Bloggin 'Bout Books Blog

Persuasion by Jane Austen Published: 1817 Received: Bought for my Kindle "If there is anything disagreeable going on men are always sure to get out of it." Anne Elliot is 27 years old. She's becoming an old maid, destined to live as the supporter for her father and sisters without ever managing a match of her own. Her younger (and much more annoying sister) Mary has managed to find a man and have several children. Her older sister is guaranteed to find someone soon. And all Anne wants is to remember the man with whom she was betrothed eight years ago. She seems to be getting along, when none other than that man, Captain Wentworth comes back to town.  I read this several years ago for class. It was my favorite of Austen's novels (yes, I'm that weird person), and as I reread it, I enjoyed it even more. As I'm quickly approaching Anne's age, I see both her despair and wish for her ease. I was also struck by how little has really changed. ...

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton is a very interesting short story. I finished it yesterday, and even after mulling it over for a full 24 hours, I'm not sure how I felt about it. On the one hand, the atmosphere was well described. I was sitting outside in the sun, but I could picture the harsh yet beautiful New England winter setting. And hey, unrequited, disastrous love stories are sort of my thing. But on the other hand, this is so much Ethan's story. Like I wasn't even sure if his love was reciprocated until like 10 pages from the end. So I don't know that I would necessarily call it a love story at all. I didn't necessarily dislike the novel, I just really didn't like it either. Anyway, I read it for my book club, and I'm interested to see what type of conversation we have about it. Favorite Quote: "It was intoxicating to find such magic in his clumsy words, and he longed to try new ways of using it."

The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a heart-wrenchingly beautiful tale of love and loss. It's about finding yourself when you think you've hit the lowest point possible. I kind of can't explain how much I liked this book. The summary doesn't make it sound like it'd be my cup of tea, and I know it's a classic, but sometimes classics have endured for stupid reasons. The Color Purple is not one of those classics. It's beautiful and wonderful and I wish I could reach through my computer screen and make everyone read it. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys epistolary novels with immense character development. Favorite Quotes (This is basically just going to be the whole book, sorry): "But I don't know how to fight. All I know how to do is stay alive." "I make myself wood. I say to myself, Celie, you a tree. That's how come I know trees fear man." "I dream of murder, she say, I dream of murder sleep or wak...