Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling 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.What can I say about Harry Potter that hasn’t already been said? It is a series I keep reading again and again, and I feel I cannot really review one or all of them, because in my mind it is a never-ending story. I refuse to admit that the series has officially concluded.The series warms my heart and gets me so excited every time I open the…
-
-
To Kill A Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 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.I feel a bit of excitement beginning to bubble in my chest as I remember my time reading this story. I almost feel like celebrating, since this was the first book I read in English…ever. I moved halfway across the world, finishing my high school years in an English-speaking school system at the tender age of 15 and only with the English education I had received in Germany. I…
-
Wide Sargasso Sea
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys 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 should begin by saying that this story is a sort of prequel to the original Jane Eyre, focusing on Mrs. Rochester.If I still had my copy of this book, it would have a spot on my permanent book shelf. It not only holds a special place in my heart, but also played a crucial role in my academic and personal endeavours in studying and reviewing literature. 11 years ago…
-
Mrs. Dalloway
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf 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.My first conscious experience with the great Virginia Woolf’s works (previous to this novel was an excerpt of A Room of One’s Own for a class I took; I wish I could have read it in its entirety back then). As so often with classic British literature, this novel was assigned reading for an undergrad English course I took about 9 years ago. I can’t remember the name of the course,…
-
Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë 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.I have read Jane Eyre twice. The first time was 11 years ago and required for my intro to English Literature undergraduate course and the second time about 7 years ago part of a little book club I have with my husband. I remember getting into this heated discussion with him about the characters etc. I’m not sure what conclusion we drew, but it felt more like a truce and an…
-
Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 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.When I found out that Rosamund Pike read Pride and Prejudice for Audible, I got extremely excited and signed up for a subscription just so that I could listen to it.I loved her in the 2005 movie production as Jane Bennett and listened to this version with delight. Pike’s performance and interpretation of the various characters had me chuckle in public. I adored her version of Mr. Collins and Mary…
-
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë My rating: 2 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.During the last decade or so I read this story 3 times and I can say with absolute certainty that the third time definitely felt like a chore. I had to force myself to go to my local university’s library (not that I don’t like libraries) at 8 in the morning, with a packed lunch and a double shot cappuccino for two-and-a-half days to make it through this book. I had…
-
Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: Treasure Under Glass
Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: Treasure Under Glass by Don Rosa My rating: 5 of 5 stars Great collection of Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck comics. Hilarious and witty and entertaining. I remember a few of the stories from my childhood. It always makes me happy to read those stories again.Overall, I highly recommend the Don Rosa Library.
-
Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: Return to Plain Awful
Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: Return to Plain Awful by Don Rosa My rating: 4 of 5 stars A hilarious collection of Uncle Scrooge comics, featuring Donald Duck and the gang. I really enjoyed all of them except for one: “His Majesty, McDuck”. I have no idea why, but this one left a bitter taste in my mouth and I wasn’t really too invested while reading the rest of it.Other than that, it was great entertainment.
-
Carmilla
Carmilla: A Vampyre Tale by J. Sheridan Le Fanu My rating: 5 of 5 stars I signed up for a graduate seminar course starting in the fall, perfect timing, called The Walking Undead: Zombies and Vampires in Transatlantic Cultural History, a literature course studying works other than the obvious Frankenstein and Dracula, and thank goodness for that. In anticipation of starting the new semester I asked my prof to provide me with the reading list, unfortunately he only gave me the list of authors, whose selected works we will be studying. I am pretty sure, though, that Carmilla is on the list, considering it is the story that inspired Bram…
