Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf My rating: 5 of 5 stars I was given this ARC by the publisher in return for an honest review.If I had a print copy of this book, it would go on my permanent bookshelf. It was that good, nay great. A few weeks ago, I saw a Goodreads friend reviewing it, I decided to check it out and subsequently requested it on NetGalley. I was surprised when I was approved within a very short time and excited to start reading it. I’m so happy I had the chance to read it. It was such a rare and spellbinding treat for a reader.All…
-
-
Cinderella
Cinderella by Jacob Grimm My rating: 5 of 5 stars Part of BBC’s “100 Stories that shaped the World” list, I thought it would be fun to keep track of all the works I have read that are listed.In the summer of 2009 I took a classic children’s literature course, probably the worst course I have ever taken in university. My prof was in charge for both the online version of this course and the in-class version, so in true nature of her lazy personality she used the twice-weekly lecture time, which I had to suffer through, to tell us about her amazing life and her amazing husband, who does…
-
The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer My rating: 4 of 5 stars Part of BBC’s “100 Stories that shaped the World” list, I thought it would be fun to keep track of all the works I have read that are listed.I must have read The Canterbury Tales in the summer of 2009 for a course during my undergraduate program. Sadly, I can’t remember which course had it on its reading list, but I remember sitting in one of the smaller libraries on campus reading the tales and thought I noticed something odd. It turned out that for each page of the original tales, written in Old English the publisher of…
-
The Death of Mrs. Westaway
The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware My rating: 1 of 5 stars I was given this ARC by the publisher in return for an honest review.This is the second mystery book I read in late spring in an attempt to satisfy my craving for a good contemporary mystery story, alas in vain. I saw this story greatly promoted before its publication and I felt so special for having received an ARC. Plus, this story is set in Cornwall, a place I recently was fortunate enough to visit and admire.I must apologize in advance for perhaps coming across a bit strong, but I have a great pet peeve when…
-
The High Tide Club
The High Tide Club by Mary Kay Andrews My rating: 1 of 5 stars I was given this ARC by the publisher in return for an honest review.In late spring I was in the mood for contemporary thriller/mystery stories and from the synopsis The High Tide Club seemed to be the right fit to satisfy my reading craving. Sadly, and I know I’m in the minority here, the story did not offer what it promised.I found all the characters underdeveloped and uninteresting. And the further I read the book the more annoying the protagonist became. I understand that the author intended to create a complex character to carry the story,…
-
When Dimple Met Rishi
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon My rating: 2 of 5 stars I have seen many people on Goodreads read this book and even though I have taken a step back from reading much of the YA genre these days, I was curious to see what it was all about.It started out quite well, with the protagonist going against tradition and wanting to put her education and career aspirations ahead of her family’s traditional hopes for her. Introduced as a make-up avoiding, computer science enthusiast, Dimple had my hopes up high for an unconventional story that wouldn’t end the way most YA contemporary stories ended. She felt relatable and…
-
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote My rating: 5 of 5 stars I saw the movie with Audrey Hepburn years ago and, truth be told, something about the story gave me an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Hepburn’s performance was great; I think it’s just that type of story to make me think a bit more than I usually do when I decide to watch a movie. When I saw that Audible had a version of the book read by Michael C. Hall I couldn’t resist buying it right away. I have appreciated his style of narrating since Dexter and loved his higher pitched voice and slight…
-
The Mermaid
The Mermaid by Christina Henry My rating: 1 of 5 stars I have loved Disney’s The Little Mermaid ever since I was a young girl. I loved Henry’s Lost Boys, the first book of hers I have read and I couldn’t wait for her latest one that I thought would take a similar dark and eerie perspective on a classic fairy tale. Little did I know that The Mermaid was less horror and more romance than I had hoped and sadly left me wanting for so much more.The characters were too far removed to make any connections with as a reader. As complex as they at first appeared, their development…
-
Satire
Satire by Matthew John Caldwell Hodgart My rating: 4 of 5 stars Another book I used as a resource for my term paper, this one had a very distinct amusing and comedic tone to it, which was a refreshing break from the serious research and note taking I had done up until that point.It had some very good points on structure and composition of the genre and what distinguishes it from comedy.
-
Anatomy of Satire
Anatomy of Satire by Gilbert Highet My rating: 4 of 5 stars A resource I used for my term paper, I was glad I stumbled upon this in my local reference library. It provides useful information on the genre of satire; what it is and how it’s constructed.There isn’t much more to say without providing a thorough summary of the book, but I would recommend it to gain an understanding of the genre.
