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October 10
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Rosie
added a quote:
"That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse."
— Dead Poets Society
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October 09
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Rosie
gave
 
to:
Pride and Prejudice (Paperback)
by Jane Austen
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in October, 2008
Rosie said:
"Mr Darcy. *dreamy sigh*
I'll admit, my interest in this book only appeared as a result of the TV series Lost in Austen and because of that I knew some of the characters and plot events a bit better than maybe I should have.
Although not the mo...more
Mr Darcy. *dreamy sigh*
I'll admit, my interest in this book only appeared as a result of the TV series Lost in Austen and because of that I knew some of the characters and plot events a bit better than maybe I should have.
Although not the most romantic thing I've ever read (I hear you gasp, but I didn't cry at this one) it's still a brilliant love story and every girl's fantasy - to unintentionally turn the head of a man so sure of himself and his ways, and then to find out he's actually kind and thoughtful!
I smiled everytime Mr Darcy was mentioned or appeared on a page and the banter between the two characters was just teasing! I wanted a bit more of that and so I was getting frustrated and thinking, "Just grab him, damn it!" when they couldn't find a time to talk during dinner parties - maybe I wasn't quite "getting" the ettiquette of the time. I was a bit disappointed at the indirect dialogue during the final love declaration...I wanted it verbatim and I wanted to see some more damn lovestruck enthusiasm! It might be sacrilege to say so but Lost in Austen on TV delivered more of a heartfelt, romantic ending, but I don't deny I was hooked by the book once I got into it and I got all dreamy when Mr Darcy told Elizabeth, "...I thought only of you..." I liked the concept of his writing the letter to her, and not being able to express himself the way he wanted verbally, and so he spent his time writing a heartfelt and personal letter. Eee, how cute.
It's an age-old classic and it had the romantic in me swooning away like some starstruck groupie....less
"
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October 08
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Rosie
gave
to:
Tom's Midnight Garden (Paperback)
by Philippa Pearce
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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October 04
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Rosie
marked as to-read:
The Giver
by Lois Lowry
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Rosie
gave
to:
The Picture of Dorian Gray (Paperback)
by Oscar Wilde
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in September, 2008
Rosie said:
"This book is a complex and dark look into the issues of eternal youth and beauty, moral corruption without consequences and the influence others can have over our lives.
I admit I became acquainted with the character of Dorian Gray through the fi...more
This book is a complex and dark look into the issues of eternal youth and beauty, moral corruption without consequences and the influence others can have over our lives.
I admit I became acquainted with the character of Dorian Gray through the film the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and so I expected to come across the sophiscated womanising rogue portrayed in the film, which isn't what Dorian in the book starts out like at all.
It is a fascinating tale, and the supernatural element of the portrait, and the secrecy with which it is kept by Dorian, makes you want to read more about him, his picture and his fate. It is interesting to read about Dorian's transformation from young innocent to experienced and corrupted soul. It also shows how easily we can all be led astray...much easier when by an articulate and intelligent man with a melodious voice and a way with words!
I did enjoy the fanciful and melodramatic language used by the characters at first - it makes subjects that might be tedious otherwise rather interesting. I do however think that it was overdone, especially when used in page long monologues by Lord Henry on his backward theories of morality and life. It made my attention wander and after a while it gave me a dull headache! Also, the monotonous explanation of Dorian's interests and life pursuits, amongst other things, made reading slow and arduous.
I did enjoy the ending, and I was happy it ended that way, but somehow I wanted to get more from the ending and from the whole book, in fact, than I got. I half-wish I could have enjoyed it more as it has all the elements of intrigue and suspense that a tale should have. ...less
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September 23
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New comment on Robert Burdock's review of
The Catcher in the Rye
(see all 2 comments)
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Rosie
read and liked
Robert Burdock's
review of The Catcher in the Rye:
"As posted on my blog
Warning: the following may contain minor spoilers
I didn’t know what to think at first after I finished reading The Catcher...more
As posted on my blog
Warning: the following may contain minor spoilers
I didn’t know what to think at first after I finished reading The Catcher in the Rye, I really didn’t. Fundamentally, and perhaps rather controversially (because it has such a positive following), I didn’t really like the novel as much as I thought I would. I thought that the story was weak, that the plot was largely uneventful, and I was left wondering why so much ‘evangalising’ of this novel? That was my initial thoughts, but once I’d determined that the purpose of this novel was not to deliver an enthralling action-packed story, my opinion began to change and I realised that Catcher in the Rye does have something a bit special about it. That ‘something special’ is in the characterisation of the chief protagonist, 16 year old Holden Caulfield, a youth teetering on the edge of manhood.
Holden Caulfield’s ongoing struggle to fit into the adult world, is superbly realised by his creator, it truly is. Again and again Mr. Salinger thwarts Caulfield’s attempts to rise into the realm of adulthood. Caulfield nonchalantly speaks of drinking alcohol, as though it were the same daily ‘matter of fact’ activity for him, as it was for an adult. However in reality, the reader sees that he is almost always turned down in his requests for ‘booze’. Additionally, and most eloquently, the author further indicts Caulfield’s failure at ‘being a man’, by detailing Caulfield’s numerous failed attempts to ‘amplify’ his maturity, by connecting with women of the more mature variety.
I also loved how Caulfield’s attempts at acting as an adult were often betrayed by his inherent juvenile behaviour; his habit of continually exaggerating things, of coming up with ‘on-the-spur' unfeasible notions of escape to a ‘better’ life, and his critical bemoaning of everything and everyone around him, belied, rather magnificently, the true immaturity of his personality; Caulfield may not admit it himself but it’s evident that under the grown-up veneer, he was still very much the boy.
Another wonderful thing I enjoyed following through the novel was Holden Caulfied’s serial hypocrisy. He spends much of the time criticising everyone around him, labelling almost everyone as ‘phoney’, and questioning their moral values. However Caulfield shows himself as being just as ‘phoney’ as they were, if not more-so, through the endless yarns he spins, and his use of multiple pseudonyms; and how can anyone question someone’s moral values when they themselves agree to spending time with a prostitute?
All in all I really did enjoy this novel. I stick by my opinion that the story itself is largely dull and without plot, but Mr. Salinger’s depiction of teenage angst, and the challenges faced in the ‘coming of age’ is truly applaudable.
Favourite quote: “[the fish:] live right in the goddam ice…[…:]…They get frozen right in one position for the whole winter…[…:]…Their bodies take in nutrition and all, right through the goddam seaweed and crap that’s in the ice”
Favourite scene: When Holden sneaks home to visit his little sister Phoebe. I love the tenderness of the scene and the obvious connection that Holden has with his sister and vice-versa. If I have to be honest I much more preferred the character of Phoebe. She’s a much more endearing character than Holden, and hugely charismatic. Every time she came up in a scene I couldn’t help but think that Phoebe would make a great sister.
What this novel has taught me about writing: Probably the importance of building your characters as comprehensively as possible, and to use a language for their direct speech that truly reflects them. I think Mr. Salinger nails his character’s voices perfectly, ‘breathing’ a high degree of believability into them.
...less
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September 21
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Rosie
gave
to:
Chart Throb (Hardcover)
by Ben Elton
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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recommended to Rosie by:
Present from my Mum
recommended for: Fans of X Factor etc. who love awkward humour and eccentric people/events
read in January, 2007, has a copy to sell/swap
Rosie said:
"This was my first Ben Elton read and I got the book for Christmas one year.
It certainly does give an amusing and quite believable insight into the reality TV talent shows and how they are operated and come into being.
I have to say that Ben E...more
This was my first Ben Elton read and I got the book for Christmas one year.
It certainly does give an amusing and quite believable insight into the reality TV talent shows and how they are operated and come into being.
I have to say that Ben Elton hasn't even bothered to try and conceal who the main characters are based on, which does add an extra amusing twist to things. But I found some of the events and characters are just too superficial and unbelievable for even this type of surroundings! Some of the characters' conversations are awkward and the things they do are almost out of character that you are left thinking, "What?!" The scene with Beryl and the psycho is just utterly out of place in a book like this and a complete anti-climax to the mystery and suspense that has been building up throughout the book.
...less
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Rosie
gave
to:
The Catcher in the Rye (Paperback)
by J.D. Salinger
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in September, 2008
Rosie said:
"This book should have been right up my street. About 3 years ago, I hated everything and everyone - I hated school, I hated my peers for being so superifical and fake, I hated fashion, make-up, the media - you name it! So this book should have appeal...more
This book should have been right up my street. About 3 years ago, I hated everything and everyone - I hated school, I hated my peers for being so superifical and fake, I hated fashion, make-up, the media - you name it! So this book should have appealed to me.
I wish it had been different, but I couldn't help thinking that Holden was the biggest phony out of the whole book. He doesn't like phony people, yet he's the typical rebellious rich kid, who pretends to be older to drink; introduces himself with a different name; insults people for doing something then berates himself for not doing it too; calls people the same age as him or even younger "old Sally," "old Luce," "old Phoebe"; declares his love for girls he hates; says things he doesn't mean; and generally seeks the company of people he claims to not like. To me, that's phony.
I didn't hate Holden though, at times I felt sorry for him. Every so often he would say something admirable and I would rethink my opinion of him but not for long, as he'd follow it up with something stupid.
Maybe I just missed the point of the book, I honestly don't know. I really wanted to like it, but I just can't. ...less
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