Villette Wrap Up

 Lucy Snowe, a young Englishwoman of the educated class, narrates the story of her life—in a particularly partisan and sometimes unreliable manner. She is left destitute after the death of her mysterious family and, after briefly being a nurse-companion, takes herself off on a blind, daring trip to the Continent. She goes to the kingdom of Labassecour (perhaps modeled on Belgium) and, through a series of very fortunate occurrences, manages to land herself a job and a place to live on her first night in the town of Villette. She becomes a nursery governess to the three daughters of the proprietress of a large school for girls. During her time as the bonne d'enfants, she impresses her employer, Madame Beck, with her modesty and excellent English. She is elevated to the position of English teacher, though she has no qualifications for it and has a poor command of the French language spoken in Villette. Lucy, however, comes to excel at teaching and to love it. 

The read-a-long hosted by Wallace of Unputdownables wrapped up right before I went on vacation. I am glad that I participated as I have wanted to read this book and honestly would have gave up on it if not for the read-a-long. Having a reading plan and the weekly discussions kept me accountable and I am glad I stuck with it. My version did not have the French translated and that was frustrating for me. There were parts that really dragged and then parts that had me glued to the pages.  The many "surprises" made the reading a delight. Charlotte was a brilliant writer.

Author: Charlotte Bronte
Published: 1853
Pages: 656
Genre: Fiction
Source: Library
Finished: 3-28-11

Villette Read-A-Long

Wallace of Unputdownables is hosting the read-a-long of Villette by Charlotte Bronte. The read-a-long begins Tuesday, February 1st and ends Thursday, March 31st.

I was not going to join in even though I really want to read this book because I am participating in the War and Peace year long read-a-long. I decided to see if my library  has a copy, and I discovered that they have an audiobook read by none other than my all time favorite Davina Porter!!  So, I'm in!

Week One/ February 1st-7th :: ch. 1-5 (i.e. read chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5)
Week Two/ February 8th-14th :: ch. 6-11
Week Three/ February 15th-21st :: ch. 12-17
Week Four/ February 22nd-28th :: ch. 18-22
Week Five/ March 1st-March 7th :: ch. 23-27
Week Six/ March 8th-March 14th :: ch. 28-32
Week Seven/ March 15th-March 21st :: ch. 33-37
Week Eight/ March 22-March 28th :: ch. 38-42

Catch up days, and extra days to process book before final review :: March 29th-31st.

War and Peace Read-A-Long

** Challenges has been extended through July 2012**

Jillian of A Room of One's Own is hosting the year long read-a-long of War and Peace beginning January 1, 2011, and posting six discussions throughout the year.

I am going to attempt to read and finish the book. My version is a bit different and I figured out that I only need to read 3.5 pages day in order to complete it in a year and I think that is doable.






Schedule of Discussions
end of February 2011 – Chapters 1-59
end of April 2011 – Chapters 60-120
end of June 2011 – Chapters 121-181
end of August 2011 – Chapters 182-243
end of October 2011 – Chapters 244-304
end of December 2011 – Chapters 305-365 (and final thoughts)

North and South

I participated in Ticket To Anywhere's Read-a-Long of North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell.

I have never read this book, but have seen the BBC Mini-series in my Netflix Instant Queue.  When I found out about the read-a-long, I figured it was a perfect time to read the books and then watch the series. 

North and South is a novel about rebellion. Moving from the industrial riots of discontented mill workers through to the unsought passions of a middle-class woman, and from religious crises of conscience to the ethics of naval mutiny, it poses fundamental questions about the nature of social authority and obedience. Through the story of Margaret Hale, the middle-class southerner who moves to the northern industrial town of Milton, Gaskell skilfully explores issues of class and gender in the conflict between Margaret’s ready sympathy with the workers and her growing attraction to the charismatic mill owner, John Thornton.

I enjoyed the contrast of the South's agricultural and the North's industrialization way of life with their social differences. We watch Margaret as she goes from one to the other bringing her prejudices along and then finding an appreciation for their way of life and admiration for the residents of Milton as well as for Mr Thornton, whom she starts out disliking. I thought that the ending of the book was way too rushed as I wanted to savor it.  I watched the mini-series right after finished the book and thought it was a good adaptation and loved how the ending was portrayed, so romantic!

Thank you to Ticket to Anywhere for hosting this read-a-long, as I would not have picked up this book.

Matterhorn Read-A-Long

Anna and Serena are hosting a read-a-long of Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes over at their blog War Through The Generations as part of their year long Vietnam Reading Challenge.

Since I have this book on my stacks, I am going to participate.  I am a week behind and hope to catch up this weekend.

Through Dec. 10: Chapters 1-5
Through Dec. 17:

North and South Read-a-Long

Irish at Ticket to Anywhere is hosting the North and South Read-a-Long from Nov 1 through Dec. 3.

Week 1: Chapters 1 - 10
Week 2: Chapters 11 - 20
Week 3: Chapters 21 - 30
Week 4: Chapters 31 - 40
Week 5: Chapters 41 - 52

I have never read this book or watched the mini-series and figured this is the perfect opportunity.

Thanks again to Deanna for the heads up.

The Historian

"To you, Perceptive Reader, I bequeath my history..." Late one night, exploring her father's library, a young woman, finds an ancient book and a cache of yellowing letters. The letters are all addressed to "My dear and unfortunate successor," and they plunge her into a world she never dreamed of -- a labyrinth where the secrets of her father's past and her mother's mysterious fate connect to an inconceivable evil hidden in the depths of history.

The letters provide links to one of the darkest powers that humanity has ever known -- and to a centuries-long quest to find the source of that darkness and wipe it out. It is a quest for the truth about Vlad the Impaler, the medieval ruler whose barbarous reign formed the basis of the legend of Dracula. Generations of historians have risked their reputations, their sanity, and even their lives to learn the truth about Vlad the Impaler and Dracula. Now one young woman must decide whether to take up this quest herself -- to follow her father in a hunt that nearly brought him to ruin years ago, when he was a vibrant young scholar and her mother was still alive.

What does the legend of Vlad the Impaler have to do with the modern world. Is it possible that the Dracula of myth truly existed -- and that he has lived on, century after century, pursuing his own unknowable ends? The answers to these questions cross time and borders, as first the father and then the daughter search for clues, from dusty Ivy League libraries to Istanbul, Budapest, and the depths of Eastern Europe...

I have been wanting to read Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian since reading The Swan Thieves earlier this year. When On The Ledge Readalong decided to read the book, I knew this was the perfect time.  I choose the audio version read by Justine Eyre and Paul Michael.  They did such a fantastic job that the 26 hours of listening kept me enthralled, and a couple of times so spooked that I had to turn it off. 


Thank you to On the Ledge for hosting and for all the extras that enhanced the reading of this book.

The Historian Read-A-Long

Coffee and a Book Chick and Tedious & Brief are hosting a read along at On The Ledge Readalongs for those readers who have either read The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, or have always wanted to read it.  Considering there are so many amazing challenges that are starting now for Halloween, we thought this might be a creepily fantastic addition to whatever you're currently preparing for without feeling like it's too much -- see the schedule down below, about 100 pages each week for six weeks!

I have been wanting to read this book since reading Elizabeth's book The Swan Thieves earlier this year.  I am going to take the audio version on vacation with me and see if I can keep up not only with the scheduled reading but with my daily walking as well!

Schedule:
Sept 20 to Sept 26 -- Chapters 1 through 14
Sept 27 to Oct 3 -- Chapters 15 through 26
Oct. 4 to Oct 10-- Chapters 27 through 39
Oct 11 to Oct 17 -- Chapters 40 through 48
Oct 18 to Oct 24 -- Chapters 49 through 66
Oct 25 to Oct 31 -- Chapters 67 through Epilogue