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Lilli's 50 Book Challenge (2017)
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Lilli
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Jul 16, 2017 02:31PM
I'm a bit late to this group but been doing the reading challenge since the start of the year. Target is 50 books for the year, as of mid-July I'm up to 27 books. Reviews to follow!
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Welcome, Lilli. Glad your challenge is going well. Look forward to reading your reviews. =)
Thanks Nik! Congrats on surpassing your target already! 😊
[BOOK 1]***Confronting the Classics - Mary Beard***
I'll admit, this is just a collection of some of Beard's critical reviews of other authors' work. However, it is also a collection of excellent essays which are easy to read but not patronising, and which I enjoyed reading.
The reviews are taken from Beard's previous contributions to literary critique, sometimes concerning several works, sometimes concentrating upon one. They are amended, so there's little which feels out of place, but they are clearly still glorified book reviews.
As long as you understand what kind of book this is, and have at least a passing interest in classics, this is something which anyone could pick up and read. It highlights a lot of the issues which crop up frequently in classical scholarship (such as the statement of speculation as something much more certain), and is also an excellent source of book recommendations for anyone wishing to pursue any of the topics further!
Don't pass on this one because it's *only* reviews. As I'm guessing many academics would tell you - and most people on this site - there's an awful lot to be gained from well-written and suitably informed book reviews.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
No one is late here, welcome! You can jump into anything you like. Feel free to ask if you have any questions :)
Thanks Winter! You've got a *lot* of books on your read and reading that are on my TBR so I'll be keeping an eye on your reviews! Just making a slow start so far, I'm looking forward to signing up to some challenges 😊
Oh cool! Maybe you have read something I'm interested in too then :)
[BOOK 2]***Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen***
Not one of my favourite Jane Austen novels, but exceptional nonetheless. Catherine Moreland, Austen's youngest heroine at 17 years old, is a naive young woman from a large country family. She gets invited to spend some time in Bath with family friends, and eagerly accepts. What follows is her integration into the society of Bath, and her interactions with her contemporaries, both of which serve to highlight just how young and unsophisticated Catherine is. However, she is also innocent, and the reader can't help but root for her as we work out other characters' personalities before she does.
The people that Catherine meets are Austen's typical mix of the ordinary and sensible, and the eccentric, unusual, and (unfortunately) influential. The reader is instantly wary of the scheming Thorpes, but Catherine is none the wiser. On meeting Henry Tilney, she is instantly smitten, but again her lack of social skills hampers her progress.
An avid reader of gothic novels, Catherine gets drawn in to some fairly damaging misconceptions when Henry (finally) invites her to stay with his family. Of course, this is Austen, so there's a happy ending (who doesn't love a happy ending?!), and generally the various characters get what they deserve! I've given this 4 stars rather than 5 mainly because it didn't grip me as many of Austen's other work does, but definitely a brilliant read.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
[BOOK 3]***The Essex Serpent - Sarah Perry***
Sarah Perry's second novel is seriously something else. It's totally not something I would usually read, and I'll admit that I was drawn in by the Waterstones special edition cover (it's shiny and the pages are blue - what more could you want?!). I hadn't read her first novel, but I have to say my expectations were high after the level of hype surrounding this book last year. This included being awarded the 2016 Waterstones Book of the Year award, winning both the fiction and overall book of the year categories at the 2017 British Book Awards, and a further eight nominations, including the longlist of the 2017 Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction and the shortlist of the 2016 Costa Book Awards. Phew! Nevertheless, I was apprehensive - like I said, not my usual read (non-fiction, high fantasy, Austen etc), but I was definitely willing to give it a go.
Cora Seaborne is truly the main focus of this novel. Despite bringing in many strong and fully-fledged characters, we are always taken back to Cora. Personally, I found her quite compelling and likeable - what she is doing is not always 'right', but she's honest with the reader (as much as she is with herself) and certainly isn't your typical 19th century widow. However, I can imagine that a lot of people would not be quite so fond of her. She has a newfound sense of freedom after the death of her abusive husband, and decides to move herself, her son, and her housekeeper/companion Martha to Essex. It is a strange, seemingly boring existence, but they seem to move along with their lives.
It's after this that Perry's wonderful cast of characters really come into their own. Luke Garrett, 'The Imp', a fantastic doctor who becomes somewhat involved with Cora, is a caricature of the eccentric scientist, wanting to experiment with all types of dangerous surgery. His friend George, besotted with Martha, is a calming influence, both he and Luke unaware of what they mean to one another. The unlikely vicar, Will Ransome, and his beautiful, ethereal wife Stella, who welcome Cora with open arms into their village of Aldwinter. Their eldest daughter Joanna, trapped between childish whims and a more mature outlook of her education and future. The list goes on - Perry has a penchant for creating hugely memorable, complex characters, despite their inherent ordinariness.
Alongside the intense relationships between various characters, the book follows the rumour and hysteria surrounding the Essex serpent, a supposedly ancient sea dragon which is ravaging parts of the Essex coastline, despite not ever being properly seen, much less documented. Keen amateur palaeontologist Cora is more interested than most, and she and Will struggle to stomach the myth and mystery affecting the people of Aldwinter, with their misplaced beliefs in the legend of the creature.
I found that there was a strange sense of very little happening throughout the book. Even by the ending, things have gradually altered, and the mystery is somewhat resolved, but there are many threads left loose. It seems to be part of the beauty of the book - despite the fascinating characters and peculiar subjects addressed, this is a tale of reality. None of the characters are truly lovable, nor are they abhorrent; there is a story to be told, but it meanders along throughout the year, events seemingly unrolling as they please; and just as we all can understand, there's no complete and objective happy ending - life goes on.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Currently at 34 books, as of 26th August. 16 more to go this year!
[BOOK 4]***Big Magic - Elizabeth Gilbert***
Although I really enjoyed reading this book, and the message behind it is admirable, I didn't feel like there was an awful lot to it. The idea of just embracing your creativity, accepting it's whims and treating it well, acknowledging that it's not out to get you, is both utterly normal and quite groundbreaking at the same time. Gilbert does a good job of getting this notion across, but it feels very drawn out and overdone, even a little repetitive. I have no doubt that this will really resonate with some people, and perhaps it is just that I don't feel like it really applied to me which makes it seem a little devoid of.. well, much at all I guess. Nevertheless, I did like this book - as with Gilbert's other work, it's very easy reading and her personal voice is certainly relatable. Simply not for me!
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
