April Wrap-Up & May Plans Plus The Classics Club Spin #2

As you may well have noticed, it is rather late in May to be doing a wrap-up of April and planning my reading for May!  However, I have been crazy busy recently: in April we had Ugandan guests staying with us (they loved England, especially London!), I was also applying to be Head Boy of my school (I got it!!) and over the past week or two, I have been doing exams and obviously revision has taken priority over reading.  I have done my mechanics and further maths exams, leaving French, chemistry, physics and pure maths but now that I am on study leave (begins tomorrow) I should have more time to juggle.
Anyway, I thought I would post even if I don’t really have much to say about reading!

Here’s what I read in April 2013:

The Two Gentlemen of Verona - William Shakespeare

Le Petit Nicholas – Sempé-Goscinny

This is not very good as I aim to read at least three books every month.  This is half of what I read in February so I have definitely had a poor month!  My aim of 1200 pages a month was definitely not fulfilled, as I read a mere 318 pages which is miles off 1200!
I definitely did not do 30 minutes reading a day, but never mind!
I did not read at least one science book every two months but again never mind.
I actually did manage to fulfil my at least one classic a month target with The Two Gentlemen of Verona!
Lastly, I try to stay an active blogger and this was poor too – when I have more time I really hope to get back into the book blogging world.

Challenge Progress in April 2013:

The Classics Club :  14/60 books read  (1 this month: The Two Gentlemen of Verona )

At the moment this is my only challenge for 2013 – maybe I will formalise some of my own yearly reading goals into a challenge.

Currently In Progress:

At the moment, I have just finished The Code Book by Simon Singh and I am a few pages into my reread of 1984.

May Plans:

Books: Well we are already over half way through May but what the hell! The next three books on my TBR shelf are The Help, Rebecca and Suite Francaise but I can’t see myself reaching these before June.

Challenges:  If I finished 1984, then it will count towards The Classics Club.

Good luck to anyone else who is linked directly or indirectly to the exam season, I wish you all the best.  Everyone else, I hope you are well too and can forgive me for being very silent recently!

The Classics Club Spin

I thought I may as well combine these two posts (as the deadline is tomorrow…) so here is my spin list for The Classics Club.  We list 20 books from our original list in whichever categories we chose and then a random number is selected and we are challenged to read that book before the end of June (who knows if it will happen!)

Here is my list:

5 books I am really looking forward to:
1. Othello – William Shakespeare
2. Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – J.R.R. Tolkien
3. The Comedy of Errors – William Shakespeare
4. The Moonstone – Wilkie Collins
5. The Cranford Chronicles – Elizabeth Gaskell

5 books on my TBR shelf:
6. Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier
7. Suite Francaise – Irène Némirovsky
8. The Mill on the Floss – George Eliot
9. The Warden – Anthony Trollope
10. Gulliver’s Travels – Jonathan Swift

5 books I don’t own yet:
11. Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
12. Nicholas Nickleby – Charles Dickens
13. If This is a Man – Primo Levi
14. Night – Elie Wiesel
15. Conference at Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons

5 books I am slightly (!) apprehensive about:
16. Dombey and Son – Charles Dickens
17. Agnes Grey – Anne Brontë
18. A Chocolate Orange – Anthony Burgess
19. Middlemarch – George Eliot
20. Atonement – Ian McEwan

The Two Gentlemen of Verona – William Shakespeare

Title: The Two Gentlemen of Verona

Author: William Shakespeare

Date Finished: 7/04/13

Re-Read? : First time read

Challenges? : Yes – The Classics Club 

Overall: 4/5 – rather good

This is the second of Shakespeare’s plays that I have read recently, and it is for the same reason as the first (Richard III) – in Bristol there is a theatre called ‘The Tobacco Factory’ and it hosts a couple of Shakespeare plays every year, which me and my family always go and see.  They are put on spectacularly well and the theatre is small, in the round, usually with amazing live music so you can see why we like going so much.  Anyway, I have already seen Richard III, which was completely brilliant and in a few weeks I will be seeing The Two Gentlemen of Verona, hence the reading of it now.

I didn’t know anything about the story before I started reading it, apart from it’s a comedy, so I kept checking sparknotes after every couple of scenes to check I had understood everything (on the whole I had, which was encouraging).  I am proud of myself for persevering with the Shakespearean language and not letting this relatively short play drag out too long, which can easily happen.

The plot is really good in this play and I was genuinely surprised at the different twists and turns that came along, especially when Julia dressed up as a boy and the business with the outlaws.  Obviously, the plot follows the usual format of a Shakespearean comedy but this felt more like a familiar friend than a boring repetition.  Maybe this is also because I haven’t actually read a comedy since January 2012 (Much Ado About Nothing) anyway.

There are several main characters a few minor characters and that’s about it in this play, which is quite nice really.  There are the Two Gentlemen – Proteus and Valentine and their respective love interests – Julia and Silvia.  I thought they were all reasonably well developed, if a bit too forgiving at the end!

The setting of Verona/Milan doesn’t actually feature that much, but the language of Shakespeare in this play is a perfect balance between poetic and emotive and also easy to understand.  I didn’t miss the finer details like I suspect I may have done slightly with Richard III, however, this could also be due to a less complex plot and a shorter play duration too.

Overall, this is a nice comedy and I would recommend it, but there is a reason why it is not so well known as other comedies and I don’t think it is going to change anyone’s life after reading it!

March Wrap-Up & April Plans

Here we are in April yet it still feels like January!  I don’t understand why it is still so so cold here in the UK but I am just hoping it means and extra hot summer will follow… Anyway, March has been a relatively calm month for me apart from the usual business at school.  I got my results for my January exams and I was very relieved that all my hard work had paid off!  This two week Easter break has been very welcome and although it means starting revision for my next set of exams, it has given me some time to relax and read as well.

Here’s what I read in March 2013:

The Host - Stephenie Meyer

Big Bang – Simon Singh

The Hound of the Baskervilles – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Full Cupboard of Life – Alexander McCall Smith

This is really good as I aim to read at least three books every month.  This is much more than I read in February so I have made up for a weak month I guess.  My aim of 1200 pages a month was definitely fulfilled, as I read 1600 pages exactly.
I’m not too sure if I did 30 minutes reading a day, although I am sure I did at the start and the end of the month!  Overall, I think it probably averaged about 30 mins a day, so that’s good too.
Reading Big Bang mean I read at least one science book every two months but since I didn’t read any science books in January or February, I should really try and read another before the end of April.  Also, it is getting closer to the time I apply to university so I may have to double my science reading.
I also fulfilled my at least one classic a month target with The Hound of the Baskervilles!
Lastly, I try to stay an active blogger and this was medium – I am not getting a lot of traffic on my blog at the moment and I think it’s because I am not reading much of other peoples…I don’t really have that much time to discover new blogs but I do always read the posts of people I follow already.  Maybe in the summer when more people have more time to read we will all become a bit better and being active bloggers!

Challenge Progress in March 2013:

The Classics Club :  13/60 books read  (1 this month: The Hound of the Baskervilles )

At the moment this is my only challenge for 2013 – maybe I will formalise some of my own yearly reading goals into a challenge.

Currently In Progress:

At the moment, I am reading The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Le Petit Nicholas but I have only just started them both and I’m not really into them yet.

April Plans:

Books: The next three books on my TBR shelf are 1984, The Code Book - Simon Singh and Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier.  Both the books I am currently reading may take me a while and when I go back to school next week I will be very busy again so these may turn into plans for May!

Challenges:  If I do get to 1984, then it will count towards The Classics Club.

Hopefully, you are all relaxing and reading a bit over Easter and (if appropriate) finding time for religion/spirituality too.  I am sure you’re all looking forward to the sun and warmth of summer as much as I am (if it ever comes).

The Full Cupboard of Life – Alexander McCall Smith

Title: The Full Cupboard of Life

Author: Alexander McCall Smith

Date Finished: 31/03/13

Re-Read? : First time read

Challenges? : No

Overall: 4/5 – rather good

This is the fifth book in the absolutely brilliant ‘Number 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency‘ series by Alexander McCall Smith and it was worth the wait of over a year since I read number 4!  Back in January 2012, I loved the fourth book in the series, The Kalahari Typing School for Men, and even though this wasn’t quite as good, the characters and setting were still phenomenal.

These books follow the daily life of Precious Ramotswe, the only female private detective in Botswana and we are constantly kept on our toes with puzzling cases and even more puzzling issues at home.  The plot in this particular book was not too strong for me because it did not really have a key case like the others have had which takes up most of the story.  This book focused a lot more at home and with Mma Ramotswe’s fiancée Mr J. L. B. Matekoni.

The characters are always the highlight of these books, as they are all so amazingly unique and wonderful!  Apart from the main characters, Mma Potokwani, the orphans and the apprentices all have roles to play in this book and as we progress with each book, all the characters continue to develop, which is why I think I always want to read the next one straight away.

The setting in Botswana is so amazing and every time I read one of these books I am inspired to go and visit there.  Especially now after having been to Africa (Uganda) and having seen these kind of people face to face it makes it even more vivid and picturable to me.  One of my ambitions in life is to visit Botswana!  Also, another is to read all of McCall Smith’s works!

Overall, I COMPLETELY recommend this series of books to anyone, as I can’t see any reason to dislike anything in them.  I would strongly suggest that you start with the first book and progress chronologically through, as they all lead directly on from each other.  Another plus for this series is that they make a very welcome and refreshing break in the middle of heavy classics reading for example and are all only about 230 pages long!

The Hound of the Baskervilles – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Title: The Hound of the Baskervilles

Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Date Finished: 27/03/13

Re-Read? : First time read

Challenges? : Yes – The Classics Club & The Literary Classics

Overall: 4/5 – rather good

Sorry for the silence on the blog recently, I have been reading but I have been (as usual) very busy and although I finished Big Bang by Simon Singh, I didn’t post because I don’t normally write about science books on here.  Anyway, here I am finally on holiday (although revising of course) and I am ready to read!

As normal with Holmes stories, it took me a few days to get into this book, as the scene was set and the plot started to form but once I did I really enjoyed it.  It was interesting to compare this original Holmes writing with that of Horowitz in The House of Silk, which I read back in January.  I also loved reading the Vintage Classics edition (on the right).

The plot is so unique in this story – it really is unlike anything I have ever read before, even though it follows the usual Holmes structure.  I enjoyed the extended feel of the novel compared to the usual short stories that are over so quickly.  I thought the plot twists were quite ingenious whereas sometimes they have seemed a bit silly and contrived for me in the past.  When Holmes revealed himself I was totally surprised!

The characters are vivid as ever in this story – Holmes and Watson are up to their usual antics trying to sniff out a sinister plot but other characters leap out of the pages too, most notably the entomologist Stapleton and noble Sir Henry Baskerville.  I was pleased that there weren’t too many characters flying around to confuse me as sometimes happens.  It always seems slightly more insidious when there are only a few characters and we know one of them must be behind the whole thing.

The setting on the moors is ridiculously spooky so no wonder they are all terrified of this hound!  Dark, lonely, cold,  foggy…there is a lot of pathetic fallacy that helps darken the mood of the story.  I liked the style of writing a lot and I think that writing from the point of view of Dr Watson is one of the reasons why the Holmes stories have been so successful over time – we always feel very involved.

Overall, this was a great read that I would highly recommend, however, I think it is best to experience some of the Holmes short stories first, as there is very little explanation of his queer methods and characteristics.  Another title crossed off my Classics Club list too!

The Host- Stephenie Meyer

Title: The Host

Author: Stephenie Meyer

Date Finished: 08/03/13

Re-Read? : Second time read

Challenges? : No

Overall: 4/5 – rather good

This is the second time I have enjoyed Meyer’s lesser known work, The Host, and I am glad I read it again.  I first read it in late 2010 and since I heard about the film coming out this March, I decided I would re-read it.  This was a good idea, because I really enjoyed it the first time (much more than I expected to) and I didn’t remember many details, as it is actually quite a long book.

The plot is centred around Wanderer, part of the race of ‘souls’ who now rule Earth – they are inserted into human bodies and become the minds inside.  This obviously sounds very far-fetched, but after a few chapters, it becomes clear that everything has been well thought-out and you just kind of accept the absurdity and move on.  The plot is definitely the massive strength of this book, as there are so many unexpected twists and turns that you never really have a clue what is going to happen next.  To maintain this excitement for a 600+ page book is really good writing by Meyer, who I think is slightly disadvantaged due to the prejudice against the Twilight books.  Even if you don’t like them, I would still give this a try.

The characters are slightly less endearing – they are all very unrealistic and I guess this is where you hear echoes of Twilight; the people involved are always so quick to offer to sacrifice themselves for the people they love…literally all the time!  The relationship between Melanie and Wanda is brilliant and I also think the development of Ian’s character is really well done, but overall the characters are a bit too silly for me.  On the other hand, they are all very unique and memorable so maybe I am just being fussy.

The American setting is slightly dull, until we hit the desert!  The way Meyer manages to interweave some really good description into the action is proved by the fact that I could really imagine the setting under the desert.  I am very interested to see how my perceptions compare to the film sets when the film is released/when I actually get around to seeing it (I still haven’t even seen The Hobbit!)

Meyer’s writing style does exactly what is says on the tin: this book is very action-packed and at its heart, a love story so consequently the prose is very emotive and often includes snappy speech.  Some of the way the characters express themselves is very exaggerated I think – ridiculous outpourings of love or complete antipathy are rather common!

Overall, even though this is obviously not usually the type of book I read, I would seriously recommend it to anyone who is after a good story.  It is probably not one that will become what school students study and analyse in 30 or 40 years, but it does the job and kept me reading.  However, if you do read this book, make sure you persevere well past the first 150 pages or so – both times I read it, I found it very slow-moving up to then (afterwards it’s action packed until the end).

February Wrap-Up & March Plans

Well February is always a month that goes quickly, as obviously there are only 28 days, and this year that was the case too.  I had an absolutely amazing week in Uganda – I truly fell in love with Africa and with Uganda especially.  The music, the scenery and above all the people just made it the best week of my life.  I won’t bore you with loads of details but basically, my Dad set up a link with his school to a school near Masindi about 6/7 years ago and this year he went back with me, my sister, two students from his school and two teachers.  We saw all the amazing developments the link has made possible for the school in Uganda and we were hosted magnificently well.  We spent the second last day on a river cruise along the Nile to Victoria Falls, which was obviously mind-blowing.  We even saw elephants in the wild!
Unfortunately, while I was in Uganda there was such intermittent power and basically no alone time, so I barely read at all.  Since I came back, I managed to read a bit but my time was taken up with mounds of coursework!

Here’s what I read in February 2013:

Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen

Richard III – William Shakespeare

I know this is a bit rubbish as I aim to read at least three books every month.  This is fewer books than I read in January, but I do think I had good excuses!  My aim of 1200 pages a month was not fulfilled as I read only 637 pages.
I definitely did not keep up my 30 minutes reading a day, although I did read at least for a few minutes every day, even in Uganda when it was like midnight and I knew I had to get up at about 6!
I did take Big Bang with me to Uganda, but I have not read at least one science book every two months so I need to read 2 between March and April ideally!
I definitely fulfilled my at least one classic a month target as both the books I read were classics!
Lastly, I try to stay an active blogger and this was definitely a fail for February – I haven’t been that good at posting or commenting, but I hope I will improve in March.

I am not too disappointed as I did read 2 books and The Host (which I am reading now) is very long anyway.

Challenge Progress in February 2013:

The Classics Club :  12/60 books read  (2 this month: Pride and Prejudice and Richard III )

I reviewed my Classics Club list and have added a few alternatives as I am now a year into my list – details here!

I hope there may be some new challenges in 2013 that fit in with my reading plans for this year; if not maybe I will create my own!

Currently In Progress:

At the moment, I am rereading The Host and actually really enjoying it (I know it may not seem like my kind of book, but it’s actually really good!) I was hoping to finish it in February, then at the beginning of March but it is very long and may take a bit longer than anticipated!

March Plans:

Books: The next three books on my TBR shelf are Big Bang – Simon Singh, Le Petit Nicholas and 1984.  I need to read Big Bang and I would love to get to 1984 and Le Petit Nicholas as well, but this may not be possible!

Challenges:  If I do get to 1984, then it will count towards the classics club.

I really hope to find some more reading time in March – hopefully the Easter holidays will give me a few more hours in the day to play with…but with uni open days and exams looming, it may get worse before it gets better!!

Friday Quick Wrap-Up – 1st March 2013

Hello everyone, been a while since I’ve done a weekly wrap-up and I expect to do a February wrap-up soon too, but there is a definite reason why I need to post today.  Basically, one year ago to the day, I started book blogging!  I literally cannot believe it was that long ago – this year has gone very quickly.  I am really pleased with myself for persevering with the blog even when I had loads of exams and at times when I essentially wasn’t reading any books.  It would have been very easy to just let it all go and not be able to start posting again.  So yes, I am proud but I am also very very grateful.  I wouldn’t have lasted one week, let alone one year without all the encouragement and interest that other book bloggers have always given me.  I felt very welcomed and part of the community practically straight away, so thank you!

I think this is definitely a consequence of joining The Classics Club, which united so many book boggers across the world so I am extremely glad I was one of the first members of the club!  I also more recently enjoyed the readathon hosted by the club – it is very pleasing to see it still gaining even more members.  All the challenges, events etc have helped shape and structure my reading which I am very grateful for – with so many books to read, there needs to be some kind of help with which ones to read when!

This week I have been busy as usual, but not over-stressed so I have had a bit of time for reading in the evenings – I am really enjoying my reread of The Host.  It’s a shame there aren’t more days in February, as I’m not really ready for March – we get our exam results next week and then it’s go go go for starting serious work for the next set of exams and some serious decisions about university.  Anyway, I am hoping to finish The Host in the next fortnight and I am not really sure what I will feel like next.  Thanks again for all your continuing encouragement, support and interest; I hope this is the first of many blogoversaries! (..does that exist..?!)

Richard III – William Shakespeare

Title: Richard III

Author: William Shakespeare

Date Finished: 23/02/13

Re-Read? : First time read

Challenges? : Yes – The Classics Club 

Overall: 4/5 – rather good

Finishing and enjoying this book has made me feel rather proud of myself!  From what I’ve heard, it is quite a long Shakespeare, it is a history (my first) and it is one that I had absolutely no idea of the story of before.  Therefore, I am proud because it is the first Shakespeare I’ve ever read without knowing the story beforehand.  I was kind of apprehensive, as I thought I wouldn’t be able to understand the language etc but I am really happy with this read – looking forward to seeing the performance in March now.

The plot in Richard III is quite exaggerated from the historically accurate version, but it is gripping and shocking nevertheless.  Obviously, with it being a Shakespeare drama, everything is quite over the top and I don’t think I have ever read about more murders within 100 pages in my life!  I read the first half of this book over the time I was in Uganda, which is quite impressive too, as I didn’t really have much time for reading – a bit on the plane and then a page or two in the evenings.  The plot wasn’t too hard to follow, but I didn’t get bogged down with trying to understand every little thing – when I see the play, I will really get everything.

The characters are obviously quite numerous and confusing, with this being a history.  There are lots of different Lords, Dukes etc etc and I spent a lot of the time thinking ‘Richmond’ was Henry VII’s actual name and not where he was earl of!  Never mind – it doesn’t really matter if I make small mistakes here and there!  Richard was obviously very evil and manipulative, but it did seem a little too easy for him to manipulate some characters in the story, most notably Anne!

The language of Shakespeare is always challenging, but not too bad (as I have now realised).  I enjoy the drama format with speech and stage directions although sometimes it feels a bit unnatural to have the descriptive passages verbalised as speech by a character.
The setting of England isn’t really described as much as some of the other plays I have read/seen – Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream in particular seem to focus more heavily on the scene around them, but this wasn’t a problem.

Overall, I can’t say that I loved this story, however I definitely did enjoy it and I am very much looking forward to seeing it in Bristol in a few weeks times.  Has anyone else read/seen this play?

Review of my Classics Club List

Hi everyone, this post is just to formalise what I have been thinking about recently.  It has been almost a year since I joined The Classics Club and wrote my list of 60 books to read in 5 years.  Since then, I have read 11 out of those 60 and it seems the right kind of time to do a small review of my list.  If any of you don’t know what The Classics Club is, then the blog devoted to it is here.

I don’t like the idea of crossing books off the list before I’ve even tried them, so I have decided to add in some more books as ‘alternatives’.  What I mean is, I have to try to read 60 books within 5 years as normal, but they can be any 60 out of my list, so that I don’t have to read every single book I chose last year if there are some that are too daunting or I just don’t fancy.

I came up with these books usually due to buying them and realising they weren’t on the original list or just because they have cropped up as something I want to read.  Here they are:

Alternative Classics Club Books:

1. Charlotte Brontë – Shirley
2. Charles Dickens – Dombey and Son
3. Charles Dickens – The Pickwick Papers
4. Stella Gibbons – Conference at Cold Comfort Farm
5. William Shakespeare – Richard III
6. William Shakespeare – Two Gentlemen of Verona
7. Anthony Trollope – The Warden

I bought Shirley in the new PEL editions, not realising it wasn’t on my list; I saw Dombey and Son as a musical-ish version in Bristol and enjoyed it so I wanted to read it; a friend gave me The Pickwick Papers; I enjoyed Cold Comfort Farm and wanted to read something else by Gibbons; I am seeing Richard III and Two Gentlemen of Verona in Bristol in the next few months so I wanted to read them before; I randomly bought The Warden.

Now, I am not saying that this will be my only review of my Classics Club list, as in a year’s time I will probably have a few more books to add on.  For example, if I enjoy The Warden, I am likely to add in more Trollope books and the Shakespeare plays I see next year will probably determine some more to read for that.  I am still really enjoying being part of The Classics Club, as it is a real community and gives a lot of structure and direction to the otherwise enormous and overwhelming number of books we want to read in out lives.

Is anyone else thinking of having a review of their list?  Let me know!