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Back to the Classics Challenge 2015
The Back to the Classics Challenge was a fun motivator when I participated a few years back, so it seemed like a no-brainer to sign up again. It’s now hosted by Books and Chocolate and is organized a little differently. There’s now a draw at the end of the year for an Amazon gift certificate, and you enter by completing categories – six categories will amount to one entry, nine categories for two entries, and all twelve categories for three entries. The choices below may also be changed throughout the year. A 19th Century Classic – The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells A 20th Century Classic –…
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2014 in Review
The year is over, and it’s time for a quick look back. Last year had some great moments, but overall it was a bit of a rough one on a personal level, the aftermath of a horrendous previous year. As such, I’ve let myself get behind on a lot, so if I have one resolution for 2015 it’s to try a bit harder to stay on top of things and enjoy myself rather than becoming overwhelmed and procrastinating. This last year was better than the year before it, so here’s hoping that 2015 will be better still. The Weblog In my head, I think of this weblog as if it’s…
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December in Review
Books Acquired: Dracula by Bram Stoker (audiobook) Books Read: More Baths, Less Talking by Nick Hornby Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris Aquaman, Vol. 1: The Trench by Geoff Johns The People Look Like Flowers at Last by Charles Bukowski No physical books for Christmas! That might be a first actually. I’m not complaining, as I have a huge number of unread novels on the shelf (and currently no more shelf), but it’s just a strange feeling. My family is currently putting money towards selling the childhood home, so we decided not to buy gifts this year and just spent the day together, playing with the dogs and having a…
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The Gun Seller
The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie Published: 1996 Pages: 340 Reading Stephen Fry’s most recent biography, More Fool Me, finally prompted me to pick this up after having it loom over me from the shelf for years. I wasn’t avoiding it, but my interest just kept getting pulled elsewhere. It came up in the autobiography because Laurie was working on the novel during the period of Fry’s journal that was included. He mentioned how funny it was, and while I know his opinion is biased, it finally made me pick it up. For some reason I thought he’d take a straighter edge with the novel, but it’s incredibly funny. I…
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Cannery Row
Cannery Row by John Steinbeck Published: 1945 Pages: 181 I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this one. It’s set in the south during the Great Depression, which isn’t a setting that really excites me, although I think I’m coming around on that. Each chapter reads like its own story, and I sometimes have a hard time keeping interest in fiction that doesn’t have a strong central plot. Despite these concerns, I ended up loving this novel. I actually started reading the first couple of pages absentmindedly while figuring out what to read next, and I just couldn’t stop. I can’t really put my finger on what it was that…
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November in Review
Books Acquired: A Brief History of the Celts by Peter Berresford Ellis Books Read: The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie Lock In by John Scalzi The Stranger by Albert Camus I am so behind. I spent a few weeks away this month, partly back in my hometown visiting my mum and partly in Hawaii, and I get surprisingly little reading and writing done when I’m traveling. I say surprisingly because it seems like that’s prime reading time for most people, but that never seems to be the case with me. Most of my beach time was spent in the water, and most of my home time was spent working or…
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More Fool Me
More Fool Me by Stephen Fry Published: 2014 Narrated by: Stephen Fry Length: 09:49 This is Stephen Fry’s third autobiography. Some people would say that is two too many, but I’ll keep reading them if he keeps publishing them. I’ve actually listened to all three on audiobook, despite having bought at least one in dead tree format, because I can’t pass up a chance to listen to his narration. I wasn’t in love with his second autobiography, The Fry Chronicles, and when I first discovered this had been released, I was worried about the reviews. The star ratings seemed low, and many of the reviews I skimmed seemed disappointed with…
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The Classics Club November Survey
I thought I’d participate in this month’s Classics Club question, which is actually 50 questions. It turns out that 50 questions is an awful lot of questions. Some might say too many questions, but I felt committed to finish once I’d started. It was a fun exercise, though. Share a link to your club list. My List of 50 classics. When did you join The Classics Club? How many titles have you read for the club? I joined on March 23, 2012 (wow, doesn’t feel that long ago) and have read 28 (plus one I haven’t written about yet), which puts me right on track for my end date of…
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The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde Play premiered: 1895 (St James’s Theatre, London, England) Pages: 76 I love the dialogue in The Picture of Dorian Gray, but I started to drift during those few chapters in the middle that were all description. It makes sense then that I’d love Oscar Wilde’s plays, and I thought I’d start with his most popular work. Would you be in any way offended if I said that you seem to me to be in every way the visible personification of absolute perfection? This is an absurd comedy that revolves around two couples, their marriage proposals, and false identities. The readers (or audience…
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October in Review
Books Acquired: Jingo by Terry Pratchett Books Read: A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde More Fool Me by Stephen Fry Cannery Row by John Steinbeck I read more than I bought, so I consider that a good month. I also really enjoyed the books I finished, so that’s an even better month. There are quite a few unread Pratchett novels on my shelf already, but I like to read them in the order they were published for the most part, so I thought I’d pick up Jingo to unblock my Discworld progress. I then immediately…