84, Charing Cross Road + The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff

I love a book about books, so I thought I’d pick up the slim 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, and the sequel, The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street. Between reading the two books, I also watched the movie, staring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins as part of Chance #10 (Book/Movie Comparison) for the Take a Chance Challenge.

I hadn’t realized when I began reading that these books were true, but then I found them in the nonfiction section! The first is collection of letters between Helene Hanff and Frank Doel, the proprietor of a used book shop in London, during their 20-year correspondence (1949-1969). The second book is Helene’s journal when she finally makes it to London, a lifelong dream that comes true only after the first book was published.

I loved the book talk, and while neither of these books were favorites of mine, I did love learning about Helene’s reading and studying style. Oh, the power of books!

Continue reading »

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

There is something to be said for close, careful reading.

I must have read Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar with the rest of my tenth grade class, but I honestly didn’t remember any of it. I decided to read it this month as a part of the Martel-Harper Challenge, for which Yann Martel chooses “book[s] that ha[ve] been known to expand stillness.”

Reading Julius Caesar just once didn’t do anything to help “expand stillness.” I was confused: it started in the middle of a dramatic scene. I didn’t know who the characters were and why they were making the choices they made. Why did Caesar consider Brutus a friend? Why was Brutus called “honorable” when he was committing murder? What is “honor”? Did any of this really happen?

But as I spent a few days rereading portions of Julius Caesar, listening to the audiobook, watching the movie, and reading various commentaries about the play, I was enlightened. I think it did encourage “stillness” because I wasn’t just reading to turn pages; I was reading to learn and experience. I seriously loved the experience of truly reading Shakespeare, even by myself.

Note that this post contains “spoilers.” Continue reading »

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?

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein

I loved reading The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkein (thoughts here), mostly for its beautiful and flowing language, so I thought I’d next pick up The Hobbit, which is a children’s story and takes place chronologically before The Lord of the Rings. Unfortunately, I didn’t like it. I found the story tedious and the writing stilted. Continue reading »

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice as a teenager – and I loved it. Since then, I watched the A&E movie multiple times, and then last year I watched the newer movie, which was OK. I felt it was certainly time to revisit the novel itself.

I was not disappointed. I loved it even better now.

I listened to the Librivox recording of Pride and Prejudice. While the narration was amateur, I still enjoyed the words and found it far better to experience the novel than to experience the movie(s), much as I enjoyed them. There is something about Jane Austen’s language and character development that cannot be fully contained in a full-length movie – even a six-hour version as the A&E movie is. The book wins, hands down. Continue reading »

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkein

In flowing, beautiful language, The Silmarillion tells the origin and early tales of J.R.R. Tolkein’s middle-earth. Written as “Elven” songs, The Silmarillion is dense at times. Yet as the tale of the creation of Arda and the children of Ilúvatar (both Elves and men) unfolded, I was in awe of not just Tolkein’s incredible control over language but with his unbounded imagination in creating a new world with new gods, fantastic creatures, and a familiar story of good versus evil.

I’ve been told that The Silmarillion is not for the faint of heart. I’ve been told that The Silmarillion is only for die-hard fans of The Lord of the Rings. I’ve been told that The Silmarillion is impossible to understand and get through.

I don’t think so.

I have never read The Hobbit. I have never read The Lord of the Rings (although I started once). I watched the movies and was entertained. And then, as my husband and I read The Silmarillion together over the past six months, reading about 20 pages a week, I personally have come to love the style, the stories, and the world Tolkein has masterfully created. Continue reading »

To Kill a Mockingbird, The Movie

Making a movie of To Kill a Mockingbird (reviewed here) was like killing a mockingbird: a sin.

In the beginning, I thought “Wow, this is bad; they should do a remake.” By the end, I decided that no remake could capture the beauty of the novel: any film is bound to fail. A picture is not worth a thousand words. Continue reading »

Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne

I’ve been reading The Complete Tales and Poems of Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne to my infant son. I can’t determine what he thinks of them — I read while he kicks and rolls around the floor — but I truly enjoy reading them.

The Complete Tales includes the story books, Winnie-the-Pooh and The House on Pooh Corner, and two books of poetry, When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six. I don’t love the poems — I feel like A.A. Milne’s poetry is a bit forced. I admit, though, that there are some classic and clever poems, and the more of Milne’s poetry I read, the more I like it. Favorite poems: “Teddy Bear” in When We Were Very Young and “Sneezles” and “The End” in Now We Are Six. (I still prefer the poetry of Robert Louis Stevenson.)

However, I love the stories of Winnie-the-Pooh.

Continue reading »