Challenge Me Will Ya!

I seriously really truly was planning on NOT signing up for any reading challenges this year. But alas! The challenges have won! I have found two that have somehow (bribery?) convinced me to participate, and (bonus!) they kind of even overlap with one another.

The first is via blogger Bethany over at Subtle Melodrama. It’s called the Victorian Literature Challenge and basically it involves reading books that were published any time during Queen Victoria’s reign (1837-1901).

They don’t necessarily have to be “Victorian” according to the challenge rules so that gives you even more book options to choose from. There are four different levels to join for the challenge and I’ve chosen to aim for Hard Times (meaning I’ll read between 10-14 books). It’s actually an underestimate for me, but I like to aim as low as possible so as to never be disappointed! I’ve already read three so far this year (yay me!):

(click on the titles to see my full reviews)

• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
 

The second challenge is by way of blogger Marisa over at Armchair Archives called the Oscar Wilde Reading Challenge (can you already see how they’re going to overlap? sneaky of me isn’t it?). And I’m sure all my smart followers can guess what’s involved in this challenge: reading Oscar Wilde’s works.

I’ve opted to be Willfully Wilde, which means to read any 4 of his works. And as pointed out above, I’ve already read his one and only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray.

I’ll keep you all updated on my progress as time goes on. And, of course, I’ll post reviews here of each book I read.

Literary Coincidences

I'm just doing a quick little post today because the Migraine Fairy decided to visit me today and I'm a little busy tending to that fun experience.

Right now, as you can see by taking a quick glance at my shelf on the right, I’m reading The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver and just experienced the weirdest thing. Okay, it wasn’t the weirdest thing, but it was an odd coincidence of sorts.

Adah, one of the daughters in The Poisonwood Bible, is trying to outsmart her other sister, Leah, by giving her a quote and asking her what book in the Bible it’s from. The quote is “It was neither diabolical no divine; it but shook the doors of the prison house of my disposition; and like the captives of Philippi, that which stood within ran forth.” I’m sitting here thinking “well this sounds familiar to me too," but figured I had to be wrong because I've never read the Bible (the horror! the horror!). Then it’s revealed about a paragraph later…she’s tricking her sister entirely and it’s from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde! A book as many of you know I’ve read just recently! How…coincidental.

I could go on and on about literary coincidences like this. It’s just so funny to me but I guess the more you read the more this kind of thing happens. What about you? Any weird coincidences that make you pause in books?

The Bechdel Book Test

So my work has decided to be extra nice this week and give me two days off because of the massive blizzard. Woohoo! Except now I’m getting a major sense of claustrophobia…not woohoo. What to do about it? Blog post time!

Has anyone here heard of the Bechdel Test for movies? Well essentially it’s a checklist of three important factors to look out for in movies in regards to women (and you’d be surprised how few times the goal is met).

And the checklist goes:

1. It has to have at least 2 women in it (and the women have to be named);

2. Who talk to each other; and

3. About something besides a man.

Now this checklist seems simple enough but really once you start thinking about the popular movies out now it becomes surprisingly difficult to check off all three of these. Just take a look at the link I provided up above! Although, I must say, I looked at this list about a year ago and it is looking better…

Anyway, I figured, on this lovely snowy day, that I’d try to apply this to the last 6 books I’ve read and reviewed. Just for a fun little test.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

1. Does it have at least 2 women in it?

Most certainly yes. Many many female characters.

2. Do they talk to each other?

Constantly!

3. About something besides a man?

While they do talk a lot about men, they also talk about other things, such as Mary’s crabbing about not being able to go to dinner because her son is sick and then shoving him off on Anne. And of course Anne and Mrs. Smith’s conversations.

So Persuasion, I would say, passes the Test with flying colors. Next!

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

1. Does it have at least 2 women in it?

That's a negative! At least not named women to my recollection

Whomp whomp. Failed right out of the gate. Next!

Catching Up on Reviews...Reviews in Twos!

Alright, well the way I think I'm going to run this blog is I'll post my reviews of books very shortly after I've read them but since I’m starting basically a month into the year already I’m going to post a couple reviews at a time until I catch up to myself (I’ve already read 6 books since 2011 started, yay me!). I mostly read the classics but my tastes can vary a lot. And some books will elicit more of a passion for discussion in me than others (it’s usually the ones I DON’T like, haha). I try to give a little summary of the book before I describe my response to the story and what I thought of it but the formula doesn't always work, such is life! Don't worry though, I'll warn you ahead of time of any spoilers.

So without further ado (yes I know you’ve been waiting with bated breath), here are the reviews for the first two books I read this year: