Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

Title: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
Author: Lewis Carroll
Pages: 108
Published: 2005 (first published 1865)
Genre: Children's Literature, Classics
Challenges: The Classics Club
Edition: Paperback
Source: Purchased

Description: Contained in this volume are the two classics by Lewis Carroll, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass." We are first introduced to Alice in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" where we find Alice idly passing away the time next to a river when she sees a white rabbit pass by in a waistcoat. She follows the rabbit down the rabbit hole and ends up in the fantasy world of Wonderland. Alice's adventures are continued in "Through the Looking Glass" when Alice passes through a mirror to find herself in yet another magical place. (via Goodreads.com)

Thoughts: This is a book that I have wanted to read for quite sometime and since I read Alice I Have Been, the taste of reading this particular book kinda soured in my mouth a bit.  Its not that I didn't want to read the book, its just that after finding out what type of person Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll) was reported to be, it made it a little more difficult for me to get to read the book.  And if you are wondering, I purchased Alice's Adventures in Wonderland prior to reading Alice I Have Been.

It took me awhile to get through the book, despite the fact that it is a relatively short book and I blame that on trying to get books done from the library and wanting to read other things.  Overall, I thought that the book was okay and the reason is that it clearly is meant for a child to read or for one that has an active imagination.  While I was reading it, I found the first book to be far more enjoyable than that of the second book, which I found to be tiresome and not really coherent nor as fun.  I found that the second book felt like it was just thrown together for the sake of it and there was really no thought put into the stories.

I also partially read this on my ereaders (yes, I have two; one has e-ink and one is more like a smartphone).

Bottom line: Feel that the book is good for readers that are bridging from children's books to more adult type books or for those that have a really active imagination.  Its also the perfect book for a bedtime story for parents to read to their kids.

Rating: 3/5

Pages for 2012: 15923

Mailbox Monday - August 27

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their homes during the past week. Mailbox Monday, for August, is being hosted by 5 Minutes for Books.

I meant to post this a couple weeks ago, but due to the fact that I just forgot about this, I am doing it now.  Victoria, BC has one of my favourite bookstores on its main street and almost every time I go there I purchase something, at least I think I have.  Anyways, while I was in Munro's Books, which is next to Murchie's Tea, I purchased Bride of New France:

Hope everybody has a good Monday :)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (Aug. 27)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a fun weekly meme hosted by Shelia at Book Journey, in which we share what we've read and reviewed and what we plan on reading in the coming week.

It has been a while since I last posted something, so I will be posting the books that I have reviewed since my last post, which has been about a month.

What I have reviewed this month:
1) The Rebel Wife by Taylor M. Polites (review)
2) Canada at War by Paul Keery (review)
3) Henry V by William Shakespeare (review)

What I am planning on reading this week:
1) Fire by Kristen Cashore
2) A Race to Splendor
3) Anna Karenina
4) Les Miserables
5) The Litigators 
6) A Farewell to Arms

Sunday Salon - Not a great month...

August was not a great month for reading. Between the Olympics and traveling and family, I just didn't get a great amount completed.  There was also the factor that I really didn't feel like reading for a number of days.  It was a rather blah month in terms of reading.  Its not that I didn't read, I did, but I just didn't get a lot done, hence for the short post this week; this week should be better in terms of both reading and blogging.  But I did manage to get another two reviews completed this past week.

Reviews:
1) Canada at War (review)
2) Henry V (review)

Henry V - William Shakespeare

Title: Henry V
Author: William Shakespeare
Pages: 352
Published: 2004 (first published 1599)
Challenges: The Classics Club, Reading Shakespeare
Genre: Drama, Classic
Edition: E-book
Source: Free download from Kobo

Description: After the turmoil and uncertainty of Henry IV a new era appears to dawn for England with the accession of the eponymous Henry V. In this sunny pageant, the Chorus guides us along Henry's glittering carpet ride of success as the new king completes his transformation from rebellious wastrel to a truly regal potentate. Of course, there is an underlying feeling that the good times won't last, and this is all the more reason to enjoy the Indian summer before the protracted and bitter fall of the house of Lancaster. (via LibriVox)

Thoughts: I put this one off for quite sometime and probably should have read this one pretty much right away, as I could have read the play in a few hours and for some reason, this one just kept being pushed to back of the ever increasing book pile, so my thoughts are pretty much muddled and honestly I really don't know what to think of the play, except that probably a bit of a read on Wikipedia on Henry V or even reading the summary of the play on Sparknotes would have helped with my understanding of the play.  Basically I don't know what to think of the play and maybe a re-read should be in order for this play.

Bottom line:  Probably would recommend this play for those that are diehard Shakespeare fans rather than those of us who are fans of his comedies and tragedies; the history plays are more dense and do require a bit more background reading before you do actually go ahead and read them.

Rating: 3/5

Pages for 2012: 15815

Canada at War - Paul Keery

Title: Canada at War: a graphic history of World War Two
Author: Paul Keery, Michael Wyatt (illustrator)
File Size (Pages): 29296 KB (176)
Published: 2012
Genre: History, Graphic Novel
Challenges: Support Your Library
Edition: E-book
Source: Library

Description: A beautifully crafted graphic novel, tracing the achievements of the Canadian Forces in the Second World War.

In 1914, Canada went to war as a subject of Britain.  In 1939, it made the choice to fight all on its own. Canada at War follows the developments and setbacks, wins and losses, of a nation learning to stand up for itself in the midst of the most difficult war of the 20th century.

In graphic-novel format, fully illustrated and in full colour, Canada at War shows the growth of a nation's army, navy and air force through movingly depicted triumphs and tragedies.  From the disheartening losses at Dieppe and Hong Kong through the Battle of the Atlantic and the invasion of Sicily, it focusses on the human dimension of the key battles and decisions that ultimately swung the war in the Allies' favour.

This poignant graphic account ends, after the victories of D-Day and Juno Beach and the liberation of Europe, with a final reckoning of the legacy these storied years have had on a country forged through war. (via FVRL Overdrive)

Thoughts: Since I knew the broad strokes of the Canadian involvement during World War Two and had a good sense of the war overall, I found this book to be a little simple at times, but nonetheless, I found the book to be very informative in regards to various battles that the Canadian military was involved in during this time period.   I read this as a library download from FVRL (Fraser Valley Regional Library) and found that it took time for the book to load quickly, due to the heavy graphic usage.  I would have liked it more if they had done it on a year by year basis rather than by covering the service branches (army, navy, and air force) individually.

Bottom line: Felt that it was a great overview for those that want a good general overview of the Canadian involvement during World War Two and would be a good resource for secondary schools (high schools) to get their hands on for their students to help them to understand what the military went through.  It does have a pro-military bias and doesn't mention at any point in the book about the men who didn't fight, but instead did their war service in places like logging camps, etc.

Rating: 3/5

Pages for 2012: 15463

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.