NOVEMBER WRAP UP & DECEMBER READING | NOVEMBER 2018
Well, once again November has come and gone in a flash. Christmas is nearly here! How exciting...only because I can get more books! Anyway, during the month of November I have read a few books, some for University, as well as slipping in some small books just for my entertainment.
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen was another re-read this month. The novel is on my University syllabus, and to be honest I've grown fond of Austen's writing, since I've started to study it. Her feminist agenda and mockery of 17th century life in this novel is amazing, and hopefully I can now read Austen with a bit more enthusiasm than before.
I also re-read Turn of the Screw by Henry James also; I really liked the gothic theme of this novel with the character of the governess. James lets the reader decide whether the Governess is really mad, and entwines the theme of female hysteria as well as male dominance in the novel. A lot of things are going on that the reader has to decide with their own intuition, even though it can be a hard read, it's quite refreshing reading a classic that makes you think and work out what really happened. But, you won't ever know because in reality it's just a creation of fiction, therefore the establishment of the author-reader relationship is profound and the gothic theme in Turn of the Screw elevates that.
I finished reading 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari. I love Harari's books, they're entirely educational and full of philosophical thought. I personally think that every human should read this, even if they hate the thought of that. His other books, Homo Sapiens and Homo Deus give an insight in to human past and future. So, if you're interested in to how we came to be how we are give the first one a read, or if you want to know more about the future of our species Homo Deus is the one to go for. However, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century outlines the issues that are facing us presently, highlighting things from climate change to artificial intelligence, even politics and the orange wotsit of Trump. It's an insight in to what we are living through and what we are going in to in this century, however scary it is.
A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle is my first, and the first Sherlock Holmes novel. I adored this book. I'm not going to summarise this novel because who doesn't know this story? Am I right? Anyway, I hadn't read any of these before and picked up this one at a village jumble sale for less than a pound! Amazing! It sounds weird but I was amazed at how a like the story was to the BBC adaptation. I love reading about Victorian Britain, especially Victorian London, this was amazing. I will definitely be reading more of these tales.
Currently I am reading The Girl at the Lion D'or by Sebastian Faulks. If you've read any of my other posts, you might know that Sebastian Faulks is one of my favourite authors. This book is part of the French trilogy, the other include Birdsong and Charlotte Gray. This book is set in the 1930's in France. Anne is from Paris, and arrives at the hotel, Lion D'or situated in a little French town. She's an innocent little soul, so far all I can establish is she is coming of age, and sure enough a love story is going to unravel. There's always something romanticised about how Faulks describes France, even in the war novels he's written he creates something sacred and special about France.
I'm hoping to finish The Girl at the Lion D'or, as well as rereading Turn of the Screw for an assignment due in January. During the Christmas break my plan is to start to re-read my favourite books; Jane Eyre, Charlotte Gray, Little Women to say the least. I'll tell you how it goes.
Happy Reading!
Rose x
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen was another re-read this month. The novel is on my University syllabus, and to be honest I've grown fond of Austen's writing, since I've started to study it. Her feminist agenda and mockery of 17th century life in this novel is amazing, and hopefully I can now read Austen with a bit more enthusiasm than before.
I also re-read Turn of the Screw by Henry James also; I really liked the gothic theme of this novel with the character of the governess. James lets the reader decide whether the Governess is really mad, and entwines the theme of female hysteria as well as male dominance in the novel. A lot of things are going on that the reader has to decide with their own intuition, even though it can be a hard read, it's quite refreshing reading a classic that makes you think and work out what really happened. But, you won't ever know because in reality it's just a creation of fiction, therefore the establishment of the author-reader relationship is profound and the gothic theme in Turn of the Screw elevates that.
I finished reading 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari. I love Harari's books, they're entirely educational and full of philosophical thought. I personally think that every human should read this, even if they hate the thought of that. His other books, Homo Sapiens and Homo Deus give an insight in to human past and future. So, if you're interested in to how we came to be how we are give the first one a read, or if you want to know more about the future of our species Homo Deus is the one to go for. However, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century outlines the issues that are facing us presently, highlighting things from climate change to artificial intelligence, even politics and the orange wotsit of Trump. It's an insight in to what we are living through and what we are going in to in this century, however scary it is.
A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle is my first, and the first Sherlock Holmes novel. I adored this book. I'm not going to summarise this novel because who doesn't know this story? Am I right? Anyway, I hadn't read any of these before and picked up this one at a village jumble sale for less than a pound! Amazing! It sounds weird but I was amazed at how a like the story was to the BBC adaptation. I love reading about Victorian Britain, especially Victorian London, this was amazing. I will definitely be reading more of these tales.
Currently I am reading The Girl at the Lion D'or by Sebastian Faulks. If you've read any of my other posts, you might know that Sebastian Faulks is one of my favourite authors. This book is part of the French trilogy, the other include Birdsong and Charlotte Gray. This book is set in the 1930's in France. Anne is from Paris, and arrives at the hotel, Lion D'or situated in a little French town. She's an innocent little soul, so far all I can establish is she is coming of age, and sure enough a love story is going to unravel. There's always something romanticised about how Faulks describes France, even in the war novels he's written he creates something sacred and special about France.
I'm hoping to finish The Girl at the Lion D'or, as well as rereading Turn of the Screw for an assignment due in January. During the Christmas break my plan is to start to re-read my favourite books; Jane Eyre, Charlotte Gray, Little Women to say the least. I'll tell you how it goes.
Happy Reading!
Rose x
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