#Readathon Hour 2 Mini-Challenge: Our Bookish Childhoods

My own top 5 bookish childhood moments:

1) Attempting to read Anne of Green Gables when I was in Grade 3.  I did eventually read the book.

2) The sticker dictionary book I got when I was about 3 or 4.

3) The photo with my mom and I read going over a book when I was about 3 or 4 as my mom was trying to make our Sunday noon meal.  My dad took a photo of the moment.

4) When I was in Grade two, I was still sucking my middle and pointer fingers and my teeth were on the receiving end of that and weren't looking good as a result.  After an orthodontist appointment, my dad took me to White Spot and got me a Pirate Pack.  Because of the device in my mouth, I had to have my burger cut up so I could eat my food.  I seem to have a memory of him taking me to a nearby bookstore and allowing me to choose a book, of which I choose Ramona the Pest.

5) Every Friday during the ski season from the time I was about 11 until I was about 13/14, my dad, me and my sister would head to one of the Vancouver ski slopes and do some Friday night skiing. I would usually bring a book (I rarely go a place without a book on me), hoping to read while we had our dinner break in the lodge.  This particular evening was unique because my sister broke her collar bone due to her ski catching a rut and hitting her up on the collar bone.  As a result, my dad had to take her to emergency at a nearby hospital (thank goodness for universal health care!) and I had to tag along.  Fortunately I had brought a book along with me, just in case I had a chance to read.  The book I had brought along was Jane Eyre, one of the books on my TBR list today.  Because of the long wait (it was about an hour until my sister and dad came out) I had no choice but to read and having no clue as to when they would be back, I started to read the hardcover blue book I had borrowed from the school library and managed to read the first 9 or 10 chapters of the book.  The result was that I fell in love with the book and it became one of my favourites as a result.

August Meme : Question # 13 #ccmeme

This month, The Classics Club asks:

Do you read forwards/notes that precede many classics? Does it help you or hurt you in your enjoyment/understanding of the work?

Generally I don't read the notes/forwards that precede many classics because the times that I have read the notes/forwards, they have given the story away at times and by the time I have finished the forwards/notes, I am not at all interested in reading the book and makes me want not to read the book.  I sometimes wish that publishers would get away from a lot of the forwards/notes that precede classics because for the most part readers skip over them and go right into the story.  It might be helpful to those taking literature courses, but for the average they either don't enhance the book or just turn them off from the book because the forward/notes are quite lengthy at times and usually have no bearing on the actual story itself. 

July Meme : Question # 12 #ccmeme

This month, The Classics Club asks:

What classic book has changed your view on life, social mores, political views, or religion?

 I have read a lot of classics in the last 33 or so years and to find one that changed my view on life, etc. is a bit daunting. But if I had to choose one book that changed my views on something it would probably have to be A Tale of Two Cities.   While it didn't really change my view on life, etc., it did change my view on the French Revolution, in that I was able to realize that my own view of the French Revolution was totally distorted.    What resulted was that through a variety of sources, I was able to fully realize that the French Revolution wasn't exactly what I thought it was

June Meme: Question #11 #ccmeme

This month, The Classics Club asks:

What is your favourite opening sentence from a classic novel (and why?)

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

• A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

I really don't know why its my favourite opening sentence, but I think it has to do with the contrasts that Dickens uses throughout the opening sentence and its a sentence that doesn't specify a specific time period and could be any time period.

The Classics Club - May Meme: Question #10

This month, The Classics Club asks:

Tell us about the classic book(s) you’re reading this month. You can post about what you’re looking forward to reading in May, or post thoughts-in-progress on your current read(s).

This month I am continuing to read War & Peace and hope to get a couple more parts of the book completed during the month; I feel like I am horribly behind in reading the book at this moment.

I am also planning on reading To Kill a Mockingbird.  I last read the book about 20 years ago and its one that I have really wanted to reread the book ever since I read it the first time.  And its something that I want to read this coming year.

In addition to the two books above, I am hoping to read a lighter classic, like Emma or Jane Eyre.  I might even consider reading North & South, but I really don't know.  This one really just depends on how I am feeling at the time and after reading Crime & Punishment over the course of three months, I really need something that isn't really dark and "heavy".

Till next month.

The Classics Club - January Meme: Question #6

This month, The Classics Club asks:

What is the best book you’ve read so far for The Classics Club — and why?

The best book that I have read so far for The Classics Club would probably have to be Les Miserables.  The reason being that its my favourite, so far, is because just the depth of the book and I honestly really enjoyed reading the story.  There were so many elements of the book that I enjoyed, except when I thought that Hugo was going on a tangent, and the characters were for the most part enjoyable to read about and I just really liked the storyline.

You can find my review here: http://jaynesbooks.blogspot.com/2012/12/les-miserables-victor-hugo.html

The Classics Club - Reading the Classics

For October, The Classics Club has asked:

Why are you reading the classics?

Honestly, I don't really know why.  I think part of the reason is that I want to give myself a bit of a challenge, but also because I enjoy reading and I have always enjoyed reading the classics and several of the books that I wish to read at some point are classics.

The Classics Club - My Favourite Classic

For August, The Classics Club has asked:

What is your favourite classic book? Why?

This is a tough question to answer, as I have at least a few that I could say are my favourite, each for different reasons.  But if I had to choose one classic, I would have to choose Jane Eyre.  The reason being that it was my first true classic book that I recall reading and truly enjoying.  I don't know why it became my favourite book,  but likely it was due to the fact that I was at a point in my reading life that I was either going to read the same sort of things I had as a tween or I was going to be reading things that challenged me both as a person and as a reader.  And once I had completed the book, it stuck with me.