Greetings, fellow readers! I'm happy to report that as we approach the midpoint of the summer this Saturday, I am reading more than ever. Unfortunately, my book record-keeping system is in need of repair: ever since I filled up my last reading logbook, I haven't been able to settle on a way to record the titles I've finished. I tried Goodreads for a while but couldn't stick with it, perhaps because my TBR is mainly concentrated in my (very large) Amazon Wishlist. I've been writing book reviews for my library's adult summer reading program, but those have to be turned in to the reference desk, leaving me no paper trail with which to jog my memory.
That being said, I will do my best to reconstruct a list of what I've finished since my last post:
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. I'll admit, once I realized this book was authored by the same woman who penned some very lackluster YA fiction a few years ago, I was less enthusiastic about reading it than I was after reading the blurb. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this touching hybrid between George Eliot's Silas Marner and Penumbra-esque homage to bookstores and those who love them. I don't know what's causing the recent proliferation of books about books, but whatever it is, please, keep them coming! This book is bittersweet, delightful, and heartwarming, a must-read for all book lovers.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon. This was another excellent recommendation from Jacob, which I finished last weekend. It tells the story of an autistic teenager who sets out to solve the murder of a neighborhood dog and gets more than he bargained for. This is a tale of family, thought, and altered perspective. I liked it very much; I enjoyed both the mystery and the character's distinctive voice. Reminded me of Flowers for Algernon and its sympathetic portrayal of mental disability.
Art and Physics: Parallel Visions in Space, Time, and Light by Leonard Shlain. This history of humanities and science written by a California surgeon took me back to the Good Ol' Days of my Science and Literature class. Shlain explores the predictive capabilities of art and examines how shifts in artistic perspective and representation prefigure new discoveries in physics. The "world soul" stuff at the end was a little too theoretical for me, but I really enjoyed Shlain's scholarship and idolization of Leonardo Da Vinci. This book made me appreciate modern art because of the way it taught me to see the world. It also sparked my interest in the life and work of the French artist Marcel Duchamp, about whom I cannot wait to read more.
Tales of the Otori: Across the Nightingale Floor by Liam Hearn. My friend Grant told me about this series, which he described as "Eragon set in medieval Japan." With a description like that, how could I not be curious? All I can say is, I'm so glad this book is part of a series because the story is so awesome, I don't want it to end. Though there are some fantastic elements, the book is based on Japan's rich history, something which I firmly believe people in the West should know more about. I can't wait to read the second one.
Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy. I'm almost finished with this one, and though it is Binchy's Big Break, I'm not really a fan. For one thing, the storyline is pretty depressing: girl suffers from negative body image, unrequited love, and feelings of stagnation in provincial Irish town. Men and women alike are mean to this girl: they use her, make fun of her, and play with her affections. The other reason why I'm not a huge fan of this book is that I've seen what Maeve Binchy can do, and this is not it. In many ways, this prefigures the richness of Whitethorn Woods and Quentins, but it's not all there yet. I suppose that's what you get for going back and reading the early stuff after reading what the author wrote in her prime.
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. I just got this one from the library today, and I'm about halfway through it. I remember when this book came out, I thought it was silly to have a book for adults told from the point of view of a dog. How wrong I was. This dog is more human than I am, for goodness sake! I love this book--I know I will be sad to see it end.
That's it for now--I went to the library this morning and came home with a pretty sizable haul, so it'll probably be a while before I have enough finished to write another post. In the meantime, maybe I'll figure out a suitable way of recording the books I read!
Until next time,
Anna
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Monday, June 2, 2014
Summer Reading List, Part 2
Greetings, readers! Before I get started on this second installment of my summer reading list for grownups, I have some exciting news: I got a job in a bookstore this summer! Needless to say, this is a dream come true for me, and I'm looking forward to many new literary adventures in the weeks and months ahead.
I haven't finished any more books since my last post, but I am currently reading four:
Firefly Summer by Maeve Binchy. I usually turn to Maeve Binchy for some literary comfort, but this book was actually really sad. It's very Great Gatsby-esque, with an American hotel tycoon expanding his business to a small Irish village in pursuit of his dream of returning to his homeland. However, his values clash with those of the villagers, with disastrous consequences. Nobody wins in this book; it was more of a bittersweet read than a comforting one.
The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy by Kate Hattemer. Another YA recommendation from Book Riot, this novel is a hilarious account of what happens when the set of a reality tv show invades an arts high school in northern Minnesota. Though I am a bit older than the target audience for this book, I'm enjoying the jokes that only people who did music or drama in high school will understand. If this sounds like you, give this book a shot for a light, entertaining summer read.
My Life in Middlemarch by Rebecca Mead. I've discovered I have a penchant for literary memoirs, and My Life in Middlemarch is my latest fix in this genre. Some of you know that I wrote a 30-page thesis on George Eliot's first novel, Adam Bede, during my senior year of high school, and as I read this memoir, I'm reliving my own year of reading, research, and total immersion in Eliot's work. While the biographical sections are a little repetitive for me (I did read something like three different 800-biographies of Eliot while I was writing my thesis), this is a wonderful trip down memory lane for anyone who has enjoyed Eliot's work.
The Beetle by Richard Marsh. This is a gothic novel recommended by BookTuber Ron Lit. It's about a beetle that causes a political scandal in the British parliament. This book is very strange, and it's taking me forever to get through it because the story moves so slowly. My bookmark is languishing about halfway through this one.
Until next time,
Anna
I haven't finished any more books since my last post, but I am currently reading four:
Firefly Summer by Maeve Binchy. I usually turn to Maeve Binchy for some literary comfort, but this book was actually really sad. It's very Great Gatsby-esque, with an American hotel tycoon expanding his business to a small Irish village in pursuit of his dream of returning to his homeland. However, his values clash with those of the villagers, with disastrous consequences. Nobody wins in this book; it was more of a bittersweet read than a comforting one.
The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy by Kate Hattemer. Another YA recommendation from Book Riot, this novel is a hilarious account of what happens when the set of a reality tv show invades an arts high school in northern Minnesota. Though I am a bit older than the target audience for this book, I'm enjoying the jokes that only people who did music or drama in high school will understand. If this sounds like you, give this book a shot for a light, entertaining summer read.
My Life in Middlemarch by Rebecca Mead. I've discovered I have a penchant for literary memoirs, and My Life in Middlemarch is my latest fix in this genre. Some of you know that I wrote a 30-page thesis on George Eliot's first novel, Adam Bede, during my senior year of high school, and as I read this memoir, I'm reliving my own year of reading, research, and total immersion in Eliot's work. While the biographical sections are a little repetitive for me (I did read something like three different 800-biographies of Eliot while I was writing my thesis), this is a wonderful trip down memory lane for anyone who has enjoyed Eliot's work.
The Beetle by Richard Marsh. This is a gothic novel recommended by BookTuber Ron Lit. It's about a beetle that causes a political scandal in the British parliament. This book is very strange, and it's taking me forever to get through it because the story moves so slowly. My bookmark is languishing about halfway through this one.
Until next time,
Anna
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Summer Reading List
I love summer. To me, it's the time when, freed at last from course syllabi and lists of required reading, I can sit back and relax with a cup of Darjeeling and a book of my own choosing. It reminds me of when I was a little kid and my mom would take me and my sister Brigid to the summer reading programs at the library, the same library where I worked throughout high school. Each week, we'd be entertained by the traveling Mashed Potato Players comedy shows or an exhibit of animals from the Jacksonville Zoo. We'd line up to have our reading logs stamped and collect our prizes for reading five books each week, a benchmark which I never failed to reach and often surpassed. I still have my collection of plastic clown bookmarks from one of those reading-filled summers.
This post is the second in a series about my Summer Reading Log for Grown-Ups. Since I last wrote, I finished
Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly. Don't waste your time on this one. I thought the book really had it going until the very end, where, between a gimmicky time travel scene and an irritating necessity on the part of the author to wrap up each and every loose end with a red ribbon, I became so disgusted I could barely finish.
A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin. If Revolution was the raw burger at a two-star diner, A Soldier of the Great War was dinner at La Cupole. This book was a delight from start to finish (thank you, Jacob, for the recommendation). The writing was descriptive and blessedly consistent; the story remained light in spite of the heavy subject matter (for more on lightness in literature, I recommend Six Memos for the Next Millennium by Italo Calvino); and most importantly, the book made me want to go to the places I had read about. I credit my vast experience with British literature as the inspiration for my trip to England last summer, and after finishing this book, I must go to Italy. I highly recommend this one.
The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie. While not the best of his books, this one is sure to please old Rushdie fans. If you're new, hold off on this one and read The Moor's Last Sigh first. You'll know after that one whether you like him or not. This novel takes us to Renaissance Florence and the court of the Mughal emperor Akbar. A mysterious Florentine traveler, revealed later to be none other than Niccolo Machiavelli, travels to India and explores many questions of power, passion, and human nature with the emperor. A good read, if you are a Rushdie fan.
Great by Sarah Benincasa. This beach read aimed at a young adult audience is a fun, if predictable, retelling of The Great Gatsby, this time with a lesbian twist. I bought this one on my Kindle after spotting it on a recommended reading list from the folks over at Book Riot.
White Teeth by Zadie Smith. I. Love. This. Book. A loaner from my friend, Jordan, White Teeth is one of the freshest novels I've read in a long time. First of all, Zadie Smith's writing is absolutely hilarious--it is very difficult for me to find a book that makes me laugh out loud, but this one did. Smith looks at British suburban life in the 80's through a lens that's slightly askew, and her novel is populated with characters as eccentric as the ones you'll find next door. Everyone should read this book; it should be required reading for high schoolers everywhere. It deals with so many questions of race, suicide, education, friendship, and literature in an honest, funny way that is very true to life. White Teeth examines how the stories we tell about our past shape who we are now, a fitting homage to the power of literature to create our worlds.
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton. This one I finished just today; I read it on my Kindle after finding it on the same list as Great. This book is magical realism with a strong Gothic component. Though it's aimed at the YA audience, it resonates equally well with older readers, I think. It is the story of a family, a girl with wings, and the characters' journeys as they endure heartbreak and learn to love themselves. A fun summer read--I breezed through it in less than a day.
Until next time,
Anna
This post is the second in a series about my Summer Reading Log for Grown-Ups. Since I last wrote, I finished
Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly. Don't waste your time on this one. I thought the book really had it going until the very end, where, between a gimmicky time travel scene and an irritating necessity on the part of the author to wrap up each and every loose end with a red ribbon, I became so disgusted I could barely finish.
A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin. If Revolution was the raw burger at a two-star diner, A Soldier of the Great War was dinner at La Cupole. This book was a delight from start to finish (thank you, Jacob, for the recommendation). The writing was descriptive and blessedly consistent; the story remained light in spite of the heavy subject matter (for more on lightness in literature, I recommend Six Memos for the Next Millennium by Italo Calvino); and most importantly, the book made me want to go to the places I had read about. I credit my vast experience with British literature as the inspiration for my trip to England last summer, and after finishing this book, I must go to Italy. I highly recommend this one.
The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie. While not the best of his books, this one is sure to please old Rushdie fans. If you're new, hold off on this one and read The Moor's Last Sigh first. You'll know after that one whether you like him or not. This novel takes us to Renaissance Florence and the court of the Mughal emperor Akbar. A mysterious Florentine traveler, revealed later to be none other than Niccolo Machiavelli, travels to India and explores many questions of power, passion, and human nature with the emperor. A good read, if you are a Rushdie fan.
Great by Sarah Benincasa. This beach read aimed at a young adult audience is a fun, if predictable, retelling of The Great Gatsby, this time with a lesbian twist. I bought this one on my Kindle after spotting it on a recommended reading list from the folks over at Book Riot.
White Teeth by Zadie Smith. I. Love. This. Book. A loaner from my friend, Jordan, White Teeth is one of the freshest novels I've read in a long time. First of all, Zadie Smith's writing is absolutely hilarious--it is very difficult for me to find a book that makes me laugh out loud, but this one did. Smith looks at British suburban life in the 80's through a lens that's slightly askew, and her novel is populated with characters as eccentric as the ones you'll find next door. Everyone should read this book; it should be required reading for high schoolers everywhere. It deals with so many questions of race, suicide, education, friendship, and literature in an honest, funny way that is very true to life. White Teeth examines how the stories we tell about our past shape who we are now, a fitting homage to the power of literature to create our worlds.
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton. This one I finished just today; I read it on my Kindle after finding it on the same list as Great. This book is magical realism with a strong Gothic component. Though it's aimed at the YA audience, it resonates equally well with older readers, I think. It is the story of a family, a girl with wings, and the characters' journeys as they endure heartbreak and learn to love themselves. A fun summer read--I breezed through it in less than a day.
Until next time,
Anna
Friday, May 9, 2014
Put me in summer and I'll be a . . .
Greetings, fellow readers! I, like Olaf, am overjoyed that summer is finally here! The semester is over, final grades are in, and now it's time for me to dive into my summer reading stack. Here's a quick overview of what I've read so far this summer:
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michael Faber. This account of a Victorian era prostitute's ascent through the social strata of London promised to be an excellent read, at least for the first couple hundred pages. The vocabulary is lush and descriptive and the writing so mesmerizing I found myself immersed in the book for hours at a time. However, the story bogged down after a while in the minutiae of the characters' inner lives. I realize that's precisely what a novel is supposed to be about, but all the characters except Sugar (the prostitute) and Emmeline Fox (who doesn't get a lot of narration time anyway) were thoroughly detestable. As anyone who's ever been to the movies with me will attest, I do not like whiny characters, and this novel, alas, was full of them.
Conclusion: A good book, but not one I'd leap out of my chair to recommend to a friend.
A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin. This one came to me last summer from an excellent recommender, but as the book is nearly 800 pages long, I had to wait until this summer to start it. It's the story of an Italian alpine veteran of World War One, and it reads a lot like A Farewell to Arms, only without the misogyny. The main character's reminiscences have a more Romantic bent as well, which I can appreciate. I'm about a quarter of the way through this delightful book--it's one I'll enjoy reading slowly.
Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly. I read her first novel, A Northern Light, last summer at the recommendation of my friend Elli. It was ok, but Revolution is better. Perhaps that's because the plot centers around one of my most cherished dreams: a young girl finds a diary from the past hidden away and commences to solve the mystery of its origins and contents. In this case, protagonist Andi is a musician who travels to Paris to work on her senior thesis. The diary she discovers is from the time of the Revolution and the Terror, which just so happens to be the very period she is researching for her project. I just started the book yesterday, so the mystery is still in its early stages, but I am excited to know what happens.
Not a bad list for my first week back home! Stay tuned for more updates and reading adventures this summer.
Until next time,
Anna
Monday, April 21, 2014
Happy Birthday, Charlotte Bronte!
"There was no possibility of taking a walk that day."
With those ten words, I'm catapulted back in time to when I was thirteen years old, reading Jane Eyre for the first time. I fell in love with the novel's heroine, at once passionate and rational, and with the eloquent way she told her story, addressing me as "Reader." I felt like she was reaching out to me through the pages, teaching me about what it means to be a strong, smart, independent woman.
Greetings, fellow readers! Today we celebrate Charlotte Bronte, born 198 years ago today. Although the literary achievements of her and her siblings are complex and manifold, I'm going to focus today on the novel I have loved since the day my mom bought me my first copy seven years ago: Jane Eyre. It's the book I have loved most consistently to this day, the one I return to when I'm in need of comfort or advice, or when I just want to wrap myself in a familiar story.
I still remember that day now--my mom and I were at a homeschool convention in my hometown of Jacksonville, and we had stopped at the Usborne publishing booth, which was selling a variety of fiction for all ages. The book that caught my eye had a picture of a woman with her hair in a bun sitting at the window, her silhouette standing out against a background of pink and grey. Slate blue calligraphy spelled out the title: Jane Eyre. I remember asking my mom to buy it for me, and I will always be grateful she said yes.
When I read the book as a child, I was captivated by the suspenseful, Gothic aspects of the story. Who was the mysterious figure laughing in the night? Why did Rochester keep so many secrets? Would Jane ever find a family of her own? These questions burned in me and kept the story going. I would stay up long past my bedtime, flipping covers under the sheets to find the answers.
I try to read the book once every year, and as I've grown older, I feel like Jane has grown with me, too. I really look up to her: she's intelligent and independent, and she survives in an indifferent, often unfriendly world. As someone who was bullied and/or shunned throughout middle school and high school, I found a much-needed friend in Jane, who stood up to her abusive cousin, John Reed, who held her ground when Mr. Brocklehurst quizzed her on her virtue, who insisted upon speaking the truth even when it meant risking the wrath of those in power. I admired her strong sense of self, her thick skin, and her adherence to an intensely personal moral code.
As I grew older, I gained a new appreciation for the way Jane handles her relationship with Rochester. When they first meet, she refuses to let him catch her off guard. By behaving as his equal, she commands his respect. When their love is threatened by the revelation of Bertha's identity (no plot spoilers here--go read the book!), Jane has to choose between happiness with him and staying true to herself, and the beautiful thing about Jane Eyre is that she refuses to sacrifice her principles, even for the man she loves more than anyone else in the world. She knows their happiness would always be tainted, and even though it breaks her heart, she would rather leave him than cause irreparable damage to their relationship. That's a woman I can look up to, someone who refuses to compromise who she is to make someone else happy.
My test of a good book is that you can always find something new each time you read it. Though my original copy of Jane Eyre fell to pieces long ago, I still carry so much of that book within myself. Each year, when I pick it up, I notice something I never marked before. With any luck, I'll continue to read this book for many years to come, each time finding some new morsel to feed my hungry imagination. So happy birthday, Charlotte Bronte: thank you for making this woman's life richer because of your book. And thank you, Jane.
Until next time, readers,
Anna
With those ten words, I'm catapulted back in time to when I was thirteen years old, reading Jane Eyre for the first time. I fell in love with the novel's heroine, at once passionate and rational, and with the eloquent way she told her story, addressing me as "Reader." I felt like she was reaching out to me through the pages, teaching me about what it means to be a strong, smart, independent woman.
Greetings, fellow readers! Today we celebrate Charlotte Bronte, born 198 years ago today. Although the literary achievements of her and her siblings are complex and manifold, I'm going to focus today on the novel I have loved since the day my mom bought me my first copy seven years ago: Jane Eyre. It's the book I have loved most consistently to this day, the one I return to when I'm in need of comfort or advice, or when I just want to wrap myself in a familiar story.
I still remember that day now--my mom and I were at a homeschool convention in my hometown of Jacksonville, and we had stopped at the Usborne publishing booth, which was selling a variety of fiction for all ages. The book that caught my eye had a picture of a woman with her hair in a bun sitting at the window, her silhouette standing out against a background of pink and grey. Slate blue calligraphy spelled out the title: Jane Eyre. I remember asking my mom to buy it for me, and I will always be grateful she said yes.
When I read the book as a child, I was captivated by the suspenseful, Gothic aspects of the story. Who was the mysterious figure laughing in the night? Why did Rochester keep so many secrets? Would Jane ever find a family of her own? These questions burned in me and kept the story going. I would stay up long past my bedtime, flipping covers under the sheets to find the answers.
I try to read the book once every year, and as I've grown older, I feel like Jane has grown with me, too. I really look up to her: she's intelligent and independent, and she survives in an indifferent, often unfriendly world. As someone who was bullied and/or shunned throughout middle school and high school, I found a much-needed friend in Jane, who stood up to her abusive cousin, John Reed, who held her ground when Mr. Brocklehurst quizzed her on her virtue, who insisted upon speaking the truth even when it meant risking the wrath of those in power. I admired her strong sense of self, her thick skin, and her adherence to an intensely personal moral code.
As I grew older, I gained a new appreciation for the way Jane handles her relationship with Rochester. When they first meet, she refuses to let him catch her off guard. By behaving as his equal, she commands his respect. When their love is threatened by the revelation of Bertha's identity (no plot spoilers here--go read the book!), Jane has to choose between happiness with him and staying true to herself, and the beautiful thing about Jane Eyre is that she refuses to sacrifice her principles, even for the man she loves more than anyone else in the world. She knows their happiness would always be tainted, and even though it breaks her heart, she would rather leave him than cause irreparable damage to their relationship. That's a woman I can look up to, someone who refuses to compromise who she is to make someone else happy.
My test of a good book is that you can always find something new each time you read it. Though my original copy of Jane Eyre fell to pieces long ago, I still carry so much of that book within myself. Each year, when I pick it up, I notice something I never marked before. With any luck, I'll continue to read this book for many years to come, each time finding some new morsel to feed my hungry imagination. So happy birthday, Charlotte Bronte: thank you for making this woman's life richer because of your book. And thank you, Jane.
Until next time, readers,
Anna
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Check out my haul!
Greetings, fellow readers! This weekend marks the semi-annual Alachua County Friends of the Library Booksale, an event which inspires near religious fervor among the bibliophiles of Gainesville. This year, I went with my friend Jordan, who has never been before. We ended up having a mini-Shakespeare in the Park cast reunion, as we ran into Ashlyn and David, our director and stage manager/god of thunder (aka special effects), while we were there.
There's something about books that brings people together like nothing else does. When you see someone reading one of your favorites, that's a book recommending a person. Though we bookworms are a solitary bunch--how can we get any reading done if we're surrounded by people?--when we do venture out, our best friends are those who also love to read. We divide ourselves into little cults and factions, worshiping poetry here, adoring stream of consciousness there. Like I said, it's almost religious.
There's something about books that brings people together like nothing else does. When you see someone reading one of your favorites, that's a book recommending a person. Though we bookworms are a solitary bunch--how can we get any reading done if we're surrounded by people?--when we do venture out, our best friends are those who also love to read. We divide ourselves into little cults and factions, worshiping poetry here, adoring stream of consciousness there. Like I said, it's almost religious.
As I said in the title, I came away with a fantastic haul this time, all for the grand total of $20.25. I'm most looking forward to reading Will in the World, a biography of William Shakespeare which comes highly recommended by both my mother the English professor and Ron Lit, booktuber extraordinaire. (See my previous posts for more about her.) I also got some poetry by Margaret Atwood, Mary Oliver, Seamus Heaney, Emily Bronte, and Charles Baudelaire, as well as my third copy of T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land and Other Poems and a funny little paperback full of limericks. I scored a copy of Anna Karenina bound in red leather for $1.50 and Harold Bloom's Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human in hardcover for 25 cents. IN HARDCOVER!!!!! Add in some more works about Shakespeare, some more poetry, and a couple of intriguing novels, and you have my haul for Spring 2014. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lot of reading to do!
Until next time,
Anna
Thursday, April 3, 2014
YouTube, the Book Lover's Best Friend
Greetings, fellow readers! It's that time of the semester where I am so burned out from reading books for all my classes that I have resorted to watching YouTube videos as a means of simultaneous procrastination and entertainment. Some of you may remember fall of my freshman year when I went a little haywire on Disney movies in foreign languages and Sherlock dubbed over with silly songs. Since this was before I started blogging, let me give you a little sample below:
Yeah, my productivity hit an all-time low that finals week. Since then, I have discovered a more cultured side of YouTube, beginning with the I F***ing Love Science channel (which many of you watch, I know) and also the various vlogs about/adaptations of classic literature.
Let me begin with my new personal hero, Ron Lit. This woman has it all: she's a Canadian graduate student studying English literature, and she does videos about books, feminism, and cats. CATS!! All very good things, to be sure. I first found out about her through a feminist Facebook group I'm a member of, and I quickly watched all of her videos and even read some of the books she talks about. I am seriously in love with Ron Lit--her analysis is so sharp, she's funny and gorgeous, and she doesn't apologize for going on "feminist rants." I cannot wait until she makes more videos. Here's a link to her most recent one, which is an excellent analysis of the role of women in detective fiction:
Once I ran out of Ron Lit videos to watch, I went into a severe YouTube withdrawal and was only able to recover with the help of . . .
The Lizzie Bennett Diaries!
My friend Jordan has been trying to get me to watch these for ages, but it wasn't until Maria, a friend from my computer science class, also recommended them that I began to watch the series. Oh. My. Goodness. First of all, imagine this: Lizzie Bennett of Pride and Prejudice fame as a 21st century grad student with her own video blog. Not only that, but Jane, Lydia, and Charlotte all appear on the vlog, too. This adaptation is hilarious and sticks to the spirit of the original novel. There are a few small changes to update the book when necessary (instead of being a rich landed gentleman, Mr. Bingley is transformed into Bing Lee, a young medical student), but the basic plot is still the same. To whoever came up with this, yours is an ingenious idea. I've also heard there's a series called "Emma Approved," which reimagines Austen's Emma--I'm looking forward to starting it once I finish LBD. Here's a link to the first episode, in case you're interested:
That's all for now; I hope this post leads you to some great new literary YouTube channels of your own!
Until next time,
Anna
Yeah, my productivity hit an all-time low that finals week. Since then, I have discovered a more cultured side of YouTube, beginning with the I F***ing Love Science channel (which many of you watch, I know) and also the various vlogs about/adaptations of classic literature.
Let me begin with my new personal hero, Ron Lit. This woman has it all: she's a Canadian graduate student studying English literature, and she does videos about books, feminism, and cats. CATS!! All very good things, to be sure. I first found out about her through a feminist Facebook group I'm a member of, and I quickly watched all of her videos and even read some of the books she talks about. I am seriously in love with Ron Lit--her analysis is so sharp, she's funny and gorgeous, and she doesn't apologize for going on "feminist rants." I cannot wait until she makes more videos. Here's a link to her most recent one, which is an excellent analysis of the role of women in detective fiction:
Once I ran out of Ron Lit videos to watch, I went into a severe YouTube withdrawal and was only able to recover with the help of . . .
The Lizzie Bennett Diaries!
My friend Jordan has been trying to get me to watch these for ages, but it wasn't until Maria, a friend from my computer science class, also recommended them that I began to watch the series. Oh. My. Goodness. First of all, imagine this: Lizzie Bennett of Pride and Prejudice fame as a 21st century grad student with her own video blog. Not only that, but Jane, Lydia, and Charlotte all appear on the vlog, too. This adaptation is hilarious and sticks to the spirit of the original novel. There are a few small changes to update the book when necessary (instead of being a rich landed gentleman, Mr. Bingley is transformed into Bing Lee, a young medical student), but the basic plot is still the same. To whoever came up with this, yours is an ingenious idea. I've also heard there's a series called "Emma Approved," which reimagines Austen's Emma--I'm looking forward to starting it once I finish LBD. Here's a link to the first episode, in case you're interested:
That's all for now; I hope this post leads you to some great new literary YouTube channels of your own!
Until next time,
Anna
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