Partial Reading Log: 2007-May 2018

I was looking at my other blog and noticed I have a "Books Just Read" widget in the sidebar. The problem is, I hardly ever remember to update it so I decided to take it off. That's when I discovered that while it only displays the last five books read, when you enter the formatting part, it has a list of ALL the books I've entered. Mostly from back when I used to blog more frequently many moons ago. I thought I'd better copy and paste the list here to have a record of it. I dearly wish I had kept a reading journal of every book I've ever read, but this snap shot is better than nothing...
(Edited to include some other recent reads recorded in a note on my phone and my bookstagram account: well_read_reads.)

"Ordinary Grace" by William Kent Krueger. A lovely, lyrical book.
"War and Peace" by Tolstoy. It has it's moments, but not worth the 60 hours of my life.
"The Way of Kings" by Sanderson. I've been putting it off, but it was so so good. WHY do I have to wait 20 years for the series to be finished?? WHY?!?!?
"Yes, Your Teen is Crazy". I wish every parent with kids at home would read this excellent book.
A Christmas Carol by Dickens. I didn't think I needed to read it and then I loved it.
"The Power of Habit". Lots of great information to chew on. Great read.
"The Collapse of Parenting". Same review as above. So very helpful!
"Devil in the White City" Interesting! But format wise, not my favorite juxtaposition of themes.
"The Fault in our Stars". Great and sad. Lots of swearing.
"Jonathan Strange and Mr. Morel". This book went on and on and I was loving it--until the ending.
"My Father's Dragon" I honestly have no recollection of what I thought of this book
"The Pursuit of Love" and
"Love in a Cold Climate" by Nancy Mitford. Loved these. They have a few adult themes if I remember correctly.
"Ten Percent Happier" Interested in meditation? This is the book for you.
"The First Daughter" SUPER long historical fiction but I found it really interesting.
"The War That Saved My Life" Cute, quick read.
"Sackett" by Louis L'amour. Doug and I have been making our way through the series on Audible. Pretty entertaining but wouldn't be my number one choice.
"Lord of the Flies" 1/17. It frequently surprises me when I really love a classic. It surprised me how terrible I thought this one was. I mean, of all the great books in the world--why is this so frequently required reading in High School?
"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" Took me a minute but then I loved it.
"Some Buried Caesar" by Rex Stoker 8/16. Pass.
"Bolt" by Dick Francis - Always great on Audio for road trips. You run into a sex scene about every third book with him. Be warned.
"Heart of Darkness" by Conrad. Recommended by my friend Wes. Left me feeling like crying for a week and also like I wanted to punch Wes. Studied it a little in a lit class and got a little more from it, and after awhile, have found some redemption. But honestly--I would not recommend it.
"Alas, Babylon" by Pat Frank. Took me a long time to start this one but then I cruised right through and loved it. Get your emergency preparedness stuff in order people! Also made me want to read up on Pat Frank--fascinating life and man.
"Wonder" by RJ Palacio. Thumbs up. But more of a thumb in the middle from most special needs moms. (Thinking of a review I read on "This Little Miggy" blog.)
"The Picture of Dorian Gray" So well known, but not my favorite Wilde. I would pass in favor of...
"The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde. Do yourself a favor read this. So fun!
"An Ideal Husband" by Oscar Wilde. Have you seen the movie with Minnie Driver? So great. Love it.
"Jane Eyre" Loved it and loved the two different Jane Eyre movies I watched before and after reading it.
"Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" LOVED IT

"Dracula" by Bram Stoker. So entertaining! Loved it!

"A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens. 11/16. Surprised by how much I loved it.

"David Copperfield" by Dickens. Definitely one of my favorites. Had a good amount of humor to keep things moving.

"Nicholas Nickleby" by Dickens. Great but the characters weren't as lovable for me.

"Bleak House" by Charles Dickens. I LOVED it. But I recommend watching the BBC miniseries first. Makes it much easier to follow and get into.

"Sanditon" by Jane Austen/Juliette Shapiro. Wish I knew where one finished and the other started.

"The Portrait of a Lady" by Henry James. A raspberry and two thumbs down.

"The Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man"

"The Boys in the Boat" LOVED it! Made Max read it. Great examples of grit.

"The Wright Brothers" by David McCullough. LOVED this one. A lot! But if you are listening on Audible, you will want to speed it up!!

"Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn" and "Pudd'nhead Wilson" by Mark Twain. Loved listening to them on Audible.

"Woman in White" Surprised how much I loved it. First time I've ever read a Classic Thriller

"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith. Awesome. Two thumbs up and 4/4 Stars! . Highly recommend! Rated PG-13 because it's about life--good, bad, ugly and beautiful.

"The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. An excellent book. Reminds you that the days of rampant racism aren't that far in our past. Excellent writing. Two thumbs up. Rated PG-13 for language (not gratuitous, though) and adult themes. Brief silly nudity.

"War Breaker" by Brandon Sanderson. Another one that hooked me right at the beginning and kept me turning pages and hoping it wouldn't end. Very enjoyable. Rated PG-13.

"Elantris" by Brandon Sanderson. Sci-Fi is NOT my favorite genre, but this book sucked me right in and I loved it. Wish there was a sequel! Rated PG.

"The Lady and The Monk" by Pico Iyer. Really cool perspective on Japan. But the author is a little too smart for me.

"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" LOVED IT! Clean, clever, well written! Rated PG for adult themes. (takes place after WWII) I highly recommend it!

"Goose Girl" by Shannon Hale. Loved it. Read it in one day. Rated G. Great for a day in bed or day at the beach.

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde. I enjoyed it though I admit I skimmed over the hedonistic references. Classic's are NR!

"Passage to India" by E.M. Forster. Unless you're FASCINATED by Anglo/Indian relations, just give this one a pass.

"Host" by Stephenie Meyer. Couldn't put it down! (I don't really love Sci-Fi, but I still liked it!)

"Ethan Frome" and "Summer" by Edith Wharton. Both were in the same volume and both were excellently written though very depressing!!!

"Howard's End" by E.M. Forster - Really good. A little twisted, but really good.

"Pigs in Heaven" by Barbara Kingsolver - Fabulous sequel to "The Bean Trees". Possibly better than the first one!

"The Bean Trees" by Barbara Kingsolver - Excellent, quick read. Rated PG-16

"Blessings" by Anna Quindlen - She's a great writer.

"Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson - Also took awhile to read because it was very deep and requires pondering. Excellent!

"Chesapeake" by James Michener - So good, Sooooooo long! It took a month to read but it was worth it.

"Girl in Hyacinth Blue" by Susan Vreeland. Two thumbs up. Very engaging. Love the premise. Rated PG-13 for brief sexuality.

"The Amateur Marriage" by Anne Tyler. Ten hours of my life I'll never get back.

"Life of Pi" by Yann Martel - Two thumbs up.

"A Town Like Alice" by Neville Shute - Two thumbs up.

The Gift of Pain by Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey - Two thumbs way up!

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - see my review

Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood - Practical Parenting from Birth to Six Years by Jim and Charles Fay - I'll let you know how it works...then give it a rating.

Something by Clive Cussler...can't remember the title. Just silly.

"Ink Spell" by Cornelia Funke - 2nd in a series. Love the idea more than the actual story.

"I Heard That Song Before" by Mary Higgins Clark - Exactly what you'd expect if you've read her before. Good, clean suspenseful entertainment.

"Suspicion of Guilt" by Barbara Parker - Mediocre at best.

"The Knitting Circle" by Ann Hood - A very good--and sad--story. Rated R for gratuitous sex and swearing!

"Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer - Great but not as great as the first two.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling - Love Love LOVED it! Can't wait to read all 7 again with Max in a few years!

"The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards - two thumbs down and a raspberry!

"Slay RIde" by Dick Francis - despite his unfortunate name, he's a great author and I always love his books.

"A Gathering of Days, A New England Girl's Journal 1830-32" by Joan W. Blos - cute!

"Vanishing Acts" by Jodi Picoult - Very engaging, but had some R-rated scenes that I hated

"I Am A Mother" by Jane Clayson Johnson - Very affirming and uplifting!

"New Moon" by Stephenie Meyer - Loved it like a high school crush

"Sick of Shadows" by Marion Chesney - This series is silly but entertaining

"Hasty Death" by Marion Chesney

"Half Moon Investigations" by Eoin Colfer

"Mermaid Chair" by Sue Monk Kidd - BOO! HISS!!!! Hated it.

"Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony" by Eoin Colfer - Love this whole series

"Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer - 4/4 stars

"Sidetracked Home Executives" by Pam Young and Peggy Jones

"The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova

"Snobbery and Violence" by Marion Chesney

"The Anatomy of Peace" from The Arbinger Institute

"Mornings On Horseback" by David McCollough

"Sins of the Wolf" by Anne Perry

100 Random Books

I saw this list somewhere with the caption "The BBC thinks you've only read SIX of these books! Check how many you've read...!" But a quick google search revealed this exact list and especially the caption did NOT generate from BBC. 

(As I suspected. They don't usually try to taunt and insult their readers--as far as I know.)

So, it's just a random list of random books. Despite that, I wanted to see how many I've actually read. Some I've never even heard of, some I started but didn't finish, and some I know enough about to not WANT to read them. (I'm looking at you Wuthering Heights.)

I'm going to bold the ones I've read start to finish, and if you see any I *haven't* read that you absolutely LOVE, let me know!

And maybe you'll see some that I've read that you want to try!

1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen I've read all of her's and love them.

2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien. Nope. Tried in 5th grade and couldn't get into it.

3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte LOVE IT!

4 Harry Potter series – JK Rowling (all) Yep. Love.

5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee One of my all time favorites.

6 The Bible - Not from cover to cover, but lots of it over and over...;)

7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte Nope. I like happy endings.

8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman Doug liked this one. Didn't interest me.

10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens back in 9th grade.

11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott Just read it last year and loved it.

12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy (Started didn't finish

13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller Don't think so.

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare Some, not all.

15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier LOVE

16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien YES

17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks  

18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger I hate this book

19 The Time Traveller’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger

20 Middlemarch – George Eliot  LOVE these and the BBC miniseries

21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gasby – F Scott Fitzgerald Loved, but didn't watch the movie

23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens LOVE the book, LOVE the BBC miniseries

24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy Just started it.

25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams So so funny 

26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh

27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky Yep.   

28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck Not yet, but I love Steinbeck so I'll get to it.

29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll 

30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy

32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens One of my favorites

33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis I think I started them but never finished in grade school

34 Emma – Jane Austen

35 Persuasion – Jane Austen 

36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis

37 The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini I DID NOT LIKE THIS BOOK

38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Berniere

39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne

41 Animal Farm – George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez 

44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving

45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins LOVE

46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery 

47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy 

48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding 

50 Atonement – Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel

52 Dune – Frank Herbert Could.Not.Get.Into.This.Book.

53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons 

54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth 

56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens 

58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez 

61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck

62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt 

64 The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold I HATE THIS BOOK

65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac I HATE THIS BOOK TOO

67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding 

69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens

72 Dracula – Bram Stoker  

73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses – James Joyce 

76 The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath

77 Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal – Emile Zola 

79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession – AS Byatt 

81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell 

83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry  

87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton 

91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad NOT my favorite!

92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery 

93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks

94 Watership Down – Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute LOVE Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas  

98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl 

100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

Happy Reading,

Emily

Ascendance Trilogy by Jennifer Nielsen

The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen is the first book of hers I read, and it remains my absolute favorite. Not only did I LOVE the first book, (Could NOT put it down!) the second and third books were great too!  {Now, how often does it happen that the final book isn't a complete let down?! I'm looking at you Divergent and Hunger Games!}


This is an action-oriented fantasy that revolves around political intrigue in a kingdom far, far away. (No magical creatures in this book.)


I was quickly captivated by the street-smart, clever, semi-criminal main character Sage, and can honestly say, that I didn't see the final plot twist coming (in any of the books) despite the fact that this book was written for an early middle-grade audience. (Booklist says grades 4-7) I also loved how the series ended though I wished it didn't.

I highly, highly recommended these books and wouldn't hesitate to recommend buying them. (If you're the type of person who likes to have books to share, lend, re-read.)
If you have no kids, buy them for yourself. They are really fun to read.


Now, once you've read The Ascendance Trilogy, you are going to want to check out some of Jennifer Nielsen's other books.

I have read
"A Night Divided",
"The Scourge",
and "The Mark of the Thief" trilogy, (though I haven't finished the third book in that series.)

"A Night Divided" is written about 12-year-old Gerta who lives in Berlin when the wall goes up and is cut off from her father and brother. This is a great book for introducing this important historical event, but while "The False Prince" felt like it appealed to me as an adult as much as it would have to me as a kid, "A Night Divided" feels like it is written for 12-13 year olds.
Maybe the plot isn't as deeply developed as I would have wanted or maybe the ending is a little too pat. The point is, it is a great book, and a book I want my kids to read for the historical insight they will gain, but I would have been just as happy to have it from the library.

{Did you ever read the book "So Far From the Bamboo Grove"? I read that as a kid, loved it, thought about it often and re-read and loved it as an adult. It was a book that seeped into my soul. "A Night Divided" is not quite at that level.}

"The Scourge" was a page-turner, but I think I just wasn't overly in love with the ending or the characters. I liked it, but I didn't finish it wishing there was a second book. Doug said he really enjoyed it though, and Max sped right through it with no complaints.

Finally, "The Mark of the Thief" books were good but not as captivating for me as "The False Prince". They take place in ancient Rome and involve, magic, magical creatures, Roman games, Caesar, and the gods Mars and Diana. If you or your kids are Percy Jackson fans, you might really really dig these. I loved the first one, but now that I'm on the third, I'm a tiny bit over the magical battles--which is why I haven't finished it yet. However, Max will probably pick it up and finish it in one sitting.

Hope you've found something to peek your interest. If you've read any of these, I would love to hear your thoughts!

Happy Reading,
Emily

P.S. This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links. They do not, however, change the price of the books.

The Apothecary by Maile Meloy -- Age 12+

I'm not sure how we were introduced to  "The Apothecary" series by Maile Meloy. Pretty sure Doug randomly brought the Book-on-CD home from the library. {We get hooked on a lot of great books by grabbing whatever looks good at the library before a road trip. Yes, we often judge books by the cover and this series has great cover art!}

Whatever the case may be, I listened to it in the car  and got hooked pretty fast.  We got all three books on CD from the library and we all listened to them. (The series didn't particularly hold the attention of Gabe and Gray but there is nothing you would be overly worried about younger kids hearing either. Not like when I tried to listen to "The Fault In Our Stars" in the car...)

This series does have a good narrator, Cristin Milioti, but I feel like it would be just as enjoyable in book form. These can also be found on Audible and I ended up buying the first one for future road trips.

The first book takes place in London in 1952. The main character in this book is a 14 year old girl. I appreciate that she was portrayed as strong and smart but also a normal young teen girl with insecurities and crushes and a vivid imagination. The other main character is a teenage boy. Also smart and (bonus) British.

Adventure, magic, and a little romance makes this appeal to everyone and Max (14 at the time), Sam (11), and Doug enjoyed it as much as I did.

The Apprentices is the second book and The After Room is the third and final book in the series.

If you read this series, please come back and tell me what you think!! :)

Happy Reading--

Emily

--
The publisher recommends these for ages 9-12. I would personally say 12+. (Feels a little mature for younger kids, especially as the series moves along.)

Common Sense Media rates this as ages 11+ and says:
"Parents need to know that The Apothecary is an engaging, well-written story by an award-winning  adult author who has successfully turned to a younger audience without simply dumbing down adult themes. Some social and ethical complexities may be a bit much for younger kids, e.g., the casual ruthlesslessness with which Janie and Benjamin are willing to try out a potion on their hapless classmate Sergei, the quandary of Sergei's father with his wife and daughter in the hands of his Soviet employers, and Pip's cheerfully thieving nature. Janie's parents are blacklisted Hollywood writers, and Meloy's excellent, evenhanded treatment of the subject might serve as an good introduction to the McCarthy era."
--

P.S. The links attached to book titles used above are mostly "Amazon Affiliate Links". They give me a tiny percentage of the purchase price if you use my link to buy a book. However, if you go to Amazon on your own, it won't hurt my feelings! ;) We usually like to check things out at the library before we decide to buy.

P.P.S. If you liked this post, please share it or leave a comment. :)

Montmorency by Eleanor Updale -- Age 12/13+

(Originally posted on my other blog and moved over here for convenience.)

Back in 2012, Max got a recommendation from our librarian to check out a book called "Montmorency" by Eleanor Updale.  It was the first in a series and he read it and loved it.  

Max loved it so much he convinced Doug to read it, Doug loved it and told me to read it.  
We were all hooked.  
We subsequently checked out the next three books in the series only to discover Book 4, "Montmorency's Revenge" ended in a major cliff-hanger, and (horror!) there was no fifth book.  In desperation, I wrote this e-mail:

Hello Ms. Updale!

My husband, 10-year-old son and I recently discovered and read your Montmorency series.  We're big fans and after the cliff-hanger at the end of book four, went straight to the Internet to find out when book 5 will be published.  Please tell me there will be a book 5?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?  You can't leave Montmorency...(edited to prevent spoilers)!  How about a short story?  A novella?  A single chapter?  A blog post?  We'll take anything we can get!!!

Sincerely,

Emily Warner and Maxwell 

Amazingly, SHE WROTE BACK and let me know she was having problems with the publisher but was working on getting book five out!

A few weeks ago, we heard from her again--this time with exciting news!!

Well, at last it’s out.  The fifth Montmorency book, Montmorency Returns is now available to buy as an ebook or as a paperback, but only from Amazon.  The good news is that the paperback has better paper and better print than any of the previous editions, and all the previous books are available in a similar format, so it is possible to buy the whole series in a matching edition.

Thank you so much for your patience.  The delay in publication has been as annoying for me as it was for you, and I do hope that your love of Montmorency has not gone off the boil in the meantime.

You can buy the ebook here,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Montmorency-Returns-Eleanor-Updale-ebook/dp/B00I3CT0QW

And the paperback here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Montmorency-Returns-5-Eleanor-Updale/dp/1494220873/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

I’d be really grateful if you could spread the word about the new book.  You can find out more about it on my website www.eleanorupdale.com

Very best wishes,

Eleanor Updale

I love that there are authors out there who take the time to connect with their fans! I went straight to Amazon and am now the proud owner of the complete series in a matching set. I love matching sets!  

If you're looking for a fun adventure set in England, this is the series for you.  Although Max read these when he was 10, I would probably recommend them for 12+.  But you can read them first and be the judge of whether you want your (younger) kids to read them.  I remember them being very clean, but it's been a few years.

I will confess that as the books went on, I was less and less enamored of them. And I really didn't love how Book 5 ended. But once you start, you want to know how the series ends!! If I were a better writer, I'd write a "fan fiction" version of book 5 and end it the way I wanted. But...that's not going to happen. Anyway, read them and let me know what you think!!

Here's a description from the author's website:

Montmorency is set between 1875 and 1880. This is the story of a small-time crook whose life is transformed after an accident that nearly kills him. An ambitious doctor (Robert Farcett) takes on the task of rebuilding his body, and shows him off at meetings of a scientific society. At those meetings, Montmorency learns about the new underground network of sewers under London. In prison, he plans a new life, stealing things all over London, and getting away through the smelly underground passageways. When he is released, he takes on two identities: Scarper in the Dark underground world, and Montmorency in high society. The book is all about his struggle to prevent each of his identities spoiling everything for the other.

HAPPY READING!!!

Book Review: A Few Classics -- Books for Parents

(This post was originally published at ActeGratuit.blogspot.com. I moved it over here for convenience but left the original date the same.)

My neighbor Lisa and I started a "Classics" Book Club.  (She wanted a book club, I wanted "classics" so as to avoid the typical trashy modern book club selections.  I could write a whole post about modern books I've hated and am still mad I read, but I'll spare you.)

Anyway, I want to list a few of the books we've read so far, plus a few I've read on my own.  Here goes:  (Book club ones get *)

"Bleak House" by Charles Dickens:  While still living in Japan, my sister J-Bird sent me The BBC mini-series version of "Bleak House" on DVD.  Doug and I both got really into it and it made me want to read the book.  Which I loved.  I was glad, however, that I watched the mini-series first because it made it much easier to keep track of all the characters.

"The Woman in White" by Wilkie Collins
I love mysteries, I love nineteenth century British literature.  Loved it. LOVED IT!!

*"East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Steinbeck became one of my favorite authors in High School.  (Loved "Winter of Our Discontent".)  But I hadn't read anything of his for a long time.  Super glad Lisa picked "East of Eden".  I loved everything about it.  I don't know why, but Steinbeck is about the only author who can wax poetic and philosophical about landscapes and cityscapes and not bore me.  Although under critical observation the book isn't perfect, I still loved it!
(P.S.  I've never read "Grapes of Wrath" and I did NOT like "Of Mice and Men" Though I should give it another try as an adult.)

*"The Importance of Being Earnest" and "An Ideal Husband" by Oscar Wilde
These are both plays, both short, and both hilarious.  Plus they have great BBC movies to go with them.  Highly recommend.
(Read "The Picture of Dorian Gray" a few years back.  It's also pretty good if you're into exploring the moral implications of Hedonism. )

*"Les Miserables" by Victor Hugo
Here's the deal.  Doug and I saw the play years ago while still living in SLC and liked it.  When the movie came out, we saw it and loved it. After seeing the movie, I read the book and...mostly liked it.  But I didn't LOVE it!
Here's why:  Holy crap Hugo, can we just stick to the plot and forget the super-boring historical asides that go on for pages and pages and pages and don't advance the storyline at all?!?!?!?!?

Honestly, the details about the Paris sewer systems and how sewage should be pumped back into the city to fertilize the crops---were just way too much for me.  Same with the description of the Battle of Waterloo.  And many other long-winded descriptions of Parisian social ills.  TOO MUCH DIGRESSION!  (And coming from me, that's saying something.)

My un-researched theory is that the point of the book was to advance those theories and philosophies to the Parisians--with the story of Jean Valjean being secondary to make the boring stuff go down easier.  Any thoughts from those who've read it?  Am I way off?  Why else would he muck up a perfectly good story line with sewage details?!?

Here was my one other disappointment.  Marius has got to be the most lame, over-rated, self-indulgent wuss in the whole history of literature.  Seriously dude!  Get a job!  Grow up!  Talk to your Grandpa!  Sorry.  I know that's not a popular opinion, but he really bugged me.  If you've ever seen the movie, just stick with that version of him--he's a little more manly.  Oh, and if you haven't read the book and are planning to?  Find a good abridged version!!!

"Vanity Fair" by William Makepeace Thackeray.  I really liked this one.  It isn't the best book ever written but the plot definitely kept me turning pages and I read it pretty fast.  It had sort of an annoying character, but she (finally!) pulled it together in the end.   Looking forward to watching the mini-series.

"A Room with a View" by E.M. Forster.  I watched the 80's film version of this (with Helena Bonham Carter) in high school and loved it but just got around to reading the book.  Turns out, they're very similar.  The dialog in the movie is taken from the book almost word for word. (And it's a short book so they fit most of it in!)  So actually, reading the book didn't add too much like it usually does when you read the book second.
But I still really liked it and I just forced Doug to watch the movie with me so I could see it again.  He did NOT approve of the nudie skinny-dipping pond scene though I tried my hardest to make him see it in a humorous light.   He also thought the movie was very boring and started checking sport scores on the Internet about 20 minutes in.  I thought the movie did have some rather awkward 80's moments, but still feel it holds up for the most part after all these years.  (The movie is unrated so I can't be blamed for watching the (BRIEF) r-rated content.  Or at least, I couldn't be blamed the FIRST time I watched it.  Book is G-rated, btw.)

(P.S.  I read "A Passage to India" by Forster a few years ago and found it pretty darn boring.  Like Les Mis, I think it was meant to be a commentary on a current social problem.  In this case; Anglo-Indian relations.  Not that there is anything wrong with that, but the story line just didn't do it for me.)

So, any thoughts for me?  Agree?  Disagree?  Have you read any classics lately that you highly recommend?!?