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. 

Top Ten Books I Wish I Could Experience Again For the First Time

This meme showed up on Joel's blog I Would Rather Be Reading the other day, and I really like the idea. I happily opened up a new blog post and drew a blank. Coming up with ten books was way more difficult than I though it would be. If I enjoy a book, I often enjoy it ten times more the second time around. But, as with anytime I'm stuck in a Zelda game, I walked away for a few hours days and the titles came to me!

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte


I first read this when I was in 7th grade. While I loved what I understood, I didn’t understand most of it because I was a fairly sheltered 12 year old. I wish I could come across some of the reveals with fresh eyes and a 30 year old’s understanding of the world rather than a 12-year-old's.




2. Persuasion by Jane Austen


At the moment, this is my favorite book of all time. (It changes places with Pride and Prejudice depending on my stage of life.) While I didn’t read it as early as I read Jane Eyre, I read it earlier than I think I was able to understand quite what was going on other than the broad strokes of the story.

3. Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

I know this is cliché. I actually remember the first time I encountered Harry
Potter. I was in fifth grade. We were supposed to be discussing Tuck Everlasting I think, but my teacher said “Today, I’m going to read you the first chapter of this really amazing book called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” I remember running home from school and calling to my mom, “Mom, mom! We have to go buy this amazing book called Harry Potter. It’s so good we’re going to want to own it so let’s just skip the library step and buy it!” I remember how every time a new release came out, I’d read all the books published up to the new one (meaning I’ve read Sorcerer’s Stone more than any other of the books.) And each time the new book came, I’d read it as fast as possible so I could hand it off to my sibling. I remember reading the seventh book in the middle of the night because my sister had dibs on it during waking hours. I got to the scene where Harry is walking into the woods and I had to get up and walk around the house to calm down because I was freaking out so much! I honestly wouldn’t have my Harry Potter Experience any other way. But sometimes I wonder what it’d be like to read all the books one after another without the hype and theorizing.


4. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

I’ve only read this book once – when I was a freshman in high school. I fell in absolute love with it. In fact, I’m fairly certain I’m the only kid in the class who liked it. I’m currently working through all of Dickens, so it’s in the plan to read it again within the next few years, but I really wish I could experience it having no idea what’s going to happen next!

5. Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, and Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery.

Out of the eight books in the series, the first three are my favorite. While I was the right age for these, and while I find Anne Shirley such a lovely character and a good friend, I’d really like to see her with fresh eyes again.


6. His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman

I love this trilogy. I first encountered it in audiobook form when I was a shelver. Listening to books prevented me from reading the books I was putting
away. I loved the books, but I wish my first time with them had been reading rather than listening while distracted.



7. Sabriel by Garth Nix: This is another book I came across as a shelver. I listened to it and really enjoyed the story, though I wish my first encounter had been by print rather than audio. The others in the trilogy are decent as well, but I enjoy Sabriel more.





8. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: I read this book while pumping in the supply closet at work. I fell in love with it! Of course, I was also reading it in the early stages of going back to work after a pregnancy, so I mainly remember it as being a surreal experience. I’d like to experience the book again with a more grounded mind.


9. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susannah Clarke: This doorstop of a book is Jane Austen meets Charles Dickens meets fantasy. Amazing. I know I’ll be rereading it again, but oh boy do I wish I could read it the first time again just to get the revelations.







10. Briar Rose by Jane Yolen: This book is one of those serendipitous encounters. In eighth grade, we had to read a historical fiction book. The school librarian pulled a cart for us to choose from. I was VERY interested in another book, but was too slow and watched as someone else checked it out. I browsed the cart and petulantly picked this one up because of the Sleeping Beauty title. I devoured the book in a single night, read it again over the course of the week, and wrote quite possibly my best book report ever. I've reread the book many times, and I got my copy signed by the author herself when I saw her give a presentation on the importance of fairy tales. The book has changed meanings so many times as I've reread it over the last 20 years or so. But a part of me really wants the experience of discovering just how the story of Sleeping Beauty connects to the horrors of the Holocaust.

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

Spin #18 Results

And the lucky number is... 9! 

For me, number nine is The Call of the Wild by Jack London. (Cue sigh of relief.) The Call of the Wild is short, so I should be able to read it without any issues! And oh god am I starting to sound like the kids who ask me for help finding books at work. "Please help me find something really short..." 

I'm really happy with this number. After I posted the list, I realized that two of the books on there were books we're reading for our book club in upcoming months. I don't like to read ahead if I can help it. On top of that, I started reading another one of the books just recently because I had it on my shelves at home while everything else upcoming would have to come from the library. (I am a firm believer in renting books rather than owning them.)

Anyway. Call of the Wild. I won't be back at the library until Saturday, so it'll be a while until I start it. But then, I have a ton of other books to read this month, so that's okay!

August Reads

1. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - Back to the Classics
2. Od Magic by Patricia McKillip - Personal Challenge
3. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte - Back to the Classics/Bookclub
4. The Call of the Wild by Jack London - Classic Club Spin #18

This month is a super short list primarily because I have two other books I'm also reading this month that I'm not reviewing on the blog. I will confess, I'm almost done with The Secret Garden, but due to other things last month, I didn't quite finish it. I'm excited for Tenant of Wildfell Hall primarily because I've never read anything by Anne Bronte. Call of the Wild is short, so that shouldn't be too arduous. Od Magic is the first book on my Mount To Be Read list. It came across in a readalike list I'd looked up for either The Night Circus or Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I'm not sure which. Regardless, I've liked McKillip books in the past, so I'm looking forward to this one. Happy Reading!

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.

Classics Club Spin #18

Ah the classics club spins. The time when we pull 20 books from our list and hope to all that is good that we don't end up with our longest book ever! For readers unfamiliar with the process, those who wish to participate in the Classics Club Spin take 20 books they've yet to read from their Classics Club list and write them down in any order. From there, we wait until August 1 to learn our fate. The mods will draw a number from a hat and that's the book we have to read in the month of August.

Below is my list. I threw my list in a list generator and took out most of the really long ones. (I know that's probably cheating, but I don't care. List order is subject to change.

1. Bronte, Emily - Wuthering Heights
2. Hardy, Thomas - Far from the Madding Crowd
3. Burnett, Frances Hodgson - The Little Princess
4. Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan - A Study in Scarlet
5. Shakespeare, William - A Winter's Tale
6. Atwood, Margaret - The Handmaid's Tale
7. Byatt, A.S. - Possession
8. Wells, H.G. - The Time Machine
9. London, Jack - The Call of the Wild
10. Forster, E.M. - A Room with a View
11. Bronte, Anne - The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
12. Twain, Mark - The Prince and the Pauper
13. Austen, Jane - Sanditon and Other Tales
14. Shakespeare, William - Twelfth Night
15. Capote, Truman - Breakfast at Tiffany's
16. Collins, Wilkie - Woman in White
17. Collodi, Carlo - Pinocchio
18. Burnett, Frances Hodgson - The Secret Garden
19. Wilde, Oscar - The Picture of Dorian Grey
20. Dumas, Alexandre - The Count of Monte Cristo