War and Peace

I feel like I've climbed Mt. Everest or run a marathon with finishing War and Peace. I might have done a victory dance.

War and Peace follows Pierre, the illegitimate son of a wealthy count, Prince Andrew and his sister Princess Mary, and the Rostov family, who has lost all their wealth, in Russia during the Napoleonic Wars. It's an epic, full of love and death.

It was surprisingly easier to read than I expected. There were some philosophical history sections, reflections on history by Tolstoy, that were a bit intense. I also had a cheat sheet of the characters that I referred to frequently in the beginning as I was having trouble keeping track of all the characters. Despite those issues, it wasn't as intimidating as its reputation. It is very long though. Very very long.

One little section that I laughed over:

"I don't know why you think I am cross, "said Nicholas, replying to the question he knew was in his wife's mind.
I always ask Evan why he's upset and he always tells me the same thing.

Another few of quotes I liked:

"Where there's law there's injustice," put in the little man.

He read, and read everything that came to hand.

But Helene, like a really great man who can do whatever he pleases, at once assumed her own position to be correct, as she sincerely believed it to be, and that everyone else was to blame.  (We certainly all know people like this.)

"Russia and summer weather are not bound together," he thought.  (Wyoming, what?)

I'm really glad I read War and Peace, but don't imagine I'll ever do it again.

The Moonstone

Wilkie Collins is a mystery writer from the mid 1800s. The Moonstone is on the 1001 Book You Must Read list. (Link goes to my progress on the list.)The Moonstone is on the longer side, but I read it in just a couple days. I couldn't put it down. I didn't figure out the answer to the mystery ahead of time. It had great twists and turns.

The Moonstone is about the theft of a diamond known as the Moonstone. The novel is set up as personal reflections and remembrances of many characters in the book. Each person's story adds a bit to the mystery. It was a fun way of getting different characters' impressions and views.

Since The Moonstone was published prior to 1923, it's in the public domain and the ebook is free. If you are fan of mysteries, I highly recommend it. Collins has many other books, one of which, The Woman in White, is already on my kindle.

Cry, the Beloved Country

Cry, the Beloved Country is so beautiful. I have had it on my shelf for a long time. I like reading about Africa so I knew I should read it, but kept not picking it up.

Luckily, I finally did. Cry, the Beloved Country is set in South Africa during the 1940s. At this time, society in South Africa was very unequal. Blacks in South African society had so little in comparison to whites.

Cry, the Beloved Country is about a young black man who kills a white husband and father in racially charged South Africa. The story follows the men's fathers in the aftermath of the crime.

Some might find the the moral of the story a bit heavy handed, but I thought it was beautiful.

The Handmaid's Tale

Stop what you are doing and go read this book.


I was serious. Go read this book, then you can come back and goof around on the internet.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is a book that I've heard people rave about for years. I have this thing about dystopian books so it wasn't on the top of my list. I read it for the seasonal online challenge for the category of a Canadian author. It was a great example of how the book challenge gets you to read things you might not otherwise pick up.

The Handmaid's Tale is set in an alternate future where a conservative Christian group has taken over society and the environment has been severely degradated. The laws in society divide women up into different categories. The narrator is a handmaid whose job it is to produce children. Handmaids are not allowed to read and are only allowed out of the house once a day.

There were so many things to love about The Handmaid's Tale: the idea that such a society isn't that remote of an idea, the writing, and the ending. I won't say anything about the end, other than it was brilliant. Freaking brilliant.

This was one of the best, if not the best, books I've read this year. It's one of the best books I've ever read.

Wait for Me! and other Mitford family books

I think the Mitford family is fascinating. They were such a part of history. The Mitfords were an upper class family who seemed to be around every important person and event in England from the 1920s on.

I've read the non-fiction book The Sisters which first introduced me to the family. I also have read The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford. Those two books are on the 1001 Books You Must Read list and are stories based on the family. The Mitfords show up in other works of literature. Sir Oswald Mosley (sister Diana's husband) has been mentioned in the Maisie Dobbs series.

I really enjoyed the first part of Wait for Me! The book is the memoir of the youngest Mitford daughter, Deborah, who became Duchess of Devonshire. The first half is about Debo's childhood, teen, and early adult years and has lots of great stories about her family members.

However, when it got to the point where her father-in-law, the Duke of Devonshire, died and the family had to pay death taxes it went downhill quickly for me. They had to pay 80% taxes, which yes, is a huge portion of their wealth. But when she's saying how they had to sell off 42,000 acres here and another 11,000 there and all these fabulous works of art. Boo freaking hoo. She even had a catty remark about how a Rembrandt they had to sell was only a drawing/practice/etc and consequently not worth as much as previously thought and haha on the government for that. They still were beyond wealthy and didn't have to work. They even left England to live at their castle in Ireland because they didn't like the socialist/Labour governments of the time.

I had a really hard time caring about her after that point in the book and didn't finish it. I'm sure there were stories that were more interesting towards the end, but I just really didn't want to listen to the author anymore.

The Sisters by Mary Lovell is a great book about all the Mitford girls which you should definitely pick up. It's a great biography as well as covering so much history. I don't recommend Wait for Me! unless the money stuff won't bother you. Debo is not my favorite Mitford.

The Catcher in the Rye

Like many people, I first read The Catcher in the Rye in high school. I wasn't a fan. I thought Holden was stupid. I hated him. He was whining about phonies when he seemed to be the real phony. He didn't follow the rules. (I'm a big rule follower.) My 15 year old self could not connect with him in any way. I attended boarding school and even that wasn't enough for me. (During my reread, however, I had dreams of my life in boarding school.)

Over the past couple years I have been thinking that I should pick it up again and see what my (hopefully) more mature self thought of it.

I've read a few classics in the past couple years that I'd never read but are common high school picks or reread ones I read in high school. I have gotten a lot out of it.

I read Lord of the Flies, which was something I probably wouldn't have appreciated in high school, but found so relevant. Others haven't been as rewarding. I reread The Scarlet Letter thinking I'd like the themes of religion and social norms. Nope. I hated it. It was painful. My 15 year old self's judgment was right on that one. Now, I question why this book is still on high school reading lists everywhere. There are plenty of books that will actually encourage students to read them instead of the Cliffs Notes.

Anyhow, back to The Catcher in the Rye. Didn't like it or Holden way back when. One of my friends raves about it and I figured it was one about which my adult self would think differently.

Holden Caulfield is kicked out of yet another school. He doesn't care about classes and thinks everyone around him is a phony. He leaves school a few days early and wanders around NYC (where he lives) for a couple days before going home.

For the first half of the book Holden really bothered me. I wanted to tell him to shape up and shut up. Then, when it got to the part where he bought his little sister Phoebe a record, my thoughts started to change. I started to feel sorry for Holden. To me it seemed obvious he was having a hard time emotionally. His behavior saddened me. He was trying to act so cool, but was so lonely. His love of Phoebe did me in. Holden isn't a bad kid, just one that need a big hug and some help.

My opinion of the book is now much more positive. I think it's a book that can be viewed quite differently based on where you are in life. As I let it stew over the next few years, I think my thoughts will still be evolving. And that is the sign of a good book--one that you can't stop rolling over in your head.

Some Recent 1001 Books Reads

A Modest Proposal


I read this in high school and thought it was great. Upon my recent reread, I love it even more. Jonathan Swift wrote A Modest Proposal in 1729 about poor Irish children. It's perfect satire and very funny. It's very short-- more of a short story than a novel--so it's a quick well-worth-it read.




Alice's Adventures in Wonderland


I read Alice in Wonderland in fourth grade for a book report. I dressed up as Alice. I really don't remember more than that though. I just love when Alice wakes up and reflects on it all.



A Christmas Carol


If you don't know the story of A Christmas Carol, you need to put it next on your to be read list. I don't think I'd ever read A Christmas Carol, but had, of course, seen the Scrooge McDuck version as well as other movie adaptations. Even knowing exactly what was going to happen, I still cried at the end of it. Get yourself in the holiday spirit. It won't be too long til Christmas!



I like using the 1001 books you should read list to pick classics because it covers a wide time range. The must-read label certainly applies to all three of these books. You can see the progress I've made here.

Persuasion

I recently reread Persuasion. It might be my favorite Jane Austen novel. I'll have to reread Pride and Prejudice to be sure, but I think I'll still lean to Persuasion. (Now, the BBC P&P miniseries is another story. I could watch Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy all day long.)

I know the plot of Persuasion, but still cried at the end. It is just that good!

If you like Jane Austen and haven't read this one yet, you need to pick it up. You don't have an excuse since it's one of the many books you can get free for your Kindle or Nook. You can thank me later.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

I'd read this book of Sherlock Holmes stories when I was 12 or 13. I recently reread it and remembered many of the stories. How could you forget The Speckled Band?

My family and I visited London when I was in middle school. We visited 221B Baker Street. I picked up a cool illustrated copy while we were there. I also remember listening to the audio versions of the stories while we'd lay out on our deck and look at the stars.

Sherlock Holmes stories give me warm fuzzies from these memories.

I enjoyed the reread. The mysteries were really fun. I remembered a couple of the outcomes, but not all of them. I like how they are told from the view point of Dr. Watson, who despite seeing Holmes solve mystery after mystery, is constantly in awe of his methods.

If you haven't read them and like mysteries, I highly suggest any of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries.

The Poisonwood Bible

I had been told toread this book several (5!) years ago after seeing a movie about the ill-fated Lumumba and being interested in the history of the Congo during that period. For whatever reason, I never got around to it til a recent trip when I had to time to do some reading. Wow. I should have read this book years ago. The history is really interesting as the story of the Price family envelopes you. Any time a book gets you to feel so much emotion, its a good one. So if you've been like me, hav...more I first read The Poisonwood Bible back in 2007 .

This is my review from back then:

"I had been told to read this book several (5!) years ago after seeing a movie about the ill-fated Lumumba and being interested in the history of the Congo during that period. For whatever reason, I never got around to it til a recent trip when I had to time to do some reading. Wow. I should have read this book years ago. The history is really interesting as the story of the Price family envelopes you. Any time a book gets you to feel so much emotion, its a good one. So if you've been like me, having this book on your to-read list, get to it!"

I reread it recently and still loved it. It is one of my all time favorites.