I know. Where was I living if I never read or watched the movie before now?? Well I haven’t, and even coming into it with some scepticism, I was pleasantly surprised. For a book that was written in the early 1800's, it was easy to read and very relatable today. I just loved the characters and as every woman who has read this book, fell in love with Mr. Darcy. I loved him from the beginning. And this is where the author’s skill at writing came out. Even though the author wrote the character having bad characteristics and bad manners and actions, you couldn’t help but still love him and want to know more about him. You just knew that there was something underneath the surface and just couldn’t wait to find out. On the opposite, the author talked up and romanticised the character of Mr. Wickham, but the whole time you knew you couldn’t trust him. Brilliant.
There were times where my boyfriend would walk past and laugh at me because I was reading it with this HUGE grin on my face and kept stopping to sigh... It really awakened my emotions and I felt everything that was going on with all the characters. I was thinking about them and their lives even at work.
The character of Elizabeth was great. As I mentioned before, being written in the early 1800’s you still could put yourself in her shoes and totally relate. Of course there were times in the book where you lost patience with them and just wanted them to get it on, but that’s the beauty of a great book.
Lesson Learnt:
Well obviously the lesson here is don’t succumb to first impressions and judge people. Until you really get to know someone you shouldn’t cast judgement, because you never really know what is going on in their lives. I was always taught this from a young age from my mother so it just highlighted this knowledge. One example of this is, one day I was racing to the Vet’s because my dog’s face was swelling up from being bitten by something. I remember all the drivers on the way yelling abuse at me for overtaking them and speeding. Some drivers were actually quite aggressive and scary. They just assumed I was a reckless driver and a hoon, not realising that I actually had a reason for it. So next time I see someone in a rush behind the wheel, I don’t judge because they might actually have an emergency.
Take care on the road and don’t be prejudice...
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The mists of Avalon – Marion Zimmer Bradley
I wish I could have started this blog with a great review but unfortunately I can’t with this book.
At first I was very excited to read a book about religion, and all these mystical characters. On paper it sounded really interesting and throughout the beginning I was really getting into it. However, after a while the author kept repeating the same things over and over again. I was getting frustrated because it was way too repetitive. So by the middle of the book I lost interest because it just draaaaaaged along. The book could have done with 150 to 200 pages less without loosing anything important, which says a lot for a book that is a massive 876 pages long.
The characters were very conflicting and inconsistent. The most contradictory character was Gwenhwyfar. You wanted to hate her because she was totally against Avalon, almost to the point of exasperation, however everyone in the book still loved and admired her, which didn’t make sense. The author describes her as educated, but after being repeatedly told by other characters in the book, Gwenhwyfar still keeps repeating the same hatred without ever learning anything. While reading you couldn’t wait for Gwenhwyfar to finally understand how ignorant she was, but then the author made her into a hero?!? Don’t understand the concept there.
Near the end you started to wonder what the point of this book was all about. I got confused as to what the author wanted to accomplish and really what was happening. I still don’t know how the book was supposed to end. The storyline was very poor. Some characters were supposed to be bad but they then weren’t, and the hero’s of the story then ended up being bad, or at least I think so... So you get my drift.
To give credit to the author, the idea was good and the characters could have been great, however the story got sidetracked and confused without really delivering. I believe that this is the fault of the editor. As an author, I’m sure you can get too involved into the storyline and characters and loose a grip as to what is being said, but that’s where the editor should have stepped in to bring the story home. Which is a shame because with some direction and effective edditing, this book could have been great. I'm not sure why it was on the 100 most popular books chosen by readers.
Lesson learnt:
Not sure why, but even though I did not particularly enjoy this book I received a really strong lesson from it. I learnt that you cannot force things, if they are meant to happen, they will happen anyway. You have to have faith and accept the flow of nature. Now at this point of my life, and where I am at the moment it was really good advice.
So even a bad book can teach you something that you can carry into your everyday life and make it better.
If you have any thoughts on my review or would like to comment please do so. I would love to hear what others have to say, and maybe clarify what actually happened in the end :)
At first I was very excited to read a book about religion, and all these mystical characters. On paper it sounded really interesting and throughout the beginning I was really getting into it. However, after a while the author kept repeating the same things over and over again. I was getting frustrated because it was way too repetitive. So by the middle of the book I lost interest because it just draaaaaaged along. The book could have done with 150 to 200 pages less without loosing anything important, which says a lot for a book that is a massive 876 pages long.
The characters were very conflicting and inconsistent. The most contradictory character was Gwenhwyfar. You wanted to hate her because she was totally against Avalon, almost to the point of exasperation, however everyone in the book still loved and admired her, which didn’t make sense. The author describes her as educated, but after being repeatedly told by other characters in the book, Gwenhwyfar still keeps repeating the same hatred without ever learning anything. While reading you couldn’t wait for Gwenhwyfar to finally understand how ignorant she was, but then the author made her into a hero?!? Don’t understand the concept there.
Near the end you started to wonder what the point of this book was all about. I got confused as to what the author wanted to accomplish and really what was happening. I still don’t know how the book was supposed to end. The storyline was very poor. Some characters were supposed to be bad but they then weren’t, and the hero’s of the story then ended up being bad, or at least I think so... So you get my drift.
To give credit to the author, the idea was good and the characters could have been great, however the story got sidetracked and confused without really delivering. I believe that this is the fault of the editor. As an author, I’m sure you can get too involved into the storyline and characters and loose a grip as to what is being said, but that’s where the editor should have stepped in to bring the story home. Which is a shame because with some direction and effective edditing, this book could have been great. I'm not sure why it was on the 100 most popular books chosen by readers.
Lesson learnt:
Not sure why, but even though I did not particularly enjoy this book I received a really strong lesson from it. I learnt that you cannot force things, if they are meant to happen, they will happen anyway. You have to have faith and accept the flow of nature. Now at this point of my life, and where I am at the moment it was really good advice.
So even a bad book can teach you something that you can carry into your everyday life and make it better.
If you have any thoughts on my review or would like to comment please do so. I would love to hear what others have to say, and maybe clarify what actually happened in the end :)
The reason I love reading
I think that books fall into our hands for a reason. There is something that we take away from reading a book that changes the way we think or feel about something. I always learn something or it stimulates my interest in a certain topic. This is how I realise that a book is good and is effective. If I've learnt something from the book or it's stimulated an interest in a topic than I meant to read the book at that time for a reason.
So many times I have a read a book that has helped me deal with something that was happening in my life. Whether its good or bad, books help you grow and deal with issues in your own way. It's like getting inside the authors head and seeing his or her perspective on an issue. In my opinion it's similar to counselling but it is done in your own time at your own pace. The beauty is we only see what we want to see. Which means that great books can be re-read over and over because there is always something that we haven't picked up and never realised until we were ready for it.
Anyway, this is why I love reading and my book reviews will reflect this. I'm not going to tell you the storyline of the books, because I know you still want to read it, but I'll tell you how it made me feel and what I've learnt from them.
Talk soon :)
So many times I have a read a book that has helped me deal with something that was happening in my life. Whether its good or bad, books help you grow and deal with issues in your own way. It's like getting inside the authors head and seeing his or her perspective on an issue. In my opinion it's similar to counselling but it is done in your own time at your own pace. The beauty is we only see what we want to see. Which means that great books can be re-read over and over because there is always something that we haven't picked up and never realised until we were ready for it.
Anyway, this is why I love reading and my book reviews will reflect this. I'm not going to tell you the storyline of the books, because I know you still want to read it, but I'll tell you how it made me feel and what I've learnt from them.
Talk soon :)
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Hello and Welcome to my book review blog.
I will be reading and reviewing books that are on the top 100 list of all time. I will also be reading and reviewing books that have received praise and seeing if in my opinion they deserve it. I love to read and have a sickness of not being able to stop reading a book even if it is terrible as I have a loyalty issues. I always think that it might get better on the next page (even though it sometimes never does). I do however stop reading a book if it becomes physically and mentally impossible, but it does need to be pretty bad. I have had a few of those in the 100 list so I hope it’s not one of your favourites.
To please me, you have to have a good storyline with engaging characters. Otherwise why am I reading it? Also you need to evoke some sort of emotion in me, which also can include anger, of absolutely hating a character. Books that teach me something get extra points, and not being able to put it down is another winner. If you are a book reader, you know when you are reading a good book, because you think about it during work, dream about it during sleep and feel that you are a part of it somehow. It affects your current life and you feel a strong connection with all the characters. My rating system is 1 to 10 and I like all genres of books if they fulfil the above conditions.
I will be giving my honest opinion about any book and selecting them based on what I feel like reading. There is no structure to my selection.
Hope you enjoy this ride with me and please let me know your thoughts.
I will be reading and reviewing books that are on the top 100 list of all time. I will also be reading and reviewing books that have received praise and seeing if in my opinion they deserve it. I love to read and have a sickness of not being able to stop reading a book even if it is terrible as I have a loyalty issues. I always think that it might get better on the next page (even though it sometimes never does). I do however stop reading a book if it becomes physically and mentally impossible, but it does need to be pretty bad. I have had a few of those in the 100 list so I hope it’s not one of your favourites.
To please me, you have to have a good storyline with engaging characters. Otherwise why am I reading it? Also you need to evoke some sort of emotion in me, which also can include anger, of absolutely hating a character. Books that teach me something get extra points, and not being able to put it down is another winner. If you are a book reader, you know when you are reading a good book, because you think about it during work, dream about it during sleep and feel that you are a part of it somehow. It affects your current life and you feel a strong connection with all the characters. My rating system is 1 to 10 and I like all genres of books if they fulfil the above conditions.
I will be giving my honest opinion about any book and selecting them based on what I feel like reading. There is no structure to my selection.
Hope you enjoy this ride with me and please let me know your thoughts.
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