hayls 🐴’s Comments (group member since Jan 19, 2017)

hayls 🐴’s comments from the Around the Year in 52 Books group.

- What are you reading for this category?

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

- Are you planning on seeing the movie?

probably

- What is your favorite book-to-movie adaptation?

LOTR, Sense & Sensibility, Hunger Games, BBC Pride & Prejudice (technically a mini-series, but deserves a mention because it is 1000000 times better than the 2005 movie. I am an Austen purist. Not sorry.)

- What are you reading this week?

Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien

- What mediums made up the story (letters, journal entries, etc.)?

Letters

- Do you like epistolary fiction?

It really depends on the writing style and story-telling of the author. Reading diary entries and letters can be a very tedious affair, because they can often detail the minutiae of everyday life so it really relies on the author's ability to create an appealing narrative. Lady Susan by Jane Austen is a great example of epistolary fiction, as is this one by Tolkien.

- What are you reading for this category?

Snorri the Seal by Frithjof Saelen

- Do you know why it was banned or challenged?

I assumed this category was for books which had been banned for challenging political ideologies, but so far all I've seen are books which some Christian parents decided was inappropriate for their kids to be reading (as far as I'm concerned they're not "banned books", because those books aren't actually seeking to be controversial, they're just existing and some people dislike them - Harry Potter qualifies if you take that line of thinking!). This book, Snorri the Seal, is a children's tale which is a political allegory of Norway's position in WW2, and was written in defiance of both the Nazis and also Stalin. The Nazis didn't really get it at first, but when they realised Frithjof Saelen was actually questioned but managed to evade imprisonment.

- What would a book need to be/have inside for you to consider supporting challenging claims?

Some books with heinous ideas have been written in the past. I don't think it's okay to just sit back and go "well, it's free speech!". Some things need to be challenged, and some books just aren't suitable for some people. For example, I'm sure we'd all agree we wouldn't want naive young people to be reading Mein Kampf without at least some contextual understanding of where the ideas came from and how unacceptable they are. But let's face it, policing these things is very difficult and making anything illicit has never worked.

- What are you reading this week?

Kim by Rudyard Kipling

- Have you already read many of the books on the list?

Roughly 50 so far..

- Are there any books that you think should have been included?

As I'm Australian, I can't comment on which books I think the Brits should love.. although there seem to be an overwhelming number of British authors..

- What are you reading this week?

Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat

- Is your book about fictional or real world royalty?

Fictional/Fantasy

- If you could be royalty, would you want to be?

No. Not sure it's something you should desire, because ego might get in the way of duty.

- What are you reading this week?

Liverpool Miss by Helen Forrester

- Do you enjoy non-fiction?

I love it, mainly history/politics, religion, and philosophy... already read six non-fic books this year

- Is the book about a particular subject?

This is the second in an autobiographical series detailing the experience of growing up in Liverpool during the Great Depression, and later WW2.