Abandoned Book and Giveaway: Bridget Jones’ Diary

I don’t often read modern fiction, but when I heard Bridget Jones’ Diary was a “modern day retelling” of Pride and Prejudice, I thought I’d give it a try. I was lucky enough to find a fairly new, nice-looking copy on a library cart for (probably) a quarter a few months ago, so I thought I’d give it a try.

From the beginning, however, I’ve found Bridget to be annoying. While I loved Elizabeth Bennett, Bridget just seems whinny. Besides, with a large prevalence of crude language, this really is not my type of book. Further, I often have found that modern day “chic lit” stories are more entertaining as 2-hour movies, not as 300-page novels. There have been some amusing references to Darcy and Pride and Prejudice but I don’t think I can stomach any more of this novel in order to get to the happily ever after. If I ever feel curious again, I’ll watch the movie.

There are too many copies on Bookmooch for me to get it off my shelf, and I’m sure there is someone out there that wants to read it, crude language and annoying, whining Bridget notwithstanding. Therefore, I’m happy to send it to a randomly selected person.

Leave a note in the comments if you want to be entered for the drawing. I’ll select a winner in a few days.

Have you read this book or watched the movie? Does the crudity bother you? Why or why not?

Comfort Reading

I’ve been sick. I guess it’s “just a cold.” But it’s a monster “just a cold.” Sore throat. Cough. Congested chest, sinuses, head. You name it. I’m feeling better tonight, so I might actually read.

But I won’t be reading poetry (which I should since I wanted to do a few different “poetry” posts this month). I won’t be reading anything for my “challenges”, despite the fact that I keep signing up for more.

No, I’ll be rereading a book. Continue reading »

Golden Legacy by Leonard Marcus

When, in 1918, a clerk erroneously ordered twelve times the number of children’s books, Western Publishing Company may have faced ruin. Instead, the company persuaded Woolworth’s department stores to sell it, a practice unusual since children’s books were normally only sold during the holiday season.

Years later, in the 1930s, one publishing novice was inspired when his three-year-old tossed a picture book into the bathtub, which destroyed it, of course. He reflected at the time that

given the wear and tear to which children naturally subjected all their belongings, lower-priced books might be greatly appreciated by parents. (p 29)

Such are two very small stories illustrating how (and why) Golden Books roared to life in 1942. In Golden Legacy, Leonard Marcus shows how the development of Golden Books changed the face of children’s book publishing forever because of resourceful people who thought outside the box. For the first time, children’s books were 25 cents, and not $2 or $3. Instead of buying just one book, parents bought twelve. Children had many books at their disposal, and The Poky Little Puppy has since been the best-selling children’s picture book of all time. Continue reading »

The Book That Changed My Life, edited by Roxanne J. Coady and Joy Johannesson + Giveaway

To my surprise, I greatly enjoyed reading The Book that Changed My Life, edited by Roxanne J. Coady and Joy Johannesson.

The Book that Changed My Life is a collection of essays by writers, and since I don’t often read modern fiction, I didn’t expect to recognize many of the authors highlighted, much less did I expect such a variety of classics and modern classics highlighted as favorites. Yet, both fiction and nonfiction authors share the books that influenced their life, from Julius Caesar to Mary Higgins Clark. Continue reading »

A Meme, A Farewell, and A Giveaway Winner

Bookshelf Meme

Eva at A Striped Armchair created a fun meme about the books on our bookshelves. Continue reading »

A Ruined Author?

I’m finishing my review of Vladimir Nabokov’s short stories, which I loved reading. I hope to have it done by tomorrow.

But I feel I can’t write a post about Nabokov (even his short stories) without mentioning another work by this author that I probably don’t even need to name. Continue reading »

How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster

I saw How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster on the “New Nonfiction” shelf at the library. I thought I’d take a glance through it when I got home, but I certainly had no intention of reading it: I have a lot of books either in progress or on my bedside table, waiting to be read. Well, about 15 pages in to it, I decided I had to read it. Despite the fact that this is a nonfiction book about how to approach literature from the point of ” what does it mean?”, I was hooked.

The subtitle is “A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines” and I think that is pretty accurate. Foster’s tone is light, amusing, and engaging as he reminds of the various recurring themes in literature. But his point is that such themes are not random guesses by your literature professors; he argues that the subtle messages and subtle references to other works of literature really just makes literature fun. Continue reading »

Lists and Challenges Updates

I love lists. Lately, I’ve been making lists of my books to read. Weekly Geeks a number of weeks ago was to update something: that tells you something that it’s taken me this long to get my lists updated.

My husband says I’ve been working on reading lists more than I’ve been reading lately. But that’s not true because I read a lot in October! Most of my posts were reviews of books I read.

In November, I’m not going to try so hard to make sure I have “X” posts a week: I’m going to get back to reading. Continue reading »

Martel-Harper Challenge (Fourth Quarter 2008)

I know I’m insane to think about another challenge when I’m already feeling overwhelmed. But I love the concept and the reading list for the Martel-Harper Challenge. Continue reading »

Ingenuity and Authority: Who Really Wrote Aesop’s Fables?

A few months ago, I read a version of Aesop’s Fables that I found online at Project Gutenberg, written and published in the early 1900s. I thought I’d read Aesop’s Fables.

I was interested, then, to read in chapter two (“Ingenuity and Authority”) of Seth Lerer’s Children’s Literature: A Reader’s History from Aesop to Harry Potter that Aesop’s fables differ markedly from generation and generation. The history of Aesop’s fables (the Aesopica), then, illustrates how the translators changed the message of a translated text, especially in literature for children. This prompted a question: How are the authors’ purposes and translators’ objectives subversively included in modern children’s literature, and does it matter? Continue reading »