Jane Eyre – Chapters V, VI & VII

Posted on June 21, 2016 by cleopatra

Chapter V

On the morning of January 19th, Jane leaves the Reed residence of Gateshead, after saying a goodbye to Bessie and proclaiming that Mrs. Reed has never been a friend to her. Again the scene is set, a wet and misty dampness cloaking her travel until she arrives at Lowood Institution. Discipline is immediately apparent at this charitable school, yet we also see the compassion of Miss Temple, the supervisor, at the treatment of the pupils, who are fed a diet lacking in nutritious food. In spite of the rigidity of the place, there does seem a concern for health and well-being as far as it is possible within the structure of which it is run. Jane meets Helen Burns for the first time and we get an initial impression of her maturity and sensibility. And thus ended Jane’s first day at Lowood.

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Different Tastes in Literature by C.S. Lewis

Posted on June 15, 2016 by cleopatra

Art and Literature (1867)
William-Adolphe Bouguereau
source Wikiart

Is there good literature? Is there bad literature? How do we make the determination, and do we even have the criteria to judge? In his essay, Different Tastes in Literature, if Lewis does not directly answer these questions, he at least gives the reader criteria that makes it easier to judge, and challenges us to examine our reading experiences.

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Jane Eyre – Chapters III & IV

Posted on June 12, 2016 by cleopatra

Chapter III

Jane awakes from her fit to find herself being attended by the apothecary. After her fright, she is strangely unsettled, unable to find joy in things that previously made her happy. When the apothecary returns, he asks Jane a number of insightful questions with regard to her feelings and state of mind. He then recommends that she be sent off to school, which agrees mightily with Mrs. Reed.

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Jane Eyre – Chapters I & II

Posted on June 6, 2016 by cleopatra

And we’re off! The Edge of the Precipice’s Jane Eyre read-along is off to a great start. It’s been a good number of years since I read this work last, and it’s certainly one of my favourites. With a reasonably adequate background to the book, I’m looking forward to digging deeper into its pages. My last Charlotte Brontë read, Villette, was less than thrilling (in fact, I could hardly believe it was the same author), so it will be refreshing to revisit her masterpiece. So without further ado, let the reading begin!

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Classics Club Spin #13

Posted on June 5, 2016 by cleopatra

I was going to resist the spin this time. I have too many books on the go and too many of them are atrociously difficult, or inordinately huge. But one of my goals for the year was to pare down my Classics Club list, so why on earth wouldn’t I participate in a spin?

With that said, I’m not shy to admit that I absolutely manipulated my list. Well, perhaps not completely, but I did change out about seven books for ones that I’m either currently reading, are shorter novels, or projects that I am struggling with (Shakespeare, that’s YOU!). Surprisingly, one of the manipulations was not The Faerie Queene.

The Rules for the spin are:

Go to your blog.
Pick twenty books that you’ve got left to read from your Classics Club list.
Post that list, numbered 1 – 20, on your blog by next Monday.
Monday morning, we’ll announce a number from 1 – 20. Go to the list of twenty books you posted and select the book that corresponds to the number we announce.
The challenge is to read that book by August 1st.

I used the random list organizer here to choose the 20 books from my master list. Then I tweaked them, so my list ended up looking like this:

Ivanhoe (1820) – Sir Walter Scott
Far From the Madding Crowd (1874) – Thomas Hardy
Framley Parsonage (1860-61) – Anthony Trollope
1984 (1949) – George Orwell
The Fairie Queene (1590 – 1596) – Edmund Spenser
Henry V (1599) – Wiliam Shakespeare
The Histories (450-20 BC) – Herodotus
Richard III (1592) – William Shakespeare
Le Rêve (1888) – Emile Zola
Tom Sawyer (1876) – Mark Twain
The Good Soldier Svejk (1923) – Jaroslav Hasek
The Silver Chalice (1952) – Thomas Costain
A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland and a Journal of a Tour
The Lord of the Flies (1954) – William Golding
The Red Bade of Courage (1895) – Steven Crane
The Robe (1942) – Lloyd C. Douglas
The Twelve Caesars (121) – Suetonius
The Stranger (1942) – Albert Camus
Tom Brown’s School Days (1857) – Thomas Hughes
The Merchant of Venice (1596 – 1598) – William Shakespeare

While my intentions are good, if I don’t finish by August 1st, I won’t be surprised. But nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? And if I get a book I’m already reading, it will be more of a guarantee for success.

So let the spin begin!

The Big 100,000

Posted on June 2, 2016 by cleopatra

I’ve noticed that many people with blogs celebrate their blog anniversaries, such as their first year, or important numbers like 5 years. Some bloggers mention their 500th post. There is nothing more satisfying than choosing a task and sticking to it. Other celebrations include finishing a project, or a list such as The Classics Club. After years of reading, a completed list is certainly something to celebrate.

A Party in the Open Air (1590)
Isaac Oliver
source Wikipedia

Now, while I’ll certainly have a BIG party after I complete my Classics Club list, I tend to completely forget my blog anniversary, and each year goes by without a mention of the milestones. My excuse? Well, I really don’t have one, other than I have lots going on in life, and there’s not anything to remind me. Yet there is one statistic that I see every day when I log into my blog —- my pageviews —– and so I’m going to celebrate that milestone today.

So join me in celebrating, because today, on June 2, 2016 I reached the golden number of over:

100,000 pageviews!

Hip! Hip! Hurrah! (1888)
Peder Severin Krøyer
source Wikipedia

Now, honestly, I have no idea if this is an impressive number or not. I began my blog in October of 2013, so it’s 2 years and 8 months old. When I look at some popular blogs, they are boasting in the millions per year, so I suspect my little number of 100,000 is not so impressive, but it was fun to see it hit that mark today.

Thanks to all the faithful readers, who pop in regularly and those too, who come around now and then. I really enjoy all the conversations I’ve had with everyone, and I cherish the blog friends I’ve made over the years. You all make blogging a pleasure!