The Tempest - William Shakespeare

Title: The Tempest
Author: William Shakespeare
Pages: 92
Published: 1610
Genre: Drama
Edition: E-book
Source: Serial Reader

Description: Prospero—a magician on an enchanted island—punishes his enemies, brings happiness to his daughter, and comes to terms with human use of supernatural power. The Tempest embodies both seemingly timeless romance and the historically specific moment in which Europe begins to explore and conquer the New World. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: Not my favourite Shakespeare play.  Thought it was okay; probably would have thought better of it if I had read it more regularly or had taken the time to read it along Sparknotes.

Bottom line: It's a preferential taste as to what play you like.

Rating: 2.75/5

The Odyssey - Homer

Title: The Odyssey
Author: Homer; edited by Robert Fagles; forward by Bernard Knox
Pages: 541
Published: 1997 (first published around 800 BC)
Genre: Classics, Epic Poetry
Edition: Paperback
Source: Personal

Description: If the Iliad is the world's greatest war epic, then the Odyssey is literature's grandest evocation of everyman's journey though life. Odysseus' reliance on his wit and wiliness for survival in his encounters with divine and natural forces, during his ten-year voyage home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, is at once a timeless human story and an individual test of moral endurance.  (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I read this as a book club selection this past fall and honestly felt that book was okay, even though I could see what made this book this particular classic one of the greats.  I had taken a university English course with this text and The Orestia being our primary texts (it was a course on classic literature).  And having notes throughout various points in my copy really aided in helping me understand various sections in the book.

But it was a book that I would have not easily completed had it not been for the audiobook that I borrowed from the library, which was narrated by Sir Ian McKellan (Gandalf in The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies) and really helped me understand the epic nature of the book.

Bottom line: Even though I probably won't read this book again, I got to appreciate the epic nature of The Odyssey and this book would appeal to those readers that enjoy reading Greek tragedies.  Recommended.

Rating: 3.25/5

To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

Title: To Kill a Mockingbird
Author: Harper Lee
Pages: 323
Published: 2005 (first published 1960)
Genre: Literary Fiction, Classics
Edition: Paperback
Source: Personal

Description: Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus--three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of raping a white woman. Though her story explores big themes, Harper Lee chooses to tell it through the eyes of a child. The result is a tough and tender novel of race, class, justice, and the pain of growing up. (via Amazon.ca)

Thoughts:  I read this book this past summer because I wanted to have the storyline fresh in my mind when I read Go Set A Watchman.  It also didn't help that I hadn't read the book in over 20 years and the book had become fuzzy and couldn't quite remember when things happened in the book.  I suppose listening to the audiobook, which was narrated by Sissy Spacek, didn't hurt either.

Usually I find some little thing to nit-pick, even the ones that have a 4.5 rating, but  honestly there was nothing that came to my mind in regards to anything bad about the book.  I can see why why this book is considered to be a classic, even though it has only been about 55 years since its first publication.

Bottom line: I quite enjoyed this read and would recommend this book not only to readers, but also to non-readers as well.  Highly Recommended.

Rating: 5/5

A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle

Title: A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet #1)
Author: Madeleine L'Engle
Pages: 232
Published: 2007 (originally published 1963)
Genre: Science fiction, Fantasy, Classic, Middle-Grade
Edition: Paperback
Source: Library

Description: Out of this wild night, a strange visitor comes to the Murry house and beckons Meg, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O'Keefe on a most dangerous and extraordinary adventure - one that will threaten their lives and our universe. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I had heard a lot about how a lot of podcasters that I listen to liked this book as kids and thought I would give it a try.  To make it plain, this is probably something that should be read first as a kid, but each reader is different.  Basically I couldn't make heads over tails about what the book was trying to say.

Bottom line: Probably more ideal for middle grade readers that like science fiction or fantasy.  Recommended.

Rating: 2.75/5

All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque

Title: All Quiet on the Western Front
Author: Erich Maria Remarque; translated by A. W. Wheen
Pages: 296
Published: 1987 (originally published 1928)
Genre: Historical Fiction, War Fiction, Classics
Edition: Mass-Market Paperback
Source: Personal

Description: This is the testament of Paul Bäumer, who enlists with his classmates in the German army of World War I. These young men become enthusiastic soldiers, but their world of duty, culture, and progress breaks into pieces under the first bombardment in the trenches. 

Through years of vivid horror, Paul holds fast to a single vow: to fight against the hatred that meaninglessly pits young men of the same generation but different uniforms against one another... if only he can come out of the war alive. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: This was my book club's selection this past June and the third time that I have read the book.  It was interesting to read the book on my own for the first time (first two times I read the book were for course work; the first time was for my grade 12 English class and the second time was for a 100-level History course).  Overall, I liked the book, even though I had difficulty getting through the first half of the book.  

What I really liked was how Remarque used language to evoke what it was like to be in the those trenches a hundred years ago. My favourite scene was when Remarque described the fog rolling in, filling in where the shells had hit the ground.

Bottom line: While the book is fairly short, it a book packed with emotion and imagery, both bad and good.  It probably will leave the reader questioning the nature of warfare and wondering what it does to the soldier on both sides of a conflict.  Highly Recommended.

Rating: 4.75/5

The Last Battle - C.S. Lewis

Title: The Last Battle (The Chronicles of Narnia #7)
Author: C.S. Lewis
Pages: 229
Published: 1994 (first published 1955)
Challenges: Classics Club, Finishing the Series, I Love Libraries, Readers to the Rescue, Snagged @ the Library
Genre: Children's, Classic, Fantasy
Edition: Mass-market Paperback
Source: Church Library

Description: The last battle is the greatest battle of all. Narnia... where lies breed fear... where loyalty is tested... where all hope seems lost. During the last days of Narnia, the land faces its fiercest challenge - not an invader from without but an enemy from within. Lies and treachery have taken root, and only the king and a small band of loyal followers can prevent the destruction of all they hold dear in this, the magnificent ending to theChronicles of Narnia. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: After reading the other 6 books in the series, I think that I expected a different end and that my expectations were somewhat elevated as to how the series ended, not that I didn't enjoy the journey.  I think that while my expectations were inflated, it was a good way to end the series  This might be a series to revisit down the road by reading the omnibus copy that I own.

Bottom line: The story itself seemed to be ok, but felt it to be a little slow at times.  Overall it was a satisfying ending to the series.  Recommended.

Rating: 3.5/5

Pages for 2015:  2,940

If you have read the book, what did you think?

The Silver Chair - C. S. Lewis

Title: The Silver Chair (The Chronicles of Narnia #6)
Author: C. S. Lewis
Pages: 272
Published: 1994 (first published 1953)
Challenges: Finishing the Series, Classics Club, I Love Libraries, Readers to the Rescue, Snagged @ the Library
Genre: Children's, Classic, Fantasy
Edition: Mass-Market Paperback
Source: Church Library

Description: A prince imprisoned - a country in peril. Narnia... where giants wreak havoc.... where evil weaves a spell... where enchantment rules. Through dangers untold and caverns deep and dark, a noble band of friends are sent to rescue a prince held captive. But their mission to Underland brings them face-to-face with an evil more beautiful and more deadly than they ever expected. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts:  Really enjoyed this book, as it seemed to have a better flow to the story than The Dawn Treader and seemed to be less contrived than the previous book and more of what I have usually experienced with other narrative fiction that I have read.

I think that the biggest reason that I enjoyed the book was the introduction of Jill Pole.  She gave the book a lightness to the book that really allowed me to enjoy reading the book.

Bottom line: A good continuation of the series that retains the magic of the earlier books. Recommended.

Rating: 3.75/5

Pages for 2015: 2,711

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

Title: A Christmas Carol
Author: Charles Dickens
File size (Pages): 939 KB (104)
Published: 2010 (originally published 1843)
Challenges: e-book, Reading England, The Classics Club
Genre: Christmas, Classics, Fiction
Edition: E-book
Source: Personal

Description: The beloved holiday classic with illustrations by John Leech. A Christmas Carol is Dickens' haunting cautionary tale about Ebenezer Scrooge a miserly businessman who dismisses charity and holiday cheer with an icy "bah humbug!" One night Scrooge finds himself visited by the ghost of his late business partner Jacob Marley returned from the dead with a trio of spirits and a plea for his old friend Ebenezer to change his ways and open his heart to the true meaning of Christmas... before it's too late. (via kobobooks.com)

Thoughts: Probably due to the fact that I was reading other books, I wasn't as engaged with the book this time around as I was back in December 2013.  Nonetheless, the book was worth re-reading.

I did find that some of the book was a bit dry at times, but the words that Dickens uses does help with portraying 1843 London as a place that was not exactly a place a person would want to be.

Dickens also was able to show how man can become easily enamoured with the trappings of the world rather than focusing on helping those less fortunate out and that the lesson that Scrooge is forced to learn, that material wealth isn't all it is cracked up to be.  I also liked how the book is still very applicable to us 170 years after the book was published.

Bottom line: Even though I was distracted with other books and wasn't able to appreciate the book as I did a little over a year ago, it is a book that has application to us now.  Highly Recommended.

Rating: 4/5

Pages in 2015: 2,439

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - C.S. Lewis

Title: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (The Chronicles of Narnia #5)
Author: C.S. Lewis
Pages: 288
Published: 1994 (first published 1952)
Challenges: Finishing the Series, I Love Libraries, Readers to the Rescue, Snagged @ the Library, The Classics Club
Genre: Children's, Classics, Fantasy
Edition: Mass-Market Paperback
Source: Church Library

Description: Lucy and Edmund, with their dreadful cousin Eustace, get magically pulled into a painting of a ship at sea. That ship is the Dawn Treader, and on board is Caspian, King of Narnia. He and his companions, including Reepicheep, the valiant warrior mouse, are searching for seven lost lords of Narnia, and their voyage will take them to the edge of the world. Their adventures include being captured by slave traders, a much-too-close encounter with a dragon, and visits to many enchanted islands, including the place where dreams come true. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: For some reason, I found this book to be difficult to get through.  Maybe it was the fact that the story seemed to be too chaotic and disjointed for liking and that maybe if I were closer to the age of the main characters, I may have enjoyed the book a more than I did.

Bottom line: For me at least, there were parts of the book that felt dull but also there were parts that were enjoyable and entertaining.  It was a nice continuation of the series and towards the end of the book, I finally could see the illusion that Lewis was aiming towards.  Recommended.

Rating: 2.75/5

Pages for 2015: 2,335

Daisy Miller - Henry James

Title: Daisy Miller
Author: Henry James
File size (Pages): 356 KB (128)
Published: 1987 (first published 1878)
Challenges: Back to the Classics, E-book, I Love LIbraries, Readers to the Rescue, Snagged @ the Library, The Classics Club
Genre: Classics
Edition: E-book
Source: Public Library

Description: Travelling in Europe with her family, Daisy Miller, an exquistely beautiful young American woman, presents her fellow-countryman Winterbourne with a dilemma he cannot resolve. Is she deliberately flouting social conventions in the way she talks and acts, or is she simply ignorant of them? When she strikes up an intimate friendship with an urbane young Italian, her flat refusal to observe the codes of respectable behavior leaves her perilously exposed. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I had heard about this book through a number of sources over the years, but it was Texts from Jane Eyre that prompted me to actually read the book and to give it a chance and see what it was about.

But for me, it fell a little flat and found that I really didn't care for Daisy and found her to be shallow and superficial.  And where there was probably a point that the author was trying to point out, I was unable to find what it was.

Bottom line: I felt that the book was a little rushed and that it could have been fleshed out a little more to give the reader a little more time to understand what was going on.  Recommended, but with reservations.

Rating: 2.5/5

Pages for 2015: 2,047

The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton

Title: The Age of Innocence
Author: Edith Wharton
File Size (Pages): 1.5 MB (210)
Published: 2012 (first published 1920)
Challenges: Back to the Classics, Classics Club, E-Book, Eclectic Reader
Genre: Classics
Edition: E-book
Source: Personal

Description: The Age of Innocence is the haunting story of the struggle between love and duty in Gilded Age New York told through the eyes of Newland Archer and his betrothed, May Welland. A young lawyer on the rise, Newland Archer needs only a society wife to solidify his position, but finds himself torn after he meets and falls deeply in love with May’s disgraced cousin, the Countess Olenska. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: This was a book I had wanted to read for sometime and had also borrowed from the library the film that was directed by Martin Socrsese.  

I was a little disappointed with the story itself, in that I felt that the characters were superficial and therefore did not really care for the characters nor did I feel any sort of sympathy for them.  I also felt that the story was simplistic and thought that it could have been a bit more complex than it actually was.

Bottom line: I felt that the book was okay and did not exactly wow me.  I would probably start with something else by Wharton, but since I put this book in my Classics Club Spin list, it was what I ended up reading.  Recommended.

Rating: 2.5/5

Pages for 2015: 897

Prince Caspian - C.S. Lewis

Title: Prince Caspian (The Chronicles of Narnia #4)
Author: C.S. Lewis
Pages: 240
Published: 2001 (first published 1951)
Challenges: Finishing the Series, I Love Libraries, Readers to the Rescue, Snagged @ the Library, The Classics Club
Genre: Children's Classic, Fantasy
Edition: Mass-Market Paperback
Source: Library

Description: The Pevensie siblings travel back to Narnia to help a prince denied his rightful throne as he gathers an army in a desperate attempt to rid his land of a false king. But in the end, it is a battle of honor between two men alone that will decide the fate of an entire world. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I enjoyed this one much more than The Horse and His Boy in part due to the fact that story was less fantastical, but more a bit more based in "reality".  I think it also helped that the Pevensie siblings (Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy) made an appearance for a good portion of the book and that there was a definable good vs. evil story.  

Bottom line: I enjoyed this book much more than The Horse and His Boy and thought it to be better thought out and more coherent.  It is a good continuation of the series and introduces characters that become important in other books as well.  Highly recommended.

Rating: 4/5

Pages for 2015: 687

The Horse and His Boy - C.S. Lewis

Title: The Horse and His Boy (The Chronicles of Narnia #3)
Author: C.S. Lewis
Pages: 241
Published: 1994 (first published 1954)
Challenges: Back to the Classics, Finishing the Series, I Love Libraries, Official TBR, Readers to the Rescue, Snagged @ the Library, The Classics Club
Genre: Children's, Classic, Fantasy
Edition: Mass-Market Paperback
Source: Library

Description: Narnia... where some horses talk, where treachery is brewing, where destiny awaits. On a desperate journey, two runaways meet and join forces. Though they are only looking to escape their harsh and narrow lives, they soon find themselves at the center of a terrible battle. It is a battle that will decide their fate and the fate of Narnia itself. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I have mixed feelings about the book, as I had great expectations of the book and found it to be ho-hum.  I was unable to find a rhythm with the book and just couldn't get into the novel itself.  It felt more like a separate story than the other two book and didn't particularly like the fantastical element in this book, even though the first two had that same element in them.   And honestly I just couldn't see were the book fits into the overall story.

Bottom line: While I wasn't enamoured with the book, I felt that it was a really good continuation of the series and I look forward to seeing how this book connects to the rest of the series.  Recommended.

Rating: 3.25/5

Pages for 2015: 447

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis

Title: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia #2)
Author: C.S. Lewis
Pages: 206
Published: 1994 (first published 1950)
Challenges: Classics Club, Finishing the Series, I Love Libraries, Readers to the  Rescue, Snagged @ the Library
Genre: Classic, Children's, Fantasy
Edition: Mass-Market Paperback
Source: Library

Description: When Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are sent to stay with a kind professor who lives in the country, they can hardly imagine the extraordinary adventure that awaits them.

It all begins one rainy summer day when the children explore the professor's rambling old house. When they come across a room with an old wardrobe in the corner, Lucy immediately opens the door and gets inside. To her amazement, she suddenly finds herself standing in the clearing of a wood on a winter after-noon, with snowflakes falling through the air. Lucy has found Narnia, a magical land of fauns and centaurs, nymphs and talking animals -- and the beautiful but evil White Witch, who has held the country in eternal winter for a hundred years. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: Unlike the previous books (The Magician's Nephew), I quite enjoyed the read and felt engaged with the book.  I really liked how the story flowed and how the book continued the series.  It had a faster pace to it than The Magician's Nephew).

I really liked how the book built on The Magician's Nephew and how it could also be a stand-alone, based on how the book ended.

Bottom line: I quite enjoyed the book and liked the pacing of the book.  A very enjoyable read and a good continuation of the series.  Highly recommended.

Rating: 4/5

Pages for 2015: 206

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

Title: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie Bucket #1)
Author: Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake (illustrator)
Pages: 155
Published: 2007 (first published 1964)
Challenges: Classics Club, I Love Library
Genre: Children's, Classics, Fantasy
Edition: Paperback
Source: Library

Description: Willy Wonka's famous chocolate factory is opening at last!

But only five lucky children will be allowed inside. And the winners are: Augustus Gloop, an enormously fat boy whose hobby is eating; Veruca Salt, a spoiled-rotten brat whose parents are wrapped around her little finger; Violet Beauregarde, a dim-witted gum-chewer with the fastest jaws around; Mike Teavee, a toy pistol-toting gangster-in-training who is obsessed with television; and Charlie Bucket, Our Hero, a boy who is honest and kind, brave and true, and good and ready for the wildest time of his life!

Thoughts: I got this book because I hadn't read this book for quite sometime and also due to the controversial cover that was released in early August, 2014.

Personally, I thought that the book was okay, but what I liked about the book is that the messages that Roald Dahl put into the book are very timely and relevant even today's culture.

The message that spoke the most clearly to me was about Mike TeaVee and his addiction to TV, as he seem to find his creativity from something that doesn't allow for too much creativity.  The book is definitely quirky, but it is well-written and has a strong message to say for its readers.

Bottom line: While the book didn't move me as an adult, I can definitely see where children between Grades 3 and 5 can get something more out of the book; well, I suppose one hope that they do.  Highly Recommended.

Rating: 4.25/5

Pages for 2014: 24,172  

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson

Title: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Pages (File Size): 224 (297 KB)
Published: 2013 (first published 1886)
Challenges: Classics, E-Book, R.I.P. IX
Genre: Classics, Gothic
Edition: E-book
Source: Personal

Description: When lawyer Gabriel John Utterson witnesses the odd behavior of a man named Edward Hyde, who uses cheques signed by Utterson’s friend Dr. Henry Jekyll, he decides to investigate the strange and violent man. Utterson soon discovers the horrible and incredible truth in the form of a letter written by Dr. Jekyll and left near the body of the late Mr. Hyde. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I got this book due to the fact that I had just read Under the Wide and Starry Sky.  While I enjoyed the book, I somehow lost the subtleties of the book due to the fact that I lost the story somewhere during between starting the book and getting to the final chapter.

Bottom line: While it was interesting to read Dr. Jekyll's rationalizations, I did find the book to be dry and a little too straightforward and didn't really find anything memorable about the book.  This book would be perfect for those that would like a spine-tingling tale that doesn't take very long.  Recommended.

Rating: 2.75/5

Pages for 2014: 24,017

Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë

Title: Wuthering Heights
Author: Emily Brontë
Pages (File Size): 450 (680 KB)
Published: 2012 (first published 1847)
Challenges: Chunkster, E-book, R.I.P IX
Genre: Classic, Gothic
Edition: E-book
Source: Personal

Description: Wuthering Heights is the tale of two families both joined and riven by love and hate. Cathy is a beautiful and wilful young woman torn between her soft-hearted husband and Heathcliff, the passionate and resentful man who has loved her since childhood. The power of their bond creates a maelstrom of cruelty and violence which will leave one of them dead and cast a shadow over the lives of their children. (via ChaptersIndigo)

Thoughts: This was a second re-read for me and probably because I was frantically trying to get the book completed prior to a book club meeting, I was unable to enjoy the book as much as I did the first time I re-read the book.

As much as Heathcliff is supposedly this romantic hero of sorts, I found him to be manipulative and selfish, as I did with the characters of that generation and as a result I had a hard time having any sort of sympathy for them, unlike their offspring, which I had a lit more sympathy for; the parents seemed to play a game of one-ups-manship, almost trying to see how well they could out-manipulate each other.

Bottom line:  This book is one of the best examples of Victorian gothic literature and there is a reason that it is a classic and even though this read of the book didn't give me a great impression of some of the characters this time around, you can see why not only this book has stood the test of time, but also why Emily Brontë would have probably been a very prolific writer in this particular genre, had she lived longer.   I would recommend this book not only to fans of classics, but also those that enjoy reading gothic literature.  Recommended to Highly recommended.

Rating: 3.75/5

Pages for 2014: 22,764

A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

Title: A Tale of Two Cities
Author: Charles Dickens
Pages: 489
Published: 2003 (first published 1859)
Challenges: The Classics Club, Chunkster, Historical Fiction, Blogger Summer Reading
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Classics, Literature
Edition: Paperback
Source: Personal Library

Description: After eighteen years as a political prisoner in the Bastille, the ageing Doctor Manette is finally released and reunited with his daughter in England. There the lives of two very different men, Charles Darnay, an exiled French aristocrat, and Sydney Carton, a disreputable but brilliant English lawyer, become enmeshed through their love for Lucie Manette. From the tranquil roads of London, they are drawn against their will to the vengeful, bloodstained streets of Paris at the height of the Reign of Terror, and they soon fall under the lethal shadow of La Guillotine. (from Goodreads)

Thoughts: I don't know why but this has become one of my favourite novels; I think it has partly to do with the historical detail, but it probably it is more likely due to the fact that Dickens uses language so well and allows the reader to be drawn into the story as much as possible.  So when a readalong was organized by a blogger that I follow, I had to definitely do it. 

One thing that I liked about the book is how Dickens draws the reader into the world that he creates in the days leading up to the French Revolution and even the one during; it also doesn't hurt that the book is a really good example of how detail can add to the overall story and how it has the ability to make the experience of reading that more enjoyable.

While the vast majority of the book is well done, I did find that the last little bit of the book a bit rushed, but I will give Dickens the benefit of the doubt on that one, as there is too much of the book is too well done that it would be nitpicking on a book that in all respects is well-written and has a lot of amazing detail in it.

Bottom line: Dickens does a really good job of describing London and Paris during the French Revolution, but also builds up the story so that one gets a pretty good build up to the events of the story.  Highly recommended.

Rating: 5/5

Pages for 2014: 10150

The Mysteries of the Udolpho - Ann Radcliffe

Title: The Mysteries of the Udolpho
Author: Ann Radcliffe
Pages: 875
Published: 2010 (first published 1794)
Challenges: Blogger Summer Reading, Classics Club, Chunkster, Historical Fiction, I Love Libraries
Genre: Classics, Gothic, Historical Fiction, Literature
Edition: Paperback
Source: Library

Description: Beautiful young heiress Emily St. Aubert is frightened when she finds herself orphaned and in the hands of her cold and distant aunt, Madame Cheron. But her fear turns to terror when Madame Cheron agrees to marry the haughty and brooding Signor Montoni, and she finds herself trapped in the castle of Udolpho, threatened by Montoni's terrible greed and haunted by the secrets of the medieval fortress. Will Emily find the strength to survive this place of nightmares? Or will Montoni and his wicked schemes destroy her completely? (from Goodreads)

Thoughts: Even though this was a book that I had wanted to read for sometime, I struggled with it.  While reading the book, I found that I really couldn't keep my interest with the book and found it to be a bit of a chore, even though at times I could get myself engrossed with the story.  I found it to be something that I read for long periods of time without figuring what was going on and all of a sudden I got interested in the story for a bit and the process would repeat itself.

Bottom line:  If you are a big fan of gothic-era books and large books that seem to go on for quite sometime and you can get lost in the world of the story, I would say that this is a book for you.  Recommended.

Rating: 3/5

Pages for 2014: 8768

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

Title: Northanger Abbey
Author: Jane Austen
Pages: 254
Published: 2003 (first published 1817)
Challenges: Back to the Classics
Genre: Classics, Fiction
Edition: Paperback
Source: Personal

Description: During an eventful season at Bath, young, naive Catherine Morland experiences fashionable society for the first time. SHe is delighted with her new acquaintances: flirtatious Isabella, who introduces Catherine to the joys of Gothic romances, and sophisticated Henry and Eleanor Tilney, who invite her to their father's house, Northanger Abbey. There, influenced by novels of horror and intrigue, Catherine comes to imagine terrible crimes committed by General Tilney, risking the loss of Henry's affection, and has to learn the difference between fiction and reality, false friends and true. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I first read this book back in November when doing the Unputdownables readalong for this book.  And like I said my previous review of this book, this book needed a second reading to understand it better (I read it the first time for the sake of saying said I had read the book) and also to appreciate it more.  And as I was reading it this last time, I did enjoy the book more than I did the first time I had read it.  What also made the difference is that I wasn't really juggling too many books at the time and that by reading basically this book, I was able to focus on the book and really appreciate what this book for what it is.

While it isn't Austen's best work, I can definitely see elements of her other books in this book  The book showed elements of themes that Austen tends to focus with more depth than she did here.  She also showed her appreciation of literature and also how somebody can get so obsessed with a book that you think that you are living it.

Bottom line: While it wasn't my favourite Austen (S&S and P&P are my favourites), I would have to say that its not at the bottom of my list.  It maybe a book that I read at some point in my life.  I probably wouldn't recommend the book to somebody who is starting with Austen and would probably suggest it was left until you have read the other books by her and that it one would read it twice before giving it a true opinion of the book.  Recommended.

Rating: 4/5

Pages for 2014: 3646