What I Read Last Week #2

  

3 poems from Edgar Allan Poe. Not his most famous (I've already read those). I really enjoyed To Isadore, The Village Street, and The Forest Reverie. As I read The Village Street, I kept thinking that this would make an eerie short story. Every so often, I read a bit from Poe's complete works. I enjoy his poetry, but sometimes I can only take so much creepy.

Serpent & Dove was a book I couldn't put down. It definitely did a good job of distracting me from EVERYTHING. I'm very excited to read the sequel, Blood & Honey when it comes out later this year. - I'm hoping the release date doesn't get pushed back.

Wasted Words was my now weekly (?) Romantic Comedy. It was cute and sad, and had a great ending. It's interesting how the events of our teen years can affect us as adults. Even when rationally, we know we're acting "crazy".

I finally read The Search, the second series of graphic novels from Avatar: The Last Airbender. My daughter rewatched the series on Netflix and it was hard to pull myself away when it was on. Reading this book satisfied the itch for more Avatar. If you want to know what happened to Zuko's mother, this is the book you need to read.

Blog post from the Write Practice. It's short. Kind of helpful. Mostly it made me feel better that in my WIP, I occasionally have scenes that are 350ish words.

A reminder to myself that I only need to read so much about Coronavirus and COVID-19.

Classics List

The deadline I gave myself for the Classics Club has come and gone. It came and went 9 months ago. Some life-related things got in the way. I was having a hard time with reading and blogging for a while there. But that's just life.

What do I want to do now?

My priorities have shifted. I'm still reading and I'm still reading classics, but just not as much as I meant to when I started this challenge. I usually choose books based on how I'm feeling and how I'm feeling lately is busy. That does not often lead me to a classic, though I did manage to read more than half my list in those 5 years. I know it should be more, especially with all the short stories and poetry, but the last 2 years have seen some life changes.

I still plan on reading through the list. I hope the new moderators at the Classics Club will let me continue to add my reviews to their ever-growing list and keep me as a member. Now that it does not have a specific goal date, I have let the list grow, as other classics catch my eye. Though, if I do that, I may never actually finish. Part of me is okay with that. I am also left wondering if I should give myself a new deadline. The end of this year? The end of next?

Any classics readers out there? Anyone not finish their 5-year goal?

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Wow. Just. Wow. Agatha Christie has managed to blow me away. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd might be my favourite of her novels now. That ending was amazing. I didn’t expect it. I’m a little in shock. This is definitely a book I could read again. I feel like I missed a hidden meaning or clue between the lines or something. In a second reading I would would be searching for something. Apparently there is only one way out when someone discovers what bad thing you’ve done in this little town.

I kind of loved Dr. Sheppard, right up until the end. I don't want to say too much, because it would give the story away and this book is worth the time to read. It's worth the time to read twice. Christie makes Sheppard so compelling. 

Inspector Raglan is so close-minded and annoying. I wanted to slap him a couple times. He thinks only his way is right. M. Poirot's idiosyncrasies do not give Raglan any faith in him. Even if Poirot were to share his theories, Raglan wouldn't listen. He was a wonderfully frustrating character. 

M. Poirot is full of himself, but he kind of deserves to be. He is always right. He sees everything, the things that no one else sees. Poirot is a bit snarky, in a cute, little, old man kind of way. He is someone to admire though, someone to emulate. He looks at evidence, circumstances, that others ignore. That's what he teaches officers more open than Raglan. Poirot is also such a unique character. No one other than Christie has a detective like him. 

As always, Christie does not disappoint. Even better, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is more unexpected than any of the other novels I've read, save The Orient Express. I'm eager to read another of Christie's books. Maybe The Mysterious Affair At Styles is next.

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 was captivating, but also has somehow stopped me from writing all other posts. I'm just stalled. I've written notes on the other books I've read, and there are writing related posts I want to do, but they're not done. So, I'm going to push past this bump in the road. I know why it happened too. Fahrenheit 451 didn't really end, at least not the edition I have.

I hate when this happens. Ray Bradbury's story ended before the book did. There are still 90 unread pages left. I expected more story. I thought Montag was going to reach a particular destination, or at least, one more thing was going to happen. But then the ending happened. In itself, the ending is fine. Les dramatic than I expected, but fine, probably good. I just wish there was something in the table of contents. They included the Introduction (by Neil Gaiman, really well written and I don’t normally like introductions.) I double-checked when I got to the end of the story and it was not just a case of me not paying attention. Now I'm left feeling like the end of Fahrenheit 451 is missing something. I don't think it is though. I've re-read it a couple times, knowing the story is ending, and it's a good ending. I'm just going to have to re-read the whole novel sometime, to get the feel for the whole story.

The third of the book that is literary criticism, essays, etc., is still unread. I was just so surprised to find all this non-fiction commentary on the novel. Now, I'm undecided. Do I read it or leave it? I've read a few novels since I "finished" the story, but I haven't been able to post about any of them. Fahrenheit 451 just keeps calling me back, asking me to finish, but I also just wanted to read a good story and Fahrenheit 451 was that, more than a good story, it was a great story. It reminded me so much of 1984 and Brave New World, not necessarily in the tone or writing style, but in the feeling it gave me. Even though you're rooting for the main character, there's a hopelessness and inevitability in what they are doing. There's also something eerie about the possibility of this future coming true. Especially now. 

Anne of Avonlea

Another trip to Prince Edward Island, another book in the Anne of Green Gables series read. I loved Anne of Avonlea. Anne is more grown up, though only 16 at the start of the novel. She, Gilbert Blythe, and two other friends have returned from Redmond College to take up teaching positions. Anne and Gilbert teach their students and along with their friends Diana and Fred, form the Avonlea Village Improvement Society. 

Anne and Diana’s friendship grows and matures, as they do. Anne is very much treated as an adult, she teaches, and she helps Marilla raise children. Talk of marriage surrounds her. It’s a bit strange to me, as by the end of the story, she is just 17. It seems like she has a lot of responsibility at her age, though admittedly, it was a different time then. There are also different opinions on whether Anne needs more schooling. Some residents of Avonlea Village say, no. Though she wants to go back to school, Anne loves teaching. Her students love her. She loves them. She takes her work very seriously, feeling deeply for each pupil. Were people really so mature as teenagers at the beginning of the last century?

Though I fully enjoyed the story, watching Anne and the residents of Avonlea grow, I wish there was a bit more plot. Anne of Avonlea seems to be a snippet of Anne’s life for the two years between Anne of Green Gables and Anne of the Island. A lot of exciting, surprising, interesting things happen, but I didn’t really feel a thread that held them all together. In a weird way, it makes me want to read Anne of the Island more. With how this book ends, there is so much bound to happen in the next one.

Anne Of Green Gables

I cried. I had to suck it in though, and quickly dry my eyes so that my children wouldn't see, since we were in the car. It was a bit of a long drive home from where we were, and since my Hubby was driving, I was happily, excitedly, reading Anne Of Green Gables. The end just got me right in the heart. My feelings... my FEELINGS! (Not that my children would have seen my tears, involved in their own car ride activities.) 

My Hubby noticed though, steeling some glances at me before asking, "Are your crying? Why are you crying?"

"The book, the book made me cry. "

"What happened?"

"I can't tell you." *sniff

"Did all the hobbits die?"

*I give him a stern look. 

"What? I was joking."

(Telling me all the hobbits die is what he did when I read Lord of the Rings shortly after we started dating. Now whenever I have book feels, he asks me if the hobbits died.)

This is the second time I have read Anne Of Green Gables. The first time I read the book, I was in grade seven or eight maybe. I didn't remember much of the exact story, just impressions of Anne and Marilla. I did remember the scene with Gilbert in the schoolhouse when Anne resolutely decides to hate him. I did not remember how much Anne grows up in this novel. She's goes from 11 to 16. Grown up life began so soon back then...

I loved Anne. I loved her exuberance, her fierceness and her imagination. Anne was loyal and hardworking, but would get lost in her dreams. There was joy, excitement and adventure. There was also pain, anger and sorrow. Anne's story was every bit as wonderful as I remembered. 

Though I always intended to reread and finish the series, my time in Prince Edward Island at the beginning of July inspired me to pickup the novel when I got home. Something about being there, visiting the Anne of Green Gables Museum, seeing Lucy Maud Montgomery's things and learning more about her life, connected me to her stories. Anne of Green Gables, is just one of those quintessentially classic Canadian books. Children across the nation and the world read it. It's been made into countless adaptations. I know there is a new one, I haven't seen it yet though. 

The hope that Anne has, as she arrives at the Cuthberts, after having so much sadness and hardship in her young life, calls out to everyone. She moves beyond it, works hard, and makes the people she cares most about proud. Anne of Green Gables really is one of the best books I have ever read and I am looking forward to when my children are old enough to read it too.

A Study In Scarlet

After reading A Study In Scarlet, I can see why so many people have fallen for Sherlock Holmes over the years. He's an ass, but clever. He is charming to Watson, but the Scotland Yard Detectives dislike him, yet are constantly needing him. They want to be better than him, because he's the best. Even thought they use his skills, they take credit for his work. No wonder he gets so jaded! Holmes is funny, serious, intelligent and irreverent. He's an amazing character.

In this first case, Arthur Conan Doyle keeps the plot seemingly simple. We get to know Watson, as the story is told initially from his perspective. We discover Holmes as Watson does. I can imagine that when Doyle first wrote this story, people would wonder who this man was, with his strange behaviour. Now, we learn about Sherlock Holmes as we grow up and his being an investigator is not a surprise. I read A Study In Scarlet waiting for Holmes' attitude. At the beginning of the story, Watson and Holmes have not yet met. After they do, Watson is fascinated by Holmes' studies, peculiarities and personality. They are just discovering each other. They are not the partners we are used to seeing.

Another unexpected part of the tale was the back story of the crime. Though Holmes uses his deductive reasoning and skills to discover the killer, Doyle delves into the motive. He gives us the tale of a family, who was from the state of Utah in America, and all the events that led to the murder in England. It is sad, emotional, and creates sympathy in the reader. I wonder how many, or if all of Sherlock Holmes' tales will have this element. It is a short novel (novella), so I can't really say too much more. Though we know Sherlock Holmes, A Study In Scarlet was not a tale I was familiar with and it was interesting discovering Holmes and the secrets of the mystery.

A Study In Scarlet was also my Spin book. I'm always happy to participate in the Classics Club's Spins. They remind me to read those classics that have been sitting on my shelf for too long. I wonder what other classics were read for today.

After all the fun of A Study In Scarlet, and getting a taste of Doyle's writing, I am looking forward to reading more Sherlock Holmes.

Brave New World

I can't believe that ending. I mean, I can, but I don't want to. Building up to the end, I was getting the same feeling I had when I was reading 1984 I just wanted things to work our for John. I wanted him to find his place in the world. I wanted John to escape and be happy. I was talking to my Hubby about the book, but I didn't want to tell him what made me so anxious and sad about the ending, in case he wanted to read it one day. He said that he didn't know if you could spoil a book that was almost 100 years old. I told him that I didn't know how it ended before I read it. I barely knew what it was about, not at all familiar with the plot. Of course, I'd heard the title many times, of course I had heard of Aldous Huxley, but I couldn't have told you what the book was about except it being dystopion. I didn't know about "Our Ford" or "decanting". I don't know how Brave New World flew under my radar for so long, but I'm glad I finally read it.

Who is the main character of Brave New World? I think it is the world itself. We look at the world through Lenina's eyes, a slightly quirky, but conforming woman. Bernard Marx, a misfit in his world. John "the Savage", an outsider, an experiment. I thought Lenina, being slightly eccentric for a woman of her cast, might break free and see things in a new way. I thought Bernard might learn some kind of truth and show others (possibly through Lenina, who is more accepted than he is). I thought John might teach this New World something, something about themselves, something that they've lost. Brave New World is brilliantly sad. Maybe I just want hopeful endings.

There were some parts of the novel I found strange. Firstly, how sexually free everyone is, "everyone belongs to everyone else". There is no more marriage, being with only one person for your whole life. The characters in the book talk about "having" each other. They talk to their friends about who they have and haven't had, if they've had the same person, what they thought about them, if they were "pneumatic". I thought this overt sexuality was strange for for a book written so long ago. After talking it through a bit, and reading more about Huxley, I realized why. It was written in 1931, the end of the Roaring Twenties. There was a growing freedom with sexuality (that was eventually stifled for a while). Huxley took this behaviour to the extreme, in a way that would contribute to the stability of Brave New World.

Though, we learn what happens to John, I'm left wonder about Bernard, Helmholtz, and Lenina. Does Lenina forget Bernard and John, and go on with her life, or does the experience change her. Where do Bernard and Helmholtz end up? Helmholtz requested going to the Falkland Islands, but is Bernard with him? Huxley later wrote a book called Island and I think it might be something I have to read. I hope to learn what happened to these characters after they were separated by Mustapha Mond.

As I was thinking about the story and writing this, I though about Lenina's character... then Aldous Huxley.... which led me to Lenina Huxley. I did not realize that the character, Lenina Huxley, played by Sandra Bulluck in Demolition Man was named for the character and author of Brave New World. Then I started to really think about it, about the Feelies and the headset that Lenina Huxley gives John Spartan to wear. How John Spartan is like John the Savage, coming into San Angeles and the "happy joy joy" lifestyle of contentment and conditioning. Maybe I'm a little late here, but I watched Demolition Man  way back in my early teens, long before I ever had a desire to read Brave New World and long before I would make these kind of connections. It's interesting how an action movie can be full of all these interesting ideas, getting a bit of inspiration from a book written in 1931.

I think Brave New World is worth a read. It's complex, but not long. It's also only $0.99 right now on iBooks, Kindle and Kobo. I'm glad I read it... and maybe I should re-watch Demolition Man too.

The Next Classic

What classic book will I be reading next? Well, actually, I'm currently reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, just because I really wanted to. Dystopians have been calling to me lately... However, I also decided to participate in the Classics Club Spin. The number is 12! Which means, per my list, I will be reading A Study In Scarlet, by Arthur Conan Doyle. My first Sherlock Holmes! I'm so excited!

The Classics Spin... and A Comment On My List

I'm not going to make it.  This is why I don't do challenges... For those not familiar, the Classics Club Challenge is to read a minimum of 50 classic books in 5 years.... and I don't think I will be able to do it.  I was even trying to be ambitions, stating I'd read 60 "titles", meaning I was including poetry and short stories. I've read some great book, stories and poems that I might not have gotten to if not encouraged by the Classics Club, but with less than a year left in my personal challenge, and only 27 titles read, I just don't think it will happen. What I'm going to do is try to see how much of the list I can get completed in the next 10 months. Now, I've just finished The Satanic Verses and there is no way my brain is ready for another classic. What I really feel like reading is some of the new Young Adult novels I've picked up. After my brain has rested, well, I imagine I'll be reading my Spin book, as well as The Handmaid's Tale, 1984, and Brave New World as I feel like classic dystopians are called for these days. While I don't think I'll be able to read 23 (or 33) classics by January 3, 2018, I do think I'll get to quite a few. I will also continue to work on my list after I pass my "deadline". 

The only thing left is to put up my list. On March 10, a number will be generated and I'll read that book!

Spin List, as generated with Random.org

1. The Tale of Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter

2. The Cat In The Hat, by Dr. Seuss

3. Under The Knife, by H.G. Wells

4. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood

5. A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway

6. Discourse on Method, by Rene Descartes

7. The Big and The Little, by Isaac Asimov

8.  Dracula's Guest, by Bram Stoker

9. Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson

10. Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery;

11. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, by Tom Stoppard

12. Sherlock Holmes #1: A Study In Scarlett, by Arthur Conan Doyle

13. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum

14. Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain

15. The Daemon of the World, by Percy Bysshe Shelley

16. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut

17. The Stone Angel, by Margaret Laurence

18. A Tale of Two Cities, by Dickens

19. The Wings of the Dove, by Henry James

20. Medea, by Euripides

It's a pretty varied list. There's genre, children's books, plays and poetry. I'm excited to see what number will be reveals on March 10. I'm also excited to keep working on my list, no matter what number I end up with.

Blast from the Past #9 - A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal

Ten years ago, I shared my favourite poem, A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal, by William Wordsworth. It's still one of my favourite poems. It's up there with The Raven (which I will blog about soon, I think) and Rime of the Ancient Mariner. A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal doesn't tell a story the way the other two do, but there's mystery in it. It's a beautiful, haunting poem, so Romantic in its evocation of emotion. I remember studying it in school, trying to unlock its secret. Sometimes, that make me like poems and stories less, but with this one, I just loved it more.

So, here we are again:

A slumber did my spirit seal; 
I had no human fears: 
She seemed a thing that could not feel 
The touch of earthly years. 

No motion has she now, no force; 
She neither hears nor sees; 
Rolled round in earth's diurnal course, 
With rocks, and stones, and trees. 

Blast From The Past #5 - Flowers and Henry James

If you look at posts from the first half of October 10 years ago, you'll find several of my wedding photos. I remembered this: people from my real life used to look at my blog. I wonder if they still do. I was asked by friends and family to post photos, so I did. It's not something I do much of anymore. I think I've gotten more private as the internet is.... well, you know. I'm not linking to all the posts. I think there of five of them, but if you want to check out a bit of my wedding day, it's all still there. While I may not post a lot of personal photos anymore, I'm not going to take down the ones that are already here.

I couldn't let this post go by though, without mentioning The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James. This ten-year-old post was written after the second time I read this story. It might be my favourite of all James' tales. I read it first in University and just loved it. This might be another story I have to read again!

Blast from the Past #4 - Daisy Miller

I wish I had written more about Daisy Miller when I read it 10 years ago. She seems like such an interesting and multi-dimensional character. I only vaguely remember the story. I remember Winterbourne. Were there some kind of ruins? I remember his affection for Daisy. I remember Daisy being a unique person for that time. 100 years later, would Daisy's behaviour have been so shocking.?What would I think if I read the story again? I should read it again. I've enjoyed everything I've ever read by Henry James. The Turn Of The Screw is one of my favourite stories. Could Daisy Miller become a favourite too? It's not long. Will it be like when I read Appointment With Death after looking back at The ABC Murders? Don't be surprised if I read Daisy Miller again.

Also, there's a huge spoiler at the end of the post, which I didn't include in the image, because it's about the ending. Sometimes I like talking about endings, because they can be dramatic, but ten years later, I had forgotten the ending and have now spoiled it for myself. Good job, Me.

Looking at these posts from my early blogging though, I'm still wondering when I starting putting pictures in my posts. Or links. Or doing any kind of formatting at all.

About last week, part of me wants to delete it. It feels so personal... I don't know if I'm going to do another post like that for a while.

I'm still very happy I decided to do Throwback Thursdays. I am finding looking back at my old posts quite enlightening.

Appointment With Death

I wish I could figure these stories out before the end. Sort of. I thought it was, who it was, for a few pages, but then some of the stuff that Poirot said, threw me off. It's all about the psychology of the crime, at least in this case, though coupled with evidence. It's hard to figure out stuff too when so many people are lying.

Appointment with Death is another wonderful and interesting Agatha Christie mystery. I love Hercule Poirot. He's so different. He's unassuming, soft-spoken, but he sees everything. He sits and speaks with all the interested parties, but he doesn't play much of a part in the first part of the novel. The first part of the novel establishes the Boyton family. We are introduced to the victim as she is in life, and the people who surround her. We meet her children, a family friend and the people who are travelling along side them. This part of the novel gives us an idea of motive, but also what might happen as a result of the matriarch's death.

I loved Sarah King. She was the star of the book for me. She was a woman, travelling on her own, who was also a doctor. The other medical person, Gerard, showed her respect, as did everyone else in the camp. Christie definitely wrote some strong, intelligent, formidable female characters. Sarah King did allow her feelings to get in the way. Though she was certain of "anything medical", her feelings definitely influenced her. From her first conversation with Dr. Gerard, I just loved her confidence.

The ending though, that was a serious surprise. Not just the figuring out of what happened, Poirot going through each member of the assembled party in classic Christie style, but after. The obituary... I won't say anything else, because I don't want to spoil it, but this was Christie at her best. Also, the epilogue was lovely. The reunion was great.

I'm so glad I finally read my fifth Agatha Christie classic. Appointment With Death is everything I wanted to be and I recommend it to any Agatha Christie fan.

This is also #26 on my Classics list. (I'm so behind.)

Little Dorrit

Did I love Little Dorrit? Yes, I think I did. Little Dorrit, by Charles Dickens, is very long. It's full of many colourful, interesting, complex characters. Once or twice, I had to use the internet to look up who someone was, since if they hadn't been mentioned for a while, I might have forgotten. Because Little Dorrit was LONG. Like really long. I thought Middlemarch was long (and it was), but Dickens was very generous with words. My one reprieve was that I could take a break. Little Dorrit is split into too "books", Poverty and Riches. So, when Poverty was done, I took a break. I read three other books, I think, in that time. I still wanted to know, longed to know, what would happen to Little Dorrit and Mr. Clennham, but I needed that break.

To stick it out for over 800 pages of Victoria Literature, the characters need to be compelling, and they were. I adored Amy Dorrit. She worked so hard to make her father happy, to give her siblings something, some meaning to their lives. They knew, but chose to pretend not to know, so much about Little Dorrit, the name she preferred for herself. Little Dorrit is just an amazing person, caring for her family and friends, loving, kind. I just rooted for her the whole time. I wanted her to be happy.

I wanted Arthur Clennham to be happy too. He seemed to long to be loved by his mother, but gave that up. He wanted to right some wrong he believed his father had done. He wanted Daniel Doyce to be a success. He wanted Little Dorrit and her family to be free. He spend time, money and emotion to better the life of the people he cared about. He thought he could be happy with Pet, but I'm kind of glad for him that it didn't work out (though not glad for her). When something terrible happened, though not his fault, he took all the consequences on himself. I was so worried about him, worrying that I might end up with sad ending, like Villette.

Because it was the characters that made the book for me, the last few chapters were the best. Dickens took the time to go back over the characters he introduced. We found out what happened to the Meagles, Merdles, Gowans and Casbys. We learn about Doyce and Pancks, and other residents of Bleeding Heart Yard. Dickens takes us on a journey of goodbyes, where he readers don't have to wonder what happened to all these people.

Though Little Dorrit was a lengthy tome, it was worth every minute. Dickens brought these places and people to life. Life at the Marshalsea, inspired by his father, was depressing, but could also have hope. Though the story didn't always take place there, the debtor's prison was the centre of this tale. How easily a man could end up there, how easily his whole family. How does a person ever get out without a stroke of luck? It was interesting how it was its own community, inside of London, how status was still maintained there. The Marshalsea seemed to have its own personality and change a person, as soon as they entered its walls. It really leaves you thinking about how far a person can fall and how far a person can climb back up.

I Didn't Finish My Spin Book

I thought I had more time, but nope. Today is May 2nd and my Classics Club Spin book is only halfway done. I finished the first "book" to Little Dorrit, entitled Poverty. I will be starting the next half soon.

So far I like it. I like Arthur Clennam, and of course Amy Dorrit. I'm interested to see how their relationship continues to evolve. I think his mother and her father are horrible, as are her siblings. I'm wondering what's going to happen with Pet, Gowan, and the Barnacles. Little Dorrit has a complex plot and I'm enjoying all the twists and turns. I look forward to continuing the journay with Arthur and Little Dorrit.

The Little Prince

Why had nobody told me about the ending? Why had I never heard of it before? Of course I'd heard of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's, The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince), but I had never read it growing up. I knew it was a classic children's book, published in French, but translated into many languages (the most translated French book, apparently). I'm always looking for books to share with my children and based on language level alone, I thought this would be a good one to read with my daughter. Plus, there's a movie now (and you have to read the book before you see the movie). But the ending! The ending! It was so unexpected, I almost cried.

The Little Prince tells the story of the Little Prince, a boy, stranded in the desert with a crash-landed pilot. As the pilot fixes his plane, the Prince tells the story of how he came to be in the desert, that he's from another planet (asteroid) and visited other planets (asteroids), before deciding to come to Earth. He also tells the narrator of the discoveries he makes once getting to Earth. He's so innocent, but holding back. There's something he's not saying and it frustrates the pilot that he doesn't answer questions. I love that the Prince must have his questions answered though, like a child asking and asking the same thing until you stop to answer them. The Prince is curious, kind and full of imagination.

Will I read The Little Prince with my daughter (and eventually my son)? Will we all see the movie? Yes. Once I get over my heartbreak.

The Spin Number Is....

8!

Which means I have to read Little Dorrit, by Charles Dickens by May 2nd. That's probably the book on my list I wanted to read the least.  I'll do it though. I mean, I do want to read it. I own a copy. I guess after Middlemarch I'm just not in the mood to read something else so Victorian. I did enjoy David Copperfield and Great Expectations when I read them, though. I'm sure it'll be fine.

Time For Another Classics Club Spin!

I love the Spin. (Rules are here.) My list of 20 was generated by Random.org. Tomorrow the Spin results will be in. Which book will it be?

1. Medea, by Euripides

2. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut

3. Grimm's Fairy Stories, by Jacob Grimm & Wilhelm Grimm

4. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood

5. A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway

6. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum

7. Sherlock Holmes #1: A Study In Scarlett, by Arthur Conan Doyle

8. Little Dorrit, by Charles Dickens

9. The Stone Angel, by Margaret Laurence

10. The Tale of Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter

11. Tales of Angria, by Charlotte Brontë

12. Dracula's Guest, by Bram Stoker

13. The Cat In The Hat, by Dr. Seuss

14. A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens

15. Under The Knife, by H.G. Wells

16. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne Brontë

17. Stories from Hans Christian Andersen, by Hans Christian Andersen

18. Queen Mab/The Daemon of the World, by Percy Bysshe Shelley

19. The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe

20. Daisy Miller, by Henry James

I'd like the first book that came up. Medea would be a re-read, but it's been so long! I also want to read more Vonnegut.  Some poetry might be nice too. I'm not really feeling the Dickens though, after just finished Middlemarch and there are two of his books on the list!  I suppose we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Middlemarch

Middlemarch is a total soap opera.  There’s relationship drama and political intrigue.  It takes place during an interesting political point in history, where part of the political problems come from the “Reform Bill”. The business subversion and debt is abundant. Money and love seem to motivate everything, whether wanting or lacking. I could see Middlemarch done in 4 or 5 seasons… or one crazy mini-series.  (It has been done.)  I don’t think it could ever be a proper movie, there’s way too much going on.  So much so, that I would occasionally forget who a minor character was and have to look them up (thanks, Internet). Middlemarch was not an easy read, but it was worth it.

What kept me reading was George Eliot's brilliant characters. I loved Dorothea Brooke and Will Ladislaw, emotionally invested in the outcome of their lives. Their relationship was so natural and grew through genuine affection. The relationship was a huge contrast when compared to Lydgate and Rosamond. She frustrated me so much! I felt so sorry for Lydgate. Mr. Brooke was so doddering. I really liked Farebrother and wished I could have known how his life ended up. Bulstrode was a perfect character. For me though, it always came back to Will and Dorothea. They were my favourites, eager to find out what would happen to them. Eliot contrasted Dorothea and Rosamond quite a bit in the novel. One dark-haired and one light, but maybe the darkness represented Dorothea's depth of thought and emotion, while the light was Rosamond's feelings, her shallowness. I was excited when the two finally encountered each other.

Middlemarch takes place in the past for the narrator/Eliot, as she refers to how things were and the "Reform Bill". It's an interesting perspective on 1829-1832 from someone who is living in the 1870s. There are moments of apology for things happening 40 years earlier. I wonder what kind of social changes happened in those 4 decades for Eliot to occasionally take that tone. 

I also liked the cheeky tone that Eliot sometimes used: "Society never made the preposterous demand that a man should think as much about his own qualifications for making a charming girl happy as he thinks of hers for making himself happy. As if a man could choose not only his wife but his wife's husband! Or as if he were bound to provide charms for his posterity in his own person!— When Dorothea accepted him with effusion, that was only natural; and Mr. Casaubon believed that his happiness was going to begin." Was this something women and men had started to think about? About each other's happiness and not just it being one-sided?Were men regarding women's feelings? I think this is something Lydgate and Mr. Casaubon should have thought of. Fred Vincy seemed to consider it.

Let's talk medicine for a minute. Lydgate's professional goals were all about discovery and explanations for things. Why didn't people like that back then? Superstition? He seemed so much more advanced than the other medical men in Middlemarch. "He not only used his stethoscope (which had not become a matter of course in practice at that time), but sat quietly by his patient and watched him." Just, wow. Why wouldn't it be used all the time? From Eliot's comments, in the 1870s, stethoscopes were commonly used, but why did it take so long to catch on? People knew where their hearts were, right? Why wouldn't you want to have a better listen too it? This really caught my attention.

Though I kind of hated Mr. Casaubon, I felt sorry for him too. He just didn't get it. He didn't understand Dorothea. He didn't understand what marriage was, I think. Why did he ever decide to marry her? So he didn't have to hire an assistant? He had no faith in her, but she was so trusting with him. She never had bad intensions, but he couldn't see that. "Dorothea told him that she had seen Lydgate, and recited the gist of her conversation with him about the Hospital. Mr. Casaubon did not question her further, but he felt sure that she had wished to know what had passed between Lydgate and himself. "She knows that I know," said the ever-restless voice within; but that increase of tacit knowledge only thrust further off any confidence between them. He distrusted her affection; and what loneliness is more lonely than distrust?" It is so true, what is more lonely than distrust in a relationship? 

Will and Mr. Casaubon speak of the same woman: "I have not spoken too strongly now," said Will, leaning back against the angle of the wall. "There are certain things which a man can only go through once in his life; and he must know some time or other that the best is over with him. This experience has happened to me while I am very young—that is all. What I care more for than I can ever care for anything else is absolutely forbidden to me—I don't mean merely by being out of my reach, but forbidden me, even if it were within my reach, by my own pride and honor—by everything I respect myself for. Of course I shall go on living as a man might do who had seen heaven in a trance." One see the woman as heaven, the other with distrust. Why are their perspectives so different? Is it age? Life expreiences? General disposition? I don't know that Casuabon ever was really socialized with the world beyond his studies, where Will was all about the world. They are so very, very different.

I loved the language of the novel too. Eliot could craft a sentence, pour emotion into metaphor, "the years had been perpetually spinning them into intricate thickness, like masses of spider-web, padding the moral sensibility". Though it was a long read, with many devoted hours, phrases like that grabbed me, had me waiting for more.

I first read Middlemarch a long time ago, back in University, but honestly, I couldn't remember anything about it, except that I liked Dorothea and Will. I am so happy to have re-read it. It is definitely a novel I can see myself reading again in the future and it's one I would recommend to those who like a good story.