Book Beginnings: Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe

'I was  born in the year 1632 in the city of York, of a good family, though not of that country, my father being a foreigner of Bremen who settled first at Hull.'

I think I tried to read this book when I got it as part of a box-set aged about ten. I think at the time I found it a little dry, and to be honest it isn't the fastest paced I've ever read. But it's not far off what I'd expect.

I'm linking up to Book Beginnings @ Rose City Reader, also I'd like to apologise for this post having been in draft for over 24 hours. 

I have a vague idea of what happens in this one. It should be good, what d'you think?

Rowen

Book Beginnings: Catch-22 - Joseph Heller

'It was Love at first sight.'

Not really what I expected as the beginning to a book about a man who, according to the blurb, 'is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him.' 

I have few preconceptions about this book beyond that it's supposed to be fairly fast-paced. I guess I'll find out more about it tonight.

I'm linking up to Book Beginnings @ Rose City Reader.

Let me know what you thought of this book? And was it made into a film? I'm not sure...

Rowen

Our Challenge: Books 15 - 20

So it's been a while since I've done one of these, and I'm quite a way behind where I should be, however I thought it was high time I posted a summary of the reviews I've written since my last of these posts. 

As always click the links for my full reviews, which are on the  Challenge Blog , and for more information on why we're doing this see  this post.

Book 15: Casino Royale - Ian Fleming

Casino Royale was a fairly sexist novel, a fact which didn't render void the pace and thrill which it evoked. It wouldn't be my first choice of book and I'm not sure I'd read it again, but I am glad that I read it the one time. In parts it seemed excessively unrealistic and I'm unsure how the hero is alive at the end of the book, and not because of the dangers of his profession!




   Book 16: Agnes Grey - Anne Bronte

Agnes Grey is a wonderful example of the writing of it's period. It's a pleasure to read although by no means filled with fluff, and once you get going with it you find it really moves with pace. The character telling the story has high moral standards and the book itself strives to teach you these. She falls victim to so many trials in her short life that you can't help but rejoice with and for her when she finds happiness in the end.

Book 17: London Fields - Martin Amis

I found London Fields to be slow without much happening through most of the novel, and it's long, so that's a lot of not a lot happening! I found myself bribing myself with chores in order to get through this tedious volume. However the ending picks up, and if only it had been significantly reduced I can't help but think I would have enjoyed it more. I appreciated the twist, although it felt somewhat stilted and I did have sympathy for some of the characters, although I think I probably placed it wrongly.

Book 18: For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway

For Whom the Bell Tolls evoked many emotions in me, and I can thoroughly understand why so many people love it. However it and I just didn't click, due entirely to the language which was used in writing it, which I found stilted. I also found the romance in it a little rushed, but it was a true romance with a heartbreaking ending and while it lasted it brought happiness but it's ending brought true sadness. A note in the favour of this book is that it's over a brief time period, meaning that it never really stops in flow.

Book 19: Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

Brideshead Revisited is one of the best books this year, despite the fact that it doesn't tie in how I'd expect with the cover image. It takes place over three distinct time periods and follows the various infatuations of Charles with the Marchmain family, with his affection moving from Brother to Mother to Sister. When he is eventually, brutally pushed from this family you have to take part in the heartbreak and you feel his pain colouring all the reminiscence which he imparts. If you get the chance I would definitely recommend you read this.

Book 20: Orlando - Virginia Woolf

It's been a while since I finished this and yet I still feel that weird is the only word which either describes or does justice to this book. It features a character who isn't bound by the normal passage of time, and is only 30 after some 400 years, and who is able to change sex at will. A character who gets married but who's husband is never again heard of, and who may or may not have had a child. This is another one I found myself bribing my way through.


Thank you if you've actually taken the time to read all of these :P and if you want more information then the title links will take you to the full post.

Linking up to Speed Date Night @ The Book Swarm.

Rowen

Book Beginnings: Women in Love - D. H. Lawrence

'Ursula and Gundrun Brangwen sat one morning in the window-bay of their father's house in Beldover, working and talking.'


This to me sounds like a very typical day for the period in which the book was written. At first glance it doesn't appear to be as shocking as the only other Lawrence I've read, Lady Chatterly's Lover, which was banned for thirty years from first publication., but I'm hoping I'll enjoy it as much.


Anyone else read this? What did you think?


Linking up to Book Beginnings @ Rose City Reader.


Rowen

A Proust Dilema...

On Monday I ordered some books that I don't yet have for the challenge my friend Clarissa and I set for ourselves to raise some money for Charity, more about that on Saturday.


Today two of them turned up, 'Tropic of Cancer' which was exactly what I expected of it, and 'Remembrance of Things Past' which was not.


Let me fill you in a little, Remembrance of Things Past is a 3000 odd page work of literature which took Proust 14 years to write. First off I was expecting something a little smaller, even if it did take 14 years. 


However this wouldn't have been a problem if I hadn't then noticed that the book I'd ordered was the second volume in a 2 volume work...


So my question is do I bite the bullet and order the first volume and read them in order? Or do I take what I've got, and give it a shot just from volume two?


I really want to give the reading list my best shot as it's for Charity. However the second volume alone is over 1000 pages, and I don't really want to buy another book and have them languish on my shelf for years as I can see it taking a while to read.


Help!!


Rowen

Book Beginnings: Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

'When I reached the 'C' Company lines, which were at the top of the hill, I paused and looked back at the camp, just coming into full view below me through the grey mist of early morning.'

This was an unexpected beginning, I thought the book, perhaps unfairly derived from the cover was  more about parties. And yet the character in question doesn't appear to be someone who would attend a party. 

I hope this book turns out to be as good, or better, than I anticipate it to be.

Have you ever judged a book by it's cover?

I'm linking up to Book Beginnings @ Rose City Reader.

Rowen

Our Challenge: Books 4-14

I've been reading steadily for the reading challenge my friend and I set ourselves for this year. We're now nearly four months in and a third of the way through. I should now be on my 18th book, I'm on my 16th, and a week ago it seemed to be an impossible task. However bring on the brilliance that is waking early and reading short books and I find myself having read 5 books in a week, something I can't remember doing ever!


It seemed to be about time I summarised and collected the links for all these books into one place. If you're interested in seeing my full thoughts, my friends thoughts or donating some money to the charity we're raising for click on the links.


Book 4: Austerlitz- W.G.Sebald


This book was better than I'd been expecting but still wasn't to my taste. I didn't hate it, but nor could I truly unravel a plot from it. If asked whether someone should read it I think I'd probably say don't bother. 


Book 5: The Riddle of the Sands - Erskine Childers


This book has a very slow first hundred pages but it quickly picks up the pace after that. Once it got moving it was a good adventure story in the true 'for boys' style which predominantly dates from the 19 30's 40's and 50's. The worst thing belonging to this book was a heavy emphasis on sailing terms, something I found it hard to understand.


Book 6: Hideous Kinky - Esther Freud


This book was a quick and easy read. Largely without plot, although there's a vague thread of growing up too young. It was worth reading.

Book 7: The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood


This was a very good if very long book. I was captivated and would definitely recommend it. It's full of well developed characters with massive flaws. It develops gradually but reels you in from the very first line. 

Book 8: Tom Jones - Henry Fielding


Tom Jones is both long and dull. Not a book to undertake unless you have a lot of time on your hands and some serious self hatred. It talked in circles and drew out the tiniest plot points for a long as possible. 


Book 9: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - Douglas Adams

This was funny. Hilarious in fact. If you've ever read any of Adam's other novels you'll know what you're heading for in advance. It was easy to read, a delight in fact.


Book 10: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey


A brutal look into the mental institutions of the 50's and 60's. It was a good novel well written and it evoked a true empathy for many of the characters. When one of the characters kills another, rather than feeling anger you feel the same sort of sympathy you feel for lenny and George in Of Mice and Men. Definitely deserving of the label modern Classic.


Book 11: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - Winifred Watson


Once again a light-hearted book that ensnared your attention and demanded your respect. No real plot but a glimpse of surprise, wonderment and learning to live again.


Book 12: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime - Mark Haddon


This book is most probably unique in the world of Literature. I've never before read a book from the perspective of someone with any degree of autism, and not only did it offer a unique perspective it did it well. It easily demonstrates the trauma which can be induced when the natural order of things is changed about. Incidentally I love the cover, it's one of the best I've ever seen, although nothing like the ones I normally like.


Book 13: The End of the Affair - Graham Greene

This book was so well written I was heavily emotionally invested by the end, this may or may not be to your taste but I love it when an author can do that to me. I love to feel something for the characters. I love to feel they're my friends. This did this. By the end of the book, and it's not long, I knew certainly the main character reasonably well. It's worth whatever you're willing to spend on it.



Book 14: Disgrace - J.M.Coetzee


This book was well written but at the same time a bit disturbing. It made use of foreshadowing. The main character committed acts only slightly better than those which were acted against his daughter. It opens a gateway to a new place, but it isn't one I'd want to travel often.


Remember if you want to read my full reviews or any of my friends you need to click on the links to take you over to the relevant post. If you want to donate anything then head on over to our shared blog and there's a link which will take you to our donations page.


Rowen

Book Three: Cranford - Elizabeth Gaskell

Cranford was the third book I read for the reading Challenge. I finished it on 16th January, in just 2 days. This is mostly because I'd anticipated it being about 400 pages long, but hadn't read the cover of the book which said 'and selected short stories' of which there were six, so the actual story was only 150 pages long.

Cranford is a very traditional type of place. The book doesn't seem to have a strong theme or story arc but is more a compilation of short stories about the life of the women living there.

I really enjoyed reading it, and you can read my original post about it here.

Rowen

Book Two: Fanny Hill - John Cleland

Fanny Hill was the second book I read for the challenge. I finished it on 14th of January

I have little to add to my original review except to say that it really is the single most explicit and dirty book I've read in my entire life. I would still recommend it, but not to anyone a little bit delicate :)

Hope you're enjoying my updates. There's still many more to come.

Rowen

Book One: A Room With A View - E.M Forster

Did I mention that a Friend and I were having a book challenge? We plan to read 52 books over the course of a year, that's one book a week. Not unheard of, but all of these books are planned and selected from the 1001 books to read before you die. I've planned the order of my first several books to hopefully give me some motivation to get through some of the duller ones.

A Room With A View was my first book which I finished on 5th January and I posted a review of it on our challenge blog here.

I have nothing to add to my review and can only reiterate how funny I personally found it :)

Rowen

Our Challenge

My friend Clarissa and I decided to do something a little bit different this year. We're going to read 52 books in a year off a preplanned list. We're doing this to raise money for Charity.

Each of those books has come off the list of 1001 books to read before you die. We will each post a review of the books as we've read them to our blog-based tracking system which can be found here.

I will also be posting my reviews of the books on this blog with hopefully the added feature of a linky at the bottom of the post which will be open until the end of the year from the time I've finished reading the book.

I hope you find time to join in if just for one or two books, or even are able to donate to the Charity we've chosen to support.

Rowen

Life of Pi - Yann Martel

This Morning I finished reading Life of Pi. At just 4 days it is the shortest any 'true' book, I don't truly count Mills and Boons, has taken me since I've been living at Uni, and in great part that is testamony to the brilliant story-telling and captivating tale.

I'm still unsure if the story is real or false. It was told in the sense of 'true' fiction, however that isn't to say it wasn't completely made up. Some credence is lent to it's being true by the fact that events leading up to it were put in a preface, however that is completely counteracted by the sheer improbability of the story.

Either way it truly is a tale to make you believe in God, and I felt ensconced, could imagine myself there, from beginning to end.

My personal favourite part was the nickname of Pi, Pi, which is in fact, even by design, a number. It is my favourite number, not because of anything actually to do with the number, as much as because I just like the symbol which is used for it.

Life of Pi was the 47th of the 1001 books I have to read, and to date it is one of the most interesting, if not the least weird, that I have come across.

It was also a World Book Night book. This year, 2012, I intend to spend the night reading books from their designated list. Although I doubt if I'll get much more read than one book, I can but try.

Rowen

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

              

           This book I bought for two reasons; firstly it was in my version of '1001 books to read before you die' and secondly because I knew that I would be studying the relevent period of Russian history this year. It lived up to my expectations and did more or less what it said it would; described one day in the life of Ivan Denisovich, from the moment that he woke up until the moment he went to sleep.
             In history I've been studying Nazi Germany parallel to Russia, therefore I have a reasonable understanding of the Nazi Concentration camps whilst finding that the equivalent in Russia, the Gulag, are mentioned but never with any detail or depth. Because of the fact that they are in some respects described as being the same you find yourself making the assumption that they are Carbon copies of one another. However, after reading this book, you find that you can pick out a variety of differences, as well as similarities, between the two. It fascinated me.
            A year ago I read Primo Levi's 'If this is a Man', and I found myself drawing parallels with it as I read this book, this is unsuprising when you consider that one was written by a survivor of Auschwitz while the other was written by a survivor of a Gulag. I found a number of differences between the two; the first was that the prisoners in the Gulag's appeared to be valued more, possibly because they weren't classified as a sub-race, they were given more to eat. Secondly they appeared to be less supervised than in the Nazi camp except for when they were being moved to and from work-sites. Thirdly, a prisoner in Soviet Russia was actually able to fulfill his term, and go home, although it was likely to be to exile. One interesting quote I found was;

'Now he didn't know either whether he wanted freedom or not.'

          There were similarities to be found as well; Both camps apparantly had similar bartering systems between the prisoners; There was a similar hierarchy amongst the prisoners although the Gulag one was based more upon respect than the one in concentration camps which were built upon fear and hatred; and there appears to have been a similar attitude that you should live for the day but scrounge for the morrow and that above all you should keep your pride intact because that's what the camps were designed to drain.



Inside cover design



           My favourite thing about this book is the cover design which is striking. The pointing finger representing the Soviet power system and Stalin who simply had to point for you to be locked away. Open the cover and you're greeted by an equally striking image. A collage of pictures of prisoners and machinery, constructed in a way which best emphasises the clockwork nature of the Soviet superpower. I also loved the fact that when I bought the book from Waterstones it came plastic wrapped causing me to treat it with a certain amount of reverence, although not something I think would suit the majority of books it was perfect for this one.



          My least favourite thing about this book was that it had no chapters or divisions of any sort, beyond paragraphs, it was one long block of text from beginning to end. It made sense in the context of the book. Suited it even. But i really didn't like it. It made it hard to put down as there were no natural breaks and as a consequence I became reluctant to pick it up causing me to drag my feet whilst reading it.

          On the whole I found the book and informative, if slightly tedious read. I wanted to love it but I found it didn't quite equal other books of it's type; it didn't quite move me to compassion or tears.

Rowen

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

Last night I finished reading Little Women which is one of the 'Great American Novels', I can't say I was overwhelmingly impressed with it, but it had both good and bad aspects. I read it because a friend got it for me as a Christmas present because it's in a book I have entitled '1001 books to read before you die' and I'm intent on reading them all, this is the 45th one that I've read.
      The book started out much too like a sermon for my taste, it was preaching very particular morals, and effectively criticising those who do not have them, as a lot of them are outdated, it made me feel uncomfortable. At this point it also didn't seem to have much of a plot, a situation which improved after reading approximately the first quarter. Meg got married and Beth got ill and there was a general middle, and then you skipped three years and the book once again declined as it lost all sense of timescale. Beth died, a part of the book which was very well written and moved me to tears, but then Laurie married Amy instead of Jo, a point which made me angry as the Author had been very nicely setting up a camaraderie which would naturally lead to Jo and Laurie rather than Amy and Laurie, and although it was explained it left me feeling so angry I had to put down the book and do something else to distract myself. This may be seen as good writing to have such an effect on emotion but I like my books to be comfortable reads and not want to throw them across a room for the troubles they afford me.
                I can see why this book is described as it is, but for me it will never be a work of brilliance, as is my opinion of the majority of the '1001 books' which I have so far read, one thing I can say is I'm glad I was guided to read it because it's widening my experience of books and causing me to look outside my comfortable genre of high fantasy.

Rowen