From the Bookshelf of Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge…
Find A Copy At
Group Discussions About This Book
No group discussions for this book yet.
What Members Thought
Very readable, personal look at how Ellis identified with book characters and how that impacted her own life. As an extra layer, we get a glimpse inside the Iraqi-Jewish culture in London.
(And in the eternal Jane vs Cathy debate, I'm on Jane's side. Cathy is a twit) ...more
(And in the eternal Jane vs Cathy debate, I'm on Jane's side. Cathy is a twit) ...more
This is an unusual approach of a memoir. The writer analyzed her own life story by dissecting the heroines or characters that she has admired since she was a kid until she's an adult. Whether to help her dealing with religion and faith, love and passion, careers and goals - Ellis was skillfully combining her love of reading with her inspiring life story. A very neat, lovely memoir with lots of nostalgic moments with her favorite books. One warning though, this book is full of spoilers because El
...more
A collection of essays by Samantha Ellis about the books (and heroines) that she has loved. After visiting the Bronte sisters’ home in Yorkshire with her best friend and arguing over the merits of Cathy Earnshaw versus Jane Eyre, Ellis decides to revisit the beloved books of her youth. The book proceeds in rough chronological order as Ellis rereads everything from books that she loved when she was very young (fairy tales such as The Little Mermaid) to adolescence (Pride and Prejudice and Gone wi
...more
Such a wonderful book. I would recommend this to anyone who feels nostalgic about books like Anne of Green Gables. I thought I'd only enjoy the parts about books/heroines that I'm familiar with, but Samantha Ellis is such a good writer that some of my favorite sections were about books I haven't read yet. Some sections are focus more on her own story than her heroines, and she includes references to current pop culture.
...more
This combines elements of memoir with a look back at the author's favorite literary heroines. She re-reads their stories with a more critical eye, looking to see how how heroic they really are. I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought, but I'm still not sure why.
...more
Jan 13, 2015
Sarah
marked it as to-read
Jun 04, 2022
Jocelyn
marked it as to-read
