Holly’s Comments (group member since Nov 05, 2013)

Holly’s comments from the The Reading Challenge Group group.

Just realised I never started this!

So, from 1st Sept:

No As- The Turn of the Screw
No Es-
No Is-
No Os- A Study in Scarlet
No Us- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
No Ys- The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within

Gavin, we're going to be holding an official readathon at the end of December to make the max of everyone's reading!

I may have got a bit carried away with my reading last night, and read both The Turn of the Screw and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Turn of the Screw officially freaked me out (I don't think it helped reading it in bed, in my room, on my own), but I absolutely adored the writing, and the story. I'll definitely add more of Henry James to my read list! After doing a bit of research, I'm still undecided whether or not the Governess was mad, or the ghosts were in fact real. Handily, the book's focus from New Criticism actually will help me a bit in my Critical Theory module. Which is awesome!

Going to have to update my list to include some more books! (Casually steals ideas from other peoples lists).

This month genre seems to be really popular, or at least far more than I expected!

8 books behind schedule. And frustratingly, I've read most of the early books for my modules already. So can't really read anything new for my course...

Looks like I'll have to make time for personal reading! :D

Plays and novellas here I come!

Sounds round off a really good month. Everyone seems to like horror far more than I expected!

Well, I read 2 of the books I was planning on reading for the readathon last night... Looks like I'll have to make a new list!

Melissa. That's an insane list!

I will definitely chime in!

I'm way too behind on my reading challenge to be able to re-read things (at least things I've read this year). Don't even look at how bad it is. It's too shameful!

Man, you guys are wanting to make me re-read it!

Yeah, according to Wikipedia (hell yes): Byron managed to write just a fragment based on the vampire legends he heard while travelling the Balkans, and from this John Polidori created The Vampyre (1819), the progenitor of the romantic vampire literary genre. Thus, two legendary horror tales originated from this one circumstance.

The Vampyre seems to be the first novel to really evolve vampirism into a genre, with a vampire more like an aristocratic man. Much like Bram Stoker presents Dracula. It could therefore be suggested that Bram Stoker got some sense of inspiration from The Vampyre.

Aitziber, let me know what you think of Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution!

Gah, you guys reached the kiss bit. Best. Thing. Ever.

Just checked out the reviews for this, and sounds really fascinating!

Will attempt to fit this in!

Apologies for the delay in the Challenge poll going up. Technical issues got the better of us!

You can check out the poll here. Essentially, it's deciding which challenges you want running next year! It would be great if you could vote! Could affect what we're doing in 2015 quite greatly!

In other news, you may see that we've started updating the description. This is just to highlight to everyone whats coming up! Hopefully you'll find this feature useful!

Check it out! (sorry for the days delay!)

Here's your opportunity to pick between the Non-Fiction Challenge and the World Lit Challenge. Or you can even pick both!

You can find the poll here

Thanks, Renee!

I've just realised that I get to study O Pioneers! in like 2 weeks! Introduction to American Lit module for the win! It has a super awesome list of set texts (although I have already read like half of them...).

My list for October. Probably highly ambitious considering all the reading I have to do for University (background reading etc).

University Reading:
- Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos
- The Book of Illusions by Paul Auster

Horror Challenge:
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving - READ 2/10
- The Turn of the Screw by Henry James - READ 2/10
- Dracula by Bram Stoker
- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
- The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
- The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter

Others:
- Maurice by E. M. Forster - READ 7/10
- Gone Girl: A Novel by Gillian Flynn



I might actually attempt to find an audiobook of Dracula. I do have a few 10/15 minute walks to my lectures and seminars. Might pair it up with the actual book though.

Jekyll and Hyde was really different to what I expected! But in a good way!

Frustratingly, none of my set texts really evolve around Horror. Regardless, I will post a very small list, that hopefully I can fit in around my Uni reading!

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - read 2/10
The Turn of the Screw - read 2/10
Dracula

I guess this would the perfect time to read a Stephen King. But they're all so long :'(

Just some background on the novel:

Shelley had travelled through Europe in 1814, journeying along the river Rhine in Germany with a stop in Gernsheim which is just 17 km (10 mi) away from Frankenstein Castle, where two centuries before an alchemist was engaged in experiments. Later, she traveled in the region of Geneva (Switzerland)—where much of the story takes place—and the topics of galvanism and other similar occult ideas were themes of conversation among her companions, particularly her lover and future husband, Percy Shelley. Mary, Percy, Lord Byron, and John Polidori decided to have a competition to see who could write the best horror story. After thinking for days, Shelley dreamt about a scientist who created life and was horrified by what he had made; her dream later evolved into the story within the novel.

And, don't forget, Mary Shelley was only 18 when she started writing Frankenstein. That's my age!