twelfth Night

Back to the Classics 2019 Wrap Up

Total Number of entries: 1 (started a 9th to make 2, but made the decision to not finish it) 

Contact: notrosesshadow [at] gmail [dot] com

19th Century Classic: Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens (1897) 

FINISHED 6/9/19 - Pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this. Neat bit of history too.

Classic by a Female Author: Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (1876) 

FINISHED 10/29/19 - Wanted to like this much more than I did. Beginning and end were fine, but bogged down in the middle.

Classic in Translation: The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi (1883) 

FINISHED 2/1/19 - rather simplistic, ridiculous, and not very fun to read. Clearly a children's book.

Classic Comedy: Emma by Jane Austen (1815) 

FINISHED 11/14/19 - While not my favorite Austen, one of my favorite books read for this challenge. I love Austen so much.

Classic Tragedy: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (1847) 

FINISHED 5/20/19 - I hate this book. I hate this book more than any other book I've ever read. 

Classic Novella: Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote (1958) 

FINISHED 6/21/19 - As underwhelmed with the book as I was with the movie.

Classic From the Americas: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1967) 

FINISHED 6/18/19 - most surreal reading experience I've had in a while. Loved the book even as I disliked most of the characters and story...

Classic From a Place You've Lived: Years of Grace by Margaret Ayer Barnes 

FINISHED 3/17/19. Better than Augie March, though the bits I enjoyed most were the actual discussions of Chicago. 

20th Century Classic: The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsanay (1925)
GAVE UP 12/16/10 - Underwhelming and uninspiring. Hard to focus on.

The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany

Title: The King of Elfland's Daughter

Author: Lord Dunsany

Pages: 240

Finished: DNF December 16, 2019

First Sentence: In their ruddy jackets of leather that reached to their knees the men of Erl appeared before their lord, the stately white-haired man in his long red room.

Summary: The Parliament of Erl decide they wish to be ruled by a fairy ruler rather than a human one. So the King sends his son to steal the daughter of the Elf King and wed her so a human son will be Otherworldly.

Thoughts: I'm returning this book unfinished. Mainly, I'm finding myself watching more TV than reading, which, as I've learned this past year, means I'm not interested in the book I'm reading. Instead of forcing my way through it, I'm going to keep going.

I wanted to like this book. Humans marrying members of Faerie are some of my favorite stories. I was thrilled. And then Neil Gaiman wrote a lovely introduction that had me even more excited about the book.

It came down to language, I think. I was interested in the story, but found parsing out the sentences wearying. Often I'd find myself two pages in with no idea what had happened, then having to go back to read again, closer. It took a long time to make it to page 73, and I just wasn't interested in continuing the slog.

The other thing I find interesting is how the story has moved along so far. In 73 pages, the prince in the land has stolen the Elf Princess away and married her, had a kid with her, and then got mad at her for not following his religion, so she's gone back to Elfland. I'm not quite sure what else is going to happen in the other 160 pages. Likely a hunt for her. But again, I'm not interested in finding out. The book reads like a history book with more flowy language.

In short, I'm disappointed. Perhaps this is a result of being pregnant and I'll do better if I try again in two years. Or perhaps this just isn't the book for me.

Read for Back to the Classics 20th Century but not finished.

Emma by Jane Austen

Title: Emma

Author: Jane Austen

Pages: 495

Finished: November 14, 2019

First Sentence: Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.

Summary: It's a Jane Austen story. Social graces, foibles, happy ever afters. The specific story for this one includes Emma, the rather spoiled daughter of the hypochondriac Mr. Woodhouse. She has a very high opinion of herself and will happily stick her nose in other people's business. And in the end, she happily finds herself a husband.

Thoughts: This is my least favorite of Austen's completed novels, and even with that distinction, it's still one of the better books I've read this year. The social commentary is on point as ever. So many of the characters are utterly ridiculous. Miss Bates and her constant chatter, which Austen writes out quite will to show the point. Mrs. Elton and her hypocrisy. Mr. Woodhouse who is endearing even in his silliness simply because of Emma's devotion to him.

This is one of those books where iI feel the side characters are better than the main. I don't like Emma. I just... don't. She's very reminiscent of a friend I had in high school. Unlike the other main characters in Austen novels, she's incredibly selfish with little to recommend her. Of course she comes 'round right in the end, and I suppose her devotion to her father is endearing, but how little regard she shows to others is frustrating. On the other hand, it perhaps makes her one of the most believable Austen heroines around. She's 21 after all. Hasn't had full brain development yet.

I did feel like I caught way more subtext this time around. Of course, I do know the story, so it was much easier to catch. I really wish I could read this again for the first time NOW rather than when I was a teenager. I think I'd catch so much more!

One of my favorite books this year so far. Read for Classics Club and Austen Challenges even though I've pretty much given up.

Daniel Deronda by George Elliot

Title: Daniel Deronda

Author: George Eliot

Pages: 800

Finished: October 29, 2019

First Sentence: Was she beautiful or not beautiful? and what was the secret of form or expression which gave the dynamic quality to her glance?

Summary: Two separate stories intertwine with each other through the book. We start with Gwendolen Harleth, a spoiled young women who's always had everything she wants. She flirts shamelessly, and doesn't seem to care how she hurts people. And then her family loses all their money and she's forced to accept a marriage proposal from the sleazy Henleigh Grandcourt. What follows is an unhappy marriage and a woman who clearly wants and NEEDS out.

At the same time, Daniel Deronda struggles with who he is. He suspects Sir Hugo is his father, though he isn't sure. One day, he saves a woman from committing suicide in the Thames. The young woman, Mirah, happens to be Jewish. As Deronda helps her find her brother, he starts learning things about himself, his past, and who his people are.

Thoughts: Like most Victorian literature, this is a book with a whole lot of pages to discuss few plot points.

Interestingly enough, when the book started, I was very much done with Gwendolen. I found her to be completely unlikeable and really didn't want to read anymore about her. Daniel's story was significantly more interesting. He also had a better temperament that made him more likeable. However, around book 4, the story line became bogged down. I found myself thinking, "Yes, we get it." more often than not.

The final two books sailed by pretty quickly though. I don't know if it's because the plotline picked up or because I realized I was close to done and just wanted to get there.

In general, I liked the bones of the story. The individual hooks caught me. It was interesting to read a Victorian novel viewing Jewish people in a sympathetic light. However, the wordiness without the Dickens sarcasm to temper them a bit made the book difficult for me to get through. Of course, I'll admit that could simply be due to basically my entire brain this year. I feel like most of my books have been duds.

This book counts as my Classic by a Female Author in the Back to the Classics Challenge AND it also knocks another book off my Classics Club list. 

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote

Title: Breakfast at Tiffany's

Author: Truman Capote

Pages: 142 (my copy was only 89)

Finished: June 21, 2019

First Sentence: I am always drawn back to places where I have lived, the houses and their neighborhoods.

Summary: Capote's novella follows a short episode in the narrator's life as he interacts with his neighbor Holly Golightly. Holly is a young woman who doesn't want to be tied down. She lives life with seeming no plan and goes where the wind takes her which eventually leads her to trouble.

Thoughts: I remember seeing the movie to this when I was in college. It's one of those movies everyone talks about but I never took the time to watch. I was unenthused. I didn't really like Holly Golightly, and the other characters were forgettable to me.

The book feels much the same. Ultimately, it's a book about a 19-year-old trying to find herself. Holly is unabashedly herself, and the fact that she is so immature is explained by the fact that she is so young.

I think ultimately, the reason why I responded so viscerally to Holly is because she's so similar to other people I know who act the same way. And it's obnoxious as hell to try and be friends with them. I feel like most of my books for Back to the Classics are following the same theme of Glad I Read It But Won't Read It Ever Again.

This counts as my Classics Novella for Back to the Classics and crosses another Classics off my Club list.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

Title: One Hundred Years of Solitude

Author: Gabriel García Márquez

Pages: 416

Finished: June 18, 2019

First Sentence: Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. 

Summary: This is the story of the Buendía family and their surrounding town of Macondo from around 1850 to 1950. Honestly, trying to summarize it is rough. It's a story that follows each generation of family from the first to the last of the lineage. We the readers see how the family makes the same mistakes over and over and over again. And we see the town prosper and fall. All while floating on a lyrical narrative.

Thoughts: This was a weird experience. I found myself drawn to the book even as I disliked the characters. The writing was just fascinating. Like reading poetry in prose form. And yet, the narrator was fairly objective. So even as I was reading all these things that were extremely distasteful, the objectivity from the author just made them another fact of life. It was a very strange experience. Like I was floating down a river or something.

The book itself is a bit of a project to get through. There's a family tree that I kept referring back to because woah boy. Every boy is named either Jose Arcadio or Aureliano. The other thing that was really interesting was how Márquez played with time. Often he'd start with something in the present, then jump back to the past, then maybe even to the future before going back to the present. It certainly kept my brain going. (Even more fun, I was reading this at a rate of a chapter a day and concurrently reading Barnaby Rudge at the rate of two chapters a day... Lots and lots of words.)

The book takes place during a time of great civil unrest in Colombia. While I didn't know the history, I didn't find it too difficult to keep track of what was happening in the book. Afterwards, when I did find out the history, I was able to fit things in better. That being said, the magical realism almost helped place this book OUT of time.

Characterwise... well. What I found interesting was that each character started as a decent blank slate. I'd want to like them, because usually you do, but then they'd do what they do. And each generation got worse and worse. And yet, I kept reading because of that objectivity that I had mentioned. The incest, the dubious consensual intercourse, the religious zealousness from one character, it was all really stuff that I don't like reading about. Yet the objective narrator made it bearable in some way.

I'm ashamed it took me so long to read this. I thought this was the book I tried to read my senior year of high school, but I don't remember any of this, so I'm betting that was Love in a Time of Cholera. Either way, people talk about how much they hate Gabriel García Márquez, and I put it off out of fear. I'm glad I read it. I likely won't ever read it again, but it was a profound reading experience.

This books counts for A Novel from the Americas in Back to the Classics AND it knocks another book off my Classics Club list! Also, a shoutout to Joel from I Would Rather be Reading who inspired me to read it this month. 

Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens

Title: Barnaby Rudge

Author: Charles Dickens

Pages: 634

Finished: June 9, 2019

First Sentence: In the year 1775, there stood upon the borders of Epping Forest, at a distance of about twelve miles from London—measuring from the Standard in Cornhill, or rather from the spot on or near to which the Standard used to be in days of yore—a house of public entertainment called the Maypole; which fact was demonstrated to all such travellers as could neither read nor write (and at that time a vast number both of travellers and stay-at-homes were in this condition) by the emblem reared on the roadside over against the house, which, if not of those goodly proportions that Maypoles were wont to present in olden times, was a fair young ash, thirty feet in height, and straight as any arrow that ever English yeoman drew.

Summary: The novel follows the lives of a select few people and how they are affected by the Gordon Riots of 1780. The first couple hundred pages introduce us to the characters. We see their lives, find their big issues as they currently are, and pretty well figure out who are the good guys and the bad guys. The narrative jumps five years in the future and gives a very detailed account of the Gordon Riots through the eyes of some of the primary rioters and other people affected by it. And like any Dickens novel, things turn out all right in the end.

Thoughts: Whew. First of all, I enjoyed the book. I found the story compelling, and I wanted to finish it. But boy am I out of practice with Dickens. I started writing down a sentence summing up the chapters after I finished them. And eventually I concluded I could really only read at a pace of two chapters a day just so I didn't start forgetting details.

Anyway, the introductory chapters took some time to get going. I realized at one point that this was basically setting the stage for the story. All books have that to some extent, but because it's Dickens, it took many more pages to get through that bit. Once I figured that out, I was much more able to get through.

Regarding the Riots, I found myself doing more research. I participate in Revolutionary War Reenacting, so I found it really interesting to read about what was going on in England during the conflict in the Colonies. Mainly, the level of detail Dickens added was disturbing and sad at the same time. The mob brain. People dying as they were destroying things. Perhaps I was more sensitive to it thanks to last month's razing of Kings' Landing in Game of Thrones, but it was just really really sad. And I wanted to believe that it was not really true. That perhaps Dickens took creative license to deal with it. But from what I was reading, the damage was very thorough, the violence graphic, and the loss of life higher than one typically wants.

As usual, Dickens has a cast of characters full of foibles and very marked characterizations. I will admit, I was pleasantly surprised when the despicable Hugh had a bit of a soft spot for Barnaby. It popped up where I least expected it and I found myself way more interested in the character than I had been originally.

One of the things I like about most Dickens novels is, even when things are at their darkest, you know things will turn out right in the end. Perhaps that's one of the reasons I didn't enjoy The Old Curiosity Shop quite as much.

While I was reading, I found myself thinking about the nature of how Dickens's novels were originally published. Yes he was paid by the word, but the serial publishing is basically how television shows are released. Or were. Now we can binge. So to have basically and episode come out every month or week and then have time to talk about it when visiting, that'd be very interesting. I imagine it'd completely change the way one experiences the story.

Okay, that was very long and rambly. I might try to edit this later. I had Barnaby Rudge slotted as my 19th Century Classic for Back to the Classics and I can cross it off my Classics Club list.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Title: Wuthering Heights

Author: Emily Bronte

Pages: 418

Finished: May 20, 2019

First Sentence: 1801 - I have just returned from a visit to my landlord - the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with.

Summary: A man named Lockwood lets the old house at Thrushcross Grange. He meets his neighbor at Wuthering Heights, a dour man named Heathcliff. The state of the household at the Heights is a curious one, and Lockwood asks that his housekeeper relate the story of Wuthering Heights. What follows is a story of love and a story of revenge as we learn how Heathcliff, an orphan, became the owner of Wuthering Heights.

Thoughts: UGH! A bit of backstory. I read this book in high school for the first time. I felt apathetic to it. Since then, I've read it at least three more times, and I've disliked it every time. Why do I keep reading it? Why did I put it on my Classics Club list? What on earth possessed me to read this again?

This book is the single book on my "I HATE this book" list that multiple people talk about as one of their favorite books. And every time, I think, "Huh. I must have missed something. Let me try again." Every time, I find myself thinking it was a bad idea.

I added it to my classics club list because I had an Anne Bronte and a Charlotte Bronte book on my list. I figured it'd be good to round out the sisters with Emily Bronte and give this book a last chance.

I made it through the book, but I can't say it was a pleasant experience. Every single character is unlikable. Cathy the elder is selfish and mean. Heathcliff is an abuser. Edgar Linton is just useless. Isabella is a brat. The younger generation is just as bad. Nelly Dean takes goes between having agency and then having no agency. Any redeeming quality was overshadowed by their other deeds.

And the abuse from Heathcliff - I don't like to use the word triggered often because I think people use it incorrectly. It's become a buzzword. But believe me when I say I was triggered by Heathcliff. He's absolutely horrific. He's abusive to the woman he supposedly loves. He's abusive to his wife. He's abusive to his child and his nephew and... I kept having to put the book down and walk away because his actions were just so despicable. And his mental abuse... that was honestly the worst part.

This book counted for three things: an item on my classics club list, a classic tragedy for Back to the Classics, and my spin book for the classics club spin # 20.

I can safely say this is the last time I will ever read this book. 

Years of Grace by Margaret A. Barnes

Title: Years of Grace

Author: Margaret Ayer Barnes

Pages: 581

Finished: March 17, 2019

First Sentence: Little Jane Ward sat at her father's left hand at the family breakfast table, her sleek, brown pigtailed head bent discreetly over her plate.

Summary: Years of Grace follows the life of Jane Ward as she grows from a teenager to a middle aged woman in Chicago during the late Victorian era through to the 1920s. Summarizing this is more than a bit difficult as really the book is a life story and reflection of Jane set agains the backdrop of Chicago. Suffice it to say, she grows, she loves, and she lives to be disappointed.

Thoughts: The novel started strong for me. I spent a good deal of time googling various places mentioned to try and get a sense of where Jane Ward was as she talked about places. It was neat to see Chicago from a historical sense. And I liked the story. Of course it was fairly easy going. Upper class people with upper class problems.

The book slowed for me when it became clear that Jane was going to have an affair. Of course, it'd been foreshadowed in the first and second parts when she talked about Flora's mother, but I didn't want her to. And I guess, in a way, she didn't really.

The fourth part got into this massive discussion of the differences in generations as Jane realized she was different from her kids and she would never understand the next generation.

I found Jane to be rather blah to be honest. She seemed to be either completely unaware of things she should be aware of, or willfully ignoring them. Particularly Jimmy and then Cicily and Albert. I don't think she handled many situations as well as she could have. And in the end, she seemed rather melancholy. It seemed she lived her whole life with this expectation that ended up being completely and totally wrong.

For me, the best part of this novel was the Chicago landmarks. I never realize just how much Chicago pride I have until I see it in books or movies. I really enjoyed looking up the street Jane lived on as a child and finding out it's now Michigan Ave. I don't think I'd say this book is something I'll ever read again, but it wasn't odious. I just wasn't as into it as I wanted to be.

Read for Back to the Classics as a book set somewhere I live.

Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi

Title: Pinocchio

Author: Carlo Collodi

Pages: 135

Finished: February 2, 2019

First Sentence: Centuries ago there lived-- "A king!" my little readers will say immediately.

Summary: Pinocchio, the little marionette who lives wants to be a good boy, but he's so stubborn, ill-mannered, and lazy that it's just so hard. He goes through many MANY hardships before he changes and becomes a good marionette. To reward him, the Fairy With Azure Hair makes him a real boy.

Thoughts: Collodi wrote Pinocchio as a serialized novel in 1883. The story originally ended at chapter 15 with a gruesome hanging, but was so well received that he continued. Up to this point, my only experience with Pinocchio was the Disney film. The book is... different.

First of all, it's writing is very similar to the Oz chronicles by Baum. It's simple and there's no why for anything. Things just are the way they are. An example. No one seems all that surprised that Pinocchio is a marionette or that he moves and talks. In fact, when he ends up in the Marionette show, all the other Marionette's are also walking and talking. The story is dark, but people get out of the situations fairly easily. Everything is told very matter-of-factly. For example, the escape from the shark is really quite uneventful. They climb up the shark's throat, and jump out while it's sleeping.

Like Oz, I figure it's probably more effective to a kid, but the kid that this would appeal to probably wouldn't be able to read it by themselves, so it's more of a readaloud.

The book was quick to read, but I wasn't a fan. I found myself constantly wondering WHY things worked and finding little bits of continuity error that annoyed me. I probably won't read it again.

This counts as a book in translation for my Back to the Classics challenge.

Failed Book

It's been a while since a classic well and truly failed me. But I found one. The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellows not only is on my did not finish pile, it's on my what the actual fuck pile.

Here's the thing, when I picked this book as a possibility for my "Classic Set in a Place You've Lived," I read a couple of summaries. They all talked about how the book follows this kid Augie around. He lives in Chicago. And there's this girl who tries to train an eagle to catch lizards. I was so down for an eagle that hunts lizards.

I missed, or perhaps ignored the whole bit about it being a picaresque novel. 

Guys, this book didn't just make me not want to read it... it made me not want to read at all. Usually, when I don't enjoy a book, I'll take a break and read other things. In this case, I just couldn't bring myself to even pick up another book. Three chapters of Augie March has sucked all the joy of reading out and away. On the plus side, I've watched a season and a half of Bones! Perhaps that's not a plus side. It's the latter seasons where they get a case of the stupids. 

Anyway. What didn't I like about this book? I think it was the picaresque storytelling. I'm OK with relatively plotless books provided there's something worthwhile in the pages. But this was just a day in the life of this guy. Which I'm sure for someone else is great, but for me, I needed something more. I was hoping there would be some sort of character development, but when I finally looked up some reviews and found a definition of picaresque, I realized I would end up throwing this book against a wall if I kept it up. It's the "lovable rascal" trope. Guys will be guys. I just... no. Maybe if I was in school with some guidance, but this was really rough. 

I'm still reeling from just how much I didn't like this book. I keep picking up other books that I'm excited about, or that I know make me feel better, and nothing is sticking. I go to work tomorrow, so I'll browse through the stacks after our staff meeting and see if something catches my fancy. I'm also on the hunt for another book set in Chicago.

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

Back to the Classics 2019

It's back! My most favorite challenge, Back to the Classics, is back for 2019! And the categories are really interesting this year! I had picked out a number of books I wanted to read for the challenge this year before the categories came out. It was a mix of books from my Classics Club list and others that had crossed my path and I wanted to make sure I got to them this year. I was able to fit almost all of them into this list! And without further ado, my list for the next year.

1. 19th Century Classic: Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens (1897) (660 pages)

A continuation of my desire to read Dickens's novels in the order he published them. If I read this one, I'll be able to cross this off my Classics Club list as well as my Dickens list. 

FINISHED 6/9/19 - Pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this. Neat bit of history too.

2. 20th Century Classic: The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsanay (1925) (301 pages)

I'm not sure how I found this one, but it came up in a list of readalikes for something I read recently. The title is intriguing, and one of the latest editions has an introduction by Neil Gaiman. The brief description I read makes this book seem like it's right up my alley! I'm very excited for this!

GAVE UP 12/16/19 - Found myself doing anything but reading this. DNF


3. Classic by a Female Author: Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (1876) (800 pages)

I remember watching an adaptation of this on Masterpiece Theatre when I was a teenager. Hugh Dancy was the main character and I was very attracted to him. The miniseries stayed in the back of my mind, and I came across it again while making my Classics Club list two years ago. I don't plan on watching it until I read this novel, and I'm very excited to do so! I've never read anything by George Eliot before.

FINISHED 10/29/19 - Wanted to like this much more than I did. Beginning and end were fine, but bogged down in the middle.


4. Classic in Translation: The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi (1883) (100 pages)

Original language is Italian. I'm a children's librarian, and one of my favorite things lately has been reading children's classics and comparing them to current children's literature. My only experiences with Pinocchio are the traumatizing Disney movie, the Pinocchio from Once Upon a Time, and a retelling of the story that I read from work called Out of Abaton: The Wooden Prince. I'm curious how the original holds up. Another crossover with my Classics Club.

FINISHED 2/1/19 - rather simplistic, ridiculous, and not very fun to read. Clearly a children's book.

5. Classic Comedy: Emma by Jane Austen (1815) (495 pages)

Jane Austen's novels quite often make me laugh out loud. In public. I've been wanting to reread all her works for a while now, and this year will be the year.

FINISHED 11/14/19 - While not my favorite Austen, one of my favorite books read for this challenge. I love Austen so much.



6. Classic Tragedy: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (1847) (450 pages)

I'm just going to say, I have not liked this book in the past. I don't like Cathy. I don't like Heathcliff. And yet, people I know and respect say this is their most favorite book ever. So I've read it multiple times to try and figure it out. Last time I read it was in my early 20s, so we'll see if any of it grows on me in my early 30s. I also had the other Bronte sisters on my Club list, so I added Emily Bronte to round the list out.

FINISHED 5/20/19 - I hate this book. I hate this book more than any other book I've ever read. 

7. Very Long Classic: East of Eden by John Steinbeck (1952) (601 pages)

This is one of my dad's favorite books. I've enjoyed the Steinbeck novels I've read in the past, so it seems time for me to read this one. At 601 pages, it certainly fits (though so do at least two other novels on my list this year. Crossover with my Classic Club list.

8. Classic Novella: Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote (1958) (152 pages) 

Do you ever watch a movie that everyone says is amazing and feel underwhelmed? That was my experience with Breakfast at Tiffany's. Still, I always wonder how book versions will fare. So I'm willing to try this... particularly since it's under 200 pages. Crossover on classic club list.

FINISHED 6/21/19 - As underwhelmed with the book as I was with the movie.

9. Classic From the Americas: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1967) (416 pages) 

This was on my list last year and I just never got around to it. My reading got stalled somewhere. Hopefully this is the year! This is a crossover with my classics club list.

FINISHED 6/18/19 - most surreal reading experience I've had in a while. Loved the book even as I disliked most of the characters and story...

10. Classic From Africa, Asia, or Oceania: The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyŏng: The Autobiographical Writings of a Crown Princess of Eighteenth-Century Korea (1805) (372 pages)

Picking one for this category was difficult. However, these memoirs look really interesting. I'm curious what I'm going to learn from this.

11. Classic From a Place You've Lived: The Adventures of Augie Marsh by Saul Bellows (1953) (586 pages) 

I wasn't sure how broad or narrow to go. In the end, I decided to go by city. I'm from Chicagoland area so it's definitely something that will work. (I'm also a little annoyed that I read Song of the Lark last year because it totally would have fit here.) FAIL review here

New possibilities - Years of Grace written by Margaret Ayer Barnes - focuses on social manners of upper middle class society
Sister Carrie - looks like it broke tradition in many ways.
Native Son - A book about race relations and growing up African American in Chicago during the 30s.

Ended up finish Years of Grace on 3/17/19. Better than Augie March, though the bits I enjoyed most were the actual discussions of Chicago. 

12. Classic Play: The Winter's Tale by Shakespeare (1623) (300 pages)

This is on my Classic Club list, so it seemed fitting to add it here. 

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.