September reading
msmeow
6 years ago
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September reading
Comments (42)Finished "Far From the Madding Crowd" by Hardy the other day - enjoyed it and found that as the book progressed, it became harder and harder to put down and go and do âÂÂreal lifeâ things. I ended up doing a marathon read last night and was really immersed into Wessex and the lives of the villagers that Hardy had conjured up. What I was most interested in this read was the difference in vocabulary and references that Hardy uses in his writing. ItâÂÂs been a while since I have needed to do a âÂÂNew Words to Meâ blog post, but reading Hardy helped me to add a lot of new words to that list, along with loads of references to biblical and Greek/Roman myths. So -- why is it that more recent/modern writers tend to stick to the familiar vocabulary and images when other older ones didnâÂÂt? Yes, some modern writers do play a lot of with language (John Banville comes to mind), but generally speaking, there is not the range of vocabulary in more modern publications. (Perhaps itâÂÂs just the ones that IâÂÂve been reading?) Is it because the older (read: Victorian) writers wore their learning lightly and made these literary references assuming that the reader would know them? Or were these older writers being elitist and showing off their education to their readers? Would the average reader at the time of Hardy know his references to IxionâÂÂs punishment and when âÂÂthe sailors invoked the lost Hylas on the Mysian shoreâÂÂ? Or were his readers just as puzzled as I was (and hitting the books to find out more)? Another curious point is the link between the main female character -- Bathsheba Everdene -- and the more current heroic character of Katniss Everdeen in âÂÂThe Hunger GamesâÂÂ. I had wondered if there was a connection between the two, and in further research, it seems that HG author Suzanne Collins did name Katniss as a homage to the Bathsheba character -- both have strong independent characters that donâÂÂt always go down well in the society in which they live, both have similar romantic issues (Katniss/Peter (I think), and Bathsheba/Gabriel)⦠I wonder how many teen readers know that as the reference? Probably not too many, I would think, which is a shame as Hardy is a great read. ItâÂÂs a shame that more people donâÂÂt read more Hardy -- I think they think of him as writer of tragedy and sadness, but if you read his Wessex books, they are pretty light-hearted and funny at times. IâÂÂd almost classify Hardy as a rural more down-to-earth Jane Austen in some ways, but people tend to get stuck on the disastrous story of Tess and get scared off. TheyâÂÂre missing out. Apparently, David Nicholls has adapted a version of this for the BBC to play in autumn 2013. Maybe I can catch a bit of this when I visit in November......See MoreSeptember Reading
Comments (95)So far, I've read: "Bad Behavior" - Isabel Wolff About a young, single gal living in London, who's a veterinary psychologist. It follows her trials and tribulations 15 years after she was duped into putting a small bomb into a man's mailbox (she didn't know it was an explosive). Her guilt is enormous of course. The story picks up where she's getting settled into her new practice, and meets a brilliant war photojournalist. There are twists and turns in the plot, and -- believe it or not -- quite a bit of humour. The author was just short-listed last year for best writer in Women's Literature category (for "A Vintage Affair," which I loved!). " The Earth Hums in B Flat" - Mari Strachan About a 12-year-old girl living in Wales with her hugely dysfunctional family (the mother, mainly -- the girl's father is wonderful). She's going through growing pains (dealing with boys, disloyal female friends, a nasty mother, a self-centered, teasing sister), but is a strong, resourceful girl. ... Can usually think her way out of problems. There's a mysterious murder in the story, as well; although, it isn't a murder mystery book. There are well-drawn Welsh characters. The town is well-described -- you feel as if you can see it. The girl flies in her sleep over it, and hears the earth hum (thus, the title). In spite of this other-worldly feature, it isn't a sci-fi or ghost story kind of book. Only one thing bothered me -- the ending was a little abrupt, it seemed....See MoreSeptember Reading
Comments (104)On Saturday I went to the public library booksale, and got 7 books, $1 apiece, among them: The Echo Maker by Richard Powers, An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor and The New Yorkers by Cathleen Schine. Cece, Did you finish The September Society? Did you like it? I read recently the first book by this author, A Beautiful Blue Death, and liked it. Lemonhead, I read Moon Tiger years ago. I didn't like it. I'd be interested in hearing how you feel about it. Kren, They did a movie of The French Lieutenant's Woman years ago, with Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons. I haven't read the book, but the movie was pretty good. Kath, I'm with Vee, you have to tell us about your trip when you reach to your final destination. It would be interesting if you add which books you read in each leg of the trip....See MoreSeptember Reading
Comments (119)I had heard good things about Pat Barker's book The Silence of the Girls so ordered a copy from the library. It is based on Homer's Iliad and some of Euripedes telling the gruesome story of the long wars between the Greeks and the Trojans through the 'voice' of Briseis captured daughter of a king, who has been made a slave to Achilles. What a bloodthirsty hate filled, revenge seeking, brutal lot the Greeks were . . . Endless scenes of stabbings, decapitations, blood-soaked ground, plagues of rats, endless rapes of the slave women. Even knowing that the 'story' came from such a great and ancient work did little for me and I only finished it because I thought I should and not to see if there was a Happy Ending, which of course there wasn't....See Morewoodnymph2_gw
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